FOX BAT & PHANTOM by John Fernandes

11

To begin with I asked every playtester I couldfind around SPI, "What do you think ofFoxbat?" With thirty people I got thirtydifferent answers. There are, however, severalopinions which are held in common. I'veincluded these as well as some of the moreinteresting individual thoughts expressed byplaytesters.

The game suffers from something called"Rules Inertia." This is a hassle resulting fromthe fact that in order to simulate rapid action inthree dimensions, it was necessary to usewhat, at first glance, seems to be a complexsystem of rules. The wording of these rules islong and sometimes repeats itself. But this isnecessary if all aspects are to be covered. Toget around this, it's a good idea to keep thecharts and pieces in view while you're readingthe rules. In this way the rules will make moresense. The general consensus has it that oncethe rules are digested, the actual mechanics ofthe game are absorbed very quickly.

Some players were confused as to why onlyhigh altitude combat is covered in the play ofthe game. Although it is explained in the rules,

I will attempt to give some further clarificationto the matter. The aircraft used in the gameFoxbat and Phantom behave in accordancewith the rules of the game only at altitudesover 20,000 feet. Performance changesdrastically below that altitude. It changes sodrastically, as a matter of fact, that it wouldtake an additional set of rules to coverperformance at low altitudes. No, there are noplans to design a low level fighter game at thistime. The aircraft chosen for use in the gamewere chosen because of their different abilitiesand because of their historical, or playerinterest.Players have expressed disappointment overthe game not including close support aircraft,navy aircraft, which were extensively used inViet-Nam, or a more detailed use of largebombers, their assorted "black boxes" andother anti-fighter weapons. Of course, nogame can be all things to all people. The gameis a great deal of fun as it is and further R&Dtime would have added little to this. Besides,SPI isn't trying to produce spoon-fedconsumers, but active hobbyists who have theimagination and ability to alter the games theyplay to suit their own tastes.

Some players think that cannon fire is not aseffective as it should be. The truth is, there wasno other way to portray it. Basically, it wouldrequire decreasing the scale of the game toincrease cannon effectiveness. But, doing thatwould force an increase in the size of theplaying surface to ridiculous proportions inorder to allow proper maneuver.

One last opinion has it that whichever forcehas radar homing missiles has all theadvantages, Or, if both sides have them, theside with the greater range has all theadvantages. This is a sign of simpleshort-sightedness on the part of the players.All you have to remember is that theeffectiveness of radar homing missiles' dropsoff sharply as range decreases. All the alleged"weaker" player has to do is keep closeenough to his opponent to reduce hisopponent's power while maneuvering to getthe most out of his.

To sum up, Foxbat and Phantom is fun. Of allthe opinions of the game I received, this wasthe most common. Enjoy it!

STILL MORE DESIGNERS NOTES ONFOXBAT & PHANTOMWe attempted, in the game's Designer'sNotes, to forestall most of the expected lettersconcerning aircraft performance. We still got afew. Some letters brought up interestingpoints. Most of these we had already coveredwhile doing the game, and many of thesepoints were not dealt with specifically in thegame's Designers Notes. So we will hereattempt to cover a few more bases and,hopefully, keep a few more people happy.

First, we must repeat the main point of theDesigner's Notes. That is, almost all theperformance data needed for this game isclassified "Top Secret," or worse. We didquite a lot of leg work researching the gameand stand by our evaluations. With thefollowing exceptions, of course.

First, there was an error in the Mach ratingsgiven on the speed tracks. In terms of Machthe aircraft are going about 25% faster thanthey actually are. A minor point, as the speedsthemselves are correct. We received a lot offlack about our evaluations of the F-4Phantom. Keep in mind that most F-4 combathas involved (according to the USAF) superiorUS pilots against inferior Mig-21 pilots.Basically, the Mig-21 is a superior "dog-fighting" aircraft. A lot of USAF pilots would

like to be in a Mig-21 when it comes to a puredogfight. The F-4 does have a few additionaladvantages which do not show up in thegame. We do not consider any of them critical.For example, the F-4 can carry four additionalheat-seeking missiles.on wing hardpoints (theF-4, used mainly as a bomber, has plenty ofwing hardpoints), But you don't need manymissiles for air-to-air combat. Which is whymost aircraft don't carry that many. As thefollowing article points out, most air combatsare relatively brief. One aircraft or the othersoon realizes a distinct inferiority and bugs out.

In addition, an F-4's radar homing missileswould have superior performance because ofthe two man crew and a generally superiorradar. This would also apply to the F-14, F-111and, to a certain extent, the F-15. But thissuperiority was accounted for, oddly enough,by increasing the ECM ratings of these aircraft.Thiswas a roundabout way of doing it. But, inthe interests of simplicity, realism andplayability, it works.

