Computer Buyer 1996 April/BYER_0496.iso/tie/tiedemo.zip/READ.ME

Text File | 1993-12-01 | 11KB | 276 lines

                          TIE FIGHTER DEMONSTRATION

                                 READ.ME FILE


CONTENTS:

    I) System and Memory Requirements

   II) FlightStick Pro and Thrustmaster Flight Control System

  III) SoundBlaster Issues

   IV) ProAudio Spectrum 16

    V) Installing on Removable Hard Drives (Bernoulli, Syquest, etc.)



I) SYSTEM AND MEMORY REQUIREMENTS


SYSTEM:

  To run the TIE Fighter Demo, your IBM PC or compatible must have
  a 386 or 486 microprocessor.  Machines with 8086 and 80286
  microprocessors are NOT supported.


EMS MEMORY:

  On IBM PC's there are three basic kinds of memory, Main memory, Extended
  (XMS) memory, and Expanded (EMS) memory.
  If you have DOS 5.0 (or higher) you can use the DOS command "mem" to see
  how much of each of these three types of memory you have available.
  In addition, the Install program included with the TIE Fighter demo will
  tell you how much Main memory, and how much EMS memory you have available.

  TIE Fighter CAN use Main Memory and Expanded (EMS) memory, but it CANNOT
  use Extended (XMS) memory.

  If you have Extended (XMS) memory available, but no Expanded (EMS) memory
  available, you may wish to convert some (or all) of your Extended (XMS)
  memory into Expanded (EMS) memory.  If you have a 386 or 486 CPU, you
  can use the DOS 5.0 device driver EMM386 to accomplish this.  If you do
  not have DOS 5.0, or you prefer, you may use a third party device driver
  such as 386MAX or QEMM386, to obtain Expanded (EMS) memory.  Consult the
  documentation for DOS 5.0 or for your third party software for more info-
  rmation on how to set up your system to make EMS memory available.

  NOTE: Some older software or hardware may have a version of Expanded
  Memory which is incompatible with TIE Fighter.  The TIE Fighter Install
  program will warn you if this is the case.

LOW MEMORY:

  Under certain low memory conditions, TIE Fighter may disable features
  such as digitized sound effects, or even all sound and music.  The
  various low memory conditions and the related consequences are
  summarized below.

  NO EMS MEMORY, OR EMS MEMORY <= 64K:
    Main Memory > 602,000 bytes.  Digitized speech and sound effects are
    disabled always.

    Main Memory < 602,000 bytes and > 571,000 bytes.  All sound and music
    disabled.

    Main Memory < 571,000 bytes.  Program will not run.

  EMS MEMORY >= 80K and < 256K:
    Main Memory > 543,000 bytes.  Digitized speech and sound effects are
    disabled always.

    Main Memory < 543,000 bytes and > 512,000 bytes.  All sound and music
    disabled.

    Main Memory < 512,000 bytes.  Program will not run.

  EMS MEMORY >= 256K:
    Main Memory > 563,000 bytes.  All features enabled.

    Main Memory < 563,000 bytes and > 543,000 bytes. Digitized speech and
    sound effects are disabled always.  Music is disabled during flight.

    Main Memory < 543,000 bytes and > 512,000 bytes.  All sound and music
    disabled.

    Main Memory < 512,000 bytes.  Program will not run.

EMS MEMORY REQUIREMENTS DURING FLIGHT:

  During flight, EMS memory is used to store music, digitized sound
  effects and speech, and the various cockpit interiors.

  The music requires 384K of EMS memory.

  The digitized sound effects and speech require 320K of EMS memory.

  The cockpit interiors can use as much as 192K of EMS memory.  If EMS
  memory is not available, the cockpit interiors are loaded from disk as
  needed.

  The program attempts to load the music first, then the digitized sound
  and speech, and lastly the cockpit interiors.

  The program does not attempt to load music if the MUSIC OFF option has
  been selected.

  The program does not attempt to load digitized sound and speech if BOTH
  the Digital Sound Off and Speech Off options have been selected.

  To hear both music and digitized sound and speech, you must have 704K
  of EMS memory available.

  NOTE: The program will not use more than 896K of EMS memory.


II) FLIGHTSTICK PRO AND THRUSTMASTER FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM

Some newer joysticks have extra buttons on them which allow more functions
to be performed without using the keyboard.  TIE Fighter's use of these
extra buttons is summarized below.

FlightStick PRO:
  The gray button on the top of the stick is equivalent to the "r" key.
  That is, it will select the nearest enemy starfighter as your current
  target.

  The lower gray button is equivalent to the "." key. That is, it turns
  the cockpit instrument panel either ON or OFF.

  The "hat" or "cooly" on the top of the stick has the following functions:

    Pressing FORWARD on the "hat" (labeled "D") is equivalent to the "w"
    key. That is, it cycles through your weapons systems, selecting Lasers,
    Ion Cannons, Torpedoes, and Missiles, as available.

    Pressing BACKWARD on the "hat" (labeled "U") is equivalent to the "s"
    key. That is, it cycles through the three possible Shield System
    settings, Full Shields Forward, Full Shields Aft, and Shields Even.

    Pressing to the RIGHT on the "hat" (labeled "R") is equivalent to the
    Shift-F10 or "'" (apostrophe) key. That is, it transfers partial
    energy from the Laser/Ion Cannon system(s) to the Shields system.

