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First post, by damson

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I have searched the web but didn't found anything on this topic. My problem is that in USNF'97 or FA(midi install) I have no music during flight. I tested it on XP and Win7 - both have the same problem (it worked fine on Win95 and probably 98). I know you can choose digital musicin Fighters Anthology which works, but I preffer the midi variant. Is there any fix for that?

BTW the music in USNF adds a whole new level of immersion. It is fitting that particular setting (naval aviation) very well. Playing without it seems like flying as Maverick without Goose 😢

Also is there any way to make the USNF'97 play at correct speed on modern PC? For FA you have to install 1.02 patch which fixes the speed problem (I think it adds frame rate lock).

My youtube channel - flight sims new and old

Reply 1 of 23, by filipetolhuizen

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Unfortunatelly there are no fixes for that. If you have a nvidia card, you may wish to try the frame rate limiter by creating a profile for the game using nvidiainspector.

Reply 2 of 23, by SpeedySPCFan

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I believe both dgVoodoo and DXGL offer an option to force vertical sync (which in turn forces 60FPS) in them. Try using their DirectX wrappers with that.

Musician & music gear/game reviewer.

MIDI hardware: JD-990, SC-55, SC-880, SD-90, VL70-m, Motif ES, Trinity, TS-10, Proteus 2000, XK-6, E6400U

Reply 5 of 23, by StoneCold

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The past weekend I tried getting USNF 97 running with dgVoodoo2, but for the life of me it seems that it just freezes. The game starts up fine, the intro video however presents a black screen, but I can hear the music of the Janes intro in the background. After that it seems that the game just freezes. I've tried various other tools / utilities to slow the game down, nothing helps. I thought that dgVoodoo2 would do the trick, but sadly, it appears to be not the case 🙁

EDIT: Apologies, I see there is a dgVoodoo and a dgVoodoo2. I only tried with dgVoodoo2, will retry with dgVoodoo and report back again 😀

Reply 6 of 23, by Stiletto

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StoneCold wrote:

The past weekend I tried getting USNF 97 running with dgVoodoo2, but for the life of me it seems that it just freezes. The game starts up fine, the intro video however presents a black screen, but I can hear the music of the Janes intro in the background. After that it seems that the game just freezes. I've tried various other tools / utilities to slow the game down, nothing helps. I thought that dgVoodoo2 would do the trick, but sadly, it appears to be not the case 🙁

EDIT: Apologies, I see there is a dgVoodoo and a dgVoodoo2. I only tried with dgVoodoo2, will retry with dgVoodoo and report back again 😀

dgVoodoo2 is the only one of the two versions of dgVoodoo that can wrap DirectX games. USNF '97 uses DirectX 3. The original dgVoodoo is only a Glide wrapper.

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do the Fandango!" - Queen

Stiletto

Reply 7 of 23, by gerwin

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A late reply,

Midi in Jane's Fighters Anthology: IIRC Sometimes the configuration file disables midi and it refuses to re-enable. Delete EA.CFG restart the game. Or use the attached EA.cfg

USNF 97 game speed: The USNF 97 content is present in Jane's Fighters Anthology, where it runs properly. Alternatively one can play the original USNF + Marine Fighters in Dosbox.

Attachments

  • Filename
    Janes-FA-config-midi.zip
    File size
    325 Bytes
    Downloads
    201 downloads
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

--> ISA Soundcard Overview // Doom MBF 2.04 // SetMul

Reply 8 of 23, by damson

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gerwin wrote:

A late reply,

Midi in Jane's Fighters Anthology: IIRC Sometimes the configuration file disables midi and it refuses to re-enable. Delete EA.CFG restart the game. Or use the attached EA.cfg

USNF 97 game speed: The USNF 97 content is present in Jane's Fighters Anthology, where it runs properly. Alternatively one can play the original USNF + Marine Fighters in Dosbox.

Thanks gerwin for the hint, but unfortunately it still doesn't work (I'm running FA under Win 7 Home 64-bit). Even tried reinstalling to small install (midi music) and trying to run the exe under several compatibility settings with the cfg you provided. Well the digital music is still better than nothing ...

My youtube channel - flight sims new and old

Reply 9 of 23, by bellarmine

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Hello all,

Thanks a bunch to poster Gerwin's tip above, I have got the MIDI music WORKING for Jane's Fighter's Anthology (FA) AND USNF '97! 😀

This was tested in XP 32-bit on two computers. I have included all my background info below, but in a nut shell it is this:
- Install either game (MIDI version in FA's case of course)
- BEFORE running them, set the shortcut to 95/98 compatibility mode.
- That's it!

