Running X-Wing Special Edition on Win 10 - Full Screen, 3D Acceleration, Music and Ammo Issues Resolved

A quick guide on how to get the best from the X-Wing Special Edition version running on Windows 10 and Steam (although you can adapt for GOG). This guide includes instructions to fix the common issues of running in 3D mode, running full screen and enabling the Special Edition orchestral soundtrack when in flight.

This guide will get you running the BEST looking and sounding version of X-Wing currently possible on Windows 10, until at least the long awaited XWVM comes out (whenever that is).

This guide collates a number of fixes into one place. Whilst there are many posts in the Steam forums which offer the fixes the guide means you no longer need to search!

About the Special Edition

The X-Wing Special Edition CD was released in 1998 and is sometimes also referred to as XWING95, on account of it being designed to run in Windows 95 (and 98).

The 1998 version of X-Wing in-game 3D graphics engine is based on X Wing vs Tie Fighter (the 3rd game in the XWING trilogy) and runs at a standard 640x480 SVGA screen resolution.

The mission content is basically the same as the original and 1994 versions and it comes bundled with the B-Wing mission pack pre-loaded.

There is also the option to select to play the original missions or newer easier versions.

(The original X-Wing game is often accused of being very tough with certain missions almost impossible. Lucasarts listened and the 1998 release gave an option to tone down the difficulty. My recommendation is read a good game guide and give the original missions a try- at least you have the option to take the easier route if you struggle.)

Enabling 3D acceleration

Many users report that X-Wing crashes on entering a mission with the 3D Hardware option enabled. This is despite them running a modern 3D enabled system. This is mainly because the 3D acceleration used in this 1998 game is so ancient it isn't supported by modern graphics drivers.

A lot of users are happy with the 640x480 16bit software graphics but this is missing a trick.

X-Wing Special Edition uses the later flight engine from XWvTF which allows it to use in part the Direct Draw XWA wrapper from developer 'rdoeffinger'. This is based on the later X Wing Alliance (XWA) game engine. The developer has adapted a version of the XWA wrapper so it can be used in part for X-Wing SE.

The XWA wrapper brings a world of possibilities and kudos to the developer!

To download the necessary files visit:

https://github.com/rdoeffinger/xwa_ddraw_d3d11/releases/tag/v1.5.12

Download this zip file:

xwing_ddraw_d3d11_1.5.12.zip

Unzip the contents to your X-Wing folder and overwrite any existing files (back them up if you wish).

On Steam the X-Wing Special Edition game folder is usually found at C:\STEAM\STEAMAPPS\COMMON\STAR WARS X-Wing\remastered\

Now...

• Start the game and hit ESC in the opening titles.
  
  
• From the Options Dialog menu select Flight Options.
  
  
• Change the contents of the top selection to 640x480 3D Hardware.
  
  
• Go back to Options Dialog and press OK to go back to the game.

Start the game as normal and choose a mission, 3D acceleration is now enabled but the fun doesn't end there...


A Corvette viewed from the A-Wing cockpit. Desktop resolution here is set at 1366x768 in the ddraw config file and the 2D art is stretching to fit the aspect ratio- this stretching is visible by the circular front and rear sensors (blue circles at top right and left of HUD) which look slightly oval. This effect is one of the minor drawbacks of stretching to full screen rather than proper software driven full screen. Note the crispness of the Corvette and target box, the 3D elements at 1366x768 look super sharp for a 22 year old game. Enabling the 3D HW results in much crisper 3D models with more graduated shadowing than with software mode (which is fixed to 640x480).

Enabling 'full screen' graphics

The original DOS releases of X-Wing run in full screen as standard via DosBox but their resolutions are capped at 320x200 for original X-Wing and 640x480 for the 1994 version.

In standard configuration the 1998 Special Edition runs at 640x480 SVGA (like the 1994 version). This aspect ratio is nearly square in 640x480 and this means it has annoying black borders on widescreen monitors/laptops, which in turn means when in flight and combat you have a much smaller window to see out of, wasting all of your lovely screen real estate.

