Computer Buyer 1997 April

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Computer Buyer 1997 April / dpcb0497.iso / Games / NS / ROOT / README.TXT < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1995-10-19 | 36KB | 1,111 lines

README.TXT NAVY STRIKE READ ME - Last Update: 10-Oct -95 =============================================================== Contents: MEMORY Requirements Freeing Memory Under 1MB Expanded Memory SUPER VGA DRIVERS Notes on universal vesa option (low speed) THRUSTMASTER STICKS HINTS AND TIPS DOCUMENTATION CHANGES ======================================================================== MEMORY ====== 1 Requirements -------------- Type mem at the DOS prompt to find the memory available on your computer. The figures required are: the "Free" element of "Total under 1MB" "Free Expanded (EMS)" "Largest executable program size" "Largest free upper memory block" The requirements for Navy Strike are as follows: under 1MB: 500Kb of conventional memory to load program + 50Kb of conventional or UMB (Upper) memory + 8Kb of conventional or UMB memory for music + 5 or 10Kb conventional or UMB memory for SFX MAX under 1Mb: 568Kb (500+68) of conventional or UMB memory ems: 2.7 Mbytes for the High Speed SVGA & VESA drivers ems: 3.2 Mbytes for the Universal VESA driver The under 1MB memory figure given above assumes that the additional conventional or upper memory is available as one continuous block. It is likely that slightly higher figures will be required if the memory comes from 2 or more separate blocks. 2 Freeing Memory Under 1MB -------------------------- 2.1 Introduction ---------------- This section describes how you can make enough memory available for Navy Strike to run on almost any machine, even with a CD-ROM, SVGA and MUSIC drivers installed. If you are not using MS-DOS, but are using Novell or DR-DOS then you will have to assume an equivalence when MS-DOS version numbers are mentioned. 2.2 Security boot disk -------------------- To release memory for Navy Strike and other games, you will have to make edits to your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files (set-up files). We suggest that you make a security boot disk now. If your machine stops working as a result of an edit to your set up files, you can use the boot disk to restore your system. If you use Stacker or Superstore and Navy Strike is installed onto the compressed drive then you will have to use the instructions provided with the compression software on how to make a boot disk that lets you access the compressed drive. To make a security boot disk, from the DOS prompt: 1) Insert floppy in drive A: 2) FORMAT /S A: 3) MD A:\OLD 4) COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT A:\OLD 5) COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS A:\OLD 6) Remove the floppy To use the security boot disk: 1) Place the recovery floppy in the drive 2) Reboot the machine 3) COPY A:\OLD\AUTOEXEC.BAT C:\ 4) COPY A:\OLD\CONFIG.SYS C:\ 5) Remove the floppy 6) Reboot the machine The machine should now behave as it did before you made any edits to your setup files. 2.3 Game boot disk ------------------ Section 2.5 contains advice on how to modify your setup files. It is possible to make these edits on either the setup files in your c: drive or on a game boot disk. Edits made on your c: setup files will effect your machine every time you reboot from the hard drive. Edits made on the game boot disk are only effective when you boot with the game boot disk. Some edits will work with all software and could be included on your c: drive setup files. Other edits will not work with some software. Some experimentation may be required once you have successfully configured a boot disk that runs Navy Strike. In the following text, we will assume that a game disk is being used. DOS 6.x users may wish to make alternate boot setups. To make the bootable disk: 1) Place the recovery floppy in the drive 2) COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT A: 3) COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS A: 4) Edit a:CONFIG.SYS 5) Change all lines starting DEVICE=\something to DEVICE=C:\something 6) Similarly, Change DEVICEHIGH=\something to DEVICEHIGH=C:\something Change INSTALL=\something