PC World Multimedia Live! 1997 June

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+----------------------------------------------------------+ | * * * * VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION * * * * | +----------------------------------------------------------+ - Please read this file thoroughly before using this demo! - This DEMO is NOT officially supported. (Read Below) - The README for the full retail version follows this document. +----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | JetFighter III Demo | | | | LATEST INFORMATION AND UPDATES | | | | | | version 1.30 | +----------------------------------------------------------+ If you are viewing this file with a Web Browser, be sure to save it! This contains important instructions! ------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS INSTALLATION WELCOME DEMO LIMITATIONS RETAIL VERSION INFORMATION/FEATURES KEYBOARD COMMANDS NOTES ON THE MISSIONS ORDERING INFORMATION The full JetFighter III readme document follows this document. Please read it thoroughly for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------ INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS The JetFighter III Pre-Release Demo is compressed and must be de-compressed before it can be run. 1. Create a directory for the JF3 Demo: MD JF3DEMO [Enter] 2. Copy JF3DEM.EXE into the new directory you just created. This will be someting like: COPY JF3DEM.EXE C:\JF3DEMO [Enter] 3. Change into the JF3DEMO directory: CD \JF3DEMO [Enter] 4. Extract the demo by typing: JF3DEM -d [Enter] ** NOTE: the "-d" is VERY IMPORTANT! ** This process should create two subdirectories, SIMDATA and CACHE, under C:\JF3DEMO. If this did not happen, please check for available disk space (about 35 Meg) and try again. 5. Run the demo by typing: JF3DEMO [Enter] ------------------------------------------------------------ WELCOME Welcome to the JetFighter III Demo! This version of JetFighter III is being distributed to let you take a sneak peek at JetFighter III. Of course, it is our hope that it will wet your appetite for more! This version of the game is NOT SUPPORTED at all by Mission Studios or Interplay, although we do appreciate any feedback you can give us. Of course, full customer support is available for the retail version of JetFighter III. We hope you enjoy this look at JetFighter III. In fact, we hope you enjoy it so much that you simply MUST go out and buy the retail version! We have been working very hard over the years to make JetFighter III fun, realistic and easy to use. Most of all, we hope it will give you the best 'feeling of flight' you have ever experienced on your computer. SEND FEEDBACK TO: AOL: misstudios COMPUSERVE: 76710,1555 INTERNET: support@missionstudios.com WWW: www.missionstudios.com ------------------------------------------------------------ DEMO LIMITATIONS This Demo version of JetFighter III has several limitations to cut down on the download size, and to keep from giving away too much! - CPU: Demo requires a Pentium 90, Retail runs on a 486/66. - RAM: Demo requires 16Meg of RAM, Retail runs in 8Meg - RESOLUTION: Demo runs in only 320x200 and 640x400. Retail Version also includes 640x350 and 640x480 resolutions. - SCREEN SIZE: Demo only includes 80% and 60% screen sizes. The Retail Version also runs in full-screen. - TIME: Demo version has a limited flight time. Of course, the full Retail version is unlimited. - SCENERY: The Demo has 1 5x5 degree area of the world. The Retail Version includes over 40 TIMES as much scenery area! - MISSIONS: The Demo has 4 missions, the Retail product has over 90. - INTERFACE: The Demo has a simple menu interface, the Retail version has a complete interactive interface and tracks many pilot statistics. ------------------------------------------------------------ RETAIL VERSION INFORMATION/FEATURES WHAT IS JETFIGHTER III? JetFighter has always been a careful blend of: - Ease of Use - Fun - Action - Realism - Feeling Of Flight JetFighter III takes the JetFighter series into the future with spectacular graphics, more action, more sound, more real-world scenery, and even better Feeling of Flight. EXCITING FEATURES - Over 90 intense combat and training missions. - Over 3.5 million square miles of real-world terrain. - Interactive, cinematic first-person interface. - Improved terrain textures with even more variety. - Multimedia military encyclopedia with over 500 photos and drawings. - Paint your own aircraft insignia! - Choose the F-22N or the F/A-18! - Customize your weapon load for each mission. - Pitching, rolling and moving carrier deck. ------------------------------------------------------------ KEYBOARD COMMANDS Here is a quick summary of the simulator keyboard commands: FLIGHT CONTROLS Pull up [Numpad 2] Dive [Numpad 8] Roll right [Numpad 6] Roll left [Numpad 4] Yaw right [Enter] Yaw left [Numpad Ins] Throttle [1] - [0] Fine throttle [+] / [-] Afterburnr 1-5 [+] / [-] Full AB [\] Engine off [~] Landing gear [G] Arrestor hook [A] Wheel brake [B] Airbrake [B] Waypoint [N] and [Shift][N] Altitude