Proper full-screen graphics with aspect ratio maintained do not seem to be supported at present, probably because widescreen monitors weren't available for gaming in 1998 and the game lacks the required coding. That isn't the end of the story and we can stretch the graphics a bit to fit without issues.

Firstly, follow the instructions to install the Direct Draw wrapper above then follow these steps...

• Back up ddraw.cfg if necessary and open using a text editor.
  
• Set PreserveAspectRatio = 0 (This prevents the original square aspect ratio from being maintained at a square 640x480 and stretches the screen to fit whatever you are running on.)
  
• Although there is a setting for fullscreen I have not seen the need to use it and there appears to be potential issues, so leave this set to: Fullscreen = 0 (default)
  
• Close and save your ddraw.cfg file and start the game.

Straight away you'll notice the starfield and Lucasarts logo fill the screen- a good start!

Next the player select and concourse screens are also now filling the screen with little impact or obvious skewing.

Some might say 'stretching to fit' is a bit of a cheat (and it is) but it works! It is also much better than you'd think and it is a dead easy way of getting full screen. Yes the navigation screens look a little stretched out but in flight (in combat) you appreciate the wider view of the action and there doesn't seem to be any skewing to detract from the 3D environment.

In-flight 3D game resolution

By far the biggest benefit of X-Wing Special Edition over it's older siblings is the ability to increase the resolution of in-game graphics from the standard 640x480 to something far more impressive. These are the moving 3D parts of the game, not the cockpits, sprites or static screens.

To increase the resolution:

• Download and install the XWA wrapper for X-Wing & Tie-Fighter as described in this guide.
  
• Make a copy of ddraw.cfg and rename it something like ddraw_copy.cfg.
  
• Open ddraw.cfg using a text editor (Notepad is normally the Windows default).
  
• Set width and height to your desired levels. Set to = 0 is will use your Windows PC desktop resolution but you can also set this manually and play with it a bit for different monitors, as in the following example taken from my installation:
  
  Width = 1366
  Height = 768
  
  1366x768 the resolution on my old Toshiba laptop running Windows 10 and I tend to use this PC for older games. Remember, ideally you want the maximum supported by your graphics hardware (normally referred to as the native resolution) as this will look the sharpest. Bear in mind that a very high setting will place extra effort on your GPU or processor, so if like me running an old i3 with integrated Intel graphics you may actually find you get some minor slowdown with a lot of ships on screen as you've gone to too high a resolution!
  
  
• Once completed save the ddraw.cfg file and run the game. You will see a drastic improvement in the in-game resolution. Tie fighters will look sharply defined and you will be able to see craft much further away and in greater detail.

Textures are not improved however but there is more we can do with the ddraw.cfg file to improve that- see another section of this guide.


Tie Fighter in the film viewer, screenshot taking with 3D/desktop resolution set at 1366x768, note the crisp lines and compare with the fixed camera controls which are upscaled from the original game resolution.


A-Wing view in combat with a Gunboat. Desktop resolution set at 1024x768. This is a good compromise with speed vs looks but because I was using screen stretch for fullscreen some elements don't look as nice as with the full 1366x768.

Improvements to 3D textures, sprites and fixed screen 2D elements

Hardware acceleration brings other benefits for graphical quality.

One issue with the Special Edition is that it still uses many of the same 2D sprites and fixed screen elements like cockpits (and cut-scenes) as the original and 1994 versions of X-Wing which were originally designed for a paltry 320x200 VGA resolution. Compared to the high resolution 3D world this can look jarring. We cannot make these fixed bitmap style pixelated graphics hi-res without completely replacing them with new art but we can use techniques to smooth the low-res pixelation out. Although this can create a blurry look it does allow for scaling up onto larger screens and also fits in with the hi-res 3D you've already enabled earlier in this guide.

There are also some graphical enhancements possible in the 3D elements.

