Gunship 2000 - Hints

Although this is one of the most easy-to-get into flight sims around,flying a
gunship can sometimes be tricky.
Here are some words of advice from James Hawkins of Microprose...

*   When you begin playing the game,fly in Europe instead of the Persian gulf.
The missions in Europe are generally a bit easier due to the terrain of the
area.Always try to fly along the rivers as you will then be below ground level
and the enemy will find it very difficult to shoot you down.In some parts of
Europe there are steep cliffs either side of the river,flying between these
provides the player with almost perfect cover.

*   If you get a mission where one of the targets is to destroy a train,always
aim for the engine,destroying this will immobilise the rest of the train.You
can also fly through the tunnels which provides the player with perfect cover
from enemy radar and missiles.

*   You should always set the co-pilot to activate the chaff and flares.The co
-pilot is fairly good at using both the jammers and the chaff/flares,and as 
your rank increases he will improve.When you are attacking a target,the last
thing you want to be doing is trying to jam enemy missiles.

*   Use the hills as much as possible to sneak up on targets,the zoomed in map
will show you the terrain in detail.When you have sneaked up on a target using
the hills,wait for them to fire and then attack. when attacking targets from 
this kind of cover there are two good methods for attacking the targets.

1) THE POP-UP ATTACK

Using this method you put the chopper into a hover just before the hill,and 
then use the shift plus key to increase your height very quickly. Lock on to 
the target which you can now see over the hill and wait until it fires. When
the target fires at you,use shift minus to quickly decrease your altitude and
effectively hide behind the hill. When the enemy missile hits the other side
of the hill pop up again, Lock on to the target and fire. Your missile should
then destroy the target before it gets a chance to fire again.

2) SNEAKING AROUND THE SIDES OF HILLS

Using this method, the target should be very close to the hill that you are 
using. You fly around the side of the hill and destroy the target using the
cannon, before it gets a chance to fire.

3) COMBINING THE TWO TECHNIQUES

You can also combine the two methods very effectively. Hover behind a hill and
then pop up. Let the target fire at you and then hide behind the hill again.
Now fly around the hill. The target will still be expecting you to come over
the hill and will have to turn towards you again before it can fire.

*   Whenever the Longbow Apache is available, use it. It is the only chopper
that gives you the long range hellfire weapon systems which are invaluable in
the battle field.

*   If the Longbow Apache is not available, the  Commanche Gunship is a good
alternative. If you fly a Commanche Gunship, give your wing men Apaches, then
when you fly in the mission the enemy will lock on to your wing men and not on
to you. This gives you the chance to get close to just about any target and 
destroy it with cannon fire.

*   If you have to transport, rescue or pick up anything always double check
that you have a Blackhawk in your squadron. There's nothing more frustrating
than arriving in the battle zone and finding out you haven't got the choppers
you need to complete the mission.

*   When you have to transport or pick something up, always destroy all the 
hostile targets in the immediate area to create a free zone.

*   On search and destroy missions, fly around the suspected target area in a 
triangle. Use the normal map to set this flight path. Once the objective has 
beeb sighted its position on the map is updated.

*   If you send your wing men out to attempt a reconnaissance mission, make
sure you put their weapons on holdwhen they are near the target, otherwise th-
ey will destroy the target when it fires at them. When you're on a reconnaiss-
ance mission it is best to use choppers with a mast, since they can observe 
the target from further away. As soon as you get confirmation that the object-
ive has been acheived, set the wing men weapons to free so that they can dest-
roy hostile targets again.

*   Always promote your section leaders to the highest ranks. The section lea-
ders usually get fired at most because they fly in front most of the time.
Remember as their rank increases their ability improves. They will become bet-
ter at using the jammers and chaff/flares and won't get hit so much when they
reach the higher ranks.

*   If you run out of chaff or flares it is best to use the outside views to
try and dodge the incoming missiles.

WEAPONS

*   Some targets need two hits from hellfire missiles, the most common target
that takes two hits is enemy infantry. It is best to destroy these with canno-
ns if possible. Rockets can also destroy infantry units with one hit.

*   Practice using the rockets a lot as you can carry lots of them. Once you
have mastered the aiming process, they are one of the most useful weapons bec-
ause you do not have to stay locked on to the target when you fire. They are
also very useful for attacking multiple targets. If the targets you attack 
have good armour, make sure you use the salvo options to fire more rockets at
them.

*   When you are approaching more than one target always destroy the target
with the longest range first. The SAMs quite often have a range of 14KM they
are also quick at re-loading and firing again. It is usually better to destroy
a target instead of running away once it has tracked you.

MISCELLANEOUS

*   If there isn't a FARP point in the mission and you are short of missiles
and fuel, landing at the base will also replenish your supplies.

*   If your HUD is damaged do not panic, make sure you check your altimeter
straight away and get the chopper into level flight. Then put the nose down 
until you reach a reasonable speed (keep an eye on the altimeter). Now fly
using the cockpit dials.

*   If you are unsure whether a target is friendly or not, just pause the ga-
me and it will tell you. If you destroy friendly targets you will lose points
from your overall mission score.

*   Always try to complete both objectives in 30 game minutes or less. A clock
is shown in the top left corner of the HUD. If you take longer than this, poi-
nts are deducted from your final score.


                        ENJOY THIS REALLY COOL GAME
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Typed by THE GOD THAT FAILED for LSD. Taken from Amiga Format.