MicroProse well known for detailed deep sims was not adverse to making something lighter, and the result was F-15 Strike Eagle II.
Based on the same engine as F-19 Stealth Fighter, it was less technical, more fly and fight. It was even converted into an arcade version.
This guide will show you how to get the DOS version running in DOSBox Staging.
Versions & expansions
F-15 Strike Eagle II (Version 451.01)
This was the initial retail release created and published by MicroProse in 1989. It was distributed on either 2 x 5.25" 360k Double Density (DD) floppy disks or a single 3.5" 720k DD floppy disk.
F-15 Strike Eagle II (Version 451.02)
A re-release version was published by MicroProse in 1990. This release included a number of number of bug fixes but no additional enhancements.
If F-19 Stealth Fighter was also owned, the North Cape and Central Europe theaters could be imported into either version. Instructions for doing so were included in the technical supplement document.
F-15 Strike Eagle II: Operation Desert Storm Scenario Disk (Version 451.03)
The one and only expansion disk was published by MicroProse in 1992. This release included the Desert Storm theater and the North Cape and Central Europe theaters that were originally created for F-19 Stealth Fighter. In addition the Roland sound driver and updated Adlib drivers were included, as well as a small number of bug fixes. This release was a cumulative release, including the bug fixes from v451.02.
Later re-releases, like the Deluxe Edition would include the base game and scenario disk as a compilation. A pattern also repeated with later cd-rom releases.
The Deluxe Edition or later cd-rom releases are recommended as most patches have already been included, simplifying installation.
Patches
All patches are available within an archive of the MicroProse FTP site on the Internet Archive.
Roland patch (mpsrol.zip)
The Roland sound patch added the Roland sound drivers to a number of earlier MicroProse titles that were initially released without Roland support. This patch is only required for v451.01 or v451.02. Version 451.03 includes Roland sound drivers.
486 Sound patch (486snd.zip)
The 486 Sound patch fixed speed sensitive sound issues for the Adlib drivers across a number of MicroProse titles. It also fixed OPL3 stereo issues on Soundblaster cards for some titles, but not F-15 SE2.
This patch is only required for v451.01 or v451.02 experiencing sound issues but is recommended as it allows higher cycles to be used/tested in DOSBox. Version 451.03 already includes improved Adlib drivers.
Adlib drivers patch (mpsadl.zip)
This was a simple patch to increase engine volume for the Adlib drivers. It isn't recommended, but is left to personal preference.
Key Disk Eliminator patch (f152key.zip)
Following the release of F-15 Strike Eagle III, the Key Disk Eliminator patch was released to remove key disk copy protection, requiring an original retail floppy disk to be present. This is a file replacement patch, requiring a v451.02 or v451.03 copy of the f15.com file to replace the original.
Later cd releases would have this copy protection removed. This is not recommended as it was superseded by the Pentium patch.
Pentium Update patch (p5upd.zip)
Following the introduction of fast 486 and Pentium class machines the Pentium patch was released ro reduce the speed sensitivity of earlier titles. This patch effectively superseded any key disk patches, as it is a file replacement patch with the copy protection removed.
There are two files present for F-15 SE2, one per version. One file should be renamed to f15.com and used to replace the original f15.com file:
f15v2.com is for v451.02.
f15v3.com is for v451.03.
This is a recommended patch.
Controller setup
The game only supports the Joystick x and y axes. However, if your controller has more axes and you are unable to disable the additional axes, then configuring them as shown below, as a '4axis' joystick device will allow DOSBox to correctly map the axes.
Physical axis | Windows axis |
Joystick x-axis | DX_X_AXIS |
Joystick y-axis | DX_Y_AXIS |
Throttle | DX_Z_AXIS |
Rudder | DX_XROT_AXIS |
If you only have a 2 axis controller or can disable additional axes then you only need to define the Joystick axes.
DOSBox Staging configuration
The following config is suitable for DOSBox Staging v0.82.0. The settings below differ from the default configuration.