Again we are going to make some changes to the ddraw.cfg file, so back this up as before and open with a text editor, then: change the following elements to change the graphical quality:

To enable Antialiasing set the following entry to 1, this is pretty obvious and is recommended:

EnableMultisamplingAntialiasing = 1

To improve the look of textures viewed at different angles you can enable Anisotropic Filtering by setting to 1 (as with all these settings, try it out and if it works for you keep it):

EnableAnisotropicFiltering = 1

You can choose the sampling (upscaling) algorithm used by setting the ScalingType to one of the available options. I've not found much difference between these on my monitor but its worth doing different things to test the effect to get what works for you. 1 seems to work for me.

ScalingType = 1

Lastly, VSync can be enabled. I believe X-Wing runs at a max 30FPS and as your monitor and GPU will be capable of doing much more. You may need to enable VSync to prevent screen shearing. I've not encountered any issues with it set to 1 so I've left it at that (it was 1 by default).

EnableVSync = 1


View from A-Wing cockpit of some Frigates. This screenshot was taken with 3D HW enabled and the desktop resolution set to 1366x768. The rather basic Frigate polygon based models look sharp enough here but you can see the limitations of up-scaling the rather spartan textures from the 640x480 XWvTF based 1998 engine, which look OK from a distance but blurry and indistinct close up. Even so, still way better looking than the 1994 version of X-Wing. With XWVM on the way nobody seems inclined to update the old X-Wing models which is a shame.

Enabling Star Wars music when in missions

A very common issue users get with the Special Edition is the lack of music when flying in actual missions. Whilst the game does a good stab at recreating the engine noise (relative) to speed and has the iconic R2, laser and other ship engine sounds it certainly detracts from the gaming experience having no music, particularly given the strength of it in the Star Wars franchise.

I won't debate iMuse and this is covered elsewhere in the guide suffice to say it has been completely removed from the Special Edition.

So, how do you enable the game music? Thanks to some work by some very clever and community spirited people there is now a simple fix.

The beauty of this fix is that it doesn't require any editing, you just copy the files (overwrite the originals) and go.

At present it is possible to download the fix as a series of files which you unzip into your X-Wing game folder.

These files are available as a Zip file from:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wjj50h7v1cin6vz/X-Wing_TieMusicFix.zip?dl=0

The files in the zip are:

libogg-0.dll
libvorbis-0.dll
libvorbisfile-3.dll
win32.dll
XWING95.EXE

Copy these files to your X-Wing game folder. (The Steam path is described elsewhere in this guide.) Overwrite if requested.

Thanks to user Teleguy (from the GOG & Steam communities) for the original Dropbox link. I do not have the names of all involved in developing this but thanks to whoever you are!

If the Dropbox link no longer works let me know via message and I can update the link.

The infamous 'I keep running out of ammo' issue

Many new users to X-Wing get frustrated when they run out of laser power in their first mission. Some even think this is a bug.

The solution is very simple.

A key part of X-Wing is the management of power resources in your space fighter, this applies to all rebel craft.

X-Wing uses a simple system to manage power where you have a finite level of maximum power in your star fighter which you can re-distribute to either your engines (E), your lasers (L) or your shields (S) this 'power management system' is referred to as ELS.

Some craft have secondary weapons such as missiles (you get a finite load-out of these at the mission start) or special secondary lasers which are called Ion Cannons. Ion Cannons work the same way as lasers but disable rather than destroy other ships.

There is a ELS display to the bottom right of the cockpit HUD on all craft showing the allocation of power to each system. By using controls you can divert power to each system at different rates. (See keyboard commands.)

By having this flexibility you can bring in a whole level of strategy- for instance a certain mission may require you fly at top speed but not do any (or very little) shooting. In this scenario you can divert all laser power to your engines by reducing your laser recharge rate to zero. Thus squeezing more speed out of your craft but at the expense of your lasers not being able to recharge after firing.

Going back to the lasers running out issue...

As you fire your lasers you will see the power reserve for lasers right in the centre of your hud decrease (these are a row of orange lights, with one for each laser cannon). Also, as your laser power reserve decreases you will notice your lasers become less powerful and effective, requiring more hits to do the same damage.



If you have the L in the ELS display set to 'normal' in the middle point vertically you will see that if you keep firing- the power reserve for lasers at the top of your HUD will decrease until it goes a dull red and then disappear entirely. Congratulations you laser power has run out.

