Widescreen Gaming Forum

Any chance you could do a couple of comparison shots from the same place in the game ... one at 4:3 ... one in widescreen ...
If so ... just edit your first post to to insert them ... thanks ... :D

Although the latest patches for Falcon 4: Allied force add native support for widescreen resolutions, triplehead resolution need to be hacked in. To do this, open the Program FilesLead PursuitBattlefield Operationsconfigdisplay.dsp file in a hex editor. You will see something like this:

The first four nibbles (two-digit sets of numbers) govern the resolution used. The first two are the horizontal resolution, while the second two are the vertical resolution. The two sets are also reversed. The above sequence 00 05 C0 03 is my Allied Force resolution set to 1280x960. To confirm this, use the Window calculator to enter "0500" in hex mode (remember, the two nibbles are reversed) and then switch to decimal mode - you get 1280. If you do the same for C0 03 (enter "03C0") you get 960.

Falcon 4, even the updated Allied Force release, is DirectX 7 code. This means it is limited to maximum pixel spans of 2048 pixels. For TripleHead2Go use, this means it must be run at 1920x480. 1920 in hex is 0780, so change the first two nibbles to 80 07. 480 in hex is 01E0, so change the third and fourth nibbles to E0 01. Save the file and close it, and start Allied Force. As long as you don't go to the Graphics Options page, the set resolution will remain.

In order to get triplehead operation that is at least somewhat worth using, the game should be patched to the latest version. At the time of this posting that version is 1.0.11. However, note the numerous problems with Allied Force triplehead:
[list]
[*]At a resolution only 480 pixels high, all of the HUD and MFD text overlaps. Falcon 4 is a complex simulator requiring extensive use of the avionics. You've got to see this stuff to play the game, and at this resolution it can't be read.[/*:m]
[*]In the 2D cockpit view, the normally beautiful photorealistic cockpit is ugly due to the low resolution.[/*:m]
[*]In the 2D cockpit view the side monitors go black because there are only 2D graphics for 4:3 cockpit views.[/*:m]
[*]The 3D cockpit view provides a true triplehead image, but that cockpit is even uglier than the 2D representation.[/*:m][/list:u]

Credit for this solution belongs to "dunc" at Frugal's World, where he posted this thread.

Click the images below for full-size versions.

2D cockpit 1280x960


2D cockpit 1920x480



3D cockpit 1280x960


3D cockpit 1920x480



external view 1280x960


external view 1920x480

Cool ... :D

Looks cool, but I don't really find it playable. I know of at least one guy who considers it "just playable".

It would probably be playable if you had a simpit and had no need to use the 2D cockpit portions. I posted this to a thread in viperpits.org in hopes to see what their simpit experiences with this are like. Hopefully a few can chime in on this. I'd test it myself, but 2 of my SP5000 projectors have bulbs on backorder. Takes awhile for the cheap bulbs to ship from HK. $60 vs. $300 ftw. :wink: I only have 1 up and running atm.

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

Just to revisit this topic, I have successfully used a hex editor to get 2048x768 functional in Falcon 4 Allied Force 1.0.13.

The hex editing is a bit weird. The hex codes are put in backwards.

First get what your hexidecimal code is for your resolution. I used the following converter on the web: http://www.statman.info/conversions/hexadecimal.html

I want to set my resolution as 2048x768 because 2048 is the maximum pixel width allowed by a DirectX 7 application.

2048 = 08 00 in hex
768 = 03 00 in hex

Now that you know the resolution in hex, we now need a hex editor. I used xvi32 from here: http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm#download

Open your display.dsp file in the hex editor. It is located in "Lead Persuit/Battlefield Operations/config". It should show you a single row of hex in the editor. Only the first 4 two-number boxes are the ones we'll worry about.

This is where things get a bit confusing. They transpose the hex in the display.dsp file for some silly reason. The first 2 two-number boxes are for the resolution width (2048). One would think you'd put in 08 00, but the dsp file wants it as 00 08 for some weird reason. Next we'll do the resolution height (768). This gets put in as 00 03. I have not a single clue why they transpose the numbers like that, but whatever works...

This should allow you to use EyeFinity 2-display or TH2G/DH2G two-display to do multi-screen to the maximum resolution allowed by F4:AF. Hope this is useful to some that still play this game because I know there are a lot of you still out there that do in the sim building hobby.

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgI18A54yoo

Edit 12/22/2010:

Just an update to show it working with NTHUSIM and NVIDIA Surround at a really odd resolution 2046x768 on triple projection. There is method to my madness because DX7 maxes out at 2048 (682*3=2046) and 768 is the pixel height on my 1024x768 native projectors.

YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqDQ0F8eTKI

_________________
Brad Hawthorne
Product Manager
Nthusim Pty. Ltd. | www.nthusim.com

Thanks. Thread moved to Confirmed Multi-mon Solutions.

I have not a single clue why they transpose the numbers like that, but whatever works...

This was already the case in JKeefe's post. Look up "little endian" for an answer ;)
Also bookmark Tanuki's handy Basic Hex Helper Info sticky for your future hex-editing endeavors !