F15_WEE.TXT - 12/31/92 HOW TO REDUCE YOUR HARD DISK OVERHEAD USING F-15 STRIKE EAGLE III ----------------------------------------------------------------- BACKGROUND ---------- I've argued for some time about the benefits of custom installation routines for flight simulator applications. Falcon 3.0 and F-15 Strike Eagle III are two examples of sophisticated flight simulators that, because of their use of high-resolution scenery, gobble up 10 to 12 megabytes of hard disk space apiece. In both cases, the end-user is required to bear the burden of a crowded hard disk due to the installation of scenery files for three or more theaters of operation -- a nice thing if you've got disk space to burn, but not if disk space is at a premium. Neither program offers a "custom installation" for one or two SELECTED theaters, a space-saving option many users would appreciate. I know dozens of Falcon and F-15III users who would be content to fly in only one locale, provided there was a way to safely remove the scenery files he or she did not require. While I haven't been able to safely remove selected data files from Falcon 3.0, I can report some success with F-15 Strike Eagle III. WHAT THIS INVOLVES ------------------ Assuming there is a theater of operation in which you MOST enjoy flying, it follows that there are a few locales in which you don't. If you could remove the data files used when flying in your "least favorite" theaters -- and do this WITHOUT crippling the simulator itself -- you'd save yourself a couple of megs of disk space. Please bear with me and read through the entire text file before arbitrarily "cutting and slashing" through your F-15III directory. You will need to make some hard choices here and there, and may have to run F-15III in order to disable a feature or two BEFORE certain files can be safely deleted. It is up to you, the individual user, to determine if the disk space saved through such efforts is worth the sacrifice of "doing without" a theater or two. Which brings me to the... LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO ----------------- I've tested all the suggestions made in this text file, and have yet to discover any problems with actual gameplay or the maintenance of file integrity. Further, there's nothing involved in my suggestions that cannot be quickly and easily undone simply by "copying back" the deleted files or (in a worst case scenario) by deleting the entire contents of your F-15III directory and reinstalling the program from scratch. However, just to be on the safe side, let's get a few things straight. MicroProse, F15 Strike Eagle, F15 Strike Eagle III, Spectrum Holobyte, and Falcon 3.0 are all trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies, and are hereby acknowledged. All use of these or any other trademarks in this text is for identification purposes only. Further, the suggestions made in this text involve selective deletion of a number of program files and voluntary disabling of certain program features. They do not involve the modification, patching, or illegal duplication of any existing software. At the same time, none of the suggestions made here have been approved by MicroProse Software. I make no claim or warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to the suggestions contained in this text file, including its quality or fitness for a particular purpose, nor do I accept responsibility for any costs including, but not limited to, those incurred as a result of lost profits or revenues, loss of time or use of the software, loss of data, the cost of recovering software or data, the cost of substitute software, claims by third parties, or similar costs. So there. CATEGORY 1 - FILES NOT REQUIRED FOR RUNNING F-15III --------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT There are five files that are installed to your F-15III directory which are not required during normal use of the program itself. FILENAME SIZE DESCRIPTION/COMMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- BOOTDISK.EXE 24,027 Utility program used for preparing a clean boot disk. README.TXT 21 Contains nothing of consequence in Version 1.0. ADS.EXE 32,456 Runs the end-program advertisements for 4 other MicroProse games. With this file eliminated, F-15III closes without incident or error message. INSTALL.EXE 48,682 If located in your F-15III directory, this program is used for reconfiguring your hardware configuration settings without having to re- install the program from scratch. The file can safely deleted if you have F-15III correctly configured. INSTALL.TXT 58 Contains nothing of consequence in Version 1.0. TOTAL DISK SPACE REPRESENTED BY