Confirmed Kill FAQ version 7
Compiled by Dave "French" Chaloux
Edited by Bryan Walker, Simulations Producer, Domark Software
(Updated 22 August 95, current with CK version 0.91)
Table of Contents
**Type "A" Personality Section: ("Do I look like some instruction-reading
sissy?? I want to some action NOW!!)**
1.0 What is Confirmed Kill?
2.0 What Aircraft will be Modelled?
3.0 What kind of system do I need to run it?
4.0 Where do I get the FE software?
4.1 How do I connect to CK?
4.2 How do I find a good Internet Provider?
5.0 What does it cost to play?
6.0 Speed Optimization
6.1 Why do S3 cards have special support?
6.2 What does this error message mean?
6.2.1 "Domain Error in ACOS"
6.2.2 "Bad Checksum Error"
6.2.3 "You must download the art file"
7.0 Will CK have...
7.0.1 An Arena for Beginners?
7.0.2 Multiple-player/crewmember planes?
7.0.3 Modeling of collisions?
7.0.4 TCP support built into the FE?
7.0.5 A historical arena?
7.0.6 H2H offline play?
8.0 How do I...
8.0.1 Lock the tailwheel on takeoff?
8.0.2 Access the easier flight model?
8.0.3 Check how good my internet connection is?
8.0.4 Recover from losing updates to all players?
8.0.5 Recover from being grounded?
8.0.6 Stop the rapid jittering in the planes position?
8.0.7 Recover from a spin?
8.0.8 Tell what country I am from?
8.0.9 Use the radio?
8.0.9.1 What are all these abbreviations I see people using on the
radio??
8.0.9.2 What are those voices I keep hearing??
8.0.10 Make my joystick work with my GUS?
8.0.11 Capture airfields?
8.0.12 Set my fuel level?
8.0.13 Load Bombs and Rockets?
8.0.14 Turn faster?
9.0 Do ...
9.0.1 Bombs and other ordnance affect the flight model?
9.0.2 Flaps and gear down have any affect?
9.0.3 Planes burn any fuel?
9.0.4 More about fuel consumption and loading
10.0 Why ...
10.0.1 Do the distant planes warp?
10.0.2 Do I need to trim my plane?
10.0.2.1 What's that line moving around above my gunsight?
10.0.3 Do some planes seem to warp and others don't?
11.0 Should I use Error Correction and Data Compression?
12.0 Where's the Action?
13.0 What's good etiquette?
14.0 What are the various "." commands to use in HQ?
14.0.1 What Are All the In-Flight Commands?
15.0 When's the boxed version coming out?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
**Type "A" Personality Section: ("Do I look like some instruction-reading
sissy?? I want to some action NOW!!)**
Here's a very concise breakdown on how a brand-new player would
go about playing Confirmed Kill:
1) Make sure that your local internet provider offers "UNIX
shell" access at 9600 baud or faster. (See section 4.0, 4.1,
and 4.2)
2) Make sure you have AT LEAST a 33MHz 486DX machine with
8 megabytes of RAM. (See section 3.0) A Soundblaster-compatible
sound card and joystick is required, as well.
3) Get an account on the ICI2.INFOHWY.COM server by using any
Terminal Emulation (modem) program such as QuickLink or Procomm
to log onto your local internet provider and TELNET to
ICI2.INFOHWY.COM. Log in as "new" (no quotes) and use
"pizza" for your password. Fill out all the information, except
your credit card number. MAKE SURE to fill out something in the
2nd Address block. Select your login and password, as well as
your 4-letter identifier that you want other pilots in the game
to see. (Keep it clean, please...)
4) Make sure that you have the latest software, currently
CKBASE91.EXE, and ART320V1.EXE if you plan on running in VGA
mode, or ART640V1.EXE if you wish to run in SVGA mode. (This software can be
downloaded from both the ICI and Domark Software home pages.)
Keep in mind that a 486 will likely require an S3-chipset card, or
a very strong VESA graphics card like the Hercules Stingray
or Matrox Millenium to play in SVGA. (See section 6.0)
Remember that you must "run" each of the files to decompress
them and play CK. (See section 4.0)
5) Go to the directory you installed these files and configure the
software for your system. First, you'll need to run GETVESA, then
SETSOUND. Note that CK (version .91) WILL NOT run without a sound
card or joystick.
6) Type CK to run the game.
7) Use the mouse pointer to select the CNFG option.
8) Select the Serial CNFG option and enter your modem's settings.
9) Select the Stick option to select which type of joystick, throttle,
and rudder pedals you're using. Make sure to Calibrate them.
10) Exit CK by selecting the EXIT option.
11) Restart CK, by typing CK -ON for 320x200 graphics, or CK -V -ON for
640x480 graphics. If you have a Diamond Stealth 64 or other graphics
card that runs the S3 864, 964, 868, or 968 chipset, you can use
the CK -S0 -ON command to run with accelerated SVGA graphics.
12) Once the game opens to the briefing room, type ATDT#######. (The
phone number to you local internet provider.)
13) CK will dial your modem for you. Log into your internet provider as
you usually would.
15) Once you've logged into your internet provider, make sure that your
modem type is set to VT100 emulation by typing the TERM=100 command.
16) Type TELNET ICI2.INFOHWY.COM to access the CK host.
17) Enter your login ID and password.
18) Select B from the Main Menu to select the CK arena.
19) Using the mouse, click on the Select option button, and select the
country color of your choice. You can also do this by typing .country #, (1-4).
20) Type .fields and view which airfields are available to your country's
aircraft to take off from.
