                                NIGHT RAIDER

                   (C)1988 Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd

            Exclusive Distribution rights to ALCHEMIST RESEARCH

                  This text file entered and (C) A. Davis





INTRODUCTION TO NIGHT RAIDER

----------------------------



Night Raider is a realistic flight / combat game, which simulates the

famous World War II mission to destroy the fearsome German battleship,

the Bismarck.



At perhaps the most critical point of World War II, you take on the role of

a dive bomber pilot. You have been sent aboard the huge aircraft carrier

HMS Ark Royal, your mind on one mission - to seek and destroy the most 

feared German warship on the high seas, the Bismarck.



In the seat of your Avenger torpedo bomber you'll be confronted by a 

cockpit containing an array of real time controls, gauges and switches,

all adding to the excitement of actually being there. Add to this the

facility of being able to see the outside world from the view point of

your tail gunner, take control of the engine in the engineer's seat or the

map screen of your navigator - all at the press of a button.





EVALUATION OF NIGHT RAIDER - A. DAVIS 1/96

------------------------------------------



I purchased this under rated game in 1988.  It received an excellent 

preview in Your Sinclair magazine and subsequent review and rating.



Even today, this game is one of the best flight simulators for the Spectrum.

It is fast, accurate, well detailed and contains action to boot.



The instructions are well detailed and, after some practice, the game can

be easily mastered.  The game runs at an impressive speed on both Spectrums

and emulators.





HOW TO LOAD NIGHT RAIDER

------------------------



Emulator: Load the snapshot RAIDER.

Spectrum: LOAD"" in any mode.





FLIGHT TRAINING

---------------



Before you venture out into the war zone, it's a good idea to practice 

flying the Avenger - even if you already have plenty of flying experience.



At the time of this historic event, the Avenger was only a prototype - so

even the most experienced pilots needed to quickly familiarize themselves

with its various controls.

                                                             Spectrum

THE CONTROLS:                                                  Keys



TO ASCEND               Pull BACK on the joystick               N

TO DESCEND              Push FORWARD on the joystick            J

TO BANK RIGHT           Push the joystick RIGHT                 X

TO BANK LEFT            Push the joystick LEFT                  Z

TO BRAKE                Press K



TO CONTROL A SWITCH     Using the joystick or mouse, move the cursor

                        across the control panel until it is on the switch

                        in question and press FIRE.



PILOT SCREEN            Press 1

ENGINEER SCREEN         Press 2

NAVIGATOR (MAP) SCREEN  Press 3

TAIL GUNNER SCREEN      Press 4



TO SWITCH BETWEEN

CONTROL OF PLANE AND    Press SPACE BAR

FORWARD GUN CURSOR



TO FIRE MACHINE GUN     Press FIRE button of joystick or key    I



TO DROP TORPEDO         Press L twice (Once primes, twice drops)



TO SEE STATUS SCREEN    Press S



TO PAUSE GAME           Press P



TO QUIT                 Press Q





TAKING OFF

----------



To ensure a successful take off, follow these steps:



 1. Turn on the engineer's light, clicking on LIGHTS switch.



 2. Select a fuel tank by clicking on selector 1,2 or 3.

 

 3. Adjust the fuel mixture (RICH for take off, LEAN for flying).



 4. Push the THROTTLE KNOB to the FULL position.



 5. Set the ARRESTER switch to UP.



 6. Set the WING LOCK to DOWN.



 7. Start the engine by clicking ON.



 8. Return to the PILOT SCREEN, by pressing 1.



 9. Release the brake by pressing K.



10. As you near the end of the deck, gently bring the nose of the avenger

    up by pulling BACK on the joystick.



11. Once you have cleared the Ark Royal's deck and are airborne, return 

    to the ENGINEER'S screen (press 2) to set the fuel mixture and throttle

    to medium values. The Avenger will stop shaking and you'll conserve 

    fuel. Do this quickly or your aircraft may explode.



12. To finish, select the gear UP and turn off the screen light.





LANDING

-------



Once you are heading towards the Ark Royal (see TO SET A FLIGHT PATTERN),

adhere to the following checklist:



1. Enter the ENGINEER'S screen by pressing 2.



2. Turn on the LANDING LIGHT switch.



3. Reduce your airspeed to under 175 mph.



4. Make sure your ALTIMETER reads between 50 and 100 feet.



5. Keep you descent at a rate no greater than four feet per second.



6. Ensure the nose of the aircraft is level or slightly up.



7. Place the LANDING GEAR and the ARRESTER in the DOWN position.





THE REAL THING

--------------



Now that you have had some practice flying the Avenger, the Air Force is

ready to send you into real combat.



To ensure everyone gets a fair deal, the captain will make you pick straws

to determine your mission. The short straw will be the most difficult

mission.



