*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
= AIR COMBAT EMULATOR (ACE) =
* COMMODORE 64 *
= FULL FAQ =
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Author: Sashanan
Date: 21 September 2005
Version: 1.03
DISCLAIMER
This document is a copyright of Peter "Sashanan" Butter, 2002-2005. All
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=================
TABLE OF CONTENTS
=================
[1] About this FAQ
[2] Preflight preparations
[2.1] Game settings
[2.2] Available weapons
[2.3] Weapon loadouts
[3] Basic controls
[3.1] Cockpit display
[3.2] Aircraft controls
[4] Takeoff and landing
[4.1] Taking off
[4.2] Landing
[5] Dogfighting
[6] Ground attacks
[7] Naval attacks
[8] Midair refueling
[9] Odds and ends
[9.1] Enemy overview
[9.2] Damage
[9.3] Ways to die
[9.4] Generic advice
[10] Revision history
[11] Final words
==============================================================================
[1] ABOUT THIS FAQ
==============================================================================
Released in 1985, Ace (short for Air Combat Emulator) is a surprisingly
good early flight simulator for the Commodore 64. A game session consists
of an undetermined number of sorties. At the start of each game, enemy
ground forces are advancing into your territory after having been dropped
off at an enemy beachhead, and your task is to stop them. If you succeed
in wiping them all of the map before they conquer everything (and rob you
of your bases while they're doing so), you'll then have a chance to score
big points by bombing the enemy invasion fleet. All the while you will
be harassed by enemy fighters as well - but if you manage to destroy
every enemy on the map, the war is won. The only catch: you only have one
shot at it. If you crash, it's all over.
So this FAQ will help you minimize that danger. I start with an overview
of the pregame options, followed by the controls of the aircraft. When
that's out of the way, subsequent paragraphs will discuss taking off and
landing, the various forms of combat, the art of refueling in mid air,
and finally, some general tips and tricks that should help you become
a pilot to be reckoned with.
The latest version of this document can always be found at GameFAQs
(www.gamefaqs.com). If you have a question that is not covered in this
document, you may want to check there first to see if there is an update.
==============================================================================
[2] PREFLIGHT PREPARATIONS
==============================================================================
"Sure, we'll be prepared! ...for what?"
"For the death of the King!"
"Why, is he sick?"
--- Disney's The Lion King
Before you can jump into action, there are two menus you must navigate.
First, before every game session, the main menu gives you a few options
to set that last throughout the game. Also, at the beginning of every
sortie, a weapons load must be chosen.
-------------------
[2.1] GAME SETTINGS
-------------------
In the main menu, apart from looking at a none-too-useful demonstration
and viewing high scores, you can set several options for your upcoming
game session:
PILOT ONLY/PILOT AND WEAPON MAN: In the default Pilot setting, you are
assumed to be playing alone. If you choose Pilot and Weapon Man, you are
assumed to be playing with a partner, where one controls the aircraft and
the other fires at the targets. This affects how the joystick and keyboard
control the use of weapons. Playing together means each player has less
to do simultaneously, but attacking will require good coordination between
the two, so it's not necessarily easier. Definitely more fun, though.
AWAT: Allows you to choose between playing in Summer, Winter or at Night.
Default is summer, where enemies are easy to spot in the bright green
terrain. In winter snow covers everything, making ground targets a little
harder to spot. At night everything is dark, making every kind of combat a
lot more challenging.
LEVEL: There are 9 difficulty levels to choose from. Level 1 is a training
level - enemies do not fire at you at all, but you do not get any points
for destroying targets either. There is only one ground group which starts
very close to your base and doesn't move, and this group is replenished
indefinitely as you destroy elements of it. The idea is to have an
unlimited number of targets to practice on right outside your base. Enemy
fighters occasionally come but cannot harm you, and enemy ships never
arrive. From level 2 on, the game begins in earnest: you get targets of
all kinds, and ground forces do advance. As the level increases, so does
the number of enemy ground groups and fighters, and enemies become more
aggressive. At level 9 it is almost impossible to attack a ground or naval
group without being shot up badly, and enemies advance rapidly into your
territory.
Level 1 is a good choice to start until you are comfortable with
destroying ground targets, at which point you should switch to level 2 to
get some real action. I recommend staying there and moving up one level at
a time only when you've managed to finish the game on the current level.
As for AWAT, summer is the obvious starting choice. Winter and night are
interesting alternative choices when you're more familiar with the game.
-----------------------
[2.2] AVAILABLE WEAPONS
-----------------------
There are five different weapons to be used in Ace, although one is
actually a defensive measure. Your plane cannot carry all these
weapons at once, though, and therefore you must choose wisely what
you will take along. The following weapons will be at your disposal:
CANNON: A fast firing, highly powerful cannon, possibly a 30mm like
the one on an A-10. Your cannon is powerful enough to shred nearly
every target in the game, including combat tanks. The only targets
that cannot be harmed with it are the heavily armored warships.
AIR TO AIR: Reliable missiles used to take down enemy jets, or the
helicopters that frequently accompany enemy ground forces. These
may be Sidewinders or Stingers. Either way, though, they are not
"fire and forget" like those missiles are in real life, and you
will need to keep the target into your sights after firing to
maintain lock. These missiles are very fast, however, and tend to
reach and destroy their target in a second or two. As long as
the target is well in your sights when you fire, you're not
going to miss.
AIR TO GROUND: Possibly Hellfires, these missiles lock on to any
ground target and destroy it with a single hit. You will need to
get the target into your sights and keep it there after launch to
make sure the missile maintains lock. Hellfires can be used against
either SAMs or tanks, but do not lock onto the low flying
helicopters, so make sure to switch to your cannon or air to air
missiles for that. Air to ground projectiles also lack the power
to sink enemy warships.
AIR TO SHIP: Heavy and powerful torpedoes, possibly Penguins, that have
been specifically designed to punch sizable holes in armored
warships and sink them. They are useless against any other targets,
and taking them with you means you cannot take any other missiles
along (they're that heavy). Yet they are the only weapon in the game
capable of sinking warships, and do so quite efficiently. Use them
in the same way you use air to ground missiles: get the ship in your
sights, and keep it there after firing to maintain lock. The torpedo
should reach its target quickly.
DECOY FLARES: A short lasting source of intense heat, decoy flares
are intended to throw off heat seeking missiles, causing them to
lock on to the flare rather than your tailpipe. In real life these
are not as effective as they once were, with missiles getting more
and more sophisticated, but in Ace they are amazing. Launching a
flare will automatically throw off any missiles currently on your
tail, meaning you won't have to break off your attack run to evade
them. Unfortunately, you do need to switch to decoy flares like
any other weapon, so you will not be able to launch flares and
weapons at the same time. The exception is when you are playing
with a pilot and a weapon man - the pilot can still fire the cannon
while flares are being used. This may in fact be the best advantage that
a pilot/weapon man combination gets you.
