As subject header.

I've heard so much about this really, I need to play it big time.

I was addicted to the original Gunship many years ago, does it run similarly, is it just as good or better?

Any info appreciated.

Apparently, it does run in XP. See this thread:
http://www.abandonia.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5287

I have just gotten it, after seeing some favorable comments here. Someone said it was made by some of the people who later made EEAH/EECH.

nope it wasnt it was made by digital integration
eech wa made by razorworks - damm fine game though

Razorworks is the new Digital Integration (well, almost):

"Comanche Hokum is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Apache Havoc. Developed by a smallteam called Razorworks (made of ex Digital Integration staff, Tornado, Hind etc) and Published by Empire"

http://www.razorworks.com/enemyengaged/spawnbob/warstory4/

Hind95 runs in XP. Only problem I've had is that the cannon sound disappears after a while.

Same for me. Cannon sounds disappear.
But runs fine.

Initial impressions very good. Quite suprised that the X52 works flawlessly with it too.

decided to give it a try under xp glad i did
1280x1024 4xfsaa woot

How did you get texture filtering, Davros? Mine only works in software mode. Very pixely, although it has a special old-school charm

Davros how did to run with that graphics?

3dfx patch + a glide wrapper

http://www.zeckensack.de/glide/

get hind patches here
http://www.3dgamers.com/games/hind/downloads/

I get "exception error" when I try to start hind 3dfx.
I will try to reinstall it...

I have a CD where I can choose between the 3dfx and software installation. This should be the same version as the patch download?

did you try win98 compatability mode ?

Thx Davros it worked

To bad the fps are very low and it crashes sometimes.

ill look into that
1 think ive noticed adding fsaa + upping the res doesnt make it any worse - maybe a sound problem

Any reason why I'm getting the 'setup.exe has encountered an error and needs to close' pop-up whilst trying to install the 3DFX patch?

I have a 9800 pro card and also using XP pro and Win95 compatibility.....and am hoping to get this working under the glide wrapper 'a la Davros'

Does it matter whether you run the 3DFX patch before or after the Hind 1.2 patch? (I'm following the install instructions from the 3DFX readme)

Thanks in advance.

patch to 1.2
unzip 3dfx patch to folder
unzip common files to folder (in the readme )
run 3dfx patch

still no joy, I'm using a downloaded version of the game from a few links up.

I have an original copy arriving next week which I bought from ebay so I'll try it with that. Can you confirm whether the original games creates any entries in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software ?

My install currently has no entries in the registry, perhaps this is the problem as it doesn't know where to look for the game in order update 3DFX?

With that higher res, how do the ground targets look? Any easier to see at a distance? Can we get a few more screen-shots?

Thanx


.

I wasnt able to take screenshots. With the software version the screenshots are only in about 4 colors and you dont see much. In the 3dfx version I only got a black screen.

Used print screen for software and fraps for 3dfx.

except if you use a wrapper printscreen works
v3 + above printscreen should work also

ps: here the only thing it puts in the reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Digital Integration\Hind]
"Location"="C:\\DI\\HIND"

Cheers, I'll enter the registry details manually and give it a try later.

I get this when I make a screenie (software)

Is this due to the 8bit colors in the game?

i think its becasue of the use of palleted textures - so yeah
hmm just crashed when i tried software mode

It crashes when you try software mode?
Strange, with compatible settings it should run fine.
Or did it crash when you tried a screenshot?
It crashed for me, too. You can see the "shadow" of the error report in the centre of my screenie

just sofware mode
although it ran ok before the patch + 3dfx upgrade

I have just picked up Hind on ebay for 5p! lol. Just arrived this morning and I opened the box to find Apache and F-16 in there as well! Bargain.

Anyway, it's the FLF version which already 3DFX ready and I am running using the Zeckensack wrapper but I am getting horrendous FPS. It's really bad around building and vehicles, especially airbases and gets better out where nothing is.

How should I be setting the settings for a decent running game?

Thanks

sorry mace
just upgraded to a 6800gt and hind has stopped working may need to mess around with it
try lowering sound acceleration if you have hyperthreading try assinging it it 1 cpu

Seems it the visual range setting. You cannot change this throught the preferences menu only in game by pressing ALT 1-9, 1 being the lowest. I can run it succesfully now at about 7-8.

Thought I would just post this incase anyone else is having this problem running it as 3DFX through a wrapper.

Well I have original cd Hind, with boxe, manual... What I will need to get that very nice textures?? and how to get the very high resolution?? I played the game on XP without any problem.
I want to enjoy those Afghan missions again!!

Stratos,

You will need the 3DFX patch (available from 3D Gamers I think) and a glide wrapper such as dgvoodoo or Zeckensacks, I am using Zeckensacks.

Apply patch and set Hind to Win95 compatability and apply resolution etc settings it glide wrapper control panel, sorry I can' give more detail I am work at the moment.

Good luck.

Cannot get the 3dfx patch works cause If I try to install, it simply get an error, I maded all the above, but when the setup program of 3dxf patch is searching for my installed copy, I get an error.
Any idea??

Yes Statos, I know why. You need to move your installation to:

C:\DI\HIND

and the patcher will find it, same thing happened to me!!

No joy, I have Hind on that folder from the first day, argghh

Another thing, I also have Apache and it let me install in glide mod, but how can I cinfigure the glide wrapper to work?? I only get a black screen when the game is loaded ( the menus are fine )

hello
i need the no-cd patch for version 1.2 to finally run this masterpiece with newest version and 3dfx support... can anyone mail me the no-cd patch or does someone know where to download it?

i.am.uncool[A.T]gmx[D.O.T]net

help would be appreciated...
jim

Very late BUMP (closest icon to a BMP )

So, anyone have any combination of Glide Wrappers that work for HIND??? It runs fine in Software Mode but no go in 3dFx. I got a new old copy of the Hind FrontLine Fighters CD which has the software and 3dfx versions.

Recluse

Recluse, I believe I tried the dgVoodoo wrapper for Hind in 3DFX mode, but to no avail. I can't remember exactly, and I haven't got it installed so I can't re-test it. Bugger.