With your L setting in the middle vertically (in ELS), lasers recharge at a normal rate, but this is not enough to keep the laser power reserve from depleting if you fire continously. You need to divert some power to increase the laser recharge rate (press F9).

If you press F9 once you will now see the power allocation in L (from the ELS display) go up a notch. Your lasers will recharge quicker and you will now begin to regain some power reserve and you can start firing again. Pressing F9 again will mean your lasers charge at the highest rate and you should be able to fire pretty much all the time with no loss of laser power (in any craft)!

Watch out, increasing laser recharge slows you down.

It is now a good idea to read a proper strategy guide on X-Wing to really understand how to use ELS!

Keyboard controls

If there was ever a game that needed you to really understand the keyboard controls it is X-Wing.

Energy management and spatial awareness are keys to mastering X-Wing (any version), so knowing (for instance) how to recharge your lasers, or divert power away from shields and lasers to engines to gain maximum speed, is vital.

For the best tutorial on how to play original X-wing you can't go wrong with reading Rusel DeMaria's excellent 'X-Wing Official Strategy Guide'. This book is widely available on eBay or Amazon, and other places. I won't link to a dodgy copy .pdf though.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/X-wing-Official-Strategy-Guide-Secrets/dp/1559583754

Below is the list of controls for X-Wing Special Edition (which differs slightly from the original game):

B Mission briefing screen
C Toggle inflight camera on/off
D Damage assessment screen
E Target closest fighter targeting you
F Toggle S-Foil position
H Engage/abort hyperspace
I Toggle identification/targeting mode
M Map
P Pause game
R Target nearest fighter
S Cycle shield settings
T Next target
V View camera recording
W Cycle weapon settings
X Cycle firing settings
Y Previous target
Shift-A Assign target to wingmen
Shift-C Order wingmen to cover you
Shift-E Order targeted craft to evade
Shift-G Order waiting craft to go
Shift-H Order targeted craft to go home
Shift-I Order wingmen to ignore target
Shift-R Order targeted friendly craft to report in
Shift-W Order craft to stop/wait
Alt-D Cycle graphics detail settings
Alt-E Eject
Alt-V Displays game version #
Alt-1 Pick target in sight
Alt-2 Fire weapon
Alt-3 Roll/Target ship in sights
Pad-0 Toggle high angle view
Pad-1 Left shoulder view
Pad-2 Rear view
Pad-3 Right shoulder view
Pad-4 Left wing view
Pad-5 Straight up view
Pad-6 Right wing view
Pad-7 Left forward view
Pad-8 Forward view
Pad-9 Right forward view
F1 Cockpit view
F2 Cycle through warhead views
F3 External camera mode
F4 Reposition camera in external mode
F5 Select target preset #1 as target
F6 Select target preset #2 as target
F7 Select target preset #3 as target
F8 Select target preset #4 as target
F9 Adjust laser recharge rate
F10 Adjust shield recharge rate
SHIFT-F5 Save target in target preset #1
SHIFT-F6 Save target in target preset #2
SHIFT-F7 Save target in target preset #3
SHIFT-F8 Save target in target preset #4
SHIFT-F9 Transfer shield energy to lasers
SHIFT-F10 Transfer laser energy to shields
Space Confirm critical orders
Backspace Full throttle
Enter Match targeted craft's speed
=(Equal) Increase throttle
-(Minus) Decrease throttle
\ Zero throttle
[ 1/3 throttle
] 2/3 throttle
;(Semicolon) Transfer shield energy to lasers
'(Apostrophe) Transfer laser energy to shields
.(Period) Toggle cockpit on/off

You can bind commonly used keys to your joystick or controller, for instance target nearest enemy fighter (r) or match target craft's speed (Enter).

Gameplay tips

X-Wing is a big game and there are dozens of missions, however there are some tips on how to get you up to scratch quickly if you are a new player.

1. Learn to vector your laser shots.

Don't just fire blind endlessly, this wastes laser energy and can have a negative effect on your score.

Better to fire when your targeting computer has a firing solution- when using lasers or ion cannons the box around your target reticle will turn green when you have a solution.

