ࡱ> GHDEFܥhc e||}}}}}~~~~~~R~׆E`ddddddd{!LmLXt׆}d-1 dddd׆z}}d`zzzd}d}d䜆O}\X~}}}}dz*zFalcon 4.0 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) 3 February 1999 Table of Contents 1) Version 1.03 2) Installation 3) Troubleshooting 4) Graphics 5) Sound 6) Mice, Joysticks and Keyboards 7) Enhancing Game Performance 8) Multiplayer 9) Gameplay 10) Simulation 11) Customer Support Version 1.03 Q: When I try to update my copy of Falcon 4.0 to version 1.03, I get an error message of Old file not found - however, a file of the same name was found. A: You may have the CIH virus on your computer system that is modifying EXE files. Please check your computer with an anti-virus utility. If you do have the CIH virus on your computer, you need to use the anti-virus utility to remove the virus. The cause of the problem may also be a utility called WinAlign (installed automatically by Windows 98s resource kit). WinAlign modifies EXE files on your computer. Go to Task Scheduler and disable the WinAlign utility. Uninstall Falcon 4.0 completely. Restart your computer. Install Falcon 4.0 and then run the version 1.03 updater. Q: I updated my copy of Falcon 4.0 to version 1.03. Now I get a Table error when I try to run the game. A: Rename the keystrokes file to its original filename by changing KEYST~ to KEYSTROKES.KEY. Installation Q: When I try to install Falcon 4.0, I get an error message of Media: data component datafiles error 115 or Error: 115 return: -115. A: Running certain utilities such as NetZip, WinZip or Zip Magic can cause conflicts with Falcon 4.0. For example, if your WinZip utility is auto-enabled, it will unzip some Falcon 4.0 files during installation, thus causing problems. Please disable all Zip utilities when installing or running Falcon 4.0. Q: When I try to install Falcon 4.0, I get an error message of Error code -113. A: This problem may be caused by the driver for the bus master EIDE controller on the motherboard. The Intel Web site has extensive documentation on how to remedy this problem in the file INF_BM.PDF. Basically, you need to remove the Windows 95 driver with an Intel utility, reboot your computer and prevent Windows 98 from using that driver. Another possible source of the problem is if you are trying to install Falcon 4.0 on a different hard drive than where your swap file is. For example, you are trying to install to drive D, your swap file is on drive E, drive E is the secondary master drive and your CD-ROM drive is the slave. The solution in this case is to move the swap file to drive C and make it a 250MB permanent swap file. Then uninstall Falcon 4.0 and install it on drive D. The swap file and Falcon 4.0 do not like the shared IDE with the CD-ROM drive. Some customers have reported fixing the problem by installing Falcon 4.0 on their master or slave drive. Q: When I try to install Falcon 4.0, I get the error message %1 is not a valid Win 32 app. A: If you have enough space on your hard drive, we recommend copying the entire contents of the Falcon 4.0 CD-ROM to your hard drive. Then run the installer (SETUP.EXE) from your hard drive. After the game is finished installing, you can delete the install directory. Q: I am unable to install Falcon 4.0 on my Toshiba DVD drive. A: Make sure you update your Toshiba DVD firmware (try the Gateway Web site) before installing Falcon 4.0. Troubleshooting Q: Falcon 4.0 quits right back to the desktop as soon as I try to run it. A: Because Falcon 4.0 is an extremely complex and realistic simulation, we recommend a swap file on your hard drive of at least 200MB. Otherwise, the game may simply quit back to the Windows desktop when you try to run it. Even if you have the minimum amount of RAM (32MB) or more, you still need a large swap file. We recommend that you let Windows manage a swap file of at least 200MB. 1) Right-click on the icon for My Computer. 2) Select Properties from the pop-up menu. 3) Select the Performance tab. 4) Click the Virtual Memory button. 5) Select Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings. 6) Click the OK button. Q: Falcon 4.0 quits back to the desktop when I try to run it (usually after the intro movie). A: If you have the original version of Falcon 4.0, be sure that the directory path name does not have any spaces or periods in it. For example, if you installed the game to C:\FALCON4.0 or C:\FALCON 4, you may experience various problems (including a black screen or being dumped to the Windows desktop). You can update to version 1.03 or later to fix this problem or else reinstall the game to the default directory name of C:\MicroProse\Falcon4. Q: Falcon 4.0 gives me the error message Failed to open 3D output d:\\ziplist.fil when I try to run the game. A: You must install Falcon 4.0 to a folder. You cannot install the game to the directory. For example, if you want to install the game to drive D, you must specify a folder, such as D:\Falcon4. Q: I have a video card based on the S3 968 chipset, and Falcon 4.0 crashes before the intro movie. A: If Falcon 4.0 crashes before the movie and you have a video card based on the S3 968 chipset (such as the Diamond Stealth 64), you need to use the S3 968 Vision driver. The driver that comes with Windows 95 (dated 8-24-96) works with Falcon 4.0, but we recommend that you check with your manufacturer for a more recent version. Q: I have a 3D Blaster 2 card (based on the Voodoo 2 chipset) and Falcon 4.0 wont load. A: Open