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TARGET Script Editor I recently received an email from a fellow flight sim fan, Kurt Käferböck, who wanted to share his Thrustmaster TARGET script for easy trimming. So, in what may be the first in a new category of scripting articles, I present Kurt's script and his description (with a little bit of editing and formatting from me).. So a huge thank you to Kurt for kindly sharing his script and allowing it to be published here! I wanted to create two buttons within the TARGET script with which I can access two different rudder curves. I probably wouldn't have thought that I could solve the problem with Thrustmaster's centering software. My code getting real trimming easily by TARGET script. With this script you get realistic timing. Click the first mapped button and move the joystick or yoke to the middle position. That's it. The aircraft is trimmed. The yoke remains in this position as in reality; to reset the trim completely, simply click the second mapped button. This will lift the trim again and move it to the central position. This trim can even stay in when the autopilot on the Comanche 250 from A2A Simulations is activated; with other autopilots you would have to test it out or use the second mapped button before switching it on to bring it to the starting position and at the same time manually compensate with the MSFS trim or simply switch on the autopilot and let the trim slowly move towards 0 automatically using the function shown in the script. The time for this can be set in the script function. Add into the Main function: MapKey(&TCAYokeBoeing, Y_BTN1, EXEC("TrimElevator();")); MapKey(&TCAYokeBoeing, Y_BTN12, EXEC("TrimCenter();")); int TrimElevator() { LockAxis(&TCAYokeBoeing, DX_Y_AXIS, 1); Sleep(2000); // Time to center the Joystick TrimDXAxis(DX_Y_AXIS,CURRENT); LockAxis(&TCAYokeBoeing, DX_Y_AXIS, 0); } // Centers the Y axis slowly int TrimCenter() { int curValue = Axis[DX_Y_AXIS].trim; printf("curValue = %d", curValue); if(curValue > 0) { while(curValue > 0) { curValue = Axis[DX_Y_AXIS].trim; TrimDXAxis(DX_Y_AXIS, - 10); Sleep(100); } TrimDXAxis(DX_Y_AXIS, SET(0)); } else { while(curValue < 0) { curValue = Axis[DX_Y_AXIS].trim; TrimDXAxis(DX_Y_AXIS, + 10); Sleep(200); } TrimDXAxis(DX_Y_AXIS, SET(0)); } } Thrustmaster TARGET This is a brief description of the Thrustmaster TARGET profiling/scripting software and where to find it. Described by Thrustmaster as 'advanced programming software', in Thrustmaster's own words: T.A.R.G.E.T. (Thrustmaster Advanced pRogramming Graphical EdiTor) is a software program used to configure and customize Thrustmaster flight simulation game peripherals (joysticks, yokes, throttles and rudder pedals). The TARGET software can be found on the Thrustmaster support website. When you go to any of the current joystick, yoke or throttle support pages, there are download links to the TARGET software (this one is from the Warthog page). Good trimming!

A setup guide for running Independence War (also known as I-War) under Windows 10. Independence War is a Newtonian lite, six degrees of freedom space sim produced by the developer Particle Systems, who also made the sequel Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos and the futuristic sub sim Subwar 2050. Versions The preferred modern version is the GOG version. Installation is straightforward, using the GOG installer. The CD retail version can be installed on Windows 10. Instructions can be found on PC Gaming Wiki . Once installed the latest v1.24 patch should be applied (it replaces earlier patches), it can be found on the i-war2.com fansite, in the patches section. Running with nGlide A version of nGlide is included with the both the GOG and Steam versions, however it is the earlier v1.03. The latest version of nGlide, at present, is v2.10. Disabling the bundled version Move the following files from the installation folder, into a sub-folder eg. old_nglide 3DfxSpl.dll 3DfxSpl2.dll 3DfxSpl3.dll glide.dll glide2x.dll glide3x.dll nglide_config.exe nglide_readme.txt nGlideEULA.txt These can always be copied back if you wish to use the bundled version of nGlide. Using a later version The latest version of nGlide can be found at zeus-software.com . The installer will install nGlide making it the default glide wrapper. Alternatively the executable installer can be opened in 7zip and the above files copied into the Independence War installation folder. There is no separate .ini config file. The nGlide configurator will apply changes to the relevant nGlide .dll file. With the nGlide configurator check the following settings: The screen resolution should be set appropriately for your monitor/resolution. The aspect ratio should be 4:3 otherwise the game looks too stretched (although this is personal preference). The refresh rate should be 'by app' (which should be 30Hz) the game will behave erratically at 60hz (PBC will cause no damage, ship overheating, etc). You may wish to turn on the 3Dfx logo splash screen, to check nGlide is being used, and turn it off later. Running with dgVoodoo2 Disable the bundled version of nGlide as described above. Download the latest version of dgVoodoo2 and extract the files to a folder. Copy the following files to the Independence War installation. dgVoodoo.conf dgVoodooCpl.exe /3Dfx/x86/Glide.dll /3Dfx/x86/Glide2x.dll /3Dfx/x86/Glide3x.dll There is a choice of x64, x86 or arm64 folders under the 3Dfx folder. Choose the x86 folder for Glide. Note: only copy the files to the Independence War installation folder, don't copy the 3Dfx folder or sub-folders. The settings I use are shown in the images below. Of particular note are: Enumerate refresh rates is set. Stretched, 4:3 Aspect ratio. Voodoo 2 (8MB/12MB, 2 TMUs) Resolution is 2880x2160, 30Hz. 2160 corresponds to the height resolution of my monitor with a width, 2880 matching a 4:3 aspect ratio. 30Hz was explicitly set as this is needed by the game. 60Hz causes erratic game behaviour. You may need to set a different resolution. You may wish to set '3Dfx Watermark' or '3Dfx Splash screen' options to check dgVoodoo2 is being used, then turn them off later. dgVoodoo2 General settings dgVoodoo2 Glide settings Command line options You will need to create an Independence War shortcut or add another GOG Galaxy executable. The default GOG executable runs iwar_start.exe which runs the intro movie and then the game, but doesn't support the command line options needed to enable Glide. The new executable should be IWar.exe which doesn't play the intro movie but does support the Glide command line options. -b -16 # to enable Glide -800x600 # higher resolution Glide output (Voodoo 2 only) For example (in my case) the shortcut 'Target' would be: "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Independence War Deluxe\IWar.exe" -b -16 -800x600 HOTAS setup As a Windows game, the HOTAS controllers defined in Windows should be available to use. However you may want to edit axis or button assignments with either the manufacturers software, eg. TM TARGET or Joystick Gremlin (if you own hardware from 1 or more different suppliers). Axes The joystick y-axis is mapped to pitch up/down in game (intuitive). The joystick x-axis is mapped to yaw left/right in game (intuitive) although this can be toggled to roll, in game (intuitive). The throttle z-axis is mapped to thrust forward/reverse by default in game but will switch to a lateral thrust mode if the throttle exceeds max forward/reverse. This is unintuitive and makes flight more difficult. If the throttle z-axis is disabled the next available axis becomes thrust forward/reverse (unintuitive). Therefore I keep the default x/y axes unchanged. I changed the z-axis to be disabled. Forward/reverse are mapped to a throttle hat forward/reverse positions. Thrust override forward/reverse are mapped to a throttle hat up/down position. Rudder pedals are axis-mapped to roll left/right keys with a centre dead-zone.. In summary: Joystick x-axis, x-axis, yaw left/right (default). Joystick y-axis, y-axis, pitch up/down (default). Throttle hat forward, button, thrust forward (configured). Throttle hat back, button, thrust reverse (configured). Throttle hat up, button, thrust override forward (configured). Throttle hat down, button, thrust override reverse (configured). Rudder pedals, axis-mapped to roll keys, roll left/right (configured). Update : Currently experimenting with the following TM Warthog setup: Joystick x-axis, x-axis, yaw left/right (default). Joystick y-axis, y-axis, pitch up/down (default). Rudder pedals, axis-mapped to roll keys, roll left/right (configured). Throttle hat forward (with toggle out), button, thrust forward (configured). Throttle hat back (with toggle out), button, thrust reverse (configured). Throttle hat forward (with toggle in), button, thrust override forward (configured). Throttle hat back (with toggle in), button, thrust override reverse (configured). Joystick hat up (with toggle out), lateral thrust up (configured, due to toggle). Joystick hat down (with toggle out), lateral thrust down (configured, due to toggle). Joystick hat left (with toggle out), lateral thrust left (configured, due to toggle). Joystick hat right (with toggle out), lateral thrust right (configured, due to toggle). The joystick hat can be configured in game as the lateral thrust control, but it is configured through software, so as to allow the hat, with the toggle switch in, to control the power management through the TRI controls. References I-War (Independence War) Full Campaign 4K (with remastered intro) - Daimo - dgVoodoo2 settings.

