Baldo Helps: Mouse Sensitivity in Comanche 4

[Baldo_the_Don]

Baldo Helps: Mouse Sensitivity in Comanche 4

TL;DR: c4plyr.sav Hex F14 Hex 49CC Hex 8484 Hex BF3C Hex F9F4 default to 80



Opening:

Nineteen years late, but here's what I can tell you:

Out of the box, Comanche 4 has no mouse sensitivity controls on the Options screen. Maybe before every time you play C4, you can change your computer's mouse sensitivity to compensate, but over time, that'll get annoying enough to make you buy a joystick. Then before every time you play C4, you have the annoyance of locating, connecting, and finding room in your playspace for said purchased joystick. Often, a gamer may simply choose to play something else instead.

Or you can try these tricks:



Trick 1: Command Prompt

On mission start, open the command prompt, (~ key, I believe [Ö-Taste, aufs deutschen Tastaturen]) and type:


mousescale 9


Then press ENTER.

Time consuming and, again, annoying... but an option.

You may like a different sensitivity, but 9 works for me. I highly doubt anyone likes the default 128. How do I know the default is 128?

I'll get to that. The next two tricks require a hex editor.



Trick 2: Command Prompt with Macros

In Comanche 3, or maybe DF1, I misremember, you could use the command prompt in game to edit the macros in the player save file so that quick messages could be made by pressing let's say it was T, then F1 through F10, instantly filling in a predetermined line of hopefully pertinent text, then pressing ENTER. These presaved text lines were called macros in game. They also worked for filling in command prompts.

I don't remember how macros were saved in those games anymore, but when I did, I tried the method in C4 and DFBHD, and it failed.

In C4, macros are saved in the c4plyr.sav file. There are ten available for the default player, Griffon 2-6, and ten each for the other four available player slots.

I tried editing the c4plyr.sav in notepad.exe, but C4 crashed afterward. You need a hex editor.

Open the c4plyr.sav in a hex editor of your choice. Scroll through and find or text search the text string ??MACRO_0??. You'll find five instances. Go to the second instance. Confirm the hex editor is in overwrite mode, then starting on the first question mark, overwrite the text string:


??MACRO_0??


with the text string:


mousescale 9


then save the file.

Start C4, choose Pilot 1, and on mission start, open the command prompt, press F1, mousescale 9 will appear, then press enter. Your mouse sensitivity is now 9.

The third trick is more complicated, a bit riskier, but defaults the mouse sensitivity on all pilots to your preferred setting permanently.



Trick 3: Alter the hexes that save mouse sensitivity

As seen above in the TL;DR, hexes F14, 49CC, 8484, BF3C, and F9F4 are our targets. They are all set to 80 (128) by default, and more importantly for the nervous modder, they are the only five hexes in the entire c4plyr.sav that default to 80 (128). Go through and overwrite them all to values you prefer (I like 09), save the file, and enjoy the new level of C4 convenience.



Conclusion:

I hope this tutorial is useful to you in combatting the detriments of NeverLogic's suboptimal early game UI QA.



My notes for the curious:

14:14 27.05.2021
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c4plyr.sav hex [ F14] 3,860 ?? Default mousescale. Default [80] 128. I like [09] 9. Is 3,852 from start of pilot entry. Is 568 from start of ??MACRO_0??.
c4plyr.sav hex [49CC] 18,892 is Pilot 1 mousescale. Default [80] 128. I like [09] 9. Is 3,852 from start of pilot entry. Is 568 from start of ??MACRO_0??.
c4plyr.sav hex [8484] 33,924 ?? Pilot 2 mousescale. Default [80] 128. I like [09] 9. Is 3,852 from start of pilot entry. Is 568 from start of ??MACRO_0??.
c4plyr.sav hex [BF3C] 48,956 ?? Pilot 3 mousescale. Default [80] 128. I like [09] 9. Is 3,852 from start of pilot entry. Is 568 from start of ??MACRO_0??.
c4plyr.sav hex [F9F4] 63,988 ?? Pilot 4 mousescale. Default [80] 128. I like [09] 9. Is 3,852 from start of pilot entry. Is 568 from start of ??MACRO_0??.