M4 v1.04 Update - Technical Notes 15 July 1994 ------------------------------------------------ Welcome to M4. We at Deadly Games hope you enjoy this product. This update fixes problems with Media Vision and some other sound cards. Media Vision owners no longer have to get new Windows sound drivers from Media Vision. The two files in this update, M4.EXE and M4X1.DLL, replace the corresponding original files. Make sure that M4 has been correctly installed on your machine, then copy the files in this update to the M4 directory (normally C:\GAMES\M4). Common problems encountered when installing or running M4: NO SOUND -------- Make sure that you have installed the Windows sound drivers that came with your sound card; this is a common oversight. You may have sound in your MS-DOS games, but if you cannot play any system sounds from the Windows 'Sound' control panel, you need to install or re-install the drivers for your card before you can run M4. OTHER SOUND PROBLEMS -------------------- Some programs which play sounds when an application starts up (such as IconHearIt or HollyWood Sound Clips) interfere with M4. You may need to disable or remove such programs if you receive the error 'The sound driver is in use by another application' when you try to run M4. (This problem should not occur if the sounds played are fairly short, as M4 will wait a few seconds before giving up.) Some 8-bit sound cards (AdLib and early SoundBlaster cards) do not support software volume control. M4 will run, but the volume control on the radio will be inoperative. OUT OF MEMORY ------------- We recommend a minimum of 4 megabytes RAM to run M4, but the combination of Windows and M4 actually requires significantly more memory than this. On 386 and higher machines, virtual memory (hard disk space used as additional RAM) must be enabled if you have less than 8 meg RAM installed. You can enable virtual memory and increase the amount of virtual memory allocated by using the '386 Enhanced' control panel. Generally, it is best to set the amount of virtual memory to the maximum allowed. If your hard disk has become fragmented or has little free space, you may not be able to allocate sufficient virtual memory to run M4. Windows will only allocate as much virtual memory as the largest contiguous block of free space on the hard disk. Before making your virtual memory selections, free up as much disk space as possible, and run a disk optimizing program such as Norton SpeedDisk to compact and/or defragment the hard disk. DISPLAY PROBLEMS ---------------- While M4 will run at any resolution above 640x480, and with any number of colors (16, 256 or higher), best results are obtained at a resolution of 640x480 and 256 colors, particularly on 14 inch monitors. M4 may not operate correctly if a 'Large Font' driver is selected; these are sometimes used at resolutions higher than the standard 640x480 VGA. Select a 'Small Font' driver or a 640x480 resolution driver using the Windows Setup program. Similar problems may occur with the standard 8514/a driver; use the '8514/a (small font)' driver instead, or if possible switch to a lower-resolution 256-color driver. TIPS ---- We strongly recommend that you use the headphones which come with the game rather than external speakers. Headphones make it easier to make out what your crew are saying to you, particularly in the heat of battle, and they add an extra element of realism. If you have any other problems, call Deadly Games tech support at 516/628-1008 (fax 516/628-1039). We can also be contacted on CompuServe (GO DEADLY) and on the Internet (hees@panix.com). Future updates and a tips file will be available on CompuServe. Look for other Deadly Games coming soon for Microsoft Windows: Battle of Britain (available 1 July 94) U-Boat (available Fall 94) If you cannot find our products on your dealer's shelves, call our order hotline at 516/433-9800 (fax 516/433-9329, MC/Visa). All of our games are also available for the Macintosh. Enjoy!