Game Killer/Game_Killer.bin/232.FALCNR.ZIP/FALCNR.DOC

Text File | 1992-02-27 | 18KB | 434 lines

                               FALCONER
                           A MANAGER PROGRAM
                            FOR FALCON 3.0C

                             (Release 2.5)

                By Rob "Orinoco" Heittman (72700,1067)
                     Member Expert for Air Combat
            CompuServe Flight Simulation Forum (GO FSFORUM)

                             DOCUMENTATION

IMPORTANT -----

  READ the file called README.NOW before continuing any further!

OVERVIEW -----

  Falconer is a freeware tool that lets you control every important
  aspect of your FALCON 3.0 ("F3") squadron and campaign.

  You can:

        Automatically reorganize the roster
      Automatically create "super squadrons" with max abilities for
          each pilot, and no fatigue
        Automatically eliminate all fatigue from your squadron
        Control ALL supplies and weaponry used on campaign
      Edit pilot ability scores
      Edit pilot rank
      Edit pilot status (KIA, MIA, Active, etc.)
      Export a single pilot to a file
        Give or rescind any pilot's awards
      Import a single pilot from a file
      Print a pilot dossier
      Print your Sierra Hotel sheet
      Print a squadron roster
      Reactivate/resurrect lost pilots
        Replace any existing "pilot face" with part of a .PCX file
        Replenish any planes lost in combat
        Replenish ECM modules lost in combat
        Replenish fuel used in combat


INSTALLING FALCONER -----

  If you're reading this file you must have unZIPped the FALCNR.ZIP
  file already.  You must make sure that the file FALCNR.EXE is in
  your FALCON 3.0 directory (typically C:\FALCON3).  If FALCONER is
  not in your F3 directory, it will not start and display an error
  message asking you to install it correctly.

  To run FALCONER, just log to the F3 directory and type FALCNR at the
  DOS prompt.


LOADING A SQUADRON -----

  The first thing you need is an active squadron.  If you don't
  already have one, go back to F3 and "FORM" a squadron.

  From FALCONER, select "File Open..." from the menu by pressing [ALT-
  F], followed by [O].  Alternatively, you can make menu selections
  with the mouse.  (Note: where possible FALCONER uses a CUA-compliant
  interface, so it should be quite familiar to most PC users)

  FALCONER will present you with a list of available squadrons which
  you may modify.  Any squadrons which you have deleted using the
  "DEACTIVATE" option in F3 _cannot_ be recovered.  Only active
  squadrons can be modified.

  If you have more than 6 active squadrons (the release of F3 I have
  does not allow more than 6), you will only see the first 6 of them
  in the FALCONER menu.  You may not edit squadrons with a number
  higher than 6 in this release of FALCONER.

  The squadrons will be identified by name and number.  Select the
  number of the squadron you want to modify.

  The on-screen frame will fill with pilots and statistics, and the
  other menu options will be activated.


SAVING YOUR FILE -----

  After you have made changes to your squadron, you can save the file
  back to disk by selecting "File Save..." from the menu.  If you do
  NOT select "File Save..." the squadron data will not be changed, no
  matter what you do to the on-screen representation.


INTERACTIVE EDITING -----

  The interactive editor is started by selecting "Edit Interactive"
  from the menu [ALT-E],[I].  You may use the arrow keys to move the
  cursor around the roster, to highlight an item to edit.  You press
  one of several keys to perform an action on that item or pilot.
  These keys are listed at the bottom of the screen.

  Interactive editing has six functions:

  AWARDING - if you highlight any part of a pilot record and press
  the [A] key, you will be presented with a dialog box where you can
  give or rescind any awards that pilot possesses.

  EXPORTING - if you highlight any part of a pilot record and press
  the [X] key, you can export that pilot to a special file on disk, so
  he can be saved for later use, or "transferred" to another squadron.
  You will be prompted for a filename, which can be up to 8
  characters.  It will be given the extension .F3P -- for Falcon 3
  Pilot.

