A couple of weeks back I finally obtained a copy of Fleet Command. Sure, I had to fight for it, but I think Viking1 is recovering nicely..

Seriously, when I saw this one sitting on his shelf I thought to myself, "I wonder what this game is really like?" I had read various reviews and even a few in print (gasp!), and was a bit hesitant to make the investment. But it turns out I'm having some fun with it!

Fleet Command strikes me a bit like a navalized version of TAW, but lacking the ability of first person command (still love that game, in spite of the nasty process of release in stages.)

For those who haven't read the reviews, I'll begin with an overview, including some of the quirks of the game. All that I write applies to the patched version. I highly recommend you download the same and apply prior to Command! You will then have to go into GAME OPTIONS and turn ON features like "Ships Auto-engage Incoming Missiles" and "Aircraft Auto-engage Hostiles."

Jump in and Swim

Please DON'T jump in and swim. You will find yourself immediately overwhelmed if you do what I did and skip the manual and simply dive into the first campaign. More on that first campaign later...

Not that the manual is very helpful. It is sparse, as too many are these days, with the exception of coverage on the mission editor. But DO use the tutorials. They don't take very long and they will save you some frustration. They even use voice narration, though I think there is a bug or two in them yet to be killed.

After you complete the tutorials, go ahead and launch a single mission or two. I recommend the first in the list: CVBG Norwegian Sea. In this mission you must protect your carrier group from a cruise missile attack.

Prior to the v.1.1 patch this was a bit of a pain since there was no way to automate your missile defenses. Post patch it's a simpler process, but there are still a few things that will help you.

First of all, you do need to know a bit about the more active defenses on board your carrier. This leads to my first rule of naval engagement: Increase Your Vision.

Launch your E2 Hawkeye immediately, followed by your EA-6B Prowlers. The Hawkeye enables you to see a long way around you without making your carrier group show up like a sun in the night with its active sensors. The Prowler can jam another ship's radar, making it hard for that ship to defend against your Ship to Ship Missiles (SSMs).

Those Quirky Sensors

At this point you run up against the first quirk in Fleet Command. You must manually select the E2 and order it to turn on its EW radar systems. In fact, you must do this with every aircraft you deploy or they will fly blind.

The point is to both defend yourself and take out the offending ships as quickly as possible. The SM-2 is a very fast and effective missile and you will need to launch more than one per ship in order to overwhelm their defensive systems.

Take the Fight to the Enemy

This is rule number two. Your next step is to launch your F14s, primarily for the purposes of self-defense. Another of the glaring omissions from the original release was that you couldn't arm your aircraft as you would choose, but never fear, JANE'S is here! Yes, they added selectable loadouts in the patch, and right-clicking a specific aircraft in the flight deck dialog pops up a menu with up to 4 options:

• ASW (Anti-submarine Weapon)
• ASUW (Anti-Surface Unit Weapon)
• AAW (Anti-Air Weapon)
• Strike (Primarily Anti-Surface Unit Weapons but will also include Anti-Aircraft Weapons)

Once your Tomcats are airborne select them (tether them is the term the designers use) and order them to VIS ID the unidentified ships to the NE and North. Then while you still have an aircraft selected, press SHF 3 to order FAST intercept. Actually, you won't have to ID the ship to the north since it will begin launching cruise missiles at you... a good indication of intent!

At this point if you have armed your Tomcats wisely (sic) then you can simply give the order and it will be AGMs aweigh! This was really a HUGE change in the game and it's one heck of a lot easier to take out those bad seagoing guys. Remember that your missiles are more likely to be effective it you jam the enemy ships, so select your E6-B and then hit "C", you can then right click on the target you want to jam and the Prowler pilot will take care of the rest.

Your next step is to take out the offending Backfire bombers. These ones should show up on the screen once your E2 radar goes active.

When Fleet Command was released you could send out a fighter to ID an air target, and if the target proved hostile your aircraft would simply call the ID then turn away. Fortunately in v. 1.1 there is a configuration option in SETUP that allows you to put the gonads back in these boys. If you want them to use a particular weapon, however, then you must bring up their ENGAGEMENT menu.

Shortcuts

Thankfully, however, there are some shortcuts out there, and the keyboard file is only an F1 press away.

One of the biggest issues is remembering who was sent where to do what, especially when the missiles are really flying. (Dang, this game just BEGS for dual monitor support...)

You can use the SHF M key to bring up a whole swatch of color coded lines that indicate current orders for all your platforms. Sure, it clutters the screen, but you can use SHF M to turn it off again as soon as you survey the state of affairs. The lines you see below tell me that I have an E6-B jamming one target, and two other aircraft with orders to ID targets.

You can also PAUSE (P key) the game when things are crazy to have a look around. You can click on objects and select them, though you can't issue most orders in PAUSE mode.

The Best of Times, the Worst..

Occasionally, you will launch a campaign and get slaughtered. It happens to the best of us. But it's time to cheat when this happens, so here is what you do.

Save and quit the game, then use the REPLAY button on the Debrief screen. THis screen will provide you with tons of useful INTEL, showing you all the platforms (even the subs) that you needed to kill. You can now replay the mission or jump back into the saved mission and take care of business.

