ReadMe
File - LAUNCH
To start
LAUNCH:
Windows
95/98/NT: Click on
the big LAUNCH logo in the Autostart menu or
run D:\Setup.exe (where D: is your CD-ROM drive)
* note to Windows 3.1 users
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* DIRECTX 5.2 Installer
-- IMPORTANT NOTE: DirectX is required (Windows 95/98)
for the game demo to run. The LAUNCH setup program will
run the DirectX installer if DirectX is not detected on
your system. For best results, download the latest
version from http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp.
The version included with LAUNCH is the core
distribution, without video and sound drivers.
If you find that you require updated drivers, please
download DirectX with drivers from the above location.
(Windows 98 users, use the "Windows
Update" feature in the Start menu).
*It is advised that you make note of your current
video driver before installing DirectX.
Install DirectX at your own risk -- for technical support
please refer to: http://www.microsoft.com/directx/Resources/support.htm
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1. Tips
- Alt-F4 to quit out of LAUNCH
- Switch to High Color (16-bit)
display mode for best-looking graphics and video.
(go to Control Panels / Display / Settings tab /
Color palette)
- Connect to your internet provider
before running LAUNCH for content off the web. Be
sure to have Microsoft Internet Explorer 3 (or
higher) installed [http://www.microsoft.com/ie]
-- Win 95/98 only.
- Multitasking is not recommended.
(Quit other applications before running LAUNCH
for best performance)
2. Startup Problems
* Nothing appears
when CD is put into drive
Autoplay may be turned off on your computer. In
this case, please go to "My
Computer" and double-click on
the LAUNCH CD-ROM icon and run "Setup.exe".
In rare cases, the Autoplay screen may be glitched or
fail to load. Make sure you have the latest
Windows video drivers for your specific
video card if this is the case. These can usually be
downloaded from the manufacturer's website.
* Slow Load Time
Minimum system requirements have increased
slightly starting with issue 15. Slow load times can
be caused by a number of factors or combinations of
system components. Surpassing the following suggested
system requirements (particularly RAM) will improve
performance of LAUNCH. If your computer is near the
minimum requirements, LAUNCH should play but load
times may be slow.
If you receive a "Cannot open START.DXR" or
something similar when starting up LAUNCH, most
likely a component on your system falls below the
minimum requirement.
* Suggested System
Requirements *
Windows 95/98
Pentium 133
24 MB RAM
4X+ CD-ROM drive
16-bit soundcard
For the smoothest LAUNCH experience, a Pentium
II-class computer, 32 MB RAM, and a 24X CD-ROM drive
is highly suggested.
* Installing
Quicktime 3.0
Unfortunately, Quicktime 3.0 is not backwards
compatible, but it is ok to also have both 16-bit and
32-bit versions of Quicktime on your system. They
have been designed to coexist on the same system with
no conflicts.
Older versions of LAUNCH require older versions of
Quicktime:
LAUNCH 1 - 14: |
Quicktime 2.1.2 (16-bit) |
LAUNCH 15 - 19: |
Quicktime 2.1.2 (32-bit) |
LAUNCH 20+ : |
Quicktime 3.0 |
Note: A Quicktime for Windows program group will
be created.You don't need any of these files to
access LAUNCH. These icons are just there as
part of the Quicktime installation program and may be
used to run Quicktime movies externally, such as ones
that are downloaded from the internet.
* LiveLink / chat
Interact and chat with other LAUNCH
and MyLAUNCH users online. Please run the LiveLink
setup program before choosing "online" in
LAUNCH. installing Internet Explorer 3.0 or 4.0 is
highly recommended also. Tips:
1. It's recommended that you start your internet
connection before entering LAUNCH.
2. Logging in to the chat server takes a little while
(~60 to 90 seconds after starting LAUNCH), so please
be patient. We are working on eliminating this login
time and adding new features.
* General Errors
LAUNCH does not install anything on your system
(Windows 95 or later) besides Quicktime and ActiveX
Controls, all content is run off the CD.
* Some temporary files are stored in the
C:\Windows\Lnchprfs directory,
please delete these if you are getting errors running
LAUNCH.
* Re-installing Quicktime may also fix other
errors.
3. Audio/video problems
* Color
mode/palette
LAUNCH is optimized for Windows 95/98,
videocard at 16-bit color setting.
* Windows 95/98 -- To run in 16-bit color, your
video card setting must be set to that color
bit-depth. The ways to switch color bit-depths vary
from computer to computer, usually it is a control
panel installed along with the video card. In Windows
95/98, go to:
Control Panel -> Display -> Settings
and change the color palette setting to High
Color (16 bit).
* No sound in
LAUNCH / general audio problems
1. Make sure WAV volume is turned
up in your mixer (Windows 95/98 - double-click on the
speaker in the bottom right hand corner of the
screen) and that you can play .WAV audio (you should
be able to hear previews in the Sounds control
panel).
2. Make sure you have the latest sound
drivers from the manufacturer of your
soundcard installed. Usually they can be downloaded
from the manufacturer's website.
3. You may get better results with sound in LAUNCH by
going to Control Panel -> Quicktime ->
Sound Out and switching from DirectSound to waveOut.
4. There may be a conflict between the Quicktime music synthesizer
and the soundcard's software wavetable emulation. To
remove the Quicktime music synthesizer, go to Control
Panel -> Quicktime -> Music -> Edit List
-> Synthesizer. Choose "No
synthesizer" in the synthesizer list.
5. Soundcards with software wavetable
emulation [most cards do NOT have this
feature] may cause Quicktime audio sync problems.
Please turn off this feature to see if it is causing
the problem. This can be done usually in a soundcard
specific control panel or go to Control Panel ->
System -> Device Manager -> Sound, Video and
Game Controllers and disable this option from there.
4. Technical/Customer Support
Options
* Technical Support
e-mail: techsupport@2launch.com
website: http://www.launchcdrom.com
Or, you can call the Technical Support helpline
at: 310-319-5320 (between 10:00 AM
and 8:00 PM (PST) Monday through Friday).
Describe the problem in as much detail as you can,
such as the error message and exact steps taken.
Include all the details about your computer too (e.g.
make/model of computer, model of videocard,
RAM installed, etc.). Your bug report will
help make future issues better.
* Customer Support
Note to Windows
3.1 users:
LAUNCH no longer runs on Windows 3.1 due to
advances in plug-in and software technology.
We apologize for this inconvenience. LAUNCH
would be happy to refund you the balance of
your subscription payment.
Please call customer service at 1-800-2LAUNCH.
Thank you. |
Subscriptions/billing: 1-800-2LAUNCH
For billing/general customer support issues:
e-mail: service@2launch.com
Thank you for using LAUNCH, we welcome any suggestions
or comments to mail@2launch.com
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