Monster Media 1994 #1/monster.zip/monster/GAMES_C/SASE1.ZIP/SASE1.TXT

Text File | 1994-03-25 | 15KB | 368 lines

                           SELECT A SERVICE
        A Modification Management Program for Aces over Europe
                          English Version 1.0
                            Date  3-25-1994


     TABLE OF CONTENTS:
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Section 00:  WHAT THIS PROGRAM WILL DO FOR YOU
     Section 01:  INSTALLATION
     Section 02:  MODIFICATIONS & COMPATIBILITY
     Section 03:  WARNING
     Section 04:  PLAY BACK OF VCR TAPES
     Section 05:  DISCLAIMER
     Section 06:  EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS?
     Section 07:  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
     Section 08:  VERSION HISTORY
     Section 09:  POINT OF CONTACT




     Section 00:  WHAT THIS PROGRAM WILL DO FOR YOU
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     I wrote this program to make it a little easier for everyone
     to utilize some of the realistic modifications made by
     Nicholas Bell and I in the AOEREAL (AOEREA.ZIP)
     modifications.  Plus a few more nifty little things that I
     think you realistic folks will enjoy?  This program will do
     "TWO" basic things for you automatically.

     First:  This program will, depending on the service you
     select, automatically cut ALL the ammo loads of the AC on the
     opposing side (enemy) by one third.  This is done for two
     reasons, one to provide a pseudo disengagement of the enemy
     AC and two, to remove the "cheating" by the AoE program that
     provides the enemy AC with two to three times the AC's basic
     ammo count.  It was discovered that the only time the enemy
     AC will disengage is when they run out of ammo.  And Nick
     discovered that the enemy AC are given two to three times
     (Tucker say's two?) the AC basic ammo count.  So by cutting
     ALL the enemy AC's "basic" ammo counts by one third it will
     now give them the correct ammo count (plus or minus) when
     the program "cheats" and multiplies the enemy AC's ammo
     counts by two to three times their basic ammo count.

     Second: When I was in Germany I contacted Joachim Bluhm (who
     I had met earlier in FSFORUM) and he provided me with the
     info and data files from the German version of AoE that made
     it possible to convert the gauges of the Luftwaffe's AC from
     the english system to the metric system, in the English
     Version of AoE.  Now the altitude, airspeed and VSI
     (and other gauges) will all read meters, kph and kph
     respectfully.

     The problem with this is, say for example that you manually
     did what this program (SASE1.EXE) does for you automatically
     and set it up for the Luftwaffe.  Then with out resetting all
     the files back you started flying for the RAF or USAAF you
     would find that your AC's have one third the ammo that they
     should have and or the wrong gauges!  That is why I changed
     AoE's data files a bit to only allow you to fly for "One
     Service at a Time".

     What this means is that if you run SASE1.EXE and choose to
     fly for the Luftwaffe, the only service you will be able to
     access from any and all menus (except for the VCR section)
     is the Luftwaffe.  That is provided you follow the initial
     instructions in the INSTALLATION section!  True this will
     make it a bit more difficult to fly for the Luftwaffe for
     awhile, and than switch to the RAF by just selecting and RAF
     option or carrier.  But I think the benefit is worth the
     extra effort?  And it is much easier than doing it the old
     un-zip way.  And with this program it is very quick and
     easy.  If you are tired of flying for the Luftwaffe simply
     exit to DOS, run SASE1.EXE and choose the RAF or the USAAF,
     and then restart AoE.  At which point you will now notice
     that all the menus are now set up for the service that you
     selected.




     Section 01:  INSTALLATION
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Simply unzip the SASE1.ZIP file and or copy all the files in
     the SASE1.ZIP file into your AoE game directory.

     But before you run the SASE1.EXE program for the first time
     run the bat file called "SETUPAOE.BAT".  What this bat file
     does is make three copies of your ROSTER.DAT file (This file
     contains all the info on your campaign pilots) one for the
     Luftwaffe Campaign Pilots called ROSTER.GER, one for the RAF
     Campaign Pilots called ROSTER.RAF and one for the USAAF
     Campaign Pilots called ROSTER.USA.  Now when you select a
     different service this program will check to see what the
     current service was, and rename the current ROSTER.DAT file
     to the corresponding service's back up file.  The take the
     newly selected service's backup file and rename it to
     ROSTER.DAT.  So each service will have it's own data file
     to keep record of only it's pilots.