What you'll notice is that some times when turning in a dog fight and chasing an enemy you will get a green target box even though your pointing ahead of the target, not right on it. This is because the targeting computer is calculating a vector. What this means is your laser bolt will take time to hit the target craft, so the computer has calculated that if the craft continues on its trajectory your bolts will catch it at a certain point ahead of where it is right now. If you've ever done clay pigeon shooting it works in the same way.

Depending on the speed and angle move your ship's target reticle (sights) out to hit a future collision point with your target, then fire. By doing this you can compensate if you are dog-fighting a faster and more manoeuvrable craft. The faster the target is moving the further out you aim.

2. Always dog-fight with lasers charging at the enhanced setting.

Your lasers run out very quickly with continued fire and there is nothing worse than getting into a great position behind an enemy and then not having the ammo to finish them. Using F9 to keep your lasers charging higher during the dogfight will mean you are well placed to capitalise on a shooting opportunity. Although you lose some speed your shields and the general poor aim of the enemy will see you through- just remember to avoid flying in a straight line when in combat! Keep moving and turning.

3. Never use missiles in a dog-fight with Ties.

Missiles run faster than any craft and cannot turn as fast as star-fighters. You will find that Imperial Ties of all types will jink around and never fly in a straight line when in a dog-fight. So even if you manage to get a target lock for a missile shot it will nearly always miss. Missiles of all types are best used for craft flying in a straight line, such as Tie Bombers on a bombing run where they are ordered to attack another target (rather than you) or slow moving craft like freighters, Frigates etc.

4. Using fire linking (X) to increase the number of laser bolts fired at a time.

This technique can be useful when fighting imperial craft. For standard Tie Fighters, two laser bolts (at full charge) are enough for a kill, so if you fire link your lasers then you only need to hit them once. In a dogfight against multiple ships this speeds up the time it takes to get kills and allows you to take multiple flights of enemy fighters out quicker. Firing rate decreases in fire-linked mode but since you should be watching for a fire solution not firing blind this should be OK.

5. Hang around at the end of missions for big prizes!

This can be risky but you can earn the Kalidor Crescent medal for outstanding flying in your very first mission in tour one. Once you have completed the mission and received the mission completed notice hang about, a Frigate will appear and begin dispatching wings/waves of Tie Fighters at you. Ties fly in wings/waves of three at a time. There will be twenty or so waves (sixty ships) for you to take on, keep fighting until you get bored (15 mins for me) and then hyper away when you get the chance. Bingo, you will score enough points to qualify for the Crescent medal and be rewarded with a little ceremony.



You can pull this stunt on the second mission in the first tour too to get upgrades for your Kalidor Crescent (like a bar on a medal). There are other missions where you can do this too. Also, your rank will go up based on your score! Also, it is great dog-fighting practice.

6. Kill your buddies for more points.

This sounds a bit harsh but once you have completed a mission then you can kill friendly craft before hitting hyperspace. Rebel fighters can be worth a lot of points if you are trying to get promotion. Just remember to check you have received the mission completed message before doing it.

7. Target the Tie Bombers first.

There are quite a few fiendish missions where you and your Rebel mates are tasked with escorting or protecting slower or weaker craft. Often the empire will through a load of Ties at you, do not get bogged down with these. In almost all cases this will be a diversion, and you can bet a wave or two of Tie Bombers will be coming in, sometimes from a different direction. Make sure you target these Bombers first since they will be using missiles and if they get them away at their targets (the craft you are supposed to be protecting) then you are doomed to fail the mission. If you are having issues with Tie Fighters chasing you and preventing you from taking out the Bombers then you can ask your wing men (if you have any) to help. Hitting Shift A when targeting a Tie will direct your wing man to attack that ship, leaving you to focus on the Bombers.

Scoring in X-Wing, earning promotions and medals

Scores in X-Wing might seem unimportant when you start playing and for sure the main objective of the game is just to complete missions. However, Tour mission scores lead to rewards so getting the best possible score means you will get more from the game.

