PC Gamer 2.11/PCGAMER Disc 2.11 DEC 1996.iso/SC3DEMO/HELP.ME

Text File | 1996-09-13 | 25KB | 608 lines

Star Control 3 CD Demo HELP.ME                      September 13, 1996

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                   STAR CONTROL 3 (TM) CD DEMO HELPME
                   ----------------------------------

For instructions on how to play the Star Control 3 CD Demo, please
consult the MANUAL.TXT file. For general installation and play tips,
please consult the README.TXT file.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                          TABLE OF CONTENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I.    System Requirements
II.   Installing the Game
III.  Manually Creating a Boot Disk
IV.   Changing the Path Configurations
V.    Sound Problems
VI.   Windows 95 Problems
VII.  If You Are Having Problems
VIII. Technical Support
IX.   Legal Stuff

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                       SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Minimum Hardware Requirements:
IBM or 100% Compatible 486/66 MHz, 2X CD-ROM drive, 8MB RAM,
5MB free Hard Drive space, Microsoft(R) compatible mouse
Operating System: Windows(R) 95, MS-DOS(R) 5.0 or higher
Music: Sound Blaster & Compatibles, General MIDI Compatibles
Voice and S/FX: Sound Blaster & Compatibles
Graphics: VESA compatible Super VGA, (640x480, 256 color)

Recommended:
CPU: Pentium(TM)/60 MHz or better
4x CD-ROM Drive or better
65MB free Hard Drive space

Optional:
2 Player Remote Hyper Melee: 9600 BPS or faster modem, null modem
connection, or IPX compliant network.

The install program requires 512K of conventional memory to copy
Star Control 3 onto your hard drive. If the install program fails
while copying the game onto your hard drive, you may not have
enough conventional memory. You may need to use a boot disk to
run the install program, though you may not need the boot disk
to run the game.

Follow the instructions in this file that describe how to Run the
Boot Disk Maker Program or how to Manually Create a Boot Disk. If
you are installing from Windows 95, please exit to DOS before running
the Boot Disk Maker Program. Once you have made a boot disk, restart
your computer with the boot disk in the A: drive, and follow the
instructions in the manual for installing from DOS.

DO NOT TRY TO RUN THE GAME UNDER WINDOWS(R) 3.1. EXIT OUT OF
WINDOWS(R) 3.1 INTO DOS, THEN RUN THE GAME.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                     INSTALLING THE GAME
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Installing the Game
-------------------------------

From DOS:

1.  Insert the CD with the Star Control 3 Demo into the CD-ROM tray
    and change drive designations to access the SC3DEMO subdirectory
    of the CD-ROM drive.

Example: D: <Enter>
         CD \SC3DEMO <Enter>

2.  Type: INSTALL <Enter>

Continue to #3 below.

From Windows 95:

1.  Once Windows 95 has loaded, and is operating normally, insert the
    CD with the Star Control 3 Demo into your CD-ROM drive. Give the CD
    a few seconds to read.

    If the disk does not autoplay, click on the START icon from the
    Windows 95 desktop and select 'Run' from the START menu. Select
    'Browse' and access the SC3DEMO subdirectory of the CD-ROM drive.

2.  Type: INSTALL <Enter>

3.  Using the arrow keys, highlight the "Install STARCON3 DEMO onto
    your hard drive" option, then press <Enter>.

NOTE: If you have problems, use the arrow keys to highlight the
"IMPORTANT! Readme 1ST" option (for gameplay problems), the "Help!"
option (for Technical and Installation problems), or the "Read the
STARCON3 DEMO Manual" option (for instructions on how to play the
game) and then press <Enter>.

4.  Using the arrow keys, choose the level of install you wish to
    place on your machine (the larger the install size, the faster
    the program will run), then press <Enter>. If you are running on
    a 486 machine, you should do the largest install you can fit on
    your hard drive.

NOTE: When you change screens, the game loads lots of different
graphics to display stars, planets, and space ships. In the minimal
installations, these graphics must be loaded off the CD-ROM drive. If
you have a 2X CD-ROM Drive, your game will run much faster if you do a
full installation so that the game can load these pictures off the
hard drive.

