                           Digital Integration's

                          [F-16 Fighting Falcon]

                                Version 1.3

                      Patch release: 24 November 1997
                               Win95 version

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Feature list:

   * Post-mission crashing eliminated
     Introduced in v1.2, this affected a large number of users and is now
     fixed.
   * Cloud 'bleeding' fixed
     Introduced in v1.2, the fault caused intermittant graphical glitches
     and has now been fixed.
   * Joystick calibrator fault
     Again introduced in v1.2, this bug caused the calibration indicators
     in the preferences screen to jump wildly, and has now been fixed.
   * CH Products' Win95 coolie-hat bug eliminated
     It's been a long time a-coming...
   * Laser designation system overhaul
     Bugs have been ironed out of the LANTIRN, and we've woken up the
     ground troops...
   * Messaging System active in Two-Player games
     The Messaging System available in Network Play has been extended to
     cover Two-Player games, too.
   * New 'localization' system
     Allows tailoring of the game to any available country-version.

Features retained from patch v1.2:

   * Frame rate increase of approximately 15% to 20%!
     We have optimised every last shred of F-16 to wring as much speed as
     possible from the game running on any Pentium-class processor.
   * Feature-rich "check six" view
     The "check six" view aids situational awareness by allowing virtual
     pilots to look 180 degrees to the rear. F-16 implements this
     realistically as either a 'left-shoulder' or 'right-shoulder' view, in
     either 'quick' or 'sticky' mode.

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Details:

Post-mission crashing eliminated

It was discovered by users of the v1.2 patch that in many cases, completing
a mission would cause a crash which returned the game to Windows95 without
upding the pilot's log.

After studying this problem, we found that simply compiling the 1.2 patch
with a new version of our compiler had resulted in this peculiar crash.
Needless, to say, this was easy to fix and is now being closely examined!

                                                     Return to feature list

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Cloud 'bleeding' fixed

The Cloud layer routines were optimised in patch v1.2 as part of the
general speed increase. The changes left behind a small bug which appeared
in missions with overcast cloud layers. The clouds would appear to 'bleed'
into the ground textures when the terrain rolled.

This bug has been removed with no detriment to the speed of the code. The
projected framerate improvement (reproduced below) remains the same.

                                                     Return to feature list

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Joystick Calibrator Fault

A problem occurred in v1.2 whereby the joystick calibration display would
fluctuate wildly. While this did not appear to affect in-game operation, it
makes it impossible to test if the joystick is calibrated correctly. This
bug has been fixed up, and joystick calibration is back to normal.

                                                     Return to feature list

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CH Products' Win95 coolie-hat bug eliminated

This is a bug which has dogged us for a long time, and has finally been
laid to rest. Up until now, Anyone playing our games in Windows95 and using
a CH Products joystick has found that the up-direction of the joystick's
coolie-hat does not seem to function, and has had to use a workaround to
correct this.

From this patch onwards, the joystick will function normally. If you
currently use the workaround, then throw the alternative configuration away
- you don't need it anymore!

                                                     Return to feature list

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Laser designation system overhaul

Various aspects of the LANTIRN and laser designation code have been
tightened up. A small number of players reported problems when flying
missions involving laser designation by ground troops, and also when trying
to aquire targets without using the radar or LANTIRN pod. Both of these
problems have been recognised and this version corrects them.

                                                     Return to feature list

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Messaging System active in Two-Player games

The Messaging System (accessed with Shift-M in-cockpit) has been extended
to function for Two-Player games, instead of just in Network Games as it
did pre-1.3. All functionality of the system remains the same, with the
addition of the "/language" command, described below.

                                                     Return to feature list

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New 'localization' system

In an attempt to move away from problems associated with compiling
different versions of patch releases for different destination countries,
and to accommodate players who sometimes prefer the original to their
localized version, we have incorporated a new system to allow players to
specify the language used in the game.

There are currently four localized versions of F-16 in production -
American, French, German and Italian. The CD's from each of these
localizations carry their own version and the original English version, and
players can now swap between these two versions at will.