Yeah, I think that, sadly, this is the case. Nothing I tried with any wrapper gave me anything but a Black Screen. I even tried it on my old machine with a Voodoo 5 5500 and got the same black screen..but at least I got the spinning 3dfX logo first

We also tried a Multiplayer connection using HAMACHI to emulate an IPX LAN, but the game never recognized the network. Not sure if it was a Hamachi issue, an IPX issue or just a game issue that needs further tweaking. I couldn't get the game to recognize the network even with the IPX bound to the main network card, so I suspect it is the Network parameters (Frame type, etc..) that may need tweaking to get HIND to recognize it. Any experiences in this regard would also be helpful.

Recluse

Never played ANY game in multiplayer, so I have no clue here.

Recluse - Did you try using dgVoodoo on windowed mode?

Running Hind in fullscreen I just get a black screen, however in windowed mode I can reach the menu...

My problem is different though altogether - at least for now.

I can't get the 3dfx patch setup file to run. It always crashes right when it says "Looking for Hind installation...". I resorted to copying the files manually, but it does not work, hence me not being able to get past the menu. To clarify: the menu I get is for the multiplayer screen only. I'm guessing that's also caused by incorrect "patching".

I'm going to dig up my old computer and try to install Hind and patch from there. The error seems to sprout from aclayers.dll or kernel32.dll, maybe an older windows can handle it.

Good luck, all.

Hmmm Good suggestion on Windowed mode! I will give it a try.

I had exactly the same experience as you with the 3dfx patch failing. Eventually I got the HIND CD from the FRONTLINE FIGHTERS collection that had the patched 3dfx version all ready for install.

In other forum posts, some said that if you have the installation in C:\DI\HIND it will find it and install, but others have said not.

Even when I run the software version, I sometimes have problems with the Menu screens (Preferences/Multiplayer etc..) blanking out, but I can usually get them to redraw by clicking around, or alt-tabbing out and back in. This never happens in game (yet).

Still wondering why IPX isn't working at all either (with or without Hamachi). Got it to recognize the network on a Win98 machine and other games recognize it on the XP machine as well.

Recluse

Ok, I tried with my older comp, but still no luck. I think Win98 or ME is the latest version that the patch setup will run under. The Apache 3dfx patch also encounters the exact same problem.

I tried the above suggestions: using C:\DI\HIND, adding a key to the registry (although I'm not positive if I did it right).

I res-hacked the setup file to see if there was anything I could mess with, but there was nothing other than icons. I even decompiled the setup file to get a hint as to what exactly it does, but machine code is not my specialty :p

My guess is that the setup adds a 3dfx executable, or modifies the regular executable to run under 3dfx. When I manually copy the files, the available 3dfx exectutable only runs multiplayer (it requires the warzone/winplay dlls to be in the same folder. Also, DgVoodoo settings do affect it). When I run the regular executable it runs under software mode (dgVoodoo settings have no effect), but the ground textures are all white and there are giant squares of textures in the air. This is what leads me to believe that the regular exectutable is normally overwritten/modified in the setup.

So basically my only hope is if an impromptu patch is released, i.e. someone uploads the Hind 3dfx executable. I think copying the patch files manually does the job for everything else. After that it would just be a matter of messing around with glide wrappers to get it to work.

I was unable to get the 3dfx patch to work on Win98 with a Voodoo 3 card, so I doubt it will work with a Glide wrapper. My understanding is that it only worked with Voodoo 1. Hind was released in 1996, and 3dfx released the Voodoo 1 in October of that year.

Yes, I couldn't get it to run with Win98 and my V5 either. There was a second patch for APACHE which added Voodoo2 support (not sure if it supports beyond that) and I thought that the HIND 3dfx was basically as up to date as the latest Apache Patch. Still, it may be only V1 and V2. What a shame!

Recluse

Alright! I was kindly donated some files, and I managed to figure it out.



Firstly: For those who couldn't install the 3DFX patch in the first place due to the installer error, I have compiled a new patch. It will work with the abandonware version, however if you didn't need the CD before, you will probably need it now. I figured out where the broken installer would put which files, and placed them appropriately in the zip. I also replaced the main exe. The one included in the old patch doesn't seem to work.

To install, just copy the files from the zip. Overwrite the files and folder contents. (There's no need to get any other patches, as this release includes the common files, and the exe is the newest version available)

DOWNLOAD

_________________________

Next: Download Zeckensack's Glide Wrapper. Install it wherever, I don't think it matters. Run the configurator. If Hind95.exe doesn't show up, using Global Settings will work fine. Make sure the Resolution Limit and Refresh Rate both work with your monitor. All other setting defaults should work except Thread Policy, set this to Use Render Thread. Also, set resolution to Try high res.

Running your Hind95.exe should work now.

In your video card's settings you can turn on antialiasing and anistropic filtering, it doesn't seem to affect performance negatively.

Known Issues:
- Only 640x480 and 1280x960 work for me, likely since 1280x960 is multiple of original resolution.
- Slow framerate when many objects are on screen (even bulletholes!). Worst at Airfields.
- Once in-game, dialogues do not show, but are still functional (i.e. ctrl + q/end mission)
- After quitting flight, the screen is black. Alt+tab should return to menu
- After exiting the program, Hind95.exe is still running. End it through task manager
_________________________

I'm still experimenting with glide wrappers. So far dgVoodoo is the only other one that lets me run the game. However, in flight the screen is black, audio is heard though and the controls are interactive. There are many settings in dgVoodoo so it's possible there's a working combination I have not tried yet.

To be able to reach the Hind's menu in dgVoodoo, the screen mode must be set to windowed, and most other settings default.

Good luck all

Wow! Great work, and good news, Lepus. I'm going to try this method. The terrain does look improved and an increase in resolution would be a really big help. Perhaps a la LB2's significantly improved look with glidewrapper and high resolution.

Thanks again.

First attempt, using the settings Lepus suggests for Zeck's wrapper and the CD.
1. Game loads fine - installed 3Dfx version from CD
2. Sound is functional
3. MS Sidewinder Precision Pro stick works fully, using "Flightstick Pro" setting
4. Screen goes black if Hind crashes, or try to end mission. Control q does not function.
5. Alt Tab does not get me to a menu, but eventually can work to get to desk top and Ctrl/Alt/Del to end Hind.exe

This is a promising development. I'll experiment with some other settings to see if the black screen and loss of program improves at all.

Thanks again, Lepus.

