F14 Tomcat
Dan Kitchen's
T O M C A T
The F-14 Fighter Simulator
For the Atari 7800
NOTES FROM A TOP GUNNER
by Dan Kitchen
Designer of TOMCAT THE F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATOR
I’ve always been fascinated by the technology of military fighter aircraft
and admired the courage of the pilots who routinely defy the odds in the skies
above. I’ve tried to incorporate the spirit and challenges of actual fighter
jet combat into this game and I’ve consulted with many actual fighter pilots
to ensure the accuracy of TOMCAT THE F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATOR.
I owe many thanks to my brother and co-designer Steven Kitchen, without
whose help we would not have made it off the flight deck.
Here’s thumbs up in your quest for Top Gun!
(line art top view of a F-14 Tomcat)
Flight Manual for
TOMCAT:
THE F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATOR
(line art side view of a F-14 Tomcat)
TO BEGIN:
1) With power OFF, insert your TOMCAT F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATOR cartridge into
your Atari 7800 game system according to manufacturer’s instructions.
2) Plug joystick into left controller port.
3) Turn power ON.
4) Press RESET to begin game. At this point the cockpit controls of the F-14
TOMCAT will light up and you will see the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S.
Enterprise through your cockpit canopy.
Your TOMCAT F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATOR features an intelligent RESET function
to guard against resetting the game by mistake. If you’re in the middle of a
game and you hit RESET, you must hold it down for at least 2 seconds before a
new game will start.
READY FOR FLIGHT:
You’re at the controls of your F-14 TOMCAT fighter at 1900 hours, waiting to
receive authorization for take off from the U.S.S. Enterprise. During your mission
you’ll face the enemy’s most challenging air combat forces. At your disposal are
the state-of-the-art computer controls and weapons systems of one of the U.S.
Navy’s most sophisticated fighters: the F-14 TOMCAT.
Your first take-off will be during daylight hours. But by the time you receive
orders to return to the U.S.S. Enterprise, you’ll notice the approach of dusk
and you’ll have to successfully perform a most dangerous nighttime landing on
the aircraft carrier. Your next mission will be a night mission. You’ll have
to take off, engage in combat and return to the Enterprise in total darkness,
relying more on your computer control systems to see you through safely.
After each successful return to the aircraft carrier, or if you crash or are
shot down, you’ll receive a MISSION RATING score (from 0 to 9) that is based on
your flying skills, the number of weapons fired, and kills. There are four phases
of flight operation: LAUNCH, FLYING, COMBAT, and LANDING.
Bogey
Missile Cannon Alert G-Force C/W
Ready Overheat Indicator Indicator (caution/warning)
Indicator Indicator | | Indicator
| | \ | / |
_____________________________________________________________________
| ___ ___ _____________ ___ ___ |
| | || | |_____________| | || | |
| |___||___| ___________ |___||___| |
| |___________| |
| _____________________________________ |
| _ _ | ________________________ | _ _ |
| / \ / \ | | | | / \ / \ |
| \_/ \_/ | | | | \_/ \_/ |
| | | | | |
| _ _ | | Main Computer Display | | ___ ___ |
| / \ / \ | | | | / \ ___ |
| \_/ \_/ | | | | \___/ ___ |
| | |________________________| | |
|_______________| |_______________|
| |_____________________________________| |
|_____ ________ ____________________ ____ _ |
| || __ | | | | | / \ _ |
| ||O O| | | | | | | \_/ | | |
|_____||O O| | | | Horizontal | | | -|-|-|
| | |__| | | Situation Display | |____| _ |_| |
| |________| |____________________| / \ |
| \_/ |
| __________________________________________________________ |
| _ _____ | | | | |
| | | |o O o| | | | | |
| -|-|- |_____| | | | | |
| |_| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| _|_|_ | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|_____________________________________________________________________|
| | |
Landing Control Arresting
Gear Lever Stick Hook Lever
CONTROLS:
TOMCAT THE F-14 FIGHTER SIMULATORTM uses both console and joystick control.
Console:
Reset - Starts game. Enters select mode from THREAT screen.
Select - Cycles through computer display screens.
Right difficulty - Raises/lowers arresting hook.
Left difficulty - Raises/lowers landing gear.
Joystick:
Forward - Dives aircraft/or moves highlight when in select mode.
Increases thrust when right Joystick button is pressed.
Back - Climbs aircraft/or moves highlight when in select mode.
