Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer 2: Boxing clever to defeat the dead zone
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Updated: 2 days ago
A guide to running the sequel, Silent Thunder: A-10 Tank Killer 2 to the classic, A-10 Tank Killer. Developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra in 1996, Silent Thunder tries to one up the original in every department, more missions, more weapons, insanely large targets, the graphics are textured, the sound is improved and the soundtrack isn't half bad... and the joystick dead zone, is larger than ever.
What could have been a fun little sim, is dealt a huge blow by the awful dead zone which feels even larger than the one they introduced with A-10 Tank Killer v1.5. It's hard to tell exactly how large of a dead zone is, but at a rough estimate approximately 35%-45% on each half of each axis making it borderline unplayable with a stick.
These seems like an bizarre decision for a game that supports stick, throttle and rudder, so presumably was expected to be played with a period HOTAS. What's even stranger is that the dead zone is only present on the x and y axis, with the throttle and rudder axes operating normally!
Can this sim be saved and made playable with a HOTAS?
Strategy
The retail install cd supports both Win3.1 and Win95 which means DOSBox Staging running Win3.x, PCem or native Win10 are all potential options to run the sim, but the most stable seems to be 86Box.
Building a suitable VM becomes an important part of the install. When it comes to HOTAS config, creating a stick, throttle and rudder config is straightforward but suffers from the excessive deadzone on the stick axes. However, this can be used to create a suitable HOTAS in the VM and calibrate it in-game.
Once fully calibrated another HOTAS config is created replacing the absolute axes with key mappings. This increases responsiveness to the same level as keyboard control at the cost of converting stick absolute axes into relative axes.
Like the prequel A-10 Tank Killer v1.5, using the keyboard remains a viable option for playing this sim. An option made more attractive by the patch which introduces self levelling controls on the roll (x) axis.
Version & patch history
Initial retail release (Feb 1996)
Developed by Dynamix and released by Sierra On-Line in Feb 1996 on a single cd-rom. The game featured both Win3.x and Win95 installers. This initial retail version is v1.0. The release notes (converted to pdf) are shown below:
Silent Thunder Patch v1.01 (May 1996)
The one and only patch was released in May 1996, upgrading the version to v1.01. This is a bug fix and enhancement patch. The bugs fixed include: joystick code changes, increased sound card support, better DirectDraw support and flight model changes. Enhancements include: a new joystick calibration option, an additional DirectSound option and weapons release changes. This patch is a self installing executable.
This is a recommended patch for the initial retail v1.0 release. This patch can be found at:
The Sierra Help Pages, A-10 Tank Killer Series Updates
Compilation releases (1997-2000)
Silent Thunder was included in a number of compilation releases from 1997 until 2000. It's not known which version was included with each compilation, but it is expected to be v1.0A.
Xplosiv retail re-release (2003)
The Empire Interactive budget label, Xplosiv released Silent Thunder in 2003 on a single cd-rom. This is v1.0A (v1.0 pre-patched with the Silent Thunder Patch v1.01) created at the same time as the patch in May 1996. Both Win3.x and Win95 installers are included.
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 versions of Silent Thunder contains 12 cd music tracks and should be ripped to a bin/cue image pair format to preserve the music.
At present there is no digital release of Silent Thunder.
Game Management
As a windows game running under 86Box emulation, the installation folder will be created in the 86Box virtual machine. However some limited game management is still useful for files used in the setup.
The setup files for Silent Thunder can be found in the same 86Box setup folder (my own, as an example):
D:\Games\86Box\<Game folder>
D:\Games\86Box\Silent Thunder SetupThe following setup folders can be used:
cd - to store any cd images.
conf - to store any HOTAS profile configuration files.
docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc.
patch - to store a copy of recommended patches.
86Box
The optimum method of running Silent Thunder is with 86Box emulation. This guide assumes the latest version of 86Box, (v5.3 build 8200 at time of writing). This is available from 86Box GitHub repository Releases.