up the 3D Blaster control panel and click on Refresh rates. Check the boxes for Link Glide and Direct3D. Restart your computer and then load Falcon 4.0. Q: Falcon 4.0 crashes as soon as I start it. I dont even see the intro movie. A: Try reinstalling the game using the Typical installation (which installs everything except the movies). Before starting the game, remove the Falcon 4.0 disc from the CD-ROM drive. This will prevent the game from trying to play the opening movie. Q: Although I am able to view the intro movie and get into Falcon 4.0s user interface, the game crashes when I try to enter the simulation. A: We recommend updating the drivers for all of your video cards and verifying your DirectX install (using DXDIAG.EXE). Before updating the drivers for your video cards, make sure you read the instruction manual for your video card. Most manufacturers recommend that you switch your display to Standard Display Adapter (VGA) before updating video card drivers. Q: I use NetZip, WinZip or Zip Magic and am having problems with Falcon 4.0. A: Running certain utilities such as NetZip, WinZip or Zip Magic can cause conflicts with Falcon 4.0. For example, if your WinZip utility is auto-enabled, it will unzip some Falcon 4.0 files during installation, thus causing problems. In other cases, a Zip utility will cause Falcon 4.0 to return to the Windows desktop after the intro movie. Please disable all Zip utilities when installing or running Falcon 4.0. Q: I am getting the error message SDIERR_ObjectNotFound. A: This error message usually means that your joystick is not working correctly. This problem is usually caused by one of the following: 1) The Controllers setup screen in Falcon 4.0 is set up using different hardware than what you have connected to your computer. For example, Falcon 4.0 is set up to use a Gravis gamepad but a 2-button joystick is connected to the computer. 2) You have multiple sticks listed in the Controllers setup screen, and the one Falcon 4.0 uses has a higher ID number. We recommend removing all game controllers except the one you want to use with Falcon 4.0 and that it be ID number 1. 3) The driver for your joystick is not up to date. You need to get a new driver from the manufacturers Web site. Or you can switch to a 2-axis/2-button joystick if you have a regular joystick or a 3-axis/2-button joystick if your joystick has a throttle. Q: I have a Diamond Monster 3D II card and I cant run Falcon 4.0. I only see 3D Output in the taskbar. A: Open up the Monster 3D control panel and adjust the speed bar in the Advanced Options area. Try reducing it to 90MHz (or lower). Q: Falcon 4.0 crashes on my computer when a mission is loading or when I exit a mission. A: Some customers have reported solving this problem by disabling their video BIOS and video RAM shadowing in their BIOS setup. Q: When I run Falcon 4.0, I get the error message TOD file open failed or Failed to open or Failed to open object header file. A: If you chose the Compact or Typical install, you should keep the Falcon 4.0 disc in the CD-ROM drive. The other cause of these error message is incorrect registry entries, which means that the program cannot locate the needed directory. We suggest reinstalling the game. Q: I have a Canopus Pure 3D card, and I get the error message Falcon4 caused an invalid page fault in module FALCON4.EXE when I try to run Falcon 4.0. A: Using Windows Explorer, look in the Falcon 4.0 directory (usually C:\MicroProse\Falcon4) for a file called MPR97.INI. If you do not have this file, right-click in the Falcon 4.0 directory and select New Text Document from the pop-up menu. Save the file with the name MPR97.INI. Double-click on the files icon and enter the following text on one line: pure3d=gr3dfx.mpr. Be sure to include both the opening and closing quotation marks. Q: I have a Voodoo 2 graphics accelerator and get an error message of Mutual exclusion prevents when the simulation starts to load. A: Make sure that your Voodoo 2 drivers are at least Glide version 2.53. (If you have installed version 2.54 of the Voodoo 2 reference drivers, you must run DirectX version 6. Otherwise, the simulation graphics will not work correctly in Direct3D mode.) Q: When I run Falcon 4.0, I get an error message about MSVCRT.DLL. A: You need to copy this file to your Falcon 4.0 directory. Copy the file MSVCRT.DLL from the \Programs directory on your Falcon 4.0 CD-ROM to the Falcon 4.0 directory on your hard drive (which is usually C:\MicroProse\Falcon4). Q: When I run Falcon 4.0 or the MPRTEST.EXE utility, I get an error message about Invalid page fault. A: This problem happens if you switch video cards without reinstalling Falcon 4.0. Both the game and the MPRTEST utility look at the file GLIDE2X.DLL to determine if a 3Dfx Voodoo card is installed in your computer. For example, if you had a Voodoo Banshee card installed but then later installed a Riva TNT card (which is not a Voodoo card of any kind), then Falcon 4.0 will still try to find a Voodoo card that no longer exists in your computer because of the GLIDE2X.DLL file. The solution is to remove or rename the GR3DFX.MPR file in the Falcon 4.0 directory. Please remember that if you later add a Voodoo card to your computer, you need the GR3DFX.MPR file to run Falcon 4.0 in Glide mode. Therefore, you will either need to reinstall Falcon 4.0 or move the original file back into the Falcon 4.0 directory. Q: I have an IBM