21) Choose a functional airfield by clicking on Select, then clicking on
the airfield of your choice. You can also perform this function by
typing .move f#, where # is the number of your chosen field. Keep in
mind that airfields can be attacked and disabled at any moment, so
it pays to do this quickly. (See Section 8.0.8)
22) Choose the aircraft you wish to by again clicking on the Select button and
choosing the Plane option. For new players, the P-38 is
usually the best choice, since its contra-rotating propellers eliminate most
torque effect that single-engined aircraft suffer
and make it easier to fly. You can also perform this function by
typing .plane 4.
23) You can choose to increase the performance of your plane by reducing
the amount of fuel you're carrying. You can do this by typing
.fuel ##, where ## is the percentage of the planes total internal
fuel capacity. A P-38 uses a lot of fuel, so don't select less than
50% fuel unless you intend to fly for only a short time. (See
Section 8.0.12.)
24) If you want, you can load your aircraft with rockets and bombs by
typing .rockets ## and .bombs #. The P-38 can carry up to 20 rockets
and 4 bombs at once, but the plane is VERY sluggish with this much
loaded. (See Section 8.0.13.)
25) Type .radio 1 10#, where # is the number of your country. 1=Red,
2=Green, 3=Gold, and 4=Purple. This allows you to privately talk to
other countrymembers by pressing the "/" key. (See Section 8.0.9)
26) Press the F1 key to view the Map. Check out the closest enemy field,
or ask your other countrymen where the action is.
27) Time to go for it! Select the FLY option with the mouse, or type
.fly.
28) (In the cockpit) Type E to start your engines and 0 (zero) to hit
full throttle. When your airspeed indicator (right guage) shows
about 100, gently pull the stick back and press G to raise your
landing gear. Use the Map to find the crosshairs representing your
position, and find a fight!
29) Hook up with another countrymember flying near you, let them know
you're new, and listen to their tips. You'll have a lot more fun
that way!
1.0 What is Confirmed Kill?
Confirmed Kill is flight simulation based on WWII aircraft that
can be played online against hundreds of other players at the same
time. The people who wrote this game cut their teeth playing
Kesmai's Air Warrior (AW), and wanted to take that concept to the
next level. Some of the more notable features of this game are its
force-based flight model, ballistics, location-specific damage
model, and full-screen, multiple-resolution graphics system. The
graphics of other planes in flight are quite detailed and included
texture maps for nose art and other insignias.
The force-based flight model means that the way aircraft behave
is based on the various forces that act on the airplane instead of
being derived from a set of "look-up" tables. Force models
have much more accurate "feels" and avoid the "seams" that
table-based flight modelling suffers from. Because of this, things
like the vortices created by your prop effect, flat spins, tail
slides, torque and rudder/rolls coupling are all part of the game.
Accelerated stalls can throw you upside down or into a spin if
you're not careful. Because some people may find that the flight
model is too realistic to be fun, a somewhat less realistic flight
model is available (for a separate arena).
The ballistics and damage model are also quite realistic and
detailed. Instead of shooting at a "hit bubble" that surrounds a
plane, you actually have to hit a particular part of the plane and
the damage you do is based on the part you hit. Hit the fuel tank
and the plane explodes. Hit the right wing enough and it falls off.
Chew up the rear end and the horizontal stabilizer will come apart.
Partial damage is also possible. Individual guns are modeled for
rate of fire, ammuntion capacity, muzzle velocity, and even
"convergence," an adjustable range where the bullet streams from
the guns meet in front of the aircraft. Machine guns can be fired
independently of cannons so they can be used to zero in on the prey
and the cannons can be used to finish them off. Other weapons
such as rockets, torpedoes, and different types of bombs can also be
employed.
The full screen view is another nice feature. 90 degrees of view is
mapped to the full screen. What this means in practice is that the
planes are large enough to show the nice, detailed, texture mapped shapes
in combat without artificially making the planes bigger than they should
be. When you take that right wing off the other guy, you can see it!
2.0 What Aircraft will be Modeled?
The first 15 aircraft to be modeled will be:
A6m5 Zero
KI-84 Frank
VAL
P-51D
P-38J
P-39C
F4U-1D
Spitfire Mk. VIII
Me-109G
FW-190A4
JU-87G2 and B2
ME-110C
IL-10
B-17G
A-26B
The first Historical scenario will be the Solomon Islands
campaign. These aircraft will be present there:
KI-61 Tony
G4M- Betty
D4Y2-Judy
B6N -Jill
______________
B25
F4Fs, and/or F6Fs
SBD-3 Dauntless
TBF-3 Avenger
PBY Catalina
All significant variants of each aircraft type will be modeled.
3.0 What kind of system do I need to run it?
The stated minimum requirements are:
486 *DX* 33 MHz
VGA Graphics adapter
8 megabyes of RAM
Soundblaster-compatiblesound card
9600+ baud modem
DOS "shell" internet account required to play online
A good VLB video card with 2MB of DRAM or VRAM is recommended
**It is important to note that CK uses floating point calculations
in its flight model so a 486 DX is required. DO NOT EVEN BOTHER
trying to run on a 486SX or NexGen 586 without a math coprocessor
installed. (NexGen is planning on having a math coprocessor
available later this year.)**
4.0 Where do I get the FE software?
The best place to get the software is ICI's ftp server. Its FTP
address is ici1.infohwy.com.
