Flight Unlimited: Issues eliminated

13 hours ago
10 min read

A guide to running the DOS version of Flight Unlimited in DOSBox Staging and the Windows 95 version in WIndows 10. Flight Unlimited the 1995 aerobatic flight sim developed and published by Looking Glass.

The game features a very limited environment, with terrain repeating over a very short distance, however the environment isn't really important to a sim which concentrates on flying skills and aerobatic manoeuvres using a flight model based on real world physics.

Flight Unlimited includes the following aircraft (in-game name:)

Bellanca Decathlon (Decathlon)
Extra 300S (Extra).
Pitts Special S-2B (Pitts).
Sukhoi Su-31 (Sukhoi).
Grob G103a Twin II sailplane (Grob).

Strategy

The strategy for the DOS version is to concentrate on providing the best experience during flight rather than an creating an optimised DOSBox Staging configuration for the options available at the Fixed Based Operator (FBO) shack. The vast majority of time will be spent flying so this aspect of the sim needs to run as well as possible.

There is no such choice required for the Windows 95 version.

Version & patch history

DOS retail release

The initial DOS release was in 1995 and was distributed on a single CD-ROM. Developed and published by Looking Glass Technologies. This was at the end of the mainstream DOS era making Flight Unlimited a late DOS game with Win 95 released in the same year. The release must be installed in DOSBox.

PAS16 driver for Flight Unlimited

Flight Unlimited did not include drivers for the Media Vision Pro AudioSpectrum (PAS) 16 line of sound cards due to design inconsistencies in PAS16 audio cards. This was later released in August 1995 as the PAS16 driver for Flight Unlimited. Unfortunately the developer and publisher, Looking Glass, could not guarantee that the driver would work with all PAS16 cards.

This patch contains an additional driver that is added to the installation and requires manually editing the configuration file (flite.cfg).

This patch is only recommended for those running the game on legacy hardware with a Pro AudioSpectrum 16 sound card. This patch is available from the Internet Archive.

Flight Unlimited Beta Patch

The first beta patch was released in August 1995. It is primarily a bug fix release fixing video and control issues. The patch is distributed as a self extracting executable, resulting in files used to apply the patch. This patch must be run in DOSBox.

This is not a recommended patch having been superseded by later patches. This patch is available from the Internet Archive.

Flight Unlimited Beta Patch vF2.01S

A beta patch was released in October 1995. It is a cumulative patch including fixes from the first beta patch. As control plays a big part of the sim the patch also includes enhancements to control schemes to increase compatibility. The patch is distributed as a self extracting executable, resulting in files used to apply the patch. This patch must be run in DOSBox.

This is not a recommended patch having been superseded by the Flight Unlimited Patch vF2.4S. This patch is available from the Internet Archive.

Flight Unlimited Patch vF2.4S

A final release patch was made available in February 1996. It is primarily a cumulative bug fix and enhancement patch including all the fixes present in the beta patch. It also includes fixes to the game and enhancements to the SoundBlaster driver. The patch is distributed as a self extracting executable, creating files used to apply the patch. This patch must be run in DOSBox.

This is the only recommended patch for the DOS version, available from the Patches Scrolls or the Internet Archive.

Flight Unlimited '95

A Windows 95 retail version was released in June 1996 on a single CD-ROM. Developed and published by Looking Glass Technologies. This release can be installed on a Win10 platform with suitable compatibility utilities. There are no patches for this version having already been integrated.

Retail media

This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of Flight Unlimited does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format.

At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms.

Game Management

Due to the different releases, management folders depend on release, but both releases benefit from:

conf - to store any DOSBox Staging/HOTAS profile configuration files.
docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc.
cd - to store cd images.

DOS version

I recommend using my DOSBox game management strategy with the following folders:

patch - to store a copy of recommended patches.
hdd - the DOSBox Staging hard disk folder.

Flight Unlimited '95

As a windows game running natively, the installation folder will be created by the Flight Unlimited installer. However, the earlier game management folders are still useful for the Flight Unlimited setup.