ladder [L] Altimeter mode [Alt][A] Autopilot [Shift][A] Flaps [Crtl][F] DISPLAY OPTIONS 320x200 [Shift][F9] 640x350 [Shift][F10] 640x400 [Shift][F11] 640x480 [Shift][F12] Screen size [Alt][5] Clouds [Alt][C] Light shading [Shift][K] HUD brightness [H] and [Shift][H] PRE-SET VIEWS Forward view [F1] Look left [F2] Look right [F3] Look behind [F4] Defensive MFD [F5] Horizontal MFD [F6] Offensive MFD [F7] Systems MFD [F8] Tactical view [F9] Missile view [F10] Fly-by-view [F11] Stationary view [F12] Tower view [num *] Wingman view [W] VIEW CONTROLS Cockpit panel [P] Map view [M] Virtual cockpit joystick btn 1 Switch ext/int [Numpad -] Center view [Numpad 5] Pan up [Numpad 3] Pan down [Numpad Del] Pan left [Numpad 7] Pan right [Numpad 9] Zoom in [>] Zoom out [<] COMBAT Targeting next [T] or [Shift][T] Target nearest [Y] Target center [U] Target Mode [;] All/Hostile/Non-Hostile Radar range [R] or [Shift][R] Autorange [Ctrl][R] On-Screen Radar [Alt][R] Air Weapons [Enter] Ground Weapons [Backspace] Fire Weapon [Spacebar] Fire Cannon ['] ECM jammer [J] Flares [F] Chaff [C] Eject [Ctrl][E] SPECIAL COMMANDS Pause [Ctrl-P] In-Flight menu [Esc] Time comprsn [Alt][T] Traversal mode [Alt][S] Head movement [Ctrl][H] ------------------------------------------------------------ NOTES ON THE MISSIONS MISSION1: THE RAVINE Make an attack on a hidden enemy power generating facility. - Press [Backspace] to arm your Maverick missiles. - Press [Space] to fire at the current target. - Press [T] to select the next target. - Press [0] to speed up to 100% military thrust. - Press [Enter], [Enter] to select Sidewinder missiles. - Press [U] to target the aircraft in front of you. - Press [Space] to fire once you have the 'lock tone'. Watch for SAM launches. They may take you out right away if you're not careful. Use [F] and [C] to launch flare and chaff to spoof the SAMs. If you're having a lot of trouble, press [Esc] and use the 'Cheats' menu to turn on the "Invulnerable to Missiles" option! If the AAA is damaging your aircraft, and you are having trouble flying, you can turn on the "No Control Surface Damage" cheat. MISSION2: CARRIER TRAPS Practice landing your aircraft on the pitching and rolling deck of the U.N.S. Peacekeeper. - You may want to try the keyboard instead of the joystcik. Many beginners find this easier until they get the hang of it. - Be sure your flaps are extended by pressing [Ctrl[F]. - If you're REALLY good, watch your landing from the LSO view by pressing [num *] until LSO appears. MISSION3: FURBALL Participate, if you dare, in a monstrous dogfight over the Gulf of Corcovado in Chile. - Press [;] until 'H' appears in the bottom of the HUD. This will target only Hostile aircraft. - Press [Enter] twice to select Sidewinder missiles. - Press [U] to target the aircraft in front of you. - Press [Y] to target the closest aircraft. - Press [T] to cycle through all the targets. - Press [Space] to fire the current weapon. - ['] always fires the cannon. - Experiment with Tactical View [F9]. - Try guns only for a real challenge! MISSION4: GRAND TOUR Explore the vast expanse of the Andes mountains in southern Chile. Remember, this is less than 1/45th of the amount of scenery in the Retail Version of JetFighter III! ------------------------------------------------------------ ORDERING INFORMATION Thank you for playing the JetFighter III Test/Demo! The full release version of JetFighter III will be available at your local retail stores in November. For more information about JetFighter III, including new screenshots and updates on features that will be included in the final Retail Version, visit the Mission Studios website: www.missionstudios.com If you want to reserve a copy, you can pre-order JetFighter III by calling 1-800-468-3775. +----------------------------------------------------------+ | END OF FILE | +----------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------------------------------+ | | | JetFighter III | | | | LATEST INFORMATION AND UPDATES | | | | | | version 1.30 | +----------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------------------------------------ WELCOME Welcome, and thanks for purchasing JetFighter III! This file contains hints, tips and last-minute information on JetFighter III. If you have any problems running the game, or need more information than you find in the manual, please read this file! ------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENTS WELCOME CONTENTS NEW AND IMPROVED GAME PLAY HINTS AND TIPS Q. and A. PERFORMANCE ISSUES Q. and A. REDUCING SCENERY LOAD TIMES TROUBLESHOOTING KNOWN BUGS GEAR-HEAD FEATURES NEAT THINGS TO DO UPDATES / PATCHES AND FEEDBACK UPDATES MISSION OF THE WEEK DECAL OF THE WEEK REBOOTING IN DOS MODE ------------------------------------------------------------ NEW AND IMPROVED Some features were added or changed after the manual was printed. Be sure to read this section to learn about the latest improvements to JetFighter III. MUSIC There is a new option in the in-flight menu to allow you to play MIDI music during flight. Turn