Falcon Squadron Manager 1.9 Welcome to Falcon Squadron Manager 1.9(c). This program allows you to modify your squadron rosters for Falcon 3.04, MiG-29 1.03, & Hornet 1.01 during a campaign. This program is FREEWARE. You can use it all you want and give it away to whomever you choose and live guilt free (which makes it easier to sleep and you don't have bad dreams). For use with: Falcon 3.0 Operation: Fighting Tiger(tm) v 3.04 MiG-29: Deadly adversary of Falcon 3.0 v 1.03(tm) Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter 1.01(tm). Address questions or comments to me at: Richard A. Howard 16500 Henderson Pass #401 San Antonio, TX 78232 or drop me a line on Compuserve at: CompuServe ID [71553, 2544] * NOTE * The files NEEDED to run FSM 1.9 are: FSM.EXE FSMFAL1.EXE FSMMIG1.EXE FSMHRN1.EXE The FSM19.TXT file is included, but is not necessary to run the program. All other files from previous versions can be deleted. Files you can DELETE are: FSM18A.EXE FSM17A.EXE FSM18B.EXE or FSM17B.EXE or, all previous versions... FSM18.TXT FSM17.TXT ---------------------------------------------------------------- To use Falcon Squadron Manager, make sure all the files are in your Falcon 3.0 directory and type: FSM FSMFAL1.EXE, FSMMIG1.EXE, and FSMHRN1.EXE do nothing on their own. They are executed from the main menu and contain the code for rank changing, squadron renaming, etc... so executing them from DOS shouldn't do anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------- A note before going any further: Whoever invented Spring Break deserves a medal! Maybe we should hack out a program to give him one! In any case, this break has given me a chance to update FSM once again. I still haven't finished 2.0 yet, but maybe this summer I'll have more time. Version 2.0 is literally a completely new program and needs more time for development. I need anyone who uses this program to do me a favor; Since FSM is FREE, maybe you could pay me by LETTING ME KNOW IF YOU FIND A BUG (or maybe just a gripe). I understand if you got this program from some place other than CompuServe, but for those of you who DO have a CompuServe account, take 5 minutes to tell me about it. I would like to mention the ONLY postal letter I have received, which was from a guy in South Africa, of all places. That is what makes doing this program worthwhile. The bulk of the response has been on CompuServe, and I do appreciate the great people who take time to respond. Finally, I hope this program is useful and makes playing Falcon, MiG, and Hornet a little more fun. I have a great time playing it AND hacking it, and I hope you do too. Richard "BadTown" Howard ---------------------------------------------------------------- UPDATE NEWS: VERSION 1.9 - FSM now edits wingman comments for Falcon, MiG, and Hornet. - Squadron names can now be changed in Hornet. - Rank Abbreviations can now be changed in Falcon, MiG, and Hornet. VERSION 1.8 - Now works with Hornet: Naval Strike Fighter v 1.0. VERSION 1.7 - FSM now has the ability to customize your wingman's flight comments! Almost every one of the pilot's comments can be edited. This version only supports Falcon 3.02.1, but subsequent versions will support MiG-29 and Hornet as well. The sound will not change, but the displayed text will. You can find this feature under the Squadron Utilities section on the main menu. - To quit FSM you must now choose the QUIT option on the menu. Several people reported the "ESC key quit" was inconvenient because they easily lost their changes. - Although the Royal Australian Air Force doesn't fly F-16s, a custom selection has been added to the Change Rank options (at the request of Charles Gunst, who just happens to be from Australia) so a person can choose their rank structure as well. -Version 1.7 had a small number of minor bug fixes (which crept in during the mad rush to get the MiG-29 compatible version out). Most notable bug fixes: -Thanks to Chuck Bryant for pointing out some errors in the Squadron Stats arena. FSM now correctly reflects whatever Falcon says. -Sierra Hotel Display in FSM