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░░▒▒▓▓██ ALIEN CARNAGE v1.0 ON-DISK TECHNICAL SUPPORT ██▓▓▒▒░░ Copyright 1994 SubZero Software / Interactive Binary Illusions Distributed by Apogee Software, Ltd. P.O. Box 496389 ■ Garland, TX 75049 ■ Tech Support: (214) 278-5655 =================== SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS =================== ■ Alien Carnage requires a 286 computer with 517k of free conventional memory. If you wish to play with sound and music however, you will need 565k of free conventional memory. The game will optionally let you play with a joystick or a Gravis GamePad. The Sound Blaster and Sound Blaster Pro sound cards are also optinally supported. ======================== BEFORE RUNNING THIS GAME ======================== ■ This game is not designed to be run under MicroSoft Windows. Windows takes up far too many system resources that our programs require for efficient and proper operation. When running this program, DO NOT LAUNCH FROM WINDOWS. Run it directly from DOS. If you are in the Windows environment, quit Windows and then run the program. (NOTE: Using the MS/DOS Icon does not exit you from Windows. That is a shell from Windows.) ■ Any kind of menu program such as Dos Shell will most likely cause problems. We recommend running our programs completely from the DOS prompt. ■ All of our products require at least MS/DOS 3.3 or greater. We recommend, however, using at least DOS 5, but preferably DOS 6, because these versions have far better memory management than any previous versions of DOS. =========================== ALIEN CARNAGE SPECIFIC HELP =========================== ■ Alien Carnage requires a minimum of 560k free conventional memory in order to run with Sound Blaster music and sound effects. If you have less than 560k available, the sounds will not work, but the game will play. If you have less than 517k conventional free, the game will not run at all. You must have a minimum of 517k conventional memory free to play the game, and 560k conventional memory free to receive Sound Blaster music and sounds. ■ This version of Alien Carnage includes a fix for the Weitek P9000 chipset. This chipset was widely used in the Diamond Viper Stealth card, and the Orchid P9000 cards. The fix for this is not a default setting. You must start the game using the command line parameter NOPAGE in order to take advantage of this fix. If you had problems with the previous release of Alien Carnage, try this fix, as this may work for you, too. If you find yourself with video problems, make sure to try this switch. ■ If the game appears to be running slowly, turn on the "Turbo Mode" in the game's configuration. If it's still running too slow, shut off the music. Shutting off the music will also speed up game play. ■ If you have a Gravis UltraSound, you must load SBOS in order to play this game. You must ensure that your version of SBOS is v3.8 or greater. If you have an older version, you will not be able to play the game (with sound and music). If you have an older version, contact Gravis for an update. ■ If you have a Sound Blaster 16 (or 16 ASP) card, you may run into a problem after playing for a long amount of time. You may find that your sound starts coming out of only one speaker, and the volume is drastically increased. If this happens to you, the only way to solve the problem, is to turn your computer completely OFF, and start again. The reason for this is that the game does a lot of interrupt calls, and the card cannot keep up properly. ■ If you are using a Pro Audio Spectrum 16 sound card. However, it is very important to correctly install Media Vision's driver (MVSOUND.SYS) before setting Alien Carnage to run with this sound card. Please refer to their documentation for instructions. If the driver is not installed correctly, the system will crash. If you get poor sound support from the PAS16 card, you may need to disable DMA sharing with your card. Please refer to the documentation that came with the card for instructions. The first place to try looking to solve the problem is the "SET BLASTER" example listed in General Problem 1, Solution 3. 