************************* Winter Race 3D Beta 0.30 ***************************

Hello,

Thank you for downloading the beta of Winter Race 3D.  We have put quite
a bit of work into this project and we hope you will enjoy it.

IMPORTANT NOTE 1 :
You must use Microsoft's Direct X 3. Direct X 2 is not compatible with
Winter Race 3D.   There is a link on our download page where you can get it.

IMPORTANT NOTE 2 :
If you own a Rendition board (3D Blaster, Screamin' 3D), please run the
"wr3d_rnd.exe" file.  Rendition boards are having trouble picking up
transparencies which are used in the Winter Race 3D trees.  This exe file
does not include the trees in the scenery.  Creative Labs is investigating
this issue and will be letting us know the results next week.



HERE ARE THE LATEST UPDATES FOR BETA VERSION 0.30:
1.  You may now use your poles by pressing firebutton 2 or the space bar.
      This will allow you to rebuild your speed if you crash. It is only
      allowed when you are skiing at low speeds.

2.  Memory optimization.  There is much less memory overhead which will
      greatly help with the 1st ski run swapping issue experienced with past
      versions.

3.  Load time has been reduced to less than half the original time.

4.  Trees have been replaced for a more realistic look.

5.  Support for Rendition based boards has been implemented.



More enhacements are coming very soon so please watch our site
www.3DGameArena.com for the latest updates.



Winter Race 3D was developed by 3D Game Arena.  Our site is devoted to
sponsoring FREE contests with BIG PRIZES to our registered customers.
Our upcoming contest is $500.00 for best downhill time on the "Speed Track"
available on the full version CD ROM. We will be continuously running
new contests for the different tracks and upcoming games.

Please visit our web site at www.3DGameArena.com for details.



This track is one of our more challenging ones so here are some tips for
playing the game:

* You may use either a keyboard or joystick:

-- Keyboard players:
      Left and Right arrows allow turning
      Ctrl key allows tucking 
      Space bar allows you to push off with your poles when you're
       skiing at low speeds
-- Joystick players:
      Move joystick left and right to turn
      Fire button 1 allows tucking
      Fire button 2 allows you to push off with your poles when you're
       skiing at low speeds

* Tucking increases speed which you must do to make the jumps and beat
    the opponent skier.  The trick is memorizing each jump and how much
    speed is needed.  If your speed is too high you'll fly into the fence,
    too low and you won't clear the obstacles.

* When coming upon a jump, give your self time to get a straight approach.

* When in a tuck position your movement is restricted. Since the controls
    are less sensitive this is a good way to fine tune your heading,
    which is necessary for jumping.

* If you get stuck or you're having a bad run just press escape to retry
    from the beginning. The escape key will also get you out of any menu.





There are a few things you should know before running the game.

* Winter Race 3D uses Direct 3D, Direct Draw, and Direct Sound.  
  It will use your 3D hardware as long as you have the correct 
  drivers supplied by your card manufacturer.

* You must have Direct X 3 installed on your machine.  It is free and
  you can download it from numerous places including our site.

* Direct 3D does some initialization on the data before the game starts.
  On a 133 MHz Pentium it takes about 30 seconds before Direct 3D
  finishes loading the data then 10 more seconds while Direct 3D initializes
  the data.  This last stage is currently just a black screen but we will be
  changed to a splash screen letting people know the data is being initialized.

* This is only a beta.  There are some known bugs (and probably some
  unknown ones).  Please feel free to report any suggestions or bugs to
  us via our website www.3DGameArena.com



Thanks again and have fun!!!