---------------------
[2.3] WEAPON LOADOUTS
---------------------
At the beginning of the game, after each succesful landing, or after
having ejected and being returned to base, you get to choose the weapons
load for your next mission. There are four possible configurations. In
every one, you'll be given 30 decoy flares to be used against enemy
missiles, and a full load of 6000 cannon rounds that are useful against
any non-naval target. Which missiles you get to engage the enemy with
depends on your choice, though, out of the following four:
MULTIROLE: A balanced loadout useful against both ground and air targets.
You get 8 air to air missiles and 8 air to ground missiles in this one,
providing plenty of firepower against either enemy jets or ground
formations.
AIR SUPERIORITY: Specifically intended to deal with those pesky jets, this
configuration gives you 12 air to air missiles and nothing else.
GROUND ATTACK: If it's time to treat an enemy ground formation to some
loving death from above, this is your configuration. You get no less than
16 air to ground missiles, and even 2 air to air missiles to help against
helicopters or any jets that interfere (though you will probably need to
rely on your cannon against those, as well).
NAVAL ATTACK: If you live long enough to see the enemy fleet appear near
the coast, this loadout provides you with the only means to engage them.
You get 8 air to ship torpedoes and nothing else - these torpedoes are so
heavy that carrying other missiles is not an option. You still have your
cannon to deal with any enemy planes, though.
Summarizing the loadouts, you get the following in each:
LOADOUT CANNON AIR GROUND SHIP FLARES
Multirole 6000 8 8 0 30
Air sup. 6000 12 0 0 30
Ground 6000 2 16 0 30
Naval 6000 0 0 8 30
Personally I prefer taking the ground attack loadout throughout the game,
taking a multirole only if too many jets appear. Air superiority just
doesn't provide enough flexibility, and I rarely take off with the sole
intention of shooting down jets. As a result, I'm never using that one.
Near the end of the game, when the ships appear, it's naval attack all the
way.
==============================================================================
[3] BASIC CONTROLS
==============================================================================
"What'll this button do?" *BOOM*
--- "Living Doll", Young Ones version
Compared to a real plane or even to a modern flight simulator game, Ace
has relatively simple controls. It's still two notches above the usual
Commodore routine of "push joystick in right direction and press button to
shoot", though. If you hope to succeed in combat, there are two things
you will have to master: properly reading the displays available to you,
and knowing by heart which key to press for what function. It wouldn't
do if you had to look for the right button to switch to air to air
missiles when the enemy jets are already firing at you, after all, and
it would be more embarassing still if you forgot how to lower your landing
gear when you're coming in for your final pass.
---------------------
[3.1] COCKPIT DISPLAY
---------------------
This is a crude ASCII layout of the cockpit display of Ace:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
x x
x x
x COCKPIT VIEW x
x x
x x
x SIGHTS x
x xxxxxxxxxxxx x
x xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx x
xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx
x THRUST RADAR x
x FUEL RADIO x
x ALT UC x
x VEL COMPASS BEARING REAR CAM WEAPON x
x SC x
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Below follows an explanation of each element of this display.
COCKPIT VIEW: This is basically what you can see outside. You visually
spot your targets here and train your sights on them, and if your bearing
indicator has been shot up, you will have to rely on this to help
straighten your craft after a confusing maneuver.
THRUST: a bar indicating how hard your engine is working. If it's all the
way to the left, you are not generating any thrust, which is fine if
you're on the runway but somewhat disturbing if you're in the air. If it's
all the way to the right, you are generating maximum thrust, and will be
approaching maximum velocity if you're not climbing steeply. Thrust,
together with the current bearing of your plane, directly affects your
airspeed.
FUEL: a bar indicating how much fuel you have left. Your engine obviously
needs fuel to function, and running out will cause it to stop running -
not a good thing if you're in midair. Fuel is consumed steadily, and
consumption increases if you've got your engines at maximum thrust
(inevitable if you want to get to places quickly) or if you do a lot of
maneuvering. You'll find that dogfighting drinks fuel much more quickly
than a ground attack does. Refueling can be done either by landing at
a friendly airbase, or meeting up with the refueling tanker for the
hazardous but wildly exhilerating (and sometimes necessary) process of
midair refueling.
ALT: A number displaying your current altitude in feet. If this is zero,
you are on the ground, and hopefully on the runway. If this is 500 feet
or below, you are at what the game considers "low altitude", where
ground targets are almost impossible to hit because you spot them very
late, and where you risk crashing into hills. If you are above 3000 feet,
you are too high to spot any ground targets, and you will be pelted by
anti-air flak whenever you are over enemy territory. You are, however,
very maneuverable here. Above 10000 feet your craft is very agile and
this is an excellent altitude for dogfights - flak can't reach this high
either. You can continue to climb after this up to your plane's maximum
altitude of 70000 feet. Beyond that, you cannot get sufficient lift on
the ever thinning air. The game will not allow you to climb any further.
VEL: A number displaying your current velocity, or airspeed, in knots.
Every plane needs a certain velocity to remain airborne - with
insufficient speed, not enough lift is generated and the plane will no
longer respond properly to its controls. Instead it will start an
uncontrolled dive known as a stall. This dive does of course generate new
speed and will usually solve itself, but careless stalling at low altitudes
(especially during a landing) can be a fatal error. Your craft needs an
airspeed of 150 knots to take off or to stay in the air properly, and a
little more during complex maneuvers.
Velocity is important for a number of other reasons as well: it must be below
300 whenever your landing gear is out (or the friction caused by the landing
gear will shred your hull), it must not be too high during ground or naval
attacks or you'll barely have time to lock onto your targets before they
flash by (around 300 knots is ideal), and of course, a higher velocity means
you get where you want to go faster. Velocity is directly affected by your
thrust, and by the current bearing of your plane: climbing and banking costs
speed, flying straight or diving increases your speed. When flying straight
and level, maximum thrust will result in an airspeed just below 1000 knots.
If you're diving at the same time, you can get just over 1200 knots.
SC: The one indicator that you won't see in an actual plane, this
displays your current score. Points are scored solely by destroying
enemy targets, as follows:
Unarmed SAM - 10 points
Armed SAM - 30 points
Tank - 40 points
Helicopter - 80 points
Jet #1 - 100 points
Jet #2 - 150 points
Warship - 500 points
No points are scored on level 1, the training level on which enemies
do not return fire. On level 2-9, all points scored are added to your
total, which is checked against the top 5 high scores list after
the end of the game. If high enough, you will be allowed to enter
the name of the pilot (and the weapon man if there was one) for all
to see.
UC: A simple graphic informing you if your undercarriage, or landing
gear, is currently up or down. Obviously, it has to be down to
land, and must be up when you are flying (going above 300 knots with
your landing gear down will cause your hull to shred). Paying close
attention to this indicator is vital during takeoff and landing.
COMPASS: The compass tells you which direction you are currently heading
in. Using this together with frequently looking at the map will allow you
to find your targets as well as your home base and the refueling tanker.