Aptiva, and Falcon 4.0 is freezing in the user interface. A: Since the Falcon 4.0 user interfaces uses 800 x 600 graphics, your computer must be capable of running in that graphics resolution (as stated on the packaging). In the case of the Aptiva, you need to change your CMOS setting to support 800 x 600 graphics. Q: I am having problems with my Matrox Mystique card and Falcon 4.0. A: According to Matrox, this video card may have problems if set to use bus mastering. To turn off bus mastering, go to Display properties, then Matrox and then Advanced. Uncheck the box next to Bus Mastering. For more information, consult your Matrox instruction manual. Q: I dont see Falcon 4.0s intro movie when I start the game. A: Make sure that the Falcon 4.0 disc is in the CD-ROM drive. You may need to download the new Media Player from Microsofts Web site (www.microsoft.com). Graphics Q: In the Graphics setup screen, I am unable to select Direct3D for my Video Driver. Even when I run the utility MPRTEST, I only see devices listed for Glide and/or Software. A: First, run DXDIAG.EXE from your DirectX folder. Next, look under Display 1 and Display 2. If both show DirectDraw as working OK but Direct3D is disabled and grayed out, then run DXTOOL and check DirectDraw to solve the problem. If this does not solve your problem, the auto-detection for Direct3D cards may not be working correctly. In this case, your video card will appear available in the Graphics setup screen if you choose Software for the Video Driver but not if you choose Direct3D. To force all Direct3D cards to appear in Falcon 4.0, you need to edit your registry. Warning: Do not edit your registry unless you are an experienced computer user. You need to change False to True for the following registry entry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\MicroProse\Falcon\4.0\MPR\MPRRAIID3DDevices. Q: I am seeing flickering in Falcon 4.0. A: Open up the control panel for your video card. Then, in the Direct3D section, set Enable Vsynch to Off. Q: The colors of the graphics look wrong. A: Try running the COLORMODE utility with one of the following two parameters: 555 or 565. If the first parameter doesnt work to correct the problem, try the other one. If you later upgrade your video card, you can reset the game to automatically detect your graphics capability by running COLORMODE AUTO. Q: I have a PowerVR graphics card and cannot run Falcon 4.0 in Direct3D mode. I can only choose Software for Video Drivers at the Graphics setup screen. A: Unfortunately, the PowerVR card does not have a frame buffer, which Falcon 4.0 requires for Direct3D mode. Therefore, you can only run in Software mode with this video card. Q: I have an ATI All-in-Wonder Pro video card and am having problems with Falcon 4.0. A: We have found the most stable version of ATIs drivers to be version 5.24. Version 5.35b56u, for example, causes problems such as freezing and drops to the Windows desktop. Q: I have a Diamond Fire GL Pro 1000 and cannot run Falcon 4.0. A: Unfortunately, Falcon 4.0 is incompatible with the latest Diamond drivers for the Fire GL Pro 1000 card. You need to install the original drivers that shipped with the card to be compatible with Falcon 4.0. Although the original drivers will not give you Direct3D mode, Direct3D is somewhat corrupted and Software mode is slower using the newer drivers. Furthermore, if the new drivers are installed, certain 3-D accelerators will not work at all with Falcon 4.0. Q: I cant access the higher resolutions of Falcon 4.0 (above 800 x 600), even though my video card supports higher resolutions. A: When you use the command-line parameter, it must be in lower case: C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\Falcon4.exe -hires. Q: Where can I find the latest drivers for my Voodoo card (made by 3Dfx)? A: For a Voodoo 2 card: 1) Using an Internet browser, go to www.3dfx.com. 2) Click on United States. 3) Click on Downloads. 4) Go to Voodoo2 drivers (skip past the option for Voodoo2 DX 6 drivers). 5) Scroll past the listing of boards. 6) Under Available Run-time Drivers, select Win95/98. 7) Download Voodoo2 Release 2.1, which includes Glide2x.dll version 2.53. (Note that DirectX 6 does not need Glide 2.54; it will run with Glide 2.53. But if you have Glide 2.54, you need DirectX 6.) 8) Expand the file into a folder and follow the Readme instructions inside the folder. For a Voodoo (original) card: 1) Using an Internet browser, go to www.3dfx.com. 2) Click on United States. 3) Click on Downloads. 4) Go to Voodoo Graphics drivers. 5) Scroll past the listing of boards. 6) Under Available Run-time Drivers, select Win95/98. 7) Download Voodoo Graphics (Win95/98), which includes Glide2x.dll version 2.46. 8) Expand the file into a folder and follow the Readme instructions inside the folder. For a Voodoo Banshee card: 1) Using an Internet browser, go to www.3dfx.com. 2) Click on United States. 3) Click on Downloads. 4) Go to Voodoo Banshee drivers. 5) Scroll past the listing of boards. 6) Under Available Run-time Drivers, select either Win95 for AGP board, Win98 for AGP board or Win9x for PCI board. 7) Download Voodoo Graphics (Win95/98), which includes Glide2x.dll version 2.53. 