to INSTALL=C:\something Change INSTALLHIGH=\something to INSTALLHIGH=C:\something Change SHELL=\something to SHELL=C:\something 7) Save the file 8) Edit a:AUTOEXEC.BAT 9) Insert 1 new line at the start which reads: C: 10) Save the file Now, if you reboot the machine with the floppy in the drive, it will boot somewhat slower, but the messages on the screen will look the same. If this is successful then you can move forward. Anytime from now on that we mention AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS we will mean the versions on your floppy. Note that the installation program will offer to make a boot disk if you select the Universal VESA option. 2.4 CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT ------------------------------- This section describes some of the likely contents of the two setup files. Please try and identify the equivalent lines in your setup files so that you will be able to modify them as described in section 2.5. First, CONFIG.SYS: 1) A memory manager - one of: DOS: Device=c:\dos\himem.sys Device=c:\dos\emm386.exe or Device=c:\windows\himem.sys Device=c:\windows\emm386.exe QEMM: Device=c:\qemm\qemm386.sys 386Max: Device=c:\386max\386max.sys 2) Memory: files and buffers To get DOS out of conventional memory in Dos5 or Dos6: DOS=HIGH,UMB To minimize the size of DOS and still run Navy Strike: FILES=15 BUFFERS=30 <- in DOS 5 or 6. In others BUFFERS=1 FCBS=1,0 STACKS=0,0 The figures above are ideal for Navy Strike. Yours may be different. The following lines are in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Please go through CONFIG.SYS for points 3,4,5,6,7. Then, if necessary, view AUTOEXEC.BAT and check through the points again. 3) Disk cacheing software to speed access to the hard disk and possibly speed up the CD drive as well: CONFIG.SYS may contain DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.SYS AUTOEXEC.BAT may contain SMARTDRV or \DOS\SMARTDRV or \WINDOWS\SMARTDRV or lh SMARTDRV or loadhigh SMARTDRV Cacheing software is also provided in the NORTON UTILITIES and PC TOOLS: CONFIG.SYS: Device=C:\NU\NCACHE-x.SYS or Device=C:\PCTOOLS\PCCACHE.SYS AUTOEXEC.BAT: C:\NU\NCACHE-x or C:\PCTOOLS\PCCACHE 4) A mouse driver - something like: In CONFIG.SYS: device=c:\mouse\mouse.sys devicehigh=c:\mouse\mouse.sys In AUTOEXEC.BAT: c:\mouse\mouse lh c:\mouse\mouse "c:\mouse\" might be "c:\dos\" or "c:\windows\" 5) To run the CD version you need 1 line each in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to enable your CD: The line in CONFIG.SYS is provided by your CD or sound card manufacturer so it varies a lot. The following should give you some idea: Device=c:\cddrv\cddrv.sys /d:"something" The line in AUTOEXEC.BAT is pretty standard. There are only 3 different styles: c:\dos\MSCDEX /L:r /D:"something" /M:xx or c:\windows\MSCDEX /L:r /D:"something" /M:xx or c:\cddrv\MSCDEX /L:r /D:"something" /M:xx 6) If you run any disk compression then the lines in AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS associated with the disk compression MUST NOT BE DELETED. 7) If you need to load any device drivers to access the hard disk where Navy Strike is installed, then the line that loads this driver MUST NOT BE DELETED. 8) If you have an SBPRO, SB16, or AWE32 then you will find additional lines in AUTOEXEC.BAT that reference the C:\SBPRO or C:\SB16 directory. DO NOT DELETE THESE LINES if you want to hear the sound effects and music. Also, do not delete the statement: SET BLASTER= 9) Although Navy Strike will run from a network directory, the program is not designed to be shared by multiple users. Our advice is to install to a local hard drive and remove the network drivers. The minimum CD install requires very little space and would even run from the boot floppy described above if you are desperate for disk space. Notes: Where DEVICE= is mentioned above, your CONFIG.SYS might say DEVICEHIGH=. Any commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT may be preceeded by LH or LOADHIGH 2.5 Modifying CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT ----------------------------------------- Once you have familiarised yourself with the commands mentioned in 2.4 you can attempt to tune the setup by trying the following