It is IMPORTANT to do this BEFORE running the games. The reason is, that if you run them without 95/98 compatibility mode on, not only does the music not work, but the EA.CFG file seems to get permanently messed up. The music won't play even if you turn compatibility mode on later. Wierd. You'll have to either delete EA.CFG or restore it from a backup (like Gerwin's "Janes-FA-config-midi.zip" above, or my attached file below, see details below).

The one drawback of my discovery is that in 95/98 compatibility mode, the mouse cursor gets very jerky in the interface. I don't know why. It is less jerky on my Toshiba A200 laptop than my AMD dual-core GTX480 desktop - go figure. If you can click the "Single Mission" button, you can press Enter multiple times to get into the cockpit and you'll hear the music. Any input on this quirk would be more than welcome.

Finally, if you want to run FA and switch between MIDI and WAVE music, or are just curious, see all the details below:

Fighter Anthology with WAVE/Digital music:
- Install with Wave install
- Run - Wave music in menu and flight
- Done

Fighter Anthology AND/OR USNF 97 with MIDI music:

- Install (MIDI install in FA's case)
- Set shortcut to 95/98 compatibility mode
- Run - Wave music in menu (FA only), MIDI in flight
- Note: Mouse cursor very jerky
- Done
- Recommend backing up EA.CFG in case game is run without 95/98 compatibility mode, can then restore EA.CFG
- Setup all prefs graphics joystick etc before backing up EA.CFG, won't have to do it all over again

Fighter Anthology switchable WAVE or MIDI music:
- Install FA Wave install
- Run FA - setup prefs graphics joystick etc etc as desired
- Backup EA.CFG somewhere as EAWave.CFG
- Backup FA_4B.LIB (wave music library)
- Uninstall

- Re-Install with MIDI install
- Set shortcut to 95/98 compatibility mode
- Run FA - setup prefs graphics joystick etc etc as desired
- Backup EA.CFG as EAMidi.CFG
- Put FA_4B.LIB into install dir (wave music)
- Done - wave music in menu, MIDI in flight

- To switch to wave: copy in EAWave.CFG as EA.CFG
- Optional: Turn off 95/98 compatibility mode (smoother mouse cursor).

- To switch back to midi: copy in EAMidi.CFG as EA.CFG
- Turn on shortcut 95/98 compatibility mode

Notes:
If compatibility mode set to 2000 or XP def / off, music stops
Set back to 95/98, STILL no music.
Have to delete / copy EA.cfg again (gets 'messed'):
DELETE EA.cfg / or copy from Gerwin's "Janes-FA-config-midi.zip"
If adding Wave music to MIDI install, it needs FA_4B.LIB from a wave installation
If you want I can try uploading FA_4B.LIB (35MB) if you don't want to bother installing FA WAVE first.

I've attached Config files for FA Wave, FA Midi, and USNF '97. These work, AS LONG AS you set 95/98 compatibility mode for the MIDI versions BEFORE running them. Rename to EA.CFG of course. I've also set up some basic prefs, joystick, HUD, graphics, etc so you're not back to stock everytime.

Filename
EA (FA Wave).CFG
File size
343 Bytes
Downloads
96 downloads
File comment
FA Wave Music Config File (EA.CFG)
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
Filename
EA (FA MIDI).CFG
File size
343 Bytes
Downloads
119 downloads
File comment
FA MIDI Music Config File (EA.CFG)
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception
Filename
EA (USNF97).CFG
File size
340 Bytes
Downloads
125 downloads
File comment
USNF 97 Config File (EA.CFG)
File license
Fair use/fair dealing exception

Finally, a small gameplay tip: When you're in the cockpit, press the - (minus) key until it zooms out -100%. Otherwise it's like looking through blinkers, and the ground speed looks a tad more realistic. I think the game looks MUCH better that way, especially landing.

Let me know if there's anything else - cheers! 😀

Bellarmine

When working on a job, you have 3 criteria: Fast, Good, and Cheap (i.e., Quick, High Quality, and Low Cost). Only 2 out of 3 are practical.

Reply 10 of 23, by gerwin

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Thanks for the these tips. i will be sure to check for 95/98 compatibility mode next time I run these games. I will also try that -100% zoom setting you mentioned.
I remember reading that the successor of these games, Jane's USAF, also had to be installed in Windows 95/98 for best results. As if these games use some vintage low level file writing routines.

