Written and Edited By: MarkEAW
Download Links:
-game-patch-registry
- Has all the old EAW helping reg fixes plus a WinVista / Win7 menu
color fix.
-game-patch-wrapper
- Has some older wrapper programs, for the currently made programs you'll need to go to their
home web sites. (See my 'Links Help Document' or do a search on the web).
[ GOTO THE MAIN EAWHS PAGE ]

(Not a in game screenshot, but a out of game image
Can you reproduce something like this image in game and send it to me?
I really prefer to show in game screenshots than mockups)
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
PROBLEMS RUNNING
THE GAME
Are You Getting Any Of These Errors Listed Here
Running in
Win95 / Win98 / WinME
Running in Win2000 or WinXP | Running in WinVista / Win7
| Running in Win8.1 / Win10
WRAPPER PROGRAMS
Definition of Wrapper Programs | EAW Graphical API's | Overall
Wrapper Program and Graphical Settings
DDWrapper (Aqrit's) Program | D3DWindower v1.88 Wrapper Program |
DXWND Wrapper Program
nGlide Wrapper Program | dgVoodoo 2 Wrapper Program | OpenGLide
Wrapper Program
OTHER PROBLEMS
RUNNING THE GAME
Conflicts With The Compatibility Tab |
Sound Problems | Sound Wrappers | \Program Files sub-folder
Game Crashes To Desktop CTD Solutions |
Mouse Pointer On Screen
EAW Downloaded from EB Games | D3D.DLL Missing Error | Missing
Horizon FOG
Stretched Game Screens | More On Known Video Problems | Video Post
Processing
-+-
JOYSTICK and
CONTROLS TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
Joystick Types Known To Work | Controller Drivers | Combining Controls |
Chain-Linked Option
Assigning Device ID Option | Down Grade Stick | Gameports | Game Cable To USB
| Hot Swapping Controls
Setup In Game First/Profile Software | Gaming Keyboards/Mice/Keypads
| USB Joystick Disconnects From Windows
Joystick Not Recognized At All
Joystick Grayed Out/Axis Not Responding | Controls Messed Up/Plane Drifting
Sideways
The Joystick Pulls Or Acts Erratically In The Game | POV Hat Not Working | Erratic View Changing Automatically
No Keyboard or Joystick Buttons Working | No control over the Aircraft and
Can't Escape From the Game
WinXP and Targeting
Keys |
Fast Computers and Mouse Click Selections | Unwanted Entry's In The eaw.ini
Manually Enter Settings | MicroProse Info From The User Manual
-+-
MULTIPLAYER
CONNECTION ISSUES
Joining Order | Joining Issues | Disconnected Players | Rebooting
Necessary | Latency and Lag
Maximum Players Limited
-+-
WINDOWS
REGISTRY
About Registry Entries Produced by Windows | Game EXE File Names
Direct Draw Menu Color Registry Fix |
Windows 8/10 Compatibility Layer
Win10 And DirectDraw |
ACT Compatibility Database EAW Entry
Moving A EAW Game Folder | Having Multiple Copy's Of The Game | Cleaning
Out The Registry Of EAW
-+-
CODEGROUP VERSION CONTENT
OTHER PROBLEMS
RUNNING THE GAME
Conflicts With The Compatibility Tab
CODEGROUP
JOYSTICK and CONTROLS TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS
Joystick Types Known To Work | Gaming Keyboards/Mice/Keypads | Erratic View Changing Automatically
Crash To Desktop, FF | WinXP and Targeting Keys | Fast Computers and
Mouse Click Selections
This document was
written
to get you out of issues or problems you may have with the game. To supply
technical support information with thorough
troubleshooting help, on how to get the game (any version, including
source modifications) to run properly
on any version of Windows.(For your Info: 32 bit or 64 bit computer
systems will run EAW.) However, depending on which Windows OS you
have you may have some problematic issues with the game. Those
issues and there remedies are covered in this help document to get
the game running properly, regardless of the WinOS your using.
This section is very helpful of informing you of the errors and issues you may
encounter. The information explains to you the actions you may need to take to
run your game problem free. Helpful for
stock EAW and even modified EAW versions.
Are You Getting Any Of These Errors Listed Here:
Here are some of the errors messages and conditions you could receive when trying
to run the game:
(These are typically related to graphical problems)
"not a valid win32 application"
"7217"
"Sorry, EAW will not run under WinNT"
Crash to Desktop (CTD)
Your menu screen colors are messed up
Your menu screen is garbled or tearing
The following information will help you get around them.
Running in Win95 / Win98 / WinME:
The stock game is designed for Win95.
ISSUES:
- Installs and runs on the older OS versions. You do need to
have old hardware with old supported drivers.
Running in Win2000 or WinXP:
If using fully updated versions of Win2000 or WinXP and the game
won't run normally, read below.
ISSUES:
- For the game not running on W2k:
Win2k requires some extensive but effective manual OS configuring
to use what is called a Compatibility Database from Microsoft to get EAW to run.
(Read my 'Windows ACT Toolkit' Help Document for advanced help
with Win2k, If you run natively you won't need a Wrapper Program,
see issue below).
- WinXP only needs some updating and guidance:
(Read my Windows ACT Toolkit Help Document for some simple help
with WinXP, If you run natively you won't need a Wrapper Program,
see issue below).
- For the garbled screens, menu color issues, or other errors:
You may try using
a special programs called Wrappers
to run the game for an overall workaround of any errors, you should have great
success with them. However, if your hardware and video drivers
allow it, I recommend you
try to get the game to run without a Wrapper Program first. Read
Above.
Running in WinVista / Win7:
If using WinVista/Win7 and you have the OS fully updated, the game can
and should run "natively" in full screen with-OUT
wrappers using D3D Mode and with out problems, normally faster than
on Win10 (nearly double the FPS).
ISSUES:
- For the garbled (tearing) menu and map screens:
Try using the special programs called
Wrappers to run the game to correct this type of error. This seems
to be the only current fix for Windows Vista / Win7. (On my Win7
system I did not have tearing of menus or map briefing screens,
I don't know why others may have tearing issues on Win7, (it
maybe something to do with the capabilities or settings for
display and monitor used)).
- For If Menu colors are messed up:
If the game is running properly with
out using a Wrapper program and the only problem is the colors of the
Menu Screens are messed up, I highly suggest
to you to use only a
special registry fix designed for this Windows versions. See the
section titled 'WINDOWS REGISTRY' near the end of this help
document and read the topic titled "Direct Draw Menu Color
Registry Fix" for more information on how this is beneficial to you.
- It is possible to have one or both of the above issues.
Running in Win8.1 / Win10:
If using Win8.1/Win10 and the OS is fully updated, with basic
support the game can run "natively" in full screen with-OUT wrappers
in D3D Mode, with out problems. The use of the automatically
applied Windows OS built-in Compatibility Fixes and Modes allows the
Menu Screens to display correctly with correct color and no tearing.
ISSUES:
- Standard Reduced D3D Speed Performance (reduced from Win7
performance level):
There is a flaw due to
DirectDraw being deprecated by Microsoft in favor of something new
called Direct2D, this maybe why it slows down the game to around
30FPS or lower on most systems, that's half of what it could run
at...there currently is not any
known fix other than to use a Direct3D or Glide Wrapper Program to
possibly gain
more Frames Per
Second.
- 7217 EAW error:
Getting this error for no apparent reason; Add
(re-add) the
Windows registry fix value as described in this
help document further below, in the section titled 'WINDOWS REGISTRY' at the topic 'Windows
8.1/10 Compatibility Layer'. Sometimes this special registry
entry provided by Windows is removed when using a Wrapper
program.
NOTES:
none right now.
This section is for information on DirectX and Glide Wrapper
programs used with the game to resolve Video and running issues. Some Windows OS do not need
Wrappers. (Read above in the previous section to see if you need to use one).
Definition of Wrapper Programs:
Wrappers are special programs to run the game for an overall
workaround of any of the errors listed above in the previous section.
These programs typically translate older DirectX / DirectDraw games
up converted out to a newer DirectX (sometimes OpenGL). Sometimes
they allow you to use the games built in Glide mode, that is
translated to DirectX. Also they allow for you to use a Window Mode
(Frame) for games like EAW that don't have that mode available
originally. (Windowed Mode is a window frame on your desktop that
the game can run in.) Most wrappers allow full screen mode as well.
The Wrapper programs
that other EAW pilots have used are: DDWrapper, D3DWindower, DXWnd for DirectX
support or nGlide and dgVoodoo for 3dfx Glide support. Use only
one of them at a time if there the same API, such as using or even
installing two or more DirectX wrappers can result in highly un
predictable behavior, not to mention confusion. Work with one of
them at time until you find the one you need.
There's some evidence you can run a DirectX Wrapper plus something
like nGlide at the same moment. But I have only briefly pointed that
out in given locations in this section.
EAW Graphical API's:
This area of the document is to inform you of the two different
Graphical API's in EAW and how they affect your game. The two
Application Programming Interface (API) used by EAW are D3D
(DirectX) from Microsoft, and the other is Glide from 3DFX. These
are the coded graphics renderer modes built (coded) into the game.
- Note DirectX API Version:
Currently all versions of EAW, either source modified or not use
DX6. (There maybe some instructions left over from DX5 in the games
code). The Menu system in EAW is driven by DirectDraw and the Flight
Screen is primarily Direct3D with portions in DirectDraw for the
2D part of the Flight Screen.
For NVIDIA users there will be no Horizon Fog as support for
this is not in the video card drivers anymore. However, ATI cards had the
Fog Legacy support re-introduced after it was briefly removed in
the early
2000s.
Since the DirectX version built in the game is so old, the Frames per second may suffer on
certain systems, (since compatibility fixes and or modes would
be used). However, Wrapper programs can speed this up, and if you
use a Window Mode (Frame) rather than full screen then the
performance will surly increase.
- Note Glide API Version:
Even when using Glide Mode, DirectDraw is used during the Menu
Screens in EAW. Glide takes over during the Flight Screen. (This
mean you MAY need a D3D Wrapper as well to correct any in game
Menu corruption).
The more recent Code modified versions of EAW (starting with Feb 2016 for EAW v1.28e, 1.29 and 1.40)
will be using the improved Glide 3.0 API version,
this will display the game in 256 colors with a selectable 24 bit color palette,
just like Direct3D does. (However you maybe limited to a maximum of 1024x768 in
game Glide Mode resolution).
Using Glide and EAWv1.0, v1.1, v1.2, v1.26e, FXEXE or any other version of the game that has not
been specifically coded to use the more advanced 'Glide API v3.0' will be seen in reduced
available colors, since those un-updated exes use the older and original 'Glide API v2.43'; These
older versions only
display from a fixed 8-bit 256 colors in its flight screens, rather than the many
more selectable color choices available like you would find in Direct3D mode.
(However higher resolutions will be most likely be available to
use in game).Primary reasons to use Glide Mode in EAW:
-Faster Performance (most of
the time).
EAW users may find that the game runs faster in Glide mode then in
a D3D mode. If you find you have terribly low Frame Rates (under 30FPS , even on low
resolution or non demanding game settings) there may be a use for the old Glide Mode
after all. In fact everyone should be able to have Maximum Quality Settings and
have good Frame Rates this day and age with EAW.
-Horizon Fog is restored for NVIDIA Video Cards (You won't see the edge of the
square world).
The other reason to use Glide Mode in EAW when
using a NVIDIA video card is that Glide Wrappers will produce the (missing from
Direct3D mode)
'Horizon Fog' graphics, which is displayed from ground to sky. (Fog Tables are incompatible with
NVIDIA's modern drivers,
they have removed support for them. ATI users have had that support added back in years
ago).
If you find you want the edge of the world hidden by Fog, then I would suggest to use
a Glide Wrapper to restore the Horizon Fog.
You can have a Glide Wrapper installed along side a
D3D Wrapper Program (if needed), so you can switch back and forth between D3D and Glide
anytime you want, before the game launches or use both D3D and a Glide Wrapper
at the same time, Same time meaning; The Menu Screens in game will
use the D3D Wrapper while the in game Flight Screen will use Glide.
(Note: If your going to use a Glide Wrapper, make sure you first set
the Glide Mode value under the DisplayDevice= setting
to 0 in your eaw.ini file.)
