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A guide to running the Parsoft developed Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II sim, A-10 Cuba!, initially released in 1996 and published by Activision. The sim features a comprehensive physics based flight model, damage model and detailed cockpit at the time of release. Lacking the mission editing present in the Mac version, the Windows version is often considered the lesser release. However, the Windows version supports stick, throttle and rudder while the Mac version, requiring emulators to run on Windows, is restricted to stick only, making the Windows version a better flying experience on a Windows platform. Much of the weapon deployment is more manual in nature with less reliance on computerized systems making it very much a pilot's sim. Despite its age, the sim is relatively straightforward to get running under Win10. This guide will be dealing with the Windows version only, running the Mac version under emulation is not covered in this guide. Strategy Due to the 16-bit game and patch installer apps, installation requires a little more care. The initial v1.0 retail release should be installed and patched to the latest v1.2 version. The later Activision Essentials Collection re-release is already pre-patched to v1.2 and only requires installation. High resolution displays and A-10 Cuba menus also require some consideration. However most issues are minor and can be resolved easily. Ensuring documentation is accessible on Win10 will also be covered. Version and patch history Version and patching requires a little more care due to the different patching paths than can be taken to reach the recommended version. This guide will detail the patches available and the minimum amount of patching required to meet the recommended version. Initial retail release The initial retail release was published by Activision in 1996 as version 1.0. Distributed on a single CD-ROM it uses a 16-bit installer that is no longer compatible with Win10, requiring the use of the OTVDM tool. Version 1.0 to Version 1.0.1 patch The Version 1.0 to Version 1.0.1 patch seems to have been released in December 1996. This patch was released without release notes so it's not clear what was changed but due to the size and release date it may have been a bug fix patch. The patch is distributed as a zip archive containing a self-extracting archive or as a self-extracting archive only. The patch uses a 16-bit installer, so must be installed with the OTVDM tool. This is not a recommended patch as the Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch provides a simpler upgrade path. This patch is available from: Gamepressure Internet Archive A-10 Cuba! V1.0.1 Patch Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch The Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch seems to have been released in February 1997. This patch was released as a bug fix and enhancement patch. The release notes are included below: The patch is distributed as a zip archive containing a self-extracting archive. The patch uses a 16-bit installer, so must be installed with the OTVDM tool. This is a recommended patch for the initial retail release . This patch is available from: The Patches Scrolls Internet Archive A-10 Cuba! v1.2 Patch A-10 Cuba! Patches Version 1.0.1 to Version 1.2 patch The Version 1.0 to Version 1.0.1 patch seems to have been released in December 1996. The release notes are identical to the Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch. The patch is distributed as a zip archive containing a self-extracting archive. The patch uses a 16-bit installer, so must be installed with the OTVDM tool. This is not a recommended patch as the Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch provides a simpler upgrade path. This patch is available from: The Patches Scrolls Internet Archive A-10 Cuba! Patches Essentials Collection re-release The Essentials Collection re-release was published by Activision in 1996 pre-patched to version 1.2. Distributed on a single CD-ROM it uses a 16-bit installer that is no longer compatible with Win10, requiring the use of the OTVDM tool. As it is already pre-patched, no further patches are required, making it the preferred version to install. Patching strategy The recommended patching strategies to bring each release to version 1.2 are straightforward and shown below: Install initial retail release (v1.0) and apply Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch (v1.2). Install Essentials Collection re-release (v1.2), no further patching required. Retail media This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of A-10 Cuba! does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format. At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms. Game management As a windows game running natively, the installation folder some limited game management is still useful for files used in the A-10 Cuba! setup. The installation folder and setup files for A-10 Cuba! and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example): D:\Games\Win\ D:\Games\Win\A-10 Cuba Setup The following setup folders can be used: cd - to store any cd images. conf - to store any HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. patch - to store a copy of recommended patches/tools. Installation setup OTVDM, also known as WineVDM, is a port of the Wine project that allows you to run old 16-bit Windows applications on modern 64-bit Windows operating systems. This utility allows the installer app to run under WIn10. OTVDM also includes a winhlp32.exe utility, which allows opening old style Windows help files on 64-bit Windows, including the A-10 Cuba! help files, which acts as a manual. The latest version of OTVDM/WineVDM is v0.9.0 available from the WineVDM GitHub , found in Releases . As it is distributed as a zip file, installation only requires extracting the files to a suitable folder of your choosing. Installation & patching Installation folder The first step of installation is to create an A-10 Cuba! installation folder manually. It is done manually as the folder selection dialog used in setup process, has compatibility issues, so it can select a folder but not create one. The default folder name is preferred ( A-10Cuba ). For the remainder of this guide the following example installation folder is assumed: E:\A-10Cuba Installing with OTVDM The steps to install A-10 Cuba! using the OTVDM tool are: Mount the A-10 Cuba! CD or CD image in WIndows. From the OTVDM installation folder run the OTVDM tool ( otvdmw.exe ) and use it to open the A-10 Cuba! installer app ( setup.exe ) from the mounted CD/CD image. The setup will begin. Each step of the installation process is shown in the gallery below. This should be a straightforward process, when used in conjunction with the notes below: Registration is optional, so select Register Later . When checking System Requirements , any warnings can be ignored. When selecting an installation folder location, choose the manually created installation folder ( A-10Cuba folder). When asked to install DirectX 2 select No. It is important to choose correctly! Patching with OTVDM This step is only required when patching the initial retail release to v1.2. The Essentials Collection release is already pre-patch to v1.2 so this patching is not required. The steps are: If the Version 1.0 to Version 1.2 patch is distributed as a zip file (or other compressed archive file), unzip the contents to a folder of your choosing. From the OTVDM installation folder run the OTVDM tool ( otvdmw.exe ) and use it to open the patch executable. This may be named a10p1_2.exe , a10pfr_2.exe or similar. Patching should begin and complete successfully. Adding the DirectPlay library A missing dplay.dll library error A-10 Cuba requires the DirectPlay library, without it the following error is seen when the game is run (see screenshot). To add the library: Copy the dplayx.dll library from the following location into the A-10 Cuba! installation folder. C:\Windows\SysWOW64\ Rename this file (in the A-10 Cuba! installation folder) to dplay.dll . Wrapper utilities This guide uses the latest version of dgVoodoo2, version 2.86.5  (at time of writing). This can be obtained from the dgVoodoo2 GitHub repository  in Releases . To install: Download dgVoodoo2 ( dgVoodoo2_86_5.zip ) and extract to a new folder. Copy the following dgVoodoo2 files to the A-10 Cuba! installation folder. Note : the paths are not important you just need to add the files: dgVoodooCpl.exe MS\x86\D3D8.dll MS\x86\D3D9.dll MS\x86\D3DImm.dll MS\x86\DDraw.dll Download and extract the dgVoodoo.conf  in the below zip file, to the A-10 Cuba! installation folder: HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide  combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. The vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide examples  may help in configuring your HOTAS. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Running When running A-10 Cuba! the menus are displayed in a dialog box style, with the Windows desktop visible in the background. With modern high resolution displays this may result in very small menus that are difficult to read. The flight engine runs at a maximum resolution of 1024 x 768 (a 4:3 aspect ratio) which is taken care of by dgVoodoo2, however the menus remain unchanged due to the dialog box style. Before playing, it is recommended to lower the monitor resolution to a resolution with the same aspect ratio as your monitors native aspect ratio (this would normally be 16:9 for a standard widescreen monitor) and at a resolution higher than 1024 x 768 . This will result in readable menus and a flight engine running in the correct aspect ratio. For example, a 4K monitor running at the native resolution of 3840 x 2160 has a 16:9 aspect ratio. A 16:9 resolutions higher than 1024 x 768 includes 1600 x 900 or 1920 x 1080 . Using Playnite (a game library manager) and the Display Helper plugin or switching the resolution manually, results in a lower resolution with readable menus and a flight engine running in the correct 4:3 aspect ratio thanks to dgVoodoo2. Configuration There are a number of in-game configuration settings that can be optimised for a modern Win10 platform. The following are recommended settings available in the in-game preferences: Combat : Additional realism settings are set, and invulnerability settings are disabled, but this should be set to personal preferences. Graphics :: All settings are maximised and enabled except for Snap VIew, allowing the internal cockpit view to scroll rather than snap. Sound : All settings are enabled. Controls : A joystick is set, other settings may depend on the HOTAS hardware being used. Advanced Settings : The Network, Prediction setting can be reduced to the minimum 1.5s ( 15 ). The Misc, Joystick Queue can be reduced to a minimum ( 1 ), to increase joystick response. Documentation It is recommended to store copies of the documentation listed below in the game management, docs folder. The following additional documents may be useful: A-10 Attack! Instruction Manual, pdf download. Macintosh Repository , A-10 Attack! , manual-10.pdf A-10 Attack! uses the same flight engine as A-10 Cuba! much of the advice remains relevant. A-10 Attack! Unofficial Demo Manual v1.2, Tim van der Leeuw & Maury Markowitz, pdf download. Steve's HOG HEAVEN , The Unofficial A-10 Attack Demo Manual Unofficial manual for the A-10 Attack! demo. Techniques discussed are applicable to A-10 Cuba! The A-10 Attack! FAQ Version 1.6, Petteri Sulonen, text file. GameFAQs , A-10 Attack! , Guides , FAQ. Much of the advice remains relevant to A-10 Cuba! An A-10 Attack! primer Version 1.0.1, Petteri Sulonen, text file. GameFAQs , A-10 Attack! , Guides , Primer. Much of the advice remains relevant to A-10 Cuba! Help files The Windows version uses legacy help ( .hlp ) files as documentation. Win10 no longer supports these help files. The OTVDM tool includes a Windows help tool ( winhelp32.exe ) which displays legacy help files. The recommended course of action is to: Copy the Windows help tool ( winhelp32.exe ) from the OTVDM installation folder into the A-10 Cuba! installation folder. Create a shortcut from winhelp32.exe and edit the shortcut properties. Add the help.hlp file as an parameter to the Target field, so it reads: E:\A-10Cuba\winhlp32.exe help.hlp Opening this shortcut will now display the A-10 Cuba! help documentation. There are other help files ( game.hlp , vendor.hlp and win95net.hlp ) but only help.hlp requires a shortcut as the other files are accessible from help.hlp. This shortcut can be left in the A-10 Cuba! installation folder, copied or moved onto the desktop or into the game management docs folder. Example video A-10 Cuba! running under Win10 Finally... Credit and thanks go to: Gamepressure, The Patches Scrolls and the Internet Archive for hosting patches. Otya for the OTVDM and WIndows help utilities. VOGONS member bringitback for the DirectPlay library advice. dege for dgVoodoo2. Macintosh Repository for hosting the A-10 Attack! manual. Tim van der Leeuw & Maury Markowitz for the A-10 Attack! Unofficial Demo Manual v1.2 and to Steve Russillo for hosting it at Steve's HOG HEAVEN. Petteri Sulonen for the The A-10 Attack! FAQ and Primer and to GameFAQs for hosting them. Good Hunting!

This is a guide to running the 1995 Digital Integration sim Apache (also called Apache Longbow) with the DOS version running in DOSBox Staging and Windows 95 3Dfx version in native Windows 10. The Windows 95 non-3Dfx/software rendered version will be omitted as it provides no additional enhancements over the DOS version but exhibits some speed sensitivity with the flight model running far too quickly on modern hardware. During the testing of various DOSBox options and wrappers for the Windows version, what became apparent were issues with the sound components of Apache. These issues affect both the DOSBox and Windows versions and would also affect joystick handling and often cause the game to crash or hang. Update 7 March 2026 : The final DOS patch has been found and added to the guide. Affected sections of this guide have been updated. A brief release & patch history It's useful to take a look at the version and patch history to help identify the release of the game you may have and the patches appropriate to each release. All patches are available from the Apache (Longbow) patch collection hosted on the Internet Archive for preservation purposes. Alternatively the 3dfx Voodoo related game patches page has the 3Dfx patches at soggi.org . Credit and thanks to soggi for hosting these patches. Original release (August 1995) Apache title screen The original release occurred around August 1995 and came on a single cd (as would later releases). It is a DOS only game with Win95 support. When starting the game the version (based on the time and date) is 09:52:23 Aug 11 1995. There is a single game executable, confusing called apache95.exe which runs this DOS version. The original title screen is shown with this version. October 1995 patch A patch was released in October 1995. It is a file replacement patch, replacing the apache95.exe file. The version changes to 10:50:46 Oct 03 1995. This patch is only applicable to the Original 1995 release. The patch was not distributed with a readme file so it isn't clear what this patch fixes, but it assumed to be a bug fix patch. It is not recommended due to the later Release 2 patch. Release 2 patch (December 1995) The Release 2 patch was available in December 1995. It is a file replacement patch, run with an update app, replacing the apache95.exe file and a mission data file. The version changes to 21:00:37 Nov 28 1995. This patch is only applicable to earlier versions (above). This patch introduces command line options to fix joystick/sound issues and to change the orientation of the throttle/collective (see Command line options). Apache Longbow release (v2.0, September 1996) Apache Longbow title screen The Apache Longbow release occurred in September 1996. This release includes both DOS and Win95 installer apps. The DOS version changes to 09:19:24 Sep 06 1996. This is the first version of Apache to support Win95 and to use the new title screen using the changed name Apache Longbow. Some retail media would also be labelled as Apache Longbow v2.0. The Win95 installer app is a 32-bit app that can be used in later versions of Windows including Win10. This release may have introduced a bug which causes the mouse pointer to disappear after using the in-game manual, but this doesn't seem to occur under DOSBox Staging. Interactive Magic US re-release (September 1996) This release occurred around September 1996. It includes both DOS and Win95 installers, the Win95 installer being another 32-bit app. The DOS version changes to 03:06:59 Sep 18 1996. Despite it being a later release it uses the original Apache title screen. The in-game manual/mouse pointer bug seems to be fixed in this release. Update: DOS Update Patch (September 1996) The final patch for the DOS versions only. The DOS version changes to 03:06:59 Sep 18 1996, making it identical to the Interactive Magic US re-release and Twin Pack: Hind / Apache Longbow release. This patch provides compatibility with Hind for head-to-head multiplayer. It is also a cumulative patch including changes from all earlier patches. Twin Pack: Hind / Apache Longbow (1997) A Digital Integration compilation release featuring Apache Longbow and Hind. The Apache Longbow version is identical to the Apache Longbow release (September 1996). The Win95 installer is a 32-bit app. 3Dfx Voodoo 1 patch (March 1998) The 3Dfx Voodoo 1 patch adds 3Dfx Voodoo 1 support and is only applicable to the Win95 version of Apache, there are no DOS versions that support a 3Dfx Voodoo card. The patch was released in March 1998 and should only be used with the Apache Longbow release from September '96. It should not be used with the Sold Out Software re-release. The patch is in two parts the Apache Voodoo 1 patch and a set of common files that should be extracted to the same patch folder before the installer app is run. The patch uses a 32-bit installer app but fails to run under Win10, even with compatibility options set. To install the patch the Apache installation folder and patch folder can be copied to a PCem Pentium 2 virtual machine with a Voodoo 1 and running Win98SE. The patch can be applied successfully and then copied back to the host Win10 machine. Sold Out Software re-release (April 1998) The Sold Out Software 1998 re-release has all three versions of Apache available at the time: DOS version. Win95 version. Win95 version with 3Dfx Voodoo 1 support. The DOS version is increased to 14:45:09 Jan 12 1998 and is, as far as is known, the final DOS version. The Sold Out Software Win95 installer is a 16-bit installer so requires the use of the otvdm utility to support 16-bit apps and install correctly. The Win95 installer gives the choice of software rendered or 3Dfx install options. Due to the comprehensive install options this is the recommended release to obtain. 3Dfx Voodoo 2 upgrade patch (June 1998) Released in June 1998, this is the final official patch from Digital Integration. The patch adds support for the 3Dfx Voodoo 2 card. The patch can be used with Win95 versions patched with Voodoo 1 support or the Sold Out Software re-release Win95 3Dfx version. This patch is a file replacement patch replacing the apache95.exe file with a new version. In addition it also seems to introduce better speed determination as this version does not exhibit the speed sensitivity of the earlier Win95 version. This patch is recommended for both Win95 versions patched with Voodoo 1 support and the Sold Out Software Win95 3Dfx version. Digital Integration European re-release (October 2000) Released in October 2000, this is, as far as I'm aware, the final physical retail release of Apache Longbow. The release is similar to the Soft Out Software re-release but without the manual in pdf format or the Sold Out Software installer app. The DOS version is 14:45:09 Jan 12 1998, the final DOS version. It includes the Win95 version with both software renderer and 3Dfx acceleration. The Win95 installer is a 16-bit app and will require the use of otvdm. The 3Dfx Voodoo 2 upgrade patch is a recommended patch for this re-release. Digital releases I don't own a digital release of Apache so much of this is educated guesswork. From what I understand the gog.com and ZOOM Platform digital releases are DOS versions only. The gog.com digital release is version 09:19:24 Sep 06 1996 which makes it identical to Apache Longbow release (September 1996). This means there are no DOS patches to apply. Thanks go to damson for providing the version. The in-game manual key has been disabled in the DOSBox config in this digital release to prevent the mouse pointer bug from occurring. Media Due to the age or the media and the drives required to read the media, it is recommended to rip cd-rom media to image files, to save wear and tear on media and the mechanical drives. The cd-rom can be ripped to a data only .iso image format as there is no cd audio on the cd. Game management It is recommended to use my DOSBox game management  strategy or similar strategy you may have developed. The recommended game management folders are: cd - to store the cd image. conf - to store any DOSBox or HOTAS configuration files. hdd - the folder use as the emulated DOSBox hard disk. patches - to store any patches. The Windows version uses the following installation folder: :\Games\Win\Apache And the following game management folder: :\Games\Win\Apache Longbow Setup And the following sub-folders: cd - to store the cd image conf - to store any HOTAS configuration files. patches - to store any patches. HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using a combination of devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be configured (with vendor software or Joystick Gremlin), limited to 4 axes. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis (DOS) Windows axis (Win95) Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_XROT_AXIS DX_ZROT_AXIS DOS version This guide assumes the Sold Out Software, April 1998 re-release will be used. The following DOS versions should be patched as follows: Original release and Release 2 patch. Apache Longbow release only, no further patches required. Sold Out Software re-release only, no further patches required. Update : With the addition of the final DOS patch, the recommended patches for the DOS versions change as follows: Original release and DOS Update Patch (version 03:06:59 Sep 18 1996). Apache Longbow release and DOS Update Patch (version 03:06:59 Sep 18 1996). DOSBox config This guide assumes the latest version of DOSBox Staging v0.82.1. This config only details the changes from the default configuration. The changes are as follows: [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] memsize = 32 dos_rate = 1000 [cpu] cpu_cycles_protected = 200000 cycleup = 1000 cycledown = 1000 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = false swap34 = true deadzone = 0 [autoexec] mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Apache Longbow\hdd" imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Apache Longbow\cd\apache.iso" -t cdrom c: # cd di\apache # apache # 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. The [dosbox] memsize and [cpu] cpu_cycles_protected settings are discussed in this SimHQ forum post . Credit and thanks to damson for discovering these settings. The cyclesup/cyclesdown settings are changed to an appropriate increment. The cpu_cycles_protected is set to a suitably high 200000. Thanks go to damson for providing a suitable cycles setting. Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled. The [mixer] settings enhance the music and audio. They are a personal preference and can be adjusted as desired. In the [joystick] section, the [joysticktype], [timed] and [swap34] are suitable settings for my HOTAS (TM Warthog), however you may need to adjust these for your own joystick or HOTAS. [deadzone] is a personal preference and should be adjusted as desired. The [autoexec] section mounts the hdd folder as the c: drive. The imgmount command mounts a cd-rom image as the d: drive. The disabled commands will change to the appropriate folder and run the game. The exit command will close DOSBox when the game is quit. Once installation and patching is complete these commands can be enabled. Gravis UltraSound If you wish to try an alternative sound card, Apache supports the Gravis UltraSound, to configure a GUS card the settings are changed as follows: [sblaster] sbtype = none [gus] gus = true The sbtype is set to none to disable SoundBlaster emulation. The gus setting is set to true to enable GUS emulation. The remaining [gus] settings are appropriate to leave as defaults. Installation The GUS sound card requires the GUS drivers to be added to a c:\ultrasnd folder. The easiest way of obtaining these drivers is to use a pre-installed folder. Fortunately VOGONS member K.A.R.R. has created suitable folders that can be found in the ' Gravis Ultrasound Driver Package ' post. Alternatively VOGONS member Rincewind42 has also hosted the Gravis UltraSound DOS Driver Package at the Internet Archive. Credit and thanks to K.A.R.R. and Rincewind42 for creating this package and providing an alternate hosting location. There are two archives suitable for DOSBox Staging use: ULTRASND411.zip contains preinstalled gravis ultrasound driver 4.11 (latest version). ULTRASNDPPL161FIX.zip contains preinstalled gravis ultrasound driver 4.11 with pro patches lite 1.61 and anti loop fix. Either are suitable and I haven't been able to detect any difference in audio quality. The installation process is the same for both zip files, extract the contents into the hdd folder to create a c:\ultrasnd folder and complete GUS installation. Installation All DOS versions should be installed from within DOSBox using the DOS installer app ( install.exe ) from the cd. The only installation option is the install size which should be set to maximum. There are no graphics or sound options to set. The installer should complete without issue. Patching The only recommended patch is the Release 2 patch which should only be applied to the original 1995 release. The zip file should be extracted to the hdd folder and the update utility ( update.bat ) should be run from within DOSBox. The update utility should complete without issue. Once installation/patching is complete, the disabled [autoexec] commands in the DOSBox config can be enabled. Update : With the addition of the final DOS patch, the recommended patching steps for the DOS versions change as follows: The DOS Update Patch is distributed as a zip archive, which must be unzipped to an appropriate DOSBox folder. One of the files is a self-extracting archive which will create updated files. These updated files are used to replace existing files in the Apache installation folder manually. Create a patch folder (e.g. PATCH ) under the DOSBox hard disk folder. An example folder in Windows could be: D:\Games\DOS\Apache\hdd\PATCH In DOSBox this folder becomes: C:\PATCH Unzip the contents of the DOS Update Patch into this folder, the following files should be created: PATCH.EXE README.TXT The release notes explain the patch installation process also described in the next steps. The next step is to start DOSBox and extract the contents of the patch from the self extracting archive: In DOSBox go to the PATCH folder and run the following command: PATCH -d The following files/folders should be extracted from the self-extracting archive: APACHE.EXE BDDATA (folder) MISSDATA (folder) The last step is to apply the patch, it may be easier to perform this step from Windows rather than from DOSBox: Remove the following files from the Apache installation folder (if they exist): APACHE.BAT APACHE95.EXE Copy the updated files/folders ( APACHE.EXE, BDDATA, MISSDATA ) into the Apache installation folder replacing any existing files as required (there are a lot of files to replace). This completes the patching process. Running Earlier versions of Apache can be run with the apache95.exe or the apache.bat file. The Sold Out Software release is run with the apache.exe file. Update : The DOS Update patching process removes the apache95.exe  and apache.bat  files from earlier versions. The game is now run with apache.exe . Command line options The Release 2 patch introduced command line options, from the patch readme: 1. If you are experiencing problems calibrating your Joystick with a Multi-Speed Games Card or Sound card difficulties try running Apache thus :- Apache /Jx Where x is a machine dependent variable ranging from 1 to 10000. If the problem persists try running with /J0 2. The Throttle stick control may be reversed by running thus :- Apache /Qx Where x is either 1 or 0 depending on required orientation. /Q0 will swap the collective axis where pushing forward will increase collective and pulling back will reduce collective. /Q1 will use a 'helicopter like' collective, where pushing forward reduces collective and pulling back increases collective. This is the default. Win95 version The Win95 version is only available with the Apache Longbow release (September 1996) or the Sold Out Software re-release (April 1998). At present there are no patches or mods to add Win95 support to earlier DOS only releases. The recommended patching strategy, after installation, is as follows: Apache Longbow release (September 1996): Apply 3Dfx Voodoo 1 patch (March 1998) Apply 3Dfx Voodoo 2 upgrade patch (June 1998) Sold Out Software re-release (April 1998) 3Dfx install: Apply 3Dfx Voodoo 2 upgrade patch (June 1998) The Apache Longbow release has a simple installation process, with a more involved patching process while the Sold Out Software re-release has a more involved installation process but a far simpler patching process. Installation The cd or cd image needs to be mounted under Win10. The .iso image format is supported natively by Win10, but cue/bin image pairs may require 3rd party tools like DAEMON Tools or WinCDEmu to mount the image. The Apache Longbow release uses a 32-bit installer app, ( setup.exe ) on the cd/cd image. The installer should run without issue under Win10. However, when asked to install DirectX components reply no or cancel the install. This occurs after files have been copied, which is the important part of the install. Sold Out Software installation The Sold Out Software re-release rather strangely uses an earlier 16-bit installer app which is not supported by Win10. A recommended solution is to use winevdm/otvdm a tool to provide 16-bit app support on 64-bit Windows. The winevdm/otvdm utilities are available at the winevdm GitHub repository , with the latest version (v.0.9.0 at time of writing) available on the releases page . Credit and thanks to otya for providing this amazingly useful and easy to use tool. The process is to: Download the latest version ( otvdm-v0.9.0.zip ) and extract to a folder, (maybe a sub-folder under the Apache Longbow Setup folder if you have one, see Game management ). Mount the cd image under Win10. Run the otvdmw.exe utility and navigate to your mounted cd image and open the setup.exe installer app. Note : there is a Setup95.exe app, but this is a Sold Out Software app which allows Acrobat reader to be installed before running setup.exe. Installation should run successfully, select no or cancel the installation when asked to install DirectX components .This occurs after files have been copied, which is the important part of the install. Patching This section covers patching with the two 3Dfx Voodoo patches, which are the only patches that should be used with Win95 versions of Apache. 3Dfx Voodoo 1 patch (March 1998) Applying this patch is a bit involved as it uses a 32-bit installer and can run in Win10 but not successfully. Tests with various compatibility options have also failed. Therefore the rather involved approach is to create a PCem virtual machine, copy the Apache installation and patches folders to the virtual machine, apply the patch and then copy the Apache installation folder back into Win10. I've often suggested in other articles to keep a copy of a newly created PCem or 86Box virtual machine, so it can be reused for other games or purposes and this is exactly the kind of scenario where having a copy can save huge amounts of time and effort. As long as you have a PCem or 86Box virtual machine with a .vhd virtual hard disk image and running Win95, Win98 or Win98SE then you should be fine. If you don't have a suitable PCem or 86Box virtual machine then I can highly recommend this YouTube video, ' PCem Windows 98 Setup (Pentium II +Voodoo 3, all files provided) ' from PhilsComputerLab. Once again, huge thanks to Phil for creating this very useful video. Once created, keep a copy you never know when it may be useful to have a Win988 virtual machine for retro games! To apply the patch: Download and extract the patch ( Apache-Longbow_3dfx.zip ) to a new folder (maybe a new sub-folder under the Apache Longbow Setup folder if you have one, see Game management ). Download and extract the common files ( common_files.zip ) to the same folder. Shutdown the PCem/86Box virtual machine, if it is running. Mount the virtual hard disk (.vhd) file in Win10. Copy the Apache installation folder and patch folder to the virtual hard disk. Eject the virtual hard disk and run up the PCem/86Box virtual machine. Run the patch installer ( setup.exe ) from the patch folder. The installer should search for and find the Apache installation folder and apply the patch. Once complete there should be a new apache_3dfx.exe file in the Apache installation folder. Shutdown the virtual machine and mount the virtual hard disk (.vhd) file in Win10. Replace the Apache installation folder in Win10 with the installation folder from the virtual hard disk, overwriting any files as required. That concludes applying the 3Dfx Voodoo 1 patch. 3Dfx Voodoo 2 upgrade patch (June 1998) As this patch is a file replacement patch the process is far simpler. To apply the patch: Download and extract the patch ( Apache-Longbow_3dfxV2.zip ) to a new folder (maybe a new sub-folder under the Apache Longbow Setup folder if you have one, see Game management ). Replace the apache95.exe file in the Apache installation folder with this new patch version. That concludes applying the 3Dfx Voodoo 2 upgrade patch. Wrapper configuration Getting the Win95 version of Apache is going to take the use of a few DirectX and Glide wrappers, so let's begin... DxWrapper DxWrapper is used to wrap the DirectSound components. This is particularly important given the issues the game has with sound. The latest version ( v1.3.7700.25 ) should be used and is available from the DxWrapper GitHub repository releases . Credit and huge thanks to Elisha for the continuing work on DxWrapper. To install: Download and extract DxWrapper ( dxwrapper.zip ) to a new folder. Copy the following DxWrapper files to the Apache installation folder. Note : the Stub path is not important you just need to add the dsound.dll file: Stub\dsound.dll dxwrapper.dll Download and extract the dxwrapper.ini in the below zip file, to the Apache installation folder: This concludes the DxWrapper config. dgVoodoo2 The dgVoodoo2 wrapper is used to wrap both DirectX and Glide components. The version used is dgVoodoo v2.86.1 . It is available from the dgVoodoo2 GitHub repository releases . Once again credit and huge thanks to dege for the continuing work on dgVoodoo2. To install: Download dgVoodoo2 ( dgVoodoo2_86_1.zip ) and extract to a new folder. Copy the following dgVoodoo2 files to the Apache installation folder. Note : the paths are not important you just need to add the files: dgVoodooCpl.exe 3Dfx\x86\Glide.dll 3Dfx\x86\Glide2x.dll 3Dfx\x86\Glide3x.dll MS\x86\D3D8.dll MS\x86\D3D9.dll MS\x86\D3DImm.dll MS\x86\DDraw.dll Download and extract the dgVoodoo.conf in the below zip file, to the Apache installation folder: Note: you will probably need to open dgVoodooCpl.exe and: In the General section change the adapters to use . In the Glide section change the resolution to a suitable setting for your setup. In the Glide section the watermark is turned on for testing purposes, once confirmed working it can be turned off. The following screenshot shows the dgVoodoo2 settings: dgVoodoo2 settings This concludes the dgVoodoo2 config. Game configuration The final step is the in-game configuration accessed from the Preferences menu option on the initial menu screen. The configuration options and suggested settings are slightly different for DOS and Win95 versions. DOS version DOS preferences The DOS preferences have a full set of configuration options as shown in the screenshot. Here are some points to note: The Visual Detail can be increased to maximum , with the Screen Mode set to 640x480 . Speech and Music can be enabled and Effects can be set to Full . If you chose a Gravis UltraSound in the DOSBox config, you'll have to set the sound card settings to be identical to the DOSBox settings, as shown in the screenshot. If you left the DOSBox settings as the default (SoundBlaster 16) then the sound/music should work and it should auto-detect the settings. It may not due to the speed sensitivity of the auto-detection component, however 200000 cycles in the DOSBox config may allow it to work for some/most machines. Thanks go to damson for providing sound card info. If settings are not auto-detected, you should to able to set them manually using the same settings as the default DOSBox config: Card: SoundBlaster 16 Address: 220 Interrupt: 7 DMA: 1 If this causes the game to hang or crash, they can be added manually to the prefs.cfg file, which is a text file. Add the following lines in bold : ... Collective control=6 Sound DMA=1 Sound Address=544 Sound IRQ=7 Sound Card=4 Sound effects level=0 Sound Speech=0 Sound effects=1 Sound music=1 UI Continuous Move=1 ... The control settings are appropriate for my 4-axis virtual controller, combining stick, throttle and pedals. This means the hat is not enabled (I set the hat with the HOTAS profiling software). If you don't have pedals you may wish to experiment with a DOSBox joysticktype of fcs or ch , both of which are supported by Apache as the Thrustmaster FCS and Flightstick Pro options. After making a control change, re-calibrate each axis by moving it to the extremes. Win95 version Win95 preferences The Win95 preferences have a limited set of configuration options as shown in the screenshot. Here are some points to note: With the 3D accelerated version visual detail is maximised and settings are not required. Sound card settings are not required. The control settings are appropriate for my 4-axis virtual controller, combining stick, throttle and pedals. The Flightstick Pro option allows the use of hat with my HOTAS, you may wish to test options to find the optimum setting. After making a control change, re-calibrate each axis by moving it to the extremes. Running Before starting the Win95 version of Apache, make sure the cd/cd image is mounted otherwise you'll be taken to the head-to-head setup menu. When run for the first time, the Preferences menu will be presented immediately. When leaving the Preferences menu you'll be taken straight to the Quickstart mission allowing the controller options to be tested. Documentation In-game manual The Sold Out Software re-release has a copy of the manual in pdf format. It can be found on the cd (not in the manual folder, confusingly) but in the manparts folder. In-game manual A rather useful facility offered by Apache is the ability to bring up a copy of the manual at any time, on menu screens or during flight, with the < F1> key. At the rear of the manual is the key reference! This in-game manual is disabled in the gog.com release, due to a bug in this version which causes the mouse pointer to disappear after accessing the manual. Testing 'shot down' The following testing was not successful, so to save others from repeating these attempts they are listed below. ReShade ReShade v6.5.1 was tested, however the UI was very limited/non-functional. The UI could eventually be accessed, however the mouse was non-functional as were the keyboard shortcuts. So ReShade is not recommended. Anti-aliasing Forcing anti-aliasing through vendor software (Nvidia in my case) resulted in ugly text on menu screens without major improvements in flight. It looks like the Digital Integration developers optimised the SVGA in this game, so anti-aliasing is not recommended. Further Information There aren't any dedicated resources for Apache, but the following may still be of interest: gog.com Apache Longbow forum . Steam are planning an Apache Longbow release in Q3 2025. Will they do a better job than I have? PixelWings is possibly working on a set of mods for Apache Longbow. Nothing has been announced so far, but check the website and the YouTube channel ! Apache in DOSBox Staging Win95 3Dfx version running in Win10 Good hunting!

