Hi. I'm a new user of F4AF, have been working my way through the manual. I have recently started playing some tactical engagements and campaign missions to see if I could employ the lessons, and get a wider feel for the game. Just a couple things I haven't been able to find the answer to yet:

1. Are you supposed to strictly follow the indicated steer point altitudes? I ask because I usually find myself all over the place attempting to avoid SAMS and such. Especially on final aproach, I've tried to use the recommended elevation while appraoching the target, but usually there is a hail of AAA and SAMs so I end up diving and dong radical maneuvers. Thus, instead of following through with my attack, I'm forced into a defensive posture. In short, I don't know how to attack ground targets and evade SAMS at the sae time. Particularly with unguided bombs I've gone through pretty much all the A-G tutorials.

2. Is there any way to print out or save the recon images of the steerpoints? Also is there a way to make the zoom of the recon images faster?

Any help appreciated, thanks.

Well, you shouldn't follow the SP altitudes too closely. Sometimes the routes will take you through heavily defended areas, like into the lethal radius of a SAM. That is, of course, something you should NOT do. Just take enough altitude to stay out of the reach of enemy anti-air assets. This may be hard or even impossible if the target area includes some high-end SAMs, in that case I'd recommend you to take two HARM missiles with you (and wingmen) so you can try to suppress the launchers before charging in with unguided bombs. There is no point in bombing some tanks if half of the flight is shot down.

The altitudes should be considered suggestions, they are not something you are expected to follow exactly.

I agree with the altitude but I feel you should hit the waypoints at the specified times because you are usually part of a package. For example, if you are the strike part, you dont want to reach your target waypoint before the sweep part clears the opposing AC or the sead part clears some of the sams.

Choose to show threat circles on the mission planning map. Then use it to reposition your waypoints to avoid known SAM and AAA positions.

To zoom faster at the recon screen, click and hold zoom arrow and drag mouse up. Drag down to slow zoom down.
Daddy-O

Thanks alot for the quick reply and info. Appreciated.

Very rarely do I follow the altitude settings. Steerpoints and time on steerpoints are useful as part of a package, but the AI does a terrible job of setting up altitude targets.

I change it every time I flown my own missions.
Also, I usually frag many missions to occur on waves, mostly when doing OCA strikes early on the campagnain. As many flights are flying together to hit as many enemy airbases at the same time to confuse the enemy, I cannot fly them all, obviously.
So, I change the altitude that the AI fly as well. But not too low, around 1000, 1500 ft, because the AI cannot handle 500 ft very well, they usually end up crashing.
Bottom is: change the altitude of flights that you fly and those that you know the AI will get in trouble if they fly high, usually Deep Strikes, OCA Strikes. For CAS, SEAD (Anti AAA) the computer usually does a good job at it.