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SuperPak logo A guide to building a SuperPak release of Falcon 4.0. This release will be built using the final SuperPak, v4.2. In addition the configuration steps to run it under Win10 will also be covered. This release is the culmination of the huge work done in the major updates of SuperPak 3 and SuperPak 4. The install has been significantly streamlined and third party tools and patches integrated into the install (freeware HiTiles and the GUITigor1c tile integrator) as well as the defacto standard F4Patch, now renamed as the FalconSP config editor. Documentation has been given a major overhaul with the SuperPak 3 and 4 manuals and supporting documentation included as standard. SuperPak patch The UI has been developed as well, all the same options but with a very different UI running in a higher resolution. As for the sim itself, from the SuperPak 4 intro: Welcome to SuperPAK 4! With this work of the Falcon 4 Unified Team, Falcon 4 takes another step forward on its way to the ultimate combat flight simulator. In comparison to the last SuperPAK (SP3 featuring the final exe modifications), this version of SuperPAK concentrates on the data part of Falcon. This includes: The graphics: New and updated 3D-Models (Planes, Vehicles, Weapons, Buildings), including detailed textures (skins). Realistic weapons, weapon systems and flight models (well... as close as it can be!) AI flight behaviour improvements. An improved, photorealistic F-16 cockpit (including a separate wide-view option). Countless data bug-fixes and corrections. With this last SuperPak 4.2 release building the release has become far simpler and a far more limited Falcon 4.0 'dance'. SuperPak history History The work by the eTeam to produce eFalcon and the work done by the Realism Patch Group to produce the Realism Patches would continue as a new F4 Unified Team. This team would continue working to produce SuperPak 1 in November 2001. SuperPak 2 would soon follow, in January 2002. The huge update that was SuperPak 3 was released in June 2002. Groups would split to form new teams creating FreeFalcon, BMS and the patched multiplayer-centric MP releases. This meant SuperPak 4 would not be released until February 2004, primarily being a huge update in Falcon 4.0 data. The final SuperPak 4.2 would integrate the High Fidelity Flight Models (HFFM) in November 2004. For a far more detailed and accurate description, The Falcon Epopee is highly recommended. Prerequisites The folder prerequisites are listed below: C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\trackir C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\superpak Release patches The following patch is required to build this release: SuperPak 4.2 One Click Installer (OCI), ( SP42_OCI.zip ). This can be found at the Internet Archive in Falcon 4.0: SuperPak patch collection . This patch should be copied to C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\superpak and the OCI executable and instructions extracted. Starting point This build is based on a simple cd installation. There is no need to patch to the last official v1.08us patch or any other version, before building the release . Installation should be from cd or cd image and you're ready to begin. Building Unlike some of the other releases this will be using a One Click Installer (OCI). The OCI app ( SP42_OCI.exe ) can be run from any folder. It should automatically find the Falcon installation folder and begin the install. During this installation phase it is recommended to select the included HiTiles terrain enhancement. Once all files have been copied and updated the HiTiles installation will begin. HiTiles The OCI comes with the free version of the HiTiles terrain enhancement, which can enhance some but not all of the terrain tiles used in Falcon 4.0. The HiTiles terrain enhancement is installed using the GUITigor1c tile integrator tool. This tool can optimise the HiTiles terrain. During the HiTiles install it will ask if a backup of the original terrain is taken, it is recommended to do so. This backup can be used to regenerate the terrain with the full version of HiTiles. Once the terrain generation is complete and installed the GUITigor1c will report it can be closed. The FalconSP config editor/F4Patch tool should have appeared at this point. Patch selection The final installer step is to select the SuperPak patches and apply them. Once applied you can use the FalconSP config editor to enable/disable patches to configure the release to your own preference. Once all patches have been applied, exit the tool. Note: Even though the FalconSP config editor/F4Patch tool is operating in the OCI mode, it should never be run in expanded mode. The F4Patch folder already exists, so additional patches only need to be copied or expanded into this folder (see Understanding the F4Patch utility ) and then the FalconSP config editor ( falconsp config editor.exe ) should be run to enable them. Manual configuration (optional) During flight you may notice a 'shimmering' effect as the aircraft moves closer to environmental objects. This 'shimmering' can be reduced or eliminated by enabling mip maps (a graphics technique). The SuperPak config file ( falconsp.cfg ) can be edited with a standard text editor and the g_bUseMipMaps option enabled as shown: set g_bUseMipMaps 1 Note : this will use additional memory so depending on your machine, it may affect performance. HOTAS config There was a significant change in throttle use, with this release. The in-game throttle axis changed from the z-axis to the slider axis. This was probably changed to support joysticks with a third slider axis that could now be used as a throttle. The vJoy/Joystick Gremlin combination continues to be used. The vJoy configuration is changed to use the slider axis, as shown. This enables the throttle within the game. The z-axis is disabled and the slider axis enabled. Within Joystick Gremlin the physical throttle z-axis is now mapped to the vJoy slider axis as shown. The Warthog throttle z-axis is now assigned to the vJoy slider axis. Now moving the physical Warthog throttle z-axis, moves the vJoy slider axis which moves the Falcon throttle in-game. The other axes remain unchanged. Wrapper config This release runs perfectly well under Win10 and DirectX wrappers are not required. When tested with wrappers they created issues rather than solved them. Wrappers are therefore not recommended. Graphics config However, we need not leave the graphics unmodified. The nVidia control panel was used to try and optimise the graphics. In the Manage 3D Settings a new program entry was added for FalconSP.exe . The following limited settings were used: Image Scaling: On Antialiasing Mode: Enhance the application setting Antialiasing Setting: 8x There may be far better settings, in which case feel free to let me know! I'm assuming there is similar functionality in software supplied with AMD/Intel graphics cards. Video patching Video patching remains unchanged from The official and iBeta releases . The intro video and campaign videos both work well in Win10. Track IR Support TrackIR support continues to be provided by the TIRF4 utility with the Yassy BMS profile being highly recommended, as discussed in The official and iBeta releases . Running With the change in executable the command to run Falcon 4.0 with TrackIR support becomes: FalconSP.exe -head In addition the graphics can be enhanced with the -g command line option , e.g. FalconSP.exe -head -g4 Although this may incur a performance overhead depending on your machine. In-game config There are some subtle issues to be aware of when configuring the settings. Uncheck Fast 2D-Cockpit In the GRAPHICS , ADVANCED settings, make sure to uncheck Fast 2D-Cockpit . There is a huge improvement in control text clarity and readability. Fast 2D-Cockpit disabled Fast 2D-Cockpit enabled Realistic avionics In the SIMULATION settings, Avionics must be set to Realistic to prevent text problems on the DED. Enhanced or lower avionics Realistic avionics Documentation A vast wealth of documentation is included with this release including copies the SuperPak 3 (core changes) and SuperPak 4 (additional changes) manuals. These manuals along with supporting documentation can be found in the Docs folder of the Falcon installation folder. With SuperPak 3 & 4, Falcon 4.0 is becoming a 'study sim'. The following manuals are recommended to be read in conjunction with the SuperPak 3 & 4 manuals: Falcon 4.0 manual, for the underlying basics, first and second editions Realism Patch v5 manual , for the guiding principles and design decisions forming the basis of SuperPak. The following Documents are also available and relevant to SuperPak 4.2: The Falcon 4.0 Tactical Reference Munitions Handbook . The High Fidelity Flight Models manual . All manuals are available from Falcon 4 History . Ramp start guide There is an interactive Shockwave Flash ramp start guide that can be found in the Docs folder of the Falcon installation folder. Example video This demonstrates SuperPak 4.2 using the HFFMs with full HiTiles and TrackIR Finally... Credit and thanks go to the F4 Unified Team for the SuperPaks and the countless individuals who have provided SuperPak info on websites across the globe for many years. Good hunting!

A guide on creating a Falcon 4.0 Realism Patch v5.0 release. This release is based on the earlier iBeta release. Realism Patch v5.0 was the last in the Realism Patch series. This guide will result in a release running natively under Win10, with Glide and TrackIR support. Campaign movies will also play in-game. History Realism Patch history The team that created the iBeta patches would go on to develop more comprehensive patches. These patches would be known as the Realism Patches. The first iBeta Realism Patch v1.0 would be released in February 2000. By November 2000 the iBeta team had morphed into the Realism Patch Group with the final Realism Patch v5.0 released by the group in August 2001. Prerequisites The prerequisites listed in the official and iBeta releases are also applicable to this release. In addition you will require: C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\realism Starting point The starting point for this release is retail Falcon 4.0, patched with the last official patch to v1.08 and supplemented with the iBeta i2 patch. This is the build in The iBeta release article. If you need to create an iBeta release you should follow the articles: Falcon 4.0 part 2: The official patched version . Falcon 4.0 part 3: The official and iBeta releases . As the Realism Patch v5.0 uses the F4Patch utility, familiarity with F4Patch, as discussed in Understanding the F4Patch utility , is recommended. Obtaining the Realism Patch v5.0 The patch can be obtained from the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0: iBeta and Realism Patch collection . You will want: F4_RealismPatch_v50.zip . F4_RP5_User_Manual.pdf . It should be copied into C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\realism and extracted. This will extract the F4Patch installer, F4_RP_v50_Installer.exe and installation guide, F4_RP_v50_Install_ReadMe.pdf . Applying Realism Patch v5.0 It is recommended to read the installation guide before attempting to install and if unfamiliar with the F4Patch utility, Understanding the F4Patch utility . The patch can be copied to the Falcon 4.0 installation folder (or an alternative) and run. The patch may show the Falcon 4.0 executable as Falcon4_RP5.exe . The existing executable Falcon4_108i2.exe will be automatically found, patched and given this new name. Clicking Apply Patch runs the first patching process which adds the essential realism patches. It should complete without any issues. Optional patches One of the patch highlights was improved 3d models. These cannot be installed until essential realism patches are installed first, so they can be installed now. In addition there are optional patches that can also be installed. The installation guide provides a wealth of information on these optional patches. There is a choice of running the installer again, selecting the optional patches and applying them... Or expanding the package and running the F4Patch utility directly. This may be preferable if you wish to experiment with further patches which aren't part of the Realism Patch installer. Whatever you decide, the patching should complete successfully and without issue. HOTAS configuration This release continues to use the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin utilities as described in The official and iBeta releases . Axes configuration will be identical. If you have configured buttons, you may wish to change some for this release. Wrapper configuration This release continues to use both DxWrapper and nGlide wraappers as described in The official and iBeta releases . The configuration of both wrappers remains unchanged. Video patching Video patching remains unchanged from The official and iBeta releases . TrackIR support TrackIR support continues to be provided by the TIRF4 utility with the Yassy BMS profile being highly recommended, as discussed in The official and iBeta releases . Running Falcon 4.0 With the change in executable the command to run Falcon 4.0 with TrackIR support becomes: Falcon4_RP5.exe -head In-game configuration The configuration of in-game graphics and controller settings remains unchanged from The official and iBeta releases , although the video card is now listed as a Voodoo Banshee . In additional there are alternative key commands supplied as part of the Realism Patch. They are accessible through the controller settings by clicking the Load button and selecting rp_keystrokes as shown below: Alternate Realism Patch key commands. Documents and manuals The Realism Patch v5.0 comes with the following documents and manuals: F4_RP5_User_Manual.pdf F4_RP_v50_Install_ReadMe.pdf The user manual is comprehensive but should be used in conjunction with the original Falcon 4.0 manual.   Falcon 4 history , has a manuals  sections, including the: Manual (both first and second editions). Communications handbook (both first and second editions). Theater map of Korea. Example video Demonstrating the Realism Patch v5.0 release. Finally... Credit and thanks to the hundreds of individuals that have contributed skills and time to produce the game, patches and the utilities that let us run them! Good hunting!

