Tips for Birds of Steel Gameplay
Tips for Birds of Steel Gameplay
[Link]
steel/
INDEX
Manuals
PS3
[Link]
XBOX
[Link]
Create an account at [Link]. Use the same username and email as you do for this
forum. Here's the catch. You have to use the same password for this site as you do for
yuplay. The easiest way is to open your yuplay account and set a new password there.
For some reason, yuplay doesn't make it real clear when you've successfully created
an account. You may just end up back at the login screen. If it says "Welcome (your
nickname)" at the top of the page, then you are successfully signed in. You can change
your password at this point. You do this by clicking on "modify profile" at your profile
page. You can get there by clicking on "my profile" at the top of the main page.
After you change your password, sign in to this forum using the email and password
you just set on yuplay. My problem is that I just kept requesting a new
password specifically from this forum which of course is different than the password on
my yuplay account. I also registered a War Thunder account with the same username
and password as my yuplay just for good measure. I hope this helps. Good luck.
Flight Sticks
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 4
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
[Link]
flight-stick-problems/page-2
I have been trying to adapt most of the info in the above postings to my flight
stick & have come up with the following Mappings – see next page -– still a work in
progress.
Best trick is to use the Flight Stick’s Configuration Button to reconfigure R1-L1 to
R1 and R2-L2 to L2.
This leaves you with R1-R2-R3 on the Stick & L1-L2-L3 on the Throttle
No matter how many adjustments I make to DZ, NL, Sensitivity etc, I continue to
be plagued by sloppy flying – suspect I am at fault not the stick!
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 5
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Look Around
Settings Set Camera X & Y Axis in
Relative Value –
1. Button Map Yes
Flaps Down R2 +
Flaps Up R2 +
Togg Flaps (Sim) R2 +
Trim L1 + R2
Trim Reset L2 + R2
Wheel brake R1 +
Air Brake R1 +
Cannons L1 +
✖
Rockets
L2 +
✖
Bombs L3
VIEW Tactical Map
Toggle View Δ
Toggle Sight L1 + Δ ?
Lock Target L2 + R3 ?
Target Camera L2 + R1
Tip
If you experience lag on your Flight Stick,,,,you should unplug and replug
unit...weird, but it appears to be a symptom and this is the cure.
I have two flight sticks and they seem to manifest itself in both of them, more
often than desired...try using electronic cleaner on the male plug on the
controller...insert it wet to clean out the connection...slide it in and out
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 8
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Mapping Buttons
You can use a combo of buttons to map stuff just DONT map the first button to a
specific function.
I did that and had my gear drop every time i wanted the other item.
Relative Setting
Imputing yes or no...will dictate the behavior of that axis. Since the functions were pre-
programmed to do certain tasks...by changing the values in the Axis modifiers, it will
affect the movements of the controls relative to your inputs...You'll see what I mean if
you experiment and test the result...it varies from Axis to Axis...hope this helps
ZOOM
Flightstick:
First go into axis mapping and then press Y/Triangle on the Zoom Axis to go into the
modifer screen.
Then set the button you normally use for sim zoom as Maximum.
If you use target lock you will want to make sure that it is set for a different button in
button mapping otherwise you will get a fully zoomed in view of the targeted plane.
There is no setting that stops you using zoom. The button gets disabled by mistake
when Target camera lock is disabled in Custom. But if you setup the zoom in axis
mapping instead of button mapping you can still use it.
Really the zoom is not a zoom, It gives you a realistic scale of the cockpit and outside
as if you were really sitting at the controls. Normal view is actually a wide angle
zoomed out view to cover on our tv what we normally see in our peripheral vision.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 9
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
(For War Thunder – not Birds of Steel – but general principles well-explained)
For those that may be having problems with their controller axis and sensitivity
settings, here is a breakdown explaining some of the more important settings
for axis configuration. At the foot of the guide is an explanation on how to map
buttons or keys to axes such as Prop Pitch, Mixture and Radiator.
Dead Zone
Dead zone is a small, set radius around centre of your controller axis where user input
is ignored. Depending on how sensitive your controller is, holding it in a neutral,
centred position can sometimes return movement to your aircraft where you normally
wouldn't want any. Having a user adjusted dead zone can prevent this unwanted
movement in the neutral position. Some devices already have a dead zone, some none
at all. Set as appropriate for your device.
You can see the effect of your set dead zone by moving your controller and observing
the logical axis (green diamond) compared to the physical axis (red) at the top of the
axis settings screen (animation below). With a dead zone set, the logical axis (how axis
movement translates into the game environment) should start moving AFTER the
physical axis has started moving, depending on how much dead zone you have set.
The tiniest amount of dead zone is usually all that's required to have a steady
neutral position. Either set in-game or on the device itself (Windows Devices).
Most likely unnecessary with a gamepad.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 10
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Nonlinearity
Ideally, all controllers should be linear across their axis range, meaning from the
neutral position to full deflection there should be a regular, even level of output from the
controller. It is then up to the user to set a nonlinear curve along an axis if they want to
change that level of output.
Some virtual pilots prefer to have their controls completely linear (set to 0) while others
prefer the reduced sensitivity around the centre of the controller. It's really down to user
preference. A setting of 10-15% seems to work well on pitch, roll, and yaw axes.
You can see the effect of your set nonlinearity by moving your controller and observing
the logical axis (green diamond) compared to the physical axis (red) at the top of the
axis settings screen (animation below). With a nonlinear curve set, the logical axis will
move slower at the centre than the physical axis, but it will catch up with the physical
axis as it moves further towards full deflection, depending on how much nonlinearity
you have set.
Some of the more expensive HOTAS systems have curve editors where linearity is
completely user manageable outside of the game. It should be noted that not all
controllers are linear out of the box. The X-52 for example is notorious for having a
nonlinear curve along it's pitch and roll axes that cannot be fixed by software (I modded
mine!). Setting a nonlinear curve in War Thunder for a device that already has
nonlinearity will only magnify what is already there. Meaning very low sensitivity around
the centre of the stick and very high sensitivity towards full deflection. This could make
a control surface snap to full deflection too quickly and increase the likelihood of
stalling.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 11
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Before you consider using a nonlinear curve in War Thunder, it would help to
know if your controller is linear.
You can test to see if your controller is linear by using a free program called joytester2
(a Google search will find it). The simplest test with this software is to move your
controller in regular circles. If your controller is linear, you will see in the top left graph,
a path traced that shows more or less, smooth circles. If nonlinear the traced path will
look more like a diamond shape (see screens below).
The same pattern can be observed in the cockpit for linear and nonlinear control by
moving the controller in circles and looking at the pilot's flight stick.