This article will be taking a look at Oolite, an Elite for the modern day. This article will be less instructional and more of a primer, covering my own experiences with Oolite. This article covers my second experience with Oolite, the first being back in 2014 and despite showing promise, it just didn't 'click' initially. It looked and felt too much like earlier versions of Elite and it left me with a feeling of 'been there and done it'. Fast forward to 2022 and the continued development of the base game and expansions resulted in completely different experience. With a Dangerous styled HUD and various graphics enhancements, I started playing a fairly 'vanilla' gaming experience. As time went on I experimented with a number of expansions, some came and went, but many more stayed adding to the Oolite universe. Today I've logged 500 hours in Oolite and the following explains why... Oolite: A primer In this first section, we'll take a look at some brief background, what is it is today and some of the major features that set it apart from other space sims. What is it? It wouldn't be Elite without a Cobra MkIII spinning on the title page! I'd describe it as Elite for the modern day and modern PC, or Elite for the 21st century. The Oolite website describes it as 'an open-world space opera'. While Wikipedia says the following, a free and open source 3D space trading and combat simulator "in the spirit of" Elite, a similar game published in the 1980s. All these are true, but barely scratch the surface of what Oolite provides. It's definitely the spiritual successor of the original 8-bit classic and the PC version, Elite Plus. Set in a universe that draws heavily from the originals and enhanced with the lore of the manuals and ' The Dark Wheel ' novella. If you're a game developer trying to write the next critically acclaimed space trading and combat sim, Oolite is what makes you feel nervous or downright worried! Controller support Comprehensive native controller support With any sim, immersion is important and the controllers used form an important part of that immersion. The controller support provided by Oolite is, in a word, excellent. There is native controller support, so if Windows can see your controllers, so can Oolite. Not only can you assign axes and each button individually but Oolite supports editing axes profiles! My TM Target profiling software doesn't get used in this game. Expansions A mere 776 expansion packs are available immediately in-game! The Oolite website  states: one of the most important aspects of Oolite is customisation. In my opinion that's a huge understatement! At time of writing there are 776 expansion packs using the newer expansion OXZ format available through the in-game expansion manager. If the older OXP format is included (still valid for the latest release version, but installed manually) that figure rises to 1000+. Game changing, literally The sheer amount of customisation is incredible. In fact there are so many expansions they have to be grouped into various categories including: Activities Ambience Cheats Dockables (locations you dock at) Equipment HUDs Mechanics Miscellaneous Missions Retextures Ships (addition ships) Systems (changes to planetary systems) Weapons Want some serious eye-candy graphics, there are lots of expansions for that. Things a little too quiet on those long trade routes, install a space radio, with a large number of radio stations playing different music styles. Steampunk HUD, yes that's possible. A greater variety of ships and stations, yes. Military missions, it has you covered. Trading and courier navigation planning and assistance, again yes. Want to take a break and kick back with a good book, take a look at the ship's library. I could go on but you get the idea and I've barely scratched the surface! But what really sets things apart is the ability to make changes in game anytime you are docked in station. Worried about losing progress, you don't have to be. The expansions are compatible with your existing saves, all that hard won progress will remain unaffected. Commander DarkenedRoom has been around a bit! This means you can experiment with expansions, you can try them out, save progress and then remove them later if you prefer. With 500 hours, I've added and removed my fair share of expansions, often at the same time, tempting fate, and the saves were never damaged! In fact after a couple of weeks you will probably have expanded the game to the point where it is unique for you, customised to your preferences. In fact I don't think it's too much of a stretch to suggest the entire player base may be playing a game that's unique for each player. I can't think of another game which can even come close to suggesting that! An evolving game Which brings me to my next point, the gaming experience can evolve with the player. Really not sure about how to begin, install a couple of expansions to assist the beginner player, once you're a bit more experienced you can remove them. One pretty looking Coriolis station Commander DarkenedRoom an old, grizzled commander, started out with fairly vanilla trader life. I concentrated on trading and getting my iron-ass. Started taking on courier and passenger transport jobs. Made a move away from the venerable Cobra MkIII to a Wolf MkII, the 'Elegant Reprisal'. Started taking on military work, joining up with naval task forces to repel Thargoid incursions. Saw the effects of a well placed Q-bomb first hand. Traversed the ranks and made it to an Elite combateer. And now I travel the galaxy exploring and taking courier jobs using the navigation upgrades to plan the best routes, to pay for it, with a side-line in bounty hunting. The future as ever is uncertain, pilots are getting better all the time and those pirates can provide a challenge now (there's an expansion for that). My last bounty hunting job involved chasing a mark across 3 systems before I managed to destroy his ship and scoop his escape pod (he was coming back alive)! When I started out I had maybe 20 or so graphical and HUD enhancements and now I have 153 currently installed, the game and play style have evolved together in step with each other resulting in an experience which is unique for me! That's why I think Oolite is as revolutionary today as the original Elite was 40 years ago. How I play This is an export from Oolite Starter of the expansions I'm currently using, I wouldn't suggest this set for new players, but as an xml document it can be opened in a text editor and you can see some of the expansions I'm using or import it into Oolite Starter. It's available below as a zip archive. Game information The following section contains information on obtaining, installing and upgrading Oolite. It will also cover the Oolite Starter tool to help you manage Oolite. Where to get it Oolite is available digitally from the Oolite website . Installation packages are available for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms on the ' Download ' page. The recommended version, for those new to Oolite, is the latest stable release version v1.90. Installation Installation is straightforward, installing like any other Windows game, by running the installer package. Installation should be equally easy on other platforms. Upgrades Flying past an Anaconda convoy near a GalCorp station Although v1.90 is the stable release recommended for most players, (of the 500 hours I've played approximately 60% was with v1.90) there are v1.91 pre-release versions frequently built. If you consider yourself experienced with Oolite and wish to try a pre-release build, please be aware that there may be serious bugs in some pre-release builds. My recommendation is to keep your v1.90 installation folder and add a new v1.91 installation folder. Previously, I would then copy expansions and saved games into the new v1.91 release folder, being careful to copy into the required sub-folders. This still remains a valid method of upgrading. All you have to do is just start using the Oolite v1.91. However with the development of the Oolite Starter tool, managing expansions and save games across multiple installations may have become easier. Pre-release v1.91 builds are available from the Oolite GitHub, linked from the Oolite website download page. Oolite Starter Described by the Oolite website as: Oolite Starter is a versatile, open-source tool that is designed to simplify the process of setting up and managing Oolite. Oolite Starter, manage those expansions in style It allows starting a game from saved game, managing expansions, has support for flavours (a collection of related expansions), and has support for multiple Oolite installations allowing easy switching between installations. Expansions can be exported and imported, so your expansions for v1.90 could be exported, a new v1.91 installation created, added to Oolite Starter and the expansion you were using imported for use with v1.91. The recommended version is the latest version, which is (at time of writing), OoliteStarter v0.1.33-innocuous.3. It is available from the Oolite Starter GitHub, linked from the Oolite website download  page. Both quickstart and detailed documentation is available on the Oolite Starter GitHub . Further information The first port of call for Oolite information should be the Oolite website , an excellent resource covering all aspects of the base game and also hosts a list of expansions. For new players there's the getting started guide , which ends with a list of more resources for the new player from the Oolite wiki. Then there is the Oolite wiki which forms part of the Elite wiki , quite the comprehensive Oolite reference. There are even guides to becoming an expansion developer! Forums Clearly a British run station with that level of queuing! No discussion of Oolite would be complete without mentioning the community. The people willing to help new players learn the intricacies of the game. The developers who have spent countless hours of work enhancing and the game and fixing bugs. And what seems like a huge army of expansion developers adding even more to the game on what seems like a daily basis! All can be found willing to give out helpful advice within the official Oolite forums . Finally... And finally a huge thank you to the developers of the base game and all those expansion developers and community members who have devoted time, energy and skill in making Oolite and the community what it is today! Truely an elite group!

