For Microsoft^* Flight Simulator

FS Force is an add-on module for Microsoft^* Flight Simulator 2002 / 2004 that provides dynamic force feedback effects in response to changing flight conditions.  On the ground, you'll feel bumps, dips, pavement grooves, sharp cornering, braking forces, hard landings and more. In the air, you'll feel realistic trim forces, and centering forces that vary with airspeed. You can also add friction and damping to the flight controls to further enhance realism.  Each airplane can have it's own force feedback profile, and all forces are optional and fully customizable.  Your force feedback experience can be as subtle or intensive as you like.

Installing, uninstalling, and upgrading

Getting Started

FS Force Trim System

Flying With FS Force

Trouble Shooting

Profile Manager

Profiles

Ground Effects & Tutorial

Appendix A : Config File

Appendix B : Known Issues

Appendix C : Hardware Compatibility

Appendix D : Activation FAQ

Appendix E : Activating Via Direct Internet Connection

Appendix F : Activation Via Email

Appendix G : Revision History

1. First ensure that no copies of Flight Simulator are running. Also be sure that you are logged onto Windows as a user with administrator privileges.  

2. Unzip the download package into a temporary folder, then double-click on the file "Setup.exe".  A Setup Wizard will guide you through the necessary steps.

3. After you complete the setup wizard, there are still several things that need to be configured manually in Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) and in FS Force.  See the Getting Started section below for complete details.

UNINSTALLING

• Use Add / Remove Programs from the Control Panel.  

• You can also uninstall from the Start menu program group.

• The uninstall program does not delete files that you may have customized, which includes FSFORCE.CFG (your profile settings are stored there), and all files in the GroundOps folder.  To do a complete uninstall, you will have to manually delete those files.

        After uninstalling ...

• Check the FS200x\modules folder to make sure fsforce.dll is no longer present.

• Start up MSFS, and re-program your Elevator Trim Up & Elevator Trim Down commands (Settings > Assignments) and re-enable force feedback (Settings > Joystick Forces)

UPGRADING

New versions of FS Force will be made available periodically as bugs are fixed or new features added.  If you are a registered user, these upgrades will generally be free of charge, up to and including version 2.xx.  The general procedure for upgrading is simply to install the new version over top of the old one.  You don't normally need to uninstall.

When you upgrade over an existing installation, the setup program will not overwrite the .cfg file (that is where all your profiles are stored), nor will it overwrite any of the GroundOp files (in case you customized any of them).

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Step 1  

After the Setup program is complete, use the shortcut on your desktop to start the Profile Manager.

The first thing you will see is a listing of all aircraft found in your system.  Note that it combines aircraft from both FS2002 and FS2004 (if applicable).  A default profile will be assigned to aircraft that are recognized (MSFS default aircraft), others will be left blank.  You can assign profiles by double-clicking on the line containing the aircraft.  If an aircraft does not have a profile assigned to it, and you select it in MSFS for a flight, it will ask you at that time what profile you want to use.  There will also be an option to permanently assign that profile to that aircraft.

Step 2   

The Profile and Options tab will be described later, as they are not really important in terms of getting the program to work for the first time.  The one exception is if you have more than one force feedback device.  In that case, use the Options page to select which device you want to use.

Step 3  

The "Trim Assignments" page has some important settings.  Make sure the trim commands are properly set up according to your preferences.  To change any assignments, click on the corresponding "Clear" button, and then press the key or click the joystick button that you want for that function.

You might wonder why this needs to be done since these exact same settings are in MSFS.  The reason is that FS Force has it's own trim system, and it needs to know what keys and buttons to respond to.  In Step 5 below, you will be disabling the MSFS trim system.

Step 4 

You can now close the Profile Manager and start up MSFS.  The first thing to do is disable the default force feedback settings in MSFS.  Select Settings > Joystick Forces,  and disable all forces.  The reason this is important is because under DirectX, conflicts will occur if both MSFS and FS Force try to control the joystick at the same time.

Step 5

Since FS Force has it's own trim system, the next thing you need to do is disable the MSFS trim system. The way to do that is to delete the control assignments for elevator trim.   Select Settings > Assignments from the menu, then select "Control surface commands" from the Event category list box. Scroll down until you see Elevator Trim Up and Elevator Trim Down.  It is suggested that you delete only the joystick assignments -- leave the keyboard ones in place.  The reason for leaving the keyboard assignments in place is because in certain situations (described below) you may actually want to adjust the old MSFS trim system, and this will give you a way to do so.   NOTE : If you normally use the keyboard to make trim changes, please read the side-bar for special instructions.

The reason you need to disable the MSFS trim system is because FS Force has it's own trim system which provides a much greater degree of realism, and it's important that the two systems are not operating at the same time.  The next section below is all about the FS Force trim system and how it compares to the MSFS trim system, and how that all relates to the auto pilot.  This should be considered important reading. 

Step 6  (Saitek Joysticks only)

If you have a Saitek Cyborg 3D Force Stick, there is an important step that you need to complete.  You need to start up the Profile Manager and edit each of the profiles to assign the ground effects profile to "Saitek Grooves".  Due to the way the Saitek joystick implements DirectX, "regular bumps" (a certain type of ground effect) do not work on this joystick.  They can however, be simulated with "random bumps", where the random value is kept very low.  The "Saitek Grooves" profile has been set specifically for this purpose.

If this applies to you, follow these steps:

1. Start the Profile Manager, and select the second page, Profiles.

2. Select the first profile, and click the Edit button.

3. Click on the Ground Ops tab.

4. Select "Saitek Grooves" from the drop-down list box.

5. Click Ok

6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each of the remaining profiles.

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You have now completed the necessary steps to configure FS Force and MSFS, and are now ready to start a flight using your favourite aircraft.  If you happen to pick an aircraft that does not have a profile assigned to it, a dialog box will come up asking you which profile you want to use.

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This section explains how to fly using the new FS Force trim system, and how it is different from the old MSFS trim system.