the MUSIC setting to OFF if you don't want to hear music while you fly. BRAKES Whenever you start on the carrier, or on a ground runway, the brakes will be engaged. Press [B] to disengage the brakes. FLAPS The new flaps are controlled with [Ctrl][F]. Extending your flaps will allow you to stay airborne at a slower speed, thereby making landings easier. You will see an indicator in the upper right of the HUD when your flaps are extended. This indicator will flash red of you are exceeding the recommend airspeed with flaps extended. PROGRAMMABLE JOYSTICK FUNCTIONS The INSTALL program now allows you to re-program the functions of your joystick buttons. After selecting your joystick from the list, choose RECONFIGURE BUTTONS and you will be presented with a menu that allows you to custom- design your joystick configuration. INFLIGHT CHEAT MENU The wording and arrangement of some of the menu items in the 'cheats' has been improved for clarity. INVULNERABLE TO MISSILES: will prevent you from being killed if you are hit by a SAM or AAM. NO CONTROL SURFACE DAMAGE: will prevent hits from AAA and flak from affecting your ability to fly the aircraft. NO MID-AIR COLLISIONS: will allow you to 'hit' other aircraft without being killed. NO GROUND CRASHES: will 'bounce' you off the ground. INFLIGHT GAME MENU The GAME menu in the simulator has been improved to be more clear. Here are the options on the improved GAME menu: END MISSION - RETURN TO BASE: This option ends the current mission and returns you to the carrier. You will get credit for any tasks completed to that point. REVIEW MISSION ORDERS: Displays the mission orders in case you weren't paying attention during the briefing. AUTO LAND: If the mission goal is complete, you can avoid having to fly all the way home by using this option. RESTART CURRENT MISSION: This will let you restart the mission you are in without returning to the carrier. FREE FLIGHT SETUP: If you want to abort the current mission, and just fly around, use this menu. ABORT MISSION - CONTINUE AS PRACTICE: This will continue the mission, but it won't count toward your campaign score. RESUME FLIGHT: Simply exits the menu and returns you to flying. EXIT JETFIGHTER III: Exits the game entirely. The current mission will not be counted toward your campaign score. AUTOPILOT There is an autopilot feature that was added after the manual was printed. Basically, autopilot will guide you through the waypoints in your NAV screen. The autopilot is very basic, so be sure to keep your eyes open! To engage the autopilot, press [Shift][A]. You will see the word "autopilot" appear in the lower right of the screen. To disengage the autopilot, press [Shift][A] again. The autopilot will also automatically disengage if you change the waypoint with [N] or [Shift][N]. When the aircraft reaches the current waypoint, the autopilot will select the next waypoint and fly to it. This process will continue until autopilot is disengaged. WARNING: DO NOT attempt to use the autopilot to land! This system is NOT designed for precision approaches. MANUAL TARGET DESIGNATOR The manual ground target designation system has been improved and will now 'snap-to' certain objects in the simulation. Turn on the system by pressing [Shift][D]. You will see a crosshairs appear in the center of the view. Maneuver the aircraft or pan your view to place the crosshairs over a ship, AAA site or ground vehicle. Press [D] to [D]esignate the target. If the system finds an object, you will see it identified in the HUD and a target designator box will appear around the object. If the system did not 'snap-to' an object, you will see "fixed pt" appear in the HUD and the target designator box will have a '+' in the center. When using this system, it is important to understand that the computer uses the point ON THE TERRAIN that the crosshairs are over. This means that you should point at the BASE of objects to select them! WINGMAN VIEW Press [W] to look at your wingman (if you have one!). The zoom keys, [<] and [>], work in this mode as well. You can also use wingman view while in external view. Press [-] for external view and then [W] to keep you and your wingman in view at all times. CARRIER VIEWS The [*] key on the numeric keypad now cycles through 10 pre- set camera positions around the aircraft carrier. They are: - control tower - catapult officer - forward - shooter - forward - catapult officer - aft - shooter - aft - LSO platform - 10 o'clock view - 12 o'clock view - 5 o'clock view - 3 o'clock view ------------------------------------------------------------ GAME PLAY STARTING OUT Don't forget that your brakes are engaged and your flaps are down when you start out. Press [B] to release the brake for takeoff. After you are up to speed, press [Ctrl][F] to retract your flaps. FINDING GROUND TARGETS There are several types of ground targets, and different ways of finding them. This short synopsis should help if you are having problems. Pre-Designated Targets - Target Waypoints Most important targets are programmed directly into your waypoint