Jane's way:
They have FA more like an arcade shooter, with you and a wingman going up against a whole bunch of lousy '21s or '29s. Either that,
or you can take the Baltics 2008 Campaign for instance, which often have you flying a Gripen or Typhoon against some '29s, and while
you're dueling it out with them, a pair of Su-35s will come in from long range and begin launching AAM-Ls at you, which will force you
to evade, and then go back to the fight...
My way
Though I'm always using FTRON to make missions now, the only major difference in FTRON from normal FA is that it's harder to take down
an enemy, especially using guns. My suggestions below...
If you're flying loose deuce, don't make a unrealistic amount of enemies charging for your wing, unless it's an airbase strike or
something. The major problem with normal Jane's missions is that it's often you against the world, while other friendlies are just
mere spectators. Try to give the pilot the feeling that they're not in the war alone (Unless the mission calls for it). In stock FA,
I would suggest Su-27s and MiG-29Ms if you're flying against Russian forces, if flying against US forces, some F-15s and F-16s...
flying against F-14s can be a real bitch.
Jane's Way
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My way
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Jane's Way
They pretty much use the same approach that they do when flying BARCAP missions, in other words send up you and a couple of wingers
to take out the entire enemy air force. I know I'm exaggerating here, but you get my point. Obviously this will end up with a bunch
of kills that wil leave you with no sense of accomplishment, such as when they send up like an entire squadron of MiG-21s that hardly
even fight at all against your pair of F-14s... you splash them all without any resistance at all... and that's pretty lame.
My way
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FILE 07: SCRAMBLE MISSIONS |
Jane's Way
For once, they have a pretty good idea on how a mission should be like... pretty much have you and a wingman sitting on the runway
with your pants down while half a dozen bombers zoom in on your base, bombing everything in sight except for you... and after you or
your friendly AAA takes them down, you meet their main force, which is composed of some more of those bombers, and probably some Su-27s
or Su-35s with missiles to keep you on your toes.
My way
What I do is pretty similiar to what Jane's does in this type of mission... except I do it more drastically. Most air forces would send
in a small group of fast fighters to make fast work of the anti-aircraft defenses at a base, but the main bomber wing should arrive
quicker, especially if they are fighter-bombers. These fighter bombers ought to be escorted by some fast fighters that will give you a
hard time while dogfighting, and should last for a certain amount of time before you splash them, at least enough time for you to lose
most of your speed, making yourself vulnerable to the final wave of fighters, armed with long range missiles...
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FILE 08: ANTI-SHIP MISSIONS |
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FILE 09: CARRIER STRIKE MISSIONS |
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FILE 10: AIRBASE STRIKE MISSIONS |
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FILE 11: RED TREE MISSIONS |
Jane's Way
As far as I know, I don't think Jane's has any of these...
My way
Okay, this is fun stuff! The basics are pretty simple. 1. Send in a fighter or two next to a fighter's next, then get the
hell out of there... 2. Then the enemy fighters launch and chase after you... 3. Which leaves them vulnerable for a huge air to air
clash between you and them.
Obviously you'll want to equip the player with a nice and fast aircraft, unless you want them to get chopped up into mincemeat right
after they're started on their way home. For the Vietnam era, I would suggest an aircraft like the F-4 or the F-8, which conveniently
forces the player to run instead of fighting, 'cause these two aircraft both can't dance against '17s or '21s unless they've got a
great pilot in them.
For the 80s to 90s era, flying an F-14 or F-15 at supersonic speeds over an enemy base should fit the job nicely, they have decent
speed and maneuverability, and can somewhat fight their way out of a tight situation if it realy starts getting too nasty. On the
opposite side, flying a MiG-25 or 31 will probably get you there and back unscratched as long as you are flying really really fast.
Then for the 90s and after... if flying for the USA and its allies, then I would probably suggest an F-22 above everything else, due
to the high speed and maneuverability... if flying for the Chinese and whatever... well, I don't know here...
Anyway, that probably wraps up the player aircraft section...
