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- This file contains the latest amendments and additions to the printed Manual.
-
-
- Video for Windows(TM) 1.1e
-
- Most of the videos supplied with Battle Isle 3 have been produced using the INTEL INDEO
- Codec version 3.2. To play these videos in Windows(R) 3.11 you will require at least
- Version 1.1d of the Video for Windows(R) program.
- Some manufacturers of graphics cards supply a specially adapted version of the program
- with their cards. If you have already installed Video for Windows(R) on your computer we
- advise you NOT to install the version 1.1e supplied by us.
- Version 1.1e is usually NOT necessary to play our videos; Version 1.1d is sufficient. You
- should therefore install Version 1.1e ONLY IF you have not installed any version of
- Windows(R), or if you can not play our videos with the program which is installed at
- present.
-
- Virtual Memory
-
- Battle Isle requires approximately 30 MB of main memory. In Windows(R) you can provide
- a program with more main memory than you actually possess. To do this, Windows(R) uses
- the so-called virtual memory; that is, it uses the hard disk's memory and "fools" Battle Isle 3
- into thinking it is RAM.
- The advantage of this is that, if you have more than 8 MB RAM, you can make full use of
- your actual main memory, ie the more RAM you have, the faster the game will run.
- If you only have 8 MB of main memory you will have to make the rest available as virtual
- memory. The following section explains how to do this.
-
- Windows(R) 3.11 Virtual Memory
-
- - Open the "Main Group" program group and start the "System Control" program
- - Select "386 expanded"
- - Select "Virtual Memory"
- - Check the size of your present swap file ( = virtual memory). Is it larger than 23,000KB? If
- so, you do not need to do anything else, and can close the window again. If not, select
- "Change".
- - Look at the "Recommended Size". Is it equal to or greater than 23,000KB? If so, enter a
- value equal to or greater than 23,000KB and click on OK. It is better to use a permanent
- swap file than a temporary one. After doing this you will have to start Windows(R) again.
-
- If the recommended size is too small, there may be two possible reasons for this. One reason
- may be that your hard disk is fragmented. Windows(R) requires connected blocks of
- memory. Go into DOS and start a defragmenting program (for details of how to do this,
- consult your DOS manual).
- The other reason may be that you have loaded too many driver programs. Windows(R) 3.11
- can use up to three times the available main memory as virtual memory. Create a simple
- CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT in which no superfluous drivers are loaded. In
- particular you should avoid using SMARTDRIVE, or make sure you do not assign more
- than 256KB memory to SMARTDRIVE. Operational memory can also be created if you do
- not use network drivers. Windows(R) usually only requires the command
-
- DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
-
- in the CONRIG.SYS file to start (drive and path may be different in your system).
- Virtual Memory in Windows(R) 95
-
- If you have at least 23 MB free on your hard disk, you do not need to take any further
- action; Windows(R) 95 will recognise this and will make sure that enough virtual memory is
- available. To make enough space available on the hard disk, you may have to delete a few
- files which you no longer require.
-
- Screensaver
-
- If your screensaver is set so that it is active while the videos are being played, the videos will
- not be able to restore themselves afterwards, and the final part will be played with the wrong
- palette. This only applies to the video presently being played, not to subsequent ones, so it is
- not serious. As the introduction runs for more than 11 minutes you should turn off your
- screensaver for this period, or move the mouse from time to time so that the screensaver is
- not activated.
-
- Introduction
-
- If you wish, you can fast forward the introduction to the next part of the action by using the
- SPACE key, and you can quit it by using the ESC key. Depending on your graphics card and
- CD-ROM drive it may take a few seconds before the program responds.
-
- Network Mode
-
- In network mode the participating computers alternately read and write the files on the
- network drive.
- To set up the network drive, use the NETWORK SETUP program in the Battle Isle 3
- program group. Select a drive and directory to which all the participants have write access.
- Windows(R) 95 and Windows(R) NT are designed for network use, so you should not have
- any problems with these systems.
