Red Baron

LOTHLORIEN

RED BARON

LOADING �See Cassette Shell

COMPUTER�Spectrum 48K

A. Introduction

Red Baron is a real time simulation of World War 1 plane to plane combat in

which you, as the pilot of a Sopwith Camel are pitted against the best air aces

of the German airforce.

Ruthlessness, cunning, determination and quick reactions are essential to

achieving your objective�elimination of German air supremacy in W. Europe.

B. The options

There are six different options in the game, a brief description of each is

given below.

1�Enemy plane spotting

To become a competent combat pilot you must be able to determine the range and

direction of movement of enemy planes, and also the conditions under which they

are able to fire at you.

This option will assist you in these respects.

2�Training flight

Prior to setting out on your first mission, it is advisable to get to know your

plane, its controls and handling capabilities under non-combat conditions.

'3�Level of play

There are 19 different levels of play, ranging from combat versus a single plane

with a relatively inexperienced pilot upto combat versus two planes at once,

piloted by Lothar von Richtofen and his brother Manfred�the dreaded RED BARON.

4�Campaign Game

One after another enemy planes will be sent up against you, until after your

tenth kill your reputation is such that they begin to hunt in pairs.

Your objective then is to get through all 19 levels and your 28th kill.

5�Design your own game

This option is included for those 'super aces' who get to the 19th level and are

still looking for further challenges, or for those of you who didn't quite get

that far, but would like to change the specifications of the planes, enemy

planes and pilots.

The possibilities of designing your own game are almost limitless.

6�Finish

For when you've had enough !

C. Plane Specifications

Before plane take off, the specifications of not only your own plane but also

those of your opponents will be displayed. If you have a ZX printer attached to

your Spectrum there is an option to get a hardcopy printout of this data for

future reference. This is particularly useful in the design of your own game

option, to help you recreate earlier games.

The data presented is as follows :-

1. Pilot�name of pilot (either yourself or the enemy).

2. Plane colour�the colour of planes as displayed during combat.

3. Damage points�indicates the capacity of the plane to absorb damage (when

this figure has been reduced to zero a plane is considered to have been shot

down.)

4. Machine gun skill�represents the maximum amount of damage that can be

inflicted, and is affected by target range and altitude difference, most

damage being caused at short range. No damage can be done at long range or at

altitude difterences of greater than 2. All enemy fire is carried out

automatically. When you are in a position to fire, the 'm' key must be

pressed while the 'FIRE' message is flashing.

5. Pilot flying skill�is only significant for enemy pilots and is a measure of

how likely a pilot is to make errors. The higher the figure the fewer

mistakes he will make.

6. Maximum speed�is the highest velocity a plane can attain, and will be in the

range 3-9.

7. Accelleration�is the maximum change in speed per manoeuvre. Any change in

speed up to this maximum may be used as long as the max. speed is not

exceeded.

8. Moves per turn�is the number of manoeuvres that must be made before the new

positions of the planes are displayed. Most levels in the campaign game use 1

move/turn, although 2 are used in levels 9, 10, 18 and 19.

9. Time base�is displayed only with the data for your plane and it indicates

the time allowed for each of your manoeuvres. If you do not make a turn

within the time limit your plane will continue to move in the direction it is

facing.

10. Gives clues�some less experienced pilots are not very adept at hiding their

intentions, and it is possible to tell which way they are about to turn.

Horst Krankel in level 1 is such a pilot.

D. Plane Status Area

On take off the view from your cockpit will be displayed (either front, right,

rear or left facing) together with the position of the enemy plane(s). Under the

cockpit display is the plane status area, which looks like this :-

YOU s2 a13 r d19 AJ TS UC GJ

ONE s4 al5 r89 d11 AJ TS UC GJ

TWO s7 a13 r123 d22 AJ TS UC GJ (The above is for combat versus two enemy

planes, the last line will not be present in one to one combat situations). The

first item is the plane identifier, YOU is your plane, ONE is enemy one and TWO

is enemy two. The displays are each in the relevant colour for the plane.

Following this is the plane speed (s2 means a speed of 2). Next comes the plane

altitude (1-9) ; 1 being the lowest level, 9 being the highest. Although the

approximate range to enemy aircraft can be gauged from the plane's size a more

accurate range is given in the next item (e.g. r89). The three basic ranges used

in the game are long (r>80) medium (r>20 and r<80) and short (r <20). The range

value should be consulted frequently during the game as manoeuvres will appear

to produce unusual results otherwise, especially at short range. The "d" with a

number after it is the number of damage points remaining to that plane. When

this reaches zero the plane will be shot down. The four sets of initials on the

right of the status area have no numbers associated with them, but will flash on

and off when a particular condition exists.

