Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

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as old as home computing itself, this type of game always attracted a hardcore fan base. There were, and still are, people who relish the oppor- O tunity h. good to old immerse flight themselves snit. A genre in almost completely authentic flying experiences - people to whom accuracy is more important than appearance. An equally large number of game players. however, found the whole genre deadly dull. Ground details were bland and unconvincing. There was no sensation of motion, and socalled dogfights often boiled down to electronic combat with specks on the horizon. Then 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 L I T Y TFX stands for Tactical Fighter Experiment, a fact which should remind prospective buyers that this is not just a flashy visual feast, but rather a very serious simulation. There are three hi-tech planes to choose from: The Eurofighter 2000, the Lockheed F-22 or the F-117 Stealth Fighter. Each one handles differently and possesses different armament capacities. Several varying modes allow for different levels of action and involvement To start with, the arcade mode is a bit of nononsense fun that sets the player off right in the middle of the action. The plain object here is to compete for kills against the dock and work your way up the hi-score board. In preparation for more serious challenges, ten training missions must be successfully completed. This should give players a good introduction to mastering the navigation and weapon systems. Once players prove themselves to be up to the job, they can take on the role of pilot flying for the United Nations in a large variety of missions. Alternatively, they may wish to test their skills against all the different flying conditions in the simulator mode. Combat is realistic yet exciting. You'll find it very difficult, for example, to bring anything down with a chain gun, but tracking MiGs with the right missile isn't too tough. The copy we had did still have some bugs, most of which were minor, One of the worst was the Chinook helicopters - the models had been imported incorrectly, leaving them distorted in design DID are aware of these flaws so hopefully they will be swiftly corrected. IFX is highly configurable, so it's possible to mess with various options during flight. For example, players can alter how strictly the laws of physics are applied to their aircraft. Similarly, adjustments can be made to the level of G-force effects the pilot will suffer. Set it to maximum and some players will find it too restrictive - any manoeuvre seems to have the pilot blacking out and breathing heavily. TFX came along to make the sceptics sit up and think again. Developed originally for the PC it featured convincing ground terrain, fluffy 3D clouds, satisfying explosions and gorgeous, state-of-the-art airborne technology. In short here was a sim that looked exciting. Now, Digital Image Design have unveiled vx for the <strong>Amiga</strong>. Possibly the most demanding piece of software your machine has ever had to cope with, we test fly the state-of-theart sim to see if the conversion was worth the wait. Taking a sideways look at the night-life before I get down to serious business Action at the break of dawn: The F2.2 swoops Over ., c i t y Ws not all fun in the sun INTRODUCTMII features • whole range of climates. including this all too familiar gloom The F22 evading incoming missiles - remembering to lift the undercarriage would have helped SOUPEII-up SIM Forget the empty, flat landscapes and the basic block-like shapes used by some flight Sims to represent enemy units, TFX was designed to inspire and awe, and the words 'if looks could kill' have never seemed so apt, From the moment the player starts the engines up, there are significant differences between the look of this game and the standard sim fare. The skies in TFX have space and depth, and once airborne, the player has a panoramic view of patchwork fi elds or detailed cities passing beneath them, It is a far cry from the blue sky, yellow desert simplicity of some flying games, Missions can take place in a range of conditions including day, night and dawn flights, and players may encounter cloud cover or even storm weather accompanied by sheet lightning. The visual realism gives each mission a different flavour. Night-time bombing doesn't just mean flying with a blacked. out screen - the sky in IFX has a faint, gradiated luminescence, while on the Mission de tarts are given in • tmospheric brio fi ng scenes Having read how demanding TFX is as a piece of software, you may be wondering what the minimum amount of kit is to get it running properly. The bottom line is that it can be played on a basic Al200 - just about - but you will have to turn down the detail to its minimum setting, which means missing out on some of the finer touches. Having said that, it still looks better than the opposition in most respects. If you've got an accelerator things start to get more impressive, and the more fast RAM available the better. There's also an FPU version, so if you're lucky enough to have an accelerator fitted with a maths co-processor you should be set up for a pretty stunning experience. Whatever your machine's specifications are, however, one thing must be stressed if you want to enjoy playing the game: It needs an analogue joystick. While there is an option to use a digital joystick or keyboard, this seriously undermines the smoothness of control, especially when flying the planes at high speed For whatever reason, the digital controllers can't keep up with the graphics_ ground, cities are represented by convincing clusters of light. Cross over enemy gun installations and the air is filled by streams of rising light as tracer bullets track onto your aircraft. At times it can be breathtakingly atmospheric. Stormy conditions are gloomy and grey, with the most convincing clouds seen in any game I've played yet_ As you pass into them the view outside the window gradually mists before becoming completely obscured. Explosions, special effects and fancy camera views are offered as a satisfying reward for honing those flying skills. Physical danger is represented by more than a flashing warning light in the cockpit, as AA guns pump the skies full of clouds of shrapnel. It may not be politically correct, but the kill is what a game like this is ultimately about It's rewarding, therefore, that explosions are impressive and that it's easy to view any victim going down. Players can launch missiles and watch them streak off leaving a trail behind,
ly ls Jig 31 -a tig al - e Jt :le, at n. :h cl, then they can change to the missile's view to watch it close Pn on the enemy. When it comes to different views in general, TFX i 5 better equipped than any rival as far as impressing your mates is concerned, One mode allows you to look in any direction from the cockpit (as opposed to the usual left, right and behind view), but the best is the fly-by shot which brings your fighter swooping impressively towards the camera, Cockpit detail is high, with all neces sary indicators being visible from the normal cockpit view. There are three screens on which a huge range of information displays can be selected, so the purists should feel well catered for. The important thing to realise, unfortunately, is that IFX can only be seen in its full glory if played on a fast, powerful machine, because basic Al200 users will find the screen update too slow with the game detail turned up high. Most players will probably be able to play IFX with medium detail. This means going without a few frills, such as emblems on a fighter's tailwing, but on the whole TFX still looks highly impressive. 9 3 % Divelipers Dist I Pitt 131 59 an PIK mitill Oceal Ceitril lystes iltyrtmt Sloes 11111 A40111 leneleftel 1E111 gulp ON You yet your vary awn SIWatth bomber It's the flight sim <strong>Amiga</strong> owners have been waiting for s but i s excitement justified? Gareth t h e Lafthause locks on target •Eir •-• to snoop V P , , E in •fter, . 2 0 0 0 radars a surt•cknern • n the
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Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

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