"Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won."
-Arthur Wellesly, Duke of Wellington, 1815
Unlike most simulators, the cockpit view is not a fixed view to the front of you. It is a 'real' three dimensional object, which enables you to look around in every direction. By pressing the right mouse button and moving the mouse, you can turn your 'head' around. It is possible to fly north and to turn your head from the West to the East. Or you can look up to watch a plane flying over. You can even look down and watch your own virtual hand moving the steering column. ( Set object detail to 10 in preferences menu <Del> )
In other games you are the only target of the enemy. In this game there exists a world living on his own. Enemy pilots choose their own targets and you are just one of them. You can watch planes killing tanks while flying past. There a lot of different vehicles and all of them have their own artificial intelligence.
You don't have to line up your chopper to the target, it's enough to turn your head. Thanks to the virtual cockpit this system is very well simulated !
Including many functions like radar, satellite view, extensive databank, virtual camera and real-time battle reports.
By using your mouse you can rotate around and zoom in/out all vehicles. You can even fly along enemy military hardware to study their tactics. Supported views : Inside, Outside, Independent, Missile and Satellite.
Real shadows, shading, depth cueing and a gradient horizon
The world never ends, just like in real life, it's round!
This makes all kinds of what-if scenario's possible. It's possible, for example, to launch 10 A10 warthogs against a single T72 tank.
East, West, UN and Civil.
Which side is friendly and which is hostile depends fully on your own behaviour.
Forest, jungle, desert and ice
Dawn, afternoon, nightfall and night
Hellfire's : laser guided missile,lock on your reflected laser
Sidewinders : infra red guided missile,lock on heat radiated by vehicles
Coala works on a standard A1200 and the A4000
Although it will work on these platforms we suggest the use of some FAST memory. This will make the animation frame rate twice as fast ! Coala detects and uses faster processors like the 68030 and 68040. For optimum game satisfaction we also recommend the use of a harddisk with 2 Megabyte of free space.
To be short, the minimum requirement is a 68020 processor and an AGA chipset. Everything above this minimum will be used by the game to give you faster/better graphics.
If you are not sure about the system specifications of the computer you use, please consult the manuals which came with your computer and additional expansions.
Coala can be installed on a harddisk.
Before you proceed, make a backup copy of the gamedisk and use this disk to install the game instead of the original floppy disk. This will prevent the original game disk from being damaged. The backup copy and the original is for private use only! If you're not sure of how to do this, please consult the manuals which came with your computer.
Startup the workbench, insert the disk and double-click on the disk icon. The look for the icon called 'HDinstall' and double-click on this icon. After a while the program will ask you questions about the place where to store the game, answer these questions. After a short while the game is installed on your harddisk and can now be played from your harddisk.
If any of the above terms are unfamiliar, please consult the Workbench manual for further explanation.
To run Coala, simply Double-click on it's icon from the workbench or type 'Coala' from the shell in the appropriate directory.
In order to login you have to type in the password corresponding to one of the following usernames:
Username Password ---------------------------------------------------------- guest I'll behave myself Gen. Sir Anthony Hogmanay Melchett Georgina Lt. George Colthurst St.Barleigh Jippededoo Lt.-Gen. Frederick M. Franks wtfigo Lt.-Col. Terence Otway Sword Dana Scully beyond the sea Fox Mulder UFO Colin Powell White House John Lennon Stu Sutcliffe John Doorzon BUUV Yogi Bear Picnic Basket Bruce Lee Yip Man David Letterman Madonna Fred Flindstone Wilmaaa Betty Boop PassWord Chuck Rock Ophelia Wolf Child Saul K.Lovett Hybris Zool Zooz Lee Harvey Oswald Jack Ruby
+,- Height. SeaLevel -> 100 meters Also check out the following keys : <1>,<3>,<4>,<5>,<0> Mouse/Joystick Left/Right Heading 360 degrees of freedom Mouse/Joystick Forward/Backwards Speed -75 -> +300 km/hour
Mouse control is recommended because it gives you a much more sensitive control over your chopper !