This guide covers the building of an iBeta release and configuring of the officially patched (vanilla Falcon 4.0) or iBeta releases. The primary reason for an iBeta release is the similarity to a pure 'vanilla' official release but with further fixes and compatibility with TrackIR support. History The official/iBeta timeline. In the Falcon 4.0 timeline, the official patched version takes us from the retail release in December 1998 up to the final official patch release in December 1999. The recommended 'final' iBeta patch takes us a little further into December 1999. iBeta released the Realism patches as well, but were morphing into the Realism Patch Group. Prerequisites This release requires the official patch version to have been built, as described in ' Falcon 4.0 part 2: The official patched version '. The setup folder prerequisites in ' Falcon 4.0 part 2: The official patched version ' and the following additional setup folders are recommended, to store the additional suggested patches and utilities/wrappers: C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\nglide C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\ibeta C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\trackir HOTAS configuration HOTAS configuration is very dependant on the controllers to be used. Earlier controllers with multiple axes on a single physical device (e.g. joystick with twist rudder and throttle axis) or multiple physical devices connected to each other but seen as a single device in Windows (earlier HOTAS controllers) should have little trouble in Falcon 4.0. However multiple physical devices seen as multiple devices in Windows are more problematic. The normal method is to create a single virtual device with vendor profiling software (e.g. TM TARGET) so the game only sees a single virtual controller, configured with the axes and buttons it needs. However testing has revealed that Falcon 4.0 experiences severe issues with the TM TARGET vendor software. It isn't known if this issue is limited to only TARGET or if other vendor software is affected. For this reason TM TARGET isn't used and instead the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin alternative is used instead. Put overly simply vJoy is the virtual controller device and Joystick Gremlin is profiling component assigning physical axes and buttons to the virtual device. Obtaining vJoy/Joystick Gremlin Joystick Gremlin should be obtained from the website . In addition there is a manual which explains in detail how to get started with Joystick Gremlin. The version of vJoy listed in the manual is a fairly old version and the latest version has been driver signed for use in current versions of Win10/11, so should install without issue. It can be found on the BrunnerInnovation/vJoy GitHub repository in the Releases section. It is recommended to place any vJoy/Joystick Gremlin zip files/installation packages in: C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin . Both vJoy (installed first) then Joystick Gremlin (second) should be installed with the installer apps. A brief example A vJoy virtual device This is a brief example of a vJoy/Joystick Gremlin configuration I used for testing. vJoy defines a 4 axes virtual device with an x/y-axis (joystick), a z-axis (throttle) and a (rotation) Rz-axis (rudder pedals), 32 buttons and a single POV hat is defined. Below, Joystick Gremlin shows the mapping of physical devices to the vJoy virtual device. One window shows the Warthog stick with x/y-axes, buttons and hat mapped, one shows the throttle with the z-axis mapped and the final one shows rudder pedals mapped to the Rz-axis. Joystick Gremlin, physical devices mapped to single virtual device. Joystick Gremlin is then configured to run this profile when Falcon 4.0 is started. Device hiding One of the reasons that Joystick Gremlin isn't used often is the lack of comprehensive device hiding. Older sims and DOSBox to this day will attempt to locate a single suitable controller, with vendor software like TM TARGET the physical devices are disabled/hidden leaving only a single virtual device, visible to the sim/game/DOSBox. Having both physical and vJoy devices available isn't a problem for Falcon 4.0, as within the controller setup page, the device itself is selected. It does not matter if the physical stick/throttle/pedals and vJoy device are all visible to Windows and Falcon 4.0, as once selected in-game, only the vJoy device will be used. Wrapper configuration This next section covers wrapper configuration. DxWrapper, created by Elisha (credit and thanks to Elisha) provides DirectDraw wrapping, allowing Falcon 4.0 to run under Win10. The nGlide wrapper from Zeus (credit and thanks to Zeus) allows the use of Glide rendering by the flight engine, when engaged on a mission. DxWrapper The latest version of DxWrapper is used in this guide, at time of writing this is v1.3.7700.25 . Hosted at the DxWrapper GitHub repository, the latest version can be found in the Releases . This version should be download and extracted it's own folder under C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper . The following wrapper files should be copied into the Falcon 4.0 installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ): C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper\dxwrapper.dll C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\dxwrapper\Stub\ddraw.dll The following zip file contains the dxwrapper.ini configuration file, used during testing: nGlide The latest version of nGlide is used in this guide, at time of writing this is v2.10 . Hosted at the Zeus Software website. The latest version can be found in Download nGlide . nGlide config settings If not already installed, this version should be download to it's own folder under C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\wrapper\nglide . The installer package ( nGlide210_setup.exe ) can be run to install nGlide as a system-wide Glide wrapper . The nGlide 2.10 configurator should be run to config nGlide as shown in the dialog box. You may wish to leave the splash screen on for testing and then turn off later. Video patching Falcon 4.0 uses the cinepak codec for playing the intro and campaign movies, however in Win10 these movies don't play. This can be considered a significant problem when playing the campaigns as those videos are absolutely crucial for the player to know how the campaign ended and when it ended (Credit and thanks to RapierCZ, for that crucial bit of info!) We can partially fix this by adding the cinepak codec (obtained from PCGamingWiki): The codec should be copied to the C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak folder and extracted. Only the iccvid.dll file should be copied to Falcon installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ). When started the intro video audio will play (sadly still no video) but more importantly when selecting a campaign, the campaign video will play with video and sound. This marks the end of software configuration of the official patched version, but it is recommended to continue onto the iBeta release. iBeta release The iBeta team would release two later patches v1.08i1 and v1.08i2. v1.08i2 is a cumulative patch including the fixes from v1.08i1 so only this patch is required for the iBeta release. iBeta patching The patch ( falcon4_108i2.zip ) provides an alternative executable to run the sim. It can be found at the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0: iBeta and Realism Patch collection . The patch should be download to C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\ibeta and extracted to obtain the alternate executable, Falcon4_108i2.exe . The executable should be copied to the Falcon 4.0 installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ). F4Patch An F4Patch OCI package exists for the iBeta release ( F4Patch_Standard_32_i2.zip ). Using F4Patch v3.2 and packaged with a standard set of patches, it can be found at the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0 F4Patch collection . Further information on patching with F4Patch can be found in Understanding the F4Patch utility . iBeta TrackIR support The alternate executable, Falcon4_108i2.exe supports TrackIR. The following ssecrion describes how to config it. TIRF4 utility TrackIR support is provided with the use of the TIRF4 utility. The TIRF4 utility ( TIRF4.zip ) is available from the Internet Archive in the Falcon 4.0 utilities collection . The utility should be downloaded into the C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\trackir folder and extracted. The executable file ( TIRF4.exe ) should be copied into the Falcon 4.0 installation folder ( C:\Falcon4 ). TrackIR profile TrackIR comes with a selection of pre-configured profiles. However there are better profiles, one of the best and added to a later Falcon 4.0 BMS release, is the Yassy BMS profile. The Yassy profile is available from the Falcon BMS forum in the TrackIR 4/5 BMS Profile by Yassy topic. The first message uses a Dropbox location , however there are multiple alternatives throughout the thread. Download and store the profile in the C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\trackir folder. This should then be copied to TrackIR profiles folder in Win10, which would normally be: \Users\Appdata\Roaming\Natural Point\TrackIR 5\Profiles The next time TrackIR is started Yassy BMS should be an available profile. Falcon 4.0 should be configured to use this profile within the TrackIR software. Credit and Thanks to Yassy for an excellent TrackIR profile. Enabling in Win10 The TrackIR software is started followed by Falcon 4.0, then the TIRF4 utility is started. The legacy process involved minimising the sim and then starting the utility, before returning to the sim, however this method is problematic in Win10. The nGlide wrapper does not allow the sim to minimised preventing access to the desktop. but the Windows Start menu can be opened. The TIRF4 utility can be pinned and added as a Start menu tile before trying to start Falcon 4.0, however even after starting and receiving TrackIR data, head tracking does not work in the 3d cockpit view. Alternative methods using batch or Powershell scripts also resulted in what seemed to be a successful start but, yet again head tracking did not work. Only one method so far has succeeded. Playnite configuration The only successful method found is to use Playnite , an open source game library manager. Falcon 4.0 can be manually added, the play action configured and within the scripts section, Powershell commands to be run before the game starts can be added. A later script section allows adding commands to be run after the game has started. The TIRF4 utility is added to this section. The below screenshots shows that before Falcon 4.0 is started: Playnite scripting to start software before and after Falcon 4.0 has started. The folder is changed to the Joystick Gremlin folder (for some reason Joystick Gremlin only works when started from within it's installation folder). Joystick Gremlin is started in a minimised state. The TrackIR software is started. The script is paused to allow the software time to startup. The folder is changed back to the Falcon 4.0 installation folder. After Falcon 4.0 is started: The script is paused to allow the Falcon 4.0 time to startup. The TIRF4 utility is started. When this occurs the Falcon 4.0 desktop will be on screen with the menu music playing. The music will stop as app focus is lost by Falcon 4.0 and app focus is gained by TIRF4. Once this happens clicking on the Falcon 4.0 desktop returns app focus to Falcon 4.0 and the music resumes. Once Falcon 4.0 is quit: The Joystick Gremlin app is closed. The TIRF4 app is closed. The TrackIR app is closed. Running Falcon 4.0 To enable TrackIR support in Falcon 4.0 itself, it must be enabled with the -head parameter. So the command to run it becomes: Falcon4_108i2.exe -head Command line options The following is a list of Falcon 4.0 command line options (credit and thanks to LytningRod for this info): Option Description -file Starts mission with ACMI recording on. -event Records an event file for debugging. -repair All objectives are repaired when a campaign is loaded. -armageddon All objectives are destroyed when a campaign is loaded. -log Log frame rates during gameplay to the files 'framerate.csv' and 'fr_summary.csv'. -C ? -UA ? -g Set graphics detail to with useful values being 1 thru 5. This allows the setup sliders to have higher maximum values. -full Run in full screen mode. -window Run in a 640x480 window. Useful with the -time switch to act as a server. -hires Allow higher resolution to be selected. -version Print out the version of Falcon and  exit, e.g. Falcon 4.0 - Version 1.071z:Release Mode -norudder Disable use of rudder control on joystick. -nosmoothing Disable joystick smoothing (filtering out of spikes). -numhats Set the # of hats your joystick has. DirectInput can get this wrong. -nosound Switch off all sound. -nopete No pilot voices, named after Pete, the guy who recorded it. -tacedit Allows you to edit and save training missions. You still have to rename them to .tac from .trn and back again. -norsc Use the raw art files, for debugging. -usersc Don’t use the raw art files, for debugging. -auto Starts the program without the debug menu, debugging only. -nomovie Will not play the intro movie when you launch Falcon 4.0. -noUIcomms In the UI you will not hear the radio chatter or takeoff sounds. -screen Take screenshots in the UI, in TGA format. -time Run as a Server. You will not be able to join the 3D world. -noloader The graphics load around you rather than at start-up. Gets you into the game faster as it misses out part of the pie loading screen. -bandwidth XXX Used for debugging network play, in debug version only. -urview XXX Union reality headgear set. XXX is the angle of view. Between 50-160 degrees, default is 160 degrees. -latency Used for debugging network play, in debug version only. -drop Used for debugging network play, in debug version only. -session ? -hostidx Select between different network cards, will default to first otherwise. -hostid ? -alive Sets the timeout for network play, default is 1 minute. -mono ? -nomono ? -head Turns on the head tracking system. -swap Used for debugging network play, in debug version. -ef ? -ip xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx Use the given IP Address, rather than the default. Useful for NAT routing. -pf xxx Packet flow, used to set network packets to a certain number. In-game configuration The final step is in-game configuration, the two most relevant sections being graphics and controller options. The graphics options settings are shown in the screenshot Graphics settings The video driver is set to Glide , video card set to Voodoo3 and the resolution can be increased to 1600x1200 . The other graphics options can be maximised and canopy cues can be set to both line and reflections. These settings result in 60fps frame rate. The controller options are also equally important: Controller settings The only selection to be made is the controller should be set to vJoy Device . The stick axes, throttle and rudder should be well calibrated. The afterburner detente should be set for the throttle. Documents and manuals An excellent resource is Falcon 4 history , which has a manuals sections, including the historical: Manual (both first and second editions). Communications handbook (both first and second editions). Theater map of Korea. These manuals and documents should be applicable to both 'vanilla' and iBeta releases. Addendum and additional information can be found in the readme files of patches. Example video Finally... Undoubtedly there have been hundreds of individuals that have contributed skills and time to produce the game, patches and utilities used to run it as well as it does. Too many to mention by name, be sure to look out for them in documents and readme files. Credit and thanks to one and all. Good hunting!