95% of PAS16 problems can be solved by proper use of the "SET BLASTER" line. ■ Not all clone sound cards properly emulate the Creative Labs Sound Card. This program was written for a Creative Labs Sound card, and functions properly on all Creative Labs cards. Not all cards properly emulate the Creative Labs standard. If your card is having problems, try the "SET BLASTER" idea mentioned in General Problem 1, Solution 3. There is one card that we are aware of that has problems with the game and won't run at all. That's the MediaVision Thunderboard. Some revisions of this card have a problem with their Sound Blaster emulation chip. Contact MediaVision and inquire about a U13 chip replacement. If you have a Thunderboard and the game does work, you probably already have the updated version of the card. ■ Alien Carnage has some specific requirements of your sound card in order for the proper functioning of the game's sound output. Your DMA channel must be set at 1, and the IRQ has to be either 5 or 7. An IRQ higher than 7 will not work. If your IRQ is set at 2, it MAY work. Apogee can not reliably report that IRQ2 is a valid IRQ for this game. More detailed information on how to address this information to the can be found in General Problem 1, Solution 3. Please also note that most sound problems with the game can be solved by using the "SET BLASTER" information. Some other programs you run on your computer may interfere with the proper execution of this game. If you are still having trouble, reboot your computer, and make sure Alien Carnage is the first thing run after your system processes your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. ■ There are a few command line parameters you can try to use to help other things that might turn up when playing the game. A command line parameter is something that you type on the command line after the name of the program you're running. The /C switch will be used as an example. To use that parameter, you would need to start the game like this... CARNAGE /C The command line parameters for Alien Carnage are stackable, which means that you can use more than one at a time, if you need to. An example of a stacked set of command line parameters would look like this... CARNAGE /C SLOWPAL The full list of command line parameters is as follows: /C -> This forces the game to go to the configuration menu. By default, if you have already configured your game, the configuration screen will not be brought up. This parameter will force the configuration menu to be brought up when you start the game. SLOWPAL -> This forces a "slow" palette update. This is needed for very fast VGA/SVGA video cards (this includes local bus video cards). On some video cards, the palette may be off and will look incorrect. This parameter should fix that problem as well, but may cause palette "snow" on the screen. INFO -> Displays miscellaneous program information. This information includes copyright information, the game version number, and the current configuration of the game. If you ever call for technical support on Alien Carnage, and are unable to be at your computer, please have this information with you. NOPAGE -> This disables SVGA page-flipping code. On some video cards, the game may flicker, or will not work at all. This parameter will force the game into "standard mode", and should solve the problems listed above. This switch is required for the fix for the Diamond Viper/P9000 chipset. If you do not use this switch, the game will still have the problems you experienced with the first version of the game. =========================================== HOW TO GET ALIEN CARNAGE RUNNING UNDER OS/2 =========================================== Apogee recommends running this game under DOS only. However, we have managed to get the game running under our OS/2 v2.11 test machine, and these settings should work for you. Create a program reference object and make the following changes to the default settings: DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION=OFF DOS_HIGH=ON DOS_UMB=ON DPMI_NETWORK_BUFF_SIZE=64 EMS_HIGH_OS_MAP_REGION=64 EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT=3072 HW_TIMER=ON IDLE_SECONDS=60 IDLE_SENSITIVITY=100 INT_DURING_IO=ON KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND=OFF MOUSE_EXCLUSIVE_ACCESS=ON VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP=OFF VIDEO_ONDEMAND_MEMORY=OFF VIDEO_RETRACE_EMULATION=OFF VIDEO_ROM_EMULATION=OFF XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT=64 These settings are not officially supported by Apogee. Your mileage may vary. ==================================== HOW DO I MAKE MORE MEMORY AVAILABLE? ==================================== If Mystic Towers returns a message that says you do not have enough memory to run the game, or the program behaves erratically when it is executed, you will need to make more conventional memory available. We get a lot of questions like "I have 8 meg of memory, what do you mean I need more memory?" If this sounds like a question you might ask, then read the section called "The 640k barrier". There are virtually millions of ways a config.sys file can be arranged to provide memory, and you'd be reading this document forever if we tried to explain them all, so we'll just give you one simple example that will work. It is a simple setup, and will provide you with enough memory in order to run the game. Furthermore, there are also several versions of DOS out there. We will provide examples that use MS/DOS commands. If your version of DOS is not MS/DOS, you