Some also criticized us without examining allthe factors which go into an aircraft'sperformance. Simply because the F-14 has avariable wing does not make it moremaneuverable than the F-15 at supersonicspeeds. The F-15 has lower wing loading .andmore power. These are the factors that count

when it comes to maneuverability. The samesituation applies when the F-5E and Mig 21 arecompared. The Mig 21 has lower wingloadingand more power. Muscle pays off.

In addition, we were harassed for not including"snap down" missiles (very long range radarmissiles like the US Phoenix). The reason wassimple. The range of the missile far exceededthe size of the game map. Not to mention thefact that these missiles have not received anyreal combat experience. Since the Mig 25(Foxbat) was pretty much designed aroundsuch a missile (and the use of a "MOSS" aircontrol aircraft) i it had to sacrifice pure"dogfighting" ability. In much the same waythat the F-4 did. The F-4's predecessor (theF-104),as well as the Mig 25's predecessor (theMig-21) were superior dogfighting aircraft.

The "bombers" in the Point Defense Scenarioare abstracted and serve mainly as a focalpoint for the fighters to struggle over. If youwant more realism (as well as morecomplexity) use SU-7's or A-7's in lieu of the"bomber" counter ..

All this, as we expected, is what comes fromdoing "near future" games. We think it'sworth the hassles. Overall response to gameslike Foxbat & Phantom seem to indicate it is.

-JFD

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(5) F-4 Phantom: This plane is called for inso many scenarios that I felt it warrantedsome closer inspection. Everything aboutthis plane is mediocre with one exception.It has a high operational ceiling. So, keepyour altitude up and don't be afraid to fireoff a wild shot with a missile once in awhile. You've got plenty!

AIRCRAFT ANAL YSIS

(1) F-104: Many players prefer this planeover all others. It can climb better than anyplane at any speed. The YO-YO method ofattack works best with this plane. The trickis to get above your opponent (which isn'thard with the 104's climbing ability), getbehind him, set your altitude just right anddive. While diving, go to maximumacceleration. At the end of your dive, fire amissile and on your next turn, climb likecrazy (you may get a second shot).

(2) Mig-21: Maneuver is the key to thisplaneand it is my favorite. To survive, keepyou speed down. This makes you a moredifficult target and maximizes your turningability (your greatest asset). Your mosteffective maneuver is the "Climbing Turn."It makesyou hard to corner and allows youto reverse direction and attack withsurprising quickness. If, after all you'vedone, your opponent still can get aboveyour ceiling altitude: Go Home! Nothingmore can be done. Remember, with theMig-21'you have to strike fast.

(3) Mirage F and 11/:Thesehave the definiteadvantage of long range, radar missiles.They are the only planes which caneffectively fire at planes flying at a higheraltitude. My experience with these planeshas taught me to keep my speed up for afast getaway and at all times; keep mydistance!

(4) F-14 and 15: These two monsters areheavily armed and have lots of "blackboxes." When using these two, rememberthat you can always out-run your oppo-nent. You can also turn as you verticallydive with the F-15. Lastly, when all elsefails, Climb! You have with both planesthehighest operational ceiling in the game.

AIRCRAFT CHARACTERISTICS SUMMARY

17 .-A

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qz elf

m j ,Ia,.$ •• ~

d •$ rt62 4-p df

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at Mach II

at Mach II ~c,cr. .D 5

~" W 73~ S '"c § 22><'0 c u= '0; > :; '" WIAeft ,32 I 4:4: u U 0 l- t> Icr. Role

16 12 8 4 4 IntruderF·4E 15 to 5 23 J / I • or25 22 15 7 411S} Interceptor

14 14 8 4 2 IntruderF·5E 13 to 4 16 I I I •

17 25 14 7 0 Interceptor

if 11 8 2 2 Intrude;A-7 8 to 5 16 ,-10 - - 0 Interceptor

17 12 6 4 4 IntruderF·14 16 to 5 24 f ! I • or

27 22 12 7 4(15 Interceptor

22 8 8 3 !~ 4 IntruderF-15A 21 to 10 24 I / I • or

28 16 16 6 4(15) Interceptor

17 18 6 5 2 IntruderF-104 16 to 6 18 i I I • +

27 35 12 8 2(15) Interceptor

~ 1: 8 5 4 IntruderF·l11 21 3 IS f f •• or31 15 9 405)