RADAR: Used during combat and while landing, the radar is an incredibly
important tool. It shows your plane and the area immediately ahead of you,
farther than you can spot visually, and will show enemy ground or naval
targets as grey dots, planes as small white silhouettes, and the runway
as a thin grey line. The radar will allow you to line up properly for
a landing or an attack run, and quickly spot which direction to turn to
get an enemy in your sights during a dogfight. If your radar is damaged
during combat, you are severely handicapped in your ability to fight and
will likely have trouble landing properly, as well.
BEARING: Two small silhouettes of your plane indicate your current
bearing, showing you if you are climbing or diving and/or turning left
or right. Normally you will have a good grasp of this yourself, but the
complex maneuvering involved with dogfighting can confuse you quickly.
This indicator will help you right your plane again. If it is damaged
in combat, you will want to be extra careful in dogfights since you
will have only your own eyes to rely on.
RADIO: Important messages from the game are relayed through the radio,
always written, and sometimes spoken as well. Messages flash in either
green, yellow or red, usually indicating if this is good or bad news,
or if there's imminent danger or not. The following messages can appear
on your radio (messages which are also spoken are indicated with a *):
GREEN MESSAGES
"Clear for takeoff": You are on the runway at the beginning of a mission
and ready to start your flight.
"Clear for landing": You are approaching your runway and your craft
automatically goes into "runway mode" to land. The game will not check
for you if you're actually low and slow enough to make the landing, that's
your own responsibility. This message will show up whenever you are over
your runway, even if you're just passing by, so this doesn't mean that you
*have* to land.
"Allied territory": you just crossed into allied territory, which means
you no longer have to fear enemy ground forces or flak. Enemy planes can
and will follow you into your own territory, though.
"Target destroyed": This shows up whenever you successfully destroy any
enemy target. Good work!
"Missile evaded": If you've outmaneuvered an enemy missile or launched
a decoy flare at it, it will lose its lock and you get this message
to let you know the danger is past, for the moment.
* "Touchdown": You have put your craft down on the runway successfully,
and should now cut your thrust to come to a standstill. The game does
not check for you if you have enough runway left to come to a halt
before you run off the runway, that's your responsibility. If you
see you are not going to make it, do not cut thrust; increase it to
full and go for an emergency takeoff. If you're not going to make
that either, it's time to eject and feel very ashamed.
YELLOW MESSAGES
"Level one, crew in training": This shows as a constant reminder if
you're playing on level one, and gets annoying quickly. On this level,
enemies will not fire back, the one enemy ground group in the game is
replenished indefinitely, and no points are scored.
"Refuel at alt xxxxx, vel xxx": If the refuel tanker is in the air and
ready to refuel you, this message will tell you what altitude and
airspeed the craft is at. To refuel, you'll need to fly over there,
match its altitude and slowly overtake it from behind, matching its
airspeed once you're close enough to refuel. The plane is normally
quite high, around 30000 feet, and its speed tends to be below 300
knots.
RED MESSAGES
* "Low altitude": You are below 500 feet and risk crashing into hills, or
even into the ground if you do not pull up quickly. Upon seeing and
hearing this message, you should pull up immediately. If you're going
down fast, you may not even get it in time.
* "Stall warning": Your airspeed has fallen below the minimum necessary
to stay airborne (150 knots normally, more if you're in a tight turn).
Your aircraft will not respond properly to your controls anymore and
start a dive of its own. If this occurs, increase thrust to maximum and
turn the uncontrolled dive into a shallow, controlled one, pulling up
as soon as you have enough speed for it. If a stall occurs during a
landing, pull up also - you're not going to survive this one, so set
up a for a second pass. A stall may occur as a result of having run out
of fuel or having an engine flameout - the latter is only temporary, but
in either case, it may be time to eject if you can't get out of your
stall.
* "Fuel warning": You are either out of fuel, or close to it. If you're
still in enemy territory and engaging the enemy while you see this, you're
normally too late. You need to keep an eye on your fuel gauge yourself
and either return to base or rendez-vous with the tanker before you
run out. If your fuel does run out, your engine stops entirely and you
can probably forget about a safe landing even if you're close to your
airbase (a stall will follow soon). Ejection is your only option left in
this case.
"Enemy territory": You have crossed the border into enemy territory,
which means you now have to watch out for ground forces, and you will be
constantly attacked by flak whenever you are between 3000 and 10000
feet. Flak is normally not that accurate, but it will hit from time to
time, so spend as little time in that altitude range as you can.
* "Missile warning": An enemy SAM, helicopter, jet or warship has
launched a heatseeking anti-air missile at you. The missile will lock
onto your tail (and become visible on your rear camera), then close in
and detonate on impact, causing significant damage. In real life, one
missile would be plenty to tear your plane to pieces, but Ace is
somewhat more forgiving. Nevertheless, if missiles are launched at you,
ignoring them is not a good idea - you should either break left or right
or launch a decoy flare in the few seconds you have before the missile
hits you.
"Aircraft behind you": There's nothing a pilot fears more than an enemy
plane on his six. If this message appears, one or more enemy fighters
have positioned themselves on your tail and can now pelt you with
cannon and missile fire at will. If this occurs, stop what you are doing
and break left or right immediately, or you will be chewed up in no
time.
"Damage sustained": This one's hard to miss, as you'll hear a loud bang,
the border of the screen will flicker red, and your plane will be shook.
You've just been hit by enemy gunfire or a missile, and possibly taken
damage to a vital system. Every hit on your plane increases the chance
that something is damaged or destroyed, and consistent hits can destroy
your engine. Your craft is fairly sturdy, though, so a few hits are
nothing to worry about yet (though you should obviously prevent any hit
that you can).
* "Collision warning": This can show up during refueling in midair,
and needs to be taken very seriously. If you foolishly approach from any
other side than the rear, or if you are going faster than the tanker,
you risk colliding with it, which is instant death. If you see this and you
are not 100% positive you are approaching from the rear, dive! And if you are
coming from the rear, cut throttle immediately. Even then, when in doubt,
dive. Better to have to set up for another pass than to lose your craft and
probably destroy the tanker as well.
* "Rear cam destroyed": Although many things can be damaged on your
plane, the loss of the rear camera is one thing the radio actually
informs you of. Not that you could miss it, with the display suddenly
turning to snow.
* "Engine flameout": Among the worst things to happen to your plane, a hit
can cause engine fire. Your plane is equipped with automatic measures against
this: the engine will shut down immediately to cut off fuel supply, and an
extinguisher will activate automatically. You will not have to worry about
your plane exploding, but of course this measure does mean you are completely
without thrust for a moment, a moment that is probably too long if you're at
a low altitude. Do what you can to stay airborne - if you're high, a slow
glide down will prevent stalling. Meanwhile, keep trying to increase your
thrust again. Some time after the flameout, you will get a little thrust back
which may be just enough to stay alive, and soon after that your engine will
be functioning normally again. However, every time you suffer a flameout, it
will last longer than before and eventually your engine may be destroyed
permanently.