- Other Graphic Renderers:
Most Wrapper programs will translate old DirectX to newer
or current DirectX versions in some fashion. This will allow some
to have more features and
abilities. Glide converted to newer or current DirectX versions is common
as well. There's also DirectX/Glide APIs translated to OpenGL
API and
the newer Vulkan API. They all have similar outcomes, typically
improvement. Some may
yield better performance for you (higher FPS). Below I've noted what the Wrappers
listed, can translate from and to which API for your conveyance.
Overall Wrapper Program and Graphical Settings:
Some Wrappers have graphical enhancements built in that you may set
as active if you choose too. Some enhancements may get applied
automatically with no user control. There are similar or equal
settings in each Wrapper Program that are almost entirely found in
the Video Control Panels for your video drivers, but the ones in the
Wrapper Program usually actually have a better chance at working.
However, If at all possible when experimenting, set the equal
settings in your Video control Panel first, then if that does not work, set them
in the Wrapper program. You only need one setting On, either in the
Wrapper or in the Video Display Control Panel, preferably in the
Video Control Panel first since that will be direct hardware
performance tweaking.
Reminder; Only set one at a time until you know each setting is
working and not causing any issues with your game, some graphic
improvements may CTD the game.
Here are some of the general settings in Wrapper Programs that can
benefit EAWs look and performance. Always set and try the settings
in your Video Control Panel first if they exist, then use the ones
the wrapper support, not both.
- Resolution Settings:
For EAWv1.28 and above, try 1024x768 in your eaw.ini. (EAWPRO
type, use 1024x768).
If your using a Wrapper program
to display the game and if performance is an issue, such as low Frames
Per Second (FPS), ...for EAW versions below 1.28 I recommend
perhaps an in game resolution (eaw.ini) of minimum of 800x600. You
can then raise the resolution in the wrapper separately or try to double
it (1600x1200 if
possible) that resolution if you
wish, via the wrapper settings. Some will say that the quality is almost as good as if EAW's in game resolution was set for
that high by
itself, you judge for your self. Using this 'doubling' method you will find that
the planes are larger, the HUD, icons and chat fonts are larger
also. The frame rate is much better too because the actual game
res is lower. Keep reading.
Now you don't need to double up on the res in the wrapper if your system won't
handle it...try 800x600 then in the wrapper try 1024x768, or
whatever. This will help FPS too.
I set EAWv1.26e (EAWv1.2) to 800x600 in the eaw.ini, and in the
wrapper, I set 1024x768. I get a decent view and high
performance that way. Why do I do that? I mentioned before in
the previous paragraph that
the stock games give a better FOV at 800x600 than 1024x768.
(EAWv1.28 and above or types of eaw.exe (EAWPRO) that support Wide FOV at
1024x768, I will use 1024x768 resolution natively with in the eaw.ini).
If you want to keep the original 2D Cockpits, using a Wrapper program,
and have some visual improvements in quality; Try
keeping the default 640x480 resolution in the game and then in
the wrapper program set it to double; 1280x960. You will be able
to keep all the fun 2D cockpits. (I'm not sure if newer video
cards will work in 640x480, even if you wrap it at double res,
test it!. Why? Because newer cards seem to be limited to 800 x
600 desktops.
Another option is to set Width and Height to 0 in your wrapper
program. (This will load the games menu
screens in there natural windows size (640x480 or 1024x768 depending on the EAW
game version your using) and the 3D Flight Screen of the game
will automatically use what you have set in the eaw.ini resolution
area.)
For more about resolution settings and the options you have
with them, please see my 'Video Help Document'.
It
includes advice about setting your EAW resolutions and limitations
of such.
- Windowed Mode:
Try to set your wrapper to play in a Window Frame Mode. (It usually
won't fill your entire screen), but you will get higher Frames per
second. Why? I can only say that it does. :)
- No Terrain Shimmer:
Anisotropic Filtering set in the Video Control Panel was used a very long
time ago to clean
up the distant Terrain Shimmering, its unclear if it still works,
after testing on modern systems it
doesn't seem so. You can also try EnableMipMap as another option
that seems to work in wrappers (if they have it, I know one
wrapper does).
- Bilinear Filtering:
Try the lowest possible setting, other than none for this
filter. This will slow the game down a bit, but produces better
looking textures and fuller Radio Sub Titles.
- Clear Compatibility Flags:
Although Win8.1/10 can run EAW natively, sometimes someone might
want to run a wrapper anyhow.
Most if not all Wrapper Programs run better in most cases when
the Windows 10 OS compatibility mode that is self set in the registry
is removed first, it can conflict with the D3D wrapper programs
for an example.
So if your having performance issues you
just can't solve with the Wrapper, remove that entry(s).
Its found in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER location. Read further
down in this help
document under the WINDOWS REGISTRY section, the topic
will be titled 'Windows 8.1/10 Compatibility Layer'. (This may apply to
later versions of Vista and Win7 as well...??...But its unclear).
NOTES:
Further below I
mention default settings you should possibly use for each Wrapper Program
to run EAW properly. For more information on any of these
programs, check their Readmes and see their home sites for help
where available. I highly recommend you read most of the wrapper
information until you pick one out you want to try. Then study that
information I have provided for that Wrapper you picked.
Coded Glide Mode (Glide 3.0) for UAWv1.60 seems to only support a
maximum of 1024x768 resolution in game....??
DDWrapper (Aqrit's) Program:
This is a Direct Draw wrapper that works with the EAW Windows 95
game. Tested under Windows Vista and 7. Among other capabilities,
this will remove the weird 8-bit palette color corruption from the menu
screens.
You place the two files, ddraw.dll and the aqrit.cfg file in the
main EAW game folder. (you can also place them in other game folders
without effecting your global Windows settings!, each EAW game folder
can be configure independent of each other.) Open the aqrit.cfg in
the main game folder set ColorFix = 1 and save it.
Here's the configuration settings I tested with Win7:
RealDDrawPath = AUTO
BltMirror = 0
BltNoTearing = 0
ColorFix = 1
DisableHighDpiScaling = 0
FakeVsync = 0
FakeVsyncInterval = 0
ForceBltNoTearing = 0
ForceDirectDrawEmulation = 0
NoVideoMemory = 0
SingleProcAffinity = 0
ShowFPS = 0
Note Readme:
Read the included readme.html file before using!
D3DWindower v1.88 (menopem, NamelessVoice) Wrapper Program:
This is a English translated version of a Japanese version. This
program is ages old (Designed for Windows XP) but still useful and functional. However if you need to use the
D3DWindower Wrapper program with Win2000/XP/Vista/7 to correct the
weird colored Menu Screens
or get rid of
garbled / tearing Menu Screens or perhaps you just want to set the
option to run EAW from Full Screen to a Window Frame with Borders (not full screen).
Why in a Frame? Because you may need the Frame feature so you can
switch between other programs while running EAW, keep reading.
The procedure to "install" the
Wrapper including the minimum
settings needed for EAW to run properly are listed below.
If your going to use this Wrapper, make sure you first set the
Direct3D setting under the DisplayDevice setting to 1 or 2 in your eaw.ini file
for Direct3D Mode.
"Install" the D3DWindower v1.88 correctly.
- Un-zip all files into their own folder. (preferably close to
your games folder, but not necessary).
- After you have the D3DWindower un-zipped, run it by clicking on the
".exe" file. A small window will appear.
Configure D3DWindower v1.88 for EAW correctly.
- Loading eaw.exe into the D3DWindower:
- "+" icon adds a program, ("-" icon deletes a program.)
- To add a program, such as EAW, use the game's executable file
(eaw.exe). Browse for location and select it.
(you can also just drag and drop the eaw.exe into the box).
Minimum
D3DWindower v1.88 Program Options for EAW: (settings tested with WinVista / Win7).
- Setup Common Options Tab:
- Open the D3DWindower and select an eaw.exe, then click on
the 'Program Options Icon' (Gear Icon).
- Set Width and Height to the size you wish, including 0 as a
possible value.
- Use Windowed Mode, checked.
- DLL: Must point to the D3DHook.dll, Browse for location
(normally in the same location as the D3DWindower.exe) of the
D3Dhook.dll file, and add it.
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup Window Mode Options Tab for EAW:
- DirectX1-7, checked.
- DDraw Color Emulate, checked.
- DDraw Color Convert, checked. (if you don't check this one
you'll get the 7217 error).
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup Foreground Control for EAW:
- Setup Direct Input for EAW:
Launching EAW Correctly:
- Create a desktop shortcut to the D3DWindower program.
- Launch the game by first starting the D3DWindower program.
- Then highlight desired game icon in the box.
- Then click "Run Program" (Computer Icon) to play game.
(or double click on the game Icon in the box to
launch EAW.)
- Configure the game inside the Wrapped EAW game (EX: after
running the D3DWindower and launching EAW).
NOTES:
-Further experimentation wasn't done with the other settings that
I have unchecked.
A Window Frame Resolution:
Here's one example; Height = 1000 and Width = 1910 will allow a windowed
version of EAW, to completely fill the screen of a monitor with
1920x1080 native resolution.
Two Wrappers:
-You can use nGlide or dgVoodoo (in Glide Mode 0) as (listed below) with the D3DWindower program, however I include no instruction to do
that here.
-If EAW is configured to run in Glide mode while using the
D3DWindower, you will notice that EAW changes to FULLSCREEN, leaving
the Window frame mode (there will be no more taskbar or Window
headers).
Online Play:
For online play where you may have to cycle to other windows, such
as an online client program; Open the D3DWindower, select eaw so its
highlighted, and click the blue triangle. This will set it as the
active default for emulation. The blue triangle will turn gray, and
the red circle (stop) is becomes available. Now leave the
D3DWindower running and goto the online client. This will allow you
to get out of the EAW screen to other programs such as your online
client program.
Bypass D3DWindower:
If it is NOT desired to run the game while also using D3dWindower
program, simply bypass the D3DWindower program by clicking on the games's own shortcut or EXE
in Windows File Explorer withOUT having the D3DWindower loaded
elsewhere. (Note though this could cause Windows
OS compatibility problems when you return to the wrapper program for
launching the game next time, only because Win10 sometimes adds a
compatibility registry entry).
DXWND (ghotik) Wrapper Program:
This was developed as a tool for running full screen games (like EAW)
in windowed mode (but can be used in full screen). The DXWnd Wrapper has been made with the
ability to fix old
games with a bunch of compatibility settings and options. Designed
for Windows.
However you may find that you may need to use the DXWND Wrapper program with Win2000/XP/Vista/7 to correct the
weird colored Menu Screens
or get rid of
garbled / tearing Menu Screens or perhaps you just want to run EAW
in a Window Frame (not full screen) with or without Borders. BTW, See Notes at the
end of these instructions.
The procedure to "install" the
Wrapper including the minimum
settings needed for EAW to run properly are listed below. All
settings I have listed may not be required, try what I have listed
below first to get your game running stable. Then read up on what
the settings do in the DXWND readme or web site before you disable
(uncheck) them for other reasons. (If your going to use this
Wrapper, make sure you first set EAW to
use the Direct3D Mode, under the DisplayDevice setting to 1 or 2 in your eaw.ini
file.)
"Install" the DXWND.
- Un-zip all files into their own folder.
- After you have DXWnd un-zipped, run it by clicking on the
"dxwnd.exe" file. A small window will appear. (It will
be in easy mode, stay with that mode for now).
"Updating" DXWND Program. (Just downloaded a new version?, this
is what to do)
- Simply un-zip the new archive into its new folder.
- Copy the dxwnd.ini file from the old version into the new
folder. This contains all your wrapper settings for your EAW
DXWND configurations.
- Delete the old DXWND folder and use the new folder to launch
DXWND.
Configure DXWND for EAW correctly.
- Loading eaw.exe into the DXWND:
- Run dxwnd.exe by double clicking it.
- Where going to load the premade EAW profile. To load it,
open the File menu and choose "Import....".
- Browse to the folder where you extracted the DXWnd files and
open the \exports sub-folder. Choose 'European Air War" ,then
click on "Open".
- Right click on the EAW Icon in the list and choose "Modify".
It will open to the Main Tab Settings for that game.
- Change the existing Path of the game to the specific eaw.exe
you want to use and run with this particular Icon.
- Once you have completed the previous step, the game Icon
should now be a little graphic in appearance.
Minimum
Easy DXWND Settings for EAW: (settings tested with Win10)
(Easy Mode TABs)
- Setup MAIN Tab:
- Name, modify the European Air War name to reflect the
eaw.exe game you will be launching, like "EAWv126".
- Path, you should have this changed already to the correct
exe.
