SABRE Fighter Plane Simulator

"gru" scenarios

# Main Key Review: (see keys.txt for a listing of all the keys)
'Q': Quit SABRE (use when boss appoaches)
'N' or 'n' : select next weapon
' ': (spacebar OR mouse button) Fire weapons
<ENTER> : select next target (aircraft)
'7': Target track view
'8': Opponent track view
'1': Forward view
'4': Back view
'C': Turn cockpit off/on  Useful for getting a better view 
'{': Turn exterior off/on. Gives an even better view.

Briefing:

The "gru" scenarios introduce air-to-ground ordinance into SABRE. 
Armed with HVAR high-velocity rockets, M43 500lb bombs, and
M64 1000lb bombs, you will attack ground units who, not 
surprisingly, will retaliate with deadly 60mm anti-aircraft fire.
Also, a few MiGs may drop by to say hello.

Air-to-ground ordinance is also available in the "fly" mission,
and you may want to develop your bombing and strafing by attacking
the red pyramids at "Target Range Omega", without fear of 
retaliation. In the "gru" missions, the red pyramids will be
replaced by the ground units.

To select your air-to-ground ordinance, use the 'N' key. The
type of ordinance selected will appear in the lower left of
your hud ... "HVAR" for rockets, "M43" for 500lb bombs, and
"M64" for 1000lb bombs.
 
All of the missions have you pointed towards a dark circular
area, "Target Range Omega", where you will find the ground units
(but not quite before they notice you!). The ground units consist
of a column of trucks and AAA vehicles. The AAA vehicles, for now,
use the same shape data as the trucks, so they, well, they look
like trucks. But they dont quack like a truck, nor walk like a
truck, so believe me, they aint trucks! 

If you get turned around and confused, your
"waypoint indicators", horizontal and vertical green lines,
can help you get back on track.
In gru2 and gru3, you are also being tracked by MiGs. To select
them for targeting, press the <ENTER> key, however, the waypoint
indicators will no longer guide you to the ground targets.
In gru2, you should have plenty of time to make a few passes
before having to deal with the MiG, in gru3, well, you'll see ...


Aiming
------
Aiming your air-to-ground ordinance is purely a matter of
feel. The sight is fixed on the center of your hud for both
rockets and bombs, no computed "cueing" is given. Bombs are
particularly difficult to aim accurately. You'll have to drop
a few at a consistent dive angle and speed to get a sense of
where you want the target to be on release. I wish I could
give you some better advice, but, hey, I haven't figured out
how to drop the darn things on target yet either!

Rockets are a little easier to aim, plus they look kind of
neat. You also get to see where they hit, which brings up
another issue ...

Bomb Damage Assesment
---------------------
The other thing about the bombs is desiring to see if,
after dodging through MiGs and flak at great risk, you
managed to hit anything. However, doing so often involves
floundering around and making yourself a sitting duck for
AAA fire, or stalling, or just plowing into the ground.

This issue will be resolved in the next update by providing
a "weapon viewpoint" so you can, ala Dr. StrangeLove,
ride your bomb right into the ground! Meanwhile, try a steep
climb after release and using the back view ('4' key) to eyeball
the results.


Hints
-----
The ground units are moving in columns perpendicular to you.
To get the most out of your ordinance, you want to swing around
and approach them head on.

Stay high and fast. Release your weapons no lower than 4000 feet
AGL and quickly pull away. If you get low and slow over those
60s, you are one dead pilot.

In "gru", you will be flying an F-84 Thunderjet, which did most
of the ground attack work in the later stages of the Korean War.
Be careful not to stall this birdy ... I've added a spin factor
to it's flight model which makes stalling particularly dangerous.






 
















  








