Baldur's Gate Interactive Demo Readme File Baldur's Gate (tm) Demo Version 1.0.0 Contents 1. Getting Started a. System Requirements b. Installation c. Running the Baldur's Gate Demo d. Configuration Program - Baldur's Gate Config e. Visit the Baldur's Gate Web Site f. Revision History 2. How to Play a. Creating a Character b. General Controls c. Tweaking Performance d. Known Problems 3. Information a. Ordering: North America b. Ordering: Europe c. Customer Service: North America d. Customer Service: Europe 4. Legal Information Version Limitations: *This demo version of Baldur's Gate is much smaller and is only designed to give a flavor for the whole game. We have not included any major quests or much of the storyline. Rather, it is designed to introduce you to the interface, combat, and the system of Baldur's Gate - not to introduce you to the entire experience that is the full product. *Games saved with the demo are not compatible with the full version of Baldur's Gate. *Multiplayer is completely disabled. *Import/export of characters is completely disabled. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Getting Started 1a. System Requirements Required: Pentium (or compatible) 166 MHz 16 MB RAM *32 MB RAM for multiplayer Windows 95 with DirectX 5.0 or later 320 MB of Hard Drive Space *380 MB of Hard Drive Space for multiplayer 4X or faster CD-ROM DirectX Certified Video Card with at least 2 MB of video RAM DirectX Certified Sound Card Keyboard, Mouse *Multiplayer functionality is not included in this demo version. Recommended: Pentium (or compatible) 200 MHz with MMX 32 MB RAM 570 MB (or more) of Hard Drive Space 8X (or faster) CD-ROM DirectX certified Video Card with at least 4 MB of video RAM Notes on Video Cards: While you can still run Baldur's Gate with a 1 meg video card, we highly recommend against it - performance will be very poor. To check if your video card is 2 meg, go to the Display folder in the Control Panel and choose Settings. If your video card can display 800x600 resolution at 24-bit color depth, then it is capable of running Baldur's Gate. We do recommend that you obtain the latest DirectX drivers for your video card, direct from the video card company that makes your card. WINDOWS NT 4.0: Although Windows NT 4.0 is not supported in an official capacity, Baldur's Gate can be run correctly under Windows NT 4.0 if the following conditions are met: You will need at least 32 MB of RAM and must have NT 4.0 Service Pack 3 installed. If you wish to run multiplayer, then Service Pack 4 is required. Slow downs during gameplay have been reported under NT. These are due to the way that Direct Sound and the System Timers interact. This may be corrected in future versions of NT. 1b. Installation Insert the CD-ROM containing the Baldur's Gate Demo into your CD-ROM drive and follow the onscreen instructions. If your autorun is disabled, find the autorun.exe application in the root of the CD and double click to launch the Installer. To install DirectX 6.0, open the folder on the CD entitled DirectX. Then select the item, DXSetup.exe. Follow the onscreen prompts. If you obtain a newer version of DirectX, it is recommended that you use that. Later versions of DirectX often have driver updates which will make Baldur's Gate run better on your system. However, Baldur's Gate only requires v 5.0. Minimum install versus recommended install: A minimum install represents the base information required to be on the hard drive to play. A recommended install includes more information that would otherwise have to be loaded each time - for example, there are more custom sound sets available for use by your created characters and there is more music available in the recommended install. You must leave the CD in the drive at all times when playing with a Minimum Install. 1c. Running the Baldur's Gate Demo If you use the default installation settings for the Baldur's Gate Demo, it will be installed in a 'Black Isle' Program Group in your Start menu. 1d. Baldur's Gate Config One program of note in your Program Group is the Baldur's Gate Config program. This application will allow you to set the various hotkeys for the game as well as set up several other options. The various options are contained within four tabs. The various Shortcut tabs allow you to modify the different 'hotkeys' for the game. Refer to your Game Manual for information about these. The Options tab contains various game settings: 1. Region: This setting is used for Gamespy connections *This does nothing in this demo version. 