Scoring in all versions and missions of X-Wing works as follows:

Points awarded for:
A single laser/ion bolt hit: 1
A missile hit: 100
Death star installations: 20
Completing any mission: 1500
Destroying the Death Star: 7500 (doesn't seem a lot)

Points for destroying another craft (enemy or friendly at the appropriate mission point):
Satellites/mines/probes: 50
X-Wing: 600
Y-Wing: 400
A-Wing: 800
B-Wing: 800 (assumed)
Tie-Fighter: 400
Tie-Interceptor: 600
Tie-Bomber: 600
Tie-Advanced: 1800
Assault Gunboat: 800
Transport: 600
Shuttle: 800
Tug: 200
Container: 800
Freighter: 1200
Cruiser: 6000
Frigate: 4000
Corvette: 1600 (tip: fly level to the target and match speed directly behind engines to kill easily)
Star Destroyer: 8000 (tip: use roll in your attack line and take our the shield generator domes first)

You can also earn points for capturing craft but I played X-Wing loads in the 1990s and I never actually captured anything! It would be great to hear from people who have!?

Points subtracted (regardless if they hit) for:
Each laser or ion bolt fired: -1
Each missile fired: -50
Losing your star fighter: -5000 (nearly always results in your death so avoid this)

Achieving Rank
X-Wing keeps a running total score for your active Tours of Duty and at certain score levels you get awarded a rank. Historical missions and obstacle course scores do not count. Ranks are denoted by your ranking title and your uniform will show the appropriate shoulder pips.

Ranks are awarded when you achieve a total of:
Officer: 20000 (achievable in Tour 1, mission 1 by hanging around to take on Ties)
Lieutenant: 50000
Captain: 100000
Commander: 250000
General: 500000

Kalidor Crescent medal:

The Crescent is awarded in a cut-scene ceremony with Mon Mothma if you successfully complete an exceptionally high scoring Tour of Duty mission.The medal and it's upgrades will appear on your uniform (merits). Once you achieve the basic medal you need to exceed the score for each upgrade in turn.

Mission scores needed to achieve the medal and it's upgrades:
Main medal: 10000
Bronze Cluster: 12000
Silver Talons: 14000
Silver Scimitar: 16000
Golden Wings: 18000
Diamond Eyes: 20000

Tour Medals

In addition to the Crescent you will be awarded a medal for each Tour of duty you complete, medals will appear on your uniform (merits).

Tour 1: The Correllian Cross
Tour 2: The Mantooine Medallion
Tour 3: The Star of Alderaan
Tour 4: (Imperial Pursuit addon) The Shield of Yavin
Tour 5: (B-Wing addon): The Talons of Hoth


The medal ceremony, using original X-Wing game artwork (at the original resolution and upscaled for X-Wing SE). Frankly the cut-scenes in the Special Edition all look pretty terrible due to the very low resolution of the original artwork from the 1993 release which was never properly updated in later versions.

1998 Special Edition compared to other X-Wing versions

The Special Edition also has a number of other changes compared to the original and 1994 versions of XWing, this list isn't exhaustive:

• The original X-Wing was designed to run at 320x200 VGA and frankly is almost unplayable now and seriously only for retro geeks. Like the X-Wing 1994 Tie-Fighter based version, the 1998 release runs as standard at a resolution of 640x480 SVGA. X-Wing 1998 has some numerous improvements over 1994 with enhanced ship models with improved texture detailing. Gone is the out of date gourad shading from Tie-Fighter and the 3D world is by far the best looking of the three original X-Wing versions, being based as it is on the much later 1997/8 XWvTF engine. This later 1998 version also has the edge over its older siblings as it can utilise 3D graphics acceleration which in turn leads to more customisation options, more on this later in the guide.
  