8) Expand the file into a folder and follow the Readme instructions inside the folder. Sound Q: I have a Sound Blaster Live! Card, and Falcon 4.0 keeps crashing with Page fault error messages. A: Make sure you disable Audio HQ so it does not load at startup. In addition, make sure that Audio HQs icon is not on the Windows desktop. Mice and Keyboards Q: I am unable to use my mouse in the 2-D Cockpit view to click on buttons, switches, etc. A: Try turning off animated cursors in the Mouse control panel. If your mouse has a wheel, you may need to disable it. For example, if you have a Logitech mouse, you may need to remove the Logitech Mouseware software, reboot your computer and have Windows recognize your mouse as a standard mouse. If you cannot find a way to turn off the mouse wheel, press Ctrl-Alt-Del at the Windows desktop and end the task named EM_EXEC. Q: I cant control the throttle or rudder with the key commands. A: If you have a throttle on your joystick, you cannot use the + and - keys on the keyboard. You must use the throttle on your joystick. Similarly, if you have rudder controls on your joystick or rudder pedals, you cannot use the < and > keys on the keyboard to control the rudder. Q: When I press \ to bring up the Nav mode, nothing happens. A: If you have a UK keyboard, you need to press the # key instead. Joysticks Q: Falcon 4.0 is not recognizing my joystick. A: Please check that Windows is detecting your joystick. Calibrate the joystick and test it using the Game Controllers control panel. Since Falcon 4.0 uses DirectInput to access the joystick, it relies on Windows for its joystick data. In addition, make sure that the joystick you want to use with Falcon 4.0 is set to ID 1. Q: I have multiple joysticks and/or game controllers connected to my computer. I am having problems with Falcon 4.0. A: If you have multiple joysticks connected, remove the one that isnt in use (both physically and in the Game Controllers control panel in Windows). Also check your DirectX setup by running DXDIAG.EXE and looking at the DirectInput page. Q: I am unable to get my CH FlightStick Pro to work well with Falcon 4.0. A: We recommend that you check CH Products Web site (www.chproducts.com) for the latest version of their joystick driver. Currently, CH has released a beta version of the FlightStick Pro driver. Otherwise, we recommend reverting back to an older version of the joystick driver. 1) Open the System control panel. 2) Click on the Device tab. 3) Click on Sound, Video and Game Controllers. 4) Remove Gameport Joystick. 5) Reboot your computer system. 6) When Windows detects your gameport, tell it not to load the newer version of the drivers. The new version that comes with DirectX 6 causes the compatibility problem with Falcon 4.0. 7) If Windows does not automatically detect your gameport, open the Add New Hardware control panel, select No for Autodetect/Select Sound, Video and Game Controllers. Then add the Microsoft gameport joystick. Remember to refuse the newer version of the driver. Q: Whenever I push the hat switch on my CH FlightStick Pro, it acts as if other keys are being pushed (such as firing missiles). A: You need to replace the generic drivers for the gameport on your sound card. For example, if you have a Sound Blaster AWE64, then you need to download the SBW9XUP.EXE file from Creative Labs Web site (www.creaf.com). This update will replace the generic gameport driver with a specific one for your Creative Labs sound card. Q: How can I make my CH F-16 CombatStick work with Falcon 4.0? A: First, you need to get the SpeedKeys program from CH Products Web site at www.chproducts.com. This utility will let you use the CHFALCON4.PTW file that is provided on the Falcon 4.0 CD-ROM. You can use the CHFALCON4.PTW file to set up your CH CombatStick, but you must first load SpeedKeys. After SpeedKeys s creates a CH directory, copy the CHFALCON4.PTW file to it. Please note that CHFALCON4.PTW is only set up for the CombatStick; other CH joysticks should be configured using the SpeedKeys utility. Q: On my Windows 98 computer, my joystick keeps drifting to the left. A: You need a new driver for your joystick that is compatible with Windows 98. This is a known compatibility problem with Windows 98 for many joysticks. Check the manufacturers Web site for updated joystick drivers. Q: Even though I do not have rudder pedals, Falcon 4.0 acts as if rudders are pushed completely to one side. A: Some joysticks report to Windows that they have rudders even though none are connected. If you wish to display any rudder input, you can use the command line parameter of -norudder. First, select Run from the Start menu. Then type C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\falcon4.exe -norudder in the Run dialog box. Q: The throttle on my joystick is not reliable. Sometimes I get 70% at the top, sometimes I get 100%. A: We recommend switching the throttle control from digital (emulating a keyboard) to analog. Q: I want to set the afterburner position in Falcon 4.0 to a throttle position other than the default. A: First, you need to update to version 1.04. Then set your throttle to wherever you would like the afterburner detent to be. Click the Set AB button at the Controllers setup screen. The AB position is marked with a green line on the Throttle readout. Please note that this new AB setting is only good for one game session. Q: I have a Saitek joystick with throttle and am having problems configuring it for Falcon 4.0. A: You must configure your Saitek joystick and throttle as a 3-axis/4-button controller, not a 2-axis/4-button joystick as stated by Saitek. Under the X36 