is fixed and now displays 10 pilots instead of only nine. -When editing a pilot's stats, after making a change, the first pilot on the roster would be displayed. -Still no changes in the AWARDS area. That's for later.When you are in the MiG-29 edit mode, the individual pilot data will display the U.S. medals, not the Russian ones. This will be changed later. They look like this: Medal Falcon 3.0 equivalent Position ---------------- --------------------- ----------- Order of Glory Distinguished upper left Flying Cross Gold Star Bronze Star upper right Order of the Silver Star center Red Banner Order of Lenin Air Force Cross lower left Order of Victory Medal of Honor lower right When you edit the U.S. version of the Russian award, the changes will be reflected in the MiG-29 environment. THINGS TO DO WITH FALCON SQUADRON MANAGER. - Edit the text display of your wingman's comments. - Edit Falcon 3.04, MiG-29 1.03 & Hornet 1.01 pilot rosters. - For added realism (or just a change of pace) you can re-assign the rank abbreviations to reflect the ranks of several different countries. Thanks to Chuck "Nuke'em" Corway for this suggestion and finding all the correct abbreviations. - A complete "refresh" of all ordnance, fuel, and aircraft can be performed from the main menu under "Squadron Utilities." It's like starting the campaign from scratch. If you would like to custom set each weapon's availability let me know. For the moment it is a global refresh. - Recover permanently "lost" pilots (due to a replacement date) from the Sierra Hotel Roster. I have had to use this option twice now so I am glad it's in there. You'll find it under "Squadron Utilities." - View the Sierra Hotel Roster. You'll find it under "Squadron Utilities." - View your squadron's stats. You'll find it under "Squadron Utilities." - Thanks to a suggestion by Chuck "Nuke'em" Corway, you can safely change the name of any squadron. You will find it under "Squadron Utilities" on the main menu. - EDIT ALL THE PILOT'S DATA DURING A CAMPAIGN and not alter any of the current campaign records. You can instantly revive or liberate KIA or MIA pilots right after a mission, and then go back to Falcon and continue the campaign. - Edit every item concerning a pilot within a squadron. This includes editing of awards, number of air-to-ground and air-to-air kills, pilot skills (including fatigue), name, rank, and callsign. - Sort the roster using one of eight selections. You can sort by rank, name, callsign, fatigue, sorties, dogfighting skill, bombing skill, or flying ability. - Perform a squadron-wide function on pilots. - Print a hardcopy of your squadrons with their skills. USING FALCON SQUADRON MANAGER 1.9 SELECTING AND EDITING A SQUADRON: * The squadron files (SQUADx.SQU for Falcon 3.04, SQUADx.SQM for MiG-29 1.03, or SQUADx.SQF for Hornet 1.01) are listed in the order you created them. If you have not created a squadron yet, you will not be able to use Falcon Squadron Manager. You must create one in the Falcon 3.0, MiG-29, or Hornet environment. * Select the squadron you wish to edit by highlighting it and pressing the ENTER key. * The squadron's pilots will be displayed in the order they appear in your Falcon, MiG, or Hornet environment (usually in order of rank). * Use the arrow keys to highlight the pilot you want to edit, then press the ENTER key. * A pilot data window will appear. Use the arrow keys to highlight the item you want to edit, then press ENTER. ---------------------------------------------------------------- A FEW NOTES ABOUT USING FALCON SQUADRON MANAGER. I would strongly advise that you make a backup of your FALCON3.EXE, MIG29.EXE, and HORNET.EXE files before using this option. Type: COPY FALCON3.EXE FALCON3.BAK COPY MIG29.EXE MIG29.BAK COPY HORNET.EXE HORNET.BAK Then move the files to floppy disks. This is always a good idea whenever you are making changes to original software. Another way to do this is to ZIP the three files into one and just leave it on your hard drive if you have the space. I do this and it works well. To do this type: PKZIP TMPFILES