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| | TACTICS Jane's Fleet Command puts you in charge of the world's navies. Here's some intel for directing the battle fleet. Much of the AI is determined by the language coding in the "DOCTRINES" files in the Fleet Command folder. Many slick players have begun experimenting with the doctrines files to make planes engage enemy ships after identifying, prod own ships to fire against incoming SAMs in self-defense, and other improvements to make the game much more playable. By Ron Hunt. DOWNLOAD the LATEST Fleet Command Custom Doctrine Files (16 KB)
If you want to try your hand at tweaking the Doctrines files yourself, you will want to read the Doctrine Specs text file. It spells out how the doctrines work, priorities, expressions, syntax specs--everything you need to know to be a Fleet Command Master Hack! By Mike Kolar (Sonalysts). DOWNLOAD the Fleet Command Doctrine Specs (4 KB)
These files will allow you to change the loadout on the F-14. Using these files will change the loadout on the F-14 to 6 Phoenix and 2 AIM 9 missiles. Follow the instructions in the readme. By Mike Kolar (Sonalysts). DOWNLOAD the Fleet Command Data Base Tweak (26 KB)
Jane's Doctrine files and Specs Download Doctrine text and Database Files This zipped file contains files that will allow the experienced user to modify the Fleet Command doctrine files and make modifications to the database files. The Doctrines.txt file briefly describes all the commands within the doctrine files located in the Doctrine subdirectory off the installed Fleet Command directory. By making modifications to this file, you can change the way your platforms behave under different circumstances (i.e. you can make your aircraft automatically engage identified hostile aircraft). Refer to the file “doctrines.txt” for a full description of the doctrines.The rest of the files contain the files necessary to make changes to the Fleet Command database, which people have been mainly using to modify weapon loadouts of various platforms. Included in this zip file is a sample modification that gives you F-14s loaded out with Phoenix missiles. Refer to the dbspec.txt file for an explanation of how this all works.Again, only experienced users should attempt these modifications. Please backup your original files before making any changes to them. Finally, and most importantly, if you have modified your database, and you play multiplayer games, all the other users you’re playing with will need to have the same database for Fleet Command to run the multiplayer game properly. All the databases need to be in agreement when playing a multiplayer game. **Disclaimer -- Electronic Arts, Jane’s Combat Simulations, and Sonalysts, Inc. are not supporting any modifications made by the end users. This is at your own risk. Please do not call our customer support for help with these files.
Gameplay The following is a brief explanation of the different types of sensors that can be turned on/off. Basically, all sensors that can be turned on or off are emitters, and as such they can be counterdetected at a greater range than they can detect. Before you turn on a sensor, think about the fact that you might be giving yourself away instead of finding out where someone else is. - Air Search Radar - Typically, a long-range radar system intended for searching the skies for aircraft. Note that Air Search radars cannot see below the horizon, so ships suffer from a blind spot at low altitudes and long distances. This blind spot is not displayed on the radar coverage display.
Surface Search Radar - A shorter range radar for searching for surface platforms.
Fire Control Radar - Fire control radars are often required by missiles, especially guided missiles. Many fire control radars are only capable of guiding one missile at a time; the Aegis radar system being the most notable exception can guide up to 16. Your ships will automatically turn on their fire control radars when ordered to attack, making you highly visible to platforms equipped with ESM. You may wish to re-order Emcon (all radar turned off) after an attack is completed in hopes of regaining a stealth advantage.
AEW (Airborne Early Warning) Radar - This is an extremely long-range air and surface search radar system carried by platforms such as the US E-2 Hawkeye. You'll wish to protect platforms carrying this system carefully, as they provide your longest-range coverage of the unfolding situation. AEW Radar is also counter-detectable from great ranges, so you may wish to keep it quiet until you can separate it from your battle group.
Active Sonar - Active sonar works by radiating noise underwater and listening for returns to echo back from underwater objects such as subs. It gives away the location of your ship to any nearby subs, but it is also your best chance of locating them. If you suspect a sub is nearby, you may be able to discover its location quickly by going active, and prosecute it before it can attack. - If you are playing multiplayer games with a modified database (for instance, you have the database with the F-14's modified to carry Phoenix missiles), make sure the other people you're playing with also have the same database. The databases must agree with each other for multiplayer games to run correctly.
