Congo Release Notes Version 1.0 Welcome to the Congo Release Notes. This file contains important information that supplements the Congo User Manual. Please see the Congo User Manual for game information and installation instructions. CONTENTS 1. System Requirements 2. System Configuration 3. Windows Issues 4. Memory Issues 5. Sound Card Compatibility 6. Video Card Compatibility 7. Technical Support 1. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS In order to run Congo, your computer must be at least a 486/66Mhz PC or compatible with 8MB of system memory (RAM), Windows 3.1x or newer, a Local Bus (VLB) graphics adapter capable of displaying at least 256 simultaneous colors, a digital sound adapter, a double speed (x2) CD-ROM player, and a mouse or other pointing device. You must have WinG installed to run Congo. The Congo Setup program will install WinG for you. If you try to run Congo without WinG, you will hear sound but the screen will be blank. When the game begins, Congo checks to make sure that your system is adequately configured. If a required component is missing, a list of the missing pieces will be displayed: Available digital sound device Either the computer does not have a sound adapter installed, it is improperly configured, or it is in use by another program. Video adapter that supports at least 256 colors A 16 color VGA adapter is not adequate for playing Congo. If your display can be configured to display 256 simultaneous colors, do so and restart Congo. Multimedia timer This message will appears when either you are running too many applications or when Windows is improperly installed. If no other applications are running you may need to reinstall Windows. 8 Megabytes of installed system memory Congo requires at least 8 MB of installed RAM. If this message appears and you have 8 MB installed, you may have RamDisks or a large disk cache that is using too much memory. See Memory Issues, below, for advice on freeing up system memory. A mouse or other pointing device Check the Windows setup program to ensure that your mouse is properly configured. 2. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION For optimal performance, run Congo in 640x480 resolution, in 256 color mode. If your monitor's color depth is set to anything but 256 colors, certain palette fade effects will not work. The game will warn you on startup if your display is configured incorrectly. We recommend that you run Congo with 5 MB of free system memory (RAM). The game may run with less free RAM, but performance will be poor. If you have problems with memory, see Memory Issues, below. The Congo Setup program creates a Congo directory on your hard disk. Your saved games will be stored in this directory. Do not open the CD drive while Congo is running. Doing so will cause the system to shut down. 3. WINDOWS ISSUES Although Congo runs within Windows, it behaves differently than other Windows programs: A. Congo does not have a title bar with menu options. Instead, all game options are available on the game options screen, which may be accessed by pressing the F1 key. B. Congo cannot be minimized. You must press Quit at the game options screen to end the game and return to Windows. C. Windows hotkeys (alt-tab, alt-esc) are disabled while running Congo. D. Congo disables all Windows screen savers during game play to avoid graphics conflicts. Screen savers will only work when the game options screen is displayed. E. You cannot run more than one version of Congo at a time. Repeatedly clicking on the Congo program icon may cause the game to begin running in the background, and the Windows color palette to corrupt. This can be avoided by double-clicking on the Congo program icon only once. 4. MEMORY ISSUES Congo is designed to run on machines with 8MB of installed RAM, and 5MB of free RAM. If you experience memory problems while running Congo, here are a few suggestions to help you maximize free memory: A. Do not run other applications while running Congo. B. Make sure 32-bit file access for virtual memory is turned off. To do this, open the Main program group, open the Control Panel, and double- click on the Enhanced icon. At the Enhanced window, click the "Virtual Memory..." button. When the Virtual Memory window appears, click "Change>>". Make sure that the "Use 32-Bit File Access" box at the bottom of the Virtual Memory window is NOT checked. C. In the same window, make sure that "Cache Size" is set to 512 KB or less. Use the arrow buttons to reduce the cache size. D. If you are loading SMARTDRV.EXE in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, make sure that you allocate no more than 512k. The line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file should look like this: C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 512 512 If you still do not have enough memory try remarking out Smartdrive. To do this the line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file should look like this: REM C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE E. If you are running a RamDisk, you may need to disable it before playing Congo. F. If you are running Windows 3.11 (Windows For Workgroups), you may need to turn off network connections. Do not log on to the network when you start Windows. If you log on automatically, you can disable this by opening the Main program group, opening the Control Panel, and double-clicking on the Network icon. Click the "Startup" button in the Options section. In the Options For Enterprise Networking section, make sure that the checkbox labeled "Log On to Windows NT or LAN Manager Domain" is NOT checked. G. An 8MB swapfile is recommended for better performance while running Congo. For information on how to create an 8MB swapfile, please refer to your Windows documentation. Try these suggestions in combinations or all together to free up system memory. If you continue to have problems, consult your computer supplier. 5. SOUND CARD COMPATIBILITY Some problems have been found when running Congo with the following sound cards: Adlib Gold - does not support digital sound. Ensoniq SoundScape S-2000 - Using this card with driver version 1.20.00 may cause the game to crash. Upgrade to driver version 1.30.00 if you encounter this problem. MIDI sound (background music) may slow down and go out of synch on some machines. This indicates that you have a slow disk controller, and is not necessarily a problem with your sound card. If this problem occurs frequently on your machine, you can lower the volume of MIDI sound using the game options screen. 6. VIDEO CARD COMPATIBILITY Cirrus Logic drivers that come bundled with Acer, Compaq, and Packard Bell computers may cause white "trails" in the video. 7. TECHNICAL SUPPORT If you require additional technical assistance, call Viacom New Media Product Support, Monday through Friday between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Mountain Standard Time at (970) 339-7114. If possible, have information regarding your system setup and configuration available, and be near your computer when calling.