would need to use the appropriate substitute commands for the MS/DOS counterparts. If you are unfamiliar with editing your configuration files, or are uneasy about it, get a friend of yours that is familiar with the procedure to help, or check your DOS manual on how to use the Text (ASCII) editor that comes with your version of DOS. SAMPLE CONFIG.SYS ----------------- DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM DOS=HIGH,UMB FILES=30 BUFFERS=30 STACKS=9,256 FCBS=16,0 DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DRVSPACE.SYS /MOVE The last line should only be used if you're using MS/DOS's DriveSpace utility. (That would also most likely be the place you have a Stacker, SuperStor, or other some disk compression driver). Other things that would go in here would be sound drivers (SoundBlaster 16, Pro Audio Spectrum 16, etc..). SAMPLE AUTOEXEC.BAT ------------------- @echo off SET BLASTER=A220 Ix Dy Tz C:\MOUSE\MOUSE cls You would only put the mouse line in there if you use the mouse to play the game, and you would only use the SET BLASTER line if you are playing with a sound card. Mystic Towers uses the BLASTER variable to determine where to send it's sound output. If you do find that you need some sort of modified config.sys and autoexec.bat files in order to run this game, you might wish to explore what is about to be said. Later revisions of DOS (MS/DOS 6.x+, and DR-DOS 6+) have built into them the capabilities of "Multiple Boot Configurations". If you are familiar with these procedures, it will be a snap to do. If you are unfamiliar, you need to consult your DOS manual. The process varies greatly from computer to computer depending on how you have your system set up, so this will not be explained here. However, the time spent learning this procedure from your DOS manual will benefit you greatly elsewhere, in addition to this game. When you do set up a separate configuration, use what is listed above for the config.sys and autoexec.bat commands in this new boot configuration. This will work for this game, and for most other Apogee titles as well. This document does not pretend to be your DOS manual, but it does give you a basic explanation as to why you may not have enough memory in order to run a program of ours. If you are still having trouble getting this program to run after attempting the steps outlined above, you need to consult your DOS manual on "How to make more conventional memory" available. Your DOS manual has far more exhaustive examples on how to do this than we could possibly document here. Apogee Technical Support is unable to assist beyond what is documented here. If you are still having trouble getting the program to run, it is not a fault of our game, it is a limitation of DOS. Please check your DOS manual, or call MicroSoft's Technical Support Department. ================ THE 640K BARRIER ================ This section isn't actually needed in order to get our programs running. What is contained in here is for the most part background information to better assist our customers in understanding why they need to make more conventional memory available. When MicroSoft first made DOS 1.0, 640 kilobytes (KB) was set aside as the highest amount of memory that a computer could have. The 640KB of memory is what is called "conventional memory". To maintain compatibility with older versions, this was never changed. Advances in memory management have made access to memory beyond 640KB, but this memory can only hold data; the program actually has to run in the first 640KB. This first 640k is called "Conventional Memory". Here is a brief discussion of the different types of memory available on your computer. The most important one is Conventional memory. ■ CONVENTIONAL MEMORY starts at 0k and normally ends at 640k. (The cases where this is not the case are EXTREMELY rare) If you are not using some sort of memory manager (such as DOS's EMM386, Quarterdeck's QEMM, or Qualitas' 386MAX), this is the only type of memory you have. Conventional memory is used by DOS as well as device drivers and TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident Programs). A TSR is a program that is loaded into your computer's memory (usually from the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files) and stays there. Most programs remove themselves from memory after execution, a TSR does not. Device drivers and TSR's are programs that enable the computer to use additional hardware such as a mouse, scanner, CD-ROM, expanded or extended memory, etc. A program such as an Apogee game is NOT a program that can be loaded as a TSR. If all you have is conventional memory, anything that you would load as a TSR would come out of this section of memory. Take too much away, and you're not left over with enough memory to run our product. If you are getting an out of memory error