Invert Axis
If a particular axis is the wrong way round (commonly throttle), setting 'Yes' will reverse
the axis and fix the issue.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 12
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Multiplier
The multiplier setting controls how much flight stick and control surface deflection your
full controller axis range will give you in-game. A setting of 1 will give full control
surface deflection (100%) along the axis of your controller. Anything less than 1 and
the overall amount of control surface deflection will be reduced. 0.8 would equate to
80% of deflection along the full axis range of your controller.
You can see the effect of your multiplier setting by moving your controller and
observing the logical axis (green diamond) compared to the physical axis (red) at the
top of the axis settings screen (animation below). With a multiplier less than 1 you will
see that you do not get full deflection as the logical axis does not reach the end of
the bar when the physical axis is at full deflection. With a setting greater than 1, your
effective physical axis range is reduced and your logical axis will reach the end of the
bar (full deflection) before your physical axis does, meaning output is literally multiplied.
A value less than 1 will reduce the amount of overall deflection which may help
to reduce stalling in tight turns. Other than that I don't know of any real benefits
for setting the multiplier to anything but 1 for a joystick or gamepad.
Correction
You can see the effect of your correction by observing the position of the logical axis
(green diamond) compared to the physical axis (red) at the top of the axis settings
screen. It's neutral, centre position will move dependent on your setting.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 13
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
This affects how your pilot's on-screen flight stick and control surfaces respond to your
own controller movements. At 100% (full bars) your on-screen flight stick is
synchronised to your own controller's movement and speed. If sensitivity is set to
anything less than 100%, the pilot's flight stick will still respond to your movements in
time but the overall speed of the in-game flight stick (and control surfaces) will become
slower. Set sensitivity to the lowest value and move your controller to see. On screen
the flight stick is very slow and lags behind your own controller's speed of movement,
like it is moving through treacle. It even re-centres slowly. Set to 100% and it is
synchronised, matching the speed and movement of your own controller.
It may not be obvious at first but it is possible to set buttons or keys to some axes to
increase or decrease their values if needed. Buttons or keys can be assigned to
increase or decrease Prop Pitch, Mixture and Radiator.
Firstly, enable Relative Control on the axis (set to 'yes'). Doing this you will see that
the text entries for Maximum Value and Minimum Value will change to Increase
Value and Decrease Value. You can now map buttons or keys to Increase or
Decrease Prop Pitch, Mixture, Radiator etc.
Set Relative Control Sensitivity to about 4 bars (from left) and Multiplier at 1. This
will have the values increase/decrease quite quickly while the button is held down, but
not too quickly. Adjust these values to suit your own needs.
It should be noted that to make adjustments to Prop Pitch, Mixture and Radiator,
you must first be flying with Full Aircraft Control enabled (Menu/Controls) and
you must then switch to Manual Engine Control whilst in flight (default is Auto).
You may also be required (in some instances) to switch from Auto Prop Pitch to
Manual Prop Pitch after selecting Manual Engine Control.
Not all aircraft will allow adjustment in these areas. It depends on the model of
aircraft.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looking at the controls in more detail, it turns out that Relative Control Sensitivity
and Relative Control is present in all axis configurations but NOT roll and pitch? I
think those settings should be there to be honest as they are available in all other axis
configurations.
Relative Control Sensitivity as best as I can tell (when Relative Control is set to
'YES') controls the incremental/decremental speed of a key press (if a key or button is
mapped to that axis). If a joystick or gamepad has been set for an axis, Relative
Control Sensitivity regardless of the setting, has absolutely no effect on the axis at
all. I think it should really be greyed out if using a controller for that axis.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 15
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Relative Control Sensitivity only comes into play if a button or key has been mapped
for that axis and Relative Control is enabled. It serves no other purpose that I can
see.
Keys or buttons can be assigned to both roll and pitch so I don't know why the relative
controls for those axes are unavailable? It hadn't actually occurred to me until you
mentioned it as I have only ever used my joystick for those axes.
The only reason I can guess at these settings being missing for roll and pitch would be
that those particular axis are least likely to be controlled by the keyboard (or buttons)
as most users would probably use a mouse, gamepad or joystick for roll and pitch. It
would make sense to have relative controls for pitch and roll though considering a
keyboard can be used for flight and the settings are there for yaw.
As for HAT with relative control, when I was using 8-way HAT view on my X-52 (only
for testing purposes) I found the only effective way to really use it was with Relative
Control set to 'Yes'. This will not have it snap back to centre when released as you've
discovered but it will stay where you put it. I then adjusted Relative Control Sensitivity
to get the speed of that virtual head movement just right. I can't remember the settings
but I had it so that it moved neither too slow nor too fast. I then mapped a button on my
throttle for 'Default View' which re-centred the view looking forward. Although I use
head-tracking myself (FreeTrack) this worked very effectively for me when I tested HAT
view briefly.
To find what settings you're comfortable with, go into a test flight with any aircraft and
position the view on the cockpit flight stick. See how the cockpit flight stick matches
your own controller movements. Go to an external view and see how the control
surfaces respond to your movements. You can press Esc. at any time in test flight, go
into control settings, make the necessary adjustments and then go back to your test
flight to see the differences and how it affects your flying. Set what is best for you.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 16
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Look Arounds
(JMB: This is the method of those listed that I found works best for me)
I took your suggestion and tried using the "Y" axis on the dual shock controller since I
wasn't using that for anything.
I also assigned the same reset view key to both for a quick centering of the camera
back to forward view.
The only probelm I had was that if the dualshock controller wasn't perfectly level my
camera view would slowly shift whichever way the dualshock was tilting without me
touching the hat switch.
I currently have no axis set for camera X & Y, but I do have Relative control set to Yes
on the axis screen.
I left my button mapping as it was on the modifier screens and it works like a champ
now.
I have to use real quick/light touches to the hat switch, but I can now manually track all
around the cockpit.
I always fly in the cockpit view so this is so much nicer to be able to point the camera
where I want to look and have it stay there.
The harder you move the hat the more it moves the view, so a light touch is all you
need and you can precisely look out any angle of the canopy or down at the controls.
I was able to manually track and shoot down two planes (yes, they were the enemy not
friendly) in Simulation mode last night.....those are the first planes I've been able to
track and shoot down in that mode. Thanks for all your help!
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 17
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
I was in the cockpit ready for take-off that is when I started messing with the control
setups.
At first I set the axis to the dualshock axis, changed relative control to Yes and then
went into the axis modifier screen.
I removed the bindings for what was currently there in the minimum and maximum
fields and then reassigned them in the increase/decrease fields.
I backed out and then did the Y camera axis the same way. I backed all the way out so
I was in the cockpit view and realized that the camera was slipping due to the tilt of the
dualshock axis.
I went back into the controls and unbinded the axis for the camera X and backed out
and did the same thing for camera Y.