Mission Builder

Fleet Command is even more fun when in multiplayer mode. There really is too much to do in many of these missions for a single player anyway. Check around the net for some custom mission downloads, and there are also a few on COMBATSIM.COM™. You can send us your favorite missions by clicking HERE. Send them in ZIP format and include a brief explanation.

Other Mods

Heck, you found out that your favorite platform isn't available, or that the weapons characteristics of your favorite missile aren't quite accurate. No worries, where there is a will.. there is a download! And yes, the Phoenix missile is also available in the patched version.

Warship's Database v3.9- by Warship

"This is an ongoing project that I am undertaking to make Fleet Command more realistic than what is presently is. Hundreds of "tweaks" have been made to the database over the course of this project for better performance of weapons and platforms. Thousands of corrections to the data in the original databases have already been implemented and tested. Any and all questions concerning this database project can be sent to Warship." Note: Version 4 should be out by Oct.15.

AirUpdate v2.1- by Chris Thurmond. This download updates the Aircraft database.

Database Editor - version 4.2.0 - by Philip Langdale.

Features:

Manipulates Object, Launcher and ShipBasedAircraft records. Modifies existing records and allows for thus created records to overwrite the original or be added as a new record. Copies new 3DObject record for any new Object records. User has choice of specifying which 3DObject to use. Imports and Exports Object, Launcher, 3DObject and ShipBasedAircraft records.

All these downloads and more can be found on our Missions Download page.

  With a few more missions under my belt, and with requests coming in from all levels of command for more INTEL, here is another briefing for newcomers to Fleet Command.

The Sky is the Limit

Aircraft Ops are not a matter of point and shoot. While the patch has made operations somewhat easier, there are still some finicky aspects to effective use of air power.

Rule 1: Use Groups. The first few times I played FC I was going crazy trying to coordinate single aircraft. Easy answer: create groups.

If you need more than one aircraft to accomplish a task, you need to strategize when you are at Flight Deck level. First, how many do you need? Second, what will your force composition be? Third, what armament will they require?

For example, in the Bay of Bengal you will be required to take out an airbase way up North. You could send a simple strike force with HARMs and Mavericks and an EW aircraft like the Prowler. But you might also need air cover.

Let's say you take four aircraft plus the E6-B. A good force composition would be two Tomcats and three Hornets plus the EW unit. Arm the Tomcats for air to air and the Hornets for the strike. Launch all at the same time.

The next step is simple. Just right click on the screen when the aircraft are airborne and then drag a box around the group. Now hit CTL 1 and you have created a group! Issue an order vector and they will all comply (you will only hear a single response, but you'll see all turn to the north.) When the group reaches their rally point you will have to issue individual orders to the various aircraft with respect to their targets. More Management

Issuing orders to aircraft still involves more management than it should given the scope of the game. For example, if you issue an order to go high (SHF 9) and then command a new heading, you will find that your aircraft goes back to standard altitude (10K feet). You must re-issue the altitude order if you desire a high transit.

Dodging missiles is similarly complicated. If you order an aircraft to transit near an enemy platform and he is fired on, it's wise to do some micro management. If you order him to break high (SHF 9) then increase speed (SHF 3) his chances of survival will increase.

Strike Group with designated CAP

Using helicopters is also a bit complex. Once a search task is completed these guys will just hover around and drink coffee. Likewise if they run out of the sensor you chose, they may just sit around doing nothing. You'll have to designate a new search area, or when they run out of sonabouys, send them back to the ship.

Coordinated Attack and Sub Comms

Some attacks in FC must be coordinated. For example, a Strike mission alone won't take care of the airport mentioned previously. But neither will launching long range missiles; they will simply be knocked off by the airport defenses. It's wise to send in the strike aircraft first, and then as they are finishing up the defensive systems launch your TLAMs from the fleet.

It's a good idea to set up sub comms for at least hourly communication. You can do this in the Preferences screen. The first time a sub surfaces for contact you can order them to stay on the surface until you give another order if you wish. Don't worry.. if they run into trouble they will dive to safety.

If you order them to stay in contact (CTL C) and then issue a transit command to a new location, they will dive and break contact. So be aware that you will lose comms until they reach their new location.

Finally, you will soon be aware that weapon distances vary greatly. The Harpoon is powerful and has a fantastic range and isn't dependent on a radar signal from the source like the HARM. However, it is not terrificly fast and is subject to jamming or being shot down. You will sometimes want to provide backup in the form of an E6-B Prowler.

Similarly, don't waste your long range air to ground missiles against important targets. Usually these targets are well defended and you will need to send in a wild weasel mission prior to engaging from your sea based platforms.

Finally, SAVE frequently. Random crashes are not unusual and if you lose an hours work it's frustrating.

The following page shows some engagement distances with a few different air to air and ship to ground based weapons. You can also download a slightly modified Bay of Bengal campaign. The campaign has increased slightly in difficulty and now begins a bit later in the day so you can enjoy the 3d views more. Click Bay of Bengal II to download. Unzip the file to your /scenario directory and you will find it under Single Missions.

AIM 120 Range

Phoenix Range

The range of the AIM120 is less than half that of the Phoenix missile. I had to shrink the full image slightly to fit in the column width so you don't actually see a 100% accurate comparison.

Harpoon Range

The range of the Harpoon, a ship or air mounted weapon, is around 45 miles.