from our program, it is this memory that you are running out of. Whether you have 1 meg, 8 meg of memory, or 32 meg of memory, it's irrelevant. Only the first 640k of memory is available for program execution. Please do not confuse this with hard drive space. Your hard drive space is not memory, and is not relevant nor should be considered in this example. ■ UPPER MEMORY starts at 640k and ends at 1024k. Normally, this area is used for things such as system ROM, video and hardware cards, and the like. On most PC's hardware does not use the entire upper memory area, and with the use of the aforementioned memory managers, (EMM386, QEMM, 386MAX, etc.) you can move some TSR's into this memory area. These unused areas are called Upper Memory Blocks (UMB'S), and this where some TSR's can be loaded. ■ EXTENDED MEMORY (XMS) is the memory addressed above 1024k. Extended memory requires the use of a memory manager, such as MS/DOS's HIMEM.SYS. This region of memory is not usable for standard program execution; it can only be used for data storage. Apogee programs that use this type of memory (such as Wolfenstein & Blake Stone), only use this to store level or graphic data. The actual program itself is running in conventional memory. ■ HIGH MEMORY AREA (HMA) is the first 64k of extended memory. This is a special region of memory that is most commonly used to load DOS high. When you issue the DOS=HIGH command in your config.sys file, the amount of conventional memory that was previously being occupied by DOS itself is moved into this region. ■ EXPANDED MEMORY (EMS) is another type of memory that some MS/DOS programs can make use of. Like XMS, this memory is not available for program execution, it's only used for data storage due to it's nature. An explanation of this type of memory is rather technical, so it will not be delved into here. If you're curious, check your DOS manual, or your memory manager manual. When you first start up your computer, there are two files that your computer looks at: CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. These two files contain lists of device drivers and TSR's that are automatically run when starting your computer. Each of these takes up space, and it is taken away from the 640k of conventional memory. As more and more programs are loaded from the autoexec.bat and config.sys files, you have less and less available from the original 640k. Since it is this memory that programs run in, you can see that the amount taken away from the programs executed in config.sys and autoexec.bat would want to be kept to a minimum. This can be accomplished by either reducing the amount of programs loaded in from config.sys and autoexec.bat, or moving them to high memory via the use of EMM386, QEMM, 386MAX, or some other memory management program. ======================================================== WHAT IS THE "SET BLASTER" COMMAND, AND WHY DO I NEED IT? ======================================================== Mystic Towers (and any other Apogee game that uses the Sound Blaster) uses the SET BLASTER command to figure out where to send it's sound output. A Sound Blaster card can have many different sound outputs, and since there are zillions of computers out there, a way needs to be used in order to tell the game where your sound card is located. The SET BLASTER line is how we do it. Check to make sure that you have the SET BLASTER line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The line looks like this. This code is an example, and isn't exactly what you need to put in your system, make sure to read this whole section. SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T3 | | | | | | | | | | | |______ Type of Card | | | | |_________ DMA Channel | | | |___________ Interrupt | | |________________ Port Address | |_______________________ Environment Variable |____________________________ DOS Command NOTE: There can be no spaces between the word BLASTER and the equal sign (=). If you have a space in there, your system will read it incorrectly, and it will not be recognized by our games. Now, these may not (most likely not) be the same for your board, because the Port Address, Interrupt and DMA Channel can be set by adjusting "jumpers" on your sound board. Some newer cards have this information controlled by software, please consult your card's manual for more information on how to set these things. You should also check your manual if you are unclear as to how to tell what settings your card is set at. The information *IS* important, so it's recommended that you know precisely what the settings are. If you are using a card that "emulates" the Sound Blaster (such as the Gravis UltraSound through software, or the PAS16), you should check your card's manual on how to set the card for Sound Blaster emulation. For PORT ADDRESS, it's almost always 220. That seems to