Fleet Defender Gold (Win. CD Version) and XP?

[joes_shop 0]

While researching books on the F-14 on Amazon I came across a review of Microprose's Fleet Defender. One reviewer stated he was able to run the sim on XP.

 

Has anyone here done that and what would I need to do, etc.?

 

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

[Caesar 305]

I wrote one of those reviews, actually! I got it running (now on Vista) using DOSBox - an emulator that lets you play DOS games on PC. I think I had to set it up through DOSBox, but it's been a while. I know that's how I set up X-COM and MegaRace. Regardless, I don't think the Windows executable will run on Vista, but you can run the game install thru DOSBox, then the game itself. The problem I've run into is getting the right number of processor cycles to make the game run smooth; the menu's run better at one set, the game at another. Also, it will recognize a joystick, but not a throttle - maybe adjustments have to be made thru the DOSBox interface, I haven't screwed with it in a while.

 

In essence, you need DOSBox or another DOS emulator, install it, then run Fleet Defender's install through your emulator (make sure you have a subdirectory to act as "C:" I use "C:\Dosgames" to mount as "C:") then play the game.

 

EDIT: If you have the CD version, rather than the 3.5" version, you'll also have to mount the CD drive for the initial install (the game doesn't need the CD to run). So for the initial install, the verbiage would look something like:

 

Z:\> mount C C:\Dosgames <enter>

Z:\> mount D D:\ -t cdrom -ioctl -label FD <enter> - can be done without the -label FD part, that just gives the program the CD label

Z:\> D: <enter>

D:\> install <enter>

 

run thru setup

 

D:\> C: <enter>

C:\> cd\mps\f14gold <enter>

C:\MPS\F14GOLD\> f14 <enter>

Edited October 27, 2009 by Caesar

[joes_shop 0]

Caesar,

 

I have the CD (Gold) version and I downloaded DOSBox today.

 

Thanks very much for the info - I hope it's less complicated than it reads! (LOL)

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

[joes_shop 0]

Caesar,

 

Followed the DOSBOX tutorial and your directions (I Think!) and when I get to:

 

D:\install (enter)

 

I get the following error message:

 

"This program must be installed under Windows."

 

?

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

[Caesar 305]

Let me see if I can't fool with it. I got it to install somehow. Will report back.

 

EDIT1:

 

It figures that I left my disc about 2800 miles to the East of here. IIRC, there is a setup file (not Install) - see if you can run the setup, rather than install.

 

If that fails, try to run the install through WinXP (possibly running it in compatibility mode with WIN95 or 98), but run the actual game thru DOSBox.

 

Will see what I can do if both of those fail. If it does set up, keep a copy of the installed game file, because there is no way in hell to get the set up to run in Vista (haven't tried it on Win7) and it will run if it is pre-installed.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Caesar

[joes_shop 0]

Caesar,

 

Thanks!

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

[joes_shop 0]

Caesar,

 

Finally figured out that I was not 'mounting' the drive' correctly!

 

Got it up and running. Where you ever able to figure out how to 'map' the throttle (I have a Saitek X52)?

 

Again, I really appreciate your help on this - (thanks for taking the time!)

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

[Caesar 305]

I've also got an X52, but getting it up and running is a pain. The problem is that if you select a stick with a throttle in-game, the Joystick's Z-axis (rudder movement) becomes the throttle, and I haven't figured out how to get it to recognize otherwise. End result is that at the moment, I use the keyboard for throttle/rudders, stick for primary flight controls. There may be a way to get the stick to be recognized properly, but you'll have to go through DOSBox's documentation (included in the download, IIRC). I'll have to look into it more.

[joes_shop 0]

Caesar,

 

'Got my X52 working (i.e., Throttle) last night.

 

 

Using DOSBox 0.73:

 

1. Go to Edit Configuration

 

2. Under joystick edit the following to read:

 

joysticktype=fcs

timed=false

autofire=false

swap34=true

buttonwrap=true

 

3. Save this 'new' configuration.

 

4. Open DOSBox, then access Fleet Defender.

 

5. Go to 'Difficulty' and select 'joystick' then FCS w/WCS Analog.

 

6. Calibrate.

 

Note, ensure prior to calibration your throttle is (all the way) in the forward position (AB) detent.

 

7. Fly!

 

The throttle work fine and does not require recalibration even if you raise the cycles. I'm working that area now to fine tune the frame rate.