list. These are the easiest targets to find. Simply press [N] until the target waypoint appears in red, and fly towards it. You will see the green target designator box surrounding the target. Pre-designated Targets - Target AREAS Sometimes your target may not actually be programmed into the nav computer, and therefore will not appear as a waypoint. Usually, however, the waypoint closest to the target(s) will be color coded RED to signify that you should start searching for targets near that waypoint. Simply fly to the target area symbolized by the red waypoint. When you reach the target area, arm an air-to- ground weapon by pressing [Backspace]. Then, press [T] to find a target. Pressing [T] will cycle through all the ground targets in range of your currently selected weapon. Targets of Opportunity - Manual Designation You can use the Manual Target Designation system to attack just about anything. PLAYING THE CAMPAIGN There are a lot of gamers (come on, admit it!) that feel they MUST win every mission in the game. If you find yourself re-starting the campaign just because you lost a mission, you are one of these! We STRONGLY recommend playing the entire campaign through, regardless of whether you win or loose a specific mission. There are factors other than your victory that affect your progress through the "mission tree", so simply winning all the missions will not guarantee a particular progression through the tree. In fact, some of the best missions are on the "losing side" of the campaign! You can always play the campaign again after you have finished. Additionally, any missions you may have missed can be flown individually from the Instant Mission control panel in the Operations room. WHEN YOU DIE When you are killed in a mission, you are automatically resurrected and reset to the mission in which you died. This is done so that you can try to 'beat' that mission on your next attempt. If you just want to skip past the mission that killed you, simply select 'END MISSION' after the mission starts. USING YOUR WINGMAN Proper and clever teamwork with your wingman is one of the keys to success in JetFighter III. In fact, some of the more difficult missions simply can not be won without the assistance of your wingman. One trick is to 'split up' from your wingman at the target area. This will help dilute the AAA and SAM defenses that may be defending the target. Send your wingman in to attack AAA or SAM sites while you take out the main target. Or, order your wingman to attack the target while you come in from a different direction. GAME PLAY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q. Why won't my wingman catch up to me? A. Your wingman's aircraft (assuming it is the same as yours) can't fly any faster than you can, so if you are already ahead of him, and you are flying at AB5, he may never be able to catch up! Slow down to 100% military thrust [0] for a while until he catches up. Using time compression [Alt][T] can help out! Q. I can't catch those pesky cruise missiles! They're flying too fast. A. Your aircraft can actually travel faster at higher altitudes. If you need to pursue a fast moving, low flying cruise missile, you may need to get to about 20,000 feet and kick in the afterburner to catch up to the missile. Q. I can't seem to target any enemies. I keep pressing [T] and [U], but all I ever get are friendlies. A. Check the setting of the "IFF DISCRIMINATOR". This device tells your targeting system which types of aircraft to select when hitting [T], [Y] or [U]. Press [;] to cycle through the three modes: All, Hostile and Non-Hostile. Q. Sometimes I am tracking an enemy, and the missile seeker centers in the target designator box, but I don't hear the 'lock tone'. A. This can happen under 2 circumstances: 1) The target is not in range of the currently selected weapon, or 2) your closure rate is too fast, and the firing computer has determined that the missile will not be able to maneuver to the target properly. In the first case, you can select a longer range missile, or wait until you are in range. In the second case, you can slow down a bit, or pull a little less 'lead' to give your missile more time to maneuver. Q. I selected an area to fly in the Free Flight control panel, but I get a message that says "OUTSIDE GAMING AREA BOUNDARIES". A. You probably selected an area outside the scenery that is provided on the CD-ROM. Select another area that is clearly inside one of the 'red boxes' on the Free Flight map when it is zoomed out to world view. Q. When I try to fly, I receive a message that says "YOU ARE IN A NO FLY ZONE...". A. You are too close to the 'edge' of our scenery world. Head back towards the area covered by the CD-ROM, or start a new free flight session. You can zoom out on the Free Flight map to see what areas are covered on the CD-ROM. Q. I selected an airport to fly at, but I get a message that says "OUTSIDE GAMING AREA BOUNDARIES" or "YOU ARE IN A NO FLY ZONE..." A. Some of the airports in the list of airfields may not be in the current scenery. Please try a