launcher, when you use the command editor for the joystick file, use Assign to port. This will allow precise throttle control. Q: The buttons on the base of my Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro are not working in Falcon 4.0. A: If the base buttons or hat switch is not working on your SideWinder 3D Pro, you need to update to the latest driver for your joystick. The original driver (version 1.0) that comes on disk will not work correctly. After you install the updated driver, all the buttons should work. Q: I have a Microsoft SideWinder joystick and am having problems with Falcon 4.0. A: If you are using the Microsoft Activator software, make sure that the Active Profile is set to No profile is active. Enhancing Game Performance Q: I have less than 64MB of RAM. What can I do to enhance game performance? A: We recommend that you set both Object Density and Player Bubble to 1 in the Graphics setup screen. Q: How can I free up the maximum amount of memory for Falcon 4.0? A: Before starting the game, press Ctrl-Alt-Del at the Windows desktop. Close all the programs one at a time that are listed in the dialog box except for Explorer and Systray. Q: Is there any way to reduce the loading times for missions? A: If you chose the Compact install (150MB) and your computer just meets the minimum specifications, missions can take several minutes to load. We recommend installing the Typical install (310MB) if you have enough space on your hard drive. Some customers have reported decreasing the load times from a few minutes to under a minute by uninstalling Falcon4 .0, defragmenting their hard drive, reinstalling the game and then defragmenting again. Q: Does Falcon 4.0 support AMDs 3DNow! Instruction set? A: Instructions for 3DNow! are already in the program. We could only increase game performance less than 3% by adding any more code. Multiplayer Q: How do I host an Internet multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game? A: First, you need to check your IP (Internet Protocol) address so your friends can join your game. As described in the Communications Handbook under Connect to IP Address, be sure youre connected to the Internet first. Then pull up the Start menu and choose Run. In the dialog box, type WINIPCFG and hit the OK button. You will see your IP address in the IP Configuration dialog box. Tell your friends what your IP address is before starting Falcon 4.0. When its time to host the Falcon 4.0 game, leave the Connect to IP Address field blank in the Phone Book dialog box. Q: How do I join an Internet multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game? A: First, you need the IP address of whoever is hosting the game. You need to contact your friend for this information before starting the game. Then, you need to enter that IP address in the Phone Book dialog box in the Connect to IP Address field (as described in the Communications Handbook). Q: How can I check how good my connection is to a particular IP address? A: First, you need to know the IP address of the connection you want to check. Next, select MS-DOS Prompt from the Programs menu. At the DOS prompt, type PING where is the address you want to check. You will see Reply from : bytes=32 time=### ms. The number after time= measures how fast your connection is to that IP address in milliseconds. If the number is between 100-150, then your connection is fine. If the number is between 150-250, then the connection is OK. But if the number is over 250, then the connection is poor and you will probably have problems in Falcon 4.0 multiplayer games. Q: Do you have any tips for a successful multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game? A: We recommend that the person who hosts the game session not be the same person who sets up the game. For example, if Players B and C connect to Player A, we recommend that Player B or Player C actually set up the multiplayer game (instead of Player A). Q: Do you have any tips for playing a multiplayer Falcon 4.0 tactical engagement or campaign over a LAN? A: Some customers have reported better success with connecting if the fastest computer hosts the Falcon 4.0 game. Then one player at a time should join the game. After all the players have joined, then the hosting computer should enter the specific mission after the mission is enroute. Otherwise, the computer-controlled planes may run into you on the taxiway. After the fastest computer is in the mission, the next fastest should enter and so forth. Q: My friend and I connected for a multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game, but we cant chat to each other. A: If you have not yet started or joined a multiplayer game, then the Chat window will say Lobby. Once you start or join a game, however, the Chat window will then be named the same as your multiplayer game (for example, Daves Dogfight). This means that players cannot chat to each other unless they are all in the Lobby or have all joined a game. Q: I updated my copy of Falcon 4.0 to version 1.03, and now I cant connect to my friends copy of version 1.0. A: To play a multiplayer game, all players must run the same version of Falcon 4.0. Q: What ports does Falcon 4.0 use for multiplayer? A: Falcon 4.0 uses UDP 2934 and UDP 2935. Please note that these ports may not work through a firewall or proxy server. Q: Can I connect to a multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game behind