Introduction

These notes summarise the keyboard commands and game menus in Fly. There is also a list of command line options that can be used when starting the program. It contains the following sections:

Keyboard Commands

These can be split into several groups:

Flight Controls

The simulation can be flown using a joystick, mouse or the keyboard. Joystick is best. The game defaults to keyboard if no joystick is attached. Keyboard controls are as follows:
Cursor up or Keypad 8
Pitch down
Cursor down or Keypad 2
Pitch up
Cursor left or Keypad 4
Roll left
Cursor right or Keypad 6
Roll right
, or Keypad 0
Rudder left
. or Keypad .
Rudder right

Other Flying Controls

Space bar
Fire selected weapon
Backspace or enter
Cycle through weapon selection
f
Fire a flare
c
Drop chaff
Ctrl j
Jettison stores
Ctrl e
Eject from aircraft
g
Toggle gear down or up
s
Lower flaps in ten degree steps. Maximum flap angle is thirty degrees.
x
Raise flaps in ten degree steps.
b
Open/close airbrakes.
w
Apply/release wheel brakes.
Keypad -
Decrease elevator trim.
Keypad +
Increase elevator trim.
Keypad *
Set elevator trim to 0.
Ctrl n
Switch altimeter to radar altimeter mode. This shows the height of the aircraft above ground level
Ctrl b
Switch altimeter to barometric altimeter mode. This shows the height of the aircraft above sea level

Throttle

1 to 9 and 0
Set throttle to between 25% (1) to 100% (0)
= or Keypad 9
Increase throttle setting by 1%
- or keypad 3
Decrease throttle setting by 1%
e
Start/stop engine
_ (Underscore)
Reduce throttle setting to 0
+
Set throttle setting to 100%

Viewing

F1
Look forwards
Shift F1
Look back
F2
Look left 60 degrees
F3
Look right 60 degrees
F4
Move cockpit image up and down
F5
Look left 120 degrees
F6
Look right 120 degrees
F7
Pan left (anticlockwise when viewed from above) whilst key is held down
F8
Pan right (clockwise when viewed from above) whilst key is held down
F9
Pan up whilst key is held down
F10
Pan down whilst key is held down
Page Up
Increase viewing magnification by a factor of two.
Page Down
Decrease viewing magnification by a factor of two.
Alt F1
Reset viewing direction and elevatio to straight ahead and magnification to one
Alt v
Return viewpoint in game to aircraft the player is flying
v
Switch viewpoint to a position following the aircraft. The viewing direction controls, F1, F2 and so forth, can be used to move around the aircraft.
o
Switch viewpoint to an observer in front of the aircraft. The view tracks the aircraft.
Alt m
Switch viewpoint to that of the missile if a missile has just been fired.
d
Turn on/off target tracking.
p
Turn on/off padlock view.
tab
Switch viewpoint to the next friendly or hostile object within five kilometres of the aircraft
Alt h
Display a HUD when using either the track or outside views for aircraft that have HUDs. A radar display is also shown in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
Alt f
Display the aircraft bearing, height and speed at the top of the screen when using either the track or outside views. This can be used for any aircraft types. Alt hturns on this display for aircraft that do not have HUDs.
Alt j
Display an indicator that shows the aircraft control column position in the top right-hand corner of the screen when flying the aircraft using either the keyboard or mouse.
Alt b
Turn on/off lag mode. When viewing the aircraft using the track or outside views, the viewpoint lags behind the aircraft when it manoeuvres rather than is fixed in position relative to the aircraft

Navigation Aids

Ctrl m
Display a map. The aircraft is the white dot. Press any key to return to the aircraft view.
/
Scan for the next NDB with a higher frequency
Shift /
Scan for the next NDB with a lower frequency
;
Scan for the next VOR on NAV radio 1 with a higher frequency
Shift ;
Scan for the next VOR on NAV radio 1 with a lower frequency
'
Scan for the next VOR on NAV radio 2 with a higher frequency
Shift '
Scan for the next VOR on NAV radio 2 with a lower frequency
[
Select next radial on VOR 1
Shift [
Select previous radial on VOR 1
# or \
Select next radial on VOR 2
Shift # or Shift \
Select previous radial on VOR 2
i
Select nearest ILS

Game Controls

Alt-x
Leave the game.
Esc or Alt-o
Show game options menu (See the section Menus)
Alt-p
Pause the game. To resume press p. it is possible to save a copy of the screen by pressing g. (See Alt-g below.)
q
Toggle engine sound on or off
Ctrl-q
Turn all sounds on and off
Alt-g
save a copy of the screen in a file. The file is called either GRABx.PCX or GRABx.BMP where x is a number. The first screen saved would be put in file GRAB1.BMP, the second in GRAB2.BMP and so forth. The files created are BMP format files if the command line option -b is used.
Ctrl s
Increase the haze effect
Alt s
Decrease the haze effect
Ctrl g
Superimpose a grid showing 0.5 Km squares on the screen.
Alt t
Show information on how the program is running in the top left-hand corner of the screen