--> ISA Soundcard Overview // Doom MBF 2.04 // SetMul

Reply 11 of 23, by damson

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That's a nice find bellarmine. I hope this trick will work in Windows 10 64-bit.

Regarding the jerky mouse issue - since the Win95/98 compatibility mode is essantially a set of compatibilty settings that you could even make yourself with Application Compatibility Toolkit, one of its settings is probably causing issue with the mouse while some other fixes the MIDI music. I might look into it later but will have to use my other PC with Windows 7 since ACT is not supported in Windows 10 AFAIK.

@gerwin - for Jane's USAF, Tackleberry has made some patches that fixes most issues (if not all) and even adds some features. He also made some fixes for Jane's IAF.

i wish there was a proper fix for the frontend in Jane's F-15 (menus not readable). There are some fixes that works for certain OS'es but for Windows 10 there is none that I know of that fixes briefings in campaigns.

My youtube channel - flight sims new and old

Reply 12 of 23, by UCyborg

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damson wrote:

I might look into it later but will have to use my other PC with Windows 7 since ACT is not supported in Windows 10 AFAIK.

Compatibility Administrator is part of Windows ADK since Windows 8.x.

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Reply 13 of 23, by bellarmine

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Hello All,

Glad the info may be helpful Gerwin & Damson. What you said about the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) makes sense - it struck me the same way a just few days after I posted my first workaround. Building on that idea and using some instructions I had for fixing Need for Speed II SE in XP, I found the option in the ACT that fixes the MIDI: CorrectSoundDeviceID. Yes, it fixes the MIDI in USNF and FA permanently, AND the mouse works FINE - no need to fiddle with the shortcut. A Perfect Solution 😎

So: UPDATE:
- FORGET shortcut compatibility mode.
- Install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit
------ (Requires .net framework 2.0) (acoording to UCyborg you have it if you have Win 8 or above)

- After installing, from the Start Menu, choose Compatibility Administrator.
- Under Custom Databases there should be a New Database entry, right click it and choose Create New > Application Fix.
- Under Name of the program to be fixed: type USNF / FA (or whatever you like)
- Under Name of the vendor for this program: type Jane's
- Click the browse button and navigate to the installation directory for the game, and select USNF.EXE / FA.EXE
- Click next, under Operating System Modes choose none, and click next.
- Check the following box: CorrectSoundDeviceID (this fixes the MIDI)
- Click next, and click finish.
- Click Save, and give the database a name (USNF 97 / FA), and a filename (USNF MIDI etc) and click save.
- Then click on the file menu, and choose install.

This SOLVES all the MIDI problems AND the mouse works fine!

If you've run the game before, you may still need to delete or replace your EA.CFG file one last time - see the notes in my previous post above.

Further installment in the MIDI saga, and just maybe the last one.....😮

Don't forget my minus-100% zoom tip while flying, makes a BIG difference. 🤣

Cheers! 😀

Bellarmine

When working on a job, you have 3 criteria: Fast, Good, and Cheap (i.e., Quick, High Quality, and Low Cost). Only 2 out of 3 are practical.

Reply 14 of 23, by filipetolhuizen

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bellarmine wrote:
Hello All, […]
Show full quote

Hello All,

Glad the info may be helpful Gerwin & Damson. What you said about the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) makes sense - it struck me the same way a just few days after I posted my first workaround. Building on that idea and using some instructions I had for fixing Need for Speed II SE in XP, I found the option in the ACT that fixes the MIDI: CorrectSoundDeviceID. Yes, it fixes the MIDI in USNF and FA permanently, AND the mouse works FINE - no need to fiddle with the shortcut. A Perfect Solution 😎

So: UPDATE:
- FORGET shortcut compatibility mode.
- Install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit
------ (Requires .net framework 2.0) (acoording to UCyborg you have it if you have Win 8 or above)

- After installing, from the Start Menu, choose Compatibility Administrator.
- Under Custom Databases there should be a New Database entry, right click it and choose Create New > Application Fix.
- Under Name of the program to be fixed: type USNF / FA (or whatever you like)
- Under Name of the vendor for this program: type Jane's
- Click the browse button and navigate to the installation directory for the game, and select USNF.EXE / FA.EXE
- Click next, under Operating System Modes choose none, and click next.
- Check the following box: CorrectSoundDeviceID (this fixes the MIDI)
- Click next, and click finish.
- Click Save, and give the database a name (USNF 97 / FA), and a filename (USNF MIDI etc) and click save.
- Then click on the file menu, and choose install.

