I hope I'm not asking for trouble posting a Falcon 3.0 thread in Falcon 4.0 sub-forum, but I couldn't find an SF more suitable for this thread. However, please feel free to move this thread if the moderators think otherwise.
I have to admit that I didn't play Falcon 3.0 hi-fidelity flight model the first time it came around, I merely played the game with complex flight model, but never tried hi-fidelity flight model. Recently I decided to try Falcon 3.0 more seriously. I am using DOSBOX 0.74 on a Lenovo B460 laptop (2.4 GHz i5 processor), with CH Fighterstick USB, CH Pro Throttle USB, and CH Pro Pedals USB. The Falcon 3.0 version I'm playing is Falcon Gold; the one with MiG-29 and Hornet add on plus Art Of The Kill video by Pete Bonanni.
DOSBOX has this parameter called "cycles". The greater value you assign, the faster the emulated DOS program will run. It also has "cputype" parameter, which set the type of the cpu you emulate in DOSBOX.
At first, I used
cputype=pentium_slow and
cycles=35000 to play Falcon 3.0 Gold with hi-fidelity flight model. When using those parameter, Falcon 3.0's joystick sensitivity becomes
very sensitive that it is unmanageable. The joystick over-sensitivity only happens on the roll rate though. The aircraft rolls very fast everytime I move the stick right or left.
Then there is also problem of
inertia. The aircraft will keep rolling to the direction where I push the stick, even after I center the stick. The aircraft will only stop rolling if I push the stick slightly to the opposite direction, but if I over-compensate, the aircraft will roll to the opposite direction. And since the joystick is already over sensitive to begin with, it is very ease to over-compensate.
I then change my parameter to slow the speed. I set
cputype=486_slow and
cycles=10000. With such parameter, the joystick sensitivity and rolling inertia becomes more manageable, but not much.
Since Falcon 3.0 hi-fidelity model requires an FPU, it seems to make joystick sensitivity increases with FPU speed. Then I'm trying to find the correct cycles value to achieve an ideal joystick sensitivity. In order to find the correct value, then I need to know the ideal machine to play Falcon 3.0, for example 486 DX2 66, etcetera.
It should be noted that the joystick sensitivity problem I described above never happens in simple, moderate, and complex flight model. The aircraft is stable no matter how high the CPU cycles I set.(1) have anyone also experienced joystick sensitivity problem when playing Falcon 3.0 Gold in hi-fidelity flight model?
(2) for those who ever experienced such problem with real hardware, at which point the joystick sensitivity problem starts to appear? I mean, probably after you upgrade from 486 to 486 DX2? Or 486 DX2 to Pentium? If I know the ideal hardware to play Falcon 3.0 Gold (for example, 486 DX2 66 MHz), the hardware where it runs fast enough but does not suffer from joystick sensitivity problem, then it will be easier for me to fine-tune the DOSBOX CPU cycles.
(3) I also found this
interesting post in Google Group:
Hi!
Is it only my machine or imagination, or has the joystick beomce way too
sensitive in the updata version of the game? I remember that the
original had almost perfect, 'park it in your garage' feel, while the
3.0a version is oversensitive. I'm referring to the hifi model, not
any of the others. My joystick is the CH Flightstick, and I've had
no complaints.
He said he also experienced joystick sensitivity problem in hi-fidelity flight model, but he said it is related to the Falcon 3.0a version instead of CPU speed.
I tried emailing the guy. I wanted to ask whether he had upgraded his PC before installing Falcon 3.0a patch. I want to know if the problems purely related to Falcon 3.0 version, or it is actually caused by hardware speed. I emailed him, but my email bounced. Since the post was made in 1992, I guess he doesn't use the email anymore.
(4) or maybe I'm wrong? Maybe the joystick sensitivity problem has nothing to do with FPU/CPU speed, and is purely caused by Falcon 3.0 version? Like I said, I'm using Falcon 3.0 Gold. What if I use original version instead? Will the joystick sensitivity problem disappear? Or alternatively, is there any known patch for the Gold version that fix joystick sensitivity problem?
Many thanks,