PC/CD Gamer UK 44/PCGAMER44.bin/patches/fcorps/readme.txt

Text File | 1997-01-29 | 12KB | 292 lines

                      FLYING CORPS(tm)
History.
--------
v1.00b Demo - Contains a fraction of the landscape available in the full game.
v1.00a Patch to include fixed views and various other view problems.
v1.00  Big Demo
v1.00  Compiled December 1996

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                        CONTENTS
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                 RUNNING ON A PENTIUM 90
                 IMPORTANT DIRECTX NOTES
                    JOYSTICK  SUPPORT
                 FAQ's (TECHNICAL ISSUES)
         FAQ's (IN-FLIGHT & OTHER GAMEPLAY ISSUES)
                    NOTES ON VERSIONS
              CUSTOMER SERVICE INFORMATION
       -------------------------------------------

RUNNING ON A PENTIUM 90:

If you intend to use Flying Corps with a Pentium 90, we recommend
that  you  try running the DOS version. On a Windows  95  system,
this means "Restart in DOS Mode".  Follow the instructions in the
Technical Supplement for INSTALLATION UNDER DOS.


IMPORTANT DIRECTX NOTES (Windows 95 Users Only):

To run the Windows 95  version of  Flying  Corps you will need to
use DirectX components.  You may already have DirectX installed.
We offer to install DirectX 2.0 during the installation process.
However,  if you find this does not give an acceptable  framerate
during flight, you may like to try installing version 3.0.
Throughout configuration tests, version 3.0 was reported to give
better performance on some systems. You will find a copy of
DirectX 3.0 in the subdirectory: fly\directx3.

IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY EXPERIENCED PROBLEMS WITH THE USE OF
DIRECTX, WE STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO SKIP THE DIRECTX INSTALLATION.
IN THESE CASES, PLEASE ATTEMPT TO USE THE DOS VERSION OF THE GAME
BY RESTARTING IN DOS MODE.
See INSTALLATION UNDER DOS in the Technical Supplement.

JOYSTICK SUPPORT

Basic 2-direction, 2-button joysticks are suported.
In addition, Throttle, rudder and 4 buttons can be supported through
the full PC joystick port.
A coolie hat compatible with Thrustmaster or Flightstick standards
is also recognised.
If you have more advanced joystick and throttle hardware which plugs
into the keyboard port then you should use the software provided with
the hardware to program the coolie hats and additional buttons.
We have provided the files ROWAN.B50 and ROWAN.M50 to program the
Thrustmaster F-16 and F-22 sticks. These are text files that can be
converted for use with similar hardware.
We advise you to continue to access the throttle through our
analogue interface.



FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (TECHNICAL ISSUES):

Q. What level of install is recommended?
A.  The MEDIUM level is recommended. The SMALL does use less hard
disk  space  but you will encounter delays as sound  effects  are
loaded in from the CD.

Q. Running under Windows I sometimes get an out of RAM error.
A. Your hard disk may be full and so Windows cannot page out.

Q.  I  installed the game in Windows then played the  game  under
DOS. The game played ok but I didn't get any sound.
A.  The  DOS  install  includes a sound configuration  stage.  By
installing  under Windows, this stage was bypassed. To  configure
the sound after installation, run the DOS    install program THAT
IS ON THE HARD DISK in the Flying Corps directory.

Q. My session is freezing in Windows 95?
A.  If  the  game freezes when playing under Windows,  press  the
ENTER key to attempt to return to Windows. If this happens it  is
safest  to  power down before playing again. Note1: Do  not  play
Flying  Corps  with  other applications  loaded.  Note2:  Disable
Windows screen savers when playing Flying Corps.

Q. Running under Windows 95, the game seems to slow down when
the music starts and the music seems fragmented.
A. If you experience this problem then you most probably have a
SoundBlaster card fitted. Either play the game with music disabled
or use midi output or try the DOS version of the game. The music
requires 18+ channels which can be supplied by a SB16 card in mono.

Q. Sometimes after flying straight and level for a period the game
pauses while the CD is accessed. Can the pause be eliminated?

On some machines the cache-ing of the CD can interfere with the
spooling of the landscape data. Experience has shown that this
effect can be reduced or eliminated by one or both of the following
actions:
    reduce the size of the CD cache,
    disable SmartDrv cache-ing of the CD.

The size of the CD cache can be reduced by editting the MSCDEX line in
your autoexec.bat file. Find or add the /M parameter. Try /M:1. You may
also be able to modify the CD cache by editting the appropriate line in
your config.sys file.

SmartDrv cache-ing of the CD can be disabled by either removing the
SMARTDRV line in your autoexec.bat file or placing it before the
MSCDEX line.


OTHER FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q. Why do my aircraft numbers change from mission to mission?
A.  We change the number to be appropriate for each mission.  The
player  can  then  go to the squadron screen  to  override  these
defaults.

Q. If I am not in command, which position do I fly?
A. This depends on how many aircraft are flying on the day. Until
you get squadron command you will be in flight B. However if only
one  flight is going up on the day,      then you will be  bumped
into  Flight  A.  Select  the squadron icon  to  see  the  flight
details for the day.

Q. What does the Assigned aircraft message mean?
A.  This  means  that  the  computer has  information  about  the
aircraft  that  the ai has assigned to the player.  The  assigned
aircraft is the best option for the player to     attack, however
the player can please himself whether or not he takes the advice.
To  padlock on the assigned aircraft press f5 when the  "Assigned
Aircraft" message is displayed in yellow.

Q.  Why  does  the second line of messages on the info  line  get
printed in different colours?
A.  The  messages to the left are brighter because they  are  the
most recent messages.  Messages to the right could be very old.