a firewall? A: Unfortunately, in most cases, you will not be able to play a multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game if you are behind a firewall. Q: I am hooked up to a LAN and have a modem. I cannot connect to a multiplayer Falcon 4.0 game. A: If you have both a modem and a LAN, you may not be able to connect to another player. This is because Falcon 4.0 does not know which IP address to use, the one for your modem or the one for your LAN. If this is a problem, you need to run the HOSTIDX utility. Select Run from the Start menu and type C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\HostIDX 1 to use your computers other IP address. Type C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\HostIDX 0 to use your computers original IP address. Gameplay Q: I remapped some keys in Falcon 4.0 and now some keys commands dont work correctly (like Q for AWACS radio command). A: You need to update to version 1.03 or later. You can also reinstall Falcon 4.0 in order to return to the original keystrokes file. Q: I pressed Print Screen to take a screen shot of Falcon 4.0, but now I cant figure out how to view at the screen shot. A: As described in Chapter 14: ACMI, the screen shots are located in the Falcon 4.0 directory (usually C:\MicroProse\Falcon4). The files are named with the date and time (for example, 01_26_1999-15_10_16.RAW). To open the RAW file in Photoshop: 1) Specify the dimensions for width and height based on the games resolution in pixels (640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, etc.). 2) Under Channels, specify 3 for Count, select 8 bits for Depth and check the box for Interleaved. 3) Under Header, leave the size as zero bytes. To open the RAW file in Paint Shop Pro: 1) Specify the image size for width and height based on the games resolution in pixels (640 x 480, 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, etc.). 2) Under Color Channels, select Three Channel (RGB). 3) Under File Structure, select Interleaved (RGB) and Order RGB. Do not click on Flipped. Q: I cant get a custom pilot picture or squadron patch to load in the Logbook. A: Unfortunately, the documentation is not correct. You can only load graphics that are 96 x 96 pixels big (for both the pilot picture and the squadron patch). In addition, the graphics must be in a 16-bit uncompressed Targa (.TGA) format. Falcon 4.0 will not recognize GIF or compressed Targa pictures. For example, if you are using Paint Shop Pro, save the file as TGA format. Then click on Options and make sure 16-bit uncompressed is selected. (The default is to compress the Targa file.) Be sure to save the graphics in the correct folder (\Pictures for the pilot photos and \Patches for the squadron patches). Q: Is there any way to delete ACMI tapes from within Falcon 4.0? A: You need to update to version 1.04 or later of Falcon 4.0. Then you can right-click on the filename in the Load dialog box and select Delete. Q: According to the manual, ACMI tapes are saved as .ACM files in the C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\Campaign\Save folder, but I cant find them. A: Unfortunately, the documentation is incorrect. ACMI tapes are saved as .VHS files in the C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\ACMIbin folder. Q: Im planning a Tactical Engagement mission and all my aircraft are running into each other during takeoff. A: Be sure to leave a gap of at least 30 seconds between each plane to allow enough time for planes to take off. Q: I loaded a custom munitions loadout, but now I am not getting any ammo for my guns. A: Unfortunately, this is a problem with custom loadouts. Q: What determines my pilot rating? A: Your score (which is your primary factor for influencing the wars outcome) is determined by events that happen during the mission. For example, you lose points for firing weapons, losing aircraft, destroying friendly units and failing in the assigned mission. You earn points for landing successfully, damaging enemy units and completing your assigned mission. Your survival is probably the biggest factor in your pilot rating. Therefore, it makes little sense to take out targets by crashing into them. In addition, many types of missions automatically fail if your flight is destroyed. Q: How can I see what frame rate Im getting in the game? A: If you have updated to version 1.03 or later, press Ctrl-Z, release the keys and then press R to see the frame rate. Simulation Q: When I successfully land after completing my mission, the Debriefing reports that I am MIA (Missing in Action). A: You need to update to version 1.04. Or you can bypass this error by taxiing all the way up to the ramp (just as the computer-controlled planes do). Q: I am unable to get my wingmen to attack either air or ground threats. A: We recommend that you update to version 1.04. Remember that you must be in a lead slot to give attack commands to other aircraft in your flight. (A lead slot is either the flight lead or the element lead.). You must also paint the target with your radar in order to relay the attack command to another plane. If you are in air-to-air mode: 1) Place the radar cursors over the target. If the target is BVR (Beyond Visual Range), verify the target with AWACS. Ask AWACS to declare the target by pressing Q to bring up the AWACS radio page. Then press 2 to radio Declare. 