| NIGHT RAIDER
(C)1988 Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd Exclusive Distribution rights to ALCHEMIST RESEARCH This text file entered and (C) A. Davis INTRODUCTION TO NIGHT RAIDER ---------------------------- Night Raider is a realistic flight / combat game, which simulates the famous World War II mission to destroy the fearsome German battleship, the Bismarck. At perhaps the most critical point of World War II, you take on the role of a dive bomber pilot. You have been sent aboard the huge aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, your mind on one mission - to seek and destroy the most feared German warship on the high seas, the Bismarck. In the seat of your Avenger torpedo bomber you'll be confronted by a cockpit containing an array of real time controls, gauges and switches, all adding to the excitement of actually being there. Add to this the facility of being able to see the outside world from the view point of your tail gunner, take control of the engine in the engineer's seat or the map screen of your navigator - all at the press of a button. EVALUATION OF NIGHT RAIDER - A. DAVIS 1/96 ------------------------------------------ I purchased this under rated game in 1988. It received an excellent preview in Your Sinclair magazine and subsequent review and rating. Even today, this game is one of the best flight simulators for the Spectrum. It is fast, accurate, well detailed and contains action to boot. The instructions are well detailed and, after some practice, the game can be easily mastered. The game runs at an impressive speed on both Spectrums and emulators. HOW TO LOAD NIGHT RAIDER ------------------------ Emulator: Load the snapshot RAIDER. Spectrum: LOAD"" in any mode. FLIGHT TRAINING --------------- Before you venture out into the war zone, it's a good idea to practice flying the Avenger - even if you already have plenty of flying experience. At the time of this historic event, the Avenger was only a prototype - so even the most experienced pilots needed to quickly familiarize themselves with its various controls. Spectrum THE CONTROLS: Keys TO ASCEND Pull BACK on the joystick N TO DESCEND Push FORWARD on the joystick J TO BANK RIGHT Push the joystick RIGHT X TO BANK LEFT Push the joystick LEFT Z TO BRAKE Press K TO CONTROL A SWITCH Using the joystick or mouse, move the cursor across the control panel until it is on the switch in question and press FIRE. PILOT SCREEN Press 1 ENGINEER SCREEN Press 2 NAVIGATOR (MAP) SCREEN Press 3 TAIL GUNNER SCREEN Press 4 TO SWITCH BETWEEN CONTROL OF PLANE AND Press SPACE BAR FORWARD GUN CURSOR TO FIRE MACHINE GUN Press FIRE button of joystick or key I TO DROP TORPEDO Press L twice (Once primes, twice drops) TO SEE STATUS SCREEN Press S TO PAUSE GAME Press P TO QUIT Press Q TAKING OFF ---------- To ensure a successful take off, follow these steps: 1. Turn on the engineer's light, clicking on LIGHTS switch. 2. Select a fuel tank by clicking on selector 1,2 or 3. 3. Adjust the fuel mixture (RICH for take off, LEAN for flying). 4. Push the THROTTLE KNOB to the FULL position. 5. Set the ARRESTER switch to UP. 6. Set the WING LOCK to DOWN. 7. Start the engine by clicking ON. 8. Return to the PILOT SCREEN, by pressing 1. 9. Release the brake by pressing K. 10. As you near the end of the deck, gently bring the nose of the avenger up by pulling BACK on the joystick. 11. Once you have cleared the Ark Royal's deck and are airborne, return to the ENGINEER'S screen (press 2) to set the fuel mixture and throttle to medium values. The Avenger will stop shaking and you'll conserve fuel. Do this quickly or your aircraft may explode. 12. To finish, select the gear UP and turn off the screen light. LANDING ------- Once you are heading towards the Ark Royal (see TO SET A FLIGHT PATTERN), adhere to the following checklist: 1. Enter the ENGINEER'S screen by pressing 2. 2. Turn on the LANDING LIGHT switch. 3. Reduce your airspeed to under 175 mph. 4. Make sure your ALTIMETER reads between 50 and 100 feet. 5. Keep you descent at a rate no greater than four feet per second. 6. Ensure the nose of the aircraft is level or slightly up. 7. Place the LANDING GEAR and the ARRESTER in the DOWN position. THE REAL THING -------------- Now that you have had some practice flying the Avenger, the Air Force is ready to send you into real combat. To ensure everyone gets a fair deal, the captain will make you pick straws to determine your mission. The short straw will be the most difficult mission. If you're not entirely happy with your selected mission, the straws can be re-shuffled and you can try again. However, don't do this too many times or the captain may think you're not a dedicated pilot. Once a mission has been accepted, prepare youself for a real life attack on the German naval forces. FOUR VIEWS FROM THE AVENGER --------------------------- There are four possible viewpoints on your Avenger bomber. To move from screen to screen press the appropriate key on your keyboard. Each screen will be described in detail in the following sections. 