The A-10 Attack! FAQ Version 1.0 Compiled by Petteri Sulonen psulonen@helsinki.fi http://www.cs.hut.fi/~psu/ Table of Contents Introduction Section I: About A-10 Attack! What is A-10 Attack!? System requirements Speed tips Bugs Crashes The amazing self-repairing runways The bad spelling and grammar Announced but as yet unimplemented features Save Mission Networking Section II: Playing the game Taking control of a plane Waypoints and battle plans Assigning new waypoints Changing your mind Tips about placing waypoints Managing ordnance What weapon to use where? The CCIP Managing loadouts Section III: Where to get background info? Internet resources Documents Introduction This FAQ is meant to help solve some of the problems the beginner Hog driver is liable to run into. It is a compilation of stuff I've discovered myself, stuff that's been posted at comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim, and stuff from certain WWW sites. Some major sources are Tom Morrison, Scott Cherkofsky, Tim van der Leeuw, and Art Day. They've provided invaluable background information on the game, the plane, and many related topics, and made it available on various WWW sites. This FAQ will not (at this point, anyway) include any of this rich background info - if you decide you like A-10 Attack!, it's strongly suggested that you check it out yourself - there are pointers in Section III of the FAQ. Instead this is a "bare-bones" FAQ that only includes the truly most frequently asked questions. One more thing: this document is anything but definitive. Suggestions, tips, questions, answers, comments, resources etc. are welcome - mail them to me (psulonen@helsinki.fi), and I'll include them in the next update to this FAQ. This FAQ is freely distributable, but please distribute it only in its original form. Oh yeah: All trademarks are property of their respective owners; when they are used here it is for an editorial purpose and does not constitute an infringement. Section I: About A-10 Attack! What is A-10 Attack!? A-10 Attack! is a game by Parsoft Publishing International that combines a combat flight simulator with a tactical game. It features the best flight modelling currently available on the Macintosh (or, many argue, on any microcomputer), a wide variety of ordnance, many different kinds of vehicles, and a "virtual battlefield environment". The latter means that it is easily expandable with plug-in type modules. Parsoft has announced its intention to release VBE modules with more missions, more maps, more aircraft to fly, etc. System requirements A-10 Attack! requires System 7.0 or newer, 4 MB of free memory, a 640 x 480 pixel or bigger 256-color (or grayscale) monitor, and a 68030 or faster. It fully supports larger and multiple monitors. It is partly Power Macintosh optimized. It performs best on the new PowerPC 604-based machines and the Quadra 840AV. Performance is acceptable on all Power Macintoshes, especially after implementing the speed-up tricks described below. Speed tips (These are from Tom Morrison's flight sim page, http://www.xmission.com/~morrison/MFS/home.html.) o Move the "PowerPC Only" VBE file into the same level (folder) as the A-10 Attack! game. (PowerMac only!) o Re-boot with all inits/cdevs off, except your joystick software and software required for the game. o Switch to 256 colors. o Close all Finder windows (like Launcher, Monitors) and quit all background applications. o Trash your A-10 prefs file (don't trash your pilot file if you want them), re-boot, rebuild desktop and re-enter your serial number. o Install the native sound manager (or don't use sound manager for sound.) o Quit the Finder using an AppleScript, a dedicated program such as NoFinder, or with a system modifcation program that adds a "Quit" to the Finder's file menu. An appropriate AppleScript would be: tell application "Finder" quit end tell Bugs A-10 Attack! 1.0 is something of a rough diamond. There are many documented bugs and some rather inexplicable ones. Here are some: Crashes Several people have reported crashes especially when switching from tactical view to simulator view and back and when firing large ripples of HVR's. There seems to be no easy fix for this. The game is somewhat sensitive to INIT conflicts and low memory situations, so it is advisable to give the game as much memory as possible and to play with minimum extensions. The amazing self-repairing runways Runway damage is not handled correctly. Bomb craters in runways disappear in less than a minute. This is very annoying, as one very nicely modeled weapon, the Durandal, becomes next to useless. Also, this makes it impossible to try alternate approaches to certain missions. Parsoft has promised a fix. The bad spelling and grammar The mission briefings are abysmally badly written, with spelling and grammar errors galore. Obviously this doesn't affect actual flight much, but it is annoying. Announced but as yet unimplemented features Save Mission The manual (page 3-15) states that the File menu includes commands for saving and reloading missions. This is not true, more's the pity. The commands in question are to be implemented in a future update. Networking One of the most hyped-about things about A-10 Attack! (before release!) was networking. This did not make it into version 1.0, but Parsoft has promised a free update for it. Section II: Playing the game Taking control of a plane To take control of a Hog, you drag a pilot from your pilot roster to it. The pilot with the red check mark next to it is the one that the Return to