I currently have no axis set for camera X & Y, but I do have Relative control set to Yes
on the axis screen.
I do not think I went into the modifier screens as I left those set how they were, or
maybe I did just to make sure the buttons still showed, but I did not change anything,
just backed out once I saw they were still set.
When I backed all the way out to the cockpit view again everything worked.
I have to use real quick/light touches to the hat switch, but I can now manually track all
around the cockpit. I always fly in the cockpit view so this is so much nicer to be able to
point the camera where I want to look and have it stay there. The harder you move the
hat the more it moves the view, so a light touch is all you need and you can precisely
look out any angle of the canopy or down at the controls.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 18
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
I found that instead of using the down arrow + right anolog stick for free look which
leaves you handicaped due to taking your thumb off the left anolog stick.
Its much easier to use the left trigger + right anolog stick, which lets you keep your
thumb on the left anolog stick, thus letting you control your plane while looking
around...almost as good as IR Tracking.
How to 101
1. Go under your controls, select "Button Mapping" or left shoulder bumper button
(xbox).
2. Scroll down to zoom camera (simulator (this is for sim set up.)), unbind this button,
leave unbound.
5. Scroll down until you see "Camera (X Axis), hit thr "Y" button or axis mod, unbind the
axis activator which should be bound to the down arrow, now bind the left trigger and
backout to axis mapping again.
6. Repeat step 5 with camera (y axis), then resume game and checkout your easy
camera setup.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 19
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
I have mine set so when I hold the hatswitch button down, yaw and roll move camera
left/right and up/down (respectively). Also I mapped the hatswitch up button (when
held) to direct the turret cam/reticule.
Options > Controls > Axis Mapping (Trigger)
Now you should see a list of all your axes: pitch x & y, roll x & y, yaw x & y,
throttle, then (I think) Camera x & y and Turret x & y.
So hover on camera X, then hit Triangle (it's on the throttle stick, facing you,
lowest button) to go into "Axis Modifiers".
This is how you tell the game to interpret joystick movement differently when you're
holding down a button (the hatswitch down button, in this case). You're only gonna be
dealing with the first column on each of these (I haven't figured out what the others are
for). So I think the first item is "Enable Axis". Hit X to change this. It'll say something
like "assign button", then push the hatswitch button down. It should replace the empty
spot with "DOWN". Then go to the two other things assigned in this list. I think they're
minimum/maximum value. Hover over them and hit the SELECT button on each to
delete them. You don't want them on any of these.
Exit out of the Axis Modifiers menu, then go to Camera Y and hit Triangle again. You're
gonna do the exact same thing in this menu (enable axis = hatswitch down,
minimum/maximum value = remove).
Next item down, Turret X. Go to axis modifiers for this and do the same thing you did
before, but this time use the hatswitch up button for "Enable Axis", and remove the
other assignments (min./max value or whatever).
Now the game knows that hatswitch up = turret movement and hatswitch down =
camera movement, but it doesn't know which axes to use for these.
In your Axis menu, go back to Camera X and hit X (I think) to map the axis. This should
give you the screen that shows your input on the axis with the little red and green
squares. So you're now assigning how you want to move the camera horizontally. I use
yaw, so just twist the joystick left and right and it'll register the axis. (while you're in
here, go ahead and give each of these 3 notches of non-linearity). Back out of that
menu and go into Camera Y, move the stick forward and back to register the Y axis.
Then repeat these steps with the turret axes and you should be ready to rock.
(Set Relative to YES)?
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 20
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
I got a TH-Hotas and struggle to get the free look gentle enough.
I have tried the tips in this thread as:
This gives me an ok ability to free look with the hat switch BUT I dont feel it smooth
enough.
I can look 180 back and it returns to 0 which is ok, but I would like it to become
smoother in movements on input.
I have a PS3 so this is how you set up your 6 axis look on it.
Go to options click controls click axis mapping, camera x axis click the
triangle button axis modifiers and unbind the button that enables your camera axis,
then do the same for the camera y axis.
Then back in your axis mapping go down to your horizontal mouse movement and
move the option to camera X-axis,
then do the same for your vertical mouse movement Camera Y-Axis
Go to your camera x axis and move your controller then do the same in your camera y
axis. After you do this you might have reverse your camera axis so the camera moves
the way you want it to.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 21
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Record Replays
Do you have to be Playstation Plus Member to save replays now? I've tried and the
yellow plus shows up on "copy replay".
Screen Shots 1
Our flyer from France (Olife) – his English is much better than my French -
has some great pics in the Forum & offers these tips:
Taking pics is easy, during replay if you push down on the PS button in the center of
the gamepad it will freeze the screen and take you to the main Playstation window. If
you side scroll over to the camera ( photos ) then you can take a pic of the screen shot
and save it in your media folder. Then you can use a USB stick to download/upload to
your PC and post away.
For the settings, use the game option"wireless controller" and do your screenshots
during replay,
Try to do your screenshots in the speed replay X250,(or 500 maximum for some US
round engine fighters like THE CORSAIR ( at X250 speed replay,the nose of the
Corsair's propellers is transparent)
The advantage of using the option "wireless controller " is that you can see your plane
in front view, by pressing TRIANGLE. But just before adjust the size of your plane’s
front view by pressing SQUARE, U WILL SEE THE PLANE IN A " BEHIND VIEW" not
use a too big one cause u will not have all the plane on your screen but just a pieces of
it.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 22
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Screen Shots 2
Try to have your plane in the middle of the screen and the best horizontal you can (not
the tail higher or lower than the nose) i think it is important cause if not, it will be very
difficult to have it in the center of the screen during replay and you can have a troubles
with the angle of the plane in the pic during replay.
If you want a pic of the plane in a "above view" press TRIANGLE , you will be in front
view. Continue to press triangle until the nose is lightly lower than the tail and take care
to see the side of the plane which is lighting by the sun a little bit more than the other
side, the reason is that the side which is a little bit more visible in front view will be the
size which pass in front of you during the replay when u will take your screenshot and
the dark side of the plane will be not good for a good pic.
After wait until your plane pass in front of you, the fact is that you must press triangle a
lot of times until you have the good angle and the plane in the center of the screen
when it pass in front of you. It take a long time, stay patient.
If you want a "below view" do the same but press triangle as long as you see the nose
of your plane slightly higher than the tail.
You can press CIRCLE to have a more large view,your plane and more sky and
ground,in this case press CIRCLE as long as your find a good angle.
exuse me for my poor english,hope u will understand ,if no tell me i will try to be do
better if i can again.
Millions thanks for compliments about pics but i do nothing of excellent, just practice
and every body can do the same and even really better! you can bro easy!!!!
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 23
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Headsets 1
[Link]
PS3-headset/td-p/19226338
Insert the other end of the cable into a USB connector on the PS3 system.
