F-16 Falcon Strike by Jarosław 'Roeoender' Wosik
ABBUC Software Contest 2024

Current version of game instructions can be found at
https://webchrono.pl/F16FalconStrike

SHORT DESCRIPTION:
	First new 3D combat flight simulator for 8-bit Atari XL/XE computers in over 35 years.
	Become Polish Air Force F-16 Pilot defending E.U. & Polish border from B.A.R.F. (Belarussian And Russian Federation) aggression in fictional "Królewiec Campaign" of 15 varied missions.
	Apply strategic planning to defeat enemy air and ground forces, quickly update your plans according to developements in the simulated dynamic 3D battlefield.
	With this game I'd like to pay homage to the golden era of 80/90's computer combat flight simulators. that got me interested in both real life flying and computer programming.


LIST OF FEATURES

    Campaign
        15 handcrafted missions forming a campaign.
        Diverse mission kinds: air combat, enemy bombers interception, ground units support, bombing raids, preventing enemy tanks from reaching friendly structures.
        Each mission has text briefing and specific victory conditions.
        Scenery features real life cities and runways in their accurate positions.
        Campaign progress is saved to disk after each flight.
        Mission score depends on various factors.
        Different mission outcomes are illustrated with original 9-color GTIA mode graphics.
    Flight model
        Advanced (as of 8bit platform), self-designed flight model with angle of attack, lift and drag calculation.
        Fighter maneuverability depends on the amount of mounted weapons / fuel pods.
        Fighter speed depends on plane's loadout (shape drag factor) and altitude (atmospheric density factor).
        Damage mechanics - various systems of the aircraft may be damaged - HUD display, engine, Flight Control System etc.
        Simulation difficulty can be tailored to different players by changing level of 7 difficulty settings.
    Weapons
        Player can arm his F-16 with various weapon types: Cannon, Unguided missiles, Bombs, Guided missiles - Air to Air: AIM-9L Sidewinder, AIM-120 Amraam, Air To Ground: AGM-65 Mavericks, Anti-Radar: AGM-88 HARM.
        Arming is done on a dedicated screen visualising your F-16's current loadout.
        Bullets, bombs and missiles movement is calculated through 3D space - no fake sprites mimicking missiles or cannon.
        Sidewinders, as infrared-guided missiles, can only be locked on the enemy's fighter rear hemisphere.
    3D engine
        17 varied 3D objects including fighters, bombers, tanks, radars, hangars, bridges, mountains, explosions etc.
        To increase frame rate most objects have 2 levels of details.
        Both ground and sky change hue with altitude.
    World simulation
        Ground units can move - missions may fail if enemies reach their goals.
        Enemy fighters don't appear out of thin air - they take off from runways after your fighter is identified as hostile.
        Flight time can be shortened by using time acceleration.
        You need to identify friend/foe as there are also friendly structures/vechicles in the world.
    Cockpit
        Detailed cockpit with HUD (Head-Up Display) and two MFDs (Multifunction Flight Displays) with independently switchable modes.
        Zoomable radar display with Air and Ground modes.
        Large navigation map mode.


RUNNING INSTRUCTIONS

	Game was tested on real Atari 65XE PAL with SDrive Mini, but should also be playable on NTSC (slightly different colors) and other Atari XL/XE variants. ATR image is a 130Kb disk bootable with XBOOT Loader and XBIOS by XXL, so game should load and start automatically. Game saves campaign state on disk, so disk should not be write-protected. Cursor in game menus can be controlled with joystick in Port 1. Note: Some pictures are displayed in GTIA mode so they may look strange on computers with bugged GTIA chip. 

PRE FLIGHT OPTIONS

Difficulty settings screen

	Plane hitpoints
		how many hits player's fighter can receive before being destroyed Remaining hitpoints are visible on the DAMAGE MFD. It is recommended to start with EASY setting.
	Plane malfunctions
		how often and what kind of plane malfunctions plane can receive.
	Countermeasures amt
		how many chaffs and flares used to evade enemy missiles are available.
	Weapons strength
		how much damage player's weapon cause. On easier levels it is easier to destroy heavily armoured objects with less explosive weapons - for example bunker with Mavericks. It is recommended to play with HARD setting whenever possible, as this makes use of different kinds of A2G weapons to destroy harder targets like bunkers more necessary.
	Enemy experience
		how fast enemy reacts and fires missiles. It is recommended to first try with HARD setting as this makes game more dynamic.
	Landings
		on easier levels area around runway safe for landing is larger, also higher vertical speeds of touchdown are tolerated.
	Enemy amount
		on easier levels some enemies are removed from the map making missions significantly easier to complete. VERY IMPORTANT SETTING as more strategically placed enemies make missions more interesting. It is best to try to complete all missions at the HARD setting. 