- Generic, Run in Window, checked (or unchecked and check
FullScreen Only)
- Position, Window initial position, set X and Y to 50 (This is
where the window frame will be on your desktop)
- Position, Window initial size, set W and H to what you
want, including possible 0 setting (This is how large your window frame will be,
you can match the res of the game or choose what you want, or
try 1024x768).
- Monitor to def. (default or 1)
- Desktop Center, checked (or X,Y coordinates, checked. It
will use the window position you entered previously)
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup VIDEO Tab:
- Window Style, thick frame, checked
- Window Style, Lock Win Style, checked
- Window Handling, Emulate Win Maximize, checked
- Window Handling, Hide Multi-Monitor Config, checked
- Windows Size and Position, Locked Size, checked
- Initial Virtual Color Setting, Current, checked
- FPS counter, titlebar, checked (or unchecked and check
overlay for displaying on full screen)
- Z Order, default, checked
- Screen Resolution, SVGA, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup MOUSE Tab:
- Cursor Visibility, Autom., checked
- Mouse Clipper, default, checked
- Cursor Handling, Correct mouse position, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup DIRECTX Tab:
- DirectX Version Hook, Automatic, checked
- Emulation, Renderer, primary surface, selected (I tried
OpenGL but had terrible flashing)
- Emulation Filter, fast bilinear 2x, selected (This will
smooth-out the radio subtitles and other textures)
- Aero Handling, Aero compatible mode, checked
- Aero Handling, Optimize for Aero
mode, checked
- DirectDraw Surface Handling, Auto Primary Surface Blit,
checked (Boosts FPS on Menu screens, better mouse movement)
- DirectDraw Surface Handling, Auto Primary Surface Blit,
Forced Mode, checked (Boosts FPS and smoothes prop rotation on
Flight Screen. On EAWv1.60 causes an occasional slight screen flicker)
- DirectDraw Surface Handling, Flip emulation, checked (This
allows the flight screen to display correctly)
- DirectDraw Surface Handling, Support offscreen 3D, checked
(Z buffer)
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup DIRECTX(2) Tab:
- DDraw Tweaks, Fix ddraw refcount, checked
- DDraw Tweaks, Set 16BPP RGB565
encoding, checked
- VSync, default and WaitForVeticalBlank, checked (VSync ON
will adjust (max) FPS to monitor refresh rate)
- Flip/Blt Wait, default, checked
- Clipper, default, checked
- FourCC Processing, No, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup DIRECT3D Tab:
- Swap Effect, Discard, checked
- Texture Handling, none (although Hack seems to work as well)
- Texture Handling, file format, BMP, checked (although RAW
seems to work too)
- Force Vertex Proc./ Execute Buffer, default, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup LIBS Tab:
- GDI, No GDI handling, checked
- Remap Client Rect, checked
- MM (multimedia), Remap MCI coordinates, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup NOTES Tab:
- Insert your testing information etc..... (please experiment
with what settings I have here and let me know how they effect
the game. To better the look and performance, you may want to
use Expert Mode. That mode will provide many more Tabs with
settings on them.)
Minimum
Expert DXWND Settings for EAW: (settings tested with Win10)
(Expert Mode TABs) Now for some expert settings. To enable the new
Tab settings, at the DXWnd window, goto Options and select Expert
Mode.
- Setup HOOK Tab:
- Hook Enabled, checked
- Injection Mode, SetWindowsHook, checked
- Hooking Mode, Word, checked
- Son Process Hook, default, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup INPUT Tab:
- Control Keys, Alt-Tab, Default, checked
- Keyboard Handling, Enable Hot Keys, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup MSGS Tab:
- Message Handling, Process All Messages, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup OPENGL Tab:
- Setup SDL Tab:
- Setup SOUND Tab:
- DirectSound, Global Focus, default, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup TWEAKS Tab:
- patch:NoOleInitialize , added
- Everything else leave.
- Setup I/O Tab:
- I/O, Fake CD, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup LOCALE Tab:
- Setup TIMING Tab:
- CPU Optimization, Slow Down Mouse Polling, checked (This
will normalize the speed at which selections appear on the
changing mission menus)
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup LOGS Tab:
- DXWND Logs, None, checked
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup COMPAT Tab:
- Tweaks, Limit Available Resources, checked (Integer32 Memory
Size Overflow error in EAW)
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup REGISTRY Tab:
Launching EAW Correctly:
- Create a desktop shortcut to the DXWND program.
- Launch the game by first starting the DXWND program.
- Then highlight desired game icon in the box.
- Then right-click "Run" to play game.
(or double click on the game Icon in the box to
launch EAW.)
- Configure the game inside the Wrapped EAW game (EX: after
running the DXWND and launching EAW).
NOTES:
Win7:
Works well with this OS. It fixes all issues (color issue, garbled
menus/maps).
Win10 and DXWND and EAW:
(This wrapper now works with Win10 (Tested Aug 2018 and May 27 2019)). However
and unfortunate the big let down; I found that the planes flying about
, jitter a bit (Like a little lag) and mouse camera movement is the
same. I have been unable to find a fix
or workaround for this. You may want to check / uncheck certain
settings to see what works if anything to improve or remove the
jitter.
You will find that
DirectX (DD/D3D) Mode in EAW has a big performance boost with
the DXWND Wrapper Program. The DXWND wrapper seems to out
perform Win10's own fixes and compatibility layers. You should notice a boost in
performance, especially if using the window frame mode. (May 27
2019) I got from 38 in Win10 to 70-80 FPS in DXWND). Test on your
own if you have time, it maybe worht it for your system. (Note: Your
not limited to using this DXWND wrapper, other wrappers will show a
performance boost, even in Glide Mode).
Win10 and DXWND and EAWv1.60:
Loading up a mission either at approximately 50
on the Fuel Loading Gauge or 100% on Loading Map Screen, the game freezes and becomes
non responsive, every time, then flashes to working state in a few
seconds. I was unable to find a fix or workaround for this (this
error happens with v1.40 tested as well). Seems to be the wrapper is
a resource hog.
-Also a few times (more than a rare instance) a "Pic not Found! Error -1"
after clicking Instant Mission happens. This last error maybe
related to the resolution used. This appears to be another DXWND issue. You may need to use
a resolution set equal to your computers native resolution to avoid this error??
Two Wrappers:
If you wish to experiment, you might be-able to use nGlide or
dgVoodoo with the DXWND program, however I do not include
instructions in using multiple wrappers at the same time.
nGlide (zeus) Wrapper Program:
This is an another Wrapper, but this one is for the 3Dfx Glide mode in EAW (translates
Glide to D3D (or Vulkan), for use by modern gamers who do not have an old Voodoo
video card on hand. nGlide works for many Window OS versions, like WinXP and including modern
versions, including Win10.
At the time
of this writing, nGlide is the easiest Glide wrapper to use. However there is an
advanced Glide Wrapper Program called dgVoodoo 2 you may want to try separately
from nGlide. nGlide is a 'system wide Glide supporter', while dgVoodoo is a 'local
supporting Glide wrapper', meaning dgVoodoo can be configured differently for
each game you use. (You do not want to have nGlide installed when using dgVoodoo 2),
(I wouldn't recommend having another Glide wrapper installed at the same time as nGlide, this will cause problems).
NOTES:
nGlide Setup Information:
See the nGlide web site for install, setup and usage instructions. If you have
any info for these steps using it for EAW, please inform me so I can place them
here for others to read...
Window Frame:
nGlide v1.05 supports Windowed Mode by
pressing Alt+Enter to create the Window Frame while in game.
dgVoodoo 2 (dege) Wrapper Program:
This has 3Dfx Glide and DirectX1-7 support. Can be run with Glide Mode or
DirectX Mode in EAW, up converting to DirectX11 found on modern computers.
For
Windows Vista/7/8.1/10 (This is important; You must have at least a DirectX11 supported video card
to use).
There is an issue using the DX portion of dgVoodoo with Win8/10 (I didn't get it
to work. I left out the instructions to even try to get it to work on those OS's).
I suggest to use the Glide portion of dgVoodoo at least.
(Do not have nGlide or another Glide wrapper installed when using dgVoodoo 2).
"Install" the dgVoodoo 2.
- Un-zip all files into their own folder.
- After you have dgVoodoo 2 un-zipped, Copy the file
dgVoodooCpl.exe into your EAW games main directory.
- If using WinVista/7/8 (not Win10) Copy the three DLL's files from the \MS folder into EAW's
main game directory.
- Then copy the three DLL's files from the
\3DFX folder into EAW's main game directory. (EAW will use
DirectX(DirectDraw) for the menu screens and Glide for the
Flight Screen if you have it selected in the eaw.ini file.
(However with Win8/10 the dgVoodo DX portion needs
special attention to get it to work... Otherwise it will use
the Windows OS DX/DirectDraw support.)
- If using WinVista/7/8 (not Win10) You also want the file
D3DCompiler_47.dll for dynamic shader compiling, copy it to
EAW's main game directory.
- To help you know when Glide is working properly when EAW
goes to the Flight Screen, you'll want the Splash screen DLL
files, 3DfxSplashDlls. Copy the two files to your EAW games main
directory.
- Run the dgVoodoo 2 Control Panel by clicking on the
"dgVoodooCpl.exe" file. A window will appear.
Configure dgVoodoo 2 for EAW correctly.
- Loading eaw.exe into the dgVoodoo:
- You don't actually load eaw.exe into or with dgVoodoo, but
you want the 'dgVoodoo.conf' configuration file to appear in
your games main directory.
- So by this time you should have the dgVoodoo control panel
loaded up. At the top you will see the pull down window labeled
"Config Folder / Running Instance", it will most likely be
pointing to the wrong folder, to make it point to the current
folder, click the .\ dot backslash button hover over label "Adds
the folder to the list to where the control panel app is
located".
- Once you click it it will show your games main directory in
the window.
Minimum
(default) dgVoodoo Settings for EAW: (settings tested with Win10).
- Setup GENERAL Tab:
- Leave All at Default settings.
- Output API, Best available one.
- Adapter (s) to use / enable, All of them.
- Full Screen Output, Default.
- Appearance, Full screen.
- Scaling Mode, Unspecified.
- Color Adjustments, All at 100 or norm.
- Miscellaneous, Check Keep Window Aspect Ratio.
- Miscellaneous, Check Capture Mouse.
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup GLIDE Tab:
- Leave All at Default settings.
- 3Dfx Card, Voodoo 2.
- Onboard RAM, 8MB.
- Texturing, Memory size / TMU, 4096MB.
- Texturing, Number of TMUs, 2.
- Resolution, Unforced.
- Antialiasing (MSAA), App driven.
- Miscellaneous, Enable Glide Gamma Ramp, Checked.
- Miscellaneous, 3Dfx Watermark, Checked.
- Miscellaneous, Force vSync, Checked.
- Everything else leave unchecked.
- Setup DIRECTX Tab:
- Leave All at Default settings.
- Videocard, dgVoodoo Virtual 3D Accelerated Card
- Videocard, VRAM, 64MB.
- Texturing, Filtering, App Driven.
- Resolution, Unforced.
- Behavior, Application controlled fullscreen/windowed state,
checked
- Behavior, Disable Alt-Enter to toggle screen state, checked.
- Antialiasing (MSAA), App driven.
- Miscellaneous, dgVoodoo Watermark, checked.
- Everything else leave unchecked.
Launching EAW Correctly:
- Either run eaw.exe by clicking on it or Create a desktop
shortcut to EAW and click on that.
- For Glide; Anytime you run this eaw.exe the DLLs for
dgVoodoo will be used automatically.
- When EAW loads up the Flight screen, on the Fuel Gauge
screen, you will see the 3Dfx watermark on the lower right hand
corner of your screen. This indicates that dgVoodoo Glide
settings are being used.
- For WinVista/7; DirectX mode will function if you placed the
files correctly as indicated in the steps above.
- Configure the game inside the Wrapped EAW game (EX: after
you check that a watermark is present).
NOTES:
Window Frame:
dgVoodoo supports window mode by
pressing Alt+Enter to create the Window Frame while in game or to switch back to
full screen.
For DirectX in Win8/10;
There seems to be a issue with Win8 and Win10
using only the Windows System DirectX DLLs. This means without
some modification by you, the DirectX portion of dgVoodoo is
useless as you will witness when EAW is ran in DirectX mode,
there is no dgVoodoo Watermark. This means this wrapper program
is not being used to run the game at all. (Read the
documentation; 'ReadmeDirectX.html' that comes with dgVoodoo as
to what you should do if you choose to use the wrapper for
enhanced DX.)
