How to play Super Huey UH-IX online
- Steer and tilt the helicopter: arrow keys
- On-board computer on/off: X (right button). With the computer on, use the arrows to find a command and press Z (left button) to carry it out.
- Climb (increase rotor pitch): hold Z and press the down arrow (pull back)
- Fire machine guns / missiles: Z / X, once the weapons are switched on and armed through the computer
- Choose Flight School, Arcade Mode or Reality Mode: F2 (Select) or the arrows on the title screen
- Start a new game: F3 (Reset)
- Pause: F4
Both the USA (NTSC) and Europe (PAL) releases are on the site; use the switch above the emulator to change between them.
Gameplay
You are a test pilot for the experimental Super Huey, a helicopter with a powerful lightweight engine and a modern control panel. Most of the screen is that panel: gauges for fuel, rotor pitch, altitude, engine and rotor speed, compass heading and an artificial horizon, plus a radar that shows how close enemy aircraft and the enemy base are. Counters show your ammunition, your missiles and how many targets you have destroyed.
Getting airborne is a procedure, not a button press. You switch the power on through the on-board computer, start the engine and bring it to 1,200 rpm, engage the rotor, raise the engine to 3,500 rpm and wait for the rotor to catch up. Only then do you increase pitch to climb.
- Flight School teaches take-off, navigation and landing, with help from the on-board computer.
- Arcade Mode is straight combat: shoot down enemy aircraft until you are shot down.
- Reality Mode is a full mission against an enemy helicopter force: bomb the enemy base and make it back to your own base.
The Huey carries up to 20 missiles in four bays and twin machine guns. Enemy hits knock out your instruments one at a time, and when none are left, you crash.
Tips
- Start in Flight School. The take-off order is easy to get wrong, and a few practice flights make the other modes much less frustrating.
- Use Set Auto Alt. This computer command holds your altitude, so you can concentrate on flying and shooting without sinking into the ground.
- Land slowly. Point the nose to a heading of 0, slow to a hover, drop to about 100 feet, then 20, and only then touch down.
- Go home in time. In Reality Mode, return to base to refuel, reload and repair lost instruments before you run out.
The story behind Super Huey
Super Huey was published by Cosmi, first for the Commodore 64 in 1985 and then for the Apple II, the Amiga, the Atari ST and Atari’s 8-bit computers. A PC version came later. Antic magazine liked its graphics and called it a true simulation, comparable to Flight Simulator II, and Cosmi went on to release sequels. Atari Corporation brought the game to the 7800 near the end of the decade, built around the three modes described above.
