"The Moon was hell"
General J. Campbell, Commandant of UN Force - 1969

Humanity first discovered the alien collective that would become known as the BETA, or Beings of ExtraTerrestrial orign and Adversaries of the human race, on Mars in 1958 when the probe Viking-1 captured a photograph of what appeared to be a multi-limbed biological entity. For 9 more years Humanity would attempt to make contact with what appeared to be the first non-terrestrial life discovered within the Solar system however all further attempts to land probes were met with failure. All research into these creatures and methods of communicating with them stagnated, that was until 1st January 1967.

On that day the chain of events that became known as the Sacrobosco Incident occured. Communication with several geological survey teams from the permanent moon base Plato-1 was lost almost simultaneously. These teams had been sent to investigate a large scale moon quake in the Sacrobosco Crater that had been detected several days prior. A search party was sent to determine the cause of the loss of communication however the base also lost communication with them too. A second search party, headed by V. Grissom, was dispatched following a much more cautious approach - after all several groups of highly trained individuals had apparently disappeared without even being able to send a message as to what was happening.

Grissom 's team managed to capture clear visuals but of something but no one was able to positively identify it. The days since the first disappearances had been chaotic and Plato-1 was predominantly occupied by those aligned with the Western political bloc and the thought that the creatures Grissom had observed were some kind of Soviet biological weapon had been voiced more than once. No one had stopped to think that they could in fact be the same aliens discovered on Mars.

Regardless of the origin of the aggressors the UN Security Council ordered all personnel on the moon to withdraw to Plato-1 lacking any better options. This marked the first time that the UN Force was activated. This international military force was based on UN Charter Article 43 and was tasked with the defence of the moon with the core of the force being built around the aerospace forces of both the US and Soviet Union. However various international treaties had forbidden the development of weapons truly capable of being used in space so the only equipment available at Plato-1 were unarmed investigation vehicles, personal security arms and construction MMUs, or Manned Manoeuvring Units.

MMUS were large bipedal machines developed for use in low or micro-gravity conditions. This was made possible due to the development in 1956 and subsequent mass production of a construction material known as Super Carbon. Super Carbon is incredibly light weight yet much stronger than materials such as steel or even titanium. This allowed for vehicles to be built much, much lighter than other vehicles of the period yet be equally or even more durable.

Introduced in 1970, the Large MMU, or LMMU, was developed from the construction MMUs that had been hastily retrofitted with weapons such as 20mm autocannons as a stopgap measure. Combat with the BETA was frequently short ranged as they seemed to lack ranged weapons of their own, however each individual BETA was able to absorb far more punishment than any human; not just from firearms but from the lunar environment itself. An LMMU, also known as a Feedback Protector (FP), was a powered exoskeleton designed to be worn over a standard space suit. These greatly increased the strength and durability of their users by allowing them to carry weapons that would normally be far too heavy to be man portable and providing them with a degree of armour protection. Crucially the LMMU also had thrusters that allowed for three dimensional manoeuvring which provided a significant advantage over other lunar vehicles. This allowed them to fight on for three years.

It was evident however that the LMMU would not be enough. Even with the advantages offered by the mechanised infantry humanity was being pushed back and suffering heavy losses. A US based corporation, McDaell, had developed a vehicle they called the NCAF-X1 which was originally intended to be a proof-of-concept testbed for another purpose. Several NCAF-X1 units were deployed to the Moon to gather combat data. None of the data gathered was released publicly, however what is known is that it was equipped with a 17mm chaingun fixed to one arm, a type of supplemental armour "shield" and thruster units that would allow it to make boosted jumps on the lunar surface.

Eventually though humanity was forced to abandon the Moon when on the 19th April 1973 a BETA landing unit impacted the Kaxgar Autonomous Area in western China. However in the three years since the introduction of the FP various nations, including the US, Soviet Union, the Empire of Japan and the newly established European Union had been studying how to integrate FPs into their armed forces at large as an anti-BETA strategy.

McDaell had not been idle in this time either. Using the data gathered from the Moon the NCAF-X project had evolved to become the NCSF-X project. The NCSF-X was intended to be used in terrestrial conditions instead of in space as it became increasingly likely that the BETA would make it to Earth. Though the project faced setbacks due to the change in deployment conditions eventually the NCSF-X prototypes were further developed into the YSF4H-1 units when NCSF-X Unit 6 made its first successful boost jump and in 1972 the United States of America officially disclosed the new weapon system: the Tactical Surface Fighter. McDaell almost immediately began to market the F-4A 'Phantom' to allied forces.