This is the first in a series of articles about the Digital Image Design (DID) simulation EF2000, a simulation of the Eurofighter Typhoon. The simulation boasts an excellent dynamic campaign and fidelity such that DID was commissioned to create a TIALD simulator followed by flight simulators for the military and British Airways. An excellent sim that deserves to be enjoyed by older, current and future flight sim fans. However there have been a large number of releases of EF2000 and corresponding patches, so working out what you have (or want) and the patches required isn't straight forward without some research. These articles should help you navigate the various options you have, to play this sim on modern or legacy hardware. This first article covers the various retail releases and available patches. EF2000 How it used to look The original version of EF2000 was released in 1995 for DOS. Developed by Digital Image Design Ltd and published by Ocean Software Ltd. This can be considered v1.0 of EF2000, although when quitting the game a short message indicates it's v1.40 created by Col (possibly Colin Bell as he is credited in this version). The readme file is taken from the cd. To disambiguate it from other versions and releases, this will be referred to as EF2000: Original. There were 2 patches released for EF2000: Original, the v2.02 patch and the v2.04 patch. v2.02 patch The v2.02 patch was also known as the EF2000 Midlife Upgrade 2.02. The changes are extensive and include enhancements to: AI controlled aircraft. Weapons and combat. Damage. Flight envelope. Campaign. Multiplayer. Keys and controls. JTID colour. The 'running-in' experience. Minor changes to other aspects of the simulation. Thrustmaster joystick changes. This patch only seems to have been released for the english language version of the game. It can be found at the Internet Archive . The readme file for this patch is identical to the v2.02 section in the v2.04 patch readme below. This isn't a recommended patch as it was superseded by the later v2.04 patch. v2.04 patch The v2.04 patch was the last patch released for EF2000: Original, available in two variants. It came as a file replacement patch to patch EF2000 Original from v2.02 to v2.04, replacing an executable file, for the english language versions only. This patch doesn't include any enhancements just bug fixes according to the readme file. There is also a v2.04 cumulative patch available in english, french and german variants. This patch includes the bug fixes and v2.02 enhancements. The cumulative patch should be the only one needed, applied to a clean install of EF2000: Original. Until the release of TACTCOM this was the defacto standard for EF2000. These patches are only recommended if you wish to play the original EF2000 without the TACTCOM upgrade or GFX+ patch. All language variants of these patches can be found at the Internet Archive . EF2000: TACTCOM The TACTical COMmunication (TACTCOM) upgrade was a commercial product released on a single cd in 1996, developed by DID and published again by Ocean. It was not a standalone product and required a copy of the original EF2000. The enhancements provided by TACTCOM included: A new brushed aluminum interface. New tactical maps. Mission planning. Difficulty, detail, and player rating changes. Enhanced situational awareness. Weapons and radar. Enhanced debrief. A2A mission editor and multiplayer. SmartView and other view enhancements. Connectability with modem, net play, and direct serial connection. v2.04 patch bug fixes and v2.02 patch enhancements. For an in depth review of TACTCOM check out this CombatSim review . The readme file is taken from the TACTCOM cd . There were two patches released for TACTCOM, a french/german only TACTCOM fix patch and the GFX+ upgrade patch. TACTCOM fix A patch for french and german language versions only, it fixed what DID described as 'the' modem problem, it was not required for english language versions. This patch can be found at the Internet Archive . GFX+ upgrade patch This is a 3d graphics upgrade patch for the DOS version of TACTCOM (and equivalent releases), it is not compatible with EF2000: Original or Super EF2000. It has two options for Verite Rendition and 3dfx Voodoo chipsets, adding hardware driven smoke and fog effects and anti-aliasing as well as more ground objects to the sim. This patch has english, french and german language variants and all of them can be found at the Internet Archive . With the release of the EF2000 Reloaded application, the 3dfx version of EF2000: Original with TACTCOM (or equivalent release) became the preferred version for modern hardware. EF2000: Evolution Released in 1996, EF2000: Evolution is a combined EF2000: Original and TACTCOM upgrade distributed as a two cd package for the DOS platform. Patches This version was released before either of the TACTCOM patches, but is compatible with both patches (see TACTCOM fix and GFX+ upgrade patch above). Super EF2000 Released in 1996 for European audiences only, Super EF2000 (also known as EF2000: Special Edition) is a redevelopment of DOS EF2000: Original with TACTCOM upgrade for the Windows 95 platform, distributed as a single package. The graphics/sound have been converted to use the DirectX libraries and the documentation has been converted into online Windows 95 help documents. Due to these changes this release is incompatible with the GFX+ Upgrade patch. Super EF2000 fix patch There is a single patch for the french/german versions only. It is a small file replacement patch with no associated readme so it isn't clear what this patch enhances or fixes. It can be found at the Internet Archive . EF2000 V2.0 The final release was EF2000 V2.0 in 1997 for the US only. It is a comprehensive release featuring four different versions of EF2000. It includes: EF2000 V2.0 for DOS (equivalent to EF2000 Original with TACTCOM upgrade or EF2000: Evolution). EF2000 V2.0 for 3DFX (equivalent to EF2000 Original with TACTCOM and 3DFX GFX+ upgrades or EF2000: Evolution with 3DFX GFX+ upgrade). EF2000 V2.0 for Rendition (equivalent to EF2000 Original with TACTCOM and Rendition GFX+ upgrades or EF2000: Evolution with Rendition GFX+ upgrade). EF2000 V2.0 for Windows 95 (equivalent to Super EF2000). There are no patches required for this release. EF2000 (BT Wireplay distribution) A version of EF2000 distributed on the BT wireplay service, a modem based multiplayer matchmaking and gaming service. It is believed this may have been a multiplayer only version of EF2000, distributed via the service. The BT wireplay service was sold off and shutdown in 2014, although EF2000 may have removed from the service at an earlier date. Due to the defunct nature of this release, it won't be considered any further. Installation & patching strategies This should not be considered a set of instructions, it is merely a strategy with a list of installation media and patches required to create a specific version. It should be used to obtain the required cds (and convert them into cd images if you prefer) and any patches required. The next article will discuss the process of installation and patching. EF2000: Original only: Install EF2000: Original from cd or cd image. Install v2.04 patch (using appropriate language). EF2000: Original and TACTCOM upgrade: Install EF2000: Original from cd or cd image. Install EF2000: TACTCOM upgrade from cd or image. EF2000: Original, TACTCOM upgrade and GFX+ patch: Install EF2000: Original from cd or cd image. Install EF2000: TACTCOM upgrade from cd or image. Install GFX+ patch (using appropriate language). EF2000: Evolution: Install EF2000: Evolution from cd or cd image. EF2000: Evolution and GFX+ patch: Install EF2000: Evolution from cd or cd image. Install GFX+ patch (using appropriate language). Super EF2000 (Windows) Install EF2000: Special Edition from cd or cd image. Install EF2000: Special Edition patch (if required, using appropriate language). EF2000 V2.0 Windows installer EF2000 V2.0 (DOS without 3dfx graphics) Use the 'Full Installation for DOS' option (DOS installer) from cd or cd image. EF2000 V2.0 (DOS with 3dfx graphics) Use the 'Install for 3DFX' option (Windows installer) from cd or cd image. EF2000 V2.0 (Windows) Use the 'Install for Windows 95' option (Windows installer) from cd or cd image. And finally... Hopefully this clarifies the various releases and patches of EF2000 and how to find them. This should allow you to find the required components to create a particular version of EF2000. In later articles I'll discuss, creating an appropriate installation and how to use it with the EF2000 Reloaded app, DOSBox and PCem. Good hunting!

North Cape Has a bug that prevented the North Cape secret airstrip missions been found and fixed? The GitHub user, debugcom has done some very impressive analysis work in figuring out how to trigger the secret airstrip missions in F-19 Stealth Fighter and F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0. The analysis revealed that there was a bug in the North Cape theatre that prevented the missions from being completed. Part 2 of the analysis went on to identify and document the fix for the North Cape data file responsible for these missions, nc.wld , fixing a 34 year old bug! That's some pretty impressive work and it's well worth a read! You can find the analysis here on GitHub, debugcom / Hacking-F117A It's not known if there's anything else that may be preventing North Cape secret airstrip missions from working, but if this mission appears it should be completable now! I've applied the fix to this version of nc.wld . To use it, take a backup of your current nc.wld file, and unzip this one to your F-19 Stealth Fighter installation folder. Update : The article by debugcom has been expanded to four parts including a section specific to getting secret airstrip missions working in the Libya and North Cape scenarios of F-19 Stealth Fighter. I've applied the fixes detailed in the article and can receive secret airstrip missions, as the below screenshots show. Libya secret airstrip mission North Cape secret airstrip mission This zip archive includes the changed libya.wld and nc.wld files with secret airstrip missions enabled, it should be extracted to your F-19 installation folder: If you get these mission and manage to complete them, let me know! Finally a big thank you to debugcom for the work on fixing this bug!

This is a tech refresh article describing any changes since the original articles ' F-19 Stealth Fighter: Running in DOSBox ' and ' F-19 Stealth Fighter: Optimized settings for DOSBox Staging ' were published. Since the original article the version of DOSBox Staging has changed from v0.80.1 to v0.82.0. The only change is an updated DOSBox Staging configuration shown below, the rest of the advice in the previous articles remains valid. DOSBox Staging configuration These are the settings which differ from the DOSBox Staging defaults. Note : At higher cycles the weapons effectiveness drops and Air-to-air missiles and Mavericks will begin to miss targets, so testing with some training missions may be required and the cycles setting tweaked to ensure consistent weapons performance. This may be dependant on your setup, however the cycles shown below should be a good starting point. [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] dos_rate = 1000 [cpu] core = simple cpu_cycles = 5200 cycleup = 100 cycledown = 100 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] model = auto romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" [sblaster] sbtype = sbpro1 [innovation] sidmodel = auto [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = true swap34 = false deadzone = 0 [autoexec] loadfix mount C "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\F-19 Stealth Fighter" mount C "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\F-19 Stealth Fighter\cloud_saves" -t overlay mixer master 50 mt32 70 c: call f19scen.bat The sdl settings are appropriate for a variable refresh rate monitor. They can be left as default or omitted for standard monitors. The sdl, dos_rate and mouse settings are also applicable for high frame rates as described in this article  by Omnicycle. The voodoo emulation is disabled as it isn't required. The mixer settings are a personal preference to enhance the music and audio. The Soundblaster type is changed to take advantage of the Soundblaster Pro dual OPL2 chips. Innovation sound is enabled as it supported by the game and can be selected at startup with the setup game menu, if you would like to try it out. Joystick settings will be dependant on your particular HOTAS setup and may require adjustment. In the autoexec section the mixer volumes are changed with the mixer command to a personal preference. The damson menu ( f19scen.bat ) is used to optimise startup options and allow aircraft model and scenario changes. Enhancements Earlier this year PixelWings produced a mod for F-19. In the words of PixelWings: This mod is a small and simple graphic and sound improvement, featuring a freshly drawn cockpit panel for the aircraft, new RWR type sprites for the tactical MFD screen, as well as a new original title screen, credits screen and a one-game advert screen. Even if you wish to use the vanilla cockpit initially, it's still worth getting this immediately, as the revised Roland MT32 rsound.exe file removes the annoying low altitude warning! So a big thank you to PixelWings, the mod can be found on the PixelWings website . Updates The ' F-19 Stealth Fighter: North Cape secret airstrip fixed? ' article has been updated following an update from the analysis author debugcom. The fixes have been implemented for the Libya and North Cape scenarios and a new download is available. Good hunting!