The power indicator on the headset lights up in solid green for two seconds to indicate
that the headset and the PS3 system have been paired. If pairing is not successful or times out,
the power indicator light will remain solid red for two seconds.
After you have paired the headset in the above mentioned way, THEN you can charge the
headset by plugging it into the cradle.
When you want to use the headset you can take it out of cradle and press power button to turn
on headset and it will automatically be paired with PS3.
You will see an indicator flash on the top right of your TV screen showing the power level,
volume, HQ Mode and will show when mic is Mute.
HQ mode is only available when the mic is paired this way.
BASIC OPERATIONS
Turn on the headset.........Press and hold down the power button for about three seconds.
Turn off the headset.........Press and hold the power button down for at least 5 seconds.
Mute the microphone........Press the mic muting button.
Adjust the volume............Press the volume + or volume - button. Each press will adjust the
volume by one level.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 24
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Headsets 2
Pairing with the PS3™ system: automatic mode
You must use the USB cable to pair your headset using the PS3™ system automatic mode.
2. Check that the PS3™ system software is version 2.50 or later. If you have an earlier
version, you need to update the software before you can use the automatic mode for
pairing.
3. Insert the mini-B connector of the supplied USB cable directly into the USB connector on
your headset.
4. Insert the other end of the cable into a USB connector on the PS3™ system.
5. The power indicator on the headset lights up in solid green for two seconds to indicate
that the headset and the PS3™ system have been paired.
2. Press and hold down the power button on the headset until the power and mic muting
indicators flash alternately in green and red, indicating that the headset is in Bluetooth®
discovery mode.
a. The PS3™ system scans for the headset, and displays a list of all Bluetooth®
devices within range.
Smooth Flying 1
One of the first areas to check is your control sensitivity, if you're stalling and
spinning then you probably have your elevator set a bit too sensitive.
For all flight control axis settings, Roll, Pitch and Yaw...Dead Zones and Nonlinearity
are all set at 4 bars...I've tried many many combinations and this seems to be the best
balance.
Don't neglect your Thottle setting as well,,,I would give it the same settings as
well...having a smooth throttle is essential.
1st Opinion
Roll, Pitch and Yaw...Dead Zones and Nonlinearity are all set at 4 bars
Don't neglect your Thottle setting as well,,,I would give it the same settings as
well...having a smooth throttle is essential.
Sensitivity for Pitch and Yaw are both at 3 bars (for most fighter aircraft)
2nd Opinion
This newer setting gives a crisper and smooth response without sacrificing
agility.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 26
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Smooth Flying 2
3rd Opinion
Right now I'm using the default Ace Edge settings with sensitivities turned down.
Stick set to wide, Deadzones turned down 2 clicks from default.
I put a big deadzone on the rudder. I seem to never need a fully deflected rudder.
4th Opinion
1. Turn down the dead zone to 1 or 2 bars at most for pitch and roll. There is no reason
for a large dead zone on an already small axis surface such as the gamepad thumb
stick.
2. Non-linearity. Now this is the bread n butter of your control surface, the red target
tells you where the thumb stick physically is on your real world gamepad, the green
target is the input the game is receiving.
Start pulling the stick over to on side (for roll, left/right, x-axis) as slowly as possible, try
to put in as little input as it feels to your thumb.
Ideally you should see the red target move over some distance, perhaps 1/4 of the field
from middle to left and the green target just starting to slide off center. The green target
should NEVER jump from leaving the middle or you will lose all fine controls of your
aircraft.
3. For rudder control you may want a larger dead zone so as to not interfere with
throttle control.
4. Personal taste, for the pitch controls I like to add a multiplier so I don't have to pull
back on the stick as hard when I'm pulling high G turns, when using the multiplier
adjust the non linearity accordingly because that will be effected.
Spin Recovery
One thing the tutorials leave out about spin recovery is closing the throttle, the
single most important step. Ironically the aircraft in the game all seem to recover
from a spin very easily once the throttle is shut
PARE:
How does one get to the Tutorials mentioned on the intro screen (eg for Spins &
Stalls)?
Tutorials are the first campaign. pre-war period 1941 you will shoot, bomb,
torpedo...learn what buttons work what...and do a carrier landing.
Landing Brakes
Touch down..Throttle Back and just tap away on my bottom to just slow it down or
come to a complete stop...your in complete control...specially in tail wheeled
planes...hold and release at anytime ...works perfect
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 28
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Offline:
In the menu I selected 'Dynamic campaign' custom settings, cockpit only with all
other help - except pop up map - turned off, and all other effects ( stalls, red out
black out etc turned on).
It isn't easy and it took weeks as I don't personally have the opportunity to go
online for any length of time, and I also use the PS3 six axis controller.
When your in the Mission Editor screen about midway down it may say sim/real or
simplified ( depends on what you currently have )
Now if you highlight that and side scroll it will also switch to a custom option, choose
that.
Once you set up the rest of he mission parameters, year/day/night etc then go all the
way to the bottom option.
It gives you the option to create it for online or you can choose offline. Online anyone
can join, just be careful because sometimes someone might join and just be a total
tool. I personally always choose offline.
When you press start it switches to the custom screen and there it gives you all the
options of what you want turned on or off. HUD settings, trim settings and so on can be
adjusted here.
I also recommend setting up free flight games in the mission editor and "custom"
difficulty so you can get used to each element of the game one at a time.
I usually play "custom" games with everything set to "simulator" except that I
keep the ASI, Alt and tach indicators up in the corner.
The ALT, IAS and THR can be selected in the custom set up menu.
It’s the yes or no option for what you want to use on your HUD.
Once you have it set the way you want your good to go. It may sound like a lot but its
really easy and once you get the hang of it you'll be good to go. Also once you have
the custom settings you like you don't have to do this everytime.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 30
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Settings Explained 1:
- Engine control (simplified, realistic, simulator)
Changes the amount of manual engine
management you have available. example: Sim has manual radiator and prop control only,
Realistic has an automatic option on as default (disable with engine mode toggle button)
- Speed Boost - Toggled
o Simplified - On
o Realistic – Simulator - Off
- Real gunnery
When turned off bullets no longer drop with gravity and become lasers (how
bullets were in BoP)
-
- Real damage model
When turned off planes handle perfectly right up until the plane is
destroyed
o Real Damage is not on in simplified. Real Damage causes wings to break, landing gear to rip
off, etc. which does not happen in simplified.
- Stalls
Off in Simplified
• May affect Rudder Control –
o Custom Mode/Realistic Engine Control/Stall On
o Rudder does not work
o Solve by Engine Control back to Simplified or turn Stall off
- Limited armament
No more unlimited rocket's or bombs, land to refill
-
- Flutter effect
Cockpit shaking as you increase speed, may also effect buffeting from flak
explosions.
o
Not on in Simplified
- Redouts/blackouts
o
Not on in Simplified
- Mortal pilots
When turned off crew will not go unconcious, and you will not get killed by
having your pilot killed.