The software can also be downloaded from cactus.org in /incoming/ConfKil
Web Surfers can download the CK front end from Domark Software's home
page at
http://www.domark.com/domark
4.1 How do I connect to CK?
You must use a "UNIX shell" TELNET connection to run CK. It
runs through DOS, so using SLIP, America Online, WinCIM, or other
Windows-based Internet access methods won't work. We recommend
that you use a locally-based Internet provider service that runs
high-end hardware such as Sun Sparcstations or Silicon Graphics
machines.
4.2 How do I find a good Internet Provider?
Perhaps the most important part to playing CK is finding an
internet provider service that has enough bandwidth to run CK without
excessive latencies. We recommend that you shop around if your current
provider doesn't offer "UNIX shell" access, or you're experiencing
an excessive level of warping when playing CK. It's always a good
idea to call a prospective provider and ask what kind of hardware their
using. Nail them down, and don't accept answers like "We're using a
network of UNIX boxes." An 1985-vintage 8086 PC can be a "UNIX box."
Look for providers using high-end hardware like Sun, Silicon Graphics,
Digital Alphas, or other dedicated internet hardware.
If you're looking for a new provider, you can access a very
comprehensive list at:
ftp://ftp.primus.com/pub/providers/isp-list
This list contains several hundred providers, their phone numbers,
the regions they serve, and the services they provide.
5.0 What does it cost to play?
During the current beta testing process it's free!
When CK actually goes "commercial," it will cost $2 an hour.
There will also be a monthly fee of $10.
John "Killer" McQueen, Vice President of ICI, had this to say about
that fee:
"Actually the $10 will get you 5 hrs of flight and unlimited access
to the BBS on our system."
6.0 Speed Optimizations
Actually, there are a couple of things you can do. First, if you
have an ISA motherboard instead of a VLB motherboard, you can upgrade
to a VLB for under $160 even if you get one of the higher end replacements.
(VLB or VESA Local Bus, is a system architecture designed to
provide a fast 32-bit data pathway straight to the CPU of a PC, and
radically accelerates a machine's performance.)
Second, you can get an S3-chipset video card. *THIS MAKES A BIG
DIFFERENCE.* Using special video drivers by Domark Software,
systems with the S3 864, 964, or Trio chipsets can nearly double
their frame rates in CK, and can also run resolutions of 800x600
and 1024x768 at 15-25 frames per second. Domark Software is now
working on drivers for the new S3 868 and 968 chipsets, and hope
to include them in CK very soon. (Keep in mind that the new Diamond
Stealth 64 Video cards use this chipset.)
These S3 chipsets are used by several graphics card manufacturers,
including Hercules, Genoa, Orchid, STB, Spider, #9, Diamond, ELSA
(Germany) and SPEA (Germany). A typical 2MB S3-chipset card runs
in the $200-$250 range.
Some new cards we've just tested include the Hercules Stingray
(ET4000 WPI chipset) and Matrox Millenium, both delivered excellent
640x480 SVGA performance.
You can also speed your system up by trimming unnecessary memory
managers from your CONFIG.SYS file. Confirmed Kill uses a 32-bit
protected-mode "DOS Extender," that eliminates the need for memory
management software such as EMM386 or QEMM. By making a boot disk that
only loads the necessary sound and mouse TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident)
programs, you can increase the speed of the game, and cut down on some
annoying system crashes.
A CK boot disk can use an AUTOEXEC.BAT file that looks like this:
@ECHO Off
PROMPT $P$G
PATH C:\DOS;C:\MOUSE;C:\VM300
SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
SET COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM
SET LMOUSE=C:\MOUSE
C:\MOUSE\MOUSE
rem ************************
rem * Sound Driver Section *
rem ************************
SET MAD16=C:\VM300
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
C:\VM300\M16INIT /B
rem ****************************
rem * End Sound Driver Section *
rem ****************************
A CONFIG.SYS file can include only these things:
BUFFERS=30
FILES=30
LASTDRIVE=C
FCBS=16,0
STACKS=0,0
BREAK = OFF
6.1 Why do S3 cards have special support?
Because the newer S3 cards have built in polygon rendering
accelerators in them that take much of the graphics load off the
CPU.
6.2 What does this error message mean?
6.2.1 "Domain Error in ACOS"
This error is shown when you try to run CK on a machine without a
functioning math coprocessor. CK must have one to run. 486SX machines
don't have math coprocessors built in, so can't run CK without an
additional math coprocessor chip installed on the motherboard. The
NexGen 586 machines also don't have math coprocessors, and won't have
them available for a few months, according to NexGen, Inc.
6.2.2 "Bad Checksum Error"
This message is uncommon for most players, but some have seen it
appear regularly. It usually doesn't affect the actual play of CK, but
can be annoying when it does appear. Players using the built-in joystick
port of the MediaVision Pro Audio Spectrum 16 have reported this message
more than anyone else, with the following steps proven to cut down the
occurrence of this problem. Add the following commands to the end of
your DEVICE=C:\PROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS line in your CONFIG.SYS file:
Disable the Sound blaster mode, S:0
Disable the on-board joystick port. J:0
Enable the PAS16 on-board oscillator T:1
Tried various DMA and IRQ settings (IRQ 5, DMA 1 recommended.
IRQ 7 and DMA 3 work well.)
6.2.3 "You must download the art file"
Many new players began receiving this message when version .91
came out. CK currently runs in two graphics modes: 320x200 VGA, and
640x480 SVGA. Each mode requires two completely different sets of cockpit
art. To run CK in 320x200 mode, you'll need to download the ART320V1.EXE
file, and run CK by just typing CK from the proper directory. To play CK
in the 640x480 mode, you'll need to download the ART640V1.EXE file and
run CK with the CK -V command. (Or CK -S0 if you have an S3-chipset
graphics card.)