F1 Cockpit/Video Display F2 Outside F3 Independent F4 Missile F5 Cycle through other vehicles
Mouse Forward/Backwards,both buttons Distance at vehicle
INSIDE VIEW: Mouse Left/Right,right button Turn head left/right Mouse Forward/Backwards,right button Turn head up/down OUTSIDE VIEW: Mouse Left/Right,right button Rotate horizontally around vehicle Mouse Forward/Backwards,right button Rotate vertically around vehicle IN & OUTSIDE VIEW: F6 Front F7 Right F8 Back F9 Left F10 Top
Space Change weapon
Left Mouse Button, Return Fire weapon
TAB TADS display
(Target Acquisition and Designation
System )
z,x Zoom factor in TADS mode
c release CHAFF, to mislead radar guided
missiles like Hellfire's and Kedges
f release FLARE, to mislead heat seeking
missiles like Sidewinders and AphidsAfter you've released a decoy, the missile aimed at you will continue flying but won't be able to follow your path, so don't release a decoy and keep flying straight ahead. The missile will follow the path of the decoy and eventually will hit you. The proper use of it is to release a decoy and turn away, leaving your original flight path, while the missile will continue flying after your decoy.
You can choose from four different weapons. When landing on a friendly base you are automatically rearmed and refuelled.
-30 MM GUN Bullets unguided, short range Thanks to the IHADSS system ( integrated helmet and display sighting system) the 30 mm gun slaves automatically whenever you move your head. So you don't have to line up your chopper to the target -FFAR Unguided Rockets stabilised by rotating,long range. Because rockets are unguided, you have to line up your chopper to the target. Notice the movement of the crosshair when you move your head. -HELLFIRE Laser Guided Missiles Flies automatically to the vehicle/building your laser is pointing at. Since the missile flies to the reflecting point of your laser, you have to keep the laser pointing at the target UNTIL it hits the target. It's even possible to switch to a different target while the missile is flying. Long range -SIDEWINDER IR Guided Missiles Locks on the heat produced by the vehicle's engines. This is the only weapon that can be effectively used against fast moving objects like jet planes. Fire and Forget Long Range
Since computer power is limited, a simulator is always a compromise between graphics detail and animation speed. Using the preferences menu you can set this ratio to your own favour :
Vision 0-1000 World Detail 1-10 Object Detail 1-10 Shadows no/yes Surface Detail no/yes Time Compression slow motion/real-time/fast motion Sound no/yes Shaded Horizon no/yes
Help HUD ( Heads Up Display )
Del Preferences Menu
Use the cursor keys to change the preferences
~ night vision goggles (PNVS pilot night vision system)
p pause
Note that a lot of functions are still working in pause
mode. You can still cycle through the other vehicles and
change your view direction.
Esc Get out of your helicopter. Don't forget to first land your
helicopter since it isn't exactly good for your health
to jump out of a flying helicopter.In this game you will find yourself in a fully armed helicopter in the middle of a battlefield. You have no missions, no commanding officers and no orders. The objective of this game is to find out what's happening in the battlefield ,choose one side and to help them win the battle. There are a lot of scenarios to choose from. It's even possible to make your own scenario or to let the computer make a random scenario. Each scenario requires different tactics, for example it makes a big difference if you have to fight against 3 tanks+1 chopper or 1 tank+ 3 choppers ! When you first enter the battlefield you have neither enemies nor friends. The East and West side are at war and by attacking one of those sides you got yourself involved in this battle. Every vehicle in the field has his own artificial intelligence. You have to find out different tactics for each type of vehicle. For example :
-Fighter planes won't be able to track you if you fly at a low attitude
-The best tactic to kill a chopper is the ambush, for example behind a big building.
-Always keep yourself covered by buildings or trees when approaching an AA-GUN.
-You can escape missiles by using decoys, or to dart off perpendicular to the missile's flight path
-Use the right decoy (CHAFF/FLARE) for the right missile
Always remember that actions cause reactions. For example :
-Killing a Western plane not only pleases the Eastern forces but also gives you a new enemy !
-Attacking an UN vehicle gives you a very tough enemy : the rest of the world ! The UN will immediately send some F16 fighters after you !!! (if available)
-Killing a red-cross/ambulance vehicle will make the enemy furious
-You will only be rearmed and refuelled at friendly bases
In the field you will encounter 4 sides :
1 East uses RUSSIAN equipment
2 West uses NATO equipment
3 UN (United Nations) attacking this side is not a very clever move
4 Civil don't find yourself brave by attacking this side 1 - Height
2 - CRT (Press F1 to zoom in)
3 - Missile Warning
4 - Hostile vehicle warning
5 - Speed
6 - Current engine power
7 - Power
8 - Dummy
9 - Fuel
10 - HeadingThe Head Up Display can be turned on/off by pressing the <HELP> key.