Menus

Pressing either the Alt o, Esc or Menu key brings up a menu that allows a number of game options to be set. 
  +----------------+
  | FST Simulator  |
  +----------------+
  |Controls        | 
  |Display         |
  |Simulation      |
  |Sounds          |
  |Save as Default |
  |About           |
  |Exit Simulation |
  +----------------+
The menu entries carry out the following tasks:
Controls
This is a submenu used to set the main flight controls to either the joystick, keyboard or mouse. See the section Controls Menu below.
Display
This leads to a submenu that is used to control the game's on-screen appearance covered in section Display Menu below.
Simulation
Various aspects of the game can be controlled from this submenu, which is described in the section Simulation Menu.
Sounds
Another submenu, this controls the game sounds. It is described in the section Sound Menu.
Save as Default
Save the current settings from the controls, display, simulation and sound menus as the simulator default values. The information is stored in the file MENU.CFGin the same directory as the one containing all the file of the simulation being played.
About
Copyright and contact information on the simulator.
Exit Simulation
End the simulation.

Controls Menu

This sets the main flight controls. It contains the following entries: 
  +----------+
  |Joystick  |
  |Mouse     |
  |Keyboard  |
  +----------+
Joystick
This selects the joystick. If it needs to be calibrated the program will prompt you. The joystick has another menu that pops up automatically when the joystick is selected. This says what the joystick is to be used for and is described in the section Joystick Controls
Mouse
This selects the mouse as the main flight control
Keyboard
This selects the keyboard as the main flight control
The program defaults to 'keyboard' if nothing else has been selected and there is no joystick plugged in.

Joystick Controls

  +-----------------+
  | Roll/pitch only |
  | Analog Rudder   |
  | Analog Throttle |
  +-----------------+
Roll/pitch only
The joystick controls the roll and pitch of the aircraft in the normal way.
Analog Rudder
If the joystick has an extra analogue control, this is used to control the rudder.
Analog Throttle
If the joystick has an extra analogue control, this is used to control the engine throttle setting.

Display Menu

The display menu controls the screen resolution and the visual appearance of the scenery. 
  +-----------------+
  | Screen size     |
  | Horizon shading |
  | Increase haze   |
  | Decrease haze   |
  +-----------------+
Screen size
This leads to another sub menu where the screen resolution can be set. See the section Screen Sizes
Horizon shading
This turns off or on the distance haze and sky banding effects.
Increase haze
This increases the amount of haze. It has the same effect as the keyboard command Ctrl-s.
Decrease haze
This decreases the amount of haze. It has the same effect as the keyboard command Alt-s.

Screen Sizes

The program can run in a number of different screen sizes. This can be changed when the game is running using the screen size menu. 
  +--------------------------+
  | 640 by 480, 256 colours  | 
  | 800 by 600, 256 colours  |
  | 1024 by 768, 256 colours |
  +--------------------------+
Screen sizes of 640 by 480, 800 by 600 and 1024 by 768 are allowed. The program will switch to the new size positioning the cockpit bitmap in the middle of the screen.

Changing the screen resolution affects the field of view. It does not alter the level of detail.

The screen resolution cannot be changed if the cockpit bitmap is larger than the resolution wanted, for example, it is not possible to change to 640 by 480 when the bitmap is 800 by 600. Increasing the resolution to 1024 by 768 is fine.

Simulation Menu

  +------------------------+
  | Simulator time         |
  | Restart after crash    |
  | Exit after crash       |
  | Ground crash           |
  | Blackout/redout effect |
  | Show chase HUD         |
  | Show alt/asi/heading   |
  | Chase view lag effect  |
  | Show stick position    |
  +------------------------+
Simulator time
This pops up another menu that allows the game time to be set. It is describe in the section Time Menu.
Restart after crash
If this option is selected the game restarts after the aircraft piloted by the player crashes.
Exit after crash
If this option is selected the game ends after the aircraft piloted by the player crashes.

If neither this nor the previous option are ticked, the simulator will ask whether to restart or end the game.

Ground crash
This does not do anything at the moment.
Blackout/redout effect Selecting this option means that the program will simulate blackout and redout affects if aircraft manoeuvres are too aggressive, for example, pulling up violently into a steep climb, will cause a blackout effect where the screen is blanked.
Show chase HUD A HUD is displayed (for those aircraft that can use them) when either the chase ('v') or outside ('o') viewing positions are used. The HUD allows the aircraft to be flown more easily when using these viewpoints. A small radar display is also drawn in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. The HUD information is fixed and laid out as follows: 
		speed in knots		altitude

					VSI

					Engine RPM

			Selected weapon

An attitude ladder and a heading tape are also drawn.

The chase HUD can also be turned on and off using Alt-h on the keyboard.

Show alt/asi/heading
This is an alternative to the chase HUD and can be used for any aircraft when the viewpoint is outside the aircraft. It shows some information on the aircraft at the top of the screen as follows: 
    HDG: 123  SPD: 1234  ALT: 1234
It gives the compass bearing (HDG) speed of the aircraft (SPD) and altitude (ALT).