be the default for most sound cards out there, and unless you know you've switched it away from 220, it's a safe bet it's still there. The INTERRUPT is something that varies from system to system. Mystic Towers requires that your IRQ be set at 7 or less. If your computer is at IRQ10, you will have to change it to something lower than 8 in order to play the game. Apogee does not recommend using IRQ2. Most of the people we run into who use IRQ2 have difficulty getting their programs to run properly, unless they switch to a different IRQ channel. The DMA CHANNEL is one that causes some people problems. By default, this is almost always set at 1. Unless you have a specific need to change this, it's probably still at 1. If you're running into lockups using digitized sounds with Apogee games, this is probably where your problem lies. If you get lockups with an Apogee game that has digitized sounds, and this variable is correct, try turning off the digitized sounds, and if the game plays right, you probably have a DMA conflict. Adjust the DMA channel on your sound card, then reflect said change in this variable in the SET BLASTER line. The TYPE OF CARD is something that is fairly easy to check out. If you're running a non-Creative Labs sound card, then you want this to either be 1 or 3, depending on which card it is. It's usually 1. For a genuine Sound Blaster card, it's one of these... 1 or 3 for a plain Sound Blaster. 2 or 4 for a Sound Blaster Pro, or a 6 for a Sound Blaster 16 or an AWE32). The factor in choosing between the two numbers here is the age of the card. If it's an older card, than choose the smaller number (1 or 2). Clone cards, or cards that emulate the Sound Blaster usually have a T variable of 1. Experiment to see what works best for you. I get a lot of questions from people wanting to know why they have to use this if they don't have a Sound Blaster. Well, it's simple. This command has NOTHING to do with what type of command you use. Apogee games that use digitized sounds expect these cards to be at specific settings. If they are not, then the game needs to be told this. The way to do this is with the environment variable BLASTER. That's why this is needed. Some of our newer programs (Raptor, Hocus Pocus) have specific setup programs which let you set up this information manually, but they still require the SET BLASTER line to operate at 100% efficiency. Please remember to add this to AUTOEXEC.BAT, save the file back to disk, reboot your computer, and make sure to delete the game config file (HARRY.CFG) before running again. If you have any further questions, please drop Apogee a line. ============================ CONTACTING TECHNICAL SUPPORT ============================ Apogee thanks you very much for playing our games. Customer satisfaction is a high priority of Apogee's, and we strive to please everyone. Our Technical Support staff is available to assist all of our customers in solving any technical problems that may be experienced. Our Technical Support Department is available to answer your questions Monday through Friday during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Central Standard Time. The phone number for the Tech Support Department is (214) 278-5655. However, the voice line isn't your only channel of contact. We are also reachable via a fax machine at (214) 278-4670, (24 Hours a Day) or you can write to us. Our mailing address is: Apogee Software POB 496389 Garland, TX 75049-6389 United States of America Apogee Technical Support can also be contacted via a variety of electronic medium. Several major online services are monitored, and Apogee's E-Mail addresses are listed below. Also, a variety of Bulletin Board networks are monitored as well, and those are also listed. If you do contact our Technical Support department, please be at your computer, and have it ready for assistance. If you can't be at your computer, please have printouts of the following things available, so that we may assist you better. It may be possible do provide technical support without these things, but it will be much more difficult. The needed files are CONFIG.SYS & AUTOEXEC.BAT, plus what happens when you execute the "MEM /C" command (or just MEM if you get an error using MEM /C). ■ Major Online Services America Online -> APOGEE CompuServe -> 74200,553 Delphi -> APOGEE Genie -> APOGEE Prodigy -> CXVP94A NVN -> JSIEGLER FidoNet -> 1:124/9006 Internet -> joe.siegler@swcbbs.com ■ Bulletin Board Networks There are several BBS networks that are monitored for Apogee messages. Our Online Support Representative monitors all of the following BBS networks. Fidonet, Relaynet (Rime), Intelec, Ilink, U'NI-Net, Smartnet, & City2City. All of these BBS networks have Games, Shareware, and Apogee conferences. And of course, we can be reached on Software Creations, the Apogee BBS! [ END OF FILE ]