OBJECTIVE

ATF is an action strategy game based upon the Advanced Tactical Fighter, the most effective fighting machine ever designed. To defeat the determined enemy will need careful planning and first class flying skills. The delicate balance between your forces, communications and industry must be maintained whilst striking at the heart of the enemy. Victory will only be secured once you have destroyed the enemy and forced him to surrender.

The choice of your mission is entirely your decision. Your only help is a war report generated after each sortie. One mistake, one wrong mission could lead your side to defeat.

TITLE PAGE

Move to the option you wish to select using the UP and DOWN controls. Press FIRE to select the option.

START GAME
–  begin a game
CONTROL (some versions only)
–  select keyboard or joystick
PILOT RATING
–  choose the level of difficulty
SOUND
–  switch sound on or off

A NEW GAME

War Situation Reports are generated at the beginning of a game and each time you return to an allied base to rearm and refuel. They are your main source of information, and keep you informed of overall progress. Use them to help decide your next mission.

THE WAR SITUATION REPORT

The War Situation Report consists of fourthree sections:

1. GAINS AND LOSSES
   All recent victories and defeats are listed.
2. INTELLIGENCE REPORT
   Intelligence reports will display additional information on which to base your strategy.
3. STATUS
   The status of both the allied and enemy powers are summarised as a set of bar graphs. The section below headed BALANCE OF POWER explains their use in more detail.

THE BALANCE OF POWER

The allied and enemy graphs represent the relative strengths of each side’s forces, communications and industries. The five graphs displayed represent:

BASES

LAND FORCES

SEA FORCES

COMMUNICATIONS

INDUSTRY

They interact with each other in a number of ways as the battle progresses. You must attempt to strengthen your position, whilst weakening the enemy’s to secure victory.

BASES displays the number of air bases each side controls. You will always need at least one base at which to rearm and refuel.

The values of LAND FORCES and SEA FORCES indicate the number of operational fighting units, their strength and morale.

The level of COMMUNICATIONS is dependent upon the number and condition of a side’s communications bases. These bases form important targets throughout the battle. When COMMUNICATIONS are poor the movement of forces will be uncoordinated and you will only receive small amounts of information on which to base your strategy.

The INDUSTRY level reflects the current state of the factories which build military hardware and maintain communication systems. If a factory is damaged its output will decrease. If a factory is destroyed its production will cease. When INDUSTRY is low, military hardware that is lost in battles will not be replaced and communication bases will not be maintained.

After pressing FIRE the REARMING & REFUELLING PAGE will appear in the main window area of the screen.

REARMING & REFUELLING

Rearming and refuelling is achieved by moving UP and DOWN to select the item and LEFT and RIGHT to alter its value. The available free weight is displayed below the bar graphs and cannot be exceeded. It is up to you to select the right balance between arms and fuel for your chosen mission.

WEAPONS

Three kinds of weapons are available for arming your craft:

1. Cannon fire magazines:
   For fast rapid fire – suitable for destroying incoming enemy interceptors.
2. ASRAAM missiles:
   Missiles guided by you within the visual range of the main screen. Once fired guide the missile towards its target using LEFT and RIGHT.
3. MAVERICK missiles:
   The most powerful kind of missile – suitable for damaging/destroying ground bases forces and targets. These missiles when launched head for the object currently selected in the database in the onboard flight computer. Although these missiles can fly well beyond the visual range they do have a limited range.

The cannons are operated by pressing the FIRE button. Key N selects between ASRAAM and MAVERICK missiles, with a symbol on the Head Up Display confirming which missile system is selected. After launching a missile with key M, any target damage will be reported on the In Flight Message Window.

MAIN VISUAL DISPLAY

After rearming and refuelling, the main display window will switch to the computer enhanced all weather visual for the mission. The view is generated from a point above and behind the ATF craft to provide excellent all round vision. Terrain relief lines are superimposed onto the screen for low level flying. These lines can be turned off using the TERRAIN TYPE key.

INSTRUMENT PANEL LAYOUT

Head Up Display (HUD)

Note: Both ground height and aircraft altitude are relative to sea level. Your aircraft will touch the ground if these two indicators meet.