- Windows(R) 3.11 however will often display an Error message because too many people are
- trying to access the network at once. If this happens, click several times on the "Repeat"
- button. Remember that network games will still be saved on the network drive even when
- you turn your computer off. If you still cannot make Windows(R) 3.11 access the files after
- you have clicked on the "Repeat " button several times, re-start Battle Isle 3.
-
- NOTE:
-
- Do not forget that the first player in a network game must have completed his first move, ie
- he must have pressed the Change Player button, before the other players can start their
- moves. If the first player quits the game before pressing the Change Player button, the whole
- game will be invalid and will have to be deleted from the network.
-
- As a general rule, the network game scores are treated just like ordinary files, ie they can be
- deleted, or sent to a fellow player on disk or by modem so that he can copy it into his
- network directory and make the next move. If you are not in a network but would like to
- start a postal game, simply chose any directory on your hard drive to act as a network
- directory, or directly to the disk drive. The *.SDI files thus created will contain your scores.
-
- Campaign Mode
-
- This section describes the basic rules of the Campaign Mode:
-
- ALL your units will accompany you from one map to the next. If a unit is not at full strength
- when you complete a map, it will be repaired and will have one experience point deducted.
-
- If you had 3 heavy tanks on the previous map, with 6, 4 and 2 experience points
- respectively, but only have two tanks on the next map, one of the tanks will have 6
- experience points and the other 4. The tank with only 2 points will remain in the weapons
- pool and will be deployed again on a later map.
-
- At the beginning of a map you always have the same units on the map! However, the more
- experienced units you have in the weapons pool, the more of the inexperienced units which
- are present from the start will be replaced by experienced ones from the pool.
-
- Repeat System Check
-
- If you want Battle Isle 3 to repeat the system check which was carried out when you started
- the program for the first time, start the Battle Isle 3 icon SETUP. You may need to do this
- after installing new hardware or software. The scores you have saved will not be affected by
- this procedure.
-
- The SDI.INI File
-
- This file is in your Windows Directory. The following section describes some of the most
- useful commands.
-
- [FILES] PATHx=
- These run from PATH0 to PATH9. The first two must remain empty, the second must
- indicate your game directory on your hard disk, and the third must indicate your CD-ROM
- drive.
-
- SDIPATH=
- Must indicate your game directory on your hard drive.
-
- [ADVANCED]
-
- REMOTEPATH=
- Indicated your network drive.
-
- AVICHIP=
- YES or NO, depending whether you have an AVI accelerator card.
-
- ONLINEHELP=
- YES or NO, depending whether you want to have the Online Help to be on or off from the
- beginning of the program.
-
- [STARTUP]
- (These values are set by the system test and should only be altered by experienced users)
-
- PLAYVIDEO=
- YES to play normal videos, NO to turn off all videos.
-
- PLAY_320_200=
- No if you do not want to play any videos in 320 * 200 mode, YES if you do want to play
- them. You must then also enter YES as the PLAYVIDEO command, otherwise this
- command will be ignored.
-
- PLAY_ZOOM=
- NO if you do not want to play any videos in AVI accelerator mode, YES if you do want to
- play them. You must then also enter YES as the PLAYVIDEO command, otherwise this
- command will be ignored.
-
- PLAY_BIG=
- No if you do not want to play any intermediate videos. These videos are 640 * 480 in size,
- larger than the standard 320 * 200 videos, and can sometimes cause problems. Enter YES if
- you want to play them, in which case you must also enter YES as the PLAYVIDEO
- command, otherwise this command will be ignored.
-
- USEFX=
- USEFM=
- YES if you want to play sound effects or music, NO to turn them off.
-
- AUTOSAVE
-
- If your computer crashes or you have any other problems, your last score will always be
- safe! Battle Isle 3 has an Autosave function, so that your last two scores are always saved in
- position 9 or 10 in the SAVE menu.
-
- Problems with videos
-
- Playing videos in Windows(R) is not always straightforward; version 3.11 in particular can
- often cause problems.