A guide to running the NovaLogic 1998 sim, MiG-29 Fulcrum. This guide will be running the sim natively under Win10 and although untested, it is hoped this strategy will increase compatibility on Win11 platforms. This guide will be installing the base game and the Integrated Battle Space (IBS) multiplayer app as it also includes the Fixed Wing Mission Editor. Although run on Win10, the game is patched using a PCem virtual machine. Strategy Installing and running the game under Win10 works well, however the patch cannot be applied on a WIn10 platform. To create the most recent patched version of MiG-29 involves: Installing the base game and IBS aoo (which includes the mission editor) under Win10 to create any necessary registry entries. Installing the base game under a PCem Win98 Second Edition virtual machine. Patching the game in the virtual machine, as the patch fails to work under Win10. Moving the installation folder from PCem onto Win10. Version and patch history The initial release was in 1998 on a single CD-ROM. THe game uses a 32-bit installer making it compatible with Win10. Not only was the base game included but a multiplayer capability with Novaworld and Integrated Battle Space (IBS) which allowed a number of different NovaLogic sims to be played against each other. The FIxed Wing Mission Editor was also included. These apps also use a 32-bit installer. MiG-29 Update patch Released on the 23 June 1999 this patch was described as an IBS update which made changes to the base and multiplayer game. This was primarily an enhancement patch increasing support for more hardware, and multiplayer facilities. The patch uses a 32-bit installer which can run under Win10, however, the patch fails to install correctly under WIn10 and must be installed on a appropriate earlier Windows 98 virtual machine. From the release notes: Cheat code capabilities during multiplayer have been addressed. The update provides additional 3-D support for some video cards. Side passwords have been included for some multiplayer games as well. The update also provides public and private NovaWorld hosting capabilities, allowing users to join other user-hosted games through NovaWorld. The update also modifies the flight model and air-speed information to provide more realistic aircraft performance. The game will now support force-feedback joysticks, 16-button joysticks, simultaneously connected joysticks, multiple hat-switch joysticks, and other additional joystick capabilities. This is a recommended patch, it is available from: Internet Archive (archive of the NovaLogic FTP site). NovaLogic (http download only). PCGamingWiki . Retail media This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of MiG-29 does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format. MiG-29 is available from Steam . Game management As a windows game running natively, the installation folder will be created by the MiG-29 installer. However some limited game management is still useful for files used in the MiG-29 setup. The installation folder and setup files for MiG-29 and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example): D:\Games\Win\ D:\Games\Win\MiG-29 Fulcrum Setup The following setup folders can be used: cd - to store any cd images. conf - to store any HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. patch - to store a copy of recommended patches. Installation & patching Windows 10 installation The retail version uses a 32-bit installer which is WIn10 compatible and will install without issue. There are only two choices to be made, the destination installation folder and a large or small install, the large install should be selected. The purpose of this install is to ensure any registry entries are set correctly. Immediately following the base game installation, the Integrated Battle Space (IBS) installation will begin. The only choice is the destination installation folder. This must be different to the folder chosen for the base game install. PCem virtual machine If you're completely new to setting up PCem or need a refresher, I highly recommend the excellent YouTube tutorial video by PhilsComputerLab, PCem Windows 98 Setup . The virtual hard disk should be created as a .vhd file as this file type can be mounted in Win10, making it easier to transfer files. Once you have a basic, clean Windows 98 virtual machine and hard disk image, I recommend: Taking a copy of the basic virtual machine to create a game specific virtual machine. Taking a copy of the basic hard disk image to create a game specific image. Use PCem and reconfigure the game specific virtual machine to use the game specific hard disk image. If things go badly wrong, you'll always have the basic image to try again with and it'll save a lot of time and effort if you ever want to try a different game with PCem. Note: Earlier articles have recommended keeping a clean version of the virtual machine and virtual hard disk for future use. Using a copy of an existing 'clean' virtual machine to install and patch MiG-29 is an ideal use case, saving time and effort. PCem virtual machine installation Start by mounting the CD/CD image in the PCem virtual machine. Installing both the base game and IBS app is exactly the same as installing under Win10. Both the base game and IBS will install without issue. This provides the installation that will be patched with the one and only patch. PCem virtual machine patching The first step is to download the recommended MiG-29 patch and copy it onto the PCem virtual hard disk, to do so: If the PCem virtual machine is running, shut it down and exit PCem. Mount the virtual hard disk ( .vhd ) file in Win10. Copy the patch onto the virtual hard disk. Eject the mount virtual hard disk. Start the PCem virtual machine. When the patch is run it should find the MiG-29 installation folder and apply the patch, once complete you should see the licence agreement dialog, as shown below: Copying the installation folder Now we have a fully patched version of MiG-29 on the PCem virtual hard disk. We just need to copy this folder back into Win10, to do so: If the PCem virtual machine is running, shut it down and exit PCem. Mount the virtual hard disk ( .vhd ) file in Win10. Copy the MiG-29 installation folder from the mounted hard disk and use it to replace the existing MiG-29 installation folder created under Win10, replacing any files as required. Once complete eject the PCem virtual hard disk, it is no longer required. Note : Only the MiG-29 installation folder needs to be copied, as the IBS installation folder won't be used. Windows 10 configuration During MiG-29 installation, a M29.CD file is created, it contains the CD-ROM drive letter, which allows the game to know where the CD is located. When installed in the PCem virtual machine, this will be the PCem virtual CD-ROM drive letter (probably D: ). The contents of this file should be changed to the drive used in Win10 when the MiG-29 CD or CD image is mounted. As an example when I mount the CD image it becomes the F: drive. Wrapper utilities MiG-29 uses 3Dfx/Glide technology and requires a suitable Glide wrapper, nGlide. The earlier version of DirectX used, requires the use of dgVoodoo2. nGlide nGlide settings Glide emulation is provided by the latest version of nGlide v2.10. Available from Zeus Software  in nGlide download . nGlide is installed as a system level Glide wrapper as explained further in Glide Wrappers: Last Man Standing or Peace and Harmony? Once installed the nGlide configurator is used to set the nGlide settings as shown in the screenshot. dgVoodoo2 This guide uses the latest version of dgVoodoo2, version 2.86.5  (at time of writing). This can be obtained from the dgVoodoo2 GitHub repository  in Releases . To install: Download dgVoodoo2 ( dgVoodoo2_86_5.zip ) and extract to a new folder. Copy the following dgVoodoo2 files to the CS installation folder. Note : the paths are not important you just need to add the files: dgVoodooCpl.exe MS\x86\D3D8.dll MS\x86\D3D9.dll MS\x86\D3DImm.dll MS\x86\DDraw.dll Download and extract the dgVoodoo.conf  in the below zip file, to the CS installation folder: Note : This configuration uses Max ISF as the DirectX resolution. You may need to change this if your chosen resolution does not match your desktop resolution. HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide  combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. The vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide examples  may help in configuring your HOTAS. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Running Once you have loaded and enabled your joystick/HOTAS profile and the MiG-29 CD or CD image is mounted in WIn10, the game can be run with: M29.exe Configuration There are comprehensive in-game configuration settings shown in the gallery below. Most can be left up to personal preference but those of particular note are: Video / Performance : All settings can be maximised, 3D Acceleration should be Enabled. Control / Performance: Should be optimised for the available joystick/HOTAS hardware. Those using a virtual controller created by TM TARGET or vJoy should make sure it is selected in Current Joystick . Keyboard Map : Allows keyboard commands to be remapped. Joystick Map : Allows joystick/HOTAS buttons to be remapped, which may be useful for those not using joystick/HOTAS profiling apps. Example video MiG-29 running in WIn10 with HOTAS Finally... Credit and thanks go to: Internet Archive, NovaLogic and PCGamingWiki for hosting the patch. Zeus for nGlide and dege for dgVoodoo2. Sarah Walker for PCem v17. Phil of PhilsComputerLab for his PCem Windows 98 setup tutorial. Удачной охоты! (Good hunting!)

A guide to running the DOS version of Flight Unlimited in DOSBox Staging and the Windows 95 version in WIndows 10. Flight Unlimited the 1995 aerobatic flight sim developed and published by Looking Glass. The game features a very limited environment, with terrain repeating over a very short distance, however the environment isn't really important to a sim which concentrates on flying skills and aerobatic manoeuvres using a flight model based on real world physics. Flight Unlimited includes the following aircraft (in-game name:) Bellanca Decathlon (Decathlon) Extra 300S (Extra). Pitts Special S-2B (Pitts). Sukhoi Su-31 (Sukhoi). Grob G103a Twin II sailplane (Grob). Strategy The strategy for the DOS version is to concentrate on providing the best experience during flight rather than an creating an optimised DOSBox Staging configuration for the options available at the Fixed Based Operator (FBO) shack. The vast majority of time will be spent flying so this aspect of the sim needs to run as well as possible. There is no such choice required for the Windows 95 version. Version & patch history DOS retail release The initial DOS release was in 1995 and was distributed on a single CD-ROM. Developed and published by Looking Glass Technologies. This was at the end of the mainstream DOS era making Flight Unlimited a late DOS game with Win 95 released in the same year. The release must be installed in DOSBox. PAS16 driver for Flight Unlimited Flight Unlimited did not include drivers for the Media Vision Pro AudioSpectrum (PAS) 16 line of sound cards due to design inconsistencies in PAS16 audio cards. This was later released in August 1995 as the PAS16 driver for Flight Unlimited. Unfortunately the developer and publisher, Looking Glass, could not guarantee that the driver would work with all PAS16 cards. This patch contains an additional driver that is added to the installation and requires manually editing the configuration file (flite.cfg). This patch is only recommended for those running the game on legacy hardware with a Pro AudioSpectrum 16 sound card. This patch is available from the Internet Archive . Flight Unlimited Beta Patch The first beta patch was released in August 1995.  It is primarily a bug fix release fixing video and control issues. The patch is distributed as a self extracting executable, resulting in files used to apply the patch. This patch must be run in DOSBox. This is not a recommended patch having been superseded by later patches. This patch is available from the Internet Archive . Flight Unlimited Beta Patch vF2.01S A beta patch was released in October 1995. It is a cumulative patch including fixes from the first beta patch. As control plays a big part of the sim the patch also includes enhancements to control schemes to increase compatibility. The patch is distributed as a self extracting executable, resulting in files used to apply the patch. This patch must be run in DOSBox. This is not a recommended patch having been superseded by the Flight Unlimited Patch vF2.4S. This patch is available from the Internet Archive . Flight Unlimited Patch vF2.4S A final release patch was made available in February 1996. It is primarily a cumulative bug fix and enhancement patch including all the fixes present in the beta patch. It also includes fixes to the game and enhancements to the SoundBlaster driver. The patch is distributed as a self extracting executable, creating files used to apply the patch. This patch must be run in DOSBox. This is the only recommended patch for the DOS version, available from the Patches Scrolls or the Internet Archive . Flight Unlimited '95 A Windows 95 retail version was released in June 1996 on a single CD-ROM. Developed and published by Looking Glass Technologies. This release can be installed on a Win10 platform with suitable compatibility utilities. There are no patches for this version having already been integrated. Retail media This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of Flight Unlimited does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format. At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms. Game Management Due to the different releases, management folders depend on release, but both releases benefit from: conf - to store any DOSBox Staging/HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. cd - to store cd images. DOS version I recommend using my DOSBox game management  strategy with the following folders: patch - to store a copy of recommended patches. hdd - the DOSBox Staging hard disk folder. Flight Unlimited '95 As a windows game running natively, the installation folder will be created by the Flight Unlimited installer. However, the earlier game management folders are still useful for the Flight Unlimited setup. The installation folder and setup files for Flight Unlimited and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example): D:\Games\Win\ D:\Games\Win\Flight Unlimited Setup DOS version DOSBox Staging config This guide assumes the latest version of DOSBox Staging v0.82.2. Changes from the default configuration are detailed below: [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] dos_rate = 1000 [cpu] cpu_cycles = max cpu_cycles_protected = auto [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis swap34 = true deadzone = 0 [autoexec] @echo off mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Flight Unlimited\hdd" imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Flight Unlimited\cd\FlightU.iso" -t cdrom c: # cd flight # flight The [sdl], [dosbox] and [mouse] settings are suitable for high frame rate gaming as described in this article  by Omniclyde. These settings improve the performance of Flight Unlimited and are recommended. In [cpu] settings, cycles are set to max for both cpu_cycles to prevent stuttering and ensure a smooth framerate. The cpu_cycles_protected setting will use the same cycle count as cpu_cycles and can be 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. Audio is provided by the default Sound Blaster 16 settings The [joystick] settings are appropriate for my HOTAS setup so you may need to alter these. The swap34 setting is recommended to be set to true. The deadzone setting is a personal preference. Unlike most other sims Flight Unlimited benefits from a timed joystick setting set to true (the default). The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for the hard disk and cd image mounts. The imgmount and mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management  article. Flight Unlimited requires the cd/cd image to be mounted during play. Commented out commands can be added back in once patching is complete. Installation Installation is performed in DOSBox and is a straightforward process. The installer app ( install.bat ) is run from the mounted CD-ROM. The installer app uses an overlay style (see screenshots). The following notes are an aid to installation The preferred sound card is the Sound Blaster 16 as this is the same sound card emulated by DOSBox Staging. When choosing an installation folder the default ( C:\flight ) is preferred. The preferred joystick type is Standard Joystick as this most closely matches the 4-axis joystick configured in DOSBox and allows the use of 4 axes. When choosing the Install Flight Unlimited option there is a choice to use a VESA 2.0 UniVBE driver, select No . The UniVBE driver would add better VESA 2.0 compatibility to video cards, however the DOSBox emulated video cards have superior compatibility than UniVBE. The installation process is very quick and will finish almost immediately as the game uses many files that remain on the CD. Patching Applying the only required and recommended patch, Flight Unlimited Patch vF2.4S is straightforward. This patch is distributed as a zip archive, to apply: From Windows : Extract the contents of the zip archive and copy the 2 files ( patch.exe and readme.txt) into the Flight Unlimited installation folder. From DOSBox : Run patch.exe to extract the patch files, compressed within patch.exe. From DOSBox : Run go.bat  to apply the patch. If the game has been run prior to applying the patch, it is recommended to re-run the in-game joystick calibration. Replacing the DOS extender This step is optional and can be omitted, it is left to personal preference whether or not to implement this step. Replacing the DOS extender Flight Unlimited was notorious for having issues with the DOS 32 extender used in the game, DOS4/G. Later versions of DOSBox Staging recommend avoiding this step due to changes made to specifically to fix issues with DOS/4G. However after making this change the sim 'felt' subjectively better. This extender was integrated into the game executable ( flight.exe ). However it is possible to replace this extender with a later extender, DOS/32A. To do so, the following files should be obtained from the DOS/32A GitHub repository in the binw folder: dos32a.exe sb.exe From Windows : copy these files into the same folder ( genpile ) as flight.exe. As an example: D:\Games\DOS\Flight Unlimited\hdd\flight\genpile In DOSBox : The above folder becomes: C:\flight\genpile To replace the DOS extender: Take a copy of the existing flight.exe , in case the replacement fails. Issue the following command: sb -r flight.exe The DOS/4G extender should be replaced by the DOS/32A extender as shown in the above screenshot. Running Flight Unlimited reads data from the CD (or CD image) during play, so must remain mounted in DOSBox Staging. To play, run the following from the Flight Unlimited installation folder: flight.bat Changing settings Settings can be changed at any time with the installer app ( install.exe ) from the Flight Unlimited installation folder with: install Flight Unlimited Launcher Flight Unlimited Launcher I've created a small DOS batch file menu for Flight Unlimited , which allows you to: Run Flight Unlimited. Change settings. View release notes. View hints. View patch release notes. Return to the DOSBox DOS prompt. Close DOSBox. To install, extract fumenu.bat to the DOSBox hard disk folder and add the following lines to the bottom of your DOSBox config (after the mount commands): [autoexec] c: call fumenu.bat Head tracking The DOS version supported the use of the VFX1 Headgear headset for head tracking in the virtual cockpit. The VFX1 was also supported by the D.I.D. sim EF2000 and when run under the EF2000 Reloaded app used a custom DOSBox release to convert Track IR data into VFX1 data allowing Track IR to be used with EF2000. During testing, this custom DOSBox release was tested with Flight Unlimited to try and replicate the same functionality. Unfortunately when run under the custom DOSBox, the FBO shack menu could not be displayed and TrackIR was not functioning when flying. So for now there is no head tracking in the DOS version of Flight Unlimited. Flight Unlimited '95 (Windows 95 version) The Windows 95 version doesn't need patching but requires a number of tools to work effectively. Setup Like the DOS version, Flight Unlimited '95 also requires the CD or CD image to be mounted during play. There is no DRM on the CD/CD image, so it can be mounted through Windows Explorer or the command line, e.g. explorer "C:\Path\To\Your\File.iso" Alternatively, using a third party tool e.g. DAEMON Tools Lite or WinCDEmu . Installation Flight Unlimited uses a 16-bit installer app ( setup.exe ) which is not compatible with Win10/11 therefore installation requires the use of OTVDM . OTVDM OTVDM, (also known as WineVDM), a port of the Wine project that allows you to run old 16-bit Windows applications on modern 64-bit Windows operating systems. The latest version of OTVDM/WineVDM is v0.9.0 available from the WineVDM GitHub, found i n   Releases . As it is distributed as a zip file, installation only requires extracting the files to a suitable folder of your choosing. The installer ( setup.exe ) can then be run with OTVDM. The installation should be straightforward and complete without issue. The only choice is the destination folder to install to. DirectX wrapper This uses the latest version of dgVoodoo2, v2.86.5  available from the dgVoodoo GitHub Releases . The settings are shown below: The dgVoodoo2 configuration file is contained within the zip archive: The following dgVoodoo2 files are copied into the Flight Unlimited installation folder: dgVoodooCpl.exe dgVoodoo.conf \MS\x86\D3D8.dll \MS\x86\D3D9.dll \MS\x86\D3DImm.dll \MS\x86\DDraw.dll Note : the file paths are not copied into the Flight Unlimited installation folder, just the files themselves. Running Flight Unlimited reads data from the CD (or CD image) during play, so must remain mounted in Windows. To play, run the following from the Flight Unlimited '95 installation folder: flight.exe HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. The vJoy/Joystick Gremlin/HidHide examples may help in configuring your HOTAS. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis (DOS) Windows axis (Windows 95) Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_XROT_AXIS DX_ZROT_AXIS Configuration Many of the in-game configuration options are left to personal preference, but those of particular interest are covered below: In the Renderer menu the following options can be set to their maximum settings: Sun F/X Terrain Haze Clouds Blending 3D Models In the View menu the Screen Resolution is set to 1024 x 768 . DOSBox Staging or dgVoodoo2 will scale this resolution up to one suitable for your hardware. For the DOS version, in the View menu the headset option is set to No Headset . This option is removed in Flight Unlimited '95. In the Options menu it is recommended to set the flight model to use real world physics with the Gyro option. For the DOS version, in the Option menu the FBO Detail is set to the maximum 256 x 256 . This option is removed in Flight Unlimited '95. In the Controls menu, the Dead Zone should be minimized (as much as your hardware will allow). The joystick model should be set to Standard Joystick . For the DOS version, Recalibrate should be used to set joystick calibration before the first flight or after the patch has been applied. For Flight Unlimited '95 yor hardware must be calibrated in Windows (this can be tested with joy.cpl) AND it must be calibrated in game with the Recalibrate option. These screenshots show the DOS versions of the various configuration menus. Example video Flight Unlimited (DOS version) & Flight Unlimited '95 Finally Credit and thanks goes to: The Internet Archive and the Patches Scrolls for hosting patches. Andrew Jones (amindlost) for the DOS/32A GitHub repository. otya for the OTVDM GitHub repository. dege for dgVoodoo2. Happy flying!

Revised advice for running the NovaLogic 1996 DOS sim, F-22 Lightning II in DOSBox Staging. This is a very short article, only detailing the changes for this particular game. The changes are to the DOSBox Staging configuration switching from variable refresh and display rates to constant rates. This removes audio 'crackle' that has always been present when running under DOSBox Staging. DOSBox Staging Config The DOSBox Config is changed using the Frame & refresh rate technique described in Tech refresh 2026: DOSBox best practice . The below example config is suitable for the latest version of DOSBox Staging, v0.82.2 (at time of writing). Certain DOSBox settings will require changing to reflect your own folders. Good hunting!