2) Either keep the radar cursors over the target or lock it up. 3) Bring up the Combat Management radio page by pressing W (for your wingman) or E (for your element). Then press 1 to radio Attack my target. Note that since you must paint the target with your radar for other aircraft to attack it, your weapons must be in Slave mode, not Boresight mode. If you are in air-to-ground mode: 1) Change the radar to GM or GMT mode when you are within 20 miles of the targets steerpoint. 2) Press the OSB labeled STP to switch to Steerpoint mode. This will place the cursors over the steerpoint, which should be near the target. 3) Designate the target. 4) Bring up the Combat Management radio page by pressing W (for your wingman) or E (for your element). Then press 1 to radio Attack my target. 5) Start your attack by calling up your air-to-ground weapons display on one of your MFDs. If you are in air-to-air mode, you must put your radar cursors over a target and then issue the radio command to Attack my target. If the target moves out from under the radar cursors, your wingmen will not respond. If you are in air-to-ground mode, you must similarly put your radar commands over a target and then radio Attack my target. Currently, you must have a radar lock on a ground target (not just put your cursors on it). Q: How can I use AWACS to determine hostile vs. friendly? A: If you radio Declare to AWACS, AWACS will try to determine whether the target you have is hostile or friendly. The position of the radar cursors determines which target AWACS will declare. If you do not have a target under your radar cursors, then AWACS will declare the target you have locked up. Q: I keep getting shot down in training missions. A: If you are getting shot down in a training mission, turn on Invulnerability in the Simulation setup screen. This should help you get through the entire training mission. Q: Why dont I get complete credit for successfully completing my mission? A: Be sure to pay attention to what AWACS tells your flight. For example, AWACS may tell you to intercept enemy fighters while you are on CAP. You will need to successfully complete the intercept in order to successfully complete the entire mission. To get complete success for a mission, you must not end the mission until have completed your task and have landed at your airbase. Otherwise, you will only get partial credit even if you completed your task and ended the mission in friendly airspace. Q: What is a BAI mission? A: BAI stands for Battlefield Air Interdiction, and its purpose is to interdict enemy troops before they can reach the front line. To achieve success, you must destroy a reasonable number of enemy vehicles given the ordnance capacity of your aircraft. Q: I keep getting killed by air-to-air missiles. A: Remember that just as in real life, heat-seeking missiles will not show up on your TWS display. TWS will only show radar-guided missiles. If your wingmen are busy (engaged in combat or not looking at the missile), they will not radio a warning to you. The best defense against a missile attack is a good offense. Do not let bandits get behind you and always visually scan the sky for missile launches. Remember to scan up and down with your radar. We are considering giving players earlier warning at easier difficulty levels. At more realistic difficulty levels, though, this would not be realistic. Q: According to the documentation, in Easy Avionics mode, I should see a SHOOT cue on the HUD when my Mavericks are in range of the targetbut I dont. A: You need to update to version 1.04 to see the SHOOT cue for Mavericks.. Q: The dynamic real-time Campaign engine does not seem very dynamic. All the campaigns seem to start with the same missions, steerpoints, packages, etc. A: The dynamic campaigns may start off the same in the first hour or so of game time, but they will quickly change depending on what the player does and the outcomes in the war. Try watching the Campaign in the 64x accelerated mode in the user interface with ground and air units displayed. You will see that the campaigns diverge based on mission outcomes. Q: I cant locate enemy airplanes on my radar or visually. A: Remember that enemy planes use various techniques (such as beaming and ground clutter) to avoid being picked out by the player. Try turning on labels to help you spot planes. Q: Even though I bombed a runway, I do not get credit for it in the Debriefing. A: You will not get full credit for bombing a runway unless you disable it. Usually this means that you must hit the center of the runway at the intersection rather than just hitting the ends of the runways. Q: AWACS does not always give me a correct picture and does not warn me of threats in time. A: Remember that AWACS in Falcon 4.0 is modeled after real life. Even in the Gulf War, AWACS operators were sometimes overloaded and unable to respond to pilots. Q: How can I determine which radar returns are enemy and which are friendly in Realistic Avionics mode? A: If you are in Realistic Avionics mode, you need to look at the NCTR display on your radar. As described in Chapter 21: The Radar under NCTR (Non-Cooperative Threat Recognition), the NCTR display appears as a bar at the top of your radar. If the NCTR system determines that the locked target is an enemy, the bar moves to the left. If it moves to the right, NCTR has decided the target is a friendly. Remember that NCTR only works if you have locked onto a target with your radar (usually STT mode). A screen