different airport. ------------------------------------------------------------ PERFORMANCE ISSUES Q. How do I make JetFighter III run faster? A. There are many answers to this question, and they all depend on your tastes. Here are some hints: - Run in 320x200 mode. The game was specifically designed to look good in this mode! Even on very fast machines you may enjoy the GAME PLAY more in 320x200 mode than you would in higher resolution modes! Use high resolution modes for sightseeing. Use low-res for combat. Mode switches are quick and easy! - Turn off the clouds [Alt][C]! This will speed up the sim a lot. - Turn off the instrument panel with [P] or [F1]. Use the on-screen radar for combat [Alt][R]. You can still check your MFDs with [F5]-[F8] while the panel is off. - Try using [Alt][F5] to shrink the screen size. - Run the game in 'pure' DOS mode. Windows 95 memory management system is very inefficient for most games. Most users will see much better performance in DOS. Q. I only have 8 Meg of RAM. If I upgrade to 16Meg, will JetFighter run better? A. JetFighter III won't run FASTER, but it will LOOK BETTER. Machines with less than 16 Meg of RAM can not use the high resolution textures and must use terrain textures that are 1/4 the size of the hi-res textures. HOWEVER: adding more memory MAY make the game run faster if you are running in Windows95. The more RAM you have, the less "swapping to disk" Windows will do. REDUCING SCENERY LOAD TIMES Because we use real geographical data and provide seamless point-to-point navigation, JetFighter III requires an enormous amount of scenery data. Normally, JetFighter III finds this data on the CD-ROM drive. Unfortunately, CD-ROM drives are much slower than hard disks, and at times you may notice a pause in the game while it loads a new area of the world from CD-ROM. There are several things you can do to minimize, and even eliminate this pause. 1. Get out of Windows 95! Windows memory/disk caching scheme is not very efficient for games. If at all possible, reboot your computer into MS-DOS mode for much better performance. 2. Create a disk cache. Use SMARTDRV or another program to create a disk cache of about 2 Megabytes. If your computer only has 8 Meg of RAM, you will NOT have enough extra memory for a disk cache. 3. Copy some of the scenery to your hard disk! This is the ultimate solution, and if you can spare the space, we highly recommend it. Here is how it works: When JetFighter III needs more scenery, it FIRST looks in the root directory of the hard disk where JetFighter III was installed for the proper scenery subdirectory. This will be named something like \W075S35. This directory contains all the data for the 5 by 5 degree area of the world who's southwest corner is 75 degrees west, 35 degrees south. I know that seems like a mouthful, but if you look at a map, it will become much more clear. Here is some "ascii art" to help out: | | | W075S30 | W070S30 | | | | S 30 +----------+--------- | | | | | W075S35 | W070S35 | | | | S 35 +----------+--------- W 75 W 70 To speed up access to a particular region, all you have to do is copy that area to the drive where JetFighter III is installed. Here is an example of how to copy W075S35 from the CD-ROM drive D:, to the hard disk C: XCOPY D:\W075S35\*.* C:\W075S35\*.* [Enter] NOTE: In the future, we may provide a free update to JetFighter III which will make this process easier. We may also build-in a caching system which will handle this automatically. Check our WEB site periodically for more information. Here are the different regions we recommend copying to your hard disk. They are listed with the most used regions first, so if you only have space for one, copy the first in the list. For Operation Hurricane (Cuba) - W085N20 (Havana) - W080N20 (Santa Clara) For Operation Caged Saint (Chile/Argentina) and Training Missions - W075S35 - W075S40 - W075S30 ------------------------------------------------------------ TROUBLESHOOTING Q. Does the JetFighter III CD-ROM have to be in the drive during play? A. Yes! The scenery in JetFighter III is so expansive that very few people would give up the 500 Meg of hard disk space that would be required to install the entire game! Because of this, the CD must be in the drive during game play. Q. Can I use my CD-ROM drive to play an audio CD while I fly JetFighter III. A. No. JetFighter III needs to read scenery data off the CD during the game. If you have multiple CD-ROM drives, you may be able to play audio from one CD while JetFighter reads the other CD. Q. I have 16 Meg of RAM, but I can't seem to get more than 10 Meg or so free. A. We have noticed that some CD-ROM device drivers set up a very large disk cache BY DEFAULT. This cache could be as large as 4 Meg, thereby reducing your memory dramatically! Watch your 'boot-up' process carefully and see if your CD- ROM driver reports that it is using a large disk cache. If it does, you will need to contact your computer dealer for more information. Q. I want to run JetFighter III (and other games) in 'pure DOS' mode, but I can't