Dunkirk: May 1940
1.51 Installer Version Readme 1.02 
October 2003

1. Overview

The process of installing this addon requires the following stages: 
-downloading the installer file dunkirk151setup.exe 
-making a new installation of EAW into which the addon will be put, 
-installing the addon into the new EAW installation, 
-making adjustments for best results.

2. Downloading

The installshield file dunkirk151setup.exe (68 MB) is contained in the zip file dunkirk151setup.zip and can be downloaded from the appropriate page at the Dunkirk site at RAF Chattenden. Do not use download managers or firewalls when downloading this file, and if using Winzip, do not use the "open from" option, but do use the "save to disk" option.

3. Making a new install of EAW

This addon will not operate completely except in a separate install of EAW. So the next step is to make a new install of EAW. It is perfectly possible to have many installs of EAW as the programme does not make unhelpful registry entries. There are ways of minimising duplication of the large EAW CDF files, but for now, if you have never made a new install before, just simply run the installation programme from the CD and set up the new install in a new folder. It does not matter what you call this folder, but lets assume you call it "EAW-Dunkirk". 

Patch this new install up to 1.2 This is very important!

Run it to ensure it is working.

Go to the configuration menu and make sure this is set to allow the intro to run (you can turn it off later if you want), 

4. Installing the files

Unzip dunkirk151setup.exe from the zip file, shut down all other programmes, and run then run it. The Installshield installer will install all the Dunkirk addon files in the correct place, including those in the hierarchy of subfolders. All you have to do is choose the correct folder to install into, which will be the folder containing your new EAW install

5. Starting the Addon

Always start this addon by using the Dunkirk Manager. This is the file "Dunkirk.exe" located in the squadata subfolder. Setup will place an icon on the desktop, but you may want to change the icon and use one of the icons located in the "Icons" subfolder.

You always want Dunkirk.exe to run in fullscreen mode, so right click on it and adjust the properties:

On the "Program" tab set "Run" to "Maximised" and check the "Close on exit" box;

	On the "Screen" tab make "Usage" to "Fullscreen"

	Click okay and see Windows create the .pif file.

Things to note with dunkirk.exe:

(1) Press any key to get past the opening bitmap and quote screens;

(2) you may get a pause and a blank screen occasionally, and especially before the "phase" menu loads due to file swapping operations being carried out in the background. This will usually clear in a few seconds;

(3) You may also get a short delay after the Manager announces that EAW is about to start;

(4) If the manager does get stuck for any period of time in a blank screen press "ctrl-break" and then any key to exit the Manager and run it again

When you start the Dunkirk Manager it will ask you to make a choice as to which mode you want to run:

               Dunkirk May 1940      
                     Main Menu               
 1. Play Open EAW Daytime Mode         
 2. Play Open EAW Nightime Mode       
 3. Play Squadron Missions Allied side 
 4. Play Squadron Missions Axis side   

The first and second modes enable you immediately to enter EAW and fly standard user defined single missions in day time or nightime, using the addon aircraft, and the frontline and bases for the central 29th May-1st June phase of operation Dynamo. 

"Instant missions" and "pilot career" are excluded from the main screen and are not operative in this addon.

The heart of the addon are modes 3 and 4 which enable you to fly the Allied or Axis "squadron missions". These are saved single missions set up to reflect the actual or type of, missions flown by these squadrons in each phase of Operation Dynamo, and associated theatres.

If you choose 3 or 4 the Manager will then ask you to choose a squadron:

Option 3 will give you the allied squadrons ...