This guide is a tech refresh guide covering some of the more earlier DOS sims. The techniques presented below have been found to improve the game performance, bringing it closer to a retro experience (not just making it faster, but in many cases slowing it down) and seems to subjectively improve the 'feel' of the sim. All of these techniques involve changing DOSBox Staging settings. If an early DOS sim feels a little 'off' from what you remember, try these settings to see if they improve the situation. DOSBox configuration The following general examples shows the techniques and DOSBox settings that are changed: This guide assumes the latest DOSBox Staging, version 0.82.2 is used. Frame & refresh rate By changing a few settings the DOS frames can be presented at a legacy friendly and more constant rate. Early DOS sims seem to benefit greatly from this. [sdl] host_rate = sdi vsync = off presentation_mode = cfr [dosbox] dos_rate = host [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = false The host (refresh) rate is switched to an sdi rate, or Serial Digital Interface (SDI) rate which will remain constant and won't vary. Turning vsync off , will attempt to disable vsync to allow quicker frame presentation at the risk of tearing in some games. However the relatively low cycles required from these early sims means this normally isn't an issue. Presentation mode set to cfr , changes the frame presentation mode to constant frame rate (CFR), so DOS frames are always presented at a constant rate. The DOS rate settings, customizes the emulated video mode's frame rate. When setting to host , the DOS rate is made to match the SDL host rate setting. The immediate mouse mode recommended for variable refresh rates and variable frame rates can be set back to the default false value. Video memory delay Video memory delay, or vmem_delay, introduces a video memory access delay, specified in nanoseconds. This technique can be used to slow down the whole emulator so should only be used when necessary. This technique is often most noticeable on parts of the sim that either run too fast, or not at all, e.g. the Falcon 3.0 intro movie and the TFX menu screen with the UN flag. [dosbox] vmem_delay = 200 The vmem_delay will be game specific, the above is just an example. vmem_delay simulates a delay in reading from earlier graphics cards that early sims were designed for. Affected sims The games that benefit from these techniques. Each game will cover advantages, even if subjective and an example DOSBox configuration. Most of these are the earlier DOS sims from late 80's/early 90's. M1 Tank Platoon Benefits greatly from modified frames and refresh rates. Gunners can now seem to fire and score hits more frequently. Subjectively, it feels more consistent. F-19 Stealth Fighter At higher DOSBox cycles weapons would become very temperamental but now seem more consistent using modified frames and refresh rates. At 5200 cycles, an AMRAAM may miss at long range but will hit when at optimum range. LGB's are still broken but have gotten other weapons like the Penguin ASM to hit targets. F-15 Strike Eagle II Uses a very similar (if not the same) engine as F-19 Stealth Fighter. Title music seems to play at a better speed and landings seem easier when using modified frames and refresh rates. Silent Service II Difficult to quantify benefits, but is a 1990's sim that may be affected by variable refresh rates. This makes it a candidate for frame rate changes. Issues may have been hidden by running with overly low DOSBox cycles. Additional settings Recommended cycles were originally set too low and cycles consistent with a 486 @ 33Mhz ( 12000 cycles ) or 66Mhz ( 25000 cycles ) are probably a better choice. At these higher cycles, variable rates originally suggested may have introduced issues with gameplay. [cpu] cpu_cycles = 12000 The remaining [cpu] settings remain unchanged from Silent Service II: DOSBox deep dive . Additional resources SubSim hosts the final version 3 patch, bringing the game to v457.03. A key command/ship identification reference is also available. These can be found in the SubSim Downloads . Subwar 2050 Subwar 2050 has been a problematic sim due to what seems inconsistent enemy behaviour leading to very confusing battles and a number of scripting issues which can result in soft locks or mission failures. Using modified frame & refresh rate results in a smoother flow during combat and was subjectively much improved. It is hoped this will also improve the scripting issues but further testing is required. F29 Retaliator Benefits greatly from modified frames and refresh rates. Aircraft flies slower and no longer jumps into the air on takeoff, this increases control and allows for more precise control resulting in easier landings! An F29 Retaliator landing in DOSBox Staging TFX Modified to use the frames and refresh rates settings and the video memory delay. When running the first arcade level scenario the aircraft no longer comes under immediate missile attack, the time warp feature also doesn't result in an immediate shootdown, so subjectively speaking it 'feels' like it plays more like the developers originally intended although further testing is required Additional settings Video memory delay was set to 200ns, which means the UN flag on the main menu behaves more like the developers intended. [dosbox] vmem_delay = 200 A-10 Tank Killer Such an early sim is a prime candidate for frames and refresh rates changes. Graphics seem to refresh better at lower altitudes and Rockeye's may be more effective. You may wish to switch from MT32 to SoundBlaster as the higher quality MT32 music also comes with some very annoying engine sounds. Falcon 3.0 This sim has always had issues with the intro movie when run at 20000 cycles under DOSBox. The suggested config changing the frame & refresh rate coupled with a video memory delay allows the intro movie to work at 20000 cycles at a rate which nearly syncs audio and video. It also seems to improve in-game movies syncing with audio. Campaign briefings now scroll at an appropriate rate and are readable. The sim 'feels' improved with the aircraft able to find a rate of descent sweet spot for landing that previously was not achievable and missile combat feels much improved. Additional settings These []dosbox] settings are highly specific to Falcon 3.0/Gold. The rest of the frame & refresh rate [sdl] and [mouse] settings are unchanged from those mentioned earlier. [sdl] host_rate = sdi vsync = off presentation_mode = cfr [dosbox] vmem_delay = 650 dos_rate = 600 [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = false Falcon Gold videos Falcon 3.0 intro and flight characteristics Falcon 3.0, MiG-29 and Hornet: Intro, campaign briefings and Falcon 3.0 flight characteristics Finally... Credit and thanks to SubSim for alternative hosting of Silent Service II patch and documents. Good Hunting!

A introductory guide looking at some hypothetical examples as an aid to understanding how to use vJoy, Joystick Gremlin and HidHide together. For an overview of vJoy, joystick Gremlin and HidHide take a look at Controllers and retro sims part 6: vJoy & Joystick Gremlin . Note : When the article was written I was a bit 'on the fence' about HidHide but with the latest version being WIn10/11 compatible and having used it a bit more I've warmed up to it a bit, although TARGET is still my 'go to' profiling software of choice. The devices For this guide we'll take a look at three different fictional joystick/HOTAS setups which we'll use with a fictional Windows 98 flight sim. MacroShaft SlideWonder The MacroShaft SlideWonder is a 3 axis joystick. It has standard x and y axes common to all joysticks and a slider axis that could act as a throttle. It has 2 buttons on the joystick but no hat switch. This provides: Button 1 Button 2 X-axis Y-axis Slider axis MacroShaft SlideWonder 2 The MacroShaft SlideWonder 2 (an update to the SlideWonder) is a 4 axis joystick. It has standard x and y axes common to all joysticks and a slider axis that could act as a throttle. It also has a twist stick that could act as a rudder, however this axis is an x-rotation axis. It has 6 buttons on the joystick and a hat switch. This provides: Button 1 Button 2 Button 3 Button 4 Button 5 Button 6 X-axis Y-axis Slider axis X-rotation axis Hat 1 RustMeister WhatHotas Cooler The RustMeister WhatHotas Cooler is a HOTAS setup comprising of a joystick device with x and y axes, 8 buttons and a hat switch. The separate throttle device has a throttle axis, a slider axis and a dial that can act as another axis and more buttons! It also has a separate rudder pedals device with each pedal having a toe brake axis. It provides: Joystick: Buttons 1-8 X-Axis Y-Axis Hat 1 Throttle: Buttons 9-20 Z-Axis Slider axis Slider 2 axis Pedals: Left toe axis Right toe axis Z-rotation axis The game AI generated image F-122 Dominant Air Fighter Technology Demonstrator (DAFT Demo) is a fictional early Windows game, that can use 4 joystick buttons and a hat switch, it uses the following axes: An x-axis to control roll. A y-axis to control pitch. A z-axis to control throttle. A z-rotation axis to control rudder/yaw. The 4 joystick buttons fire guns, fire missiles/release bombs, switch targets, select weapons but the isn't too important to our discussion. The hat switch is use to look around the virtual sim cockpit. If the sim can't find a suitable z-axis or z-rotation axis, it will allow the corresponding keyboard controls to be used. As it is an early Windows sim it expects a maximum of 4 axes to be present on a single device. If it can't find a hat switch keyboard controls can be used to look around the virtual cockpit. The rest of this guide will discuss how we can use each of our fictional devices with this fictional sim. MacroShaft SlideWonder The SlideWonder has an x and y axis we could use it to fly the aircraft. However, we couldn't control the throttle as the SlideWonder has a slider axis and the sim is looking for a z-axis for the throttle. As there is no rudder axis we can still use the keyboard to control the rudder. As there is no hat we can still use the keyboard to look around the cockpit. We can use the 2 buttons to fire guns and release other weapons but as we lack a 3rd or 4th button, switching targets and selecting weapons will have to be done with the keyboard. Obviously this isn't ideal as we may wish to use the slider axis to control the throttle. MacroShaft SlideWonder 2 The SlideWonder 2 has an x and y axis we could use it to fly the aircraft. However we couldn't control the throttle as the SlideWonder 2 has a slider axis and the sim is looking for a z-axis for the throttle. We can't use the twist stick action to control the rudder as it an x-rotation axis and the sim wants to use a z-rotation axis for the rudder. As it has a hat switch we can use this to look around the cockpit. Again this isn't ideal as we may wish to use the slider axis to control the throttle and the twist stick x-rotation axis to control the rudder. RustMeister WhatHotas Cooler With the WhatHotas Cooler setup we have a different problem. With this setup we have all the buttons and axes we need (in fact more than enough). Unfortunately they are spread over 3 separate devices and DAFT Demo being an earlier Windows sim, expects all the axes, buttons and hat to be on a single device. If DAFT Demo happens to pick the joystick device we could at least fly the aircraft and look around, but if it picks the throttle or pedals we'll have a very hard time flying! What we want to do is to combine the axes, buttons and hats we want to use in our sim into a single device and tell our sim to use that single device. vJoy Now we know what the issues with our devices are, we can create an ideal virtual controller for the game and this is when we use vJoy. MacroShaft SlideWonder 2 buttons, 3 axes, no hat Even though the DAFT Demo supports 4 buttons, 4 axes and 1 hat the SlideWonder only supports 2 buttons and 3 axes. So adding more than 2 buttons or 3 axes or a hat will result in a virtual controller with buttons, axes or a hat we can't map to the SlideWonder. Even worse if DAFT Demo uses a virtual controller with 4 axes it may disable the keyboard commands for the rudder as the 4th axis is configured in our virtual controller! Therefore the optimum virtual controller for the SlideWonder is a 3 axes (X, Y and Z-axis), 2 button virtual controller without a hat. We specify the Z-axis and not the Slider axis as DAFT Demo expects a Z-axis. The vJoy virtual controller is for the game not the device! MacroShaft SlideWonder 2 4 buttons, 4 axes and 1 hat DAFT Demo supports 4 buttons, 4 axes and 1 hat, the SlideWonder 2 has 6 buttons, 4 axes and a hat. The vJoy virtual controller can have 4 buttons (supported by DAFT Demo), 4 axes (X, Y, Z and Z-rotation, supported by DAFT Demo) and 1 hat (supported by DAFT Demo). This virtual controller has all the buttons, axes and hats supported by the game and shown in the screenshot. RustMeister WhatHotas Cooler DAFT Demo supports 4 buttons, 4 axes and 1 hat, the WhatHotas Cooler has 20 buttons, 8 axes and a hat. The vJoy virtual controller can have 4 buttons (supported by DAFT Demo), 4 axes (X, Y, Z and Z-rotation, supported by DAFT Demo) and 1 hat (supported by DAFT Demo). This virtual controller has all the buttons, axes and hats supported by the game. The fact they are spread over multiple devices does not matter to vJoy, the virtual controller is for the game not the devices! Joystick Gremlin Joystick Gremlin is the device profiling app, which allows you to create a profile for a game/sim mapping from your physical device to the vJoy virtual device. We have a physical device, the SlideWonder, SlideWonder 2 or WhatHotas Cooler. We also have the vJoy virtual device. Now we need to go through the examples of mapping each of the physical devices to the vJoy virtual device to create a profile for DAFT Demo! A note on releases Release 13 of Joystick Gremlin was the standard for a quite a long time and probably the one most people are familiar with, however, Release 14 has become available. It features a new interface but is not backwardly compatible with the profiles created by R13. Both releases can be installed and sit happily alongside each other. Conceptually the process in mapping from physical to virtual controllers is similar (if not identical) but for the purposes of this guide the latest Release 14 is used. To begin create a new profile. Mapping an axis To map an axis is straightforward, and involves the following steps: Select the physical device (3rd menu bar from the top). The axes, buttons and hats supported by the physical device will be displayed in the left hand pane. Select an axis, axes are numbered but are usually in x, y, z, rotation axis order, e.g. axis 1 is x-axis. Click on New Action Sequence . Ensure the Axis radio button is checked . Select Map to vJoy in the dropdown menu. Click Add Action . Ensure the correct vJoy device is selected, if you only have a single vJoy device this will be vJoy Device 1 . Select the correct vJoy device axis, for axis 1 this is vJoy X Axis . axis 2 is vJoy Y Axis , etc. Ensure the Absolute radio button is checked. Continue mapping the physical device axes. Mapping Axis 1 to the vJoy X Axis Mapping a button Mapping a button is similar to mapping an axis, the steps are: Select the physical device (3rd menu bar from the top). The axes, buttons and hats supported by the physical device will be displayed in the left hand pane. Select a button, buttons are numbered sequentially from 1. Click on New Action Sequence . Select Map to vJoy  in the dropdown menu. Click Add Action . Ensure the correct vJoy device is selected, if you only have a single vJoy device this will be vJoy Device 1 . Select the correct vJoy device button, for Button 1 this is vJoy Button 1 , etc Continue mapping the physical device buttons. Mapping Button 1 to vJoy Button 1 Mapping a hat Mapping a hat is similar to mapping an axis or button, the steps are: Select the physical device (3rd menu bar from the top). The axes, buttons and hats supported by the physical device will be displayed in the left hand pane. Select a hat, hats are numbered sequentially from 1 (there may be only 1). Click on New Action Sequence . Ensure the Hat radio button is checked . Select Map to vJoy  in the dropdown menu. Click Add Action . Ensure the correct vJoy device is selected, if you only have a single vJoy device this will be vJoy Device 1 . Select the correct vJoy device hat, for Hat 1 this is vJoy Hat 1 , etc. Continue mapping the physical device hats, although normally there will only be one hat. Mapping Hat 1 to vJoy Hat 1 Once all axes, buttons and hats are configured the profile should be saved. A game specific profile name is recommended. Activate the profile Clicking on the joystick ison, will turn it blue indicating the profile is active. In addition the Status in the bottom of the Gremlin window will show Status: Active. Testing Under the Tools menu, the Input Viewer utility allows to select both physical and vJoy devices, Axes, buttons and hats can be selected in order to test that physical axes, buttons and hats are mapping to the correct vJoy axes, buttons and hats, as shown below: Checking physical x and y axes map to vJoy x and y axes Now we know how easy it is to map axes, buttons and hats we can take a look at the fictional device examples. MacroShaft SlideWonder It's useful to compare the SlideWonder axes and buttons with the vJoy axes and buttons as shown below: SlideWonder: Button 1 Button 2 X-axis Y-axis Slider axis vJoy: Button 1 Button 2 X-axis Y-axis Z-axis The mapping is straightforward with all SlideWonder buttons and axes mapping to the corresponding vJoy buttons and axes. The only difference bering the SlideWonder Slider axis mapping to the vJoy Z-axis. MacroShaft SlideWonder 2 Again we compare the SlideWonder 2 axes, buttons and hat with the vJoy aces, buttons and hat. SlideWonder 2: Buttons 1-4 Buttons 5 & 6 X-axis Y-axis Slider axis X-rotation axis Hat 1 vJoy: Buttons 1-4 X-axis Y-axis Z-axis Z-rotation axis Hat1 SlideWonder 2 buttons 1-4 are mapped to vJoy buttons 1-4. SlideWonder 2 buttons 5 & 6 aren't mapped to vJoy. SlideWonder 2 x-axis and y-axis are mapped to vJoy x-axis and y-axis. SlideWonder 2 slider axis is mapped to vJoy Z-axis. SlideWonder 2 x-rotation axis is mapped to vJoy Z-rotation axis. SlideWonder 2 hat 1 is mapped to vJoy hat 1. RustMeister WhatHotas Cooler With the WhatHotas Cooler there are multiple devices we map to the vJoy virtual device. Comparing the physical devices with vJoy we have: Joystick: Buttons 1-4 Buttons 5-8 X-Axis Y-Axis Hat 1 Throttle: Buttons 9-20 Z-Axis Slider axis Slider 2 axis Pedals: Left toe axis Right toe axis Z-rotation axis vJoy: Buttons 1-4 X-axis Y-axis Z-axis Z-rotation axis Hat1 Joystick buttons 1-4 are mapped to vJoy buttons 1-4. Joystick x/y-axes are mapped to vJoy x/y-axes. Throttle z-axis is mapped to vJoy z-axis. Pedals z-rotation axis is mapped to vJoy z-rotation axis. Joystick hat 1 is mapped to vJoy hat 1. The remaining axes and buttons are not mapped to vJoy. What about the other buttons? Both the SlideWonder 2 and WhatHotas Cooler have additional buttons that can be mapped, just not to the vJoy device. These additional buttons can be mapped to keyboard sim commands (e.g. toggle landing gear, toggle speedbrake, switch external views, etc) using Joystick Gremlin, however this is not covered in this guide. HidHide Now that we have a vJoy virtual controller and a Joystick Gremlin profile mapping the physical device to the vJoy virtual controller we must be set and ready to go? Well no, in fact we've made the situation worse. Before there were only the physical devices DAFT Demo could see, now it has physical devices and the vJoy device to choose from! If only there was some way to hide the physical devices so that DAFT Demo would only see the vJoy device... some sort of device firewall. This is exactly what HidHide is, a device firewall, allowing you to hide some devices from games and apps while allowing others to be seen! Hidhide is a very simple app, with only two tabs, an Application tab and a Devices tab. Hiding devices When you select the Devices tab you are shown all the devices, both physical and vJoy devices HidHide can see. Simply check the physical devices you want to hide and check the Enable device hiding checkbox, that's it! In our example we would see a SlideWonder, SlideWonder 2 or the physical joystick, throttle and pedal devices of the WhatHotas Cooler alongside the vJoy virtual joystick. We would check the physical devices, hiding them. This would leave the vJoy virtual joystick visible to DAFT Demo. In the below screenshots we can see a number of physical devices selected for hiding, with a couple of vJoy devices left visible in HidHide. In the next screenshot the Windows joystick control panel ( joy.cpl ) shows only the vJoy devices left visible. Allowing applications (to see through the firewall) This tab is where you allow certain applications to see through the HidHide device firewall. The first one is the HidHide client as it makes life very difficult if the client couldn't see through it's own device firewall! The only other app which needs to see through the firewall is Joystick Gremlin as it needs to read data from the hidden physical devices and send it to the vJoy device. In the below screenshots we see the list of applications allowed including the HidHide client (added by default), Joystick Gremlin Release 13 and Joystick Gremlin Release 14. In the next screenshot we see Joystick Gremlin release 14 able to list the hidden physical devices. Turning off (and returning to normal) Once your DAFT Demo gaming session is over and you wish to return things back to normal, perhaps to play a different sim, you need to: HidHide Uncheck the Enable device hiding checkbox. Joystick Gremlin Click on the blue joystick icon to disable the Joystick Gremlin profile. The status at the bottom of the window should change to Status: Not Running. vJoy Uncheck the Enable vJoy checkbox. Notes There is an awful lot more that can be done with Joystick Gremlin profiles, but this was an introductory guide showing how the 3 apps work together. For an overview of vJoy, Joystick Gremlin and HidHide and how to obtain them take a look at Controllers and retro sims part 6: vJoy & Joystick Gremlin . vJoy In the above examples we created a vJoy virtual controller specifically for a fictional game that supported 4 buttons. In other vJoy/Joystick Gremlin tutorials or guides you may have seen, the maximum 32 buttons may have been recommended for the vJoy virtual controller. This is perfectly acceptable as Joystick Gremlin is used to map physical buttons to virtual buttons and if more buttons are configured in the vJoy virtual controller but not mapped by Joystick Gremlin, the additional buttons will be ignored. However this introductory guide is attempting to show the relationship between physical devices, vJoy, Joystick Gremlin, HidHide and the fictional DAFT Demo game. Limiting the number of vJoy buttons to the four supported by the fictional sim hopefully helps to do that. Finally Credit and thanks go to: A huge thank you to all the developers and maintainers of vJoy, Joystick Gremlin, and HidHide, your hard work is appreciated! The developers of F-122 Dominant Air Fighter Technology Demonstrator :) MacroShaft for their SlideWonder joysticks :) TrustMeister for their WhatHotas line of products :) Buttons up and hats on!