Windows Vista/7 Fog:
Horizon Fog can be restored when using this DX mode wrapper with Win7??
OpenGLide (fbarros, glidos, swstiletto) Wrapper Program:
OpenGLide is a Glide to OpenGL wrapper. It emulates a Voodoo board so you can
run old Windows Glide (v2.xx) games by translating Glide calls into OpenGL. I
tested out version v009rc7 (the last version available from the year 2004) on my Win10 system, it seemed to work
well.....
Put the two files Glide2x.dll and OpenGLid.INI into the main EAW game folder,
the one with eaw.exe in it. Run eaw.exe and the dll glide mode will work.
Remember to set Glide Mide(0) in your eaw.ini first.
Here is the config file option settings I used:
[Options]
WrapperPriority=0
CreateWindow=0
InitFullScreen=0
EnableMipMaps=1
IgnorePaletteChange=0
Wrap565to5551=1
EnablePrecisionFix=1
EnableMultiTextureEXT=1
EnablePaletteEXT=1
EnableVertexArrayEXT=0
TextureMemorySize=32
FrameBufferMemorySize=16
Read the included readme text file as well.
NOTES:
Full Screen:
Although the Flight screen works with the wrapper at full screen, when you exit
a mission (leave the flight screen) and the transition back to the menu screens,
crashes the game and give an EAW error about resolution issues. To avoid this I
set InitFullScreen= from 1(the default) to zero(0). This remedied the problem,
however the flight screen will be in size to what ever you entered for a
resolution in your eaw.ini, so it may look like its in a window, but there's no
frame.
Terrain Shimmer:
EnableMipMaps to 1 (the default) this is the setting that gets rid of the
terrain shimmering, the terrain looks so nice at the far distance, its a little
blurred out and darker in color, but its not shimmering anymore!
ATI Video Cards:
IgnorePaletteChange= should be set to 1 from the 0 (default). I think ATI cards
do this themselves, that's why I think it should be disabled??
NVIDIA Cards:
The older drivers for like WinXP may have a setting for 'PCI texture' Memory or
'frame buffer memory' in the 'OpenGL settings' in the advanced display
properties.
Set this equal to the setting in your OpenGLid.INI file. If problems arise try
16.
This section is for other important problems and issues with the
game you should know about.
Conflicts With The Compatibility Tab:
Using the following settings will cause
problems if they are enabled.
Do not run the game with Compatibility Mode (This is the "Run this
program in compatibility mode for:" setting)
in the games shortcuts Compatibility Tab in any version of Windows
(except Win2k),
its not required for the game to work properly. This should remain
un checked. Also do not use "Run this program as an administrator"
(If your already logged into Windows OS as an Admin), Its not
required and may interfere with the game working properly. Insure
you followed my 'Install Help Document' with the placement of your
game on your Hard Drive, specific locations can cause problems. See
the topic '\Program Files sub-folder' further down in this help
document as to why.
Also none of the the shortcut Compatibility Tab
Settings need to be checked, (uncheck all of the items if you had them checked
and click Apply) before running the game, this only needs
to be done once.
Problems that will arise include.
- Conflicts with a D3D Wrapper program (If you use one of
these programs):
That will result in
a 7217 error. (even if the eaw.exe was "corrected" to bypass / not have this
error).
- A few issues with your Controllers (The Compatibility Mode
setting effects this):
Your Joystick may not be
detected by the game properly resulting in the axis for
movement not working, only the buttons will function, your
Keyboard can possibly become unusable during the game as well. (W2K
users have a special workaround, see my 'Windows ACT Toolkit
Help Document').
Sound Problems:
It's quite common for people with Win9x and WinXP that have better sound cards
than the average to actually have sound problems where some or all game sounds
don't work. You can fix this by turning sound hardware acceleration down a bit,
or off altogether.
To remedy some issues, make sure you have a full installation of EAW, without
full installation the game will expect to find sounds on the CD
during Play resulting in delays and freezes of the game.
- Problems with Music/Sound stuttering or pausing game:
can occur on older systems without a full installation, if you have this problem try to use at least a Quad-Speed CD-Rom with
a small cache setting. Also if your Sound Cards IRQ is too high you may get stutter, try physically re-inserting the card on the motherboard in the last
(or bottom) PCI slot to obtain the correct IRQ. If all that doesn't work and you have a full EAW installation,
try using a good NoCD patch so the game doesn't use the CD in the drive at all.
- Problem with no Career Briefing Speech:
Make sure on Windows 95/98 that you have the standard audio compression codec installed, the Microsoft ADPCM Codec.
This should not be a problem on later windows OS versions.
-
Problem with Campaign Crashing to Desktop:
can occur when playing some campaigns such as Battle of Britain campaign in
September, change your sound settings from 16bit to 8bit (or vice vera)
and try to finish the campaign. There maybe a custom sound that you put in the
EAW main folder that's corrupt in some
manner, that maybe causing the crash.
-
Problem with no Engine AND no Gun Sound:
This occurs when there is still Bullet sound and Wind sound is still heard.
This seems to be a problem with the newer (newer than EAW itself), "sound
hardware accelerated" systems, but is usually easy to fix. The problem is when you have a
type of Sound Card mounted where its in a slot on your motherboard and normally the
acceleration slider for the sound card is set to the max for best performance. This is a known problem in Win9x and WinXP
with Creative / Ensoniq PCI cards.
To fix the issue, For Windows 98, go to the control panel and select "multimedia."
Next go to the Audio tab and then click the "advanced properties" button under "playback." Then click the "performance" tab.
Move the hardware acceleration slider to the left. How far depends on your hardware. Some people only have to move it two units to the left,
and others might have to move it all the way to the left. Try moving it one unit at a time until you find where you need to be.
-
Crashing With This Error Message:
If the game keeps crashing and quitting mid-game, with an error on screen:
start_sound_channel(): Fail to play DS buffer. First Make sure your sound
card is selected as "Game Compatible Device" in the Control Panel>
Multimedia> Playback> Preferred Device. You can also try reducing your sound
hardware acceleration slider. See the previous troubleshooter paragraph for
instructions on how to do this.
Sound Wrappers:
Sound Wrappers tend to allow a game with true 3D sound to be used with old
popular 3D Sound Drivers, like EAX and A3D using 3D Buffers, through DirectSound3D translated up
to a different type and current sound driver / API. However EAW does not use
DS3D (no 3D sound buffers). It uses plain DirectSound with 2D sound buffers for
panning left, center (both speakers have sound), and right.
Further testing on a standard Realtek Codec Integrated Audio on 5.1 speakers
produce no sound in any of the surround speakers. (I'm using standard default
settings. I'm not using the Audio's generic spatial functions, which are not
Dolby anyhow BTW).
EAW it
does claim to have stereo "surround" via a Dolby Surround Logo on the Box and CD
label. (Some say it uses Miles Sound) but nothing is mentioned in the games
manual about this type of superior sound
oddly enough.
All you need for the game to hear the sound is a set of 2 desktop speakers or a 2 speaker set
of headphones. What also works and will improve your sound experience with any
game is if you use a "fake" 2.1 speaker system; this is where the subwoofer connects to
the two front speakers (rather than having a real subwoofer connection; which would
have its own plug that goes into the desktop's port). The sound quality is
improved as the
speaker system will move the lows to the subwoofer away from the desktop
'satellite' speakers. The amount of quality will depend on watts supported per speaker and the maker of the equipment.
It works with a 'real' 2.1 setup as well (Also on a 5.1 speakers
when
setup for Stereo). Just as before, the lows are moved to the
subwoofer.
Hardware Acceleration:
Windows earlier than Win10 have an option to adjust HW acceleration with a
slider... However Win10 has HW acceleration on at all times, to full. (Only the
mixing of sample rates is software driven when using integrated sound).
\Program Files sub-folder:
If you followed my manual install directions, you placed your game in a
folder other than \Program Files. If you did not you maybe wondering why the
game is Crashing to the Desktop (CTD) as soon as you load the game with errors
like "European Air War Has Stopped Working" and "A Problem Has Caused The
Program To Stop Working".
This is because EAW wants and expects the games configuration file, eaw.ini, to
be in the games main root folder next too the eaw.exe file. However by
'installing' the game in the \Program Files\ folder, Windows Vista/7/8/10
expects to have the eaw.ini file, to be in the \AppData system folder to write
too. Under this circumstance, Windows stops EAW
from writing and updating the correct copy of the "eaw.ini" file causing
the CTD errors mentioned above.
If you happen to get pass the initial load of the game
you may notice that none of your game settings are
staying where you set them, including your controls key assignments. This is for
the same reasons. You may not even have an eaw.ini in the games root folder as a
result.
The above reasons are why NOT to place the game in the \Program Files sub-folders
as these problems will always happen. So move your game
elsewhere as mentioned, such as "C:\Microprose Software\EAW" or on
a separate partition or hard drive in a folder named of your choice.
(Note: This could be tied to the "User Account Control" or UAC built
into windows; UAC can stop EAW.exe from writing to your disk as a precaution. In
other words if EAW.exe tries to modify it's own eaw.ini file without your
intervention of clicking OK when it appears, it is prevented from doing so. However I highly recommend you do
NOT turn off your UAC. It's better to just move the game out of the \Program
Files sub folders).
Game Crashes To Desktop CTD Solutions:
These are all the known CTDs for the EAW game itself. (Some lengthy
CTD's issues are mention above)
- Game CTD after flash or After Blank Screen When Loading Game
Issue 1
You may get a Blank screen when the game first loads, hitting
the ESC key should get you passed the intro movies before they
CTD your game. Solution: Open your eaw.ini file (this file is in your game folder and opens with Notepad)
and change the line PlayIntro=1 to a value of 0.
Solution 2:
If you still have the full official MOVIES.CDF (284Megs) file in
your games main folder and your not using the 'empty' movies.cdf
(1KB) file, you can have a CTD. This is because the SmackVideos are for playback with the 8-bit
smk player code in the games exe. (Win10 sometimes plays back
the video, but slowly).
- Game CTD When Loading Game Issue 2.
Your using a in-game resolution that isn't supported by your monitor or graphic
card. Solution: Change the eaw.ini Width and Height settings to something your system
supports natively.
- Game CTD When Loading Game Issue 3.
You installed / patched a newer version of EAW over an older incompatible
installation. Solution: Delete your eaw.ini file, then let a new default one get created when you run
the eaw.exe again.
- Game CTD When Entering Flight Issue 1.
You have set the Display Device to "software" mode and your system doesn't
support it (bad 8 bit support). Solution: Goto "Configure game->Graphics" set "3d renderer" set to "3d mode".
You can also change your display device in the eaw.ini. To change which card/vid
mode EAW uses, follow the steps below;
1. In your European Air War folder, open the file called "eaw.ini" with notepad.
2. Scroll down until you find the section "[Graphics]", then under that the line that reads "DisplayDevice=".
3. Changing this number will alter the display mode based on the numbers above.
4. The next time you run the game, these settings will be in effect.
DisplayDevice=
-2 for OLD SOFTWAREMODE (CPU Powered, no D3D)
-1 for D3D SOFTWAREMODE (CPU Powered)
0 for 3Dfx GLIDE API
1 for PRIMARY D3D CARD
2 for SECONDARY D3D CARD
Note: I do not know the differences of values 1 and 2, but the game on occasion seems to do a new detection and picks the value of 2 more often.
- Game CTD When Entering Flight Issue 2.
Solution:
For the FXEXE, set Windows Joystick=1 if there is nothing set
for the Flight Controls.
- Game CTD Just Before Entering Flight (mission loading) Issue 1.
You don't have a Joystick plugged in
or its not FF capable, but the setting for "Force Feedback=1"
is set to 1 (ON) in
the eaw.in file. Solution: Open the eaw.ini and set "Force Feedback=0"
or plug a FF stick in and leave it ON (1). You can find this entry under the headline [CONTROLS]
(See the Code-Groups CTD information below in its own section if
using the 1.28c/d versions, there's a bug that turns FF to 1 at
all times).
- Game CTD Just Before Entering Flight (mission loading) Issue 2.
If you have a joystick configured in the game previously, but
when you go to load a new mission and you get a CTD. Its
possible your stick is not plugged in anymore / installed or is
turned off at the time loading fuel gauge % complete screen is
displayed, this could cause a Crash to Desktop at that point.
