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GameStar 2002 April
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Gamestar_39_2002-04_cd2.bin
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ReadMe.txt
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2002-01-17
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ZUXXEZ Entertainment AG
Earth 2150: Escape from the Blue Planet
Version 2.8.7.1
02/24/2000
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System Requirements
Installation
Game Performance
Troubleshooting
- Video Card Issues
- 3dfx Video Cards
- GeForce 256 Video Cards
- Alt-Tab and Task Switching
- Sound and Audio Problems
Map Editor
Gameplay Issues
- Camera Controls
- Main Base & Space Port
- Transferring Resources
- Research Tree
- LC and Solar Power
- Unit Limits
- Artifacts and Special Units
- Queing Building Construction
- Canceling Building Construction
- Edge of the Map
How to Contact Technical Support
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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
* Windows 95 or 98
* Pentium 200 or better; (Pentium II 400 recommended)
* 32 MB of RAM; (64MB of RAM recommended)
* 3D Hardware Accelerated video card with 4MB RAM;
(8MB recommended)
* 4X CD-ROM required; (8X CD-ROM recommended)
* DirectX 6.1 or higher (DirectX 7.0 recommended)
* 130MB minimum hard disk space
* Multi-Player: TCP/IP, IPX, LAN, Modem to Modem, and direct
Serial connections (56K or better required for modem play;
Internet Service Provider required for internet play)
--------------------------------------------------------------
INSTALLATION
Insert the Earth 2150 CD into your CD-ROM drive. When the Auto-
run screen appears, click on the "Setup" button to start the
installer program. If the Auto-run screen does not appear after
you insert the CD, click on the Windows "Start" button, then
choose "Run". Type in the following command at the Run prompt
(replace the X with your CD-ROM drive letter): "x:\install.exe".
Then push the "Enter" key to start installing the game.
--------------------------------------------------------------
GAME PERFORMANCE
If you're playing a multiplayer or skirmish game on a minimum
spec machine, you may experience some slowdown when there are
a lot of units firing on the screen. We suggest you limit the
maximum number of units to 20,000 CR.
In multiplayer games, always make sure the fastest machine is
the host for the game. In addition, game performance may be
adversely affected if the host machine is running Earth 2150
at a very high resolution. Adding AI players may also slow the
game down since the host will have to do more processing.
To improve performance, we suggest that you reduce the Visible
Range in the Graphic Options. Go to "Options" and click the
"Graphics" tab. Then move the "Visible Range" slider to the
left. You can also turn off graphical effects such as snow,
rain, and atmospheric fog. Finally, turning off the music
soundtrack will also improve performance.
--------------------------------------------------------------
TROUBLESHOOTING
Video Card Issues
Earth 2150 should run well on almost any Direct3D (Windows
95/98 only), OpenGL, or Glide compatible 3D accelerator card
that supports Z-Buffering, Bilinear Filtering and Alpha-
Blending. Video Cards using Z-Sorting instead of Z-Buffering
are not supported due to advanced Z-buffer based tricks used
in the 3D engine.
Most video display problems can be corrected by installing the
latest reference drivers for your particular video card. Please
consult your video card documentation for details on how to
get the latest drivers for your card.
If you are using a custom cursor, especially with shadow,
it may cause video corruption. We strongly recommend disabling
custom cursors while playing Earth 2150.
If your system has two or more video cards and you use windowed
mode, Earth 2150 may appear on the wrong monitor. Whenever you
change your video card or reinstall drivers, run the Setup.exe
to adjust settings.
We strongly recommend using standard resolutions with a 4:3
aspect ratio (e.g., 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, or 1280x1024)
in HighColor or TrueColor mode. Remember: the higher the
resolution, the slower the game will be, especially if your
card has only 4MB or 8MB of video ram.
Memory needed to run the game in a given resolution:
Resolution | Video Memory
-----------------------------------------------------------
640 x 480 x 16 | 4 MB
800 x 600 x 16 | 6 MB
1024 x 760 x 16 | 8 MB
1280 x 1024 x 16 | 12 MB
640 x 480 x 32 | 8 MB
800 x 600 x 32 | 10 MB
1024 x 760 x 32 | 12 MB
1280 x 1024 x 32 | 18 MB
-----------------------------------------------------------
Exceptions:
Voodoo 1 only 640 x 480 x 16 mode
Voodoo 2 only 640 x 480 x 16, 800 x 600 x 16 modes
Voodoo Rush only 640 x 480 x 16 mode
NOTE: 3dfx Voodoo chipsets only work in 16 bit mode.
OpenGL drivers enumerate TrueColor modes only if the Windows
desktop is also in TrueColor mode.
3dfx Video Cards
When playing Earth 2150 with a video card using any 3dfx
chipset (Voodoo 1, Voodoo 2, or Voodoo 3), the Glide
renderer option should be selected in the Setup program
for best performance.
Some older cards, e.g., Voodoo Rush and Voodoo 1 cards, do
not support per vertex fog which causes the game switch to
fog mode from "environmental" to "black". In some situations,
you may have to switch fog mode manually. Go to "Options"
and click the "Graphics" tab and then check "Black".
If you had a Voodoo card in your system at any time and you
did not uninstall it properly, the game may crash. To avoid
this problem, go to the "Windows\System" directory and
delete (or rename) "Glide3x.dll".