"Airbase captured": The enemy is not sitting still, and their ground
forces mercilessly advance into your territory. If they reach any of
your three airbases, it falls into their hands, meaning you can no longer
land there and they can scramble their jets from there now. This message
informs you that this has occured, and if it happens you'll have to
reevaluate your position immediately; you may be pretty far away from the
other airbases at the time and might need to return immediately.
Obviously, if all three airbases fall in enemy hands, you are in severe
trouble: while you can still refuel in midair, you can no longer have
your craft repaired or rearmed, nor can you still eject anywhere on the
map (since there is no airbase to return to). If it gets this far, the
enemy has basically won the battle, and your fate is sealed.
REAR CAM: The rear camera will show what is happening immediately
behind you, and can aid you in three ways. First, you can see land/sea and
the air on here, which can help you orient yourself if your bearing
indicator has been damaged. Obviously, if you see land your nose is in the
air, and if you see air you are diving. Second, any missiles on your tail
can be seen here, and if you see one you know you will have to launch a
flare or break left or right to shake off the missile. Third, enemy planes
can be spotted here, and seeing one on your rear cam means trouble. A decoy
flare won't scare a plane, so breaking is your only option.
WEAPON: Finally, the window in the bottom right shows your currently
selected weapon. While on the runway or during takeoff/landing, it will
say "runway mode" here, and you will have no targeting sights either.
During a rendez-vous with the tanker, it will say "refuel mode" and you
will similarly be unable to fight. In all other cases, this displays the
currently selected weapon: cannon, air to air, air to ground, air to ship or
decoy flare.
-----------------------
[3.2] AIRCRAFT CONTROLS
-----------------------
Your aircraft is controlled by both the keyboard and the joystick - not a
choice between the two, but a mandatory combination. It won't do to sit in a
chair in front of the television with your keyboard at your feet - it is better
to have your keyboard on a table right next or in front of you, or else on your
lap, so you have quick access to everything. When playing with a weapon man,
the keyboard needs to be placed such that both can access it, with the weapon
man being able to reach the right side (where all the keys relevant to weapon
usage are). Alternatively the pilot could focus on the joystick entirely while
the weapon man handles everything on the keyboard, including thrust and the
undercarriage, but this requires even better coordination. It's a matter of
personal preference.
A summary of all the controls, followed by a detailed explanation of
each, will now follow.
---------------------------------------------------------------
CONTROLS OVERVIEW (print for easy reference)
---------------------------------------------------------------
SPACE: Increase thrust
C= KEY: Decrease thrust
E: Eject
U: raise/lower undercarriage (landing gear)
M: display map
F1: Switch to next weapon
F7: Fire selected weapon (if pilot + weapon man was chosen)
Joystick down: climb
Joystick up: dive
Joystick left: turn left (flight mode)
adjust heading left (runway/refuel mode)
taxi left (on runway)
Joystick right: turn right (flight mode)
adjust heading right (runway/refuel mode)
taxi right (on runway)
Fire button: fire selected weapon (if pilot only was chosen)
fire cannon (if pilot + weapon man was chosen)
----------------------------------------------------------------
THRUST CONTROLS: Your engine thrust is increased with the space bar and
decreased with the Commodore key (at the bottom left of your keyboard,
on emulators this is usually simulated by left CTRL). You can press and
hold these keys to go between no and full thrust in seconds. It takes
your plane some time to speed up or slow down appropriately, but the
effect will be noticeable quickly. Usually, it's best to go full throttle
during takeoff and to keep it full when navigating. In dogfights, full
throttle will help you stay out of trouble but will also make targeting
more difficult - about two thirds normally yields better results. When
doing ground or naval attacks, about half throttle will slow you down
enough to hit your targets well. During landing, you must steadily
cut the throttle until it's only one or two notches away from empty when
you put down - do not cut it entirely before you're on the ground, though,
or you may stall and crash into the runway in the last second.
If your thrust fails to increase when you press the space bar, there are
two possible game-related causes: either you are having an engine flameout
after having been hit (this resolves itself automatically, so keep holding
the space bar until you see results), or you are out of fuel (this does
not resolve itself, obviously).
Always keep in mind that thrust is only one of two ways available to you
to change your velocity. Climbing and diving is just as important in
bleeding off speed and getting it back. And remember, the higher you are,
the more potential speed you have that can be unlocked by diving and
trading altitude for speed.
EJECT: If you do not have enough fuel to reach your airbase, or if you
are about to crash and can no longer prevent it, your last resort is to
eject. This is only allowed in friendly territory, although if you have
defeated the enemy ground forces and all terrain belongs to the allies
again, you are allowed to do this over the sea as well. You will always
be rescued, so an ejection cannot fail. After ejecting, you will be
returned to the nearest airbase and given a new plane, and the game
proceeds as if you had just landed. There are two things that need to
be noted about ejecting, though: first, you can never eject over enemy
territory (so if you get in trouble there, tough luck), and once you
have ejected twice, you are no longer allowed to do it a third time. Once
you've ditched two valuable aircraft, you will go down with your third
one.
Ejecting does not cost any points and there's no risk involved, though you
should obviously not do it for fun. Save the two ejection chances you get
to be used when you have no other choice.
UNDERCARRIAGE: a vital part of landing properly, incorrect use of your
landing gear can result in instant death. There are basically two things
you can do wrong: either you can be on the runway with your landing gear
up, or you can be flying at too high an airspeed with the landing gear
down. Either is fatal. The proper timing for raising and lowering your
landing gear is described in the takeoff and landing section, but remember
this rule of thumb: you may only have your landing gear down if you are
below 300 knots, and you *must* have your landing gear down when you
touch down. If you can conclude from that that you must be below 300 knots
to be able to land, you may be pilot material after all.
MAP: The map is vital in locating your airbases as well as your targets,
and pressing M will toggle between cockpit and map view. Looking at the
map does *not* pause your game nor freeze your controls, and it is
perfectly possible to die while looking at your map. You should only
consult it when you're flying straight and level, at an appropriate
attitude, and not in immediate danger of being attacked. The following
things show on your map:
Allied/enemy territory: your territories are marked green, enemy
territory is red. While over enemy territory, you cannot eject, and
flak will fire on you continuously whenever you are between 3000 and 10000
feet. If all territory on the map is green, the enemy invasion has been
beaten off, sea is considered friendly territory as well (so you can eject
there, which you couldn't before), and the enemy fleet should appear.
Sea: marked blue, the sea is in the southeastern corner of the map. This
is where the enemy made their initial landing, so the territory immediately
around it starts in their hands. The sea is considered enemy territory
initially (no flak, but you cannot eject there), but is considered friendly
once all enemy ground forces have been defeated. At that point, you can
eject there should you need to. Hills are obviously not a concern over the
sea, but I still wouldn't recommend crashing into the sea itself.
Your craft: you are shown as a white silhouette on the map, and you can
see which direction you are heading in as well. If you do not appear on the
map, you've flown off it. Time to head in the opposite direction until
you can see yourself again. Frequently consulting the map should prevent
this from happening, though.