     So what I'm implying for you to do is to, once your have run
     the SETUPAOE.BAT, is to Select Each Service from the SASE1.EXE
     menu (Luftwaffe, RAF and USAAF) and delete any and all of the
     campaign pilots from the OTHER services.  Don't worry these
     pilots will not be lost (if you do it right) because their
     records will be kept in their respective data file, i.e.
     ROSTER.GER, ROSTER.RAF or ROSTER.USA.

     Here are eight steps you should follow to ensure that you do
     install correctly

     1st:    Run SETUPAOE.BAT.

     2nd:    Run SASE1.EXE.
             Select the Luftwaffe to fly for.

     3rd:    Start AoE.
             Go to the campaign roster and delete all the RAF and
             USAAF campaign pilots.
             Exit DOS.

     4th:    Run SASE1.EXE.
             Select the RAF to fly for.

     5th:    Start AoE.
             Go to the campaign roster and delete all the
             Luftwaffe and USAAF campaign pilots.
             Exit to DOS.

     6th:    Run SASE1.EXE.
             Select the USAAF to fly for.

     7th:    Start AoE.
             Go to the campaign roster and delete all the
             Luftwaffe and RAF campaign pilots.
             Exit to DOS.

     8th:    Delete the SETUPAOE.BAT file, and then this SASE1.TXT
             file if you want.

     There that is it, now note that you do not have to do this
     each time you wish to Select a different Service!  This is
     just to install the SASE1.EXE program and it's related
     files. Once installed (setup) all you have to do is run the
     SASE1.EXE program.

     Also note that if you are already using some previous
     modifications that when you unzip the SASE1.ZIP into your
     AoE game directory you may note a prompt by pkunzip stating
     that a file may already exist, and prompt you if you wish to
     overwrite it or not.  Well to be safe say yes, but if you
     have a *.GL file edited to you liking (Different gun sizes)
     then say no to that particular file.  Because SASE1.EXE will
     only change is the ammo counts, not the gun types!




     Section 02:  MODIFICATIONS & COMPATIBILITY
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     This SASE1.ZIP program & modified files have been tested and
     found to work with:

     AOE Version 1.0

     Nicholas Bell and I have been working on many modifications
     for Aces over Europe.  One of our projects was the
     modification called AOEREA.ZIP that can be found in
     FSFORUM's Historical section (Better know as AOEREAL).

     In my AEBMR*.ZIP there are two versions.  The  STANDARD
     Version, and the REAL Version.  This SASE1.ZIP files support
     both versions except for the ammo counts!  The REAL ammo
     counts are now used for both, but the other differences
     remain the same between REAL and STANDARD.

     This program does not affect the type/size of weapons, just
     the ammo counts.  Hopefully later I will find the time to
     support both versions, plus other REAL features, but for now
     this is all I have time for.  You will have to reinstall the
     all the *.GL files from AEBMR*.ZIP if you are using the
     STANDARD version.  Because SASE1.ZIP contains some duplicate
     files and will overwrite them.  But if you are using the
     REAL version of AEBMR*.ZIP then you have nothing to worry
     about.

     But also note that you do not have to be running the
     AOEREA.ZIP, AOEFIX.ZIP and or AEBMR*.ZIP modifications to
     use this SASE1.ZIP program and related files.  The only
     problem will be with the ARADO's GL file in that the original
     did not have any guns.




     Section 03:  WARNING
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     There have been quite a few modifications made for Aces over
     Europe, but not all are the same!  And the way they interact
     is unpredictable.  Nicholas Bell and I have worked together
     on all of our modifications and have supported each others
     work to insure that one modification would not udo another.
     But there are other people out there working on their own
     and independently.  This is not a bad thing - just different.
     So I just want to point out that a modification made by
     someone other that Nicholas Bell will probably not work.




