PCPP Game Guide 2

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-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= T H E O N L Y Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) O F: /#### /#### /#### /##### /## /#/#/# /##### /#### /#/// /#/// /#///# /#//// /#/# /##### /#//// /#///# # /### /# /#### /#### /#### /#/#/# /#### /#### #/ /# /# /# # /#/// /# /# /#/#/# /#/// /#/# ###// /#### /#### /# ## /##### /# /#/#///# /##### /# /#########/// //// //// /// //////// /// ///// ///////// /// ///////// SCREAMER by Virgin Interactive and Graffiti SCREAMER: TOFAQ arranged, compiled, and written by: Y. Choe ============================================================================== Table of Contents. 1. Introduction 1.1 Umm, Like what's new? *1.2* Euro Version vs. US version? 2. Legal Disclamier 2.1 Umm, Like is this thing free or what? *2.2* What's the rating for? 3. Minimum and Recommended Setup *3.1* System Setup 3.2 Ok, hotshot, what is the real minimun RAM requirement? 4. Cars 4.1 Cars and their ratings. 5. Tracks 5.1 List of Tracks *Track Progression 5.2 Backwards! I'm quite confused! 6. Game play modes 6.1 So, um, like how do I play this? *Breakdown of Tournaments (Short and brief.) 7. Stragety & Cheats 7.1 Like what's the winning stragety, mon? 7.2 Just what is the best car to drive mon? 7.3 OK. What's the deal with MONTY and CLOCK and JOINT? 7.4 HEX ME. PLEASE! *7.5* Play Without CD!?! 8. Bugs 8.1 Bugs and fixes *8.2* Discrepencies 9. Misc. 10. Top Racers. 10.1 So, who's the hot shot around here, huh? 10.2 Even more challanges from RacerQ 11. Conclusion. 11.1 Acknowledgements *:indicates a new or dramatically changed item. ============================================================================== 1. Introduction. Imagine your car running at 330 km/h (that's about 180 mp/h for you people who still uses the old system of feets and yards. :) ), whizzing past the traffic. You keep one hand on the wheel (or thumb, for the rest of us who do not have the Thrustmaster T1 or T2) the other on the gear shaft, one eye on the road, and the other on the map (No rear view here folks). All of a sudden, WHAM!! You slam your lovely Corvette (There are other high performance cars, so don't worry folks.) on the wall, but you come screaming back, only shaken a bit. In a few seconds, you will break the speed limit again, so it really doesn't matter, does it? (Man, am I glad the Highway Patrol Units are off today. whew) Welcome to Screamer, the one and only Arcade-style racer in the World of PC. The graphics of this lovely little jewel will impress you, and the sounds will flatten you like a roadkill. However, its more than eye or ear candy. This game rocks! This game is very exciting, and has been getting rave reviews from the press so far. "..takes Ridge Racer and turns it on its ear.." DIMENSION 3 "Screamer gives ... Daytona and Ridge Racer a run for their money." PC Entertainent, Jan. 1996 These are only few samplings from the press who rave wildly about this game. Of course, the real challange is from the consumers yourselves. Screamer placed 56th Place in the Internet Top 100 games list, beating out other "action-racing" games like Destruction Derby. One thing that draws the people, it's the action! No, it's da speed! No! It'a all of the above. --Free advertisement over. Stop whining.-- Unlike some other FAQs, this one is designed to inform while you enjoy yourself. After all, you download stuff to maximize your enjoyment, and not to committ suicide. Right? 1.1 What's new? Well, until 2.0, i called this thing a guide, but as I worked on this, well, it became a FAQ so... I've reflected this change upon the very beginning . Now, what else is new? Got me. I still don't know everything about Screamer, but I'm pretty close. B) 1.2 Euro Version versus the U.S. Version! While the game is available in the US, most of the reader seems to be from the great continent of Europe. These two versions seem to be the same except for few differences. These differences are noted in apporiate sections. Perhaps later, I can separate US from Euro, but not likely. ============================================================================== 2. Legal Disclaimer The author, Yong Choe, first of all, is not responsible for injuries, murders, suicides, madness, etc. caused by this little gem. Also, I will not be held responsible if this gem goes berserk and destories your computer, floppies, CD and CD-ROMs, joysticks, T1 and T2, etc. etc. Caveat Emptor! Let the