This SOLVES all the MIDI problems AND the mouse works fine!

If you've run the game before, you may still need to delete or replace your EA.CFG file one last time - see the notes in my previous post above.

Further installment in the MIDI saga, and just maybe the last one.....😮

Don't forget my minus-100% zoom tip while flying, makes a BIG difference. 🤣

Cheers! 😀

Bellarmine

This is a nice find. So, if used with SingleProcAffinity the stuttering completely goes away? I always used "Shrinker" for FA and ATF Gold to fix the mouse issues.

Reply 15 of 23, by damson

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Nice you have figured it out bellarmine. I had a break from Jane's titles for a while since the new modules for DCS came out (Hornet and Persian Gulf map), was bit preoccupied with them and some older Hornet titles (Graphsim F/A-18 Precision Strike Fighter). But when I get back to Fighters Anthology I will check out your fix.

You could also build the system database (*.sdb file - you don't need ACT to apply it to the regisrty, just put in cmd or a batch file "sdbinst.exe -q "%CD%\<name_of _your_database>.sdb") and share it with people who aren't tech savvy, but the intructions you provided should be enough for anyone visiting this forum I guess.

And yes, the default FOV in USNF/ATF/FA is a bit too narrow, I only zoom out 1 level, going 100% is too much for me, gives me "fish eye" effect.

My youtube channel - flight sims new and old

Reply 16 of 23, by Cob

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bellarmine wrote:
Hello All, […]
Show full quote

Hello All,

Glad the info may be helpful Gerwin & Damson. What you said about the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) makes sense - it struck me the same way a just few days after I posted my first workaround. Building on that idea and using some instructions I had for fixing Need for Speed II SE in XP, I found the option in the ACT that fixes the MIDI: CorrectSoundDeviceID. Yes, it fixes the MIDI in USNF and FA permanently, AND the mouse works FINE - no need to fiddle with the shortcut. A Perfect Solution 😎

So: UPDATE:
- FORGET shortcut compatibility mode.
- Install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit
------ (Requires .net framework 2.0) (acoording to UCyborg you have it if you have Win 8 or above)

- After installing, from the Start Menu, choose Compatibility Administrator.
- Under Custom Databases there should be a New Database entry, right click it and choose Create New > Application Fix.
- Under Name of the program to be fixed: type USNF / FA (or whatever you like)
- Under Name of the vendor for this program: type Jane's
- Click the browse button and navigate to the installation directory for the game, and select USNF.EXE / FA.EXE
- Click next, under Operating System Modes choose none, and click next.
- Check the following box: CorrectSoundDeviceID (this fixes the MIDI)
- Click next, and click finish.
- Click Save, and give the database a name (USNF 97 / FA), and a filename (USNF MIDI etc) and click save.
- Then click on the file menu, and choose install.

This SOLVES all the MIDI problems AND the mouse works fine!

If you've run the game before, you may still need to delete or replace your EA.CFG file one last time - see the notes in my previous post above.

Further installment in the MIDI saga, and just maybe the last one.....😮

Don't forget my minus-100% zoom tip while flying, makes a BIG difference. 🤣

Cheers! 😀

Bellarmine

I followed these steps and got MIDI working again in FA on Windows 7 64, but now I have no sound effects/menu or movie music/any sound at all beyond the MIDIs. It seems more prone to crashing now as well. Has anyone else encountered anything like this post-fix or have any idea what could be causing it? Note that deleting my EA.CFG file fixes all of these issues but defaults back to the wav music instead of the midi.

Reply 17 of 23, by filipetolhuizen

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Cob wrote:
bellarmine wrote:
Hello All, […]
Show full quote

Hello All,

Glad the info may be helpful Gerwin & Damson. What you said about the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) makes sense - it struck me the same way a just few days after I posted my first workaround. Building on that idea and using some instructions I had for fixing Need for Speed II SE in XP, I found the option in the ACT that fixes the MIDI: CorrectSoundDeviceID. Yes, it fixes the MIDI in USNF and FA permanently, AND the mouse works FINE - no need to fiddle with the shortcut. A Perfect Solution 😎

So: UPDATE:
- FORGET shortcut compatibility mode.
- Install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit
------ (Requires .net framework 2.0) (acoording to UCyborg you have it if you have Win 8 or above)

