Welcome to SimCopterX
This is an alert from central dispatch - you're cleared for takeoff on Windows 10. With the SimCopterX patcher,
you can patch your game to work natively on Windows 7+ (and probably even earlier). You no longer need to use
a virtual machine or CPU Killer, just nerves of steel. Additionally the patcher has optional higher-resolutions modes
to choose from including 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios so you can fill up your screen; you'll feel like you're actually
up in the sky saving shipwrecked Sims.
16 June 2020
A small patch was made to the Maxis Help Viewer which was throwing an error message whenever you tried to open it directly, or
pressed F1 in-game. This was fixed by having SimCopterX run regsvr32.exe to install webster.ocx, both found in the setup
files. Presumably this was done previously with the real installer which no longer works.
28 May 2020
Version 13 offers the second release which patches a programming error that would otherwise result in a crash.
Although normally cars correctly despawn when driving onto a ramp, when emergency vehicles did this the game would
crash. All types of emergency vehicles have been tested, firetrucks, police cruisers, and ambulances.
01 March 2020
I decided to tackle some low-hanging fruit and fix an incorrect "damaged sway" behavior with "new" helicopters. The
reason why repaired choppers didn't exhibit this behavior is because they are never fully repaired to full health (or
perhaps rarely) due to division. Helicopters are still not technically repaired to full health, however the incorrect
damage sway was patched by forcing the game to always calculate the sway regardless if the health is full or
not. This update was not game-breaking or a crash fix, but definitely incorrect game logic. With that said, there may be
a future update to add this patch as a toggleable option in the launcher if the community requests. As always, SimCopterX
will always prioritize preserving the game experience. Once again, thanks Reptain for speedrunning and supporting me
with tons of debugging information regarding this problem!
26 January 2020
SimCopterX Version 11 is the first release which patches legitimate programming errors, beyond that of future-proofing
hardware improvements or newer version of Windows. The problem was with rendering Sims that
were in the process of dying; this was most apparent with a boat sinking during a rescue mission. Thanks Reptain253 for
reporting this reproducible issue! In addition, the SCXLauncher now has two more CPU Sleep times available, 12 and 20
milliseconds.
10 January 2020
Version 10 has been released! The hangar view has now been fixed on high resolution modes, so you should actually
be able to see it instead of a black screen. Also the cheat, "The map, please" has been also fixed for high-res.
Finally, per a user recommendation the SCXLauncher now appears in the center of your screen instead of top-left.
I think this marks high-res support for just about everything in the game, perhaps now I can move on to more
interesting game related mods. Expect a survey on Discord soon!
18 December 2019
This is a fairly small release but patches an issue that affects many users experiencing the file copying error.
The problem is related to the game executable being set to read-only/hidden. The temporary fix was to ensure those
attributes weren't set, but now the patcher will automatically set the file attributes for you. Hopefully everyone
can now hop in their cockpits and save their bustling metropolis.
25 September 2019
SimCopterX received a relatively large code overhaul which will pave the way for scaling the project. Although much of this stuff doesn't affect the patcher/add new features - I was able to add the Original Version support which contains the infamous easter egg; you can find the original game hosted under the Downloads section. The patch-only feature of the installer also got an overhaul (aka not checking "Verify Install"). If you untick "Verify Install" for a "patch-only", it will correctly assign the desired resolution and sleep parameters. As a final note, I will be attempting to distribute my own self-signed certificate with SimCopterX/SimStreetsX. The warning should appear for some time, but with any luck the certificate will be accepted and recognized by Microsoft.
09 September 2019
Long story short: French Support + Improved Installer. Thank you to maximilien-noal on GitHub for being very patient
with me on the French 1.1 support. During the development of SimStreetsX, I improved the 'installer' functionality of
the patcher, so I ported it here as well. It now knows specifically which versions need what dlls, what the CD directory
should actually look like (instead of guessing), and giving the flexibility of "only patching". This was a VERY large
re-write, and hopefully I tested it enough.
Additionally, I'm super excited and overwhelmed with the latest media attention from:
- LGR's tweet
- PCGamer's review
- PCGames^N's review
Most of this was related to the SimStreetsX release, but all mentioned SimCopterX as well! This has been a very rewarding experience and
I'm grateful for everyone that's been supportive and having fun using my software!
31 August 2019
A relatively small update today brings various improvements to the launcher itself and problems it was having with
Windows 7. Thanks to Discord user Cahoots for debugging with me! No actual game changes were made.
Additionally you will see that the Custom Maps page has a download link to Win95 SCURK, a newer iteration than the
previous MSDOS version. Hopefully you're inspired to make some new maps, feel free to message me your creations so
I can share it with our fellow pilots.
14 August 2019
No more riot bugs! Well, technically this was possible by running Version 1.1SC - however it had a hard time rendering
past 640x480. SimCopterX now supports Version 1.02 patch, which despite the name was released later than 1.1SC but before
Classics - a very confusing versioning/numbering system. To help keep track of the "real versions", I recreated the same
functions that the game uses to determine what "real version" (Windows file version) you are using. Hopefully this is
also useful for people who have a copy of the game executable with no idea what version it is.
07 July 2019
Windowed mode is now fully patched! You should no longer (or at most very rarely) have color issues while in windowed mode,
and you won't be forced into fullscreen mode even though you selected windowed. Additionally the "Verify Install" option had
a large overhaul. The required dlls are now installed local to your game directory which ensures that they are being loaded,
and the added bonus of the launcher not touching the System directory. Playing the game in windowed mode makes the game more
accessible and enjoyable for those who like switching between multi-monitor setups.
31 May 2019
The source for SimCopterX is now released on GitHub, and I finished writing the the Disassembly page (which has a link at the top to the source code).
Additionally I've been addressing some concerns with many false-positives of malware for both my website and downloads by contacting various antivirus
vendors along with Microsoft. They've been very receptive and Windows Defender now supports the SimCopterX releases (up to Version 3 at least). Sorry
for any inconvenience, hopefully by posting the source code you can feel a bit safer. Happy flying fellow pilots!
26 May 2019
SimCopterX Version 3 Released. Okay well this is kind of embarassing. I had wrote a patch for a function in SimCopter
that I was entirely sure what it fixed - come to find out it affects the menu placement of the flaps (such as the megaphone).
This is now fixed, all I had to do was un-comment a single line of code. Huge thanks to LGR for his
kind words on Twitter. Hopefully I can keep improving
on SimCopterX and eventually move on to Streets of SimCity - but be mindful that this work is a grueling process and takes
many months to complete. Thanks again for all the support!
23 May 2019
Although I loved using the original Maxis layout from 1998, it was really messy and hard to read on modern displays.
This new design is something I wrote myself and is mobile friendly, also it looks pretty darn snazzy! Some parts may
still be under construction over the next week.
20 May 2019
SimCopterX now supports multiple versions of SimCopter, Version 1.1 (1996) and Classics (1998). This required a
large overhaul to the patching system, so instead of patch files everything must now be built into the launcher itself.
This does have its benefits, namely patching additional versions will be easier. Also I loosened the rules on the
file directory/structure required for the game's file location.
19 April 2019
SimCopterX has been released! Main features include a game speed limiter to prevent crashes and options to select between
4 different resolutions (including the original). The next features planned mainly revolve around the problems with windowed
mode, and potentially adding in a borderless windowed mode. These things take a lot of time and work, but I'll be working hard
to release them. Join the Discord for more updates!