This is a version retrospective looking back at all the versions of Jane's AH-64D Longbow, in a product chronological order, the patches that were released and a brief summary on how to create and play the latest version of each release.
The reason for this guide is two-fold, when compiling this information, there were a number of surprises, versions I didn't know existed and patches that had long since been forgotten about. There are guides about installing and patching Longbow but time has moved on and so has the optimum setup. Some guides require some understanding of the release to be installed and patched and the some of the advice is unclear or has been superseded.
In short there was no single definitive source, a situation hopefully rectified by this primer.
This should be read before using any of the Longbow setup guides on this website. If you want to setup Longbow and you're here first, then well done! Now onto the releases...
Jane's Combat Simulations: AH-64D Longbow
This is the original big box retail release, distributed on 2 cds and released in 1996 by Origin Systems. It is a DOS only release featuring the AH-64A in historical missions, AH-64D in tutorials/single missions/campaign and a single campaign 'Baltic Hammer' set in Ukraine. Only the pilot seat is available in the sim.
It is the v1.07F version, with the latest timestamps on the cd files indicate April 1996 (although the release was later in the year, it's useful for comparison with patches). There are separate French and German language localizations but all are version v1.07F.
This was released after Windows 95, so the readme file covers running the game from Windows and although it is possible to run it as a DOS application from Windows i(there's even a Windows icon included) it isn't recommended, the preference being to reboot into DOS mode.
The recommended specs were an Intel Pentium 120, 16 MB of memory and 98 MB of hard disk space!
I'll refer to this as Longbow for the rest of the primer.
v1.08F patch
The v1.08F patch is a comprehensive collection of fixes and modifications, featuring 13 fixes and 12 modifications. These include flight model changes, weapons changes and others.
The patch is applicable to the base game only and was created in August 1996. It can be found at the Longbow section of GameFront as a self extracting archive.
v1.08F engine sounds fix
From the GameFront description:
Official release of 4 engine sound files meant as a hotfix for version 1.08 of Jane's Combat Simulations: AH-64D Longbow.
This is a patch which seems to have been forgotten about with the passing of time. It's a collection of 4 wav sound files. Judging from the filename they seem to change the damaged engine and runway idling engine sounds, one each for left and right engines.
This is a file replacement patch and there is no readme file or any other documents included.
The patch is applicable to the v1.08F version of Longbow and the file timestamps indicate they were created in July 1996, but for some reason missed being included in the v1.08F patch. It can be found at the Longbow section of GameFront as a self extracting archive.
Jane's Combat Simulations: AH-64D Longbow - Flash Point Korea
The one and only expansion pack produced for Longbow, distributed on 1 cd as a retail big box release by Origin Systems in 1996. It is a DOS only release adding the co-pilot/gunner seat to the sim, a new campaign 'Morning Fury', improved wingman commands, and bug fixes. I'll refer to it as Flash Point Korea.
The readme states that Flash Point Korea includes the Longbox v1.08F patch. It also includes the engine sounds fix as well (although not mentioned).
The version number is v1.03F which seems to indicate that it was considered a separate product from Longbow at the time with it own version numbering. It also explains the odd version numbers going forward. Timestamps on the cd files indicate it was created in October 1996, although released later.
Flash Point Korea is compatible with Longbow, Longbow v1.08F and Longbow v1.08F with engine sounds fix.
Jane's Combat Simulations: Longbow - Gold
The Gold edition combines Longbow and Flash Point Korea into a single product, it also includes a dedicated Windows executable allowing the game to be played natively in earlier versions of Windows. The developer was Origin Systems and it was released as a 3 cd retail big box edition by Electronic Arts in 1997. I'll refer to this as Longbow Gold for the rest of the primer.
This version is v1.03F which can be explained as matching the version of Flash Point Korea forming part of this release. The latest timestamp of files on the cd's is March 1997.
Other changes include the flight recorder being disabled in the Windows version and the addition of a campaign 'cheat' menu allowing any campaign mission to be played as a single mission. The readme contains a lot of Windows troubleshooting advice which basically states 'try the DOS version'!
v1.04F patch
The v1.04F patch comprises of two fixes to correct skipping/garbled speech and the movie player improved to reduce lock ups, skipping or crashes to the desktop. The patch was created in April 1997 and is only applicable to Longbow Gold v1.03F. It can be found at soggi.org as a 7zip archive.
GoldFX patch
The GoldFX patch adds support for 3dfx graphics cards with the Glide API. It also makes some pretty major changes to the game, the AH-64A available in historical missions is removed and scenario textures converted. The Windows executable is changed which means this patched version is Windows only. It can no longer be played in DOS and must be played in Windows with a 3dfx card or Glide wrapper.
The patch is only compatible with the the base game, Longbow Gold v1.03F. Applying this patch to v1.04F will introduce game breaking incompatibilities.
The patch is listed as v1.09F which seems a bit of a jump in versions, however between v1.04F and this patch, two little known of versions of Longbow Gold were released.