The "Search" option will disappear for aircraft when they run out of sonobuoys.
At the start of any mission in which you have a carrier and/or airbases, use the grouping commands to create a group for each platform. For example, select the carrier and press ctrl-1. Then, select the airbase and press ctrl-2. Now, you can select your carrier anytime without having to search around for it by simply pressing '1' and then 'f' to bring up the flight deck. The same goes for your airbase. Press '2' and then 'f' to bring up the airbase's flight deck.
If you are having trouble finding a sub or any enemy target, save and quit the game, then use the REPLAY button from the debrief screen. It will show you all platforms as what they really are.
Rename scenario files to .SCU and they will be available for viewing and/or editing in the mission builder.
WARNING - If you make any changes to the pre-made scenarios, you run the risk of messing them up, or even causing them to become unplayable. If you plan on editing any of them, please make backups of the mission files first. All the Fleet Command missions are in the Fleet Command\Scenarios directory where you installed the game.
The ES-3 Viking and the EA-6B Prowler (available on all US carriers) can jam another ships radar, making it very hard for them to defend against your SSMs. Hook one of these planes; hit the C key, then right-click on the platform you wish to jam.
Use the "m" (lower case m) key on any hooked (selected) allied platform to see what its current orders are. A line will be drawn from your platform to the current target or destination, color-coded as such: RED for engage, YELLOW for identify, ORANGE for jam, and GREEN for transit.
Use the SHIFT+M (upper case M) keys to show your PIM (Points of Intended Movement) lines. This is the intended destination for your group leader and should be followed to complete the mission.
When searching for a sub, make sure to manually turn on your S-3 Viking or Helo's sonobouy by right clicking on the platform and choosing SENSORS>ACTIVE SONOBOUY.
You can place a marker on the 2D map (denoted by a + sign) by pressing ENTER. This is very useful for marking coordinates given to you in tasking messages, or any location you may want to remember. You can remove the marker by selecting it (left-click) and pressing DELETE.
If you are running low on SSMs, you can place a marker on the map with the ENTER key, then choose ENGAGE WITH>TLAM SLCM from the right-click menu, and engage the marker. The Tomahawk is the only missile that can do this, and has a large area of effect.
The SM-2 can be fired at enemy surface platforms, and is quite effective because of its high speed.
If an enemy sub fires a torpedo at one your ships, turn the opposite way and press SHIFT+3 keys to make your ships run at maximum speed. Make sure to launch a helicopter to sink the sub.
If an enemy fires a SAM or AAM at one of your planes, select the targeted plane and press SHIFT+3 (top speed) and SHIFT+9 (high altitude). The enemy missile will have a harder time reaching your plane.
If you are having trouble seeing the enemy, make sure you have your ships sensors turned on. This will allow you to see the enemy, but will allow them to see you easier as well. Using your E-2 Hawkeye will give you a long range of vision without needing to turn on your ships sensors.
Use your ships SONAR will usually allow you to detect subs before you come into their torpedo range.
In the Mission Editor, all goals in a Dynamic Group are created if that particular Dynamic Group is created. The goals have no bearing on Minimum and Maximum number settings, but instead are automatically created with the Dynamic Group being created.
To get the following audio messages to play in your created missions, type the name of the .wav file you'd like exactly as follows:
Manual Correction: On Page 28 of the manual, the explanation for adding your own .wav files to your user-made missions is incorrect.
It should read, "If you want to use your own .wav files, you must copy your .wav files to the scenario directory, which is a subdirectory off of the install directory of Fleet Command (default - Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\Fleet Command\Scenario). In the Edit box, just provide the name of the .wav file and Fleet Command knows to check the scenario directory. Note: if you are making a multiplayer scenario with unique sound files, be sure to provide those sound files along with the scenario to the other players. To use the default .wav files that come with Fleet Command, their names are entered in the edit box exactly as shown below. No need to put them in the scenario directory. They will work.
TacticalUpdateReceived.wav UpdatedTaskingReceived.wav HighIntelReceived.wav SitReportCopied.wav DamageRepReceived.wav MissionComplete.wav
Manual Correction: On Page 29 of the manual, the explanation for the Automatic Goal is incorrect.