Decreases thrust when right Joystick button is pressed.
Right - Banks aircraft to the right.
Left - Banks aircraft to the left.
Joystick Button:
Left joystick button fires weapons. Right joystick button increases thrust when
joystick is moved forward or back. Right button also chooses options when in
select mode.
LAUNCH:
You’re on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Enterprise, waiting for your F-14
TOMCAT to be fueled and readied for take-off. After your fuel reaches its total
capacity of 3080 gallons and the angle of your wings opens to 200, the FLIGHT
DECK OFFICER (in the yellow jacket) will come out to signal you to move onto
the carrier catapult. Press and hold down the right joystick button and push the
joystick forward to increase engine thrust. When you’re locked on to the catapult,
the F.D. OFFICER will wave his hand in a circular motion to indicate that it’s
time to throttle up. Press and hold down the right button and push the joystick
forward until the ENG% indicator on your MAIN COMPUTER DISPLAY shows that your
engine has reached its full afterburner thrust of 216%. The F.D. OFFICER will
salute you, indicating that you are "go for launch" after which you’ll be
automatically catapulted from the flight deck. After you clear the flight deck,
you’ll hear the crash warning klaxon horn. Pull back on the joystick to raise
your nose (Angle Of Attack) and increase your altitude. You will hear this
warning sound whenever you are flying below an altitude of 500 feet with the
aircraft in a diving position. On launch remember to flip the LEFT DIFFICULTY
SWITCH on your console to raise your landing gear.
FLIGHT:
Once you’re airborne, your MAIN COMPUTER DISPLAY will automatically switch
from the LAUNCH screen to the STATS 1 screen, which will show your SPEED
(measured in mach), your ALTitude (measured in feet from sea level: 0’-999’
when below 1000’ or 1K’ - 56.0K’ when above 1000’), your nose Angle Of Attack
(from -45 to +60), and your ENGine % of thrust (from 0% to 100%, 200% to 216%
for afterburners).
Pressing the SELECT button on your console will switch your MAIN COMPUTER
DISPLAY to show various information screens describing the condition of your
aircraft. For example, STATS 2 shows your WING angle (from +20 to +68), your
ALTitude, your compass heading (C-HDG, 0 to 358), and the amount of FUEL remaining.
To increase or decrease your engine thrust, you must press and hold the right
joystick button and move the joystick. Pushing the joystick forward increases
thrust, pulling it backward decreases engine thrust. When you are controlling
engine thrust, the STATS 1 screen appears automatically.
To maneuver the aircraft, simply move the joystick forward, back, left or right.
Pulling the joystick back will raise your nose Angle Of Attack, making the
aircraft climb. Pushing forward on the joystick will reduce the nose Angle Of
Attack, making it dive. Moving it left or right will bank the aircraft. At the
altitude of 5000 feet you will hear a signal indicating that operating altitude has
been reached. The enemy aircraft will not engage before you have reached this
altitude. When your aircraft crosses the sound barrier (1.0 Mach) you will hear a
distant sonic boom.
COMBAT:
For air combat, your F-14 TOMCAT is supplied with a sophisticated computerized
defense system, machine guns, and three types of air-to-air missiles.
Please note that enemy aircraft will not engage until you have reached the
operating altitude of 5000 feet.
OFFENSIVE WEAPONS AND MANEUVERS:
When an enemy aircraft, or BOGEY, enters your air space, the THREAT screen
will automatically appear on your MAIN COMPUTER DISPLAY The DETAILED DATA
DISPLAY (DDD) screen will also appear on the HORIZONTAL SITUATION DISPLAY to
show the exact location of the enemy aircraft. The BOGEY will appear as a
flashing blip on this top view display.
The THREAT screen shows the condition of both your offensive and defensive
weapons systems. You can bring the THREAT screen up at any time while you’re
in flight by pressing the SELECT button on your console until the THREAT
screen appears.
_______________________________
| Bogey |
| _________|_________________ |
| / | | | \ |
||- -|- * -|- -||
||- -|- _ -|- -||
||- -|- -|_|- -|- -||
||- -|- -|- -||
||-_____-|-_________-|-_______-||
| \__|___|__|__|__|__|___|____/ |
| Detailed Data Display |
|_______________________________|
On your THREAT screen:
RNG shows the distance of the enemy from your F-14, measured in feet.
or KILLS will show the number of enemy aircraft shot down.
