Getting started

As a World War I fighter ace, you'll need to fly a series of multi-mission campaigns. Prove your worth and you'll meet your nemesis, the Red Baron himself!

Each mission starts with a briefing. You'll be given your objectives, which will include attacking ground and air based opponents, as well as protecting your own forces.

Some missions are timed, so don't dawdle! The timer is located at the top of the screen in the centre.

Use the on-screen dials (see below) to track your progress and keep an eye on your plane's status.

Status dial (top left of screen):

Keep an eye on your ammo - your Machine Gun ammo is unlimited, but if you run out of bombs and rockets (available on some missions) you may find your mission becomes very tough indeed.
The bullet holes indicate how badly damaged you are - if they cover the bottom of the status dial you're a goner!

Map (top right of screen):

Use the map to find your targets - you can see which direction you're heading in by looking at the compass that surrounds the map itself.
Make sure you can tell the difference between your friends and foes by checking the symbols!

Your plane (centre of map).
An enemy plane.
A ground target.
An allied plane.

Controls

The majority of the control of your plane in The Red Ace is accomplished by using the mouse.
Moving it to the left and right will roll and turn your plane, while moving it up and down will pitch the plane's nose up and down.

If you pull back on the mouse for too long, you may find yourself upside-down.
If this happens, don't worry, simply flick the mouse to the side to turn it over.

If you find the plane difficult to control, you can alter the sensitivity of the mouse in the 'Options' menu.

To fire your machine guns, press the left mouse button. Unlike the real WW1 planes, you've got infinite ammo, so don't worry about it running out.

If your plane has bombs or rockets installed, you can use the right mouse button to release them.

You can control the speed of your engine using the right shift key to increase throttle and right ctrl-key to decrease throttle, which can be useful if you're doing bombing runs.
Decrease the throttle too much and your plane will stall (some planes are easier to stall than others)

You can have a quick look around your plane by using the cursor keys, which give views to the sides and rear and from above.
When you take your finger off any of the view keys, the view will snap back to looking forward.

Redefining the controls

You can redefine your controls by going to the Options menu, and then to the Controls submenu. You'll be presented with a list of the controls used in the game, and you can redefine them by clicking on them.

Once you have clicked on a control function, the cursor will change to a picture of a joystick, and you can then define the control you wish to use by :

• Keyboard: Press a key on the keyboard
• Mouse: Press a button on the mouse, or move the mouse in the direction you want to use.
• Joystick: Press a button on the joystick, or move the stick/throttle control/POV hat in the direction you want to use.

If problems are encountered with joystick controls being the wrong way round (eg. a throttle wheel on a joystick operating in reverse), setting the 'reversed?' option to on will solve this.