1 - Speed in kilometre/hour
2 - Altitude in meters
3 - Heading
Please note that the virtual cockpit allows you to look to another direction the chopper is flying.
4 - Crosshair
When selected a weapon, a crosshair will appear in the middle of the screen. All weapons have a different crosshair.
5 - This displays the current thrust
6 - Time
7 - Current time
During cockpit view ( <F1> ) you can zoom in on your CRT display by pressing <F1> again
By pressing this button, additional information will be presented about the selected vehicle. You can select a vehicle by clicking on its icon on the radar screen. This will turn it's icon white.
You can fly alongside the selected vehicle by pressing this button. By pressing the right mouse button you can rotate 360 degrees around the vehicle. When pressing both mouse buttons you can alter the distance of your view point and thus zoom in- and out.
By pressing the right button and moving your mouse you can look around and thus scan the area for other vehicles, buildings, etc. When pressing both the mouse buttons you can zoom in and out, while moving the mouse back and forth.
This screen gives you important information about the fuel you have left, weapons you're carrying, etc.
You can change your current loaded weapon by pressing this button
All vehicles are represented by small coloured icons :
Radar Colour Side
-------------------------------
blue West
red East
grey UN/civil
yellow hostile
purple selected target
white current vehicleUse this button to cycle through 4 radar ranges.
This will give you a real-time briefing of the ongoing situation. Information about the destroyed vehicles, helicopters and planes can be found here.
This screens keeps you informed what's happening in the field
Let you choose from the above options
Forest - Western Europe
Jungle - Yucatan, Mexico
Desert - North Africa
Ice - North Pole
Dawn - 0600 hours
Afternoon - 1200 hours
Sunset - 1800 hours
Night - 0000 hours
Don't forget to turn on the PNVS (Pilot Night Vision System) by pressing <~> if you are flying at night.
Voted the most boring mission by anonymous decision. This scenario is perfectly suitable for practising at flying the chopper and trying out 'new' techniques and strategies.
There is no war, but the tension is there. Be careful at what you do, you might conflict a full scale war!
The eastern and western force agreed on a cease fire, which is controlled by the United Nations. You can terminate this cease fire by attacking one of the parties. Do not try out the patience of the UN by killing one of their machines, unless you're sure you can dodge some jet planes.
Although the war rages on, eastern and western forces have restricted themselves at 'only' using tanks. Find out why the Coala helicopter is nicknamed 'tank killer' in this scenario.
After the use of tanks, AA'S are entering the battlefield as well as other vehicles. Stay clear of those AA vehicles, you might end up with a missile trying to get you.
Fight head to head with other helicopters. Show them who really controls the air!
Both forces decided to let 'tank killers' and fighterplanes enter the battlefield, this will require a new strategy when dealing with the enemy.
Every vehicle the Eastern and Western force could find is dragged into the war to finish off the enemy forever. You can expect a attack from everywhere, either ground or air!
Now for a real challenge, try this scenario! You'll be the one to find out in what situation your landed and how to deal with it.
Create your own scenario, please read this manual of how to do this.
This feature makes it possible for you to create your own scenario. You can define up to 20 vehicles from all four sides involved. You'll most likely to find this the most interesting option of the game, because it allows you to experiment with all kinds of what-if scenario's. If you want a real challenge always make Western forces equal to Eastern forces, but it's more interesting to create unfair situations. For example :
But don't make the mistake by making the force ratio too extreme : Some vehicles might get killed by crossfire !
If you want to watch artificial intelligence in action press <F5> in the games to cycle through all the vehicles.
Explanation of the bottom row of buttons:
Shows the next vehicle in list.
Shows the previous vehicle in list.
Adds the current shown vehicle to your CUSTOM SCENARIO.
Confirms that you are ready, and starts the game with the chosen options.
