Sunday, May 20, 2007
Talk Like A Fighter Pilot!
I don't know why I have this fascination with the sub-cultures that evolve around specific games or genres, but that sort of thing really does intrigue me. I did a little post several months ago about the jargon that has evolved in City of Heroes (and MMOs in particular). I stumbled across a post a couple of days ago about the latest version of Falcon 4.0, and I was very amused that I actually understood almost all of it.
While City of Heroes jargon was partly derived from other MMOs and partly original, much of the jargon in Falcon 4.0 discussions is based on real-world terminology. Flight simmers are an interesting bunch - part of the fun for many of them is to preserve the illusion of reality, and to immerse themselves into the role. You'll find arguments over "realism" settings, not because of the challenge factor, but because one setting or another is closer to matching what pilots really go / went through. I wouldn't be surprised to find that most of these instructions are entirely applicable to real-world combat pilots.
This thread, started by Ghostrider117, is a discussion of how to best defeat the R-77 Medium-Range Missile (AKA AA-12 Adder).
1: ECM on to deny bandit an early lockI tried playing the new version of Falcon 4.0 a couple of weeks ago. I was amazed at how much I'd forgotten. I was actually pretty good at the earlier version at one point. If you really want to take a crack at deciphering the the above instructions, here are a few hints:
2: Get high and fast, 30,000 feet plus to extend AIM-120 Rmax 500+ Kts
3: If bandit is jamming (no radar brick) you have to burn through the jammer, use RWS with reduced barscans to 2 bars. If he's not jamming use TWS mode instead.
4: Achieve radar lock and fire just inside of Rmax
5: Crank right or left and put bandit at the edge of your radar gimbles
6: Reduce speed (Very important as this delays his launch Rmax)
7: Watch target aspect and your RWR spike and your WEZ circle
8: If bandit has turned away to defeat the AIM-120 long shot, turn back into him and push the fight. You know if he has turned away as the RWR will not show a spike, and your missile WEZ will shrink.
9: If bandit has fired you have two choices, but turn ECM off to deny HOJ
[a] (Aggressive) Keep him on the edge of radar gimbles untill your AIM-120 goes
pitbull, then slice back and run, full AB, put the RWR spike on your six. Go downhill full AB, but if the RWR continues to show the M symbol, prepare to climb and then
beam the R-77 as it runs out of energy.
[b] (Defensive) Slice back and run before pitbull, he might leave his ECM on and your slammer will go HOJ while you will outrun the R-77
I've had the AI do aggressive BVR tactics and defensive as well. Perhaps the most
challenging is the fight were the bandit turns away to defeat an AIM-120 long shot, and as you push the fight, and get a medium range AIM-120 shot, he turns into you and fires an R-77 at you. I found that a split S right at slammer pitbull with full AB dive can shake the R-77 as the Mig is often destroyed.
Pitbull (A-Pole): The point at which your missile is no longer slaved to your plane's radar system, but instead uses its own radar system. Before your missile goes pitbull, if you make evasive maneuvers, your missile will "go ballistic" (unguided).
BVR: Beyond Visual Range. Where medium- and long-ranged missile combat takes place. If I were to make anything truly resembling "realistic" combat in a Void War sequel (and no, I won't), it'd be all BVR combat. You'd fire your missile, take evasive action... and then wait a few days to see if you hit and if you are going to be hit. (Of course, if you are hit, you won't know about if your opponent was ever hit due to the whole speed-of-light transport delay thing...)
ECM: Electronic Counter Measures. Jamming the enemy radar.
RWR: Radar Warning Receiver. A fun little device that shows you where and how strong you are being tracked by radar. It'll also show what kind of radar is tracking you (which you can also determine audibly, as the system will convert the radio signal to an audio waveform - just like a radio). A "spike" on the RWR is a visual indicator of something "painting" you. The trick with the RWR is that it can show strength, type, and direction, but it is incapable of determining the radar system's distance from you.
Split S: A maneuver where you dive, and then come out of your dive in a different direction than when you began the maneuver. The usefulness of this against missiles at closer range is that the missile will have exhausted its fuel, and is now gliding towards you. Aggressive maneuvering causes the missile to waste energy which it is incapable of getting back.
Okay - your turn. What favorite games do you have that have their own jargon? What sort of terms and expressions have emerged?
(Vaguely) related use of confusing terminology:
* City of Heroes Jargon
* Game Moments #2: Falcon 4.0
* Wanna Learn To be A Fighter Pilot?
* Game Moments #11: Falcon 4.0 (again)
* Guest Game Moments: Falcon 4.0
* How I Single-Handedly Lost the Pacific War
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Labels: Flight Sims, Mainstream Games
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