The YouTube poll to decide what the 100th article should be, selected another DOS sim to receive the website treatment. Given I have quietly approached 100 articles, F-117A with it's stealthy 99 mission (plus 1 training mission) pilot career seems the ideal sim for this 100th article. One of my first setup guides was for the Mac version of F-117A, so I've finally gotten around to the PC version, nearly 100 articles later!
The second place choice was for a surprise article, so for the 101st article, we'll cover something completely new and different!
This article will be a discussion of running the PC version of the 1991 MicroProse classic, F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0 in DOSBox Staging v0.82.0. It will cover the versions and suggested patches for retail and digital releases on modern or legacy hardware. There will also be a brief section covering enhancements. I'll be using a gog.com release of the game.
Those interested in running the later Mac version should take a look at Running the Mac version of F-117A Nighthawk Stealth Fighter 2.0 with MAME.
F-117A is the 'sequel' to, or redevelopment of, the earlier MicroProse sim F-19 Stealth Fighter. Featuring upgraded graphics (VGA version), a host of bug fixes and far less sensitivity to higher CPU speeds making it more compatible with later/faster hardware.
HOTAS Config
F-117A supports a single joystick, it does not support a throttle or rudder pedals. However, since I have a joystick, throttle and rudder pedals, I configured them as part of the virtual controller, even if they won't be used. This will make it easier for DOSBox to assign the correct virtual controller axes to the DOSBox joystick device axes.
Configuring axes may not be required if your setup has 4 axes or less. The physical axes to Windows axes were configured as follows:
Physical axis | Windows axis |
Joystick x-axis | DX_X_AXIS |
Joystick y-axis | DX_Y_AXIS |
Throttle | DX_Z_AXIS |
Rudder | DX_XROT_AXIS |
Game management
I recommend using my DOSBox game management strategy. For a digital gog.com/Steam release the recommended game management folders are:
conf - to store any DOSBox or HOTAS configuration files.
docs - to store any additional docs not provided by the digital release.
patches - to store any patches.
Given the patches and enhancements discussed later, you may wish to copy the game files from your gog or Steam installation folder into a new hdd folder, to preserve the gog/Steam installation and use this hdd folder in DOSBox Staging instead.
For a retail release the above folders will be required and additionally:
cd - to store any cd images ripped from a retail cd.
fdd - to store any floppy images ripped from retails floppy disks.
hdd - the DOSBox emulated hard disk folder, to install the game to.
DOSBox Staging config
This DOSBox Staging config for F-117A assumes the latest version (at time of writing), v0.82.0 will be used. The changes to the default config are shown below:
[sdl]
host_rate = vrr
vsync = off
presentation_mode = vfr
[cpu]
cpu_cycles = 12000
cpu_cycles_protected = auto
cycleup = 100
cycledown = 100
[voodoo]
voodoo = false
[mixer]
reverb = medium
chorus = normal
[midi]
mididevice = mt32
[mt32]
romdir = "D:\Midi\Versioned"
[joystick]
joysticktype = 4axis
timed = true
swap34 = false
deadzone = 0
[autoexec]
# retail release
# imgmount a "D:\Games\Dos\F-117A\fdd\*.img" -t floppy -ro
# imgmount d "D:\Games\Dos\F-117A\cd\*.iso" -t cdrom
# mount c "D:\Games\Dos\F-117A\hdd"
# c:
# keyb us
# cd mps
# call f117.bat
# exit
# gog.com digital release
mount C "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\F-117A"
mount C "D:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\F-117A\cloud_saves" -t overlay
c:
keyb us
f117.com
exitWe don't use high frame rate settings as the intro runs at a painfully slow pace. Instead the [sdl] settings are appropriate for a variable refresh rate monitor. If you don't have such a monitor the settings can be left at their default values.
In [cpu] settings, 12000 cycles seems appropriate for my setup, however you may need to tweak this setting to find an optimum speed for your setup, so 12000 cycles is a good starting point.
The cpu_cycles_protected setting will use the same cycle count as cpu_cycles when set to auto.
Voodoo emulation isn't required and can be disabled.
The [mixer] settings can be changed to enhance sound and music to personal preference.
The [midi] and [mt32] settings enable high quality Roland midi music. The model value, auto, will default to a CM32L device. F-117A supports a CM32L device, so the model can be left as default. The midi roms folder is described in the DOSBox midi article.
