User manual GAMES PC COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 3

Joystick Commands ACTION JOYSTICK COMMAND Bank (ailerons)............... Move stick left or right Pitch (elevator)........ Move stick forward or backward Yaw (rudder)........ Twist stick (if feature available) View direction......................... Move hat switch Pan/Snap To view (toggle).................. SCROLL LOCK Fire guns and cannon................ (Trigger) Button 1 Fire cannon................................... Button 2 Release ordnance.............................. Button 3 Cycle ordnance................................ Button 4 Flaps down.................................... Button 5 Flaps up...................................... Button 6 Next target................................... Button 7 Padlock on/off................................ Button 8 Combat Flight Simulator 3 Battle For Europe Microsoft HAT SWITCH 1 2 3 4 TACTICAL AIR POWER IN THE ETO UNC LA FI SSI ED OAN NOT L DO 5 6 7 8 Prepared by THROTTLE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF INTELLIGENCE HISTORICAL DIVISION 1002 Part No. X09-25720 Get the strategy guide from Sybex! Safety Warning About Photosensitive Seizures A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that may appear in video games. Even people who have no history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition that can cause these "photosensitive epileptic seizures" while watching video games. These seizures may have a variety of symptoms, including lightheadedness, altered vision, eye or face twitching, jerking or shaking of arms or legs, disorientation, confusion, or momentary loss of awareness. Seizures may also cause loss of consciousness or convulsions that can lead to injury from falling down or striking nearby objects. Immediately stop playing and consult a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms. Parents should watch for or ask their children about the above symptoms--children and teenagers are more likely than adults to experience these seizures. The risk of photosensitive epileptic seizures may be reduced by taking the following precautions: - Play in a well-lit room. - Do not play when you are drowsy or fatigued. If you or any of your relatives have a history of seizures or epilepsy, consult a doctor before playing. Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. 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Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property. © & p 1998-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Microsoft Game Studios logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries/regions. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Table of Contents The Tactical Air War........................ 3 What's New to This Theater?................. 7 Preparing for Combat........................ 9 Installing Combat Flight Simulator 3 ... 10 Starting Combat Flight Simulator 3 ..... 12 Calibrating your joystick .............. 13 Setting game options ................... 14 Learning to fly and fight .............. 15 The Main Screen: Four Game Modes........... 17 Quick Combat ........................... 17 Missions ............................... 24 Campaign ............................... 25 Multiplayer ............................ 27 On the Fly................................. 29 Tips and Tricks ........................ 30 Additional Resources....................... 33 Handbooks .............................. 33 Online Help ............................ 35 Combat Flight Simulator Web site ....... 36 Technical Support Options .............. 37 -1- Table of Contents Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo The Tactical Air War So you thought you were going to be a "knight of the air," jousting high in the clean blue sky, far above the mud and squalor of the war on the ground. Instead you find yourself in a fighter-bomber, scraping over hostile territory at 200 feet with the terrain rising to meet you. You're flying down the muzzles of antiaircraft guns to attack the enemy. If cannon fire doesn't get you, the blast and debris from your own low-level bombing and strafing can bring you down. In this kind of war, there's more danger and less glory. WELCOME TO THE TACTICAL AIR WAR, PAL! You're going to use planes like the P-47 "Thunderbolt," the Fw 190, and the Hawker Tempest V to stop the enemy's advance by destroying his entire arsenal. If you destroy enough targets, you can change the shape of the front line and even find yourself in the cockpit of a super-secret plane that has not yet entered service. The enemy means to dominate the European Theater of Operations (ETO), and we can't let that happen. There's a lot to do in this war-let's get to it! LET'S GET TO IT! -2-3- The Tactical Air War THE MISSION OF THE TACTICAL AIR FORCE *** THREE CRITICAL FACTORS FOR FIGHTER-BOMBER PILOTS ...strafing passes... bring out three critical factors in a fighter-bomber pilot's war.... One, any misjudgment, target fixation, or too-late attempts at aiming corrections will send the airplane into the target, ground, or nearby trees or other obstructions. Two, if the target is a load of ammunition or other explosives, it can--and very likely will--explode right in the pilot's face, sending up a fireball, truck parts, slabs of highway, still-to-explode ammo, and other debris right into the path of the airplane. Three, if a pilot is seriously hit by flak in [a] low-altitude attack, his chances of ever reaching enough altitude to allow a bailout are slim indeed.... -From Bill Colgan, World War II Fighter-Bomber Pilot MISSIONS.......... THE MISSION OF THE TACTICAL AIR FORCE CONSISTS OF THREE PHASES OF OPERATIONS IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER OF PRIORITY: FIRST PRIORITY....TO GAIN THE NECESSARY DEGREE OF AIR SUPERIORITY. THIS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ATTACKS AGAINST AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR AND ON THE GROUND, AND AGAINST THOSE ENEMY INSTALLATIONS THAT HE REQUIRES FOR THE APPLICATION OF AIR POWER. SECOND PRIORITY... TO PREVENT THE MOVEMENT OF HOSTILE TROOPS AND SUPPLIES INTO THE THEATER OF OPERATIONS OR WITHIN THE THEATER. THIRD PRIORITY....TO PARTICIPATE IN THE COMBINED EFFORT OF THE AIR AND GROUND FORCES, IN THE BATTLE AREA, TO GAIN OBJECTIVES ON THE IMMEDIATE FRONT OF THE GROUND FORCES. *** -from War Department Field Manual FM 100-20: Command and Employment of Air Power (21 July 1943) the Tactical Air War, a handbook in PDF format found on the Combat Flight Simulator 3 compact disc. B-26 MARAUDERS OVER FRANCE. -4- -5- Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo Read more about the war in Understanding The Tactical Air War Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo What's New to This Theater? Previous versions of Microsoft® Combat Flight Simulator focused mainly on the deadly aerial ballet of dogfighting. This time around, it's you versus the entire ground army: their guns, hardware, and planes. The tactical air war is messy, personal, and very dangerous. To fight this war, you can choose from 18 aircraft (with variants, you get a total of 34 planes). The Aircraft section on page 19 of this manual has more information about planes, as does the Machines of War handbook included on the compact disc. To view this handbook, click the Options tab, click Handbooks, and then click Machines of War. Whether you're a rookie or a veteran, you'll find an appropriate plane for any mission you undertake. You also get to take on new roles, like gunner and bombardier. Some of the bigger ships, like medium bombers, have gun positions and people need to man those guns--people like you. Use the F8 key to hop to the different gunner positions on a plane. Or, use the F7 key to jump into the bombardier's seat. Whatever you do, don't drop bombs on your own troops! Ready? Good! Let's get you in the air! LET 'EM HAVE IT -6-7- What's New to This Theater? Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo Preparing for Combat Getting into the war is easy--follow the steps below to ready your gear and flying skills for battle. 1. Install Combat Flight Simulator 3. 2. Start Combat Flight Simulator 3. 3. Calibrate your joystick. 4. Select or adjust hardware and software settings. 5. Learn how to fly and fight with the handbooks, movies, and missions provided with CFS3. These steps are discussed on the pages that follow. Read on. PILOT BRIEFING IN FRANCE, 1944. WE'RE IN TO WIN -8-9- Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo Preparing for Combat INSTALLING COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 3 Before you can gun down planes and save your troops from the enemy's advance, you need to get squared away with the latest tools, namely, Combat Flight Simulator 3. Compact or full installation? How big is your pack? Do you want to carry around your entire kit or go light and have just the essentials? You can choose from these installation options: Compact Install: Installs the minimum number of files needed, but yields slower performance. Full Install (default): Installs all of the files for the game and provides faster performance. When setup completes, you will be given the option to customize your video configuration. Normally you will want to keep the default settings, but the configuration utility will warn you if it has detected any incompatibilities with your video card or your current drivers. If you change your computer's video card or experience video problems, you can always re-run the configuration utility from the Start menu: click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Combat Flight Simulator 3, and then click CFS3Config. If your computer has automatic install 1. Insert the Combat Flight Simulator 3 compact disc 1 into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Follow the on-screen instructions. If your computer doesn't support automatic install 1. Insert the Combat Flight Simulator 3 compact disc 1 into the CD-ROM drive. 2. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. (For Microsoft Windows® XP, click Start, and then click Control Panel.) 3. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. 4. In the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, click Add New Programs, and then click the CD or Floppy button. 5. Follow the on-screen instructions. - 10 - - 11 - Preparing for Combat STARTING COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 3 The war is on, flyboy! It's time to get your butt into a cockpit and start pushing the front line toward the enemy. Double-click the Combat Flight Simulator 3 icon on the desktop and you're good to go. Or, click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Combat Flight Simulator 3, and then click Combat Flight Simulator 3. Once you start CFS3, use the Quick Combat, Missions, Campaign, and Multiplayer tabs on the lower left to get in the fight. Or, use the Options tab on the upper right to access the handbooks and online Help or to set various game and hardware settings. CALIBRATING YOUR JOYSTICK You can fly with either a joystick or your keyboard, and you can adjust their settings. If you try flying with a joystick that isn't calibrated, you may find yourself chewing grass at 200 m.p.h. instead of bearing down on a train like you wanted. To calibrate your joystick, click Control Options on the Options tab (on the upper-right corner of the Main screen), and then click Calibrate. After you've calibrated your joystick, jump into the cockpit and enjoy the most realistic and accurate combat flight experience available. - 12 - - 13 - Preparing for Combat SETTING GAME OPTIONS What good is a new plane if you can't see out of your goggles or fly straight-and-level? There's a lot to sort out to make sure you can fight this war effectively. Before you get your wheels rolling, adjust the display, sound, and realism options. Adjust your Display Options and Sound Options from the Options tab (on the upper-right corner of the Main screen) to best match the hardware in your computer. You can also adjust how true-to-life your Combat Flight Simulator experience is with Realism Options. By making your plane easy to fly and selecting unlimited ammunition, you can give yourself an edge if you're a novice pilot. Or, you can adjust these settings for a more realistic taste of the tactical air war. The game displays a percentage score showing you how "real" the experience is. The higher the percentage, the more difficult, but realistic, the flight will be when you go on a mission. From the Options tab, you can also adjust Multiplayer settings or use the Flight Recorder. For more information about all of these settings, consult online Help. LEARNING TO FLY AND FIGHT Sure, you can just jump into a plane and take off after the enemy--but you're probably not going to return home. Before you set out, read the handbook, watch the movies, and fly the training missions. Follow this program and you might make it back alive. The Flight School handbook has a great deal of information about how to fly and how to perform air combat maneuvers safely. Read that handbook: click the Options tab, click Handbooks, and then click Flight School. The training movies show examples of some air combat maneuvers, such as the Split-S and other lifesaving maneuvers you need as a tactical air combat pilot. To watch the movies, see Training Materials in online Help. The training missions allow you to practice the flying and combat skills that you read about in the handbook and watched in the training movies. They provide a safer arena for you to practice before you commit to a campaign. For more information about these missions, consult online Help. - 14 - - 15 - Preparing for Combat Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo The Main Screen: Four Game Modes Now that you've learned how to fly and fight, it's time to experience the war through four different game modes: Quick Combat, Missions, Campaign, and Multiplayer. QUICK COMBAT Can't wait to obliterate the enemy? The Quick Combat game mode puts you right where you want to be immediately, whether it's intercepting a bomber or strafing ground targets. Before you start flying, use the Flight Type, Aircraft, Location, Pilot, Skill, and Objective options on the Quick Combat tab to select the specifics of your next fight. Also, be sure to specify your pilot name and attributes. Flight Type Flight types are short combat situations you can put yourself in before undertaking a mission or a campaign. These include Free flight, Dogfight, Intercept, Escort, and Ground Attack. Free Flight lets you roam the skies without enemies or specific targets. Use this opportunity to become familiar with flying the different aircraft or strafing targets. Dogfight puts you close to an enemy that's trying to kill you. Shoot him down before he shoots you down. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? This flight type is great for learning how the enemy flies and practicing aerial combat maneuvers. BACK 'EM UP - 16 - - 17 - The Main Screen: Four Game Modes Intercept has you destroy the enemy's medium bombers before they drop their bombs. You must also stop fighter-bombers before they menace your troops. Escort teams you with bombers on their way to a target so you can protect them from enemy fighters and flak by any means you know. Ground Attack is where your attention is going to be most of the time. You must be able to destroy tanks, trucks, guns, ships, and anything else before they're brought to bear on your troops. When it comes to bombing, you have to use your own reckoning--experience is the best teacher. What you learn here will be especially useful when you fly missions in the Campaign mode. Aircraft Before you fly a quick combat or mission, choose the right aircraft for the job, because if you don't, you're not making it back home. If you're going after a bridge, you might want the P-47. Flying a long way to bomb a few buildings? Maybe the Maurauder is right. If you're not sure what mission is coming next, try the all-purpose Fw 190. You have 18 aircraft (with variants, 34 total planes) to choose from. Your choices even include planes that haven't seen service, like the Go 229, the German jet-powered flying wing, and the American Shooting Star jet fighter. How do you decide which plane to fly? Consult the Machines of War handbook (click the Options tab, click Handbooks, and then click Machines of War) for descriptions of each of the planes--including their strengths and weaknesses and how much ordnance they carry. To choose a flight type 1. On the Quick Combat tab, click Flight Type. 2. On the Flight Type tab, click the flight type you want to use. 3. Click the Fly button to start your Quick Combat session. To select an aircraft 1. On the Quick Combat tab, click Aircraft. 2. On the Aircraft tab, click the flag of the country you want to pick a plane from, and then click the name of the plane you want to fly. After you choose an aircraft, you control its fuel and ammo load, loadout (the configuration of bombs, fuel tanks, and rockets), and number of wingmen. To change your fuel or ammunition load, click the corresponding red bar and slide it left for less load, right for more. To select the loadout and number of wingmen, use the drop-down menus. Note that "Clean" means no bombs or extra fuel tanks. - 18 - - 19 - The Main Screen: Four Game Modes Location You can choose where the battle takes place. Change the location based on where you would prefer to fight and practice. Assigning pilot attributes In CFS3, you can adjust your vision, g-tolerance, and health. Vision influences how far away you can spot enemies. If you can't see the bad guys, you're going to lose the advantage right from the start when they line up their attack on you. With better vision, you can see more information displayed about foes at a greater range. G-tolerance dictates how extreme you can fly without blacking out. You remember those books from flight school with fancy arrows showing you which way to jerk your aircraft when you get into trouble? If you can't take the Gs, you might as well stay on the ground reading about it. Health controls how much damage you can withstand while inside the cockpit. Let's face it: You're going to be flying low enough for a one-eyed cook with a carbine to put a slug into your knee--and then you have to make it back to the base without bleeding out. Not to make you nervous, but you could die painfully on one of these missions. Health is the only thing you have to keep that from happening. If you have skill points available, you can increase one or more attribute values without taking a hit on the others; if not, you can still adjust the attribute values. If you're serious about doing the job and making it back alive, decide for yourself which attributes you'll need most. Pilot As a pilot in CFS3, you're more than some name sewn onto a fancy flight jacket. You have attributes associated with human qualities, such as vision and how many Gs you can pull. Adjust these qualities to be the type of pilot you prefer, be it an eagle-eyed flyer, a toughas-nails gunner, or someone who can pull out of any kind of dive. You can also choose your nationality and see how the other side is fighting the war. - 20 - - 21 - The Main Screen: Four Game Modes To flesh out your pilot attributes, go to the Quick Combat, Missions, or Campaign tab, and then click Pilot. On the Pilot tab, click the name of the pilot you want to fly as. To