5.  Next, select the drive and path you wish to install to. After all
    the files have been copied to your hard drive, SETSOUND begins
    automatically.

NOTE: If you exit out of an install session during the middle of an
install, you must run the installer again and allow the game to
re-install; otherwise, the game will not operate correctly.

6.  When SETSOUND begins, if you are in Windows 95, and if you are not
    sure of your sound card configuration, use your arrow keys to
    select the "View Windows 95 Configuration", then press <Enter>.
    Write down this information for later use.

7.  When SETSOUND begins, use your arrow keys to select the "Select
    and configure MIDI music driver" option, then press <Enter>.

8.  Choose the correct driver for your system.

9.  Next, using your arrow keys, select "Attempt to configure sound
    driver automatically" and press <Enter>. If the driver configures
    correctly, press <Enter> to choose "OK". If the driver does not
    configure automatically, you will have to return and choose
    "Skip auto-detection to configure sound driver manually" option or
    "Select a different sound driver option" if SETSOUND does not
    recognize your hardware.

10.  Next use your arrow keys to select the "Select and configure
     digital audio driver" option, then press <Enter>.

11.  Choose the correct driver for your system.

12.  Next, using your arrow keys, select "Attempt to configure sound
     driver automatically" and press <Enter>. If the driver configures
     correctly, press <Enter> to choose "OK". If the driver does not
     configure automatically, you will have to return and choose
     "Skip auto-detection to configure sound driver manually" option
     or "Select a different sound driver option" if SETSOUND does not
     recognize your hardware.

13.  Next use your arrow keys to highlight "Done", then click <Enter>.

14.  When SETSOUND returns control to the Installer, use your arrow
     keys to select the "Quit" option, then press <Enter>.

15.  For information on running Star Control 3, please see the
     README.TXT document.

NOTE: If you wish to change your sound options, you may go to the
directory where Star Control 3 was installed, and type:
SETSOUND <ENTER>


----------------------------------------------------------------------
                  MANUALLY CREATING A BOOT DISK
----------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: Although the vast majority of people will not need a boot disk
to run Star Control 3, we have found that most problems that occur
with the game are caused by conflicts with other programs. These can
usually be resolved by creating a boot disk that loads only the
necessary drivers for the game to run. By creating a boot disk, the
game will usually run faster, and have more available RAM for the
game to use.

1.   Make sure that you have a high-density diskette on hand that will
     fit into drive A:. NOTE: THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE WILL ERASE ALL
     INFORMATION ON THAT DISK.

2.   Type:  FORMAT  A:  /S  <ENTER>
     You will be prompted to insert your diskette into your computer's
     A: drive.  Insert the diskette you want to use, and press
     <ENTER>. When it asks you to enter a label name, press <ENTER>.
     When it asks you if you want to format another diskette, answer
     No.  This should return you to a DOS prompt.

3.   Type:  A:  <ENTER>

4.   Type:  COPY  C:\CONFIG.SYS  <ENTER>

5.   Type:  COPY  C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT  <ENTER>

6.   Type:  EDIT  CONFIG.SYS  <ENTER>
     Note: PC-DOS users will have to type:  E  CONFIG.SYS  <ENTER>
     This should display a mostly blue screen with text on it.  Each
     line of text represents one DOS command.

7.   You will need some of these DOS commands to allow you to run the
     game properly.  The lines we need can usually be left just as
     they are.  These lines are:
     - The line with HIMEM.SYS (or any other upper memory manager)
       If you do not have this line, then type:
       DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
     - The line with EMM386.EXE (or any other expanded memory manager)
       If you do not have this line, then type:
       DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE
     - Any lines pertaining to your sound card
     - Any lines necessary for the normal operation of your computer
     - Any lines pertaining to your CD-ROM driver:
       (Example: DEVICEHIGH=C:\TOSHIBA\D011V109.SYS /D:MSCD001 /N:1)

     For all other lines:
     - Move the text cursor to the far left of the DOS command line
     - Type:  REM  [Space]

8.   Once you have finished editing the CONFIG.SYS file, press
     [Alt-F], and then [S] to save it.  PC-DOS users will need to
     press the [F2] key instead.

