3a) How do I know where to click on the interface screens?
3b) What sort of menu options do I have in the interface?
3c) How can I get online help?
3d) How do I talk on the radio in flight?
3e) How do I set my User ID and Handle?
4. Joysticks
4a) All joysticks
4a1) Installation
4a1a) Windows 3.X
4a1b) Windows 95
4a2) Joysticks and sound
4a3) Gameports
4a3a) Joystick Problems and Dedicated Gameports in Win95
4a4) View switch shows Map
4a5) I turned off sound and now my joystick won't work
4b) CH Products FAQ (see 4e1a3c for calibration)
4c) Thrustmaster FAQ (see 4e1a3b for calibration)
4d) Suncom FAQ (see 4e1a3e for calibration)
4e) Configuring your controls
4e1) Setup Hanger
4e1a) Test and Calibrate
4e1a2) Calibrate Throttle
4e1a2a) Keyboard/Mouse
4e1a2b) Generic throttle
4e1a2c) Thrustmaster WCS Mark I
4e1a2d) Thrustmaster WCS Mark II
4e1a2e) Thrustmaster Throttle Quadrant System (TQS)
4e1a2f) CH Products Throttle
4e1a2g) CH Products Pro Throttle
4e1a3) Calibrate Joystick
4e1a3a) Generic Joysticks
4e1a3b) Thrustmaster FCS, PFCS, XL
4e1a3c) CH Sticks
4e1a3d) Gravis Firebird/Phoenix
4e1a3e) Suncom Sticks
4e1a3f) Logitech Wingman Extreme
4e1a3g) Microsoft Sidewinder Pro
4e1a3h) Joystick Scaling/Sensitivity
4e1a3i) Using a mouse as the flight controller
4e1a4) Calibrate Rudder
4e1a4a) Keyboard
4e1a4b) Generic
4e1a4c) Thrustmaster Rudder Control System
4e1a4d) CH Pedals
4e1a4e) CH Pro Pedals
note - to reach a specific section within your text reader/word
processor, search for the string at the beginning of each section or
subsection (eg., search for string 2a to jump to the section about View
window/graininess, or 4a1 for joystick installation, 4e1a3h for Joystick
Scaling, etc.)
1. PERFORMANCE
1a) I have a machine with only 8 MB of RAM. What do I need to do to make
Air Warrior run well?
A. You need to determine whether the program has enough physical RAM to
run without swapping. Common causes of insufficient memory under Windows
are large disk caches and small swap files. Under Windows 3.x with 8MB
of RAM, you should make sure that your SMARTDRV settings are set for a
small cache. With 8MB of RAM, SMARTDRV defaults to a 2 MB cache. This is
too large for Air Warrior to run well. We recommend setting SMARTDRV to 512
KB under Windows 3.x. Also, the 386 Enhanced virtual memory settings need
to be checked. You should have at minimum a 16 MB swap file (permanent
preferred) and only a small disk cache, try 512 KB. These setting are
accessed under Windows 3.x in the 386 Enhanced applet in the Control Panel.
1b) I get very poor frame rates while in flight. What can I do?
A. On lower end machines with slow VLB cards, the frame rate in Air Warrior
may drop to around 8-10 fps. There are a number of things you can do to help
improve frame rate within the game:
1) Lower rendering detail. You can do this by going to the setup hanger
and clicking on the 'Clipboard'. On the clipboard click 'Detail', this
brings up the Cockpit Display Preferences dialog box. The game defaults
to 'High'. Experiment with lower detail settings or try some 'Custom'
settings. Turning off 'Horizon Shading' in the 'Custom Scene Detail
Setup' will result in major frame rate improvements.
2) Turn off some sounds. As a final step you can turn off some sounds. The
sound settings are accessed by clicking on the 'Sound Setup' speaker in
the Setup Hanger'. The only sounds that you can turn off that will make
a real difference in frame rate are 'Engine', 'Wind', 'G-Stress' and
'Buffet'. These can be turned off by selecting 'Custom' on the 'Sound
Setup' Dialog box.
