Fighting Steel™ Demo Readme
June 22nd, 1999

Table of Contents
I.	Introduction
II.	System Requirements
III.	Installation
IV. 	Troubleshooting Questions and Answers
V.	Copyright Information

I. Introduction
Thank you for purchasing Fighting Steel: World War II Surface Combat 1939-1942. Combining the depth of a detailed simulation and the tactical challenges of the finest wargame, Fighting Steel re-creates the most spectacular naval gunnery battles of WWII from 1939-1942. Command ships from the British, German, American and Japanese fleets everything from a single ship to a Task Force consisting of several divisions in real-time action! Combat takes place in a true 3-D world. All ships are fully rendered and textured 3-D models, providing a high level of detail and extreme realism. An auto-camera allows the player to view the action from many different camera angles without losing sight of critical events as they unfold. Detailed combat and maneuvering systems accurately simulate naval surface combat, while the powerful and easy-to-use interface allows the player to concentrate on strategy and tactics. Historical scenarios, campaign games, computer-generated scenarios and a scenario editor make for hundreds of hours of intense gameplay. 

For any additional late breaking information, visit our website at www.fightingsteel.com

II. System Requirements*
Windows® 95 or Windows® 98
200MHz Pentium(R) or faster (233MHz or better recommended)
64MB RAM 
4 MB, 3D accelerated Video card
Video and Sound cards compatible with DirectX 6.1** or higher 
Internet access for MPLAYER 

DirectX 6.1 or higher must be loaded on your system in order to run the Fighting Steel Demo. If you do not have DirectX 6.1, you’ll need to download it from Microsoft’s web page at:

	http://support.microsoft.com/Support/DirectX/faq/default.asp

*System Configuration: May require minor adjustments to the configuration of your operating system and/or updates to the hardware component drivers.

III. Installation 
To install the Fighting Steel Demo, simply download the Demo file and doubleclick on the file. Follow the installation prompts until the demo has installed. If you have any problems installing the Fighting Steel, please reboot your system and reinstall. You’ll need approximately 26 MB of Hard drive space to install the Fighting Steel Demo.

IV. Items not included in the Demo Version of Fighting Steel
The Fighting Steel Demo doesn’t come with many of the great features that are found in the complete version of Fighting Steel. To experience all of the features, you’ll need to purchase the retail version. Someof the items not found n the demo version are:

	The Scenario Editor
	The Battle Generator
	12 Historical scenarios and 4 Historical Campaigns
	Voices and Music
	Save game ability
	4 player Multiplay
	Battle Replay viewer
	3D ship viewer

VI.  Troubleshooting Questions and Answers

Question: I’m experiencing sluggish mouse control and the camera is moving slowing throughout the game. 
Answer: Please remember to review the basic system requirements for Fighting Steel. If you have a low end system, you might need to reduce certain 3D effects. Try turning off  Ocean textures, Sky textures, Smokestacks, Sea swells, Smoke screens, and Rolling ships. You might also try minimizing the use of Smokescreens in game play. The game engine will automatically detect a lower than normal frame rate and attempt to adjust the 3D modeling to present a smaller polygon count. You might notice slight changes to the models during slow periods of game play (less detail in models, no flags above the models, etc.) Finally, you may open the dbzlib.ini file (found in the \INI folder in the game directory) and change the last line in the file to read:

	  GRAPHICS = 1

This will cause a reduction in the detail of the 3D models at closer range, giving a user a smoother playing game.

Question: I cannot select a target in either the Division gun Orders panel or the Single ship Orders panel. What could be wrong?
Answer: If you experience any of the above symptoms, please check the 2D map view and make sure that your guns are even in range (see page 27 in the game manual). Visibility is an issue here as well. Be sure that an obstacle (friendly or enemy ship, smoke screen, etc.) isn’t 1000 yards or closer to you or the target you are firing at or your targeting may be obstructed. Also, Green and Fatigued crews are slower to react than elite and rested crews. Even though guns are in range and you have spotted the enemy, it might take a minute for the crew to completely react and target weapons. Please remember, Standard Mode games show all presently known enemy contacts, even for your division that aren't within visual contact range. Users should keep this in mind when they find that for some reason they cannot target a certain enemy ship (the enemy probably has not been spotted yet or simply isn’t currently in weapon range for this one division)

Question: I can’t seem to go my maximum posted speed. What could be the problem?
Answer: You might be encountering heavy seas; check environmental conditions in the Briefing Screen (F6) and check the Sea State. A higher Sea State will reduce your speed significantly. Also, ships may only accelerate at half rate while performing a maneuver. If you have order a speed increase and your ships aren’t increasing their speed, they’re probably currently locked into a turn. Finally, check your Single ship status panels for damage to your propulsion system.

Question: Sometimes the Camera control panel in the 3D view disappears from view (F3) and I need to reload it. Why?
Answer: Some autocamera effects go to full screen, or will remove the camera control for a better view of the action. When this occurs, you might need to reload (F3) the camera controls again.

Question: I’m experiencing strange video problems during game play (white turrets, streaky graphics, square frames around animated objects, etc.). What is wrong?
Answer: First, be sure that you have at least a 4 MB, 3D accelerated video card. Next, get the very latest video drivers from the manufacturer of your video card. ATI Rage Pro and Savage 4 chipsets will require new driver sets. 

VII. How To Contact Technical Support
If you have worked through these troubleshooting suggestions and still need assistance, you can contact SSI Technical Support by using the options listed below.  When calling our tech support group it will be very helpful if you can tell us your computer make and model, and the brand names of both the video card and sound card you are using.  If possible, have the computer both positioned near your phone and turned on.  Please also be prepared to give us a detailed description of what happens when you try to run the program.

You can contact us in any of the following ways:

·Internet
For general help and tips: 
http://www.ssionline.com/support/general_help.html 

You may also fill out our technical Support form found at 
http://www.learningco.com/support

·Mail
Send your questions to:
The Learning Company
1700 Progress Drive
P. O. Box 100
Hiawatha, IA 52233-0100
USA
Attn: <Fighting Steel>

(Please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a reply)

·Phone
 If you encounter any other problems with Fighting Steel, please contact our Technical Support Department at (319) 247-3333 between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm Central Time or try our automated Technical Support department at (800) 409-1497. Technical Support FAX is available at (319) 315-9600. 

VIII. Copyright Information
(c) 1999 The Learning Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries.  All rights reserved.  Fighting Steel is a registered trademark of Learning Company Properties Inc. Windows, is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

End of Readme