The TSF first saw action in the bloody aftermath of the failed Operation Hongqi, a joint operation between the People's Republic of China and the USSR, and despite being entirely unfamiliar with the capabilities of the TSFs, the hastily retrained air force personnel managed to halt the BETA advance further into China. The appearance of the Laser Class BETA approximately 19 days into Operation Hongqi had instantaneously negated and rendered obsolete Humanity's air forces which had been the sole advantage over the BETA due to their ability to target and eliminate any object that appeared above the horizon from up to 300 kilometres away with near perfect accuracy. With the deployment of the TSF though Humanity finally had a weapon they could use to fight back against the BETA.

The triumph of thrust over aerodynamics!

Anonymous Surface Pilot regarding the F-4 Phantom

Firstly a quick glossary of terms:

AC - Assault Cannon, any of the variants including the Support Assault Cannon.

Blade - Either the Japanese Type-74 Longsword or the Chinese Type-77 Melee Halberd

Block - When equipped with a Supplemental Armour, holding the secondary weapon attack button will cause you to raise your shield. This will reduce the damage you take from the attack. If you press the button just as the red exclamation mark appears over the attacking BETA which is also signified by a very rapid warning beep, you will perform a Perfect Block. This will greatly reduce or even negate the damage inflicted. There are part abilities which can make it easier to perform a Perfect Block.

Dash - A long tap of any directional input on keyboard or hold the left stick on an XBox style pad and will continue moving until you make another movement input! Used to open or close the difference between you and your current target. Using a Dash will allow you to evade incoming assault cannon fire from a TSF and the low output 'targeting' laser of both Laser Species. Consumes the Jump Unit gauge when in use.

Doctrine Bonus - A bonus derived from the nation that the TSF is operated by. This is indicated by the flag of the nation/organisation the TSF belongs to in the Setup Effects section of the Hangar screen.

Family Bonus - A bonus derived from the type of TSF you are currently using. This is the first bonus listed in the Setup Effects section of the Hangar screen and is indicated by a wireframe outline of the TSF. Some TSFs may have multiple Family Bonuses as they are modified versions of a different TSF. For example the Jian-8 of the Chinese United Front is a modified MiG-21 and as such receives both the MiG-21 bonus to hovering and slash damage reduction as well as the J-8 bonus that boosts overall defence and further decreases slashing damage taken.

Hover - Press space bar or X on an XBox style pad. Will jump into the air and slowly drop back down to the ground. Will also make you a priority target for any Laser-class! Press the Hover button again to immediately cancel the hover and land. Consumes the Jump Unit gauge when in use. If you use a directional key you will enter a Boost Jump and be able to move as if on the ground but will drain your gauge much faster.

Knife - Either the knife or built in weapon on the TSF.

Manufacturer Bonus - Each TSF manufacturer provides a specific bonus to the TSF. This is displayed by the manufacturer's logo in the Setup Effects section of the Hangar screen. For example the Phantom only gets a single bonus from McDaell while the Gekishin has three separate bonuses from Fugaku Heavy Industries, Mituhishi Heavy Industries and Kawazaki Heavy Industries.

Parry - When equipped with either a blade or AC in your main hand if you attack at the exact moment the BETA attacks which is demonstrated by the red exclamation mark icon you will enter "bullet time" for a couple of seconds and the Attack Button will display the word "Feint". If you press the primary attack button again, which depends on which input you are using, you will perform the skill assigned to the Parry Counter for your current Style. There are part abilities that make it easier to perform a Parry Counter.

Shield - Supplemental Armour.

Step - A short tap of either A or D on keyboard or a quick nudge to the left or right on the left stick on a pad. Used to evade incoming attacks and will position you behind a Destroyer-Class at point blank range. If timed correctly, when the red exclamation mark icon appears above a BETA, accompanied by a rapid warning beep, when it attacks then you will perform skill assigned to the Dodge Counter for your current style. There are part abilities that make it easier to perform a Dodge Counter. Consumes Jump Unit gauge every time you Step.


How to use a First Generation TSF in Project MIKHAIL:

First Generation TSFs were originally envisaged to operate in a manner akin to large walking tanks. As such then tend to carry both heavy weapons and heavy armour and while they are significantly more mobile than any other land based weapon it is most definitely not their strong suit Overall they lack agility in close quarters and such they are generally equipped with a single assault cannon or blade and a supplemental armour, the exact loadouts vary with doctrine which will be discussed below.

If you are used to games like Armoured Core 4 where you are constantly moving you might need to unlearn some habits when playing a 1G TSF, unless the enemy is out of range or you absolutely need to evade an attack leave the WASD/Left stick alone! All it will do is drain your Jump Unit gauge and it won't be available when you actually need it. Get used to the Parry Counter or Block/Perfect Block timings for each enemy as that will serve you much better in these early TSFs. Effectively they are 18 metre tall bipedal tanks so use them as such.