FighterPlanes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name F15 EAGLE
Type FIGHTER PLANE
Party West
Engine Power 2*10855 KG
Speed MACH 1.2
Dimensions 13.0*5.6*19.4 M
Weight 12420 KG
Crew 2
Cost $40.000.000
Armament 20 MM GUN
SIDEWINDERS
MAVERICKS
Name MIG27 FLOGGER
Type FIGHTER PLANE
Party East
Engine Power 12500 KG
Speed MACH 1.1
Dimensions 8.2*4.8*16.8 M
Weight 10200 KG
Crew 2
Cost $35.000.000
Armament 23 MM GUN
APHIDS
KERRYS
Attack Planes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name A10 THUNDERBOLT (OR WARTHOG)
Type ATTACK PLANE
Party West
Engine Power 2*4112 KG
Speed 681 KM/H
Dimensions 17.5*4.4*16.3 M
Weight 9761 KG
Crew 1
Cost $8.000.000
Armament 7*30 MM GUN
SIDEWINDERS
MAVERICKS
Name SU25 FROGFOOT
Type ATTACK PLANE
Party East
Engine Power 2*4237 KG
Speed 980 KM/H
Dimensions 14.3*4.8*15.4 M
Weight 9500 KG
Crew 1
Cost $9.000.000
Armament 2*30 MM GUN
APHIDS
KERRYS
Attack Helicopters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name AH1 COBRA
Type ATTACK HELICOPTER
Party West
Engine Power 2*1342 KW
Speed 282 KM/H
Dimensions 7.3*4.6*17.6 M
Weight 4627 KG
Crew 2
Cost $4.000.000
Armament 30 MM GUN
SIDEWINDERS
HELLFIRES
ROCKETS
Name KA41 HOKUM
Type ATTACK HELICOPTER
Party East
Engine Power 2*1659 KW
Speed 350 KM/H
Dimensions 7.0*4.0*16.4 M
Weight 5400 KG
Crew 2
Cost $5.000.000
Armament 30 MM GUN
APHIDS
KEDGES
ATOLLS
Transport Helicopters
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name CH47 CHINOOK
Type TRANSPORT HELICOPTER
party West
Engine Power 2*2796 KW
Speed 276 KM/H
Dimensions 9.1*6.2*30.2 M
Weight 12000 KG
Crew 3+55
Cost $16.000.000
Armament NOT ARMED
Name MI14 HAZE
Type TRANSPORT HELICOPTER
Party East
Engine Power 2*1417 KW
Speed 230 KM/H
Dimensions 10.6*5.6*25.3 M
Weight 8000 KG
Crew 3+32
Cost $12.000.000
Armament NOT ARMED
Battle Tanks
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name L1V LEOPARD
Type BATTLE TANK
Party West
Engine Power 614 KW
Speed 70 KM/H
Dimensions 3.4*2.6*6.9 M
Weight 42.5 T
Crew 4
Cost $800.000
Armament 105 MM GUN
Name T72
Type BATTLE TANK
Party East
Engine Power 575 KW
Speed 75 KM/H
Dimensions 3.5*2.1*6.9 M
Weight 41 T
Crew 3
Cost $600.000
Armament 125 MM GUN
Mobile Anti Aircraft Guns (SAM systems)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name PRTL
Type MOBILE AA GUN
Party West
Engine Power 610 KW
Speed 65 KM/H
Dimensions 3.3*3.4*7.3 M
Weight 45.5 T
Crew 3+2
Cost $700.000
Armament 2*35 MM GUN
Name ZSU ZOO
Type MOBILE AA GUN
Party East
Engine Power 191 KW
Speed 50 KM/H
Dimensions 3.1*2.6*6.5 M
Weight 20.5 T
Crew 4
Cost $700.000
Armament 4*23 MM GUN
Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name M113
Type APC
Party West
Engine Power 154 KW
Speed 70 KM/H
Dimensions 2.3*2.8*4.6 M
Weight 8900 KG
Crew 3+9
Cost $300.000
Armament NOT ARMED
Name BTR
Type APC
Party East
Engine Power 2*66 KW
Speed 80 KM/H
Dimensions 2.8*2.3*7.2 M
Weight 10.3 T
Crew 3+9
Cost $500.000
Armament NOT ARMED
Trucks
~~~~~~
Name FORD
Type TRUCK
Party UN
Engine Power 180 KW
Speed 110 KM/H
Dimensions 3.1*3.0*10.0 M
Weight 6000 KG
Crew 3
Cost $90.000
Armament NOT ARMED
Name LADA
Type TRUCK
Party East
Engine Power 176 KW
Speed 70 KM/H
Dimensions 3.2*3.2*9.3 M
Weight 19 T
Crew 3
Cost $70.000