Virtual Machine (VM)
The Silent Thunder release notes state the minimum spec is a 486 DX 66, 8MB RAM, Win95. The spec used is higher, but not too high. Having a spec that runs the game too quickly and makes it unplayable is not the intended result. Instead the spec used is:
System
Machine: [ALi ALADDiN V] ASUS P5A
CPU: Intel Pentium / 120 MHz
Memory: 128 MB
Display
Video: [AGP] 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Storage
Disks: 3.2 GiB (IDE)
Floppy: 3.5" 1.44M
CD-ROM: 32x 86Box 86B_CD 3.50 (ATAPI)
Audio
Audio: [ISA16] Sound Blaster 16
MIDI Out: System MIDI
Network
NIC: None
Input devices
Keyboard: PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse: PS/2 Mouse
Joystick: CH Flightstick + CH Pedals
Ports
Serial ports: None
Parallel ports: None
The preferred operating system is Windows 98 Second Edition (Win98SE).
Notes
The above is a suggested spec only and can be changed if required. The following can be changed to suit personal preferences:
A 3.2GB hard disk is large enough but can be larger.
Audio is provided by a Sound Blaster 16 but an AWE 32 could also be used.
MIDI Out is using the host Win10 MIDI support but this can be changed to an 86Box emulation option.
A Network Interface Card (NIC) is not required and has been omitted.
The Joystick option is suitable for a 4-axes HOTAS. Those with 3 or fewer axes may wish to omit rudder pedals or switch to an option which more closely matches their joystick hardware.
Serial and parallel ports are not required and use machine resources that could be allocated elsewhere.
Configuration
The following is the configuration file created by 86Box for this specification. It is the config file only and does not contain a hard disk image with Win98SE. 86Box should be used to replace the hard disk image in this config file with one of your own.
Building the VM
A complete set of instructions to build an 86Box Win98 virtual machine is beyond the remit of this guide. However, before trying to create your own it is recommended to become familiar with the process by reading the following guide by milnak:
Phil of PhilsComputerLab has produced the following recommended video. The video description contains links to some downloads also used in this virtual machine.
Notes
The following notes are supplemental to the above to assist in creating a virtual machine.
The hard disk image file type should be vhd. This hard disk image type can be mounted in Win10. This allows downloaded zip file contents to be extracted in Win10 and then copied onto the mounted vhd disk image. The disk image can then be ejected in Win10 and used with 86Box to run the virtual machine.
Before installing Win98SE the BIOS configuration menus should be used to disable serial and parallel ports in the virtual machine.
A Win98SE OEM installation cd image should be used, as this is a bootable cd image which does not require a separate floppy boot disk image. A suitable image may be obtained from WinWorld.
This virtual machine should not require additional chipset drivers, being fully supported by Win98SE.
The Voodoo 3 drivers used are Voodoo 3 driver kit v1.07.00 (voodoo3tm_driver_kit_1.07.00-whql.zip) available from PhilsComputerLab.
The Sound Blaster 16 drivers are included in the Win98SE cd image, however the latest Win98 drivers for the Sound Blaster 16/AWE 32 (sbw9xup.exe) are available from PhilsComputerLab.
This virtual machine uses DirectX 6.1a included as part of the Win98SE cd image.
Once complete the Win98 Device Manager should show all hardware working and there should be no errors reported from the DirectX diagnostics, as shown below:
Taking a copy
Once the virtual machine is built and working it is recommended to take a copy of the 86Box virtual machine folder or to zip up the virtual machine folder. This ensures a 'clean' working virtual machine is available for any other future games requiring a similar virtual machine to be emulated.
HOTAS Config
Joystick, throttle and rudder are supported by Silent Thunder. Configuring axes may not be required if your single device HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using multiple HOTAS 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 combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. You may also have to use HidHide as a device firewall, to hide your real controllers, so only the vJoy virtual controller is detected by 86Box.
Setup config
As 86Box only supports a single HOTAS device, we can create a fairly standard 'setup' 4 axis virtual controller in Win10 (see setup axis mapping). This controller can be mapped to the 86Box CH FlightStick and CH pedals joystick devices configured in 86Box. Once the 86Box VM is started, the CH FlightStick & pedals are added in Win98SE and calibrated.