AIM indicates the type of missile you have ready.
EC-M shows whether your counter measures are operating.
M-61 indicates the on/off condition of your machine gun.
Each time a new BOGEY enters your air space the klaxon horn sounds, the
THREAT screen appears and the BOGEY ALERT INDICATOR will flash. The HEADS UP
DISPLAY (HUD) will also appear on your visual screen. Through the threat screen
you can arm your F-14 with missiles or machine guns.
To choose a weapon, simply press the RESET button on your console to enter
the select mode (be careful not to hold the RESET button for more than 2 seconds,
since this will reset the game). On launch your F-14 is ready and armed with
AIM 54 missiles.
You can choose between selecting a missile type, turning on/off your Electronic
Counter Measures (EC-M), and turning on/off your M-61 machine guns. Moving the
joystick up or down will highlight AIM-, EC-M, or M-61.
Pressing the right joystick button will select one of these options.
Pressing the right joystick button while EC-M is highlighted will turn on/off
your counter measures and bring you back to the flying mode.
When the enemy is at close range you should select your M-61 machine gun.
You start with 675 available rounds. The CANNON OVERHEAT INDICATOR will light
green, indicating that your guns are operational. When firing your guns, the
CANNON OVERHEAT INDICATOR will flash red to warn you that your guns are in danger
of overheating. When it turns bright red, your guns are overheated and will
automatically be shut down for cooling. When the lamp returns to green, you can
fire your guns again.
Pressing the right joystick button while AIM- is highlighted allows you to
select a missile type. The ARMAMENTS screen will now appear.
You have a choice of three types of Air Interception Missiles:
AIM 7: Sparrow, infrared missiles (most effective when the BOGEY is visible
on your viewing screen).
AIM 9: Sidewinders, heat-seeking missiles (most effective when you are on
your opponent’s tail).
AIM 54: long range missiles (the best choice for a novice pilot).
You have 15 missiles available of each type. Move the joystick to highlight the
missile type you want and press the right joystick button to arm your aircraft. At
this point you’ll return to the flying mode. By pressing the left joystick button,
you fire missiles or machine guns. When the BOGEY is within machine gun
range (aprox. 800 feet) and in the center of the HUD, the HUD will flash red. You
must continually fire the guns for about three seconds to destroy the enemy
aircraft.
Each time you fire a missile you must wait until the MISSILE READY INDICATOR
lights to fire another missile.
If you run out of a missile type, the computer will automatically select the
most effective missile type from your remaining armaments. You may also select
another type of missile by bringing up the THREAT screen and pressing the
RESET button.
When using missiles, use the HEADS UP DISPLAY to lock your missile onto your
target by moving the BOGEY into the center of the HUD. The HUD flashes red when
your computer has locked on to the target. You must fire when the HUD is flashing
red to guarantee a hit.
If you run out of machine gun ammunition, the computer will automatically not
allow you to turn on your machine guns and arms any remaining missiles. If you
use all of your missiles, the computer will not allow you to select a missile
type.
DEFENSIVE WEAPONS AND MANEUVERS:
When the BOGEY is on your tail and fires a missile at you, the CAUTION WARNING
INDICATOR (see cockpit diagram) will flash. As the enemy missile approaches the
C/W INDICATOR will flash faster. If your electronic counter measures (EC-M) are
on, the EC-M screen will automatically appear on your Horizontal Situation Display.
The on-coming missle will appear as a flashing blip approaching your aircraft.
In order to avoid the missile you will want to take evasive action by banking,
climbing or diving. When the C/W INDICATOR has stopped flashing you have
successfully avoided the missile.
__________________________
| Enemy Missle |
| __|___________________ |
| / | \ |
|| \ | ||
||- | \ ||
||- __ \ | ||
||--|__| \____|__ ||
||- / / | ||
||- / | ||
|| / ||
| \|__|__|__|__|__|__|__|/ |
| EC-M Display |
|__________________________|
LANDING:
When you are running low on fuel or have used up most of your available
armaments, you’ll be called back to the aircraft carrier. The LANDING screen
will appear on your MAIN COMPUTER DISPLAY showing your SPEED, ALTitude, range
(RNG, your distance from the carrier), and your Angle Of Attack, along with an
audible return signal.