The installation folder and setup files for Flight Unlimited and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example):

D:\Games\Win\<Game install folder>
D:\Games\Win\Flight Unlimited Setup

DOS version

DOSBox Staging config

This guide assumes the latest version of DOSBox Staging v0.82.2. Changes from the default configuration are detailed below:

[sdl]
host_rate           = vrr
vsync               = off
presentation_mode   = vfr

[dosbox]
dos_rate                    = 1000

[cpu]
cpu_cycles           = max
cpu_cycles_protected = auto

[voodoo]
voodoo                    = false

[mouse]
dos_mouse_immediate       = true

[mixer]
reverb     = medium
chorus     = normal

[joystick]
joysticktype                = 4axis
swap34                      = true
deadzone                    = 0

[autoexec]
@echo off
mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Flight Unlimited\hdd"
imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Flight Unlimited\cd\FlightU.iso" -t cdrom

c:
# cd flight
# flight

The [sdl], [dosbox] and [mouse] settings are suitable for high frame rate gaming as described in this article by Omniclyde. These settings improve the performance of Flight Unlimited and are recommended.

In [cpu] settings, cycles are set to max for both cpu_cycles to prevent stuttering and ensure a smooth framerate.

The cpu_cycles_protected setting will use the same cycle count as cpu_cycles and can be set to auto.

Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled.

The [mixer] settings can be changed to enhance sound and music to personal preference. Audio is provided by the default Sound Blaster 16 settings

The [joystick] settings are appropriate for my HOTAS setup so you may need to alter these. The swap34 setting is recommended to be set to true. The deadzone setting is a personal preference. Unlike most other sims Flight Unlimited benefits from a timed joystick setting set to true (the default).

The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for the hard disk and cd image mounts. The imgmount and mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management article. Flight Unlimited requires the cd/cd image to be mounted during play.

Commented out commands can be added back in once patching is complete.

Installation

Installation is performed in DOSBox and is a straightforward process. The installer app (install.bat) is run from the mounted CD-ROM.

The installer app uses an overlay style (see screenshots). The following notes are an aid to installation

The preferred sound card is the Sound Blaster 16 as this is the same sound card emulated by DOSBox Staging.

When choosing an installation folder the default (C:\flight) is preferred.

The preferred joystick type is Standard Joystick as this most closely matches the 4-axis joystick configured in DOSBox and allows the use of 4 axes.

When choosing the Install Flight Unlimited option there is a choice to use a VESA 2.0 UniVBE driver, select No. The UniVBE driver would add better VESA 2.0 compatibility to video cards, however the DOSBox emulated video cards have superior compatibility than UniVBE.

The installation process is very quick and will finish almost immediately as the game uses many files that remain on the CD.

Patching

Applying the only required and recommended patch, Flight Unlimited Patch vF2.4S is straightforward. This patch is distributed as a zip archive, to apply:

From Windows: Extract the contents of the zip archive and copy the 2 files (patch.exe and readme.txt) into the Flight Unlimited installation folder.

From DOSBox: Run patch.exe to extract the patch files, compressed within patch.exe.

From DOSBox: Run go.bat to apply the patch.

If the game has been run prior to applying the patch, it is recommended to re-run the in-game joystick calibration.

Replacing the DOS extender

This step is optional and can be omitted, it is left to personal preference whether or not to implement this step.

Flight Unlimited was notorious for having issues with the DOS 32 extender used in the game, DOS4/G. Later versions of DOSBox Staging recommend avoiding this step due to changes made to specifically to fix issues with DOS/4G. However after making this change the sim 'felt' subjectively better.

This extender was integrated into the game executable (flight.exe). However it is possible to replace this extender with a later extender, DOS/32A.

To do so, the following files should be obtained from the DOS/32A GitHub repository in the binw folder:

dos32a.exe
sb.exe

From Windows: copy these files into the same folder (genpile) as flight.exe. As an example:

D:\Games\DOS\Flight Unlimited\hdd\flight\genpile

In DOSBox: The above folder becomes:

C:\flight\genpile

To replace the DOS extender:

Take a copy of the existing flight.exe, in case the replacement fails.

Issue the following command:

sb -r flight.exe

The DOS/4G extender should be replaced by the DOS/32A extender as shown in the above screenshot.

Running

Flight Unlimited reads data from the CD (or CD image) during play, so must remain mounted in DOSBox Staging. To play, run the following from the Flight Unlimited installation folder:

flight.bat

Changing settings

Settings can be changed at any time with the installer app (install.exe) from the Flight Unlimited installation folder with:

install

Flight Unlimited Launcher

I've created a small DOS batch file menu for Flight Unlimited, which allows you to:

Run Flight Unlimited.
Change settings.
View release notes.
View hints.
View patch release notes.
Return to the DOSBox DOS prompt.
Close DOSBox.