get my mouse or CD-ROM drive to work. A. There are several ways to exit Windows 95 and run your computer in 'pure DOS' mode. Please look in the section of this file called REBOOTING TO DOS MODE. Q. The introduction animation freezes on my computer. I can press a key and everything else seems fine. A. You probably have your sound board incorrectly set up. Run INSTALL while in the JetFighter III directory (you don't have to be on the CD) and verify your sound card settings. Q. I try to change resolution modes but the sim gets all garbled up and locks up on me. What's going on? A. Not all video cards support 640x350 mode the same way. You may be able to get 640x530 mode to work properly by using a different VESA driver. We are working on a way to get 640x350 mode working properly on more machines, and will post an update when it is finished. If you think you are having problems getting 640x400 or 640x480 mode to run, then you definitely must get a new VESA driver. Contact the manufacturer of your video card, or use the shareware SciTech Display Doctor found in the \DRIVERS directory of the JetFighter III CD-ROM. Q. I run the program and the sound works fine while on the carrier, but I do not get sound when I run the simulator. How can I fix this? A. You probably have the wrong IRQ or DMA channel set for your sound card. It is possible that even with the wrong settings, you may still hear sound while aboard the carrier. However, once you are in the aircraft, you will either hear nothing, or the program may crash. Verify your sound board settings and run the game again. You can change the settings by typing INSTALL [Enter] in the JetFighter directory that you installed to (NOT the CD-ROM)! Remember that on some systems, the IRQ & DMA settings may be different for your soundcard in Win95 and DOS. Please verify what your sound board settings are in DOS. Q. I can't get all the buttons on my joystick to work why not? Q. The 'hat' on my Thrustmaster FCS doesn't do anything. A. JetFighter III has a very convenient joystick setup program which lets you select the type of joystick you are using. Each joystick has a 'program' associated with it that controls what functions the different switches will activate. There are some joysticks, however, that use 'analog' switches. These joysticks require special calibration, and prevent the simultaneous use of throttle and rudder controls, so we decided to support only the 'digital' switches on your joystick. Q. Can I customize or remap the joystick buttons? A. YES! Run the INSTALL program and select CONFIGURE BUTTONS after selecting your joystick. Q. Does JF3 support 3D accelerator cards? A. While we don't currently support the new crop of 3D accelerators, we are working hard on adding this support right now! You should expect a significant increase in frame-rate as well as vastly improved color fidelity. Because JetFighter III uses a very sophisticated rendering system, we will be focusing our energies on supporting the 'high-end' 3D cards first. Please check missionstudios.com periodically for updates. Q. I just got JF3 and can't find any selection for general MIDI in the sound setup. Specifically the Roland SCC-1. Does JF3 support this board? A. Try using the setting for Ensoniq SoundScape. That is a general MIDI device. We will post an update to the install program which will include selections for more sounds cards, including general MIDI devices. Q. Where are the Thrustmaster joystick custom files? A. We have posted a set of Thrustmaster calibration files on the donwload sites. Thanks to Bill "DJ" DiGiacomo and Scott Wolf for building these files! Q. I have a Soundblaster AWE32 and have the correct IRQ & DMA settings in DOS yet my soundcard will still not work? A. With this advanced card (and some others) you need to "wake up" the card for use in DOS. Run the DIAGNOSE utility that came with your AWE32 to enable the soundcard in DOS. If you do not have this utility, please contact Creative Labs for technical support. Also, some sound cards have a software volume control which is often set to a VERY LOW setting when you turn on your computer. You will need to run 'volume control' software provided by your sound card manufacturer. Q. When I try and calibrate my joystick I get a red message stating "invalid center or incompatible joystick?" A. Check and make sure your joystick is plugged into the proper sound board or game card port at the back of your computer. You may also have to "wake up" your advanced sound card in DOS. Q. My video graphics card (Cirrus Logic, etc.) doesn't seem to work with JetFighter III. I can only run the simulator in low-res. A. You need to get the latest VESA driver. The best place to get this would be from your video board's manufacturer. They probably have a website where you can download this file. Otherwise try the shareware VESA driver, Scitech Display Docter, located in the /DRIVERS directory on the JetFighter III CD. Be sure to try all high-res modes! Due to your specific video board's capabilities, one or two high-res modes may not