modifications. You should try each of these options in turn, and see how much your memory has improved towards the targets listed at the start of this file. A) If you find any lines in the setup files that are not mentioned in 2.4, you should be able to delete them. They should not be required to run Navy Strike. On the other hand, other software that you run may require the lines. B) Use the optimal values for the following lines in CONFIG.SYS: To get DOS out of conventional memory in MS-Dos5 or MS-Dos6: DOS=HIGH,UMB To minimize the size of DOS and still run Navy Strike: FILES=15 FCBS=1,0 STACKS=0,0 In Dos 5 or DOS 6 set: BUFFERS=30 In Dos 4 try: BUFFERS=30 /x In Dos 3 try: BUFFERS=1 C) You can reduce the size of your CD driver (2.4.5). Find the line in AUTOEXEC.BAT for MSCDEX. Search for the parameter /E. If it is not there then add it. This will place the buffers into EMS, so reducing the amount of EMS available. This is a concern on a 4Mb machine. You may now wish to increase the /M:xx buffers to make the game run quicker. D) Some software "grows" when loaded high in UMBs, using more memory than it does when loaded in conventional memory. In particular, some CD drivers have this problem. Try changing "DEVICEHIGH /L=xxxx =" to "DEVICE =" in CONFIG.SYS and removing LOADHIGH or LH from the front of commands in AUTOEXEC.BAT. If the total below 1Mb increases, then your only worry is whether there is at least 497K of conventional memory left for loading the program. If you don't have this conventional memory, you will have to selectively reverse these changes and identify which software "grows" when loaded in UMBs. E) EMM386.EXE provided with MS-Dos 5 and 6 (2.4.1) can be modified to give DOS users more UMB memory. You should expect MEM to say that the TOTAL UPPER memory is at least 96K. You should ensure that the parameter ON is on the line, not OFF or AUTO. Unless running the UNIVERSAL VESA SVGA driver DOS 5 and 6 users will also have a RAM parameter. First, any X= statements for network cards or scanners can be removed, as Navy Strike will not access this hardware. Do not remove any X= statements required by your DISK CONTROLLER. Of course, you will need to use the normal boot for other programs to access this hardware! Second, you can add the statement I=B000-B7FF to give Dos5 and Dos6 32K extra memory. Note that normally Dos 5 users will be unable to run WINDOWS with this parameter set. Dos 5 users of PCs (not PS2) may also add I=E000-EFFF to get 64K extra. It is good to place the page frame at one end to provide contiguous memory. The parameter FRAME=C800 or FRAME=E000 will do this. Typical High Memory Map ----------------------- EMS ~ and ~ Extended memory (approx 3Mb required) XMS ~ -+----------- | | DOS=HIGH and buffers | HMA -+----------- FC00 | DOS BIOS ROM F800 | The aggressive option in memmaker F400 | may overlay some of this F000 -+----------- EC00 | Advised location for pageframe E800 | Add FRAME=E000 to device=c:\dos\EMM386.EXE E400 | E000 -+----------- DC00 | D800 | Area usually available for 96Kb of UMBs D400 | Add I=C800-DFFF to device=c:\dos\EMM386.EXE D000 -+- CC00 | C800 |----------- C400 | VIDEO BIOS AREA C000 -+----------- BC00 | TEXT DISPLAY SCREEN B800 |----------- B400 | MONOCHROME MONITOR. I=B000-B7FF for 32Kb of UMBS B000 -+----------- AC00 | GRAPHICS DISPLAY SCREEN A800 | Universal VESA driver users modify EMM386.EXE line: A400 | Remove RAM; add I=A000-AFFF A000 -+----------- | Conventional memory available: ... | 497K required ... |___________ | Low part of DOS and TSRS 0000 -+----------- F) Disk caches (2.4.3) really speed up disk access, but can take a lot of memory. SMARTDRV.EXE provided in dos 5 and 6 takes 20K. Removing this line will save memory, but slows the game down a little. Norton's NCache-s.EXE will only take 5K if you use EMS. Note that most versions of NCache will not cache the CD drive, while SmartDrive will. G) It is convenient to use a mouse (2.4.4) with Navy Strike, but not essential. Removing your mouse driver may free up to 15K but this method of removing memory is not recommended. There are special mouse drivers that take very little memory and work mainly from EMS. H) Sounds and Music High quality sound effects require a 10K buffer. Low