7.0 Will CK have...
7.0.1 A Beginner's arena?
John McQueen writes concerning the easier arenas for beginners:
"Less strict as in a fly by wire applied to the model to help out
those that can't or won't stay in the flight envelope.
1/2 time? nope, no, no way, no how, not ever, over my dead body...
Won't it be enough to fly in a full screen 640x480 warpless environment,
hitting planes and doing damage relative to what part you hit? blowing off
parts of planes like wings and tail structures and watching them spiral into
the dirt to explode into hundreds of pieces??(and the enemy may not be able
to bail out ) popping chutes of bailing pilots (they can shoot back with
that .45 too) Firing rockets and dropping bombs and torpedoes?
Angling in on your target, fire off a stream of MG till the lead is close,
then open up with cannon and cut him to ribbons?"
After he calmed down, he did admit that yes, an arena for new
players to have fun with forgiving aircraft would certainly
be included in CK.
7.0.2 Multiple-player/crewmember planes such as the B-17?
"Yes!" according to Robert "GunJam" Salinas, President of ICI.
7.0.3 Modeling of collisions?
John McQueen writes:
"Nope sorry, no collisions. When everyone has fiber-optic
communications in the house and we can have latency down to
miniscule numbers maybe. 'Til then we probably wont do it."
7.0.4 TCP support built into the FE?
No. However, John McQueen wrote:
"We are seriously considering offering TCP/IP as we have
received more interest in it than I had expected. For at least
the short term we will be modem access only, which is to say the
FE looks for a standard COM port. There may in fact be a way to
fool the FE into "thinking" its talking to a comm port instead
of TCP/IP, maybe ComT. Thats about all I can say on it for now."
7.0.5 A full-time historical arena?
John McQueen wrote:
"We have discussed this exact idea many times. We will build
one and see how people like it. It would take maybe a whole hour
to set up a Axis vs Allies arena with the stock terrain. Maybe a
day or two for a realistic English channel terrain."
7.0.6 Head-to-Head offline play?
Bryan Walker, Simulations Producer at Domark Software wrote:
"The initial online version will allow offline play, but only
to the point of flying the individual planes. The boxed version of
CK, due late this year or early '96, will allow modem and 16-player
IPX Network play, as well as some interesting tutorial features and an
adjustable Artificial Intelligence system."
8.0 How do I...
8.0.1 Lock the tailwheel on takeoff?
John McQueen wrote:
"Right now you can lock the tailwheel by holding the stick full
back. Keep it full back till you hit 50 IAS or so then you can
center the stick and avoid alot of the yaw on powerup."
8.0.2 Get the easier flight model?
John McQueen wrote:
"There already is an easier flight mode. The host can control
this or you can enable it on or off line. Try the .dweeb 1 command and
try to spin one."
8.0.3 Check how good my connection is?
You can check this by using the
ping -s ici2.infohwy.com
command from your shell account. Be warned that for some reason on
CRIS, this continues forever instead of being killed with a [CTRL]-C.
Therefore, you may want to use a different form of the command.
ping -s ici2.infohwy.com 56 10
This will ping ICI's machine 10 times and then summarize the statistics.
Doing this from CRIS I got:
CRCINET 1> ping -s ici2.infohwy.com 56 10
PING ici2.infohwy.com: 56 data bytes
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=0. time=128. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=1. time=99. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=2. time=136. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=3. time=97. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=4. time=95. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=5. time=94. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=6. time=94. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=7. time=94. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=8. time=94. ms
64 bytes from ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10): icmp_seq=9. time=114. ms
----ici2.infohwy.com PING Statistics----
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip (ms) min/avg/max = 94/104/136
Numbers below 200 are fine and will yield a good connection.
The higher the numbers, the worse the connection and if the go
high enough, the game becomes unplayable and the host will ground you.
You should be aware that normally low numbers can be ruined if
you get occasionally very high ones. I was flying one night where I
could go for minutes with a ping time of around 50. However, every once
in a while the system would basically just stop and I would get numbers
like 1800. When actually flying, I could fly for a couple of minutes and
then I would get grounded.
The next question is, "Would switching providers help?".
In order to answer that question, we need to know a bit more about
how your messages are getting sent to ici2.infohwy.com. We can use the
traceroute command for this.
traceroute ici2.infohwy.com
I get the following:
CRCINET 5>traceroute ici2.infohwy.com
traceroute to ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10), 30 hops max, 40 byte packets
1 router-sprint.cris.com (199.3.12.1) 4 ms 3 ms 3 ms
2 sl-chi-1-S17-T1.sprintlink.net (144.228.128.129) 13 ms 13 ms 16 ms
3 sl-chi-6-F0/0.sprintlink.net (144.228.50.6) 14 ms 14 ms 22 ms
4 sl-chi-nap-H1/0-T3.sprintlink.net (144.228.56.10) 23 ms 19 ms 24 ms
5 198.32.130.227 (198.32.130.227) 15 ms 16 ms 20 ms
6 border2-hssi1-0.Chicago.mci.net (204.70.25.5) 21 ms 18 ms 16 ms
7 core-fddi-1.Chicago.mci.net (204.70.3.81) 25 ms 21 ms 16 ms
8 core-hssi-2.KansasCity.mci.net (204.70.1.17) 29 ms 25 ms 25 ms
9 core-hssi-3.Houston.mci.net (204.70.1.22) 45 ms 48 ms 56 ms
10 border1-fddi0-0.Houston.mci.net (204.70.2.98) 205 ms 117 ms 195 ms
11 sesquinet.Houston.mci.net (204.70.36.6) 44 ms 40 ms 39 ms
12 HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181) 40 ms 46 ms 40 ms
13 HOU2-F0.SESQUI.NET (128.241.200.82) 53 ms 40 ms 39 ms
14 SCCSI-S0.SESQUI.NET (128.241.5.146) 43 ms 49 ms 43 ms
15 com4.houston.sccsi.com (198.65.128.45) 41 ms 41 ms 42 ms
16 cisco1.houston.sccsi.com (198.65.128.2) 62 ms 43 ms 83 ms
17 i3t1.sccsi.com (198.65.144.214) 60 ms 48 ms 46 ms
18 ici2.infohwy.com (198.65.146.10) 53 ms * 48 ms
By the way, those numbers are individual times and do not
represent a minimum, average, and maximum like with ping.