Airbases: friendly airbases show as grey squares in allied territory. Be
careful not to let these fall into enemy hands, or they will no longer
be available to you. You start every game with three airbases. All can
be approached from the west, east, north or south, and will have a runway
open to you either way. Upon takeoff, you will be taxied back to the
beginning of the runway, still facing the direction you landed in (so if
you landed from the east, you will be taking off heading west). Landing
your craft will allow you to choose a new weapons loadout for your next
sortie, and fully repair and refuel you.
Refuel tanker: appearing over friendly territory a while after takeoff,
this tanker usually heads straight west or east at a high altitude and
a low speed. You can meet up with it to refuel in midair, although this
is a dangerous maneuver that should only be attempted if you have no
other choice. Landing at an airbase is usually preferred. The tanker
obviously cannot repair your damage or replenish your weapons.
Enemy ground forces: looking like a small black tank slowly advancing,
this icon represents a mixed enemy ground force consisting of tanks,
SAMs and helicopters. Whenever it advances into allied territory, that
territory becomes red and falls in enemy hands, and when enemy ground
forces reach one of your airbases, it falls to them as well. The only
way to prevent this is to relentlessly strike these enemy units. If
you destroy enough of them, the unit is routed and disappears from
the map for good.
Enemy planes: this icon looks like two black planes next to each other,
although on later levels they may consist of more than two in practice,
and the icon will continue to look like this even if there's only one
plane left. Planes move much faster than ground forces, and although
they can freely advance into your airspace, they do not actually
conquer territory. They are after one thing only: you. When the planes
manage to intercept you, they will show on your radar and immediately
attack with cannons and missiles. Since they are as fast as you are,
shaking them off is nearly impossible, and you will usually want to
shoot them down as soon as you can. New planes can be launched from
oversea and appear at the southeastern part of the map, but can also
be scrambled from your former airbases if the enemy has captured any.
Enemy warships: this icon looks like two enemy battleships, though
it represent many more than that. Each is a small group of enemy
warships, and they appear only after all enemy ground forces have
been defeated. Naval attacks are dangerous because ships are very
heavily armed, and can only be destroyed with air to ship torpedoes,
but warships are also the most valuable targets in the game. Like
ground forces, ship formations disappear from the map when you have
destroyed enough individual ships in them, and once you rout the
last formation, the war is won and the game is over.
WEAPON CONTROLS: F1 cycles between Cannon, Air to Air, Air to Ground,
Air to Ship and Decoy Flares in that order. The currently selected weapon
shows on the display in the bottom right of your screen, yellow when you
have at least one serving left, and red if you've run out of this weapon
(or never had it in the first place in this layout). Weapon loadouts can
be refilled and/or changed by landing at a friendly airbase.
How weapons are fired differs depending on whether you chose "pilot only"
or "pilot and weapon man" prior to starting the game. If you are flying
alone, the joystick's fire button will fire the currently selected weapon,
and F7 does nothing. If you are flying with a weapon man, the fire button
will always fire the cannon regardless of what weapon has been selected,
and the F7 key will fire the currently selected weapon (which may also
be the cannon if desired).
JOYSTICK CONTROLS: Steering your plane is done with the joystick, and you
will find your craft to be very agile in most maneuvers. Pulling the stick
toward you will make you climb, and pushing it forward will make you dive.
Your craft can be turned by pushing the joystick left or right in flight
mode. However, if you are currently in runway mode (for instance, when
you are landing) or refueling mode, pushing the stick left or right will
cause a slight course correction without actually banking your plane,
which is useful to get the right bearing on the runway or the tanker's
fuel sack. You cannot switch between these modes yourself, so if you want
to do maneuvering again, move away from the runway or the tanker until
you automatically switch to flight mode (indicated by your targeting
sights appearing).
Your craft is capable of flying upside down and looping (as in real life,
an upside down loop is far easier to perform without stalling out than
a regular one), and you can break a lot of G's by flipping your craft on
its left or right wing and then pulling the stick back. A reverse break
by pushing the stick, however, is not possible, and your dives are a bit
sluggish. Keep this in mind when dogfighting - if you need to dive to
reacquire your target, it's better to flip around and "climb" while upside
down.
==============================================================================
[4] TAKEOFF AND LANDING
==============================================================================
Combat is all well and good, but you'll have to get to your enemy first,
and you need to get back to base every now and then too. Taking off isn't
so hard, though you might botch it the first few times until you get used
to it. Landing is a different story - a successful landing can be more
harrowing than a combat run, and it will take you some practice before
you can do this without crashing. Completing the entire game in one
sortie is just not possible, though (and not in three sorties either if
you wish to rely on ejecting to get you back to base), so it's not a
question of whether you want to learn it. You'll have to.
----------------
[4.1] Taking off
----------------
Every sortie starts at the beginning of the runway, even if you didn't
land that quickly. Your plane has been taxied to the start of the runway
to give you plenty of room for your takeoff. Your plane does not have
air or wheel brakes or even flaps, so your takeoff is a lot simpler than
in real life - just press and hold the space bar to get to full thrust,
and when your velocity is over 150 knots, pull the stick back to take off.
Attempting to take off with less speed will simply fail. Getting yourself
killed during takeoff can only be accomplished by pushing the stick
forward and burying your nose into the concrete (why anybody would do that
is beyond me), foolishly raising your landing gear while on the runway
(highly unprofessional as well), or forgetting to take off and running
out of runway (possible, but far more likely during landing).
When you do have liftoff, you'll see your speed climbing rapidly. You
cannot go over 300 knots with your landing gear down, and attempting to
do so will wreck your plane, so you'll need to raise your landing gear
quickly, preferably as soon as you leave the ground. So while building
up the speed needed for liftoff, keep your finger over that U key and
as soon as you take off and you see your altitude climbing, press it.
Now you'll need to climb, because you don't want to crash into the hills
right after your takeoff. A good cruising altitude is 2500 feet, low
enough to not get hit by enemy flak once you get into their territory,
and high enough to avoid hills, engage ground targets and even do some
dogfighting (though you might want to climb further for that). As long
as you are still over the runway, you're in runway mode and can't climb
too steeply, but once you are clear your targeting sights appear, you
go into flight mode and can climb well. You may get a Low Altitude
warning before you can do that, but ignore it - there are still a few
miles of totally clear terrain surrounding each airbase, so there's
no immediate risk of crashing into a hill. Just climb when you can
and you'll be fine.
When you are all clear and at your cruising altitude, hit M to access
the map and start planning your attack. Get a bearing on your target,
then go back to the cockpit and use the compass to find the right angle
of approach. Frequently check the map while on your way to the target,
both to see if you are still heading in the right direction and to spot
any developments (such as enemy planes intercepting you).
