F-19 Stealth Fighter • Custom Game Launcher (More scenarios, F117 3d Model, Pilot Backup)

Ever wanted to fly your F-19 in the Middle East or Vietnam theatres known from later released F-15 Strike Eagle 2? Well you actually can. To do this you will need to replace one of the scenarios in F-19, so prepare for backing up and moving some files around. Don't want to be bothered with that, well then - read on!

So you don't want to manually copy the needed files each time you fly different scenario? Here's a useful tool to automate the process, And as a bonus I thrown in a simple feature of backing up and restoring your roster, saving your pilots from certain death as well as the ability to switch the external model between F-19 and F-117.

Main Guide

See the video for reference - it's slightly outdated (see Changelog section for added functionality), but the process of installing the package didn't changed:

1. Download the package from here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IqZx4FqBedmXPfZfNV_hSReiJtjK3kXK/view?

2. Extract its contents into your game folder, you can delete the downloaded archive or keep it for future use.

3. Edit dosbox_f19sf_launch_windows.conf file with notepad (see the video for reference):
change 6th line from:
F19 /AA
to:
F19SCEN
save and close the file. This is needed, so that when you start the game through Steam it will use my custom batch file instead of directly launching the game through f19 executable

4. In the menu you can select which scenario will occupy the Central Europe slot in game (1 - Central Europe, 2 - Middle East, 3 - Vietnam). After selecting the option (1-3), all the needed files will be copied automatically - the prompt at the top will display which theatre has been loaded.

5. You can run the game by pressing 0 (zero).

Bonus Pilot Backup Feature

• If you have an active pilot you want to backup, press 4 - recommended each time after flying successfull mission - roster file will be backed up in the BACKUP folder, the prompt will display to confirm your choice in case you pressed 4 by accident.

• If your pilot died in the last mission and you want to bring him back press 5 - it will restore the roster file you have backed up last time your selected 4 from the menu from the BACKUP folder, the prompt will display to confirm your choice in case you pressed 5 by accident.

3d External Model Selector

Another feature I have added is the ability to switch external 3d model of your aircraft. Now you can choose between F-19 and F-117. The F-117 model was added by Microprose later in a patch, but you would have to switch the file manually. In Amiga version this feature was built in nicely in game.

In the menu:
Press 6 to switch to F-19 model.
Press 7 to swicth to F-117 model.

Note on new theatres

Since the maps are taken from F-15 Strike Eagle 2, there might be some things to take into consideration:

• In Middle East when you are served a mission which ends at those secret airstrips in enemy territory (you will notice there is no name of the airbase in the Flight Plan section of the Mission Briefing) don't fly it. The mission will not end properly after landing at those strips. Perhaps it also concerns Vietnam scenario, though I only encountered it in the Middle East so far. If this happens you can press ALT-Q to exit the game and re-start it so it will generate new mission for you, or you can try to fly back to any other proper friendly base, but I haven't tried that yet.

• Interestingly you can get a mission where you start at this secret strip. Take caution, once my aircraft crashed during take off, maybe it was positioned too far from the strip center position - those dirt strips are probably shorter than paved runways at airbases. If you die during take off you can always restore your pilot ;)

• In Vietnam, the Aircraft Carrier is postioned so it's facing south, and since you always start heading north in F-19, your aircraft will be pointing at the stern of the boat. You can still take off normally though.

Changelog

19.12.2022
I've added more features - now you can also switch 3d model of your aircraft between F-19 and F-117 (F-117 model was added by Microprose after the real Stealth Fighter was revealed to the public).

Added new menu entries:

20.12.2022
Polished the GUI


21.12.2022
• Changed the logic, now selections 1-3 only loads the new scenery without starting the game right away, to start the game I added a new menu option - 0

• Added check if the roster file is present in BACKUP folder before trying to restore it, if not present appropriate message will appear

• Added prompt before trying to restore the roster, so accidental key press will not overwrite your pilot instantly
If you select not to restore, appropriate message will appear:

• When you exit the game, you will be brought back to this menu, that way you can backup your roster after successful sortie and get back to the game right away or exit by pressing 9 - "Exit to Host OS".

21.12.2022
• Added confirm prompt before trying to save the roster to a backup, to ensure you will not accidently overwrite your backup with a roster with dead pilot. Having active and backup roster with dead pilot sucks.

23.12.2022
• Added Secret Sound Board Selection screen.
By default the game starts with AdLib sound. I made that special menu for people who want to have full control over which sound device they want to use - PC Speaker, AdLib or with few more needed tweaks Roland or Tandy sound.

To get to the secret sound selector menu press S in the main "green" menu.


Note that for Roland choice to work you will need actual Roland MT-32 module or emulator like Munt with some dosbox.conf tweaks or custom DOSBox build. On top of that you will need dumped rom files from MT-32 or CM-32 module (CM-32 is preffered as it has more sound effects).

Tandy also needs some dosbox config tweaks.

I made a short video showcasing some of the sound and graphics differences here:

24.12.2022
• Added RSOUND.EXE - Roland sound driver, without Roland sound option will not work at all (you still need actual MT-32 module or a software that emulates it).

[damson]

@YouPay-chan of you want to remove the low altitude warning sound check out the mod made by PixelWings:
https://pixelwings.org/military/f19stealth/mods/mods.htm

[YouPay-chan]

good stuff there. thank you
I wish i could get rid of just the "too low" warning sound. this warning sound is so annoying I always end up playing on sound 1. (Adlib). Its ok, i play my favourite music in the background any ways. I have a Butt Kicker installed on my chair and when i launch a missile or something blows up my chair vibrates :)
Something I did that made my experience even more special is that I have a Logitech 3D pro joystick and with the joystick software I tweaked the sensitivities and limited the range of Y and Z and I actually brought out a flight model in F19. as in I can pull on the stick and as I get to stall speeds it feels more natural.
And last, with the DosBox provided by steam I can introduce shaders and color filters that can give F19 a "facelift"
making the low resolution jagged edges round and giving different tints of color to the game making it look new again.

[YouPay-chan]

cool thanks

[BrianRubin]

This worked like a charm. Thank you!