It should read, "Automatic Goals are goals that do not have any criteria for them to be accomplished, they are automatically triggered. Automatic Goals can be set up to be triggered at a certain time, but other than that they have no criteria that has to be met for them to be triggered. They are useful for any Intel or information you want to provide the player at any time during a mission regardless of what's going on. They are also useful when used in conjunction with goal precedence. You can set up a "mission complete" automatic goal and in the goal precedence dialog, set it up so this goal cannot be triggered until all the other goals in the mission are completed. Therefore when the other goals are completed, the mission complete goal is automatically triggered.
Manual Correction: On Page 30, the "Pick Up Pilot Goal" explanation incorrectly states "To place a downed pilot, on the first Goal page click Neutral . . ." It should read, To place a downed pilot, on the first "object" page click Neutral . . . "
MissionSpecific Tips Campaign Missions - Bay of Bengal
Pause the game immediately, zoom in closer to your CVBG, hook them all, unpause, and turn on ALL sensors. Prepare to be surrounded, and attacked in force from all sides. Don't be afraid to use a lot of SM-2s for each incoming missile, better to use a few extras than get hit. There can be as many as 9 Indian subs, most of which are positioned along your PIM line. Get your E-2 Hawkeye up fast, and at least four S-3 Vikings to search the path of the CVBG (remember to turn on the sonobouys). You MUST wait for the Intel and Tasking messages to come before taking out the airport and Indian ARG.
Strait of Malacca Again, pause, zoom in, and turn on ALL sensors. Do not turn on any of the Australian SAGs sensors; keep them hidden, as they have no defense. The Chinese forces are weak, but you start the mission surrounded by them. Within 10 minutes of game time, the Russian Shipwreck missiles will appear in your sensor range, fire as many SM-2s as you can, as fast as possible. After the first wave, another smaller one may come, then the Russians and Chinese will be depleted of all SSMs. The only worries are the random Backfire attacks and the hidden subs. Set at least four Vikings to search the entire area between the islands. All subs and hostile forces must be killed to win this one.
Taiwan Strait This one is easy. Launch 10 TLAMs at each airport at the start of the mission; don't bother to wait for the Tasking message (they are the only unknown land objects on the map). Chinese forces are stuck between a lot of neutrals, so be careful how you attack them. Better to close with an F-14 Tomcat and fire Harpoons from point blank range. DO NOT use the AGM-88 fired from the F/A-18 Hornet, as it will home in on the neutral boats and your score will suffer. TLAMs will do the same. All subs and Chinese forces must be killed to win. The PCFGs do not need to be killed (they're a pain to hit anyway).
Kuril Islands You must overwhelm the Russian CVGB as soon as the mission starts. This is the hardest mission. You start with approx. 60 TSAMs depending on the random placement of your forces, use 40 of them in the first five minutes, most will be shot down. If the Russian airport randomly starts close to you, kill it with 20 TLAMs immediately (It is the only visible unknown land object on the map). Get planes in the air, especially the jammers (ES-3 Viking, EA-6B Prowler, and the E-3 Sentry). The Russian carrier will pump out an endless flow of Su-33 Flankers which will attempt to kill every missile and plane you have, and they are faster than any of your planes. There may be as many as three subs which must be killed in order to win, although there is no message to do so.
Single missions - CVBG Norwegian Sea
- Don't be afraid to use all your SM-2 SAMs. There are only 3 or 4 Backfires, with 5 Kitchen missiles apiece. Launch some of your F-14s; turn on your sensors.
Chinese Terrorists The enemy will reveal itself soon after the mission starts, by firing at you with all their missiles. Defend yourself, then kill them.
Shore Bombardment Simple mission, just kill the land targets with TLAMs or guns. Careful of the airport, it will dump a large amount of planes in a short period.
Pacific Pirates Launch your helicopters as soon as the mission starts and order them to identify all the unknown tracks. Planes will come off the airport, one of them is the enemy, and you will lose if he gets away.
Macho madness One, maybe two boats to kill, nothing special here.
Iraqi Strike The initial barrage of missiles is difficult to fend off, but will end soon. Kill the land targets and you are done.
