A guide to running the 1993 classic DOS sim, Tornado by Digital Integration (DI) in DOSBox Staging. The guide will take a quick look at the different versions of Tornado, required patches, running in DOSBox Staging, with particular emphasis on sound and HOTAS configuration. Continued development and documentation will also be covered.
Versions & official patches
There are at least five retail versions of Tornado available, each one will be briefly described with any patches appropriate to the release. Each PC version was v1.0 suffixed with a letter, although a later Amiga release may have used v1.1 as the version.
Version 1.0a
The initial big box retail release from Digital Integration (DI) around June 1993. It was supplied on 3 x 3.5" High Density (HD) floppy disks or a single CD-ROM. This release used the silver/grey Tornados on the box cover.
Version 1.0c patch
Version 1.0b doesn't seem to have been released, instead a comprehensive v1.0c patch was released around October 1993, including a number of bug fixes and enhancements. This version seems to fix many of the reported Soundblaster issues, with only some Soundblaster 16 issues remaining. This patch is only applicable to v1.0a, having been integrated into later releases. It is available from the Internet Archive.
Version 1.0c
A updated/re-released retail edition from DI was available around October 1993, comprising the pre-patched game. Again supplied on either 3 x 3.5" HD floppy disks or a single CD-ROM. It features an identical box cover to v1.0a making it indistinguishable from the earlier release although a v1.0c sticker may be added to the media.
Operation Desert Storm v1.0d
The only expansion to Tornado, brining the version number to v1.0d, features an additional campaign in the Desert Storm theater. Released by DI in 1994 on a single 3.5" Double Density (DD) floppy disk in 1994, in a slim orange coloured retail box.
A later, 'Tornado Limited Edition' was released by DI in 1994 combining Tornado and the Operation Desert Storm expansion. Media was either 3 x 3.5" HD and 1 x 3.5" DD floppy disks or a single CD-ROM. The packaging used an identical design but with gold Tornados on the box cover.
Version 1.0e patch
Another comprehensive patch was released for v1.0d only, upgrading to v1.0e, comprising of further bug fixes and enhancements based on customer feedback. It is available from the Internet Archive. The patch readme explicitly states this patch is not applicable to the American Spectrum Holobyte twin pack (v1.0f) edition.
Version 1.0e
This version was released as European budget edition on the Action Sixteen label featuring Tornado and Operation Desert Storm pre-patched to v1.0e. It was available as either 3 x 3.5" HD and 1 x 3.5" DD floppy disks or a single CD-ROM. The Steam version is very similar (if not identical) to this version, being compatible with the Action 16 SB patch.
There were still some Soundblaster 16 issues with this release with Soundblaster support being partially or completely disabled, relying instead on Adlib sound. The American Trimark release has Soundblaster support removed.
Version 1.0e is the preferred version due to the Action 16 SB patch.
The Tornado Falcon 3 Twin Pack (v1.0f)
This was a Spectrum Holobyte compilation cd retail release, featuring Tornado v1.0f, Falcon 3.0d and Merlin, a lightweight DI sim of landing the Merlin helicopter on a frigate, initially developed as a Royal Navy recruitment tool.
This version does not include the Operation Desert Storm expansion and is not compatible with the v1.0e patch. The file timestamps seem to indicate it is based on v1.0c although the readme file contains the same bug fixes and enhancements as v1.0e (it even mentions the missing Desert Storm expansion), so this suggests it may be the v1.0c base game patched to a v1.0e standard.
Unofficial patches, mods & tools
The first section covers critical patches recommended for a fully functional game under DOSBox Staging.
There are other patches listed that add enhancements or fix particular bugs on some versions. As many are down to personal preference, they are listed in the 'Other patches, mods & tools' section.
All of these patches can be found at the TornadoGame GitHub page.
Critical patches
Action 16 SB patch
This restores Soundblaster support to the Action Sixteen v1.0e release. Created by Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein.
Tornado Joystick Doctor
This improves joystick responsiveness on fast machines (fast meaning anything faster than a 486DX @ 33Mhz). This is recommended for use with DOSBox Staging running at 20k cycles. Created Heinz-Bernd Eggenstein in 1995.
