FlightSim.Com Reviews: Jane's F-15

Jane's F-15

by Joseph Tata (15 May 1998)

om Clancy called it "a weapon with the killing power of Excalibur." The crews who fly it claim that there are only two kinds of pilots in the airforce: the ones who fly the F-15E Strike Eagle, and the ones who wish that they did.

Jane's Combat Simulations newest sim, Jane's F15, gives you the opportunity to test that theory for yourself.

INTRODUCTION

What hard-core sim junkie has not hear of Jane's? For the past two years they've been giving us what we all really want: Incredibly detailed simulations that combine cutting edge visual effects with stunning realism and engrossing gameplay. F-15 seemed to take the Jane's legacy one step further, so I jumped at the chance to review this much anticipated game.

I used two different machines for the review. The first was a Pentium MMX with 48 megabytes of ram, and a Diamond Viper video card with 4 megs. The second was a PII 266 with 128 megs RAM, a Diamond Fire GL Pro 8mb AGP card, and a Monster 3d II. Both systems used a Creative Labs SB32 and the Saitex X36 programmable control system.

INSTALLATION

As with its predecessors, F-15's greatest asset is its realism. But realism comes at a price, both in terms of minimum hardware requirements and overall complexity. F-15 attempts to address this issue with a dual install option. During installation you can select either "casual" or "expert", as well as small, medium, and large installation sizes. I used "large" in all cases, even though the faster machine probably could have made due with the "medium" option.

There are also options for custom configuring every aspect of gameplay from detail levels to control mapping, and I highly recommend that you spend at least some time in this section tweaking the game to match your personal tastes.

OPERATION

Although functional and semi-intuitive, I found the "casual" control option a bit too watered down for my tastes. While fine for someone who simply wants to destroy things that yield pretty explosions, and F-15 offers plenty of those, I wanted to see what the game and the jet could really do so I quickly turned to the expert flight mode.

To sum it up briefly, the complexity of the Strike Eagle is monstrous, and will take some time to master. Jane's does include detailed documentation, and a number of training mission to ease the learning cure a bit, but anyone considering this sim should be prepared to spend a good amount of time with it.

Also helpful is the fact that most of the in cockpit avionics (all of which are controlled via a point and click interface) are accessible and functional while the simulation is paused. While this may sound like a bit of a cheat, keep in mind that the real Strike Eagle is two-man aircraft that requires the constant attention of both crew members to operate effectively. The ability to, say, pause the game, switch to the WSO view to setup for a bomb run, then jump back to the front cockpit to handle the delivery, then pause again and check out the WSO's TEWS (Tactical Electronic Warfare System, one of the complicated features that is modeled in detail in the game) for threats as I pull off, is a great help. In real life the WSO is essential because flying at several hundred miles an hour, under two-hundred-feet, at night, is a demanding task for even the most gifted pilot. If one had to actively take the role of both crewman simultaneously, the game would be impossible.

The computer controlled WSO is of only marginal help. His most useful function is the fact that he is constantly watching the TEWS and warns you of radar threats. Additionally, you can program his displays to show different information than the one in the front cockpit, allowing you to update you situational awareness by simply switching views. Indeed between the two cockpits there are seven multi-purpose-display panels, each of which is programmable in three master modes: air-to-air, air-to-ground, and NAV. There is a fourth master mode, Instrument, that is non-programmable and displays data useful for low-visibility flying. That's a total of twenty-eight different "pages" that can be accessed at the touch of only two buttons.

On the subject of buttons, I highly recommend the use of a programmable joystick and throttle, preferably one of the models that supports mouse emulation. Having to remove one's hands from the controls to select a target, for example, is annoying and time consuming. It should be known, however, that I was unable to get the game to take inputs from the X36's companion throttle. It accepted all the buttons on the throttle, but when that device was enabled the engine controls locked up completely.

There were several other bugs as well, the most serious of which results in the inability to exit the in flight portion of the game, and even led to a full system lockup at one point. I'll be visiting the Jane's web site to search for fixes as soon as possible.

At this point I'd like to mention F-15's graphics. They are absolutely stunning, provided you have a fast system and a good 3dFx card. While the game ran surprisingly well on the slower system, it really loves a fast PII and 3dFx acceleration. At one point I had to take a break from a low-level night mission because I was getting motion sickness...now that's what I call true-to-life gaming!

Then there is the subject of combat. As if it having to master all these functions, switches, displays, and weapons weren't challenge enough, you have to take them into battle as well. I confess, I probably should have spent several more days in training before checking out F- 15's campaign mode, but I couldn't resist. I got hosed pretty quickly. The enemy AI is good, and threats are numerous, easily overwhelming you if you don't stay on top of things, which requires a firm grasp of your jet's systems. It is possible to edit these variables under the options menu to give yourself more (or less) chance for survival.

CONCLUSION

The bottom line on this sim is that you get out of it what you put in. Like the jet its modeled after, F-15 is complex. While it has a lot to offer, I'm only just beginning to grasp the possibilities. It also demands a lot of effort on the part of the player, as well as a high end machine with advanced peripherals, to get the most out of the game.

Although it offers a casual mode, I would not recommend this game to a casual sim fan as the frustration level is simply too high, but for the dedicated computer jocks, this game is paradise. It has the graphics, the complexity, and most of all the challenge that so many of us crave. Wait till you've watched you first kill plummet to the desert floor in beautifully rendered flames, then you'll decide it was worth it.

Joseph Tata
Email: darklord@system75.com

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