So, you can't play DCS? Play this other game instead!

So, you can't play DCS? Play this other game instead!

DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) is the current and undisputed king of the combat flight simulation video game niche. There is not much I can say about the total awesomeness of that title that most of you wouldn't know already. Unfortunately, many of us don't have a NASA level PC to run DCS as it should or just can't run it at all.

Strike Fighters 2 is a PC combat / flight simulator game that primarily centers on a fictitious conflict in the Middle East from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. The conflict is modeled as a typical Cold War era 'proxy' war between the United States and USSR.

The game includes quiet a lot of playable aircraft available in the game that are still not included in other games like DCS. Among those planes available to play with are several variants of the A-7 Corsair, F-100A Super Sabre, Hunter F.1, Meteor F.8 and more.

Obviously in terms of "realism" Strike Fighters 2 is a way simpler game to play. In my opinion it has the right balance between hard core flight simulation and arcade type games leading to an easier learning curve. 

Are you interested in this game? What do you think about it? The game is still available for purchase and supported by its original developer Third Wire Productions.

How to install Jane's Combat Simulations F-15 on Windows 10/11

How to install Jane's Combat Simulation F-15 on Windows 10/11

In this post I'll show you how to install the flight simulation video game Jane's Combat Simulations: F-15 on a modern Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC and make the necessary configuration to make it run smoothly. A classic video game that deserves to be enjoyed by old and new generations alike.

What is Jane's Combat Simulations F-15?

Jane's F-15 is a combat flight simulator video game developed and released by Electronic Arts in 1998 for PC. It models the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle. The game has two campaigns: one based on the 1991 Gulf War and the other focusing on a fictional conflict with Iran.

The virtual cockpit was one of the first of its kind, it allowed the player to switch between the pilot and the weapon systems officer seat in the back of the cockpit to monitor the different multi-functional displays.

What do you need to make the installation

To complete the installation of Jane's Combat Simulations F-15 on your Windows 10/Windows 11 PC you will need the following programs or software:

1. The Jane's Combat Simulations F-15 installation CDs or .ISO images. (Download)
   
2. DxWnd (Download)
3. DxWnd Fix (Download)
4. Jane's Combat Simulations F-15's 1.17 patch (Download)

Jane's F15 Installation process

1. Install DxWnd. Decompress the mydxwnd.7z file (you can do that with winrar) and copy its content on the root of your C: drive. The resulting directory path should be: C:\mydxwnd
2. Install Jane's Combat Simulations F-15.
3. Install Jane's Combat Simulations F-15's 1.17 patch
4. Install DxWnd Fix files. Decompress the mydxwnd.fix.7z file (you can do that with winrar) and copy its content on the root of the C:\mydxwnd folder. Overwrite if necessary.
5. Run the configuration scripts in C:\mydxwnd:
1. Run f15.video.fix.cmd. This will allow to render text correctly (To roll back this procedure run f15.video.restore.cmd).
2. Run genini.cmd. It will generate config ini file for DxWnd with correct paths to the game.
3. Run verify.cmd. This script will check files and hashes to ensure everything installed correctly in previous steps. Everything should be "green".
4. Run nglide_setup.exe and setup glide wrapper. Enable Vertical Synchronization and Aspect correction.

How to run Jane's Combat Simulations F-15

In order to run the actual game, open the main game's directory C:\mydxwnd, and then double click the dxwnd.cmd file. This will open the DXWnd window program.

In the DXWnd window look for the F-15 icon. Double click on it and enjoy the game.

The original idea for this post and video was inspired by this post at Vogons.org.

I got my first YouTube WARNING!

I got my first YouTube WARNING!

Unfortunately, YouTube didn't like my "How to install Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF" video. So, it took it down. I submitted an appeal to YouTube to restore my video, but we all know how "special" YouTube is.

According to YouTube, this is just a "warning" not a strike. But that warning will be stuck on my channel for 90 days, so I don't know how this warning will affect my channel. 

In the meantime, if you still want to know how to install Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF on a modern Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC, go to the original post in this website to read the whole process.

Also, I have opened a backup channel on one of the YouTube alternatives platforms available. That platform is called Odysee. I suggest you do the same just in case your YouTube channel is under risk. 

To visit my channel on Odysee click here: The Jetfighter on Odysee.

I'm sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for supporting The Jetfighter project.

How to install Jane's Combat Simulations USAF

How to install Jane's Combat Simulations USAF

In this post I'll show you how to install the flight simulation video game Jane's Combat Simulations: USAF on a modern Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC and make the necessary configuration to make it run smoothly. A classic video game that deserves to be enjoyed by the old and new generations alike.

What is Jane's Combat Simulations USAF?

Is a combat flight simulation video released in 1999 as part of Jane's Combat Simulations series. The game is set from the late 1960s to the early 2000s and it is a jet aircraft survey simulation featuring satellite imagery for terrain which allowed quite detailed graphics for the time of the release of Jane's USAF.

The game features four campaigns: the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, and two fictional campaigns, one based on the Red Flag exercises and one depicting a war between NATO and Russia over Germany in the then-future of 2005. Also included are single missions, with maps from the Middle East to Korea. Training missions include take-off, landing, and refueling in Nellis Air Force Base.

What do you need to make the installation

To complete the installation of Jane's Combat Simulations USAF on your Windows 10/Windows 11 PC you will need the following programs or software:

1. The Jane's Combat Simulations USAF installation CDs or .ISO images. (Download)
2. The Jane's Combat Simulations USAF Windows 7 patch. (Download)
3. WineD3D for Windows for 32 bits applications. (Download)

Jane's USAF installation process

1. Mount the .ISO images or introduce the Jane's USAF game CDs in your CD drive and open the installation program and follow the regular installation procedure of the game. Just remember to let the program to be installed in its default installation path:

C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\USAF

Don not open the game yet!

2. Now install the Jane's USAF Windows 7 Patch. To do so, extract all the files from the compressed .ZIP patch's file and copy, don't move, those files to the game's installation folder.
You will be asked to overwrite some files, say yes to all.

Don not open the game yet!

3. Install the 3D3 wrapper. First extract all the content of the .ZIP file on its own directory. On that directory locate and copy, don't cut, the win3d3.dll and ddraw.dll files. Paste those files inside the Jane's USAF main folder.

Don not open the game yet!

4. Compatibility configurations. Open the windows explorer and go to the game's main fonder (C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\USAF) and execute the USAFConfig.exe program.
Once opened, select "DirectDraw HAL" on the Display Device option and click on "TEST". After the test is done close the program by clicking on "OK".

Don not open the game yet!

5. Shortcut configurations. Finally, right click on the Jane's USAF shortcut at the Windows PC's desktop and open the "PROPERTIES" option from the menu.
Now click on the "COMPATIBILITY" tab. There, check the "RUN THIS PROGRAM IN COMPATIBILITY MODE FOR" checkbox and on its drop-down menu select Windows 7.
Also on the settings section, check the "RUN THIS PROGRAM AS AN ADMINISTRATOR" checkbox and click on "OK" to save the changes.

Now double click the Jane's Combat Simulations USAF shortcut and... enjoy the game!

Jane's USAF installation video

The following video shows the step-by-step installation process as it was described above for a more graphical depiction of the process.

How to install Wings Over Europe on Windows 10/11

How to install Wings Over Europe on Windows 10/11

Wings Over Europe is a PC combat flight simulator game set during the Cold War era where the USSR has attacked NATO forces in West Germany. The game includes a wide variety of real jets and weapons from the era which can be employed in various mission types such as Combat Air Patrol, Interception, Close Air Support, Iron Hand, Wild Weasel, and Reconnaissance. 

The game originally was released to run on Windows XP and it's not officially compatible with newer versions of this OS. However there is a way to make this game work on modern platforms. 