Note: If you launch the game without your Joystick plugged in or
it's not detected properly, you will loose all assigned buttons.
Solution: Unplug your controller, wait a few seconds for
WindowsOS to unload it, and re-plug in your controller.
Reinstall / configure your device in WindowsOS. Then reload the
game to the flight screen. Unfortunately you must reconfigure
your controller settings in EAW again, as they where lost.
- Game CTD When Launching To Fly.
There is a common problem with the savedata
due to a changed scenario; For an example: If you fly a default
game mission in
a Spit IX (Slot 11) offline the settings are saved in a file named
"Default11.msn" which is placed in the "Savedata" folder,
with details of the mission in it (targets, bases, support
aircraft, enemy aircraft etc). The next time you fly a Spit IX
the eaw.exe reads that file and uses it for the default mission
settings. However, if afterwards you fly a
custom add-on that uses the same slot, then the eaw.exe tries to use the
settings in the "Default11.msn" file, this is when the problem
occurs. Since you switch scenarios, and the values in the
"Default11.msn" file no longer make sense as they do not apply
to the new add-on, this will crash the game. Note: Also some of the "last game" settings
are also stored in the "eaw.ini" file PlayerPlane=11 PlayerNation=1 LastCampaign=3
These may also cause a problem when a change of scenario is made. Solution: Delete all of the "DefaultXY.msn" files from "Savedata" folder...
- Game CTD After A Duration In Flight.
It could be the "Extrasquads = " setting
in the eaw.ini is set too high for your computer system, as the extrasquad
setting requires a lot of memory usage. Solution: Use a smaller value when setting it
like 1 or 2, if that doesn't work try 0.
- Campaign Crashes Game After A Mission.
You may get a CTD in Career Mode after a mission has ended.
This is because the SmackVideos are for playback with the 8-bit
code in the games exe.
If you still have the full original MOVIES.CDF file and not the blank movies.cdf
file in your game folder. Solution: To
avoid this change the Video Playback=1 setting in your eaw.ini file (this file
is in your game folder and opens with Notepad), change the value to 0.
- Game CTD When Using View Objects.
If you use the View Objects selection on the games menu to View
Planes on anything other than a Win9x/ME system. This could
cause a Blank Black Screen or CTD cause it was coded with an
earlier and buggy game code. Solution: Don't use it. Use ESC to get out of Blank Screen.
- Game CTD When Loading Game / It will never run.
If you ran into a big problem (this doesn't happen for normal use,
nor often, so don't
worry) because something went wrong and the game won't run anymore (after it was
working for a duration at one point). You may be experiencing odd errors or a
quick flash and the game CTD. Meaning the game no longer runs
and will not ever run again.
Solution:
To correct this go to the WINDOWS REGISTRY section of this help
document and read the topic titled 'Cleaning Out The Registry Of EAW'
for the some what in depth solution.
- *CTD Any Time.
If none of the above solutions work, try this.
Delete or rename your eaw.in file (to eaw.ini.old) and
disconnect any gaming controls , including gaming mice or gaming
keyboards / keypads that require a special or extra driver to
support those gaming devices. Launch the EAW game again directly from
the eaw.exe....do some investigation of your controls....
Mouse Pointer On Screen:
The desktop mouse pointer will sometimes appear in the center of EAW's game screen,
frozen. The game will work fine and you can still use the in-game mouse to move
around. Other times there can be two mouse pointers moving around on the game
menu screens. One would be the desktop pointer and the other would be the game's
pointer.
Its unclear why this happens, perhaps something to do with priority or focus.
Below are some options you have to solve the issue you maybe having with the
mouse pointer. These are remedies from nearly 20 years ago up to today (2019).
- A game restart will normally fix this problem temporarily.
- Run the game as Administrator (If not already logged in as
an Admin).
- Right clicking on the eaw.exe in windows explorer and selecting
"open". (instead of double-clicking it).
- Try turning off
in Windows; 3D Pointer or Animated Pointers or Shadow Pointer.
- Turn off Turn on Clicklock and Display pointer trails and
Show location.
- Set custom mouse pointers back to Windows default.
- Turn off program and or game overlays.
- Run EAW by using a Desktop Shortcut.
- Run EAW by using a Taskbar Shortcut.
EAW Downloaded from EB Games:
If you purchased the 183MB download setup install file program from EB Games back in
2006/2007, this installer program
will not run under any operating system other than one of the Win 9x
operating systems, even when setting the compatibility tab for the installer
program. You will need to be able to install EAW (using the Full
Install option) on a Win 9x system, then burn the resulting EAW folder to CD or
DVD. Take the disc to your system running Windows 2000 or Windows XP and copy
the EAW folder to your hard drive.
D3D.DLL Missing Error:
For some reason the Windows OS (or antivirus) likes to remove the d3d.dll file
from your game folder on occasion... This prevents the game from loading up. Simply replace
the dll again with a copy of the same one, the version of the dll that your
using. It should remain once you replace it...If you determine why this happens
please let me know.
Missing Horizon FOG:
This is a problem with NVIDIA Drivers (not a
XP/Vista/Win7/Win8/Win10 issue really) that occurs in D3D mode,
there is no Horizon Fog in the flight screen. (there will be a sharp
boundary between sky and ground. You will see the corners of the
square EAW world) which ruins the visual quality. (Even with the
HorizonDistance setting in game set to the maximum view distance
(minimum fog), the Fog is still suppose to be present.) It would be
displayed from ground to sky.
However for best gameplay its advised to set the Horizon
Distance as if it was still displayed as AI may be effected by the visual distance
they can see.
The current solution to the missing fog is to use an AMD / ATI Video Card in D3D
mode or use Glide Mode with your Nvidia card provided by a wrapper program, such as nGlide (or an other Glide
related wrapper).
Stretched Game Screens:
Full Screen Stretching can occur if your in game resolution does not match the desktop screen
resolution. In the
games Flight Screen, check
if your Gun Sight is oval or circle in shape. If it's Oval, this
indicates the
image is stretched. You can use your video card drivers Video Control
Panel to maintain screen aspect ratio. this will produce the screen with
black side bars aka pillar columns to display the game when selecting
certain settings.
If your getting screen stretching (your gun sight is oval) when playing the
game. Do the following to avoid it and the game will display correctly. I only
have instructional steps for the NVIDIA Control Panel.
1) Open your Nvidia Control Panel,
2) Select under Display on the left; Adjust desktop size and position selection.
3) On the monitor you use to display EAW select the tab Scaling.
4) Set the Scaling Mode to: Aspect ratio.
4) Next set Perform Scaling on: GPU. (If your monitor is newer, it may support
scaling correctly by itself when this is set to 'Display', Use this setting for optimal
use for newer monitors).
Now on my system I have set a 4:3 Aspect Ratio Res (square) set
for my game. So the game displays proportionally now with black bars on the left
and right side of the screen. The top and bottom of the actual game display should touch the top and
bottom of your screen. All un stretched.
Now if for some reason you want black bars across the top and bottom as well,
then Select the No Scaling option under Scaling Mode. This will place the game
in the center of the screen at actual game resolution.
While the Scale Mode is set to GPU:
You may prefer this setting for older wide monitors, as they do not have the
built-in hardware to scale. Using this setting with my old monitor from 2008
(which is not a fancy one), I get a capped 30 frames per second. (Note that my 30fps is a very steady 30,
even under a heavy loading of effects and objects in EAW). I
assume why this is because my desktop res (on my old monitor from 2008) allows only a max refresh rate of 60hz
at native screen resolution. I've tried to break this cap as my previous FPS in
a stretched game
(full screen scaled) is normally 38. Unfortunately I could not find any
settings to change to get more fps to display with correct aspect ratio.
While the Scale Mode is set to Display:
You may prefer this setting for newer, more capable wide monitors, as the do
have built-in hardware scaling.
My game reaches 41FPS at times, (that's better than the 38fps I get when
stretched with full screen scaling). This is with a newer
monitor (2019) that properly supports scaling at (4:3 square) Aspect Ratio when selected
and 120hz refresh rate. So the GPU is freed from this duty, and I'm not capped
to 30fps as I was with the older monitor.
If you want to use the game in a Wrapper program to maintain aspect ratio you
can do that too as most provide proper aspect ratio...
More On Known Video Problems:
Also read my 'Known Bugs
and Feature Ideas Help Document' if you are really interested in learning more
about the errors listed within this section. You will find more in depth
descriptions about each error there. There are a whole bunch of other problems
with the graphics portion of the game. Not required reading, more for the
technically minded.
Video Post Processing:
Video Post Processing software that was tested; SweetFX and the newer version,
now called, Reshade fail at providing any benefit to this DirectX6 coded game, such as on Win7 and
Win10. Those programs do not support DX6 games as it was determined that Shades
where introduced in DX8 games. Since these programs require Shades to be
available through the game to alter them, the DX6 code in EAW would not benefit from such programs.
**For more advanced technical information regarding getting your game to run
properly, please read the end of this
document, under the section titled 'WINDOWS REGISTRY'. Perhaps
those areas of this help document will guide you if the above info has failed in
helping you properly. Be-advised, it may be difficult to understand.
Here are some technical details that are helpful in troubleshooting
Joystick and Controls,
in no particular order. These mentioned issues are grouped together
with like problems for easier reading.
Joystick Types Known To Work:
Gameport / Midi , PS/2, Serial, USB, any stick that Windows can
recognize. Some may have a special switch on them or their software
may have a selection you must enable to work with Legacy Games. Some
people may find out you do not install the included software at all,
especially if its not compatible with the current Windows OS your
using. You then can use the Windows supplied built-in drivers. Newer
Windows like Vista and 7 or later include several drivers that will
install when you connect your device automatically. This is useful
when there is no manufacture support available.
Controller Drivers:
USB devices tend to like to have the driver installed first, and then it will have you connect the USB device during or after installation. Gameport
controllers usually require the controller hardware be connected
before the driver/software is installed.
Combining Controls:
In EAWv1.2 you can not use two USB devices plugged into separate
ports unless you have special software to combine them into one Device ID.
Multiple USB control devices (Joystick, RudderPedals, Throttle etc) connected
can not be used since EAW can not recognize multiple control devices. However,
control pads that can emulate keycode (Saitek's "PC-Dash") and so on, will work
between the keyboard and the PC tower, so there is no problem with
that configuration.
If you feel you need to "Combine" all your controllers (Flight controls: Secondary Throttle and/or
Rudder Pedals) under ONE Joystick
especially if they are detected by Windows as separate devices, you may want to see if your included Joystick software/driver will allow you to do that, some do, even controllers from different company's.
For an example devices known to have this ability are the CH products with the
use of the free CH Control Manager software, which makes Windows and therefore games see them as one
controller, it allows EAW,
where you cannot specify what axis does what in game, to see and use both stick and
pedals.
If your controllers software does not support "Combining" or "Combo
Drivers" try some free software that combines all your controls into one virtual controller, thus allowing EAW (especially v1.2) to easily detect your controls as being built on one Joystick
(One DEVICE ID). Try; "UJR - Universal Joystick Remapper" by: evilC with "vJoy software" by: Shaul or "VJoy Virtual Joystick Driver" by: Headsoft.
Chain-Linked Option:
The other way around "Combining" without special software if you use multiple
controllers is to have a setup where the controllers physically connect (plug-in) to each
other (chain-linked) and only one connection (one cable) goes to the computer tower (such
as a Stick, Throttle and Rudder Pedals combo). You'll have the most luck and
fastest setup with this configuration.
However, its possible
for a USB and Gameport set of controls (such as a USB Joystick and a Gameport Rudder Pedals or USB
pedals with a gameport compatible stick) to co-exist in the stock v1.2 game...(Also
note rudder pedals that use analog technology are not supposed to be compatible
with digital joysticks, but I find it all really depends on the manufacture,
driver and software these companies include.)
Some newer Hardware Control Boards that have come out in the last few years or
so, also "link" all the controls into the unit as a single Device ID...
Assigning Device ID Option:
Here is a different option to assigning DEVICE ID1 to your Flight Control.
Some software that may come in
handy if you have multiple gaming devices attached to your computer and have the
problem of getting the right "Joystick ID#s" with HOTAS setups is called
JoyID's (or PJPJoyIDs) written by "Paul". It's a nice utility which allows
switching of IDs so you can place them in an list order that you can use with EAW.
This is because EAW is programmed in a way that it will only read input from a Joystick
with a DEVICE ID of 1.