	You can click on "Easy", "Med", "Hard" buttons above settings to set all settings to given level.
	Difficulty settings can only be set at campaign start.
	It is recommended to try hardest playable settings first and only change "Plane hitpoints" and/or "Countermeasures amt" to make game less challenging.

Map screen at briefing

	You can click following areas to toggle visibility of objects on the map:

	In Show section:
		Borders		visibility of Borders.
		Waypoints	visibility of path between waypoints for given mission.

	In Ranges section:
		Runway		visibility of detection range of enemy runways.
		Radar		visibility of detection range of enemy radars.
		Sam			visibility of fire range of enemy SAM-s.

	In Labels section:
		Runway		visibility of runway names.
		City		visibility of city names.
		Type		visibility of object type.

	You can use "W", "A", "S", "D" keys to move map and "-" / "+" or "<" / ">" to zoom out / in.


ARMING

	Prior to take-off, the pilot can select the armament appropriate to fulfil the mission objectives on a dedicated Arming screen. In some missions specific armament may not be available.

	A2A missiles
		AIM-9L Sidewinder is good at short ranges, more maneuverable, but has lower fuel amount and range. AIM-9L Sidewinder can be shot only at targets showing their rear hemisphere - inability to shoot at target is marked with two horizontal lines instead of full rectangle. AIM-120 AMRAAM has longer range and more firepower, but for few seconds after launch doesn't maneuver so it is less suitable for close range combat.

	LAU-87 Rocket pod
		Short range, unaimed rockets good for destroying unarmoured vehicles, ineffective against armoured structures.

	AGM-65 Maverick
		Suitable for light and medium armoured vehicles, may need to use several to destroy buildings. May not hit it's target when fired from too steep angle or too short distance.

	MK-84 Bombs
		Largest explosive firepower. Around 1500ft and below a CCIP (Constantly Calculated Impact Point) marker is shown for aiming. Still hardest structures may require more than 1 hit for complete destruction. Watch out not to be too low at the time of the impact as your plane may get damaged by the blast.
	
	AGM-88 HARM
		Can only lock on radars, has very long range so it often can be fired before entering enemy radar & SAM range.

	In some missions some weapons may not be available.
	Every weapon has limited, specific attachement points it can be mounted to.
	Weight of your plane affects your maneuverability.
	Your velocity adds to the velocity of the missile so to extend missile range fly as fast as possible before launching.
	When you are trying to escape from enemy attack you can press 'J' key to jettison all items of currently selected weapons (or all fuel pods in Nav mode) to reduce plane's drag factor.
	Fewer mounted items mean smaller drag factor which results in greater speed and range.


FLYING

	Stall
		Do not fly slower than around 120 knots otherwise you will stall the plane. High G turns/climbs may also increase angle of attack so high it will greatly increase drag which may in turn reduce your speed to the stall speed.
		Do not fly too high as this also may stall plane - not enough oxygen for your jet engine.
	
	Taking Off
		You will typically start right after your F-16 was towed out from the hangar, so you will need to taxi to the runway - if your initial heading is north (0) then increase throttle to 10% with ">" or "+" key, wait till you arrive just before runway's centerline and then turn right to Eastern (90) heading. Do not increase speed too much on the tarmac as you may damage gear. When centered on runway increase throttle to 100% or engage afterburner with "A" key. Pull stick around 180 knots to take off. Make sure to pull your landing gears with "G" key before reaching speed around 370 knots and disengage afterburner to save fuel.

	Navigation Map
		Where to fly can be determined on a navigation map available after pressing "M" key. Player's fighter is always in the center of the map. North is always up. Map is zoomable using "-","+" or "<",">" keys. Map always displays position of well known objects like landmarks, cities, runways, but other objects like tanks, bunkers, fighters are displayed only when they are in fighter's radar range. Identified by our Intelligence detection ranges of enemy airbases, radars, SAM sites and ground vehicles can be switched on and off using "A", "R", "S", "G" keys respectively.

		On longer distances when outside map mode you can press "TAB" key to turn on time acceleration. Watch out as you still control plane in this mode. Time acceleartion automatically disables if you will be in AAA fire range. If you are playing in emulator you can also use full emulation speed for time acceleration - for example in Altirra emulator by pressing "F1" key.

	Cockpit
	
		Left MFD modes

			1 - Remaining fuel amount, fuel burn rate, mission time. Note that fuel parameters are recalculated periodically with some delay.
			2 - Air or ground (depending on currently active radar mode) available weapons amount.
			3 - Decoys (chaff, flares) amount.
			4 - Fuselage integrity (remaining hit points) and roster of plane's damaged subsystems.

			To change left MFD mode press "1" or "," key. 
	