Language can be set using either the "/version" command in the in-cockpit
Message and Command System, or by using the "-l" parameter from the command
line. Full instructions are outlined below.

                                                     Return to feature list

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Frame rate increase

The program code of F-16 has undergone a collective belt-tightening in an
attempt to augment the general performance of the game across the board.

Several key routines have been re-written in assembly language, with
resulting optimisation better than that obtained from a compiler. Advantage
has also been taken of the pipelining and instruction caching available to
Pentium-class processors. While this gives incrementally better performance
on these processors, it unfortunately means that machines based on the 486
family of processors will see little improvement. Finally, the cloud system
has been updated and now leaves a smaller impact upon frame rate than it
did previously.

We have stated that the overall increase is around 15% to 20% "across the
board". By this we mean that the frame rate increase differs according to
processor type and visual detail settings, however, that percentage always
remains accurate. For example, a Pentium 100 running F-16 with maximum
visual detail may have clocked up 4 or 5 frames per second with the release
version of the game. With v1.2's increase this figure should increase by
approximately 1 frame. However, a higher spec machine which previously
produced a frame rate of, say, 18fps should now see an increase of 3 or 4
frames per second.

To re-iterate, the benefit you see will depend on the framerate your
machine could previously achieve. Whatever happens, though, you will
definitely receive that 15-20% increase.

                                                     Return to feature list

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Feature-rich "check six" view implemented.

After overwhelming requests for this addition to the viewing system, we
offer our own spin on the traditional "check six" viewpoint.

"Check six" functions by allowing pilots to look 180 degrees to the rear
over either their left or right shoulder. From this viewpoint, pilots will
see the dorsal surface of their aircraft and be able to view, with some
obstruction from the ejection seat and tailfin, their entire rear aspect.

In addition to the left and right view, "check six" works in two modes -
Quick and Sticky. Quick view shows the rear aspect only for the length of
time which you depress the view key. Sticky mode locks the rear aspect view
until you switch back to a front view.

Controls for the check-six view are as follows:

* Numbers 9 and 0 (zero) on the typewriter keys select left or right rear
aspect respectively.

These two keys alone activate check-six in Quick mode.

* To use check-six in Sticky mode, hold a Shift key while you tap either 9
or 0 (zero). The view will be locked until you select a new view key.

                                                     Return to feature list

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Patch installation:

Copy the executable "F1695.exe" file over the one currently installed in
the game directory on your hard disk. Win95 will prompt you to overwrite,
so answer affirmatively. That's all there is to it.

Setting correct language:

The system is quite flexible, and one of five languages can be specified
from the following list: english, american, french, german or italian.
There are two ways to set the desired language version.

     Method 1 - The "Run..." Method

   * Click the Start button and select "Run..."
   * Type the full path to F16, and include the "-l" (lower-case L)
     parameter, followed immediately by a language from the list above. For
     example, American users of iF-16 would enter:

       c:\i-magic\if16\f1695 -lamerican

     This need only be done once. Load the game as normal the next time and
     any other time you play.

     Method 2 - The Command System Method

   * Load F-16 as normal. It will load with whatever the language is
     currently set to; English, by default.
   * Enter the cockpit
   * Press Shift-M to activate the Command system.
   * Use the new "/language" command, followed by your choice of language
     from the list above. For example:

       /language american

     This need only be done once. The language has now been set and will
     take effect the next time you load the game.

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We'd like to thank our external beta testers for the hours they supplied
cross-examining this patch : Jan Mandler, Frank "Crimson" Morissette,
Jorgen Toll, Nick Dieltjes, Phill Perry and Sandman, as well as the IMagic
team.

The latest patches for F-16 Fighting Falcon, and our other games, are
always available at our website.
The main URL is:

                          http://www.digint.co.uk

Thanks for supporting us, and for your patience in allowing us to support
you.

Raz, for Digital Integration Ltd., 1997