The [joystick] settings are appropriate for my HOTAS setup so you may need to alter these. The timed setting must be set to true for my HOTAS. The deadzone setting is a personal preference. If you only have a joystick this could be changed to a 2axis device.
The [autoexec] has example imgmount commands for the floppy images which may be needed for a retail edition. As there are multiple floppy images the imgmount command uses the '*' wildcard. There is also an example cd imgmount command if you have a cd retail copy ripped to a cd image and a mount command for the emulated hard disk folder.
The retail imgmount/mount commands make use of a folder structure described in my DOSBox game management article.
The keyboard is set to a US keyboard with the keyb us command to prevent incompatibilities that may exist with other countries keyboards.
The retail release settings change to the MPS folder, created by the retail installer, if the default installation folder is used, and calls the batch file to run the game.
As a gog.com digital edition is being used, the mount command refers to the installation folder under the gog.com Galaxy client.
gog.com releases often provide a facility to save your game in the cloud, it does this by providing an overlay mount in the GOG DOSBox config. I've recreated this mount in the DOSBox Staging config.
I'm not 100% sure if it works correctly (it seems to), so please be aware and don't rely on it!
The gog digital release runs the game from the mounted c: drive folder.
EGA edition
The following changes should be made to the above config for the EGA edition:
[dosbox]
machine = ega
[render]
glshader = crt-auto-machine
[cpu]
cputype = 386_prefetch
cpu_cycles = 8000
[autoexec]
mount C "D:\Games\Dos\F-117A\hdd-ega"
keyb us
c:
cd f117
f117
exitThe machine unsurprising should be changed to an EGA machine for the EGA release.
The render setting chooses an appropriate CRT setting based on the EGA machine type.
The CPU settings are similar to those used for the EGA edition of Gunship 2000.
The default core setting of auto will use a normal core, allowing the 386_prefetch cputype to be used.
I used a different folder for the EGA edition and the autoexec mount command reflects that.
Editions and versions
F-117A is available as an EGA graphics edition and a VGA graphics edition. The EGA edition has been recently rediscovered and is available, although cannot be purchased digitally at present. The VGA version is far more common with retail editions being available on marketplaces and also available digitally through the gog.com and Steam platforms.
VGA versions
Like many earlier MicroProse titles the version number starts with a MicroProse product code, for F-117A this is 473. The following versions are known to exist:
v473.01 was the initial retail release version.
v473.02 was a later retail release, it is not known what bug fixes or enhancements are included in this release.
v473.03 was a later release including the addition of digitized speech. cleaned up graphics in opening screens and bug fixes. In addition the readme file listed some previously undocumented commands. This version was also available as a patch.
v473.04 was the final release. This version corrects the stealth mountains, no-credit for cargo drops, and all other reported problems. This version is available as a patch.
EGA versions
The EGA edition used a slightly different product code 1473. Only a single version is known to exist v1473.01.
Installation
Digital releases should be installed using the appropriate gog.com offline installer, Galaxy client or Steam client. Installation should be straight-forward and complete successfully.
gog.com digital release
The gog.com digital release was updated on 28 October 2015 to include a missing climbin.pic file. Verifying the game files did not add this file, and the game had to be uninstalled and reinstalled before it appeared.
If you are missing this file and midway through a pilot career you may wish to backup the roster.fil file before uninstalling and reinstalling the game.
Retail releases
I recommend ripping the installation media (cd or floppy) to cd/floppy images to save wear and tear on disks and drives. The media is already very old and may eventually fail due to aging.
The game should be installed through DOSBox using the installer app present on the first floppy disk or cd and should complete without issue.
Patches
The following is a list of patches and the applicable versions they can be applied to. All patches are present in an archive of the MicroProse FTP site held at the Internet Archive.
Version 3 update (f11703.zip)
The version 3 patch upgrades earlier versions to v473.03. It should only be applied to earlier versions. Digital releases do not require this patch.
It adds digitized speech. cleaned up graphics in opening screens and bug fixes. In addition the readme file lists some previously undocumented commands.
This version is a cumulative patch applied using an update utility so must be run from within DOSBox or on legacy hardware. it is not applicable to the EGA edition.