If you're not entirely happy with your selected mission, the straws can be

re-shuffled and you can try again.  However, don't do this too many times

or the captain may think you're not a dedicated pilot.



Once a mission has been accepted, prepare youself for a real life attack

on the German naval forces.





FOUR VIEWS FROM THE AVENGER

---------------------------



There are four possible viewpoints on your Avenger bomber. To move from

screen to screen press the appropriate key on your keyboard. Each screen

will be described in detail in the following sections.



1. PILOT'S VIEW.



This is the cockpit. It is from this screen that you actually fly the 

aircraft. Here you make sure you don't go too high or too low, too fast

or too slow.



You can also launch the torpedoes from the Pilot's screen - though much of

your combat is handled from the Tail Gunner position.



The following is a description of each Cockpit control - along with

information on how to use these dials in flight an combat.



ALTITUDE. Far left. The gauge indicates the height of the Avenger above sea

level.

The largest needle indicates altitude in 10's of feet.

The medium needle indicates altitude in 100's of feet.

The small needle indicates altitude in 1000's of feet.



AIRSPEED. Second round dial (Upper).  The numbers on the dial are indicated

in 100's. To INCREASE airspeed, push forward on the throttle. To DECREASE

airspeed, pull back on the throttle.



ARTIFICIAL HORIZON. Third round dial (Upper). This shows you where the

horizon is in relation to the water out of the pilot's window. This is

especially valuable when flying in clouds or in low visibility situations.



VERTICAL SPEED. Fourth round dial (Upper). The number indicate up or down

speed in 10's.  The needle on a horizontal plane indicates level flight. 

If it points UP, the aircraft is climbing at that rate of feet per minute.

If it points DOWN, the aircraft is diving at that rate of feet per minute.



INVERTED T-BAR. Large box to right.  This indicates the positions of the

ailerons and rudder.



ROUNDS.  First square box (Lower). This indicates how many rounds your

forward gun has remaining.



STATUS. Second square box (Lower).  This appears on ALL screens. It gives

a visible warning of any danger on the corresponding screen. On screens 1

and 3, it normally denotes enemy aircraft fire. On screen 2 it can mean

a variety of dangers, from simple warnings, such as lights left on, to more

severe problems, such as over straining the engine.



COMPASS. Third square box. (Lower). Gives compass direction of travel.





2. ENGINEER'S VIEW.



Fom this screen you'll prepare your Avenger for take off and landings. It 

is also the screen on which you will check to make sure everything is in

order.  If it's not it may be a good idea to return to the Ark Royal to 

repair the problem before matters get worse.



The following describes each of the controls in this screen, along with 

information on how to use these controls for take off's, landings and

other flight operations.



LIGHT SWITCH.  Always keep the lights OFF when not using this screen as

the lights make it easier for enemy to spot you. To switch the lights,

simply click on the ON or OFF.



IGNITION. In order to start the engine of the Avenger this must be turned 

on, after all the controls have been set. Never turn this OFF during

flight as you will not be able to re-start the aircraft.



THROTTLE. Increases or decreases the flow of fuel to the carburettor, 

controlling the speed of the engine. During normal flying it should be

approximately 3/4 open.



MIXTURE. This lever adjusts the ratio of fuel and air flowing into the

carburettor. Use a richer mixture for take offs and fast get aways. Use 

a leaner mixture for normal flight. Speed of fuel depletion is in relation

to how rich the mixture is.



FUEL. The three marked buttons represent your three fuel tanks. One tank

must be selected before the engine can be started.  When one tank is empty,

you must switch to another tank. The main fuel tank is number 2, this tank

holds three times as much fuel as the wing tanks (numbers 1 and 3).



You will know when a tank is almost empty when the engine starts to stall. 

If you switch immediately to another tank containing fuel the engine will

automatically restart.



TORPEDO. If you are planning an attack on the Bismarck, you should ensure

a torpedo is being carried by your Avenger.  To load the torpedo, flick

the LOAD TORPEDO switch to YES prior to take off.



TAIL WHEEL AND LANDING GEAR. Ensure both of these are in the DOWN position

before you attempt to land. During flight they should both be in the UP

position.



ARRESTER. This hook which dangles from the rear of the Avenger is used to 

catch on to the landing cables on the deck of the Ark Royal. Without it

you would not be able to stop the aircraft on such a short landing strip

without it going over the side.  Ensure it is DOWN before attempting a 

landing.



WING LOCK.  The wings are of a foldable nature, for berthing the aircraft

in the under-deck hangars of the Ark Royal. Ensure the wings are locked

DOWN before any flight.



RPM.  This measures the speed of your engine. To adjust the engine speed 

move the throttle UP or DOWN. Avoid over revving the engine, the red line

limit is 5000 RPM.