2. Cache Size: The Cache is Hard Disk space that is reserved by Baldur's Gate for storing area data. The more cache you make available to the title, the less loading you will have to do when returning to areas in the game. 3. Game Speed: The Game Speed setting allows you to speed up EVERYTHING in the game. Because Baldur's Gate is real time, allowing running unbalances the game. The Game Speed option allows the user to speed up the overall play of the game. This option is not officially supported and could cause problems, especially in multiplayer. The default setting is 30 AI Updates/Second. Note: this will result in a performance hit on any machine because the game is attempting to process all data at a higher speed. This will cause more slowdown in various places in the game. 1e. Baldur's Gate Web Page If there is anything that are having problems with or cannot find in the manual, stop by the Baldur's Gate Web Page at http://www.interplay.com. Aside from cool game materials and errata, you may be able to find an answer for whatever question you might have. 1f. Revision History 1.0.0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. How to Play the Demo 2a. Creating a Character When you begin the game you will first need to create a character. Select New Game and the Character Creation screen will come up. Click on Gender to start the process. After choosing Male or Female move down the catagories to select Race, Class, Alignment, Abilities, Skills, Appearance, and Name. Each of these items will be explained in the text box at the bottom of the window that comes up for each. After you have created your character, click on Accept and the demo will begin. 2b. General Controls Character Selection: You can select any single character by clicking on his/her base in the main game screen. You can select multiple characters by holding the left mouse button and dragging a box across the main game screen. All characters within the box will be selected. You can also select characters by left clicking the character portraits that are displayed on the right side of the screen. SHIFT clicking and CTRL clicking also work to select specific members of your party. If you have all of the characters selected, you will be offered options that apply to the entire party rather than to a specific character. To select specific actions for any given character, you need to select that character first by left clicking on the character's base or by clicking the character portrait. After that character is selected (denoted by a brighter green box only around the specified character), you can choose specific actions for that character. Basic Actions: Baldur's Gate will determine for you a default action in the main game screen based on what you are attempting to interact with. For example, if you wish to interact with a neutral creature in the game, the cursor that comes up will be of two faces facing each other, or the 'TALK' cursor. If that creature is hostile, then the cursor that will come up is the sword which means 'ATTACK'. For searching, the most common cursor that will come up is the 'GET ITEM' cursor, which shows the hand holding a ring. Other common cursors are the 'DOOR' cursor, which indicates that you either wish to open or travel though a door. Note that to go through an unlocked, closed door, you will need to have one of your characters first open the door, and then select all of your party members to travel through the door. Available actions for a single character are shown while that character is selected. These actions are depicted by icons at the bottom of the screen. If you have only one character selected, the options that come up at the bottom of the screen will depend entirely on the class of the character selected. The first several buttons will be reserved for quick weapons and the last few reserved for quick items. Between those two will be class specific buttons. For a Thief, the buttons will be stealth and thieving, a Mage will have slots for quick spells. A cleric will have icons for quick spells and turning undead. If a character has no special abilities, like a Fighter, then those slots will be available for more quick weapons and more quick items -- reflecting a Fighters ability to respond with items and combat in a tight situation. Configure the quick item buttons on the inventory page and select them for use with a left click on the main game GUI. Pop-Up Help: If you are confused about what an icon in the game is, or about a creature or anything else, just position the cursor over it. Windows tool tip pop-up help will appear after a few seconds. This will show what the icon stands for, or who or what the item is. Note: if you have not identified an item, it will bring up a generic description. Pausing the Game: Baldur's Gate uses a real-time engine. At any time during play, you can pause by tapping the space bar or clicking on the clock in the bottom left of the game screen. While the game is paused, you are free to give actions to any of your party members. When you un-pause the game, your characters will use the orders given to them last. Note that if you enter the inventory screen, the game will un-pause. This is not a bug. This is intentional and is meant to keep players from trading items and equipping items in the middle of combat. For all intents and purposes, the player should have the characters fully equipped before entering a battle. Traveling from one area to another: when you want to leave an area, you must travel to the edge of that area. When you are at the edge of that area there will be a cursor which depicts a wheel. This cursor indicates that you are at the edge of the area and wish to travel to a different area. When you have decided to leave one area, you must gather up your entire party to venture forth. If all of the party members are not present, you must locate the party members that are missing and get them to join up with