This program will only work correctly when you are using
the old, so called deprecated Windows Controller API, example; You must have
Windows Joystick=1 set in your eaw.ini file.
Note: The DirectInput API (when Windows
Joystick=0) ignores IDs and are assigned "random" ports, by random I mean I'm
unsure at this point how DirectX assigns port numbers / order).
Down Grade Stick:
I find that most set ups have a problem with an extra set of Rudder Pedals (or Throttle)
because your Joystick already has a Twist-Handle (or Throttle) Built-in, thus EAW gets confused and doesn't allow
either device to function (or properly). I find this happens with EAWv1.2,
but not all the time... This is because Windows/EAW supports 6Axis, if your
Primary Flight Stick has Rudder and Throttle built in, Its ideal to use those,
other wise if you want secondary componets, down grade your stick so Windows doesn't recognize the built-in
twist-handle or built-in throttle. Read on.
You may in very rare situations need to “downgrade” your primary stick to
fool Windows and the game when it goes to detect your controls that you don't
have a Twist Handle or Throttle axis on your Joystick (even though it really
does), thus allowing your
secondary components; rudder pedals or throttle to work. You do this either via your
controllers software
by turning off your Rudder and/or Throttle on your primary Joystick, but only if the
manufacture's software allows this. This will now allow your secondary Rudder Pedals or
Throttle to work in EAW if there was a problem before.
If your controllers software doesn't allow you to do this then you have to do it
through Windows installed devices. You remove your stick and add in a 'Generic
joystick'... configuring it as a Generic 2 or 3 axis stick, this will effectively
remove either the Throttle and/or Rudder feature of your Joystick allowing your
secondary Rudder Pedals or Throttle to work in EAW. Unfortunately, If your stick has Force
feedback, using a 'generic driver' will disable FF support.
Gameports:
EAW works with Joysticks with 15-pin Gameport Plug ends that connects to your sound card or Motherboard.
Note that the Sound Card data connection can be unreliable on older ones made before 1998.
However external hardware cards are almost always the better source for sound and usually better support for your
Joystick / Gameport than onboard motherboard sound.
If you have two Gameports, one on your Sound Card and one on your motherboard, you
would normally disable your motherboards Gameport (or the entire On Board Sound) through
your Motherboards Bios, if not there, then through Windows Devices,
otherwise you will most likely have conflicts and your hardware won't work as
designed.
Note: Official Windows Gameport Driver support lasted up to Windows XP, ended
before Windows Vista released. However some custom drivers for specific sound
cards are available for some gameports designed for WinXP and after, if you can locate them
on the internet.
Game Cable to USB:
If you have an adapter on your older Joysticks 15-pin Game cable end to turn it into a USB end, It may not
work. If your going to use one of these adapters, insure it's designed for your
particular brand and model Joystick for best reliability rather than a universal standard adapter. Some are just cables
which require the Joystick to have USB technology already built into the
Joysticks hardware, typically these joysticks included such a cable when they
where new. (they where Gameport to USB ready). The more fancy adapters have
electronic chips inside of them to enhance the old game port controller where needed
and supply a USB end. Other chipped cables only allow for the Analog portion of
the joystick to function.
Do extensive research on the stick you intend to buy a cable converter/adapter for.
To get you headed in the right direction search the internet for the "3DP-Vert" and "FFB-Vert"
projects for building electronic USB adapters for Sidewinder digital and force feedback
legacy gameport joysticks.
Hot Swapping Controls:
Unplugging and changing Joysticks around to other ports is relatively speaking, not a good idea since Windows looses track of the
proper settings for a controller once its disconnected; such as list order and
sometimes calibrations. Detection may have been
improved in more modern Windows versions (above XP), however I recommend once you get the
controllers working that you leave them plugged in, unless of course a
malfunction requires you to unplug and replug in the controller while the
computer is on, usually this is instructed by Windows errors. Further, although USB
type controllers are
suppose to be more reliable in hot swapping, I still find it best to leave the
controllers connected based on everything I have learned about Joysticks and their ID.
Caution should be made to have your controllers correctly 'in-place' before
running EAW again. Otherwise you run the risk of EAW defaulting your key
assignments.
Setup In Game First/Profile Software:
You can remap virtually any function from with-in EAW. Bare in mind that EAW "doesn't
like" some stick profile software, so if you are using special profile
software, it might
work, or then again it might not! Some people have great success with no
problems, others find it better to just go ahead and use EAW's remapping
directly.
So remember to setup your controllers buttons first in game or through the eaw.ini
file without running the special controller profile software, only resort to the
sticks software if the stick has functions that won't work from within the game
itself, but this is no guarantee EAW with continue to recognize your controller
in flight once the profile software is used.
Gaming Keyboards/Mice/Keypads:
These are special keyboards or mice with many additional keys or buttons, beyond
that of a normal device. Extra Keypads fall in this area too.
In stock EAW, these USB Gaming devices tend to cause problems with EAW detecting
your primary Joystick. Make sure again that your Joystick is listed as Device
ID1 in Windows. If the Gaming Keyboard/Mouse or extra Keypad insists on being
ID1, then you'll have to either uninstall/disconnect them so EAW can detect your
flight Joystick controller.
USB Joystick Disconnects From Windows:
If Windows looses connection with your Joystick once in a while; In Windows XP
go to Windows Device Manager and in turn click on the "Root USB Hub" that your
Joystick is plugged into and click properties. Choose the "Power Management Tab"
and uncheck "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". In
Windows 10 go to Control panel>Devices and Printers>Right Click on your
Controller>Select Properties>Move to the Hardware Tab>USB Input
Device>Properties>Change Settings>Power Management>Uncheck; Allow the computer
to turn off this device. Another option is to move the stick to use a USB PCI
Slot Card if you have one rather than the motherboards ports, these are usually
better hardware than some MB USB port chips sets.
Joystick Not Recognized At All:
First of all if your joystick is not being recognized at all here's a little
tidbit from Microprose: Please note that in version 1.1 , in the EAW.INI file
there's a parameter for Windows Joystick=0 Change that to =1 and many joystick
problems will go away...
Joystick Grayed Out (Axis Not Responding):
Possible cause -
1)
If your running EAW using the shortcuts Compatibility Tab Settings by
selecting
any of the options, for an example Win95 or Win98/ME, your Joystick will loose all it's
axis functions and only the buttons may work or the Joystick will no longer be
recognized by the game at all (Grayed out). EAW does NOT require the
Compatibility Tab to run properly, Windows has its own compatibility fixes built
in for the eaw.exe. See my Windows ACT Help Document for more information.
You'll have to remove those check marks from the Compatibility Tab if you want
EAW to recognize your controller. Do these TWO things even if it seems
pointless: Right click into properties on your SHORTCUT to the game and see if
they are set. Now right click the eaw.exe file directly and see if your using
any Compatibility settings there...
Note: Only Win2000 requires the Tab Compatibility Layer to run the game...with
extra special manual settings for the Joystick to work correctly. See my
Windows ACT Help Document for Win2000 configuration for EAW.
Possible Cause - 2)
Perhaps in the in-game configuration at the Controller Setup
menu screen, your FLIGHT CONTROL has moved to the default KEYBOARD setting rather than
STICK. This could happen if your joystick wasn't plugged in / installed or wasn't
listed as ID1 at the time the game last loaded up. This can happen if you removed/swapped out your
controls for another one at some point and you never reassigned the ID back to 1
in the Windows Game Controller settings. Note: You will have lost all your eaw.ini assigned controls as well if
you ran the game under these conditions.
Otherwise, for older analog Joysticks, you may simply need to re-Calibrate.
Controls Messed Up/Plane Drifting Sideways:
Check to make sure that the setting for Windows Joystick=1 and not zero, this turns off the use of
EAW's self joystick routine's and the game will use the Windows API Joystick routine. To enable this mode, go edit the eaw.ini,
and find the section [CONTROLS], and change the line from "Windows Joystick=0"
to "Windows Joystick=1".
The Joystick Pulls Or Acts Erratically In The Game:
If you have a joystick (especially an older Logitech),
make sure that you get the latest drivers for it. Also make sure that the
drivers for your sound card are up to date, especially if the gameport is used
on it by your joystick.
Then adjust the sensitivity and
dead zone for your joystick/flight control by editing the EAW.INI file. Try setting "Flight
Sensitivity=0.90000" (the ideal will vary between 0.8 and 1.0) and "Dead
Zone=2". These are extreme values and are mentioned here to help
troubleshoot, if after you find these settings improve your issue, you may want
to keep experimenting. See further down in the help document sections titles
'Dead Zone' and 'Flight Sensitivity' for clearer instructions.
POV Hat Not Working Properly:
If you have problem with your POV hat not working properly with your joystick (for example: it fires guns when a POV hat direction is pressed. This has happened with a CH Flightstick),
you can use the non EAW joystick routines (by using Windows API Joystick routine). To enable this mode, go edit the eaw.ini, and find the section [CONTROLS], and change the line from "Windows Joystick=0" to "Windows Joystick=1"
Erratic View Changing Automatically:
This is fast changing views in the Flight Screen, incorrectly sometimes called
'flicker'.
If you have "Windows
Joystick=1" entered in your eaw.ini file and no controller connected,
Insure you have your controller plugged in before loading the game. (always have your controller plugged in and ready before loading the game).
No Keyboard or Joystick Buttons Working:
There seems there is a bug in EAW when sometimes the game will loose Keyboard
and Stick Button input during Flight temporally. Entering the pilots map usually
with the [M] Key and then escaping from there will return functions. This bug
seems to occur very rarely and during online gaming most often. Another thing to
remember to do is if your chatting in game, to remember to finally hit send,
because your controls are ignored during the time you type.
No control over the Aircraft and can't escape from the game:
When you goto "Configure Game" - then "Control"; Flight Control, The Throttle
Control, Rudder Control, and Camera Position settings are all locked in the
Keyboard position meaning you can't change any of the above controls to any of
the other options, then check your eaw.ini file; If you notice that all of the
values for the assignable keys are blank, something got corrupt and you should
delete your eaw.in and start over. A new default .ini file will be generated
next time you run the game.
Win2K/WinXP and TARGETING Keys:
Under WinXP, EAW may loose the Targeting Key assignments, target closest and
target next buttons on your Joystick....they reset to
default once you leave the game...There are actually 6 keys that appear to be
affected by this and the culprits are: TARGET NEXT ENEMY, TARGET PREVIOUS ENEMY,
TARGET CLOSEST ENEMY, TARGET NEXT FRIENDLY, TARGET PREVIOUS FRIENDLY, TARGET
NEXT GROUND...one workaround solution is to map only those commands with the software
that comes with your stick...another is to use specific custom versions of EAW,
such as the v1.26e patch (which is considered a v1.2)...
Fast Computers and Mouse Click Selections:
If you run the stock EAW 1.2 version or anything based on it (Including v1.26e) you will find that Vista and newer Windows are too fast for the
Multi and Single Player Mission Parameter selections menu line. By this I mean when clicking
your mouse to make a selection change on those parameter screens, the selection with
jump erratically / fast. There has been a workaround found (on EAWPRO by disabling the
key repeat/loop). If your useing a version or type of game that does not have a
workaround (like the stock game versions), you could try to enable Vsync in your
video control panel to slow those selections down, however this may effect your
overall performance of the game. For those un fixed or no workaround, you'll have to keep clicking
more often until you get what you want from the fast display of the selection
that can pass by.
Unwanted Entry's In The EAW.INI:
If your Controllers where working and suddenly stop one day; in
WinXP,Vista,Win7/8/10 there is an issue with these Windows versions that
sometimes there are duplicate control entry's listed at the end of your eaw.ini
file. (This is possibly caused by Windows writing its own registry entry's for
file locations...) Check your eaw.ini to see if it has duplicate functions
listed after the last entry of ScreenCapture= Anything below that should be
erased.
Manually Enter Controllers Entry's In The EAW.INI:
Remember you can open and edit the eaw.ini file to set your controllers up manually
to make things easier. It won't work if you have to by-pass the grayed out
Flight Control Options on the in game menu, you may be able to get your buttons to work but the axis
part won't. Read this help document to gain further knowledge of what you can assign.
MicroProse Info From The User Manual:
To fly well, MPS recommend you use a joystick. They encourage the use of
throttle controls and foot pedals (for the rudder). You cannot play if you use
only keyboard controls. Use of a mouse is absolutely necessary, and a joystick
comes in handy, too. In fact, we strongly recommend that you use both.