Buyer, or in this case, reader beware! In other words, don't go running around and come at me if your computer goes berserk and eats your Screamer CD after you download this. I will not be held responsible if that happens, or something similar happens. Remember, I warned you!!! Screamer: Breakneck Road Racing (C) 1995 Graffiti di Antonio Farina. Virgin is a registered trademark of Vigin Enterprises, Ltd. Thrustmaster, T1, T2, and such are registered trademark of Thrustmaster Co. All other trademarks are acknowledged. (i.e. If I mention somehting about Harvester and what Tiberium is, and the war against Evil NOD, the trademark would belong to Westwood, and thus, I'm obligated to acknowledge this trademark, but you knew that. ;) ) Last word. I only want to mention that this file is solely intended for good use only! If you use this file to take over the world, then shame on you! Shame, shame, shame!!! 2.1 Umm, Like is this thing free or what? Yes, this thing is free, but like all things, it comes with some strings attached. Here goes. You may distribute this faq via ELECTRONIC FORM (Disks, BBS, Online- services, FTPs, etc.) as long as nothing altered from the original version. YOU MAY NOT distriubute this faq by non electronic means, including, but not limited, to books, magazine articles, word of mouth, etc. without _EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION_ from the author. (i.e. When they ask you to give them a printed copy of this faq, you should save yourself the trouble, and have them log on and download it themselves! Put their lazy-bottoms into good use now!!!) When distributing this document via ELECTRONIC FORM, do not add any external items, or remove any items from this faq. Do not credit yourself for any items in here, unless you received an e-mail from me, because others found it, and not you. Yada, yada, yada. Also, when distributing this document via mass media, ie CD-ROM magazines, newsletters, etc; let me know about it, and if it's not too costly, send me a copy. Remeber, all you need to do is ask, and ye shall receive... ============================================================================== 3. Minimum Setup and Recommened Setup 3.1 System Setup Minimum Setup (by Virgin) * 486 DX2/66 or greater * 8 MB of RAM or 16 MB of RAM for SVGA play and Time Attack Mode * DOS 5.0 or highter * SVGA video card (16 MB of RAM necessary for SVGA) * SB, GUS or SB-Compatible card * Single Speed CD-ROM (for Music) * MSCDEX 2.2 or greater (Not really applicable if you have DOS 6.x or 7.0). Minimum Setup (by Author) * High-end 486(VGA) or Pentium(SVGA) * 16 MB of RAM * VLB or PCI Video card with 1MB of VRAM * Joystick (analog or digital), Gravis Gamepad, or Thrustmaster T1 or T2. Recommended Setup (by Virgin) * Pentium 90 * 16 MB of RAM * SVGA card with 2MB of VRAM * Thrustmaster T1 or T2 Recommended Setup (by Author) * Same as above. * PCI Videocard with 2MB of VRAM or greater. * Not much. If you can meet or exceed the recommened setup, then you will be really satisfied with this game. Supposedly, the graphics in SVGA is great, but not par to the home system games. I'll have to see though. * One magazine did a performance test on all driving gears available. If you can afford $400-$500, the you should get the best sets of steering wheel/ pedal sets! By all means, do not limit yourself to T1 or T2 if you can afford something better! It will enhance your enjoyment of all your racing games. Period. 3.2 Minimum RAM requirement: Just before you say "oh boy! Hi-rez time!!!!!": On setup screen, the program shows one less megs than your total megs of RAM. Meaning, if you have 8MB of RAM, like I do, you'll only get 7MB in Screamer. So, _16 MEG_ is really the true "minimum" setup, if you want to really enjoy it. You can enjoy the game at 8MB, but after this, I'd really suggest 16MB or greater. * Also, your CPU or computer should be equipped with FPU. Go to the bugs section to find out! ============================================================================== 4. Cars 4.1 Comparison of Cars Side by Side. +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | Name of Car | Manual Transmission | Automatic Transmission | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | SHADOW | | | | Top Speed | 343 | 340 | | Grip | *** | *** | | Acceleration | ** | ** | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | TIGER | | | | Top Speed | 340 | 336 | | Grip | **** | **** | | Acceleration | *** | *** | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | HAMMER | | | | Top Speed | 336 | 332 | | Grip | **** | **** | | Acceleration | **** | **** | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | RISING SUN | | | | Top Speed | 324 | 319 | | Grip | * | * | | Acceleration | ***** | ***** | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | PANTHER | | | | Top Speed | 332 | 329 | | Grip | ** | ** | | Acceleration | **** | **** | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | YANKEE | | | | Top Speed | 343 | 338 | | Grip | ** | ** | | Acceleration | * | * | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ | BULLET CAR | | | | Top Speed | Sorry fans. | 357 | | Grip | Just automatic, | ***** | | Acceleration | No manual mode. | ***** | +---------------------------+----------------------+------------------------+ a. SHADOW SHADOW, Lamborghini Diablo, is one heck of a car. This is the fastest car, bar none. Even the R.S. can't out run this thing once SHADOW is in top speed. Unfortunately, It's acceleration isn't that hot. But this lack of acceleration is balanced by good handling. b. TIGER TIGER is all machine. This Ferrari F-40 is, pound for pound, a near match for Shadow and Yankee. Its great handling and great acceleration makes this car a machine that you should be fearful of. * TIGER manual is the only car with various sponsors, BTW. c. HAMMER HAMMER Bugatti EB110 literally hammers the competition with its great handling and acceleration (No puns, I swear!). This may not be the fastest car, but when it comes down to that tortous (Curvy) course, this car is the one to choose. d. RISING SUN RISING SUN, Mitsubishi GT-3000 (The exact same model used in Sega Rally.), is a fast thing! None can out accelerate this puppy. Unfortunately, it has no grip, and you'll find yourself spinning every which way. I'd stay away from this car. One note: I just started playing with this car, and its fairly fun. But, do stay away from manual. When you downshift without slowing down a bit, this car skids out of control. Never had any trouble with any EUROPEAN car... hmm, a conspiracy? e. PANTHER PANTHER, the once hot Porsche, is respectable machine, with decent top speed. It has average handling and great acceleration. Comes in handy in courses where you need quick boost of speed. In essence, it's a litte slower, but grippier version of R.S. IMHO, both R.S. and PANTHER is a waste of time. BTW, some people have used PANTHER to achieve victory... hmmm Afterthought and some apology: I usually don't like to eat my words, but for this purpose, I'll have to eat it, with ketchup. I under-estimated this car. This car can take tough turns at top speed without losing traction. I'll really have to eat my word. Say, can I have that medium-rare, with some horseradish. f. YANKEE Why is it that the awesome Corvette gets the lousiest rating? Poor acceleration and average handling! HA! Sorry. Ravings aside, This car is, top speed wise, a match for SHADOW, but don't expect this car to win a drag race with the SHADOW. Did you notice the fact that in any races, the computer refuses to race with the Yankee? Is it just me, or is it another part of Euro. Conspiracy? Or am I getting way to paranoid? g. BULLET CAR This car is all car. It's a prototype car, with engine wires still bristling from its rear. Top speed: 357. Acceleration: Top notch. Blows all cars away, bar none. But, one warning. This car drives quite differently than others, and extreme skill is necessary in order to not to crash this thing. Really, you've nothing to worry about. Know why? You will be so far ahead that one or two crashes won't really matter. This car can be acquired by beating Bullet mode or through cheat codes. ============================================================================== 5. Tracks 5.1 The Tracks a. Progression of Tracks PALM TOWN | LAKE VALLEY | LINDBERG | (BEGINNER LEAGUE) | PALM TOWN NIGHT | (AMATUER LEAGUE) | SUNBEACH HILL | (PRO LEAGUE) | SAND ROCK HILL | (BULLET LEAGUE) | REVERSED TRACKS * Palm Town Your basic, oval, boring, round circular course. Nothing much to rant about except that third gnarly turn. Recommendation: Any car will do. * Lake Valley Drive through the Alps in this high speed course. Fairly curvy, not pretty fun to drive through. One of the prettier courses in the whole game Recommendation: Shadow, Tiger, Hammer. * Lindberg Always wanted to drive through the Europe but no car or cash? Well, here's your European Drive, complete with Castles, Dangerous Curves, Hotels, and Helicopters! An