Other patches, mods & tools
A host of other patches, mods and tools exist, including the Tornado Command and Staff College (TCSC) strategy guide, additional campaigns and other tools to enhance your Tornado experience. As they are optional, use of these is personal preference. Here is a brief list of the many available:
Tornado Map Fax Machine
Soundblaster Cannon patch
Generic Tornado Patcher
The Logbook Editor
A Safer Keyboard Layout
Soundblaster Auto-detect patch
An image tool, showPT2
TCSC (For Windows 3.1/Windows 98)
Tornado Spouse Reminder Tool
Tornado Ordinance Management
TCSC add-on: Desert Storm: Gulf '96 add-on campaign
Time Compression TSR program
Liberation Campaign
Morale patch
Terrain Following Realism patch
Default Speed patch
BDA patch
Tornado Mission Exchange Tool
Mission Summary Text Extractor
Continued development
No Tornado guide would be complete without mentioning the incredible development work done by Frankie Kam. The source code to v1.0a of the flight engine was released as open source. Frankie has spent eight years examining the assembly code and developing a huge number of enhancements. As of 13th October 2024, Frankie has developed and released an incredible 210 mods! Truly an incredible achievement, a huge thank you to Frankie for all his hard work on this classic sim!
You can find out more about all the mods at the Dogs Of War Vu, Tornado forum under the Modding Tornado topic. Probably the easiest way to download the latest flight engine is to join the Digital Integration Tornado Discord where you should be able to find the latest flight engine in the latest_flight_exe channel.
This guide uses the v1.0e version for an initial vanilla experience, after which you may want to use Frankie's version of Tornado with all it's enhancements and improvements!
Running in DOSBox Staging
This section will discuss the basic DOSBox Staging settings required required for installation and patching, followed by specific settings for music and sound and HOTAS/joystick requiring a combination of DOSBox and game settings to be applied.
Basic settings
There are remarkably few changes to be applied from the DOSBox Staging default settings. The settings differing from the default are shown below:
[dosbox]
memsize = 31
[cpu]
cycles = fixed 20000
cycleup = 1000
cycledown = 1000
[autoexec]
mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Tornado\hdd"
C:Memory size is increased to ensure there is far more than enough required (it will run with the default 16).
The cpu cycles is an important setting as, too high, contributes towards sluggish joystick response. In my config file, 20000 works well. You may need to tweak your setup but 20000 is a good starting point. Cycles up/down is a personal preference.
The autoexec mounts a folder used as the DOSBox emulated hard disk. I use my DOSBox game management strategy.
These settings will allow the game to run and patches to be applied, the sections below cover installation and specific optimisations.
Installation & patching
When installing from floppy disk (or floppy image). images should be mounted in DOSBox and installed using the installer and config app on the first disk. You may need to run the Operation Desert Storm installer separately.
More likely the release is on cd (or cd image). It can be ripped as an iso data only format, as there is no cd music present. You may have noticed there is no imgmount command to mount a cd (or cd image). The cd editions of Tornado use an installation method where only config files are written to the hard drive, with the game running from the cd. This makes applying patches problematic.
To install from cd (or image), it should be mounted in Windows and then the contents of the cd copied into the DOSBox emulated hard drive folder, in my case 'D:\Games\Dos\Tornado\hdd'. This completes the installation and makes the game available under DOSBox.
To run Tornado, there is normally a batch file (go.bat being a popular name across cd releases) that allows the sound to be configured during a first run and then runs the game. During the first run, Soundblaster should be selected as the audio device.
To reconfigure settings run setup.exe in the tornado.cd sub-folder.
Patching
It is recommended to apply the Action 16 SB patch first with the Tornado Joystick Doctor. only being applied after completing the HOTAS/joystick config.
For the Action 16 SB patch, the instructions in the patch readme should be followed. It is a file replacement patch resulting in additional flight__.exe and desert__.exe files, in the flight sub-folder. The files can be replaced under Windows.
Music and sound settings
These are the mixer settings:
[mixer]
negotiate = true
reverb = large
chorus = normalReverb and chorus is personal preference while negotiate is set to true to try and optimise audio throughput.
The default DOSBox Staging soundblaster options are ideal and don't require changes.
On the game Preferences page, the Soundblaster option should be selected (if it isn't already).
Roland only settings
The game supports the Roland LAPC1 device (which is essentially a CM32L device) providing higher quality music. However the CM32L will also replace the Soundblaster flight engine sounds.
First the DOSBox midi settings should change to:
[midi]
mididevice = mt32
[mt32]
model = cm32l
romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned"For some background, consult the earlier, DOSBox midi post.
To reconfigure settings, run setup.exe in the tornado.cd sub-folder and select the Roland LAPC1 device.
On the game Preferences page, the Roland option should be selected (if it isn't already).
Roland & Soundblaster settings
To get the best of both worlds, Roland music and Soundblaster flight engine sounds. The DOSBox midi settings can be changed as follows:
[midi]
mididevice = mt32
[mt32]
model = mt32_new
romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned"The mt32_new model is less capable than the cm32l and is unable to provide flight engine audio while still providing better midi music. For some background, consult the earlier, DOSBox midi post.