[sdl]
host_rate = vrr
vsync = off
presentation_mode = vfr
[dosbox]
dos_rate = 1000
[cpu]
cpu_cycles = 8000
cpu_cycles_protected = auto
cycleup = 100
cycledown = 100
[voodoo]
voodoo = false
[mouse]
dos_mouse_immediate = true
[mixer]
reverb = large
chorus = normal
[midi]
mididevice = mt32
[mt32]
model = mt32_new
romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned"
[sblaster]
sbtype = sbpro1
[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = false
deadzone = 0
[autoexec]
imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\F15 Strike Eagle II\fdd\disk1.img" -t floppy -ro
imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\F15 Strike Eagle II\cd\f15.iso" -t cdrom
mount c "D:\Games\Dos\F15 Strike Eagle II\hdd"
loadfix
c:
cd mps/f15
f15.com /J /GM /D3 /AR
exitThe [sdl], [dosbox] and [mouse] settings are suitable for high frame rate gaming as described in this article by Omniclyde. These settings aren't strictly required and can be omitted to use the default settings.
8000 cycles seems appropriate, you may need to tweak this setting but 6000-8000 cycles seems like a good starting point. The higher the cycle count the higher the accuracy needed to make a gun kill, in addition ineffective hits by Mavericks seem to increase.
Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled.
The [mixer] settings are a personal preference to enhance sound and music.
The [midi] and [mt32] settings are based on info from the VOGONS wiki article 'List of MT-32-compatible computer games'. The rom folder needs to be specified, as described in DOSBox midi.
In the [sblaster] section, the sbtype is changed to a Soundblaster Pro, this is to take advantage of stereo audio provided by (emulated) dual OPL chips, as described in the VOGONS wiki article.
The [joystick] settings use a 4axis joystick type, as I'm using a 4 axes virtual controller, and this will help DOSBox assign axes correctly. If you only have a 2 axes controller or your device(s) allows unused axes to be disabled, then this could be changed to a 2axis joystick type.
If you experience joystick drift, you may wish to change the timed setting. The deadzone is a personal preference.
The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for a floppy disk image and a cd image. The imgmount and mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management article.
The loadfix command is required to limit the amount of conventional memory. This is often needed by early DOS games.
The f15.com command is run with command line switches to set various options. These are described in the Setup section below.
The exit command will close DOSBox once the game is quit.
Vanilla settings
These are the additional settings required to play original unpatched versions without the recommended patch(es).
[cpu]
core = normal
cputype = 386_prefetchThe [cpu] settings have been found to be the most compatible with disk or cd based releases. The cd releases in particular seem to require the 386_prefetch cpu type which in turn requires the normal DOSBox core. Without these settings the f15.com command seems to freeze, if not patched with the Pentium update patch.
Installation
Installation will depend on your particular release, the disk based releases normally come with an install utility (e.g. install.exe) to install to hard disk. Any installation utilities should be run using DOSBox.
Some of the cd releases lack this, requiring the F-15 folder on the cd to be copied to the hard disk or run the game from the cd (or cd image). It's recommended to copy the appropriate folder to the DOSBox hard disk folder and run the game from there.
Once installed it's recommended to install the Pentium Update patch with DOSBox.
Setup
There is no separate setup utility with setup options being specified on the command line or through menus when the game is started. Detail level, graphics, sound and controls are all configured this way. The technical supplement document contains a list of setup options, shown below:
/J | if you use a joystick |
/NJ | if you use a keyboard without a joystick |
/GE | if you use EGA 16-color graphics |
/GM | if you use MGCA or VGA 256-color graphics |
/GC | if you use CGA 4-color graphics |
/GT | if you use Tandy 1000 16-color graphics |
/GH | if you use Hercules monochrome graphics |
/D3 | to invoke detail level 3 |
/D2 | to invoke detail level 2 |
/D1 | to invoke detail level 1 |
/D0 | to invoke detail level 0 |
/AA | invokes the Ad Lib sound driver |
/AT | invokes the Tandy sound driver |
/A? | replace the ? with the code of the sound driver you want |
The command I use to start the game with Roland sound becomes:
f15.com /J /GM /D3 /ARDocumentation
There are a number of useful documents, available from various websites, for F-15 Strike Eagle II, these include:
The F-15 Strike Eagle II manual.
The HUD and keyboard reference card.
The technical supplement.
The Operation Desert Storm expansion manual.
ONC maps of Libya, Persian Gulf, Vietnam and Middle East theaters.
In addition, the strategy guide, The Official F-15 Strike Eagle Handbook by Richard Sheffield is available digitally at FlightSimBooks.com.
Miscellaneous
Some releases of the game included a demo app (demo.exe) which provides a slideshow of what were the future Gunship 2000 and F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0 titles. You may need to drop the cycles to a lower value to give yourself time to view the short slideshow.
Good hunting!
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