9.   Press [Alt-F], and then [X] to exit the editor.  PC-DOS users
     will need to press the [F3] key instead.  This should return you
     to the DOS prompt.

10.  Type:  EDIT  AUTOEXEC.BAT  <ENTER>
     Note: PC-DOS users will have to type:  E  AUTOEXEC.BAT  <ENTER>
     This will again display a mostly blue screen with text on it.

11.  Again, we are editing the file to allow you to run the game
     properly.  The lines we need in AUTOEXEC.BAT are:
     - @ECHO OFF
     - PROMPT $P$G
     - The line with PATH
     - Any lines pertaining to your sound card
       (Example: set sound=c:\sb16)
     - Any lines necessary for the normal operation of your computer
     - The MSCDEX line:
     (Example: LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001)

     For all other lines:
     - Move the text cursor to the far left of the DOS command line
     - Type:  REM  [Space]

12.   Once you have finished editing the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, press
      [Alt-F], and then [S] to save it.  PC-DOS users will need to
      press the [F2] key instead.

13.  Press [Alt-F], and then [X] to exit the editor.  PC-DOS users
     will need to press the [F3] key instead.

The boot disk is now ready for use with the Star Control 3.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                CHANGING THE PATH CONFIGURATIONS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you change the path of your CD-ROM drive or where the
Star Control 3 files were installed (especially relevant if you added
a SCSI drive and Star Control 3 no longer runs correctly), you will
need to manually edit the LEGEND.INI file which is stored in the
directory where Star Control 3 was installed to your hard drive.

1.  PICDATA is the path where Star Control 3 will look for *.PIC
    files. Example:
    PICDATA=D:\SC3DEMO\

2.  VOCDATA is the path where the STAR001.VOC file is stored. Example:
    VOCDATA=D:\SC3DEMO\

3.  QDATA is the path where the *.Q files are stored. Example:
    QDATA=D:\SC3DEMO\Q\

4.  SAVEDATA is the path where the *.SAV will be created and found.
    Example:
    SAVEDATA=.\
    or
    SAVEDATA=F:\FRED\GAMES\SAVEFILE\


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                         SOUND PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1.  In order for the game to run, your sound card must be configured
    for MIDI and Digital Audio sound. Please use the SETSOUND utility
    provided with the game.

2.  If you are having trouble either getting SETSOUND to accept your
    audio driver in Windows 95, or if the game will run in DOS, but
    you get an
    "ERROR: Sound driver installation failed..."
    when you try to run the game in Windows 95, or if SETSOUND allows
    you to automatically select and configure your specific sound
    driver, but Star Control 3 crashes on start up, run SETSOUND
    again, select Soundblaster or 100% compatible as your MIDI
    and digital audio driver, then run the game again.

NOTE: For some systems the Sound Blaster Pro driver has a better
chance of working than the Sound Blaster or 100% compatible driver.

3.  If the sound volume seems too low, check the mixer levels in your
    sound card setup. You may have both a DOS mixer and a Windows 95
    mixer. You can also check for a Volume adjustment on the back of
    the card.

4.  If you run SETSOUND in Windows 95 and the program crashes
    while trying to automatically select or configure your sound
    driver, or if you can install a sound driver in MS-DOS mode,
    but it does not work in Windows 95, you may need to install
    that driver in MS-DOS and run Star Control 3 in MS-DOS
    (not in a Windows 95 DOS box). If you still have problems,
    run SETSOUND and select "None" for the driver that is causing
    problems. For MIDI drivers, this will mean that you will not
    be able to hear music while playing Star Control 3. For
    Digital Audio drivers, you will not be able to hear recorded
    voice or sound effects while playing Star Control 3.

    The following sound card drivers may need to be installed or
    run in MS-DOS, or set to "None" using SETSOUND:

    Gravis Ultrasound
    IBM MWAV
    Turtle Beach Tahiti
    Turtle Beach Tropez

    Please contact your soundcard vendor. Windows 95 patches may
    be available for the SETSOUND drivers.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
                       WINDOWS 95 PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: If you are having trouble in Windows 95, you should first
Restart in MS-DOS mode and attempt to run the game from there.