1. PILOT'S VIEW. This is the cockpit. It is from this screen that you actually fly the aircraft. Here you make sure you don't go too high or too low, too fast or too slow. You can also launch the torpedoes from the Pilot's screen - though much of your combat is handled from the Tail Gunner position. The following is a description of each Cockpit control - along with information on how to use these dials in flight an combat. ALTITUDE. Far left. The gauge indicates the height of the Avenger above sea level. The largest needle indicates altitude in 10's of feet. The medium needle indicates altitude in 100's of feet. The small needle indicates altitude in 1000's of feet. AIRSPEED. Second round dial (Upper). The numbers on the dial are indicated in 100's. To INCREASE airspeed, push forward on the throttle. To DECREASE airspeed, pull back on the throttle. ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. Third round dial (Upper). This shows you where the horizon is in relation to the water out of the pilot's window. This is especially valuable when flying in clouds or in low visibility situations. VERTICAL SPEED. Fourth round dial (Upper). The number indicate up or down speed in 10's. The needle on a horizontal plane indicates level flight. If it points UP, the aircraft is climbing at that rate of feet per minute. If it points DOWN, the aircraft is diving at that rate of feet per minute. INVERTED T-BAR. Large box to right. This indicates the positions of the ailerons and rudder. ROUNDS. First square box (Lower). This indicates how many rounds your forward gun has remaining. STATUS. Second square box (Lower). This appears on ALL screens. It gives a visible warning of any danger on the corresponding screen. On screens 1 and 3, it normally denotes enemy aircraft fire. On screen 2 it can mean a variety of dangers, from simple warnings, such as lights left on, to more severe problems, such as over straining the engine. COMPASS. Third square box. (Lower). Gives compass direction of travel. 2. ENGINEER'S VIEW. Fom this screen you'll prepare your Avenger for take off and landings. It is also the screen on which you will check to make sure everything is in order. If it's not it may be a good idea to return to the Ark Royal to repair the problem before matters get worse. The following describes each of the controls in this screen, along with information on how to use these controls for take off's, landings and other flight operations. LIGHT SWITCH. Always keep the lights OFF when not using this screen as the lights make it easier for enemy to spot you. To switch the lights, simply click on the ON or OFF. IGNITION. In order to start the engine of the Avenger this must be turned on, after all the controls have been set. Never turn this OFF during flight as you will not be able to re-start the aircraft. THROTTLE. Increases or decreases the flow of fuel to the carburettor, controlling the speed of the engine. During normal flying it should be approximately 3/4 open. MIXTURE. This lever adjusts the ratio of fuel and air flowing into the carburettor. Use a richer mixture for take offs and fast get aways. Use a leaner mixture for normal flight. Speed of fuel depletion is in relation to how rich the mixture is. FUEL. The three marked buttons represent your three fuel tanks. One tank must be selected before the engine can be started. When one tank is empty, you must switch to another tank. The main fuel tank is number 2, this tank holds three times as much fuel as the wing tanks (numbers 1 and 3). You will know when a tank is almost empty when the engine starts to stall. If you switch immediately to another tank containing fuel the engine will automatically restart. TORPEDO. If you are planning an attack on the Bismarck, you should ensure a torpedo is being carried by your Avenger. To load the torpedo, flick the LOAD TORPEDO switch to YES prior to take off. TAIL WHEEL AND LANDING GEAR. Ensure both of these are in the DOWN position before you attempt to land. During flight they should both be in the UP position. ARRESTER. This hook which dangles from the rear of the Avenger is used to catch on to the landing cables on the deck of the Ark Royal. Without it you would not be able to stop the aircraft on such a short landing strip without it going over the side. Ensure it is DOWN before attempting a landing. WING LOCK. The wings are of a foldable nature, for berthing the aircraft in the under-deck hangars of the Ark Royal. Ensure the wings are locked DOWN before any flight. RPM. This measures the speed of your engine. To adjust the engine speed move the throttle UP or DOWN. Avoid over revving the engine, the red line limit is 5000 RPM. OIL PRESSURE / OIL TEMPERATURE. Check these gauges frequently to ensure your engine is running smoothly. Try not to let oil temperature rise above 00 and not to let the pressure drop below 00. Both of these circumstances could cause engine failure. Once the engine does fail it cannot be re-started and you'll have to attempt to ditch the aircraft before it crashes. Note that the pressure and temperature of the oil will change with speed and altitude. 