Armament NOT ARMEDChaingun ~~~~~~~~ Name CHAINGUN Type bullets Party West Speed Mach 1 Range 3 KM Dimensions 30 MM Weight 0.3 KG Cost $30 Targets NON ARMOURED VEHICLES Name CHAINGUN Type bullets Party East Speed Mach 1 Range 3 KM Dimensions 30 MM Weight 0.3 KG Cost $30 Targets NON ARMOURED VEHICLES Unguided rockets ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Name FFAR Type UNGUIDED ROCKET Party West Speed 800 KM/H Range 3 KM Dimensions 70*70*170 MM Weight 9 KG Cost $8000 Targets LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLES Name Attol Type UNGUIDED ROCKET Party East Speed 800 KM/H Range 3 KM Dimensions 70*70*170 MM Weight 9 KG Cost $8000 Targets LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLES IR Guided air to air missiles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Name SIDEWINDER Type IR GUIDED MISSILE Party West Speed MACH 2 Range 18 KM Dimensions 34*34*200 MM Weight 87 KG Cost $40000 Targets ALL AIRBORN VEHICLES Name Aphid Type IR GUIDED MISSILE Party East Speed MACH 2 Range 18 KM Dimensions 34*34*200 MM Weight 87 KG Cost $40000 Targets ALL AIRBORN VEHICLES Radar guided air to surface missiles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Name HELLFIRE Type LASER GUIDED MISSILE Party West Speed MACH 1 Range 8 KM Dimensions 32*32*145 MM Weight 43 KG Cost $30000 Targets ALL GROUND VEHICLES Name Kedge Type LASER GUIDED MISSILE Party East Speed MACH 1 Range 8 KM Dimensions 32*32*145 MM Weight 43 KG Cost $30000 Targets ALL GROUND VEHICLES IR Guided air to surface missiles ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Name MAVERICK Type IR GUIDED MISSILE Party West Speed MACH 1 Range 25 KM Dimensions 32*32*145 MM Weight 220 KG Cost $30000 Targets ALL GROUND VEHICLES Name Kerry Type IR GUIDED MISSILE Party East Speed MACH 1 Range 25 KM Dimensions 32*32*145 MM Weight 220 KG Cost $30000 Targets ALL GROUND VEHICLES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOSTILITIES AND WEAPONS EFFECTIVENESS CHART ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | West | East | 1234 5678 0 | |-----------------------+-------------+----------------+---------------| |0 Buildings/Trees | | | | |1 Fighter Plane | F15 Eagle | MiG27 Flogger | **** | |2 Attack Plane | A10 Warthog | SU25 Frogfoot | *** **** | |3 Attack Helicopter | AH1 Cobra | KA41 Hokum | ** **** | |4 Transport Helicopter | CH47 Chinook| MI14 Haze | | |5 Battle Tank | Leopard | T72 | **** | |6 Mobile AA gun | PRTL | ZSU | **** | |7 APC | M113 | BTR | | |8 Truck | Ford | Lada | | |-----------------------+-------------+----------------+---------------| |Bullet | | | **** * | |Shell | | | **** * | |UnGuided Rocket | | | **** * * | |IR Guided AIM | Sidewinder | Aphid | **** **** | |Laser Guided AGM | Hellfire | Kedge | **** * | |IR Guided AGM | Maverick | Kerry | **** * | `-----------------------+-------------+----------------+---------------' AA anti aircraft AAH advanced attack helicopter AAM air to air missile AGM air to ground missile APC armoured personnel carrier Chaff little metal strips to deceive radar guided missiles CINC Commander In Chief CM counter measures Coala A cute forest animal/deadly one-man attack helicopter CPG co pilot gunner CRT cathode ray tube Flare little heat producing cartridge to deceive heat seeking missiles GPS global positioning system HDD head-down display HUD head-up display IHADSS integrated helmet and display sighting system IIR imaging infra red IR infra red (heat) IRCM infra red counter measures LZ landing zone PNVS pilot night vision system RF radio frequency SAM surface to air missile TADS target acquisition and designation system