Q. Why doesn't the aircraft fly straight and level when I take my
hand  off the joystick? The aircraft will fly straight and  level
when under keyboard control.
A. WW1 aircraft were tail heavy and forward pressure was required
on  the stick. In particular, on the Camel this pressure was  not
necessary  at the end of a patrol because the centre  of  gravity
changed as fuel was used up.

On our model, you will find that the effect is most noticeable at
low altitudes and disappears at high altitudes.

Trying to fly an aircraft from the keyboard is tricky. The  pilot
needs  help  and  so most of the time we automatically  trim  the
aircraft  whenever  he  releases a  control  key.  This  trim  is
disabled  when  the aircraft is at a steep roll or  is  about  to
stall.

If  you  want  to  try keyboard control without  the  trim,  then
configure the joystick as normal but fly using the keyboard.

Q. Take-off: Sometimes I pull back on the stick and don't go up.
A.  Possibly you are trying to drag the aircraft into the sky  by
pulling  hard  on  the stick.    The aircraft  tail  is  probably
digging into the ground and so the aircraft is being slowed down.

Q. How does the inside padlock view work?
A.  If  enemy aircraft are not in view, then there will be a  red
flashing arrow indicating the direction to turn. Most of the time
you  can manoeuvre so that the arrow is at the top of the  screen
and  pull back on the stick. This is not always possible  in  WW1
fighters because of their low power.

If  you get disorientated then swop to the outside padlock  view.
The  buttons on 4 button joysticks have been programmed to  allow
you to flick between inside and outside padlock views.

Q.  Pressing tab when flying gives accelerated time. The  display
changes  to  a  map  which  shows the  route,  waypoints  and  an
aeroplane icon indicating the progress of my aircraft.  Why  does
the aeroplane icon sometimes not follow the route?
A.  The icon will move away from the straight line route if there
is  an  interesting item   nearby. An example would  be  for  the
aircraft  to  follow a railway line that runs parallel    to  the
route rather than follow the route itself.

Q. Why can't I do a snap or flick roll in any of the aircraft?
A. This manoeuvre consists of pulling back on the stick until the
wings  are nearly stalled and then applying full rudder.  If  the
joy  stick  is  not  correctly calibrated  it  is  sometimes  not
possible  to  move  the elevators sufficiently  to  generate  the
stall.  You can see if this is the cause of the problem by trying
the following test:

    go to a scramble mission and get straight and level
     get the angle of attack indicators up on the top line of the
screen (press I key)
    roll the aircraft into a 90 degree roll
    pull back on the stick as far as it will go

One  or both of the angle of attack indicators should go red  and
the  aircraft should enter a spin. Release the stick to  recover.
You can use opposite rudder to exit the spin quicker.

If you don't get a red indicator then you need to recalibrate the
stick.

We  have  found that it is possible to get false readings  during
calibration  if the stick is moved quickly and bangs against  the
stops.  When you recalibrate try moving the stick slowly.

Also, check that the joystick position icon covers the whole box
area during the final test phase of calibration.

Q.  Why  do I start to roll quickly when I push the stick forward
when in a steep dive?
A.  When  trying to maintain a steep dive it is likely  that  you
will be flying with a negative angle of attack. Push too far  and
it  is possible to stall the wings and if there is any difference
between the lift on the two wings a spin is induced.


Q.  Why can't I do a snap roll on the Camel when Gyroscope effect
is enabled?
A.  Possibly you haven't done 180 degrees of the roll before  the
nose  starts to come down. The gyroscope effect will then  oppose
the  roll. One technique used by WW1 aviators was to remove power
just  before entering the manoeuvre. The gyroscope effect is then
reduced  and  also the asymetric rigging designed to  oppose  the
engine torque helps the roll.

Q.  Why  does  the aircraft icon on the in-flight  map  sometimes
cycle between two waypoints?
A. The two waypoints will be the beginning and end of the patrol.


NOTES ON VERSIONS

v1.00a view patch

This version contains the following additional view keys;

Home ........ Front inside cockpit view
Page Up    ..... Right front inside cockpit view
Page Down ... Right rear inside cockpit view
Delete ...... Left rear inside cockpit view
Insert ...... Front left inside cockpit view

The camera will only remain on these views while the keys are held
down. Releasing the keys will cause the camera to revert to the
previosly selected view.

Holding down the Num Lock key in conjunction with the above keys
will produce a version of the view with the camera pitched upwards.

Left and right views from the cockpit are available by holding
Alt-4 and Alt-8 respectively.

The versions of these views with the camera pitched upwards are
duplicated on the following key combinations;

Ctrl-8 ...... Front cockpit view
Ctrl-9 ...... Right front cockpit view
Ctrl-6 ...... Right cockpit view
Ctrl-3 ...... Right rear cockpit view
Ctrl-1 ...... Left rear cockpit view
Ctrl-4 ...... Left cockpit view
Ctrl-7 ...... Left front cockpit view

CUSTOMER SERVICE DETAILS

In the United Kingdom -

   Customer Service Hotline: [phone] (Mon-Fri 9:30-6:00)
                        Fax: [phone]
                      email: [e-mail]
                Our Address: EMPIRE INTERACTIVE
                             677 High Road
                             North Finchley
                             LONDON, N12 0DA

In the U.S. -

   Customer Service Hotline: [phone] (Mon-Fri)
                        Fax: [phone]
                      email: [e-mail]
                Our Address: EMPIRE INTERACTIVE
                             13220 Wisteria Drive
                             Bay N-2, Germantown
                             MD 20874