Hmmm,

I cannot get it to work. Funny..I install it from CD but when I run it always throws an error, but the game starts fine when I hit CONTINUE. All Wrapper screens are fine, but when I get into flight, I have all the sounds and a black screen. Alt-tab out and there is a small Game screen up in the upper left of the monitor (that looks GREAT) but no controls are active and sound is gone at that point.

Tried 640x480, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1280x960 same thing.. Wonder what is different...especially since Eugene and I both have Nvidia 680i based Motherboards and 8800 class video.

Recluse

Eugene - Just to be clear, when you press ctrl+q are you pressing y afterwards? Remember it's a (Y/N) dialogue. Same thing when you land the chopper, except the (now invisible) dialogue pops up on its own. That's the only thing I can think of, otherwise your experience seems the same as mine. I use the same joystick btw.

Recluse - I'm not sure there's anything useful I can suggest. The blank screen + sounds situation you described sounds just like what happens when I tried using dgVoodoo.

If I alt+tab during flight with zeck's wrapper, I get a similar situation to what you describe: I see the game window just as in my screenshot above, but I can't return to it by alt+tabbing again or clicking anywhere. Eventually I have to close it through task manager.

I remember that zeck's wrapper sets the refresh rate at 85 by default, I know my monitor only goes up to 75, maybe double check that setting.

I would also try playing around with the Render To and Thread Policy settings. There's a chance different settings might work for you.

Thanks. I did reset the Refresh to 60 Hz to match my LCD, but I will play with the other settings.

Recluse

Thanks, Lepus - in my haste to SEE the glory of 3Dfx Hind, I overlooked that tricky invisible dialog response you reminded about. Will try that this evening. Thanks again.

Now, if we could just get Hamachi to work with Hind, we'd have another retro two seater co-op MP respectable chopper sim!

Thanks for the patch.

Here is my contribution to community - no-cd for version from Lepus patch:

http://rapidshare.com/files/99904460/hind95nocd.rar.html

If someone will have a problem with the error "GLASS.CMP is missing", find this file in any *.WZ folder and copy to all over.

btw, about network play in hind, anyone tried this:
http://www.advancedvirtualcomport.com/
?

or maybe openvpn with ipx/spx added for virtual adapter ?

Anyone else having trouble getting the joystick to work? Its not recognizing it at all. I'm using a thrustmaster with pedals...any advice appreciated. I miss playing this game!

I finally got my Cougar + CHPRO pedals running with HIND. I think I had to pick one of the joystick selections that included a throttle. FLIGHTSTICK PRO worked for me, but other options might as well.

Recluse

Lepus, would it be possible to upload your patch to a more permanent site (FileFront?)? It seems your Mediafire download link no longer works... and I REALLY wanted to try this :/ Does anyone else still have it? New link? Help please! Thanks

Hind runs well in XP, but I have not gotten the 3dFX version to work well. Some others have, but I only get it in a tiny window using a wrapper.

I have the HIND CD, but also found an abandonware DL that seems to work. We are pretty sure we can get Multiplayer going using HAMACHI and the HIND LAN option. First attempts failed, but we subsequently tweaked Hamachi to work with other games, and HIND should work.

Running the DOS version inside DOSBOX and using DOSBOX to emulate Serial/Modem or IPX over TCP/IP should also work. We have gotten this working with the old DOS F15 SE III and Falcon 3.

Recluse

Thanks Recluse, I also have Hind working fairly well under XP, however this was not my question. I simply wanted to try Lepus' custom 3DFx patch for myself to see how well it works for me. I had good results with other games like Fleet Command, Longbow etc. using glide wrappers so I don't see why I couldn't get Hind to work with voodoo gfx also. So, can you please upload it somewhere (if you still have it) and provide a new link as this was my original request? Thanks once again in advance

OK. Sorry for the confusion.

Try this:

http://drop.io/hind3dfx2008

Password is "lepus" (without the quotes).

I am pretty sure this was his file. The name was HIND_3DFX_PATCH_2008.zip

I also included x-ray's NOCD patch.

Good luck!

Recluse

Thanks Recluse, you are THE MAN!

I too have the Hind CD and like you say, for anyone without it, the "abandonia" site is a priceless resource; everyone should give this sim a spin, it's an absolute classic. I had been meaning to try it again after flying around in the fantastic Arma Mi-24 Addon (by Red Hammer Studios) and had a yearning for something a little more umm... "in depth"... to go with the eye candy

Thanks again, mon ami. Perhaps Lepus will update his broken download link at some point but you really saved the day for me and hopefully a few newcomers to the sim too. Cheers

PS: Hehe almost forgot to say THANKS very much to the man himself... Lepus, God of better Hind gfx!

Happy to have been of assistance. Did you get it to work??????? If so, please report on the configuration details. I tried a little last night to get it going with 3dFX/Zeckensack Wrapper, but had no success. I didn't try a 'fresh' install of Abandonia + Lepus, but I will if you meet with success there, or find some DGVoodoo settings that work with either the Lepus patch or the CD 3dfX install.

Recluse

P.S. Not sure why I posted what I did in response to your question. I think I just saw the Thread Title and posted...not realizing that there were new posts..and not realizing I had already weighed in on this thread, when it was newer. Senility, no doubt!

Nice to have the thread renewed, and maybe I will get to see the Hind in its 3dFX glory yet!

Well mon ami, thanks again for the patch but unfortunately I spoke too soon... no joy for me in 3Dfx mode I can get it to run up to a point... as far as the menu (I can see the new 3Dfx shading on the models in the "Recognition" section), but on starting a mission proper, I momentarily hear "Bettyski" in the cockpit and/or rotor sounds and immediately afterwards it's a black screen, then CTD. Here's the CTD message:



Also, for some reason, I can't get Hind to run in 3Dfx windowed mode at all - it always switches to full-screen. I would've at least hoped to get the 640x480 window like you on my desktop (1440x900 60Hz LCD).

I'm only guessing... perhaps it might be one of those rare cases of having to go back to installing an older gfx card driver version (Nvidia for me; I had to do this with "Mig Alley" for example, which solved it for me), although what good that would do with the same Glide wrappers I'm unsure (I tried both Zeckensack's 084c and dgvoodoo 1.40+ with various settings mentioned above (plus a few of my own with no luck). It's a bit of a shame really because (as you know) this was one of the best helosim's ever made, and as Davros showed before, 3Dfx mode can run nicely on certain set-ups. If I had the time I would like to make a Wiki for this sim, as was done for EECH, Longbow 2, etc. so we can come together to solve this prob finally for everybody. Unfortunately at the moment, I don't Hopefully at some point in the future, the reason for Hind's instability under 3Dfx will finally be solved... Take care everyone

EDIT: As one last try I thought I'd try disabling dwwin.exe (Dr Watson) by disabling Error Reporting in services.msc and also deleting "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ AeDebug"... yet after rebooting and trying Hind95 again, the error STILL pops up...

