AirStrike 2

AirStrike 2

Developers
	DivoGames
Publishers
Poland	Arjaloc
Germany	rondomedia
Release dates
Windows	April 2004
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, Freeware
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Direct control
Genres	Shooter, Vehicle combat
Vehicles	Helicopter
Art styles	Realistic
Series	AirStrike

AirStrike
AirStrike 3D: Operation W.A.T.	2002
AirStrike 2	2004
AirStrike 2: Gulf Thunder	2005

AirStrike 2, also known as AirStrike 2: Desert Hawk, is a singleplayer and multiplayer bird's-eye view shooter and vehicle combat game in the AirStrike series.

The game requires a patch or workarounds to launch on Windows Vista or later.

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail
Publisher website
Developer website		Direct download

Demo

A demo is available from the developer website.

• Limited to 60 minutes of gameplay
• Includes three missions and one helicopter
• Multiplayer is disabled

Monetization

Type	Notes
Freeware	The game is completely free to own in its entirety.

Microtransactions

Type	Notes
No microtransactions	The game does not contain microtransactions.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\config.ini

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	<path-to-game>\game.bin

Essential improvements

Patches

Patches are available in English only. Applying them to a localized release may cause certain interface elements to appear in English.

Patch v2.45

Requires a fix to work on Windows Vista or later.

Patch v2.51

Latest official patch.

Requires patch v2.45 to be applied beforehand, or mouse control may stop working.

Fixes compatibility and graphical issues on Windows Vista and later.

Breaks surround sound and the in-game refresh rate limiter.

Utilities

Video setup

Use -setup command line argument

Modify config.ini
Go to <path-to-game>. Open config.ini with a text editor. Under the [System] section, change FirstRun value to 1. Save the file and launch the game.

Skip logo/intro

Modify config.ini
Go to <path-to-game> Open config.ini with a text editor. Under the [System] section, change ShowLogo value to 0. Save the file.

Video

External settings

In-game general settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		The game can launch in Hor+ with stretched interface, but is unplayable; see Issues unresolved.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed		Disable Full Screen in Video setup.
Borderless fullscreen windowed		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
High-fidelity upscaling		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Frame generation		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Disabled by default. Enable Wait for VSYNC in Video setup.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		No frame rate cap. Only refresh rate limiter is available. Frame rate can be capped to the refresh rate by enabling Vertical sync (Vsync). Limiting the refresh rate or frame rate does not work for version 2.50 and above.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.
Ray tracing (RT)
Color blind mode		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Input

In-game input settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Separate control sets for co-op players.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse acceleration
Mouse input in menus
Keyboard and mouse prompts		Tutorial refers to default keyboard prompts.
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support		Video setup does not support controllers; it appears only during the first game launch. Cannot pause or navigate menu with a controller.
Controller remapping		Separate control sets for co-op players. No actions can be assigned to triggers or right joystick axes.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger support

DirectInput-compatible controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Directinput button prompts

Nintendo controllers
Nintendo button prompts
Face button layout support
Motion sensors support
Connection modes

Other controller(s)		Supports WinMM-compatible controllers.
Peripheral devices support
Additional button prompts

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Input prompt override
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Sliders for Music and Sound. In gameplay, F5 and F6 keys control sound volume, F7 and F8 keys control music volume.
Surround sound		Up to 3.0 at all times. Up to 7.0 by enabling the 3D Sound option. Surround sound is broken on version 2.51; see Missing sound effects with 3D Sound turned on.
Subtitles		All speech is text-based.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost
EAX support		Downgrade the game to version 2.45, use DSOAL with DirectSound wrapper registry patcher, and enable the 3D Sound option in the game settings.

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
German				Local retail release only
Polish				Local retail release only
Russian				Local retail release only

Network

Multiplayer types

Type	Native	Players	Notes
Local play		2	Co-op Supports a combination of mouse/keyboard and a controller, or two controllers.
Online play		See the Local play glossary page for potential workarounds.

Issues unresolved

Mouse pointer cannot reach lower part of the window in widescreen resolutions

Modify config.ini to enable widescreen resolutions
Go to <path-to-game>. Open config.ini with a text editor. Under the [Display] section, change EnableNonStdModes value to 1. Save the file and launch the game.

A mission can be started only by pressing a button with a mouse pointer. Applying a widescreen resolution prevents it from reaching the button.

Missing sound effects with 3D Sound turned on

This issue occurs in version 2.51.

Audio wrappers such as DSOAL do not solve this issue, due to sound panning errors present in the game.

With IndirectSound almost all sound effects will play in the right channel.

Downgrade the game to version 2.45

Issues fixed

Versions prior to 2.50 crash on launch

Use QindieGL

Enable extension limit using Nvidia Profile Inspector
Run Nvidia Profile Inspector and select AirStrike3D II.exe profile. Under Common section, change Extension Limit setting to 0x00004844. Apply changes. Notes Set OpenGL - Version Override to OpenGL Version 1.1 if the issue persists.

(Linux) Set Mesa and/or Nvidia's OpenGL extension limit through environment variables.

For Linux system with game running under Wine. Check your Mesa/GL driver vendor, can be done by running glxinfo and look for OpenGL renderer string For proprietary Nvidia driver, use the environment variables __GL_ExtensionStringVersion=17700 For Mesa-based driver, such as intel, AMDGPU or radeon. Use the environment variables MESA_EXTENSION_MAX_YEAR=2003 The output in desktop entry, shell script files or command line arguments should look similar to this: env MESA_EXTENSION_MAX_YEAR=2003 wine "AirStrike3D II.exe"

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	8	Introduced with version 2.50 and replaced OpenGL
OpenGL	1.1

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	BASS	2.1.0.3

Command line arguments

Parameter	Description
-setup	Opens video setup
-campos	Crashes the game after intro
-obj	Dumps game objects into a <path-to-game>\objects.txt
-god	Enables invulnerability
-notex	Disables textures
-nosound	Disables sound

Enabling invulnerability with -god does not change your rank to "cheater".

Cheat Codes

Enter these cheat-codes at any time during game process.

Code	Description
invulnerability	Enables invulnerability
igonnaliveforever	Adds all lives
showmetheweapons	Adds all weapons
moremoreweapons	Adds all missiles
glitteringprizes	Adds all power-ups
deadlineisnear	Ends the current mission
diediediemydarling	Fails the current mission

After using cheat-codes, your rank will be "cheater".

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum		Recommended
Operating system (OS)	95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP
Processor (CPU)	Intel Pentium 400 MHz AMD Athlon 400 MHz		Intel Pentium 600 MHz AMD Athlon 600 MHz
System memory (RAM)	128 MB		256 MB
Storage drive (HDD/SSD)	50 MB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia Riva TNT2 16 MB of VRAM OpenGL 1.1 compatible		Nvidia GeForce ATI Radeon 16 MB of VRAM