"

n 11 8 3 .2 Intruderlightning 16 to 4 19 J I I •• or,

24 21 16 6 2(12) Interceptor

17 12 6 3 2 IntruderMirage F 16 to 4 21 I I I • +

2'; 23 11 7 3(18J Interceptor

17 12 6 4 3 IntruderMirage III 16 to 5 24 f I / •• or

27 22 12 7 3(18) Interceptor

13 13 6 6 0 IntruderSu-7 12 to 5 19 I / / •20 24 11 12 0 Interceptor

19 {~ 9 4 ~ .2 IntruderSu-11 18 t<J 6 19 I f - or

2ll 16 8 2(10) Interceptor

1'3 16 6 3 4 IntruderMig-21 14 to 5 21 I / I • ,

24 30 11 5 0 Interceptor

20 9 8 4 4 IntruderMig-23 19 to 6 19 / I I • or

30 17 15 8 4(101 Interceptor

o

Foxbst & Phantom Aircraft Control Chart F·lllE (made in USA) Acceleration GaugeC~·'~n. ___ !no,_"""NY

2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7Climb:

SltI>,eUmwd 4 5 7 9 , 11 12 14 16 18 19 21 23 25 26 28 30 32 33 35 37 39 41 42 44 46 48 49 51 53 55 9 0I I Mllch

fI>Ort",1.o<

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10 111f~

r- UNe! Sf'h6, MAX. erve DIVE PIVlLevel 2 3 4 5 ! 6 7 8 9 12 13 15 1.:.11.;1,..:18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

1

26 V 28 29 30 31 ~ ~1:r2-Flight: 'ft r7f.-' ACcI~Allow:

73 32 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 I 5 5 5 6 6 7

Vertical11 112

Dive: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 13 14 15 17 18Turn 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 9 10 10 111 11 112 13 13 14 114 115 15 116 117 117 18 6 5 4Mode:

Altitude Gauge

=-:....u, ~1~;;9~

7 3

6 5 4

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SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL SCENARIOSThe f.ollowing scenarios were added to thegame by some friends and me.(#1) 2 Phantoms protecting 2 A-Ts on atactical bombing mission. 3 Mig 21'sin~ercepting.Intruder secretly chooses an area with aradius of six hexes ina hex pattern "no lessthan 24 hexes (center-measurement) fromany board edge. This is the target area.A-Ts (which may not fire) enter the boardat level five and speed five. These drop tozero altitude and disappear in this "Target"area (drop below the cloud cover) for oneturn. The A-Ts then reappear at "0"altitude and attempt to leave from samemap edge they arrived on.Phantoms enter the board at level "15" at 2less than level maximum speed and mustleave the bGar(;h,A:before game's end.Phantoms are bo~~~by intruder- sightingregulations and follow a preplanned'flightpattern until they sight a Mig-21.Mig-21's arrive at any map edge at anyaltitude desired one turn after the A-Tsarrive,Victory Conditions: The interceptor playerreceives 2 points for each intruder A-7 heshoots down before it reaches the targetarea. He receives 1 point for any other plane(including returning A-Ts). The intruder

gets 1 point for each A-7 that gets backfrom the target area and 1 point for eachMig-21 shot down. For this scenario youhad better plan your moves far in advance.One false move can be fatal.

(#2) 2 Phantoms try to protect chOpPersattempting the rescue of.a dqwnedl1il~t, .~Mig-21's try to prevent the rescue anl:!socapture the pilot. 0>0Both players stake out a target area like theone in Scenario 1. This is staked out inblank counters. Neither side is consideredthe intruder for spotting or movementreasons.2 Phantoms arrive at the South edge of themap at 2 less than level maximum atlevel 10.3 Mig 21's arrive 2 turns later at levelmaximum speed and level 10 (northboarGedge).

Victory Conditions: The Mig-21 playerreceives 2 points for each Mig-21 thatreaches "0" altitude in the target area(getting back makes no difference).Mig-21's are obliged, however, to attemptto return to the north edge. The Mig-21player also receives 1 point for eachPhantom shot down. The Phantom playergets 1 point for each Mig-21 shot down.This scenario is difficult for either player.

(#3) POint defense scenario: 3 Mig-23'sare intruding.3 F-104's or three British Lightnings areintercepting. -Special Boles: Instead of the normalbomber.Jormation, use..04 SU-7's. Theyarrive at-~I~~eI5 and sp~ed' 5. They m~y0-move in~nY manner theP}pyer desires, t>utthey must move in formation (l.e., all planesmust make the exact same maneuvers atthe same time). No fire is allowed from theSU-Ts unless the formation is reduced toone plane. Victory conditions are the sameas normal point defense (1 Mig-23 pilot isinexperienced).

(#4) 3 Mirage Ill's intruding.3 F-104's intercepting.

(#5) 3 F-5 Tigers in3 SU-11~sdefending (radar missiles).Both players have 2 inexperienced pilots.This scenario is very tricky and un-predictable.

(#6) 3 A-Ts intruding.3 SU-Ts intercepting (just for fun).This scenario is really wild and reminds meof Frying Circus.