-
- Manual trimming
Turning off disables trim. Very anoying if turned off when other sim options
like torque effect are active.
-
o Simulator only
- Torque effects
Torque effects are what makes the plane drift to the side on takeoff and roll
the opposite way to the prop spinning while in flight.
o Simulator only
- Disable arcade boost
Arcade speed boost is what makes the planes in Simplified (And AI in
all difficulties) fly so fast and able to outclimb a Saturn V rocket.
-
o
Realistic & Simulator
- Aircraft helpers.
Plane will Automatically level itself.
o Simplified only
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 32
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Settings Explained 2:
– From Postings
Head to Head or CAP: either Hurricane II or Spit Mk1 against 110's or 109E's.
I like using planes with just guns instead of cannons in ME because its more of a
realism factor.
You shoot a 110 with just guns and its engine will burst into flame and it'll just go
on a nice long ride down. Cannons just blows them apart like they're LEGO's.
If you pick Britain Northeast and hostiles around ( basically surrounded) then you can
take off from Manston. With the 3 set ups above it usually has the mission start gate
way over on the other side of the map down past Hawkinge so its a nice long flight
before the battle and then a long flight back to land. I ALWAYS play with take offs and
landings.
Same sort of set ups for the other maps only using US planes:
Date1943 and P40 for Sicily or
Date1942 and F4F/Buffalo for Guadalcanal.
On Guadalcanal I'll also do ship attack/carrier attack missions with the TBF Avenger or
SBD Dauntless.
Oh and i do like turning and burning in a P51 or P47 over the Bulge or Berlin.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 34
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
2. Midway (or Wake) - In friendly rear - free flight - Take off (as always)
This should set you up with two of the four ocean sectors as enemy sectors and
with a good spawn there will be a dozen warships in those sectors.
First I takeoff and circle until all my aircraft are airborne, then I proceed to land all
of them, park'em and shut off their engines.
Then I take one up and head out to sink me a ship and if I manage to survive the
OP AAA I fly back to my base to repair and reload... or if I got shot down I switch
to one of my other planes parked at the airbase.
3. MISSION SET UP
(Take off from the South and engage enemy bombers in the North)
[Link]
First, stay as low as possible. It is easier to spot a target against the sky than it is to be
at mid to high altitude and looking for a target against the trees.
Second, after take off, use your zoom in quite often. You will be able to spot a target at
distance quicker and sometimes before they spot you...I actually fly in zoom most of
the time unless I am tracking a target close up.
Last and most important, communicate if you have a mic. You will be able to ask your
squad mates where they are and what they are doing. They can also help watch your
six and call out targets. Side note, study the plane silhouettes so you know what they
look like without trying to decipher emblems or colors. These will all take time to get
used to but when you do...you will have the time of your life.
I have played this mode for a few months now and it really makes you think about
bullet trajectory before you pull the trigger ( No aiming centre point ) .
Think most of these games in cockpit mode have limited ammo , Makes you think
before you thumb the button !.
You do get to recognise aircraft shapes from all angles , more important which way the
enemy aircraft is turning, this really helped jumping over to Cockpit Si
A good tip given to me is, Sim is the only mode where you can evade your opponent ,
more so in Cockpit mode. I kept my ailerons a good few notches higher than they
probably should be.... just so I can snap roll away , work out some crazy diving
move (normally into the ground ! )
If some one is on your tail I have managed to lose them a few times by constantly
changing direction and pace.
The mic is really important, they are a Super friendly bunch, all willing to offer advice.
More important......just relax and enjoy , even if you got 1 kill , it took skill and cunning
to get it ( or plain luck ! )
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 36
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Rule No. 2:
Know the national markings. This is the easiest way to quickly identify
planes since they're all unique. A few people cover them with decals and as
far as I'm concerned, those people are fair game on team kills.
Rule No. 3:
Get as close as you can before pulling the trigger. The closer you are, the easier
they are to recognize and the more likely you are to deliver a kill shot (at least
with the machine gun-only fighters since you can snipe all day with the cannon-
armed birds).
Also, if the map is available it will let you know from a distance where your friends
and foes are.
The map and the zoom buttons are your friends until you get the "eye" for it.
I used to keep checking the map to find the red dots...fly in that direction and then
use the zoom as you scan up and down to find the AC.
First: Map,map,map,this will give you general area long before anyone is in
range to shoot.
Second: Map,map,map,till you get a visual on any [Link] map also tells u if
its friend or foe.....red dot on the map you know its a bogie no need for visual
conformation......kill [Link] dot...find another [Link] thier are several targets, the
map shows blue being followed by 2 reds and a blue....then friendly,bogie,bogie,
friendly.
Pretty soon you will start to rely less and less on those as you begin to see the
subtle movements that the planes make.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 37
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Another trick is to fly low on the deck so the planes are silhouetted against the
sky. then get in real close and zoom until you can do a positive ID.
The only downfall about the last part is you are a sitting duck for someone to
sneak in behind you and smoke you.
Don’t sweat the friendly kills..it happens...but do message the friendly you killed
and let them know you are sorry. most are ok...some will give you a smart @$$
comment back...screw them, they do it too.
Another trick is when you look at the bottom right of the screen where it says who
killed who, if it was a teammate that just got shot down check the sky. Sometimes
you'll be close enough to see the plane that just got him. Then boogie on after
him.
Tracer Colour:
Most but not all of the German tracers (K4's and TA152's at least) have an
almost purple glow. I haven't seen Allied fighters have that color. When I see
purple tracers flying past me, that means I'm screwed.
Be careful looking for tracer color. I was in a match earlier and the host had it set
up for night. I saw red and green tracers up above me and went to check it out. I
ended up getting shredded by a Blenheim. The damn thing fires both red and
green. Green from the top, red from the bottom and if its leveled both come at
you. It looked like a string of Christmas lights coming at me.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 38
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Whenever you can't get above the enemy though, just get in really close, 0.5
Miles and under should work. Also use small things like cannon barrels to identfy
aircraft or the shape of the nose or tail, these are two very distinctive features of
any aircraft.
Although it is the correct tactic in air combat to be above the enemy, in BoS you
put yourself as a big visual target for those people looking up into the sky. This is
especially bad if playing with no map against skilled players.
They will spot you, climb up and intercept while you are still scanning the
ground. Sometimes I find tracer fire suddenly coming up at me from exactly the
spot against the ground that I was looking at and yet I never saw the plane.