quality sound effects require 5K. Music requires a buffer of 7.5K. For most Soundblaster users these are declared as separate buffers totalling up to 18K that can easily be saved by disabling the sound and music options. I) The following modifications to EMM386.EXE will make even more memory available to Navy Strike, but should only be attempted after all else fails: In order to use the UNIVERSAL VESA SVGA driver, many users will already have had to insert the statement I=A000-AFFF. If you don't mind the danger of Navy Strike crashing when you exit, but running fine, then you can also add the parameter I=B800-BFFF. If you are NOT using the UNIVERSAL VESA driver, but are still desperate for memory, then you may have to remove the RAM parameter and add the parameter I=B800-BFFF. Note that Navy Strike will still find your UMBs in this configuration even though DOS couldn't, so you only have to ensure that there is 490K available at the DOS prompt with all your device drivers and TSRs loaded low. Navy Strike is also able to help users of DOS versions 3 and 4 whose EMM386.SYS will accept I= arguments, or users of hardware EMS cards by generating UMBs in the included areas. Try some of the following: FRAME=E000 I=C800-DFFF or INCLUDE=C800-DFFF - this is worth 96K I=B000-B7FF or INCLUDE=B000-B7FF - this is worth 32K I=B800-BFFF or INCLUDE=B800-BFFF - this is worth 32K These are not guaranteed to work, but may work with some vendor versions. J) Quarterdeck's QEMM can greatly increase available UMBs, and hence free more main memory by moving and hiding the ROMs. However this 'stealth' technique is not compatible with some Video cards. For instance, CIRRUS cards have proved to be incompatible with this technique. We have found that the CIRRUS and some other cards will work OK under stealth in two different ways which will maximise your UMBs: 1) ST:M FRAME=C000 means that the video ROM is hidden, but not moved. UMBs are available from D000-FFF0 giving 190K 2) ST:M XST=C000 FRAME=C800 ignores the video, but stealths the system. The region from D800 to FFF0 is UMBs giving 170K If ST:F works with your machine then try disabling shadowing in the boot-up bios options, and try OPTIMIZE again. We have found that it is often better to stealth over the video ROM using ST:F FRAME=C000 than the system ROM using ST:F FRAME=EC00 as QEMM will often map over parts of the system ROM anyway. QEMM Stealth version 7 is also able to 'hide' DOUBLESPACE, and move lumps of DOS. I have seen 650,000 bytes at the dos prompt! (640K=655,360 bytes). I don't expect users of QEMM or 386 MAX to have major problems finding enough memory, especially with the QEMM stealth features. 2.6 Example Configurations -------------------------- The highest memory requirement for Navy Strike is 568k. 2.6.1 Hard Disk user -------------------- A hard disk user's machine under dos 5 or 6 can easily have the following configuration: 600K at the DOS prompt 96K of UMBs (+64K page frame) filled with: EMM386.SYS 2K SMARTDRV.EXE 20K mouse 15K === about 40K leaving 56k free available memory: 600+56 = 656k Of course, a further 40K would have disappeared if DOUBLESPACE was installed, leaving just 615K. The CONFIG.SYS will look something like: DOS=HIGH,UMB DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ON RAM FRAME=E000 2700 STACKS=0,0 FILES=10 BUFFERS=30 FCBS=1,0 devicehigh=c:\mouse\mouse.sys (for the universal driver line 3 might read: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ON FRAME=E000 I=A000-AFFF 3000 ) The AUTOEXEC.BAT will look something like: @echo off c: PATH=C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS c:\mouse\mouse LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 2.6.2 CD users -------------- For a CD user, the following configuration is easily achieved: 580K at the DOS prompt with MSCDEX loaded low. 96K of UMBs (I=B000-B7ff and page FRAME=E000) filled with: EMM386.SYS 2K CDDRV.SYS 30K SMARTDRV.EXE 20K mouse 15K === about 70K leaving 26k free available memory: 580+26 = 606k A further 40K would disappear if DOUBLESPACE was installed then the I=B000-B7FF mod to EMM386.EXE may be necessary, or SMARTDRV may have to be removed. For the CD user the CONFIG.SYS will look something like: DOS=HIGH,UMB DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ON RAM FRAME=E000 I=B000-B7FF 2700 DEVICEHIGH=C:\cddrv\cddrv.sys /D:"name" STACKS=0,0 FILES=10 BUFFERS=30 FCBS=1,0 devicehigh=c:\mouse\mouse.sys (for the universal driver line 3 might read: DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ON FRAME=E000 I=A000-AFFF I=B000-B7FF 3000 ) For the CD user the AUTOEXEC.BAT will look something like: @echo off c: PATH=C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\cddrv c:\mouse\mouse MSCDEX /L:r /E /M:30 /D:"name" LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 3 Expanded Memory ----------------- You should read this section if mem does not report enough Free Expanded (EMS). If you have zero "Total expanded" or the section does not exist, then you need to put the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ON RAM 3000 near the top of your CONFIG.SYS on a new line after DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS. If the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386 is already there then see if there is the parameter OFF or AUTO on the line. If there is, then you need to remove that parameter and replace it with ON. This will reduce your UMBs, and you may then not have enough memory under 1MB. If you have less than the required amount of Free Expanded then take the following steps in turn until your problems are solved: 1) Look at the line Extended (XMS). If the total XMS is much more than the total EMS and the free XMS is enough to make up the amount you need, then edit CONFIG.SYS and find the line with DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.SYS or DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE or DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE One of the parameters will be a number which stands on its own. Increase this number by the difference in Kilobytes. Reboot, and see if you have gained enough EMS to run Navy Strike. If you get an error message on rebooting then reduce the number by about 50 at a time until the error message goes away. QEMM, 386MAX, DR-DOS and DOS6 treat EMS and XMS as a common memory pool, unless you have configured with a maximum EMS. This means that the figures for EMS and XMS will be approximately the same. 2) Either Total Expanded or Total Extended should be over the figure you need, i.e. 2,700K or you will have to fit more memory to your machine. A 4MB machine should provide 2,900K of expanded memory, or 3,000K XMS. If you have a great excess of conventional and UMB memory you can slightly increase EMS by excluding UMB regions. 3) You will have to remove a driver that is using your Expanded or Extended memory in order to make room for Navy Strike. These include RAM disks and disk caches. Edit your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files and look for lines starting with the following: DEVICE=c:\dos\RAMDRIVE.SYS or DEVICEHIGH=c:\dos\RAMDRIVE.SYS: Navy Strike does not make use of RAM disks, so this line should be disabled by inserting REM in front (i.e. REM DEVICE=c:\dos\RAMDRIVE.SYS) DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.SYS SMARTDRV lh SMARTDRV loadhigh SMARTDRV \DOS\SMARTDRV \WINDOWS\SMARTDRV Navy Strike can be speeded up by using a disk cache, but a disk cache can use a lot of memory. To reduce smartdrive's memory look for a number after the text listed above. If there is a number reduce it by the amount of EMS you need (in K). If there is no number then try putting 256. (The default is 2,000K) If this does not give enough EMS then comment out the line by putting REM in front (eg REM \DOS\SMARTDRV) Your RAM disk or disk cache may be provided by someone other than Microsoft. NORTON UTILITIES and PC TOOLS both contain cache and ram disk utilities. There are other ways you could be using up your XMS or EMS - a printer buffer for example, or a network driver. After removing any of these drivers, save out your edits and reboot. Type MEM again to see the gain in free XMS and EMS memory. The result may have freed either XMS or EMS, depending how the ram disk or smartdrive was configured. If there is now enough XMS, but not enough EMS free then you need to repeat step (1) above. ======================================================================== ======= SUPER VGA DRIVERS ================= The installation of Navy Strike will lead you through the selection and installation of the correct custom VESA driver for your graphics card. Navy Strike can be installed using either a High Speed svga driver or a Universal svga driver which is slower. Not all cards are supported with a High Speed svga driver directly. If, during the install, a High Speed driver has not been found, then there are some options: 1 Make a boot disk for the Universal VESA option. 