This information can also be turned on and off by using Alt-f on the keyboard. Alt-h will also turn it on for aircraft that do not have HUDs.

Chase view lag effect
This option affects the chase view (keyboard option 'v'). If it is selected then the viewer's position lags behind that of the aircraft as the aircraft rolls and turns and then catches up with it instead of always being in a fixed place relative to the aircraft. This can also be turned on and off using Alt-b on the keyboard.
Show stick position
This option is only of use if flying the aircraft using the keyboard or mouse. If selected, it draws a small graphic in the top right-hand corner of the screen that shows the position of the aircraft's control column. This can also be turned on and off from the keyboard using Alt-j.

Time Menu

The menu is as follows: 
  +------------------+
  | Set time to now  |
  | Set time         |
  | Daylight change  |
  +------------------+
Set time to now
Selecting this option sets the game time to the time as set on the computer.
Set time
This allows the game time to be set to a specific time. A simple dialogue box is displayed allowing the time to be typed in. It should be typed in using the twenty-four hour clock, for example, half past four in the afternoon should be entered as: 
    16:30
Daylight change
If this option is selected then the level of daylight changes according to the time of day. After sunset, game time, it starts getting dark and stay dark until shortly before sunrise.

The sunrise and sunset times in the simulator vary according to the time of year. They are not very precise but are good enough. If this is inconvenient then either the 'daylight change' option can be turned off or the supposed date on which the simulation is being run set using the 'GAMEDATE' symbol in the world.fst file. This gives the day and month, for example: 

    GAMEDATE 2103
would set the game date to March 21st.

Sounds Menu

This menu contains the following entries: 
  +--------------+
  | Engine noise |
  | All sounds   |
  +--------------+
The two options on this menu turn on and off the aircraft sound effects.
Engine noise
Thus turns on and off the aircraft engine noise. It is the same as keyboard command q.
All Sounds
This turns on and off all sounds, including the engine noise. It is the same as keyboard command Ctrl-q

Joystick Buttons

The actions that can be carried out by the joystick buttons are as follows. It depends on how many buttons a joystick has as to which of these work, for example, a two button joystick could only carry out the first two.
Button 1
Fire weapon
Button 2
Cycle to next weapon
Button 3
lower and raise undercarriage toggle
Button 4
Cycle flap position
Button 5
Turn on/off engines
Button 6
Toggle wheel brake on and off
Button 7
Toggle airbrake on and off

Joystick Configuration

Fly looks for a file called ALLEGRO.JOY for the joystick configuration information. If it cannot find it, the program will prompt the player to configure it. It displays on screen the message: 
	Move stick to the top left then press a key
Move the joystick to the top left limit of its movement and press a key on the keyboard. The second message printed is: 
	Move stick to the bottom right then press a key
Again, do that and press a key on the keyboard. That finishes the calibration. The details are saved in ALLEGRO.JOY.

Note that it is not possible to request that the joystick be reconfigured. If the joystick starts to misbehave, the only option is to delete ALLEGRO.JOY and start from scratch.

Command Line Options

Fly has a number of command line options. The general format of the fly command is: 
Fly <world file name> <options>
where:
<world file name>
This is the name of the world file to use. The name of the file can be given here or after the option -w. It omitted it defaults to WORLD.FST.
<Options>
These are the command line options, described below. They are broken into two groups, Common Options for the more commonly used options and Obscure Options for the rest.

Common Options

These control things such as the screen size.
-v
This sets the screen size. The possibilities are:
-v6
640 by 480, 256 colours
-v8
800 by 600, 256 colours
-v1
1024 by 768, 256 colours
The screen size has to be the same or larger than the size of the cockpit bitmap. If the screen size is larger then the cockpit bitmap is placed centrally on the screen with a black border to mask the parts of the screen that should not be visible.
-w
This allows the name of the world file to be given if the program is not to use the default of WORLD.FST. It is possible for more that one world file to be used; the program merges their contents.
-p
It is possible to have more than one player aircraft in a simulation. This option gives the name of the player aircraft to use. It omitted it defaults to Player.
-c
This allows the name of the palette file to be given. Normally the program will look for the file COLS.FCD or the one named in the file FST.FPJ. This option allows it to be given on the command line and takes precedence over any other.
-d
The game ends when the player's aircraft crashes.

Obscure Options

These control other aspects of the game.
-nw
Fly normally complains about any shape files it cannot find, giving the player the option to give up or continue using a default shape in place of the missing shape (a box). This option tells the program to skip the error message and just use the default shape.
-ns
Turn off all sounds.
-b
This option tells the program to save screen grabs as BMP format files. They can be viewed in Paint or even used as the Windows wallpaper! (Your starter for ten points: which developer is that sad?)
-e
Start the game with the aircraft engine noise running.

---
Incoming mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.404 / Virus Database: 228 - Release Date: 15/10/2002