CATEGORY 1 FILES: 105,244 bytes. CATEGORY 2 - FILES REQUIRED ONLY BY THE OPENING TITLE/ANIMATION SEQUENCES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT There are six files that are used only when the opening title animation sequences are enabled. If you can do without the MicroProse logo and the F-15 Eagle scramble/sortie animation every time you run F-15III, these files can be safely removed without affecting the simulator itself. You MUST first run F-15III and turn the "Title Animation" option OFF via the Home Screen "Menu/File" command! If "Title Animation" is left ON, the program will hunt for the missing files 'til the cows come home! FILENAME SIZE DESCRIPTION/COMMENTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE1.PAN 94,438 Title animation file (for MicroProse logo and scramble/sortie animation sequence). TITLE2.PAN 240,486 " TITLE3.PAN 177,288 " TITLE4.PAN 172,285 " TITLE5.PAN 35,869 " TITLE6.PAN 1,452,881 " TOTAL DISK SPACE REPRESENTED BY CATEGORY 2 FILES: 2,173,247 bytes REMEMBER: It is important to run F-15III first, and disable the title animation routines via the Menu "File" selection, BEFORE deleting the TITLE*.PAN files. 'Nuff said. CATEGORY 3 - FILES REQUIRED ONLY FOR SPECIFIC GAME SCENARIOS ------------------------------------------------------------ ABSTRACT There are a number of easily identifiable files which are used only when F-15III is set up for specific theater operations. The Korean theater files represent the largest group of scenery/mapping files in terms of disk space used; the Desert Storm theater represents the smallest. In theory, the smallest possible configuration of F-15III would require the removal of all of the Category 1 files AND removal of two of the three groups of Category 2 files, leaving you with the complete flight model, roster, and support files and ONE theater in which to fly missions. This is discussed in the "MINIMUM CONFIGURATION" section later in this file. What I've done is take each of the three groups of Category 3 files and compress them (using PKZIP) down into three "theater archive" files, which I've moved to floppy disks. This way, I can quickly "drop in" and un-zip a new theater whenever I want a change of pace. DESERT STORM SCENARIOS ---------------------- Files may be moved or deleted using the wildcard specification "DS*.*" DS.3DX DS.ALL DS.DAT DS.GRY DS.MIS DS.NMY DS.RNG DS.WLD DS0.DAT DS0.FTR DS0.WLD DSLTSF.3DX DSM.3DX DSMOB.3DX DSMOBM.3DX DSMPCLR.3DX DSMTNS.3DX DSPAL.PIC TOTAL DISK SPACE REPRESENTED BY DESERT STORM THEATER FILES: 590,023 bytes KOREA SCENARIOS --------------- Files may be moved or deleted using the wildcard specification "KO*.*" KO.3DX KO.ALL KO.DAT KO.GRY KO.MIS KO.NMY KO.RNG KO.WLD KO0.DAT KO0.FTR KO0.WLD KOLTSF.3DX KOM.3DX KOMOB.3DX KOMOBM.3DX KOMPCLR.PIC KOMTNS.3DX KOPAL.PIC TOTAL DISK SPACE REPRESENTED BY KOREA THEATER FILES: 604,979 bytes PANAMA SCENARIOS ---------------- File may be moved or deleted using the wildcard specification "PA*.*" PA.3DX PA.ALL PA.DAT PA.GRY PA.MIS PA.NMY PA.RNG PA.WLD PA0.DAT PA0.FTR PA0.WLD PADREAR.PIC PALTSF.3DX PAM.3DX PAMOB.3DX PAMOBM.3DX PAMPCLR.PIC PAMTNS.3DX PAPAL.PIC TOTAL DISK SPACE REPRESENTED BY PANAMA THEATER FILES: 599,207 bytes ERROR MESSAGE NOTE ------------------ If you delete the Category 3 files for a selected theater, then run F-15III and select that theater for Quick Start or an assigned mission (single or campaign), the simulator will auger in with extreme prejudice. You will receive a "Bad World Specified --> XX" error message, with XX representing the prefix (DS, KO, PA) of the absent theater. The sim and your PC will lock up and require a Ctrl-Alt-Del reboot. In addition, a "worst case default" .WLD file may be created by the program just before it locks -- an indication that F-15III creates some temporary files on the fly as it loads theater data. This file will be stamped with the current date and time, and can be safely overwritten with the original file if you ever want to re-copy the previously deleted Category 3 files. MINIMUM CONFIGURATION --------------------- The smallest possible configuration requires removing all of the Category 1 files, all of the Category 2 files, and the Korea and Panama Category 3 files. What you are left with is the complete F-15III flight model, support, mission, and roster files, and the ability to fly any Quick Start, Single Mission, or Campaign in the Desert Storm theater. The final disk space inventory of the F-15III directory reflects a significant space savings compared to the default "full" installation. Final F-15III directory of files: 6,095,602 bytes ______________________ Matthew T. Smith CIS 70661,3235