2 For cards that do not support the VESA BIOS Extensions automatically, during the install you will be offered the chance to run the separate VESA TSR provided on the support disks that came with the card. We generally advise using the driver provided WITH the graphics card rather than the common UNIVESA or UNIVBE drivers. If you use these programs except when advised to do so, then the automatic detection will not work properly, and the preconfigured drivers may not function as expected. We also have low level drivers for ET4000 and some TRIDENT 8900 cards that do not have a VESA BIOS. 3 The program SVGAVESA can be run to manually configure the Rowan VESA driver for new cards that may appear after publication. This option should only be considered by experienced users or after making contact with Technical support. The following is a list of some of the Chipsets that are supported: Cirrus ET4000 Trident #9 GXE ATI Mach 32 - the provided VESA TSR must be run. There are a number of manufacturers' brand names. In the following list, brand names are matched with their driver: Hercules Dynamite ET4000 Genoa 8500VL Cirrus Genoa 3989VL-12 ET4000 Trident 8900 Trident Trident 9000 Trident Cirrus Logic GD-54xx Cirrus Most Diamond Stealth Vision Some Diamond Stealth ET4000 If you don't know which chipset you have, select "OTHER", then "Technical Information" in the SVGATEST. The following cards have been tested and work with the High Speed VESA driver: Cirrus Logic GD-54xx ET3000 ET4000 Trident #9 GXE Older Diamond Stealth Newer Diamond Stealth ATI Mach 32 The following cards have been tested and work with the Universal VESA driver: S3 cards including Orchid Fahrenheit S3 Pegasus Paradise Note that to use the UNIVERSAL VESA driver the card must be LOCAL BUS (VLB or PCI) to get an acceptable frame rate during the non-flying section, and a DX2/66 or Pentium 66 MINIMUM is needed to fly using the UNIVERSAL VESA drivers. Notes on universal vesa option (low speed) ------------------------------------------ You must make ONE of the following edits to your C:\CONFIG.SYS file, depending on the memory management software you are using: On DOS versions before DOS 5 on the line starting DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.SYS: Add the parameter: i=A000-AFFF On DOS versions 5 and after on the line starting DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.SYS: Find, and remove, the word: RAM And add the parameter: i=A000-AFFF Also, find the line saying DOS=HIGH,UMB and change to DOS=HIGH or, find the line saying DOS=UMB and insert REM in front. For Quarterdeck QEMM 386, on the line starting DEVICE=C:\QEMM\QEMM386.SYS: Add the parameter: VREMS If you do not have a monochrome monitor you can avoid rerunning OPTIMISE by also adding the following parameter: RAM=B000-B7FF We have not managed to get WINDOWS to accept this unless you insert X=B000-BFFF, in which case you will have 32K less UMBs, and you will have to re-run OPTIMIZE. For 386 MAX, on the line starting DEVICE=C:\386MAX\386MAX.SYS: Add the parameter: I=A000-AFFF I don't know what effect this has on Windows :-> After the "DOS 5 and after" edit some software won't work until the edit is reversed. You may wish to make a bootable floppy especially for Navy Strike, or use the multiple boot configurations of Dos-6. See the section above on memory optimisation to do this. Then, perform the edit described above on A:\CONFIG.SYS Install will automatically offer to create this boot floppy for you. =============================================================================== THRUSTMASTER JOYSTICKS ====================== The Thrustmaster option on the Preferences screen refers only to the Mark I "Flight Control Stick" joystick used on its own. If