PC GAMER JUNE 1998 CD README FILE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's summertime! Of course, if you're on the other side of the hemisphere, it might actually be winter for you. If so, we send our condolences. Meanwhile, us in the States are going to get into our short shorts, camp out by the swimming pool, and read our favorite publication, PC Gamer! And what better to compliment an excellent magazine but an excellent CD-ROM? This month, we've got one of the hottest demos you could possibly get your hands on: Final Fantasy VII! That's right, the incredible PlayStation roleplaying game is coming to the PC, and you can see the demo FIRST on the PC Gamer CD. There are some things to keep in mind about the demo, though, so keep reading this file to find out what you need to know. Because of the short amount of space in the Disc Pages this month, we weren't able to mention a lot of the add-ons we've got this month. Along with some great levels for your favorite games, including Quake II and WarCraft II, we've got the latest units for Total Annihilation and some excellent tracks for Interstate '76. Also, we've got the latest release for Tomb Raider -- Unfinished Business. These four all-new levels add on to the original Tomb Raider, and let you take Lara Croft on more adventures through some scary terrain. We've also got some add-on scenarios for Civil War Generals II. If you thought the war was over, think again! Be sure to keep reading this file for some technical help on some of the demos, and read the Disc Pages to find out even more information on each one! SPEC OPS DEMO Although the back of the CD sleeve mentions the SpecOps demo from Zombie, the demo did not make it into the June issue. Some last minute changes caused it to drop out of the line up. However, look for an even bigger, better, more playable demo on next issue's CD! DIRECTX 5.0 Some of you still aren't reading the Disc Pages! If you try playing a demo, and you receive the error message, "Cannot find DINPUT.DLL," it means you need to install the latest version of DirectX. Currently, it's version 5.0a. You can do this by choosing to install DirectX 5.0 through our front end, or install it manually by running the DXSETUP.EXE file in the \DIRECTX directory on The CD. Also, pay attention to the requirement boxes for each demo in the Disc Pages. It will list whether or not the demo requires DirectX. Remember, folks, READ THE DISC PAGES! That's what they're there for! FINAL FANTASY VII The Final Fantasy VII demo has one limitation: it only runs on 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics 3D accelerator cards. That means if you have a Voodoo Rush or Voodoo 2 card, you can't play the demo. However, if you own one of the following cards, you should have no problem: Diamond Monster 3D Orchid Righteous 3D Deltron Realvision Falsh 3D Skywell Technology Magic 3D Guillemot MaxiGamer Canopus Pure 3D Miro HiScore Besides one of those cards, you HAVE to install the 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics Direct3D drivers included with the demo. That'll mean going into your Control Panel to update the current drivers. These instructions are taken directly from the 3Dfx README.TXT file. You might want to print them to help you install the new drivers. 1) Start Windows 95 and open Device Manager (Control Panel, System) 2) Locate the existing reference to the card it will be listed as: Obsidian Card: Other Devices / PCI Multimedia Device or Multimedia / Voodoo Based 3D Accelerator Monster 3D: Multimedia / Monster 3D Righteous 3D: Sound, Video and Game Contrl / Righteous 3D 3) Double Click on the card, then click the driver Tab 4) Click Change Driver and choose Have Disk. 5) Point to the location you extracted the Voodoo Graphics Direct3D drivers to and click OK. 6) Select Voodoo Graphics Accelerator from the List and click OK. Click OK again to save changes in Device Manager. 7) You MAY then be prompted to insert the "DirectX Drivers for Voodoo Based 3D Accelerator" Disk. Again, point to the path you extracted the files to and press OK. 8) Windows will copy the drivers from the Floppy. Reboot the system when prompted 9) Install DirectX 5.0. (If not already installed) If you have any difficulties with the demo or the 3Dfx drivers, please contact Eidos Interactive. They have far better capability than we do to provide technical support. You can reach them at (415) 547-1244 or send use your web browser to go to: www.eidosinteractive.com/techsupp/em-index.html HEAVY GEAR Just like Final Fantasy VII, Heavy Gear requires the latest 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics Direct3D drivers in order to work. Simply follow the same instructions as for Final Fantasy VII to get the proper drivers installed. NET FIGHTER In order to play Net Fighter, the online action game from SegaSoft, you have to install SegaSoft's HEAT.net software. You can find the software in the Communications Hut on Coconut Monkey's island. Be sure to install HEAT before attempting to play Net Fighter! The program runs through the HEAT front end. FRONT END STUFF Remember that in some cases, we provide links to web sites. In order to use these links, make sure you specify the web browser you want to use in the Communications Hut (if you don't have one chosen, you'll be prompted to do so). Also, to get to the sites, you'll have to dial in to your Internet service provider. Sometimes, you might click "Install Software" under the front end, and it seems like nothing happens. Please be patient. We test each installation program to make sure it runs under the front end. But sometimes, the program takes some time to load images or sub-programs. If you're patient, you'll be rewarded with the installation program loading up. If you're impatient and continually click the "Install Software" button, you might accidentally run the installation program multiple times. A good clue to figure out if your computer is still working on loading the install program is to take a look at your hard drive and CD-ROM lights. If they're flashing, they're processing. We always recommend that if you use the front end to install the demos, make sure you exit out from it before you actually run them. Sometimes demos will conflict with the front end, making the demo do weird things. In extreme situations, we put a warning in the front end itself, but it's a good rule of thumb to use the front end to install the demos, then close it to run them. Remember, you can always bypass our front end all together by manually installing the demos, as described on pages 8 and 9 in the magazine. GENERAL CD STUFF We've gotten quite a few reports of high-speed CD-ROM drives having difficulty reading our CDs. We're not sure why yet, but we're working on it. This issue's CD was created using different software than the last six issues. So if you had problems, let us know if this CD works better for you. Please E-mail us at mwolf@pcgamer.com if your problems go away with this issue. However, if it still doesn't work, and you think it might be a damaged CD, you can get a replacement CD from "subscribe@pcgamer.com" THINGS IN THE WORKS We've heard the suggestions, and we're going to do something about it. A project is currently underway to compile a list of all the patches we've ever put on one of our CDs, culled from Tom McDonald's Extended Play column. The list will include the name of the game, the version, and what CD its located on. We're also going to put together a list of all the demos we've put on one of our CDs. Please be patient with us, however. The data entry will take some time, and it's low on the priority list right now. If you have any other suggestions on how we can improve our CD, please go to support.imaginemedia.com and select Choice Three to send us your suggestions. We'd love to hear them! TECHNICAL SUPPORT If you have any difficulties with any of the demos on The CD, please contact the manufacturer of the demo. The technical support numbers for each publisher are listed on The CD, as well as in the Disc Pages. These demos are culled from a variety of independent sources, and we provide them "as is." We can't even guarantee that every demo will run on your system. If you have problems, contact the manufacturers -- they know more about their product than we do. However, if you're having problems with the front end itself, (like video not playing, or lack of sound), you can send in a report by going to our support site at http://support.imaginemedia.com. Fill out the form, and we'll try to get a response to you as soon as possible. For Customer Service inquiries, like renewing a subscription or getting back issues, you can write or call the numbers listed below: Customer Service PO Box 51199 Boulder, CO 80322 subscribe@pcgamer.com (800) 898-7159 Remember, all other inquiries should be directed to our support site at http://support.imaginemedia.com. Thanks for trying out this month's CD! Michael Wolf William Harms Disc Editor Assistant Disc Editor