  FACE REPLACER - if you highlight any part of a pilot record and
  press the [F] key, you will be able to replace that pilot's face
  with part of a .PCX file.  This function is covered below in the
  section "YFIF3 - Your Face in F3!"

  IMPORTING - if you highlight any part of a pilot record and press
  the [I] key, you can import a pilot from disk in that record slot.
  You will be prompted for an 8-character .F3P filename.  The .F3P
  file must already be in the F3 directory.  WARNING - the new pilot
  will be imported "over" the pilot you have highlighted.  The
  highlighted pilot will be lost permanently if you save the file to
  disk.

  CHANGING DATA

  Every field on the screen (except slot #) can be edited.  To edit a
  field, move the cursor to that field and press the [ENTER] key.  For
  text fields like NAME or CALLSIGN, or numerical fields like DGFT
  (see below for abbreviations) you will be asked to enter the new
  text in a dialog box.  For multiple-choice fields like STAT, each
  time you press the [ENTER] key, the field will toggle between its
  various states.

  VIEWING AND PRINTING DOSSIERS

  If you highlight any part of a pilot record and press the [?] key,
  you will view the complete dossier for the pilot, including their
  air-to-air and air-to-ground kills.  If you select the button <PRINT
  Dossier> (press [TAB] to move the cursor to the button, then press
  [SPACE] to select it, or select it with the mouse) you can print
  that information to the printer on LPT1:.  A printer MUST be
  connected to LPT1 and online for this option to work.  If FALCONER
  cannot access your printer, you will get an error message.

  You can exit Interactive Edit by pressing the [ESC] key.


SETTING AVAILABLE PILOTS -----

  In addition to the individual status flags for each pilot (KIA, MIA,
  ACTIVE, etc.), F3 keeps a separate list of the number of pilots you
  currently have available.  During a campaign, KIA's and MIA's are
  pushed to the BOTTOM of your pilot roster.  If F3 says you have less
  than 30 available pilots, then the ones at the bottom of the roster
  are not shown in your Pilot Info. screen.

  To simulate this effect, FALCONER "grays out" the appropriate number
  of pilots at the bottom of the roster if you have less than 30
  active pilots.

  The "Edit Set Available Pilots..." menu option allows you to change
  this number, and make campaign mode think you have more active
  pilots than you really do.  Remember, though, just because you can
  access the pilot record, if he's KIA or MIA, he still can't fly.
  You must manually change the KIA and MIA flags for each "greyed"
  pilot that you put back on the roster by increasing the number of
  "available pilots."

  When you play around with this, you will see why I have dubbed this
  the "waterline" value.  By decreasing the Available field, you raise
  the "waterline" and more pilots are "sunk."


AUTO-UNFATIGUE -----

  With one menu selection ("Edit Auto-Unfatigue") you can reset your
  entire squadron's fatigue scores to 100.


AUTO-PERFECT -----

  If you want to quickly create a "super squadron" all you have to do
  is select Auto-Perfect.  All your pilots' ability scores will jump
  to 100, and all fatigue will be reset to 100.


AUTO-ORGANIZE -----

  This performs several housekeeping functions in one fell swoop.
  First, it organizes your pilots according to the following criteria,
  in order:

      STAT (Status. Non-active pilots go to the bottom like F3 expects)
      RANK (Colonel goes at the top, etc.)
      NAME (Alphabetical order)

  Then it counts the number of non-active pilots and sets the
  waterline to the first non-active pilot -- just like F3 expects.

  I suggest ALWAYS using Auto-Organize after doing any squadron
  editing that involves rank or status.  I have not had any problems
  with setting the waterline to strange values, or having pilots out
  of rank order -- but you never can tell.  Also, Auto-Organize makes
  the roster a LOT easier to read.


SQUADRON ROSTER -----

  You can print your squadron roster by selecting this menu option.
  Again, you must have a printer connected to LPT1 and active.


SIERRA HOTEL -----

  This option prints your Sierra Hotel list.  It is based, like the one
  in F3, on air to air kills alone.

  Release 2a includes a special routine that reorganizes information in
  the .SQU file every time you save the file.  This routine prevents
  the F3 "Sierra Hotel" display from showing erroneous information, as
  is otherwise prone to happen when pilots are repeatedly resurrected.