you connect a Weapons Control System (Mk2) to your FCS stick then you can either: set the hat switch to analogue and the red switch to calibrate. In this case the coolie hat will function in the same way as if the WCS was not connected. or: set the hat switch to digital and the red switch to calibrate. In this case the coolie hat will not function but the WCS throttle will be available. To calibrate select the "Joy-Throttle" option on the Preferences page. In both cases, if the red switch is set to calibrate, all the red buttons are disabled. To use the buttons on the Weapons Control System, or the F16 FLCS, you must use the Thrustmaster Upload program. We have provided the following configuration files which you may wish to copy into your Thrustmaster directory: ROWAN.B50 and ROWAN.M50 for the F16 FLCS ROWAN.ADF and ROWAN.MDF for the WCS Mk 2 The WCS configuration assumes that the throttle will be analogue, and you should select the "Joy-Throttle" option on the Preferences page. Support for both the F16 FLCS and WCS together is not directly provided. However, the button files are a complete list of ALL the key presses available in the 3d section of the game, so that modification can easily be carried out. You may also use the throttle on the WCS by selecting the "Joy-Throttle" option on the Preferences page. The key mappings provided are detailed below: FCS Mk1: Select Thrustmaster in config ======= Trigger Fire Buttons: Upper Pg Up air to air weapon select Middle Pg Dn air to ground weapon select Bottom Esc cockpit view Coolie hat: Front l lock Left Alt l next lock Right 3 chaff Back 4 flares WEAPON CONTROL SYSTEM ===================== WCS Mk2: Select Joy-Throttle in config ------- calib RED * analogue SW digital BLACK analogue SW * digital Throttle is analogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 X X X ###### ################### ##########################T #############################B ############################### ############################### ###############################X ############################# ########################## ######################SW ############# B1 b air brakes B2 > military power B3 / inc. after burner B4 backspce inside lock B5 enter outside lock B6 a auto toggle F16 FLCS: Select Joystick in config -------- X B1 ########## ######X B2 ##########/=\### #######Hats ###/\#####//=\\### \ ###### T1 ##[B2]###|||0|||##\ Hat1 \###### T2 ##\/#####\\=//###B1] ###### ##########\=/####/ ###### ###==########## ###### ##|==|###_#### Hat2 ###### #|==|##/ \## ##### ##==### ## Hat3 ##### ######\_/## ##### ########### ##### ########## ##### ########## X##### B3 |_| ########## ##### | | ########## Hat4 X###### B4 ############### Buttons: Button B1 (top front) is used as a mode toggle. B2 Pg Up air to air weapon select B3 Pg Dn air to ground weapon select B4 Esc cockpit view T1 T2 Fire Fire HAT 1 (circles) Fwd i Maverick Up FL Left j Maverick Left BL Back m Maverick Down BR Right k Maverick Right FR HAT 2 (horizontal lines) Fwd l lock FL Left BL Back Alt l next lock BR Right FR HAT 3 (cross) Fwd I Maverick Up (large movement) FL Left J Maverick Left (large movement) BL Back M Maverick Down (large movement) BR Right K Maverick Right (large movement) FR HAT 4 (H) Fwd 3 chaff FL Left BL Back 4 flares BR Right FR HINTS AND TIPS: =============== The Tactical Game USE EARLY WARNING ARICRAFT In any tactical situation, it is vitally important to keep informed. As your fleet has only limited radar capacity, it is essential that you have an eye in the sky at all times - the best means of achieiving this is to set up an airborne early warning route with an E2C on it. Any approaching bogies will thus be spotted in plenty of time for your aircraft to deal with them. PROTECT YOUR STRIKE AIRCRAFT It may seem obvious, but many people neglect to protect their strike aircraft. Heavy strike aircraft have no air to air capability at all, and thus are very easy targets for scrambled red aircraft. To avoid unnecessary attrition of friendly aircraft, it is best to plan an escort route which follows exactly the route of the fighters. Any air to air entanglement can then be taken care of by the escort craft, leaving the others to complete the assigned strike. TAKE CARE POSITIONING