Take-Off

Before taking off, be sure to set your trim to the take-off position.  You will notice that when you're on the ground, the trim wheel will turn as normal on the aircraft control panel. How can that be, since you disabled the MSFS trim system?  What is happening is that the FS Force trim system is relaying your trim commands to the MSFS trim system.  Once you get into the air, that will stop, and the trim wheel will no longer move when you make trim changes.

In some situations the trim wheel will "jump" by a large amount the first time you press the trim button.  This is because the first time you press a trim button, FS Force sends a command to the MSFS trim system to cause the two systems to synchronize.  The FS Force trim always starts out at zero (neutral position), whereas the MSFS trim starts at a variety of places depending on the aircraft, and so they may be out of synch. 

Climb-Out & Cruise

After take-off, establish the desired pitch and airspeed for your climb-out.  If you are experiencing any control forces, trim them out.  This is where you should begin to notice some differences.  First of all, the trim wheel on the control panel will not move!  This is as it should be.  Second, you will find that you do not have to make any compensating movements of the joystick while making trim changes.   

Know Your Systems

One thing you may have heard preached in real-world aviation is "Know Your Systems", meaning that you should have a thorough understanding of every system on the aircraft. With that in mind, this section will attempt to describe the old MSFS trim system and compare it to the new FS Force trim system.

You may not have ever noticed it, but with the old MSFS trim system, while making trim changes, you had to make compensating movements of the joystick in order to maintain your current pitch attitude.  In a real plane you do not have to do this, so the question is, why did you have to it with the MSFS trim system.  The reason has to do with the fact that the MSFS trim system was designed for mechanical joysticks (non-FF).  With a mechanical joystick the only place where you can experience no resistance (the feeling of being "in-trim") is at the center.  But let's say you're flying along at cruise speed and you've got the stick pushed forward to keep from climbing.  Because it is a mechanical joystick, you're having to push against the springs.  Now let's say you want to trim the aircraft.  The only way to "feel" in trim is to have the joystick at the center, but how are you going to get it there without going into a climb?  What Microsoft did was devise a very clever system such that when you make trim changes, the flight simulator is actually shortening or lengthening the linkage between your joystick and the "virtual" elevator, to allow you to slowly bring the joystick to center while maintaining your current pitch attitude (or at least, trying to!).  There is an interesting side-effect to this : by holding the joystick steady and making trim changes (under the old system) you could actually climb and descend the aircraft!!  Of course you cannot do that in a real aircraft.  (This becomes important in the "Unusual Aircraft" section below).  So while you may see a trim tab visually on the exterior of the aircraft, in terms of the flight dynamics, the aircraft basically does not have one.

But of course, with force feedback joysticks this is all completely unnecessary.  The centering force can be positioned (via DirectX commands) anywhere within the range of motion of the joystick, not just in the center.  That means you can experience the feeling of being in trim with the joystick pushed forward, or with it pulled back into your lap (at slow speeds), exactly like you would in a real plane.  But sadly Microsoft never bothered to modified the simulator to take advantage of this.  That is why it is important to disable the MSFS trim system.   With the new FS Force trim system, you don't have to move the joystick at all while making trim changes.  Just hold it steady and keep trimming until you no longer can feel any control force.  The "sweet spot" comes to you, rather than you having to go find it. 

After leveling off at your cruise altitude, you're speed will increase and you will probably have to push the joystick further forward to keep from climbing, unless of course you have already engaged the autopilot. Again, trim away the control forces as described above. 

Autopilot Engage

At some point you may decide to engage the autopilot.  This requires some discussion.  When you engage the autopilot, MSFS almost completely ignores the position of your joystick (with AP engaged, you can push the joystick all the way forward or back, with very little affect on pitch) and begins flying the aircraft using the trim wheel.  Thus, at this point you WILL once again see the trim wheel moving on your control panel.  However, since FS Force stopped relaying trim commands to the old MSFS trim system just after take-off, the MSFS trim wheel is probably still in the take-off position, which is usually neutral or somewhat "nose-up".  So you will probably find that when you engage the AP your aircraft will suddenly pitch up as MSFS frantically starts putting in nose-down trim to keep the aircraft at the desired pitch and altitude.

The important thing to note is that this is not an entirely new problem introduced by FS Force.  It was really there all along, especially with FS2004.  That is because with FS2004 Microsoft decided to reduced the centering forces to such an extent that you could hardly feel whether you were in-trim or out-of-trim, so like me you may not have bothered to change the trim that much while in flight.  Thus, when you engaged the autopilot, the trim wheel was usually not where it was supposed to be, and the aircraft would pitch up or down as the autopilot tried to move the trim wheel to the "correct" position.

The solution to this problem is to use the keyboard trim commands (which we left connected to the MSFS trim system in Step 5 in Getting Started) to adjust the MSFS trim to a more "nose down" position prior to engaging the autopilot.  Of course there is no way to know exactly where to set it, but with experience you should be able to get it fairly close.  This of course is far from being an ideal solution.  Any time you make changes to the MSFS trim system, you re-introduce the destabilizing affects it has on pitch, which makes it difficult to fly smoothly.  Future versions of FS Force will attempt to handle this adjustment for you automatically.

Autopilot Disengage

When it comes time to disengage the autopilot, you should be pleasantly surprised to find that there is no sudden pitching of the aircraft up or down.  While the AP was on, FS Force was slowly bringing the joystick back to center (you probably didn't even feel it), which is where the MSFS system expects it to be.  

Unusual Aircraft

Certain addon aircraft have unusual lift characteristics, such that in some situations it can be impossible to effectively control the aircraft in MSFS.  For instance, you might have an aircraft that generates so much lift at cruise speed that it can be very difficult to keep it from climbing, even with the joystick pushed all the way forward.  Under the old MSFS trim system, you could deal with that by putting in lots of nose-down trim.  Now the question should be asked : how could trim affect an aircraft in that kind of manner?  How can making trim changes give you more or less "elevator authority".  Well, in a real aircraft, it can't  The only thing trim does in a real aircraft is affect the amount of force that is required to hold the control yoke in a given position.  As long as you're strong enough, you can fly a plane no matter what position the trim is in.  