be available. Q. The Install program acts strange after I successfully install the game. A. On some systems with a SoundBlaster Pro sound card, the Test routine may cause the install program to act strange when it is finished. Everything should be OK, you should just avoid pressing TEST if you ever need to re-install. ------------------------------------------------------------ KNOWN BUGS On some systems, we have heard reports of a DOS Extender error. (CauseWay error #09). If you have any information on this, please contact our customer support staff. We are trying to solve this problem and provide a downloadable patch for our users. ------------------------------------------------------------ GEAR-HEAD FEATURES The following points may be of interest to the more technically inclined user. - Real world contiguous and seamless navigation. We model huge areas of the world, not just little 'mission zones'. If you had enough gas (use the unlimited fuel cheat), you could fly thousands of miles and never see any repetition! - Real 'polar' navigation. We simulate a spherical world. This means that 1 degree of arc at the equator covers more distance than it does down south in Chile! Also, try flying to 40,000 feet and look at the horizon! - No 'speed compression'. In most sims, when your airspeed indicator shows 1,400 Kts, you're really only flying 200 MPH. Everything feels like 'slow motion'. Not so in JetFighter III, we don't 'fake' speed or time. You REALLY feel like you're moving FAST! - No 'altitude compression'. Again, most sims 'fake' your altitude. When the altimeter reads 40,000 feet, it still looks like you're at 10,000 feet. JetFighter III does not 'compress' altitudes. - Lots of objects on the ground. Most sims with 3-D terrain don't have many objects on the ground. JetFighter III has many thousands of objects. You can even follow power transmission towers from city to city! - Enemies use countermeasures. You will see flares and clouds of chaff popping out of enemy aircraft. MAPS, MAPS and MORE MAPS! If you want to order maps of the mission areas in JetFighter III (and see just how accurate JetFighter is), you can contact the Defense Mapping Agency. There are two types of maps that we think are most helpful: ONC or Operational Navigation Charts are rendered at a scale of 1:1,000,000 and show most major features and airports. They are great for large area coverages. TPC or Tactical Pilotage Charts are at 1:500,000 scale and show more detail than ONC charts. We recommend these maps for mission planning. 4 TPC maps cover the same area as 1 ONC chart, and they are named with the same code The following codes will help you order the maps that cover the JetFighter III mission areas: MAP NAME AREA COVERAGE ONC J-27 Haiti and the Dominican Republic ONC J-26 most of Cuba, Jamaca and the Cayman islands TPC J-26A western Cuba including Havana and Santa Clara TPC J-26B eastern Cuba ONC Q-26 extreme northern Chile ONC Q-27 northern Chile and Argentina ONC R-23 north Chile, Argentina including Santiago ONC S-21 southern Chile and Argentina, Gulfo Corcovado ONC T-18 extreme south, Strait of Magellan ------------------------------------------------------------ NEAT THINGS TO DO! Because there is so much to see and do in JetFighter III, we are always worried that people may not experience some of the highlights of the game. Here is a short list of things to try: EXTERNAL VIEW: Many people never experiment with the external views. Press [-] and use the numeric keypad or the joystick to pan around your aircraft. When on the carrier deck, use the external view to get a look at the cockpits of other aircraft EJECT! After ejecting, use the view controls to look at... yourself! When in an external view, move the joystick around. If you are using rudder pedals, give them a try for another treat. JET BLAST DEFLECTORS: Use the new carrier views [Numpad *] to check out the jet blast deflectors on the carrier. ZOOM... ZOOM...: Don't ignore the zoom controls [<] and [>]! In dogfights when using the cannon, it may help to zoom way in on your target. Not only will this help your shot, but you will better be able to see how your target is maneuvering. IMPORTING YOUR OWN PILOT PHOTO If you are good with graphics programs, you can import your own pilot portrait to use in the Roster menu. Here are the technical details: - The image must be a standard .PCX file. - The image MUST be 200 x 200 pixels in size. - The image can ONLY use palette entries 128-248 (inclusive). The first 128 and last 8 colors are reserved for JetFighter III. - When done, you must put the image in the \USER directory under the JetFighter III subdirectory and name it PHOTOxx.PCX where xx is a 2 digit number like 09. Here is a step by step guide to importing a photo: 1) Take the image you want to use, and sample or clip the image to be exactly 200x200 pixels in size. Most paint programs will have an option for doing this. 2) Next, you will need to reduce the number of colors the image uses down to 120. JetFighter requires the other colors for the background, so be sure you are only using 120 colors! Make sure these colors are in palette entry numbers 0-119. 