			Right MFD modes

				1 - Flight parameters - altitude, speed, coordinates relative to the "bullseye".
				2 - Currently locked air or ground (depending on currently active radar mode) target, distance to target, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF). Note that as distance requires radar signal and IFF require data transmission they are updated periodically with some delay.
				3 - Plane's spatial orientation - heading, pitch, roll.
				4 - Flight performance information - drag factor (depends on amount of weapons and fuel tanks mounted) and max G limit factor (depending on amount of weapons and fuel) enforced by FCS.

			To change right MFD mode press "2" or "." key.

	Onboard radar

		Fighter's radar modes can be switched using "R" key - cycling between: N - Nav (radar off), G - Air to Ground (tracking ground targets), A - Air to Air (tracking air targets). Radar range can be changed using "Z" and "X" keys. Information shown on Left MFD mode 2, Right MFD mode 2 depend on currently selected radar mode. Currently locked target is put in rectangle on HUD.
		
	How enemy Radars and SAMs work

		If player's fighter is inside enemy ground radar range "R" LED is active on the right LED panel. Some time is spent on identification and if fighter is also inside range of any SAM it will fire a ground to air missile - "S" warning led will be active. You can press "C" key to release chaffs to temporarily deactivate missile's guidance system. In some missions you will have AGM-68 HARM missiles available with which you can destroy Radar sites from long range. Remember that SAM will launch only when you are at the same time both in given SAM's and any ground radar range.
		RADAR/SAM ground defense system is not integrated with other B.A.R.F. forces - enemy airbases operate their own independent Radar Warning System and will initiate fighter interception when they identify your presence in their own radar range.

	Landing

		Use training missions 1 and 2 to practice landings. Fly towards a point on the extension of longitudinal axis of the runway far enough from runway's threshold to have enough time to acheive good alignment with runway axis and stabilize glideslope. After aligning your position with the runway longitudinal axis reduce throttle with "<" or "-" keys to acheive stable speed below 300knots (about 20%-30% throttle) with nose pitch adusted to maintain glideslope towards point before runway threshold. Few seconds before reaching the lower threshold of the runway, smoothly raise the nose and reduce speed further so that you continue to maintain a slight descent. Upon touchdown cut throttle and engage airbrakes (with "B" key) to reach full stop before runway ends. You do not need to taxi back to the hangar. Press Esc key to end mission.
		If you have problems landing you can change landing difficulty setting.
	
	Campaign

		Read mission briefing carefully as some missions have detailed Rules of engagement (R.O.E.) that may prohibit attacking certain targets.
		If you successfully complete goals of given mission you advance to the next one.
		Game stores information about highest completed mission and allows you to later refly any mission you already completed.
		In campaign mode death results in campaign end, in refly mode you still can continue campaign by reflying last mission.
	
CONTROLS

	Elevator / ailerons and weapon release are controlled using Joystick in Port 1
	Key 			Meaning
	+/- or < /> 	Throttle
	A 				Afterburner
	B 				Airbrakes
	G 				Gear up/down
	J 				Jettison current weapon or fuel pods in nav mode
	H 				HUD brightness
	,/. or 1/2 		Toggle left/right MFD
	R 				Radar mode (air, ground, nav)
	Z/X 			Radar zoom in/out
	T 				Next target
	W 				Next weapon in given radar mode
	F 				Launch flare (anti A2A)
	C 				Launch chaff (anti G2A)
	M 				Map
	P 				Pause
	TAB 			Time acceleration (only when outside AAA range)
	Space 			Clear last message
	Esc 			Quit mission
	
TIPS

    When playing in emulator you may increase framerate by simply changing emulator acceleration options.
    When playing in emulator you may temporarily fast-forward long straight flights towards waypoint - for example in Altirra Emulator by pressing "F1" - Warp Speed.
    In near future I may publish video tutorial explaining all game's functions and how to play by completing some mission. I'll update this site then, so come back soon :)

Credits

	Song used in briefing screens "Raszyn 1809" was composed and turned into CMC song by Jakub Husak in 1992 and he generously allowed its use in this game.

	This game wouldn't be possible without awesome compilers - Mad-Pascal and Mad-Assembler by TeBe/MadTeam. Mad Pascal's extensive libraries and samples greatly remove pains of learning programming on 8bit Atari. For example Mad Pascal's library provides high performance line drawing function by Eru/TQA which convinced me that starting this project was feasible. Highly recommended.

	Other very useful tools/software that greatly helped in developement:
		Atari Graphics Studio by TeBe/Madteam
		MAD Studio by Gury
		Rasta Converter by ilmenit
		xBIOS by xxl
		BLIBS by Bocianu
		Altirra by Avery Lee

CONTACT

	You can contact me via atariage.com or atarionline.pl forum - user 'Roeoender'.
	Please inform me if you have written this game's review or streamed gameplay - I'd really like to read what people think about this game and how they play it.

FUTURE
	
	Depending how well will be this game recieved I may improve and extend it - for example by adding random mission generator or mission editor.