But MSFS is different.  As described above, when you make trim changes you are actually shortening and lengthening the linkage between the joystick and the "virtual" elevator, and if you do it too much, you will run out of elevator travel and no longer be able to maintain control of the aircraft.  That is another reason why it is a good idea to keep the keyboard assignments connected to the MSFS trim system, so you can make necessary adjustments to the MSFS trim system when flying these "unusual" aircraft.  Note that none of the default MSFS aircraft exhibit these tendencies.

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When you're in the simulator, there are a number of new commands that are used to control FS Force.  These commands can be found under Options / FS Force.  (Note: Non-English version of MSFS - the menu will be located directly off the main menu.)

Stop All Forces - this stops all forces, and puts FS Force into an inactive state.  Selecting this command again restarts the forces.  You might want to select this command prior to engaging slew mode, otherwise you will experience erratic forces as you zoom from place to place.

Reload Profile - this command re-loads the profile settings from disk.  Use this command when you have changed the profile and want to begin experiencing the new effects immediately.  The hotkey for this is Shift-O.  (the letter)

Select Profile - use this command to choose a different profile for the current aircraft.  You generally do not have to select this command for every flight.  FS Force detects what aircraft you have chosen, and loads the assigned profile.  If the aircraft you choose does not have an assigned profile, FS Force will display a dialog box asking you to select a profile.

Re-initialize FS Force - if FS Force is not behaving the way you think it should, you can try re-initializing.  This causes FS Force to re-initialize its handle to DirectX, as well as reloading the profile and restarting forces.  The hotkey for this is Shift-I

Launch Profile Manager - this allows you to launch Profile Manager.

                                English Version MSFS                                                                 Non-English Version MSFS

Hot Keys

The hotkeys mentioned above (for Reload Profile and Re-init FS Force) were added at the last minute due to suggestions by beta testers.  As a result, you cannot change the hotkey assignments from the UI, but only by editing FSForce.cfg.  The procedure is somewhat awkward, since the .cfg file uses scan codes, and you will have no way of knowing what scan code to enter for a given keystroke.  Use the following method.

1. Start Profile Manager and go to the Trim Assignments page.  Write down the current key assignment for Trim Up. 

2. Re-assign Trim Up to the hotkey you want to use for one of the above commands.

3. Close Profile Manager and open up FSForce.cfg.  This file is located in the same folder as Profile Manager.

4. Look in the [General] section for KeyTrimUp.  The numbers you see on that line are the desired scan codes.  Transfer them over to either KeyReload or KeyReinit, whichever one you are doing.

5. Restart Profile Manager and put the Trim Up command back the way it was.

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If FS Force does not appear to be working properly, use this checklist to try to solve the problem.

1. Make sure your joystick shows up in Control Panel > Game Controllers.  Use the properties page to test the forces.  Most joysticks have a "test" page where you can test various forces by pressing each button.  If you don't have such a test page, it could be because you are using the default drivers that came with Windows XP.  If you install the drivers that came with the joystick, that should give you a test page.

2. Make sure that forces are disabled in MSFS (Settings > Joystick Forces)

3. Make sure your joystick is compatible with FS Force 

4. Try connecting your joystick to a different USB port.

5. If you have more than one force feedback device, make sure you have the correct one selected in the Profile Manager.

6. Start up Profile Manager and check to see if you get any forces using the virtual aircraft.

7. In flight simulator, check the menu to see if Options > FS Force is present.  If it's not there, that means FS Force has not loaded properly.

8. Check that the file "fsforce.dll" has been copied into the folder "FS200x\modules".

9. Make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your video card.  Both your video card and your joystick use DirectX, and in some cases there can be negative interactions between the two if the video drivers are out of date.

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PROFILE MANAGER

The following sections will explain each screen of the Profile Manager.

AIRCRAFT

As mentioned in Getting Started, the first screen shows all the aircraft in your system, as well as the profile assigned to each one.  To assign a different profile, double-click on the aircraft.  Each time you run the Profile Manager, it scans the Aircraft folder of MSFS to see if you have added any new aircraft.  If so, it adds them to the list, but leaves the profile blank, so you can make your own assignment.

PROFILES

The Profiles page shows the profiles available in your system, with buttons to create new ones, edit existing ones, or to rename or delete profiles.  See below for a whole section devoted to profiles.

OPTIONS

The options page shows a number of miscellaneous options that you can configure:

Show Trim Indicator - Selecting this option will cause a small indicator window to briefly appear in MSFS every time you make trim changes.  The window will show the current position of the trim tab.  

Trigger is brake - If you exclusively use the trigger on your joystick to activate the brakes, select this option.  If you use another device for braking, uncheck this option.  When this option is checked, FS Force can be slightly more efficient and timely in determining when the brakes are being applied.

Repeat Rate - This is the number of times per second that the trim button will repeat.  Note that FS Force only polls the joystick 8 times per second.  Theoretically it makes no sense to enter a larger number here, but tests have shown that the numbers in the trim indicator seem to scroll more smoothly with a higher number.

Repeat Delay - This is the number of milliseconds after which the trim button will begin repeating.

Click Amount - This value determines how much the trim changes with each click.  The full range of trim motion spans 20,000 units.  Note that if you change this amount, it will change the range of numbers that are displayed in the trim indicator window while you're flying.

Force Feedback Device - If you have more than one force feedback device, use this drop-down list box to select which one you want to use with FS Force.

TRIM ASSIGNMENTS

Since FS Force has its own trim system, you need to tell it what keys and buttons you would like to use to make trim changes.  To change an assignment, first click on the corresponding "Clear" button, and then press the appropriate key on your keyboard or button on your joystick.  (For picture click here)

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Profiles are accessed from the second page in the Profile Manager.  You can either create a new profile or edit an existing one.  Either of these options will bring up another multi-page dialog box, explained below.

AILERON (& ELEVATOR)

The first two pages allow you to specify centering forces for your ailerons and elevator.  You do so by editing the graph, which plots airspeed vs centering force.  The centering force is expressed as a percent of the total force your joystick is capable of producing.  

