FLIGHT COMMANDER 2           DEMO

developed by Big Time Software
published by The Avalon Hill Game Company

Flight Commander 2 is available in Macintosh and Windows versions, 
on 3.5" floppy disks and CD-ROM.  It is sold at most major 
retailers.  If you are unable to locate a copy in your area, you 
can call Avalon Hill at (800) 999-3222 to order direct.

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MEMORY REQUIREMENTS:

The Flight Commander 2 Demo requires Microsoft Windows 3.1, VGA 
*OR* SVGA, and 4MB of RAM to run.  Additionally, you should have 
your Windows Virtual Memory set to at least 10MB.  Take these 
steps to ensure this.

1. Make sure you're in Microsoft Windows.

2. In the Program Manager, double-click on the "Main" program 
group.

3. Then double-click on the "Control Panel" icon.

4. Next, double-click on the "386 Enhanced" icon.

5. Then, click on the "Virtual Memory" button.  Next to the word 
"Size", make sure you have at least 10,000 KB currently set.

6. If you have less than 10,000 KB set, click the "Change" button.  
Then type in the recommended size in the "New Size" bar.

7. Click on the "OK" button and follow the on-screen prompts.

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QUICK-START INSTRUCTIONS:

Run Flight Commander 2 Demo by first making sure that you are running
Windows and are in the Program Manager.  Click on the "File" menu,
and select the "Run..." item.  In the window that appears, type in
the path name to your copy of the Flight Commander 2 Demo.  For example,
if you unzipped the Flight Commander .ZIP file at the root level of
your hard drive, you would type "C:\FC2DEMO\FC.EXE".  You can also click
on the "Browse" button to navigate through directories with the mouse
if you can't remember the path name.  Then click OK.

Flight Commander 2 is a tactical simulation of multiple-aircraft 
combat in the jet age: 1950 to the near future.  It's played in a 
series of turns, on a battle map, and you are given a "bird's-eye 
view" of the action from above.  Flight Commander 2 gives you a 
squadron-level perspective on modern air combat quite unlike that 
provided by a flight simulator program. 

The full version of Flight Commander 2 allows you to play fixed 
battles, campaign games, or to create your own battles with the 
Battle Generator.  This demo, however is limited to playing the 
one battle scenario included, called "DEMOBATT.BTL".  You can see 
the various screens and options provided by the Battle Generator 
by clicking on the "Create Battle" button from the startup screen, 
however.

At the startup screen, click on the "Open Battle" button and then 
select the "DEMOBATT.BTL" file in the dialog window that appears.  
You'll be asked to choose whether to play the attacking (American) 
side or the defending (Iraqi) side.  For your first game, pick the 
Americans.  After that, the map is generated and the main screen 
will appear.  

A Mission Briefing window appears with a description of the battle 
you're about to take part in.  Read it and click the OK button.  A 
Navigator's report will follow.  Click OK.

In the center of the screen you'll see your aircraft.  One of them 
has a shimmering "marquee" around its border.  That's the "current 
aircraft" and is the one who is taking orders at the moment.  The 
on-screen flight controls all apply to this plane, until you 
select a different plane to receive orders.

Since Flight Commander 2 is a turn-based game, the idea is to give 
maneuver and combat orders to your pilots and then watch as they 
carry out those orders.  Click the mouse on the "flight stick" on 
the left-hand side of the screen.  It will side left and right, 
and as it does so, you'll notice the flight path of the "current 
aircraft" (the red arrow extending from it) changing left and 
right accordingly.  This arrow represents the path the aircraft is 
planning to follow.  (The combat option for altitude is turned off 
by default so in this game you'll be flying in a "flat" world for 
simplicity, but you can turn it on for your next game if you 
like).

If you want to see more of the battlefield, go to the upper left 
corner and click on the "-" button.  This will "zoom out" the 
battle map.  Your target (the SCUD missiles) lies to the left of 
your aircraft, perhaps off the screen.  You may need to scroll 
over to see it.  You can see a miniature view of the whole 
battlefield in the little blue floating window titled "Overview".  
Click on the little dots you see in the Overview window to move 
the focus of the battle map onto them.  Find the red-colored jets.  
These are the Iraqi fighters!  

Combat takes place by clicking on an enemy aircraft or ground unit 
to target it.  If the "crosshairs" that appears is red, you can 
fire at that target.  Click one of the buttons near the center of 
the top of the screen (e.g. "Fire HSM", "Bomb", etc.) to fire 
weapons.  

Move from plane to plane, giving orders and shooting weapons, by 
clicking on your other aircraft or pressing the space bar or 
clicking the "Next Pilot" button.  When you're finished, click the 
"Action" button (in the lower left corner) and your jets will fly 
along the paths you chose for them.  (So will the enemy jets - and 
they'll probably fire missiles at you too).

That's the gist of it.  Each turn you go from plane to plane, 
giving maneuver orders and firing weapons, and then clicking the 
Action button to carry out the moves.  Head toward the SCUDs (off 
to the left) and bomb them once you're in range.  Your F-15 
fighters (gray, in the lead) are armed with air-to-air missiles 
and should attack the enemy fighters, while the F-111 aircraft 
(mottled tan and green, following the F-15s) are armed with bombs 
and should concentrate on the SCUDs.

If your aircraft survive combat, and have used up all or most of 
their weapons, it will be time to head home.  Break clear of enemy 
antiaircraft units and fighters if possible, preferably heading 
toward home base off to the left (as shown in the Navigator window 
that you can access from the Radio menu).  Then select the Head 
For Home item from the File menu.  The mission will either end 
immediately or the computer may take over briefly to extricate 
your aircraft from immediate danger before ending the game.  A 
description of the losses on both sides will appear, and a winner 
chosen.

At some point you should check out the Data Library, from the 
Windows menu, to see all the aircraft and weapons that are in the 
full version of Flight Commander 2.

Flight Commander 2 contains a group of options that will increase 
the realism and complexity of the simulation.  At the startup 
screen, click the "Combat Options" button for a list.  Options 
include altitude, realistic missile movement/tracking, stalls, 
maneuvering limitations, and more.  I would recommend trying the 
Missiles Track option, which allows aircraft to maneuver against 
incoming missiles.  A tip:  the best way to avoid a missile is to 
maneuver so it intercepts you from the side AND you're pulling a 
"high-G" maneuver (a turn of ninety degrees).


A few abbreviations that you should know:

SAM: Surface-to-air missile
HSM: Heat-seeking missile (air-to-air weapon)
RHM: Radar-homing missile (air-to-air weapon)
Rkt: Rocket (air-to-ground weapon)
ARM: Antiradiation missile (air-to-ground weapon, only kills SAM 
sites)
FT: Fuel tank
F-15C Eagle:  An American fighter jet
F-111F "Aardvark": An American fighter-bomber
MiG-23 Flogger:  A Soviet-built interceptor used by Iraq
AIM-9 Sidewinder:  A heat-seeking missile
AIM-120 AMRAAM:  A radar-homing missile
AA-8 Aphid:  An older heat-seeker than can only be fired at a 
target's rear
AA-7 Apex:  A radar-homing missile.
