FSASM 6.0.0 -- README.TXT ========================= FSASM is a FREEWARE scenery compiler for use with Microsoft(R) Flight Simulator(tm). * Contents - What's New? - System Requirements - Installing FSASM - Uninstalling FSASM - FSASM Object Library ** Important! ** - How do I use FSASM? (Or, where is the documentation?) - Credits - How to Contact the Authors - Getting the Latest Version of FSASM - Disclaimer - Redistribution Terms - Copyright What's New? ----------- The functionality of FSASM has not changed much since FSASM 5.x. The goal of this release was to attain compatibility with Flight Simulator for Windows 95 (FS6) while retaining full backward compatibility with Flight Simulator 5.1 (FS5.1) and FSASM 5.1.0. In all but a few cases, scenery designed for FSASM 5.1.0 may be recompiled without modifications using FSASM 6.0.0. Once your scenery has been compiled with FSASM 6.0.0, it will be usable with of both FS6 and FS5.1. See the FSASM Object Library section later in this document for important information on using scenery with both versions of Flight Simulator. Below is a list of notable changes to FSASM.EXE since version 5.1.0. For information on macro and object changes, see the other FSASM documentation listed in the How Do I Use FSASM? section later in this document. * Changes to FSASM.EXE since version 5.1.0 - Many bugs were fixed. - FSASM.EXE was ported from 16-bit to 32-bit code. - All data is now stored in memory; temporary files are no longer used. - You are no longer prevented from defining more than 127 points. You will not get an error unless you attempt to define more than 1024 points. It is unclear at this time exactly how many points you can define without crashing Flight Simulator but it is significantly more than 127 and somewhat less than 1024. In general, use caution and test often if you define large numbers of points. - The PCD file format has changed. PCD files created with version 5.1 are not compatible with this version of FSASM. System Requirements ------------------- To use FSASM, you need: * Windows 95 * 5 MB of available hard disk space * Flight Simulator for Windows 95 (FS6) or Flight Simulator 5.1 (FS5.1) Installing FSASM ---------------- To install FSASM, unzip FSASM600.ZIP into a temporary directory. Then, run SETUP.EXE and follow the prompts. At some point, Setup will ask you for the installation directory. If you have a previous version of FSASM, make sure you choose a new directory to avoid overwriting your previous installation. After Setup completes, you'll also need to install the appropriate version of the FSASM Object Library. See the FSASM Object Library section later in this document. NOTE: The FSASM Setup program will leave two files, DEISLx.ISU and _ISREG32.DLL in your FSASM installation directory. Do not delete these files as they are needed to properly uninstall FSASM should you ever decide to do so. Uninstalling FSASM ------------------ To uninstall FSASM, open the Control Panel and open the Add/Remove Programs icon. Then select FSASM from the list of installed applications and click the Add/Remove button to remove it. FSASM Object Library ** Important! ** ------------------------------------- The FSASM Object Library is an add-on module for Flight Simulator that is required for most sceneries created by FSASM. Scenery that uses any of the following objects requires the FSASM Object Library: sailboat windsock rotating airport beacon radio tower television tower PCL (pilot controlled lighting) tranmission line tower surface radar air search radar lighthouse There are two versions of the FSASM Object Library; one for FS5.1 and one for FS6. To install the FS6 version of the library, click on the Install FsasmLib.dll icon in the FSASM program group. Or, run the Install.exe program in the FsasmLib subdirectory. For details, view the ReadMe.txt file in the FsasmLib subdirectory. To install the FS5.1 version of the library, unzip REDIST\FSAFSO10.ZIP and follow the installation instructions in the ZIP file. You should distribute one or both versions of the Object Library with your scenery or include a note in your README file directing users to download the Object Library from the FSASM web site. The following table shows the name of the Object Library ZIP file appropriate for each version of Flight Simulator. Each ZIP file contains installation instructions. Copies of each ZIP file are in the REDIST subdirectory. FS Version Object Library ZIP ---------- ------------------ FS5.1 FSAFSO10.ZIP FS6 FLIB600.ZIP How do I use FSASM? (Or, where is the