In the interests of narrowing down the prob, I was wondering if anyone else was getting the "dwwin.exe" CTD? If it makes any difference, I just recently "upgraded" to XP SP3 from SP2... I have a strong feeling (no proof) that this was also the cause of my beloved M1 Tank Platoon 2 no longer working for me under XP SP3 (when it worked perfectly before under 3Dfx glide wrappers with SP2)... oh well, at least I can still read the nice Microprose manual until I have time to reformat my old hardie and re-install SP2 and enjoy some proper sims again (which for some "unknown" reason, it appears Microsoft doesn't want us to run anymore... but that's another subject altogether, heh).

Z.S.

WHOA!! You got M1TP2 running in WinXP SP2??? I haven't managed that feat. I see we share an interest in Retro Sims. I have tried and been unable to run some notables on my machine:

MiG Alley
M1TP2
Janes USAF

I think the issue is less the OS and more the Nvidia 8800 series (and newer) graphics card and associated drivers. This is certainly the case for USAF. MiG Alley apparently also had some issues with large amounts of memory (large being relative :), of course) in addition to whatever other glitches were happening.

What did you have to do to get M1TP2 running under XP SP2? I suspect I am still out of luck due to the graphics card/driver, but I wouldn't mind giving it another shot!

Recluse

P.S. The DGVoodoo 1.5 wrapper seems to have some better options for more modern machines. I assume you tried it since you said 1.40+

This is a really useful topic and discussion for we few we stubborn we Retro Sim heads. Any clues may occasionally lead to a breakthrough for someone.

Recluse, I think you know I have no trouble running M1TP2 on Windows SP2, but with a Radeon card (older X800GTO). Absolutely no luck at all with this Nvidia 8800 GT though. We've never heard whether anyone has had luck by rolling back to something in the 9X.XX driver series though.

I thought of that after I posted...that you had it running on the P4/ATI/SP2 machine but not on the Core2/Nvidia/SP2 machine. Still, I figured it would be a useful discussion.

It is indeed (useful): I'm hoping someone might have some success who has modern Nvidia's like us. Just wanted to narrow down the problem in that way.

Hey guys, I just tried somethihg. I'm still using XP SP3, and the ONLY thing I just did was to go back to an older gfx driver version (Nvidia Forceware 93.81) and Hind 3Dfx "accelerated" now works!!!! It WAS the driver after all!!!! Ok... so it's slideshow-city whenever there's more than a few objects on screen at once (as was confirmed earlier by others). Looks like software mode is the one to stick with after all for now. Somewhat more importantly though... I tried M1 Tank Platoon 2 to see what happened and guess what? It works!!!! Oh, happy joy HA HA HAAAA!!!! You're right mon ami, it WAS the Nvidia driver and nothing to do with the OS whatsoever! Ok... not perfect results... as in the same prob we all have with it CTD-ing after every mission (obviously, negating any Campaign progression) but that's Glide mode. In software mode there's no CTD at all and it runs perfectly! I'm going to try some more drivers later and go through them to see if I can find one that doesn't CTD after every mission in Glide (but I'm not holding my breath)... http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?id=10

For the record, my current config to get at least this far in M1TP2 (and 3Dfx "working" in Hind):

XP Pro SP3, Nvidia forceware 93.81 & Zeckensack's glide wrapper 084c.
P4 2.8GHz, 1GB RAM, Nvidia Geforce 7800GS+ 512MB AGP version, SB Audigy 2.

Note 1: I used exactly the same zeckensack glide wrapper settings as Lepus recommended for Hind above (i.e. make sure Thread Policy is set to "Use Render Thread", etc.)

Note 2: In Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0, I found an entry under "Applications" called "M1 Tank Platoon II". I'm not sure if it made any difference or not, but I copied and pasted it into a new database entry and "Installed" it in the same folder as M1TP2.exe.

I wonder... perhaps with some extra tweaking in this toolkit (memory allocation aka Longbow 2?) this might be the avenue to the elusive breakthrough we've been looking for?

At least, I wonder if Forceware 93.81 will get M1TP2 running on your rig too? Good luck!

Z.S.

Great news, Ziggy! And thanks for the details. Not sure whether drivers back that far will support my 8800 GT. Will have to check into it. But really promising news. Do you have to use the MS App Compatability software?

No problem Eugene. Since then, the most recent driver version that worked was 97.92, so it's a case of any 9x.xx you like (I think you might have posted something along these lines a few years ago - during my Googling I'm sure I came across you mentioning this before? hehe). Anyway, I tried between Nvidia, NGO and Omega versions, but they all gave the same result. For whatever reason, it appears that M1TP2 support was dropped since forceware 100.xxx.

As I was doing this process of elimination, something occured to me. I cannot for the life of me remember if Glide mode EVER worked properly in M1TP2?! And by that I mean with my original PCI Voodoo 2 card in my old PII rig! By Googling around the few M1TP2 links still around, I couldn't find any references to M1TP2 NOT CTD-ing after missions under Glide! It occurred to me that Glide mode may have NEVER worked correctly in M1TP2, and perhaps my memories of playing through the Campaigns were in software mode all along!? Thoughts? As you know, Microprose went "belly up" not long after M1TP2 was released... maybe they never got around to releasing a FINAL Glide patch (after 1.2) that fixed it??? I'm probably wrong... but it's something to consider while we're wasting hours of frustration?!

