As part of our ongoing effort to enhance your Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator
3 experience, the CFSInsider Knowledge Base responds to the setup and configuration
questions below. As we gain more information on usage from our customers, we will
be updating this section to better assist you in having a fun, enjoyable CFS3 experience.
Other sources of information
In order to get the needed information to our customers, we purposely present
the same information across a variety of sources. As you develop questions during
your play of CFS3, we recommend you review the following sources for assistance.
The documentation included on Combat Flight Simulator 3 CDs:
Readme.rtf
Flight School: FS.PDF
Machines of War: MOW.PDF
Understanding the Tactical Air War: UTAW.PDF
Quick Reference Card
Online help within Combat Flight Simulator 3 (click on "Options" inside the game).
Microsoft Product Support (view the readme.rtf file for the different ways to contact
Support).
Click on the links below to obtain information on specific topics:
Restarting (rebooting) your PC can often clear out undesired behavior
you may experience during setup or during game play. To setup you PC for a clean
reboot, follow the instructions outlined by
Microsoft Product Support Knowledge Base for Combat Flight Simulator
3.
Right-click the CFS3 icon and select "Properties". At the end of the
Target line, type "-window".
Example: “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CombatFlightSimulator 3\cfs3.exe”
-window (go to the end of the string and add -window outside the quotation marks)
Note:Please keep in mind that windowed mode is a nonstandard
configuration for this product. As a result, Microsoft Product Support cannot provide
troubleshooting for issues that arise in windowed mode.
If you have just installed CFS3 and are using anti-virus software, performance problems
may result if you start immediately. Please give your antivirus software time to
scan the newly installed files.
Check that your installation of DirectX 8.2 has fully installed. Refer to the item
"How do I know what version of DirectX I have on my computer?" to find out which
version is currently installed. If in doubt, reinstall DirectX 8.2 or higher, and
confirm you have a successful installation.
If you are using Ontrack Zipmagic, you must disable the "Show Zip Folders" feature
of Ontrack ZipMagic before running CFS3; otherwise, CFS3 may not function.
If you experience performance problems when using the game interface,
quit the game and disable pre-flight animations. Note that this will disable your
ability to preview aircraft before you fly. To disable pre-flight animations:
Open Notepad. (Click Start on the Windows taskbar, click Programs, click Accessories,
and then Notepad.)
On the File menu, click Open.
In the Open dialog box, navigate to game.xml and open the file.
Note:
The location of this file depends on where you've installed the CFS3. The default
location (and most likely it will be here) is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\CFS3\game.xml.
In game.xml, change "ShowUIWorld=true" to "ShowUIWorld=false". Save game.xml, and
then run CFS3.
Combat Flight Simulator 3 requires that your video card be a 3D graphics
accelerator card with at least 16 Mb of video memory (RAM) on the card. To check
and see what card is currently installed on your computer, perform the following
steps.
Right-click anywhere on your Windows desktop.
Click "Properties".
Click the "Settings" tab.
Click the "Advanced" button.
Click the "Adapter" tab.
The description of your card is listed in the "Adapter Information"
section.
In order to minimize the amount of problems you may see on video hardware,
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 checks the vendor ID and device ID on the card
each time the game is launched. These values are then compared to a video configuration
table. If the game determines that inappropriate video hardware\drivers are in use,
the above message will appear at launch.
When this message appears, you will not be allowed to continue to load the game.
If you click "No," you will be returned to the desktop. If you click "Yes," you
will see an HTML file that describes the various methods that can be used to troubleshoot
the issue. This file is
\Combat Flight Simulator 3\help\topics\graphicssupport.htm and it contains
information that will allow you to troubleshoot your issue. Keep in mind that troubleshooting
the issue may require driver and hardware upgrades. For additional information on
recommended driver versions, please go to "Choosing the best driver for your computer"
on this page.
First, make sure your graphics card meets the minimum requirements for
running Combat Flight Simulator 3. To check this, follow the instructions under
"How do I know if my video card meets the minimum requirements?"
If you see the above error message, your current video card does not meet one
or more of the requirements for running Combat Flight Simulator 3, and you will
not be able to play the game without upgrading to video hardware that meets or exceeds
requirements.