- After installing, from the Start Menu, choose Compatibility Administrator.
- Under Custom Databases there should be a New Database entry, right click it and choose Create New > Application Fix.
- Under Name of the program to be fixed: type USNF / FA (or whatever you like)
- Under Name of the vendor for this program: type Jane's
- Click the browse button and navigate to the installation directory for the game, and select USNF.EXE / FA.EXE
- Click next, under Operating System Modes choose none, and click next.
- Check the following box: CorrectSoundDeviceID (this fixes the MIDI)
- Click next, and click finish.
- Click Save, and give the database a name (USNF 97 / FA), and a filename (USNF MIDI etc) and click save.
- Then click on the file menu, and choose install.

This SOLVES all the MIDI problems AND the mouse works fine!

If you've run the game before, you may still need to delete or replace your EA.CFG file one last time - see the notes in my previous post above.

Further installment in the MIDI saga, and just maybe the last one.....😮

Don't forget my minus-100% zoom tip while flying, makes a BIG difference. 🤣

Cheers! 😀

Bellarmine

I followed these steps and got MIDI working again in FA on Windows 7 64, but now I have no sound effects/menu or movie music/any sound at all beyond the MIDIs. It seems more prone to crashing now as well. Has anyone else encountered anything like this post-fix or have any idea what could be causing it? Note that deleting my EA.CFG file fixes all of these issues but defaults back to the wav music instead of the midi.

Crashing is fixed with the 1.4 patch. It's needed on Win98 and beyond.

Reply 18 of 23, by Cob

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filipetolhuizen wrote:
Cob wrote:
bellarmine wrote:
Hello All, […]
Show full quote

Hello All,

Glad the info may be helpful Gerwin & Damson. What you said about the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) makes sense - it struck me the same way a just few days after I posted my first workaround. Building on that idea and using some instructions I had for fixing Need for Speed II SE in XP, I found the option in the ACT that fixes the MIDI: CorrectSoundDeviceID. Yes, it fixes the MIDI in USNF and FA permanently, AND the mouse works FINE - no need to fiddle with the shortcut. A Perfect Solution 😎

So: UPDATE:
- FORGET shortcut compatibility mode.
- Install the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit
------ (Requires .net framework 2.0) (acoording to UCyborg you have it if you have Win 8 or above)

- After installing, from the Start Menu, choose Compatibility Administrator.
- Under Custom Databases there should be a New Database entry, right click it and choose Create New > Application Fix.
- Under Name of the program to be fixed: type USNF / FA (or whatever you like)
- Under Name of the vendor for this program: type Jane's
- Click the browse button and navigate to the installation directory for the game, and select USNF.EXE / FA.EXE
- Click next, under Operating System Modes choose none, and click next.
- Check the following box: CorrectSoundDeviceID (this fixes the MIDI)
- Click next, and click finish.
- Click Save, and give the database a name (USNF 97 / FA), and a filename (USNF MIDI etc) and click save.
- Then click on the file menu, and choose install.

This SOLVES all the MIDI problems AND the mouse works fine!

If you've run the game before, you may still need to delete or replace your EA.CFG file one last time - see the notes in my previous post above.

Further installment in the MIDI saga, and just maybe the last one.....😮

Don't forget my minus-100% zoom tip while flying, makes a BIG difference. 🤣

Cheers! 😀

Bellarmine

I followed these steps and got MIDI working again in FA on Windows 7 64, but now I have no sound effects/menu or movie music/any sound at all beyond the MIDIs. It seems more prone to crashing now as well. Has anyone else encountered anything like this post-fix or have any idea what could be causing it? Note that deleting my EA.CFG file fixes all of these issues but defaults back to the wav music instead of the midi.

Crashing is fixed with the 1.4 patch. It's needed on Win98 and beyond.

As in the 1.4 patch for USNF97? I'm referring to Fighters Anthology, patched to 1.02. The crashes aren't guaranteed but have happened during or on completion of some quick custom missions.

Reply 19 of 23, by filipetolhuizen

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Cob wrote:

As in the 1.4 patch for USNF97? I'm referring to Fighters Anthology, patched to 1.02. The crashes aren't guaranteed but have happened during or on completion of some quick custom missions.

Whoops, I read it wrong. Regarding FA, try using my fix. You'll need MS ACT 5.x or 6.x to use it.

Attachments

  • Filename
    fa.rar
    File size
    953 Bytes
    Downloads
    74 downloads
    File comment
    FA fix
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception