PCMania 73

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iF/A-18E Carrier Strike Fighter Demo README Interactive Magic This file contains information concerning the iF/A-18E CSF Demo and is not all inclusive in regards to the full game. This demo is provided as-is. No support or guarentees are provided for this demo. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents I. INSTALLATION & SETUP II. PERFORMANCE OPTIONS III. FUNCTIONAL ITEMS 1. 3D Accelerator Cards 2. Operations on Machines with Cyrix Processors 3. CH Products Joysticks and Throttles 4. Matrox Millenium, Matrox Mystique, and S3 ViRGE-based video cards 5. Using Digital Joysticks 6. Riva 128 Cards 7. Windows 98 Disk Cleanup 8. Windows 98 and AWE64Gold 9. Screen Maximizing after Joystick Calibration 10. Screen Distorted in 800x600 11. Non US 101/102-Key Keyboards 12. Alt-Tab during mission loading 13. Buzzing sound/static on Carrier Videos 14. FLIR "Black Hot" and "White Hot" 15. DDI Zoom In and DDI Zoom Out 16. Coupled Direct Autopilot Mode 17. User Interface Screens Blacked Out IV. GAMEPLAY 1. Carrier Landings and ACLS 2. 'On the Hook' Time After Landing 3. Easy Radar Mode 4. Padlock View on the Carrier 5. Erratic Velocity Vector 6. Edge of the World V. ACCELERATOR CARDS AND DRIVERS TESTED WITH CSF I. INSTALLATION & SETUP For best performance, we strongly recommend that you quit all other programs before starting the demo. This includes closing the special options bar for Microsoft Office and any applications that periodically pop up dialog boxes, such as e-mail and Scheduling programs. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del once will present you with a box listing all applications running at that time. You can shut these down individually from this window. CSF requires: * Windows 95 * Pentium 166 MHz CPU or faster * 24 Mb RAM * 1024x768 SVGA graphics adapter with 2MB video memory * 8X or faster CD-ROM drive CSF Demo requires the CD be in your computer's CD-ROM drive to play the demo. DirectX 5.2 Please ensure that you have installed the latest DirectX 5 drivers for your particular accelerator. Check your 3D accelerator vendor's Web site or Technical Support hotline for the latest driver information. CSF was designed using DirectX 5.2 and this should be installed for proper functioning. II. PERFORMANCE OPTIONS CSF has been designed and implemented to be enjoyable on a broad variety of systems, from unaccelerated 166 MHz Pentiums with 24MB of RAM to a 3D accelerated 266 MHz Pentium II with 32MB of RAM and beyond. The tradeoff between frame rate (how often the screen gets updated), image quality, and hard disk space requirements is a matter of personal choice, so CSF offers several options to allow you to customize the demo to your hardware configuration. A little experimentation with each of these will help you decide which combination matches your system and the way you want to play the demo. * Enable the demo to use your 3D accelerator card. In the demo, go to Options - Graphics Settings. Select your board from the Direct3D Device drop down and select its 3D Hardware Chipset. * Make sure no other applications are currently open, as they force resource sharing under WIN95. * Defrag your hard drive using the Disk Defragmenter under the Start Menu - Programs - Accessories - System tools. * Allocate at least 80MB of virtual memory. Do this by going to Start - Settings - Control Panel - System - Performance - Virtual Memory. Select the "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings" option then enter a value of 80 or more in the Maximum and Minimum settings windows. Click OK to complete the process. In general the more RAM and virtual memory you have, the better the demo runs. Flight Screen Resolution The demo offers three options for Flight Screen Resolution: 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768. The lowest resolution (640x480) will give the best performance on all systems. If you have a faster machine or a 3D accelerator card, you may want to try experimenting with the higher screen resolutions. The higher resolutions will provide more visual detail, including crisper cockpit and HUD display and more detailed out-the-window graphics. Note that many 3D accelerators do not have enough memory to run the demo at 1024x768 resolution. Terrain Resolution Each theater in CSF has two levels of terrain resolution: Low and High. The High Resolution setting provides much more detail in the terrain, but may cause occasional, brief dips in performance on slower machines. Perspective Correction This option is only used by the demo when you