To: F-15-III Owners

From: MicroProse

Date: January 2, 1993

Updated: January 5, 1993

Subject:  F15 III Problems
                                                                 
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In response to some of the early problem reports, I have compiled
a list of some suggestions.  

1) There is a known problem with using the coolie hat to switch
views with an early Thrustmaster joystick that is plugged into a
Sound Blaster sound card's joystick port.  This is specifically
mentioned in the Technical Supplement.  It is a hardware problem
with the joystick and not a problem with our software, it is 
Thrustmaster's problem.  

2) The joystick is auto-calibrated in F15 III.  However, the
calibration routine cannot effectively determine the entire
dynamic range of each individual's joystick, so it uses a
conservative estimate.  To properly get the entire range, the
user must "stir" the stick to all four corners when the home
screen first comes up.  This must also be done each time "Alt-J"
is used, either in the wrapper screens or in the game.  Likewise
for picking the "Recalibrate" option from the menu bar in the
game. 

3) When users encounter mouse drift, they are usually seeing the
results of the mouse pointer being pushed around by a drifting
joystick.  Have the user "stir" the stick to get the entire
dynamic range established.  If that doesn't fix it, have them
type "Alt-J" to re-center the stick and then stir it.

4) For in-game lockups, check the setup using the DOS "mem" command. 
Minimum memory limits are described in the tech supp and are also
check by the install program and the F15 program itself.  We
think that players may be attempting to run the game with not
enough conventional memory or EMS.

5) Anytime someone gets speech during the opening but not the
game, it means there was insufficient memory to load the speech
driver or the speech data.  This should have been flagged when
the user ran the Install program.  The driver is loaded into
conventional memory and the data is loaded into EMS.  Try to
run the DOS command "mem" and check the free EMS and
conventional memory.  This process and the program memory
requirements are described in the Technical Supplement.

6) If the game locks up when the user first gets to the home
screen and tries to move the cursor with the mouse or joystick,
try the following:  When the opening animation is running,
continually push the mouse or joystick so as to move the cursor
to the top of the screen.  Basically you want the cursor to be at
the top of the screen when the home screen fnially comes up. 
This has worked for some customers.  Obviously it is not the
final solution, but it does let the users play the game.  

7) If the game locks up in the Install process where it asks
about Modem configuration, a fix has been established.  The
Install program was assuming that an EMS manager was present
(EMM386) and crashed if there was not one active.  There is a new
version of the Install program available that handles this
condition.  A simple work-around is for the user to set his
Config.sys up to include the EMS manager before running the old
Install program.  The new Install is available as Filename 
"F15INS.ZIP".

8) There is a known problem with AHEAD Video Cards and DrDos. 
We are looking into patches for those problems at this time.       

9) Here is a example of the startup files which are created
by the BOOTDISK program which comes with F-15 III.

AUTOEXEC.BAT:

        @ECHO OFF
        PROMPT $P$G
        PATH=
        LOADHIGH MOUSE.COM  
        C:
        CD \MPS\F15
        F15

CONFIG.SYS:

        DOS = HIGH,UMB
        DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS
        DEVICE=EMM386.EXE ram x=B000-C400 frame=e000 5136
        FILES=20
        BUFFERS=20
        REM * Next line is for a ProAudio Spectrum Card *
        devicehigh=C:\PROAUDIO\MVSOUND.SYS D:3 Q:5 J:0
        SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\  /P

10) GATEWAY Computer users receiving the "Write Error" messages should
according to GATEWAY, "disable the HD1 Block Mode on the system's
Phoenix Bios setup screen".

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