shot of NCTR is below:  Q: The pitch ladder and the flight path marker are not centered on the HUD. A: As documented in the manual, the wind will affect where your pitch ladder and flight path marker are drawn (just like the real F-16). You can press the CRUS button on the ICP to see how the wind is blowing. Q: My wingmen sometimes fly off and do not follow my orders. A: We recommend that you update to version 1.04. In addition, you can issue a formation command to your entire flight after all the planes have taken off. Q: I keep crashing my F-16 when I try to land. A: We recommend that you update to version 1.04 in which we strengthened the landing gear to make it more realistic. In the meantime, you need to control your sink rate. If you come in higher than 15 feet per second, the landing gear will collapse and you will crash the plane. Q: AGM-88A HARMs do not seem effective against radar sites. A: We recommend that you update to version 1.04. Dont forget that the computer-controlled SAMs will use different techniques to beat your HARMs, including blinking, shutting down, changing frequencies, optical launches and more. HARMs are effective in suppressing SAMs by making the SAM operators think twice before locking up a target. You should carry other air-to-ground weapons (such as CBUs, Mavericks and GBUs) as part of your SEAD loadout. Q: My F-16 radar doesnt pick up targets and is slow to update. A: The radar in Falcon 4.0 is designed to operate like the real F-16s (based on declassified information). Update frequency is dependent on search volume. The bigger the volume (more bars and wider scans), the slower the update. It can take 4 to 5 seconds to update an air-to-air picture. Air-to-ground radar, especially in beam sharpening modes, can take even longer. Dont forget that targets can break your radar lock by beaming, jamming and flying outside your search volume. Q: According to Training Mission 13s Mission Description, you need to press F5 to tilt the radar antenna up or F7 to tilt the antenna down. But when I press either key, the antenna works backwards. A: Unfortunately, the manual is incorrect. As it says earlier in the training mission, you need to press F5 to tilt the radar antenna down and F7 to tilt the antenna up. Q: According to the manual, I should be able to load a CBU-89/B Gator bomb on my F-16. A: Unfortunately, the documentation is incorrect. CBU-89/B Gator bombs are not available in Falcon 4.0 for your F-16. Customer Support If none of the information above helps you to solve your problem, please contact Customer Support. We have included two utilities in the default Falcon 4.0 directory. F4INFO.EXE will give you information about Falcon 4.0, your video cards and DirectX. Run MPRTEST.EXE to display a list of all available video cards drivers, devices and resolutions. Run MPRtest.exe -help for more information on how to use this utility to test your graphics capabilities. To run either utility, select Run from the Start menu and type either C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\F4info.exe or C:\MicroProse\Falcon4\MPRtest.exe in the dialog box. We recommend running both F4INFO.EXE and MPRTEST.EXE and printing out the information displayed onscreen before calling Customer Support with a problem. We would also appreciate having the following information: * Version number of Falcon 4.0 * Your computers processor and its speed * Your computers brand and model * Total RAM installed in your computer * Version of DirectX drivers * CD-ROM brand and model name * Video card brand and model name * Sound card brand and model name * Mouse brand and version number of mouse driver * Joystick brand and model name * Any error message you see in the game Mailing Address MicroProse Attn: Customer Support 2490 Mariner Square Loop Alameda, CA 94501 Web Site www.falcon4.com www.microprose.com E-Mail Address support@microprose.com Phone Number 510-864-4550 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time Monday through Friday Fax Number 510-864-4602 /=tID2:      C (<  HH0HH0HL0@D(@@(@8(@<(@@ HH(PP0X\HX`P`h`X`PPT@@D(HD(@@ @< P\HX`PX`PPX@HP0PT8PT8XT@@@(88 88@D(@D(PP8HL8@L0HP8X\HHL8HH0@H08080H@ HH0HD0HP@HD088@@ @@ @<(HH8PXHX`HPP8HH0HL0HH(@@ @D0PT@88 @@ @D(PPH@D00,HD08< HL@P\H@D(HD0@<(@@(HL8`thPP8@@ @@(XdXPX@HL0@H(@D(HP8PdPHX@HP8@@(8084@< HP8XhPXhPHP8@H0@@(88 @<(@@(HD8HD0HL8HL0@D(8< @@ @@ HH(HL0PP@HL8PXHXdP`lXP\HPP@HH0HL8HH0HP@HT@P\PHP@HH0@@(HH8HH8HH8@D0@H0@L0HT8HX8HP0HH0HH0HD(HD0HD0HH0HH0HL8HL8PL8HH0HL8HD0@<(84@8 @< HD HD HH0HH(HL0HL0PP8HL0PP8HL0PL8HH0HL8HL8HP8HH0HH(@@ H@(@< @< 8888 8< @@ @@ HH0HH0HL0@D(HH0HH0HL8HH8HL8HL8@P8@L0@L0@L0@L8@L0@L08H0@L08L0@L08L0@L8@L0@L88L0@L8@L0@L88L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@P8@L0@P8@L0@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@L0@L0@P0@P0@P8@L0@P8@L0@L0@L0@P8@P0@P8@P0@P8@P8@P8@P8@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L8@L8@L0@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@P8@L8@P8@L8@P8@L8@P8@L8@L8@L0@L8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L8@P8@L8@P8@L8@P8@L8@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L8@L8@L0@L8@L0@L8@H0@L8@L0@L8@L0@L8@L0@L0@L0@L8@L0@P8@L0@P8@L0@L8@L0@P8@L8@L8@L0@P8@P8@P8@L8HP8@P8@P8@P8HP8@P8@P8@P8HT@@P8@T8@P8HT@@P8HT@@P8HT@@T8HT@@P8HT@@T8HT@@P8HT@@T8HT@@T8HT@@T@HX@@T@HX@@T@HX@@X@HX@@T@HX@@T@HX@@X@HX@@X@HXH@X@HX@@X@HXHHX@H\HH\@H\HHX@' ,<?Q%HS* !  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