     Section 04:  PLAY BACK OF VCR TAPES
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     There is one side effect to using modified data files that
     "change the performance" of the aircraft in this game.  When
     I say "change the performance" I'm not just referring to the
     aircraft speed and agility (*.FMD's).  Performance also
     includes such things as the weapons and ammo count (*.GL's).
     And such things as the aircraft damage ratings (*.DMG &
     *.BXL's).  The reason there is a problem is due to the way
     the VCR tapes works.  Prior to playback the VCR tapes scans
     the tape and loads all the pertinent data (*.FMD, *.GL,
     *.DMG & BXL's etc.) for each aircraft that is in the VCR.
     If this data is different then the data that was used during
     the original recording of the VCR then you will get a
     different play back of the VCR.

     An example of this would be after you added the modified
     files you noticed that your aircraft appears to shoot at a
     target that's not there.  So, if you or anyone else wishes
     to view your VCR as it was originally recorded, then you
     must insure that the same modified data files which were
     present during the recording of the VCR are also present
     during the replay.

             NOTE:  Due to this it will be very easy to tell if
             anyone is cheating during a FSFORUM tournament! So
             if  you were thinking of giving yourself an edge
             during the next tournament then just forget it
             because all tournaments are flow with the original
             "performance" data files!

     There is no problem in playing back a VCR using modified
     data files that change an aircraft "appearance" or "ordnance
     load".  If you change an aircraft appearance via a modified
     *.TBL file and then record a VCR tape with that modified
     data file present, and then later remove or change that data
     file, there will be no problem during playback except for
     the fact that the plane's appearance will change. If you
     change an aircraft ordnance load via a modified ORDNCE0.DAT
     file, then record a VCR tape with that modified data file
     present, and then later remove or change that data file,
     there will be no problems during the playback.

     But the one specific problem with SASE1.ZIP is that you will
     have to insure that you select the correct service to match
     the AC in the VCR playback, that is if you want it to
     playback correctly.




     Section 05:  DISCLAIMER
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Note that the utilization of these files and information is
     at your own risk!  I assume no responsibility for any damage
     that may occur to your program or hardware due to the
     modifications you may make to these or any of the original
     program data.




     Section 06:  EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS?
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     If you are experiencing any type of problems contact me and
     I will try and help you.  But before you contact Dynamix
     with your problem I urge you to do one thing before you do
     so.  First remove all the modified data files!  Now if you
     are still experiencing the same problem, then when you
     contact Dynamix to report your problem you can rest assured
     that the problem is with the program itself and not due to a
     modified data file.  This will save you and Dynamix allot of
     time.




     Section 07:  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Below is a listing of all the people who have, in one way or
     another, contributed to the hex editing ability of AOE.

     I WANT TO THANK....

     1)   Damon Slye:
          for his dedication to turning out the most realistic
          dog fighting sims on the market.  And for his savvy
          decision not to encrypt the Dynamix code, which enables
          guys like us to tweak the game to our liking.

     2)   James "Jaybird" Johnson:
          for his inspirational and pioneering work on Dynamix
          Flight Sims.  I especially want to thank Jaybird for
          all the informative DOC's that he has either posted or
          personally sent me.  His detective work and
          understanding of Dynamix Code is top notch!

     3)   Tim Kilgore:
          for his wonderful Dynamix editing & utility programs!

     4)   Nicholas Bell:
          for his personal help and insight, and to his
          dedication to furthering the knowledge of the Dynamix
          data types.  His overall knowledge of all the data
          types is unsurpassed.  Nicks dedication to accuracy and
          realism is also top notch.  Leave it to an ADA guy to
          know his AC! Go Army!

     5)   Uwe Serf:
          for his work on the TBL data files.  Due to his efforts
          we can color the planes to just about any color we
          desire.

     6)   Larry Grill:
          for his extensive work on the FMD & PLT files! His
          contributions are many but his initial break down of
          the PLT files is phenomenal.

     7)   Brian "ID" Sanford:
          for his extensive and endless work on the FMD data, no
          single person has worked harder on the FMD's. Thanks
          to Brian we can make the AC do just about anything we
          want at any altitude!




     Section 08:  VERSION HISTORY
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     SASE1.ZIP        Version 1.0    3-25-94




     Section 09:  POINT OF CONTACT
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Contact me if you have any new information or corrections to
     this doc and I will incorporate or correct the next version.
     The best way for us to figure all this data is to share all
     our information.

     GRANT C. SENN  aka TAGERT
     CID [70713,136]