Calibration settings for joysticks and other hardware is taken from Windows
data; if you installed the hardware correctly, you should have no need to
recalibrate just for this game. (There is no in game calibration screen for this
reason).
The Flight Control Setting in the Control Menu is the important one; it’s the
main device for flying your aircraft. Selections for the other options might
change or be limited depending on what you select here. In general, for
instance, you cannot use the same device as both Flight Control and for
controlling the external camera—the exception being that if your joystick is
your flight control, you can use the joystick “hat” to maneuver the camera.
To customize (or completely reconfigure) the controls for the game, select
Advanced. This option gives you control over all four groups of controls—View
controls, Flight controls, Weapon controls, and general Game controls. When
you’re done, click OK to save your changes or Cancel to undo them.
This section is for known problems with EAW and Multiplayer.
Much of this information is not tested by me and I currently need to
re write these topics. Read at your own risk currently. :/ This information may or may not apply to you.
Joining Order:
There is some evidence that there is a specific order in which players should join the game
when players (including the Host) are on different Windows OS
types/versions.
Although you do not need to have a join order when there are 3 or
less players. This is because the network circle is properly
established in the correct order no matter who joins in which ever
order.
Originally the EAW game was made for Win95 and was thought to connect to
another Win9x type machine by design. (Newer Windows versions are
known to be backward compatible with the older Windows versions when
talking about connecting with DPLAY).
However the joining only seems to work best
(or at all) when a
special arrangement order (like the ones listed below) are followed.
The so called "network circle" fortunately works fine
in either direction.
There is no
restriction as to who Hosts the game or what his version of DirectX
is as long as subsequent players take their version into account...
<insert order here if necessary>
(Self Note: heavily re-write below info)
Another way to try to grasp the complex join order processes is to
understand that the first to join are the ones with
the same OS as the host, followed by the later OS's until there's
nothing higher. Next to join are the older OS's in reversed release
date order, with the oldest of these joining last. The entire circle
should show the right hierarchy from any location in the circle, a
lower OS before and a higher one after that location, or vice versa
for reverse order. You can also count from the host OS and allow
subsequent newer versions join sequentially and end with the highest
old version lower then the host's version. <CONFUSED? So am I>
The result of the entire
circle should be that connections start somewhere with the lowest
and end somewhere with the highest version, with all other versions
sequentially in between, just like a clock, clockwise or counter
clockwise. Once the right order has been figured out, you should stick
to that order or perhaps assign a hierarchal value to each player so
you can still use the same order even when certain players aren't
present. Joining Issues:
Before hitting the join button, players should wait at least two
mouse freezes so the handshake is properly established, after the 2nd
freeze only a limited amount of time is available to hit join before
usually the game disappears and sets itself up for a 2nd try of the
handshake.
When join is hit too late or too early a black screen for
that player will be the result and he needs to reboot. The other
players sometimes will see a few weird tokens where the player's
name should appear. All players should then leave the room to free
the player that's stuck in the black screen. If they don't this
player can only forcefully shutdown his machine but if they do the
player will be released after a while (usually within a minute or
so). Disconnected Players:
(Self Note: rewrite topic)
Sometimes players can get disconnected from the game which can lead
to all kinds of problems... You really should start the game over if one
player gets discounted without leaving the game properly. Sometimes the remaining player's game
itself starts screwing up often resulting in unexpected behavior,
like a rocket freeze, constantly exploding planes or a direct draw
surface loss also known as a garbled screen. When a plane is
reported to be constantly exploding it may help if that particular
player simply bails out and requests a new plane (only when re-spawn
is on).
Besides that, one or more player's OS may become unstable and a
reboot is necessary. Often also the router's configuration seems to
screw up, no idea if this is an OS issue or not, but sometimes a new
network connection can no longer be established. Best cure is to
power off the computer completely and restart it. Sometimes it's
also necessary to power off the router and reboot it.
This can have the same effect on all players as a connection loss
and it's advised that all players reboot. The above knowledge
applies to the original game versions and derivatives, including
FXEXE and is based on painstakingly taking notes of every
encountered event since 2000 up to 2018 with operating systems from
Win98 up to Win7. Rebooting Necessary:
(Self Note: rewrite topic)
Now another problem I've become aware of is that EAW needs all
players who are not running it's native DirectX version reboot after
each session or having been in the EAW Session Parameter screen,
i.e. after they were actually connected to the network. This is also
true when returning to desktop without launching, you can't connect
twice (as this disturbs the joining order hierarchy??). To play multiple games in a row, without rebooting every time, only
works with WinME and Win98. Players can even stay in the game and
setup another, but with higher operating systems reboots in between
each game are necessary and the joining order must be strictly
followed, meaning that a network circle is created which
sequentially follows the direct play versions on these computers. It
makes no difference if the circle of connections is clockwise or
counter clockwise, as long as the highest and lowest connection are
adjacent somewhere in the circle. Obviously Win95 is the lowest in
hierarchy and Win10 highest. Latency and Lag:
Bad pings create lag which can have some strange effects in a game.
If you're in mayhem and your plane keeps exploding when you spawn
that's due to lag rather than a diabolical misuse of aerial mines.
Sometimes you get shot when no-one seems to be aiming at you. Lag
again. Planes can sometimes jitter about the sky making it
impossible to shoot anything. In the worst case, your game will
freeze up and you'll have to force a close.
AI in a game contributes to lag. More players in a game also raise
the stakes - but an eight player sweep is great when it works.
Playing over the channel is best to reduce lag. (the eaw game
doesn't have to display ground objects and much terrain).
Sometimes players only get "half in" to a game. At the first page
you get to when the game is launched, their plane type might not
appear or they will see a different plane to the rest of the
players. Lag again. When you launch, that player will probably drop.
For some reason, exiting and re-entering the rookie room sometimes
cures lag problems. Not always though.
EAW is usually OK on a 56K modem. If you're having trouble, try a
new ISP or look for a time of day where your conn speed is better.
Better still, get cable/DSL.
Maximum Players Limited:
From more than 8 players is not truly possible. The limit is apparently set by the
quality of the DirectPlay programming in the game (DirectPlay, part
of DirectX, is how
the game connects for multiplayer). There was some rumor that EAW at
the beginning of development was to have a limit of 10 players, but
it never was implemented. It may have been found that most likely
only 8 players max worked consistently. It may be possible to one
day to achieve more players if the sync multiplayer code is entirely
rewritten, it would take almost a complete rewrite of the DirectPlay
networking features. When the game was released, the code used was
an older DirectPlay version. It is from what I understand a somewhat
crude code compared with newer DirectPlay versions. So most likely
it would be possible that just updating and optimizing the code to
the latest version would achieve enough performance gain to make the
TCP/IP connections more efficient so players do not drop out of the
game ("get kicked"). However this is unlikely to happen anytime
soon, as its a huge job.
The problem with EAW is its limited by both the era in which it
was created and the numerous teams that worked on the game (Thought
two or three teams or more). The programming was basically revised
so many times the game was almost never released. Since hardly any
team knew the whole code and it was never built to be "upgraded"
most of the coding as I understand was not flexible. Chris Coon and
a few others worked on the later networking revisions and produced
stability enough for it to work. But even then the project was
almost abandoned.
This section is for the more complex details pertaining to the Windows Registry
and EAW. Such as how EAW behaves with the Windows OS and
it's Registry. This is not a complete guide, but only part of the picture.
About Registry Entries Produced by Windows:
The EAW game itself does not put any entries into the registry. EAW does not use
any information that is stored within the registry for its own purpose. The only entries
in the registry are those produced by the Windows operating system. The
operating system produce changes in the registry whenever you run, move or
duplicate the EAW.EXE file on the hard disk.
These entries are used by Windows for tracking, compatibility and running the
game itself.
There is an entry produced by the
operating system that shows the path to every EAW.EXE and this value will be
updated automatically.
As far as I can tell any entries in the Registry for EAW are based on the full
file/folder path to a eaw.exe. (The cache location used on the HD is different
for each file/folder path name.
Meaning that a file called "C:\MicroProse Software\EAW12\eaw.exe"
is a totally different file than the one called
"C:\MicroProse Software\EAW10\eaw.exe").
As what I determined is that the Windows OS self generated REG Entries only need to know that 'eaw.exe'
is launched to apply the correct automated compatibility settings to it.
Game EXE File Names:
Remember to get the best performance, stability and compatibility out of the game
and Windows (after Win9x), any of the specially modified or even unmodified EAW "exe's" available from
the EAW community will have to be renamed to just "eaw.exe" before you run
them. Windows2000 and above are very
sensitive to the EAW naming as they have built in Compatibility Fixes/Modes (not the same as
Compatibility Mode Tab settings you find in a shortcut for the game). Those
Windows Modes all look for filename eaw.exe to apply to correct settings.
Otherwise
you'll have problems running the game properly. Not to mention many registry entries will have to be rewritten
by the Windows OS for every name of a exe you have run, which will eventually
cause problems and won't run properly.
Direct Draw Menu Color Registry Fix:
If on Windows Vista or Win7 and the EAW Menu Screens colors
are messed up, you can use a special program that I found to help
EAW's DirectDraw Screens and
Windows to get along better, thus restoring the Menu Screen colors back
to normal.
Windows 7 (perhaps Vista as well) applied a Compatibility Fix of some sort, but lacked
the 8 bit color fix for the menu screens (that are displayed with DirectDraw). To correct the
colors you have to apply a 3rd party (but really a Microsoft Setting)
Registry color fix for the Accelerated DirectDraw screens to work
correctly. Even when this Registry setting is applied, EAW runs at full
speed on those Windows OS versions.
I recommend you forgo any of the Direct3D type Wrapper programs
and just use a DirectDraw Registry Fixer Program mentioned here if
in game Menu Screen Colors is your only issue. This type of fix
is a lighter option (less CPU power required to run the game than
using a Wrapper).
The name of the direct draw registry entry program I prefer
(there are two of them) is the "DirectDraw Compatibility Tool"
made by Galogen. (This program is for WinVista and Win7
ONLY). This will create automated registry entries to correct EAWs Menu
Screen colors. You must apply the fix for each eaw.exe you intend to
run, and in the game folder that you run it from. Just remember this; you either want to use a Wrapper
Program or this Reg Fix, NOT Both. If you use both it will cause problems, so stick
with one or the other. (Unless you know better than me)...
(See the top of this page for a link to the download and don't
forget to read the readme
that comes with the program to understand how to use it).
1) Place the program in the game folder you want to fix.
2)
You then
run the program, pick the eaw.exe you intend to use, and then click
'Apply' or 'Create Reg File'. It then checks the eaw.exe file for some specific
attributes, such as CRC and File Size etc. Then it writes a reg file
that you can inspect with notepad.
3) To finish, You need to Install
this patch with a right click on the filename.reg.
If afterwards you need to delete an entry in the registry file, here are
there locations written by the Reg Fix program, pick which ever one
you used (The first entry is for a 64bit Windows OS , the second is
for a 32bit Windows OS): The DirectDraw Compatibility Tool
writes here:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\DirectDraw\Compatibility\eaw
and
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\DirectDraw\Compatibility\eaw
See my
'Know
Bugs and Features Ideas Help Document' and read the section titled 'WEIRD COLORED MENU SCREENS' on that page
if you need more details about the odd colors you experience.
Windows 8.1/10 Compatibility Layer:
All tests show
that Win10 applies its own Compatibility Mode to the eaw.exe
automatically (sometimes) when the
game is first launched outside of a wrapper program.
It applies a detected 8/16 bit color / Compatibility Mode
(DWM8And16BitMitigation) to display the in-game DirectDraw Menu
Screens perfectly (unlike Win7, see above). (The fix offers
mitigation for applications that work in 8/16-bit display combo
color mode because these legacy color modes are not natively
supported in Windows 8.1/10). This may be partly also why EAW runs
slower in the flight screen in Win8.1/10 than on Windows 7.
If you ever needed to
remove the OS set Fixes to strictly use a DirectDraw / Direct3D
Wrapper to run in Windows 10 the entries to remove are listed below.
(You do not want to run a wrapper plus an OS set Fix together, they
may and often will conflict with each other and most likely give you the 7217
error or other issues, even then when using a wrapper). Remove this entry
and do NOT run the specific eaw.exe from OUTSIDE the wrapper, or
this fix will be written again by the Windows OS, again cause
problems. (For steps to remove the entry in the REGISTRY, see the
topic further down, 'Cleaning Out The Registry Of EAW').