When this message appears, you will not be allowed to continue to load the game.
If you click "No," you will be returned to the desktop. If you click "Yes," you
will see an HTML file that has more information about determining the current type,
brand, and driver for your video hardware. This information may be useful as you
pursue an upgrade path.
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3 requires that your video hardware have
at least 16 MB of video RAM and be compatible with DirectX. For the list of known
supported chipsets for Combat Flight Simulator 3, review "Choosing the best driver
for your computer" on this page.
Below is a list of issues and recommended drivers for running Combat
Flight Simulator 3 on your computer system. The information is organized by graphics
card manufacturer and operating system.
Please note that there are many video card manufacturers, from third party vendors
to computer manufacturers. There are a smaller number of video "chipset" manufacturers.
The video card manufacturers use chipsets from the chipset vendors in manufacturing
their brand name cards. So the important manufacturer to know is the chipset manufacturer.
When you go online to look for the best driver for your card, first go to the chipset
manufacturer's site. They will have the most up-to-date driver selection. Drivers
available on video card or computer manufacturers' sites may be less up-to-date.
Some video solutions are designed for a particular computer manufacturer and
may require non-reference drivers that were created specifically for that computer
manufacturer. The drivers mentioned below are "reference" drivers. (Drivers that
are designed to work with standard video solutions for the chipset manufacturer's
design are known as a "reference" design.) It's always a good idea to consult with
your computer manufacturer in addition to the chipset manufacturer before installing
new drivers.
Radeon 9700
If you have a Radeon 9700, the latest posted drivers may cause lock-ups to occur
within Combat Flight Simulator. For this reason, Combat Flight Simulator restricts
access to these drivers.
Some drivers posted by ATI will work effectively with Combat Flight Simulator
3. Try using these drivers in conjunction with your Radeon 9700.
NVidia-based, Geforce chipset video cards (Geforce 256, Geforce 2, Geforce 2
MX, Geforce 3, Geforce 4 and GeForce 4 MX)
If you receive a message that your drivers are not compatible with Combat Flight
Simulator 3, the best course of action is to download and use NVidia reference drivers
for your machine. The 30.82 series of NVidia Detonator drivers is recommended.
NVidia-based, TnT chipset video cards (TnT, TnT M64, TnT Vanta TnT 2 and TnT
2 Ultra)
If you receive a message that your drivers are not compatible with Combat Flight
Simulator 3, the best course of action is to download and use NVidia reference drivers
for your machine. The 29.42 series of NVidia Detonator drivers is recommended. http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=det_xp_win9x_29.42 http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=winxp-2k_29.42
S3 chipset-based video solutions
If you receive a message that your drivers are not compatible with Combat Flight
Simulator 3, the best course of action is to download and use S3 reference drivers
for your machine. The latest drivers for most S3-based devices can be found at http://www.s3graphics.com/
. We cannot provide direct links because S3 requires the use of a password to access
their archived drivers.
Intel 810, 815 chipsets
The Intel 810 and 815 chipsets do not meet the minimum of 16MB of video memory
required to run Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3. CFS3 will not work if your
video solution is an embedded Intel 810 or 815 chipset.
Intel 845 Integrated Video Solution
Computers equipped with the Intel 845 chipset may be able to meet the minimum
system requirements needed to run CFS3 depending on the amount of available system
memory. For instructions on enabling CFS3 to accept the Intel 845 Integrated Video
Solution, click here.
Kyro and Kyro II-based video solutions
Reference drivers for these chipsets can be found at
http://www.powervr.com/Downloads.asp; however, some manufacturers
may have newer drivers than these available on their web sites. We suggest that
you contact the manufacturer of your hardware or system to determine where the most
recent drivers for your particular solution exist.
It is possible to choose resolution and/or color depth settings for
your card that require more memory than you have on your card, which can cause corruption.
For example, you may see graphic corruption when running in 1600x1200x32 on an NVidia
chipset-based video card. Or, you may see that terrain objects lose their color
when you bail out of an aircraft. Other symptoms of graphic corruption include mixed,
strange, or missing graphics on your aircraft or on the ground. To fix this issue,
reduce the resolution and/or reduce the color depth.