Harrier Jump Jet, MicroProse 1992 This is a guide to running the 1992 MicroProse Harrier sim, Harrier Jump Jet in DOSBox Staging. It will cover patching both the digital and retail releases to the latest version, the DOSBox Staging config and setting up a HOTAS. As usual floppy images will be used to save wear and tear on disks and drive. This guide references the earlier work by @damsonn in a Steam guide , so a big thank you for the hard work that went into that. Version The only retail version I have been able to find is v2.16. The digital release on gog.com is the same v2.16 version. I'm assuming the Steam release is also v2.16 given the game comes from the same publisher. Differences between digital and retail releases Despite digital and retail releases being at the same version there are some minor differences in the files present between the two releases, detailed in the table below. The descriptions of the differences are a subjective best guess. aces.dat An additional data file, present in the digital release, to change the entries on the Aces page in game. Following application of the v2.40 patch, this file is removed. frontend.exe This looks like an uncompressed and cracked version of the executable containing the manual based copy protection disabled in digital releases. The retail releases uses the original file with copy protection intact. Following application of the v2.40 patch this file is replaced with a new version with the copy protection intact. harrier.bat Created by the installer, so full and small installs create different harrier.bat files. intro.fli A file containing the intro movie visuals. This is present in the retail release but missing in the digital release. This suggests the digital releases were built using the small install option. t.1 This looks like a scratch file created as the digital release was being produced. This isn't present in the retail release. wwf.com This seems to be a remnant from the original third party copy protection crack. This isn't present in the retail release. readme.now A short readme explaining the differences between a full and small install. Not present in the digital release. xmusic.imp Present in digital and retail releases, but different sizes. I believe this is created once a music/sound option is chosen in the installer. So the default Soundblaster sound in the digital release may explain this. xsound.imp As xmusic.imp but for digital sound effects. *.cfg Game config files, differences in digital/retail game defaults result in different config files. *.$$$ Game temp files, expected to be different between individual copies. Patches There are two patches available, the v2.40 patch (also known as the US patch) provides bug fixes, controller and game enhancements. The v2.40 patch is an update patch which must be installed using DOSBox. The v2.41 patch (also known as the UK patch) provides a bug fix to rudder control. This is a file replacement patch, with files from the patch archive replacing existing files in the Harrier installation folder. I believe the US and UK patch names are inaccurate and both patches are applicable to either European/UK or US editions, depending on game version. I believe these names may have come about due to re-release versions of the game, which may have been different for European/UK and US markets. The patches are recommended for both digital and retail releases. The patching strategy is summarized below: Game version is v2.16, apply v2.40 (US) patch. Game version is (or patched to) v2.40, apply v2.41 (UK) patch. Game version is (or patched to) v2.41, patching complete. For specific installation and patching instructions, see ' Installation and patching ' below. HOTAS config As it is a DOS based sim a maximum of 4 axes are supported. Harrier supports all 4 axes, including throttle and rudder. When using HOTAS/controller profiling software to limit the controller to a maximum of 4 axes the following device axes to Windows axes mappings were used: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_XROT_AXIS DOSBox config This DOSBox Staging config for Harrier assumes the latest version (at time of writing), v0.82.0 will be used. The changes to the default config are shown below: [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] dos_rate = 1000 [cpu] cpu_cycles = 12000 # cpu_cycles = 20000 cpu_cycles_protected = auto cycleup = 1000 cycledown = 1000 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = large chorus = normal [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = true swap34 = true deadzone = 0 [autoexec] imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\fdd\*.ima" -t floppy -ro mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd" c: cd mps\harrier call harrier.bat The [sdl], [dosbox] and [mouse] settings are suitable for high frame rate gaming as described in this article  by Omniclyde. These settings aren't strictly required and can be omitted to use the default settings. In [cpu] settings, 12000 cycles seems appropriate for my setup. @damssonn has recommended 20000 cycles in a Steam guide, so you may need to tweak this setting to find an optimum speed for your setup. The cpu_cycles_protected setting will use the same cycle count as cpu_cycles when set to auto. Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled. The [mixer] settings can be changed to enhance sound and music to personal preference. The [midi] and [mt32] settings enable high quality Roland midi music. The model value, auto, will default to a CM32L device. Harrier supports a CM32L device, so the model can be left as default. The midi roms folder is described in the DOSBox midi  article. The [joystick] settings are appropriate for my HOTAS setup so you may need to alter these. The timed setting must be set to true for my HOTAS, as the game has issues with timed set to false, although this may depend on your own setup. The deadzone setting is a personal preference. The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for the floppy images which may be needed for a retail edition. As there are multiple floppy images the imgmount command uses the '*' wildcard. The imgmount and mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management  article. Installation and patching The digital release install is somewhat different, given the need to patch, clean up and repair the release. Both the retail and digital installs use my DOSBox game management  strategy. The top level game folder is D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet, with hdd (DOSBox hard disk), fdd (floppy disk image), patches and conf (config files) sub folders. Retail edition installation The game should be installed from within DOSBox. The first floppy disk has an installer ( install.exe ) which should run and complete without issue. It is recommended to select the 'Full install '. Game files are copied to C:\MPS\HARRIER (in DOSBox) or in my case D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd \MPS\HARRIER (in Windows). Once files are copied the installer will require a music/sound option to be selected. The DOSBox config above supports Soundblaster or Roland music/sound, so this is left to personal preference. When exiting the installer, you may be asked to calibrate your joystick, if one is detected. At this stage, just skip through without calibrating properly. Digital edition installation The game should be installed in Windows using the appropriate gog or Steam client. My recommendation is then to copy the game files from this client installation folder into a suitable DOSBox hard disk, retail release folder (C:\MPS\HARRIER). So in my case, my gog digital edition was installed in D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Harrier Jump Jet\C\AV8B by the gog client. I copied the game files into D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd \MPS\HARRIER (in Windows). So when I start DOSBox the Harrier game files can be found in C:\MPS\HARRIER . I recommend not patching or repairing the client installation directly, as using the gog/Steam client to verify or repair game files may remove any patches or fixes applied. Patching to v2.40 The v2.40 (US) patch can be found on the Internet Archive . The patch should be downloaded and the files in the zip archive copied into the DOSBox game installation folder, overwriting any existing files. So in my case the files would be copied to: D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd\MPS\HARRIER Once copied the update utility ( update.bat ) should be run from within DOSBox. Once the update is complete the installer will be run again allowing music/sound options to be selected. When exiting the installer, you may be asked to calibrate your joystick, if one is detected. You will be asked the following: Use the detected joystick: Y. Is it a Thrustmaster Joystick (FCS): N. Is a Thrustmaster Weapons Control System present: N. Then follow the instructions to calibrate your joystick. Patching to v2.41 The v2.41 (UK) patch can be found on the Internet Archive . The patch should be downloaded and the files in the zip archive copied into the DOSBox game installation folder, overwriting any existing files. So in my case the files would be copied to D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd \MPS\HARRIER (in Windows). As this is a file replacement patch, this completes the patching to v2.41. Cleaning up the digital release This is an optional step to remove unneeded files in the DOSBox game installation folder for the digital edition only. The following files can be removed: t.1 wwf.com Adding the intro movie back into the digital release This is an optional step for the digital edition only. The missing into movie ( intro.fli ) can be found in the Steam guide created by @damsonn . It should be copied into the DOSBox game installation folder. So in my case intro.fli would be copied to the Windows folder: D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd\MPS\HARRIER Then the text in harrier.bat should be replaced with the text in full.bat (the commands are described in the Steam guide). If the game is run with full.bat or harrier.bat the intro movie will be played. Removing copy protection from the digital release This is an optional step for the digital edition only. The v2.40 patch replaced the cracked frontend.exe file with newer version with the copy protection enabled. To use the cracked version, copy it from your client game installation folder into your DOSBox game installation folder. So in my case, in Windows, I would copy frontend.exe from: D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Harrier Jump Jet\C\AV8B into: D:\Games\Dos\Harrier Jump Jet\hdd\MPS\HARRIER Quitting with the cracked frontend.exe Note: There are issues using the cracked frontend.exe with v2.41, so far I have only encountered the one issue described, however there may be others. The 'Exit to DOS (Y/N) screen is no longer shown. Selecting the quit option from the command centre, will change the colour palette in the command centre screen but won't show the 'Exit to DOS' screen. The options still work, so selecting Y will exit to DOS and N will return to a working command centre screen. My personal preference is to use the newer copy protection enabled frontend.exe. Thanks to a carefully laid out manual and being given the first letter of the copy protection word, finding it in the manual is straight-forward. However, it is left to personal preference as to whether the copy protection should be enabled or disabled. Running With the digital and retail releases the small.bat file will run the game without the intro movie, while full.bat will run it with the intro movie. With the retail release harrier.bat will run with the intro movie if a full install was selected and without if a small install was selected. With the digital release harrier.bat will run without the intro movie by default, or with the intro movie if the ' Adding the intro movie back into the digital release ' instructions were followed. Game setup Once the game is running, select the Fly mission option from the command centre screen. Once in mission, the pause menu can be used to: Check version Checking the version Select the Quit menu and About option to check the version. The version should be listed as v2.41 in the dialog box. Enable Controllers Select the Config and Control menus. There are options to select a joystick, enable throttle/rudders, change joystick sensitivity and re-calibrate the joystick. When enabling throttle and rudders the controllers must be centred. This is easy for rudder pedals and little more tricky for the throttle. The lowest throttle position should correspond to 26% RPM and at the highest throttle position, 100% RPM. It may take a few attempts to centre and optimise the throttle. The first time the throttle and rudders are enabled there may be some spurious aircraft movement. Simply move your controllers and then re-centre them and the spurious movement should settle. Enable all sounds At the start of each mission, engine sounds are disabled by default and can be enabled by selecting the Config and Sound menus and the All effects option or by using the keyboard shortcut listed in the manual. Documentation Manual The manual is absolutely essential for a MicroProse sim. Fortunately the manual has been added to the gog.com digital release. I'm not sure if this is the case for the Steam digital release but   @damsonn comes to the rescue again with a link to the manual in the Steam guide ! Good hunting!