are not using a 3D accelerator card to enhance the performance. Using this option prevents terrian and other object textures from appearing distorted or warped looking, especially when flying close to the ground. When turned on, this option may slow frame rate by 20% or more when flying at low altitudes. When flying at higher altitude there is no penalty. Field of View (FOV) This option modifies the amount of "peripheral vision" available on the screen. The larger the value the more you can see on the screen. However, with increased FOV, objects will appear smaller and it may slow the performance of the demo. Decreasing the FOV may improve performance. Gradient Sky and Smoke Trails The System Setup screen allows you to turn each of these visual effects on or off. Turning them off may give you a small performance increase at the expense of some visual quality. Turning smoke trails off may deprive you of some visual cues that you'll need to play the demo effectively, so we don't recommend turning these off. III. FUNCTIONAL ITEMS 1. 3D Accelerator Cards CSF uses Direct3D for 3D accelerator support. Most 3D accelerator cards that work with Direct3D should work in CSF provided they support alpha blending, basic texture mapping, and chroma keying. Additionally, the card should have at least 4MB of on-board RAM to work properly with CSF. Most problems related to playing CSF with Direct3D enabled can be traced back to the video drivers. For example, we have seen problems with flying through clouds using a board's February drivers but the problem was solved when we updated the machine to the current drivers from July. Please refer to your board manufacturer's documentation to ensure you have the latest release level version of the drivers and that they are set-up correctly. CSF has been tested with a large variety of accelerated video cards, and is known to work with nearly all of them, though actual performance benefits may vary. A list of tested cards can be found at the end of this readme. Owners of Apocalypse 3D card will find that each time they set their card to Maximum Perfomance the demo will freeze. Therefore, set the card to Maximum Compatible to avoid this problem. 2. Operations on machines with Cyrix processors Many Cyrix owners use a utility called 686_p.exe, which is loaded when their machine boots up. This utility is designed to fool Windows into believing that an Intel Pentium chip is installed on the machine. Unfortunately, this will induce crashes in CSF. When Win95 reports to CSF that a Pentium chip is in use, the demo then uses Pentium-specific routines. These routines cannot be run by a Cyrix chip, and the demo crashes. To fix this problem, simply remove 686_p.exe from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, reboot, and run CSF again. 3. CH Products Joysticks and Throttles CSF uses DirectInput to get joystick information. In our testing with the Flightstick Pro we have seen the use of the hat cause view changes and weapons firing because its driver is telling us that there is no hat. We have modified our code to force reading of hat information for joysticks we know have a hat. Unfortunately, the Flightstick Pro returns combinations of button presses (which can cause view changes or weapon firing) instead of position data. If you have the CH Combatstick or the Virtual Pilot Pro joystick you must install the Windows 95 Combatstick or Virtual Pilot Pro Driver from CH Products. This driver will enable all of the buttons and the hat switches to be recognized. If you do not have this driver or are having difficulties with it, CH Products suggests calibrating the Combatstick as a CH Flightstick Pro for partial functionality or using CH's calibration applet. The CH Throttle uses the same gameport analog channel as the hat switch on Thrustmaster compatible joysticks. This could cause the throttle to override the hat switch and use it for the throttle's slider controller instead. CH Products suggests selecting a CH Flightstick Pro or joystick with a throttle in the Windows 95 Joystick Properties. The Pro Throttle works in a similar fashion. You will need to specify which controller, the slider or the hat switch will be analog and which you want to be keyboard-programmed. You will then need to program that controller. Instructions can be found at CH's website in their FAQ. The drivers and additional information can be found at: http://www.chproducts.com/support.html 4. Matrox Millenium and S3-ViRGE based video cards The Matrox Millienium will report 3D accelerator support to Direct3D, however it only supports a very limited 3D