ZUXXEZ Entertainment AG Earth 2150: Escape from the Blue Planet Version 2.8.7.1 02/24/2000 -------------------------------------------------------------- System Requirements Installation Game Performance Troubleshooting - Video Card Issues - 3dfx Video Cards - GeForce 256 Video Cards - Alt-Tab and Task Switching - Sound and Audio Problems Map Editor Gameplay Issues - Camera Controls - Main Base & Space Port - Transferring Resources - Research Tree - LC and Solar Power - Unit Limits - Artifacts and Special Units - Queing Building Construction - Canceling Building Construction - Edge of the Map How to Contact Technical Support -------------------------------------------------------------- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS * Windows 95 or 98 * Pentium 200 or better; (Pentium II 400 recommended) * 32 MB of RAM; (64MB of RAM recommended) * 3D Hardware Accelerated video card with 4MB RAM; (8MB recommended) * 4X CD-ROM required; (8X CD-ROM recommended) * DirectX 6.1 or higher (DirectX 7.0 recommended) * 130MB minimum hard disk space * Multi-Player: TCP/IP, IPX, LAN, Modem to Modem, and direct Serial connections (56K or better required for modem play; Internet Service Provider required for internet play) -------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION Insert the Earth 2150 CD into your CD-ROM drive. When the Auto- run screen appears, click on the "Setup" button to start the installer program. If the Auto-run screen does not appear after you insert the CD, click on the Windows "Start" button, then choose "Run". Type in the following command at the Run prompt (replace the X with your CD-ROM drive letter): "x:\install.exe". Then push the "Enter" key to start installing the game. -------------------------------------------------------------- GAME PERFORMANCE If you're playing a multiplayer or skirmish game on a minimum spec machine, you may experience some slowdown when there are a lot of units firing on the screen. We suggest you limit the maximum number of units to 20,000 CR. In multiplayer games, always make sure the fastest machine is the host for the game. In addition, game performance may be adversely affected if the host machine is running Earth 2150 at a very high resolution. Adding AI players may also slow the game down since the host will have to do more processing. To improve performance, we suggest that you reduce the Visible Range in the Graphic Options. Go to "Options" and click the "Graphics" tab. Then move the "Visible Range" slider to the left. You can also turn off graphical effects such as snow, rain, and atmospheric fog. Finally, turning off the music soundtrack will also improve performance. -------------------------------------------------------------- TROUBLESHOOTING Video Card Issues Earth 2150 should run well on almost any Direct3D (Windows 95/98 only), OpenGL, or Glide compatible 3D accelerator card that supports Z-Buffering, Bilinear Filtering and Alpha- Blending. Video Cards using Z-Sorting instead of Z-Buffering are not supported due to advanced Z-buffer based tricks used in the 3D engine. Most video display problems can be corrected by installing the latest reference drivers for your particular video card. Please consult your video card documentation for details on how to get the latest drivers for your card. If you are using a custom cursor, especially with shadow, it may cause video corruption. We strongly recommend disabling custom cursors while playing Earth 2150. If your system has two or more video cards and you use windowed mode, Earth 2150 may appear on the wrong monitor. Whenever you change your video card or reinstall drivers, run the Setup.exe to adjust settings. We strongly recommend using standard resolutions with a 4:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, or 1280x1024) in HighColor or TrueColor mode. Remember: the higher the resolution, the slower the game will be, especially if your card has only 4MB or 8MB of video ram. Memory needed to run the game in a given resolution: Resolution | Video Memory ----------------------------------------------------------- 640 x 480 x 16 | 4 MB 800 x 600 x 16 | 6 MB 1024 x 760 x 16 | 8 MB 1280 x 1024 x 16 | 12 MB 640 x 480 x 32 | 8 MB 800 x 600 x 32 | 10 MB 1024 x 760 x 32 | 12 MB 1280 x 1024 x 32 | 18 MB ----------------------------------------------------------- Exceptions: Voodoo 1 only 640 x 480 x 16 mode Voodoo 2 only 640 x 480 x 16, 800 x 600 x 16 modes Voodoo Rush only 640 x 480 x 16 mode NOTE: 3dfx Voodoo chipsets only work in 16 bit mode. OpenGL drivers enumerate TrueColor modes only if the Windows desktop is also in TrueColor mode. 3dfx Video Cards When playing Earth 2150 with a video card using any 3dfx chipset (Voodoo 1, Voodoo 2, or Voodoo 3), the Glide renderer option should be selected in the Setup program for best performance. Some older cards, e.g., Voodoo Rush and Voodoo 1 cards, do not support per vertex fog which causes the game switch to fog mode from "environmental" to "black". In some situations, you may have to switch fog mode manually. Go to "Options" and click the "Graphics" tab and then check "Black". If you had a Voodoo card in your system at any time and you did not uninstall it properly, the game may crash. To avoid this problem, go to the "Windows\System" directory and delete (or rename) "Glide3x.dll". GeForce 256 Video Cards Players with GeForce 256 video cards should select the OpenGL renderer option for best performance. Alt-Tab and Task Switching Task switching via Alt-Tab or Alt-Esc is not recommended when playing Earth 2150. Task switching can cause Earth 2150 to lock up and require you to restart your computer. Sound & Audio Problems Most sound card problems can be corrected by installing the latest drivers for your particular card. Please consult your sound card documentation for details on how to get the latest drivers for your card. If your system does not play audio tracks or plays them incorrectly (e.g., too fast or too slow) you can try reinstalling Microsoft's Windows Media