you. Inventory, Spells, and other interface screens: the buttons on the left side of the screen lead to the various interface screens for your characters and game options. The buttons from top to bottom are as follows: Skull: returns you to the main game screen. Map: shows the map for the area you are currently in. Once on the Area map you can view the world map by clicking the 'globe' button in the top right. Journal: the journal will record notes of your travels. Inventory: the inventory allows you to equip your character(s) and manage the items they currently possess. Dragging and dropping of items is the easiest way to move things around in your inventory. Character Record: the record sheet displays information about your characters. Spell Book/Priest Scroll: the spell book and priest scroll both work the same way. Known spells are shown on the right, memorized spells on the left. You can move spells back and forth between the two sides by clicking on the icons for the spells. When spells are selected to be memorized, they will be dithered, which means you must rest before you can use the spell. Right clicking on the spells will bring up descriptions of them. Game Options: the game options button allows you to change a lot of stuff in the game such as graphics and sound settings. From this menu you can also save and load the game. Resting: the majority of resting should be done in an Inn if possible. However, if you are in the wilds and wish to rest, click the button which comes up in the bottom right of the screen when you are in any of the interface screens. Resting takes 8 hours and will heal your characters some based on the conditions where they are resting. Resting allows your characters to memorize their spells. Resting outside or in unsafe places could make your party vulnerable to random creatures wandering the area. 2c. Tweaking Performance Increasing Performance: 1. Weather. In the options menu under 'GamePlay', turn off Weather. The graphic effects that rain and snow use can cause large performance drops on lower end machines. This does not affect gameplay in any way. 2. Translucent Shadows. In the options menu under 'Graphics', turn off translucent shadows. Turning this off will cause all shadows to appear solid, rather than blending a dark shadow onto the background. 3. Character Movement Sounds. In the options menu under 'Sound/Character Sound', turn off Character Movement Sounds. 4. Other Audio. Turning off any of the audio may result in a performance increase. Moving the sliders in the options menu under 'Sound' all the way to the left will completely disable the playing of these sounds. 5. Virtual Memory. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND ADJUSTING YOUR VIRTUAL MEMORY. Baldur's Gate will eagerly use up any Virtual Memory (hard drive) and non-Virtual Memory (RAM) you allocate to it. If you choose to add more memory to your system, or increase the size of your Windows swap file, the game speed MAY increase. However, as you increase your Virtual Memory, expect longer clearing times to remove this 'Virtual Memory' from the hard drive after the game is terminated. Things that will Decrease Performance: 1. Brightness/Contrast. Adjusting the default settings for these options (located in the options menu under 'Graphics') will result in a performance hit. If you find the game is too dark, we suggest adjusting your monitor's brightness. 2. DirectX Hardware Calls. In the options menu under 'Graphics' there are three toggles for various 'BLTS'. Enabling these will result in a (sometimes drastic) performance hit. We recommend enabling these only if you have graphics glitches that you have been unable to resolve. 3. Running the game in Windowed Mode. Running the game in a Window on your desktop will decrease the overall game performance. Pathing Performance: To increase the path searching AI, the following entry can be modified in the baldur.ini file that is installed in the root of the installation directory: [Program Options] Path Search Nodes=4000 To increase or decrease the AI, vary the number of Nodes (4000 above). The range can vary from 2000 to 32000. Increases the number above will increase the number of nodes in path searching at the expense of responsiveness to movement commands. Note that unless your machine is slower than a P2 you can probably set the value to 32000 and not notice any speed difference. This will help fix getting stuck on terrain obstacles. 