                                              Dunkirk 1940                               
                           Squadron Missions: Allied Air Forces                  
                                                                          
  RAF 11 Group Fighter Command        RAF Bomber Command                 
  A. No.19 Squadron Spitfire mkI          G. No.110 Squadron Blenheim IV   
  B. No.17 Squadron Hurricane mkI       H. No.37 Squadron Wellington Ia  
  C. No.264 Squadron Defiant mkI                                      

  RAF Coastal Command                       RAF Advanced Air Striking Force    
  D. No.220 Squadron Hudson mkI        I. No.1 Squadron Hurricane mkI     
                                                             J. No.103 Squadron Battle mkI      

  Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm                    Armee de l'Air and Aeronavale      
  E. No.801 Squadron Skua mkII            K. GC 8/II MB152                    
  F. No.825 Squadron Swordfish mkI     L. AB1 V156                         

Option 4 will give you the German squadrons ...

                               Dunkirk 1940               
             Squadron Missions: Axis Air Forces    
                                           
                                    Fighters                 
                        A. II./JG52 Bf109E-1           
                        B. II./JG26 Bf109E-3           
                        C. III./JG3 Bf109E-4           
                        D. II./ZG26 Bf110C-1           
                        E. II./ZG52 Bf110C-2           

                              Night Fighters              
                        F. IV./JG2  Bf109D-1           
                        G. ZG1(NVS) Bf110C-1            

                                Bombers                  
                        H. 7./StG2  Ju87B    

Once you choose a squadron the Manager will display a screen giving some background information about that squad, and when you move on it will check to see whether or not those files are already set up, and if not, it will load them. It will alert you to the fact that some of the missions for that squadron may be night missions, and ask you to choose whether or not to run in night or day mode. If you choose the wrong time of day you can exit EAW and run the manager again and choose the correct time of day for the mission you wish to fly. 

Finally, before launching EAW, the Manager will ask you to choose the phase of the operation:

                     Dunkirk May 1940            
                     Operation Phases            
                                       
                   1. 26th to 28th May             
                   2. 29th May to 1st June         
                   3. 2nd  to 4th June             

These time periods relate to the successive reduction of the Flanders/Dunkirk pocket, and effect the frontline and the occupation of towns and bases, and the position of the fighting armies.  

After loading the files for the chosen phase, the Manager will start EAW in the chosen mode.

When EAW starts the main screen will tell you if it is in day time or night time mode, and will also display the squadron whose mission files are set up. You can then choose the "Mission" option to go to the aircraft selection screen. If you are not in the right selection screen you will be told. When you get to the right selection screen the loaded squadron will be highlighted and can be chosen (You cannot make any other choice in that screen). You are then taken to the hangar screen. 

From the hangar screen:

(1) Go to the mission setup screen. Here you choose "Load" and then select the mission you wish to fly from the list presented, which contains all the missions flown by the squadron in that phase of the operation. The Missions for each squadron are presented in a numerical sequence relating the date and time of day flown. Some squadrons may fly four or more missions a day, some squadrons may only fly one mission a day. On certain days no missions at all were flown. Once the mission is loaded you will see the broad nature of it, and the weather conditions and target location, but just like any real pilot, you will not be informed of the identity of any opposing aircraft. You will have to discover that for yourself during the mission. You can choose here to start the mission in the air if you wish to. Choose "Okay" to return to the hangar screen.

(2) Go to the Loadout screen. If you are flying a bombing mission or flying the Hudson, you may have a choice of ordnance. In some bomber ordnance loads are primitive 1940 marker flares. These can be dropped using the rocket launch command. If you are flying fighters, there will be no ordnance to load. In any event from the ordnance screen you can go to the Briefing screen and see a summary of the known details of the mission. Choose okay to return to the hangar screen.

(3) Fly the mission. See the additional guidance for flying bomber missions. It is actually possible to hit a target in the dark from 15,000 feet.

At the end of your mission you will return as usual to the debriefing screen and see a summary of targets hit, enemy aircraft destroyed, and if you have earned any points. 

6. How the addon works

The four different modes of the addon are run by four edited exe files, one of which is loaded into the EAW-Dunkirk folder during mission setup. All of these will be named as "eaw.exe" to prevent any WindowsXP compatibility problems. The Dunkirk Manager will not use any standard exe file such as eaw12.exe in your Dunkirk folder, though the standard exes will run the addon in basic open mode without the features mentioned below.  