AJ indicates that the ailerons have jammed when it is flashing. When this occurs

the plane will be unable to perform any turns.

TS indicates that the throttle has stuck when it is flashing. When this occurs

the plane will be unable to alter its speed. or perform altitude changes.

UC indicates that the pilot is unconscious if it is flashing. An unconcious

pilot is unable to fire, change speed, do turns or perform altitude changes.

GJ indicates the machinegun has jammed, and so will not be able to fire until it

becomes free. Once again this condition only applies while it is flashing.

Damage to AJ, TS, UC can only occur when the plane's damage points fall below

15, and are a result of damage from enemy fire. GJ on the otherhand is a

mechanical fault which may occur at any time, but unlike the three other effects

its onset will not be announced, so keep a close eye on GJ.

One final point on these plane defects is that during the first turn that the

defect has been rectified, it will continue to flash until the end of that turn

Just to add a little uncertainty to your observations of the enemy.

E. Manoeuvres, Firing and Damage

Flying your Sopwith Camel is fairly easy as there are only eight controls to

master, three for direction, two for speed, two for altitude and one for firing.

Direction controls are as follows :-

5�left turn 8�right turn 7�go straight (left and right turns will produce a 45

degree direction change, e.g. if going North and you make a right, then the

final direction will be North East)

Altitude controls are as follows :-

c�climb d�dive

Maximum altitude change per turn is 2. The lowest possible altitude is 1, and

the highest is 9.

Throttle or speed controls are :-

f�go faster s�go slower

The speed and altitude controls can be used in one of two ways. A quick single

press of the key will change the speed or altitude by one unit, and so two or

more rapid presses will produce larger changes. The second method involves

holding the key down for several seconds�this will give the maximum speed

change possible. Increases of speed above the max. accelleration or speed ranges

will not be allowed.

Speed and altitude changes must be performed before any direction controls are

pressed, and all MUST be done during the period when 'do your manoeuvre now' is

displayed beneath the cockpit.

If no manoeuvre is performed during this short time your plane will continue on

its present course at its present speed and altitude. To help you gauge how much

time there is left to manoeuvre in, there is a constant 'beeb' which rises in

pitch to a maximum at time up.

You will only be able to fire on the enemy if you can see the whole of the

instrument panel (i.e., facing the front of the plane) and the enemy is in the

central part of the display. If you are unconcious or your guns have jammed or

the enemy is at long range or the altitude difference is greater than 2, then

you will be unable to fire.

For the conditions under which the enemy is able to fire at you see 'Enemy

aircraft spotting' in option 1 of the program.

To fire the machinegun press 'm' when the message 'FIRE' appears on the screen

(you must be quick, there are only 2 seconds in which to hit the trigger).

The amount of damage caused by machinegun fire will be displayed and subtracted

from the damage points for the plane. Any special effects will also be displayed

(e.g. ailerons damaged).

F. Tactical Notes

In the first couple of levels you may find that flying head to head against the

enemy results in success, but this extremely crude tactic will only work while

you have a plane of superior specifications to the enemy. To be really

successful as a pilot you must develop the skills to get into positions where

you can fire on him but he can't fire at you, preferably from the rear.

G. Two Enemy Planes

In games versus two enemy planes at once, in a real situation you'd only have

time for a quick glance at each plane. The game tries to simulate this but it

always shows the planes in the same order, ONE first then TWO.

H. Further notes on design your own game Having played the game several times

you will become familiar with the terms used in the plane specifications, and

have an appreciation for how each affects play. However, when designing your own

game there is one term you will not be familiar with :-

Speed base (1-3)?

This determines the maximum plane speed, 1 gives a maximum of 3, 2 of 6, 3 of 8.

Acceleration may not be greater than the maximum speed i.e. 3 x speed base.

No further advice will be given on this aspect of the game so just get on and

start to experiment until you've designed the ultimate scenario for Red Baron

I. Copyright

Copyright of this cassette software and self explanatory notes resides in M.C.

Lothlorien and it is illegal to copy the programme for disposal to a 3rd party.

Similarly this cassette must not be hired to any 3rd party without the express

written consent of M. C. Lothlorien and no parts may be used in other

programmes.

M. C. LOTHLORIEN, 56A PARK LANE

POYNTON,

CHESHIRE, SK12 1RE

Tel :- (0625) 876642

� Copyright 1983 M. C. LOTHLORIEN MCL. 116 (N) 10/83.