Playnite game entry This is a guide on integrating modern variants of DOSBox, like DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X with the Playnite game launcher. I'm not a Playnite plug-in developer or expert so there may well be a better way of integrating DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X but this method seems to work well (at least it does for me). I've been using it for a while now, so hopefully it's at least an acceptable way of doing things. This process won't be changing existing emulators or settings but adding new ones. This guide assumes you have already installed your preferred modern variant of DOSBox. Note: I'm not an expert, so you may encounter issues I didn't. You do this at your own risk, so make sure you're comfortable with all the steps involved before you start making changes! If you have any suggestions or alternative methods, feel free to get in touch! What is Playnite The Playnite website says it best (far better than I could): Playnite is an open source video game library manager with one simple goal: To provide a unified interface for all of your games. Well worth having a read of this website to discover more about what Playnite can do! The ones we are most interested in are: Integration with game libraries It provides 'out of the box' integration with a wide variety of existing game libraries. I use it to link to my Steam and gog libraries. Games can be automatically imported and added to Playnite. Integration with DOSBox The Playnite website says it supports a wide variety of console emulators, which although true, is very modest of them. It has 'out of the box' support for a huge number of emulators including vanilla DOSBox and can automatically import DOSBox games. I tend to not use that feature as I have many configuration files for each game due to testing and trying things out, and don't want to create lots of spurious game entries but it is available if you wish to try it. As for modern DOSBox variants, this article will be covering those! Before we begin It's useful to cover a few points before we begin. Where can Playnite be obtained? The latest version of Playnite is available from the Playnite  website. Installation should be straightforward and complete without issue. Where is Playnite installed? After installation Playnite can be found in the: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Playnite folder, where is your Windows username. The AppData folder is hidden by default so you'll need to unhide this in File Explorer to make the changes described below. A note on the YAML file format The process involves editing YAML configuration files. With YAML files the indentation is meaningful which means you should use spaces instead of tabs for indentation . Tabs aren't allowed for indentation. You can read more about YAML on Wikipedia . Integration with DOSBox Staging Adding a new emulator spec The first thing we need to do is add a new emulator spec for DOSBox Staging, to do so: Go to the Playnite emulators folder at: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Playnite\Emulation\Emulators Copy the existing DOSBox emulator folder and rename the copied folder to something appropriate, I chose DOSBoxStaging . Inside the new DOSBoxStaging folder there should be a single emulator.yaml file. Using a text editor, edit the file so it reads: Id: dosbox-staging Name: DOSBox Staging Website: ' https://dosbox-staging.github.io/ ' Profiles: - Name: Default StartupArguments: '-conf "{ImagePath}" -noconsole' Platforms: [pc_dos] StartupExecutable: ^dosbox\.exe$ ImageExtensions: [conf] Save the file and close your text editor. Adding the DOSBox Staging emulator With a new DOSBox Staging spec, a DOSBox Staging emulator can now be added: Open Playnite and go to the Playnite menu (looks like a console controller icon) and select ' Library ' and ' Configure Emulators... ' Add an emulator, I called it ' DOSBox Staging ' and set it up as shown below in the screenshot. You will have to specify your own DOSBox Staging installation folder. Make sure you choose the new DOSBox Staging emulator spec. Adding the DOSBox Staging emulator Integration with DOSBox-X The process is very similar to the integration with DOSBox Staging process. Adding a new emulator spec The first thing we need to do is add a new emulator spec for DOSBox-X, to do so: Go to the Playnite emulators folder at: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Playnite\Emulation\Emulators Copy the existing DOSBox emulator folder and rename the copied folder to something appropriate, I chose DOSBox-X . Inside the new DOSBox-X folder there should be a single emulator.yaml file. Using a text editor, edit the file so it reads: Id: dosbox-x Name: DOSBox-X Website: 'https://www.dosbox-x.com/' Profiles: - Name: Default StartupArguments: '-conf "{ImagePath}" -noconsole' Platforms: [pc_dos] StartupExecutable: ^dosbox-x\.exe$ ImageExtensions: [conf] Save the file and close your text editor. Adding the DOSBox Staging emulator With a new DOSBox-X spec, a DOSBox-X emulator can now be added: Open Playnite and go to the Playnite menu (looks like a console controller icon) and select ' Library ' and ' Configure Emulators... ' Add an emulator, I called it ' DOSBox-X ' and set it up as shown below in the screenshot. You will have to specify your own DOSBox-X installation folder. Make sure you choose the new DOSBox-X emulator spec. Adding the DOSBox-X emulator You may notice I've also added a couple of custom profiles, these are profiles I used for testing and don't need to be added. Configuring a game This section won't cover all the steps of adding a game, just those steps necessary to configure a game to use the modern DOSBox emulators. If fairly new to Playnite, when setting up a game I would recommend getting it configured and working in DOSBox first and then configure it in Playnite. With a little experience it becomes a pretty simple process and normally I will configure DOSBox and Playnite at the same time as I setup a new game! Manually added game In this example the game F-15 Strike Eagle III has been manually added. It uses my DOSBox game management strategy, so the game installation folder is D:\Games\Dos\F-15 Strike Eagle III. When configuring the game manually this installation folder should be specified as shown below: F-15 Strike Eagle III Installation tab We can now create the actions to run the game from either DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X using the actions tab shown below. We can also use the Playnite variable {InstallDir} as the installation folder has been specified, so we don't have to specify the entire path to the relevant DOSBox config file. F-15 Strike Eagle III Actions tab Library imported game In this example F-19 Stealth fighter has been imported from my gog library. In this case the installation folder is the gog installation folder. F-19 Stealth Fighter Installation tab We can now create the actions to run the game from either DOSBox Staging or DOSBox-X using the Actions tab shown below. Even when the game is installed via Steam or gog, I use my DOSBox game management strategy to store DOSBox configs, TM Target configs, patches and additional docs not provided by Steam or gog. So in this case all my F-19 Stealth Fighter files not provided by Steam or gog will be under the D:\Games\Dos\F-19 Stealth Fighter folder. The DOSBox config files sit in a conf folder, so this time the entire path to the DOSBox config file must be specified. F-19 Stealth Fighter Actions tab Integrating 'DOSBox-X with Glide wrapper' (Advanced) This is a bit of an advanced topic so if you're just starting out with Playnite you may wish to skip it for now and return later when you've got a bit more experience with adding games. It also requires an understanding of the concepts covered in the earlier ' Glide Wrappers: Last Man Standing or Peace and Harmony? ' article. Adding 'DOSBox-X with Glide wrapper' This section assumes you've created a DOSBox-X folder and added a local Glide wrapper as described in the earlier ' Glide Wrappers: Last Man Standing or Peace and Harmony? ' article, specifically the ' Can DOSBox-X use different versions of nGlide? ' and ' How would DOSBox-X use dgVoodoo2? ' sections. As DOSBox-X is still being used, the existing DOXBox-X emulator spec can still be used, so there is no need to create a new spec. However a new emulator is required and can be added with the steps: Open Playnite and go to the Playnite menu (looks like a console controller icon) and select ' Library ' and ' Configure Emulators... ' Add an emulator, I called it ' DOSBox-X with ' and set it up as shown below in the screenshot. You will have to specify your own 'DOSBox-X with wrapper' installation folder. Make sure you choose the DOSBox-X emulator spec. Adding a DOSBox-X with Glide wrapper emulator As you can see the process is very similar to adding the DOSBox-X emulator. In the above example the ' -noconsole ' custom argument was omitted for testing purposes, but can be added back in once confirmed to be working. Configuring a game In this example the game JetFighter III Classic has been manually added. It uses my DOSBox game management  strategy, so the game installation folder is D:\Games\Dos\JetFighter 3. When configuring the game manually this installation folder should be specified as shown below: JetFighter III Classic Installation tab We can now create the actions to run the game from 'DOSBox-X with Glide wrapper' using the Actions tab shown below. As we have specified the installation folder the {InstallDir} variable can be used, similar to the F-15 Strike Eagle III example earlier. JetFighter III Classic Actions tab Finally... Hopefully this guide leaves you with your chosen modern variant of DOSBox configured and ready for use within Playnite, now start adding those games! Good configuring!