1.  We have tested the game under a variety of systems running
    Windows 95 without a problem. However, running the game under
    Windows 95 with systems with 8 MB of RAM may cause problems. The
    reason is that with Windows 95 running in the background, the game
    will only have 3-4 megs of RAM available to run. If you have
    problems under Windows 95 and only have 8 megs of RAM, we
    recommend running the game from DOS.

NOTE: Common symptoms of low memory are graphics disappearing in
melee. If explosions or weapon graphics are replaced by white squares,
then there was not enough memory in the system to load the graphics.
Try running the game from DOS.

2.  If you notice long pauses or major skipping in the game,
    Windows 95 may be trying to swap information from RAM to the hard
    drive. This can happen if you have other programs running in the
    background. There are some programs such as System Agent,
    Microsoft Exchange, screen savers, and power-saving programs
    that may conflict with the game. These programs will often kick in
    while the game is running and cause it to quit. When running the
    game under Windows 95, we recommend closing all other
    programs before starting the game.

3.  If you receive a low-memory warning under Windows 95, and you feel
    you should have a sufficient amount of memory available, try
    shutting down Windows 95 and restarting.

4.  If you experience extremely long load times, you may increase the
    supplemental cache size through your Windows 95 Control Panel.
    First, click on the START button on your Windows 95 taskbar.
    Next, select SETTINGS, then CONTROL PANEL. From the folder
    that appears, double-click on System. Next, select Performance
    from the top, then File System, then CD-ROM. Look for the
    "Supplemental cache size" and increase it as you like. Also
    make sure that "Optimize access pattern" is set for your CD
    drive's speed. This will use more memory for CD caching, but
    speed up CD load times.

5.  You may run into problems with sound if your computer has not been
    set up correctly for DOS programs. If your computer came with
    Windows 95 pre-installed, you may not have all of the necessary
    sound drivers installed correctly. Please check the documentation
    that came with your computer for instructions on setting up your
    sound card for DOS programs.

6.  Should you encounter problems under Windows 95 that you cannot
    resolve, your best solution is to try running the game under DOS.
    If you have 8 MB of RAM you can try creating a separate
    configuration for Windows 95. Follow the steps below:
    1) Right click on "My Computer"
    2) Select "Properties"
    3) Select "Hardware Profiles"
    4) Click on "Original Configuration"
    5) Select "Copy"
    6) In the space provided, create a name for your new configuration
    7) Press OK
    8) Under Device Manager, double-click on devices you want to
    remove to conserve memory ("Network" is a good example). If the
    device can be removed, both configurations will be listed under
    "General and Device Usage". Simply un-check the box for your new
    configuration.
    9) Once complete, restart your computer. You will see your new
    configuration as an option when you start.

7.  If you encounter a READ ERROR while playing the game this means
    that the game was not able to get the correct information from
    the CD. This is usually caused by dirt, scratches or fingerprints
    on the bottom of the CD. Please use a soft cloth and gently wipe
    from the inside of the disk to the outer edge.

8.  Running under Windows 3.1 / 3.11 / Windows NT
    The game does not work correctly under Windows 3.x or Windows NT.
    You should exit completely out of Windows and run the program in
    DOS. The install programs may also not work under these operating
    systems.

9.  Running under OS/2
    This game may not run under any version of OS/2.

10. Do not run more than one session of Star Control 3 at a time as
    this will eventually cause the game to crash.

11. Before playing, close all other open applications. Some users have
    experienced random fatal errors while playing the game if they
    have other memory-intensive DOS programs running at the same time.
    We recommend running the game as a stand-alone DOS application. Do
    not play the game through Windows 3.1x. Completely exit out of
    Windows 3.1 and start the game from the MSDOS prompt.

12. Do not allow Star Control 3 to lose focus in Windows 95. If you
    minimize, ALT+TAB, ALT+ENTER, or are running a program that pops-
    up and forces Star Control 3 into the background, Star Control 3
    may crash.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
                    IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1.  Later versions of MS DOS have a menu system for your setup files
    CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Look in your DOS manual under
    "MENUITEM". Using this command, you can have a menu of set ups
    every time you boot up your PC. I.e., you can choose 1 for a
    "Normal" Setup, 2 for "Games" etc.