    Pressing to the LEFT on the "hat" (labeled "L") is equivalent
    to pressing the trigger and the top button at the same time.
    The result is to fire your weapons and to either target
    any enemy in your sights or activate your "Roll" thrusters.

ThrustMaster Flight Control System:

  The second thumb button is equivalent to the "r" key. That is, it will
  select the nearest enemy starfighter as your current target.

  The bottom "pinky" button is equivalent to the "." key. That is, it
  turns the cockpit instrument panel either ON or OFF.

  The "hat" or "cooly" on the top of the stick does not perform any
  useful function.

Two Joysticks or other sticks with extra buttons:

  Joystick 2, button 1, is equivalent to the "r" key.
  Joystick 2, button 2, is equivalent to the "." key.
  All buttons simultaneously is equivalent to the "w" key.
  Both buttons on stick1, and stick2,button1 is equivalent to the "s" key.
  Both buttons on stick1, and stick2,button2 is equivalent to the Shift-F10
  key or the "'" (apostrophe) key.


III) SOUNDBLASTER ISSUES

There are several hardware compatibility issues related to SoundBlaster
sound cards.  These are summarized below.

  NO SOUND
    Your card may be configured to use an I/O port other than the default
    of 220.  Use the INSTALL program to select a different I/O port.

  DELAY WHEN FIRING WEAPONS.
    If you experience a brief but noticeable delay whenever you fire your
    weapons, then you should select the "Digital Sound Off" option in the
    Inflight Options screen (press ESC during flight).  This delay is due
    to the chip on your sound card, which is not as fast as more modern
    boards.  If you notice this delay at other times during flight (when
    a TIE fighter comes close by, or when another pilot speaks) then you
    may want to select the "Digital Speech Off" option.

  DMA CONFLICTS.
    While playing TIE Fighter, it is possible to trigger a digitized sound
    effect or speech and then immediately thereafter to cause an access to
    your hard drive.  If your sound board and your hard drive controller
    are both configured to use the same DMA channel (usually channel 1),
    then this may cause your system to lock up, or to freeze for a period
    of time.

  TESTING FOR A DMA CONFLICT.
    On some systems a DMA conflict may occur during the opening sequence
    or at the registration desk.  If your system locks up at any of these
    points, try disabling digitized speech and sound (see OPTION 2, below).
    If your system no longer locks up, then you have a DMA conflict.
    If your system still locks up after you have disabled digitized sound
    and speech, call LucasArts Product Support for assistance.
    If your system does not lock up at any of these points, but does lock
    up occasionally during flight, we suggest you perform the following
    test:  Enter a mission in which you have a wingman, and there are enemy
    fighters present (for example, Y-Wing Historical Mission #2).  Press
    the "r" key to target an enemy fighter.  Press Shift-A to order your
    wingman to attack (this will trigger a digitized speech).  While
    your wingman is talking, press the "c" key to turn your camera on (this
    will cause your disk drive to be accessed).  If your system locks up or
    behaves strangely, then you have a DMA conflict.

  WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A DMA CONFLICT.
    If you have a DMA conflict, you have three choices.  First, you could
    disable digitized sound and speech in TIE Fighter, thereby avoiding the
    problem.  Second, you could re-configure your sound board to use a
    different DMA channel.  Third, you could re-configure your hard disk
    drive controller to use a different DMA channel.  Most people prefer
    the second option, but all three are discussed below.

    OPTION 1, DISABLE DIGITIZED SOUND AND SPEECH.
      Run the TIE Fighter Install program (to do this change to the
      directory where you installed TIE Fighter (usually C:\TIEDEMO) and
      enter INSTALL).
      Select "Set Sound Board Configuration" from the MAIN MENU.
      Select "AdLib and Compatibles" (or "Roland" or "GMIDI" if appropriate)
      from the menu.
      Select "Exit" from the MAIN MENU.
      No digitized speech or sound will be triggered.

    OPTION 2, RE-CONFIGURE YOUR SOUND BOARD.
      If you have a SoundBlaster, you cannot change the DMA channel.  Try
      Option 3 or Option 1.
      If you have a SoundBlaster PRO, you can try either changing the DMA
      channel jumpers, or enabling DMA sharing.  See the SoundBlaster PRO
      documentation for details.
      If you have a ProAudio Spectrum 16, you can change the DMA channel
      by running the ProAudio Spectrum Install program.
      If you have some other SoundBlaster compatible board check the
      documentation that came with your board.

    OPTION 3, RE-CONFIGURE YOUR HARD DISK DRIVE CONTROLLER.
      This is a pretty risky thing to do to your system, just so you can
      hear digitized speech in a game.  If you really want to try, however,
      consult the documentation for your hard drive controller.


IV) PROAUDIO SPECTRUM 16

Please note that when you use this sound card with TIE Fighter, you must
have installed the ProAudio Spectrum software that came with the card.



V) INSTALLING ON REMOVABLE HARD DRIVES (BERNOULLI, SYQUEST, ETC.)

TIE Fighter's Install program will not allow you to select a removable
disk drive for installation.  If you want to install on a removable drive,
such as a Syquest cartridge, or a Bernoulli drive, you must specify the
removable drive you want to install TIE Fighter on when you start the
install program.

You can do this by using the following command:

A:INSTALL ON DRIVE D

where, A: is replaced by the drive letter of the floppy drive you are
installing from, and D is replaced by the drive letter of the removable
drive you want to install TIE Fighter on.