It is also possible to choose an image quality level that may be
too detailed for your video card. If you do so, you may experience audio and/or
video corruption along with low frame rates. To fix this issue, set a lower Image
Quality level.
Some video cards (such as the S3 ProSavage) require textures that have
square dimensions. The HUD gauge textures are not necessarily square, so you may
see some graphic corruption in HUD gauges.
Flickering Clouds or Other Graphic Anomalies issue
On some video cards, you may experience clouds that "flicker in and out." Alternatively,
you may see some items showing in front of others when they should be showing behind
them. One solution to this problem that may work for your configuration is to enable
"High Resolution ZBuffers" and disable "Dual-Pass Rendering." The instructions for
doing so are below.
Note:
To perform these steps, you will need to use the CFS configuration application.
CFS3's configuration presets are designed for maximum compatibility with video cards.
Changing individual settings within the configuration is not supported and may cause
lock-ups or other problems.
If you experience these problems, you can use the "Default Settings" menu item
to restore your configuration to its original state.
Open up the CFS3 Configuration application. An icon is located in your start menu.
Click the File menu.
Click the Custom Settings option.
Select the Window menu.
Select Overrides.
Uncheck the "Dual Pass Render" option if it is checked.
Check the "High Resolution Z-Buffer" checkbox..
Click OK, then exit the CFS3 Configuration application.
You may experience other graphic anomalies with these options enabled. If
this is the case, you can undo these changes by opening up the CFS3 Configuration
application and selecting "Default Settings."
In-Game Animations
Certain animations, such as propeller spin, may not work when you are in
a gunner position and use the external view.
Crystal Audio Sound Cards
CFS3's display may suddenly go blank when using these cards. To work around this
problem, follow these steps:
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks), and then click OK.
Click the "Sound" tab.
Under DirectX Features, move the Hardware Sound Acceleration Level slider all the
way to the left (the "No acceleration" setting).
Click Exit.
Attempt to play the Simulation again.
Aureal Vortex II Sound Cards
You may experience delays between the audio and the game, and popping sounds,
when using the drivers provided with this card. To fix this problem, upgrade to
the latest audio drivers.
No Sound Card
If your computer does not have a sound card installed, you will not see
advisor messages about wingman chatter in CFS3.
Stuttering in the game is closely tied to the frame rate as your computer
handles all the requirements necessary to run the game. How you configure your computer
will increase or reduce your frame rate. The following items are good candidates
for you to set or adjust within the game to help improve your frame rate—and your
overall game play experience.
Adjusting Terrain, Scenery, & overall display resolution settings
Adjust your terrain, scenery, and display resolution mix. From the Options menu:
Choose Display Options.
Select the "Image Quality" tab.
Adjust the Terrain Detail down.
In general, don't set Terrain Detail below 2 unless you have tried higher settings
and you are not satisfied with the behavior. The detail textures which begin at
2 make a noticeable improvement to the look of the game, so try leaving this setting
at 2.
If you are dogfighting up high, set Terrain Detail to 1.
If you are flying low ground attack missions, try setting Terrain Detail to
2.
Terrain Detail adjusts the degree of detail for ground, trees, rivers, and other
related scenery display.
Adjust the Scenery Detail to 1 or 2. Choose 1 or 2 based upon your computer's
performance and your preference for scenery. Scenery detail adjusts the number of
close-up trees, trucks, and other scenery items.
Adjust your screen resolution on the "Image Quality" tab.
Based upon your computer's 3D video display card's capability, you can experiment
adjusting this setting up to the next level. This setting does not influence stutters,
but increasing it may slow overall performance.
Turn off Scenery and Terrain lighting.
Turning it off makes a modest frame rate improvement, but without any dramatic
loss in appearance. On the "Image Quality" tab, uncheck the box for "Terrain and
Scenery Lighting."
Turn off Shadows.
Shadows are cool and they can be helpful for low-level flying. They also cost
you several frames per second, so in your search for better performance, they're
a clear target of opportunity. On the "Image Quality" tab, uncheck the "Shadows"
checkbox. Try the game out and see how badly you miss the shadows (if at all).
Turn down Clouds.