2d. Known Problems * Graphic Errors Some video cards may experience graphics glitches while playing the game. These problems are caused by DirectX Hardware Calls to your video card that are not functioning. We have written software renders for all of these calls to allow people to play even with drivers that are not 100% compatible with the DirectX standards. You can enable a software render for these calls if you have the most recent drivers for your video card and are still experiencing problems. Using the software render will probably fix the graphic glitches, but WILL result in a performance hit. IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING PROBLEMS WITH THE GRAPHICAL DISPLAY OF BALDUR'S GATE, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST VERSION OF YOUR VIDEO DRIVERS. DRIVER UPDATES ARE AVAILABLE AT MOST (if not all) HARDWARE MANUFACTURERS AND CHIPSET MANUFACTURERS SITES ON THE INTERNET. You may also try installing DirectX 6.0+ if you are experiencing graphical problems. If you have the most recent drivers for your video card, and you are still experiencing problems, you can enable software renders for these calls. The options are available in the options menu under 'Graphics'. The following list describes the known graphics glitches and which Call should be disabled to fix them. If in doubt, try different combinations and this may help. You can always turn off all software renders to return to the default settings. ------------------------------------------------------------ Glitch Disable ------------------------------------------------------------ -green boxes surrounding Software Transparent BLT any object in the game -box surrounding mouse cursor -animations appearing Software Mirror BLT 'reversed' -Fog-of-War appears in a 'semi-checkerboard' pattern -fog-of-War has edges that look 'spiky' -vertical lines down Software Standard BLT the main game screen -the game Cursor is leaving 'artifacts' of itself on the game screen -any other non-resolved graphics problem Specific Video Cards and Fixes ------------------------------------------------------------ Matrox Millenium (1) : Enable Software Mirror and Software Transparent BLTs. Permidia : Enable Software Standard BLT. * Minimizing Baldur's Gate If you minimize Baldur's Gate using either Alt-Enter or Alt-Tab (and then bring it back up by left clicking on the minimized application), the sound effects for the game will stutter, loop, and skip. This is caused by a lack of resources available to Baldur's Gate after you go from full screen to a minimized screen, and it will correct itself after a short period of time. If you minimize Baldur's Gate and then bring it back up, the game may run more slowly for a time. This is caused by the game re-accessing resources that become tied up by minimization. Running the game in a window may result in lower performance overall. * NT 4.0: Screen-Saver While running under Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 3, we have experienced intermittent problems with Screen Savers. We recommend disabling your Screen Saver while playing Baldur's Gate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Information Baldur's Gate is available now! Baldur's Gate was released worldwide in December 1998. Visit your local retailer or check out the information below to get your copy. Features: Huge game world - Five CD set filled with over 10,000 scrolling game screens Gripping non-linear adventure that spans seven chapters and dozens of subplots. Transparent interface can be modified to play in turn based or real time mode, and makes it possible to play without knowing AD&D® rules. Set in TSR's best-selling Forgotten Realms® campaign setting, the most popular and longest running of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® roleplaying game worlds. Full multiplayer capabilities - up to six players via modem, LAN, and TCP/IP, including support for GameSpy and HeatNet. 3a. Ordering info: United States and Canada Call 1-800 INTERPLAY to order by credit card, and remember to mention the code BGE2. Or visit your favorite game software retailer. Visit the website at www.interplay.com/bgate 3b. Ordering info: Europe Mail order is not available at present in the UK. For distribution details, please call Interplay Productions, Ltd. in the UK on: +44 (0) 1628 423666. You may also fax to: +44 (0) 1628 423777 Or see your local software retailer for this and other great Interplay titles. 3c. Customer Service Information for North America This information is only valid in North America. TECHNICAL SUPPORT TROUBLESHOOTING DOCUMENTS ONLINE! Interplay Productions Technical Support now offers troubleshooting guides with complete installation and setup instructions as well as information that will help you overcome the most common difficulties. If you have access to the World Wide Web, you can find these at: www.interplay.com/support/ Here you will find troubleshooting information on as well as information on regular system maintenance and performance. DirectX www.interplay.com/support/directx/ Joysticks www.interplay.com/support/joystick/ Modems and Networks www.interplay.com/support/modem/ (For game-specific information and additional troubleshooting, visit our main page at www.interplay.com) If you have questions about the program, our Technical Support Department can help. Our web site contains up-to-date information on the most common difficulties with our products, and this information is the same as that used by our product support technicians. We keep the product support pages updated on a regular basis, so please check here first for no-wait solutions: www.interplay.com/support/ If you are unable to find the information you need on our web site, please feel free to contact Technical Support via e-mail, phone, fax, or letter. Please be sure to include the following information in your e-mail message, fax, or letter: Title of Game Computer manufacturer * Operating system (Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 98, etc.) CPU