Whatever the cause for the actual CTD/hang after missions though, someone more technically minded could always find out more by putting it in software mode and viewing the exact files/screens/movies that are accessed? From my layman's POV I noticed it occurs just before the option to "save battle". In "Direct 3D" mode however, it CTD's a few seconds slower, allowing one to see more of what's going on before the inevitable back-screen and CTD. It appears as if it could be a resolution (refresh/timing?) related error; The mouse pointer sprite cannot travel the entire area of the screen, and when the mouse is moved off-screen it CTD's (no error messages). (Or.. a hardware/software mouse pointer error perhaps?). Try it for yourself and you'll possibly see what I mean if you can recreate it. The other problem to bear in mind is that certain sprites aren't showing up on the menu (exit game) regardless of Glide on or off. I could be wrong, but I seem to remember duplicating this error originally back when I was using my Voodoo 2 card and finding an unofficial patch that actually fixed it - possibly one of those no-cd hacks - I'm racking my brain trying to remember under what conditions I could see the "exit button" properly but it's no go Like you said, hopefully this might jog someone's memory, but I'd better stop now before someone complains this should be moved into the Armor/Tanksim forum Take care you tankers!

I meant to do it last night and double check, but I *think* that M1TP2 ran under GLIDE without CTD on my old P3/Win98/V5 5500 machine. Been awhile, so I may be mis-remembering, or maybe I ran in D3D all the time. Will check it out and post back with a report.

Recluse

Thank you very much, Lepus!
3Dfx Hind now works on my 7600GT. However, frame rate is way too low for a 1995 game. Any ideas on how to improve it? Tried playing with wrapper settings, by no positive results...:)

@ Recluse: I believe M1TP2 ran correctly on an earlier machine of mine also, running Windows 98. The exit button used to display as well, and it does not on XP/ATI, regardless of D3D or Glide modes. If this is an accurate recollection, then the problem might be with the OS. But it's been so long, it might not only have been a Win 98 OS, but also equipped with a Voodoo 2 pass through card.

Nowadays, I can complete missions on an ATI equipped XP machine in D3D mode, get to debrief, and then back to the menu page. With Glide (wrapper) mode, any mission will CTD at its conclusion, after selecting "Y" at the "Y/N" end mission dialog.


@Logrus: I had the same result as you, with frame rates. In fact, before getting it to run in D3D just fine, I had tried the DOS version, using dosbox. Extremely slow frame rates - ona far more powerful modern machine than platforms that existed at Hind's release. But dosbox allows you to ramp up your CPU cycles using Ctrl F12 at user-controlled increments. By moving from a default of 3000 cycles and cranking way up to 40K or 50K or more, Hind smooths out. I don't recall that the Glide wrappers offer this ability, and I couldn't increase Windows/Glide mode frame rates. Rendered the sim unplayable.

Strange thing is that increasing resolution or AA/AF doesn't significantly influence FPS. There should be a way around this! Maybe something to tune in videocard settings?

Does anyone know of some emulation software that may play these legacy games, particularly glide based games? Other than using a glide wrapper. Dosbox?

DOSBOX works great for DOS games, but not so much for Windows games...and no help with GLIDE emulation (so far).

Recluse

Thanks Recluse for the info.

Nice to see Im not the ony one playing this great old game.

But I have a small request. I downloaded it from underdogs.com and there was no list of keyboard comands in the rar. so can somebody post them or put a link to scaned manual or someting.

Thanks anyway.

Never mind, I found the controls on this site: http://www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&sql=1:13296~T2

Hi,
The complete Hind manual is available as pdf file from replacementdocs.com

http://www.replacementdocs.com/download.php?view.1700

well i have the hind win 95 vertion but the problem is that it did not recognize my throttle.

I am using a cougar here under win xp sp3

Sorry for bringing an old thread alive again. I have a question. Does anyone play this game online? I mean two pilots on one Hind for example. I know that with hamachi this game doesnt work. But maybee with this program-http://www.advancedvirtualcomport.com/ ? Or some other program? Please help me. I really need make this game work.

By the way: Game with 3dfx patch doesnt work. I do all as Lepsus say but there is no result. I can see models in recognises, but when i start game i see only a black screen and there are some sounds.
Nvidia Geforce 6800 GS. Drivers 190.61.


P.S Sorry for my english.

We tried to get it going in Mulitplayer once using Hamachi and IPX mode with no success. I even tried between two machines on my LAN (Win98/XP) and couldn't get the IPX network started. We've had success with SWAT3 via IPX over HAMACHI, so the problem isn't IPX directly, but something to do with how HIND implemented it.

My recollection was that IPX was the only network mode supported. There may have been a Modem mode also which you can Emulate in DOSBOX, (successful in Falcon3) but not with the Hind95 Windows version.

Similarly, never had any success with the 3dFX version.

Ok, I see, so there no way we could make this game work? Damn...

And what about programm I've mentioned? Did you try it? As i know this programm emulate a NULL modem connection. Maybe it will work?

Recluse, did we try the dos version with dosbox modem mode? or was there none for Hind? Only the Dx and Glide verions?

No I don't think we did. Do we HAVE the DOS Version, or was it just HIND95? I don't remember ever messing with DOSBOX, so I thought I/we only had the Windows version. If it runs under DOSBOX, then the DOSBOX Serial/NullModem/IPX emulation should work like it did for F3 and F15SEIII.

EDIT:
Hmmm looks like there IS a DOS version and it DOES work with DOSBOX:

http://vogons.zetafleet.com/viewtopic.php?t=19884&sid=87990fcc41b97c0e65b325bbe380384f

and I saw some links on various abandonware sites. Have to check if my Hind95 CD also has the DOS version. I seem to remember that was the case with Apache95 from DI.

So, have you got any success with that?

Hi...

SUCCESS with Multiplayer in HIND/DOSBOX!!!!!!!!!!

Mounted the HIND folder in DOSBOX and executed HIND (I guess the DOS executable is automatically installed). Did NOT have to mount the CD for DOS version.

A few tweaks necessary for getting sound/stick/throttle working. On my end I needed to select SBPRO for sound, at address 220, though DOSBOX config was set to emulate SB16, I got CTD(osbox) when I chose SB16.

I selected FLIGHTSTICK PRO (even though I have a COUGAR) for Cyclic and set COLLECTIVE to THROTTLE STICK and TAIL ROTOR to PEDALS within HIND.

In DOSBOX, I edited the dosbox.conf to have the SWAP34=TRUE under JOYSTICK to get the throttle (Collective working).

Might be some other tweaks I forgot about...


MULTIPLAYER

Basically, we had success with DOSBOX IPX Networking.

1) Both players set IPX = TRUE in DOSBOX.conf
2) In the DOSBOX window, the HOST types IPXNET STARTSERVER <port> (where Port is any port you may need to get through a router)
3) In the DOSBOX window, the CLIENT types: IPXNET CONNECT xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx <port> where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the IP address of the HOST and <port> is whatever port the host has chosen.

