FB102.txtTEXTttxt)2`m#m%5Mac Firebird 1.0.2 February 1, 1996 Installation: The software "FB102.hqx" is encoded using BinHex4. Use a program like StuffIt Expander 3.5.2 to decode the file. After decoding the file, you will have "FB102.sea" which is a self-extracting archive. Double-click on this application and the program will extract another program called "Firebird Installer". Then double-click on this application to perform the actual installation of the new Firebird software onto your hard drive. Revision History: Version 1.0.2: - Fixed problem setting Custom stick control option "Screen Output" for X & Y. - Fixed "MS Flight Sim" set stick control values for "Screen Output". - Updated other sets to include "Screen Output" default data values. - Fixes cursor control problems when non-Apple mice are connected to PowerMacs. - No longer requires a mouse to be connected when used on portables with TrackPads. - Fixes cursor control problems on the new PowerPC processor based Macintoshes. - Updated special KEYS font to fix conflicts with KanjiTalk version of MacOS. - Resolved other general font conflicts. - Added new control sets: A10 Attack, Descent, Rebel Assault. Version 1.0.1: - Added 'sysz' resource to INIT for system heap memory requirements. - Fixes INIT startup problems when low-memory conditions were encountered. Version 1.0: - First software release. - Incompatible with newer software versions. Installation Double-click on the "Firebird Installer" icon. Follow the procedures outlined on the display screens of the Installer software. This will place the required Firebird software onto your hard drive: Firebird Control Console - Firebird sets editor put in the "Firebird for Macintosh" folder created at the top level of active-System hard drive. Firebird INIT - Stick software driver put in the "Extensions" folder. Firebird BA - Set Loader application put in the "Extensions" folder. Firebird Sets - Folder with some predefined sets for games put in the "System Folder." Firebird User's Guide - On-line user documentation put in the folder "Firebird for Macintosh" created at the top level of active-System hard drive. Macintosh Drag & Drop (req. for "Firebird Control Console") - Drag & Drop add-on for pre-7.5 systems put in the "Extensions" folder. NOTES on the Kensington Mouse/Trackball Software: In some instances, we found it necessary to have the "Thinking Mouse Startup" (version 4.10) extension install AFTER the "Firebird INIT" extension. You can achieve this by moving the "Thinking Mouse Startup" extension to the "Control Panels" folder. Conversely, no startup order problems were observed with the "Turbo Mouse Startup" (version 4.01) software. NOTE for Compatibility with Previous Versions The executables in this version cannot be mixed with previous 1.0 executables. Versions 1.0.1 or newer are required. The executables are the Firebird Control Console, Firebird INIT, and Firebird BA. Common shared data formats have changed and all executables must agree. NOTE for Users Installing over a Previous Version It is best to restart your computer with a "Shift" key held down to disable extensions. This will stop the "Firebird BA" from being loaded and therefore allow the installer software to overwrite it with a new version. The installer software does not, however, check your "Extensions (Disabled)" folder for the Firebird INIT & BA. If you have disabled these extensions it will be necessary to move these documents manually to the Trash to avoid having the Extensions Manager overwriting the newly installed versions. NOTE for PowerBook 160/180 Users There is an "ADB 160/180 Patch" that must be installed. If you don't already have this patch, please copy it from the master floppy to your System's "Extensions" folder. This fixes problems when the PowerBooks go into "sleep" mode. Kensington Turbo/Thinking Mouse The Turbo or Thinking Mouse and accompanying software may conflict with the Firebird. The Kensington Mouse software (v4.01 or newer) provides the ability to ignore ADB devices to remedy conflicts. Setup the Kensington software to ignore ADB devices with the ID of 23h and 4Eh and the Firebird joystick will function properly. Note that the Kensington software assumes hexidecimal values so enter "4E" and not "4Eh". Font Conflicts This version fixes font conflicts that occured especially with the KanjiTalk versions of the Mac OS. These font conflicts occured in the Button Definition window. If the "Shift," "Command," and other modifier keys don't display properly in the Button Press/Release text entry areas, you may still have a font conflict and must disable the conflicting font by removing it from the "Fonts" folder within the "System" folder. Please contact tech support if this problem occurs. Tune Up your Firebird The Firebird joystick's mechanical center varies slightly from unit to unit and should be tuned up for proper centering. Your Firebird can be tuned up from Firebird Control Console program through the "Tune Up" menu option in the "Utilities" menu. The tune up procedure is advised before playing any games with the Firebird. Using a Firebird and a MouseStick together If you