REPLENISH ECM -----

  If your squadron is on campaign, and you run out of ECM modules, you
  can replenish the ECM modules by selecting this option.  This option
  boosts the number of available ECM modules to 50.


REPLENISH FUEL -----

  If your squadron runs out of fuel on campaign, you can replenish fuel
  by selecting this option.  Boosts the amount of available fuel to
  approximately 290,000 gallons.


REPLENISH PLANES -----

  If your squadron is on campaign, and you are low on available planes,
  you can replenish the planes using this option.  Also, if you want to
  give yourself a challenge by _reducing_ the number of available
  planes... you can use this option to do it.

  Enter a number of planes between 1 and 18.  If you attempt to use this
  option on a squadron which is not active on campaign, you will receive
  an error message.


SUPPLY MANAGEMENT -----

  All other resources on campaign (weapons) can be controlled using this
  function.  Your supply manifest will be shown.

  In the edit box provided, type in a new quantity you would like to
  apply to the various weapons on the manifest.  To apply that quantity
  to any weapon, either move the cursor to it using [TAB] and then
  press [SPACE], or click on that weapon with the mouse.


"YFIF3" - YOUR FACE IN F3! -----

  Version 2.5 of Falconer incorporates a new code module called YFIF3,
  short for "Your Face in F3."  If you have a scanned photo of yourself
  (or anyone else), in .PCX format and at the appropriate size, you
  can replace one of the existing pilot faces with a cut-out from that
  .PCX file!  The "correct" picture will then appear for you when you
  fly in F3.

  IMPORTANT NOTE:  There is only one file that contains all 50 pilot
  pictures, called PILOT.BIN.  Changes that Falconer makes to this
  file are PERMANENT.  The first time you run Falconer 2.5, it will
  make a copy of PILOT.BIN in PILOT.ABK.  If you need the stock faces
  back for any reason, you may copy PILOT.ABK back over PILOT.BIN.
  This method is inelegant and will be remedied in Falconer release 3,
  but right now, it's the best I can do without waiting for further
  testing.

  Select your pilot in INTERACTIVE mode, and press [F] to get to the
  face editor.  You will first be asked to confirm the face to replace.
  If you want to overwrite a different face, you may choose a different
  face number, from 1 to 50.  If you do this, you will have to go back
  into F3 to associate the new, replaced face with your pilot using the
  "SELECT FACE" button.

  You will be asked for a .PCX filename.  The .PCX file must be 256
  color, version 3-compatible, and preferably smaller than the 320x200
  screen space (though this is not strictly necessary).  You will get
  an error message or garbage on screen if you attempt to use a different
  format of .PCX file.  The file should be in your Falcon 3 directory.

  If you are having format problems, the shareware program WINGIF does
  an excellent job of converting other formats to .PCX and sizing them
  appropriately.  Also, Windows 3.0 Paintbrush 256 color .PCX files are
  compatible with FALCONER.  If you have a scanner program that runs
  under Windows, try pasting to Paintbrush and saving as a .PCX file.

  You will be asked whether to use [A]rithmetic or [G]eometric palette
  matching.  FALCONER must take the broad 256 color palette of your
  picture, and try to mash it down into the narrow band of flesh tones
  in the Falcon 3.0 palette.  The [A]rithmetic method is faster, and
  weights all deviations in color equally.  The [G]eometric method
  is slower, and prefers deviations in overall brightness to deviations
  in hue.  Both may yield similar results, or either one may be markedly
  better.  It depends on your original picture.  Experiment!

  NOTE:  When your picture is displayed, you may see bright "STARS" of
  white at various points.  This is because Falconer keeps one attribute
  to itself to display "white" text on-screen.  Don't worry about the
  "stars", they are only a display problem, and won't be saved in the
  final picture.

  When the picture is displayed and the palette matched, you can select
  the region to clip by moving the small black box with the arrow keys.
  Press [ENTER] to confirm the region you want.  You will be reminded
  that the change to PILOT.BIN is permanent, and asked to confirm the
  face save operation.  If you don't like the results so far, this is
  the time to bail out!  If you press [Y] the new face will be stored
  permanently in PILOT.BIN.

