This is a guide to running the Amiga version of the 1991 Dynamix sim, A-10 Tank Killer Version 1.5 under WinUAE emulation.
This guide assumes a working emulated Amiga, with a hard disk based Workbench as created in the earlier article, Amiga emulation with WinUAE.
Why play the Amiga version?
The PC has one major issue which was the introduction of an excessive joystick deadzone within the game itself which could not be worked around. In fact the deadzone is considered so bad that most playthroughs of the game used the keyboard flight controls in preference to a joystick. This marred what would have been an excellent addition to franchise on the PC.
The original PC version 1.0 has a v1.4 patch which improved speed sensitivity and provided much improved joystick handling. Why they decided to change it and include such a excessive deadzone remains a mystery!
The Amiga v1.5 has a rather more sensible joystick deadzone and seems to provide some quite responsive joystick handling. So if you wish to play A-10 v1.5, with a joystick the Amiga version may be the optimum one to play.
Version
This guide assumes a copy of A-10 Tank Killer Version 1.5 pre-patched for hard disk use with WHDLoad. Converting a disk/disk image copy of A-10 with the relevant WHDLoad support files into a patched 'hard disk supported' version is beyond the scope of this guide.
The recommended version of the WHDLoad patch files is v2.0. The prepatched WHDLoad distribution is normally packaged as an LHA (LH Archive) file. The workbench installation created earlier, supports LHA files.
The original game was distributed on 3 x 880 KB 3.5" Amiga floppy disk. Various copies may be encountered utilising the TOSEC naming convention
WinUAE setup
The following is a list of differences from the Workbench configuration in the Amiga emulation with WinUAE article. It is recommended to load the Workbench configuration file and save it as a separate configuration file specifically for A-10. Make sure to load this new configuration file before continuing and give it a suitable description.
CPU and FPU
The 'CPU Emulation Speed' section should be set to 'Approximate A500/A1200 or cycle exact'.
In the 'Cycle-exact CPU Emulation Speed' section, the 'CPU Frequency' should be set to '4x (A1200)'. You may wish to set this to A500 speeds if you think it's too fast.
Chipset
In the 'Chipset' section make sure 'Cycle-exact (Full)' and 'Cycle-exact (DMA/Memory access)' are both checked.
Display
As A-10 Tank Killer v1.5 was developed by Dynamix, a US game developer, it was probably written for an NTSC based Amiga. In the 'Settings' section the 'Refresh' drop down menu should be set to 'NTSC'.
Sound
I've encountered sound crackle in other games and I believe these settings reduce/eliminate it. However you should feel free to experiment with sound drivers if you continue to experience crackle.
The top drop down menu was set to 'DSOUND: Primary Sound Driver'.
In the 'Settings' section, 'Frequency' was set to '44100' and 'Audio filter' was set to 'Always on (A1200)'.
In the 'Drivers' section, only 'DirectSound' was checked.
Filter
The filter settings selected should be compatible with the refresh setting selected on the 'Display' page. As NTSC was selected, the filter settings should be compatible with emulating a NTSC display.
For a discussion of filters and slider settings, John Novak's article, Achieving period-correct graphics in personal computer emulators — Part 1: The Amiga should be consulted.
The 4.0x NTSC filter was chosen, 'D3D: CRT-A2080-NTSC-4.0x'. Depending on your display or personal preference, you may wish to choose a smaller 3.0x or 3.5x multiplier.
The 'Horiz. size' slider was set to '2000' and the 'Vert. size' slider was set to '2800' as required by the NTSC 4.0x filter.
Finishing up
Don't forget to save your new A-10 WinUAE configuration with these revised settings.
Installing
Firstly you should create a new folder (or drawer in Amiga terms) on the System disk to store any games, if it doesn't already exist. The next steps are:
Open WinUAE or the configuration utility (if WinUAE is started) and go to the 'CD & Hard drives' page.
Click on the 'Add Directory or Archive...' button.
Add the archive file as shown in the screenshot. The 'Device name' will be DHx where x is the next device no. (so DH2 in this case). Make sure the 'Read/write' and 'Bootable' options are unchecked. The 'Select Archive or Plain File' button is used to select the A-10 archive file.
This example shows how the F-16 Combat Pilot archive was added. Once selected, start the emulated machine, or if it is already started use 'Reset' to reset the machine.
The archive should appear on the Workbench desktop as a new disk. Open it and copy the A-10 Tank Killer folder/drawer into the Games folder/drawer.
That's it the game is now installed! You don't need to save this configuration, once the folder is copied onto the Amiga hard disk.
HOTAS setup
This next section is more advice than hard facts as I believe the exact settings you'll need will depend on your particular HOTAS setup. This will describe how I set up my Warthog HOTAS and things to consider when setting up your own.
A-10 Tank Killer Version 1.5 was written for both analogue and digital joysticks. The analogue joystick setting was used within WinUAE and selected from in game preferences.
WinUAE also has native controller support, with the HOTAS devices seen by Windows also being available to WinUAE. However using the native controller in WinUAE had a more 'sluggish' response. If I used the TARGET profiling software to create a virtual controller, it had a far more sensitive response.
This suggests the virtual controller uses a larger scale across axes than the default one provided by Windows. For this reason I opted to use a virtual controller.
HOTAS axes
The HOTAS axes were set as follows:
Physical axis | Windows axis |
Joystick x-axis | DX_X_AXIS |
Joystick y-axis | DX_Y_AXIS |
The throttle and rudder pedals were added to the TARGET profile but all of their axes were disabled.
Throttle
The throttle is controlled by the keys 1-9 which obviously does not map well to a throttle. However throttle buttons can be mapped to the throttle up/down keys within A-10. I also suggest supplementing them with buttons for:
Takeoff (9).
Cruise (7).
Attack run (4).
Rudder pedals
The rudder controls are particularly important for A-10 when conducting a strafing run on enemy vehicles. If you wish to use a rudder axes I would suggest mapping them with the rudder axis split into 3 sections, and configured as follows:
Axis percentage | Action/Keypress |
0-40 | Yaw left |
41-59 | Deadzone |
60-100 | Yaw right |
The rudder key-presses are active as long as held, so map well to this rudder control scheme.
WinUAE configuration
On the 'Game ports' page the Joystick should be set in Port 2 as your virtual controller. The type should be set as 'Analog joystick'.
Manual configuration
Not all configurable options are available from the config utility. The configuration file (.uae) can be edited from a text editor. The following settings:
input.joystick_deadzone=33
input.analog_joystick_multiplier=18
input.analog_joystick_offset=-5control analog joystick response, only the following setting was changed:
input.joystick_deadzone=5However, depending on your setup you may wish to experiment with the other settings.
Running
To run the game, open the System disk and your games folder/drawer. Within the games folder/drawer there should be an A10TankKiller folder/drawer. Within this folder there will be a game icon which looks like the box cover (this is a facility provided by NewIcons).
Simply double click to start the WHDLoad config for the game. A WHDLoad dialog box should appear and the game will start shortly.
In the preferences dialog box the joystick should be set to 'ANALOG JOYSTICK' and calibrated. The graphics settings can be set to optimum as shown.
Be sure to check out the rather nifty 3d credits crawl!
Documents
It's recommended to try and obtain digital copies of the following documents:
The manual. There aren't separate DOS and Amiga manuals, just a single manual with some technical sections applicable to DOS or Amiga only. The earlier v1.0 manual is approx 48 pages with the later v1.5 manual expanded to 100 pages. Either can be used as a sim reference, with the v1.5 manual containing more background and historical content.
Quick reference card, which provides a summary of the sim controls.
Good hunting!
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