The fact is the sun just isn't an issue in BoS. It causes no reflections and doesn't
blind those looking up. Cloud shadow is also wrong in BoS, the white of the cloud
on your screen darkens the ground almost completely black, so you have to
make sure you have no sky showing on your screen so the ground slowly
brightens up slightly.
Meanwhile the people looking up at you against the cloud again see a nice black
dot to attack.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 39
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Shooting Tips 1
Gunsights – Convergence
Settings Commands:
Best reference: [Link]
Rules of Convergence
Shooting Tips 2
Turret Aim
When you switch to turret gunner position, you will notice that sometimes the turret
aim is aiming at your 12 o clock, this is because there is no enemies around, or you
havent spotted it yet(you know you did if you got the xp from enemy spotted),
But whenever an enemy is within range, the turret aim will point exactly at the
direction of an enemy plane when you switch to it.
Although it aims at the enemy, keep in mind that he is moving so he wont remain in
your aim for long, and if you move the aiming sight with the stick or roll the plane
enough you will aim somewere else.
If done well, you now know here he is and he most likely does not, you now have
the element of surprise.
After the aim spots an enemy, if you switch views till you come back to gunner aim
to spot him again, it may point at another enemy instead of the one you spotted first
I call this trick the Nightfighter Spotter because although you can use it with
whichever conditions there is, it will be useful at night only because the enemy has a
tougher time spotting you, and planes like the bf-110 can easily use this to spot
them first and catch them off guard.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 41
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
CARRIERS 1
To practice carrier ops, with allied or axis plans as long as you want without time or
mission limit:
1. Choose a sector that has carriers
4. At the plane select screen were it says ally and enemy planes.
5. Select number of planes, Ally planes set to- 0, enemy planes set to- 0.
7. Just take off and land, rinse, repeat as long as you want.
Map
Midway Ocean South East Friendly sector at the front
(2 carriers to pick from – Lexington & Yorktown Class)
Game type air combat patrol take off and proceed to target
CARRIERS 2
Hanger Select Japanese Planes Test Fly Zero One unlimited carrier practice
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 43
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
CARRIERS 3
Practice Carrier Landings 1
Has anyone found a ME setup that allows carrier practice with allied planes?
I haven't found a combination yet that puts me anywhere but on an airfield with
(maybe) destroyers in the water.
.. and if you switch to axis and friends around hostile sector you can do carrier ops off
of Japanese carriers. Probably easier to learn on with the much smaller conning towers
and no conning tower at all if you chance on a light carrier. Of note, if using the zero
and in cockpit view, best map a button to turn off the gun sight, other wise its right in
your view making it hard to see the flight deck while on final approach.
EDIT 'Ocean south east' seems to always give you two carriers, its nice because
sometimes as Allie you’ll get a Lexington and Yorktown Class carrier.
Remember to always pick carrier capable aircraft or you will just start in the air
regardless of what mission parameters you chose.
EDIT2 When doing this as an axis player you’ll find that after the mission ends when
your back at the mission creation screen 'take off and fly' option is no longer available.
Just go to 'Friends around Hostile Sector' reselect it and you can again select take off
and fly as an option.
In the hanger if you select the Japanese planes test fly the Zero and it will start you on
an aircraft carrier and you can takeoff and land as many times as you like no time limit
No mission great for offline carrier practice
Change the date to the date that the opposing side is in command of the island. Like if
your Japanese use wake island and the date set to 1940 and off shore area and I start
on a carrier every time, usually with American I try any date first and if it doesn’t work I
try 1942 and up
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 44
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
CARRIERS 4
Midway / Wake - Hostile sector at the front - Offshore area - Carrier\ship bombing
mission.
Malta - Allies - *Enemy around friendly sector - Mediterranean - Air combat patrol.
Starts you on the Ark Royal. (tough one to get just keep reselecting
Mediterranean until you get 'takeoff' option)
Malta - Axis - *Enemy around friendly sector - Mediterranean - Air combat patrol.
Starts you on the Graf Zeppelin. (look around, might get to see a pocket
battleship too)
CARRIERS 5
Practice Carrier Landings 3
Lexington has the wires along the entire length of the deck, The Enterprise has
the wires only in the middle of the deck
I finally found a way to to practice carrier ops, with allied or axis plans as long as you
want. Without time or mission limit:
First choose a sector that has carriers
Then choose air combat patrol, take off and fly to target.
Start the mission but Do NOT fly to the marker. Just take off and land, rinse,
repeat as long as you want.
Sometimes you have to keep reselecting either location or sector status to get what
you want. If you select a different mission then reselect location\sector the game
defaults back to the other mission, so you have to keep going back and changing
mission... PITA... easy way, select the mission you want then start, it will save the
setting, next screen just go back to mission setup and that mission will remain so you
can just keep reselecting the others without the mission changing.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 46
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
CARRIERS 6
I was practicing landings with the Hellcat and while I’m putting her down right at
stall speed and the hook is catching, the plane jerks forward when the hook catches
having the propeller hit the deck and causing the plane to flip over. I've tried landing
fast and at stall speeds and nothing the plane always flips forward.
Bomber Guide 1
Remember:
[Link]
[Link]
3. situational awarness
Bomber armor:
Some bombers are stronger than others, but there is 1 rule about them that doesn’t
change
the weakest part of a bomber, is the front!!
NEVER fly head on against an interceptor, its suicide.
If you want to know how to exploit this, if you spot an enemy fighter coming at you,
either give him your side or turn until he is at your six.
Defensive tactics:
if you have studied bombers a little, you now know that during night they performed the
corkscrew maneuver to shake off night fighters, this maneuver is very useful in BoS too
in day, and naturally, at night so i encourage you to look it up on the internet.
Another tactic i find useful is just move unpredictably when a fighter is chasing you. Do
NOT fly straight as he will be able to calculate his shots and make your plane a golf
course, and the worst thing that can happen is he rips your wing or tail off, then game
over, that or he starts an engine fire.
Route creating:
Get your map out and trace a flight path to get to the enemy base.
Take off & then turn around and get away from the battle.
After some time turn back around and fly to the enemy base.
By then you should have enough altitude to get to the enemy base undetected and
safe from interceptors, hell, maybe even flak!
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 48
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Bomber Guide 2
You’ll distinguish an engine fire because the engine releases so much smoke you
instantly know something is wrong.
if you are still alive, slowly raise the throttle, but don’t get it to 100 or WEP for if you do
so you may ignite in a fireball or go down in flames (80% max).
If your plane has 4 engines and the one closer to the wing tip caught fire it will be
easier to handle, but if the one closer to the fuselage got hit, apply extra care since it is
more dangerous.
If you controlled it succesfully, you got 2 choices, proceed with your bombing run but
risk getting killed easily or jettison bombs and return to base.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 49
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Bomber Guide 3
Turrets:
Turrets are the only thing that can help you against enemy fighters if you are not being
escorted, so using them can make the difference between life and death.