are using a MouseStick with the Firebird, you will require a new version of the MouseStick II control panel. The minimum version required is 3.3.2B1. To determine your current control panel's version, select the MouseStick II control panel document in the Finder and perform a "Get Info" (Command-I) operation on the document. New versions are posted on the Gravis BBS, Web and FTP sites. Crashes, Bombs and Too Many Extensions If you are experiencing machine crashes while playing a game and suspect the Firebird is at fault, restart the machine with a "Shift" key held down to disable extensions. After the machine restarts without extensions installed, launch the Firebird Control Console program and install the Driver and Set Loader from the corresponding "Utilities" menu commands. Quit the Firebird Control Console program and launch your game. The reason for all this is to run the software in a clean environment and remove all other variables. If the trouble persists, please call Gravis Technical Support. MS Flight Simulator Microsoft Flight Simulator supports the Gravis MouseStick II directly. In order to use the Gravis Firebird, the Firebird Control Console's "Preferences" must be set to "MouseStick Compatibility Mode" and the game must be configured for "Joystick" control. Without putting the Gravis Firebird into "MouseStick Compatibility Mode", unexpected results from MS Flight Simulator may occur. In addition, you CANNOT have a MouseStick connected to the computer at the same time as a Firebird while you are playing MS Flight Simulator. Application Aware Set Loading The "Firebird BA" executes as a background process to load Application Aware sets and handle other high level button functions such as "Hot Set Switching." Some games require tremedous CPU resources and prevent other applications from executing in the background and may even "kill" them. Be sure to have the "Notify on Set Change" preference enabled and wait for the alert or sound notification to execute to ensure that the set is loaded. If no notification is given within approximately 30 seconds of the game being idle, background processing may be disabled and you will have to manually load the set with the "Firebird Control Console" program. Another way to determine whether a game doesn't allow other applications to execute is to see if you can switch to another application without quiting the game (this test is not conclusive though). Notify on Set Change Preference Problems If you have the "Notify on Set Change" preference enabled and have "Alert" notification mode chosen, the Finder may crash when giving this notification; this appears to be an Apple problem. With the notify mode set to "Sound Only" mode, the software is not prone to these problems but may be affected by the game software's setting of the speaker volume. Some games will set the volume level too low to hear the "Firebird Control Set Loaded" notification. AV Monitor Extension If you are using System 7 or 7.5, you may have the AV Monitor extension installed in your "Extensions" folder. If this system extension is installed on a computer that does not have an AV monitor, it will cause problems for other ADB devices, such as the Firebird. If you have an AV monitor, the extension works fine. If you don't have an AV monitor connected, you must remove the AV Monitor extension from the "Extensions" and "System" folder. Rudder Pedals When using the rudder pedals, please make sure that the rudder connections are seated firmly for proper operation. Do NOT connect or disconnect the rudder device while your machine is powered on. Refer to the manual for ordering information on the PC Rudder Adapter cable. 16 Color Monitors The Firebird Control Console program displays Firebird joystick images that use 256 colors. The Firebird joystick images will display poorly on monitors supporting only 16 colors but do display well in 16 gray scale mode. Please check your "Monitors" control panel for the color mode settings. Converting Existing MouseStick Sets The "Import MouseStick Set" command from the File menu of the Firebird Control Console program performs the following conversions: Maps the MouseStick Buttons as follows: MouseStick Firebird ----------------------------------------------------------- Button #1 Handle-Trigger Button #2 Base ('+') Button Button #3 Base ('-') Button Button #4 Handle-Lower Button Button #5 Handle-Upper Button Parses the Set notes and places the text into the button comment. For example, the text key for each button is "Btn 1: space, fire guns." If there is any text of this form, the comment is mapped as "Imported from MouseStick Set." The following MouseStick functions/features will map incorrectly: - Buttons with "Double" or "Triple" click mode - Buttons with "2 Times" or "3 Times" click mode - Buttons with "Continous" are not mapped to "Turbo" mode - Repeat Rate is not mapped to anything. ..2/.pN2TON^NuNV/B'N FB102.txtTEXTttxtTEXTttxtm#`&N^NuNV/B'NTOUO?./. 06rNTO0&N^NuNV/B'NTOUO?./. 06rNvTO0&N^NuNVB'NbTO/./. /.?.*B P ^  % ' 4   ^ l        3  a  r          q r          7 U        "{ " " # # # # # $ $ $ % % &t &u & & & & ' ' ( ( ..29x.2styl 9