-
- These problems are usually caused because the video drivers supplied by the manufacturer of
- your graphics cards are defective. Even if the drivers function satisfactorily in normal use
- they may still contain faults which can make them unsuitable for playing videos.
-
- One fairly common fault prevents the videos from being played against the scenic
- background, so that they can only be played against a black background. Battle Isle 3
- recognizes these problems when you first start it and will automatically change the style of
- presentation if necessary.
-
- Some drivers can be so faulty that they will cause the videos to crash. In this case,
- Windows(R) will issue an error message reading "MMTASK ERROR". Next time it is
- started, Battle Isle 3 will recognise the fault and switch mode to play the videos against a
- black background. If the videos crash repeatedly, Battle Isle 3 will note this and give you the
- option of playing without videos.
-
- These problems can be solved in two ways. You can try to obtain a new driver from your
- graphics card manufacturer, or you can see if the driver from another graphics card will
- work on your system. As all graphics cards use chips from a small number of manufacturers
- there is a good chance that, for example, you will be able to use a driver from a Shareware
- CD.
- A better option is to update to Windows(R) 95. In our tests, this system has proved to be far
- more stable than version 3.11, and it was possible to play the videos on all types of
- equipment without any problems at all. If at all possible we would recommend that you
- should change to Windows(R) 95 if you have any problems with your graphics.
-
- Experience has shown that zooming videos, either in 320 * 200 mode or with an AVI
- accelerator, can cause problems if the system is running in 16-Bit color mode (65536
- colors).
-
- In general, many Windows(R) 3.11 versions are very unstable due to the numerous
- additional modules which are added and removed over time. In some cases it can help if you
- re-install Windows(R) 3.11 from scratch. As already mentioned, the biggest problem is
- caused by faulty video drivers. A later section of these instructions contains part of the
- WinG(R) Readme file, in which Microsoft refers to problems with the WinG Library; and the
- problems referred to there also apply to videos.
-
- If the automatic check described earlier has turned off the videos, you can try manually to
- find the "border" up to which your system is able to play the videos. You can do this as
- follows:
-
- - In the [STARTUP] section, enter ERROR_311=1
-
- - Enter all PLAY_xxxx commands as NO
-
- - Enter the command PLAYVIDEO=YES
-
- - Now try to start the program and see if the videos are being played.
-
- If yes, try entering ERROR_311=0
-
- If this works too, try entering PLAY_BIG=YES. This will enable you to play the text inserts
- at the beginning of the chapters, which are played in 640 * 480 format.
-
- Video size is too large
-
- If you use the double size or full-screen settings as the standard setting when playing videos
- in the Media Player, Battle Isle 3 will automatically do the same. However, this can often be
- unattractive. You can prevent this from happening by setting the video size in the Media
- Player to "Normal" and "Play in Window", and then defining this setting as the standard
- setting.
-
- Problems with the WinG Library
-
- This Library is a system extension for Windows(R) 3.11 which compensates for the system's
- deficiencies in its graphics capabilities and allows the system to display graphics of a similar
- quality to Windows(R) 95 and Windows(R) NT. WinG is automatically installed at the same
- time as Battle Isle 3. As this is a relatively recent product, some graphics drivers may cause
- problems with this too. Usually the program crashes during the first self check which WinG
- Library carries out before the program is started for the first time, but sometimes this does
- not happen until you have been playing for a while.
- Here too we recommend that you obtain a new driver from the manufacturer of your
- graphics cards or, better still, that you update to Windows(R) 95.
-
- Other User Interfaces than Program Manager
-
- Windows(R) 95 contains a number of user interfaces which give the system a different
- appearance. These interfaces are frequently not compatible with Battle Isle 3, and you
- should therefore turn them off altogether and start Battle Isle 3 from the ordinary Program
- manager.
-
- Not Enough Memory
-
- If a message appears during the game telling you that there is not enough memory available,
- you will have to increase the size of the virtual memory. If you are using Windows(R) 3.11 it
- may help if you start the computer without SMARTDRIVE and network drivers.