2.  The game does not require a memory manager, but should run
    acceptably with all of them in most configurations. You may
    have problems running the game with QEMM. To disable QEMM, push
    ALT while the system is booting.

3.  Running SMARTDRV.SYS should have little effect on the game.
    However, it is possible for the cache to interfere with long
    passages of streaming video or audio. If you note an occasional
    halting of the audio or video, try removing SMARTDRV.SYS from your
    configuration.

4.  Problems with Audio and intro. cut scenes.
    The SVGA intro and cut scenes demand a lot from your CD ROM
    drive. If your CD ROM drive is not fast enough to play both the
    audio and video at full speed, the game will pre-load the audio
    and then run the video as fast as it can. If your system is not
    fast enough to run the video at full speed, the video will run
    slower than the audio and they will get slightly out of synch. The
    rest of the game should run normally.

    The game should automatically detect if your CD ROM drive is not
    fast enough to play both the audio and video at full speed.
    However, if the auto detection fails, you can add the following
    line to the LEGEND.INI file with EDIT or another program:

    PRELOAD=1

    This should fix the halting and/or break ups, but may cause the
    audio and video to play slightly out of synch. The rest of the
    game should run normally.


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                       TECHNICAL SUPPORT
----------------------------------------------------------------------

You can contact Accolade for technical support from the following
places:

World Wide Web: http://www.accolade.com/

Internet:       [e-mail]

America Online: Keyword: Accolade

CompuServe:     Game Publishers A Forum (GO GAMAPUB)

Phone:          [phone] (Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Pacific)

Fax:            [phone]

Mail:           Accolade Customer Support
                5300 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Suite 500
                San Jose, California 95129


If you are having problems with the game, we can best help you if:
1) You are at your computer when you call.
2) You have the following information handy:

Date and size of the game executable file (SC3DEMO.EXE)
Your computer's brand and model
Your computer's BIOS brand and version number
Processor Type and Speed
Total RAM installed in your computer
Name and version number of your operating system
 (such as MS-DOS or Windows 95)
Name and version number of your memory manager
 (such as QEMM, EMM386 or 386Max)
CD-ROM brand and model name
Video card brand and model name
Mouse brand and version number of mouse driver
Sound card brand and model name
Contents of AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files
At the DOS prompt (or if you're running Windows 95, select
 "Run" from the Start menu), type "MEM /C [Enter]" and copy
 down the on-screen listing

When sending Tech support e-mail, cut and paste the following into
 your e-mail message and fill in the blanks:

Date:
Name:
Phone number:
E-mail address:
Game Title:
Date and size of the game executable file (SC3DEMO.EXE)
Your computer's brand and model:
BIOS date:
BIOS version:
Processor type:
Processor speed:
Operating system:
Name and version number of your memory manager:
CD-ROM brand and model name:
Video card brand and model name:
Mouse brand and version number of mouse driver:
Sound card brand and model name:
Contents of AUTOEXEC.BAT:
Contents CONFIG.SYS:
Results of MEM /C:
Please state the problem you encountered:
Please state how to reproduce the problem:

If the program crashed with nasty indecipherable techno-garbage,
 please look for the hex number which comes after "Adjusted Crash
 Address" and write it down here:


----------------------------------------------------------------------
                          LEGAL STUFF
----------------------------------------------------------------------


Accolade and STAR CONTROL 3 are registered trademarks of Accolade,
Inc. Copyright 1996, Accolade, Inc. All rights reserved. Created by
Legend Entertainment and based upon characters created by and used
under license from Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford.

Prima Publishing is a trademark of Prima Communications, Inc.

Edit is Copyright (c) Microsoft Corp. 1995.

Notepad is Copyright (c) 1981-1995 Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft, Windows, and MS-DOS are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries.

DOS4GW Professional used under license agreement with Rational
Systems Inc.

PKUNZIP Reg. U.S. Pat. and TM. Off.

WATCOM C/C++ used under license agreement with WATCOM, Inc.

MSS 3.5 portions of the game code used under license agreement with
Miles Design, Inc.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is Copyright (c) 1987-1995 Adobe Systems
Incorporated. All rights reserved. Adobe, Acrobat, and the Acrobat
logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated which may be
registered in certain jurisdictions.

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