Setting up your preferences     
   

Once you've downloaded and installed Fox Two, and you run it for the first time, you may be put off by the apparent complexity of it - it does look daunting at first. So, I've decided to put this section in here to help you set it up, and introduce some basics to ease your way into it. I've seen people say that there's a "learning curve" with Fox Two. Whilst this is true for some of its features, and as you start fiddling you realise there's a lot to Foxy, don't forget that she is principally a text editor. It's that simple. You'll find that most features are self explanatory, and logical. The help file is there, and do use it, otherwise you may not get the most out of her.

Right, before we get going, let's make sure that you've done the following:
  • Before installing Fox Two, if you need the updated dlls as described in the ReadMe.txt file, download them and install them first. And then reboot your machine. Very few people will need to do this these days.
  • Read the ReadMe.txt file. It contains important information that you ignore at your peril.
  • Make sure you've installed the software that came with your controllers (your joystick, throttle, rudders). Yes - that DOS C&CC software on the floppies. I thoroughly recommend you install to the default directories, and don't be tempted to install to a directory with a long file name: C:\Thrustmaster software is not a good idea! Follow the instructions in your manuals for setting up your controllers regarding TMScope, calibration etc.
  • Calibrate your controllers using the Windows Game Controllers applet in the Control Panel.
  • Remember that my Thrustmaster FAQ goes into all of this in detail and you really ought to go through it if you're in any doubt about your controllers and the way they should be set up.

So now you should be at the stage where you know that your controllers work, that downloading to them works, and that Windows recognises them. There are instructions on the Thrustmaster site (the support pages) and my Thrustmaster FAQto help you with this, and also there are updated downloaders in the support library as well as WinLoad by Bob Church - very important for Pentium II owners. All that remains now then is to install and run Fox Two.

When you run Fox Two for the first time, you're taken to the Preferences window, shown below. It is vital that you enter the correct information on this first tab, the File locations tab. So I'll spend some time now discussing what you need to be entering here.

Setting up your preferences

Program used to transfer joystick files to joystick

Programming your TM controllers involves generating a joystick file, usually with a macro file, and then downloading these to your controllers. The program that does this is called the Loader, well, that's what I call it, and it has two functions. The first is to convert your files into a format that the controllers can understand, and then to put them, (or download them) into your controllers. If all goes well, you can then go off and fly your sim. Fox Two makes this a painless procedure for you, in that you can do this with a press of a button or key (F12). However, it does need to know what program to use to do this, which depends on what controllers you have and where you installed your TM DOS software. You can see in the screen capture above that I have an F22 PRO joystick, a TQS throttle and the RCS rudders. The Loader that I need to use is called F22load.exe, and on my hard disk, it sits in the C:\Tm\F22 directory. So, look for one of these files that's appropriate to your controllers:

  • C:\Tm\F22\F22load.exe for the F22 Pro
  • C:\Tqs\b50load.exe for the FLCS/TQS combination
  • C:\Tm\mk2load.exe for the newer WCS files
  • C:\Tm\download.exe for the older WCS files.

Use the Browse button to make sure that you get the directory and loader name exactly right.

You'll notice in the above screen capture, that I'm using Bob Church's WinLoad to download my files .. it's much better I find than the old DOS loader. If you're using WinLoad, after you've installed it, copy the executable file and place it in the same directory as your DOS loader.

Default location for joystick and macro files

Now, when you installed your TM DOS software, it created a directory and placed a lot of joystick and macro files in there. This is the Programs directory. It is a very good idea to keep all your files in one directory. Fox Two uses this directory as the default directory to open your files from and to save them to, although it can load and save files anywhere. I'd advise you to keep your programs in the directory as setup by your TM DOS software. Do not use long filenames for this directory. C:\tm\f22\f22progs is fine, but C:\This is my TM programs directory\ is not! Again, use the Browse button to locate your programs directory.