However, If you need to reintroduce this reg entry because Win10
fails to automatically apply it, which results in you getting the 7217 EAW error when run outside a Wrapper. Then add back this Value Data
in the registry path indicated below.
These are the Win8.1 and Win10 Registry Additional Compatibility
Mode/Fix Entries:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers
These are the Values (Note that the folder path to your game will be
different):
Value Name: D:\MicroProse Software\EAW12\eaw.exe
Value Data: DWM8And16BitMitigation
and/or (setting for All Users):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers
These are the Values (Note that the folder path to your game will be
different):
Value Name: D:\MicroProse Software\EAW12\eaw.exe
Value Data: $ DWM8And16BitMitigation
NOTES
If your getting the 7217 error and you don't want to mess around
trying to add to the registry ,a quick tip that I found is to do the
following procedure. This will add the value data to the registry if
windows won't do it automatically:
1) You can select/highlight the eaw.exe that won't start and
right click it.
2) Select properties at the bottom of the menu that pops ups.
3) Select the Compatibility tab at the top of the menu that pops up.
Under Compatibility mode check mark 'Run this program in
compatibility mode for:' and Click okay. (no need to bother
selecting a windows version).
4) Next right click the eaw.exe again and this time uncheck the mark
and click okay.
5) Now double left click your eaw.exe and the error will be gone and
the game will launch.
Win10 And DirectDraw:
In Windows 8/8.1 Microsoft deprecated DirectDraw even
more so. It's been
superseded with something called Direct2D, and this doesn't provide
the full boosted performance to old DirectDraw games like the original
accelerated DD DirectX did. (DirectDraw appears to be used for the HUD text "overlay" during the
D3D flight screen in EAW...).
This directly effects the Frames Per
Second in EAW's Flight Screen, as they have dropped dramatically from Windows 7 EAW
performance, Nearly in half. From around 60 to down to around 30FPS,
sometimes slower in heavy trafficked game moments (and on low spec
machines). There has been
many post made to Microsoft about this issue, so far no update has
addressed it (June 2018).
Slow Screen Transitioning:
The old Windows10 update; version 1803 (April 2018) has an issue
of slowing down
the screen switching of EAW from the normal delay of 1 to 2 sec,
to making it around 7 to 10 secs. This applies to first loading the game
to get to the Main Menu, and going
from the Main Menu to the Loading Fuel Gauge, and exiting Flight
Screen back to Mission Results Screen. Its unclear what Microsoft
did to cause this...is fixed with a Wrapper
Program....I figure its the speed at which its loading the
textures and graphics, including the models, It could not only be an
OS problem but more specifically a DirectX/DirectDraw issue....
However tested a year later (April 11 2019), the slow menu
transitioning is gone now. EAW is running normally again in this
regard. (Just like before).
ACT Compatibility Database EAW Entry:
Windows also has a central database of compatibility fixes and
modes that it uses on eaw.exe that are not in the registry. For
further advanced details and information on the Win10 Fixes, Modes
and the ACT toolkit settings; see my 'Windows ACT ToolKit Help Document' and refer to the topic titled 'Windows 8.1/10'.
You don't really need to read all that information, it's there
for the technically minded though.
I was researching the issue to try to get EAW to run as close to 'natively' as
possible while retaining high performance for the game. Testing
is done with the ACT compatibility
settings ToolKit.
To speed things up in the emulation layer of Win10 I've tried many,
many fixes that I could come up with, none worked (early 2018) However
Since then, with deeper testing (later in 2018) using the ACT toolkit for Win10,
I've found some tweaks to increase speed and performance
corrections, however testing is incomplete and limited currently
(June 2018)...
So
then you
won't want to mess with what is called the Win8.1/10 ACT compatibility
database unless your an Advanced user. It's completely unnecessary
to experiment with it, even earlier versions, however if your interested, see
my help
document 'Windows
ACT ToolKit' for my findings to TRY to improve the game
compatibility and performance.
Moving A EAW Game Folder:
Moving a game folder that you have already run a game in, is considered moving a
game that the Windows OS has set Registry entries for already. Once you have
moved the game folder contents to a new location, or renamed the folder the game
is in, you should clean out the Registry of the old location.
A build up of
Compatibility Registry entries for the game, may at some point cause the game
not to load and run, no matter where it is on your system. See 'Game Crashes To
Desktop Troubleshooting' topics under the section PROBLEMS RUNNING THE GAME , and read
the topic titled 'Game CTD When Loading Game / It will never run' for more
details on this rare occurrence.
(For instructions to remove the entry in the REGISTRY, see the topic below,
'Cleaning Out The Registry Of EAW').
Having Multiple Copy's of the Game:
You can have as many copy's of EAW on your HD as you want, especially when you manually install the game.
You can have two separate folders of each
official patched versions of the game on your hard drive, a 'dual installation'
(or triple, or even more). Just make sure you patch one game folder
to v1.1 and the other to v1.2. Then you can have even more, separate
game folders of any version.
Some of
the Windows compatibility fixes will set them self based on the location (or
folder path) to the eaw.exe. The DirectDraw registry fixes are based on the exact exe used.
So it's best once you RUN or Apply a FIX any particular EAW game folder, that you leave it
in that location. Otherwise you may need to reapply a Windows fix...
Also if you want to save HD space, you only need one FULL EAW installation. For
the other game folders use a small installation (remove the CDF files) and then link the
small installations to your full installation in the eaw.ini. (see the next
paragraph) The small
installations are only a few MB in size without add-ons since they do not need the duplicate cdf files.
This is the preferred way for some pilots for installing many EAW game folders and gives a very clean main folder because you never need to
add any add-ons to your full installation.
To set the folder path to your full installation, open your eaw.ini file in the
SMALL installation of EAW and find the Debug Path= line. Add in the full path to
your FULL installation of EAW, such as; Debug Path=C:\Microprose
Software\European Air War\Full\ That will allow the small game folders to source
from the full.
Cleaning Out The Registry Of EAW:
If EAW will no longer run (after it has before) no matter what you do properly
to add the game to your computer HD. This is because when ever you delete/rename
a EAW
game folder or the game has been effected by other compatibility problems, the
old Registry Entries that where left over can be detrimental to new
'installations' of the game where it won't run/launch.
If you have to remove the primary entry due to a Compatibility Layering issue, do the following:
(Or use a automated reg cleaner program like CCleaner, if you wish.)
From the taskbar, click on the Start button
- In the Search or Run field type REGEDIT or REGEDT32, Press the Enter key on the
keyboard
- Click Yes in the User Account Control dialog (if necessary)
- Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers
- Click Layers to select it
- You may find multiple EAW entries listed. If multiple eaw.exe are listed, make
sure you select perhaps the entry that is disallowing launch.
- Press Delete on the keyboard
- Click Yes in the Confirm Key Delete
NOTES:
You may also (if the primary entry removal didn't help), need to go through the entire
Windows OS Registry searching for entries with
"eaw.exe" and
"European Air
War" and
"EAW" etc... ...and remove them so you can start over fresh. Read on below.
Here's a list of Registry Entry Locations that Windows 10 has other than the
previous mentioned entry above. (If you find more please let me know). I would
NOT delete the following unless they are clearly NOT used anymore by a current
or present location of a EAW
game folder / eaw.exe.
I'm truly unsure which Registry entry is the real problem beyond the primary
entry listed above, because I don't know exactly what they are doing or really
what the Windows OS is doing with them.
I have no idea why so many EAW entries by
the Windows OS. If you know more about the more mysterious reg entries, please let me know... Below is a list of the related reg entries that I
found in Win10.
For now just delete the entries
that point to non existing EAW game locations and eaw.exe's. I had to do this
once before myself and I'm no expert, and it resulted in the game running again.
There appears to be a ton of Registry Virtualization for the 32 bit EAW game.
The following descriptions is what I'm guessing at their meaning. I'm still
baffled why Windows needs these entries, perhaps most are not needed...
- The NVIDIA entry is probably for when you customize
the Graphics Card Control Panel for the game, like adding Anti
Alias setting just for EAW game profile.
- Wow6432Node is all about running 32 bit applications
on a 64 bit system. A 32bit (x86) system wouldn't have these
entries, if they do they are ignored.
- MostRecentApplication is apparently which game that
uses Direct3D / DirectDraw last.
- The DirectPlay entries are probably the compatibility
settings for the game under Multiplayer.
- RADAR is Windows applications troubleshooting a
memory leak.
Searched For : "eaw.exe" (Search Registry and check mark, Match Whole
String Only).
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\NVTweak\NvCplAppNamesStored
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\DirectDraw\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\DirectPlay\
Applications\European Air War
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectDraw\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\RADAR\HeapLeakDetection\DiagnosedApplications\eaw.exe
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European
Air War
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectDraw\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>_Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\Direct3D\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>_Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectDraw\MostRecentApplication
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>_Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
Searched For : "european air war" (Search Registry and check
mark, Match Whole String Only).
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Local
Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\MuiCache
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\
DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local
Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\MuiCache
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameUX\<User SID>\
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microprose Software\European Air War
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European
Air War
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\Shell\MuiCache
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>\Software\Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>_Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\MuiCache
HKEY_USERS\<User SID>_Classes\VirtualStore\MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
Microsoft\DirectPlay\Applications\European Air War
CODEGROUP VERSION CONTENT
Problems with the Code Group custom frontend launchers and the Compatibility Tab
Settings:
It has been found that the custom frontend would give an error when you click
the final button to launch EAW with the Tab settings set to anything
but default.
Here are some technical details that are helpful in troubleshooting,
in no particular order.
Reminder:
This particular section of this help document only addresses the CodeGroup's source
changes, you'll have to read the standard stock
Joystick and Controls Troubleshooting Tips for more information.
Joystick Types Known To Work:
Even though EAW is not
fully controller modernized, the CodeGroup's source
modified EAWv1.28c/d/e and versions above them now include two and three
controllers maximum support. Also some USB issues where resolved
when using separate Gaming devices (read the next paragraph). So modern day controllers should
work, flawlessly, when configured correctly.
Gaming Keyboards/Mice/Keypads:
In v1.28d and above, there where some code changes to
help work around other USB Gaming Devices causing problems, like special Gaming Mice or
Gaming Keyboards. However not all issues with these devices where resolved...
Erratic View Changing Automatically:
If your using the newer eaw.exe's such as v1.28e and above, those versions force
a default value of 1 in the eaw.ini file under "Windows Joystick=1"
automatically. If you happen to have no controller connected when trying to fly, you may experience views
changing erratically. Insure you have your controller
plugged in before loading the game. (As noted by one of the programmers: There is
also some evidence that the problem maybe due to the new USB
controller code in these newer exe's)...
Crash To Desktop, Force Feedback:
When you go to fly and get a CTD, Its a possibility that the Force Feedback=
setting in your eaw.ini is set to 1 (ON). If this is true when you
don't have a joystick plugged in and/or if the stick is not detected by eaw
properly or your stick is not even Force Feedback capable, you will get that CTD.
Solution is to change that setting to 0 to fix this.
(EAWv1.28c/d wrongfully and automatically sets this to 1 when those exe's create
a new eaw.ini file, it should be set to 0 if you don't have a FF stick or you
get a CTD). ??From what I recall in past recent years (perhaps in Feb of 2016
when Glide3 was added) Jel apparently corrected this, but I'm unsure if he
issued a replacement exe to the masses??
Win2K/WinXP and TARGETING Keys:
Under WinXP, EAW may loose the Targeting Key assignments, target closest and
target next buttons on your Joystick....they reset to
default once you leave the game...There are actually 6 keys that appear to be
affected by this and the culprits are: TARGET NEXT ENEMY, TARGET PREVIOUS ENEMY,
TARGET CLOSEST ENEMY, TARGET NEXT FRIENDLY, TARGET PREVIOUS FRIENDLY, TARGET
NEXT GROUND...one workaround solution is to map only those commands with the software
that comes with your stick...another is to use specific custom versions of EAW,
such as the v1.26e patch (which is considered a v1.2)...or use 1.28, which I
think have corrections for these issues built in...
Fast Computers and Mouse Click Selections:
If in stock versions you experienced fast changes with mouse clicks on
selections screens, you will find EAWv1.28 and above have a slow down delay
routine added to the source code that allows normal mouse click selecting now.
Faster computers may need this workaround altered again.
[END]
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