Playing this game with Dosbox 0.74 or with the improved Dosbox Daum x64 and Direct3D output, the framerate of the game is just atrocious. I doubt the game played so in the 90s with a 486 computer.

My current settings are:

Dosbox 0.74 in use
CPU: All in Auto
Grafics: Normal x3 scaling, Render: OpenGL which will scale the game at the correct resolution;

I haven't yet found the optimal setting for a fluid gaming experience without stuttering - if this is at all possible.
Thanks VERY much for anyone to come with a solution or a better setting than mine !!

A curiousity:
I have downloaded the Amiga version and tried it out in WinUAE simulating a A1200 with fast settings, here the framerate is perfect, but the poor joystick response makes the game unplayable. No option for me.

Cheers,

Try this:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1I2ryQ3NAyt01T-tJHaFR9clbx2KCUU1C

I greatly appreciate your response and your link, Strijkbout, thank you !

It makes a day-night difference in the framerate, it works great, the game even running too fast now. Taking the data in the link I have re-changed the SB to sb16 and have set to opl3, making the cockpit voice active again, but I know this could cause game crash when the message comes 'clear to land'. If so I'll take it away again.

Best and cheers,

I now have played for some time with these new settings and I notice the following:

- The cockpit sound is almost disabled
- Only the best enemy missiles will hit you (SA-10, SA-12, AA-10, S-N-4), others will always miss you if you do nothing and fly straight at medium speed (their logic is flawed due to the high CPU Cycles of 9000);

So high CPU cycles will give a very good framerate at the cost of a less challenging game. I therefore have made some tests to know how much I can reduce the cycles in order to be hit by these missiles:

SA2, SA5
AA2 (from planes)
AA6 (from planes)

The answer is: 4250 cycles for my system which still gives an acceptable framerate.

Then, to ultimately fix the cockpit sound that may cause game crashes, I have found original sound fixes released by MPS in the 90s which will fix all ASound files for their games on Pentium Computers. I can upload these files if GOG is interested. Here the readme notes:

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Fast 486 Sound Driver Updates

The AdLib drivers (for AdLib, Sound Blaster, Pro Audio Spectrum, Covox and
compatibles) of some of our older games have had problems with newer fast
computers, especially 486/66s. This file contains a number of updated sound
drivers that should work fine on all fast machines.

BEFORE UPDATING YOUR SOUND DRIVERS, PLEASE RENAME OR OTHERWISE BACKUP YOUR
OLD DRIVERS! Go to your game directory and type DIR ASOUND.*, this will show
you the AdLib drivers used. In most cases, there will only be one driver.
Some games also used a separate one for the logo screen. Copy the
corresponding updated driver(s) to your game directory and start the game as
you normally would. Newer games not listed here should work fine as is on
fast computers.

ASOUND.CVL Civilization (for DOS) *
ASOUND.117 F117A Stealth Fighter 2.0 *
ASOUND.F15 F15 Strike Eagle II
ASOUND.F19 F19 Stealth Fighter
ASOUND.LOG Logo (used in some openings)
ASOUND.KN Knights of the Sky
ASOUND.RR Railroad Tycoon
ASOUND.RSR Red Storm Rising
ASOUND.SAM Sword of the Samurai
ASOUND.SS Silent Service II
ASOUND.TNK M1 Tank Platoon

* Also fixes stereo problems with newer Pro model (OPL-3) sound cards that
had only been playing one channel.


Also available from the MPS Sound Department:

* Roland MT-32 updates for F19, F15 II, M1 Tank and Red Storm Rising

* Coming soon: Native (OPL-3) Pro boards sound drivers for Civ/DOS
General MIDI drivers for Civ/DOS and Pirates! GOLD


On-Line Support for MPS Games:

If you have a modem, you can get the latest game news, updates, demos
and other goodies from the MicroProse BBS at (410) 785-1841, 8 lines
9600 and 14.4 modems. The BBS has special inter-user chat and modem
player areas. If you frequent a FIDO-net BBS, ask your sysop to carry
the MPS echo, where you can ask us questions and get replies through
your local BBS.

You can also contact us thru AOL (MicroProse), CompuServe (76004,2223),
Delphi (MicroProse), GEnie (MicroProse), Prodigy (XHFK15D) and Internet
(76004,2223@CompuServe.com).

Non-modem equipped players can contact Customer Service at (410)
771-1151.

Enjoy!

Jim McConkey, MPS Sound Guru
4.Feb.1994
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