3. NAVIGATOR'S VIEW. From this view you'll create 'flight plans' and monitor reports regarding the location of your enemy. Note that you will not be able to see any land mass from the Pilot screen, despite being drawn on the map. 4. TAIL GUNNER'S VIEW. This view shows the rear of the aircraft, along with display of remaining rounds of ammunition and status box of other screens. Move the gunsight with the joystick or control keys. SETTING A FLIGHT PLAN --------------------- 1. When on the Navigator's screen (3), move the cursor to the desired location on the map and press FIRE. This will cause the destination cursor to be located at the position you have selected. 2. On the Pilot's screen (1), bank the aircraft until you see the marker line on your compass. When you have this in the centre of the compass box, level the wings and you will be flying directly to the point you selected. NAVIGATIONAL TIPS ----------------- * Return to the Ark Royal frequently. This will give you a chance to refuel your tanks and restock your ammunition. Also, any damage done to your plane will be repaired. * Fly trial runs to see how far a full load of fuel will take you. Even though you may have sunk the Bismarck, you will still need enough fuel to return to the Ark Royal to successfully complete your mission. * When landing keep the nose of the Avenger up, keep your airspeed below 100 mph and ensure your rate of descent is less than five feet per second. * When approaching the Ark Royal, do not worry about approaching her from the rear. As soon as you turn the landing lights on, the Ark Royal will re-orientate herself for you. * Check your status screen (by pressing S) regularly to see the extent of the damage inflicted on the Ark Royal and on your Avenger. * If you do run out of fuel or if your plane experiences engine failure, you can ditch your Avenger in the ocean. If you do so successfully, you will be rescued and will live t fight another day. To ditch your plane: Land very gently at the lowest possible speed (under 100 mph) with your landing gear UP. COMBAT TACTICS -------------- * When releasing torpedoes, fly very low. This lets the torpedoes skim the water, increasing your chances for a perfect 'hit'. * Fly at less than 2000 feet as often as possible so you can avoid being picked up on enemy radar. This is also a valuable tactic for dive bombing enemy targets and for landing on the Ark Royal. * If a spotlight is tracking you, lose it by quickly changing direction to get out of range of the light. * Remember to keep your lights off on the Engineer's screen - except when they are definetly needed. Flak increases when the enemy can see you. * It is a good idea to eliminate as many U-boats and E-boats as you can before attempting to attack the Bismarck. Otherwise the Ark Royal will still be in danger even if the Bismarck has been sunk. * Protect the Ark Royal at all costs. Avoid confrontations unless the Ark Royal is in danger because flak from enemy fire can easily destroy your Avenger. ABOUT THE AVENGER ----------------- The Grumman Avenger - codenamed 'Blackhawk' - earned a reputation as the most deadly torpedo bomber ever developed during World War Two. It quickly became the standard torpedo bomber for the entire US Navy and was produced in larger numbers than any other torpedo bomber in history. The Avenger carried a crew of three men; a pilot, a gunner and a navigator / radio operator who also manned the lower gun in some models. Following the success of the 'Blackhawk' mission against the Bismarck, more Avengers were ordered for June 1942 for the battle of Midway. They also took part in battles against the Japanese at Rubuul, and in February 1944, Avengers destroyed more than 250 Japanese aircraft on the ground in the Turk islands. An integral force in both the Atlantic and Pacific naval campaigns, Grumman Avengers also engaged in anti-submarine operations. They were carried out from small escort carriers beginning in February 1943. By the spring of 1944 they had eliminated enemy submarines from all the major shipping lines. WINGSPAN 54 feet, 2 inches. ENGINES Two Wright double row R-2600 Cyclones. MAXIMUM HP 1600 BHP. TOP SPEED 300 MPH. CAPACITY 2000 LBS of bombs or a standard torpedo. ARMAMENT .50 calibre machine gun in front cowl and another in the power operated ball turret. Text entered and supplied courtesy of A. DAVIS Alchemist Research 62 Tithe Barn Lane Woodhouse SHEFFIELD S13 7LN Tel: 0114 269 7644 End of file. 04/01/96 |