To install, extract fumenu.bat to the DOSBox hard disk folder and add the following lines to the bottom of your DOSBox config (after the mount commands):

[autoexec]
c:
call fumenu.bat

Head tracking

The DOS version supported the use of the VFX1 Headgear headset for head tracking in the virtual cockpit. The VFX1 was also supported by the D.I.D. sim EF2000 and when run under the EF2000 Reloaded app used a custom DOSBox release to convert Track IR data into VFX1 data allowing Track IR to be used with EF2000.

During testing, this custom DOSBox release was tested with Flight Unlimited to try and replicate the same functionality. Unfortunately when run under the custom DOSBox, the FBO shack menu could not be displayed and TrackIR was not functioning when flying.

So for now there is no head tracking in the DOS version of Flight Unlimited.

Flight Unlimited '95 (Windows 95 version)

The Windows 95 version doesn't need patching but requires a number of tools to work effectively.

Setup

Like the DOS version, Flight Unlimited '95 also requires the CD or CD image to be mounted during play. There is no DRM on the CD/CD image, so it can be mounted through Windows Explorer or the command line, e.g.

explorer "C:\Path\To\Your\File.iso"

Alternatively, using a third party tool e.g. DAEMON Tools Lite or WinCDEmu.

Installation

Flight Unlimited uses a 16-bit installer app (setup.exe) which is not compatible with Win10/11 therefore installation requires the use of OTVDM .

OTVDM

OTVDM, (also known as WineVDM), a port of the Wine project that allows you to run old 16-bit Windows applications on modern 64-bit Windows operating systems.

The latest version of OTVDM/WineVDM is v0.9.0 available from the WineVDM GitHub, found in Releases. As it is distributed as a zip file, installation only requires extracting the files to a suitable folder of your choosing.

The installer (setup.exe) can then be run with OTVDM. The installation should be straightforward and complete without issue. The only choice is the destination folder to install to.

DirectX wrapper

This uses the latest version of dgVoodoo2, v2.86.5 available from the dgVoodoo GitHub Releases. The settings are shown below:

The dgVoodoo2 configuration file is contained within the zip archive:

The following dgVoodoo2 files are copied into the Flight Unlimited installation folder:

dgVoodooCpl.exe
dgVoodoo.conf
\MS\x86\D3D8.dll
\MS\x86\D3D9.dll
\MS\x86\D3DImm.dll
\MS\x86\DDraw.dll

Note: the file paths are not copied into the Flight Unlimited installation folder, just the files themselves.

Running

Flight Unlimited reads data from the CD (or CD image) during play, so must remain mounted in Windows. To play, run the following from the Flight Unlimited '95 installation folder:

flight.exe

HOTAS config

Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller can be used, limited to 4 axes.

For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. The vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide examples may help in configuring your HOTAS.

The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows:

Physical axis	Windows axis (DOS)	Windows axis (Windows 95)
Joystick x-axis	DX_X_AXIS	DX_X_AXIS
Joystick y-axis	DX_Y_AXIS	DX_Y_AXIS
Throttle	DX_Z_AXIS	DX_Z_AXIS
Rudder	DX_XROT_AXIS	DX_ZROT_AXIS

Configuration

Many of the in-game configuration options are left to personal preference, but those of particular interest are covered below:

In the Renderer menu the following options can be set to their maximum settings:
- Sun F/X
- Terrain
- Haze
- Clouds
- Blending
- 3D Models

In the View menu the Screen Resolution is set to 1024 x 768. DOSBox Staging or dgVoodoo2 will scale this resolution up to one suitable for your hardware.

For the DOS version, in the View menu the headset option is set to No Headset. This option is removed in Flight Unlimited '95.

In the Options menu it is recommended to set the flight model to use real world physics with the Gyro option.

For the DOS version, in the Option menu the FBO Detail is set to the maximum 256 x 256. This option is removed in Flight Unlimited '95.

In the Controls menu, the Dead Zone should be minimized (as much as your hardware will allow). The joystick model should be set to Standard Joystick.

For the DOS version, Recalibrate should be used to set joystick calibration before the first flight or after the patch has been applied.

For Flight Unlimited '95 yor hardware must be calibrated in Windows (this can be tested with joy.cpl) AND it must be calibrated in game with the Recalibrate option.

These screenshots show the DOS versions of the various configuration menus.