-
- Problems with Sound Effects or Music
-
- Setting the sound cards in Windows(R) 3.11 can sometimes cause problems. If you have
- problems, check your driver setting and the MIDI Mapper, both of which you will find in the
- System Control program. Often you will have to adjust all the voices in the first Patch Table
- to your sound card; for details on how to do this, consult your Windows(R) manual.
-
- In Windows(R) 95 you will find the appropriate settings under Multimedia in the Setup
- Program group. Select ADVANCED / MEDIA CONTROL DEVICES / MIDI
- SEQUENCER / SETTINGS and enter the make of your sound card. It is usually not
- necessary to do this, however, as Windows(R) 95 recognises your hardware and
- automatically carries out the necessary settings.
-
- Problems with Videos in Windows(R) NT
-
- In Windows(R) NT you have the problem that the screen mode can not be changed while the
- program is running; this means that videos can only be played in their original size.
-
- In addition, a kind of colored flash appears at the end of the video; this is a result of certain
- peculiarities of this system and is unfortunately unavoidable.
-
- Where to Get Help with Windows(R) 3.11 Problems
-
- As has been pointed out several times, Windows(R) 3.11 is fairly unstable and is
- consequently not ideally suited to run such a large, hardware-intensive game as Battle Isle 3.
- If you encounter problems with the program's stability, the following tips may be helpful:
-
- - Re-install your Windows (R) 3.11 from scratch
- - Re-install your video driver. Try with 256 colors at first, then with 64K colors.
- - Install Video for Windows(R) 1.1d if you have it. If you have a choice between version (d)
- and the version (e) supplied by us, you should install version (d) manually. (Because of a
- licensing dispute between Microsoft and another company we are unfortunately prevented
- by law from supplying version (e)).
- - Now re-install Battle Isle 3 from scratch. When it first starts up, the program will ask if you
- want to install Video for Windows(R) 1.1e. If you have already installed version (d), do not
- install version (e). If you have not installed version (d), install version (e) now.
- - Start Battle Isle 3 again and follow the instructions for carrying out the system check.
- The best advice we can give to Windows(R) 3.11
- users is -Install Windows(R) 95! Our tests have shown that hardware which could only be
- used unreliably or not at all in Windows(R) 3.11 generally performed perfectly in
- Windows(R) 95.
-
- Windows(R) 95 is our operating system of choice for Battle Isle 3.
-
- The Window Suddenly Stops Enlarging or Moving
-
- In 64K color mode some Windows functions work differently or not at all, including the
- locking of the mouse cursor. This means that the program automatically stops enlarging or
- re-positioning a window when it has reached a certain size or a certain position, even if you
- have not released the mouse button.
-
- The Chip Window Will Not Accept Any More Mouse Clicks
-
- When multitasking it may happen that mouse clicks are ignored. If the Chip Window is open
- at the time, it can not be closed with the mouse. If this happens, press ESC.
-
- Extract from Microsoft's WinG Library README File (by kind permission of Microsoft)
- Microsoft
- WinG version 1.0
-
- This file describes known bugs, gotchas, and helpful hints for the WinG Version 1.0 final
- release.
-
- ISVs may want to distribute portions of this readme file that describe configuration bugs
- along with shipping products that use WinG.
-
- WinG version 1.0 provides fast DIB-to-screen blts under Windows 3.1, Windows for
- Workgroups 3.11, Windows 95, and Windows NT version 3.5. WinG will not run on
- Windows NT version 3.1 or on earlier versions of Windows.
-
- WinG requires a 386 or better processor to run. WinG will not run on a 286.
-
- Known Bugs and Limitations
-
- The following are known problems with useful tidbits of information about WinG version
- 1.0.
-
- - On Windows 3.1, WinGBitmaps must be 8 bits per pixel and must be created with full 256
- entry color tables.
-
- - WinGDCs are NOT palette devices. You must change their color tables using
- WinGSetDIBColorTable, not SelectPalette.
-
- - WinGBitBlt and WinGStretchBlt only support bltting from WinGDCs to the screen.