Cockpit command will return to. You can move the check mark by clicking next to a pilot. You can take command of any plane with a pilot in it by selecting Take Command from the chit pop-up menu. Note that taking command of a plane disables the battle AI of the plane - after that, the autopilot will just fly the plane from waypoint to waypoint. Waypoints and battle plans The most confusing part about A-10 Attack! is the waypoint system. It's badly documented and the user interface isn't too good either. However, once you get the hang of it, it isn't so bad. Much of the enjoyment in the game comes from being able to make your own battle plans and implement them; therefore it's worth the trouble to figure out the system. To begin with, in most missions one A-10 has pre-set waypoints. It's represented by a chit with the waypoint symbol (sort of like crosshairs) in the corner. Chits that don't have that symbol don't have assigned waypoints. There is no way to copy a set of waypoints from one plane to another; you have to place each waypoint separately. Assigning new waypoints 1. Select the waypoint tool from the palette. 2. Select the plane you want to give waypoints. To do this, select New Waypoints from the chit pop-up menu (hold down the mouse button on the little arrow in the appropriate chit to see the menu). If the plane already has waypoints, select Way Info. You'll notice that a waypoint marked IN (initial) will turn red. 3. Add the first waypoint. Hold down the option key. The cursor will change to a boxed "+". Click wherever you want to place the waypoint. 4. Add the other waypoints. Repeat step 3 for all other waypoints. 5. Move the waypoints. If you like, you can move around the waypoints with the waypoint tool. 6. Add waypoints in the middle. If you like you can add waypoints in the middle of the path by holding down the option key and clicking on a line between two waypoints. Useful for rounding out tight turns. If you just want to use the waypoints as navigational aids for the plane you're going to fly, this is enough. However, if you want to "program" the autopilot of the computer-controlled planes, read on: 7. Assign attributes to waypoints. Waypoints can be assigned different kinds of attributes, including targets, airspeed, and altitude. Note that the attributes only take effect once your plane arrives at the waypoint. a. Altitude and airspeed In the waypoint window, click on the line representing a waypoint. To the left are two fields. Enter the desired airspeed in the Set Vel: field, and the desired altitude in the Set Alt: field. Check the TFR box if you want the Hog to use its terrain following radar instead of barometric altitude. b. Targets You can set the Hog to search for targets. Select the desired target type(s) from the pop-up menu labeled Targets:. This will cause the Hog to start looking for targets at the waypoint in question; i.e., if you put the waypoint directly on top of a target the plane will be past it before it sees it. (See below for tips about placing waypoints.) c. Actions The Hog knows how to take two actions: Take Off and Land. If you want the Hog to take off by itself, you must give the first waypoint in the list the Take Off command (with the check box). If the Hog is on the airfield, it will take off. If you put a waypoint lined up with a runway (not on the runway!) and give it the Land command, the Hog will land. 8. Switch on the TACAN with the On button in the waypoint window. Off he goes! Changing your mind If you want to change the attributes for a waypoint, note that the commands only take effect if the altered waypoint is after the current waypoint. To make sure, you should use the Next button to scroll once through the waypoint list - this updates all the commands. Tips about placing waypoints Targets Do NOT place a waypoint with a Targets: command directly on top (or even very close to!) a target. Instead, place the waypoints so that the flight path of the plane goes over the targets, and have the plane look for targets well in advance. This gives the pilot time to deploy his weapons. Also, note that hills block line of sight - if you're having your pilot sneak on a SAM site from behind a hill, he might not see it until it's too late to shoot it. Tight turns If the Hog is damaged or heavily loaded (or if you're assigning waypoints to C-5's), the poor pilot might fly his plane into the ground when trying to pull a tight turn close to the ground. Most commonly this happens when you have the initial waypoint at one end of the runway and waypoint 1 "behind" the plane - the pilot will start a tight turn immediately after take-off and may crash. To avoid this, either drag the initial waypoint to the right end of the runway or use more waypoints to round out the curve. Flying into hills If a heavily loaded and/or damaged Hog flies low and slow and runs into a hill, it might not have enough power to clear it, and you might lose a perfectly good pilot and plane for nothing. Make sure your damaged Hogs get to limp home safely by giving them enough altitude in the waypoints! Threats If enemy chits (especially radar!) appear under your flight paths, take some action - otherwise your planes are liable to be cut to shreds by SAMs. Either take out the SAM site or move the waypoints so that the planes will steer clear of the site. Landing It's a good idea to use two waypoints to set up for landing - one placed some way back from the end of the runway, with the Land command, and another before it so that the flight path of the plane is parallel to