Installation

Below you will find detailed step by step instructions on how to install TFTC. You may also find an installation tutorial video posted on YouTube as well as any other common installation issues that you may face along the way.

Installation Tutorial Video

This video will guide you through the installation process and also address common issues as well as some other tips and tricks. However below you will also find step by step detailed instructions if you don't want to watch the video.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, you will need the following:

Step 1: Install X-Wing Alliance (XWA)

Digital Installation

Install or make a clean, unaltered copy of the Star Wars - X-Wing Alliance folder. As XWA does not have any form of DRM protection or Windows dependencies, you can install in the default locations and move the folder to anywhere you like and it will still run just fine. This is recommended as the usual default locations can be in protected folders such as Program Files which may have permission issues. The default locations for XWA are as follows:

If you are installing from Steam or Origin, make sure to run the game at least once after installing so any first-time installation files are processed before proceeding further. Also note that running the game from Steam or Origin directly is NOT recommended as the game will likely crash. This is because X-Wing Alliance and the XWAU/TFTC mods do not like their in-game overlays. Always run the game directly from the game's own launcher program (Alliance.exe). 

CD Installation

The original 2-disc CD installation of XWA will also work but requires an additional installation step in order to allow the installation of XWAU and TFTC. First install the game as normal from the CD. After you have completed this, you will need to manually open the CD drive and copy all the contents of the WAVE folder to the root directory of your new XWA installation. This process must be done on BOTH discs.

Step 2: Install X-Wing Alliance Upgrade (XWAU) 2020 Mega Patch

With XWA installed, you will need to install the XWAU 2020 Mega Patch. This is a very simple process, simply run the file XWAU2020.exe, select the appropriate folder where XWA is installed and follow the instructions. The only thing to note here is during the page 'Select Components', will be an option set the default aspect ratio the game will use. 

Once this is done, simply continue the installation, wait a few minutes and then close the installer window once installation is complete. We would recommend you run the game at least once to make sure that everything is working OK still.

Step 3: Install TFTC v1.3 & v1.3.4

The TFTC v1.3 installer works as both a full, clean installation of TFTC or to patch an older version be it version 1.0, 1.1 or 1.2. It will also work on any version of XWAU currently installed except XWAU 6.0.2 which is not compatible currently. The installer also contains the XWAU Update 5 and 5.5 patches bundled with the installation so you DO NOT need to download and install these patches separately. We will first look at how to install a full, clean copy of TFTC. 

Installing a full, clean installation of TFTC v1.3

To begin with, run the TFTC_1_3.exe file. Select the same XWA installation folder that you installed XWAU to. You will be presented with two options.  Select option 1: Clean X-Wing Alliance with XWAU 2020 installed only

Once selected, you will be presented with a series of checkboxes. Most of these are mandatory however if you scroll to the bottom, there are two sets of options. One is which soundtrack you wish to have installed and the other is which tutorials you wish to have installed:

Soundtrack: By default the TIE Fighter Remastered Soundtrack created by the TFTC team is selected.  However you can also select three other options which represent several of the original, genuine MIDI versions of the TIE Fighter soundtrack. This option can be changed later via the Babu Frik Configurator (see Tweaking Settings).

Tutorial Missions: This option only affects TFTC Classic. The first four campaign missions (Battle 0) are tutorial missions. If you choose Classic Tutorial Missions, then it will choose 4 of the original, unaltered TIE Fighter training missions. They are however designed for the original TIE Fighter engine, not XWA so it may not teach you everything you need to know. If you choose Updated Tutorial Missions then this will load the Reimagined versions of those tutorials. These versions are better suited to understanding the gameplay mechanics of the XWA engine and what to expect from TFTC in general and after completion, will return back to the normal, Classic TIE Fighter campaign missions. This option can be changed later via the Palpatine Total Converter (see Step 4).

After you have made your choices, continue with the installation process.


Installing TFTC v1.3.4 Patch

 Once you have completed installation of v1.3, you can then install the v1.3.4 patch afterwards. This patch can ONLY be applied if you have v1.3 installed, it is NOT compatible with earlier versions of TFTC. The process for installation is basically the same.


Updating an existing installation of TFTC

If you already have TFTC installed, either version 1.0, 1.1 or 1.2, you can use the installer to simply patch your current installation to the latest version. Before proceeding we recommend you backup your pilot files as a precaution. You can find them in the root folder of your installation with the file extension .PLT. 

Before proceeding with the installation, IT IS CRITICAL that you first use the Palpatine Total Converter from the XWA Launcher to restore the game to XWAU (Restore the Light Side) as shown below. If you do not do this, the installer will generate an error and fail to install. 

Once you have restored to the Light Side, you can run the TFTC_1_3.exe file and select the folder location of your current installation of TFTC.  After this, you will want to select option 2: TFTC v1.0, v1.1 or v1.2 installed

After this is done, there will be no other options to select and you can continue the installation process which may take several minutes. After installation is complete, you can use the Palpatine Total Converter to return back to TFTC Classic or TFTC Reimagined. Remember to select the correct pilot again afterwards!