GFU Menu The Gold Falcon Utilities (GFU) are a collection of shareware utilities design to enhance the Falcon experience. Compatible with Falcon and the expansions MiG-29 and Hornet, you can read more about it in the earlier ' Falcon 3.0: Unofficial mods & tools ' article. A quick description of the utilities, taken from the GFU readme: The GOLD FALCON UTILITIES is a set of irreplaceable helpers for the Spectrum Holobyte(r) family of flight simulators! Formerly commercial, now shareware, they include the latest versions FalcCalc, F3Maps, F3Requisition, Show F3, and GFU Menu. This fully integrated package brings out many of the best features of Falcon 3.0(t), MiG-29(t), and Hornet(t). Although the other utilities worked, the GFU Menu utility which tied them all together in an integrated package would generate an error when run under DOSBox Staging and other modern DOSBox variants. Thanks to VOGONS members rfnagel, for highlighting the issue and ripsaw8080 for coming up with a workaround, now the GFU Menu utility can be made to work with DOSBox Staging. So a big thank you to both for their work on this! This guide will cover installation and setup of the Gold Falcon Utilities to work under DOSBox Staging. Before we begin The GFU installer will add files to your Falcon installation folder so it is recommended to take a backup copy of this folder, in case you run into issues. Using the DarkMenu If you use my DarkMenu to run Falcon then you'll want to grab the latest version which has been amended, with the 'Quit' option replaced with 'Exit to DOS' and 'Quit DOSBox' options. The 'Exit to DOS' option will be useful to get back to a DOS prompt to install GFU. The latest version can be found in the ' Falcon 3.0: Operation DOSBox Staging ' article. Obtaining Gold Falcon Utilities A download link to the Gold Falcon Utilities zip archive can be found in the earlier ' Falcon 3.0: Unofficial mods & tools ' article. Installation and setup The installation steps are as follows: Create a folder under the DOSBox Staging mounted C: drive folder, to hold the GFU installation files. In my case I created a GFUINST folder, as I use my DOSBox game management strategy I ended up with D:\Games\Dos\Falcon Gold\hdd\GFUINST. Extract the GFU installation files from the zip archive into your GFU installation folder. Start a DOSBox Staging session for Falcon, go to the GFU installation folder and run the GFU installer ( install.exe ). Follow the installer instructions, I recommend using the default installation folder, C:\GFU as suggested by the installer. The installation should complete without issue. The GFUINST folder is no longer needed and can be deleted, but I recommend keeping it in case you need to install GFU again. If you try and run the GFU Menu ( gfu.bat ), you will probably see an error similar to: Path not found in module GFUMENU at address 0255:6987 To avoid this error, create a DEV folder under the DOSBox Staging mounted C: drive folder, you can exit DOSBox and do this in Windows or within DOSBox if you're familiar with DOS commands. In my case I ended up with: D:\Games\Dos\Falcon Gold\hdd\DEV. Start a DOSBox Staging session for Falcon, if needed. Go to the GFU folder and run the GFU Menu ( gfu.bat ). The GFU Menu should now start successfully. Try running one of the utilities. If you are returned to the DOS prompt there is an additional step to take. Go to the GFU folder and run the setup batch file ( run.bat ). This resets a GFU setting and then deletes itself, so it's a run once batch file. The utilities should now run from GFU Menu without issue. Note : The first time you run some of the utilities, they may ask you to specify your Falcon folder. Setting up a text editor The GFU Menu utility has the ability to run the default DOS text editor ( edit.com ). However this is not available in DOSBox Staging, so a different editor needs to be obtained and configured in GFU Menu. I recommend the FreeDOS text editor, 'FreeDOS Edit' ( edit.exe ). It can be downloaded from the FreeDOS Edit page. At present I've not spent a lot of time on the GFU utilities, so I'm not sure if this is a 'required' facility of GFU Menu and the other utilities, or more of a 'nice to have' facility. So this part of the setup may be more optional than absolutely required. Installation Create a folder under the DOSBox Staging mounted C: drive folder, to hold the FreeDOS Edit files. In my case I created a DOS  folder, so I ended up with: D:\Games\Dos\Falcon Gold\hdd\DOS. Extract the FreeDOS Edit zip archive to this folder. It should now contain edit.exe and edit.hlp . DOSBox Staging config changes If you try and run the editor from a folder in which it doesn't exist, it will fail to run. e.g. If you go the Falcon folder and try and open one of readme files with the editor, it will fail as the editor is in the DOS folder not the Falcon folder. To resolve this issue, the DOSBox path environment variable is extended to search for files (including the editor) in the new DOS folder. Below is a DOSBox Staging config fragment showing the required path change in the [autoexec] section: [autoexec] mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon Gold\hdd" imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon Gold\cd\FalconGold.iso" set path=%path%;c:\dos c: cd falconcd call darkmenu.bat GFU Menu config change GFU Menu Edit Configuration File page The final step is to change the GFU Menu config to use FreeDOS Edit ( edit.exe ) rather than the default DOS Edit ( edit.com ). Open GFU Menu. Go to the 'Config' menu. Select the 'Edit Configuration File' option. On the 'Edit Configuration File' page change the 'Ascii Text Editor' field to EDIT.EXE (as shown in the screenshot). Exit and save. Running GFU Menu Once setup is complete running the GFU Menu is straightforward. Simply get to the DOSBox DOS prompt and from the C: drive top level folder, use the following commands: C:\> cd gfu C:\GFU> gfu So that should be the Gold Falcon Utilities fully working under DOSBox Staging. They provide a lot of additional help and info when running campaigns, a very useful addition for any Falcon fans! Good campaigning!

This is a guide on running Falcon 3.0 (Falcon) and it's addons, Falcon 3.0: Operation Fighting Tiger (OFT), MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0 (MiG-29) and Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter (Hornet) in DOSBox Staging. The guide will cover basic DOSBox Staging setup, High frame rate settings, controller setup, installation and patching of Falcon and the addons. some suggested official and unofficial mods & tools and finally running the sim. I normally assume that any installation disks or cd-roms will be ripped to disk/cd-rom images, as I believe this saves wear and tear on disks and drives, which are becoming more difficult to obtain as time passes. This is not an issue for those using a Steam or GOG digital release. DOSBox Setup Thia guide assumes the latest version of DOSBox Staging will be used, which at time of writing is v0.82. The changes from the default configuration will be listed and any addition settings of interest. [sdl] host_rate = vrr As I have a variable refresh rate monitor, so I set this to vrr. If you don't, you may wish to leave this as the default of auto. [dosbox] vmemsize = 8 Set to the maximum, so Falcon is not affected by video memory. [render] glshader = crt-auto aspect = auto integer_scaling = auto viewport = fit These are the default values which are good settings for Falcon but if you wish to experiment with other shaders, aspect ratio or viewport size, this is where you would do it. [cpu] cpu_cycles = 18000 cycleup = 1000 cycledown = 1000 The cpu_cycles setting will be dependant on your particular pc. The accepted value for Falcon is 20000 but that 'feels' a little too fast on my PC, so I'm using 18000. A value of 20000 is a good starting point. The cycleup/down setting is a personal preference and you may wish to reduce it to a smaller increment when tweaking cycles. [voodoo] voodoo = false There is no 3dfx Voodoo acceleration so it's turned off. [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal These mixer settings are personal preference, but I believe they enhance the Falcon soundscape. [midi] mididevice = mt32 Midi music will use a DOSBox emulated mt32 device, which provided the optimum music experience when Falcon was developed. [mt32] model = cm32l romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" The later CM32L device is compatible with Falcon. Further details on how the midi was organised can be found in the ' DOSBox midi ' article. [autoexec] imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon 3.0\test\fdd\*.img" -t floppy mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon 3.0\test\hdd" imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon 3.0\test\cd\FalconGold.iso" c: # cd falcon3 # for earlier falcon install folder cd falconcd # for Falcon Gold cd-rom install folder darkmenu # my startup menu The floppy and cd-rom imgmount commands will be needed if you intend to install from floppy disk/cd-rom images. The folder used as a DOS hard disk by DOSBox is specified with the mount command. The hard disk folder and floppy/cd-rom images folders are based on my DOSBox game management strategy. The darkmenu line calls my entirely optional Falcon startup menu, described below. High frame rate setup The following details changes to apply if you wish to try High frame rate settings as described in this article by Omnicydle. [sdl] vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] dos_rate = 1000 [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true Controller setup Like many other DOS sims, Falcon requires a HOTAS setup limited to 4 axes. For those with 4 axes or less, this won't apply. For those with a HOTAS with more than 4 axes, HOTAS profiling software will need to be used to limit axes. In my case I'm able to use TM TARGET to create a suitable profile for a virtual controller  with only 4 axes. They are as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle axis DX_Z_AXIS Rudder pedals DX_XROT_AXIS The corresponding settings in DOSBox Staging are set as follows: [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = false swap34 = true deadzone = 0 The joystick type is set to 4axis corresponding to the 4 axes configured above. The other settings will be dependant on your controller/HOTAS setup and may require testing to find the optimal settings. The deadzone is personal preference and works well with my setup. My configuration My complete DOSBox Staging configuration is shown below: [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] vmemsize = 8 dos_rate = 1000 [render] glshader = crt-auto aspect = auto integer_scaling = auto viewport = fit [cpu] cpu_cycles = 18000 cycleup = 1000 cycledown = 1000 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] model = cm32l romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = false swap34 = true deadzone = 0 [autoexec] imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon 3.0\test\fdd\*.img" -t floppy mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon 3.0\test\hdd" imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Falcon 3.0\test\cd\FalconGold.iso" c: # cd falcon3 # for earlier falcon install folder cd falconcd # for Falcon Gold cd-rom install folder darkmenu # my startup menu Installation & patching checkver utility included in some patches There is a 'relatively simple' rule of thumb when it comes to installing Falcon, the expansions and patches. Falcon, expansions and patches must be installed in an increasing compatibility set version order. You cannot apply an earlier compatibility set version to a later compatibility set version. You may apply multiple patches from the same compatibility set. If you're wondering what a compatibility set is or how a version of MiG-29 relates to a version of Falcon, given the large number of expansions and patches that exist, you may wish to take a look at the Falcon 3.0: Version & patch history article. There is a caveat to this rule, if there is specific official documentation that explains how to install an earlier expansion over a later product then this documentation should be followed. This is the case when adding the Operation Fighting Tiger expansion to the MiG-29 standalone edition. Nearly all patches can be found on the Internet Archive . Floppy disk editions Floppy disk product editions and any patches should be installed using DOSBox Staging. My personal preference is rip floppy disks into floppy disk images (.img) and mount the images in DOSBox, for reasons described earlier. Installing and patching floppy disk editions can be easier as they are usually earlier versions of the products that can be easily patched following the rule above. Falcon 3.0 This is the process for installing Falcon, each addon and the latest patches to upgrade it to a final release (or Falcon Gold) standard. The last two steps of applying the final MiG-29 and Hornet patches are often neglected (in fact missing from the v3.05 patch notes!), but are necessary to upgrade the files specific to MiG-29 and Hornet to their final versions, with most of the common files already upgraded by the Falcon v3.05 patch. We can do this as it complies with 'You may apply multiple patches from the same compatibility set.' The installation of each product and the versions installed once complete, is useful as it shows the installation/patching rule in practice: Install Falcon v3.0 Falcon v3.00 Install OFT Falcon/OFT v3.01 Install MiG-29 (expansion edition) Falcon/OFT v3.02, MiG-29 v1.0 Install Hornet Falcon/OFT v3.03, MiG-29 v1.02, Hornet v1.0 Apply Falcon v3.05 patch Falcon/OFT v3.05, MiG-29 v1.02, Hornet v1.0 Apply MiG-29 v1.04 patch Falcon/OFT v3.05, MiG-29 v1.04, Hornet v1.0 Apply Hornet v1.02 patch Falcon/OFT v3.05, MiG-29 v1.04, Hornet v1.02 MiG-29 standalone edition I don't have the standalone edition, so this is an educated guess. If you wish to install OFT then