A guide to patching Falcon 4.0 with the last official patch. Many of the releases discussed in later articles start with Falcon 4.0 patched to the latest US patch, v1.08. This guide covers taking a freshly installed copy of Falcon 4.0 and applying the patch. This guide will be a little more prescriptive than others. During the installation and patching process, files will need to be copied, and the folders used in the process below are examples I have used. You should feel free to use any suitable folders you wish, but the process will explicitly make use of the examples. History Timeline from release until the final official patch In the Falcon 4.0 timeline, applying this patch takes us from the retail release in December 1998 up to the final official patch release in December 1999. Media It is recommended to rip the retail cd to an iso data only format as there is no cd music on the disc. It is also recommended to save wear and tear on disc and the cd drive. Prerequisites It is recommended to create the following folders prior to installation and patching. These folders will store: files moved or removed, downloaded patches/patch documents and any backups. C:\Falcon4-setup C:\Falcon4-setup\files\f4 C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\official C:\Falcon4-setup\backup\f4-108us (optional) Installing The Falcon 4.0 installer app ( setup.exe ) is a 32-bit app and can be run successfully in Win10. The cd or cd image image should be mounted and the installer app run. There may be a short delay before the app starts. During the install process: Choose a simple installation folder, e.g. C:\Falcon4 . Choose a Full install . Ensure the DirectX 6 checkbox is unchecked . Post install actions Once installation has complete there are some further actions to take to prepare for patching: Copy the C:\Falcon4\Zips\Tacrdata.ZIP file into the C:\Falcon4-setup\files\f4 folder. The patch has a bug that will remove this file without replacing it. Delete the C:\Falcon4\msvcrt.dll file. It was an old version, even when the official patch was released and may cause issues with the patch install. This file is replaced with a later version by the patch. This completes the installation. Patching The last official patch ( f4108us.zip ) and readme ( f4108-readme.txt ) is available from the Internet Archive, Falcon 4.0 Official patch collection . The patch should be downloaded and placed in the C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\official folder. The zip contents can be extracted to this folder. The extracted patch can be run from this folder. It is a 32-bit executable and will run successfully in Win10. The patch runs in two parts, with the second part updating art and object data. Once complete click Finish . Post patching actions Once patching has complete there are some further actions to take to correct issues introduced with the patch: Copy the C:\Falcon4-setup\files\f4\Tacrdata.ZIP file back into the C:\Falcon4\Zips folder. Delete the C:\Falcon4\msvcrt.dll  file as it remains an older version. The current version in the Windows system will be far more recent. Delete the duplicate C:\Falcon4\Simdata.ZIP file, the copy already in the C:\Falcon4\Zips folder is sufficient. This completes the patching. Optional actions Once patching is complete you may wish to create a zip archive of the C:\Falcon4 folder as a backup, as many of the later articles start from this point. It is recommended to place the backup in C:\Falcon4-setup\backup\f4-108us . Good hunting!

eFalcon logo A guide to building an eFalcon release of Falcon 4.0. This will be building the last version of eFalcon, version 1.10. In addition the configuration steps to run it under Win10 will also be covered. This release dropped support for Glide, concentrating instead on updating the DirectX libraries from DX6 to DX7. This would also be the first release to feature a cold ramp start of the F-16. This release does not support TrackIR, like the official v1.08 release. It must also be run in a 1024x768 resolution to take advantage of the eFalcon cockpits. The patch files required by this version were found almost by accident whilst looking for F4Patch patches for other builds. Were it not for a chap from Turkey who created a page (quite a while ago from the looks of it) at a university website on how to build the release, and happened to include the patches, this may have been lost to time. Thank you 'Jeffel', whoever and wherever you are! eFalcon history History What is unique about the eFalcon release is that it was originally based on a late development v1.07 version of the retail release. Originally developed by eRazor with the first patch released in July 2000. The eTeam would release further enhancements using the name eFalcon creating the v1.09 and the final v1.10 release in August 2001, the same time as Realism Patch v5.0 was released. For further information on the history of eFalcon, The Falcon Epopee is highly recommended. Prerequisites The folder prerequisites are listed below: C:\Falcon4-setup\files\f4 C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\joystick-gremlin C:\Falcon4-setup\utils\cinepak C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\official C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\efalcon Release patches The following patches are required to build this release: eFalcon v1.10 with Realism Patch v5.0 patches ( eFalcon110RP5_Installer.zip ). The following patches are optional: F4Patch standard v4.1 with Realism Patch v5.0 patches ( F4Patch_Standard_41RP5.zip ). eFalcon extras ( eFalcon_Extras.zip ). F4Patch sound v4.0 ( F4Patch_Sound_40.zip ). Paul Wilson's wide angle cockpit for eFalcon v1.10 ( pw110v1.zip ). The eFalcon patches can be found at the Internet Archive in Falcon 4.0 eFalcon patch collection . The F4Patch patches can be found at the Internet Archive in Falcon 4.0 F4Patch collection . These patches should be copied to C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\efalcon . Starting point This build is based on the final official patched version v1.08. To create this build, take a look at The official patched version . Building the release This release is build using the F4Patch utility, it is recommended to read Understanding the F4Patch utility , if you are unfamiliar with this utility. The optional patches will be installed in expanded mode. The contents of the efalcon v1.10 zip file ( eFalcon110RP5_Installer.zip ) should be extracted and the installer ( eFalcon110RP5_Installer.exe ) copied to the Falcon installation folder. It should be run and should complete successfully. eFalcon v1.10 is now installed. Optional patches The following optional patches should be applied in the order in which they appear in this list: F4Patch standard v4.1 with Realism Patch v5.0 patches ( F4Patch_Standard_41RP5.zip ). eFalcon extras ( eFalcon_Extras.zip ). F4Patch sound v4.0 ( F4Patch_Sound_40.zip ). To install, the process is as follows: The contents of each zip file should be extracted and the installer executable copied into the Falcon installation folder. The installer should be run. If you are given a list of filters to choose from, the eFalcon patches filter should be chosen. Choose the eFalcon Patches filter. The installer Expand Package option should be selected. The existing F4Patch folder should NOT be replaced. This is to add patches to the existing F4Patch folder. Quit the installer. You have the option of expanding a package and running F4Patch after each package has expanded, to choose patches and apply them, one package at a time... Or expand all the packages first and then run F4Patch and choose your patches. The process in either case is: Once expanded, run the F4Patch executable ( F4Patch.exe ) in the Falcon installation folder. Choose the eFalcon patches filter. Choose the patches you would like to apply, e.g. colour MFD's, eFalcon sounds, airbase relocation, eFalcon cockpits, fixed memory leaks, new UI screens, etc. The manual recommends the following: A new UI screen The Settings General should look familiar to most experienced Falcon pilots. Note there are four patches only available in eFalcon currently. AWACs support, Smart Combat AP, Smart Scaling, and Weather Effects should be considered for selection as they add significantly to the simulation's immersion. Click on Apply Changes . Paul Wilson's cockpit The process for installing Paul Wilson's wide cockpit is slightly different as it isn't distributed as a F4Patch executable installer. Extract the contents of the zip file ( pw110v1.zip ) and copy the extracted folders into the F4Patch folder in the Falcon installation folder. Once expanded, run the F4Patch executable ( F4Patch.exe ) in the Falcon installation folder. Choose the eFalcon patches  filter. Choose the Paul Wilson cockpit and optionally the HUD tint patches. Click on Apply Changes . This completes building the release. Microsoft libraries It is recommended to remove/move/rename the legacy Microsoft Visual C DLLs listed below from the Falcon 4.0 installation folder and rely on the modern Win10 versions: msvcp60.dll msvcrt.dll Missing optional patches The eFalcon v1.10 manual specifies that the F4Patch packages F4Patch_Cockpit_40.zip and F4Patch_Skin_32.zip can be used with eFalcon v1.10. I haven't been able to find them so if anyone has them please get in touch! HOTAS config This release continues to use the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin utilities as described in The official and iBeta releases . Axes configuration will be identical. If you have configured buttons, you may wish to change some for this release. Wrapper config This release can run under Win10 without any DirectX wrappers. There is an argument that a wrapper would provide better scaling at a native resolution, however testing has revealed a trade off in image quality between: HUD and MFD text. Cockpit text (text on/around switches/dials, warning panel text). Landscape and environment. In conclusion, despite DDrawCompat, DxWrapper and dgVoodoo2 wrappers working as intended, the trade off in HUD/MFD readability (being the most important aspect during a flight) means that wrappers are not recommended. You are always free to try and improve on my results! Graphics config However, we need not leave the graphics unmodified. The nVidia control panel was used to try and optimise the graphics. In the Manage 3D Settings a new program entry was added for eFalcon.exe . The following settings were used: Image Scaling: On Anisotropic filtering: Application-controlled Antialiasing - Mode: Application-controlled Multi-Frame Sampled AA (MFAA): On Texture filtering - Negative LOD bias: Allow Vertical sync: Use the 3D application setting There may be far better settings, in which case feel free to let me know! I'm assuming there is similar functionality in software supplied with AMD/Intel graphics cards. Video patching Video patching remains unchanged from The official and iBeta releases . TrackIR support TrackIR is not supported by this release. Given that the official v1.08 release did not support TrackIR and the eFalcon code is based on an earlier version of the code, this was not surprising. In-game configuration This release must be run in 1024x768 resolution, to use the eFalcon or Paul Wilson cockpits. From the manual: To preserve the realistic weapons functionality there are 2 required graphics settings: Object Density must be set to 6. Player bubble must be set to 3. Set the 1024x7688 resolution, Object Density and Player Bubble Documents, manuals and guides The eFalcon manual should be used in conjunction with the existing Falcon 4.0 retail manual. The available eFalcon documents are: An eFalcon v1.10 manual within the Falcon 4.0 installation folder. An eFalcon v1.10 manual and a later rev6a manual can be found at the Internet Archive in Falcon 4.0 eFalcon patch collection . A keyboard reference can found within the Falcon 4.0 installation folder. Ramp start guide There is an interactive Shockwave Flash ramp start guide. It can can be found at the Internet Archive in Falcon 4.0 eFalcon patch collection . Example video eFalcon v1.10 demo Finally... Credit and huge thanks go to eRazor and the eTeam for eFalcon and to 'Jeffel' for helping preserve eFalcon!