A guide to running the alternate history flight sim, Crimson Skies in Win10. This game was developed in 2000 by Microsoft/Zipper. Set in the late 1930's this sim is set in a steampunk/alternate history universe where the USA has failed as a state and split into divided nations. Travel and transport is primarily with airships and retro-futuristic aircraft. The player takes on the role of Nathan Zachary, leader of the Fortune Hunters, a band of air pirates. For the remainder of this article Crimson Skies will be referred to as CS. Strategy The strategy for playing on a Win10 platform is a standard install, followed by the last cumulative official patch. There are primarily two unofficial sets of patches, the csfix patches allowing the game to run on modern hardware and dgVoodoo2 patches allowing the game to run in combination with the dgVoodoo2 DirectX wrapper. This guide will be using the dgVoodoo2 patch in combination with dgVoodoo2 as this allows the application of anisotropic filtering, mipmapping and Multisample Anti-Aliasing (MSAA) to improve visuals. Those on an earlier Win Vista/7/8 platform may wish to try the earlier csfix unofficial patch. Those that experience graphical issues on a Win10 platform may wish to try the later csfix patch and may benefit from using the csfix patch by dege. For these reasons the unused unofficial patches are also included in this guide. Version and patch history A brief look at the released versions and patch history of CS. Initial retail release The initial retail release was in September 2000, developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Microsoft. The initial release version being v1.00. The initial release featured a number of game breaking bugs, fixed with the release of the first patch. This release features a 32-bit installer app making it compatible with the Win10 platform. Crimson Skies Update, Version 1.01 Developed towards the end of September 2000 and released soon after, this was primarily a bug fix patch correcting issues in v1.00. This patch uses a 32-bit installer to install the fixes, so remains compatible with a Win10 platform. From the release notes: Single player saved games can be inadvertently reset to the first mission by playing multiplayer or by customizing a plane in Instant Action. Once this reset occurs there is no way to recover the lost mission state, short of replaying the Campaign. Crimson Skies Update, Version 1.01, specifically fixes this problem. This is not a recommended patch having been superseded by the Version 1.02 patch. This patch is available from: ModDB Crimson Skies patch collection  at Internet Archive. Crimson Skies Update, Version 1.02 Developed during November 2000, this patch fixed multiplayer issues and enhanced stability and performance. This patch is a cumulative patch including the version 1.01 update fix. It uses a 32-bit installer to install the fixes, compatible with Win10. From the release notes: Crimson Skies version 1.02 fixes several multiplayer, stability, and performance issues that include: Reduction in players dropped when launching multiplayer games via the MSN Gaming Zone. Improved stability in multiplayer games. Harder to use hacked planes in multiplayer games. Reduction in swap file size. Improved mission load times. Improved performance throughout the user interface. This is a recommended patch for the initial retail release (v1.00) only. This patch is available from: GamePressure PCGamingWiki soggi.org Crimson Skies patch collection  at Internet Archive. Budget re-release Most budget re-releases occurred in 2002 on various budget labels (e.g. Xplosiv). Later international releases would also occur in 2004, 2005 & 2008. These releases were normally pre-patched to version 1.02, so the official patches are not required. They use a 32-bit installer, compatible with Win10. The release notes are included below (converted to pdf): Unofficial patches These unofficial patches are listed in release date order. There are 2 sets of unofficial patches, the Crimson Skies Fix (csfix) patches and the dgVoodoo patches, requiring the use of dgVoodoo2. Crimson Skies Fix (csfix) (December 2011) This appears to be the initial fix. Various settings are controlled through a c sfix.ini file . It is a file replacement patch distributed as a zip archive. The contents should be extracted to the CS installation folder, overwriting any files as required. DirectX wrappers are not recommended with csfix as the system DirectX libraries are called directly by csfix. This release may be more appropriate for Win Vista/7/8 platforms. The release notes are included below for reference: This patch is available from: GamePressure Crimson Skies patch collection  at Internet Archive. Crimson Skies Fix (csfix) v2 (September 2017) A revised csfix more suited to Win10 platforms. It comes in two versions, using a normal/unstretched HUD and a stretched HUD version more suited to high resolutions. It is a file replacement patch distributed as a zip archive. The contents should be extracted to the CS installation folder, overwriting any files as required. This patch is available from: PCGamingWiki Crimson Skies patch collection  at Internet Archive. Crimson Skies (dgVoodoo) v2 (September 2017) A patch for Win10 platforms consisting of a fixed executable for each supported high resolution.  It comes in two versions, using a normal/unstretched HUD and a stretched HUD version more suited to higher resolutions. It is a file replacement patch distributed as a zip archive. Once extracted the desired resolution should be chosen and the appropriate file copied into the CS installation folder, replacing the existing file. Once installed a suitable dgVoodoo2 wrapper is required with appropriate configuration. This patch is available from: PCGamingWiki Crimson Skies patch collection  at Internet Archive. csfix patch (January 2020) Created by dege (of dgVoodoo2). The csfix patch allows the use of the dgVoodoo2 DirectX wrapper with the csfix. It uses patched csfix files to use DirectX libraries in the game installation folder (supplied by dgVoodoo2) rather than the system DirectX libraries. More details can be found at the VOGONS post, Crimson Skies (Microsoft Games) . It is a file replacement patch, distributed as a zip archive. Once a csfix patch is installed the contents of this patch should be extracted to the game installation folder replacing the existing csfix files. This patch is available from: VOGONS post:   Crimson Skies (Microsoft Games) . Crimson Skies patch collection at Internet Archive. Retail media This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of CS does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format. At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms. Game management As a windows game running natively, the installation folder will be created by the CS installer. However some limited game management is still useful for files used in the CS setup. The installation folder and setup files for CS and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example): D:\Games\Win\ D:\Games\Win\Crimson Skies Setup The following setup folders can be used: cd - to store any cd images. conf - to store any HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. patch - to store a copy of recommended patches. Installation Installation is straightforward and requires running the installer app ( setup.exe ) from the cd (or cd image). The installation steps are summarized in the gallery below: The initial setup menu begins the installation (screenshot 1). The installer will state that DirectMedia is being setup and will check the DirectX version and may ask if you wish to install DirectX. Do NOT install DirectX, as a later version will already be present. The next dialog asks you to choose an installation folder. The default Program Files folder should NOT be used and an alternate folder chosen. A Complete install should be chosen. A desktop icon is left to personal preference (screenshot 2). During the file copying portion of the installation, a 1930's style 'radio play' of Nathan Zachary and the Fortune Hunters will start playing and adverts shown for other products. Due to the speed of modern hardware and cd images the installation will finish moments after the radio play starts, cutting it short (screenshot 3). Once complete the final next steps menu is shown (screenshot 4). Patching If the initial retail release is installed, it should be patched to v1.02 using the official Crimson Skies Update, Version 1.02 . This is distributed as a zip archive. Once the 32-bit installer executable is extracted it should be run. Budget re-releases are already pre-patched and install v1.02 of the game. Unofficial patches This guide uses the Crimson Skies dgVoodoo v2 (September 2017) patch on a Win10 platform. This guide uses the stretched HUD version due to the higher resolutions used. This patch is distributed as a zip archive, when extracted the contents of the patch are a set of folders, one for each of the supported higher resolutions (see screenshot). A resolution should be chosen and the contents of the selected folder copied into the CS installation folder, replacing the existing file. Crimson Skies dgVoodoo v2 patch contents dgVoodoo2 This guide uses the latest version of dgVoodoo2, version 2.86.5 (at time of writing). This can be obtained from the dgVoodoo2 GitHub repository in Releases . To install: Download dgVoodoo2 ( dgVoodoo2_86_5.zip ) and extract to a new folder. Copy the following dgVoodoo2 files to the CS installation folder. Note : the paths are not important you just need to add the files: dgVoodooCpl.exe MS\x86\D3D8.dll MS\x86\D3D9.dll MS\x86\D3DImm.dll MS\x86\DDraw.dll Download and extract the dgVoodoo.conf  in the below zip file, to the CS installation folder: Note : This configuration uses desktop as the DirectX resolution. You may need to change this if your chosen resolution does not match your desktop resolution. HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes, as CS will automatically try to detect the HOTAS controller. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin  combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. You may also have to use HidHide as a device firewall, to hide your real controllers, so only the vJoy virtual controllers are detected by CS. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Running The game is run with the following: crimson.exe First run During the first run of the game the following dialog boxes are shown (see gallery): The Microsoft licence agreement is shown. You must Accept to continue. The Select Video Device dialog is shown. The Video Device should be set to dgVoodoo DirectX Wrapper . The Screen Resolution can be set to 640x480 or whatever is available, as this setting is ignored by the patched executable. The Don't ask anymore checkbox can be checked as these options are also available as in-game preferences. Configuration In-game configuration options are found in the Preferences menu (see gallery). Game options and Audio are left to personal preference. In Video settings, Graphics should be set to dgVoodoo DirectX Wrapper . The Resolution setting is not used and can be left unchanged. All other Video settings can be set to their max setting. Clutter Detail and Shadows can be checked. In Controls settings, Controller Type should be set to Joystick/Key . Using the axes assignments in HOTAS config , the game correctly sets the axes. Example video Crimson Skies running in 4K Finally... Credit and thanks go to: dege for dgVoodoo2 and the csfix patch. GamePressure for hosting csfix and the version 1.02 update patch. Internet Archive for the creation and hosting of the Crimson Skies patch collection. ModDB for hosting the version 1.01 update patch. PCGamingWiki for hosting the version 1.02 update patch and unofficial csfix and dgVoodoo2 v2 patches. soggi.org for hosting the version 1.02 update patch. WSGF for the unofficial csfix and dgVoodoo2 v2 patches. Good hunting!

A guide to running Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF under WIn10. This guide is for the vanilla game including the official Thunderbirds and Version 1.02 patches. This Electronic Arts 1999 sim is another survey sim in the Jane's series. This time it's the USAF, covering the following aircraft: Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II (A-10A in sim). Republic F-105D Thunderchief (F-105D). McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II (F-4E). McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle (F-15C). McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle (F-15E). General Dynamics F-16C Fighting Falcon (F-16C). Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk (F-117A). Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor (F-22A). Strategy This strategy for Jane's USAF will be covering the vanilla game only. Comprehensive community mods like the Jane's USAF Community Edition (JUCE) or SuperPro 9.4 will not be covered in this guide. The Thunderbirds patch will be covered as an official patch to the vanilla sim. Community mods may be covered in a later guide. The game is installed and then patched with the Thunderbirds patch and the version 1.02 patch. Then the game is patched with the most appropriate unofficial Tcklbrry patch and changes made to the DDrawCompat config. Finally older Windows dll libraries in the USAF installation folder are disabled. Version and patch history The following is a brief look at the version and patch history of Jane's USAF. There have been relatively few retail versions of Jane's USAF, with an initial retail release in October 1999 followed by a rerelease on the Electronic Arts CD-ROM Classics label in 2001. Both editions contain the v1.01F version of the game. Both editions feature a 32-bit installer compatible with Win10. Thunderbirds patch The Thunderbirds patch adds three USAF Thunderbirds display team single missions. This is an entirely optional patch. It adds a new USAF Thunderbirds executable which is used to play the Thunderbirds missions. It can be thought of as a limited addon/mod rather than a patch. All of the Thunderbirds missions use the F-16C aircraft in Thunderbirds livery. The missions are similar to display maneuvers used by the Thunderbirds including: A low altitude Split-S. Low altitude inverted rolls. A half Cuban Eight. An F-16C in Thunderbirds livery The new USAF Thunderbirds executable must be used to play these missions, as although listed in the single missions of the main game, are not available to play. It is also recommended not to use the Thunderbirds executable to run other missions as they will not play properly, with the loadout menu being unavailable. Once installed the version remains at v1.01F. This patch is distributed as a self extracting archive, the extracted archive is a 32-bit installer, compatible with Win10. This patch although optional is recommended for the complete USAF experience. This patch is available from: Bob's Your Uncle/McFly's Hanger ModDB Jane's USAF patch collection at Internet Archive Version 1.02 patch This is a comprehensive patch feature a number of fixes, changes and enhancements. This upgrades the base game and Thunderbirds patch/addon to v1.02F. This patch is distributed as a self extracting archive, the extracted archive is a 32-bit installer, compatible with Win10. This is a recommended patch. Taken from the release notes: This patch updates your USAF game to version 1.02. Here is a list of additions/fixes in this release: Pentium III Optimizations: The following additional features are optimized for Pentium III users. Terrain multi-pass rendering Terrain coverage layer rendering Pre-fetching memory for 3D objects and terrain blocks Voodoo 3 3000 Flashes in 3D cockpit: Fixes the problem some Voodoo 3 users were encountering with flashing cockpit graphics. Flight model changes/fixes: Fix to excessive aircraft roll rate which was most apparent in the F-22, F-15 and F-16. Bobbing effect: This problem was being caused by the flight model G-limiter and is has been substantially improved. AI Pilot Crashes: AI wingmen were occasionally crashing into the ground, especially when flying the F-117 and A-10. Changes to the maneuver code have made improvements to this. Engaging the autopilot was sometimes causing excessive up/down pitches. This has been fixed in the patch. The overall joystick sensitivity has been decreased. AI changes/fixes: AI wingmen were failing to engage targets over 15 miles, even when requested to do so by a wingman command. This has been fixed. When taking over an aircraft from the AI it is always at 60% thrust, regardless its previous maneuver. This has been fixed. When there is a single controllable flight in the mission and the player is shot down and then re-enters the flight, the AI pilot may not give the player control of the new aircraft. This has been fixed. User Mission Editor (UME): The MiG-29 has been added as a fully controllable aircraft. Previously the MiG-29 was only available in All-Out War and QME. It was available in the UME as a non-controllable aircraft. It will now be available in the UME as a flyable aircraft. A MiG-29 loadout screen and new weapon icons have been added for this feature to work. The MiG-17 is now available in the UME as a non-controllable aircraft. Additional fixes: Fatal crash in the QME when revival time is 0 and setting unlimited revivals has been fixed. Fatal crash in the QME when attempting to restart the mission from the On-the-fly menu has been fixed. SoundBlaster Live cards were sometimes crashing the application, and this has been fixed. When playing Multiplayer against the German version, German messages are now correctly displayed. When panning to the rear of the aircraft in the 3D cockpit, the tail seems raised up. This has been corrected. In the UME the Enemy Base in US terrain has wrong taxi coordinates. This has been corrected. Dusk missions in the UME now have airfield lights. The Basic Air-to-Ground training mission has aircraft landing on top of each other at the beginning of mission. This has been fixed. This patch is available from: Bob's Your Uncle/McFly's Hanger (English) GameFront (International and Spanish)) GamePressure ModDB (English and Spanish) Jane's USAF patch collection  (English) at Internet Archive Unofficial patches Unless otherwise stated all unofficial patches should be applied to version v1.02F of Jane's USAF. It's unknown if the unofficial patches work with non-English versions of the game. Note : some patches are distributed as a 7zip  (.7z) archive. RWR fix (20 February 2002) An optional patch by Sikk, providing clearer RWR symbology. Distributed as a zip archive, the contents should be extracted to: X:\\Resource\Cockpits It is recommended to backup the original files, prior to applying this patch. This patch is available from: Bob's Your Uncle/McFly's Hanger Jane's USAF patch collection  at Internet Archive Jupiter Flight Models (1 April 2002) This optional patch contains updated flight models by Jupiter. It is a file replacement patch, the contents of which should be extracted and copied into the appropriate folder. From the release notes: This mod introduces the updated flight models (with correct fuel flow). Unzip and copy-paste the files right into the MD  folder located at \Jane's Combat Simulations\USAF\Resource\MD . (before overwriting any file, make a backup). This patch is available from: GamePressure Jane's USAF patch collection  at Internet Archive Jane's Fighters Anthology, Jane's IAF & Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patches (June 2015) These patches enable the games to run on Windows XP/Vista/7/8, fix unresponsive menus and remove the disk checks. They are distributed as a single 7zip archive. After extracting the contents, (some of which are 7zip archives) the J ane's U SAF T cklbrry P atch W ide S creen S olution? ( JUTPWSS.7z ) is the patch of interest. This is a file replacement patch. The contents of JUTPWSS.7z  should be extracted and the contents copied into the Jane's USAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. This patch runs the game in a single processor affinity mode with an included batch (.bat) file. This is a recommended patch for earlier Windows XP/Vista/7/8 platforms. It can be used on Windows 10 platforms but is not recommended, having been superseded by a later patch. This patch is available from: ModDB Jane's USAF patch collection  at Internet Archive Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry patch (14 July 2019) This version of Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patch uses WineD3D for Windows as the DirectX renderer. This patch includes the RWR fix by Sikk and some limited flight model changes. This is a file replacement patch, the contents of which should be extracted and copied into the Jane's USAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. Those using earlier Windows XP/Vista/7/8 platforms, may wish to try this patch, but is not recommended for Win10 (or later) platforms having been superseded by a later patch. This patch is available from: Google Drive Jane's USAF patch collection  at Internet Archive Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry patch (23 July 2020) This version of Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patch uses dgVoodoo2 v2.62 in combination with ReShade to improve visuals. It includes the RWR fix and Jupiter Flight Model patches. This is a file replacement patch, the contents of which should be extracted and copied into the Jane's USAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. Those using earlier Windows XP/Vista/7/8 platforms, may wish to try this patch, but is not recommended for Win10 (or later) platforms having been superseded by a later patch. This patch is available from: GamePressure Jane's USAF patch collection  at Internet Archive Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch (21 January 2026) This version of Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patch uses DDrawCompat