United States of America:

The USA doctrine is focused on long range overwhelming firepower with melee combat being an extreme last resort. In game terms this results in bonuses to AC attack power. The F-4 Phantom works best using either the single cannon, dual cannon or cannon and extra armour combat styles and use skills to take out larger BETA from a distance. While it can fight using the knife or blade styles, it isn't recommended. Instead you should hold your ground attempt to parry counter with the assault cannon or block using the shield against BETA in melee range. Hovering is also effective against Tank-Class, just watch your Jump Unit gauge or you might end up in a nasty situation.

Empire of Japan:

Contrary to the USA the Empire has come to the conclusion that melee combat against the BETA is not only inevitable but preferable to ranged combat in many circumstances. This is reflected ingame by Imperial Japanese Army Type-77 Gekishins getting doctrine and manufacturer bonuses to blade combat styles. They are best equipped with either a single blade, dual blade, blade and ac or blade and shield and similar to the American Phantom do well with holding their ground. Again, hovering is effective against Tank-class but the blade should be sufficient to deal with them.

The IJA also has access to the 1.5th Generation Type-82 Zuikaku used by the elite Royal Guard. While it's doctrine and manufacturer bonus are identical to the Gekishin as a 1.5G TSF it is marginally more mobile, able to Step faster, Dash faster and for longer and Hover for longer by reducing the consumption of the Jump Unit gauge. This means that against weaker BETA like the Grappler-Class it is possible to Dodge Counter. They are however still way too slow to attempt it against faster or stronger BETA like the Destroyer-Class or Fort-Class. They can still use the Step to get behind a Destroyer before it attacks though to damage its weakly protected back.

United Nations:

The UN TSFs offer a hybrid fighting style. They bring the national manufacturer bonus, usually US or Imperial, and pair it with the UN doctrine bonus of a buff to any equipped shields. This gives them a more defensive playstyle when compared to the 'pure' national variants. At 1G the UN does not have access to any 1.5G TSFs. The UN Phantom is best equipped with an AC and shield while the UN Gekishin is best equipped with a blade and shield.

Chinese United Front:

The Chinese United Front is so far only represented in the game with the 1G Jian-8. It's bonuses give it a boost to the TSFs body part defences, hovering duration, damage reduction when blocking and the critical hit rate of all attacks but no overall bonus to any particular weapon. This means that while it can take a hit in many occasions better than any other TSF it lacks a damage output bonus to any specific combat style. It still benefits greatly from using a shield and one handed weapon much like the other 1G TSFs but your choice of mainhand weapons isn't as restrictive. The bonus to hovering is nice as it allows you to avoid Grappler, Destroyer and Tank-classes while you are airborne but a Fort or Laser-class and other TSFs will still swat you out of the air if you aren't careful. Bear in mind though that it is still a 1G TSF so it's flight duration isn't stellar but it can get you out of a sticky situation.

Soviet Union:

At First Generation the Soviet Union is represented ingame by both the MiG-21 "Balalaika" and the 1.5G MiG-23 "Cheburashka" and they are they are the kings of airborne combat due to the Family Bonus that boosts their time spent hovering and slowing the rate at which they drift downward while hovering in place. They also place an emphasis on fighting with both the knife and assault cannon with bonuses to both. Finally the Manufacturer bonus gives them a small damage reduction when blocking.

The MiG-21 is a bit of an oddity among the 1G TSFs as it doesn't promote the defensive shield based gameplay that the others do with only a small bonus to slashing damage reduction and blocking but has bonuses to hovering, AC usage and hand-to-hand. This makes them rather good at gunning down enemies from the air and when they need to recharge their Jump Unit gauge or reload their AC they can drop to the ground and use rapid knife attacks to keep the enemy on the back foot. In game terms this makes the MiG-21 absolutely amazing at mowing down the hordes of Tank-class you'll face in story mode and while they won't have the big hits like the Gekishin or Zuikaku they can easily hold their own against melee attackers, including same generation TSFs. Beware when using the knife against heavily armoured enemies like the Fort, Laser and front of the Destroyer-class though because it's damage output drops significantly.

The MiG-23 is like the MiG-21 on steroids. All the same bonuses with an additional bonus to hovering, critical hit rate bonus and the 1.5G bonus to mobility. As such the Cheburashka plays much the same as the Balalaika but better in every way. It still has the same melee drawbacks as the MiG-21 but the mobility bonus makes it easier to avoid incoming attacks.