adjust an attribute, slide its red bar to the left or right to decrease or increase it. Skill Not everyone flies the same and that's true of the enemy. You can choose your enemy's skill level and their position relative to you by clicking Skill on the Quick Combat tab. Your enemies can be rookies, veterans, or aces. Rookies perform, well, like you. Veterans shoot straight and can make more extreme maneuvers with their planes. Aces are expert veteran pilots and present the most serious threat. For dogfights, fighter position determines the enemy's position relative to your own. You have three options: disadvantaged, equal, and advantaged. Select disadvantaged to start behind the enemy, select equal to go head-tohead, or select advantaged to start with a bogey on your tail and firing at you. Good thing you have high health and g-tolerance, right? Viewing your dossier The government loves paperwork and tracks how many medals you've won, your ratio of kills to the number of times you've died, the number of enemies you've killed, and so on. To see this information, click your name on the Pilot tab, and then click the Stats tab. The bombing, gunnery, and rocketry ratings reflect how accurate you are with your country's ordnance. The sole reason you're in Europe is to deliver this firepower onto the enemy, got it? If you can't shoot straight, there's really no point in getting in the cockpit in the first place. Fighter and Bomber When you choose a new mission or quick combat, you can select your objective, such as bombing a bridge or strafing a train. On the Quick Combat tab, make this choice under Ground; on the Missions tab, make it after clicking Mission. See online Help for more information about ground targets in Quick Combat. - 22 - - 23 - The Main Screen: Four Game Modes MISSIONS The Missions game mode, selected from the Missions tab on the Main screen, lets you choose from Historical, What If, and Training missions. Historical missions are scenarios that occurred in history and are based on accounts of actual pilots and official records. What If missions are missions that might have been if events had played out differently in the war. For example, what if the Germans had been able to deploy more of their jet planes sooner? Training missions are designed to help you become familiar with the tasks you will have to perform during your military-sponsored stay in scenic Europe. To go on a mission, select the mission title, and then click Go To Briefing. The briefing describes what your targets are and where they're located. Consult online Help for more information about items in the briefing. The Missions tab also has Aircraft, Pilot, and Skill tabs, which are described in this manual on pages 19, 20, and 23, respectively. CAMPAIGN The Campaign game mode, selected from the Campaign tab on the Main screen, allows you to fly consecutive missions and earn medals and promotions if you perform well. The options associated with flying a campaign are documented in online Help. Changing the front line Campaigns are all about pushing the front line right back to the enemy's capital. Your actions on the field of battle directly affect the position of the front line. The better you perform, the more ground the enemy loses and the more we gain--it's ultimately that simple. Campaigns begin with a look at the map of the European Theater of Operations (ETO). This map shows your air bases, enemy air bases (and other targets), and locations of interest. The map also includes the front line, which shows the progress of your fellow troops in the ETO. The front line is influenced by your performance: if you win a battle, the front line moves to reflect your victory, and likewise, if the enemy wins, it reflects his gain. - 24 - - 25 - The Main Screen: Four Game Modes Earning medals and promotions Push the enemy back far enough and you might earn a medal. Here's the lowdown on the awards and how you can earn them from the three air powers--U.S. Army Air Force (USAFF), British Air Force (RAF), and German Air Force (GAF): Award 1--First air kill or fourth ground kill. USAAF: Distinguished Flying Cross RAF: Air Force Medal GAF: Iron Cross Award 2--Three air kills or twelve ground kills in a single mission. USAAF: Legion of Merit RAF: Distinguished Flying Cross (officers), Distinguished Flying Medal (enlisted) GAF: German Cross Award 3--Ten air kills or forty ground kills. USAAF: Silver Star RAF: Distinguished Service Order GAF: Knight's Cross Award 4--Fifteen air kills or sixty ground kills. USAAF: Distinguished Service Cross RAF: Victoria Cross GAF: Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves Ace Award--Five air kills or twenty ground kills. USAAF, GAF: Letter of Commendation RAF: Mention in Dispatches Wounded Award--Pilot wounded. USAAF: Purple Heart GAF: Gold Wound Badge (severe injuries), Silver (serious), Black (minor