Based on a SuperPak release The MP project aims were to improve and rework the network components of Falcon 4.0. The result was not a full release in its own right like eFalcon or the SuperPak releases but a modification to an existing SuperPak release, replacing the Falcon 4.0 executable and a number of the comms components. This seems to have been a relatively minor offshoot from SuperPak 3 and it's unlikely this release would see much use today. However, it is part of the Falcon 4.0 history and to prevent it disappearing into obscurity and being lost to time, this article exists. MP history History Created by William Mulvihill, the first version, MP 2 was released in early October 2003, with the final version MP 5.1 being released in late November 2003. The MP updates would eventually be incorporated into Falcon 4.0: Allied Force. For a more detailed history The Falcon Epopee  is highly recommended. Prerequisites The SuperPak 4.2 prerequisites are required and the following additional setup folder: C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\mp51 Release patches The SuperPak 4.2 release patch is required and in addition: The MP 5.1 patch ( FalconSP_MP5-1.zip ) This can be found at the Internet Archive in  Falcon 4.0: SuperPak patch collection . This patch should be copied to C:\Falcon4-setup\patches\mp51  and the contents extracted. Starting point The starting point for building this release is a complete SuperPak 4.2 release. SuperPak 4.2 has support for integrating this patch into the release, in the FalconSP config editor. Building Building SuperPak 4.2, is the first step. Once that is complete, the following steps should be followed: Optionally, backup/rename/move or remove the existing FalconSP executable ( FalconSP.exe ). Copy all files and folder extracted from the MP 5.1 patch into the Falcon installation folder, overwriting existing files when requested. Open the FalconSP config editor ( falconsp config editor.exe ). Go to (SP) FalconSP and Settings Multiplayer . Select the MP5.1.exe patch, as shown in the screenshot. Selecting the MP5.1.exe patch. Note the new executable. Click on Ok to dismiss the dialog box and Apply Changes to apply the patch. This will create a new executable ( falconsp_mp5-1.exe ). Use the Browse... button to select this as the executable to use, as shown in the screenshot above. Click on the Refresh Patches button and Exit the config editor. This completes the release build. Further configuration The rest of the configurations options are identical to those for SuperPak 4.2 including. You may have already completed these steps when building the SuperPak 4.2 release: HOTAS config . Graphics config . Video patching . Track IR Support . In-game config . Running With the change in executable the command to run Falcon 4.0 with TrackIR support becomes: falconsp_mp5-1.exe -head In addition the graphics can be enhanced with the -g command line option, e.g. falconsp_mp5-1.exe -head -g4 Although this may incur a performance overhead depending on your machine. Documentation The same documents listed for SuperPak 4.2 should be used, including the ramp start utility. Finally... Credit and thanks to William Mulvihill for the MP multiplayer updates.

F4Patch utility as used by the Realism Patch v5.0 Before continuing on with more releases, it's time to take a look at the ubiquitous F4Patch utility. Due to it's clever ways of working it soon became the de facto method of releasing patches by the community. It was created by Joel Bierling in May 2000. The main reason for this article is that there are many old articles which explain the steps to take to produce a particular build of Falcon 4.0, but don't explain how the F4Patch works or the options available. This article is aimed at helping you understand the F4Patch utility, so instead of having to rely on a set of steps, you'll understand the options open to you and in combination with a patch readme, understand the options in applying the patch. F4Patch history History In the Falcon 4.0 timeline, the F4Patch was introduced in May 2000 and would continue to form part of the Falcon 4.0 ecosphere until version 5.0 in February 2004. For more details on a history of the F4Patch utility, chapter 4 of The Falcon Epopee is recommended. Modes of operation The single most important thing to realize is that the F4Patch utility can function in two modes: A packaged One Click Installer (OCI) mode. An expanded/exploded mode. When installing a patch you may find yourself using one or both of these modes multiple times depending on the complexity of the patch or the number of different patch packages you wish to install. One Click Installer (OCI) mode In the One Click Installer (OCI) mode the F4Patch utility, F4Patch.exe in combination with a set of patches is packaged together as a one click installer app, e.g. the Realism Patch v5.0 is distributed as the OCI, F4_RP_v50_Installer.exe. When the installer is run, F4Patch is started and you can apply the essential/required patches that make up the Realism Patch v5.0. Once complete Falcon 4.0 is patched to Realism Patch v5.0. Click 'Apply Patch' and it's done! Adding more patches The Realism Patch installer also contains a number of optional patches. What do we do if we want to install one of those? We can simply rerun the OCI again, but instead of selecting 'Apply patch' (it's already been applied) we can select Advanced and see the patches installed and those that aren't installed. The required patches can be selected and then applied. Clicking 'Advanced' shows us the applied patches and the optional ones that can be added. Pretty straight-forward so far, but what do we do if the patch we want to install is packaged inside it's own one click installer? This is when we use the expanded/exploded mode. Expanded/exploded mode In expanded/exploded mode the OCI installer is expanded/exploded out into two components: The F4Patch utility, F4Patch.exe . An F4Patch folder containing all of the patches in the installer. To expand/explode a package: Select the Advanced option. Select File and Expand Package . The first time you expand a package, you'll be asked : You can answer yes or no it's your preference. Yes, to continue. Note : it's often suggested to run the OCI from the Falcon 4.0 installation folder. This will put the F4Patch.exe and F4Patch folder in the Falcon 4.0 installation folder. You don't have to and can create a separate folder sitting alongside your installation folder, or elsewhere, if preferred. Whichever folder you ran the OCI from, you should now see the OCI , the F4Patch.exe file and the F4Patch folder . You can remove the OCI or move it to another folder for safe-keeping. Adding more patches Now the OCI package is expanded we can run F4Patch.exe directly and add any of the patches in the F4Patch folder. In fact once expanded this is the preferred method to use. But back to the previous question, what if the patch we want is in it's own OCI package? E.g. a cockpit patch in it's own cockpit OCI installer package. Now that we know about this second mode of operation, we can run the cockpit OCI installer and select the Expand Package option. When we do this we'll see an addition question: An additional second question. The first question appears as normal, and Yes we would like to continue. This second question asks if the F4Patch folder should be replaced. If we answered Yes the F4Patch folder would be replaced and only contain the cockpit patches from the cockpit OCI installer. In these cases we want to answer No . We wish to keep the existing Realism patches and add the cockpit patches to them in the F4Patch folder. The third question is one we've already seen before, telling us where the F4Patch.exe is and asking if we'd like a desktop shortcut. Again the shortcut is a personal preference. Now we have all the patches in one F4Patch folder, we can run F4Patch.exe and select our new cockpit patches to apply. We can continue to expand additional OCI installers, adding their patches to our existing F4Patch folder each time, before applying them with F4Patch.exe. A Realism Patch v5.0 example This is an example of installing the Realism Patch v5.0 over an existing iBeta i2 release. The Realism Patch v5.0 is distributed as an F4Patch OCI package. Installing Realism Patch v5.0 After downloading and extracting the archive we have: Installation instructions, ( F4_RP_v50_Install_ReadMe.pdf ) The F4 Realism Patch v5.0 OCI installer, ( F4_RP_v50_Installer.exe ) We can copy the F4_RP_v50_Installer.exe into the Falcon 4.0 installation folder and run it, in OCI mode. The OCI installer will create Falcon4_RP5.exe and will automatically find the existing Falcon4_108i2.exe. Then all we have to do is is click Apply Patch and it's installed! we can now run Falcon4_RP5.exe to experience the Realism Patch v5.0. Success! Adding 3d models The 3d models aren't considered essential patches and rely on the Realism Patch already being applied. Since this has just been done we could: Run the OCI installer again. Select the Advanced option. Select the 3d model patches, paying attention to what the installation guide, F4_RP_v50_Install_ReadMe.pdf has told us. Apply the 3d model patches and we'd be done! However this is an example, so we'll use the expanded package method. Expanding the F4Patch installer To use the expanded mode to install the 3d models: Selecting more patches Run the OCI installer again. Select the Advanced option. Select the Expand package option. You should know how to answer the questions now: Yes to continue. No , if an existing F4Patch folder is found. And the shortcut is your choice. Now we can run F4Patch directly. It's just a case of expanding the Realism Patch v5.0 . And selecting the 3D Models Parent Patch . And any other patches which look appealing, like the Memory Leak sealed patch. And finally select Apply Change . More success! We have now created a fully patched Realism Patch v5.0 release. Filters and their use Within F4Patch you may have noticed the filter options. Filters allowed the list of applied patches to be saved. The filter can be loaded at later date to preselect patches to apply. Filters were sometimes used by the members of Virtual Fighter Wings (VFW's) to ensure each member would be using exactly the same patches, to increase robustness of Falcon 4.0 during any multiplayer missions. They can also be used to record the list of patches you are using when everything is set up 'just right'. If trying out a new patch goes horribly wrong then you can reload your filter and get back to your preferred release. Note : that with some complex patches like Realism Patch v5.0, the installation process may require running F4Patch multiple times, so keep that in mind. Various versions On your search for patches you may find copies of F4Patch using this naming convention (very roughly): F4Patchx.x_.exe or .zip So taking a hypothetical example: F4Patch4.1_RP5.exe Indicates this is F4Patch v4.1 packaged with the Realism patch v5.0. While: F4Patch_Standard_32_i2.exe Is an OCI installer using F4Patch v3.2 with a standard set of patches suitable for an iBeta i2 release. As you can see the naming does vary, but you get the idea of what's included. Non-compliant patches/mods Not all patches you may find will be F4Patch compliant. Many early and some quite late patches are distributed as zip files which must be extracted replacing files, or entire folders in your Falcon 4.0 installation folders. When encountering these patches, follow the enclosed installation instructions, paying particular attention, if it should be installed before or after using F4Patch. Finally... Hopefully after reading this article you'll feel a bit more confident in patching Falcon 4.0 with F4Patch. Good hunting! (for patches)

A guide to running the 1998 Software refinery space sim/shooter, 'Hardwar. The future is greedy' (to give it, it's full title) in Win10. Not well marketed on release it's not a well known space sim but has gained a cult following over the years and there's still a small but active community present today, a testament to the game. The setting is the off-world settlement of Misplaced Optimism located in the craters of Saturn's moon, Titan. Ignored and abandoned by the rest of the solar system, the inhabitants have been left to fight and survive as best they can, giving the game a grimdark setting. This guide will cover, installation, configuration and patching enhancements to optimise use with modern Windows and give it a graphical makeover. Media Hardwar was distributed on two cds, but as usual cd images will be used in preference to physical media, to save wear and tear on discs and drive. Physical cd's should be ripped to the cue/bin image pair format, as cd audio tracks are on the disc. This guide will be based on a ripped retail cd version but should also be applicable to Steam  and ZOOM platform  digital releases. 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 a combination of devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be configured (with vendor software or Joystick Gremlin), limited to 4 axes. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Note: In game, the rudder can be configured to swivel the pilot's view left and right. Installation Installation with cd images is a straightforward process, once the appropriate compatibility options are applied. The first cd should be mounted in Win10/11. The installer app ( setup.exe ) on the first Hardwar cd should be set to Windows 95 compatibility and run as Administrator. The installation should run and complete without issue. The first cd should left mounted until all of the patches/configurations are applied. Digital releases should use the appropriate client to install. Patching There are three set of patches that are available for Hardwar. All the patches mentioned below are available from the Captain Zedo Hardwar Community Site under Downloads . Official patches The officially released patches from The Software Refinery. These patches are named U. The final U2.04 Patch is an optional recommended patch, as it provides a stable base version for Beta patches. It can be skipped if the final unofficial patch is applied instead. It is assumed that digital releases would already be patched to this version. Official Beta patches A set of beta patches from The Software Refinery that were not officially released, but later made available to the community. These patches are named U3.00 Beta Patch. These patches were not considered polished and/or stable enough for official release. These are not recommended for an initial vanilla playthrough, however veteran players may wish to experiment with them. Unofficial patches Work has continued in patching Hardwar by Ian Martin (thanks and credit to Ian). The UIM patch series make essential changes to video components for later Windows versions and make fixes to the in game economy. The patches are cumulative so only the last UIM06 Patch needs to be installed. This patch is key to getting Hardwar to run under Win10 and is a strongly recommended patch for an initial playthrough. It should be downloaded to the Hardwar installation folder, unzipped and the installer ( HardwarUIM06.exe ) run. Configuration This section of the guide covers configuration through the Hardman game launcher, dgVoodoo2 configuration which provides some limited upscaling and allows ReShade to hook into the DirectX libraries and provide graphical enhancements. Hardman launcher Hardman It recommended to change the compatibility mode of Hardman.exe to Windows XP (Service Pack 2) . Configuring the game through Hardman requires setting the Display, Audio and Controls options. Display options Display The Display options are those required to allow dgVoodoo2 to process graphics without issue. The key settings (see screenshot) are: Game resolution: Must not exceed 1920 x 1080 . Use software mouse pointer: Enabled . MipMaps: Enabled . Image Quality 32 Bit Textures: Must be disabled . Audio options Audio All settings can be enabled, the ' Sample rate ' can be set to the maximum of ' 22 Khz ' (see screenshot). Note : The Levels button is no longer functional in modern Windows but this can be addressed in the Hardwar music pack . Control options Controls The key is to set the ' Flight ' control to your physical or virtual controller (whichever is required by your HOTAS setup, to limit it to 4 axes), The example screenshot shows a Thrustmaster Virtual Game Controller selected, the configuration is described in HOTAS config ). dgVoodoo2 This guide assumes the latest version of dgVoodoo2, which is v2.86.1 (at time of writing), available from Dege's dgVoodoo2 GitHub repository, under Releases . Once again credit and thanks to Dege for the amazing dgVoodoo2 tool. Using dgVoodoo2 allows ReShade to hook into the graphics libraries and provide enhancements. Without dgVoodoo2, ReShade is unable to initialise. Installation The UIM06 Patch removes Glide rendering, so only the DirectX components of dgVoodoo2 are required. The following files should be extracted from the zip archive and copied to the Hardwar installation folder: dgVoodoo.conf dgVoodooCpl.exe \MS\x86\D3D8.dll \MS\x86\D3D9.dll \MS\x86\D3DImm.dll \MS\x86\DDraw.dll Note : only the files need to be copied into the installation folder, the \MS\x86 path is not needed. Configuration The settings for dgVoodoo2 are shown in the screenshots below, the key settings being: General Output API: Direct3D 11 (feature level 10.0) , higher versions introduce lag and reduce frame rates. Appearance Full Screen is selected. Scaling mode: Stretched, keep Aspect Ratio . Hardwar works well with a widescreen aspect ratio. DirectX Videocard: dgVoodoo Virtual 3D Accelerated Card is selected. VRAM: 1024MB . Resolution: Max QHD ISF is selected, or the highest setting applicable to your monitor. Integer Scaling Factor (ISF) is recommended to prevent scaling issues Antialiasing (MSAA): 8x is selected, although this is a personal preference. MIscellaneous: dgVoodoo Watermark: Checked , to confirm dgVoodoo2 is being used. Once confirmed, it can be disabled. General options DirectX options Reshade ReShade provides graphical enhancements to a wide variety of games using modern graphical libraries available to today's high performance GPUs. This guide assumes the latest version of ReShade, v6.5.1, available from the ReShade site. Installation Once downloaded the ReShade installer ( ReShade_Setup_6.5.1.exe ) should be extracted into the Hardwar installation folder. Download the ReShade preset zip file and extract the presets ( HardwarReShade.ini) into the Hardwar installation folder. Note : These are the nearly all the shaders used in the testing video at the end of this guide. They are not definitive, you should feel free to try out different shaders to find a set you prefer. Run the ReShade installer, Select the Hardwar game executable ( HardwarW.exe ) from within the Hardwar installation folder. Select the rendering API, as we are using dgVoodoo2, this will be DirectX 10/11/12 . Select the effects to install. An individual effect or collections of effects can be installed, however it is easier to use the ReShade preset file instead. Click the browse button at the bottom and select HardwarReShade.ini from the Hardwar installation folder. Note : Running the ReShade installer again will provide options to 'Update ReShade', 'Update Reshade and effects' or 'Uninstall ReShade'. Selecting ' Update Reshade and effects ' will allow additional or alternative shaders to be installed. This will allow you to try out different combinations to find a set of shaders you prefer. There are alternative ray tracing shaders like COMPLETE_RT or RTGI , however you may need to join the Patreon and a donation is suggested. Configuration Nearly all of the configuration is contained within the HardwarReShade presets file. However there is a further recommended config change. To open ReShade and configure: Start the game from the Hardman game launcher. When the ReShade banner appears, open reshade with the key. Go to ' Settings ' and in the ' General ' section (see screenshot): Change the Start-up preset to HardwarReShade.ini. Check the option ' Load only enabled effects ', to reduce the memory overhead. ReShade settings Further patching There are couple of additional changes to make, to remove the need to mount a cd or cd image. It is assumed these changes are not required for Steam or Zoom platform digital releases. Copying movies/removing cd check Despite the UIM06 patch removing the cd check, a cd/cd image may still be requested if the in-game videos are not available within the Hardwar installation folder. The Hardwar videos are in the Gremlin Digital Video format (.gdv). To prevent this, all video .gdv files should be copied from both cds or cd images into the Hardwar installation folder. Hardwar video played with ffplay in the ffmpeg toolset Note : some video .gdv files are duplicated on both cds, so if you are asked to overwrite existing files, do so. This will result in a complete set of videos in the Hardwar installation folder. Note : the Gremlin Digital Video format can be played with the ffplay utility in the ffmpeg toolset. Credit and thanks go to darkphoenix for the post on Captain Zedo's Hardwar Forum and to Bladez1992 on the Hardwar Discord. Hardwar music pack Credit and thanks go to solidox for the post on Captain Zedo's Hardwar Forum. From solidox: I looked about and couldn't find any existing solutions to get the soundtrack working other than emulating CD drives or using external media player. So I took this ogg-winmm wrapper and modified it to work with Hardwar. This allows the soundtrack to be played in-game from ogg vorbis files instead of the CD. The zip archive found in the  post should be downloaded and the contents extracted into the Hardwar installation folder. There are also additional instruction included in the readme ( HardwarMusicPack.txt ), to set the music volume independently of the main volume, with a registry edit. This completes the patching and configuration of Hardwar. Enhancements There is a replacement Hardwar launcher, HardLaunch, written by Bladez1992, it is a replacement for the HardMan launcher. It can be found at the HardLaunch GitHub repository . It may be a little overwhelming for those new to the game, but for veterans or anyone wishing to experiment, it may prove to be a worthy addition. Installation/removal instructions can be found in the link above. Documentation The manual is available as a pdf on the first cd/cd image. A second version of the manual containing in-game screenshots, is also available. They were originally distributed as cd jewel case sized manuals. Both are relatively short for a space sim manual, so it is recommended to consult the following section for additional information. Further information The first stop for any Hardwar information, patches, tools, mods, moth skins and much more is Captain Zedo Hardwar Community Site . This has been the definitive Hardwar site for many years. From this site you can also reach... Captain Zedo's Hardwar Forum , the forum for the Hardwar community. Tim Howgego also hosts a huge amount of background material and other resources at the Hardwar section of his site. There's also /r/hardwar on Reddit. And last, but certainly not least, is the Hardwar Discord . Finally... Here's a video of me testing out Hardwar dgVoodoo2 and ReShade. In this video I'm actually using the COMPLETE RT shader but the DH_UBER_RT shader looks very similar. Remember, the future is greedy!

A guide to running DOS retail, DOS digital and Windows versions of Wing Commander 1 in DOSBox Staging and native Windows 10. A classic of the space sim genre Wing Commander has always been problematic to run on modern hardware due to the speed sensitive nature of the game. A situation vastly improved but not resolved with DOSBox or the Windows version which formed part of the Kilrathi Saga compilation. This guide will cover recent developments made in running the DOS version which has finally produced an ideal solution. In addition it will cover methods for running the Windows version natively in Win10, both of which produce seamless, speed correct gameplay. This guide is organised a little differently due to the multiple versions being covered. Strategy The strategy for installing the DOS version makes use of the Wing Commander AllTinker overhaul mod (or W.C.A.T. overhaul mod), while the Windows (Kilrathi Saga) version will use the WCDX patch for native Win10. Wing Commander AllTinker overhaul mod (W.C.A.T.) W.C.A.T. launcher The W.C.A.T. overhaul mod is the creation of AllTinker, a very talented modder. It combines speed limiting, bug fixes, content fixes and additional options all bundled with a launcher that matches the look and feel of Wing Commander! The W.C.A.T. overhaul mod comes in three options: A Windows installer package with DOSBox Staging bundled. A zip archive with DOSBox Staging bundled. A custom option (for existing DOSBox Staging installations). In the words of AllTinker: This overhaul is something I've wanted to see ever since machines became too fast to correctly play Wing Commander (i.e. the early '90s). Even if you jumped through the hoops to slow your machine down, the busier missions then turned into a complete slideshow! This is the result of about a year's part-time labour, following on from several aborted attempted over the years, and has evolved into quite an extensive overhaul. You can read more about it at Wing Commander AllTinker overhaul mod . All credit and a huge amount of thanks to AllTinker, which doesn't seem sufficient given the hard work involved. The download is free, but you can donate to AllTInker to help him continue his work and I was pleased to be able to donate! WCDX - Kilrathi Saga for modern Windows The WCDX patch is a comprehensive patch for Wing Commander (Kilrathi Saga) that updates DirectX calls, removes privileged instructions allowing it work seamlessly in Win10 and a variety of bug fixes. In Stingers own words: A long, long time ago, I started working on a patch for the Kilrathi Saga version of Wing Commander 1. Slightly less than a long, long time ago, I got sidetracked. (Narrator: It would not be the last time.) A couple of weeks ago I decided to pick the project back up, and now it's ready for an introduction. Thanks to all your support and suggestions over the years, this is all quite playable now! Created by Stinger, you can read more about it in the WCDX post on the Wing Commander CIC forum. This patch is also compatible with the Kilrathi Saga Secret Missions 1 & 2 addons. Another huge amount of credit and thanks to Stinger on creating the patch! Media Due to the age of the media and the drives required to use them, this guide, like others, assumes physical media will be ripped to images to preserve the game. Floppy disk based media should be ripped to an .ima or .img image format. CDs can be ripped to a data only .iso image format. Game management The game management strategy described in the previous article ' DOSBox game management ' will continue to be used where appropriate. Throughout the article examples will be provided. HOTAS config The HOTAS config differs depending on the version being used. Due to the joystick handling code being rewritten for the W.C.A.T. overhaul mod, it can support a 4 axes, 4 button HOTAS, so joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported . The Windows versions can only support a 2 axes stick. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using a combination of devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be configured (with vendor software or Joystick Gremlin), limited to 4 axes. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis (DOSBox + W.C.A.T) Windows axis (Native + WCDX) Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS None Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS None It is useful to configure the virtual controller with all physical devices even if they aren't used as this prevents Windows from auto assigning axes from the wrong device. DOS version DOS version With the release of W.C.A.T. the DOS version has become the optimum version to use, once patched The DOS digital releases of Wing Commander are available through gog.com , or the EA Store . There are options to install a disk or cd (image) retail version and then patch it with W.C.A.T. or install a digital release and then patch with W.C.A.T. or install one of the W.C.A.T. download options which includes a preconfigured DOSBox Staging. This last option may be preferable if you haven't installed DOSBox Staging already. Patching uses the W.C.A.T. custom DOSBox Staging download option. DOSBox Config If the W.C.A.T. install option is used, this custom DOSBox config is not needed. This custom DOSBox config is based on the suggested config from AllTinker with some changes for versioned MIDI ROM location, additional settings and the removal of default settings. It uses the latest version of DOSBox Staging which is v0.82.1 (at time of writing). It is recommended to use the default DOSBox Staging config and then apply these settings that differ from the defaults: [sdl] fullscreen = true vsync = off [dosbox] memsize = 4 vmemsize = 1 [cpu] cputype = 486 core = dynamic cpu_cycles = 32000 cpu_cycles_protected = auto cycleup = 100 cycledown = 100 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] mouse_capture = onstart [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] model = mt32_old romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" [sblaster] sbtype = sb2 [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = true swap34 = true deadzone = 0 [dos] ver = 6.22 Note : Due to the changes made by the W.C.A.T. mod high frame rate settings aren't used as they cause text flickering on some screens. The settings in normal text are those that are identical to AllTinkers suggested config, whilst those in bold differ from the suggested config for the following reasons: vsync is changed from false to off, as this is the setting described in the default config for v0.82.1, however the intent is the same, off/false. cyclesup and cyclesdown have been changed with a suitable small increment and decrement. The [voodoo] section is changed with voodoo disabled. Voodoo emulation is not required. A [mixer] section is changed with reverb and chorus settings set to personal preference. The [mt32] section has been changed. The model is mt32_old as this is the most compatible model for Wing Commander according to the VOGON wiki article, ' List of MT-32-compatible computer games '. The romdir settings is using versioned ROMS as described in the earlier article, ' DOSBox midi '. The [joystick] section has been changed with settings appropriate for my HOTAS. These settings may need to be adjusted for your own setup. The timed setting must be set to true. The following are additional settings from AllTinkers suggested config. Those settings in normal text were removed as they were identical to v0.82.1 default settings. [sdl] output = opengl fullresolution = desktop windowresolution = default vsync = false waitonerror = true priority = auto mapperfile = mapper.map [cpu] cpu_throttle = off [dosbox] machine = svga_s3 [render] aspect = true integer_scaling = off [capture] capture_dir = capture [mouse] mouse_sensitivity = 100 [midi] mpu401 = intelligent [mt32] model = auto romdir = "../ROMs" [joystick] joysticktype = auto deadzone = 0 [dos] ems = true [autoexec] @echo off MOUNT C "..