feature set. Because of the lack of basic texture mapping, alpha blending and chroma keying, this board should not be regarded as a 3D accelerator. CSF requires these features and will not work properly (most likely crash) if you attempt to run the demo with 3D acceleration enabled with this board. You will have to run using software only. Technical problems have been reported by owners of Matrox Mystique and S3-ViRGE based video cards (including the Diamond Stealth 3D series). Reported symptoms vary greatly, and may occur with or without Direct3D enabled. Some 3D boards, that do not support RGBA4444 pixel formats (such as the S3 ViRGE and some ATI boards), will not perform alpha blending correctly. These may cause some visual anomolies during the demo. You may want to aquire the newest drivers for the chipset itself from S3's Drivers and Utilities page. Be sure that you know exactly which chipset your video card has on it (this information should be in the video card's manual or the manufacturer of the video card can tell you). 5. Using Digital Joysticks If you are using a digital joystick and are experiencing spinning views or the gun firing continuously, it may be caused by a conflict with your joystick. Your sound card's game port not passing MIDI signals to the DirectInput portion of DirectX. Often, simply updating your sound card's driver will fix this problem. The DirectX Diagnosis Page on our website has a section with additional suggestions on how to setup a digital joystick if you have problems with it working properly in DirectX. The url is: http://www.imagicgames.com/support.dir/faq.dir/directx.html 6. Riva 128 Cards If you have a video card based on the Riva 128 chip set you may see certain graphics problems or crashes. A freeware utility called NV3 Tweak assists you in adjusting settings to fix compatibility problems or better optimize Direct3D performance. NV3 Tweak can be found on our tech support website at: http://www.imagicgames.com/techsupp.html Once you have installed this utility, go to display properties and click on the Riva 128 tab. Disable "Use square textures only" by removing the check from the box next to it. 7. Windows 98 Disk Cleanup Under Windows 98, a system tool called disk cleanup pops up whenever a hard drive gets too close to full (user settable type option). If CSF is installed to a drive that is relatively full, more information is transfered to/from the disk and could cause the system to start the cleanup tool. The tool gains focus and makes it difficult to use or even close down CSF. You may disable this utility for the drive it is checking by right clicking on the drive and select Properties. On the General tab select "Disk Cleanup..." On the Settings tab uncheck "If this drive runs low on disk space automatically run Disk Cleanup." 8. Windows 98 and AWE64Gold Some people running Windows 98 and an AWE64Gold sound card have experienced problems where changing the the Music Volume Slider in the demo's System Settings resulted in either no change of the volume in the demo or acting like a master volume for both music and sound effects. Look on www.soundblaster.com for updated Windows98 drivers for the Awe64Gold card which may solve this problem. 9. Screen Not Maximizing after Joystick Calibration If you go to joystick calibration from the systems setting icon, the demo may not restore to full screen after you exit the game controller dialog. To restore the demo, press Alt-Enter. 10. Screen Distorted in 800x600 Some video cards cause the aspect ratio in 800x600 to be off and the screen appear distorted. Adjusting your monitor settings may aleviate this problem. 11. Non US 101/102-Key Keyboards Key mappings on foreign keyboards or keyboards which are not the standard 101/102-Key keyboard may not match what is listed on the key card. They are related to the physical location of the key on the keyboard and not its value. Experimenting with key remapping until you have achieved settings that work for you. 12. Alt-Tab during Mission Loading Selecting Alt-Tab (minimize) while missions are loading will crash the demo. This is caused by a conflict between Win95 and demo resources. 13. FLIR "Black Hot" and "White Hot" The keylist indicates that you can change the FLIR display between "White Hot" and "Black Hot" using Shift-Ins and Shift-Del keys respectively." This function is not available in the demo. 14. DDI Zoom In and Zoom Out Different terminology is used on the key card and in the user interface. The commands listed on the key card as, "Increase Radar Display Range," "Decrease Radar Display Range," "Increase FLIR Magnification," and "Decrease FLIR Magnification" are listed as "DDI Zoom In" and "DDI Zoom Out" in keyboard remapping. 