To edit the graph, simply click and drag the points.  To add new points, click between existing points.  To delete a point, click on it to select it, then press Delete on your keyboard.

You can use the slider at the top to increase or decrease the scale of the graph (stretch it or shrink it horizontally).  This has no effect on FS Force, rather it is simply to allow you to work more effectively with your graph.

It is recommended that you begin each graph with a flat spot at 0% force.  The reason is because you will often want to apply a bit of friction or damping to the controls, which you want to feel when the aircraft is at rest, or taxiing.  You will find that a centering force, even if it is very small, interferes substantially with the friction and damping effects.  Putting a flat spot in the graph will delay the centering force until you're actually in your take-off roll.

VIRTUAL AIRCRAFT

To the right of each of the pages we are now describing, you will see the "Virtual Aircraft" panel (or VA for short).  This is a virtual aircraft that you can use to test the forces you are adjusting, without having to start up MSFS every time you make a change.  Note that you have to click the Apply button before you will notice the changes in the VA.  Use the joystick throttle to control the speed.  The check box can be used to simulate take-offs and landings.  To test landing impact forces, enter a negative value in the VSpeed box, in FPM (feet per minute).  Use the button to raise and lower the landing gear (to test out gear thumps and gear buffeting forces).

The scale of the graph determines how fast the VA can go, and also how fast it accelerates and decelerates.

You don't have to use the VA to test forces, though.  You can have the Profile Manager and MSFS both running at the same time, and switch back and forth between them.  That way you can test forces right in the game, which allows you to get a better sense for how the effects will feel.  You must remember to save your changes first (by using the Apply button), and then reloading the profile in MSFS (select Options / FS Force / Reload Profile from the menu.  Or use the reload hotkey, Shift-O).  Also, remember to put MSFS into PAUSE mode every time you switch back to Profile Manager, otherwise there will be a conflict over who controls the joystick.

STATIC FORCES

This page allows you to set up friction or damping forces on your controls, as well as set the elevator weight.  Both friction and damping are unaffected by airspeed.  The forces are expressed as a percentage of the total force your joystick is capable of producing.  The difference between friction and damping is that damping is a resistance that increases the faster you try to move the controls, whereas with friction the resistance is constant.  Think of damping as trying to move an object through a heavy, stiff liquid like molasses. 

You can have the static forces fade out at a certain airspeed if you wish.  Certain joysticks do not combine forces very well.  The resistance becomes increasingly "notchy" when you combine static forces with centering forces.  If you find this to be the case, enter an airspeed above which the static forces will begin to fade out.

Elevator weight is a forward pull that you will feel on the joystick when the aircraft is at rest or taxiing.  As your speed increases, the elevator weight will eventually be neutralized by the elevator centering force.

GROUND OPS

This page allows you to choose a ground operation effect, which is a set of parameters and specifications that determines what kinds of forces you will feel as you taxi along the ground.  This typically includes things like pavement grooves, bumps, dips and vibrations.  The program comes with a variety of pre-made ground effects for you to use.  Make your selection from the top list box.  The bottom list box is simply to browse through the available effects to view their descriptions.

The gain slider can be used to increase or decrease the overall strength of the ground effect you have selected.

Ground effects can be customized, and you can create your own.  Click here for more information.

Note that the ground effects that come with the program go to quite a high top speed.  The last thing you want is to rotate a bit late with your 747 and have the ground effect stop playing, making you think you just took off when in fact your still on the ground!!

Also, the high top speed does not mean you cannot use them for slower aircraft.  It just means you'll never get into some of the higher speed vibrations.  If you want this, follow the tutorial in the advanced topics to create your own "low speed" ground op effect file.

The following is  a detailed description of the default ground effect profiles.

Basic

This is a very simple but effective ground effect.  It consists of pavement grooves, or "bumps", which begin at 5 kts and extend to 180 kts.  As the bumps are fading out, a vibration fades in, which continues up to 250 kts.  This effect can be used with any type of aircraft.

Taxi1

This is is exactly like Basic, except there is an additional swaying effect during taxiing.

Taxi2

This is exactly like Basic, except there is a random bumpiness and vibration during taxiing.

Run-up Vibs [Heavy]

This has pavement grooves, full throttle take-off vibrations, and high speed vibrations.  The Heavy version has smooth taxiing.  The run-up vibrations are active from stand-still until about 50 - 60 kts, at which time they transition to pavement grooves.  The grooves transition into vibrations at about 140 kts. On landing, the grooves go all the way down to 5 kts. 

Complex Vibs [Heavy]

This effect is identical to the previous one, except the high speed vibrations are more varied and complex.  You will experience various vibrations and wobbles as your speed increases. 

Saitek Grooves

This is a special version of Basic Grooves especially for Saitek joysticks.  Saitek joysticks do not support "regular bumps", only "random bumps", and so you must be sure to use this effect profile if you have a Saitek joystick.

FULL THROTTLE DETECTION

The previous section mentioned certain ground op effects that are active only during the take-off run.  FS Force normally considers your aircraft to be in take-off mode when the throttle is advanced past 80%.  This is fine for most GA aircraft.  However, most jets are not designed to be operated at full throttle, as this will cause the N1 value to exceed 100% (especially the default 747).   With these aircraft, it would be more appropriate to base the take-off mode on N1 rather than throttle position. 

You can instruct FS Force to use N1 rather than throttle position by placing a special line in the fsforce.cfg file.  (This was a last minute addition, which is why there is no way to do this using the Profile Manager UI).  Open up the .cfg file and locate the profile section you want to modify.  For instance, if you were modifying Regional Jet profile, you would look for the section [Regional Jet].  Then add the line "UseN1=1" anywhere in that section.

Note that this setting will affect all aircraft that use that profile.  Also note that both the Jet Heavy and the Jet Medium profiles have already been set up with this configuration.

BRAKING

This page allows you to set up various braking effect options.

Braking Force - this is the amount of forward pull you will feel when you apply the brakes.

High Speed Braking Vibration - select this option to enable high speed braking vibration

Intensity - this sets the magnitude of the braking vibrations.