For me, this is c:\tm\f22\f22progs for my F22 Pro/TQS setup and c:\tqs\programs for my F16-FLCS/TQS setup.

Batch file that runs Thrustmaster C&CC DOS software

Yup - this is the original software that you first stared at in horror when you bought your joystick. It's actually very good, but we're all just too used to Windows these days! Anyway, I need to know which batch file you use to run this software, not least because the Key Test part of it is way more accurate than mine because of the restrictions Windows places on me. If you don't know which batch file to use, use Explorer and navigate your way to the directory that contains your C&CC software, and then run the batch file (it ends in .bat) that starts the C&CC software. Just fiddle to find out which one to use.

For me this is c:\tm\f22\f22.bat for my F22 Pro/TQS setup and c:\tqs\tm.bat for my F16-FLCS/TQS setup.

At this stage, click on the OK button. Don't bother looking at the other Tabs in Preferences - you don't need to touch them at this point - you can always come back to them later to understand what they do/affect.

Location of CTFJ

If you have installed Bob Church's CTFJ (highly recommended) then tell Foxy where it is on your hard disk. If you haven't installed it, then just leave this blank.

Select your Thrustmaster hardware

This is pretty straightforward so there's no need for me to dwell on it here. I need to know this as it determines what are the default extensions I'm going to use to load and save your files with, and what images I ought to be showing in the Composer, which you can discover at your leisure.


Getting going ...

Right - well the first thing I would do is to copy across the files that Foxy put in the Samples directory, and place them in your programs directory. It's a good idea to fiddle with these first because you can corrupt them to your heart's content before you're sure that you'll trust Foxy with your own files. The first thing to do then is to open up a joystick file. Either press F8 or goto the File menu and select Open joystick file and its associated macro file. Foxy will point you at your programs directory - and select a joystick file to open (rather than a macro file) - say one of the samples I gave you. You'll see that Foxy will open it up, and the macro file associated with it, place the macros in the macro list on the left hand side of the Editor, and then apply colour highlighting to these files. (At this point, you may notice that some of the buttons's text in the macro list looks odd. If this is the case, it's because you've got Windows setup to show large fonts. I'm afraid Fox Two doesn't support large fonts. For me to correct this bug would actually be an enormous job as it affects the Composer as well, and as I never use large fonts, it's not something I'm keen to spend a 100 odd hours doing in my Dentistry final year - sorry!)

Now, if you want to download these files to your sticks, just hit the download button on the toolbar, or press F12. Simple huh! OK, let's go one step further and look at that macro list on the left hand side of the Editor. You'll see obviously the list of macros. If you click on one of the macros, then its definition appears on the Status bar on the bottom of the Editor. The ticks beside the macros tell you which macros have been inserted in your joystick file. You can tick and untick them at will to act as reminders. So, the question is, how do you go about editing your joystick file, or macro file? Well - simple. Just type! Remember...remember ...remember ...Fox Two may look daunting but it is principally a simple straightforward text editor. As you get into it, you'll realise it has some features that make file development a bit quicker and easier. For example, if you wanted to insert one of the macros in the macro list into your joystick file, you just click in the joystick file where you want to insert the macro, and then doubleclick the macro in the macro list. Simple, again! Or you can use drag and drop, but that's slower.

Are you starting to get the picture now? Fox Two isn't complicated - so don't be overwhelmed by all the buttons and menus etc.


That's enough for now - if you want to start getting adventurous, the features I would learn to start off with would be:

  • The Favourites menu
  • The Games menu
  • The Launcher

and probably in that order. If you're keen to start developing your own files, and you've never done so before, then goto the Wizards menu and start off with the Beginners Macro wizard. Or if you're an advanced user, press F3 to go to the Templates section of the Composer, and insert some templates to give you a good grounding upon which to base your files.

Remember ... fiddle, fiddle, fiddle! Then read the help file, the FAQ and if you still get stuck, just give me a buzz. I'm always here.

Best of luck!

 
   
 
 
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