This gives me all the steps in the route needed to get internet
traffic from my provider to ICI's machine. The times show will give
you some idea about how much time it took to get to each step along
the way. By the way, those numbers are individual times and do not
represent a minimum, average, and maximum like with ping. However,
to get a better idea, use ping again.
CRCINET 8> ping -s HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET 56 10
PING HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET: 56 data bytes
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=0. time=359. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=1. time=39. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=2. time=42. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=3. time=41. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=4. time=40. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=5. time=41. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=6. time=40. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=7. time=44. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=8. time=41. ms
64 bytes from HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET (192.67.13.181): icmp_seq=9. time=112. ms
----HOU1-F10.SESQUI.NET PING Statistics----
10 packets transmitted, 10 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip (ms) min/avg/max = 39/79/359
You can do this every step along the way and you should be able to
isolate exactly where a problem is occurring if you are having one.
Remember, the problem may not be your provider (and then again it might).
If it is, you now have the ammo to shoot at their tech support people.
If you don't mind a somewhat messy display, you can also use the
traceroute -q nqueries form of the command. However, ping is better
for doing large numbers of queries (the reason will be obvious if
you try with traceroute).
8.0.4 Recover from losing updates to all players?
I have heard that this is a known bug. For now you should use
enter the following command on the radio.
/.e
This should take you back to the selection room. Then enter:
.exit
.exit will take you back to the menu where you choose between the
BBS, getting software updates, entering the arena, etc. Enter the
arena again. At this point, you can select field, plane, and fly
again.
You can also try the .abort command. This leaves you in the arena.
Follow this with the .login command. You should now be able to
select your plane, etc.
8.0.5 Recover from being grounded?
First, this happens because the host received nothing from you
for 4+ seconds. This can be because of a temporary burp in the system
or because the load on your internet provider is just too high at the moment.
You might want to see the section of the FAQ on checking how good your
connection is.
You recover by doing a
.abort followed by a .login at which point you can select your field
and plane.
If this happens a lot, you are going to have to find a different
provider (or learn to live with it).
8.0.6 Stop rapid jittering in my controls?
The rapid jittering is caused by the fact your joystick does
not usually put out one consistent value for a particular position of
the stick. What you should do is adjust the deadbands for your
stick and rudder pedals (if you have them).
You should be aware that the oscillations back and forth that
occur on a somewhat slower and smoother basis are normal and are part
of the flight model. Real planes behave the same way.
For some people, their are two other causes:
a) For a limited # of people, using the .stick 1 command has helped.
However, for most people, this makes things worse. If it isn't
broke, don't fix it!
b) You may be calibrating incorrectly. Some people are trying to
calibrate their joystick and then calibrate their rudder. The program
wants you to calibrate them at the same time. If you calibrate them
seperately, you undo the first calibration. Say you did your joystick
first and your rudders second. What you will have done is told the game
that the center position is both the minimum and maximum position for
your joystick. This is going to give you an EXTREMELY bumpy ride.
c) CK version 0.8.7 (CKU81t87) and all later versions include many
new joystick routines to help iron out joystick problems.
8.0.7 Recover from a Spin?
Doug "Pyro" Balmos writes:
"I've been playing around offline with the really nasty spins.
I did a lot them in all the planes and I definitely believe that there
is no such thing as an unrecoverable spin provided you have enough
altitude and have not had flight controls shot off. At least, I
recovered from all my test spins (probabably about 50 of the nasty
sort). Most of those were done using the F4U. [Perhaps the
toughest plane to recover from a spin. There are evidently two
cases of pilots ever recovering a Corsair from a "deep" or flat
spin]"
I'll try to explain the technique. It may be hard to visualize
but if you watched it once, it would be very clear.
First off, if you get into a flat spin at high altitude that's
particularly bad, recovery can be impossible until you get down
around 7K. It seems that for those spins, you just can't get
enough bite into the air until you get down in the denser stuff.
You still have plenty of time to recover though. I've spun at
15000 feet and couldn't do a thing until I hit the lower altitude
where recovery was made without much problem.
Throttle is very important. I found that spins can be
unrecoverable if you throttle all the way back. Realistic or not,
stay throttled up.
The whole trick of spin recovery in CK is get your nose pointed
straight down. You want to get your nose aimed at the point on the
ground that everything appears to be spinning around.
The first thing to do is get the nose down a little. Use
opposite rudder, forward stick, and some opposite aileron. Monitor
your airspeed and watch for gains in it. The object at this point is
to get from a flat spin to at least a slightly nose down attitude.
Hold down opposite rudder and adjust stick input to aim your
nose down at the center of the spin. If you use too much stick input,
your nose will shoot past that point. As your nose gets closer to
center, ease up on your stick input. Sometimes ruddder input needs
to be adjusted a little, but for the most part, it is held down all
the way. Stick input will differ according to the attitude you are in.
