Slave Zero(tm) README.TXT January 4, 1999 (c)1998, 1999 Accolade, Inc. All rights reserved. This Software is a pre-alpha demo of Slave Zero,TM using the Ecstasy EngineTM. The Software is provided under license by Accolade for demonstration purposes only and may not be copied, distributed, transferred or sold in any manner. The Software is provided "AS IS" and without any warranty of any kind, and Accolade retains all ownership, right, title, and interest in and to the Software, including the Ecstasy EngineTM. Slave Zero is currently scheduled for release in Spring ’99 Table of Contents 1. System Requirements 2. Game Options 3. Sound/Video 4. Known Problems 5. Contacting Customer Support ********************************************** SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ********************************************** Microsoft Windows(r) 95 or 98. Microsoft DirectX 6 Compatible video and sound card Microsoft DirectX 6 available from microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp Approximately 80MB of available hard drive space is required. 24 MB of RAM 3D accelerator card w/ the latest DX6 compatible drivers CONTENTS This demo only represents a small portion of the final product. The demo has a sample mission which contains a few weapons and a few enemies. The final game will include intense multiplayer action, mammoth bosses, greater functionality and of course more missions and a lower minimum system requirement This version has not been optimized and requires a PII 266 or equivalent to function acceptably. SLAVE ZERO CONTACT INFORMATION Technical support questions should be directed to the Accolade tech. support department. Contact information is at the end of this readme. For updates, patches, and more information please see the Slave Zero web site: www.slavezero.com Questions and comments are welcome and can be directed to: slavezero@accolade.com *************************************** GAME OPTIONS *************************************** RESOLUTION The Slave Zero demo defaults to run in low resolution (640x480). If your video card supports higher resolutions, then you can change the resolution of the demo. You can change the resolution in the Graphics and Sound option in the Main Menu. If you change the resolution and the card does not support it, then the demo will either error out or crash altogether. If this occurs, change the resolution back to low-res (640x480). A usual error in this situation is, "Renderer did not init." If this occurs, change your resolution to 640x480. If that does not fix the problem, then you may be using incorrect drivers for your 3D card (contact the card manufacturer). If the front end application does not offer a resolution your card supports than you can change the resolution yourself in the SZOptions.INI file. If you experience problems then set the resolution back to its default (640x480). GAMMA If your game is especially dark or bright then you can adjust the gamma. The gamma can be changed in the front-end installer. Gamma does not work for all 3D cards. If you experience problems changing your gamma please make sure you have the latest drivers for your 3D video card. MULTIPLAYER Multiplayer is not available in this demo. Later demos and the final product will support multiplayer. OPTIONS All the user modifiable options are available in the demo front-end application. The controls, gamma, resolution, etc can all be changed in this application. SZOPTIONS.INI The following is a copy of the SZOptions.ini file with descriptions of what each area effects. Changes to the demo can be made here: [Settings] Version=9 Level Bin Name=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\Data\mission01_demo.bin Gallery Bin Name=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\Data\Gallery.bin Splashscreen Bin Name=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\Data\splashScreen.bin Texture Bin Name=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\Data\textures16Bit.bin Audio Bin Name=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\Data\audio.bin Change the following "3Dfx" to "D3D" to force the demo to run the D3D version. Renderer DLL=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\3Dfx.dll Script Directory Name=C:\Program Files\Accolade\Slave Zero\Scripts Audio On=1 Turn audio on or off Gamma=1.800000 Change the gamma Invert Mouse=0 Invert mouse Mouse Sensitivity=1 Change the mouse sensitivity Start CD Track=-1 Change this number to play a music CD during the demo. [Video] Screen Width=640 These numbers affect the resolution Screen Height=480 Bits Per Pixel=16 Certain cards support higher bit depths Triple Buffer=0 Triple buffering is available on some 3D cards Trilinear Filtering=0 Trilinear filtering is available on some 3D cards Windowed Mode=0 Allows the game to be run in a window D3D Display Driver=Primary Display Driver D3D Level Post Fix=_d3d These options are for the d3d version D3D Texture Post Fix=_d3d Force Two Pass Rendering=0 [Controls] FIRE1= LEFT_MOUSE Hand weapon FIRE2= RIGHT_MOUSE Shoulder weapon JUMP= S STRAFE_LEFT= SHIFT STRAFE_RIGHT= X TURN_LEFT= LEFT TURN_RIGHT= RIGHT FORWARD= A BACKWARD= Z FLY_MOVE_FORWARD= LEFT_MOUSE Only available in "fly-mode" (a debug option) FLY_MOVE_BACKWARD= RIGHT_MOUSE AIM= Q Allows a torso twist (fire and walk different directions) PICKUP= CONTROL NEXT_WEAPON= C CROUCH= V INVENTORY= I Not available in the demo SPECIAL_1= RETURN SPECIAL_2= D YAW= Joystick is not supported in this demo PITCH= AIMYAW= JOYSTICK_SENSITIVITY_X= 0.0 JOYSTICK_SENSITIVITY_Y= 0.0 JOYSTICK_SENSITIVITY_Z= 0.0 **************************************************** SOUND/VIDEO **************************************************** CREATIVE LABS ENVIRONMENTAL AUDIO The Slave Zero demo supports Creative Labs Live! If you have this audio card than you will get some additional audio features. However, these extra features could cause problems with the audio. If you are hearing massive audio drop out, or static in the audio, get the latest Sound Blaster Live! Drivers from the Creative web site. If the problem persists, disable this feature by editing the "\install_path\scripts\audio.ini" file. Under the [Audio Manager] section, change the "Use Hardware" key to equal 0. This will disable your hardware and fix the problem. By doing this you will also lose all reverb that was set in the