there are specific instructions included with the standalone edition that unfortunately have not been published digitally. Install MiG-29 standalone edition MiG-29 v? Install OFT (follow instructions) MiG-29 v?, OFT v? Install Hornet MiG-29 v1.02, OFT v3.03, Hornet v1.0 Apply MiG-29 v1.04 patch MiG-29 v1.04, OFT v3.05, Hornet v1.0 Apply Hornet v1.02 patch MiG-29 v1.04, OFT v3.05, Hornet v1.02 CD-ROM editions CD-ROM editions should be mounted and installed from DOSBox Staging, using either the physical CD-ROM or CD image. An iso CD image is suitable as there is no CD audio on the installation media. CD-ROM editions can be more problematic for expansions as they are often later versions released after the expansions. This means some expansions cannot be applied. For example, Falcon v3.0d released on CD-ROM, can be expanded and patched without issue as it is a relatively early version. However, Falcon v3.05 released on CD-ROM cannot use any of the expansions as Falcon is already at the final release version. The general steps are: Install CD-ROM version. Install other products in order: OFT, MiG-29, Hornet (if the expansion is a later version than installed CD-ROM product). Apply Falcon v3.05 patch (if installed and later than current installed version). Apply MiG-29 v1.04 patch (if installed and later than current installed version). Apply Hornet v1.02 patch (if installed and later than current installed version). Falcon Gold edition By comparison the Falcon Gold edition needs no sim patches with all products already at their final release version. There is just a single Art of the Kill patch to apply. Install Falcon Gold. Apply 'Art of the Kill' patch. Digital editions Digital editions are normally a digital release of Falcon Gold. At present I'm not sure if digital editions already have the  Art of the Kill  patch applied. Install digital edition. Apply 'Art of the Kill' patch (only if needed). Official utilities There are a number of official utilities which are not required, however they may be of some use to those running the sim on period correct legacy hardware. They are detailed in the earlier article,  Falcon 3.0: Version & patch history . TM-STICK The only recommended utility is TM-STICK which reduces the joystick deadzone and allows changes to be made to the throttle detent, after which the various stages of afterburner are applied. It's usefulness will be determined by your specific controller setup but it's certainly worth trying out. Note: The Falcon Gold edition has the TM-STICK v1.9 utility included as an extra, but the latest versions of the Falcon and expansion patches were distributed with TM-STICK v2.1, available within the latest patches or separately at the   Internet Archive . Unofficial utilities A huge number of utilities with various version have been distributed over the years, an earlier article. ' Falcon 3.0: Unofficial mods & tools ', details them and the utilities that remain compatible with the latest versions. This guide assumes a vanilla experience for new players so the only recommended mod is F3 missile which changes the characteristics of the Stinger/SA-7B SAM missiles, making them less overpowered and more realistic. Once campaigning, you may find a campaign editor to be a valuable addition to your Falcon gameplay experience, and there are menu utilities to ease starting the sim or provide addition squadron backup and restore functions. These are detailed in the ' Falcon 3.0: Unofficial mods & tools ' article. DarkMenu DarkMenu for Falcon DarkMenu is my entirely optional version of a Falcon startup menu, supporting MiG-29 and Hornet. It also supports the TM-STICK utility. It will run both earlier versions of the product suite and those found on the Falcon Gold edition. It will only show options relevant to the products installed. It is based on the PCGamingWiki addon launcher but heavily amended and enhanced. It can be found below. Installation requires, downloading, extracting and copying darkmenu.bat into your falcon3 or falconcd folder. Note : the campaign backup/restore has not been extensively tested with multiple campaigns so use at your own risk! Update : The DarkMenu has been slightly amended with the 'Quit' option replaced with 'Quit DOSBox', to close DOSBox, and 'Exit to DOS' to close the menu and return to the DOS prompt. This second option would allow any 3rd party utilities to be run during the DOSBox session. Running Falcon Running Falcon also applies any of the expansions. Start DOSBox Staging with your Falcon config. You can make things a bit easier by creating a specific Falcon shortcut to run DOSBox Staging with the Falcon config as described in the DOSBox game management article. Load the TM-STICK utility, if required and start Falcon, MiG-29 or Hornet! Remaining Issues There is an issue with the intro movies, at the required DOSBox cpu_cycles setting the intro movies will grind to a halt. There is no fix at present so skip past the intro movie. To view the intro correctly (which will slow the sim to a crawl when flying) set the cycles as follows: [cpu] cpu_cycles = 3000 In-game config Falcon system settings Unlike many other games, there is no separate config utility, with all configuration performed in-game. From the war room screen, select config and then system settings. The preferred settings are shown in the screenshot. In-game joystick calibration Simple but functional If joystick is selected as the flight control, calibration is performed the first time a mission is started. The flight control scheme can be changed and recalibration performed from the in-flight menu. After calibrating the joystick the throttle should be detected and can be calibrated. After the throttle, any rudder pedals should be detected and can be calibrated. Remember, if you are using the TM-STICK utility, make sure to load it before starting Falcon. Finally... Hopefully this guide and the supporting articles will help you understand the installation and patching strategy, the tools available and the DOSBox settings required to play the Falcon 3.0 series of classic flight sims. Good hunting...

The second of Digital Image Designs (DID) flight sims is TFX: Tactical Fighter eXperiment, the first being F29 Retaliator, with future flight sims being the classic EF2000 and F-22 series. Remembered fondly by fans as a graphically impressive flight sim for 1993. This guide will cover running TFX under DOSBox Staging emulation. Versions The original retail release version of TFX, was developed by DID and published by Ocean in 1993. The original release was distributed on 8 x 3.5" 1.44Mb High Density (HD) Floppy Disks or a single cd-rom. The cd-rom version would be re-released, pre-patched to version 2.05. This version does not require patching. Versions numbers are only shown in the configuration utility (see Patching below). A cd-rom release is recommended as this includes cd music, is easier to install and may not require patching. CD images This guide assumes the cd will be ripped to a cd image. This saves wear and tear on the disc and the drive. The cd-rom should be ripped into a bin/cue image pair to preserve the red book cd music present on the disc. HOTAS config As it is a DOS based sim a maximum of 4 axes are supported although only 3 will be used by TFX. When using HOTAS/controller profiling software to limit the controller to a maximum of 4 axes the following device axes to Windows axes mappings were used: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_XROT_AXIS DOSBox Staging config This DOSBox Staging config for TFX assumes the latest version, 0.82.0 will be used. The changes to the default config are shown below: [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] dos_rate = 1000 [cpu] cpu_cycles = 30000 cpu_cycles_protected = auto cycleup = 100 cycledown = 100 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = off chorus = off [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] model = auto romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" [joystick] joysticktype = ch timed = true swap34 = true deadzone = 0 [autoexec] imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\TFX\cd\TFX.cue" -t cdrom mount c "D:\Games\Dos\TFX\hdd" mixer mt32 50:50 mixer cdaudio 50:50 c: cd tfx call tfx.bat exit The [sdl], [dosbox] and [mouse] settings are suitable for high frame rate gaming as described in this article  by Omniclyde. These settings aren't strictly required and can be omitted to use the default settings. In [cpu] settings, 30000 cycles seems appropriate, you may need to tweak this setting but this seems like a good starting point. The cpu_cycles_protected setting will use the same cycle count as cpu_cycles. Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled. The [mixer] settings can be changed to enhance sound and music to personal preference. My personal preference is to use the default chorus and reverb settings to prevent the music from overpowering other sounds. The [midi] and [mt32] settings enable high quality Roland midi music. The model value, auto, will default to a CM32L device. TFX supports the LAPC1 sound card which is equivalent to a CM32L device. The midi roms folder is described in the DOSBox midi article. The [joystick] settings are specific to TFX. The ch joystick type corresponds to the CH FlightStick which is supported by TFX. The timed and swap34 setting must be true to allow the throttle to be used. The deadzone setting is a personal preference. The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for a cd image. The imgmount and mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management  article. The mixer commands reduce the volume of the Roland midi music and cd music to prevent the music from overpowering other sounds, this is a personal preference. The remaining commands will go to the TFX folder, run TFX and close DOSBox once the game is quit. They can be used once TFX is installed and configured. Installation Installation should be performed within DOSBox using the install utility on the cd (image) or floppy disk (image). Once complete the installer may begin configuring the game (see Setup below). The installer may also suggest copying the did.dat file and tfx.bat file to the TFX installation folder, if there is sufficient disk space (see below). Optimisation The did.dat file is approximately 11Mb in size and the cd installer utility will leave this file on the cd (image) and suggest manually copying it to the TFX installation folder, only if there is sufficient disk space. These days this is not an issue so the file can be manually copied. The tfx.bat file is a amended batch file that no longer uses the did.dat file on the cd. This batch file may be present on the cd and can be copied to the TFX folder, replacing the previous tfx.bat file. If not the command in the batch file should change as follows, from: start DID=D: tfx with the start executable told to use the did.dat file on the D: cd drive, to: start tfx with the start executable using the did.dat file from the current folder. The DOS4G extender library is used by the config utility, but not the game. Therefore, even though it is possible to replace the extender library with a newer version, it is probably not worth doing so, given how infrequently the config utility will be used. Patching ABOUT page with version number There were three patches released for TFX with separate patches for floppy disk and cd-rom releases. The patches are not cumulative , each patch must be installed in order. Some later cd-rom re-releases may already be patched but the version number isn't shown in-game. However in the config utility (see Setup ) the 'ABOUT' button shows an information page, including the version number. Patches are not required for version 2.05. Patch 1 This is a bug fix patch which fixes the "unexpected interrupt" error message due to hardware conflict. It should fix most other unexplained crashes. The floppy disk patch ( tfxpat_1.zip ) and cd patch ( tfxcd_1.zip ) can be found at the Internet Archive. Patch 2 An enhancement patch to take TFX to version 2.0, although the patch doesn't list any changes. The floppy disk patch ( tfxpat_2.zip ) and cd patch ( tfxcd_2.zip ) can be found at the Internet Archive. Patch 3 This patch has no associated readme file, so it isn't known what this patch does. The floppy disk patch ( tfxpat_3.zip ) and cd patch ( tfxcd_3.zip ) can be found at the Internet Archive. Setup Config utility Some of the installer apps will automatically start the config utility ( config.exe ), once installation is complete. The config utility can also be run at any time to change config options. The options should be set as follows: The swap file should be turned OFF. The control method is set to JOYSTICK. The detail level is set to HIGH. The flight model can be set to MILITARY SPEC or reduced as a personal preference. Sound FX hardware is set to SB16. Music hardware is set to LAPC1 for Roland midi music or SB/CD for Soundblaster/CD music. Joystick type is set to FLIGHTSTICK PRO. Language is personal preference. In addition the 'CONF JOYSTICK' button should be used to calibrate the throttle and joystick. Running In flight options When 'in flight' there is an alternative configuration page available. This page has a joystick scale/sensitivity option. The flight controls, world detail and flight model are the same options as shown in the config utility. There are simplified sound and music options and additional options listed under the REALISM MENU page. These options are down to personal preference. Documentation TFX in DOSBox Staging The following documents can be found on various websites: The manual in pdf format. The reference card as an image. The Amiga version of the game never had a retail release but was later released on a magazine cover disk. The magazine published two articles which some may find useful: A limited play guide for the Amiga version. A later guide covering weapon use and hints for other aspects of the sim. Good hunting!