When a fighter is coming, they will instantly shoot if he is in range, instantly telling you
he is on to you, maneuver depending on your altitude and switch to turrets.
When shooting a fighter, the crosshair is not very important, the tracers are.
What you want to do is get the tracers to impact the enemy. You’ll have to aim near the
fighter or depending where he is, adjust it, but don’t aim the crosshair directly at your
enemy unless he is at your exact 12 or six.
just look at the tracers and make them hit your target, and for precise hits, try using
burst fire if he is kinda far; if he is close just light him up like a Christmas tree.
If you need to, you can try using your turrets to strafe a ground target as a last resort,
say if you missed 1 target, do a fly by(buzz him) and shoot at him
Counters:
Try diving and flying extremely slow for if he has the balls to get you he is coming so
fast he’ll either overshoot and crash or rip off his wings because he tried to turn so fast
to avoid the ground.
If he is coming from high at your 12 just lower your angle so if he tries to get you he’ll
have an ungodly # of Gs so he will overshoot or if he tries to turn at you, you will leave
him behind when he overshoots.
this tactics are last resorts, but when a fighter is coming straight from behind, light him
up if he is coming straight . If he persists, you’ll put so much bullets on him he’ll go
down trying to get a straight shot at you. If he breaks off, he can’t shoot you and it gets
harder to hit him, but you will survive longer, so both situations are a win for you
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 50
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Bomber Guide 4
Recommended Bombers:
Dive Bombing:
If you go to fast, you suffer damage and can’t pull up in time so be careful.
Drop bombs and pull up as fast as you can on the last moment possible for maximum
efficiency.
Dive bombing is very effective for precise bombings but its not very effective with
mutiple targets, choose based on your needs
When you are going to bomb and don’t know where your targets are, look at the map
and its altitude variations. Look at the terrain below, and try to match them and make
an approximate of your targets position. Drop a few bombs a bit apart from each other
(take yield into account) and wait for results
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 51
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Bomber Guide 5
When your bomber suffers damage from elevator you can use flaps to stabilize
its angle when you want to elevate, use landing flaps for maximum elevation.
When you lose your rudders use ailerons and flip a little to the side you want to
turn at, and apply throttle.
When you lose your ailerons, use the rudder to flip (pull hard and it will flip a bit,
enough to turn.
Realistic:
SIM:
Bomber Guide 6
DIVE BOMBING:
The objective is to get the forward velocity of the projectile as close to zero as
possible so as to minimize drift. The most successful dive bomber of the war was
the Ju-87 Stuka, short for SturmKampfFlugzeug.
A Stuka pilot on a typical dive bombing run would ascend to 5k feet, set the
throttle control to zero with full feather on the prop, extend the dive brakes and
nose the plane over into a dive of between 50 and 90 degrees, when the plane
reached 2,500 feet the pilot would release his bombs and pull back on the stick
leveling the plane, the dive brakes were then retracted and the throttle returned
to normal setting.
SKIP BOMBING:
Is similar to dive bombing, except that in this method the pilot wants to maximize
forward velocity of the projectile.
The pilots puts the aircraft into a shallow dive to build speed. When the aircraft is
aligned and within anticipated range of the target, the pilot pulls back on the stick
and releases the bomb, hopefully flinging the bomb into the target with great
force.
LEVEL BOMBING:
Level bombing is so named because the plane is flying straight and level, and ideally
above FL180, (18k ft.) when doing so.
Here the forward velocity of the bomb is determined by the velocity of the aircraft
releasing the weapon. It is the safest, but least accurate of the methods of
bombing.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 53
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Bomber Guide 7
Watch Bombs
Is there a "Bombcam and a Torpedocam" button that would allow you to follow said
projectile to its target?
Just hold down which ever button (if you are using the PS3 controller) is used for
bombs or torpedoes. Just drop the bombs/torpedoes and hold down the same
button used to release them and you can watch the bomb or bombs drop right on
the target or the torpedo or torpedoes swim straight and true.
Just release the ordinance and hold down the button in one motion. By the way it
doesn't work for rockets.
Fighter Strategies 1
-After taking off instead of proceeding straight to the waypoint circle around your
airfield or carrier in a large/wide circuit until you reach anywhere from 10-20,000ft.
-Proceed to your waypoint. Once you have reached it you can either slowly descend on
the enemy gaining speed gradually and build it up to the initial pass or just maintain
your altitude and dive straight down on the enemy as they try to fly up to you, I prefer
the first so I don't lose sight of them.
-Now of course during the dive you want to pick a target and put as many rounds on
him as possible, but you won't always get 'em in one pass so use the speed you
gained from the dive to go far out and circle around for another pass or if the enemy is
still ascending, loop or turn around and use your built up speed to get right on his tail
and let 'em have it. Now realize the turn or loop onto his six may be difficult because
the velocity puts a lot of wind and force over the control surfaces making them stiff, so
don't expect it to happen instantly.
-If done correctly with throttle adjustments you should be able to stay on his tail in the
ascent just long enough to shred him to pieces and because he would/should be going
slower than you thanks to the speed you have from the dive you can get nice and
close. You can do a strafe/gun pass or you can pull the throttle back and stay on his
tail and if executed just right, his odds of shaking you off of him are slim to none just
because of the critical speed you had over him in the beginning.
-Sometimes though the AI may react differently. After your initial pass the enemy may
come out of their climb and turn left or right waiting for a chance to get on your tail. In
this scenario just use your velocity and go vertical, even if he is in a position to get on
your six he won't be able to keep up with your climb if he just came out of his ascent.
Once you have pulled away from him, turn around and hit 'em again. Repeat as
necessary. Also this tactic puts you in the position fr some pretty interesting down-ward
turning/rolling scissor battles. Very thearical indeed and sooner or later you will reach
the sea/ground and at that moment if you played your cards right and didn't overshoot
you should be right on his tail in level flight just long enough to smash him!
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 55
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Fighter Strategies 2
This has worked very well for me on any difficulty. I did this scenario many times with
me head to head with an A6M2 and myself in an F4F-3 or an F4F-4 Wildcat (the F4F-4
performs worse than the F4F-3 in terms of spead and altitude performance) with the
enemy on veteran difficulty on simulator, I won every time. Speed and altitude go hand
in hand, if you get enough of one, you can achieve the other.
One of my favorites is the Maverick maneuver. Get him close to you 6, hit the brakes,
barrel roll, get on his 6, and send him down smoking.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 56
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Click on Edit
Go to Gaijin Forum
Save
[Link]
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 57
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
[Link]
A must read!!