The symbol at the centre of the HUD indicates which missile system is active i.e. ASRAAM (A) or MAVERICK (M). The Maverick symbol will become solid when the missile locks onto its target.

Above the centre symbol is your HEADING. Below the symbol you will find the BEARING and RANGE to the target currently selected in the database. To intercept your target, turn the aircraft left or right until the heading and the bearing are equal. You will now be flying directly towards the target.

Bottom

THE INFLIGHT MESSAGE WINDOW

Immediately above the bottom row of instruments is the INFLIGHT MESSAGE WINDOW. Messages will be displayed in this window to give essential information during a mission.

THE ONBOARD FLIGHT COMPUTER

Mission data is displayed by the plane’s onboard flight computer on 54 different pages of information. The flight computer screen is in the lower half of the screen to the right of the main visual display.

The screens are selected using key C.

1. World map
   Shows a map of the world and indicates your position and the position of the currently selected item in the database. If both objects coincide then only one marker dot will be visible.
2. Database
   As you fly around and locate various allied and enemy objects they will automatically be entered into the database. All allied objects are already in the database. See the next section for a detailed explanation of the database.
3. Weapon status
   Displays the remaining weapons available in the following order:
   Cannon fire, ASRAAM missiles and Maverick missiles.
4. ATF status
   Displays the efficiency of the functions of the ATF as percentages.

DATABASE OPERATION

Use key C to cycle onto the Database screen of the flight computer. Pressing key D will now select either ALLIED or ENEMY database mode. Target symbols are shown red for ENEMY and green for ALLIED. Targets are categorised as follows:

BASES

GROUND FORCES

SEA FORCES

COMMUNICATIONS

FACTORIES

Select the required category using key E.

In each category we find target bearing and range by pressing key F (Forward) or R (Reverse) to step through the known targets. Key G will automatically select the nearest target in the category. The bearing and range given on the HUD will be the currently selected target in the database.

To enable the player to respond quickly to in-flight messages, a “database lock-on” key has been provided (see inlay). Pressing this key will automatically select the target most recently announced on the in-flight message window and display its range and bearing on the HUD. It is not necessary to be in Database mode to use this function.

SHORT RANGE SCANNER

Immediately above the Flight Computer window is located the short range scanner. This provides constant information about your surroundings. Your craft always appears in the middle of the scanner and the terrain scrolls within the window as you move. Ground and air objects are displayed on the scanner. Ground objects appear as steady dots whilst air objects (interceptors) flash.

THE WORLD

A new world is randomly generated for each game although the overall size of the world remains constant. Each world consists of a group of islands which are made of up of beach/desert, scrubland and polar regions. These various terrains are represented by different colours on the main visual window and short range scanner. The world is fully wrap around, so if you fly off one edge of the world you will immediately come on the other side. The flight computer uses wrap around if necessary to calculate the heading and shortest distance to an object.

FLYING ATF

To take off increase THRUST to maximum power. As THRUST approaches 100% you will be able to take off using UP. During flight you should not allow your speed to drop too low otherwise your ATF will stall and start to lose height. Recovery from stall is possible by immediately reapplying thrust. The undercarriage can be raised/lowered using the U key.

To help you avoid enemy radar detection the ATF is equipped with terrain following equipment. To engage/disengage the terrain following press T. Whilst engaged you should restrict your speed to no more than half the maximum speed otherwise there is a danger of you damaging or even possibly destroying your craft on steep hillsides.

If the SAM warning light flashes, press J to activate the jamming transmitter.

All allied bases are surrounded by a catchment area. As soon as you enter one of these areas the AUTOMATIC LANDING indicator will start to flash informing you that you are within landing range of an allied base. Should you wish to land at that particular base press L to engage the automatic landing sequence. The ATF will then switch from manual to automatic control and will bring the craft into land without further action from the pilot. To cancel automatic landing press L again.

THE END OF A MISSION

Having landed safely an updated war report will be produced giving the latest changes in the battle. This should be used to decide your next mission. Any damage to your craft will be repaired making all systems fully operational.

Finally, having decided on your next mission objective you will be given the opportunity to rearm and refuel before taking off.