In the DOSBOX status window, the HOST should see the CLIENT connect.

4) In HIND, select TWO PLAYER (if you want a COOP Mode) Select NETWORK and both players choose the same Network channel number (1 works). You should see a message "FOUND ONE PLAYER"

5) Select a GAME MODE and START GAME.

Note: This worked fine for us several times in several modes..but we had trouble when we tried again later. Not sure what happened.

Frame rate for the CLIENT was very bad in Pilot/WSO but worked ok in SINGLE MISSION or COMBAT modes.

Good luck! Will update you on any further experiments.

We first tried DOSBOX emulation of a NULLMODEM for DIRECT Serial connection, but for some reason it never worked like it did with Falcon 3 and F15 Strike Eagle III. IPX worked for Falcon3 and it worked for HIND!

Here is the whole IPX section from the DOSBOX manual:

One update - I believe it's possible my frame rate was so bad in two seat and in one other mode because of an anomoly with dos box's cpu cycle option. To increase beyond the default 3,000 cycles, you normally use CTRL-F12 repeatedly, to increase by an increment. Normally this is how dosbox works for me, either pre launch of a sim, or ingame.

In this case, in the sim, I could only see "max" listed as the number of cycles at the top of the windowed display of the sim. And could only decrease cycles (using CTRL-F11) by percentages - no display of actual cycles. It's possible that the "max" was at a ceiling of 3,000, as set by the iniital default of dosbox.

Next time Recluse and I are able to test Hind, I'll try raising the cycles to around 25,000 at the dosbox prompt, before launching the sim. That was the vicinity of where Recluse's dosbox was set - he did not have this issue of "max" instead of a more or less infinite range of cycles available. And that is where I normally set cycles in single player for Hind.

The other really frustrating thing we found was that the Windows version of Hind does not permit co-op modes, only deathmatch and capture the flag. That is frustrating because Windows 95 version has the 3Dfx option for graphics. I can run that using the Zecken glide wrapper - unable to do so with dgVoodoo. The difference in graphics is stunning. That said, the dos graphics are serviceable. They are much better than the now muddy looking Falcon 3.0 display, and iirc also a little better than that in F-15 Strike Eagle III.

Thanks a lot!!!! It's really good news!!!
By the way, if we can launch this game from the DOSBOX on IPX mode, i think that it's possible to launch it on WIN95 version All we need it's the programm that emulate IPX connection as in DOSBOX. If I have some free time, I will check this.


Just read what Eugene posts. It's really amazing that Windows version doesnt permit co-op modes. Maybee it does'nt permit only in 3dfx version or with 1.2 patch?

Perhaps. I thought the Virtual Com Port type software would also work, but oddly, DOSBOX Virtual Null Modem didn't work. Might need more tweaking.

Originally we tried to use HAMACHI in this regard to emulate an IPX network. This approach worked for previous games (e.g. SWAT3) but would not work for HIND. Later, I tried connecting a Win98 machine and WinXP machine on my LAN using IPX directly, and again HIND failed. I suspect something odd about the Windows XP (or the HIND) IPX implementation but I don't know...and this leads me to wonder if any virtual IPX application will work. DOSBOX must have a virtual IPX implementation true to the original DOS stack which makes it work. Not sure how close IPX for XP is to IPX for Win9x that HIND expects.

Still, MANY other older games work with HAMACHI style IPX, so perhaps more investigation will yield success.




This isn't correct. The Interface for the DOS/Windows version was identical. In BOTH versions, the NETWORK option only allows DEATHMATCH or Capture the Flag..meant to have more than 2 players in Free for All or TEAM adversarial play.

For COOP, it is necessary to select TWO PLAYER mode, but choose the NETWORK option for connection. So there is a 2 player limit for COOP.

Ok, I see. Then I'll search for some programms that can make this game work in WIN95 version.
I'll say you if i find something.

Recluse, I can't look at the program from here, but are you saying the Win95 version does allow the same options for co-op? Sorry for the error. Then it really is worth one more search for a modern internet solution - the appearance is so much better IF you can run the Glide version.

Remind me what mode we were stymied in, when we concluded that co-op wasn't possible? Other than the first go around in the serial attempt. I thought we succeeded in a handshake at one point, but could only deathmatch or capture the flag. Or was that the serial mode and limited for some reason to those too HTH modes?

We only tried HAMACHI + IPX + Hind95 in Windows (we had to add the IPX protocol to WINXP). Games never connected or saw another player..so we never got past that step. It is possible that we only tried via the NETWORK screen and noticed there was no COOP option..but since the network never connected, there was no incentive to look further (i.e. in the Two Player option).

As far as GLIDE, I never got it working at all.

Brief update: I've been able to run the accelerated 3Dfx version on this computer. It looks remarkably better than the other versions for Windows or DOS. But I've got a severe problem - the black screen after a mission is completed. Lepus had long ago noted this, but could work around by typing a "Y" or something similar, even though he could not see the screen content. I've tried this, hitting enter, everything I can think of, but only get a frozen black screen. With some voodoo and incantations, can tab out to get ctrl-alt-del and end program. But this is no good in terms of every flying the campaigns.

Anyone have any advice on how to resolve the mission-end black screen?

When mission completed, I've got an "end of mission window". When I typed Y, I have a black screen, but alt+tab to windows and then alt+tab to Hind helps me.
Using Nvidia Forceware drivers 93.81 to Nvidia Geforce 6800GS.

Eugene, maybe other drivers help you?

...and here I was happy I got it running in DOSBOX.

Wondering If someone have Lepus patch so I can try Glide mode...

Stratos,

My link above is still good:

http://drop.io/hind3dfx2008

Password: lepus

I never could get it to work, though..But best of luck!

Thanks, will try and get back with the results. Should I apply to a original Win95 version or over a Abandonware MsDos version?
And what is the correct order?

It's been so long that I don't remember the exact steps, but I think it is the Win95 version that had the 3dFX upgrade. I had a HIND CD which included the Win95 3DFX version which I couldn't get to work with either the dGVoodoo or Zeckensack wrapper, and I think I also did the LEPUS patch on the installed non-3dfx version for comparison. Might have to go back and reread the thread to recall just what I did.

Good luck!!

