I picked up the Gamemon Universal USB Converter (FT8D91) from Walmart recently, and wanted to hook it up to my laptop to play Flanker 2.51 (more on that in the next post). It came with a mini-cd that I promptly lost (really just threw it away), since I figured I could always download it from the web.
Well it looks like these devices arent as well known as others, so it took a little googling to find the drivers.
- Install the v1.2 drivers
- A shortcut to the configuration settings program is left on your desktop. Change the compatibility mode to Windows 2000 (if you are running XP) to run it, and set the appropriate converter (I use an XBox controller) to enable.
I have been a fan of Russian fighter planes for quite some time now, all due to my exposure to Su-27 Flanker Squandron Commander’s Edition, a flight simulation game published by the now defunct SSI. The developers of the Su27 Flanker SCE are still around, and have produced follow-on products such as Flanker 2.51 and LockOn: Modern Air Combat (LoMAC). I have both, but have refused to purchase any of the later addons, like Flaming Cliffs, because they use the Starforce protection system. (I have bought two copies each of Flanker 1.5, Flanker 2, and LoMAC, I do not like being treated like a criminal with a protection system that is known to have adverse effects on systems)
Still, I think I like the original, polygon-graphics only game more than any other, primarily because I can still run this on practically any computer, including laptop.
However, there are a few additional things that are needed to easily run this game.
- Sound patch for NT/2000/XP OS’s.
- No CD patch
The former is a must, or else you will not get any sound at all in any Windows version after NT4. The latter is not a requirement, I currently use DaemonTools to mount an ISO image of the SCE disk.
Some miscellaneous utilities I have found and stored here as well include
Please be aware that I am the author of none of these fine pieces of software. I am mainly hosting these files for the foreseeable future because it was very difficult for me to find them when I reinstalled Flanker 1.5.
Update: One other aspect of running Flanker 1.5 on a modern PC is the fact that a USB joystick does not work properly—namely, the control inputs are erratic. The following post offers a solution. This post explains in greater detail what PPJoy and PPJoyJoy are. I’ve added a zip file of both here.
I am currently still in Japan, on vacation. While here I’ve picked up a Densha De Go  game, and have gotten back into this genre of rail/train sim games.
 The following are some games I’m thinking of ordering by mail
More about my trip in future posts once I get back home.