awesome track to behold, but one of the most difficult courses in the entire game. Manual Transmission is highly recommended. Recommendation: Manual mode: Tiger, Hammer. * Palm Town Night. This city is a were-city! During the day, its tame, but at night! IMHO, this is one of the most beautiful courses I've seen in all racing games, arcade and home-platform(including PC). Working headlights, bright buildings, and even a carnival, complete with ferris wheel and that hammer thingy. This course is available in the Normal game after you beat the Beginners in Championship mode. Recommendation: Any car will do, but go with Manual * Sunbeach Hill. Pretty, VERY long, and fun. Take a long drive, and enjoy the scenary. Fairly tortous, and pretty hairy at some spots. This course is available to the Normal game after you beat the Amateur in Championship mode. BTW, the advertisement hung during the course is different in US compaired to Euro Version. US VERSION: TIGER BEER EURO VERSION: PEPSI (Appearently, this game seems to be more popular in Europe than in the US.) Recommendation: Manual Mode: Shadow, Tiger, Hammer * Sandrock. The mother of all courses. Hairpin curves and an S-curve to ruin your lovely day. The land bridge (you'll know it when you see it) is a marvel to behold. Awesome course, not for the meek or those with abnormal heart conditions. Manual Transmission is highly recommended here, along with a vehicle that handles like a dream. This course is available to the Normal game after you beat the Pro League in Championship mode. Recommendation: Manual Mode: Tiger or Hammer. 5.2 Reversed tracks: Palm Town -> Nwot Mlap Lake Valley -> Yellav Ekal Lindberg -> Gerbdnil Palm Town Night -> Thgin Nwot Mlap Sunbeach Hill -> Llih Hcaebnus Sandrock -> Kcordnas You will drive all these tracks completely in reverse. First time I played these tracks, I was quite confused, and disoriented. If you know all of these tracks like back of your hand, then it may not be a problem. Quite difficult as well since all the warning signs are either backwards, or nonexistant. These, and other courses may be acquired either through beating all the tournaments in the Champ modes, or through the Cheat codes. =============================================================================== 6. Game play modes 6.1 Available Game modes * Normal Just a stroll around the course, great for practice. Numbers of lap customizable through Options. * Champ Mode Arcade a la PC. The great driver all come here. Place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd to proceed to next course. Achieve certain amount of points, and you proceed to next league, and get a new track in the Normal Game in the prcess TOURNAMENT PROGRESSION: BEGINNER LEAGUE (EASY DIFFICULTY. PUSHOVER) -No one should have any difficulty what so ever here. AMATUER LEAGUE (NORMAL DIFFICULTY. CAKEWALK--FRUSTRATION) -With some practice, easy to master. PRO LEAGUE (ACE DIFFICULTY. FRUSTRATION--NEAR SUICIDE) -Good luck. You'll need it! BULLET LEAGUE (AFTERBURNER DIFFICULTY. LAND OF NO RETURN!) -NO FAIR!! These guys are running around in a bullet car while I'm stuck with my buggy. :( * Special Modes They are special indeed. TIME ATTACK (Requires 12mb of RAM), Cone Slaughter (actually its Cone Carnage) and Gateway of INFINITY CHAOS MAYHEM, CARNAGE, SLAUGHTER, AND FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE (Slalom). The tracks availabe here are equiv. to Normal game. If you have won Amat. league, then you can drive upto Sunbeach Hill, and so fourth. ============================================================================== 7. Stragety and Cheats 7.1 General Strats. * DO THE CONTROL DEVICE MATTER? YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!! Remember that first flight sim, when you were a keyboard jockey, or that arcade game? Man, wasn't it easy with that nifty joystick or joypad?!? Been putting off? GO GET ONE! Joypad will work fine, but get a T2 by Thrustmaster or other steering set. It will make this game a whole lot easier. * Always choose Manual if you can drive it. The first two courses, you can get away with Automatic, but trust me, go with manual. * Play their game. Wreck their cars until they scream mercy! This way, you have less cars to deal with should you fall behind. One of the worst things that can happens is when you are in 7th ot 8th spot, and there are five gazillon cars at the same spot that you have to negotiate through. It's really tough to negoitate through that