3) Save that 200x200, 120 color image as a standard 8-bit .PCX file in the \USER directory which you'll find under the main JF3 directory. (something like C:\JF3\user) 4) Now we must 'move' the new image's palette to use slots 128-248. To do this, we provided a utility program called "MAKEPLT.EXE", which can be found in the \USER directory on your hard drive under the directory where you installed JetFighter III. This program is command line driven. From a DOS prompt, type "makeplt <imageName> <newname>", where imageName is the name of the .PCX file you wish to import, and newName is the name of the new file to create with the utility. Here's an example - c:\makeplt mypic.pcx photo09.pcx This will take the picture "MYPIC.PCX" and turn it into a valid JF3 pilot image file called photo09.pcx. In order to see what number to use for your new image, look at the files in the \USER directory which are named "PHOTOxx.PCX" and find out what the next number in the sequence needs to be. You can delete the source image from the \USER directory at this point if you want (i.e. mypic.pcx). 5) Run JetFighter III and go to the ROSTER screen in Operations and click on the portrait window to change your pilot image to the picture you just created!! 6) Voila, QED. If you don't understand some of these directions, see if you can get a friend to help you out! But please don't call our technical support line for assistance with importing images into the game. This feature is for image processing experts only! ------------------------------------------------------------ UPDATES / PATCHES AND FEEDBACK UPDATES We will try to provide updates to JetFighter III as soon as enhancements are made and problems are fixed. Most updates will consist of a self-extracting file that needs to be 'extracted over' your currently installed version of JetFighter III. There are several good places to check: www.missionstudios.com www.interplay.com America Online - visit the Flight Sim Resource Center Compuserve GAMCPUB and FSFORUM MISSION OF THE WEEK Visit www.missionstudios.com and download missions that our staff creates "just for the fun of it." We are trying to post a new mission each week. (But if we get busy, we may miss one!) DECAL OF THE WEEK Have you painted a cool decal for your aircraft? If so, visit www.missionstudios.com and submit the decal for our weekly competition. Winning decals will be posted and made available for downloading. ------------------------------------------------------------ REBOOTING IN DOS MODE For the very best performance, we recommend that you re-boot to "pure" DOS mode. Doing this will prevent the Windows memory manager from slowing down JetFighter III. Rebooting to DOS from Windows 95 is usually very easy. In some cases, however, your computer dealer may not have configured your machine to use your CD-ROM, mouse and sound card in DOS mode. If this is the case, additional steps may be necessary to get these items working in DOS. Option #1: RESTART IN DOS MODE - Left-click on the Start button. - Left-click on Shut Down. - Select "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode" and left- click on OK. If, after restarting in DOS mode, you don't have access to your CD-ROM, mouse, or sound card, you may need to try option #2. Additionally, you may need to consult your computer dealer for help on where to find the drivers you will need. Option #2: CREATE A DOS REBOOT SHORTCUT We have created a 'skeleton' DOS Reboot Shortcut to help you out. (This is the reboot system that our lead developer uses to run games!) It is only an example and not to be used verbatim for your system. If you have any questions regarding setting up a DOS Reboot Shortcut please contact your computer manufacturer's technical support. This is an easy question for them, one that they answer every day, and this is what they are paid to do! - Use the Windows Explorer to find the file DOS_BOOT.PIF in the folder where you installed JetFighter III. - Right click on DOS_BOOT and select Properties. - Select the Program tab - Click on Advanced. - Edit the config.sys and autoexec.bat entries to load your CD-ROM, mouse and sound card drivers (if necessary). We have created a good example, but your CD-ROM driver may be named differently, or your mouse driver may be in a different directory. This is the tricky part, and you may need to talk to your computer dealer to get the specific information about your drivers. Our technical support staff is willing to help with any problem, but they have no way of knowing what type of CD-ROM drive or sound card you have and where your DOS drivers might be located. After you have updated DOS_BOOT to be compatible with your system, simply double-click on it and it will re-boot your machine in DOS mode. To exit DOS mode and return to Windows 95, just type EXIT [Enter]. +----------------------------------------------------------+ | END OF FILE | +----------------------------------------------------------+