MicroProse well known for detailed deep sims was not adverse to making something lighter, and the result was F-15 Strike Eagle II. Based on the same engine as F-19 Stealth Fighter, it was less technical, more fly and fight. It was even converted into an arcade version. This guide will show you how to get the DOS version running in DOSBox Staging. Versions & expansions F-15 Strike Eagle II (Version 451.01) This was the initial retail release created and published by MicroProse in 1989. It was distributed on either 2 x 5.25" 360k Double Density (DD) floppy disks or a single 3.5" 720k DD floppy disk. F-15 Strike Eagle II (Version 451.02) A re-release version was published by MicroProse in 1990. This release included a number of number of bug fixes but no additional enhancements. If F-19 Stealth Fighter was also owned, the North Cape and Central Europe theaters could be imported into either version. Instructions for doing so were included in the technical supplement document. F-15 Strike Eagle II: Operation Desert Storm Scenario Disk (Version 451.03) The one and only expansion disk was published by MicroProse in 1992. This release included the Desert Storm theater and the North Cape and Central Europe theaters that were originally created for F-19 Stealth Fighter. In addition the Roland sound driver and updated Adlib drivers were included, as well as a small number of bug fixes. This release was a cumulative release, including the bug fixes from v451.02. Later re-releases, like the Deluxe Edition would include the base game and scenario disk as a compilation. A pattern also repeated with later cd-rom releases. The Deluxe Edition or later cd-rom releases are recommended as most patches have already been included, simplifying installation. Patches All patches are available within an archive of the MicroProse FTP site on the Internet Archive. Roland patch (mpsrol.zip) The Roland sound patch added the Roland sound drivers to a number of earlier MicroProse titles that were initially released without Roland support. This patch is only required for v451.01 or v451.02. Version 451.03 includes Roland sound drivers. 486 Sound patch (486snd.zip) The 486 Sound patch fixed speed sensitive sound issues for the Adlib drivers across a number of MicroProse titles. It also fixed OPL3 stereo issues on Soundblaster cards for some titles, but not F-15 SE2. This patch is only required for v451.01 or v451.02 experiencing sound issues but is recommended as it allows higher cycles to be used/tested in DOSBox. Version 451.03 already includes improved Adlib drivers. Adlib drivers patch (mpsadl.zip) This was a simple patch to increase engine volume for the Adlib drivers. It isn't recommended, but is left to personal preference. Key Disk Eliminator patch (f152key.zip) Following the release of F-15 Strike Eagle III, the Key Disk Eliminator patch was released to remove key disk copy protection, requiring an original retail floppy disk to be present. This is a file replacement patch, requiring a v451.02 or v451.03 copy of the f15.com file to replace the original. Later cd releases would have this copy protection removed. This is not recommended as it was superseded by the Pentium patch. Pentium Update patch (p5upd.zip) Following the introduction of fast 486 and Pentium class machines the Pentium patch was released ro reduce the speed sensitivity of earlier titles. This patch effectively superseded any key disk patches, as it is a file replacement patch with the copy protection removed. There are two files present for F-15 SE2, one per version. One file should be renamed to f15.com and used to replace the original f15.com file: f15v2.com is for v451.02. f15v3.com is for v451.03. This is a recommended patch. Controller setup The game only supports the Joystick x and y axes. However, if your controller has more axes and you are unable to disable the additional axes, then configuring them as shown below, as a '4axis' joystick device will allow DOSBox to correctly map the axes. Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_XROT_AXIS If you only have a 2 axis controller or can disable additional axes then you only need to define the Joystick axes. DOSBox Staging configuration The following config is suitable for DOSBox Staging v0.82.0. The settings below differ from the default configuration. [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] dos_rate = 1000 [cpu] cpu_cycles = 8000 cpu_cycles_protected = auto cycleup = 100 cycledown = 100 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = large chorus = normal [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] model = mt32_new romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" [sblaster] sbtype = sbpro1 [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = false deadzone = 0 [autoexec] imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\F15 Strike Eagle II\fdd\disk1.img" -t floppy -ro imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\F15 Strike Eagle II\cd\f15.iso" -t cdrom mount c "D:\Games\Dos\F15 Strike Eagle II\hdd" loadfix c: cd mps/f15 f15.com /J /GM /D3 /AR exit The [sdl], [dosbox] and [mouse] settings are suitable for high frame rate gaming as described in this article by Omniclyde. These settings aren't strictly required and can be omitted to use the default settings. 8000 cycles seems appropriate, you may need to tweak this setting but 6000-8000 cycles seems like a good starting point. The higher the cycle count the higher the accuracy needed to make a gun kill, in addition ineffective hits by Mavericks seem to increase. Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled. The [mixer] settings are a personal preference to enhance sound and music. The [midi] and [mt32] settings are based on info from the VOGONS wiki article ' List of MT-32-compatible computer games '. The rom folder needs to be specified, as described in DOSBox midi . In the [sblaster] section, the sbtype is changed to a Soundblaster Pro, this is to take advantage of stereo audio provided by (emulated) dual OPL chips, as described in the VOGONS wiki article. The [joystick] settings use a 4axis joystick type, as I'm using a 4 axes virtual controller, and this will help DOSBox assign axes correctly. If you only have a 2 axes controller or your device(s) allows unused axes to be disabled, then this could be changed to a 2axis joystick type. If you experience joystick drift, you may wish to change the timed setting. The deadzone is a personal preference. The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for a floppy disk image and a cd image. The imgmount and mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management article. The loadfix command is required to limit the amount of conventional memory. This is often needed by early DOS games. The f15.com command is run with command line switches to set various options. These are described in the Setup section below. The exit command will close DOSBox once the game is quit. Vanilla settings These are the additional settings required to play original unpatched versions without the recommended patch(es). [cpu] core = normal cputype = 386_prefetch The [cpu] settings have been found to be the most compatible with disk or cd based releases. The cd releases in particular seem to require the 386_prefetch cpu type which in turn requires the normal DOSBox core. Without these settings the f15.com command seems to freeze, if not patched with the Pentium update patch. Installation Installation will depend on your particular release, the disk based releases normally come with an install utility (e.g. install.exe) to install to hard disk. Any installation utilities should be run using DOSBox. Some of the cd releases lack this, requiring the F-15 folder on the cd to be copied to the hard disk or run the game from the cd (or cd image). It's recommended to copy the appropriate folder to the DOSBox hard disk folder and run the game from there. Once installed it's recommended to install the Pentium Update patch with DOSBox. Setup There is no separate setup utility with setup options being specified on the command line or through menus when the game is started. Detail level, graphics, sound and controls are all configured this way. The technical supplement document contains a list of setup options, shown below:  /J if you use a joystick /NJ if you use a keyboard without a joystick /GE if you use EGA 16-color graphics /GM if you use MGCA or VGA 256-color graphics /GC if you use CGA 4-color graphics /GT if you use Tandy 1000 16-color graphics /GH if you use Hercules monochrome graphics /D3 to invoke detail level 3 /D2 to invoke detail level 2 /D1 to invoke detail level 1 /D0 to invoke detail level 0 /AA invokes the Ad Lib sound driver /AT invokes the Tandy sound driver /A? replace the ? with the code of the sound driver you want The command I use to start the game with Roland sound becomes: f15.com /J /GM /D3 /AR Documentation There are a number of useful documents, available from various websites, for F-15 Strike Eagle II, these include: The F-15 Strike Eagle II manual. The HUD and keyboard reference card. The technical supplement. The Operation Desert Storm expansion manual. ONC maps of Libya, Persian Gulf, Vietnam and Middle East theaters. In addition, the strategy guide, The Official F-15 Strike Eagle Handbook by Richard Sheffield is available digitally at FlightSimBooks.com . Miscellaneous Some releases of the game included a demo app ( demo.exe ) which provides a slideshow of what were the future Gunship 2000 and F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0 titles. You may need to drop the cycles to a lower value to give yourself time to view the short slideshow. Good hunting!