3) While in flight, use the keyboard "1/!", "2/@", "3/#", and "4/$" keys to
change what is displayed in your view. Combat Picture Range (key "4/$"),
will give you the best frame rate - but will disable some of the display
of the terrain. Full Picture Range (key "1/!", will lower the performance
because the terrain detail is greater. Other settings are Medium Picture
Range (key "2/@") and Short Picture Range (key "3/#").
4) Use 640x480 resolution for your flight window. If you downloaded the
minimum version, the flight window is 640x480 by default. However, if
you downloaded any of the expansion files for Air Warrior, your flight
window may be configured at either 800x600 or 1024x768. These higher
resolutions require more CPU bandwidth to update, meaning that your frame
rate could suffer. To increase the frame rate slightly, you may want to
fly at the 640x480 flight window resolution. See the related topic on
Interface/Flight Window resolutions (2b).
2. GRAPHICS/ VIEWS
2a). My game artwork looks "grainy" and my flight window is a "small" window in the middle of my
screen. What can I do to improve this?
A. In this case, you most likely downloaded the minimum version of Air
Warrior and are running your display at high resolution (such as 1024x768).
The minimum download only contains artwork for the 640x480 resolution, so
it is "stretched" to fit your large screen. This is why the artwork looks
"grainy". The flight window is kept to 640x480 size, and that's why it
appears smaller on your screen. To correct these problems, do one of the
following:
1) Change your display to 640x480 via the Windows Control Panel. The artwork
will look better and the flight window will be full screen.
2) Download the Air Warrior Expansion Pack (9MB). This contains artwork for
the higher resolutions, including flight window artwork for 800x600 and
1024x768. Once you have installed this into your Air Warrior directory,
you must go into "User Preferences" to change your Flight Window
resolution. If you are running at 800x600, select the 800x600 flight
window resolution. If you are running at 1024x768, select the 1024x768
flight window resolution. Some people prefer to run the game interface
at 1024x768 and the flight window at 800x600 just to get a little better
frame rate during flight. Note that running at the higher resolutions
during flight require faster CPUs for good performance.
2b) How do I change my flight window resolution?
A. The flight window resolution configuration is in User Preferences, within
the "Setup Hangar". You can also click the right mouse button and select
"Setup->User Preferences" to get to this from any game interface screen
(not available during flight).
The resolutions are enabled if you have the artwork installed for that
resolution, and if your display supports it.
3. GAME OPTIONS - GETTING AROUND IN THE GAME
Q. What other "neat" things do I need to know?
A. There are many things that can help you get adapted to our game. Check
out the points below:
3a) Hold down the ALT key in any room to see the hotspots defined
3b) Use the right mouse button while on any game interface screen (not
during flight). Options may change based upon where you right-mouse click
on the screen (for example, if you right click over a player's name in the
player list of a conference screen, you will see options for getting
information about that user.
3c) Help is available at anytime by pressing F1 (standard Windows help key).
3d) In flight, people will be "chatting" over the radio. To talk to everyone, press the forward
slash (/) key. To only talk to people in your country, use the apostrophe (') key.
3e) In the Officer Clubs there is a table with a flight jacket on it. Click
on this to set your ID and handle for the game. The ID (known technically
as CPID for "Characters Player ID") is displayed in flight to your allies and
is also used in the radio messages.
4 JOYSTICKS
4a) All Joysticks
4a1) Installation
Although Air Warrior may be executed with only a mouse, a joystick is
recommended to fly Air Warrior. To use a joystick in Windows, you need to
install a joystick driver.
We have tested joysticks under Windows 3.X using the IBMJOY driver, available
for download from a link to our web page (http://www.kesmai.com). For
Windows 95, you will need the VJOYD driver, which is distributed with
Windows 95.
4a1a) Joystick Driver Installation for Windows 3.1x.
The procedure for installation and setup of IBMJOY is as follows:
Download IBMJOY.ZIP, and unzip it into a directory.
