CD Concept 5/CD_CONCEPT_5.ISO/warriors/readme.1st

Text File | 1995-03-20 | 13KB | 355 lines

        Welcome to Warrior's demo Readme.1st.
        -------------------------------------



In this file, you will find:

    1. How to install Warrior's demo
    2. How to configure your hardware for this demo
    3. How to play Warrior
    4. The story of Warrior and the features of the complete version.
    5. Known problems

            ****************************

1. How to install Warrior's demo.

  To install the demo, type in the directory where warrior's demo (usually
CD_Rom D:) is : INSTALL

  There are two kinds of installation for Warriors:

      *  Minimum: Copy the "minimum" required files on your HD (about 3mo),

      *  Full: Copy all the game on your HD to have slow down the access time
     (This requires about 10mo)
     In that case, the CD is no more required to make the game work, but
     for the CD audio music.

  To launch the game, just type in WAR.COM

            ***************************

2. How to configure your hardware for this demo.

    2.1 System requirements:

486 or higher
4 Mb RAM or above
MS Dos 5.0 or higher
SVGA graphics (640x480, 256-colour) VESA Compatible driver
3mo (min) of free hard disk space
Supports Soundblaster and compatibles, MT 32, AWE 32.

    2.2 SVGA

    Warriors requires a VESA driver in order to work. If your card
is not VESA compatible, please launch UNIVESA in the UNIVESA directory,
or contact you video card dealer

    2.3 Memory:

    Warriors runs with at least 2,500mo of Expanded Memory (EMM) and
560ko of conventionnal memory. If you are more than 3 megs of EMM memory,
HIGH detail option in the game will be available.

    ### IMPORTANT : If you 're experiencing some problem running the game, please
launch the install program, and select NONE or CD as music driver. (Midi
driver are ram demanding)

                   BASIC MEMORY
                   ------------

First, a word abut memory in general.  Most modern computers are shipped
from the factory with more than 1 megabyte of RAM memory (4 or 8 Mb are
common configurations).  The first Mb is divided into 2 sections known as
Lower (or Conventional) memory, which is the first 640K of RAM, and High
memory, which is the remainder of the first megabyte.  All of the memory above
the first megabyte is called Extended, or XMS, memory.

  HOWEVER, MANY PROGRAMS THAT YOU BUY COMMERCIALLY DO NOT USE
XMS MEMORY AUTOMATICALLY.  90% of the software that you buy in stores
(including ours) operate primarily in the Conventional memory area.  This
640K block is also home to your device drivers and related software,
including DOS, your mouse driver, sound card and graphics card drivers,
CD-ROM drivers, and so on.  These utilities compete with the programs that
you run for space in the Lower 640K area.  When everything that's in RAM
cannot find a home, conflicts (and crashes) occur.

Some of this traffic can be alleviated by using a Memory Manager, such as
the MEMMAKER.EXE which comes with DOS versions 6.x .  These utilities load
some of the smaller device drivers into High memory.  But there are only a
few hundred Kilobytes of High memory available, so loading everything that
you can there could still leave a lot of drivers and utilities in
Conventional Memory.

If you load environments automatically (like booting straight to Microsoft
Windows, DOS shell, or a menu program, to name a few), the traffic in the
Lower 640K gets worse.  To further complicate the matter, sound and
graphic-intensive programs (like ours) use more of the Lower 640K than
most.  Our "WARRIORS" game, for example, requires 560K OF FREE
CONVENTIONAL MEMORY!  That leaves only 80K for all of those devices that
cannot load into High memory.


             RUNNING  "WARRIORS"
              -----------------------------

So what does all of this mean to you?  Two things:

1) NO MATTER HOW MUCH RAM YOU HAVE IN YOUR MACHINE, IN MOST SITUATIONS, YOU
   HAVE ONLY 640K OF RAM TO WORK WITH.

2) IF YOU WANT TO RUN GRAPHIC AND SOUND-INTENSIVE SOFTWARE, YOU >>MUST!!<<
   FREE UP ENOUGH CONVENTIONAL MEMORY TO DO SO, OR IT WILL NOT RUN!!! AND
   YOU MUST ALSO CONFIGURE YOUR SYSTEM FOR THE EMS MEMORY REQUIRED.



                DOS 6'S MEMMAKER
                ----------------

There are many ways to go about freeing required memory, depending on your
situation.  As mentioned above, using a Memory Manager program is a
straightforward and dependable way to do this.  If you are using DOS 6 or
higher, you already have a pretty powerful Memory Management tool called
MEMMAKER.EXE, which you will find in your DOS directory.  Anytime that you
find yourself short of memory in DOS 6.x, do the following:

1) Go to a DOS prompt.

2) Type MEMMAKER, then press the Enter key.

3) If you need it (and with "WARRIORS" you do), answer "Yes" when the
   program asks you if you will be using programs that require EMS memory.

After the computer reboots, get to your DOS prompt.  Then type MEM, and press
the Enter key.  Note the amount of FREE CONVENTIONAL and FREE EXPANDED
(EMS); these should be ???K+ and ???K+, respectively.



               THIRD PARTY MEMORY MANAGERS
               ---------------------------

If they are not, or you do not have DOS 6, you might consider purchasing a
professional Memory Manager like Quarterdeck's Expanded Memory Manager
(QEMM).  These utilities are the finest and most sophisticated way to
control memory in all situations, are very easy to use.  They do, of course,
require you to purchase an additional piece of software.  Please note that
as the computer industry moves toward more sound and graphic-intensive
products (Multimedia), that more and more software that you purchase will
require large amounts of free conventional memory, as well as some amount of
available EMS.  In other words, purchasing a professional Memory Manger is a
good bet for your computing future.



                   BOOT DISKS
                   ----------

The final way to free up memory is to create a Boot Disk.  A Boot Disk is a
disk that runs the computer from a floppy drive, loading only the bare
essentials for running the program in question.  A Boot Disk for
"WARRIORS" would include a driver for the basic system configuration
information that is always necessary to run your computer.

To create a Boot Disk, put a blank disk into floppy drive A:.
Then type the following:

FORMAT /S A:

Then hit the Enter key.

Next, you will want to copy two files to this disk: AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.
SYS.  AUTOEXEC.BAT is the file that automatically launches utilities that
contribute to running your system; CONFIG.SYS is the file that configures
that basics of your system.  to copy these files, do type the following:

COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT A:\

Then hit the Enter key.  Then type:

COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS A:\

Then hit the Enter key again.

The next important step is to Edit these files in order to remove all
utilities and programs that are not necessary to the WARRIORS game.
To Edit AUTOEXEC.BAT on your boot disk, type the following:

EDIT A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

Then hit the Enter key.  A blue screen containing batch file information
will come up.  You can edit this information by moving the cursor to a line,
using the Delete key to delete unwanted text, and use the Insert key to add to or
overwrite existing text.  You will DELETE all but the following lines.

@ECHO OFF
PROMPT=$P$G
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=DOS

*NOTE: IF THE LINES IN YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT DO NOT READ >>>EXACTLY<<< AS THE
ABOVE, MODIFY THEM SO THAT THEY DO!!!

When you have finished these modifications, pull down the File menu (using
your mouse or the Alt-F keyboard command) and choose Exit.  You will be
asked if you want to save the changes to his file; say "yes".

Now we will do the same thing to the CONFIG.SYS on your boot disk.
Type the following:

EDIT A:\CONFIG.SYS

Then hit the Enter key.  You'll see the blue screen again, this time with
lines of DEVICES and such.  Again you will DELETE all but the following
lines, with TWO exceptions:

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EM