RECEIVING DISPATCHES
Your radio is your source for dispatches, in addition to music and entertainment. All missions (except the speeder) begin with a radio dispatch to you. You're told what the problem is and its location in the city. Additional information in the dispatch may or may not be helpful.
When dispatchers describe a location, they do it by "area." All cities are divided into nine areas. Outside of the city, wilderness is divided into four areas.
City
and Wilderness divisions
Your Spotlight and Sending Dispatches
You use your spotlight primarily to dispatch police cars, fire trucks or ambulances. You can dispatch these vehicles at any time by pressing their assigned function key. Let's dispatch a police car.
Aim your spotlight at the area where you want a police car to go.
Your spotlight points forward and toward the ground.
You can aim your spotlight by pointing your helicopter. For additional control, use the joystick on the control panel.
Grab the spotlight controller with
your cursor.
|
To Dispatch a Fire Truck |
Press F2 |
|
To Dispatch an Ambulance |
Press F3 |
|
To Dispatch Police |
Press F4 |
Press the key for the vehicle you want to dispatch, in this case the F4 key for a police car.
A dispatch pylon marks your dispatch. The nearest available vehicle you requested will be sent to the pylon. You can see it on your city map when it's "in range."
Police Dispatch Pylon
Fire Truck Dispatch Pylon
Ambulance Dispatch Pylon
Emergency vehicles can only travel on roads, so you can't make them go into the wilderness or into a city area that has no roads. You'll get a message if a vehicle you requested cannot be dispatched.
When emergency personnel arrive, they perform their duties automatically. When they are done, or if they find nothing to do, they eventually remove the pylon and return to their base. You can also "clear" a dispatch and free up the vehicle yourself. Aim your spotlight at the pylon you want to clear and press the proper key:
|
To clear a Fire Truck dispatch |
Press Shift F2 |
|
To clear an Ambulance dispatch |
Press Shift F3 |
|
To clear a Police dispatch |
Press Shift F4 |
There nothing for your Police car to do here, so you can send it on its way.
Aim your spotlight at the police dispatch pylon and press Shift F4 to release the police car.
HINT: Each fire station in a city can supply one fire truck. Each city hospital can contribute one ambulance, and each police station provides one police car. You can have a maximum of ten of each type of emergency service vehicle, regardless of how many emergency service buildings you have.
SPECIAL DISPATCH
F5 issues a special dispatch that allows police to follow your spotlight. Use this dispatch to help catch a criminal you are chasing who won't stop. Cancel the "Chase dispatch by pressing Shift F5.