Just using forward stick alone will not do it in most cases. Use your
stick input as if you were flying your plane towards the center of the
spin. And go into the direction of the spin, not with it.
Sometimes, you get in an attitude that is very flat and hard to
get any input into it. If you give a quick kick of rudder going into
the spin followed by max opposite again, it can sometimes put you in
a more favorable spin attitude that you can get out of quicker.
Use the airspeed indicator as a feedback to what you are doing also.
Speed increases as long as you are doing something good. Once you do get
nose down and stabilized, watch your speed and allow it to build some.
If you try to pull out before doing this, it is very easy to reenter
a spin.
Once you do it a few times, it will click and you will be able to
get out of any spin as long as you haven't lost any flight controls and
have a few "k" of alt between you and the ground. It's pretty hard to
explain in words, but it really isn't that difficult although they do
take some work. It ain't textbook spin recovery but it works here."
Bryan Walker writes:
"The easiest way out of a spin is not to get in one. Use smooth
control inputs, and try to keep the aircraft in trim as much as
possible. If you try to yank a foul-tempered Corsair around like
you may be used to with table-based flight models, you fall down, go
'boom.' Finesse is the key."
8.0.8 Tell what country I am from?
Your color of country depends on the country that you selected (the
default is country 1).
The countries are:
1 - Red
2 - Green
3 - Gold
4 - Purple
As of version .90, your country color is also represented as
the color of your gunsight.
8.0.9 Use the radio?
"Katana" writes:
Since it seems to be the most asked question online at the moment,
I've decided to post some instructions on how to use the radio
commands/channels on CK. Grab a copy and pass it on.
There are 4 radio channels. You can send and recieve on all 4
channels simultaneously. At the moment, the message does not indicate
what channel the incoming message is on, which is what is causing most
of the confusion out there. You transmit on the various channels like
so:
Channel 1 : /
Channel 2 : Shft /
Channel 3 : Ctrl /
Channel 4 : Alt /
Makes sense when you look at it on the keyboard.
Channel 1 is best left tuned to the common channel, which is
its default (channel 100).
Each country has it's own private channel, corresponding to
its country number:
Country 1 (Reds) : 101
Country 2 (Greens) : 102
Country 3 (Gold) : 103
Country 4 (Purple) : 104
You tune the radio by using the format:
.radio # ###
As an example, if I am a Red (country 1), I might tune
channel 2, which is activated by Shft /, to the country private
channel by typing:
.radio 2 101
Now, whenever I transmit by typing Shft / only my country-mates
can hear me. Easy, eh? If you want to use Alt / to talk to your country
rather than Shft / you'd type:
.radio 4 101
Tuning to enema country channels allows you to transmit on
their private channel, but you cannot hear their transmittions on
that channel. Better to just use the common channel to talk to
enemies.
You can also tune any of your radio channels to individual pilots
for private plane-plane conversations. This is very useful for wingman
tactics. The format is the same, but instead of a numbered channel you
use the 4 digit plane id of your wingman:
.radio 4 kat-
This would tune your channel 4 to my plane only, and nobody
else would hear your transmittions to me. Note that your message won't
echo when you use this method, but rest assured it was sent.
On my first flight, I generally tune my channel 2 to whatever
country channel I'm flying for (.radio 2 101 for Reds). Then I tune my two
extra channels (3 and 4) to whichever squadmates are up (.radio 3 crsh
and .radio 4 flet). That would mean:
/ : talks to everyone
Shft / : talks to Reds only
Ctrl / : talks to Crash only
Alt / : talks to Fletch only
Well, that's longer than I meant it to be, but it should cover
all of the possible problems you may face concerning the radio system.
Hopefully this will reduce the "how does the radio work" questions on
the air so I can fly instead of type. ;)"
8.0.9.1 What are all these abbreviations I see people using on the
radio??
Since dogfighting and typing don't mix well, most folks have adopted
some abbreviations to cut down on the distraction in the heat of battle:
bingo: I'm out of fuel/ammo.
btw: By the way...
bz: I'm busy fighting someone, can't talk now.
b&z: Use high-speed passes on the enemy, instead of getting into
turning fights.
cap: defend an airfield or other aircraft.
cc: I understand/I copy/Roger
lol: Laughing out loud!
otw: I'm on the way
rgr: Roger
rofl: Rolling on the floor, laughing.
6: Check your six.
6! Clear MY six.
vulch: (Vulture) To attack a plane taking off, or fly over an
enemy airfield and attack planes trying to use it.
wing: The bad guys shot my wing off!
8): Smiley face
8(: Frowning face
in: Entering a fight
l8r: Later
nite: Logging but some radio traffic might be possible.
out: Exitting a fight
poof: Logging out immediately - no further radio traffic will
be possible.
thnx: Thanks
8.0.9.2 What are those voices I keep hearing??
As of version 0.90, the CK programmers are experimenting with
new software that allows the players to transmit VOICE radio messages
to one another. Right now, only the Sysops are using this while the
code is being tested and tuned. ICI hopes to have this code fully
functional by version 1.0.
(However, if you're playing CK and drinking tequila, there could
be other voices you're hearing that aren't related to this new
feature.)
8.0.10 Make my joystick work with my GUS
"Shaky Stick" writes:
To GUS owners...do NOT select GUS when choosing a sound card
for CK. The driver's hosed. Choose Soundblaster, or whatever else
you can with your system setup.