the runway. Otherwise damaged or heavily laden planes might find the maneuvering a bit too tough. Besides, it makes lining up easier for you, the human pilot, as well. Managing ordnance There's a bewildering amount of ordnance in A-10 Attack!. This section includes some tips about managing your inventory. What weapon to use where? Read through the manual pages 5-1 to 5-8 to get an idea of what the different weapons do. Not all of the uses of the weapons are very well documented, though: Durandals As stated in the Bugs section, Durandals are next to useless as the runway damage is repaired very quickly. They're also a beast to target, as the CCIP is useless with them because they're not free-fall bombs. A good technique is to fly over the runway as if you're landing but at a couple of hundred feet and ripple about 4 - 6 of them with the FAR (Feels About Right) method. But for the bug, this would really mess up a runway. Hyper-velocity rockets (HVRs) HVRs are very useful, as they're so fast they don't need much leading and they do a lot of damage. A ripple of 6 with an interval of 1 tears up most everything. They're rather devastating against other aircraft, too. The AGM-88A HARM The HARM is useful not only against ground-based radar sources, but also against radar-emitting aircraft (such as the MiG-29). I don't know if this would work in real life, though. It carries a much bigger warhead than the A/A missiles, but it turns slower. Note that in A-10 Attack! the ground-based radar is fairly smart: it doesn't just sit there and wait to be hit. Instead, it only switches on the radar when it is needed - this means that HARMs are often usable only at close range. HARMs generally hit when fired at 1000 - 4000 feet as soon as a radar source is detected. The CCIP The A-10 CCIP is not as sophisticated as in some newer aircraft. Furthermore, wind increases the difficulty of bombing, as you might be flying somewhat diagonally relative to the ground. Practice makes perfect, though - fly the Air to Ground training mission and practice CCIP bombing. You should be flying level when the bombs are released. The CCIP "inaccuracy" is not a bug, though - it's a feature. Managing loadouts The variety of ordnance and the large number of hardpoints pose a problem: in the heat of battle, it can be tough to select the right weapon. Three solutions have been proposed. "Cheat." Hit Command-P to pause the game, then select the ordnance at leisure, then return to game. Of course, this isn't exactly fair - and probably won't work with networked games once they become available. Use Post-Its on the function keys. Paste a Post-It (or similar) next to each function key, specifying which weapon is at which hardpoint. Helps a lot! Standardize your loadouts. In other words, decide which hardpoints to use for which weapons and memorize them. The "general-purpose" mix I use has Mavericks at points 3 and 9, Mk 82's at points 4 and 8, HVR pods at 2 and 10 and an ECM pod at 1. For specialized missions use loadouts with fewer different kinds of weapons - for radar-busting, say, load up with an ECM at pod 1, Mavericks at 3 and 9, and HARMs in all the other hardpoints. For a carpet-bombing mission, just load up with free-fall ordnance at every hardpoint. Once you decide on a "system" to use, you'll find that it's easy to find the right weapon at the right time. Ripples Rippling ordnance is especially useful for two things: free-fall bombs (carpet bombing) and HVRs. If you're carrying enough bombs for carpet bombing, you probably won't be carrying HVRs, and vice versa. This means that you can "pre-set" your ripple to match your mission - for example, ripple count 6 and interval 1 for HVR's, and ripple count 4 and interval 8 for carpet bombing. Set these before you actually get into battle. When you're in combat, all you have to do is switch between RMS (single) and RMRS (ripple). (If you want something in between, use RMP and RMRP instead of diddling with the actual ripple setting.) Of course, some sort of programmable weapons system controller (the Thrustmaster WCS, a game pad or the as yet unreleased CH Products Pro Throttle) would help a lot here - you could just program one button for RMS and another for RMRS. Section III: Where to get background info? There's a lot of info available about A-10 Attack!, the A-10 plane, the various weapons and related topics. Internet resources o The comp.sys.mac.games.flight-sim newsgroup. This is where the action (well, discussion of action) is. o Tom Morrison's flight sim home page: http://www.xmission.com/~morrison/MFS/home.html The best archive of Mac flight-sim related stuff. o Scott Cherkofsky's flight sim home page: http://www.shirenet.com/~crusader/html/Flight_Simulators.html. Another archive of stuff related to Mac flight sims. Notably, the Things to do, Places to see list can be found here. o Tim van der Leeuw's A-10 Attack! home page: http://www.cs.vu.nl/~tnleeuw/A10/index.html o Todd Hartmann's home page: http://www.metronet.com/~toddh/. The documents below can be found at these sites. Documents: o "A-10 Flying Qualities" by Art Day A very detailed and enjoyable tour of the A-10 Attack! flight model. Taught me that "Dutch roll" isn't some kind of pastryŠ o "A-10 FAQ€Rev 1.1" This is an FAQ about A-10 the plane, not A-10 the game. It contains lots of info about the Hog, the Avenger gun, and related topics. Definitely worth a read! o "A-10 Attack! demo help" by Michael Hutchens A how-to guide for the A-10 Attack! demo. A bit dated now that the actual game is out, but worth a look.