__________________________
| Horizontal |
| Landing Blip F-14 |
| __________|_________|_ |
| / | / \ |
|| | / _ ||
|| | / |_| ||
|| / | ||
|| ______ _ |_ _ _ _ ||
||| / | ||
|||___/ | ||
|| __ __ __ __ __ ||
|||__|-|__|-|[]|-|__|-|__|||
|| |__| ||
| \______________________/ |
| Computer Landing Display |
|__________________________|
Press the select button until STATS TWO screen apprears on your main computer
display. To land you must bring your compass heading (C-HDG) to approximately
30 (30 to 40) by banking to the right or left and lower the altitude of your
F-14 to below 2,000 feet. Also, lower your engine thrust to 30% in order to
reduce aircraft speed for landing.
After your F-14 has dropped below 2,000 feet at a compass heading of
approximately 30 you will enter the landing corridor and, in a few seconds,
you’ll see the carrier appear as a dot in the distance. The COMPUTER LANDING
DISPLAY (CLD) screen will appear on your HORIZONTAL SITUATION DISPLAY.
The CLD has two graphs showing your position relative to the aircraft carrier.
The top graph displays your altitude and range. Maintain the blip between the
upper and lower limits of your vertical glide path by adjusting your altitude. Try
to keep the aircraft’s altitude between 70 and 80 feet. The graph below allows
you to center your aircraft horizontally. As you approach the carrier you may
encounter cross winds. Simply bank the aircraft to the right or left to center
yourself for a successful landing on the flight deck. You must keep the blip in the
center of the graph to ensure a safe landing. When your aircraft is over the flight
deck you will hear a repeating warning sound. Push the joystick forward to drop
the aircraft onto the deck.
When approaching the carrier and you’re landing gear or arresting hook is not
in the correct "down" position, a klaxon horn will sound. Flip the LEFT DIFFICULTY
switch on your console to lower your Landing Gear and flip the RIGHT DIFFICULTY
switch to lower the Arresting Hook so the aircraft can catch the carrier cable.
If you have landed successfully, you’ll be back on the deck of the aircraft
carrier. Reduce your thrust to 0%. The RATING SCREEN will appear on your MAIN
COMPUTER DISPLAY, showing the number of KILLS, missiles FIRED, and providing an
overall RANK for your mission. Press the right joystick button and you’ll be on
the deck ready for another take-off.
If you forget to put your landing gear or your arresting hook down, come in
too low, too high, or too far right or left on the carrier deck, you will crash and
receive a final rating. Hit RESET to start a new game.
FLYING AT NIGHT:
When flying at night, you must depend more on your instrumentation,
especially when engaged in combat.
RATINGS:
0 - CIVILIAN
1 - SWABO
2 - RECRUIT
3 - SEAMAN
4 - LIEUTENANT J.G.
5 - LIEUTENANT
6 - LIEUTENANT COMMANDER
7 - COMMANDER
8 - CAPTAIN
9 - TOP GUN GRADUATE
TIPS FROM THE DESIGNER:
It is a good idea to turn on your Electronic Counter Measures as soon as
you’re launched from the flight deck.
To avoid an enemy missile, adopt an eccentric flight path. Dive, climb and
bank quickly. If you haven’t turned on your Electronic Counter Measures before
an enemy attack, you still have time to do so once a missile has been fired at you.
During combat, try to keep the BOGEY on your viewing screen at all times and
stay on his tail. This will keep him from getting behind you.
While approaching the aircraft carrier for a landing, you’ll see the carrier
landing lights before you. Keep the center line of lights straight to ensure that
you’re centered on the flight deck.
Approach the carrier at a speed well below 1.0 Mach to insure a safe landing.
To reduce the amount of fuel used during flight, throttle back your engine
thrust to below 100%.
The altitude of the flight deck at landing is aproximately 70 feet.
GLOSSARY
ACM - AIR COMBAT MANEUVERING
AIM - AIR INTERCEPTION MISSILE
AOA - ANGLE OF AHACK
BOGEY - UNDEFINED AIRCRAFT
CANOPY - GLASS BUBBLE OVER THE COCKPIT
C/W - CAUTION/WARNING
ECM - ELECTRONIC COUNTER MEASURES
G - UNIT OF ACCELERATION
HSD - HORIZONTAL SITUATION DISPLAY
HUD - HEADS UP DISPLAY
CLD - COMPUTER LANDING DISPLAY
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_____/____\_____
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| ABSOLUTE |
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AK-046-03
This document scaned and edited by Mitchell Orman