Delta Wing

ZX ComputingZX Computing Monster Hit

Mastertronic £2.99 Flight simulations tend to be a little boring to arcade addicts. OK, they need 50 fingers and an alert mind and may be realistic but just flying around aimlessly seems a bit pointless. Delta Wing attempts to overcome this by adding a combat element to the action, you have to bomb the enemy bases the number of which, one to six, you select at the start. Air to air combat is also featured and the enemy planes are out to destroy both you and your bases. Flying seems a little easier than on some programs, but it certainly isn't simple. The control panel at the bottom of the screen contains 14 indicators and gauges and there are 14 control keys to master. Graphically the game is excellent, the cockpit panel is crammed full but is still readable, they even found room to show your hand on the joystick, moving up/down/left/right as you press the keys. Even the pilot's knees move! The usual two screen modes, an actual view and an aerial map are included and I suspect that the lack of ground detail in view mode is the price paid for the combat routines. Speed is always a factor in this kind of program, and here the program scores, scenery (mostly horizon) is acceptably smooth and enemy planes (wire frame) move very quickly - blink and you'll miss them apart from the bullet holes which appear in your window. All joystick protocols are supported and there is even a two player option for two Interface 1 owners connected by the net. Simulation purists may not like the combat routines and arcade addicts may not like the amount of simulation, but I loved it!

Your Computer

Overall 5/5

Lee Paddon 5/5

Spectrum Mastertronic Simulator £2.50 Pleasant pilot animation, good wire frame perspective graphics of the enemy aircraft, but there is one aspect which makes this game exceptional for every Spectrum owner - two-player mode. With two Spectrums with Interface 1, strap yourself in and prepare for hours of stomach-churning fun. Completely hidden from your opponent, you invent new manoeuvres, he invents new countermoves. Climb, dive, brake, turn - you will not be able to put this game down. If you and a friend have Interface 1, this program is one you will not want to miss at this give-away price.

Sinclair User

Overall 3/5

Jerry Muir 3/5

Publisher: Mastertronic Price: £2.99 Memory: 48K Joysticks: Sinclair,Kempston, Fuller, AGF/Protek There is something in the world of marketing called the USP - the Unique Selling Point. Remember those initials because you'll be needing them later. There is nothing at all unique about the game idea of Delta Wing it's a 'war in the air... blah, blah, blah... jet fighter to defend the bases... blah, blah, blah... land to refuel... bomb their bases... blah,... blah. In short, an everyday tale of shoot 'em up flight simulators. As to the graphics, well they look more like paper darts than MiG fighters, with their wire-frame 3D effect, and if the bases are marked as diamonds on the map that's because it's all they are on the ground. If you can forgive it this multiplicity of failings and treat it as an arcade game it plays reasonably well, though I was fascinated to find how easy it is to actually ram another speeding jet! Now we return to the USP and this game has one. Boy, does it have one! if you can find a Spectrum-owning friend and you both have Interface I and separate TVs, then you can indulge in true one to one combat with each of you getting your own cockpit view. It's a novel touch and one that I'm sorry to say I was unable to test because... I've not got a friend! if you're more privileged than me in this respect it's probably worth the three pounds for a unique experience.

Your Spectrum

Dave Nicholls 3/5 HIT

Roger Willis 4/5 HIT

Ross Holman 3/5 MISS

JOYSTICK JURY What's on your software shopping list for Christmas? Let Ross Holman, Dave Nicholls and Roger Willis help you make your mind up! This month, our motley crew of Joystick Jurors include Dave Nicholls, a self-confessed adventure fanatic and seasoned hacker; Ross Holman, ace games player and winner of the Jet Set Willy prize; and, last but by no means least, Roger Willis, a relative newcomer to the Spectrum scene. Dave and Ross you'll already know from our monthly major games reviews. Roger Willis, on the other hand, is probably more at home in the saddle of a massive motorbike... but that was before he discovered the thrills and spills of the Spectrum. Check out what they thought of the latest in games software... DELTA WING Creative Sparks £6.95 Roger: This was the one that kept me up at nights - not that 1 broke any 'high scores'. Delta Wing is definitely a game for patient technocrats. It's based on only two screens, but these are complicated and composite. Simulator tendencies are confirmed by the continuous presence of cockpit instrumentation across the bottom. Altitude, air-speed, fuel gauge, radar and artificial horizon add in to a total of 14 informative variables to complement the pilot's hand moving the on-screen joystick according to player instruction. All it takes is a tweak of the old handlebar moustache and there you are, blasting 'em out of the sky or bombing their bases. The second screen flashes up on request and is made up of a map showing your bases (which can be landed at for fuel and ammunition), their bases (which can be bombed), and the current position of enemy planes (which got me reciting 'Tally Ho' and 'Wizard Prang' epithets...). A significant attention span and a great deal of prcsevcrance are vital though, because in this game nothing comes easily. Just taking off, involving correct ground speed related to flap position and timed pull-back on the joystick, is a thoroughly skilful operation. Being honest, I could barely get off the runway but I felt like an RAF pilot!