Here I'm going to show you a step-by-step guide to install this pretty old but still awesome game and make it playable on Windows 10/11.

Software needed

In order to install Wings Over Europe in your Windows 10/11 PC you need to have the following list programs:

1. The installation CD/DVD or .ISO image of Wings Over Europe.

2. The Wings Over Europe official October 2008 patch. It can be downloaded by clicking here.

3. The HDR Mod 1.01A. Available for download at CombatAce, an excellent online community of flight simulation players and modders.

4. 3. dgVoodoo, a legacy DirectX and Glide graphics card API wrapper/implementation program1 that provides support to run Windows and DOS-based old programs using Glide or DirectX. Available for download here.

Installation process 

Before we begin: If you have a Windows 10 PC, this whole process also works for Windows 11 based PCs. Now let's continue with the install.

Once you have all the required software at hand, we can proceed with the installation of Wings Over Europe on your Windows 11 PC. The installation process will be as follows:

1. Insert the Wings Over Europe CD/DVD on mount the .ISO image and open the setup file. This is one of those "click Next and then Next" cases until the installation is completed.

Do NOT open the game yet, it still will be unplayable at this point.

2. Open the Wings Over Europe official October 2008 patch (WOE_Update_Sep2008.exe) and complete the installation process, another case of "click Next and then Next". Just remember to install this patch in the same folder the game was installed.

3. Unzip the HD1.01 mod into a new directory then open the enbseries.ini file using a text editor and find and change the following command line from:

[GLOBAL]

UseEffect=1 

to

[GLOBAL]

UseEffect=0

Then save the enbseries.ini file.

4. Copy the modified enbseries.ini and the unzipped d3d9.dll into your game install directory, copy a second copy of the enbseries.ini into your Flight sub-directory of your game install directory (this is very important).

5 Unzip the dgVoodoo file into a different folder and look for a file called DDraw.dll. Then copy this file into the Wings Over Europe install directory.

6. Open, play and enjoy Wings Over Europe on your Windows 10/11 PC.

Note: If you like this game, blog or videos please subscribe to my Youtube Channel and follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Discord or Facebook for more flight simulation game plays and stuff.

How to connect to Flaming Cliff 2 Online [SERVER BVB]

How to connect to the Flaming Cliff 2 Server [SERVER BVB]

We all know that the king of combat flight simulation is DCS (Digital Combat Simulator) followed by a not so closed second places IL-2 Sturmovik. Unfortunately, not everyone has a NASA level PC to run such games. 

But we can still have a very DCS like experience by installing LockOn: Flaming Cliffs 2, the "father" of DCS released by the same company several years before. This game still has a very dedicated group of people that keep playing the game and also created and update a really cool MOD that takes this game to another level. And to top it all, they even run their own free public Flaming Cliffs 2 online server, a server I login into to regularly. 

What do you need to connect to SERVER BVB? 

In order to connect to the Flaming Cliffs 2's SERVER BVB you will need to have the following programs installed on your PC: 

• LockOn Modern Air Combat
• Flaming Cliffs 2 
• 1-MOD

How to connect to SERVER BVB

In order to connect to the last Flamin Cliffs 2 On-Line SERVER-BVB you have to follow these steps:

1. Open Flaming Cliffs 2 by double clicking the LockOn FC2 Multiplayer icon on your PC.

LockOn FC2 Multiplayer icon.

2. Once you enter the Flaming Cliffs 2 Multiplayer main screen, at the top right look for the CLIENT option and click on that option.

Flaming Cliffs 2 main screen.

3. On the servers list screen, at the upper left side, click on Connect by IP.

The server list screen

4. In the IP/URL field write the official IP address and port of the Flaming Cliffs 2 SERVER BVB as follows: 195.2.74.94:10308. Leave the PASS field blank since no password is needed to connect to the server.

Flaming Cliff 2 Online [SERVER BVB] IP address

5. Click on OK and enjoy your flight!