Now that we have a pretty good grasp on how to get CFS3 up and running and have had the chance to learn about the aircraft and panels found within the platform, it is time to take a look at the theme behind Microsoft's latest combat package. So sit back as AVSIM Senior Staff Combat Reviewer Robert Whitwell takes a look at CFS3's theme in terms of missions and campaigns.

CFS3 returns us to Europe, but this time it continues past 1945, which means some of the aircraft under development at the end of the war are included in this sim. The inclusion of post WWII jet aircraft and developmental aircraft that "might have been" makes this sim interesting and entertaining in many different ways. The detail of not just the aircraft themselves, but also the ground environment in which many battle scenarios are played out, are a big plus that the developers have put into this release.

I chose middle of the road settings to acquaint myself with the program for this review, since I didn't want to play it as an invincible rookie, but also didn't want to try to defeat the world as a battle hardened ace. I chose the Auto mixture setting for my engine as I didn't want to have to worry about that aspect of engine management. Everything else was selected for normal flying conditions.

There are characteristic adjustments that can be made to each aircraft. The player has the option of adjusting the percentage of fuel and ammunition each aircraft carries. The type of ordnance load can also be selected. This is nice as you can weigh the load out to the mission type. You can also select the number of wingmen you want to accompany you on your mission. One to five wingmen are available in a selectable window.

A unique feature to this sim is the ability to customize or personalize your aircraft by selecting nose, wingtip and fuselage colors. You also have the ability to choose various nose art. You can also customize the identifying letters on your aircraft. It is funny how my aircraft always carries my initials?

Test System PIII Athalon 1.2 GHz Windows XP 128 MB SDRAM 50x CD ROM GeForce2 400MX Video card 32-bit sound card Yamaha Speakers Logitech Wingman Extreme Joystick KDS 19" Monitor B-25 launching rockets Bombing B-25s Damaged destroyer fighting back DO335 and wingmen DO335 attacking factory Factory destroyed GO229 takes out a rail yard GO229 with flak damage to paint Nice secondary explosions On top destroyed bridge P-38 enroute P-38 takes out a bridge Taking out a truck convoy Target sunk Tempest takes out a bridge Typhoon attacking an airfield Vampire vs airfield

MISSION OPTIONS

This sim allows for three different combat selections: Quick Combat, Single Missions, and a Campaign mode.

The Quick Combat option includes 5 different selections. Free Flight is just that, pick a plane, take it up and throw it around the sky unbothered. Dogfight allows you to pit yourself against an aircraft of your choice. The Intercept mission pits you against enemy bombers before they reach their target. The inverse is the Escort mission in which you must defend your bombers from enemy aircraft. Finally there is a Ground Attack mission in which you take out enemy ground targets while avoiding the enemy fighters sent up against you.

In each of the above missions you can select other factors affecting the mission. There are various locations that you can start your mission from. Included are 70 airfields in England, 71 in France, 35 in Germany, 4 in Holland and 3 in Belgium. You can also start your mission at selectable altitudes up to 40,000 feet. The time of day can be set from first light to night. Finally, the weather can be clear with unlimited visibility or you can find yourself in a snowstorm or thunderstorm depending on the season you decide to start at.

Three pilots are offered for each nationality or you can create your own. Your enemy's skills can also be adjusted. His skills can be set from rookie through veteran to ace, as can you control the skill level of the ground units you will oppose. His fighter can be of equal quality to yours or better or worse. Some of the ground targets that you will encounter include bridges, vehicles of many sorts, railways, static artillery units and armored columns.

The Single Mission section is broken into three different sub-sections; Historical, Training and a unique "What-if" section. Included in the Historical Missions are Operation Bodenplatte, Buzz Bomb Intercept, the Falaise Gap, St Nazaire Sub Pens, and Train busting to name a few. The Training section includes intercept, ambush, ground attack, and dive bombing missions. The What-if section deals with the post WWII aircraft. Scenarios include; P80 vs. Me262, Ju88 anti-shipping, Vampire vs. Me262, and an attack on a Vampire airbase.

Again, all of these missions have the ability to be customized as mentioned earlier with respect to fuel, ammunition, and wingmen. One thing of note is that when you complete these individual missions and have accomplished the goal required, you fly back to your base but you are not required to land. A notice comes up indicating that the mission is complete and to report for debriefing. It takes something away from the whole mission knowing that you are not required to land and taxi back to the hanger line.

CAMPAIGN OPTIONS

The Campaign mode is what really intrigued me about this sim. The AI built into the program is unique in that the outcome of each mission affects the progression of the campaign and the final outcome at the end of the campaign's completion. In a nutshell, it's not whether you win your battle, but did you contribute enough to win the war? Each mission has a goal and your result affects the status of the front lines, as well as the National Supply Level and the Ground Force Reserves.

Campaign missions start by you creating a pilot with various health and skill levels. You are then able to select aircraft that were actually available to your squadron during that period. You then select an area on the war map and various missions are then presented to you. These missions range from reconnaissance and combat air patrol to intercept and anti-shipping missions. The result of your mission is then portrayed by the movement of the front lines in accordance with your outcome. Select another area on the front and you're off again.

As you complete more missions, you will receive points in the campaign. These are broken down into Prestige Points, Skill Points, and Experience Points. As you build up these points you can apply them to your personal health or update your aircraft. You can also gain promotions throughout the campaign and also be awarded medals.

The campaign progresses a few days at a time after the completion of each mission. The campaign map changes showing you the results of the war effort after your mission is complete. By finding weak sectors or areas where hitting their production and supply lines would cause the enemy the most hardship, you can cause the most damage. So this is where you should fly your next mission. There are so many targets to choose from enroute to your mission's goal, it's tempting to try to take out as many as your fuel and ammo will allow, but you have to keep in mind that the objective is to weaken the enemy and force his front lines to the rear.

The campaign comes to an end when you either achieve victory or die.

GROUND and AIR TARGETS

Targets, targets and more targets. Someone said that the best thing about the CFS series is "blowing things up." There are more targets available than there are bombs to drop on them. They are not just static targets either. Get down low enough and see cars and trucks traveling along the roads, there are aircraft taxiing at enemy airfields. Trains are running along tracks and there are more bridges to play havoc with than I could count. Take out enemy fuel depots, ammunition dumps and factories and these have an adverse affect on the enemy's ability to maintain war production levels.

Head out to sea and take on convoys. Take out the escorting destroyers first as their anti-aircraft guns can ruin your day. Once you've dispatched the destroyers to Davy Jones' locker then the merchantmen are easy prey. If you are bombing ground targets, you don't have to actually hit those dead on. Larger bombs can take out smaller targets, but larger targets need a more accurate bomb hit.

Ground targets selected for destruction are indicated on the screen with a "bracket" with an identification tag showing the type of target. Once a target is selected, think about the best way to get in and out of the target area. Straight and steady is suicidal. Flak will get you every time. Low can be good but the target approaches extremely fast at low levels and maintaining a heading with enemy ground fire coming at you can be unnerving. Also cranking and banking on the way out will give those 88's a hard time to lock onto your tail. Coming around for a second run can also give you the opportunity to see the damage effects and secondary explosions of your first run, especially if you've taken out a factory or ammo dump.

When flying bombing missions, you have the ability to sit in the bombardiers seat. This gives you a new perspective for targeting instead of having to judge the drop point from the pilot's seat. Dependant on the bomb's size, even a close hit will do significant damage to the target; this is especially true of "soft" targets and static aircraft. The player can also choose to shoot from a different gun position in the bomber as well. Shooting from the waist gunner or top turret positions allows the simmer to get that extra kill from a different angle. The path of the tracers helps to lead the bogey coming in, and I found that you had to lead your target more than you do when shooting from the wing roots.

It would have been an added feature to have more "heavy" bombers included in the aircraft selection. Adding American aircraft like the B-17 Flying Fortress and the Consolidated B-24; perhaps the British Lancaster, Halifax or Wellington; or He111 to the German inventory would have been a plus. These "heavies" would have added a whole new dimension to the platform's campaign in Europe. The other item of note is that the bombing scenarios are based on dive bombing as opposed to straight and level bombing. Personally, I would have loved to be able to reach out and attack from 30,000 feet and then have the sim switch to a ground view or low-level view as the rain of steel struck the target zone.

Strafing ground targets can be fun, when you have a vehicles traveling by road or rail. Approaching a convoy or train from behind as opposed to cross ways lets you hit more targets as you fly up the target line. They blow up real good!

Air targets are similar to the other versions of CFS. However, ensure that you identify a target before starting to shoot at it. Nothing is worse than downing a friendly. As in previous versions, an indicator cone shows the whereabouts of the target you have selected to pursue. There is also a view scope that tells you whether the "bogey" is enemy or friendly once you're in range. You can individually select the type of target or show "all" or just the other aircraft, land (vehicles, buildings or airbases) or sea objects. The range can be scaled out to 8 miles. This is a pilot's view range rather than a true "radar" scope. This display also shows an indicator line to the next waypoint.

A nice feature of CFS3's air war is that you can use the clouds and sun to your advantage, though this can be a disadvantage as the enemy can do the same! "Beware the Hun in the sun" becomes a truism in this sim. Also, if you fly into a cloud, the enemy will lose sight of you and you may be able to use that to your advantage, but then so can the enemy when trying to evade you.

Another excellent AI feature during the air war is that your wingmen are true wingmen. They will assist when called to do so. Once you have designated a target and call for assistance, they will peel off in pairs and attack. Of course if they are previously engaged in their own fight, this call for help may go unheeded. When they have finished their task, your wingmen will rejoin you. Using you wingmen to accomplish the mission is paramount. Again, it's a team effort; you can't defeat the enemy single-handed.

On the downside of wingmen is their lack of overall communication. Apart from confirming kills and letting you know that they have the target or enemy in sight. There's not much else you can communicate within the group.

NAVIGATION

How do you navigate without a map? There is no mini map to be "pulled up" during missions, thus navigating your way around Europe is a bit tricky. You can recall you mission objectives, but who has time to read while flying through enemy territory? At the beginning of the mission you get a briefing with a map and your waypoints, but unless you commit this to memory, forget it. You could always note your waypoints and try to fly them (strap on a kneeboard first) or you can use the "x" key to "warp" to your next waypoint. As I mentioned earlier, your view scope shows a heading to your next waypoint so you simply turn until the heading marker is point straight up and fly that heading. Depending on the weather, you may have to constantly update your heading to compensate for drift.

The ability to "warp" to the next waypoint is a nice feature. However, you cannot warp to the next waypoint when there are enemy around. When you have an objective to complete, I'd like to get there and get the job done. I don't particularly want to have to clear the skies of every enemy fighter first. But who does? If I can evade and reach my objective to do the damage assigned during my mission brief, then that's what I'll try to do.

And finally, "The Nylon Letdown"

When you've had a really bad day in the office and things are going south quickly, sometimes the only alternative is to open a window and jump out. This is true in the cockpit. If you've been on the receiving end of a lead shower and your crate won't fly anymore, open the canopy, invert and drop out—but first be sure your speed is below 250 knots. The bailout in this sim is more detailed than the last version. After ejecting, you see yourself getting oriented in the air and start your freefall. Hitting the ejection command again will show your pilot reaching over and pulling the ripcord. He then grasps the risers and enjoys the view and the ride down. Using your view selection buttons you can even watch you flaming aircraft become a flaming crater. After the earth comes up to greet you, your pilot may be dragged along by the wind, or may become injured. Depending on your locale, you may be rescued or captured.