level and you will lose true 3d audio. In order to get the EAX to work you may need to access your AudioHQ. If you have the Sound Blaster Live! installed but are not hearing the reverb effects follow these instructions: If AudioHQ is set to "Normal Multi-Speaker" or "Two-Speaker Legacy Audio" then there may be NO EAX reverb heard in the game. In this situtaion, if "No Effects" or any other effects setting is used, the reverb should work as promised. CD AUDIO / MUSIC You can listen to your favorite CD music while playing Slave Zero. Place your music CD in the CD drive. Change the "Start CD Track" line in the SZOptions.INI file to equal the track you wish the game to play. Example, "Start CD Track=2" will play track 2 of the CD. While playing Slave Zero the CD track you selected will play. The CD you installed Slave Zero from may have a music track on it. Try tracks "1" and/or track "2". The final version of Slave Zero will have many tracks of original music. 3D REQUIRED Slave Zero is a 3D hardware required game. This demo version supports most available 3D accelerators. If you experience problems: 1. Make sure you have the latest drivers from the card manufacturer. 2. Verify you are running the demo in an acceptable resolution (try the lowest resolution first) Some 3D cards do not support all the features of this demo. You will get varied results on different 3D cards. If you have an older 3D card the Slave Zero demo may not function at all. The final version of Slave Zero will support more 3D cards and with more features. GLIDE DRIVERS To run Slave Zero with Glide (on a 3Dfx card) you need to have version 3.x of the Glide drivers. These drivers should be available from 3Dfx or from your card manufacturer. If you cannot get the latest Glide drivers then you can run the D3D version of Slave Zero on a 3Dfx card. To do this edit the szOptions.ini file located in the root install directory. Under the [Video] section change the "D3D Level Post Fix" key from "_d3d" to "_3dfx" and change the "D3D Texture Post Fix" from "_d3d" to "_3dfx". Then, under the [Settings] section, change the "Renderer DLL" key from "\install_path\3dfx.dll" to "\install_path\d3d.dll". Make sure windowed mode is set to 0, triple buffering is set to 0, and tri-linear filtering is also set to 0. These are the defaults, but if you've changed them, the d3d renderer will not initialize on Voodoo1 and Voodoo2 cards. Save your changes. At this point you'll need to re-launch the front-end so that you can select the voodoo based display driver. If you have a voodoo1 card then you cannot run the demo in any resolution higher than 640x480. Though you maybe able to select a higher resolution, this will cause the game to crash. VIDEO CARD SPECIFIC ISSUES Matrox G200 The Matrox G200 is the only card currently available that can run with tri-linear filtering on effectively. If you have this card, it is recommended that you set tri-linear filtering on in the szOptions.ini file. Setting tri-linear filtering on for other cards may cause huge performance losses or graphics display problems. Do so at your own risk. ATI Rage Pro The ATI Rage Pro is a board that does not support all the advanced rendering modes we need to give you the highest graphics quality for SlaveZero. If you have this board or a board with similar limitations, some effects will not draw correctly, and some have been disabled altogether. 3dfx Voodoo1 and Voodoo2 If you are using a Voodoo based 3d accelerator we strongly recommend using the 3dfx rendering dll we've provided. Using the d3d renderer on these cards will cause a significant performance loss versus the glide counterpart. Download the latest glide3x drivers from your board manufacturers web site. If you still want to use the d3d renderer, see the above section on how to set it up. S3 Savage You may experience "tearing" if using a S3 Savage card. This may be fixed by a change in the SZOptions.INI file. Change the line, "Triple Buffer=0" to "Triple Buffer=1". If that does not fix the problem then verify you have the latest drivers for your video card. When tripple buffering is on you will not be able to run in the higher resolutions. If you have problems, set your resolution lower. ******************************************* KNOWN PROBLEMS ******************************************* CAMERA ISSUE It is possible for the demo to start in the wrong camera mode. If the camera is not located behind the player (and attached to the player) then you are in the wrong camera mode. You can toggle camera modes by hitting <7>. If the game starts in the wrong mode you should be able to correct by hitting the number <7> once. CHUNKY STARTUP If you are experiencing some slowness at the start of the game then quit and restart. Immediately run the demo again. There is some slowdown due to texture loading the first time you run the demo. WINDOWED MODE Windowed mode for the d3d renderers is really only a debug feature. Use it at your own risk. The final product will probably not have this option available. VIDEO OPTIONS Manually changing any of the video options could cause the renderer to either not initialize properly, to render the scene incorrectly, or cause drastic performance losses. Be careful if you choose to play around with them and if some setting you change does cause problems, simply set it back to what it was. The defaults we've provided should work on most video cards. ******************************************* CONTACTING CUSTOMER SUPPORT ******************************************* ACCOLADE You can ask for help with your Accolade game by reaching us by Phone, Fax, Online and Mail: PHONE Accolade can help you by phone between the following hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 5:00pm PST and Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm PST (408) 296-8400 INTERNET website: http://www.accolade.com email: techelp@accolade.com FAX Faxes may be sent anytime to: (408) 246-0231 MAIL Accolade Tech Support 5300 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 500 San Jose, CA 95129 3DFX is Copyright © 1997 3Dfx Interactive, Inc. The 3Dfx Interactive logo, Voodoo Graphics and Voodoo Rush are trademarks of 3Dfx Interactive. Slave ZeroTM is trademarked and property of Accolade, Inc. Ecstasy EngineTM is trademarked and property of Accolade, Inc. Thanks for playing the Slave Zero pre-alpha demo.