GeForce 256 Video Cards
Players with GeForce 256 video cards should select the OpenGL
renderer option for best performance.
Alt-Tab and Task Switching
Task switching via Alt-Tab or Alt-Esc is not recommended when
playing Earth 2150. Task switching can cause Earth 2150 to
lock up and require you to restart your computer.
Sound & Audio Problems
Most sound card problems can be corrected by installing the
latest drivers for your particular card. Please consult your
sound card documentation for details on how to get the
latest drivers for your card.
If your system does not play audio tracks or plays them
incorrectly (e.g., too fast or too slow) you can try
reinstalling Microsoft's Windows Media Player, which is
responsible for audio track decompression.
--------------------------------------------------------------
MAP EDITOR
A map editor is included with Earth 2150. It is an unsupported
feature of the game. Please do not call Technical Support
regarding issues with the map editor.
--------------------------------------------------------------
GAMEPLAY ISSUES
Camera Controls
The camera is controlled entirely with the mouse. Moving the
mouse to the edges of the screen will scroll the playing field
in that direction, i.e., moving the mouse to the left edge of
the screen will scroll the playing field to the left.
To rotate the camera, hold down the right mouse button and move
the mouse left or right. To change the angle of the camera, hold
down the right mouse button and move the mouse up or down. If
you have a wheelmouse, the wheel will also perform this function.
To zoom in or out, hold down both mouse buttons and move the
mouse up or down.
To center the screen on the currently selected unit, press the
"0" key on the numberpad or right-click the unit's thumbnail. To
follow the currently selected unit, press the "F" key. To move
the screen to the last event, press the "Spacebar".
Main Base & Space Port
In the single player campaigns, each side has a main base area.
From here, you can move units and resources to the mission area
via the transport as long as there is a Transport Base or
Landing Zone in the mission area.
You choose a new mission by clicking on the world icon. Keep in
mind that buildings, units, and resources in the main base area
are carried over from mission to mission. Therefore, it's a good
idea to transport all units and resources to the main base after
finishing a mission.
The Space Port is a critical part of your main base. The Space
Port takes resources from the missions and delivers it to the
research and development efforts necessary for the construction
of the evacuation fleet.
Transferring Resources
In the single player campaigns, there are many pressing demands
for resources. Fortunately, you have a lot of options to deal
with those demands. Generally, you will start out with a certain
amount of resources in the mission area. This amount should be
enough for you begin a base in the mission area.
You may also have resources left in your main base area. This is
an important point to keep in mind, as the resources in your main
base and the mission are not shared; they are two separate pools
of resources. You can transfer resources between your main base
and mission area with the Transport.
The Space Port allows you to send resources to the R&D efforts
for the evacuation fleet. Once the Space Port sends its resources
to the R&D teams, those resources are gone and cannot be used
again. Resources earmarked for the R&D teams are held in the
Space Port structure until a shuttle picks them up. You can take
resources from the Space Port and give them to your Main Base by
selecting the Space Port and then clicking the "Take 5000 CR".
This will only work if there are resources stored in the Space
Port.
Each side has a specific building that will take resources and
transfer them directly to the Space Port. For the ED, this
building is the Transport Base. For the UCS, it is the Ore
Transport Base. And for the LC, it is the Ore Transport Refinery.
If these buildings aren't built, then you will have to transfer
resources to the Space Port via the Transport.
Research Tree
Press "F2" to bring up the Research Screen. The entire research
tree for a faction can be viewed by clicking the Research Tree
button the top right corner of the Research screen. You can also
toggle between the Research Tree and the Research screen by
pressing "F2" again.
The Research Tree allows you to view all the technologies
available to you within a mission. You can also queue
multiple technologies and upgrades by left-clicking an item.
Right-clicking will cancel research on a technology.
Unit Limits
Each mission has a limit on the amount of units that can be
built. This limit is expressed by an amount of credits or
resources. For example, a 10000 limit means you can build
10000 credits worth of units. You can view the current limit
by selecting a weapons production building.
LC and Solar Power
Unlike the other two sides, the LC does not have to place
their buildings near a solar power plant. However, solar power
plants cannot generate power by themselves; they need to be
equipped with solar cells. You can build Solar cells can by
selecting a solar power plant, clicking the Solar cell button,
and then placing the solar cell near the plant. Remember,
solar cells must be placed near a solar power plant and each
plant can have a maximum of 10 solar cells.
Also, solar power plants will run out of energy at nighttime
or during cloudy periods. To maintain power, you must build
solar batteries. Solar batteries store energy during the day
and deliver it at night or during cloudy periods.
Artifacts or Special Units
In some missions, you will need find an artifact or special
unit. Don't assume everything is on the surface.
Queuing Building Construction
You can queue structure construction by holding down the Caps
Lock key, and then select and place multiple buildings.
Canceling Building Construction
If you change your mind, you can cancel the construction of a
building. If you're playing either the ED or UCS, just select
the partially constructed building and click the
"Autodestruction" button. This will explode the building
before it's finished. Any unused resources will be returned.
If you're playing the LC, click the "Build" tab in the
Selection Panel and right-click the building you just placed.
You only have a short window of time to do this; if the
building has already started its way down, you won't be able
to cancel its construction.
Edge of the Map
Because of the way the camera system is designed, units and
structures cannot be placed within 16 hexes or squares of the
map edges.
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