  Tips for best results: use pictures with high contrast and a broad
  band of flesh tones in the source palette.  What that means is: the
  better the source scan, the better the results, basically!


CAUTIONARY NOTICES AND LEGAL MUMBO JUMBO -----

  This program is freeware.  It may be copied freely and distributed
  as long as it is not modified in any way, and this documentation
  file is packaged with the executable program.

  No guarantees are made as to the compatibility of this program with
  Falcon 3.0c.  It has been tested thoroughly, however, remember that
  the purpose of this program is to allow you to modify data that
  Falcon 3.0c does not want modified!  A combination of changes you
  engineer via this program could conceivably destabilize a F3
  campaign and thence the program, though I believe it is highly
  unlikely.  It is also possible that future upgrades of F3 may be
  incompatible with this program.

  But read this carefully and understand it:

  THIS PROGRAM ALTERS FALCON 3.0c DATA.  ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR SYSTEM OR
  FILES, EITHER DIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL, WILL NOT BE THE
  RESPONSIBILITY OF THE AUTHOR OF "FALCONER."  ADDITIONALLY, NO
  GUARANTEES ARE MADE CONCERNING SUPPORT OF THIS SOFTWARE.


SUPPORT ANYWAY -----

  At the present, I am available to support this file via the Flight
  Simulation Forum on Compuserve (GO FSFORUM).  Leave a message in
  section 8, Modern Air Combat, if you have questions, comments, or
  suggestions about this program, or would like to solicit help with a
  problem.


ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE SCREEN AND PRINTED ROSTERS -----

  DGFT    =    Dogfighting Skill
  BOMB    =    Bombing Accuracy
  FLYG    =    Flying Skill
  FATG    =     Fatigue
  RANK    =    Rank
   COL    =    Colonel
   LTC    =     Lt. Colonel
   MAJ    =    Major
   CAPT    =    Captain
   LT    =    Lieutenant
  STAT    =    Pilot Status
   ACTV    =    Active
   KIA    =    Killed in Action
   MIA    =     Missing in Action
   INJ    =    Injured
   C.M.    =    Court-Martialled
   RET    =    Retired


ADDITIONAL ABBREVIATIONS IN THE PRINTED ROSTER -----

  SORT    =    Sorties Flown
  ATAK    =    Air To Air Kills (total)
  ATGK    =    Air To Ground Kills (total)


AWARD ABBREVIATIONS -----

  MOH   =       Medal Of Honor
  AFC   =       Air Force Cross
  SS    =       Silver Star
  FC    =       Flying Cross
  BS    =       Bronze Star
  AM    =       Air Medal
  PH    =       Purple Heart


RELEASE HISTORY -----

  Release 1 --- provided for editing of pilot abilities and fatigue only.

  Release 2 --- enhanced and redesigned version with export, import, and
                printing features, as well as pilot resurrection and
                waterline adjustment.  Uploaded to CIS for a brief
                period... few if any copies in existence.

  Release 2a -- stabilized Sierra Hotel system, added plane replenisher
                feature based on FSFORUM input prior to the LIB inclusion
                of Release 2.  Only one copy made, for Steve "Auger"
                Edwards of FSFORUM.

  Release 2b -- included award grant/rescind system at the request of
                Steve Edwards.  Uploaded to CIS.

  Release 2.5 - necessary because of new .CAM file structure in Falcon
                3.0c, incompatible with previous versions.  Incorporates
                basic SMS/YFIF3 functions.


ENDNOTES -----

  Did you read the README.NOW file?  You really should, if you haven't!

  If you are getting this file from a BBS somewhere or another online
  service --- please, drop in on FSFORUM, you don't know what you're
  missing.  Give me a buzz in area 8.  Internet fiends, you can of course
  reach me at [e-mail].

  Good luck, god speed, and for heaven's sake CHECK SIX!

                                         - Rob Heittman [FSFORUM]