mess, and you've lost! * Of course, with everything, destruction requires skill. Side swipe is okay to use, since you don't slow down too much. Try to ram the opponents with your tail. This will, most likely, slow down or crash the CPU player. However, don't tailgate them, AND PLEASE, rear-end them. This will send you to the pits, and help the other guy by giving them a boost in speed. Hmm, I wonder what'd happen if you got rear-ended? * Go inside during curves. Hang inside when you enter curve, drop a gear or decelerate when you enter the curve, and accelerate or up a gear when you are about 5/8th - 3/4th through the curve. Play the demoliation game in the curves if you have to. Sacrifice others before you sacrifice yourself. * Toggle map to the max. zoom and press F4. If you time it just right, have a tailgater handy, and slam the breaks unexpectedly... Look ma! I can see my house from here!!!! You will be airborn. It's tough to do it in the computer game, since computer really doesn't tailgate, so try it in the NETWORK GAME. If you have a time proven stragety then send it in... More info on that later. 7.2 Like, what do the winners use anywho? Read on. Strats that Jurgen Winters used to the road of victory >I start Screamer championship with normal mode and most of the time used the >Porsche car. The Porsche is good in end speed and is at the most races >easy to drive through the curves. >I cannot provide you any strategies I have used, but (I am at work now , so I >cannot tell you the correct track names) : >- the Porsche can beat the rocket car in end speed. >- on the track with the two 90 degree curves (in town with the tramway) I >released the speed button some meters before the curves. I recommend not to >crash with other cars there, you can get them later (and more safely). >- on the first track (the short one with the moving helmet) I did never >release the speed button. > > At the first curve left I slide at the first yellow sign, also I did in the >tunnel. The long curve left I begin at the most right wall, and if the street >began to fall down a little, I steered to to most left (sometimes coming to >the grass there). >- on the track with the downhill grade after the tunnel, you have to release >the speed button at the beginning of the grade. Otherwise you are too quick >to get the slalom curves. >- on the track in the alps you also start the curves at the most opposite >site and then get in the curve. The last curve before the finish you can >do with full speed. >- using the Porsche, do not use the brakes! The car will then slide and will >be not drivable. >- the track with the fun fair sliding with the Porsche is recommended. May not be the best strats, but good enough to be enlisted here. 7.3 Cheats: When you type in your cheat codes, you'll hear the words "Wanna play dirty? Then let's play dirty." in a evil voice. MONTY: Bunny Carnage \___ Changes cones, barracades, etc. JOINT: Bowling Pin Carnage / VTELO: All Normal Tracks INVER: All Tracks, including Reverse Tracks TAZOR: Bullet Car! ABURN: All competitors are Bullet Car CLOCK: Halts Timer. IE you won't run out of time UPDOW: Turns a lot of things Upside Down MIRRO: Mirror Mode (BTW, these cheats are all confirmed by me!) The evil voice scares me. I feel that it is unethical to cheat outright... blah blah blah. 7.4 HEX ME! (HEXADECIMAL here, not the real hexing.) Well from Someone@UCONN comes these techniques that will let you cheat, but in a moral, ethical manner. Yeah right. It's cheating. Don't deny yourself that. After all, denial is not just a river... Note: If you don't understand how to edit a file through a hex editor, don't. If you're not careful, you can really screw up your computer, and I really haven't the time to hear you argue. BACKUP ALL FILES THAT ARE BEING EDITED BEFORE PROCEEDING!!! WARNING: IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO HEX-EDIT DON'T! I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE RESULT OF YOUR HEXING ACTIONS. BEWARE! 1) "Hex"-Edit the file: SCREAMER\CONFIG\CHOICE.DAT 2) On sector 02, i) Disp 44, change it from 00 to 01 to enable Bullet. ii) Disp 84, change it from 00 to 09 to enable all tracks in normal mode. iii) Disp 92, change it from 02 to 03 to enable difficulty: AFTERBURNER. 3) Finally, remember to update the file. If you have a great stragety then e-mail it to Nowhere. Your name will be plastered through the whole net. May be you can print this out and say: "Look ma! I'm famous!" 