The exes which run the open modes are lightly edited versions of EAW12a.exe and DOM's original Night.exe, which doesn't  cause system crashes. The edits simply change certain features of the tmod slots (points score, armour, scale etc), move out the "Wall" at the edge of the EAW world so that the bases on the fringe of the EAW map are useable, and make changes to the formations to make them more appropriate to the aircraft flying in the various slots. In the night mode version of the exe for the Wellingtons, for example, I have a long drawn out line astern formation which is the best I can get towards the early idea of the "bomber stream".

The exes which run the squadron mission modes are more heavily edited versions of 1.2a and Night.exe - these extended edits relate to the files called by name or through other files. The two squadron mission modes use screens, menus, string files, and the "world setup files" under different names. For example standard EAW uses a file called Tardata.dat to set out the target objects in a specific location. The Sqd exes use instead a file called Tsqdata.dat. In fact it uses three different versions of that file depending on the phase of the operation being flown. The different versions of files like that are swapped in when you make the choices in the Dunkirk Manager.

The happy outcome of all this is that the Sqd exe files can use all the common elements in the Dunkirk folder - terrain, ground objects, aircraft, speech files and all the unedited files from the CDF files. At the same time they can use different screens and menus and base and frontline setup. Meanwhile you can use the addon in "Open" mode to fly user defined missions of your own.

7. Making adjustments for best  results

This addon has more than twice the number of ground targets than in the original game. In some locations ground targets are very heavily concentrated. Depending on the specifications of your computer and video card you may have to make certain choices. If you have a system with a processor faster than 600 MHz and a video card with 32 MB or more of video memory you can probably max out the graphic choices. However, it might be wise to check that you are not running two many other things in the background whilst playing this addon.

If you have a lower spec machine you may experience a slow down in the frame rate at certain locations, and it may be necessary to reduce resolution, or reduce some of the graphic choices to compensate, and to ensure that no other programmes (including virus checkers) are being run in the background. The standard games utility "End-itAll" (from any freeware site) may be useful in this respect.

If you are using a Glide based video card, you may need to install the glide  skins from the glide wingview fix folder.

The Alternative Skins subfolder contains variant skins for the Dunkirk aircraft made by members of the EAW community. To use these, backup the existing skins somewhere safe, and drop the alternative skins into the EawDunkirk folder in the time honoured fashion. 

8. Possible problems and Fixes

I cannot tell you that this addon has been exhaustibly tested on all types of machine and video cards. It has however been tested on a number of video cards and machines and has run quite happily. I have flown literally hundreds of missions on my machine (PIII 550 MHz 224 MB memory Matrox 32MB video card ) and experienced nothing worse than the occasional slow down at some heavily populated target locations.

It is possible however that certain machines or video cards may produce odd results. If you get something like this please (1) ensure you have followed the setup process correctly, (2) email me or post on the EAW forum at SimHQ.com. Please give details about your system and video card.

Distorted cockpits

One technical problem that has been reported from other EAW setups involving a large number of edited files, and in particular a large number of additional ground object skin files, is garbled virtual cockpits and cockpit wing views. I have not experienced this problem with the Dunkirk setup, but others have. This problem may relate to the way EAW allocates memory for certain types of file.

Two methods have evolved for dealing with this problem:

(1) turning down the ground object detail to "medium" in the configuration setup

or

(2) removing some of the hi-res ground objects. Usually removing the railway objects with the filenames tmod43_*.3dz to tmod49_*.3dz cures this problem

Problems running the Manager

It has been reported that the Manager may sometimes not run properly, particularly on XP systems. The following fixes have worked to cure this problem

(1)	set XP compatibility for the manager as well as eaw.exe

(2)	run the manager either directly from your file manager or desktop shortcut

(3)	change the name of the Dunkirk folder so that it conforms with eight letter DOS conventions i.e. “Dunkirk”

Moggy
23rd October 2003

Mogggy@btinternet.com