Begin Ramp / End Ramp - the braking vibrations will begin to fade out when the speed of the aircraft drops below the Begin Ramp value.  They will have completely faded out when the speed drops below the End Ramp value.

MISC

This page allows you to set a variety of options:

Cornering Force - use this to adjust the strength of cornering forces. The number to the right indicates the speed at which you will feel maximum lateral stick force in response to a maximum rudder deflection turn. The higher that number, the less force you will feel for any given turn.

Landing Impact - use this to adjust the impact forces you feel at landing. The number just below is the feet per minute descent rate at which you will experience maximum impact forces. The higher that number, the less impact you will feel for any given landing.

Min Force - if you want to experience a slight bump, no matter how good your landing, enter that in this box.

Gear Thumps - specify the magnitude of the thumps you want to feel on gear retraction and extension. Enter 0 to disable gear thumps.

Gear Buffet Intensity - specify the magnitude of the gear buffeting vibrations. Enter 0 to disable gear buffeting.

Buffet Duration - specify how long (in seconds) after gear extension the gear buffeting should continue. Enter -1 to have buffeting continue indefinitely as long as the gear is down. Enter 0 to disable gear buffeting.

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FS Force comes with a variety of ground effect profiles, but if you want to modify them or create your own, you will need to hand edit the text files in the "GroundOps" folder, which can be found just under the folder in which you installed the Profile Manager.  Ground effect files have the extension ".txt", but otherwise can be named as you see fit.  What ever name you choose will appear in the Profile Manager.

Ground effects are made up of vibrations and bumps.

VIBRATIONS

A vibration is defined as follows:  (this example is taken from the file "Basic Grooves.txt")

[High Speed Vibs]
ID=Vibration
Waveform=Sine
SpeedStart=140
SpeedEnd=250
BeginPeriod=100
EndPeriod=100
BeginDirection=35
EndDirection=150
BeginMagnitude=17
EndMagnitude=22
RampUp=20
RampDown=0
GroundPhase=LTX

The section begins with a title in square brackets, which must be unique from the titles of other sections in this file.  The ID simply identifies this as a vibration definition.  

The Waveform key specifies what type of waveform will be used for this vibration.  Valid values are "Sine", "SawtoothUp", "SawtoothDown",  "Triangle", and "Square".  

The SpeedStart and SpeedEnd values define the ground speed range over which this vibration will be active.  

The BeginPeriod value is the period in milliseconds of the vibration at SpeedStart, and EndPeriod is the period of the vibration at SpeedEnd.

Similarly, the BeginDirection, EndDirection, BeginMagnitude, and EndMagnitude values are the direction and magnitude of the vibration at the beginning and end of the speed range.  Direction is measured in degrees, with 0 being at 12 o'clock and 90 being at 3 o'clock.  If the two directions are different, the direction will rotate from the begin value to the end value in a clockwise fashion.  Magnitude is measured in percent.

If you want the vibration to fade in and out gradually, set the RampUp and RampDown values to positive, non-zero values.  The ramps are measured as a percent of the full speed range.  For instance, if SpeedStart is 40 and SpeedEnd is 100, the entire speed range is 60, so a RampUp value of 25 would cover 25% of 60, which is 15.  So the vibration would "ramp up" between the speed of 40 and 55 knots.

GroundPhase defines what phase of ground operations this vibration will be enabled : Take-off (T), Landing (L), or Taxiing (X).  In the above example, the vibration is enabled during all phases.  The Take-off phase is defined as any time the throttle position is above 85%, the Landing phase is anytime after a landing, until the speed drops below 25 knots, and the Taxiing phase is all other times.

BUMPS

There are regular bumps, and random bumps.  Regular bumps are very CPU friendly.  The joystick driver does most of the work.  FS Force only needs to check a couple of times a second if any of the parameters of the bump pattern need to change, based on your current ground speed.  Random bumps are more CPU intensive, especially at higher frequencies, because each bump needs to be individually programmed by the CPU.  Care must be taken when designing a random bump pattern, that the frequency does not get to high, otherwise you will start to lose frame rates.  A general guideline is to limit the frequency to 8 - 10 bumps per second, depending on the speed of your CPU.

A bump becomes random when any of the following parameters are non-zero : SizeVar, MagnitudeVar, SpaceVar, and DirVar.  (Var is short for variation).  If they are all zero, it is a regular bump.

Note that as of this writing, Saitek joysticks do not support regular bumps, therefore you will have to simulate regular bumps using random bumps.  Just set the "randomness" to the minimum possible value, so it seems regular.

Following is an example bump taken from the file "Basic Grooves.txt".  This is a regular bump.  

[Grooves]
ID=Bump
SpeedStart=5
SpeedEnd=180
BumpSize=10
SizeVar=0
SizeCompression=0.2
Magnitude=35
MagnitudeVar=0
Spacing=15
SpaceVar=0
SpeedCompression=0.7
Direction=0
DirVar=0
BrakeOnDir=60
GroundPhase=LTX

SpeedStart and SpeedEnd have the same meaning as with vibrations.

BumpSize is the size of the bump.  The unit of measure roughly corresponds to inches.  A good value for pavement grooves is around 5 to 10.  To simulate a large dip, use something in the range of 100 to 200.  If you want random bump sizes, set SizeVar to a non-zero value.  The actual bump size will then be computed as <BumpSize> +/- <SizeVar>.  So if BumpSize was 10 and SizeVar was 3, the size of the bump would be randomly selected from the range 7 - 13.

SizeCompression modifies BumpSize according to your ground speed.  Under normal circumstances, as your speed increases, it takes less time to pass over the bump, and the bump feels "sharper".  In fact if you double your speed, it will only take half as long to pass over the bump.  SizeCompression changes that relationship.  If SizeCompression is less than 1, the time it takes to pass over the bump will not decrease in the same proportion as your speed is increasing.  

