SpaceOrb 360 Software v4.81 Readme File 4/06/98 ____________________________________________________________________ This Readme file contains Release Notes for the SpaceOrb 360 game controller and the accompanying SpaceWare RealLife 3D Software, version 4.8 and version 4.81. Table of Contents 1. What's New in this Release 2. Information on the SpaceOrb 360 Monitor 3. Important Information about Game Support (IMPORTANT) 4. Known Problems 5. SpaceOrb 360 Training (CD Version Only) 6. SpaceOrb 360 Calibration Note 7. Contacting Spacetec IMC over the Internet ___________________________________________________________________ 1. What's New in this Release A. Version 4.81 fixes the following problems with version 4.8 and Windows 98: 1) When using version 4.8 with beta versions of Windows 98, the SpaceOrb 360 buttons did not function in applications. Version 4.81 fixes this so the SpaceOrb 360 buttons work with DirectInput applications. 2) Version 4.81 fixes a problem where using the SpaceOrb 360 while on a modem caused the machine to lock up after one to two hours of use. B. v4.8 Adds Support for the Following Games and Demos: - Captain Claw - CART Racing (Sierra) - FIFA RTWC '98 - Forsaken - Independence Day - Jedi Knight - Joint Strike Fighter - Longbow FX - MageSlayer - Meta VR demo (DX5 version) - Moto Racer (full version) - Microsoft CART Racing - Nuclear Strike - POD - Postal - Shadow Warrior - Sub Culture - Tanarus (beta version) - Tomb Raider 2 - Turok: Dinosaur Hunter - Quake 2 C. Removed the DOS Game Launcher! We have eliminated the need for the DOS Game Launcher. If the new SpaceOrb.exe DOS driver is loaded, simply run your DOS applications as you normally would. Supported DOS games will automatically be detected and supported by the SpaceOrb software. The SpaceOrb DOS driver works under Windows 95 and DOS-only mode. Batch files, and all other previous SpaceOrb DOS drivers and utilities are no longer needed and have been removed from our software. D. Games that the SpaceOrb software no longer directly supports In order to make our supported game list contain those titles that are more appropriate for the SpaceOrb 360, we have removed configuration files for the following games: - Area 51 - Assassin 2015 - Battletech - Hive - Microsoft Arcade - SlamScape - Tekwar - Time Commando NOTE : You can still use the SpaceOrb 360 with these games. If the game you want to play does not function correctly with the SpaceOrb 360, then you can our Customizer's "Add a New Game Configuration" feature. Use this feature to modify the configuration for the game until it works as desired. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Information on the SpaceOrb 360 Monitor The SpaceOrb 360 Monitor is a program that is run when Windows 95 loads up. When the Monitor is loaded, you will notice the Spacetec IMC logo icon in the System Tray (in the Task Bar). You can double-click on it to load the Customizer, and right click on it to obtain a pop-up list of Monitor functions. NOTE: The Monitor needs to be active in order to detect and configure supported (and user-added) Windows 95 games to work with the SpaceOrb 360. Suspending or exiting the Monitor will disable Windows 95 game detection and support. ____________________________________________________________________ 3. Important Information about Game Support A. To play a DOS game with SpaceOrb support, the new SpaceOrb.exe DOS driver must be loaded. The Setup program automatically adds an entry to the autoexec.bat file (or creates one) so that every time the system is booted, the SpaceOrb DOS driver is loaded. You can also load the SpaceOrb.exe driver manually before loading the DOS game. Just open a DOS box (if you are running Windows 95), go to the SpaceWare directory and type "SpaceOrb" on the command line. Without closing the DOS box, run the supported game by typing in its name as you normally would. B. To play a Windows 95 Game with SpaceOrb support, simply launch the game and turn on the game's joystick support (if needed) via the game's setup or options menus. Game specific instructions on how to do this are located in the Game Setup Guide and in the Customizer Window. NOTE: In order to support certain Windows 95 games, the game needs to be run once, then exited. This process will detect the game (when run) and copy special configuration files to the game's directory (when exited). From then on, the game will be properly configured for use with the SpaceOrb 360. ____________________________________________________________________ 4. Known Problems A. If you Alt-Tab out of some Windows 95 games, the SpaceOrb 360 Monitor can fail to re-detect the application when you Alt-Tab back to the game. This will cause the game to use the default SpaceTec configuration file which will change the axis mapping for that game. This generally only occurs with 3dfx accelerated versions of games. In general, if you feel that the SpaceOrb 360 isn't doing what it is supposed to do in a game, quitting and restarting the game can usually solve the problem. B. Sometimes, after installing the SpaceOrb 360 software and rebooting, you will be prompted for the location of the Spaceball drivers. If that happens, you will need to lacate the file sball.inf which resides in the spcware\tools directory. For example, if you installed version 4.81 to the directory c:\Program Files\spcware, the file will be located at c:\Program Files\spcware\tools\sball.inf. You must manually browse to that directory when prompted. ____________________________________________________________________ 5. SpaceOrb 360 Training (CD Version only) If you've never used the SpaceOrb 360 before, you might want to run the Interactive Trainer which will help teach you how to hold and use the device. The Trainer can be launched from the Start Menu after installation is complete. ____________________________________________________________________ 6. SpaceOrb 360 Calibration Note Since the SpaceOrb 360 is a digital device, it does not require calibration in the Windows 95 Joystick Control Panel. Therefore, DO NOT use the 'Calibrate' button when running the Joystick Control Panel. If you experience drift with your SpaceOrb 360 (movement onscreen without touching the PowerSensor ball), then remove your hand from the PowerSensor, and press the Reset button, found on the back of the SpaceOrb unit. NOTE: If you do use the 'Calibrate' button in the Joystick Control Panel, the SpaceOrb 360 may begin to drift. To address this, you must re-initialize the SpaceOrb 360 by deselecting it as the active joystick by choosing 'None', and then re-selecting the SpaceOrb 360. ___________________________________________________________________ 7. Contacting Spacetec IMC over the Internet: E-mail - spaceorb@spacetec.com E-mail any questions or comments to the above address concerning the SpaceOrb 360. Web - http://www.spaceorb.com Visit our Web site to find the latest news, updates and information about the SpaceOrb 360. FTP - ftp://ftp.spacetec.com/pub Check here for new and updated SpaceOrb 360-activated game drivers.