FALCON3.EXE MIG29.EXE HORNET.EXE Whenever Spectrum Holobyte comes out with an update, simply unzip the TMPFILES.ZIP file and everything is as it was. ---------------------------------------------------------------- * EDITING WINGMAN COMMENTS When editing the Wingman Comments: -ENTER key selects the comment to edit. A text edit box will appear. -ESC deletes the text -ENTER accepts the changes NOTE: If you don't want save your changes, press ESC and the text will disappear. Then press ENTER and the old text is restored. FSM doesn't accept empty strings in the edit comments mode. -Pressing the F1 key will restore ALL of the original text comments. You must still SAVE the changes to make them permanent. The text string must retain it's original length. This means that if you edit a 10 character text string, your new text string must also be 10 characters or less. * CHANGING RANK ABBREVIATIONS -Choose the "Change Rank Abbreviations" option from the "Squadron Utilities" menu. -Select the country you want to fly for and press ENTER. * RECOVERING A PERMANENTLY "LOST" PILOT On rare but especially emotional occasions, you may lose a good pilot during a mission "forever." If a replacement period comes around at the end of a mission, the KIA/MIA pilots are wiped from the record, sort of. If they are worth recovering they exist on the Sierra Hotel roster which is actually part of the squadron file. From the "Squadron Utilities" section you can recover one of those unfortunate flyers and keep from having to write a letter to his mother. * CHANGING A SQUADRON'S NAME: I would strongly advise that you make a backup of your SQDNAMES.STR, SQDNAMES.STM, and SQDNAMES.STF files by typing COPY SQDNAMES.STR SQDNAMES.FAL COPY SQDNAMES.STM SQDNAMES.MIG COPY SQDNAMES.STF SQDNAMES.HRN You will notice right away that the new squadron name can only be as long as (or shorter than) the original name. I tried REAL hard to make it otherwise, but soon found that Falcon doesn't read in the file like I need it to. They never intended the file to be changed anyway so I can't complain. Every name is recoverable simply by typing the name in again, or restoring your BACKUP SQDNAMES.* files. * WHEN TO EDIT A SQUADRON: When a pilot in your squadron is KIA or MIA, they are not deleted from the squadron file (on the disk), they are simply placed at the end of the roster file. However, the number of active pilots is decreased by 1, 2, or whatever number is appropriate, and Falcon 3.0 only reads in that particular number of pilots. Please note that you can edit ANY squadron at ANY point in a campaign! This is the way the program was designed. I went to great lengths to ensure compatibility with all three simulators. * WHERE TO LOOK FOR KIA/MIA PILOTS: The KIA and MIA pilots are placed at the end of the roster listing instead of their own independent area. If you have several pilots who need liberating or reanimation, it might be quicker to choose the "Revive all KIA/MIA" option under "Squadron Utilities" If you have more than one KIA/MIA pilot in a listing, and reanimate the last one in the list, he will automatically be moved to the end of the active pilots list (just before the KIA/MIA list), and the next KIA/MIA will be put in the edit window. * WHAT TO DO IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE: Just don't save your changes. Open the squadron again from the "Squadron Selection Menu" and start over. DISCLAIMER THIS PROGRAM MODIFIES DATA FILES CREATED BY FALCON 3.04(tm), MiG-29 1.03(tm), & HORNET 1.01. ALTHOUGH EVERY PRECAUTION HAS BEEN TAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, THE AUTHOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND TO ANY HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE (INCLUDING LOST TIME) THAT MAY BE INCURRED AS A RESULT OF USING FALCON SQUADRON MANAGER 1.9. THE MODIFIED FILES WERE NOT INTENDED TO BE READ OR WRITTEN, FROM OR TO DISK, RESPECTIVELY, AT ANY TIME BY AN OUTSIDE SOURCE, WHICH THIS IS. USE OF THIS SOFTWARE IMPLIES THAT YOU HAVE READ AND ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS DISCLAIMER.