Clouds in CFS3 are really gorgeous. Even if you slide the Cloud Quality slider
one or two notches to the left, they will still look good. If your frame rate is
low overall, or if you notice significant slowdowns when there is bad weather present,
consider lowering the Cloud setting.
Click the Options menu
Select Display Options.
Click the Image Quality tab
Adjust the Clouds Quality slider one or two notches to the left.
Test whether you like the change by clicking Quick Combat and changing the
weather to 7/8 Broken Clouds in the "Location" dialog box, then flying the mission.
The change can have a modest effect on the look of the game, even though it significantly
lowers the work your machine is doing.
Advanced Options
Turn off Dual Pass Rendering, turn on High Resolution Z-Buffer. Newer video
cards are able to process the images in a single pass. You can enhance performance
with the higher-end cards by disabling dual pass sampling. Older cards with less
video RAM will actually suffer in performance from this change.
This option requires using the CFS3Config tool, and it's a bit more hardcore.
It will improve your frame rate a bit, and it will make clouds look better to boot.
This option may not work with all 3D cards, so you may have to back the change out
if it causes problems.
Try this if you have a fairly new 3D card. It's easy to undo the change if it
causes problems, and you'll see a noticeable improvement on cards that support it.
Here's what you do:
Make sure CFS3 is not running.
Click the Start button on your taskbar and run CFS3Config.exe. This .exe is located
in the root folder in which you installed Combat Flight Simulator 3. (The default
folder location is All Programs/Microsoft Games/Combat Flight Simulator 3).
Once the CFS3Config utility opens:
Click the File menu.
Select Custom Settings.
Click OK on the alert dialog.
Click the Window menu item and select Overrides. A little less than half way down
the list you will see "Dual Pass Render," which is checked. Uncheck this box and
then check the one for the choice directly below it, "High Resolution Z-Buffer."
Click OK and then use the File menu to quit CFS3Config.
Problems? If the game doesn't run, or if the change causes erratic behavior,
you can always restore the original settings by running CFS3Config again and reversing
the above steps, or by selecting Default Settings from the file menu.
Defragment (clean up) your hard drive.
Regardless of what system you have or what settings you prefer, you can improve
performance on Combat Flight Simulator 3, as well as your other games, by having
a hard drive with very little fragmentation. Fragmented files on your hard drive
increase the time it takes to write and read from your hard drive, and it increases
the time it takes for your computer to use hard drive space for virtual memory.
Before you run the Windows Disk Defragmenter, make sure to empty your Recycle Bin.
(In fact, if you're running Windows Millennium or XP you should probably first run
Disk Cleanup). Next, run the Disk Defragmenter by clicking the Start button on your
taskbar and choosing the All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter.
Be patient; Disk Defragmenter can take hours. It's a good idea to run Disk Defragmenter
overnight.
Create a permanent swap file.
This is kind of a tech-geek option, so not everyone will want to try it. It's
actually pretty easy, though, and can make a noticeable improvement on not only
CFS3 but all of the games and applications you run. Basically, Windows uses space
on your hard drive to create a file that simulates extra memory whenever applications
need it. The default is for Windows to manage this file dynamically. Unfortunately,
this uses some system resources, so it slows things down. Also, the changing size
of this file can cause things that get written to the HD to be fragmented.
If you have more than one gigabyte of empty space on your hard drive, and you
have recently defragmented that hard drive, setting up a swap file can make a big
difference. If you are noticing that your hard drive light is on while you're playing
the game, which shows that your system is reading and writing from the drive, this
can help a lot! Here's what you do:
Windows XP:
Click the Start button on your task bar, right-click My Computer, and select Properties
from the menu. This will bring up the System Properties window.
Select the Advanced tab and click the button to change the settings for Performance
(the one that mentions virtual memory).
Select the Advanced tab, then click the Change button for Virtual Memory. By default
it will have the radio button "System Managed Size" selected.
Select Custom Size, type "1024" into both the Initial Size and the Maximum Size
boxes, then click OK on all of the dialog boxes until the System Properties window
is closed.
Note:
If you have XP and the properties on your Start menu are set to Classic Start Menu,
you should follow the Windows 98 steps below.