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

[Caesar 305]

Good work, and thanks for posting the procedure!

 

Got it up and running. Works great.

 

Also, I've noticed that at 18000 cycles, the game runs pretty smooth at both menus and in-game. Fastest way to do it, outside of a specific profile using a frontend, is to hit Ctrl+F12 until the cycles read 18000.

Edited November 4, 2009 by Caesar

[joes_shop 0]

Caesar,

 

I've got mine set at 25,000 cycles now. It seems that over 25,000 the sound starts to skip (albeit slightly).

 

I set up my X52 (buttons, etc.) last night: works fine.

 

It amazes me how immersive this sim is after all these years!

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

 

____________________

[strykerpsg 0]

Caesar,

 

I've got mine set at 25,000 cycles now. It seems that over 25,000 the sound starts to skip (albeit slightly).

 

I set up my X52 (buttons, etc.) last night: works fine.

 

It amazes me how immersive this sim is after all these years!

 

Regards,

 

J. P. Kelly

 

____________________

Anyone still playing this classic? I just found it on an abandonware site and trying to get it to run in D-Fend. However, get mouse errors, HIMEM and EMM386 messages. I looked into D-Fend, but can't find anything about these settings. It's too bad it didn't keep a following like Jane's F-18 and F-15E. Any help appreciated.

 

Matt

[Caesar 305]

D-Fend kind of makes it tricky. It's easier to use than DOSBox alone overall, but I've found for Fleet Defender I do not use D-Fend. I think if you follow the setup here you should be good to go.

[missleman01 3]

I also got the run under windows error. What did you change about your Disk drive mount to get past it?

[Caesar 305]

Missileman,

 

I ran setup through DOSBox itself, rather than Windows.  FD Gold's Windows install is a 16-bit program; the last version of Windows to support that was (I think) Windows XP (could have been 98).  Since I got it running again, I've just copied my DOSBox game directory to every new build I've done, so I haven't tried to install FD Gold since 2009.  All this being said, if you follow the procedure I wrote above, it should work.  If not, you might need to adjust how you mount your CD\DVD\BD drive (depends on the version of DOSBox - should be in the included text manual).  Another option is to install Windows 3.1 into DOSBox (I've done this as well), and install FD from Win 3.1.  That is a hell of a lot longer process, though, and requires you to own a copy of Win 3.1/3.11 - I actually ran the FD Gold Windows program in Win 3.1 for sound capture for the FD Gold menus available here on CA.

 

Hope this helps.  Any further questions, I'll see what I can dig up.

[RUSTYMORLEY 162]

I have heard of this game but never actually played it, any chance of posting a few screenshots so we can have a look at it. ???

[Boresight 51]

I have heard of this game but never actually played it, any chance of posting a few screenshots so we can have a look at it. ???

 

Sadly never played it also, but there are several videos about Fleet Defender on youtube...

Very realistic about avionics features for its time, (the several radar modes, for instance).

 

One of my favourite:

AIM-9 seeker head sybmbol moving in a search pattern, scanning for a target.

 

One will not find this kind of detail on other sims, (Jane's US Navy fighters; Flight Gear; Aerosoft F-14X; etc...)

Edited August 15, 2016 by Boresight

[Caesar 305]

Yeah, youtube has some footage of it.  If you have Steam, you can actually get it from there for like $5.  I don't know the peculiarities to setting up things like joysticks through Steam, however, and still have my disc from 21 years ago, so I haven't ever had to try.  FD did a great job on the avionics and radar of the F-14 (probably still has no equal out there in the public), but the flight model was mediocre.  Always feels heavy, sustained turning performance seems well below the charts, approach speed is ridiculously fast, no flaps/slats modeled, etc.  The graphics nowadays are dated, but the gameplay, especially from the Fleet Defense standpoint, is still a lot of fun.

[KJakker 902]

I saw this on Steam as well and added it to my wishlist.

 

Caesar do you think it would be possible to update F-14:FD's various 2D bitmaps with new higher resolution ones?

[Caesar 305]

KJakker,

 

It might be possible.  I know that back in the day, I added tailcodes to the player aircraft's bitmaps, but I never tried adjusting the resolution.

[KJakker 902]

KJakker,

 

It might be possible.  I know that back in the day, I added tailcodes to the player aircraft's bitmaps, but I never tried adjusting the resolution.

 

Thanks for the info.