This setting becomes useful when you have pavement grooves that you want to use over a wide speed range.  You might choose a bumpsize that feels good at low speed, but by the time you get to 100 or more knots, the "pulse" that you feel from the joystick has shrunk to a barely perceptible "tick".  In this situation, you might choose a SizeCompression value of 0.5, or maybe even lower, to make the bumps at high speed feel more like they did at lower speeds. You're essentially enlarging the bumps the faster you go.

To get a feel for what this setting does, set it to 1.0, and compare how bumps feel at low speeds vs high speeds.  Then try setting it to 0.3, and notice how the bumps at high speed feel a lot more like the bumps at low speed.

Magnitude  and MagnitudeVar determine the force of the pulse felt as you pass over the bump.  Set MagnitudeVar to non-zero to randomize the magnitude.

Spacing and SpaceVar determine the distance between each bump.  The unit of measure is feet (roughly). To randomize the spacing, set SpaceVar to a non-zero value.

SpeedCompression is similar to SizeCompression, except it applies to the spacing between bumps, not to their size.  In normal situations, increasing your speed reduces the time it takes to reach the next bump.  For instance, if you were to double your speed, it would take only half as much time to reach the next bump.  SpeedCompression changes this relationship.  If you set SpeedCompression to a value less than 1.0, the time it takes to reach the next bump will not decrease in the same proportion that your speed is increasing.  With a value of 1.0, you might find that at high speeds the bumps come so fast its almost like a vibration.  Setting it to less than 1.0 allows you to "stretch" the effect out to a higher ground speed.  If you apply too much compression, though, it will reduce the sense of accelerating and decelerating.

To get a feel for what this setting does, set it to 1.0, and compare the spacing between bumps at low speeds vs high speeds.  Then try setting it to 0.7, and notice that at high speeds the bumps don't crowd together as much.

Direction and DirVar are used to set the direction of the pulse you will feel from your joystick as you pass over the bump.  If you want the direction to be randomly selected over the entire 360 degrees, set Direction=180 and DirVar=180.

BrakeOnDir is an optional parameter that can be used to set the direction of the pulse when you are applying the brakes.  This is especially useful for pavement grooves.  When the brakes are on you might find that you can no longer feel the pavement grooves.  This is because the forward pull from the braking force is acting in the same direction as the pulse from the bump, and the pull tends to blank out the pulse.  By changing the direction of the pulse during braking, it is possible to still feel the pavement grooves even while braking.  If you normally have your bump direction set to 0, you might want to try a value of between 70 or 90.

Ramping: all bumps ramp in and out over a 1.5 second period.  That is, when the beginning or ending speed value is reached, the effect ramps up or down as appropriate, with the ramp lasting 1.5 seconds.

GroundPhase is the same as for vibrations.

TUTORIAL

We will now go through the steps of creating our own ground effects file.  As mentioned above, the program does not come with any ground effects that allow light GA type aircraft to experience any "high speed" vibrations, so we will create one here.  The easiest thing to do is copy and paste sections from existing ground effect files, and then modify them to your liking.

1. We'll use the file "Basic Grooves.txt" as our starting point, so open it up using Notepad or any other text editor, and then select File / Save As, and save it under a different name, such as "Basic Grooves GA.txt", or something similar.  Make sure you save it in the GroundOps folder.

2. What we'll do for this effect is have pavement grooves going up to about 50 knots, followed by a brief wobble, followed by a steady state vibration up to about 150 knots, just in case the pilot rotates extremely late!

3. First, edit the description so that users can tell what this effect is all about.

4. Modify the [Grooves] section : change the SpeedEnd value to 55.  Since we don't have such a large speed range, we don't need as much compression.  Set SizeCompression to 0.5 and SpeedCompression to 0.8.  Change the spacing to 10.

5. Use copy and paste to make two copies of the [High Speed Vibs] section.  Change the name of the first one to [Wobble].

6. Modify the [Wobble] section as follows:

[Wobble]
ID=Vibration
Waveform=Sine
BeginPeriod=135
EndPeriod=135
BeginDirection=70
EndDirection=70
BeginMagnitude=25
EndMagnitude=25
RampUp=40
RampDown=25
SpeedStart=45
SpeedEnd=75
GroundPhase=LTX

7. Modify the [High Speed Vibs] section as follows :

[High Speed Vibs]
ID=Vibration
Waveform=Sine
BeginPeriod=100
EndPeriod=100
BeginDirection=110
EndDirection=300
BeginMagnitude=22
EndMagnitude=22
RampUp=9
RampDown=0
SpeedStart=65
SpeedEnd=150
GroundPhase=LTX

8. Save the effect file, start up Profile Manager.  Assign that Ground Operation effect file to a profile, and test it out.

9. When you are testing ground effect files with the Profile Manager Virtual Aircraft, all you have to do is save the file and switch over to the Profile Manager.  It will automatically detect the file has changed and reload the profile.  However, if you are testing with MSFS, you need to explicitly tell it to reload the profile, by selecting Options / FS Force / Reload Profile from the menu.

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APPENDIX A : CONFIG FILE

There are some options in the .cfg file that might be of interest to some people (those that like to tweak :)

General Section

VirtualRudderNullZone : when you are using the Virtual Aircraft to test forces, you may notice the stick pulling from side to side when you are on the ground.  These are cornering forces.  If they are occurring even when you're taxiing in a straight line, it could be because you have a noisy joystick that is produce spurious signals.  You can try increasing the VirtualRudderNullZone to blank out that noise.  The full range of rudder motion goes from -1 to +1, so you might try increasing the null zone by values of 0.1 until the problem stops

DebugLog : if this option is set to "1", FS Force produces a log file showing any errors that were encountered.  The file is called "logfile.txt" and will be found in the same folder as the Profile Manager.  Note that a small number of errors during game play are normal.  You will usually see a few "Error creating effect" type errors.

Aircraft Profiles

There are various settings in each profile that can only be adjusted by hand editing the .cfg file.

LandingTransition=-300
LandingHardBase=60
LandingMaxForce=-500
LandingMinForce=30
LandingWingsLevel=5   : these five settings taken together determine the landing impact forces.  The only one that you can change from the Profile Manager is <LandingMaxForce>.  When you change that value, the Profile Manager also sets the <LandingTransition> value to 60% of the <LandingMaxForce> value.