Version 4 update (f11704.zip)
This is also known as the 'Version 3 to version 4 update' and must be applied to v473.03. This patch upgrades v473.03 to v473.04.
According to patch notes:
This version corrects the stealth mountains, no-credit for cargo drops, and all other reported problems.
This is a file replacement patch replacing the vgame.exe file. It can be extracted in Windows and copied into the appropriate installation folder.
This replacement file is identical in size to the gog.com digital release vgame.exe file so may already be patched, but can be applied again. It's not known if it is applicable to the Steam digital release.
Note: The setup menu will continue to show the version as v473.03.
This is not applicable to the EGA edition, which uses an egame.exe file, instead of a vgame.exe file.
Interrupt settings patch
From the patch notes:
Because the new driver was a retrofit, we had to settle for using the factory default interrupt setting (IRQ 7). A small percentage of users have changed the interrupt setting on their cards because of interrupt conflicts in their computers. These drivers allow for use on interrupts 2,3,5 and 6.
This patch should not be used if the game is running under DOSBox emulation. It is only applicable to those running the game on legacy hardware that cannot use IRQ 7.
This is a file replacement patch, replacing the asound.117 file with an alternative file using the appropriate IRQ setting. There is a version of this patch for the VGA edition (a117irqv.zip) and one for the EGA edition (a117irqe.zip).
An earlier version of this patch for the VGA edition (asndirqv.zip) contained replacement files to use interrupts 3 or 5. Although this file is still listed, it no longer exists in the FTP archive having been superseded.
Fast 486 Sound Driver Updates (486snd.zip)
This is a set of replacement Adlib drivers for some earlier MicroProse games including F-117A. There are replacements for both the asound.117 and asound.log files. From the patch notes:
The AdLib drivers (for AdLib, Sound Blaster, Pro Audio Spectrum, Covox and compatibles) of some of our older games have had problems with newer fast computers, especially 486/66s. This file contains a number of updated sound drivers that should work fine on all fast machines.
The gog.com release uses files of a smaller size and this patch was released two years after the last version update patch, so this is a recommended patch. It is not known if it is needed by the Steam release, so files sizes/dates should be examined.
It is not known if this patch is compatible with alternate sound card interrupt settings (see Interrupt settings patch)..
Enhancements
There is an enhancement you may wish to try out but it is only applicable to the VGA edition.
Secret airstrip mission fix
The secret airstrip missions in Libya and North Cape theaters were disabled in the released games. In fact the F-19 Stealth Fighter manual discusses the location of secret airstrips in these theaters. In the later F-117A manual the references to these secret airstrips are removed, but they still exist in game.
The game has been analysed by debugcom and a GitHub page created detailing the investigation into the secret airstrip missions. It's amazing work and well worth a read. The result of the investigation were changes required to three files to restore these missions. So a huge thank you to debugcom for his hard work!
Fortunately we don't have to go changing hex values in binary files to get this to work because @damsonn has already done it for us and provided a Steam guide with a link to download the adjusted files! So another thank you to @damsonn for making things easier!
For those interested in the F-19 Stealth Fighter secret airstrip fixes there is a download in the earlier 'F-19 Stealth Fighter: North Cape secret airstrip fixed?' article.
The fix was made to v473.03 files. It should be compatible with v473.04 as this update only replaced the vgame.exe file and the secret airstrip fix changes the following files:
start.exe
lb.wld
nc.wld
This is not applicable to the EGA edition, as the start.exe file is a completely different size.
Game setup
Each time F-117A is started you'll go through a setup menu which asks if you have a joystick and if so you'll to asked to calibrate it.
You are then be asked to select a sound/music option. The DOSBox Staging config allows you to select either Adlib (Soundblaster compatible) or Roland options. The choice is left as a personal preference.
The setup menu also shows the version number, the version 4 update does not change this version number, so it continue to show v473.03.
Documentation
The gog.com digital release includes:
The manual.
The keyboard reference.
The aircraft id chart.
In addition there are various avatar, wallpapers, etc.
The retail releases include a technical reference document but this doesn't provides any additional information for a digital release.
The Steam release provides the manual, but it isn't clear what additional documents are also available.
Maps
Steam user LILEVO has kindly provided the theater maps in a Steam guide. The Libya, Persian Gulf, North Cape and Central Europe maps from F-19 Stealth Fighter are also applicable to F-117A.
Good hunting!
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