FS98/2000: How to Use Aircraft and Adventures from Earlier Versions of Flight Simulator (175873)

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Convert Older Versions of Aircraft or Adventures

To fly an aircraft or adventure from Flight Shop or from versions of Microsoft Flight Simulator earlier than Flight Simulator 98, you must convert the aircraft or adventure to the Flight Simulator 98/2000 format. To do this, use one of the following programs:

• Adventure Converter 2000 - This program is included with Flight Simulator 2000.
• Flight Shop Converter 98 - This program is available as a free download from the following Microsoft Web site:

  http://www.microsoft.com/games/fs2000/downloads_archive.asp

You can use Aircraft and Adventure Converter 2000 or Flight Shop Converter 98 to convert aircraft and adventures from Flight Shop or from versions of Flight Simulator earlier than Flight Simulator 98. Both of these tools can convert the following types of files to Flight Simulator 98 format:

File type	File extension	Example
Aircraft file	.AIR	NW747.AIR
Aircraft texture file	.xAF (where x is a number)	NW747.0AF
Adventure file	.ADV	TIWTOPAE.ADV
Flight file*	.STN	TIWTOPAE.STN
Sound file	.WAV	T42565.WAV

*Formerly known as a Situation file the converter also installs several new files that represent different instrument panel configurations.

To convert aircraft or adventures for use in Flight Simulator 98/2000, follow these steps.

Important Microsoft Product Support cannot help you perform these steps. When you follow these steps, you may damage or overwrite the files that came with your product and you must remove and reinstall that product to recover them.

1. Copy all the aircraft files that you want to convert into a common aircraft folder.
2. Copy all the adventure files that you want to convert into a common aircraft folder.
3. Start the converter program.
   
   To do this, use the appropriate method for the program that you want to use.

   Flight Simulator 2000

   Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Flight Simulator 2000, and then click Aircraft & Adventure Converter.

   Flight Simulator 98

   Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Flight Simulator 98, and then click Flight Shop Converter 98.
4. Click Options.
5. In the Default Input Directory box under Aircraft Converter Options, type the path of the folder that contains the unconverted aircraft, and then click OK.
6. In the Default Input Directory box under Adventure Converter Options, type the path of the folder that contains the unconverted adventures, and then click OK.
7. Under Converters, click Aircraft Files, click the aircraft that you want to convert, and then click Open.
8. When the conversion is complete, click Close.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 to convert the remaining unconverted aircraft in the folder.
10. Under Converters, click Adventure Files, click the aircraft that you want to convert, and then click Open.
11. When the conversion is complete, click Close.
12. Repeat steps 10-11 to convert the remaining unconverted aircraft in the folder. When you finish converting aircraft, click Exit.

To fly your converted aircraft, follow these steps:

1. Start a new flight in Flight Simulator 98/2000.
2. On the Aircraft menu, click Select Aircraft.
3. In the Aircraft box, click your converted aircraft, and then click OK or click the CHECK MARK button.

To fly your converted adventures, follow these steps:

1. On the File menu in Flight Simulator 98/2000, click Adventures.
2. If you are running Flight Simulator 98, proceed to the next step.
   
   If you are running Flight Simulator 2000, in the Skill level box, click Converted Adventures.
3. In the Adventures box, click the converted adventure that you want, and then click OK or click the CHECK MARK button.

Note Panel lighting on imported aircraft is not supported. To activate exterior lights when you fly aircraft imported from previous versions of Flight Simulator, press the L key.

For additional information about how to use Aircraft and Adventure Converter 2000, see the Aircraft and Adventure Converter online Help file.

For additional information about how to use Flight Shop Converter 98, see the Flight Shop Converter 98 online Help file.

Import Recent Versions of Aircraft or Adventures

Combat Flight Simulator, Flight Simulator 2000, and Flight Simulator 98 use similar aircraft file formats. The following table lists the different aircraft file formats, and indicates if you can fly that type of aircraft in Flight Simulator 98, Combat Flight Simulator, or Flight Simulator 2000:

Aircraft file format	FS98	CombatFS	FS2000
Flight Simulator 2000	No	No	Yes
Combat Flight Simulator	No	Yes	Yes
Flight Simulator 98	Yes	Yes	Yes
Converter 2000	Yes	Yes	Yes
Converter 98	Yes	Yes	Yes

To fly an aircraft from Flight Simulator 98 in Combat Flight Simulator or Flight Simulator 2000, copy the files and folders for the aircraft from the Aircraft folder for Flight Simulator 98 into the Aircraft folder for Combat Flight Simulator or Flight Simulator 2000.

To fly an aircraft from Flight Simulator 98 or Combat Flight Simulator in Flight Simulator 2000, copy the files and folders for the aircraft from the Aircraft folder for Flight Simulator 98 or Combat Flight Simulator into the Aircraft folder for Flight Simulator 2000.

To fly an adventure from Flight Simulator 98 in Flight Simulator 2000, copy the files for the adventure from the Adv folder for Flight Simulator 98 into the Adv folder for Flight Simulator 2000.

To fly your converted adventures, in the Skill level box on the Adventures screen, click Converted Adventures, click the converted adventure that you want in the Adventures box, and then click the CHECK MARK button.