15. User Interface Screens Blacked Out If, when returning to the user interface from flying a mission the screen is black and only the animations are shown, press F1 to refresh the screen. IV. GAME PLAY 1. Carrier Landings and ACLS The Automatic Carrier Landing System is designed to land you aboard the carrier hands off and is realistically simulated in CSF. Since it uses the Automatic Flight Control System to do this certain bank angle, AOA and 'g' limits restrict its ability to get 'on glideslope' and 'on-speed'. To provide the ACLS the necessary time and airspace to properly fly the approach, engage the system as near the centerline and on glideslope as possible. The system should be engaged outside of 5 miles. Successful approaches can be made with engagements off course/glideslope by increasing the range at which the system is engaged. You may find the carrier will change course while you are on approach. This is true in actual carrier operations. Once a turn is made, the ship will normally remain on the new heading for 15-20 minutes before turning again. To prevent turns at the last minute, call the tower once inside 5 miles. This will freeze the carrier heading until you land or complete the pass. 2. 'On the Hook' Time After Landing Once you've come to a stop after landing on the carrier, you will remain 'on the hook' connected to the arresting wire, for a period of approximately 4 secs. After that, you're considered to be 'off the hook' and will be placed back on the catapult. 3. Easy Radar Mode The F/A-18E's radar systems can be very complex to master. While you are learning the other controls, an overhead tactical radar mode is available to find targets in relationship to you. Although it is cheating, if you are having problems learning the F/A-18E's avionics, this may make things easier. Shift-Alt-W will display the easy radar mode in the active DDI. In the center of the display is an icon representing you. Other icons represent enemy (red), friendly (green), wingman (blue) and ground targets (yellow). 4. Padlock View on Carrier Shift-P will give you a padlock view on the carrier. 5. Erratic Velocity Vector In the Realistic flight model, you may note erratic movement of the velocity vector and vertical speed indicator while sitting on the catapult awaiting launch. This is caused by various sensors on the aircraft being affected by ship movement. It will stabilize once the cat stroke begins. 6. Edge of the World CSF use actual satelite photos and elevation data and therefore the world has defined boundaries. As you near this boundary, you will be given a 'Entering No-Fly Zone' warning. You should turn away at this time. If you continue to fly toward the border you will eventually hit the 'brick wall' of the world and the following will occur: - Joystick, rudder and throttle controls are disabled. - Coupled Direct autopilot is engaged to place you on a direct path back to your current waypoint. - A warning message ("Entering No-Fly Zone. Course correction engaged") appears on the chat bar. These steps will remain in affect until your position is corrected and you are back within the desired theater boundaries. The message, "Course corrected", notifies you when control has been restored. V. ACCELERATOR CARDS AND DRIVERS TESTED WITH CSF We have made every attempt to test CSF with a variety of 3D Accelerator Cards and different driver levels. Below is a list of some of those we have verified and know to work: ATI All-In-Wonder AGP ver: 5.2 build 4.10.2411 ATI Rage Pro ver: 5.00 Canopus Pure3D ver: 1.51 Canopus Pure 3D II ver: 1.10 Creative Labs 3D Blaster Voodoo2 12MB ver: 2.16 Creative Labs 3D Blaster Voodoo2 8MB ver: 2.16 Diamond Monster 3D II ver: 4.10.01.0200 Diamond Stealth G460 AGP ver: 4.10.01.0136 & 4.10.01.1400 Intergraph Intense 3D ver: 4.10 Matrox G200 AGP w/ PowerDesk v4.00.015 ver: 4.10.01.4000 Metabyte Wicked 3D ver: Original drivers Orchid Righteous 3D (3Dfx) PCI ver: 3.01.00 Orchid Righteous 3D 2 ver: 1.2 Permedia 2 AGP ver: 4.03.2102-0182 Real3D Starfighter AGP ver: 0229 Rendition Verite 1000 ver: 4.10.00.1555 Sierra Screamin' 3D ver: 2.20.07 STB Blackmagic ver: 2.16 STB Velocity 128 ver: 4.10.01.0166 STB Velocity 3D (Riva128/nVidia) AGP ver: 4.10.01.0105 STB Velocity 128 ver: 1.80 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 'Windows 95', 'Windows 98' and 'Explorer' are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 'Pentium' is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.