\files" C: CLS CALL LAUNCHER.BAT EXIT Those settings in bold were changed for the reasons below: The vsync setting in the default config for v0.82.1, is false rather than off, however the intent is the same. The mapper file is probably part of one of the W.C.A.T. download options that includes DOSBox Staging. In the custom config the default mapper file is used. The cpu_throttle setting in the default config for v0.82.1 is false (a default setting) rather than off. The render options weren't used, as the DOSBox Staging default uses the crt-auto shader to provide 'out of the box' CRT emulation with default render settings optimised for this shader. The mt32 model was explicitly specified rather than left as auto (a default setting). The romdir setting is used by the W.C.A.T. download options that includes DOSBox Staging. In the custom config versioned ROMS were used instead. The joystick settings were changed as appropriate for my HOTAS rather than these defaults. [autoexec] settings will be customised for an existing DOSBox Staging installation and game management strategy.. You should feel free to experiment and apply settings to find your own optimum playing experience. Installing retail releases This is the method to use to install using disk or cd images with an existing DOSBox Staging installation. Only once Wing Commander is installed is the W.C.A.T. (custom DOSBox download option) patch applied. Note : I don't have retail disks or cd, so this is an educated best guess at the steps involved. Game management My game management strategy is to install all DOS games in the same location with a folder for each game so for Wing Commander I have: D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander You should choose an appropriate folder for your setup. Within this folder the following sub folders are recommended: conf - to store DOSBox and HOTAS config files. fdd - to store floppy disk images, with the following sub-folders: wc - for Wing Commander images. sm1 - for Secret Mission 1 images. sm2 - for Secret Mission 2 images cd - to store a cd image for cd retail versions (e.g. Wing Commander: Deluxe Edition) hdd - an emulated hard disk folder for Wing Commander. The DOSBox [autoexec] section The following is a DOSBox config [autoexec] section with some example mount commands suitable for the above game management folders. You will need to change these to use your own Wing Commander folder. [autoexec] # mount wing commander disk images # imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\fdd\wc\*.img" -t floppy # mount secret mission 1 disk images # imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\fdd\sm1\*.img" -t floppy # mount secret mission 2 disk images # imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\fdd\sm2\*.img" -t floppy # mount wing commander cd image (e.g. wc.iso) # imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\cd\wc.iso" -t cdrom # mount the DOS hard disk mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\hdd" # go to the c: drive c: Note: The disk and cd images are commented out, so remove the # to enable an imgmount command. Installing To install the base game from floppy disk images you'll want to: Enable the 'mount Wing Commander disk images' command and start DOSBox with this custom config. You should be able to go to the A: drive and run the Wing Commander installer ( install.exe ). To swap to the next disk use + F4 . Once complete, close DOSBox and disable the 'mount wing commander disk images command.' Then enable the 'mount Secret Missions 1' command, start DOSBox and run the Secret Missions 1 installer from the A: drive. Once complete, close DOSBox and disable the 'mount Secret Missions 1' command. Now enable 'mount Secret Missions 2' command, start DOSBox, install and once complete, close and disable 'mount Secret Missions 2'. To install the base game and secret missions from cd image ( Note : this assumes files are copied from the cd to the 'hard disk' and not run from the cd): Enable the 'mount Wing Commander cd image' command and start DOSBox with this custom config. You should be able to go to the D: drive and run the Wing Commander installer. Once complete, close DOSBox and disable the 'mount Wing Commander cd image'. Once either version is installed you may wish to create a zip archive of the hdd folder for safe keeping and to prevent you from having to repeat the installation in the future. Installer patch If the Wing Commander floppy disk installer runs into issues you may wish to try the installer patch. This patch replaces the install.exe file and disables the automatic hardware sensing. The patch is available at the Wing Commander CIC . So credit and thanks to the folks at CIC for hosting the patch. To use the patch you will have to: Extract the contents of Wing Commander disk 1 to a folder ( 7-Zip should be able to extract) or you could use DOSBox to mount disk 1 and copy the contents to a sub folder on the hdd folder (C: drive). Extract the patch to the folder, replacing the old install.exe file. Use a third party tool like WinImage to create a new disk 1 image from the folder. Try the install again using the new disk1 image. Installing digital releases This is the method to use to install a digital release. The gog.com Galaxy client, or offline installer or EA Play client should be used to install the game. That's all there is to it, for this reason a digital release is recommended over a retail disk or cd release. If you have already installed DOSBox Staging and wish to use it, continue to the Patching with W.C.A.T section. If you don't have DOSBox Staging installed or have a pre-existing installation (retail or digital) and want a simple installation method, continue to the Installing with W.C.A.T section below. Installing with W.C.A.T. The W.C.A.T. mod is distributed as a Windows installer or zip archive, both of which are bundled with a preconfigured version of DOSBox Staging. The custom DOSBox download option is not applicable to this method. This method works best if Wing Commander has already been installed (pre-existing installation) with a earlier version of DOSBox Staging or another variant (DOSBox v0.74, DOSBox-X, etc.) or by a digital release client or offline installer. For clarity, we'll assumed W.C.A.T. has been installed in the following example folder: D:\Games\Dos\WCAT MT32 ROMs Once installed the MT32 ROMs will need to be obtained and added to the roms folder. The enclosed ReadMe.txt file provides further details. Pre-existing installation Installation is very simple, copy the contents of the GAMEDAT folder from your pre-existing installation into the W.C.A.T. GAMEDAT folder. E.g. for a gog.com digital release installed in D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Wing Commander Copy all files from: D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Wing Commander\GAMEDAT Into (as an example): D:\Games\Dos\WCAT\GAMEDAT This completes a pre-existing installation install. New retail installation To install retail releases using the bundled W.C.A.T. DOSBox, it is recommended to specify an alternative emulated hard disk folder supplemented with the appropriate mount commands for the images being installed. It is recommended to use similar folders as described earlier in ' Game management '. Note : a conf folder isn't required as the W.C.A.T bundled DOSBox config file is used and an alternative hard disk folder is used, to prevent changes to the W.C.A.T. install. The DOSBox config can be found in: \dosbox-staging\dosbox-staging.conf Using the example folder: D:\Games\Dos\WCAT\dosbox-staging\dosbox-staging.conf The existing commands in the [autoexec] section should be commented out: [autoexec] # @echo off # MOUNT C "..\files" # C: # CLS # CALL LAUNCHER.BAT # EXIT And supplemented with suitable mount commands . Follow the earlier steps to install Wing Commander and any addons. Once installation is complete remove the added mount commands (from the last step) and reenable the original [autoexec] commands above. The final step is to copy the contents of the installation GAMEDAT folder into the W.C.A.T. GAMEDAT folder, e.g. copy all files from: D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\hdd\WING\GAMEDAT Into (as an example): D:\Games\Dos\WCAT\files\GAMEDAT This completes a new retail installation install using W.C.A.T. Patching with W.C.A.T This method uses the custom DOSBox download option and requires a pre-existing retail or digital installation. It should not be used if Wing Commander was installed using the 'Installing with W.C.A.T.' process. Game management Using my strategy I create a suitable Wing Commander folder: D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander This folder may already exist if I had used DOSBox to install a retail release. Under this folder the following folders are recommended: conf - to store DOSBox or HOTAS config files (again this folder may already exist). hdd-wcat - a fresh emulated hard disk folder to store the W.C.A.T. mod The DOSBox [autoexec] section The following is a DOSBox config [autoexec] section with some example mount commands suitable for the above game management folders. You will need to change these to use your own Wing Commander folder. # mount the wcat hard disk mount C "D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\hdd-wcat" c: # run the launcher call launcher.bat # run Wing Commander/Secret Missions 1 # call wc.bat # run Secret Missions 2 # call sm2.bat exit There is only a single mount of the hard disk folder used by W.C.A.T. In the example above the launcher is called but Wing Commander/Secret Missions 1 or Secret Missions 2 can be run directly. Installing the patch There are two steps to install the patch: Download the W.C.A.T. custom DOSBox download option and extract the contents to the hdd-wcat folder. Copy the all the files from your existing installation GAMEDAT folder into the W.C.A.T GAMEDAT folder: For example, copying the GAMEDAT files from a pre-existing retail release: D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\hdd\WING\GAMEDAT Or from a pre-existing gog.com digital release: D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Wing Commander\GAMEDAT Into the W.C.A.T. GAMEDAT folder: D:\Games\Dos\Wing Commander\hdd-wcat\files\GAMEDAT This completes patching with W.C.A.T. W.C.A.T. config If a W.C.A.T download comes bundled with DOSBox it can be run with the W.C.A.T. executable ( Wing Commander.exe ). This will run the launcher utility. If the W.C.A.T. custom DOSBox download is used then the [autoexec] section of the custom DOSBox config will automatically run the launcher. The W.C.A.T. executable is not included (as it won't know where DOSBox is installed on your machine). The first time it runs it will validate the GAMEDAT files to ensure all are present. W.C.A.T. control options The most important part of the launcher config is the configuration of a joystick/HOTAS. In order to work correctly the DOSBox config, [joystick] timed setting must be true . The mod supports 2, 3 or 4 axes. For a 3 axes setup, the 3rd axis can be used as rudder or throttle. With 4 axes, rudder pedals or 2nd joystick x-axis can used to yaw left/right or roll clockwise/anti-clockwise. The throttle axis can be relative (suitable for a 2nd joystick y-axis) or linear (suitable for a traditional throttle). Once everything is configured and calibrated Wing Commander/Secret Missions 1 or Secret Missions 2 - Crusade can be run from the launcher. Windows (Kilrathi Saga) version Kilrathi Saga box cover The Kilrathi Saga is a compilation of Windows 95 native versions of Wing Commander, Wing Commander II: Vengeance of the Kilrathi and Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger. It does not include the Secret Missions addons for Wing Commander or the Special Operations addons for Wing Commander II. Running Wing Commander natively under Win10 uses a copy based installation rather than the installer app based installation. Although the installer app can run under Win10, better results are achieved by copying files. Installation For the purposes of this guide it is assumed the Kilrathi Saga cds have been ripped to an iso format. The steps are as follows: Create a suitable installation folder, as an example the following folder is used: D:\Games\Win\WC1 Mount the first Kilrathi Saga cd in Win10. And copy the contents of: :\WC1 Into the example folder (or whatever folder you used). That completes the installation of Wing Commander. Secret Mission addons The DOS versions of the Secret Mission addons are not compatible with the Kilrathi Saga version of Wing Commander. Instead Origin released the Kilrathi Saga compatible Secret Missions as a free download from their website. This download contained both Secret Missions 1 & 2. This addon is required by the WCDX patch, so obtaining it is required. In order to obtain this zip file, google for the zip file ( wckssm12.zip ). To Install: Extract the contents of wckssm12.zip to a folder. Copy all application files (all files ending in .exe ) into the Wing Commander installation folder: D:\Games\Win\WC1 Copy all other files (not ending in .exe ) into the Wing Commander installation GAMEDAT folder, overwriting existing files. So the following file types: .002 .dat .txt .v05 .v06 .v07 .v08 .v14 .v19 .vga Into: D:\Games\Win\WC1\GAMEDAT That completes the Secret Missions installation. Patching with WCDX The WCDX patch can be downloaded from the GitHub repository releases . The latest version (at time of writing) is v2.2.1. The zip archive ( wcdx-2.2.1.zip ) should be downloaded and the following files extracted into the installation folder: wcdx.dll wcpatch.exe patchmusic.exe Run the following commands from a Win10/11 command prompt in the installation folder, to apply the patch: wcpatch Wing1.exe Wing1_wcdx.exe wcpatch SM1.exe SM1_wcdx.exe wcpatch SM2.exe SM2_wcdx.exe wcpatch TRANSFER.exe TRANSFER_wcdx.exe patchmusic streams\mission.str To run use the new _wcdx.exe files rather than the originals. Optionally, you may wish to remove the originals and rename the wcdx versions back to the original name. That concludes the native Win10 installation and patching. Kilrathi Saga version, Win10 native and WCDX patch Further information The most comprehensive repository of Wing Commander information is the Wing Commander CIC . The forums are also a wealth of information including current information about the W.C.A.T. mod and WCDX patch . The gog.com Wing Commander forum may also include interesting posts and solutions to issues. Good hunting!