The patch was developed in July 1998 according to file timestamps. This is 10 months after the first Longbow Gold OEM version with 3dfx support.
This patch can be found at soggi.org as a 7zip archive or as a self extracting archive in this message on the VOGONS forum by member feda, so a big thank you to both.
Jane's Combat Simulations: AH-64D Longbow OEM
This was also known as Jane's Combat Simulations: AH-64D Longbow Limited edition. Due to the OEM name it was probably supplied as bundled software with new PC's from one or more suppliers.
It is based on Longbow Gold (in fact you can see it called Longbow Gold in the end credits), however the campaigns and Apache promotional films have been removed. This still leaves a large amount of the game intact: instant action, training, single and historical missions all remain.
The DOS executable was also removed making this a Windows only version. It carries the version number v1.00F, which probably means the developer considered it a separate product from Longbow Gold. According to file timestamps it was developed in August 1997.
This OEM version has the Longbow manual (with campaign section removed) and reference card in electronic format as pdf files.
Jane's Combat Simulations: LongbowFX
According to the readme file, LongbowFX was developed and tested exclusively for the Intergraph Intense 3D Voodoo video card. It is the second OEM version of Longbow Gold and looks like a development of Longbow OEM as it has the version number v1.01F. LongbowFX was probably a bundled game with the video card.
Like Longbow OEM the campaigns and promotional films are removed. It is a Windows only version requiring a 3dfx card or Glide wrapper (although the readme states only that it 'may' work with other 3dfx cards).
Timestamps indicated it was developed in September 1997 making it the first version with 3dfx support.
This OEM version also has the Longbow manual (with campaign section removed) and reference card in electronic format as pdf files.
The Longbow OEM readme has a section on 'Frame Rate Help', a section removed from the LongbowFX readme, so it looks like the 3dfx card was doing the heavy lifting! The LongbowFX cd contains an lb.exe file, which 'looks' like it might be a DOS executable but isn't, it's just another Windows executable, so there is still no DOS Glide version. And finally, was the GoldFX patch so named because the LongbowFX name was already taken?
Jane's Combat Simulations: Longbow - Anthology
The Anthology edition is a combination of a fully patched Longbow Gold and Longbow 2. It was released as a four cd retail big box edition by Electronic Arts in 1998. The first two cds are Longbow (Anthology) while the third and fourth are Longbow 2. Both DOS and Windows executables are supplied.
There is no version information noted but the latest file timestamp is July 1998 so it should be equivalent to Longbow Gold v1.04F.
This was the final edition of Longbow. I'll refer to this as Longbow Anthology.
GoldFX (Anthology) patch
This is also known as the GoldFX(A) patch and is the 3dfx patch specifically for use with Longbow Anthology only. Like the earlier GoldFX patch, it has a version v1.09F.
It provides the same 3dfx support and removes the same capabilities as the GoldFX patch. So this patch makes Longbow Anthology a Windows only game requiring a 3dfx card or Glide wrapper.
A different patch was required for Longbow Anthology as it is equivalent to Longbow Gold v1.04F. The earlier GoldFX patch was not compatible with the v1.04F version.
Patching & playing each edition
This is a summary of the above, listing the patches each edition should use and the order of installation and the prefered emulators or wrappers for playing (OEM versions won't be covered):
Longbow
Install Longbow base game (v1.07F).
Install v1.08F patch.
Install v1.08F engine sounds fix.
Longbow with Flash Point Korea expansion
Install Longbow base game (v1.07F)
Install Flash Point Korea expansion (v1.03F)
No further patches needed as Flash Point Korea includes v1.08F mods/fixes and v1.08F engine sounds fix.
These should be played under DOS emulation using a modern DOSBox release, such as DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X, etc.
Longbow Gold (DOS or Windows without 3dfx/Glide)
Install Longbow Gold base game (v1.03F).
Install v1.04F patch.
Longbow Anthology (DOS or Windows without 3dfx/Glide)
Install Longbow Anthology base game.
No further patches needed for Longbow Anthology as it already includes the v1.04F fixes.
DOS versions should be played under DOS emulation using a modern DOSBox release, such as DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X, etc.
Windows versions should be played under Windows 98 emulation using the PCem emulator. Attempting to run these natively under Windows 10 is very difficult and crash prone.
Longbow Gold (Windows only, with 3dfx/Glide)
Install Longbow Gold base game (v1.03F).
Install GoldFX patch (v1.09F).
Longbow Anthology (Windows only, with 3dfx/Glide)
Install Longbow Anthology base game.
Install GoldFX(A) patch (v1.09F).
These can be played natively in Windows 10, requiring the use of Windows compatibility fixes, the nGlide Glide wrapper and the Windows/DirectX wrapper, DxWnd. The setup is a rather involved process.
Hopefully this has left you with a better understanding of the different versions of Longbow, the patches you may need, to play your desired version and the emulation to use.
Good hunting!
Comments