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

CrashCrash Smash

Use of Computer 85%

Graphics 94%

Playability 94%

Getting Started 90%

Addictive Qualities 89%

Value For Money 87%

Overall 90%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Creative Sparks Memory Required: 48K Retail Price: £6.95 Language: Machine code Author: Graham Johns Delta Wing is a battle flight simulation, but unlike Digital Integration's Fighter Pilot, your aircraft is a make believe one - a very high performance one at that. Creative Sparks have also created a game for two players with two computers and monitors for a very realistic fight. But the game is also playable with one player against the computer. The game includes various skill levels and provides numerous friendly and enemy bases as well as enemy fighters to battle with. There are four skill levels - trainer, novice, pilot and ace. On the simplest level the enemy aircraft do not move, and on the other levels the player may select the number of enemy bases to be attacked - one bomb is allowed for each base. Delta Wing has a double display - instruments plus map and instruments plus windscreen view. The instrument panel is very detailed including meters for altitude, vertical speed (most useful in landing), brake indicator (for use on the ground or in the air), thrust, fuel, airspeed, artificial horizon, flaps and undercarriage (up or down). For attack purposes there are also the vertical position locator (VPL) and radar. A compass is also supplied for general direction in conjunction with the map. The VPL shows the height of enemy aircraft relative to your height. The radar has a long and short range scan. In addition to the instruments, the graphic display also shows the pilots knee and hand on the joystick. The view through the cockpit window shows sky and ground relative to attitude and all movements are reflected in the instrument panel's artificial horizon which shows pitch angle and roll angle. Once in visual range, enemy bases and aircraft appear as wire frame objects moving fully in 3D. Your own bases are similar, but a different configuration of lines. Similar representations appear on the map together with your present position and that of enemy bombers etc. Refuelling and re-arming require landing near a friendly base. Although there are no runways in the game, landing must be carried out fully. Landing too far away from a base need not be fatal, as it is possible to taxi towards one on the ground. The packaging includes an excellent inlay with all instructions very simply laid out and with colour diagrams showing instrumentation and map display information. COMMENTS Control keys: I/P left/right, W/Z up/down, N to fire. Additionally there are 10 function controls Joystick: Sinclair, Kempston, Fuller, AGF, Protek Keyboard play: extremely responsive Use of colour: excellent Graphics: excellent, fast detailed very good wire frame 3D Sound: good tunes, not much during game for speed of graphics Skill levels: 4 with 5 sub-levels Lives: 3 Screens: 2 Special features: 2-player game networked via Interface 1

Delta Wing's map display - the red diamond is a destroyed enemy base.

Taking off from a base.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Personal Computer Games