This is quick guide on running the Secret Missions 1.5 addon campaign with the DOS/W.C.A.T. mod and Windows/WCDX patch versions of Wing Commander, as covered in the earlier article, Wing Commander 1: Legacy without the guesswork . What are the Secret Missions 1.5? Super Wing Commander The 3DO and Macintosh port of Wing Commander introduced a whole new visual style which was quite a departure from the DOS/Windows versions. It included the original and the Secret Missions 1 campaigns but introduced a significantly different Secret Missions 2 campaign. This different campaign was ported to the DOS and Windows versions by the Wing Commander community and is known as Secret Missions 1.5. There are separate versions of this addon for DOS and Windows (Kilrathi Saga) versions. Both versions are available from the Wing Commander CIC . Credit and huge thanks go to delMar, UnnamedCharacter and WingOver, creators of the Secret Missions 1.5. DOS version This is a discussion on integrating the DOS version with the W.C.A.T. mod. This assumes the W.C.A.T. mod has been successfully installed (see Wing Commander 1: Legacy without the guesswork ). The DOS version is based on a modified Secret Missions 2 app (sm15.exe) in which references to Secret Mission 2 data files, within the app, have been changed from a .002 extension to .015, eg. briefing.002 was changed to briefing.015. To use the modified W.C.A.T. Secret Mission app (sm2-at.exe), which still uses files with a .002 extension, the Secret Mission 1.5 data files are renamed to the .002 extension. Preparation Within the DOS and W.C.A.T. installation folder there is a GAMEDAT folder. Take two copies of this folder and rename them to: GAMEDAT-wcat - a copy of the original data files. GAMEDAT-sm15 - a copy of the data files, with Secret Missions 1.5 added. Installation Download the Secret Missions 1.5 (DOS)  from Wing Commander CIC. Extract the files to a separate/new folder. Rename to the files as follows: Old name New name briefing.015 -> briefing.002 camp.015 -> camp.002 module.015 -> module.002 titl15.vga -> title1.vga Copy these files into the GAMEDAT-sm15 folder, overwriting any existing files. The ReadMe.txt and cm15.exe files do not need to be copied. To run the Secret Missions 1.5 campaign, delete the contents of the GAMEDAT folder and replace with files from the GAMEDAT-sm15  folder. To switch back to the original Secret Missions 2 campaign, delete the contents of the GAMEDAT  folder and replace with files from the GAMEDAT-wcat  folder. Run either Secret Missions 1.5 or Secret Missions 2 using the batch file, SM2.bat . W.C.A.T. Upgrades AllTinker is continuing to work on the W.C.A.T. mod so there are likely to be future updates. To upgrade: Ensure the GAMEDAT folder is using W.C.A.T. data files (those in the GAMEDAT-wcat folder). Follow any and all instructions accompanying the W.C.A.T. upgrade. Re-create the GAMEDAT-wcat and GAMEDAT-sm15 folders using the instructions above. That completes the DOS installation. Windows (Kilrathi Saga) version This section covers integrating the Windows version with the WCDX patch. This assumes the WCDX patch has been successfully installed (see Wing Commander 1: Legacy without the guesswork ). Preparation Within the Kilrathi Saga installation folder there is a GAMEDAT  folder. Within the GAMEDAT folder is the install.dat file, take a copy of this file and rename it to install-original.dat . This is the original Secret Missions 2 version of install.dat. Installation Download the Secret Missions 1.5 {Kilrathi Saga)  from Wing Commander CIC. Extract the files into the GAMEDAT folder, only the install.dat file will be overwritten. Take a copy of install.dat and rename it to install-sm15.dat . This is the Secret Missions 1.5 version of install.dat. Unfortunately there is a bug in the module.015 file which causes the game to crash. However a fix can be downloaded, ( module.zip ), in this WIng Commander CIC forum post . Credit and thanks to Destro for providing this fix. Extract the fixed module.015 from module.zip to the GAMEDAT folder, replacing the existing file. To run the Secret Missions 1.5 campaign, delete the install.dat file. Take a copy of install-sm15.dat and rename it to install.dat . To switch back to the original Secret Missions 2 campaign, delete the install.dat  file. Take a copy of install-original.dat  and rename it to install.dat . That completes the installation. A new campaign With new dialog Good Hunting!

A guide to running the Amiga version of the 1989, Spectrum Holobyte sim, Falcon (1.0) under the WinUAE emulator. This guide assumes a working emulated Amiga, with a hard disk based Workbench as created in the earlier article, Amiga emulation with WinUAE . Why play the Amiga version? Falcon on the Amiga/WinUAE Falcon was released in the days when the Amiga ruled the home computer market with graphics and sound that surpassed the PC. While the PC had 16 colour EGA graphics and PC speaker sound at best, the Amiga had VGA like graphics and impressive multi-channel audio. In short the optimum version of Falcon is the Amiga version. Just take a look at the screenshots on MobyGames . Version This guide assumes a copy of Falcon pre-patched for hard disk use with WHDLoad. Converting a disk/disk image copy of Falcon with the relevant WHDLoad support files into a patched 'hard disk supported' version is beyond the scope of this guide. The recommended version of the WHDLoad patch files is v1.3. There are versions for both PAL and NTSC, either can be used. The prepatched WHDLoad distribution is normally packaged as an LHA  (LH Archive) file. The workbench installation created earlier, supports LHA files. There are pre-patched versions for the base game only and the base game with one or both expansions disks. Various copies may be encountered utilising the TOSEC naming convention . The original game was distributed on 2 x 880 KB 3.5" Amiga floppy disks. There were two expansions disks, Mission Disk 1: Operation Counterstrike and Mission Disk 2: Operation Firefight. Each expansion was distributed on a single 880 KB 3.5" Amiga floppy disk. WinUAE setup The following is a list of differences from the Workbench configuration in the  Amiga emulation with WinUAE  article. It is recommended to load the Workbench configuration file and save it as a separate configuration file specifically for Falcon. Make sure to load this new configuration file before continuing and give it a suitable description. CPU and FPU The ' CPU Emulation Speed ' section should be set to ' Approximate A500/A1200 or cycle exact '. In the ' Cycle-exact CPU Emulation Speed ' section, the ' CPU Frequency ' should be set to '2 x (A500) '. Chipset In the ' Chipset ' section make sure ' Cycle-exact (Full) ' and ' Cycle-exact (DMA/Memory access) ' are both checked. Display As Falcon was developed by Spectrum Holobyte, a US game developer, it was developed for both PAL and NTSC based Amigas. In the ' Settings ' section the ' Refresh ' drop down menu should be set to ' PAL ' or ' NTSC ' depending on the version you have. Sound I've encountered sound crackle in other games and I believe these settings reduce/eliminate it. However you should feel free to experiment with sound drivers if you continue to experience crackle. The top drop down menu was set to ' DSOUND: Primary Sound Driver '. In the ' Settings ' section, ' Frequency ' was set to ' 44100 ' and ' Audio filter ' was set to ' Always on (A500) '. In the ' Drivers ' section, only ' DirectSound ' was checked. Filter The filter settings selected should be compatible with the refresh setting selected on the 'Display' page. As I'm using an NTSC version of Falcon, NTSC was selected. The filter settings should be compatible with emulating an NTSC display. For a discussion of filters and slider settings, John Novak's article,   Achieving period-correct graphics in personal computer emulators — Part 1: The Amiga  should be consulted. The 4.0x NTSC filter was chosen, ' D3D: CRT-A2080-NTSC-4.0x '. Depending on your display or personal preference, you may wish to choose a smaller 3.0x or 3.5x multiplier. The ' Horiz. size ' slider was set to ' 2000 ' and the ' Vert. size ' slider was set to ' 2800 ' as required by the NTSC 4.0x filter. For a PAL based Falcon version the setting would be: Filter: ' D3D: CRT-A2080-PAL-4.0x ' or the 3.0 or 3.5x filters. ' Horiz. size ' slider: ' 2000 ' for the 4.0x filter. ' Vert. size ' slider: ' 2000 ' for the 4.0x filter. Finishing up Don't forget to save your new Falcon WinUAE configuration with these revised settings. Installing Firstly you should create a new folder (or drawer in Amiga terms) on the System disk to store any games, if it doesn't already exist. The next steps are: Open WinUAE or the configuration utility (if WinUAE is started) and go to the ' CD & Hard drives ' page. Click on the ' Add Directory or Archive... ' button. Add the archive file as shown in the screenshot. The 'Device name ' will be DHx where x is the next device no. (so DH2 in this case). Make sure the ' Read/write ' and ' Bootable ' options are unchecked. The ' Select Archive or Plain File ' button is used to select the Falcon archive file. Once selected, start the emulated machine, or if it is already started use ' Reset ' to reset the machine. The archive should appear on the Workbench desktop as a new disk. Open it and copy the ' Falcon ' or ' Falcon&MissionDisks ' folder/drawer into the Games folder/drawer. That's it the game is now installed! You don't need to save this configuration, once the folder is copied onto the Amiga hard disk. Kickstart support files Falcon requires the use of Kickstart v1.3 ROM files mentioned in the earlier ' Amiga emulation with WinUAE '. The Kickstart v1.3 ROM should be renamed to ' kick34005.A500 ' and added to the Devs:Kickstarts folder on the emulated Amiga along with the Kickstart support files. HOTAS setup This next section is more advice, as I believe the exact settings you'll need will depend on your particular HOTAS setup. This will describe how I set up my Warthog HOTAS and things to consider when setting up your own. Falcon was written for digital joysticks only. The joystick setting was used within WinUAE and selected from the in-game menu. WinUAE also has native controller support, with the HOTAS devices seen by Windows also being available to WinUAE. Depending on your HOTAS you may wish to use a native controller, using the default Windows axes scaling, if it provides a smoother and more natural experience. If I used the TARGET profiling software to create a virtual controller, it had a far more sensitive response. This suggests the virtual controller uses a larger scale across axes than the default one provided by Windows. For this reason I opted to use a virtual controller. The choice of native or virtual will depend on your HOTAS and which one you subjectively 'feel' provides the most natural and preferred experience. HOTAS axes The HOTAS axes were set as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS The throttle and rudder pedals were added to the TARGET profile but all of their axes were disabled. Throttle Throttle buttons were mapped to the throttle up/down keys within Falcon. Rudder pedals The rudder pedals aren't used in Falcon, but were added to the profile to ensure they would be disabled. WinUAE configuration On the ' Game port s' page the Joystick should be set in Port 2 as your virtual controller. The type should be set as ' Joystick '. Manual configuration Not all configurable options are available from the config utility. The configuration file (.uae) can be edited from a text editor. The following settings are applicable to WinUAE joysticks: input.joymouse_deadzone=33 input.joystick_deadzone=33 Generate some very imprecise joystick controls, these can be reduced to: input.joymouse_deadzone=5 input.joystick_deadzone=5 For more sensitive controls. You may wish to tweak these settings depending on your HOTAS. The smaller the dead zone the more sensitive your joystick will be. Running To run the game, open the System disk and your games folder/drawer. Within the games folder/drawer there should be an ' Falcon ' or ' Falcon&MissionDisks ' folder/drawer. Within this folder there will be a game icon which looks like the title screen (this is a facility provided by NewIcons). Simply double click to start the WHDLoad config for the game. A WHDLoad dialog box should appear and the game will start shortly. WHDLoad options Falcon WHDLoad options When you run the game the WHDLoad options dialog box will appear with two options: Game speed (a recommended setting is 8 to slow the sim down). Mission (None, for the base game, Op. Counterstrike or Op. Firefight). WHDLoad options will persist across runs. Control sensitivity During a mission control sensitivity can be controlled in-game with ' F3 ' to reduce sensitivity (minimum 0) and ' F4 ' to increase sensitivity (maximum 9). 0 is a recommended setting, although this may be dependant on HOTAS. Documents It's recommended to try and obtain the following documents: Amiga Falcon manual for a complete list of instructions for all aspects of the sim, including keyboard commands. Amiga Falcon: Mission Disk 1: Counterstrike manual, for an overview of the scenario and each mission available as well as enhancements and new enemies. Amiga Falcon: Mission Disk 2: Firefight manual, , for an overview of the scenario, missions and new enemies. A version of each manual is available digitally.

