Joint Operations Tweak Guide

[Page 9] Conclusion



Here we are at the end of another TweakGuides.com tweak guide. Only a few more tweaks to go, but ones which might help you gain a few more FPS and get some more out of this great game


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Disable Startup/Menu Movies


Joint Operations has several movies which load up at the start of the game and also appear in the main game menus. These movies take up valuable memory and also increase startup times. To prevent these movies from loading, you can do the following. Go to your \NovaLogic\Joint Operations Typhoon Rising\ directory, and find the following files:


Intro.bik - this is the introductory movie which plays as Joint Operations is loading

main.bik - this is the same movie as Intro.bik, but it plays in middle of the main menu

header.bik - this is the 'waving flag' movie which plays at the top of the menu screens

footer.bik - this is another 'waving flag' movie which plays at the bottom of the menu screens


To prevent any or all of these movies from loading up with the game, make backup copies of the original movies and put them somewhere safe (or rename them to something else). Then create new blank text files and give them the same name as the movie(s) you want to replace, and place them in the Joint Operations directory. To save you time, I have created blank movie files which you can download and use from here (Skipintro_JO.zip, 1KB).



Taking Screenshots


There are several ways you can take screenshots in Joint Operations. The most common way is to use the Function 11 (F11) key. This will take a screenshot and place it in your \NovaLogic\Joint Operations Typhoon Rising\ directory in medium quality .jpg format. However, if you want a better quality screenshot, you can do one of the following:


  • Use the PRINT SCREEN key during a game to place a single screenshot into memory, and once you exit Joint Operations you can paste the last screenshot taken into a paint/photo editing program and modify or save it from there.
  • Use a free utility like Fraps. Fraps can take as many screenshots as you like during gameplay, and stores them in high-quality .bmp format in the directory of your choice.
  • Use a utility called Hypersnap DX, which will meet any and all of your screenshot needs for any game, but requires paid registration to enable full functionality.


    • For most people I highly recommend using Fraps as it is free and has many other useful functions, such as recording in-game movies and measuring framerates.



    Conclusion


    That pretty much concludes all the tips and tweaks I have for Joint Operations at the moment. I hope the guide has been useful to you, but I want to tap your knowledge to make this guide even more useful for all Joint Operations players: send me your working tweaks, tips and any corrections/updates. I've only included tweaks which I have tested and which work in the current guide, however there must be many more tweaks for this game, and people who know more Console Commands, and so on. Send them in to me and I'll include them in this guide for all to share. Even if you just want to say "hi", or let me know what you think about the guide, Email Me. I'd love to hear from you. Just keep in mind that I can't provide personal tech support or tweaking advice.


    If you're new to TweakGuides.com, make sure to check out my other Game Tweak Guides, as well as the TweakGuides Tweaking Companion.



    Links and Credits


    I wrote this guide based primarily on my own testing and research, because not much information is available on the Black Hawk Down/Joint Operations graphics engine. However I did find a range of sites very useful in gathering more information about the game. If you're a Joint Operations fan I suggest you check them out:


    Official Joint Operations Site

    NovaLogic Support Site

    NovaWorld Joint Operations Forum

    Nova-Inside Joint Operations Forum

    FileShack Joint Operations Section



    Just a reminder - make sure to check back on this guide regularly, as I will definitely keep it updated with the latest feedback from users and more testing, and as new patches are released for the game. Thanks for reading the guide!