v0.7.0 as the DirectX renderer. As a vanilla patch it does not include other patches. This is a file replacement patch, the contents of which should be extracted and copied into the Jane's USAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. This is the recommended patch for Win10 platforms and probably the most compatible for the Win11 platform. This patch is available from: Jane's USAF patch collection  at Internet Archive Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Enhanced) patch (21 January 2026) This version of Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patch also uses DDrawCompat v0.7.0 as the DirectX renderer. At present this is a work in progress and falls outside the remit of this guide. Retail media This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of Jane's USAF does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format. During the ripping process your software may choose to rip the one of the cds to a bin/cue image pair. At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms. Game management As a windows game running natively, the installation folder will be created by the USAF installer. However some limited game management is still useful for files used in the USAF setup. The installation folder and setup files for Jane's IAF and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example): D:\Games\Win\ D:\Games\Win\Janes USAF Setup The following setup folders can be used: cd - to store any cd images. conf - to store any HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. patch - to store a copy of recommended patches/addons. libs - to store disabled dll libraries. Installation The Jane's USAF installer is Win10 compatible and should run without issue. The installation steps are shown in the gallery below: The first dialog asks for Name and Callsign . This can be set or left as default as a new pilot can be created at any time in-game. The Gameplay Level is left as a personal preference but can also be changed in game. Choosing a installation folder is left to personal preference. It is recommended to set the Installation Type to Full . Additional Settings (desktop shortcuts) are left to personal preference. Patching The recommended patching process is as follows: Install official patches: Install the Thunderbirds patch (optional). Install the Version 1.02 patch. Official patches use a self extracting installer compatible with Win10 allowing for a straightforward patch installation. The Thunderbirds patch must be installed before the Version 1.02 patch. Install unofficial patches: Install the RWR fix (optional). Install the Jupiter Flight Models patch (optional). Install the Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch (21 January 2026). The unofficial patches change unique sets of files, so the order of installation is not as important as official patches. One or both of the RWR fix and Jupiter Flight Models patch can be added after the Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch. Unofficial patches are file replacement patches, once extracted the contents replace existing files in the Jane's USAF installation folder, although it is recommended to take a backup copy of the original files. Modifying Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch config Note : This is an optional step only required if the Thunderbirds patch was installed. The Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch uses a single DDrawCompat.ini config file in the installation folder, suitable for the USAF sim and the USAFConfig app. This config is not compatible with the USAF Thunderbirds app. DDrawCompat allows for different config files for different apps within the same folder by changing the config filename to an app (or process) specific filename. To do so: Create a copy of the DDrawCompat.ini file. There should now be two DDrawCompat.ini config files, an original file and a copy in the installation folder. Rename one to DDrawCompat-USAF.ini for the USAF.exe game executable. Rename the other to DDrawCompat-USAFConfig.ini for the USAFConfig.exe app. This completes the modification. DDrawCompat config for USAF Thunderbirds Note : This is an optional step only required if the Thunderbirds patch was installed. As mentioned above an alternative DDrawCompat config file is required for the USAF Thunderbirds app. The reasons for an alternative config are: DDrawCompat may cause a game to crash if there are a large number of valid resolutions to choose from, a known issue with DDrawCompat. The solution is to limit the number of supported resolutions in the config file. I believe the Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch includes changes to the USAF.exe and USAFConfig.exe files, avoiding this issue, however these changes are not available to the USAF Thunderbirds app. The USAF Thunderbirds app will fail to load a mission if palettized textures are enabled in the DDrawCompat config file. The solution is to remove this option to disable palettized textures. The revised config file is named DDrawCompat-USAFThunderbirds.ini to limit use to the USAFThunderbirds.exe app only. The final step is to set an appropriate supported resolution used in flight by Jane's USAF. To do so: Run and set the in-game configuration for Jane's USAF. Make a note of the graphics resolution selected (as an example I used 1680x1050). Open the DDrawCompat-USAFThunderbirds.ini file in a text editor (e.g. Notepad). Add the resolution to the SupportedResolutions setting or replace the 1680x1050 resolution with an appropriate setting. The following is an example DDrawCompat-USAFThunderbirds.ini using the 1680x1050 resolution. It should be extracted to the Janes USAF installation folder and the resolution changed if needed. Disabling libraries Part of this strategy is the disabling (or removal) of older less compatible libraries in the Jane's USAF installation folder, allowing the (hopefully more compatible) Windows platform system libraries to be used. These libraries will be found within the Jane's USAF installation folder. There are a few methods that can be used to disable them: Delete the library (not recommended). Rename the library, as this allows the lib to be restored, e.g. adding .bak  to the filename, msvcrt.dll  becomes msvcrt.dll.bak  (preferred). Alternatively move (not copy) the libraries to the game management libs folder (preferred). The following libraries should be disabled: msvcirt.dll msvcrtd.dll HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes, as Jane's USAF will automatically try to detect the HOTAS controller. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin  combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. You may also have to use HidHide as a device firewall, to hide your real controllers, so only the vJoy virtual controllers are detected by Jane's USAF. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Note : This config is identical to one used for Jane's F-15, F-18 and IAF but is repeated here for convenience. First run Before running Jane's USAF for the first time, it is recommended to run the USAFConfig.exe app. Running the test should configure some internal Jane's USAF settings. The app and successful test is shown below. Running A Win10 platform using the Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch (21 January 2026) or an earlier Windows platform (Vista/7/8) and trying the Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry patch (14 July 2019) or Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry patch (23 July 2020) can just run the game executable without having to worry about single core affinity: USAF.exe Earlier Windows XP/Vista/7/8 platforms using the Jane's Fighters Anthology, Jane's IAF & Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patches / JUTPWSS patch (June 2015) should use the included batch file to run the game with single core affinity enabled: USAF One Core.bat Configuration Note : The configuration used by the USAF sim is also shared with the USAF Thunderbirds app. Once the game is configured in USAF it is also configured in USAF Thunderbirds. The following gallery shows the configuration options available. The Display Resolution should be suitable for the hardware. All other graphics settings can be enabled and maxed out. This display resolution should be added to the DDrawCompat config for USAF Thunderbirds if required. Sound settings are left as a personal preference. Game Controls should be suitable for the joystick/HOTAS configuration . Keyboard allows keyboard controls and joystick buttons to be remapped. Gameplay settings are left to personal preference. Example video Jane's USAF with the Jane's USAF by Tcklbrry (Vanilla) patch Finally... Credit and thanks without which this guide would not have been possible go to: Bob's Your Uncle/McFly's Hanger. GameFront, GamePressure, and ModDB for hosting Jane's USAF patches. Internet Archive for allowing the creation and hosting of the Jane's USAF patch collection. Sikk for the RWR fix. Jupiter for modified flight models. narzoul for DDrawCompat. And special thanks to Tcklbrry (again!) for creating the unofficial patches that allow us to run this sim on later/modern platforms. Good hunting!

Jane's Combat Simulations: IAF - Israeli Air Force another in the line of Jane's survey sims, whilst not as in-depth or detailed as Jane's F-15 or F-18, single aircraft 'study' sims, it provides less detail but a wider variety of aircraft types to fly with. Jane's IAF can be thought of as a spiritual successor to the highly regarded Jane's Fighters Anthology, although the latter, and more popular, Jane's USAF is often considered the successor. Released in September 1998 by Electronic Arts, Jane's IAF features the Dassault Mirage III (Mirage III in game), IAI Kfir (Kfir), McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II (F-4E Phantom), McDonnell Douglas F-4E Kurnass 2000 (F-4 2000), McDonnell Douglas F-15I Ra'am (F-15), General Dynamics F-16I Sufa (F-16D) and IAI Lavi (Lavi). Of the Jane's aircraft sims, Jane's IAF is often the least well known and least popular, having slipped under the radar of many sim fans. Strategy The strategy for Jane's IAF is straightforward. The game is installed and then patched with the official patch. Then then the game is patched with the most appropriate unofficial Tcklbrry patch. Finally older Windows dll libraries in the IAF installation folder are disabled. Version and patch history There have been a number of editions however they all seem to use the same version of the game. The standard edition used in the guide has a 32-bit installer making it compatible with Win10. The initial retail release occurred in September 1998, there seem to have been two editions, a standard retail edition featuring the game on a single CR-ROM and an Israeli Air Force 50th Anniversary edition including a multimedia application covering the history, aircraft and structure of the IAF on an addition CD-ROM. The game would be re-released in 2000 as part of the EA Classics product line and may include a copy of IAF Patch - Version 1.1. Israeli Air Force 50th Anniversary multimedia app The IAF 50th Anniversary multimedia app is supplied on a separate CD-ROM with it's own setup utility. Although the setup utility is compatible with Win10, due to the legacy nature of the app, supporting apps (movie player) and codecs, it is recommended to create a Win98/98SE virtual machine (VM) with PCem or 86Box to install and run this multimedia app. Creating this VM is not covered in this guide, however this YouTube tutorial video by PhilsComputerLab, PCem Windows 98 Setup is recommended. IAF Patch - Version 1.1 There is a single official patch updating the game to v1.1. The patch is available in English, German and Hebrew languages. This is an executable patch, distributed as a zip archive. The patch executable is compatible with Win10. The patch comprises of the following bug fixes and enhancements (taken from the patch readme): Expert AI has been improved, and now presents a real challenge. Wingman command 'Engage' A.I. has been improved. The AI can now fire missiles after switching over to guns. SA radar no longer appears on RWR after being destroyed. Eject bug is fixed - the canopy and the ejected pilot no longer spins with the plane. In multiplayer mode, players rejoin the session in their previous location (and not at the end of the world). The player now gets to select a plane before each training mission, when playing them consecutively. The planes Horizon line is now projected more accurately on the HUD. LCOS behavior is improved. Gun bullets flight track is raised by 1 degree. They now fly to the boresite correctly. Range is increased for gun bullets (1.5 miles instead of 1 mile). Missile hit percentage increased (when not in easy aiming mode). When not in easy aiming mode, hitting targets with the gun requires more accurate and realistic aiming. The Lavi's engine power is decreased at high altitude and has more drag. While taxiing with brakes on, the aircraft can move when the throttle is on full AB. Rudder response is increased. Roll and spin are improved. Airbrakes are more effective. In multiplayer, players now get the kill for shooting down a plane even if the pilot ejects. In multiplayer, each players callsign is now displayed above their plane. You can now tell at a glance who you're shooting at. The two highest settings of terrain detail are tuned for higher detail and less shimmering. The terrain detail updates quicker when switching cameras. This is a recommended patch for all platforms. This patch is available from: Jane's IAF patch collection on the Internet Archive (all languages). Gamefront (all languages). ModDB (all languages). PCGamingWiki (English language only). Unofficial patches All credit and huge thanks goes to Tcklbrry, the creator of these unofficial patches. Note : some patches are distributed as a 7zip (.7z) archive. It's unknown if the unofficial patches work with German or Hebrew versions of the game. Jane's Fighters Anthology, Jane's IAF & Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patches (June 2015) These patches enable the games to run on Windows XP/Vista/7/8, fix unresponsive menus and remove the disk checks. They are distributed as a single 7zip archive. After extracting the contents, (some of which are 7zip archives) the J ane's I AF T cklbrry P atch ( JITP.7z ) is the patch of interest. This is a file replacement patch. The contents of JITP.7z should be extracted and the contents copied into the Jane's IAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. This patch runs the game in a single processor affinity mode with an included batch (.bat) file. This is a recommended patch for earlier Windows XP/Vista/7/8 platforms. It can be used on a Windows 10 platform but is not recommended, having been superseded by a later patch. This patch is available from: Jane's IAF patch collection  on the Internet Archive (original distributed patch and JITP.7z as a separate download for convenience). ModDB . Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch for Windows 10 (July 2025) This patch provides similar fixes to the Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch (June 2015) but provides greater compatibility with Windows 10. It includes: Fixes to allow the game to run. Fixes unresponsive menus. Includes missing DirectX libraries required by the game. Includes DDrawCompat v0.6.0 and an optimised config file. Does not require single processor core affinity. This is a file replacement patch. The contents should be extracted and copied into the Jane's IAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. This is a recommended patch for Win10. Although untested on Win11, this patch probably provides the best compatibility on a Win11 platform. It is available from: Jane's IAF patch collection  on the Internet Archive. Retail media This guide assumes any physical cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and drives. The retail version of Jane's IAF does not contain cd audio and can be ripped to a data only .iso format. The IAF 50th Anniversary cd can also be ripped to an iso format. At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms. Game management As a windows game running natively, the installation folder will be created by the IAF installer. However some limited game management is still useful for files used in the IAF setup. The installation folder and setup files for Jane's IAF and other Windows games can be found in the same folder (my own, as an example): D:\Games\Win\ D:\Games\Win\Janes IAF Setup The following setup folders can be used: cd - to store any cd images. conf - to store any HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. patch - to store a copy of recommended patches. libs - to store disabled dll libraries. Installation The setup installer is a 32-bit app compatible with Win10 and should run without issue. During the installation process, the app will be unable to identify the version of DirectX installed and will recommend installing DirectX 5. Do NOT install DirectX 5 . Instead continue with the installation process without installing. Immediately afterwards the setup app will recommend installing the Indeo codec. Do NOT install the Indeo codec. Instead continue with the installation process without installing the codec. Patching Patching requires the IAF Patch - Version 1.1 and then the Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch for Windows 10 (July 2025) to be installed. IAF Patch - Version 1.1 The IAF Patch - Version 1.1 should be downloaded as a zip file. It is recommended to store this patch in the game management patch folder for any future use. The patcher utility should be extracted from the zip archive as an executable (.exe) file. This is a 32-bit executable compatible with Win10 which should then be run. The first step of the patching process extracts patch files to a temporary folder. The suggested temporary folder is fine to use. The next step opens the patcher file selection dialog to find the IAFJets.exe file. Unfortunately the patcher opens the dialog in the temporary patch file folder which contains an IAFJets.exe file. Do not open this file. Instead navigate to the Jane's IAF installation folder and open the IAFJets.exe file in the installation folder . Patching will begin and complete very shortly. Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch for Windows 10 (July 2025) The Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch for Windows 10 should be downloaded as a zip file. It is recommended to store this patch in the game management patch folder for any future use. The contents of the zip file should be extracted and copied into the Jane's IAF installation folder, replacing any files as required. This completes the patching process. DDrawCompat Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch for Windows 10 includes DDrawCompat v0.6.0 and not the latest v0.7.0 version. It is recommended not to update to v0.7.0 as this introduces graphics artifacts into some of the sky textures. Disabling libraries Part of this strategy is the disabling (or removal) of older less compatible libraries in the Jane's IAF installation folder with the (hopefully more compatible) Windows platform system libraries. These libraries will be found within the Jane's IAF installation folder. There are a few methods that can be used to disable them: Delete the library (not recommended). Rename the library, as this allows the lib to be restored, e.g. adding .bak  to the filename, msvcrt.dll  becomes msvcrt.dll .bak  (preferred). Alternatively move (not copy) the libraries to the game management libs folder (preferred). The following libraries should be disabled: MSVCIRT.DLL MSVCRT.DLL Program compatibility settings There are number of compatibility settings that should be applied to the IAFJets.exe  Properties. In the Compatibility tab: Check Disable fullscreen optimization . Make the following changes to Change high DPI settings : In High DPI scaling override , check Override high DPI scaling behaviour . Scaling performed by: System . Settings shown in the screenshots below: HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes, as Jane's IAF will automatically try to detect the HOTAS controller. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin  combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. You may also have to use HidHide as a device firewall, to hide your real controllers, so only the vJoy virtual controllers are detected by Jane's IAF. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_ZROT_AXIS Note : This config is identical to one used for Jane's F-15 and F-18 but is repeated here for convenience. Running A Win10 platform using the Jane's IAF Tcklbrry patch for Windows 10 (July 2025) can just run the game executable without having to worry about single core affinity: IAFJets.exe Earlier Windows XP/Vista/7/8 platforms using the Jane's Fighters Anthology, Jane's IAF & Jane's USAF Tcklbrry patches / JITP patch (June 2015) should use the included batch file to run the game with single core affinity enabled: IAFJets One Core.bat Configuration The in-game settings should be straightforward to config. Graphics settings can maxed and all graphics options can be enabled on modern hardware. Sound and Gameplay options are left to personal preference. Devices should be configured to match your HOTAS physical or virtual hardware (shown below). Keyboard settings may requiring changing as this option also allocates joystick buttons to functions (shown below). Example video Jane's IAF with the latest Tcklbrry patch Finally... Credit and thanks without which this guide would not have been possible go to: Phil of PhilsComputerLab for his YouTube tutorial. The Internet Archive for allowing me to create another patch collection and host patches. GameFront, ModDB and PCGamingWiki for hosting patches. And special thanks to Tcklbrry for creating the unofficial patches that allow us to run this sim on later/modern platforms. Good Hunting!