OIL PRESSURE / OIL TEMPERATURE.  Check these gauges frequently to ensure

your engine is running smoothly. Try not to let oil temperature rise above 

00 and not to let the pressure drop below 00. Both of these circumstances

could cause engine failure. Once the engine does fail it cannot be re-started

and you'll have to attempt to ditch the aircraft before it crashes.



Note that the pressure and temperature of the oil will change with speed

and altitude.





3. NAVIGATOR'S VIEW.



From this view you'll create 'flight plans' and monitor reports regarding

the location of your enemy. Note that you will not be able to see any land

mass from the Pilot screen, despite being drawn on the map.





4. TAIL GUNNER'S VIEW.  This view shows the rear of the aircraft, along 

with display of remaining rounds of ammunition and status box of other 

screens.



Move the gunsight with the joystick or control keys.





SETTING A FLIGHT PLAN

---------------------



1. When on the Navigator's screen (3), move the cursor to the desired

   location on the map and press FIRE. This will cause the destination

   cursor to be located at the position you have selected.



2. On the Pilot's screen (1), bank the aircraft until you see the marker

   line on your compass. When you have this in the centre of the compass

   box, level the wings and you will be flying directly to the point you

   selected.





NAVIGATIONAL TIPS

-----------------



* Return to the Ark Royal frequently. This will give you a chance to

  refuel your tanks and restock your ammunition. Also, any damage done

  to your plane will be repaired.



* Fly trial runs to see how far a full load of fuel will take you. Even

  though you may have sunk the Bismarck, you will still need enough fuel

  to return to the Ark Royal to successfully complete your mission.



* When landing keep the nose of the Avenger up, keep your airspeed below

  100 mph and ensure your rate of descent is less than five feet per

  second.



* When approaching the Ark Royal, do not worry about approaching her from

  the rear. As soon as you turn the landing lights on, the Ark Royal will

  re-orientate herself for you.



* Check your status screen (by pressing S) regularly to see the extent of

  the damage inflicted on the Ark Royal and on your Avenger.



* If you do run out of fuel or if your plane experiences engine failure,

  you can ditch your Avenger in the ocean. If you do so successfully, you

  will be rescued and will live t fight another day.



  To ditch your plane: Land very gently at the lowest possible speed 

  (under 100 mph) with your landing gear UP. 





COMBAT TACTICS

--------------



* When releasing torpedoes, fly very low. This lets the torpedoes skim the

  water, increasing your chances for a perfect 'hit'.



* Fly at less than 2000 feet as often as possible so you can avoid being

  picked up on enemy radar. This is also a valuable tactic for dive bombing

  enemy targets and for landing on the Ark Royal.



* If a spotlight is tracking you, lose it by quickly changing direction to 

  get out of range of the light.



* Remember to keep your lights off on the Engineer's screen - except when

  they are definetly needed. Flak increases when the enemy can see you.



* It is a good idea to eliminate as many U-boats and E-boats as you can 

  before attempting to attack the Bismarck. Otherwise the Ark Royal will

  still be in danger even if the Bismarck has been sunk.



* Protect the Ark Royal at all costs. Avoid confrontations unless the Ark

  Royal is in danger because flak from enemy fire can easily destroy your

  Avenger.





ABOUT THE AVENGER

-----------------



The Grumman Avenger - codenamed 'Blackhawk' - earned a reputation as the 

most deadly torpedo bomber ever developed during World War Two. It

quickly became the standard torpedo bomber for the entire US Navy and was

produced in larger numbers than any other torpedo bomber in history.



The Avenger carried a crew of three men; a pilot, a gunner and a navigator /

radio operator who also manned the lower gun in some models.



Following the success of the 'Blackhawk' mission against the Bismarck,

more Avengers were ordered for June 1942 for the battle of Midway. They

also took part in battles against the Japanese at Rubuul, and in 

February 1944, Avengers destroyed more than 250 Japanese aircraft on the 

ground in the Turk islands.



An integral force in both the Atlantic and Pacific naval campaigns, Grumman

Avengers also engaged in anti-submarine operations. They were carried out

from small escort carriers beginning in February 1943. By the spring of

1944 they had eliminated enemy submarines from all the major shipping lines.



WINGSPAN        54 feet, 2 inches.

ENGINES         Two Wright double row R-2600 Cyclones.

MAXIMUM HP      1600 BHP.

TOP SPEED       300 MPH.

CAPACITY        2000 LBS of bombs or a standard torpedo.

ARMAMENT        .50 calibre machine gun in front cowl and another

                in the power operated ball turret.



                

Text entered and supplied courtesy of   A. DAVIS

                                        Alchemist Research

                                        62 Tithe Barn Lane

                                        Woodhouse

                                        SHEFFIELD

                                        S13 7LN



                                        Tel: 0114 269 7644



End of file. 04/01/96



