Wyoming Deploys Use the Orions to search along the PIM line of the Wyoming. You do not need to get to the 300 fathom line, although the debrief will state it as being "incomplete". The transit take a long time, don't bother, just end when all the enemy subs are dead.
No-Fly Zone Use the EA-6B Prowlers to jam any target you see. The SAM sites are deadly to your planes. Just be patient with this mission and it is easy. Don't kill the hospital.
Deadly Transit Defend and attack aggressively and you should come out alive.
Strike Back This is nearly the exact same mission as Deadly Transit. You must destroy the command center, SAM site and all Russian craft to complete this mission.
Iranian Attack You are almost certain to lose planes in this one, as the enemy has you surrounded and will fire upon them as soon as the mission starts. Take them out, kill the airport, one PCFG and you are done.
Indian Ocean Transit The Indian CVBG is very good at defending itself with its Harriers. There are two enemy subs which you must kill to win.
Bugs and Drugs The enemy factory MUST be killed before 1310 to win this one. Pay heed to the Intel and tasking messages.
A Line in the Sand ALL enemy forces must be killed to win this one, ignore the Tasking about transiting to the 35th parallel; you are already there. There is an enemy sub which is difficult to find, just keep searching for it.
Strait and Narrow Read the Tasking and Intel messages carefully. Do not kill the enemy airport until ordered to do so. The enemy PCFGs will fire on you as soon as the mission starts, defend yourself, then kill them. There may be as many as two subs which must be killed to win. You must complete the transit to finish this mission.
Rogue Fleet This should be a four star mission. You will probably lose one or two ships here no matter how well you play. Fire ALL your missiles at the Kuznetsov, kill it as fast as possible. There is an enemy sub that must be killed to win. Beware the Flankers.
Hold the Tiger at Bay Make sure to read all Tasking and Intel messages carefully. You need to kill the SAM sites as well as the airports to win (they are easy to miss). Also kill the Viraat and complete the transit.
Norway Alta Fjord Should be a four star mission. You will probably lose 2-3 ships here. The sub is an Oscar class Russian sub with 24 Shipwreck missiles. The Kuznetsov has 20 Shipwrecks, and the 2 Kirov class battle cruisers that have 20 Sunburn missiles each. Not to mention all the Su-33 Flankers from the Kuznetsov. Good luck, your SAG will be overwhelmed quickly.
Nominated for an Oscar Search for the sub. Kill it and you win.
Paybacks are Hell A large Russian CVBG is just northwest of the island barrier (I'm sure you are scared of the Kuznetsov by now!). Be careful how you shoot your TSAMs, as they cannot fly over land. Launch all your planes and slug it out with them. Be careful of the SAM sites on the islands.
Running the Gauntlet You minesweepers have NO defenses, get planes to them quickly, or kill them enemy. If they die, you lose.
Plugging the Gap Beware the Backfire, and their Kitchen missiles. There is one airport which will launch Backfires, which will launch Kitchens, then land rearm, and be back up again within 15 minutes. Kill it quickly. You CVBG is spread out, protect the carrier.
Liberating Liberia Read the tasking and Intel messages carefully. The helo tasks are difficult to time correctly. Make sure you use the low altitude (shift+7) and slow speed (shift+1) commands when ordering your helos to rescue the embassy staff. You MUST use helos from the French carrier; the other US helos can't rescue people.
He's at it Again Kill the enemy land targets, and defend against their planes. This is an easy mission.
Ancient Rivalry Relatively straight forward mission, kill everything. There are two subs that are hidden behind your ships, turn on your sonar to find them and use the Orions to kill them. Be careful of sneak attacks from unknown planes.
Palestinian Peace The Negev base is difficult to see because it is in a valley; you must be directly over it to see it (which means the SAMs will be able to hit you easily). Place markers (return key) at the exact coordinates given to you and use the engage with>TLAM to fire at the markers. The TLAMs have a large blast radius and will probably kill the target.
Red Sea Chokepoint Use all your offensive and defensive weapons to kill the enemy quickly, and defend against a large amount of incoming SSMs. Make sure to turn on your sonar, as there is a sub nearby.