A guide to running the classic Electronic Arts sub sim, 688 Attack Sub in DOSBox Staging. Released for DOS in 1989, the Amiga version would follow in 1990. The Sega Genesis and PC-98 platforms would have versions released in 1991. This guide will concentrate on the single player game, covering the optimal graphics and sound setup for 688, which are not as obvious as they may first appear. Releases 688 Attack Sub was distributed on a variety of media, including 2 x 5.25" 360K Double Density (DD) floppy disks or 1 x 3.5" 720K DD floppy disk. Later compilation releases, (e.g. Combat Classics in 1992) were distributed on a single CD-ROM. The 688 releases are difficult to identify as no versions numbers are present or displayed in-game. However, file sizes are different between releases. For single player gaming all releases can be considered equivalent. Multiplayer 688 supports multiplayer gaming between 2 players, one game acting as the server and the other, the client. Multiplayer is supported in modern versions of DOSBox (DOSBox Staging, DOSBox-X) when using a virtual modem. Not all versions of 688 support multiplayer on DOSBox, so particular attention must be paid in obtaining a suitable release. Thanks to the work of VOGONS forum member EmanuelePulciDoria in the post, 688 Attack Sub multiplayer mode problems a suitable version was identified and made available. Although not explicitly covered in this guide, the DOSBox Staging configuration should support multiplayer. Maxell promotional edition A limited promotional edition was developed for Maxell and distributed with packs of floppy disks. This version is limited to two missions (one being a training mission) and a demo. Patches There are no patches for 688 Attack Sub. Retail media This guide assumes any physical floppy disks or cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and the disk/cd drives. The floppy disks can be ripped to an img or ima image format. Compilation cds can be ripped to an iso (data only) image format as there are no cd audio tracks used by 688. At present there is no release of the game on digital platforms. Game Management I recommend using my DOSBox game management  strategy. Due to the different releases some folders are optional, depending on release, as noted below: conf - to store the DOSBox Staging configuration file. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. cd - to store any cd images (for cd releases). fdd - to store any floppy disk images (for floppy disk releases). hdd - the DOSBox Staging hard disk folder. Controls The controls for 688 are keyboard and/or mouse only. There is no need for any HOTAS configuration. DOSBox Staging config This configuration assumes the latest version of DOSBox Staging will be used, v0.82.2 (at time of writing). [sdl] host_rate = sdi presentation_mode = cfr [cpu] core = normal cpu_cycles = 1500 cycleup = 100 cycledown = 100 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mixer] reverb = tiny chorus = light [sblaster] sbtype = sbpro2 [speaker] tandy = psg [joystick] joysticktype = disabled [autoexec] imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\688 Attack Sub\fdd\*.img" -t floppy mount c "D:\Games\Dos\688 Attack Sub\hdd" # loadfix # c: # cd 688 # call 688.bat The [sdl] settings are an attempt to reduce any time sensitivity issues as far as possible. [cpu] settings use the normal core, as this core is less susceptible to timing issues affecting older games. It is also the recommended core when setting up 688 multiplayer. Tandy sound pitch is affected by the cycles settings with higher cycles producing higher pitch sounds and lower cycles, lower pitch sound. 1500 cycles seems to be an appropriate balance between performance and sound (or at least a good starting point) and is equivalent to a 286 @ 12Mhz. cycleup and cycledown settings provide suitably small increments for adjusting performance. [voodoo] emulation isn't required and is disabled. [mixer] reverb and chorus settings are normally left as a personal preference, however the tiny reverb setting is suitable for small speaker audio systems like Tandy and a light chorus is suitable for white noise sound effects like those found with sonar analysis within 688. The optimum sound environment for 688 is described in the manual as: A Tandy with Enhanced Sound Capability and an Ad Lib Board will give you the best sound quality for the game. This configuration is available and described in the DOSBox Staging wiki, Tandy Configuration . In [sblaster] a Sound Blaster Pro 2, sbpro2 , is used to provide Adlib emulation, and in [speaker] the tandy setting uses psg to enable the Tandy three-voice programmable sound generator. Note : the difference between standard speaker and Tandy sound effects may seem quite subtle to some. Due to the controls supported, the [joystick] is disabled. The [autoexec] section has imgmount and mount examples using the suggested game management folders. They should remain commented out until installation is complete. The imgmount command can mount one or more 688 floppy disk images using a *.img wildcard. When multiple images are mounted + F4 will switch to the next floppy image. The loadfix command is unnecessary for single player but is recommended for multiplayer. The remaining commands assume the default installation folder was used. Installation The installation from disk images requires running the installer app ( install.exe ) from the first (or only) floppy disk image. The following screenshots show the process: Manual installation Manual distribution is required if 688 is distributed as a zip archive. The steps are: Create a 688 folder similar to the default installation folder, this can be done in Windows. For example, using the suggested game management folders, this would be: D:\Games\DOS\688 Attack Sub\hdd\688 Extract the contents of the zip archive to this folder. Running Graphics and sound options When running from within DOSBox, graphics and sound options are shown each time the game is run. The optimal graphics and sound for this configuration are: Select graphics mode: 4. VGA - MCGA Select external sound board: 1. AD LIB SOUND BOARD As shown in the screenshot. The graphics and sound options can be preselected by appending them to the call 688.bat  command. For VGA graphics (option 4 ) and Adlib sound (option 1 ), the command becomes: call 688.bat 41 In-game configuration When running the game a title page is shown, followed by the mission selection menu. Once a mission is selected the CONFIGURATION PANEL is shown. Configuration panel DEFAULT SOUND should be selected. NO MODEM should be selected for single player games. SET PLAY LEVEL is left to personal preference. Select BEGIN GAME to start. Covox sound As an alternative to Adlib music and Tandy sound, the 688 manual states the Covox sound option is available to those with Covox Speech Thingy hardware and that both music and sound are both reproduced reasonably well. As the Covox Speech Thingy can be emulated in DOSBox Staging, Covox sound is supported. DOSBox Staging config The following changes should be made to the existing config: [sblaster] sbtype = none [speaker] tandy = off lpt_dac = covox {sblaster} settings are disabled as an Adlib (or Sound Blaster compatible) card is not required when using Covox sound. Tandy sound is disabled with tandy set to off . Alternatively it can be set to the default value auto as Tandy sound is not used by this machine type by default. This setting can also be omitted to use auto as a default. The lpt_dac setting specifies type of DAC ( covox ) plugged into the parallel port. Running When starting the game the following change is made: Select external sound board: 2. COVOX SOUND The graphics and sound options can be preselected by appending them to the call 688.bat  command. For VGA graphics (option 4 ) and Covox sound (option 2 ), the command becomes: call 688.bat 42 In-game configuration In the CONFIGURATION PANEL the following should be selected: COVOX SOUND ON LPT1: Documentation The following documentation is available for 688: Instruction Manual, pdf download.  [ Internet Archive , 688 Attack Sub (English) ]. 688 Attack Sub - Sonar Identification (txt document, distributed as zip archive). Included below for convenience. [ Internet Archive , Score 54 CD-ROM (1998-06) , 688sub.zip ]. Example video 688 Attack Sub with the settings described above Finally... Credit and thanks for information within this guide goes to: John W. Ratcliff for 688 Attack Sub. EmanuelePulciDoria for the DOSBox multiplayer solution and compatible multiplayer version of 688. The DOSBox Staging wiki contributors and maintainers for sound card information. The Internet Archive for hosting documentation. Good Hunting!

A guide to running the MicroProse 1994 sim, Fleet Defender in DOSBox Staging. This guide will cover using a gog.com digital releases and the budget retail re-release and F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario, Fleet Defender Gold retail releases. Fleet Defender also goes by the following names: F-14 Fleet Defender. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation. Digital releases are available from gog.com or Steam . A quick history Before continuing it's useful to take a quick look at the history and various Fleet Defender products that have been released over the years. They can be summarized as: Fleet Defender: The initial retail release by MicroProse in 1994. Features a training campaign in Oceana, and campaigns in the North Cape and Mediterranean. Fleet Defender: Scenario: The one and only expansion pack, released by Microprose in 1995. As part of the US Pacific Fleet, six campaigns are added in the Indian Ocean and Korean Peninsula theaters. Also includes a mission builder. Fleet Defender Gold: Includes Fleet Defender and the Scenario addon. Includes videos of the game, real life engagements and a documentary from Aviation Week. The installer and Fleet Defender video apps run in 16-bit Windows. Released in 1995. F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario: A budget re-release of Fleet Defender and the Scenario addon pack released in 1998. It does not include the Windows installer or videos from Fleet Defender Gold. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation: The digital release available on gog.com and Steam platforms. This is the Gold edition configured to run only in DOS, however a copy of the cd contents is included, containing the Windows installer and video presentation apps. Version This guide will be using the digital edition on gog.com . The digital edition is currently bundled with vanilla DOSBox and this guide will cover running Fleet Defender with DOSBox Staging, providing enhanced features and capabilities. In addition, the Fleet Defender Gold and F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario retail editions will be configured and tested. Installation strategies The version obtained dictates the installation options available. Installing the game can be straight-forward but becomes more involved if you wish to use the video presentations available to the Gold and digital releases. To help you decide these are the installation options available to each release: DOS installation only The DOS game is installed using DOSBox Staging and run from within DOSBox. There are no WIndows installer or Windows video presentation apps, so a WIndows install is not required. This is applicable to: Fleet Defender (with or without the Fleet Defender: Scenario addon). F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation (digital release installed using the gog.com or Steam installer). Windows installation This requires a version of Windows (3.1, 3.11 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11) to be installed in DOSBox Staging. The DOS game and Fleet Defender video app is installed using the Windows installer. The game is run in the DOSBox Staging DOS environment. The Fleet Defender video app runs in 16-bit Windows, which in turn runs in the DOSBox Staging DOS environment. This is applicable to: Fleet Defender Gold. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation (digital release using the included cd folder). Note : 16-bit Windows (3.1, 3.11 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11) was not an operating system like DOS, but a Windowing environment which allowed multiple Windows applications to run. It still required the DOS operating system, or in this case, the DOS environment provided by DOSBox Staging. Summary It's worth briefly summarizing the installation strategies to work out which one is the best for your particular release or preferred. Fleet Defender (with/without Fleet Defender: Scenario addon), a DOS only retail release: Configure DOSBox Staging. Install and configure Fleet Defender using DOSBox Staging. Install and configure Fleet Defender: Scenario using DOSBox Staging (optional). Patch Fleet Defender (if Scenario not installed). F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario, a DOS only retail release: Configure DOSBox Staging. Install and configure F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario using DOSBox Staging. Fleet Defender Gold, a Windows retail release: Configure DOSBox Staging. Install and configure Windows. Install and configure Windows drivers. Install and configure Fleet Defender Gold. Patch Fleet Defender Gold. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation, digital release game only: Install using the digital release installer (gog.com/Steam). Configure DOSBox Staging. Configure Fleet Defender. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation, digital release, game and videos: Install using the digital release installer (gog.com/Steam). Configure DOSBox Staging. Install and configure Windows. Install and configure Windows drivers. Install and configure Fleet Defender Gold in Windows. Patch Fleet Defender Gold. Retail media This guide assumes any physical floppy disks or cds will be ripped to an image file, to reduce wear and tear on media and the disk/cd drives. The floppy disks can be ripped to an img image format. The cd can be ripped to an iso (data only) cd image format as there are no cd audio tracks present on Fleet Defender cds. Digital release installation Digital releases should be installed to Win 10/11 using the appropriate method. Steam releases should use the Steam client, while gog.com releases should use the on-line Galaxy client or download the offline installer. Patches Some releases benefit from the patches that are available. This section will be taking a look at the available patches, and the releases they are applicable to. All patches are hosted at the Internet Archive within the ftp.microprose.com archive. F14 Sound Updates The F14 Sound Updates ( f14snd.zip ) were released 11th March 1993. They provide fixes for OPL-2 based sound cards and Roland sound cards. It also adds the Fleet Defender jukebox DOS app, to play music from the game. This patch is only required by the original Fleet Defender without the Scenario addon, but is not recommended, having been superseded by later patches. Release Version: 1.2 The Release Version: 1.2 patch ( f14v12.zip ) was available from 6th May 1994. It provides 41 changes and fixes covering many aspects of the game. It is a cumulative patch including the F14 Sound Updates. This patch is only required by the original Fleet Defender without the Scenario addon, but is not recommended, having been superseded by a later patch. Release Version: 2.0 non scenario The Release Version: 2.0 non scenario patch ( f14v20.zip ) was available from 12th September 1994. It provides 4 changes and fixes including a fix for faster machines. It is a cumulative patch including the 41 changes and fixes from the Release Version: 1.2 patch and the F14 Sound Updates. This patch is only required by and recommended for the original Fleet Defender without the Scenario addon. This patch is also available from PixelWings , in the Fleet Defender  section as Fleet Defender - Update 2.0 (Non-Scenario) ( Fleet.Defender.Update.2.0.7z ). Credit and thanks to PixelWings for providing alternate hosting of this patch. Fleet Defender Gold video patch The Fleet Defender Gold video patch ( fdgvid.zip ) fixes a Video For Windows installation problem, from the readme.txt file: This patch file is for users who have been experiencing the 'unable to open d:\fleet.avi' type errors. This is normally caused by an older version of Video For Windows being present on the system. The FLEET DEFENDER GOLD install program will not correctly overwrite these files. This patch is required when used with WIndows running in DOSBox Staging. It is applicable to: Fleet Defender Gold. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation, digital release with game and videos. Game management I recommend using my DOSBox game management  strategy. Due to the different releases some folders are optional, depending on release, as noted below: conf - to store any DOSBox Staging/HOTAS profile configuration files. docs - to store any useful documents, manuals, etc. patch - to store a copy of recommended patches (optional). mod - to store a copy of any mods/addons (optional). cd - to store any cd images (optional). fdd - to store any floppy disk images (optional). hdd - the DOSBox Staging hard disk folder (optional). win - to store any Windows install images and drivers (optional). HOTAS config Joystick, throttle and rudder pedals are supported. Configuring axes may not be required if your HOTAS has 4 axes or less. When using devices totaling more than 4 axes, a virtual controller  can be used, limited to 4 axes. For those using controllers from multiple vendors, the vJoy/Joystick Gremlin combination may be required instead of vendor specific HOTAS profile software. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows: Physical axis Windows axis Joystick x-axis DX_X_AXIS Joystick y-axis DX_Y_AXIS Throttle DX_Z_AXIS Rudder DX_XROT_AXIS DOSBox Staging config This guide assumes the latest version of DOSBox Staging v0.82.2. Changes from the default configuration are detailed below, except sound options  which are considered later, (as Roland, SoundBlaster and General MIDI support is available) and disk mount options as this is dependant on release. Those who wish to install Windows under DOSBox Staging may wish to use the simpler config files used in the Windows installation instructions and then switch to this config, shown below. [sdl] host_rate = vrr vsync = off presentation_mode = vfr [dosbox] vmemsize = 4 [cpu] cputype = pentium cpu_cycles = 40000 cycleup = 1000 cycledown = 1000 [voodoo] voodoo = false [mouse] dos_mouse_immediate = true [mixer] reverb = medium chorus = normal [joystick] joysticktype = 4axis timed = false swap34 = true deadzone = 0 The [sdl] 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. Note : the dos_rate setting has been omitted to use the default value. A dos_rate of 1000 causes DOSBox Staging to close when leaving Windows. In [cpu] settings, the cputype is set to pentium as suggest in the Windows installation instructions. The cpu_cycles suggested setting for Windows is 30000 but is set to 40000 cycles, a recommended Fleet Defender setting suggested by Damson (credit and thanks to Damson). The cycleup/cycledown settings allow for a suitably small increment/decrement in finding an optimum setting for a particular machine. Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled. The [mixer] settings enhance the music and audio. They are a personal preference and can be adjusted as desired. In the [joystick] section, setting the joysticktype to 4axis allows the use of joystick, throttle and rudders on most joysticks. The timed setting is recommended to be false to prevent sluggish response (when set to true). The swap34 setting is suitable for my HOTAS (TM Warthog), however you may need to adjust these for your own joystick or HOTAS. [deadzone] is a personal preference and should be adjusted as desired. Time to pause & decide If you're following this article is a step by step fashion, now is the time to pause and read the Installing in DOSBox Staging and Sound options sections as they both make additional changes to the DOSBox config above. Take time to decide which of the installation options is required for your release. Installing in DOSBox Staging In this section the DOSBox Staging mount options and installation for each type of release will be covered. DOS only retail release This is applicable to: Fleet Defender (with/without Fleet Defender: Scenario addon). F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario. Game management The following optional game management folders are used: cd - to store any cd images (if required). fdd - to store any floppy disk images (if required). hdd - the DOSBox Staging hard disk folder. DOSBox Staging config The following example shows additions to the DOSBox Staging config: [autoexec] # Each line in this section is executed at startup as a DOS command. mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd" imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\fdd\*.img" -t floppy imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\cd\FleetDefender.iso" -t cdrom c: cd f14 In the above example all the game management folders are contained in the D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender folder, your own containing folder may be in a different location. The hdd folder is mounted as the DOSBox hard disk folder ( C: ). The fdd folder is mounted as an emulated floppy disk drive ( A: ) to store any floppy disk images. If there are no floppy disk images, it can be omitted. It is assumed there will be multiple disk images in an img format, so the *.img wildcard is used to mount all the floppy disk images at once. The disk images can be swapped within DOSBox Staging ( Ctrl-F4 ). The cd folder is mounted as an emulated cd drive ( D: ), containing an example Fleet Defender cd image, FleetDefender.iso . If there is no cd image it can be omitted. The remaining commands navigate to the default installation folder on the DOSBox C: drive. Installing Fleet Defender should be installed in DOSBox Staging. The F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario release has two installation methods, to install the game to a hard disk ( install.bat ) or install a minimum set of files to the hard disk and run the game from the cd ( setup.bat ). It is recommended to install to the hard disk. It is assumed the Fleet Defender and Fleet Defender: Scenario releases would have an install to hard disk option as a minimum. Once installed the music and sound configuration will be run (see Sound options ). Patching Only the Fleet Defender release requires patching with the Release Version: 2.0 non scenario patch . Fleet Defender: Scenario and F-14 Fleet Defender & Scenario already incorporate this patch. It is a file replacement patch so the patch zip file ( f14v20.zip ) should be extracted to the Fleet Defender installation folder within the DOSBox hard disk (hdd) folder. This can be done in Win10/11. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation, digital release, DOS game only This option is suitable for those who prefer not to install Windows or use the Fleet Defender video app. It is the easiest and quickest way to enjoy Fleet Defender with the benefits of DOSBox Staging. Game management This option does not require any of the optional game management folders. DOSBox Staging config The following example shows additions to the DOSBox Staging config: [autoexec] # Each line in this section is executed at startup as a DOS command. mount c "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Fleet Defender Gold" The DOSBox hard disk folder ( C: ) uses the digital release installation folder. In this example it is D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Fleet Defender Gold . This will have to be changed to your own digital release installation folder. Installing As it is already installed there is no need for any installation process. Patching No patches are required for this game only release. Important note With this option the installation provided by the gog.com/Steam client. is used to run the game. One of the advantages of DOSBox staging are the additional features provided, such as more MIDI options. If the game is configured to use these DOSBox Staging features then it will probably affect how the game looks/sounds if you try and use vanilla DOSBox 0.74 provided by the digital installation. If you change the game configuration, this risks being lost if the game files are validated or the game is downloaded again and installed over an existing copy in the same folder, by the gog.com/Steam client. These are not huge issues, there is not a compelling reason to switch back to vanilla DOSBox 0.74, and MIDI options can always be configured again, but it is something to be aware of. Fleet Defender Gold & Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation This method involves installing Windows in DOSBox Staging, before installing and configuring Fleet Defender. This method is applicable to: Fleet Defender Gold retail release. Fleet Defender: The F-14 Tomcat Simulation, digital release installing game and videos. Game management The following optional game management folders are used: fdd - to store any floppy disk images. cd - to store any cd images (if required). hdd - the DOSBox Staging hard disk folder win - to store any Windows installation images and drivers (.zip files). Obtaining 16-bit Windows This method requires a 16-bit Windows version which includes Windows 3.1, WIndows 3.11 or Windows for Workgroups 3.11. None of these products are available for purchase, but can be obtained from WinWorld . The recommended version is Windows for Workgroups 3.11 OEM. This is distributed as a zip archive containing multiple floppy disk images. It is recommended to keep a copy in the win game management folder. Installing Windows for Workgroups To install Windows for Workgroups in DOSBox Staging, there are some excellent Windows 3.1x installation instructions to be found on the DOSBox Staging wiki . Credit and thanks go to MasterO2 for these excellent instructions. Rather than repeating the already clear and precise instructions, this part of the guide will cover some additional notes to be used in conjunction with these instructions. Note : The instructions use a smaller/simpler DOSBox Staging config to install Windows and then builds on this simple config to add sound/MIDI etc. It's recommended to use this simple Windows install config and then switch to the config shown in DOSBox Staging config , after Windows is installed. Note : The zip file containing the Windows disk images was saved in the win folder for safekeeping. The disk image contents of this zip file (eg. disk1.img, disk2.img, etc...) were extracted and stored in the fdd folder. Note : The instruction's DOSBox config file was supplemented with mount and imgmount commands below. As there are multiple disk images in the fdd folder, the wildcard *.img was used, as a convenience, to mount them all. The first disk image will be accessible from the A: drive. Ctrl-F4 switches to the next disk image. If accessing the last disk image, Ctrl-F4 will return to the first disk image . [autoexec] mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd" imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\fdd\*.img" -t floppy Note : The instructions refer to creating DRIVERS and INSTALL folders in a win31 folder. Instead the win31 folder is replaced with our hdd folder. So the DRIVERS and INSTALL folders are created in our hdd folder. So: In DOSBox Staging we see: C:\INSTALL C:\DRIVERS In Win10/11 we see (as an example): D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd\INSTALL D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd\DRIVERS Note : The instructions refer to Windows 3.0 installation instructions, to copy the disk image contents to the INSTALL folder (using DOSBox Staging). As all of the disk images are mounted already, the same copy command (below) is used to copy the disk contents to the INSTALL folder (using DOSBox Staging). Then use Ctrl-F4 to access the next disk and use the same copy command again, until the file contents of each disk have been copied. COPY A:\*.* C:\INSTALL Note : The recommended display drivers and SoundBlaster 16 drivers were used, following the instructions provided. The zip files containing the drivers were placed in the win folder for safekeeping. The contents of the zip files were stored in an S3 folder (for the display drivers) and an SB16 folder (for the SoundBlaster 16 drivers), within the DRIVERS folder, so: In DOSBox Staging we see: C:\DRIVERS\S3 C:\DRIVERS\SB16 In Win10/11 we see (as an example): D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd\DRIVERS\S3 D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd\DRIVERS\SB16 Fleet Defender video app filling the DOSBox window at 640x480. Note : The recommended resolution to use for the display driver is 640x480. This may seem low but is optimum for the video app as it allows the DOSBox window to be filled (if DOSBox is run in a window) or fullscreen (if run in fullscreen). At higher resolutions the video app is run in a 'Windows' window. At very high resolutions (e.g. 1600x1200) it becomes a very small window making it harder to navigate or read text. However this is really down to a personal preference. Note : Although I used the instructions to set up MIDI and CD Audio in Windows, this was unnecessary for Fleet Defender. Note : The printing and networking sections of the guide can be ignored as those features aren't required by Fleet Defender. Time to pause & decide again At this point you have a clean Windows for Workgroups 3.11 installation running in DOSBox Staging. This may be useful for other DOS games with Windows components or very earlier 16-bit Windows games. So, this may be an appropriate time to take a copy of the following folders for a future alternate use, if desired: conf - containing your DOSBox config suitable for Windows. fdd - containing the Windows installation disk images. hdd - the hard disk folder containing the WIndows installation win - containing all of the Windows/driver zip files used. Mounting the Fleet Defender installation cd As mentioned earlier, this guide assumes any physical/retail cds have been ripped to an iso cd image file, e.g. FleetDefenderGold.iso . To use this cd image in DOSBox Staging we make sure it's stored in the game management cd folder and add a cd imgmount command to our DOSBox config: [autoexec] mount c "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd" imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\fdd\*.img" -t floppy # cd mount imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\fdd\FleetDefenderGold.iso" -t cdrom For digital releases there is no cd image, but a ' CD ' folder exists containing files from an installation cd. The command below uses an example folder (your location will be different): # cd mount mount d "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Fleet Defender Gold\CD" -t cdrom If you prefer to keep the DOSBox Staging and digital client installations of Fleet Defender completely separate, then you can copy the contents of the CD folder to a game management cd\contents folder, and then mount it, as shown in the example below: # cd mount mount d "D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\cd\contents" -t cdrom Note : When mounting an image, the imgmount command is used. When mounting a folder the mount command is used. Using the Fleet Defender Windows installer For some it may have been a while since a early Windows installer was used, for others it may be the first time using such an early Windows app. So, it may be useful to briefly cover the installation steps to make thing easier. The section above covered mounting a virtual installation cd, available as the D: drive. So now we need to: Start Windows from within DOSBox with the win command. Use File Manager to access the D: drive. You should see all the installation files on the cd. Run the WIndows installer ( install.exe ). You'll be asked to begin the install, select Yes . The windows installer has a number of steps as shown in the slideshow below: Issues If you try and run the newly installed Fleet Defender Windows app, you'll probably see an error complaining that D:\fleet.avi can't be opened . This is normal and due to an issue with the Video for WIndows installer. To fix this we need to do some patching. Patching Fleet Defender Gold and the digital release both require the same Fleet Defender Gold video patch . This patch should be downloaded and extracted to a folder. The README.TXT file accompanying the patch explains what to do. You can also perform the steps in Win10/11 without running DOSBox Staging, which some may find easier, summarized here: Copy the IR32.DLL file to the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM folder. Using my earlier example folder, in Win10/11 this would be: D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd\WINDOWS\SYSTEM Open SYSTEM.INI in a text editor. It can be found in the C:\WINDOWS folder. In Win10/11 this would be: D:\Games\Dos\Fleet Defender\hdd\WINDOWS Look for the [drivers] section. Add or edit the line so it becomes: VIDC.IV31=IR32.DLL Following patching, the video introduction and other videos should play without issue in Windows. Sound options Fleet Defender Jukebox Fleet Defender supports a wide variety of hardware for music/sound effects and digitized speech. DOSBox Staging supports some of these, and in this section the best options for DOSBox Staging will be covered. In the VOGONS wiki article, List of MT-32-compatible computer games , the original sound hardware for Fleet Defender is listed as the Creative Sound Blaster Pro 2. The DOSBox Staging SoundBlaster 16 is fully compatible and is an excellent music option. A very useful app to help choose your preferred option is the Fleet Defender Jukebox , a DOS app which allows all the music in the game to be played. It is available on all releases (once patched if needed). Run the Jukebox in DOSBox Staging, from the DOS game folder with: F14JUKE Example DOS and Windows screenshots are shown in the galleries below. Music & sound effects In this section we'll be looking at the optimum Roland, SoundBlaster and General Midi options. Below is a slideshow showing the Music & Sound Effects selection in bth DOS and Windows. SoundBlaster SoundBlaster is an excellent choice for Fleet Defender music and sound. Fleet Defender supports the SoundBlaster Pro. The DOSBox Staging default SoundBlaster 16 is fully compatible with this option. The DOSBox Staging config requires the following additions: [midi] mididevice = default The default SoundBlaster settings are appropriate and don't need to be specified. The Music & Sound Effects settings are: Music & Sound Effects Device: SoundBlaster Pro (later) Music Card Address: Address 220 Music Card IRQ: IRQ 7 Roland Fleet Defender supports the earlier Roland MT32 and the later Roland LAPC-1/CM-32L. The optimum choice being the Roland LAPC-1/CM-32L. The DOSBox Staging config requires the following additions: [midi] mididevice = mt32 [mt32] model = cm32l romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned" In [mt32] the model is set to cm32l. Versioned roms are used, as described in the earlier article ' DOSBox midi '. The Music & Sound Effects settings are: Music & Sound Effects Device: Roland LAPC-1/CM-32L Music Card Address: Address 330 Music Card IRQ: IRQ 2 Fluidsynth As Fleet Defender supports general MIDI, DOSBox Staging's built in MIDI synth, Fluidsynth can be used. This allows the use of soundfonts to enhance the music. The DOSBox Staging config requires the following additions: [midi] mididevice = fluidsynth [fluidsynth] soundfont = "D:\Midi\Soundfonts\Shan SGM-X48 v2.0.SF2" The soundfont is an example and an alternative can be used, based on preference. All soundfonts are kept in the same folder, as described in the article ' DOSBox midi '. The Music & Sound Effects settings are: Music & Sound Effects Device: General Midi Music Card Address: Address 330 Music Card IRQ: IRQ 2 It's recommended to test the sound effects in-flight as the soundfont used may result in odd sound effects. VirtualMidiSynth The general MIDI support means we aren't restricted to just the built in MIDI synth, an external MIDI synth app like VirtualMidiSynth can be used. Coupled with the Jukebox you can play a music track and switch to various soundfonts on the fly! The DOSBox Staging config requires the following additions: [midi] mididevice = win32 midiconfig = 0 Setting the mididevice to win32 allows the VirtualMidiSynth app to be used. The midiconfig setting can be found using the method as described in the article ' DOSBox Staging and VirtualMIDISynth '. The Music & Sound Effects settings are: Music & Sound Effects Device: General Midi Music Card Address: Address 330 Music Card IRQ: IRQ 2 Again it's recommended to test in-flight to make sure there are no odd sound effects. Digitized speech There's really only one option for Fleet Defender and that's to use SoundBlaster to provide the digital speech. If you really wanted to, you could try Covox but SoundBlaster will be the optimum choice. Here are the DOS and Windows digitized speech settings: In the DOSBox Staging config, the Soundblaster section [sblaster] has a dma setting that is set to 1 by default. The Fleet Defender Speech DRQ setting is equivalent and must be the same for speech to work, so make sure it is: Speech DRQ: DRQ 1 The digital release defaults this to DRQ 3, so be sure to check. Alternatively you can change the [sblaster] dma setting to 3 in the DOSBox config, but the first option is the recommended one. Credit and thanks to Damson for that useful info! Changing options Sound options can be changed and reconfigured as often as desired. To do so in a DOS retail release or digital release (game only): Go to the game installation folder (the default is C:\ for digital and C:\F14 for retail). Run install.exe . Select Reconfigure Hardware Options . To do so in Fleet Defender Gold, or a digital release using Windows: Run Windows. Once started, open the Fleet Defender Gold program group. Run the Sound Card Configuration app. Fleet Defender Gold in-flight sound issue During testing and installation a lot of changes were made to both music and speech and somehow I managed to disable a lot of the sound effects provided by the DOSBox SoundBlaster when in-flight It's unlikely this will occur (it was probably due to all the playing around with sound settings I was doing) but just in case it does, this is how I fixed it. When installing the SoundBlaster drivers/utilities for Windows, the DOS SoundBlaster drivers/utilities are also installed. If the default location was used they will be in C:\SB16 . In DOSBox, go to the C:\SB16 folder and run the DIAGNOSE.EXE utility. Run through the utility applying the DOSBox Staging SoundBlaster settings, if you are relying on the default settings they are: sbbase = 220 irq = 7 dma = 1 hdma = 5 This should correct the issue. Running Fleet Defender To run a DOS retail release, use the following DOSBox commands (assuming the default folder is used): C: CD F14 F14 To run a digital release (game only), use the following DOSBox commands: C: F14 These can be added to the end of the [autoexec] section of the DOSBox config after the mount commands. Fleet Defender Gold To run the Fleet Defender Gold video presentation under Windows, use the following DOSBox commands:: C: WIN # or WIN : to skip the Windows splash screen Once Windows has started: Hopefully you'll get here! Open the Fleet Defender Gold program group. Run the Fleet Defender Gold app. To run the game it's recommended to exit Windows and return to DOS. The option to run the game from the video app doesn't work under DOSBox. Once back in DOS, use the DOSBox commands: C: CD MPS\F14GOLD F14 In-game configuration The only in-game configuration required for Fleet Defender is controller/HOTAS calibration. To get to the appropriate page, from the main menu: Click the Campaign button. Click the Difficulty button. Click the Joystick button. As I have a joystick with rudder pedals, configured as a 4-axis controller in DOSBox, I chose: Control selection A joystick w/throttle. Foot pedals. As shown in the screenshot. Once chosen, click on Recalibrate to open a calibration dialog: Calibration dialog Each axis of the controller is calibrated by following the instructions in the dialog. However, the trigger button did not work and the second joystick button had to be used to progress the calibration at each stage, something to be aware of. The last step of calibration was to set a deadzone (the white square) which was set to 0. Mods and enhancements These mods and enhancements are entirely optional and left as a personal preference. Fleet Defender - Visual Upgrade Mod 1.0 No guide would be complete without covering the work done by PixelWings with the Visual Upgrade Mod 1.0 . The mod makes a number of visual upgrades to: The ship models and graphics. The motion of the ocean! And ocean textures. Some aircraft model and graphics improvements, which will be part of a larger aircraft mod. What I like about this mod is that it is a visual mod, so some may like to install this for a initial playthrough. To install, just follow the included instructions. After installation I found I had to recalibrate the HOTAS in-game. I've given this a quick test with a gog.com release so should work with: Fleet Defender (with Scenario addon). Fleet Defender & Scenario. Fleet Defender Gold. Fleet Defender digital releases. I'm not sure about the original Fleet Defender cd release (as I don't have it), but with the Release Version: 2.0 non scenario patch, there is a patched f14.exe file that is identical in size to PixelWing's modified f14.exe file, so it looks promising for this patched release as well! Huge credit and thanks to PixelWings for the hard work on this mod. The website is well worth checking out. And there's an alternate Windows 3.1 Fleet Defender icon ! fdmenu I've created a small DOS batch file menu for Fleet Defender, which allows you to: Run the game (it should correct identify Fleet Defender (with and without Scenario addon), Fleet Defender & Scenario, Fleet Defender Gold and digital releases (DOS and WIndows), if a default folder was used. Run the Jukebox, if a default folder was used. Run the DOS based install app to change sound settings, if applicable. Run Windows to play Videos or change sound settings, if applicable. Return to the DOSBox DOS prompt. Close DOSBox. To install, extract fdmenu.bat to the DOSBox hard disk folder and add the following lines to the bottom of your DOSBox config (after the mount commands): [autoexec] c: call fdmenu.bat Documents The digital release has a comprehensive set of documents, in pdf format, comprising of: The manual. The Scenario addon manual. The key reference card. The basic flying guide. The campaign notes. PixelWings has done some more excellent work and managed to assemble some additional documents , including: The alternate quick keyboard reference. The official strategy guide. A Player’s Guide To Fleet Defender by Robin G. Kim (which is also available at the ibiblio archives ). DOS days also very kindly hosts the following pdf/html documents: The manual. The key reference card. The campaign notes. A Player’s Guide To Fleet Defender by Robin G. Kim. Even more documents are hosted at the Internet Archive  within the ftp.microprose.com  archive. A number of quick reference documents have been compiled together to form the F-14 aids v4 ( f14aids.zip ), comprising of: An AWG-9 quick reference. A cockpit quick reference. A radar quick reference. A landing quick reference. A wingman quick reference. The alternate quick keyboard reference. And of course, A Player’s Guide To Fleet Defender by Robin G. Kim. Hopefully this set of documents will be able to answer any questions arising during a gaming session! Example video This example video shows some soundfont testing with VirtualMidiSynth, the video app and the game itself. Finally... Hopefully with this guide you'll be able to run Fleet Defender with the added benefits of DOSBox Staging and if so desired, run Windows within DOSBox Staging for the complete Fleet Defender Gold experience! Good hunting!