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 58
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
Air Domination-Where the objective is to capture the zone between yours and the
enemy's spawn points. (The floating A)
DLC maps have some other variations but the objectives are basically the same.
Except for the bomber intercept mode. You win by shooting enemy bombers while
protecting your own.
As for the red and blue gauges, It's very similar to Star Wars Battlefront or any of the
Battlefield games.
Think of the zones as command posts. You capture them by staying near them while
fighting off enemies. If it turns blue, your team has captured it. If it turns red, the enemy
controls it.
The gauge over the bases in Battlefront Domination show how much damage is being
inflicted on the airfield. Every target destroyed makes the bar drop a little lower. Once it
is all the way down, the match is over.
Same goes for the red and blue bars at the top of the screen. Those tell you who is
winning. Every zone captured or enemy destroyed makes the enemy's bar drop a little
lower. The objective is to make the other teams bar run out before yours does.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 59
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
I’ll assume you are playing in Sim because the lack of icons changes everything.
When you join a game you have no idea what kind of game you are in. Usually its
Battlefront Domination in Rhur or Kuban.
First check who has microphone icons on the board. Safe to assume that side might
have some form of co-operation going.
Sometimes at the beginning its best to spawn in the same plane as the AI are using. AI
don’t count as kills as far as the medal and skin hunters are concerned and are often
left alone if there is a lot of aces in the game who are after each other.
Wait on the runway till everybody takes off and observe how many bombers versus
fighters there are. After the game has cycled through a couple of times you should
have some idea what kind of game it is.
One common tactic is to follow a bomber, the bigger the better. They usually break left
or right. Engage anyone who comes after it, if you cant kill it you can buy time for the
bomber, if it gets through it can be a game changer.
Alternatively, pick your favorite fighter and circle your own airfield and wait for the
bombers to come to you.
Watch the red dots to the left or right, they are often the bombers. Get it before it
bombs, head on is often the best and only option. Some bomber pilots are manning
their own turrets and can be very good.
Take note when an enemy ace is killed, for the next few minutes you will know which
red dot is him.
JMB’s Tips From The Forum 60
April 2, 2013 __________________________________
I don’t bother the AI unless its easy, draws unwelcome attention just when you are
concentrating on something else! Unless the game looks decided.
AI tend to stooge around the middle and don’t bother airfields much.
Aces tend to go treetop so they can see without being seen.
Sometimes good to go into spectator mode and cycle through your team and see what
they get up to. They wont miss you.
Not very realistic, but good fun and good experience. Its a game of chess with
warbirds. Custom sim is another matter.
Trophies Described
Trophies
There are 40 Bronze Trophies, 8 Silver Trophies, 2 Gold Trophies, and 1 Platinum Trophy.
Trophy Description Type
Bird of Steel Earn all available Trophies for Birds of Steel. Platinu
Blitz Attack Destroy 6 enemy bombers before they reach the Wake in the mission "Japanese Raid". Bronze
Bombshell Damage destroyer with machine gun fire in the mission "Invasion of Tulagi". Bronze
Brave Spirit Win a battle against superior forces in Versus mode. Silver
Choose Your Favorite Fly in one of each country's planes. Bronze
Combat Pilot Earn the fifth rank. Bronze
Coral Sea Complete the American chapter "Battle of the Coral Sea". Bronze
Defender Destroy 3 enemy bombers in each wave on Realistic difficulty in the "First Carrier Fleet" Bronze
mission.
Eagle-Eyed Find the TF-17 carrier fleet in the "Counterattack" mission. Bronze
Fast and Furious Complete the first objective in less than 5 minutes in the "Tulagi Landing" mission. Bronze
First Wave Destroy all vehicles on Wheeler Field in the mission "First Wave". Bronze
Formation Keeper Stay near the flight leader all the way to the enemy fleet in the "American Strike" mission. Bronze
From The Far East Complete the Japanese Historical campaign. Gold
Good Start Receive 5 medals. Silver
Guadalcanal Complete the Japanese chapter "Guadalcanal Campaign". Bronze
Half-Way Earn the tenth rank. Silver
Hedgehopper Destroy 5 light targets on Midway Island on Simulator difficulty in the "Midway Atoll" mission. Bronze
It Was Easy Land on an aircraft carrier. Bronze
Killer Kill 15 enemy infantry units in the "Battle for Henderson Field" mission. Bronze
Kuban Complete any mission in the Single Missions chapter "Battle for the Kuban". Bronze
Leader Win a battle in Versus mode as the leader. Silver
Make a Flight Complete any mission in CO-OP mode. Bronze
Malta Complete any mission in the Single Missions chapter "Siege of Malta". Bronze
Midway Atoll Complete the Japanese chapter "Battle of Midway". Bronze
New Decal Earn any decal for your plane. Bronze
New Guinea Complete any mission in the Single Missions chapter "New Guinea Campaign". Bronze
New Record Destroy 100 planes. Silver
New Skin Earn any skin for your plane. Bronze
New Weapon Destroy 100 ground units. Silver
Not a Victim Destroy two hostile fighters with the rear gunner in the mission "To Scratch One Flat-top". Bronze
One of a Few Land on the Zuikaku at the end of the "Battle of South Pacific" mission on Realistic difficulty. Bronze
Pearl Harbor Complete the Japanese chapter "Attack on Pearl Harbor". Bronze
Preparing Complete the Pre-War chapter. Bronze
Return to Oahu Make "Touch and Go" on Ford Island in the mission "Return to Oahu". Bronze
Rookie Earn the second rank. Bronze
Ruhr Complete any mission in the Single Missions chapter "Battle of Ruhr". Bronze
Second Breath Rearm on the airfield between attacks on hostile ships in the mission "American Bronze
Counterattack".
Second Wave Bomb two different targets by one loadout in the mission "Second Wave". Bronze
Sentinel Don't let enemy fighters destroy any bomber of your group in the mission "Attack on Bronze
Lexington".
Sharp Shooter Destroy 5 enemy planes on Realistic difficulty in the "Battle of the Eastern Solomons" mission. Bronze
Survivor Land your damaged aircraft on the airfield in the mission "The Two Against Thirty-Nine". Bronze
Take-Off Take off. Bronze
The Australian Fly in each Australian plane. Silver
The Italian Fly in each Italian plane. Silver
To The Far East Complete the American Historical campaign. Gold
Total Annihilation Destroy at least 20 enemy bombers in the "Battle of the Santa Cruz" mission. Bronze
Untouchable Don't die in the mission "Shokaku Defense". Bronze
Wake Island Complete the American chapter "Battle of Wake Island". Bronze
Way of the Sun Complete the 1st secondary mission objective in the "Fate of Hiryu" mission. Bronze
Winner Complete any Dynamic campaign. Bronze
You Will Be Ace Destroy 4 planes in Versus mode. Bronze