From the Control Panel, select Drivers.
Select Unlisted or updated driver
On the OEM Driver dialog, enter the driver directory path and click OK.
In the list of OEM drivers dialog, select "Driver for Joystick", and click
OK.
It can be setup to support either 2-axis or 3-axis logical devices. If
set-up for 2-axis, it will support up to two devices, or a total of 4-axis.
How to set-up your driver:
If you have a joystick and rudder pedals (with or without the throttle),
you have two, 2-axis devices.
If you have a joystick and a throttle (or a ThrustMaster FCS or a Wingman
Extreme), you have one, 3-axis device.
If you have only a joystick, you have one 2-axis device.
Joystick device inputs are divided into three types: resistance, button,
and keyboard. The resistance inputs are the two axis of the joystick, the
rudder, the throttle, and sometimes the view switch (see ThrustMaster FCS).
In the simplest case, the button inputs exactly match the buttons on the
joystick. In some cases, such as CH joysticks, the button inputs may be
encoded such that more than the usual four can be supported. On some
joysticks, and most throttles, some or all the buttons are actually sent
as key inputs or macros. These will have a separate keyboard connector.
LIMITATIONS
The IBM PC joystick driver associates two buttons with the first joystick
device and two buttons with the second joystick device. This means that
if you do not have rudder pedals, you may not be able to read all the
buttons on your joystick. This affects any typical 4-button joystick, and
is a particular problem for those CH Pro joysticks which use coded button
inputs for the view switch.
In some cases, if you do not have a throttle, the driver will not recognize
the rudder pedals. In particular, in a combination of a ThrustMaster RCS
with a ThrustMaster FLCS or a SunCom Eagle, the RCS will not work.
LIMITATION
There is no joystick driver option which is compatible with Windows 3.x
that will support a 2-axis joystick with rudder pedals. If you do not have
a throttle (or a ThrustMaster FCS or a Wingman Extreme), you will not be able
to use your rudder pedals, odd as that sounds.
4a1b) Joystick driver setup for Windows 95
The required Windows 95 joystick driver, VJOYD, is provided with Windows 95,
and will be installed when your sound card is auto-detected. Users of
separate game cards may have to perform the installation manually.
How to Setup Your Driver
The Windows 95 joystick setup is much more intuitive than in earlier versions
of Windows. Go to the Control Panel and find the joystick applet. Normally
you just select the option that most closely matches your hardware. One
exception is the ThrustMaster FCS, and compatible sticks, which sometimes
work better with the hat as a third axis, rather than as a POV switch.
It is important that you calibrate and test your joystick in the Control
Panel. If it does not work there it probably will not work correctly in Air
Warrior. If you are treating your FCS hat as a third axis, be sure to move
it to all possible positions when it asks you to calibrate your throttle, odd
as that sounds.
If you have a joystick, a throttle (or a ThrustMaster FCS or a Wingman
Extreme), and rudder pedals, you have two 2-axis devices. Set-up joystick 1
and joystick 2 as 2-axis, 2-button joysticks.
If you have a joystick and a throttle (or a ThrustMaster FCS or a Wingman
Extreme), you have one 3-axis device. Set-up joystick 1 as a 3-axis,
4-button joystick.
If you have only a joystick, you have one 2-axis device. Set-up joystick 1
as a 2-axis, 4-button joystick.
Do not use the ThrustMaster Flight Control System option. If you do, your
hat switch will not work.
Do not check the rudder option. If you do this, rather than following the
instructions above, your rudder will not work.
NOTE - This assumes running our Windows 3.1 compatible version on Windows 95. A future Windows 95 version will greatly simplify joystick setup and resolve the limitations.
4a2) Joysticks and Sound
There is a strong interdependency between the joystick and sound in Air
Warrior. In particular, sound makes a significant impact on joystick
calibration on most systems. It may be necessary to calibrate your joystick
in Air Warrior even though you have already calibrated it in the Control
Panel. This is usually just fine tuning, but it's always recommended.