Graphics 8/10

Sound 4/10

Originality 4/10

Lasting Interest 7/10

Overall 7/10

Martyn Smith 7/10

Peter Walker

Robert Patrick

MACHINE: Spectrum 48K CONTROL: Kemp, Sinc, AGF, Fuller, Keys FROM: Creative Sparks, £6.95 When Fighter Pilot was brought out for the Spectrum the general opinion seemed to be that it was an excellent game. I never really got the hang of it and consequently I was put off flight simulators for a while. So I was pleased to find that Delta Wing was a bit simpler on the technical side without losing any of the atmosphere or action of a combat flight simulator. The cockpit view is fairly standard with an artificial horizon to show the angle of flight, radar, and compass as well as a gauge to show the height of an incoming enemy plane. The idea is to locate and destroy a number of enemy bases whilst defending your own bases from attacks by enemy planes. A map is displayed if the 'M' key is pressed which shows the position of your plane, the nearest enemy plane and all the bases. Combat is far more realistic than in Fighter Pilot. Once an enemy plane is located its altitude does not fluctuate wildly - an annoying feature of FP. The bombing of bases takes quite a while to get the hang of: you need to be quite high in the sky when the bomb is dropped to avoid being destroyed in the blast of your own bomb. Quick reactions are needed here because the base is not in your sights for long. As well as the movement keys (or joystick) you have to operate a few functions from the keyboard. There are four skill levels and the number of enemy bases (1-5) can be selected. Despite its similarities to Fighter Pilot I found this a superb combat flight simulator with colourful, clear graphics including a little hand pumping the throttle. But sadly, as seems to be the rule with this type of game, there is hardly any sound (without a Fuller soundbox).

Personal Computer News

Overall 7/10

John Lettice 7/10

PRICE: £6.95 PUBLISHER: Creative Sparks/Thorn EMI Computer Software, [redacted] Naturally they called me when they heard. A hush-hush new high-performance jet fighter from Thorn EMI was parked on the tarmac, and as the only PCN operative with F15 experience I was ideal for the job. Not that this was going to help much. For a start the cockpit was oddly-shaped - no matter where I looked my knees always seemed to be poking up into the windscreen, and as I moved the joystick I could see my right hand trembling on it. Odd really, especially when you consider I'm left-handed. The basic mission's easy enough to grasp. You have to take your jet-powered fighter-bomber into the air and perform a small miracle that combines using bombs to destroy all the enemy bases and shooting down the enemy intruders trying to bomb your bases. In common with most of the other new jet-powered flight simulators the weapons technology is fairly old hat, and you have to mess around with boring old conventional bombs and cannons. We're still waiting for a software house to come up with Sidewinder missiles and napalm, but when it does it's certainly got my vote. In Delta Wing you start off ready for take off, with an enemy aircraft fairly close to your airfield, so it's important to deal with this one before you go waltzing off on bombing raids. My first try wasn't a great success. While taking off I spotted an alien shape of some sort at the end of the runway.so instead of pulling the stick back and getting airborne I started pumping bullets into it. It was only when I crashed into it that I realised this was in fact some kind of end of runway marker. Nothing daunted I had another bash at reaching for the skies, this time with a little more success. Normally you get a representation of the control panel, complete with the aforementioned knees and hands. The top of the screen is taken up by a view out of the cockpit, although you can switch to a radar map of the whole playing area. The combat radar screen in the centre of the console is fairly standard, showing where you are and the nearest base or intruder in relation to you in terms of angle and height. You can switch this between short and long range. Once you're in the air it's a matter of getting to the same height as the intruder then engaging it. The ensuing dogfight, provided you can stay alive for long enough, is an entertaining affair. Part of its charm is that, unlike the enemy in Fighter Pilot, this one will try to stay with you, so your spells of twisting and turning are liable to be a lot more prolonged. I'm not sure how accurate the simulation is, but is does a fair impersonation of a full dogfight. Unfortunately you need to hit the beggars seven times before they go down, and either I didn't hit them at all or there's no way to tell how many times you've hit them. My precision bombing experiment was also a flop. I went in at 200 feet, dropped the bomb right over the airfield and... blew myself up. Apparently you do this if you bomb from lower than 250 feet, even if you're going at twice the speed of sound. Anyone sending me an algorithm proving this is nonsense will be lightly rewarded. All in all I found Delta Wing curiously unsatisfying. The controls are more leaden than those of Fighter Pilot, and I found the lack of a rudder particularly annoying in dogfights, it's also possible to fly off the screen, and if you can't remember where you left from you're in big trouble. Finally, bombing. I find it difficult to believe that in this day and age the cream of Strike Command is being sent into action without a proper bomb sight. Peering over the side may have been OK in 1914, but at 1,400 knots it isn't really an option. Delta Wing would have been excellent six months ago, but on balance I'd say you'd be better off now with Fighter Pilot.