  
• The 'love it or hate it' iMuse midi in-game soundtrack from the original version (which dynamically changed according to how well you were doing in a mission) has gone in favour of an orchestral Redbook version based on recordings of the Star Wars movie scores. This Redbook version loops and just has a basic changes in track compared to your performance- completing mission successfully is one example. Some argue that this is a big deal since iMuse was part of the gaming experience of the original X-Wing. True, but most users never get the best midi quality which seriously detracts from the experience. The original iMuse score can be made to sound OK with careful configuring of the Midi emulation and use of sound fonts on a modern Win 10 PC but the standard Soundblaster midi setting sounds really dated and a bit comical to modern gaming ears. A lot of people want the nostalgia of a Midi sound track but personally I find the orchestral version with the Special Edition is just so evocative of the Star Wars experience that I can forgive it loops and doesn't follow the action in the same way as iMuse. You cannot enable the Midi version in the Special Edition so you are stuck with silence or the movie score which is not that much of a hardship.
  
  
• You can no longer select Wingmen to fly with you on missions, which was something possible in the original and 1994 version. This feature lead to a 'cheat' where you could make loads of renamed copies of the TOPACE.PLT file and then always select Ace fighter pilots as wingmen, improving your chances in difficult missions as you could direct them with orders. To be honest I don't know why they got rid of this feature but it isn't that big a loss. Yes the standard pilots are utterly useless at shooting the enemy but you can still direct them with orders nonetheless (particularly against unarmed freighters or on diversionary suicide missions) and the overall game strategies of ELS resource management and map awareness are still the same.
  
  
• A button to enable matching speed of a craft you are targeting is a major enhancement to flight controls, as anyone who has flown the X Wing or A Wing in the original games will tell you that when dog-fighting or attacking slow or stationary ships the ability to quickly match speed is essential! The old system had shortcuts to get to 1/3rd, 2/3rd or full power but this lacked finesse. The 1/3rd and 2/3/rd based increments are kept but you'll quickly find that you won't need them.
  
  
• Changes to concourse and player registration screens and movie/tech room screens seem a little unnecessary. These navigation screens didn't really need an update and they look a bit out of place as other screens remain the same resolution and look as the original. The cut-scenes and transitions in all versions are by and large all the same as the original and at the same crappy resolution but you cannot have it all!
  
  
• You can no longer fly your ship using mouse and keyboard alone, a joystick is mandatory in the Special Edition. You can also change joystick settings to support game pads with analogue sticks such as the Xbox 360 controller. I'd seriously question who would still want to play a flight (space) sim with a mouse, but some people do ask for this!? Sorry, but it is joystick or game pad only. The Special Edition uses Windows to enable the joystick so gone are the old joystick calibration steps from the original game versions.

Summary

I think that the vastly enhanced in-flight graphics achievable via tweaks coming from 3D acceleration mean that this version is certainly the best looking (and sounding) version of X-Wing possible on a Windows 10 PC until XWVM comes out at least!

[donclaudio4]

i would zelle someone money just to get this work on my pc

[donclaudio4]

i would pay someone to get this download working for me , seriously , this is very important to me

[Captain Canuck]

I found after the fix, the framerate was still terrible (~24FPS) and made targeting manueving TIEs a challenge equal to needing the Force to predict them. I recommend the following:
https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/1853-justagais-x-wing-series-60-fps-fix/ download and implement this fix to get full 60FPS on modern equipment.

[heywood123]

Thanks so much. It looks 1000 x better now and for some reason I'm now not getting any stuttering with the in game music. I've got the original box and keyboard chart so now I'm good to waste way more time as I did over 20 years ago.

[Grey Dragon]

Joystick controls for this game seem to have no deadzone, so the ship's aim drifts when the stick is centred. How do I fix this?

[TWC_Meowzer]

Thanks for the guide! X wing looks great. I don't see the need for the music fix though. The orchestral (non midi) music seems to work fine so far.

[Andropod]

If you are getting white screen this could be due to graphics card, try running with software rather than 3D accelerated. Any PC from the last 15 odd years should have a graphics card capable of running DirectX accelerated graphics, however you can still get issues. Try this: https://steamcommunity.com/app/354430/discussions/0/620712999979167350?l=french&ctp=4

[Lord_Staypuft]

When i go to load up the special edition it just gives me a white screen. what could be causing that and how would i go about fixing it?

[Andropod]

Apologies if some of the links no longer work. I haven't updated this guide for a while.

[Garon Zendar]

Thank you very much, helps a lot and encourages me to finally start the game !