type and speed in MHz Amount of RAM Sound card type and settings (address, IRQ, DMA) Video card CD-ROM Mouse driver and version Joystick and game card (if any) A copy of the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files from your hard drive A description of the problem you're having If you need to talk to someone immediately, call us at (949) 553-6678 Monday through Friday between 8:00AM-5: 45PM, Pacific Standard Time with 24 hours, 7 days a week support available through the use of our automated wizard. Please have the above information ready when you call. This will help us answer your question in the shortest possible time. When you call you will initially be connected with our automated wizard. For information pertaining to your specific title, press "1" on the main menu and listen carefully to all prompts. All titles are listed alphabetically. After you have selected your title, the most common difficulties will be listed. If the difficulty you are having is not listed or you need additional assistance, you may press "0" on your games main menu, and you will be transferred to a Technical Support Representative. No hints or codes are available from this line. You must call Interplay's HINT Line for hints, tips, or codes at 1-900-370-PLAY (1-900-451-6869 $1.25 in Canada only). You must be 18 years +, have a touch-tone phone, and the cost is $0.95 per minute. Interplay Productions Support Fax: (949) 252-2820 Interplay Productions Technical Support 16815 Von Karman Avenue Irvine, CA 92606 HOW TO REACH US ONLINE INTERNET E-MAIL: support@interplay.com WORLD WIDE WEB: www.interplay.com FTP: ftp.interplay.com 3d. Customer Service Information for Europe This information is not valid in North America. Write to: Customer Support Interplay Productions, Ltd. Harleyford Manor Harleyford Henley Road Marlow Buckinghamshire SL7 2DX ENGLAND tel: +44 (0) 1628 423723 Fax: +44 (0) 1628 423777 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Legal Information Software Use Limitations and Limited License This special preview version of Baldur's Gate (the "Software") is intended solely for your personal noncommercial home entertainment use. You may not decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Software, except as permitted by law. Interplay Productions and Bioware Corp retain all rights and title in the Software including all intellectual property rights embodied therein and derivatives thereof. You are granted a revocable, nonassignable limited license to create derivative works of this Software solely for your own personal noncommercial home entertainment use and may publicly display such derivative works to the extent specifically authorized by Interplay in writing. A copy of this authorization, if any, will be provided on Interplay’s World Wide Web site, located at http://www.interplay.com, or by contacting the legal department of Interplay Productions in the US at +(949) 553-6655. The Software, including, without limitation, all code, data structures, characters, images, sounds, text, screens, game play, derivative works and all other elements of the Software may not be copied (except as provided below), resold, rented, leased, distributed (electronically or otherwise), used on pay-per-play, coin-op or other for-charge basis, or for any commercial purpose. You may make copies of the Software for your personal noncommercial home entertainment use and to give to friends and acquaintances on a no cost noncommercial basis. This limited right to copy the Software expressly excludes any copying or distribution of the Software on a commercial basis, including, without limitation, bundling the product with any other product or service and any give away of the Software in connection with another product or service. Any permissions granted herein are provided on a temporary basis and can be withdrawn by Interplay Productions at any time. All rights not expressly granted are reserved. Acceptance of License Terms. By downloading or acquiring and then retaining this Software, you assent to the terms and restrictions of this limited license. If you acquired the Software and do not accept the terms of this limited license, you must return the Software together with all packaging, manuals and other material contained therein to the store where you acquired the Software for a full refund and if you downloaded the Software, you must delete it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BALDUR'S GATE: Developed and (c)1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Forgotten Realms, the Forgotten Realms logo, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, the AD&D logo, and the TSR logo are trademarks of TSR, Inc., a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., and are used by Interplay under license. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare logo and The BioWare Infinity Engine are the trademarks of Bioware Corp. All Rights Reserved. Interplay, the Interplay logo, Black Isle Studios, the Black Isle Studios logo, and "By Gamers. For Gamers." are trademarks of Interplay Productions. All Rights Reserved. Exclusively licensed and distributed by Interplay Productions. All other trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EOF