Windows 98/Me:
Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop and select Properties from the
menu.
Select the tab marked "Performance" and click the button marked Virtual Memory.
Click the radio button that says "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings."
Set the values in both the Minimum and Maximum fields to 1024, then click OK on
all of the dialog boxes to apply the settings.
Turn off virus scanners.
Virus scanning software "looks" at your system and files periodically to
verify that there are no viruses present. This can cause overall low frame rates
or stutters. In some cases, virus scanners can even cause other problems in the
way the game runs. This is a source of some known performance problems with Combat
Flight Simulator 3.
What to do:
Disable any real-time virus-checking your virus detection software may have.
Even better, exit your virus software altogether. Most virus scanners will display
an icon in the system tray, at the end of the task bar. Right-clicking on this icon
will show you the various options available.
When you are done playing CFS3, remember to turn your virus detection software
back on.
If you have altered the anti-alias display settings within the CFS3Config.exe
process, your 3D graphics video card may not support this level feature. Reset to
the default settings.
Exit CFS3 if you are in the game.
From the Windows desktop, run CFS3Config.exe (located in the root directory of your
CFS3 setup).
Select "File" and then choose "Change Display Options".
Confirm that the Anti-aliasing option is set to "None" (or just click the "Use default
resolution" radio button).
Combat Flight Simulator 3 requires DirectX version 8.2 or higher,
even on WinXP SP1. DirectX 8.2 is DirectX 8.1 + DirectPlay 8.2. If you do not currently
have version 8.2 or higher, the Combat Flight Simulator 3 installation process will
install DirectX 8.2. Installation of DirectX 8.2 will require a reboot.
You can check for the proper installation of DirectX 8.2 by using
DXDIAG to confirm that the version has incremented to 8.2. Click Start, Run, then
type DXDIAG in the "Open:" dialog box. Your DirectX version information will be
listed at the bottom of the System Information group.
Check that DirectX 8.2 installed fully. Refer to "How do I know what
version of DirectX I have on my computer?" to find out what version is currently
installed. If in doubt, reinstall DirectX 8.2 or higher, and confirm the installation
was successful.
There is a Direct X version compatibility battle going on between
CFS3, CFS2, and the Zone. The newer version of DirectX 8.2, which overwrites any
earlier version of DirectX when installed with CFS3, is not recognized by CFS2 and
the Zone. The CFS3 development team is aware of this issue and is working on an
acceptable resolution.
In CFS3, it is possible to create games that are "unwinnable." For
example, if the spawn limit is set to a lower number, but the number of kills needed
to win a game is high, the game may be unwinnable given the number of players in
the game. You should use spawn limits only in conjunction with time limits as a
game end goal.
When entering some team dogfights, in rare instances you may not
see a score screen (which lets you enter the dogfight) on joining. The workaround
is to use Ctrl+Shift+S to manually bring up the score screen.
In Multiplayer mode, if your aircraft is damaged and you land, your
engines may no longer work, so you can't take off again. If this happens, you must
restart play by pressing Ctrl+Shift+K. Restarting destroys your current aircraft
and lets you resume play in a new one.
Some players may not be able to join games if there are 10 or more
players already in the game who have the same name. To join such a game, use a different
name.
When you play on a host server that uses a different language version
of Combat Flight Simulator 3, some of the in-game messages will be in the language
of that host server.
If you are using personal firewall software on your PC, such as Zone
Alarm or Sygate's Personal Firewall, you may experience dialogs that pop up intermittently
during the game. For some pieces of software, these dialogs may appear "behind"
CFS3 and cause it to hang while the dialog is still open. You will need to use Alt-Tab
to switch to these open dialogs. A workaround is to configure your personal firewall
software to always let CFS3 access the network.
If you cannot "see" the CFS3 Game List, and your computer is behind a
Network Address Translation (NAT) or firewall machine, try opening ports on your
firewall to enable gameplay. Specifically, in the Setup of your NAT/firewall, assign
the following trigger ports to the coinciding public ports (note that all transmission
is done using the UDP protocol).
A client behind the firewall may not be able to join a password-protected
game published via CFS GameMatch if that server is behind the same firewall as the
client. A workaround is to connect to the game using the Join Private Game (Direct
IP) option.