If you calibrate with sound enabled, the joystick may go out of calibration
in flight if you subsequently elect to disable sound. Likewise, if you
calibrate with sound disabled, you will need to recalibrate if you later
enable sound. Recognizing this problem, sound is playing in the joystick
calibration screens, albeit at the lowest possible level, unless you've
decided beforehand to disable sound. Players who have boosted the input
gain on their sound cards will hear an aircraft engine running when they
go to calibrate their controls. This is not a bug; it's not a feature
either; rather, it's an odd necessity.
4a3) Game Ports
Most joystick vendors now recommend the use of a dedicated speed-controlled
game card on fast PCs, such as Pentiums. If you use the game port on most
typical sound cards, you may not be satisfied with the results. Common
problems include excessive noise or an inability to sense part of the right
or back movement of the joystick. The Air Warrior controls calibration
attempts to compensate for such problems, but the best solution is to use
the best hardware.
4a3a) Joystick Problems and Dedicated Game Ports in Windows 95
Windows 95 often has problems with auto-detecting game cards. The usual
symptom is the joystick buttons work but the joystick does not. One
solution is to uninstall the driver for the game port on your sound card
and manually install the driver for your game card using Add New Hardware
4a4) My "view switch" on my throttle control gives me HELP instead of the
Overhead Map. What is wrong?
A. Air Warrior for Windows uses the F1 key for Help and F10 for the Overhead
View. This is completely opposite of the DOS version of Air Warrior. So,
you will need to reconfigure your throttle control accordingly to process
these key switches. For the Thrustmaster WCS II (tm), use the file
AW20WIN.ADV as the configuration file to download.
4a5). I turned off sound and now my joystick controls do not seem to work
correctly. What happened?
A. Sound is an integral part of Air Warrior during flight, which effects the
polling of the joystick controls. If you had sound turned "on" when you
originally configured your controls, the controls may react differently when
you turn sound off. In this case, just reconfigure your joystick controls
with sound turned "off" and everything should be corrected.
4b) CH Products Joysticks, Throttles and Pedals
To check for tips or report problems calibrating CH Products peripherals,
go to the CH web page at http://www.chproducts.com/
See also: 4e) Configuring your controls
4c) Thrustmaster Joysticks, Throttles and Pedals
To check for tips or report problems calibrating Thrustmaster peripherals,
go to the TM web page at http://www.thrustmaster.com
Q. Do I select WCS for my throttle in the configuration screen?
A. In the DOS version of Air Warrior, selecting the 'tick' next to the WCS
Mk 1 or 2 would cause Air Warrior to be unable to use either throttle,
leaving 'no throttle' ticked was the only way. This problem has been fixed
in Air Warrior for Windows, so select the WCSII as your throttle before
calibrating your joystick.
Q. Are there any .ADV files for my WCS or .B50 files for my FLCS/WCS?
A. Yes - two .ADV files come with the download, and .B50 files are
available in the online libraries. Feel free to make your own and upload
them to the libraries as well.
See also: 4e) Configuring your controls
4d) Suncom sticks
To check for tips or report problems calibrating Suncom peripherals, go to
the Suncom web page at http://www. xnet.com/~reno/suncom/suncom.html
Q. When I program my joysticks fire button with the 'f' key to shoot my
guns, I can't hold down the trigger for continuous fire. Why's that?
A. While programming the trigger, hit the 'f' key twice - this will make
the stick use continuous 'presses' of the fire key while holding down the
trigger.
See also: 4e) Configuring your controls
4e) Configuring your controls
You can setup your joystick and other flight controls anywhere in the Air
Warrior program, except inflight. The most obvious route is through the Setup
hangar on the Main Menu. Setup is also available from the right mouse button
menu.
NOTE: If you do not have a joystick, you can use your mouse as your primary
flight controller. You cannot, however, use your keyboard in this role. You
can use your keyboard as your secondary controller - throttle, flaps, landing