FS Force divides landings into soft landings and hard landings.  The transition between the two is marked by <LandingTransition>.  For soft landings, FS Force uses a single forward pulse of the joystick (half a sine wave).  For landings that are a bit harder (but still under <LandingTransition>), it uses a forward and back pulse (one full sine wave).  When your landing is exactly at <LandingTransition>, FS Force is using 100% force. If your vertical speed is greater than <LandingTransition>, it is considered a hard landing, and FS Force begins to use a lateral side-to-side pulse.  It starts at a percentage force indicated by <LandingHardBase>, and gradually works it's way up to 100% for landings at <LandingMaxForce>.  If your bank angle is greater than <LandingWingsLevel>, FS Force uses a side-to-side pulse, no matter how soft your landing.

So the main thing you might want to tweak is the <LandingHardBase>.  With my joysticks, I found that a value of 60% seems to be about right.  What you're wanting to do is make a landing at <LandingTransition> feet per minute "feel" about the same as a landing at <LandingTransition> + 1 feet per minute, even though they use a different type of pulse effect.

BrakeVibrationPeriod=80
BrakeVibrationDirection=75  : you can edit these values to modify the high speed braking vibrations.  The period is in milliseconds, and the direction is in degrees, with 0 being at your 12 o'clock position, 90 is to your right.

GearThumpPeriod=350 : this is the period  (in milliseconds) of the sine wave that is used to affect a gear thump. 

GearBuffetMinForce=5
GearBuffetForce=20
GearBuffetBasePeriod=140
GearBuffetModulatingPeriod=600 : these settings control gear buffeting.  Gear buffeting is a series of vibrations that fade and increase, fade and increase, as long as the effect continues.  <GearBuffetModulatingPeriod> (in milliseconds) controls how quickly the vibrations fade and increase.  <GearBuffetMinForce> is the average strength of the vibrations when they are at their weakest.  <GearBuffetForce> is the average strength of the vibrations when they are at their strongest.  (This is the value you can set from the Profile Manager).  <GearBuffetBasePeriod> is the average period of the vibrations, in milliseconds.

CorneringMaxCrosswind=30 : Cornering forces are based solely on the amount of rudder deflection and your ground speed.  This presents a problem when you are taxiing or taking off in a crosswind, since a considerable amount of rudder input is required to maintain a straight line of travel.  You don't want to feel cornering forces in those situations.  To correct this, FS Force determines the amount of crosswind, and "ignores" a certain amount of your rudder input, proportional to the amount of crosswind.  The amount of rudder input that FS Force ignores is determined by <CorneringMaxCrosswind>.  

The actual meaning of the number assigned to this variable goes something like this : At zero crosswind, FS Force will not ignore any amount of rudder input.  As the crosswind component increases, it will ignore correspondingly more and more rudder input.  When the crosswind component equals <CorneringMaxCrosswind>, FS Force will be ignoring 100% of your rudder input.  So in general, if you find that you are experiencing cornering forces in a crosswind (FS Force is not ignoring enough), lower the value assigned to this variable.

Note that you cannot generate crosswinds when using the Virtual Aircraft in the Profile Manager.

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Shut-down Problems

Problem Description:
MSFS crashes on shut-down, or there is considerable hard disk activity that continues indefinitely after shut-down. When you press Ctrl-Alt-Del to bring up the Task Manager, you see that FS9 is still running, but has stopped responding. You have to use End Task to stop the process.

Applies To:
Windows 98 systems running FS2004, and using any non-Microsoft joystick

Cause:
Incompatible video drivers. 

Solution:
Make sure you have the latest, up-to-date drivers for your video card. Do not rely on the CD that you received with the video card. Go to the manufactures web site and obtain the latest release. If that doesn't solve the problem, right-click on My Computer, select the Performance tab, click the Graphics button, and adjust the acceleration slider so it is one notch to the left of FULL.

Incompatible Joysticks

Beta testers have reported problems with FS Force using the following joysticks : Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 1, CH Products Force Feedback Joystick.

Frame Rates

On some systems, you may experience a significant drop in frame rates in fullscreen mode (anywhere from 20% to 30%).  The source of the problem is the little trim indicator window that briefly appears in the lower right hand corner.  Disabling that window will clear up the problem.  Not all uses are reporting this problem.  It may be specific to certain video cards.  This does not apply to windowed mode, where the frame rate drop is only about 3%.

If your system is affected, you have the option of disabling that window (which you can do from within the Profile Manager), or running in windowed mode.  Note that disabling the window does not affect the FS Force trim system in any other way.  

The best way to check if your system is affected is to prepare a saved flight in clear weather, on the ground facing away from any taxiing AI traffic.  You also might find it helpful to add the line "AVE_FRAME_RATE_DISPLAY=1" to the [MAIN] section of your fs9.cfg file.  Run one test with the trim indicator window enabled.  Then exit MSFS, start up Profile Manage, and disable the trim indicator window.  Then run another test. 

Forces Cutting Out

It may simply be because you moved your hand.  Some joystick have sensors that detect whether you are holding onto the joystick, and if you're not, the forces stop.  The MSFF2 especially has sensors right where your fingers are, and if you even flex them a bit, the forces will cut out.

Forces Not Starting

Occasionally you may start a flight and find that there are no forces.  Try re-initializing FS Force (Options > FS Force > Reinitialize FS Force)  and/or re-loading the profile. Note that there are hotkeys defined for this (Reload : Shift-O,  Re-init : Shift-I)

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FS Force is known to be compatible with:

• FS2002 / FS2004

• Windows XP 

• Windows 98 (see known issues)

• Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2

• Saitek Cyborg 3D Force Stick ^*

• Logitech Wingman Force USB

• Logitech WingMan Force 3D^**

• Logitech Wingman Strike Force 3D

Not all aspects of FS Force work properly with:

• Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 1

• CH Products Force Feedback Joystick

^* The Saitek joystick does not support "regular bumps" (a certain type of ground effect).  Make sure you confine your ground effects profile choices to the one supplied especially for Saitek joysticks.  See Getting Started, Step 6 for more information.

^**  The Logitech Force 3D does not support variable centering force -- it's either full on or full off.

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What Is Activation?

In order to guard against copyright violations, FS Force uses a protection scheme called Activation.  This involves registering your computer with Dirks Software to ensure that only those people who have paid for the program are able to use it beyond the free trial period.

What are the advantages of using activation as opposed to other forms of copy protection?

Activation offers a great deal of flexibility to the customer, in that you can download and re-install the program as many times as you want.  Many other copy protection schemes use some kind of quota system, meaning you can only download and install the software a limited number of times (sometimes only once!).  This can be a real problem, if for example, you get a virus on your computer and have to re-format your hard drive.  You may have difficulty obtaining permission from the software developer to obtain another copy of the program.  With FS Force, you will never have this problem.

How exactly does it work?

When you pay for the software, you receive a Registration Key.  You enter this key into the FS Force Activation Wizard.  The Activation Wizard creates a hardware signature of your computer, using information such as your hard disk size, RAM size, or your CPU type and speed.  It sends this information to the web servers at Dirks Software, which store the information in encrypted form, and send it back as a special Hardware Key which is stored in your registry.  Every time FS Force starts up, it compares the key stored in your registry with the actual hardware present in your computer, to make sure it is still running on the computer that it was registered for.  Note that the only time FS Force exchanges information over the internet is during the activation process, and of course you can even bypass this by activating via email instead.

What happens if I need to re-install the program?  Or re-format my hard drive?

Under the activation system, you can re-install the program as many times as you want.  You may have to re-activate FS Force, (for instance, if you reformatted your hard drive), but since the hardware has not changed, the activation approval will be granted instantly and without hassle.

What happens if I change my hardware?

Each customer is allowed a reasonable number of hardware changes per year.  So if you add more RAM, get a new hard drive, or buy a whole new computer, you will have no problem when it comes time to re-activate.  The activation approval will be granted instantly and without hassle.  There is, however, a short waiting period enforced between each hardware change.

How is my privacy being protected?

Of course, privacy is a big concern these days, with so many things happening over the internet.  Be assured that your information will be treated with the utmost security and respect.  The only thing stored on the web servers is your computer signature information, which is stored in encrypted format. 

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Once you have purchased the program (which you do at www.fs-force.com) and received your registration key, you are then ready to activate the program.  This will convert the program from a trial version to a fully functional registered version.

There are two ways to activate : directly over the internet from your computer, or via email.  Direct activation is quicker and more convenient, but if the computer you run FS Force on does not have a connection to the internet, or if you simply do not prefer to activate directly over the internet, you can also activate via email.

To activate directly over the internet :

1. Start the Profile Manager and click on the About tab.

2. Click on the Activate button.

3. At the first screen, choose option #1.

4. At the second screen, enter your registration key.

5. Click the Next button twice.  Make sure you have an active internet connection.

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If the computer you run FS Force on is not connected to the internet, or you prefer not to activate directly over the internet, you can activate via email.  The following instructions should help you.

1. Start the Profile Manager, and click on the About tab.  

2. Click on the Activate button.

3. On the first page, choose option #1.  On the second page, enter your registration key. 

4. On the third page, select the second option: "This computer does not have a direct internet connection"

5. On the fourth page, save the registration data to a floppy disk.  For example, "A:\FS Force Activation Data.txt". 

6. Take that floppy disk to a computer that is connected to the internet, and email the file you saved to activate@fs-force.com.  You can either include the data in the body of the email, or send it as an attachment.

7. A day or two later you will receive a reply email, containing your hardware key.  Save the email as a text file on a floppy disk.  (Use File / Save As  from inside your email program.)

8. Bring that floppy disk to the computer running FS Force.  

9. Start the Activation Wizard again, and at the first page, select the second option "Email Activation, Step 2".

10. Use the Load From Disk button to load the file you saved from your floppy disk.

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- The FS Force menu was not displaying in non-English versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator.

- Minor changes and bug fixes

- FS Force no longer attempts to make its own decision whether to use N1 or throttle position for detecting take-off mode.  It will always use throttle position unless you place the flag "UseN1=1" in the appropriate profile section in the .cfg file.

- Hotkeys are now available for "Reload Profile" (Shift-O) and "Re-init FS Force" (Shift-I)

- All the ground op files have been renamed. Two new ones have been added.

- Put the trim window back the way it was.

- Run-up vibrations are now based on N1 if the aircraft has turbine engines, otherwise it uses joystick throttle position.  In both cases, it uses 80% as the transition point.

- The Setup program has been rewritten.  It is now more conventional : you unzip to a temporary folder and run the setup program, the setup program asks you where you want to install to, etc ...

- The "Always Use This Profile" check box is now on by default when user selects profile in FS

- Fixed bug which was causing a lone "=" to appear in the .cfg file.  This was preventing the complete aircraft list from appearing in the Profile Manager.

- The Options page in Profile Manager now has an Apply / Discard button

- The Force Feedback Device listbox now does what it is supposed to do.

- The New Profile button has been changed to "New / Copy", meaning you can now create a new profile that is based on a copy of an existing one.

- Fixed bug whereby forces were being lost when you turned sound off.  A side effect of the fix is that FS Force no longer attempts to detect when you are in slew mode.  You will have to manually pause forces before entering slew mode.

- Modified program to alleviate the large FPS hit that was occurring on some systems in fullscreen mode.  The fix involved changing the way the Trim Indicator window is shown and hidden.  However a side effect of the fix is that there is now a very unpleasant flickering (at least on my system : Radeon 9800) when the trim window is shown and hidden.  If that affects you, the only cure is to disable the trim window in the Profile Manager.

- Run-up vibrations now activate at 75% throttle rather than 85%.  Future versions of FS Force will use N1 rather than throttle position for turbine aircraft. 

    - initial beta release

Copyright © 2003 by Russel Dirks.

* Microsoft is a legal trademark