injuries) MULTIPLAYER You and your buddies can fight the war over the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Consult online Help for more information about how to set up a multiplayer game. - 26 - - 27 - The Main Screen: Four Game Modes On the Fly When you're flying, you must use your plane's instruments and watch for enemy aircraft. Instruments are vital to completing any mission. Your onboard instruments display crucial information like altitude and air speed. As you become more experienced with dropping bombs and strafing, you'll learn which altitudes and speeds are best for each type of attack. For information about an instrument, move your mouse cursor over the instrument to view rollover Help. The Virtual Cockpit (turned on and off with the F3 key) allows you to look around your aircraft freely using the hat switch on your joystick. Your instrument panel works in this view. Press the NUM LOCK key to toggle between panning and snap-to views with the hat switch. When you're flying a fighter-bomber, you can shoot and drop bombs from the cockpit, but when you're in other planes, you must jump to the bombardier seat (press F7) or gunner position (press F8) to perform these tasks. To jump back to the pilot seat, press F6. In the bombardier position, you can use a bombsight for more accurate bombing, and you can make minor flight path corrections, but nothing extreme. In the gunner position, however, you can't make any flight corrections, so unless you want to watch your plane crash, get it flying straight-and-level before you leave the cockpit. IN THE OFFICE - 28 - 29 - On the Fly TIPS AND TRICKS Your missions are dangerous and the only way to get through them all is to fly, shoot, and bomb well. Here are some tips you can use when you climb into the cockpit. Read. Watch. Do. You can learn how to fight effectively in this theater through three resources: handbooks, training movies, and training missions. The handbooks provide you with all of the information you need to know. The training movies show you a few key maneuvers you need to learn. The training missions let you practice these skills. Access the handbooks through the Options tab, the movies through online Help, and the training missions through the Missions tab. Know your aircraft. Understand the strengths and weaknesses of the planes you fly and those of the enemy as well. Some aircraft are particularly good or bad for any particular mission. The Machines of War handbook on the compact disc is an excellent resource for this information. Recognize their aircraft. Don't shoot your buddy! Planes can look alike, especially from a great distance. Use the Machines of War handbook to learn how to distinguish an Fw 190 from a Thunderbolt, a Mustang from an Me 109, and a Ju 88 from a Mosquito. Don't get shot. If your plane is taking hits from another plane, you're doing something wrong. Nothing is worse than getting shot so you're free to try anything to shake the enemy loose, no matter how risky. If you practice, practice. If you plan on flying with the flight model set to "Hard," then do not practice on a setting lower than "Medium." Practicing on a lower setting teaches you bad habits that can get you killed when combat starts. Don't be a cowboy. Tactical combat is a tough job and not every mission is going to be winnable the first time you fly it. It's better to live to fight another day, so instead of fighting to the death, bug out of a deteriorating combat situation that could cost the lives of too many of your fellow pilots. Get some distance if you can, regroup, and aim to win the campaign, not the battle of the moment. Keep an eye out. When focusing on a bomb run or making sure you can find your target, it's easy to forget that there are enemy planes in the sky whose only purpose is to shoot you down. Watch what's behind you as well as what's in front. Avoid fixation. It's easier than you think to forget about the ground and then fly right into it. Don't focus on a target so closely that you neglect to leave yourself enough altitude to pull out of a dive. Set trim. Set your engine power to 70% (press the 7 key), and then let go of your joystick to see if your plane climbs or dives on its own. If it does, the trim may not be set properly, which can be a problem when you're flying ten feet off the ground. Use the 1 and 7 keys on the numerical keypad to set the trim so your plane flies level on its own. Know your computer. There's a lot to tweak on your computer to make the game run smoothly. Experiment with the settings in CFS3 to see which options create the most satisfying game experience for you. - 30 - - 31 - On the Fly Air Force Historical Research Agency Photo Additional Resources Combat Flight Simulator 3 has three main information sources to help you fight better: handbooks, online Help, and the Combat Flight Simulator Web