-
- - Using BitBlt and StretchBlt to blt from one WinG to another can be very slow when a
- clipping region has been selected into the destination.
-
- - WinGBitBlt and WinGStretchBlt may return different values than StretchDIBits for
- identical blts.
-
- - A few GDI APIs do not work correctly with WinGDCs:
-
- StretchDIBits will not bit 24bpp and 16bpp DIBs into an 8bpp WinGDC.
- FloodFill with a NULL brush draws incorrectly
- FloodFill outside of the bounds of a WinGBitmap can flood the entire image
- Brushes created with CreatePatternBrush with a WinGBitmap fault when selected into a
- WinGDC on Win3x - use CreateBitmap(8,8,1,8,0)
- DrawIcon will crash
- WinGBitBlt and WinGStretchBlt will not always blt to the correct location when you have
- changed the Viewport and/or Window origins using SetViewportOrg or SetWindowOrg
-
- - You cannot change the origin of halftone brushes created by WinG.
-
- - Noticeable timing differences have been found while running the WinG profiler on a
- computer connected to a network. For accurate results, disconnect your computer from the
- network the first time you run a WinG application. After the profile is complete, you can
- plug the net in again. NOTE: Microsoft is not liable for any damage you may incur by
- incorrect handling of your computer hardware.
- - WinGBitBlt and WinGStretchBlt use a slightly different color matching algorithm than
- StretchDIBits when blting an 8-bit image to a 4-bit planar display such as a standard VGA.
- Mixing WinG and StretchDIBits on these displays may produce odd results.
-
- - WinG relies on the mmsystem timer drivers to determine display performance. If
- mmsystem.dll and timer.drv are not installed correctly, the results of the performance test
- may be incorrect. mmsystem.dll should appear on the drivers= line of the [boot] section of
- system.ini, and timer=timer.drv should appear in the [drivers] section of system.ini.
-
- - WinG version 1.0 does not yet use standard DCI because of time constraints.
-
- - "Just in Time" debuggers install a fault handler in a chain along with the WinG display
- performance profiler. If your debugger reports a fault during the WinG display performance
- test, pass the fault on to Windows instead of invoking your debugger.
-
- Driver-Specific Problems
-
- WinG depends on Windows display drivers written by independent hardware manufacturers
- for much of its speed. Bugs or performance problems in third-party display drivers may
- cause problems in WinG. In many cases, the video card manufacturer has already fixed the
- bug, and upgrading your display driver will often clear away problems.
-
- There are some specific "bugs" in display drivers of which you should be aware. The list
- below is not intended to slight the manufacturer of any particular card or driver.
- A list of stress-tested configurations is available on the CompuServe WINMM forum and
- ftp.microsoft.com.
-
- Some names in this list are trademarks of the respective manufacturer.
-
- - Early drivers for Diamond Viper cards included a "Power Palette" option that is no longer
- supported by Diamond. They recommend that you upgrade your drivers if you have this
- option. WinG may be slower when power palette is enabled.
-
- - IBM no longer supports the IBM ThinkPad 720c. There are some problems using WinG
- with the ThinkPad 720c display drivers.
-
- - Cirrus drivers before version 1.43 have many known bugs which have been fixed in the
- more recent drivers. Be sure to upgrade your drivers if you are still running with this
- version.
-
- - Some ATI drivers offer a "crystal Fonts" option. Turning Crystal Fonts on in 8-bit modes
- sets up a non-palettized driver that can slow WinG significantly.
-
- - The ATI mach8 Radical drivers cause a number of problems in both WinG and in Windows
- with some versions of the ATI chipset. Beware.
-
- - The ATI VGA Wonder drivers (W31-*.drv) will crash during a call to StretchDIBits in the
- profiler. Users can run the SVGA256.DRV driver shipped with Windows.
-
- - Many micro Crystal drivers have problems with StretchDIBits, so they crash during
- profiling.
-
- - Early ATI Mach 32 PCI cards have a hardware timing problem and will hang while blting.