8.0.11 Capture airfields?
a) You have to take out the tower and the HQ. (The HQ is the small
orange shack). It seems to take 8 rockets to take out the HQ.
b) You have to land on the runway. Use your side views to be sure you are still
on it.
c) Type /.e to exit. You should get the "exited" message, and be
placed back in the HQ. You will see a message informing all
players that the field has been captured.
d) A certain amount of time will pass before the field comes alive.
You must prevent some other country from landing and exiting at the
field.
8.0.12 Set my fuel level?
Typing .FUEL # while in the HQ sets the fuel level of your
airplane in percentages of its maximum internal fuel load.
8.0.13 Load Bombs and Rockets?
Typing .BOMBS # and .ROCKETS # while in the HQ will load this
ordnance on your plane.
8.0.14 Turn faster?
Some people have a reputation in the arena of being able to
turn their planes almost unbelievable fast. Here are a few
pointers:
a) A plane will turn fastest at "corner velocity." Note that
"corner velocity" differs drastically between different altitudes
and aircraft.
b) In order to get a plane at corner velocity, you may want to
either put your nose up or down. People often turn nose down in a
fight because they are trying to maintain speed.
c) Flaps may help in a turn. Each plane will differ somewhat with
regards to this. I personally have a stopwatch that I use to time
turns in the aircraft and find the flap position that turns best.
Full Flaps is NOT necessarily the best setting to use.
d) There are various maneuvers that are designed to make use of the
fact that planes can usually roll 360 degrees faster than they can
turn 360 degrees in a flat turn.
e) Judicious use of high and low "Yo-Yos" can give you an edge.
f) Remember that turn rate does not always when a stallfight. Turn
radius can also be very important.
g) The ability to ride the edge of a stall can be important to
winning turn fights.
9.0 Hey, do ...
9.0.1 Bombs and other ordnance affect the flight model?
Yes. Version 0.90+ has enabled weapons weight and drag.
9.0.2 Flaps and gear down have any affect? (v.0.90+)
Yes. Gear does cause significant drag, as do flaps. Note that
different aircraft have differing flaps sizes, lift factors, and
drag factors, as well.
9.0.3 Planes burn any fuel?
Yes, in proper relation to their actual consumption in reality.
9.0.4 (More about fuel consumption and loading)
Note that when setting your fuel level with the .FUEL # command, it's
in percentages of maximum internal capacity. A P-51 with fuel set to
30% can fly for over an hour, where a P-38 set at the same level can
barely last 20 minutes. Also note that full throttle consumes a great
deal of fuel for a moderate increase in speed over cruise throttle
settings. (Around 70%)
10.0 Why ...
10.0.1 Do the distant planes occasionally move like inch-worms,
warping a bit?
CK uses special code that prioritizes closer planes with more
frequent updates. This focuses more bandwidth on the planes
within range of you. Planes farther off aren't updated as often,
causing them to slide around sometimes.
10.0.2 Do I need to "trim" my plane?
Mike "Boomer" McCoy writes:
"An aeronautical injuneer is probably gonna have a heart attack,
but here goes
If you were flying a real airplane that was designed to cruise at, say, 250
mph, flying it at 150 (fuel economy , whatever..) you would quicky
tire from holding the stick back to maintain the angle of attack
(AOA), etc.
Trim tabs allow you to 'fine tune' the Horiz Stab airfoil via little 'elevator'
tabs set into rear of stab. For older planes, these tabs were mechanically set
via a wheel in the cockpit (in this case WWII). Later, they became electrical
with a small up/down switch.
Turn the wheel one way, the tabs went down, pushing the nose down a bit, Turn
it the other way raised the nose. In the example above, you could set th trim
so the stick was neutral, i.e. needing no force to keep the plane in the right
attitude to fly a high speed plane at low speeds.
It's important to note that trimming the plane is only good for the speed it's
trimmed at. If you trim your plane level at 200, it will be OUT of trim at
250. Of course the design of the plane would determine just how
much."
10.0.2.1 Is there a line moving around above my gunsight?
In version .91 and above, a "sideslip indicator" has been
added. This is represented by a vertical line above your aircraft's
gunsight. This line will move in the direction that the tail of
your plane is "skidding" to. If the line moves to the RIGHT, apply
RIGHT rudder to bring the tail "into trim" with the nose. Keeping
the "sideslip indicator" centered will result in a noticeable
increase in airspeed and turning performance.
Note that in some airplanes, certain airspeed/attitude/altitude
combinations will make it impossible for the plane to be "in trim,"
even with full rudder application. This is particularly true with
high-powered single-engine planes like the F4U Corsair.
10.0.3 Do some planes seem to warp and others don't?
If you see one plane warping, or jumping around the screen, while
others in view are staying steady, this is almost always the result of
an excessive latency from that player's provider. If you see ALL the
planes warping, it's either YOUR provider causing delays, or the CK host.
(The CK host is under little strain, and rarely causes warping.)
11.0 Should I use Error Correction and Data Compression?
Go ahead and set your modem for Error Correction. You should probably
turn Data Compression off.
12.0 Where's the action?
First, you should get and print a copy of the map for the arena you
are flying in. In the current arena being used for beta testing most
of the action has been between country 1 (red) and country 2 (green).
Good choices for take off spots for quick action are fields F3 (red)
and fields F9 and F4 (green).
* Note that you can use the .FIELDS command from the HQ building
to get a quick rundown of what the status of the entire arena. This
will show you who owns which fields, and what their operational status
is. A quick radio call of the pilots already flying will help steer you
to the action, as well. *
More logical choices for involving all four countries are Field
F8 (red), F9 (green), F14 (gold), and F22 (purple). These are the closest
fields in each country to the center of the map which is over Field 15.