To reconfigure settings, run setup.exe in the tornado.cd sub-folder and select the Soundblaster device.
On the game Preferences page, the Soundblaster option should be selected (if it isn't already). You can now select the Roland option as well. The game may need to be restarted before the Roland midi music is used.
HOTAS configuration
This will cover the physical and virtual controller setup in Windows, followed by DOSBox Staging settings and finally game settings and applying the Tornado Joystick Doctor patch.
TARGET settings
Like many other DOS sims, Tornado requires a HOTAS setup limited to 4 axes. For those with 4 axes or less this won't apply. For those with a HOTAS with more than 4 axes, HOTAS profiling software will need to be used to limit axes.
In my case I'm able to use TM TARGET to create a suitable profile for a virtual controller with only 4 axes. They are specified as follows:
Physical axis | Windows axis |
Joystick x-axis | DX_X_AXIS |
Joystick y-axis | DX_Y_AXIS |
Throttle | DX_Z_AXIS |
Rudder pedals | DX_XROT_AXIS |
If you can't use TM Target or your HOTAS supplier profiling software, then other profiling software, like Joystick Gremlin may provide a suitable alternative.
DOSBox settings
The following changes are made to the joystick section of the DOSBox configuration file:
[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = false
swap34 = true
deadzone = 04axis allows the use of throttle and rudder pedals in flight.
Timed false is appropriate for my setup with the Tornado Joystick Doctor patch applied. You may wish to set to true, if your particular HOTAS setup doesn't require the use of the patch and/or setting to false results in joystick drift.
Again swap34 true was appropriate for my setup, however you may need to test your particular HOTAS to see if this is required.
The deadzone setting is personal preference and works well for my HOTAS.
Game settings and testing
To configure the joystick/throttle and rudder controls, go to the Preference page and select the Joystick 2 option (a misleading name IMO) in the Control Devices menu and click on Standard to calibrate the devices.
Note: The throttle and rudder pedals/control must be calibrated together. It's not known whether this option allows the calibration of a throttle only.
The first flight may reset to keyboard flight control, requiring Joystick 2 to be selected from the in-flight kneepad options.
To test, start a simulator mission and ensure a joystick pitch up can reach near maximum VSI on the HUD and near maximum G on the G-meter (see screenshot).
Tornado Joystick Doctor patch
If joystick response seems overly sluggish and high VSI or G can't be reached, you may wish to try the Tornado Joystick Doctor patch. The patch readme says it should be unzipped into the flight folder, but this failed in my case and had to be unzipped into the flight parent folder. On Windows this was:
D:\Games\Dos\Tornado\hdd\TORNADO.CDAnd within DOSBox this was:
C:\TORNADO.CDA backup of the flight folder should be taken before performing the following steps:
Read the enclosed patch instructions, to determine how to use the patch. I ended up using the patch for all axes.
Run the Tornado Joystick Doctor (t_jsp_p.exe) from within DOSBox.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
The patch will be applied to various areas of the existing flight and desert exe files. The patch is also compatible with the Action 16 SB patch and will select the correct files to patch.
Re-calibrate controllers from the game Preferences page.
Re-test the controllers checking VSI and the G-meter in flight.
If it is too sensitive there is also a t_jsp2_p.exe with 75% sensitivity, or you may wish to only apply the patch to certain axes. This will be dependant on your HOTAS setup.
My configuration
My DOSBox Staging configuration is shown below, the rest of the config follows the default DOSBox Staging configuration:
[dosbox]
memsize = 31
[cpu]
cycles = fixed 20000
cycleup = 1000
cycledown = 1000
[mixer]
negotiate = true
reverb = large
chorus = normal
[midi]
mididevice = mt32
[mt32]
model = mt32_new
romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned"
[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = false
swap34 = true
deadzone = 0
[autoexec]
mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Tornado\hdd"
C:
call go.bat
pause # read the goodbye msg
exit # close DOSBoxDocuments
The Tornado manual and Operation Desert Storm manual are available from the VOGONS Vintage Driver Library, thanks to Stiletto and Frankie Kam.
The Tornado maps and keyboard reference are available as a Steam guides, many thanks to Hiuuz for providing them.
Further Info
This guide written to help you get up and running (and hopefully running well) with Tornado. For further info I'd recommend Frankie Kam's Tornado portal, which is has been collecting Tornado patches mods and tools and further information for years! It even has the TSCS strategy guide converted to web pages. Well worth a look for Tornado fans!
If there are any mistakes or omissions, in this guide, please get in touch and let me know.
Good hunting!
Komentáře