A Furor in the Fjord If the random placement of your ships leaves you without two ships to the north of your carrier, restart the mission, as you will not be able to defend yourself without them. Your CVBG is spread thin and you will need to defend aggressively, and attempt to overwhelm the Russian CVBG. Most of the unknown planes around your CVBG are Russian Bears and IL-Mays, which will jam your ships fire control radars, and your Hawkeye, making the first five minutes of the mission very difficult. Kill them as fast as possible, and don't worry too much about killing the neutral planes (why do they fly in a war zone?) Fire 10 TLAMs apiece at each of the airports as soon as the mission starts (the only visible land objects). Backfires with Kitchens will pour from the central airport, so it must be killed quickly. Launch all your jammers to help kill the Russian CVBG.
Nuestra Malvenas The UK CVGB is pretty weak, and does not have long range weapons like the US fleet does. Use your offensive weapons wisely. The Harriers do not have much range either. One of your Duke class destroyers must close to within 30 miles of the coastline to complete the "Blockade Broken" task. The British ships can only fire one SAM at a time.
Red Sea Ambush This is truly an ambush. Similar to Red Sea Chokepoint, do not be afraid to use ALL of your offensive and defensive weapons to win. Turn on ALL your sensors at the start of the mission.
Baltic Sea Magic The French fleet is similar to the UK fleet, lacking in long range weapons. The Rafales are good anti-air defense, while the Super Entards are not. Kill the airport as soon as possible. The French ships can only fire one SAM at a time, so aim carefully. Q: In Baltic sea magic, I get my ships to the required destination before the required time limit, but the Blockade Broken goal never comes up as completed. Why is this? A: To break the blockade, you must arrive at the required destination with at least one fully functioning D'estienne D'orves class FFG.
South China Slugfest Nearly impossible to end with a positive score, the enemy has somewhere near 120 SSMs to fire at you, while you can have as many as 120 SAMs, depending on the random placement of your ships. Launch the P-3 Orions as soon as the mission starts. There are two weak subs directly south of your subs, turn on your sonar and they will become visible soon after. Play this one with "on-demand sub comms" ON (from the F6 options menu), otherwise your subs will never engage the enemy (and you will need those extra 12 Harpoons). If one of your ships is in danger, fire as many offensive weapons from it as possible, as it is better to get them in the air than lose them. Go to the PATCHES & MISSIONS section to DOWNLOAD the latest patches for this sim.
| TIPS Jane's Fleet Command is new and there are few known issues. If you are having trouble, try these tips. Go Start>Settings>system>Device manager>
Sound Video & Game> your sound card...whatever it mightbe>Properties>settings>
and uncheck thejoystick port enabled box. Remember toREBOOT! and you're good to go! I can verify this works. You can download the latest drivers foryour sound card from www.creaf.com. Installit in your system while the joystick portis disabled. Re-enable the joystick port afterinstalling the new drivers and try the game again. Also, check to make sure your sound drivers are DirectX6certified and up-to-date. For customers who own a Gateway system and the Soundblaster PCI 64 sound card, or any PCI 64 card, Ensoniq Audio PCI, or PCI 128, you may encounter a crash to the desktop when starting the game. Here is the fix that should take care of the problem: - Go into System Properties from the Control Panel, or by right clicking on the "My Computer" icon and selecting Properties.
- Select the Device Manager tab, then double-click on Sound, Video, and Game Controllers.
- Select Audio PCI 64 properties, then select Settings.
- Uncheck the Joystick Port enabled box. That's it. Close the system box.
You will probably need to restart your computer before this takes effect. The game should now work properly. You may also need to update your sound carddriver to the latest driver. The original Gateway driver was the1127 driver. You should get the 1139 version upgrade fromGateway. Check their website for updated drivers. But try thejoystick port disable before updating drivers. Remember that youwill have to recheck the joystick enable box if you want to playanother game that uses a joystick or gamepad. If some of the keyboard commands are not working in the game, make sure that the "Caps Lock" key is turned off. If you're having trouble locating your saved games, do the following: From within the game, go to the Single or Campaign Missions selection screen. Scroll down to the bottom of the list of missions to find your saved games. Make sure you name your saved games something recognizable.