13.0 What's good etiquette? I want to play well with others!
There are no set rules for player etiquette in Confirmed Kill.
The virtual battlefield can accomodate a number of different
tactics, personalities, and activities. However, there are some
good guidelines to follow to make sure everyone has as much fun as
possible.
o Don't shoot down your own countrymen. CK often runs
anti-fratricide code that inflicts the same damage to you that
you've inflicted on a player of the same country. (It's the
virtual battlefield equivalent of a court martial.)
o If you've been waved off of a fight by someone in your country,
stay away. (You should not have to ask before joining a 1 on 1).
In other words, if two players are having a pitched duel in an
isolated position, it might be considered rude to immediately
jump in and steal a kill that a fellow "countryman" had been
working hard to achieve.
o Don't constantly wave off countrymen from a fight. Reserve this
for when you are actually dueling someone.
o Don't boss people around in the arena. Instead of, "All Greens
follow me to F3," try "I'm headed to F3. Anyone else want to
come?". Though CK will eventually provide additional "command"
priveleges to expert players, being overbearing will generally
get you ignored, or viewed as a jerk.
o Don't make excuses on the radio for everytime someone shoots
you down. We get shot down all the time, so it's only fair that
you do, too. Even the greatest real-life aces often found
themselves looking at the wrong end of an enemy's guns.
o Don't expect other people to bail you out of your dumb decisions.
They're not obligated to help you out.
o Do NOT bail out on someone in a fight just to avoid giving them
the kill. (Bailing after you're hit is obviously OK). This will
earn you a bad reputation very quickly. If you lose a
plane in such a fashion, you still are considered "shot down,"
and those who were fighting against you can be credited with a
kill. In addition, that parachute is a VERY tempting target.
o Don't monopolize the radio channels. Keep your messages brief
and concise as possible.
o Don't just stay at home waiting for others to come to you. The
best defense is a good offense.
o Don't use profanity online if you can absolutely help it.
o Don't take this game too seriously. If you find yourself getting
exceptionally angry about a lost dogfight or bad break, take some
time off from playing and reset your priorities. Play because
it's FUN, not because you've got a chip on your shoulder.
Of course there's the flip side:
o Do compliment your opponents for a good fight. A little
sportsmanship goes a long way.
o Do help your countrymen out when they are trying to accomplish
something or are outnumbered. Teamwork is the key.
o Do try to help the new players out, and please be patient with
them. A new player treated with respect becomes a good wingman
in a hurry.
o Do feel free to attack enemy aircraft on the ground if you have
flown a significant distance to get there.
o Do give ICI and Domark constructive feedback, itemized if
possible.
14.0 What are all the various "." commands?
.abort - sometimes helps to abort your session when in HQ when things
aren't working right. Follow this with .login to get back to
HQ and ready to fly.
.bombs # - This sets the bomb load of your aircraft. Note that the
performance of your plane will suffer with each bomb carried.
The maximum bomb load varies between aircraft, with most
fighters carrying a maximum of 4.
.conv ### - Sets your convergence setting for your guns at ### yards
.cou # - Is equivalent to using the country buttons
.e - Typed on the radio when you want to exit the plane when you have
landed.
.exit - When in HQ returns you to the menu on ICI2.
.fields - This command, available in the HQ, shows you the status of
all airfields in the game.
.fuel # - This sets the fuel load of your aircraft in percentages points
of its maximum internal load. (See section 9.0.4 for more info
on setting fuel loading.)
.fly - Is equivalent to hitting the fly button
.handle XXXXX - would set your handle to XXXXX. Note that there is
not currently a command to change your 4 letter callsign
which is fixed when you first setup an account. You should use
this command right away when getting a new account unless you
want to be known by one and all as a dweeb.
.help - gives a list of some of the . commands
.login - Used in combination with the .abort command.
.mov F## - Is equivalent to using the field buttons.
.plane This command shows the planes that are available to you at
the airfield you selected.
.plane # - can be used instead of the buttons to select the plane
you are flying.
.radio # ### - Sets radio channel # to be frequency #. Note that ###
can also be the 4 letter callsign of a player. (See section
8.0.9 for more info on how to use the radios.)
.rockets # - This sets the rocket load of your aircraft.
.ros - Will give you a partial listing of the players who are up,
the country they are flying for, and where they are (in flight or
HQ, or some field).
.show - this gives a listing of some of the current settings on the
host. For example, this command can be used to check the
frag and lethality settings.
.speed ### - This sets the speed that the plane will seek when you
hit speed trim. One use is that best rate of climb is sometimes
specified as a speed that you should hold at full throttle.
.stick 1 - selects an alternative set of joystick logic that helps
for some people.
14.1 What Are All the In-Flight Commands?
E: Start/Stop Engine
SHFT-E: Start/Stop All Engines
1-0: Throttle
+/- Incremental Throttle
S: Trim Rudder. (Use often)
A/D: Left/Right Rudder
G: Raise/Lower Landing Gear.
Button 0: Fire guns
Button 1: Fire/Drop secondary weapon
Backspace: Toggle Secondary Weapon
F1: View "Radar" map view.
F2 to toggle identification levels of other players from Range Only, to
Player Callsigns, and Aircraft Type.
Keypad/Cursor Keys: View controls.
Q: Lower Flaps
W: Raise Flaps
V: External view from the rear
O: "Fly By" view.
ENTER: Hit 3 times quickly to eject.
15.0 When is the boxed version coming out?
Late this fall, or early '96, according to Bryan Walker.