- ATI will replace these cards free of charge.
-
- WinG is incompatible with the #9GXE "TurboCopy" mode. Use the #9 control panel to
- disable TurboCopy (it is off by default).
-
- WinG uses a GetPixel to synchronize with display hardware when writing directly to the
- screen. The ATI Mach 32 driver's GetPixel does not work properly, so it is possible to use
- GDI to draw to the screen, then use WinG to blt to the screen and have them overwrite each
- other. Be careful when mixing GDI commands and WinG blts to the display.
- - The Orchid mmtllo.drv driver for the Prodesigner IIs has duplicate system colors, which
- prevents applications from getting an identity palette and greatly reduces the WinG blt
- speed. A workaround is to set SYSPAL_NOSTATIC mode or use the standard Tseng
- ET4000 drivers instead of the mmtllo drivers.
-
- A Note on Speed
-
- WinG is designed to be the absolute fastest way to blt DIBs under Windows. The goal,
- achieved in many cases, is to blt at memory handwidth to the display device.
-
- On most 8bpp devices, if you use the recommended DIB format (returned by
- WinGRecommendDIBFormat) and set up correct identity palette, you should get 1:1 blt
- speeds comparable to BitBlt, which blts device dependent bitmaps (DDBs) to the display.
- The timewing sample application will show you various blt speeds on your display.
-
- The WinGRecommenDIBFormat API will tell you whether to use top-down or bottom-up
- DIBs for fastest unclipped 1:1 identity palette blts. If you plan on using other types of blt
- (such as stretching or complex clipping), your application may want to time top-down versus
- bottom-up blts at run time. See the WinG help file for more information.
-
- Copyright Notes
-
- Windows 95 is a registered trademark of Microsoft or the property of Microsoft.
- Windows NT is a registered trademark of Microsoft or the property of Microsoft.
- Window 3.11 is a registered trademark of Microsoft or the property of Microsoft.
- Video for Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft or the property of Microsoft.
- WinG is a registered trademark of Microsoft or the property of Microsoft.
- INTEL is a registered trademark of INTEL or the property of INTEL.
- INDEO is a registered trademark of INTEL or the property of INTEL.
- All other product names referred to in these notes are the property of the respective
- companies.
-
- This product was produced using the Microsoft Visual C++ 2.0 Compiler.
- This product contains Microsoft's Video for Windows and Microsoft's WinG Library.
-
-
- LIST OF MISSION OBJECTIVES
-
- If you are not able to play any videos, the following list of Mission Objectives will help you
- to play through the Campaign Mode:
-
- IF YOU WOULD PREFER TO FOLLOW THE STORY, DO NOT READ ON!
-
- MAP WON: LOST:
-
- 1. Destroy all Maltieri units
-
- 2. Capture Mala Kanda
- Capture Ireti
- Find and capture wreck
- Destroy all enemy units
-
- 3. Capture Umo
- Capture Entala
- Capture shrine
- Destroy all enemy units
-
- 4. Capture Kai HQ
-
- 5. Capture Gatno Loss of own HQ
- Capture P2
-
- 6. Capture airplane factory
-
- 7. Capture Lurs
- Capture Esto
-
- 8. Capture Drullian HQ Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 9. Find and occupy secret depot Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 10. Capture Drullian HQ Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 11. Capture Lurs Loss of Kol-Lorz
-
-
- 12. Occupy Urelis' bunker Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 13. Occupy centre of Hol-Lonk Loss of Pem-Pont
- Occupy Federation HQ
- Capture Texol
-
- 14. Occupy Federation HQ Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 15. Occupy Drullian HQ Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 16. Occupy Federation HQ Loss of own HQ
-
-
- 17. Occupy Magalo
- Occupy Ekopan
- Occupy Bunka
-
- 18. Occupy Andau
- Occupy Malati
-
- 19. Capture Haris' villa Loss of Parliament Building
- Occupy Stock Exchange
- Occupy barracks
- Occupy power station
-
- 20. Capture research laboratory Loss of own HQ
-
-
-
-
-