A guide to enhancing and running Tachyon: The Fringe in Windows 10 with dgVoodoo2 and ReShade. This guide uses the gog.com version but the steps should be similar for other digital releases or a cd retail release. Tachyon: The Fringe is NovaLogic's foray into the space sim genre. Released in 2000, what sets it apart from the crowd and makes it fondly remembered today is the voice acting talent of Bruce Campbell, who plays the protagonist Jake Logan. This guide will cover, installation, configuration and patching to optimise use with modern Windows and graphical enhancements for a modern GPU with dgVoodoo2 and ReShade. Media Tachyon was distributed on a single cd, but as usual a cd image will be used in preference to physical media, to save wear and tear on disc and drive. The physical cd can be ripped to the data only iso image format, as there are no cd audio tracks on the disc. This guide will be based on gog.com release but should also be applicable to a Steam  digital release or a cd retail release. 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 a combination of devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be configured (with vendor software or Joystick Gremlin), limited to 4 axes. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Installation Digital releases should be installed with the relevant client, gog.com Galaxy or the Steam client. Retail cd releases seem to use a 32-bit installer app ( setup.exe in the ttfsetup folder) which continues to run under Win10. Patching Despite the digital versions being pre-patched with the last official patch there are still some additional patches that are either useful for or required by digital releases. Retail cd patch The final official patch will update Tachyon to v01.00.00.36r. The official patch is cumulative with earlier fixes also included. This patch is unnecessary for gog.com and Steam digital versions which are already patched. A list of fixes and a link to the patch can be found on the Novalogic support page for Tachyon: The Fringe (now hosted on the Internet Archive, courtesy of the WayBack Machine). In addition, a copy of the NovaLogic FTP site from 2014 is also hosted at the Internet Archive. The entire FTP site is in a zip archive, 11GB in size, so view the contents of the zip archive and only download the patch ( TTF/ttf_update_050500_xx.exe ). Alpha blending patch The 3Dfx renderer uses an incorrect alpha blending mode for nebulae. A patch is available on the nGlide compatibility list . The tachyon_patch.zip file contains a replacement Hw_3dfx.dll file which should be extracted into the Tachyon installation folder, replacing the original file. This patch is recommended for both cd retail and digital releases. It is not known if this patch has already been applied to digital releases, but applying it doesn't cause any issues. Credit and thanks to Zeus (of nGlide fame) for hosting this patch. Stack patch Trying to run Tachyon with ReShade results in a crash. This is due to the insufficient stack size allocated to space.exe, for ReShade to start. Fortunately Dege (of dgVoodoo2 fame) was able to identify the issue and had already found the fix as posted in the VOGONS forum. Another big thank you to Dege for his investigation. The copyrighted space.exe file can't be hosted for download, however an xdelta patch was created which can be used to patch an existing space.exe file: Background In order to create this patch the Visual Studio tools and x86/x64 build tools library were obtained and installed to get the Visual Studio developer console and editbin tool. The editbin tool was run from within the developer console to increase the stack size of space.exe with the following command: editbin.exe /stack:1048576 space.exe Credit and thanks to Dege, once again. An xdelta patch was created with the xdelta UI tool comparing the original space.exe and amended space.exe. Credit and thanks go to Josh McDonald for the xdelta tool and to KaioShin for the xdelta UI tool. Applying the patch Download the tachyon-stack.zip file above and extract tachyon_stack.xdelta into the Tachyon installation folder. xdelta UI tool Download the xdelta UI tool from ROMhacking.net . Extract the contents of xdeltaUI.zip (xdelta.exe, xdeltaUI.exe and readme.txt) into the Tachyon installation folder. Run xdeltaUI.exe and click the Apply Patch tab. Select tachyon_stack.xdelta as the Patch. Select space.exe as the Source file and specify an Output file (e.g. space_stack.exe ). Click the Patch button to apply the patch, it should be successful. Rename the original space.exe to a backup name (e.g. space_backup.exe ). Rename the output file (e.g. space_stack.exe ) to space.exe . This is the first xdelta patch to be hosted so it would be useful to get confirmation that this patch works for others. Disabling nGlide The recommended Glide wrapper is dgVoodoo2 as this allows for anti-aliasing and scaling with later DirectX libraries which are hooked into by ReShade. However the gog.com (and it is assumed other digital releases) may use nGlide. The recommended method for disabling nGlide is to copy the following files from the Tachyon installation folder into a sub folder (e.g. nglide ). glide.dll glide2x.dll glide3x.dll nglide_config.exe nglide_readme.txt nGlideEULA.txt If there are issues using dgVoodoo2 then the dgVoodoo files can be removed and the nGlide files restored by copying them back into Tachyon installation folder. dgVoodoo2 This guide assumes the latest version of dgVoodoo2, which is v2.86.1 (at time of writing), available from Dege's dgVoodoo2 GitHub repository, under Releases . Once again credit and thanks to Dege for the amazing dgVoodoo2 tool. Installation Tachyon uses Glide rendering, so only the Glide components of dgVoodoo2 are required. The following files should be extracted from the zip archive and copied to the Tachyon installation folder: dgVoodoo.conf dgVoodooCpl.exe \3Dfx\x86\ Glide.dll \ 3Dfx \x86\ Glide2x.dll \ 3Dfx \x86\ Glide3x.dll Note : only the files need to be copied into the installation folder, the \ 3Dfx \x86 path is not needed. Configuration The settings for dgVoodoo2 are shown in the screenshots below, the key settings being: General Output API: Direct3D 11 (feature level 10.0) . Appearance Full Screen  is selected. Scaling mode: Stretched, keep Aspect Ratio . Glide 3Dfx card: Voodoo 2 (8MB/12MB, 2 TMUs)  is selected. Onboard RAM: 12MB . Resolution: Max QHD ISF  is selected, or the highest setting applicable to your monitor. Integer Scaling Factor (ISF) is recommended to prevent scaling issues Antialiasing (MSAA): 8x  is selected, although this is a personal preference. MIscellaneous: 3Dfx Watermark: Checked , to confirm dgVoodoo2 is being used. Once confirmed, it can be disabled. General settings Glide settings ReShade ReShade provides graphical enhancements to a wide variety of games using modern graphical libraries available to today's high performance GPUs. This guide assumes the latest version of ReShade, v6.5.1, available from the ReShade  site. Installation Once downloaded the ReShade installer ( ReShade_Setup_6.5.1.exe ) should be extracted into the Tachyon installation folder. Download the ReShade preset zip file and extract the presets ( TachyonReShadePreset.ini )  into the Hardwar installation folder. Note : These are the shaders used in the testing video at the end of this guide. They are not definitive, you should feel free to try out different shaders to find a set you prefer. Run the ReShade installer. Select the Tachyon game executable ( space.exe ) from within the Tachyon installation folder. Select the rendering API, as we are using dgVoodoo2, this will be DirectX 10/11/12 . Select the effects to install. An individual effect or collections of effects can be installed, however it is easier to use the ReShade preset file instead. Click the browse button at the bottom and select TachyonReShadePreset.ini  from the Tachyon installation folder. Note : Running the ReShade installer again will provide options to 'Update ReShade', 'Update Reshade and effects' or 'Uninstall ReShade'. Selecting ' Update Reshade and effects ' will allow additional or alternative shaders to be installed. This will allow you to try out different combinations to find a set of shaders you prefer. Configuration Nearly all of the configuration is contained within the Tachyon ReShade presets file. However there is a further recommended config change. To open ReShade and configure: Start the game. If the game opens windowed, use + to switch to full screen. When the ReShade banner appears, open reshade with the  key. Go to ' Settings ' and in the ' General ' section (see screenshot): Change the Start-up preset to TachyonReShadePreset.ini . Check the option ' Load only enabled effects ', to reduce the memory overhead. ReShade settings Game configuration This last configuration section covers game configuration, setting EAX audio options (if applicable) and ensuring the game is configured to use 3D hardware acceleration in the tachyon.cfg file. Audio Tachyon has audio support for EAX, so was added to the Creative ALchemy app, using the settings shown below. It is recommended to use the game path setting rather than the registry path. The buffers, duration and maximum voice count were left as default. Creative ALchemy Creative ALchemy settings Once Tachyon has been configured in ALchemy, legacy EAX options should now be supported. All that remains is to set the audio options in the Tachyon launcher app ( tachyon.exe ), as shown below. The Tachyon config/launcher tool. Note: EAX is a supported audio option. Here we see in the audio options EAX can now be selected along with alternative 3D audio settings. Clicking on the Test button plays a witty quip from Bruce Campbell! Game config file The game config file ( tachyon.cfg ) is a plain text file. It should be opened in a text editor to check the settings are correct. The following is a fragment of the config file with the settings of interest: [VIDEO] USE_HARDWARE=1 RES=0 HW_TYPE=1 [AUDIO] A3D_DEVICE=5 To ensure Glide is being used USE_HARDWARE and HW_TYPE should be set to 1 as shown above. RES is the in-game resolution, with 0 being the highest resolution (1024x768), 1 a lower resolution (800x600) and 2 the lowest (640x480). It should be set to the highest: 0. The A3D_DEVICE option corresponds to the 3D Audio Device options in the Tachyon launcher (starting from 0). So selecting EAX (the 6th option) means this setting should be 5. You'll want to check the A3D_DEVICE matches your own selection. In-game configuration As would be expected the graphics can be pushed to maximums and all graphical effects enabled. However, if a virtual controller is used you may find the control scheme defaults to mouse at the start of a new session. When starting a new gaming session go to the in-game options and ensure your virtual controller is already selected. Below is an example showing a Thrustmaster Virtual Game Controller with throttle and rudder pedals enabled. Controller options may need to be set when starting a new session Enable the intro video Intro video In the gog.com digital release, the intro video isn't played when the game is started. To enable the intro video, create a shortcut to Binkplay.exe in the Tachyon installation folder. Change the target field in the shortcut properties to one of the the following: To play the video in it's tiny original size: "\Binkplay.exe" tachyon.bik Where is the Tachyon install folder path. To play fullscreen: "\Binkplay.exe" tachyon.bik /w-1 /h-1 This may look overly stretched on widescreen monitors, so choose a suitably large 4:3 aspect ratio supported by your monitor, e.g.: "\Binkplay.exe" tachyon.bik /w2048 /h1536 Backups Now that configuration is complete, it might be a good time to take a backup of your Tachyon installation folder. It's recommended to zip up the installation folder and store it elsewhere. The game client used by digital releases may have a verification option. If the verification option is accidentally (or deliberately) run, the hard work to configure the game may be lost if the changed files are replaced with those originally installed by the client or the extra files added to the installation folder are removed. Documentation & further information Be sure to grab the docs which come bundled with digital releases to get the most out of the game. Sadly there don't seem to be any fan sites left for this old classic, but the gog.com and Steam Tachyon forums may have some useful posts. Finally... This is a quick test video of Tachyon: The Fringe running with the dgVoodoo2 and ReShade settings discussed above: Woah, that's a big gun. - Jake Logan