CAP ROUTES The purpose of a C.A.P, is to set up a patrol between the fleet and the enemy so that enemy aircraft can be engaged before they can get within striking distance. The enemy will undoubtedly have their own C.A.P. aircraft in the air, and as a result blue aircraft placed too close to these will be engaged. To make the game less hectic, it is advisable to avoid setting-up your C.A.P routes too close to the enemy. The Inflight Game AIR TO GROUND WEAPONS The targeting system for air to ground missiles and bombs has been improved. Select the appropriate missile with the PageDown key. You will see the default view of the targeting camera in one of the screens in your cockpit. Ctrl Y steps through magnifications of the camera from 100 (as seen from your aircraft) to 5 (as seen from a point 5% of the way from the target) Alt Y steps through the amount of tilt on the camera, from straight ahead to directly behind. To lock onto and hit a ground target, point the aircraft in the direction of the target. Fly straight and level at 10,000 feet or more. To drop a targeting cross hair on the ground press L or SPACEBAR Typically this will drop the cross hair some distance away from the target. You can now move the cross hair around on the ground using the IJKM keys (shifted for large movements.) Keep the aircraft pointed roughly at the target. Look at the range information in the head up display for range to nearest ground target, and range to current target; these will enable you to move the cross hair until you can see the target on the camera. [these numbers are the top group of three numbers at the bottom right of the HUD] Once there, fine movements will centre it. Once the target is centred in the camera you can release a bomb or missile by pressing the SPACEBAR. The default setting for the camera has the cross hair locked in the centre of the screen. Pressing SHIFT L breaks this lock and now IJKM keys will move the cross hair around within the camera view. Which method you use is up to you, both are equally effective. The MFD has other useful settings - cycle through these options using U key to reach the PLAN view. This shows a top down view of the area around the target cross hair. Zoom and movement keys work in the same way and this view is extremely effective at picking out a specific target in crowded areas such as ports. CONTROLLING MULTIPLE AIRCRAFT In dogfighting situations, where there are more than one blue aircraft, it is useful to know how jump quickly and painlessly between the available cockpits. This is particularly useful when the aircraft you are flying is shot down, but you would like to pursue the dogfight to its final outcome. The process for changing cockpits is very simple, just press SHIFT and a number between 0 and 9 (0=10) to view the aircraft between 1 and 10 (ALT and the number, views 11 to 20), and then CTRL-A to take control of that aircraft. As an alternative you can jump into the cockpit of the first 10 planes by using CTRL and the number. If there are only two of you in the air, then CTRL-B will allow you to pilot your wingman's aircraft. CHAFF AND FLARES Chaff and Flares are very effective at decoying incoming missiles but you do need to 'pump' quite a few times on the 3 & 4 keys to ensure success. MANUAL UPDATES: ================= NAMING THE COMMANDER The player is now able to enter his/her own name, so that all ingame messaging can be addressed directly to the player. To enter your name, you will have to select the "Commander" option from the main menu. This will lead you to the "Theatre Selection Screen". On the clipboard graphic there should be a red text field with the words, "Cmdr Nimitz" displayed. Move the mouse pointer over the word "Nimitz" and a cursor should appear - delete the word "Nimitz" and proceed to type in your own name (you are limited to seven characters). Press RETURN. When you start a campaign, you should be now called by your proper name. EXITING ALERT5 If you press ALT-X by mistake, and you did not intend to quit the game you were involved in, you are no offered the chance to resume. You will now be asked if you are sure that you want to quit - click one of the two icons on the right of the screen to respond "yes" or "no".