7.4 Crack it! Our resident FAQ contributer, Tim Tschiner, provides a way of playing the game without the CD, for those of you playing WC4, C&C, etc. The game comes with MIDI music, but is inferior compared to CD-ROM or Wavetable cards. Get with the technology! Get a GUS! WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING! THE SOFTWARE, SCREAMER, IS A LICENSED SOFTWARE. THERE MAY BE ONLY ONE COPY OF THE SOFTWARE PER COMPUTER. "PIRATING" OF THESE AND OTHER SOFTWARE IS IN VIOLATION OF MANY SOFTWARE LAWS IN THE US, AND ACROSS THE WORLD. UNLESS YOU LEGITIMATELY OWN SCREAMER, YOU MAY NOT PRACTICE THIS PROCEDURES LISTED BELOW! IN THE UNITED STATES, PIRATING SOFTWARE WILL COST YOU $250,000 AND A PRISON SENTENCE! THINK BEFORE YOU ACT. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO PIRATES THIS SOFTWARE, REPORT TO YOUR AUTHORITIES! WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING! I fully believe that software authors deserve the pay. Besides, I want to warn everyone of the consequences before action. So, like I said, don't blame me. You have only yourself to blame if you get caught. 1. Get a hex editor. 2. Backup STARTL.EXE and/or STARTH.EXE 3. Edit STARTL.EXE and/or STARTH.EXE using a Hex Editor, search for the Hex string 75 10 BB 01. 4. When you've found the string 75 10 BB 01 replace it with EB 10 BB 01. 5. Save the files. 6. Play the game. Feel guilty. WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING! THE SOFTWARE, SCREAMER, IS A LICENSED SOFTWARE. THERE MAY BE ONLY ONE COPY OF THE SOFTWARE PER COMPUTER. "PIRATING" OF THESE AND OTHER SOFTWARE IS IN VIOLATION OF MANY SOFTWARE LAWS IN THE US, AND ACROSS THE WORLD. UNLESS YOU LEGITIMATELY OWN SCREAMER, YOU MAY NOT PRACTICE THIS PROCEDURES LISTED BELOW! IN THE UNITED STATES, PIRATING SOFTWARE WILL COST YOU $250,000 AND A PRISON SENTENCE! THINK BEFORE YOU ACT. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO PIRATES THIS SOFTWARE, REPORT TO YOUR AUTHORITIES! WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING!WARNING! There, I've warned them. ============================================================================== 8. Bugs. 8.1 Couple of bugs I've seen so far. (BTW, many are unconfirmed. But some, I've found myself.) BUG: Camera on the replay likes to chop cars into its primordial polygon pieces. (VGA, REPLAY CAM) FIX: Wait for the next version to appear. BUG: Driver fail to init with GUS ACE. FIX: Use Sound Blaster/Sound Blaster Pro FM-Synth or CD Port BUG: Setup crashes, and I know for sure my CPU does not have an FPU unit--non-Intel CPU. FIX: You're stuck. Read below. >> I have a problem with Screamer (which I just posted to >>c.s.i.p.g.action). I thought you might want to know: >> >> "I just purchased Screamer and I can't get the SETUP program to run. >>It crashes every time I run it. I have a NexGen Nx586 P90 (no FPU, >>which is most likely the problem), 8MB RAM, STB Lightspeed VL 2MB DRAM >>video card, and a cheap SB Pro clone. I ran an FPU emulator (q87), >>and that didn't fix the problem. I also have 2 other programs that >>are intended to fix conflicts with games ("idon" which makes it so CPU >>ID instruction doesn't return 80386 and "exton" which is supposed to >>fix conflicts with DOS4GW). Neither of these helped... >> >> However, I think the game might run, so I was wondering if someone >>could mail me a configuration file for Screamer using an SB Pro on IRQ >>5, DMA 1, I/O 220. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!" For people with Computers that has no internal FPU, ie NexGen, forget it. Really! This game (appearently) makes use of FPU, though to what degree I don't know. So if you don't have FPU, then you're kinda outta luck, unless you have 16 MB of RAM. Then you can run an emulator, but I really don't know what the result would be. This problem will be most likely be encountered by people whose computers are powered by non-Intel CPU chips. BUG: Network game fails to run after the start screen. FIX: Get separate copies of Screamer. Couple of people on the net are disgruntled. Why? Everytime they try to run the net game, it goes fine, until they try to start the race. When anyone presses enter, the things goes berserk, and dumps the entire network to the previous screen. So, what's the deal here? Well, I have proceed to mail this problem to Virgin, but I've heard nothing, nada from tem. Then again, I can be wrong here. (Read the last part of the bug section.) BUG: Besides the annoying crashes that they do (this game should be renamed Demolition Derby :) ), it seems that in some races, the internal car positioning gets messed around, and in some cases, causes apparations to appear. FIX: Wait patiently for new version of Screamer to appear. BUG: Noise Desync. Especially noticable on 486dx/66. FIX: Try mono instead of stereo. If all else fails, get a faster CPU or more RAM. BUG: Music pauses when music wraps. FIX: It's a concerning redbook. MW 2 players already know that when the music must start again, the game pauses for few secs to re- initialize the same music track. This is a limitation on music CD players, and the same limitations appears on games that uses Redbook technology. Expect this problem to appear in more games, as the problem is not software based, but is based on hardware. One solution-Use FM-Synth or Wavetable card. You will still need your original CD however. BUG: Joystick Calibration seems to be a bit off. FIX: Fix your joystick limits for this problem. Perform a full circle instead just left-right, etc. (Note: I haven't noticed this problem in my Gravis Gamepad...) 8.2 Discrepencies. What I said earlier: >>Remember Spectre VR or Spectre? Whenever you wanted to play a net game, everyone had to have a different copy, right? It seems that in the Italian Manual, to play net game, all participants needs the copy of the game. Appearently, the people at Graffiti forgot to fix this problem, since we were told we only needed one main copy, and can "spawn" copies for net game like Warcraft ][....Anyone listening, Virgin?!?!?!<< Is this true? I've lost my manual, and thus, I really officially own this game! :) If you find bugs, contact Virgin and the author of this thing at Nowhere so that others can benefit. BTW, I am not the darned customer support. OK? OK. ============================================================================== 9. Misc. Joystick Setup I use Gravis gamepad, and the game is much easier with it then without. ___ / \____________________ R=Brake / GRAVIS \ B=Accelerate / /|\ GAMEPAD B \ Y=Gear Down | <- -> / R G | G=Gear up \ \|/ / Y / \___________/_________ / \__/ I use this setup, since its easier for my fingers. I just put my index finger on the blue button, and use my thumb to control the gear shaft. Easy and comfy. Left handers just reverse. Wish list A Patch is sorely needed! Please, GRAFFITI and VIRGIN! LISTEN TO US!!!! These bugs/discrepencies are killing your loyal fans. I'm surprised that Virgin hasn't released a patch yet. They are a great company, but they will lose me and many others as a customer if they don't get on the ball and release a patch fixing bugs listed above! Well, this certainly belongs under Misc. Anyway, I'd really like to try the TIME ATTACK and SVGA mode, yet this thing asks for 16 MB of RAM, but I only have 8!!! Sorry about my ranting, once again. NOTE: You can try playing in SVGA mode with 8mb of ram by typing in "starth" instead of "screamer" but it did not work for me. You are forewarned. If your computer blows up, it ain't me fault. You tried it, you failed, and it all yo' fault! One thing that I'd like to see is to lower the memory req. of TIME ATTACK to 8 MB. Also, a car paint shop, the same one that is featured in NASCAR, would be also cool, and more tracks couldn't hurt either. Is it just me, but the replay, after once or twice, its a bore. Savable Replay and Customizable Camera Angle is needed. But once again, this is not NASCAR. It's better. * Hmmm, how does that thing go, not so well on network, not so well on individual. Well, if Virgin want to sell this game, they have to get to work on this game, eh? ============================================================================== 10. Top Racers. Whoowhee! 10.1 Top Racers. Are you fast enough to beat Racer Champ? CURRENT RACER CHAMP: Tim Tschirner Course: Palm Town Best Total: 01.14.28 Car: Bullet Course: Lake Valley Best Total: 01.56,87 Car: Bullet _________________________________ Course: Lindburg ' ` Best Total: 02.08.10 | | Car: Bullet | CURRENT SPEED CHAMP | | | Course: Palm Town Night | T I M T S C H I R N E R | Best Total: 02.00.65 | | Car: Bullet | Let him be known as the | | Fastest Racer in the land of | Course: Sunbeach Hill | SCREAMER: The Game | Best Total: 04.10.84 | | Car: Bullet `_________________________________' Course: Sandrock (?) Best Total: 02.38.18 Car: Bullet To become RACER CHAMP, you have the fastest race time in all races, no exceptions. Once you've achieved RACER Q status, you are no longer qualified for RACER CHAMP challange. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10.2 Challange of Racer Q "I am Racer Q, the best racer in the world. I've driven a lot of courses in my days, but the courses in SCREAMER gave me a real challange. But, I have overcome all odds, and became the super racer. Now, beat my time, and you will be known as the CHAMPION of RACER Q !!!!!!" Can you beat these times to become Champion of Racer Q? (All courses includes reverse as well. You gotta beat these times in normal and reverse course. Only then you will be the Champion of Racer Q) Palm Town: 1.05.00 ______ _____ Valley Lake: 1.45.00 _/ /_ \____________ Lindberg: 1.57.00 ___/___________/_______\///// / Palm Town Night: 2.00.00 / / ___ RACER Q! ___ | Sunbeach Hill: 4.00.00 / // // / / \ |||||| / \ | Sandrock: 2.25.00 |===========|==|=====|=======|=====|=| \\\___/ \\\___/\___/ \\\___/ -So you're bored with Screamer Already? Try these and find out how you can make Screamer scream more challanges! -Drive Upside down -Drive in Mirror Mode -Drive Upside down, mirror mode, time tracking, or cone carnage! -Drive with the Yankee, upside down. -Drive with the Yankees, in a Yankee, upside down. -Drive with your eyes blindfolded. -Drive while you're drunk -Drive while you are screaming loudly. -Let your pet drive them cars! (NOTE: THE AUTHOR HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU KEEP THE DECIBEL LEVEL TO A COMFORTABLE LEVEL, AND HE REALLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDS THAT YOU DO NOT PRACTICE THESE WHILE ACTUALLY DRIVING. THE STAFF WHO BRINGS YOU THIS FAQ DOES NOT TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY AS RESULT OF THESE ACTIONS --USE YOUR COMMON SENSE. DON'T DRIVE OFFENSIVELY. THAT'S WHAT SCREAM IS FOR. B-) ) ============================================================================== 11. Conclusion Here we are. We've reached the finish line without a scratch! What a show! Anyways, comments, suggestions, erors (Heavens no!), mistaces, what ever, e-mail the author at Nowhere. Hey! You might even see your name here! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can contact Virgin at http://www.vie.com. FTP site: ftp.vie.com E-Mail: tech_support@vie.com Snail Mail: Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Inc. 18061 Fitch Av. Irvine, CA 92714 ATTN: Customer Service BBS: 714-833-3305 8-N-1 up to 14.4 KBPS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.1 Acknowledgements: Not so new here. A special section where people who contributes to this gets immortalized. Dan Ginsburg Juergen Winter Gary C.K. Lam D.Jay Jeremy Pederson HAVOC77 Marco Jason Yeh Mike Lais Thanks to all who've sacrificed time and life to send in items, but for some reason (too little too late! Author goes mad!) was not included here. Sorry, after all, I am a person, not a freak, or a fanatic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The author now can be reached at: choemaster@earthlink.net I HAVE BEEN REDEEMED! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special thanks to Virgin for pumping out games like Screamer and Command and Conquer. Hehehe. Screamer FAQ will be uploaded every month on: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action c.s.i.p.g.misc c.s.i.p.g.sports OFFICIAL U.S. HOME PAGES of SCREAMER FAQ: HTTP://WWW.SEAS.UCLA.EDU/~YEHJ HTTP://www.earthlink.net/~dlais/mike.html EUROPEAN FTP AND HOMESITES ARE NEEDED GREATLY! IF YOU CAN POST THE FAQ, DO SO. REMEMBER TO CHECK THESE SITES AND THE NEWSGROUPS FOR ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW VERSIONS!!! IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE A EUROPEAN HOME SITE, E-MAIL ME. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ For people who've tried to contact me the last few weeks, sorry if you got the address does not exist message. I've changed my server, and savin' lotsa cash and time for this FAQ. Hey! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Until next version of this ghastly thing, cya! SCSTG v2.5a 4596 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FREE PRIZE! History file: 1.00 Screamer FAQ released 1.xx Screamer FAQ upgraded: All known cheats Network Bug Workaround for Hi-resolution start Found Homesites Revealed information of the top secret Rocket car 2.00 Heavy revision, including all cheats, hex editing methods, all cars, tracks, more bugsd, etc. 2.50 Minor revision, including hex crack, flow chart progression, brief analyzation of tournaments, etc. 2.50a One more thing added: Author's new E-mail address.