Jane's Fleet Command FAQ
Version 1.0 -- 6/15/99Frequently Asked Questions Gameplay Mission Specific Tips Troubleshooting Frequently AskedQuestions Q: What does the keyboard command Ctrl-A: AddAir Corridor do? A: Air Corridors are simply for your ownreference within a mission. If you think you've found a pathwhere civilian planes are flying through, you can mark this areawith an air corridor. Press Ctrl-A, then click the mouse on themap where you want the corridor to begin, then drag the mouse inthe desired direction of the air corridor, and click again. TheAir Corridor will be drawn as two parallel lines. Now you willknow if you see planes flying down this corridor, you canprobably ignore them since you've figured out they're civilian.Be careful though, the enemy may sometimes hide in civilian aircorridors to disguise their maneuvering.
Q: What do the commands "a - show/hide airstations", and "s - show/hide ship stations" do? A: Ship and air stations are where a platformgoes when ordered to Return to Station. Stations can be draggedto alter ship formations or aircraft loiter locations - any shipsor aircraft assigned to the station will follow it to its newlocation. Aircraft can be dragged from one air station toanother. Everything that carries aircraft (including airports)have a Rally Point, which is just the default air station whereaircraft go when launched. Aircraft can then be dragged from therally point to any other air station. Press Ctrl-p to display thecurrently selected ship/airbase rally point. It can then bedragged to any location desired. As a last note, it should bementioned that there is no way to add or remove air or shipstations while playing the game, this is only possible from themission editor. You can move the stations, but not add/removethem during gameplay.
Q: When I give a platform a command it usuallychanges speed. Why is that? A: Planes and ships have to slow or changealtitude to acquire or fire weapons. If you give an aircraft anengage command, it will go full speed to engage. Any other movecommand (Identify, Search, Rescue, or any Transit), the unit willprobably return to cruise speed. You will need to give it ashift-3 (full speed) command again if you want the platform torun at full speed.
Q: Why is there no sound (platform commandacknowledgement) in the tutorials? A: This is to insure that the instructions bythe narrator can be heard.
Q: What is that small, flashing red box in thelower right corner of the screen? A: The flashing box means you have a newmessage to read. It can be in the Tasking, Intel, or Messagessection of the COMMS screen. Press F4 to bring up the COMMSscreen to read the new message. Once you've seen the message, theflashing box will no longer appear, until a newer messagearrives.
Q: Why is there no Phoenix missile in the game? A: The Phoenix missile is being phased out. Itwill eventually no longer be a standard loadout on the F-14Tomcat.
Q: My ships sometimes fire missiles bythemselves. Why is this? A: If they fired a missile previously, and thatmissile was destroyed before it hit the target, they will fireanother missile to take its place.
Q: Sometime I fire HARM missiles at one targetand they go towards another target. Why is that? A: HARM missiles are radar tracking. If theypickup a closer radar source than the target you specify, theywill go towards it. You need to fire the HARMs closer to yourintended target.
Q: Sometimes I tell my ships to fire guidedmissiles and they don't do it right away. Why is this? A: They may be reloading their weapons or inthe case of SAMs, all of their Fire Control radar are already inuse. Most systems are only capable of guiding one missile at atime, the Aegis being the major exception. This is also why yourship isn't firing more missiles on command.
Q: Sometimes with "On Demand SubCOMMS" enabled my sub still will not come to COMMS depth.Why is that? A: Subs will not acknowledge that request ifthey are under attack or an enemy sub is nearby. They willautomatically prosecute the enemy however. The player cannotcontrol typhoon class Russian subs.
Q: I changed my CD-ROM drive letter, now thegame won't start. Why is that? A: The game is looking for the original driveletter it was installed from. You need to uninstall FleetCommand, and reinstall with the new drive letter or change theCD-ROM drive letter back to the original letter.
Q: In the Mission Editor, what does the"Include in Sim" option actually do? A: This option is typically used to placebuildings in populated areas without bogging down the simulation,and your machine. If the "Include in Sim" option isunchecked, Fleet Command will pretend the buildings aren't there_except_ in 3D. This means they will show up in the game, butcannot be hit by weapons and won't be checked for collisions, andas such won't consume any CPU time from the simulation. They areonly there for visually filling out the landscape.  Help out with a small donation.
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