That's the basics of taking off and finding your target. Summarizing it:
1. Increase thrust to full and be ready to pull back the stick and raise
your landing gear;
2. Pull back when you are over 150 knots, and raise your landing gear
as soon as you have liftoff;
3. Climb when you can to a cruising altitude of about 2500 feet;
4. Refer to your map to find your intended target and start your
approach.
-------------
[4.2] Landing
-------------
Getting safely in the air wasn't that hard, but landing is a lot more
difficult. You will likely fail it your first few tries and even after
you've learned it, you may still mess it up now and then. That's a fact of
Ace; landing is the hardest part and also immediately fatal if you do it
wrong. That said, paying close attention and practicing a lot will make
you better at it, and as long as you keep your wits about you, you should
be able to pull it off time after time.
First things first, you can only land from one of the four main directions,
north, east, south or west. Once you've chosen an airbase using your map,
line up your craft with the base in one of these directions and then
approach in a straight line. Dive to about 1000-1500 feet when you can,
you want to be low when you start your landing. If there are any enemy
planes nearby and you have enough fuel for a dogfight, consider taking
them down first. Landing is hard enough without missiles up your six,
and the enemy will certainly appreciate the easy target.
When your map indicates that you are getting close to the airbase (your
silhouette begins to overlap it), you will also notice a break in the
hills. You are now over the clear territory surrounding the airbase, and
have to do two things. First, dive to about 500 feet (which is now safe
because there are no more hills around), and cut your throttle to about
a third. The airbase will soon show on your radar and you will go into
runway mode. Your targeting sights disappear and the radio flashes
"clear for landing". If, when this all occurs, you are not yet at 500
feet and one third throttle, play safe, get throttle back to full, climb
and go for another pass. If you are within the right parameters, nudge
the joystick left or right to line up the radar image of the runway
with your craft, and start descending very slowly to 200 feet.
By now the airstrip will appear visually as well, and you should cut
throttle a little more. Watch your velocity closely, you want it steady
between 200-250 knots. If it falls below 150, you risk stalling and
crashing, and if it's above 300, you cannot lower your landing gear
and landing will be impossible. When in doubt, once again, go full
throttle, climb and go for another pass. If all looks well, lower
your landing gear when your velocity is around 200-250, and gently go
to 100-200 feet. Keep in mind that if you dive too quickly, your
airspeed might go over 300 - this is the main reason why we are
taking this step by step. Your thrust should be such by now that
a shallow descent does not increase your speed over 250 - two or
three notches from zero will accomplish this.
Do not go below 100 feet until you see the strip right below you and
you see the white lines moving. This indicates that you are fully
over it. Go into the shallowest possible dive (you have a small
margin for error here but planting your nose into the runway is
fatal), and keep your hand at the Commodore key. As soon as you
hit 0 altitude, the radio will announce "Touch down" and you should
cut your throttle entirely. Your craft should be at 0 knots long
before you reach the end of the runway, but if you touched down
very fast or very late you might not make it. Once again, when
in doubt, go full throttle, take off again (don't forget to raise
the landing gear!), climb, and do a new pass. Better to try it one time
too many than to crash. If it seems like you won't be managing a
new takeoff either, eject.
When your craft is fully still you are returned to the weapons loadout
menu. After you choose a loadout, your craft is returned to the start
of the airstrip, fully armed, refueled and repaired, and ready for the
next sortie.
Summarizing landing:
1. Line up with your airbase directly north, south, east or west of it,
using your map;
2. Go to an altitude of 1000-1500 feet until you clear the hills
surrounding your airbase;
3. Dive to 500 feet and cut your throttle to one third;
4. Line up properly with you airbase using the radar and later visually,
and gently dive to 200 feet when you see the strip;
5. Slowly cut the throttle until it's two or three notches away from zero,
and descend to between 100 and 200 feet - then lower your landing gear;
6. Wait until you see the white lines on the airstrip moving, and then
descend to 0 feet as slowly as possible;
7. Upon touchdown, cut thrust entirely to zero;
8. When in doubt during any part of the landing, go to full thrust and
climb again, raising your landing gear if it's down, and go for a new
pass.
==============================================================================
[5] DOGFIGHTING
==============================================================================
"Air combat is a very complex 'game'. It becomes more complex when you
start mixing airplanes in it."
--- Gen. Chuck Yeager, USAF, ret.
Compared to landing or a harrowing ground attack, dogfighting is actually
not that difficult. As long as enemy planes do not slip on your six and
you do not maneuver yourself into the ground, coming out alive is not
too hard, and enemy planes fetch quite a lot of points.
The game has two kinds of jets, with the second (more valuable) kind
only appearing on higher difficulty levels. I'm not really sure on the
difference between the two, though. Both use both cannons and missiles
against you, and that from level two on.
As soon as you approach enemy planes, they will appear on your radar as
thin white silhouettes and you can figure out which way to turn to get
them in front of you. Their altitude is something you will have to figure
out for yourself, but they are always close - they can never be far above
or below you, just a little bit so that they don't line up against the
horizon all the time. To take one down, line him up in your sights and
either fire an air to air missile (if you time the launch right you
almost can't miss, even if you don't manage to keep him in your sights
after that), or put the cannon on him. The best way to do that is to start
firing when you are close, hold the fire button down and then lead your
sights over them. A lot easier to score a kill that way than to try to
get them exactly in the middle of your sights before you start firing.
You have plenty of cannon rounds to take down a score of enemy planes
if your aim is good, so don't worry too much about wasting a few rounds.
When in doubt, shoot.
Evading enemy gunfire is a simple matter of not letting them on your
tail. If one does slip there, you will get a warning from your radio *and*
see the plane on your rear cam, so it's impossible to miss this. Drop what
you are doing, even if you have a juicy target in your sights, turn hard
and then break left or right. No enemy will be able to stay on your tail
when you do this, especially if you are flying high (you are more
maneuverable high up).
A missile takes a little more effort to evade. When your radio warns you
of one, you can either switch to decoy flares and launch one as soon as
the missile appears on your rear camera, or keep fighting and be ready
to break when you spot the missile. It can be dodged either way, but
once you spot the missile, you have only a few seconds to react before
it hits you, and a missile hit is more damaging than enemy gunfire.
The last thing to watch out for during dogfighting is the ground. Sounds
obvious, but you'd be surprised how quickly you can lose sight of your
altitude if you're turning and breaking and looping all over the place.
Try to keep your dogfights at a high altitude so enemy flak or even
ground forces/ships cannot provide backup for the enemy planes, and so
you can pull off any maneuver without having to worry about meeting
the ground halfway. Keep an eye on your altitude meter from time to time -
you will usually lose more altitude than you expect during a dogfight. Be
sure to climb from time to time, but keep watching your tail. Enemy
fighters cannot be run into the ground, so don't waste time trying.
Summarizing air combat:
1. Use either air to air missiles or your cannon to shoot enemies down;
2. Get an enemy in your sights before firing;
3. When a plane is on your rear, drop what you are doing and break;
4. When a missile is incoming, use either a decoy flare or a break
maneuver to shake it off;
5. Keep aware of the ground at all times and try to keep your dogfight
at a high altitude for best results.