If you connect to another computer behind the same firewall via CFSMatch,
you may experience long connection times (up to a minute). Again, the workaround
is to connect directly to that computer.
Windows XP Internet Connection Sharing
A computer running CFS3 running behind a Windows XP Service Pack 1 Internet Connection
Sharing Server may not be able to connect to a computer running behind a Window
XP Internet Connection Sharing server. This is a known incompatibility between service
packs of Windows XP. The workaround is to upgrade all Windows XP machines to the
latest service pack.
Windows 2000 Internet Connection Sharing
A CFS3 multiplayer game that is behind a Microsoft Windows 2000 Internet Connection
Sharing Server will not be able to connect to a game server that is hosted behind
the same Windows 2000 ICS machine. A workaround is to connect the clients directly
to the server using the Join Private Game option.
Windows 98 Second Edition Connection Sharing
You may experience extreme synchronization problems when connecting a Windows
98 Second Edition ICS server to a Windows 98 Second Edition client that the ICS
machine is serving.
A CFS3 multiplayer game that is behind a Microsoft Windows 98 Internet Connection
Sharing Server will not be able to connect to a game server that is hosted behind
the same Windows 98 ICS machine. To fix this, connect the clients directly to the
server using the Join Private Game option.
Clients external to your ICS network will not be able to connect to games
that are hosted on a computer running Windows 98 Second Edition if the Internet
Connection Sharing option is enabled on the host machine.
If a CFS3 multiplayer game is hosted on a dual Network Interface
Card/Internet Connection Sharing (NIC/ICS) machine, users with machines that are
serviced by that dual NIC machine may not see the game in their game lists. The
solution for this problem is to connect to the game host by specifying its IP address.
If you are thinking about upgrading your system to improve your performance,
the main things that are most likely to improve your Combat Flight Simulator 3 experience
include:
A good 3D graphics accelerator card Having a 3D card with a minimum of 64Mb of video
RAM will lower the amount of time spent moving textures to the card.
More system RAM. Having more system RAM will mean that more data is in memory and
doesn't have to be loaded from the hard drive.
Fast, clear hard drive
Of course, if data is being loaded from the hard drive, it helps if
the hard drive is a nice, fast one. You might want to consider upgrading your hard
drive, or just add a second, faster hard drive to your system. If you do the latter,
you'll want to move either Combat Flight Simulator 3 or your swap file to that second
drive; you'll get the biggest improvements if both are not on the same drive.
Combat Flight Simulator 3 has been developed to support a wide range
of computer configurations, with a host of settings, options, and tuning control
to allow users to customize their experience to fit their computer. However, even
newer computers recently purchased in the last few years may not have come with
the minimum components required by Combat Flight Simulator 3.
An example of components to check is your computer's 3D graphics adapter card
(video card). Some of the low-end budget price range computers may have a card below
the stated requirements (usually in the amount of onboard video RAM) even though
the computer is less than a few years old.
So, you may need to check your configuration against the minimum requirements
(see "What are the system requirements to run Combat Flight Simulator 3?" and "How
do I know if my video card meets the minimum requirements?"). A new computer, or
even one that is only two years old, may not be configured with the necessary items
to run Combat Flight Simulator 3.
Warp quickly moves your aircraft to the next waypoint or objective. To
do this, the autopilot flies your aircraft so that it arrives at precise waypoints.
For example, you may be at 20,000 feet, but the process of Warping may leave you
at 6,500 feet. This happens because the waypoints have a specified altitude (in
this case, 6,500 feet), and Warp is flying your aircraft to arrive at that altitude.
Also, please note that if you activate Warp while you are in a tight turn
or some other maneuver, you may come out of Warp in a disoriented position. You
should only activate Warp while flying straight and level.
Although the Tactical Display may look like "radar," it in fact reflects
your pilot's visual capabilities. Objects will only appear in the tactical display
if they fall within the visual range of your pilot.
Even when you have chosen unlimited ammo, you will still run out
of bombs and rockets because this allows pilots to lighten their planes for air-to-air
combat. To reload rockets, press Shift+J.