site. HANDBOOKS The Combat Flight Simulator 3 compact disc includes three in-depth handbooks in PDF format: Machines of War, Understanding the Tactical Air War, and Flight School. These handbooks cover the planes and weapons, the war, and flight instruction. To look at any of these handbooks, click the Options tab, and then click Handbooks. To view or print these documents, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is included on the compact disc. Here's the lowdown on what you'll learn in each of these handbooks. Machines of War handbook This handbook includes intriguing historical notes about each of the 18 planes you can fly and the technical data you need to fly them. Plus, you'll find information on the weapons you'll use and the enemy vehicles you'll blow up. Understanding the Tactical Air War handbook The tactical air war was, for its time, a whole new way to wage war, and there were many theories as to how to put the limited number of planes and pilots available to the best use. Some felt that air power should operate independently; others thought it should be under the command of the army. This handbook gives you KEEP 'EM FLYING - 32 - - 33 - Additional Resources a historical perspective on how the tactical air war was fought. ONLINE HELP Online Help details the procedures for using the settings and features of Combat Flight Simulator 3. In addition, you can easily access a list of key commands in-game or use mouse rollover Help to learn the function of all of the cockpit instruments. Flight School handbook This handbook illustrates the basics of flying as well as air combat maneuvers, and it has instructions for accessing the training material in CFS3. The handbook begins with the basics of flying aircraft. You may want to read through this section, even if you're familiar with flying in general, because flying aircraft in this theater and situation requires you to remember details like the importance of using trim when flying at low altitudes. After the basics, the handbook covers combat maneuvers. Every pilot should know these maneuvers cold. By reading about them, you will understand how they work and know what to do when something goes wrong right in the middle of executing a maneuver. With the information in the handbook in mind, you're free to turn your attention to the training movies and missions. To access online Help - Press F1 (or click Help from the Options tab). To see a list of key commands - Press F2. To use mouse rollover Help - Put your mouse cursor over an instrument or other object in the cockpit to learn about its function. Some instruments (such as the altimeter) deliver constantly updated information. - 34 - - 35 - Additional Resources COMBAT FLIGHT SIMULATOR WEB SITE As a CFS3 pilot, you will want the latest intelligence. The best place to get this information is the CFS3 Insider Web site at http://www.cfsinsider.com. Go to the CFS3 Insider Web site for all kinds of information about the game including: - The latest news and information about Combat Flight Simulator 3 - Campaign information and historical details - Air combat techniques that will help you fly and fight better - News, hints, tips, and tricks to enhance your success in single- and multiplayer arenas - Information and materials on the history of the game, including interviews with pilots who fought this campaign and lived to tell the tale - Additional information on the multitude of aircraft models and variants in CFS3 - Add-ons, technical data, and SDK (software development kit) information for those who want to get into the guts of the game TECHNICAL SUPPORT OPTIONS For all of our support offerings, visit http://microsoft.com/support/. In Canada, visit http://microsoft.ca/support/. To get started, try the following: - For articles targeted at specific issues, visit the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://microsoft.com/support/. - To work with a Microsoft Support Professional over the Internet, submit your issue at http: //support.microsoft.com/directory/onlinesr.asp. - For your product's general support policy, visit http://support.microsoft.com/directory/ productsupportoption.asp. *** Phone Support: In the U.S., call (425) 637-9308. In Canada, call (905) 568-3503 (toll charges may apply). These numbers are for technical issues only­-do not use them to request game hints, codes, or cheats. TTY Users: Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services are available at (425) 635-4948 in Washington State, (800) 892-5234 in the U.S., and (905) 568-9641 (toll charges may apply) in Canada. Worldwide: Support outside the U.S. and Canada may vary. For regional contact details, visit http://microsoft.com/support/. Conditions: Microsoft's support services are subject to then-current prices, terms, and conditions, which are subject to change without notice. - 36 - - 37 - Additional Resources