Recluse is correct. The 3Dfx upgrade is only for the Win95 version. It will corrupt the grayware dos version from the net, or any dos version,requiring a reinstall.

I can get the 3D version to run, with the disk in the xd tray. But cannot get past the end of a mission point regardless of contortions.

I'm trying and is working, but yes same problem, mission end, you're toasted by the black screen. Apity as I get a nice look and good FPS...
Will need further testing

That's encouraging - replicated experience is good to know. Recluse couldn't get 3Dfx version to run at all, and our machines are aimilar.

1. Confirming method:did you use Leptos patch from Reluse? Or just straight Win95 to 3Dfx patch?

2. Any special graphic settings for your card or in game? Even if they seem insignificant?

3.Did you try the workaround for the blank screen/freeze at the end of a mission, posted above or earlier? I tried but could not get anything similar to what he described. I believe it was his theory that an "end mission" query was hidden by the blank screen and that he found a way to blindly select the "yes" selection and ao move on.

1-I used the Lepus patch from Recluse.

2-My card is pretty standar, I have no idea of how to tune it so I supose that this is a no.

3-Can't found the black screen walkaround. Can you please enlight me?

It's in this thread. Look at Lepus' two posts there that in part deal with the black screen issue and his solution.

Hi guys. Finally, after a year of searching, I'm think, i'm find program that helps us to play Hind by net.
http://www.kali.net/
But i cant totaly check this programm because, there is nobody with whom i can test it.
So, can anybody test this program?

P.S Sorry for my english.

Hi - pretty new here. I have the Hind/Apache twin pack with Dos and Win95 versions. I also downloaded 3dfx patches for both, including the V2 update, but that was some time ago. Problem is I don't have the "common_files.zip" mentioned in the readme, and can't track it down, so I've not been able tom complete the 3dfx installation. Anyone able to point me in the right direction? I've built a legacy 3dfx rig and am have a fun time bringsing some of the old ones back to life. The plain Win versions runs good. Thanks..

Got common_files.zip! thanks for the drop Reclus
TC

Any solutions to the Black Screen problem in newer windows versions?

Does it work fine on Windows XP with a glide wrapper?

Just tried Longbow 2 with nGlide... damn that game is running fine...

@Aries0104 - I'm running Hind/Apache under XP using Zeck's glide wrapper and the Lepus patches Recluse has kindly maintained an upload for; see his 07-20-08 post in this thread.

I followed Lepus's recommendations on wrapper settings (basically default except for "try hi res" and one of the thread settings) and it fires up nice. There are a few issues ending missions and exiting the game, which he mentions, but these are managable. Nice game..

Note that the Zeck wrapper installs his glide dll's to C:\Windows, and as such will override other wrappers you may have for other games which are installed in specific game folders. What I do is cut/paste Zeck's dlls from Windows to the Hind-Apache folder so they only apply for Hind-Apache. I use dgVoodoo for other wrapper requirements so this was neccessary.

Tincup

Hi, the links for the no-cd and 3dfx patches are dead can someone please reupload them.

Wow... I am jealous. While I could get HIND working well, I could NEVER get it working in 3DFX mode

I will try to re-upload the patches. I think since the demise of drop.io, I created an account at one of the other similar services. Let me check...

Hope the game can be readid on GOG so it will work on all systems and with all the bells and whistles. Sure it will be a blast to play.

Can we get links to the Lepus patch and Nocd patch again please.Id hate to have to dig my old HIND Cd out of the garage.Thanks.

Been playing Hind again lately. All that trouble and I still prefer the software version :p - don't like the 3Dfx colours/sky/fog.

Anyways I re-uploaded the patches:

Hind 3dfx Patch 2008

hind95nocd

I got this old sim running well in WinXP SP3. Everything works like charm, connected Logitech Extreme 3D Pro, it recognized the cyclic and rudder (twist) axis just fine. But it refused to recognize this joystick's collective (throttle) axis and POV hat. Actually, the sim thinks that the up POV hat switch is the throttle axis!
This is a serious problem from me, since I'm a right-hander. My left hand have to reach over the joystick to press the + and - buttons on the keypad to manipulate the collective. Not to mention there's no throttle position indicator to let me know just how far I've been moving it.
Anyone playing Hind with Logitech Extreme 3D Pro? Got a solution for this problem?
Thanks.

Wait... you have common_files.zip?? Woah I've been looking for that file for ages! Any chance you or Recluse could send it to me? Please?!?! I used to have it but after a move I lost the disk I saved it on.

I've been having another look at hind95 after a long break and was thinking there might be something I could do to get 3Dfx mode working again. I'd just like to tinker for a while, you never know I might get lucky and find a way of getting it working well. I've got all the other files and patches, it's just common_files.zip eludes me. Like Lepus said I'll probably go back to software mode in the end but I'd like to see the difference in graphics on my current rig and decide for myself which I prefer.

So I'd really appreciate that file, thanks guys.

By the way, sorry if this is too off topic but does anyone know what happened with the devs (Digital Integration)? Last I heard of them they were making 'Top Gun: Combat Zones' for consoles... I saw a gameplay vid on youtube and couldn't believe how awful it was compared to their old proper sims like Hind. Why did they do it? What was the thinking behind it? Was 'taking a dive' like this intentional or a genuine mistake? Any of the old devs reading this want to say hi and set the record straight?

First sim I ever really put alot of hours into was 'F-16 Combat Pilot' (on the Amiga) and second to that was their brilliant 'Tornado' which I bought for the A1200; I've been reading my old manual lately and thinking about all their old cool sims I loved back then and still do today.

Nevermind, got the file from Recluse so all's good! If and when I figure out a proper fix I'll post it.

Sorry I missed the post in the thread. Glad you PM'd! Good luck.

As there's 13 pages of comments here so far, I guess that there has been much testing and to'ing and fro'ing with this and that.

I've never been a fan of DI's sims, especially Hind, but would it help at all if I put some sort of webpage together with download links and stuff for the various files for Hind?

I could also host any files at (hopefully) some sort of permament address like my RapidShare account (for those near to or bigger than 5Mb).

Just a thought.

Yes! That would be most helpful FB. Recluse has saved several people wanting these, including not just the patches but also Lepus's old fix (for 3dfx?) and the common files thing.