===========================================================================
[6] GROUND ATTACKS
===========================================================================
"War is not Nintendo, after all. War is about killing."
--- Cmdr. Richard Marcinko, former USN
The war is not won by shooting down planes, nor will it slow the enemy's
relentless advance into your territory. You will have to seek out and
destroy the enemy ground forces for that. Every tank icon on the map
represents one such group, consisting of an indefinite number of SAMs,
tanks and helicopters. Once you have destroyed a certain number (that
number doesn't seem to be set in stone, but is somewhere around 15-20 most
of the time), the group disappears from the map, and does not come back.
You will have to deal with all the ground forces on the map this way to
win back all lost territory and begin the final attack against the enemy
fleet. Ground combat is not the most rewarding in terms of points, but
it is vital in completing the game. Just remember that every target
you destroy here brings those juicy warships a little closer.
Targets appear on your radar as soon as you are directly over the enemy
formation, and you will have to line up with them to destroy them. You
must also spot them visually, which requires you to be below 3000 feet.
Targets appear as vague hazes first, then turn into the silhouette of
the actual target when you are close enough. Trees appear in the same way
and at long range you may visually mistake a tree for a target, but your
radar will help you determine what is what. Also, if you see such a haze
moving to the left or right rather rapidly, you are tracking a helicopter.
SAMs and tanks do not move noticeably during combat, although the ground
groups do advance on the map over time.
SAMs are always armed initially, and will launch their missile at you when
they have a chance. They can launch even when they are in front of you,
but then the missile has to zoom past you first, lock onto your tailpipe
and *then* approach, so that gives you more time than usual to launch
a flare or break off. Usually enough time to destroy the SAM launcher
first. You get 30 points for taking out a SAM while it's carrying a
missile and 10 if it's currently unarmed and reloading.
Tanks cannot train their big gun on you; you are far too high for that.
But they can use their secondary machine gun, and will do just that. It's
like cannon fire from a jet, but less accurate, and will usually only hit
if you're going low and slow. It's not very damaging either, so all in
all tanks are easier to destroy than SAMs, and worth 40 points.
(NOTE: I theorize that when a ground group gets routed may be entirely
dependent on the number of tanks you destroy (with SAMs/helicopters not
factoring in at all). It would explain why I had trouble pinning down an exact
number of kills needed to rout a group. I'll be experimenting with this.)
Both SAMs and tanks can be engaged either with the cannon or air to ground
missiles. In the latter case, you must keep them in your sights until the
missile impacts, which can be a problem if you're going too low (around
1000 feet or even lower) or too fast (above 400 knots). In either case
the targets will zoom by very quickly and you'll barely have time to
get a shot off, let alone keep the target in your sights until impact. By
making sure your throttle is about half maximum or even a little lower,
and keeping your altitude between 1500 and 2500 feet, you can take out
targets much more easily, often several on one pass. Cannon requires a
little more aiming practice than air to ground missiles, but it's a
valuable skill to learn because even with the ground attack loadout
you probably don't have enough missiles to wipe out an entire group with
one sortie. Your cannon can make all the difference.
Helicopters, finally, move noticeably and try to stay out of your sights,
but of course you are much quicker and more maneuverable. They also
launch missiles, which are equivalent to the ones used by enemy planes
and SAMs, and dealt with in the same way. Note that although they fly
very low, helicopters must be taken out with air to air missiles, not
air to ground missiles. The cannon works fine, though, and you'll
probably be using that if you have the ground attack loadout (which only
includes 2 air to air missiles). A helicopter is worth 80 points.
When attacking any of these three targets, try not to get too low. Your
altitude will inescapably drop during ground attacks, moreso with the
cannon than with missiles because of the sustained dives you need, and
once you get below 1000 feet hitting your targets will become difficult.
Any lower and you risk running into hills or even just into the ground.
Don't let it get that far; build in shallow climbs from time to time, and
if you fall below 1000 feet, bring throttle up to full and climb to set
up for a new attack run.
After every pass, also check your fuel gauge. It's easy to get caught
up in battle and forget you still need to return home.
If you see enemy planes approaching on your map (which you should
keep checking frequently between attack runs), estimate if you have time
for another run before they are on you or not. Factor in fuel as well; you
will probably have to shoot down the planes to keep them from harassing you
during your landing. When they are getting close, climb out of range of the
ground forces and shoot down the planes before you continue. You are a sitting
duck while you are bombing ground targets, not to mention the fact that you'd
have to deal with fire from both the ground and the air targets at the same
time.
Summarizing ground combat:
- An attack speed between 250 and 400 knots and an altitude between 1500
and 2500 feet is ideal;
- You cannot properly engage above 400 knots or below 1000 feet, and
cannot see or hit ground targets at all above 3000 feet;
- SAMs and tanks can be hit with air to ground missiles, and helicopters
with air to air missiles. Both can be destroyed with the cannon as well;
- Take your time to dodge the missiles launched by SAMs and helicopters;
- Watch your fuel gauge and be ready to bug out when you need to;
- If enemy planes approach, deal with them before continuing your attack.
===========================================================================
[7] NAVAL ATTACKS
===========================================================================
This is it! When all ground forces have been eliminated, you'll get a
chance to bomb the enemy fleet, and this is where the big points are
scored. Every ship on the map represent a group of similar warships, all
heavily armed with both missiles and cannons, and only sinkable with heavy
air to ship torpedoes; but a whopping 500 points are scored for each
target.
You've already learned ground combat if you get this far, and naval
combat is much the same. Keep the same airspeed and altitude, only this
time, use air to ship missiles. Only the naval attack loadout has these,
so you need to get such a payload specifically, and you get only 8 at a
time, not enough to wipe out a group (that's usually around 10-12 kills).
Your cannon will not harm warships at all, so it's of no use to you now.
If enemy fighters crash the party, climb out of range of the warships (at
least there is no worry of flak while over the sea). I hope you've learned
how to kill with your cannon, because the naval attack payload does not
come with any air to air missiles. With a little luck, however, you'll
have achieved full air superiority by now and should have a clean run at
the ships.
It will take several sorties between the enemy fleet units and your nearest
airbase to destroy all targets, but once you have, the war is won, the
game ends (no need to land) and your score, well boosted by the big points
scored for sinking warships, will almost certainly be good enough for the
high scores list. Congratulations!
Summarizing naval combat:
- Follow the same rules for altitude and airspeed used previously in
ground combat;
- Remember that you *must* choose the naval attack loadout to be able
to do anything against ships at all;
- As before, watch for enemy fighters and keep an eye on your fuel gauge.
===========================================================================
[8] MIDAIR REFUELING
===========================================================================
Under construction. At the time of writing this FAQ, I haven't done this
recently, so I cannot say much about it yet. Here are a few basic
guidelines, though:
- Only refuel in midair if you have no other choice. If there is an airbase
in range, go there instead, it's easier and gets you repairs and weapons
as well;
- Check your map for the tanker's position and your radio for the right
altitude and airspeed;
- Always approach the tanker from the back;
- If you think you are about to crash into the tanker, dive immediately.
===========================================================================
[9] ODDS AND ENDS
===========================================================================
Here I'll be summarizing the enemies in the game one more time for easy
overview, giving a list of possible damage to your plane and the various
ways to die, and a few loose hints on gameplay in general that didn't fit
in any of the other sections.
--------------------
[9.1] Enemy overview
--------------------
ENEMY ARMED WITH FOUND IN DESTROY WITH VALUE
Unarmed SAM nothing now(*) Ground group AG/cannon 10
Armed SAM missile Ground group AG/cannon 30
Tank cannon Ground group AG/cannon 40
Helicopter missile Ground group AA/cannon 80
Jet #1 cannon/missile Air group AA/cannon 100
Jet #2 cannon/missile Air group AA/cannon 150
Warship cannon/missile Naval group AS 500
* unarmed SAMs rearm themselves in a few seconds to become armed SAMs
again.
All enemies have an infinite number of cannon rounds and/or missiles
available.
------------
[9.2] Damage
------------
The following parts of your plane can be damaged, ordered from least to
most serious:
DAMAGE CONSEQUENCE SEVERITY
Bearing indicator Must now check bearing visually very low
Rear camera Can no longer see planes/missiles low
Radar Hampers finding targets/airbase medium
Controls All steering becomes sluggish high
Engine flameout Temporary loss of thrust very high
The likelihood of suffering damage to any system increases with every hit
you take, and any engine flameouts after the first take longer to fix
themselves. If you keep taking hits, you will eventually have a permanent
flameout and crash. As far as I can tell, you cannot explode in midair as
a result of enemy fire.
-----------------
[9.3] Ways to die
-----------------
The following things will destroy your plane and end the game. The message
the game will give you is displayed in quotes.
1. Raising your landing gear while on the runway, or attempting to land
without lowering it. "Wheels must be down when on the runway"
2. Raising your speed above 300 knots with the landing gear down, or lower
the gear while your speed is over 300 knots. "You flew too fast with
your wheels down"
3. Pushing the stick forward and burying your nose into the ground while
on the runway, or hitting the ground anywhere not on the runway.
"You crashed"
4. Hitting the sea. "You crashed into the sea"
5. Flying into a hill. "You crashed into a hill"
6. Colliding with the refuel tanker. "You collided with the refuel tanker"
7. Reaching the end of the strip during a landing, or failing to achieve
liftoff during a takeoff. This can also occur if you accidentally land
just in front of the strip. "You ran off the runway"
--------------------
[9.4] Generic advice
--------------------
This section is for any gameplay-related advice that did not specifically
fit in any of the other sections. I'm open to suggestions on adding to
this, so any Ace players with strategic or tactical insights are welcome
to send them in.
WEAPON LOADOUTS
Air superiority is usually not worth it because there are rarely so many
air targets around that you want to be bulging with air to air missiles.
Your cannon can usually take care of them. Even when enemy fighters are
thick, multirole is a better choice.
PLANNING AHEAD
Before landing, check your map and determine what you will be hitting next.
You do not have access to your map while on the ground, so you want to
know what your plans are *before* you have to choose your next loadout.
CLEARING THE AIR
Enemy planes are most dangerous when you are attempting to land or strike
ground/naval targets. If they are near enough to interfere, intercept and
shoot them down before you put yourself into a vulnerable position.
Typically, you'll take damage from enemy planes not when you are fighting
them, but when you try to ignore them.
FOCUS ON THE NEAREST GROUP
The nearest ground group is also the easiest to reach, so you can fly
between it and your base quickly. Furthermore, it is automatically the
most likely group to reach your airbase, making it a priority target as
well. Always focus your attention on the nearest ground group. You can
engage the ones beyond it once you've routed this one.
CLIMB FOR THE GLIDE
If you are running out of fuel and you don't think you'll make it to your
runway anymore, head straight for allied territory, put your throttle to
full, and climb as far as you can. Then when your fuel is out, you can
go in a shallow gliding dive and prevent from stalling, and still get
quite a few miles out of your craft even without fuel. That'll improve
your chances of reaching friendly territory, where you can eject. But
remember, only two ejections per game.
===========================================================================
[10] REVISION HISTORY
===========================================================================
v1.0: (17 Aug '02) First version of the FAQ.
v1.01: (16 Apr '03) Content's the same, but 16 typos, omitted words and
grammatical errors have been corrected. The things you do on a boring
afternoon.
v1.02: (25 Jul '05) Updated contact info and disclaimer. Minor updates to
gameplay information.
v1.03: (21 Sep '05) Updated contact info. Again.
Update plans include a more detailed section on midair refueling; will
have to practice that a few times myself to be able to say anything
sensible about it. I also intend to find out the difference between the
two kinds of enemy jets (drop me a mail if you can help here), and possibly
add to the generic advice in the Odds and Ends section.
I cannot say when the next update will be, but if the time between the last
few updates is any indication, don't hold your breath.
===========================================================================
[11] FINAL WORDS
===========================================================================
ABOUT THIS FAQ
Another FAQ finished, and another small pearl of wisdom added to the
meager information available on Commodore 64 games on the internet. While
I have no illusions about the size of my audience for this kind of FAQ -
I'll be very happy if even five people find it of use - it is fun to
help keep the system of my youth alive this way, and to know that what
I'm writing is most likely completely original work. The same could not
be said if I was writing a Final Fantasy FAQ, for instance; probably
many more people interested in it, but I'd also be repeating what can
be found in a hundred other places.
For this particular FAQ, I owe thanks to my brother René. While I've not
had him help with the FAQ itself, I have played several sessions of Ace
with him while I was younger, and although I was probably the worst
weapon man around (I was between six and eight years of age), he was a
patient pilot. It was through remembering these sessions so long ago that
I was convinced to pick up the game again recently, and get to know it
well enough to write the document you are reading now.
For questions, comments, suggestions, praise and criticism, please contact
the author, Sashanan, at
[email protected]. This e-mail address is for
FAQ feedback only. Whatever you wish to share about this document or Ace,
chances are I'll want to hear it. Any serious mail will be answered.
If you wish to do anything with this FAQ except for just reading it, check
the Disclaimer section at the top of the FAQ to find out what you can and
can't do. When in doubt, you can always mail me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sashanan is a 25 year old software engineer from the Netherlands who plays
games and writes about the experience. He grew up with the Commodore 64 and
finds great fulfillment in keeping the old Commodore spirit alive with the
occasional FAQ writing for its aging game library. Where others struggle to
each have the best FAQ up for the latest Zelda or Grand Theft Auto title,
he is happy to know that for every Commodore FAQ he writes, something
that has not been done before has been added to the internet. Sashanan sucks
at Tetris.
This document is a copyright of Peter "Sashanan" Butter, 2002-2005. All
rights reserved. Disclaimer at top of document.