This 86Box virtual device can be used in Silent Thunder. When playing a mission for the first time the in-game joystick calibration is used to ensure a well calibrated controller.
86Box mapping
The following screenshot shows a fairly standard axes mapping, from the Win10 virtual controller to the 86Box virtual controller. The Device is the Win10 virtual controller as seen by 86Box.
Win98SE controller
As a CH FlightStick and pedals have been configured in 86Box we now need to add them to Win98SE. In Control Panel the Game Controllers option allows a CH FlightStick to be added.
As pedals are also available the rudder option is checked. For those without a rudder acis this can be omitted. Finally the CH FlightStick is calibrated and once calibrated can be tested.
This concludes the HOTAS config until the game is installed and the in-game preferences are set.
Play config
This Win10 'setup' virtual controller can continue to be used, but if we wish to increase x-axis and y-axis responsiveness we can change the config (or create a new config) to replace the DirectX axes with roll and pitch 'hold' keypresses instead to create a 'play' virtual controller.
As an example the changes are shown in this TARGET config. Similar functionality exists in Joystick Gremlin, you may have to split axes, and then map each side of the split axis to the appropriate hold keypress. e.g. split the x-axis into two and map the left side to a roll left hold keypress and map the right side to a roll right hold keypress.
The existing 86Box mapping and Win98SE controller remain unchanged.
Due to the previous 'setup' controller calibration we know the throttle and rudder should remain well calibrated. We can't calibrate the 'play' controller as it is sending keypresses rather than DirectX axis data for the x-axis and y-axis. This may be easier to visualize using the axis mapping table below.
Axis mapping
The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows for setup and play virtual controllers:
Physical axis | Windows axis (setup) | Windows axis (play) |
Joystick x-axis | DX_X_AXIS | Roll left and right hold keypress |
Joystick y-axis | DX_Y_AXIS | Pitch up and down hold keypress |
Throttle | DX_Z_AXIS | DX_Z_AXIS |
Rudder | DX_XROT_AXIS | DX_XROT_AXIS |
Installation
To install the Silent Thunder cd image should be mounted in the 86Box virtual cd drive. The cd can opened to begin the install process.
Note: There should be no virtual hard disk or cd-rom images mounted in Win10 before installing Silent Thunder as they will be identified by 86Box and cause the testing phase of the installation to fail with an error. If this occurs shutdown the virtual machine, unmount the images and restart the virtual machine.
The Sierra installation menu allows the hardware to be tested, which can be done first or as part of the install process.
The installation process is shown in the gallery below:
Running
To play Silent Thunder the cd image must remain mounted in the 86Box virtual cd drive.
Game config
In-game configuration options are accessed through the Preferences menu option (see screenshot). Sound, Direct Sound, Voice, Music, Joystick, Clouds and Fullscreen can be enabled. Low Res should be disabled. Detail and Distance options should be set to maximum.
Initial mission
After starting the initial mission (use the Fly One Mission option and select the training mission), the Preferences should be accessed and the Joystick Calibration performed.
It is recommended to fly the training mission with this 'setup' joystick control scheme, the keyboard control scheme and the 'play' joystick control scheme to find your preferred scheme.
To set the 'play' joystick control scheme, see Play config.
Documentation
The core documentation is supplied as a Windows help file, available in game. However certain releases also supplied an installation booklet and quick reference card available from:
Internet Archive, Installation booklet, pdf document.
Internet Archive, Quick reference card, pdf document.
Old-Games.RU, pdf documents.
Example video
Finally...
Credit and thanks go to:
The Internet Archive and Old-Games.RU for hosting the patch and documation.
The Sierra Help Pages for hosting the patch.
The developers of 86Box.
milnak for the Win98 installation guide for 86Box.
Phil of PhilsComputerLab for his Win98 installation video for 86Box and for hosting Voodoo 3 and Sound Blaster drivers.
WinWorld for hosting Win98 Second Edition.
The developers of vJoy, Joystick Gremlin and HidHide.
RedLir Live for the Joystick Gremlin split axes video.
Good hunting!
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