Player, which is responsible for audio track decompression. -------------------------------------------------------------- MAP EDITOR A map editor is included with Earth 2150. It is an unsupported feature of the game. Please do not call Technical Support regarding issues with the map editor. -------------------------------------------------------------- GAMEPLAY ISSUES Camera Controls The camera is controlled entirely with the mouse. Moving the mouse to the edges of the screen will scroll the playing field in that direction, i.e., moving the mouse to the left edge of the screen will scroll the playing field to the left. To rotate the camera, hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse left or right. To change the angle of the camera, hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse up or down. If you have a wheelmouse, the wheel will also perform this function. To zoom in or out, hold down both mouse buttons and move the mouse up or down. To center the screen on the currently selected unit, press the "0" key on the numberpad or right-click the unit's thumbnail. To follow the currently selected unit, press the "F" key. To move the screen to the last event, press the "Spacebar". Main Base & Space Port In the single player campaigns, each side has a main base area. From here, you can move units and resources to the mission area via the transport as long as there is a Transport Base or Landing Zone in the mission area. You choose a new mission by clicking on the world icon. Keep in mind that buildings, units, and resources in the main base area are carried over from mission to mission. Therefore, it's a good idea to transport all units and resources to the main base after finishing a mission. The Space Port is a critical part of your main base. The Space Port takes resources from the missions and delivers it to the research and development efforts necessary for the construction of the evacuation fleet. Transferring Resources In the single player campaigns, there are many pressing demands for resources. Fortunately, you have a lot of options to deal with those demands. Generally, you will start out with a certain amount of resources in the mission area. This amount should be enough for you begin a base in the mission area. You may also have resources left in your main base area. This is an important point to keep in mind, as the resources in your main base and the mission are not shared; they are two separate pools of resources. You can transfer resources between your main base and mission area with the Transport. The Space Port allows you to send resources to the R&D efforts for the evacuation fleet. Once the Space Port sends its resources to the R&D teams, those resources are gone and cannot be used again. Resources earmarked for the R&D teams are held in the Space Port structure until a shuttle picks them up. You can take resources from the Space Port and give them to your Main Base by selecting the Space Port and then clicking the "Take 5000 CR". This will only work if there are resources stored in the Space Port. Each side has a specific building that will take resources and transfer them directly to the Space Port. For the ED, this building is the Transport Base. For the UCS, it is the Ore Transport Base. And for the LC, it is the Ore Transport Refinery. If these buildings aren't built, then you will have to transfer resources to the Space Port via the Transport. Research Tree Press "F2" to bring up the Research Screen. The entire research tree for a faction can be viewed by clicking the Research Tree button the top right corner of the Research screen. You can also toggle between the Research Tree and the Research screen by pressing "F2" again. The Research Tree allows you to view all the technologies available to you within a mission. You can also queue multiple technologies and upgrades by left-clicking an item. Right-clicking will cancel research on a technology. Unit Limits Each mission has a limit on the amount of units that can be built. This limit is expressed by an amount of credits or resources. For example, a 10000 limit means you can build 10000 credits worth of units. You can view the current limit by selecting a weapons production building. LC and Solar Power Unlike the other two sides, the LC does not have to place their buildings near a solar power plant. However, solar power plants cannot generate power by themselves; they need to be equipped with solar cells. You can build Solar cells can by selecting a solar power plant, clicking the Solar cell button, and then placing the solar cell near the plant. Remember, solar cells must be placed near a solar power plant and each plant can have a maximum of 10 solar cells. Also, solar power plants will run out of energy at nighttime or during cloudy periods. To maintain power, you must build solar batteries. Solar batteries store energy during the day and deliver it at night or during cloudy periods. Artifacts or Special Units In some missions, you will need find an artifact or special unit. Don't assume everything is on the surface. Queuing Building Construction You can queue structure construction by holding down the Caps Lock key, and then select and place multiple buildings. Canceling Building Construction If you change your mind, you can cancel the construction of a building. If you're playing either the ED or UCS, just select the partially constructed building and click the "Autodestruction" button. This will explode the building before it's finished. Any unused resources will be returned. If you're playing the LC, click the "Build" tab in the Selection Panel and right-click the building you just placed. You only have a short window of time to do this; if the building has already started its way down, you won't be able to cancel its construction. Edge of the Map Because of the way the camera system is designed, units and structures cannot be placed within 16 hexes or squares of the map edges. --------------------------------------------------------------