documentation?) ------------------------------------------------------ After you read this file in its entirety, be sure to read the User's Guide in the FSASM DOC subdirectory (DOC\FSASM_UG.TXT). It covers the basics of using FSASM to create scenery for Flight Simulator. More advanced users may wish to browse through the Scenery Building Extended Language Reference (DOC\FSLANG.DOC), to become familiar with the advanced commands which are available for building custom objects. FSLANG.DOC is a Microsoft Word document but for those without Word, FSLANG may be viewed using WordPad or the Microsoft Word Viewer. WordPad, which is part of Windows 95, reads Word documents, but does not always format them correctly. For proper viewing, download the freeware Microsoft Word Viewer from www.microsoft.com. Credits ------- * Authors Adam Szofran FSASM.EXE, macros, objects John Blackie Macros, objects, tutorials, FSLANG Tom Monnone Objects, tutorials, User's Guide * Contributors Maurizio M. Gavioli, et al. FS5STRUC editor and contributors John Trindle Basis for the synthetic scenery tile algorithm Basil Copeland Terrain.tut How to Contact the Authors -------------------------- Note: Due to the large volume of mail, we simply can't reply to all messages in a timely manner. For faster answers, try directing your questions to the Internet Flight-Sim mailing list or the FSFORUM or SIMGAMES forums on Compuserve. For information on how to subscribe to the Internet Flight-Sim mailing list, send a message to mailserv@grove.iup.edu with "help" as the only text in the body of the message. You may contact the authors of FSASM via the email addresses shown below: * Adam Szofran Internet: fsasm@avsim.com Compuserve: >INTERNET:fsasm@avsim.com * John Blackie Internet: 100032.532@compuserve.com Compuserve: 100032,532 * Tom Monnone Internet: 100033.2150@compuserve.com Compuserve: 100033,2150 Getting the Latest Version of FSASM ----------------------------------- The latest version of FSASM may be obtained from the following locations: * Internet http://www.avsim.com/fsasm/fsasm.htm New versions, updates, and add-ons will always be available here first. Other goodies may appear here from time to time. Disclaimer ---------- FSASM comes with no warranty or claim of fitness or reliability. FSASM and its files are distributed AS IS, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. The authors of FSASM have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever with Microsoft Corporation. Neither the authors of FSASM, nor Microsoft Corporation shall be held liable for any loss of data, down time, loss of revenue or any other direct or indirect damage or claims caused by FSASM or FILES CREATED BY FSASM. Redistribution Terms -------------------- FSASM and ANY SCENERY FILES CREATED using FSASM are FREEWARE, and: * MAY NOT BE sold. * MAY NOT BE uploaded to, nor archived in, BBSs or Internet sites which charge file download fees. * MAY NOT BE uploaded to, nor archived in, BBSs or Internet sites which are partly or wholly beneficially owned or operated by a commercial enterprise which is engaged in the sale of computer hardware or software. * MAY NOT BE redistributed with computer hardware or software for which money is charged. * MAY NOT BE redistributed by a commercial publisher in any form or under any pretext. This prohibition includes but is not limited to floppy disks and CD-ROMs distributed with magazines or books. * MAY NOT BE redistributed on floppy disk, CD-ROM, nor in any other printed or electronic storage form for which money is charged, nor as part of a package for which money is charged. This prohibition includes but is not limited to any form of redistribution for which any type of materials or handling fees are charged. * MAY NOT BE disassembled, decompiled, decomposed, decoded, nor reverse engineered. Subject to the exclusions listed above, the FSASM archive may be uploaded to BBSs or Internet sites and otherwise redistributed on a FREEWARE basis as long as the original FSASM compressed archive and its contents are not modified in any way. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS to the redistribution terms stated above. Copyright --------- The components of FSASM carry one or more of the following copyrights: Copyright (C) 1994-1997 by Adam Szofran. All rights reserved. Copyright (C) 1994-1997 by John Blackie. All rights reserved. Copyright (C) 1994-1997 by Tom Monnone. All rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Flight Simulator is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.