Would be great if someone could figure out how's to run it on XP with the 3dfx version. Wait! Would be great if it would run in any form with latest Nvidia drivers and newer cards. I no longer can do even that with these specs. Also couldn't run the the 3dfx version on my Win98 voodoo5500 machine. :-(

Good idea, FB.

Well I manged to get Glide running (4GHz i7 quad, old-ish GTX285), Dual boot WinXP Pro 32-bit mode. Did the old setup like we did before in 2008. To Recap; Installed from Hind95 CD, copied over all the 3Dfx patch files (manually of course as the installer's no good in XP), copied missing Glass.CMP files from the other folder as mentioned previously, then copied over 3Dfx patch 1.2 (Voodoo 2) hind95.exe from The Patch Scrolls to ensure there wasn't any trouble w/ the old exe.

It might not be relevant but Nvidia driver version was 185.85 (32 bit version obviously) - couldn't go back any further of course due to the GTX285 card. I kept the desktop in its native res for my screen (1920x1080 32bit @120Hz). Default global Nvidia driver settings (although extra anti-aliasing settings might work, try it).

Same settings as per usual but with some extra "voodoo incantations" to prevent the hanging demon entering our blackscreen...

Settings in Zeck's wrapper:

- Global settings
- Texmem: 16MB
- Res: Try high res
- Refresh rate: by app
- V-Sync: Always off
- Mipmaps: By app (default)
- Gamma: 1.4 locked (optional, but I liked the look of the haze/dust in Afghanistan like this)
- Limit feature set: Most fancy shaders
- Render to: Own window (default)
- Thread policy: Crazy (if set to 'use render thread' it's still playable but this time we can see the previously invisible "End Mission Y/N" dialog)
- Resolution Limit: 1280x960

In Windows XP:

- In the Windows Shortcut, set compatibility mode to Win98 / Me.
- Optional but Recommended: Right-Click on the Taskbar, select Properties and then "Auto Hide the taskbar". Make sure that "Keep the taskbar on top" is enabled; if isn't, you might have a problem recovering from a CTD (I had to do a hard reset, so keep in hidden mode).

The game runs quite well, except for the Windows Taskbar slightly visible at the bottom of the screen in hidden mode. Looks alright to me, what do you think?





Next, Recovery from blackscreen after (CTRL+Q) End Mission "Y":

- Press ALT+ESC (to close the window).
- Click on hind95 on the taskbar (or ALT+TAB) to go back to the game. I found that if I just press ALT+TAB *without* moving the mouse at all, the game crashes. If the pointer isn't moving across the screen when it's maximised, it crashes. You might see a square sprite of the pointer. So, click on the taskbar to maximise the program and get that pointer moving instead of pressing ALT+TAB.
- As the game is still running (yet invisible) you can now safely drag the mouse down to the bottom right and click to continue.

To exit the game, exit as normal. When the screen dumps to desktop in 8-bit 640x480 mode, right-click on hind95.exe in the Task Manager (which you should already have running in the top left corner of your desktop ready to do this) and select End Process. That's it.

There's one last "black magic" step I found, necessary to prevent the blackscreen crash:

- When starting the game, first thing to do is to select Preferences and either turn off Speech altogether, or..
- Leave Speech and Music on (click on both buttons), but in the game you need to listen to the entire mission briefing. If you click 'Commit' too soon before he's finished talking, it CTD's after mission. When Komradski's "speech" (briefing) ends, I hear a small distorted 'click' as the music returns. I'm guessing there's an old DirectSHOW sound conflict somewhere? I found that if this click doesn't occur, you are rewarded w/ a crash after the mission. Anyway that's what I did to stop it and I'm progressing through my Afghanistan Campaign in 3Dfx Mode nicely.

BTW, I didn't get any sound during the intro Animations, so I'm guessing it's probably a codec thing... Maybe those movies can be re-encoded into a playable format? Which might have a happy consequence of stopping the game from crashing?? Not sure, if someone wants to try, that'd be awesome. It might be fixable if you have some old Directshow codecs? I had to do something similar to fix an old game's sound, I-War2, Tron or System Shock I think, too long ago! Anyway at least we're getting there and 3Dfx is playable again finally (without a real Voodoo 2 card)! Good flying & spasibo komradskis.

And don't forget to think in Russian, Mr Gant.

Nice Work there Ziggy, and it looks fantastic! Just a quick question - What format are those Movie files encoded in? I don't have Hind to hand so i can't poke around with it at the moment.

PS Maybe renaming the files so they won't run, or even delete them would prevent the crashes??

Cheers

HWKI

I'm glad a couple of you thought my idea was a good one. If someone could perhaps PM me with download links or e-mail me with files attached, that would be great. I'm a little off-balance right now and am finding it hard to find the time and to concentrate, as I'm doing some extra work outside due to nice weather and am having some domestic issues. Otherwise you know that I'd be all over it, myself.

Or of course if you don't want to have to wait for me to make a webpage and do updates, etc. you could always do a guide and have it made a sticky topic here in the forums. Then you, yourselves, could update it as-and-when needed and have full control.

Thanks for the kind words sir, you're welcome. Yes, that's an excellent idea but the Animation cutscenes can already be disabled in game Preferences, no need to rename/delete. Good idea though. For me, the game CTD'd whether they were enabled or not. As for the ".Q3" format, I looked at a couple in a Hex editor and couldn't see anything identifiable aside from "ANIM" at the beginning. An old DOS format maybe? Don't know.

BTW, in my Hind95 tests in XP 32-bit I had an idea to copy the files over to my Win7x64 dual-boot environment just to see what happened (after manually creating the registry keys inside Wow6432node) - I can report that it *didn't* run "pre-installed" in a 64-bit enviro. Cheers!

Well, sadly, no luck on my end. Tried every angle I could think of. Might give another try on my old Win98 Voodoo5500 machine although that failed at least for 3Dfx last time I tried.

Hi Ziggy, Ah, right, cheers for the heads up on the cutscenes. Just to report that i've dabbled around a bit with an old converter, all to no avail.

So, the quest goes on!

Cheers

HWKI

Flyboy's Hind Page is now online, comments and feedback welcome!
http://digitality.comyr.com/flyboy/hind/

Note that it's not supposed to be anything visually special, or contain much other than showing people how to get the 3DFX version working.

How is the Hind website coming along?

Uh, my one?

I missed the Hind link in a previous post. I found it. Thanks for consolidating the information.

And remember, any comments and feedback is welcome, Thumos.