Updating v1.3 onwards.

If you have an existing version of TFTC v1.3  or later installed already, then you must use the same process described above to restore the Light Side in order to install the v1.3.4 patch as well.

Step 4: Run the Palpatine Total Converter

After completing the installation, there is one more thing to do.  As by default the game will still be loaded on XWAU and the XWA campaigns, you will need to run the game launcher and select the Palpatine Total Converter. This tool allows you to seamlessly switch between XWAU, TFTC Classic and TFTC Reimagined, without having to have multiple versions of XWA installed. All you need to do is select Load a Total Conversion then choose either TFTC Classic or TFTC Reimagined. 

To understand the differences between TFTC Classic and Reimagined, click on the buttons for more details.

Once you have completed this transition, you can run the launcher again and you should be presented with either a TFTC Classic or Reimagined logo in the launcher.

That's it! You are now ready to play the game. There are some other options and things to consider before playing, but otherwise this is all the basics needed for installing TFTC.

Enabling VR

Thanks to the wizards of XWAU, both it and TFTC are VR compatible.  TFTC does not have any specific requirements for VR and if other SteamVR games run fine in VR, you should have no problem in running TFTC . The process to configure SteamVR properly for each head mounted display (HMD) is slightly different depending on the vendor/model. However you always need to make sure you have SteamVR installed in your Steam library.

Remember though, you must run SteamVR without running Steam as running the game through Steam will cause it to immediately crash. You just need to create a shortcut to the app in your Desktop or Task Bar, or launch it from your Start menu, never through the Steam interface. For an indepth guide on setting up and configuring VR, please take a look at this page.

There are 2 ways to enable VR in XWAU/TFTC. 

Run Babu Frik Configurator from the X-Wing Alliance Launcher, select Customize the VR Options in the VR / Head Tracking Choices section, choose Use Steam VR option. The new effects this introduces also has an inertia effect for the cockpit cockpit that makes the cockpit "lag" relative to your ships movement. This can be unpleasant to some people, and can even induce nausea. You can disable this inertia effect in the "Customize Dynamic Cockpits" section of the configurator.

You can also enable/disable VR quickly by modifying some configuration files, found in the root folder of your XWA installation. These can be opened with any text editor of your choice.


VRParams.cfg

VR_Mode = SteamVR


CockpitLook.cfg

tracker_type = SteamVR

cockpit_inertia_enabled = 1


Additionally in CockpitLook.cfg you can configure another parameter to make sure the camera stays in the cockpit as much as possible in the hangar, to increase immersion.

disable_hangar_random_camera = 1

If you still find yourself facing issues, please join our Discord server and head over to the #vr-help section for assistance, the community will be happy to help try and resolve your problems! 

Common Installation Issues

The installation process for TFTC is not an entirely streamlined one but we've done our best to make it as easy as possible. It is our eventual hope we can simply do one all combined installer for both XWAU and TFTC to minimize the steps needed in the future. But let us take a look at some common issues you may encounter when installing:

Insufficient Disk Space

XWAU and TFTC are large mods and once they are both installed will take up to 30GB of space. If you have insufficient disk space when installing the mod, the installer will simply close without warning and the mod will not be installed properly. As covered in the Prerequisites section above, you will need at least 60GB of free space on your C: Drive if you are installing the game and mod to this location. If you intend to install to a separate storage drive, you will still need at least 30GB of free space on your C: Drive. This is because the installer uses the Windows Temp folder to extract the contents which by default is located on the C: Drive. As it is common practice nowadays for small SSDs to be used as C: Drives. You can check out this guide on how to move the Windows Temp folder if you are short on space still.

Missing Files

When installing XWAU, the installer may stop and generate a large error message but will mention it cannot find certain files. This is usually happens if you are installing from a CD version of XWA or if your XWA installation is corrupt. If you are using the CD version of XWA, make sure once you've installed the game, that you manually open the CD drive and copy all the contents of the WAVE folder to the root directory of your new XWA installation. This process must be done on BOTH discs. You can then attempt to install XWAU again.

Another possibility is either a corrupted install of XWA, XWAU or you have not actually installed XWAU before installing TFTC. Make sure that you follow the installation process correctly as described above and if you are getting errors about missing files, then start from scratch with a new clean installation of XWA. 

Permission Issues

When installing XWAU or TFTC, the installer may stop and generate a large error message stating that permission has been denied. This is usually a result of insufficient read/write permissions to the files or folders that you are attempting to install to. This is why we recommend that you install or move your copy of XWA outside of any typically Windows protected folders such as Program Files.

Game Crashes When Launching

This typically happens if you are attempting to load the game directly from Steam or Origin. Both platforms use ingame overlays that XWA doesn't like very much with XWAU and TFTC installed so the game simply crashes straight away. Always run the game from the provided installation shortcuts or select Alliance.exe from the root installation folder.