Congratulations on choosing to play the Sensory Overload Demo.
You may not redistribute this Demo without our written permission, but feel free to encourage others to download it too!
Please read this Help file for assistance as the first step to trying to maximize the performance of the game.
This Help file is designed to assist new users with configuring Sensory Overload to customize the game playing experience to your liking, and get the most out of your current system.
Advanced sight and sound technology make Sensory Overload™ the most realistic action game for the Mac. Lifelike motion, vivid lighting & shadowing, and extraordinary environments create unparalleled graphic realism. And rich stereo sound effects and haunting background tracks will make your heart pound. Sensory Overload is accelerated for the Power Macintosh®, and runs on your regular Mac, too. Featuring spiral ramps and stairs, detailed texture-mapping, and multi-level play with fully animated characters, Sensory Overload sets the new standard for thrilling three-dimensional action. Power Macintosh users benefit from 2x-8x faster game performance over other CPU's, as well as richer sound effects, greater visual detail and larger "viewport" sizes up to a full-screen view. Sensory Overload is more than a game. It's an experience.
" About " Click to display the Sensory Overload "About" credits.
" Prefs " Click to customize Preferences for game settings.
" New " Click to begin playing a new game of Sensory Overload.
" DEMO " Click to re-play the Sensory Overload AutoDemo.
" Quit " Click to Quit from Sensory Overload and return to Finder.
" Resume " Displays after pausing game, permits you to Resume playing.
" Abort " Displays after pausing game, lets you Abort game to restart.
" Movement Controls " Click to display dialog for alternative controls.
NOTE: In this Demo version of Sensory Overload, the ability to save and re-load games has been disabled. We've also limited the number of levels you can explore, but provided enough for you to acquire a taste for the game.
Sensory Overload's default movement control keys support "key-sets" which are popular amongst Mac action games. These key-sets support left and right handed keyboard players, optional use of arrows for movement, and optional use of the numeric keypad for movement, too. Please refer to the picture in the Movement Controls dialog box, to review the default keys for playing the game. NOTE: The Demo contains a limited number of key-sets; the full-product contains more of them.
We realize that many users may desire variations for game controlling keys. Sensory Overload provides you the capability to select pre-defined alternative key-sets through the Movement Controls dialog box. Simply click on the Movement Controls button on the main screen.
Joystick users will be pleased to know that we include support for Advanced Gravis' MouseStick™®II and GamePad™ , Thrustmaster's Flight Control System™, and CH Products' FlightStick™.
To enable your joystick's buttons and functions, first you will need to copy the Sensory Overload file for your particular stick to the appropriate folder on your hard disk where all of your joystick's configuration files are stored. With some vendors, you may actually have to do an "import" to bring your Sensory Overload settings into a master Preferences file which stores all of your "set" info in one location. Please check your joystick documentation for more information.
We have provided you default "key-press" configurations which are exactly the same as Sensory Overload's default settings. If you have any questions about your joystick Control Panel, please contact your stick manufacturer.
Be sure to check our electronic postings for more current information on additional vendors' joystick products we'll be supporting.
There are many customizations available for your game playing experience. To select which ones you want, click on the Prefs button from the main screen.
The first time the game is run, Sensory Overload will try to auto-configure the screen options as best it can on your behalf. If you want to take control of performance related settings, we provide you with some more information, below.
To get the best frame rate (the number of graphics frames drawn per second) while you play Sensory Overload, you should avoid using virtual memory, RAM "expansion" programs, and network extensions/drivers. Also, avoid running other programs at the same time you're playing the game. Make sure especially that all desk accessories and Control Panels are closed. Otherwise, you may notice extreme choppiness in the frame rate and clicks or static in sound effects and music.
Within the game, you have a number of options that affect speed. Basic rule of thumb is that attempting to display higher quality or larger graphics will decrease performance. So, backing-off from the highest settings may increase your performance. Some of these options can be set from a game while it's running, and others can be set from the Preferences screen.
Depending on the speed of your computer, you may wish to add textures on the floor and ceiling. These effects enhance the gaming experience, but they may make gameplay too slow on some older machines. Owners of slower machines (such as the IIsi, the IIci, and the LC-III) will also have the option to run in Emergency Speed mode. This mode sacrifices shadows, textures on some objects, and text messages when you see or pick up objects. The result is that the game will run at a faster speed. When even this is not enough, such as during a firefight with 5 or more enemies, Emergency Speed will start drawing walls as a single color, rather than with the usual textured graphics. Once the crisis is over and game speed returns to normal, the walls will revert to their normal state.
Try custom configuring these to yield the performance you desire:
•Floors On/Off• — (Command-F) - Toggles display of textured floors.
•Ceilings On/Off• — (Command-C) - Toggles display of textured ceilings.
•Music On/Off• — (See Preferences) - Toggles playback background music. Note: Playing with Music On may reduce the game performance, just as do the other options.
•Screen Resolution• — (Command-R) - Toggles viewing at High, Medium, and Low Detail. The higher the resolution, the better your game will look, but it will impact performance. During play, use the wide button on the bottom of the screen.
•Viewport Size• - (Command-"+", or "-") - Toggles Viewport sizing. Larger graphics look better, but may impact performance. The largest size is full-screen (Command-V), which is recommended for advanced players only. ** Users with minimum memory may not be able to use Full-Screen View.
•Emergency Speed• - This is an option only available on slower machines, such as the IIsi and the IIci. Selecting this option turns off shadows, extra graphical detail, and non-critical text messages. It also monitors for when game speed slows to extremely low levels during play and further lowers graphical detail if necessary to "boost" performance.
You should play around with the size, resolution, and floor/ceiling settings to decide on something you like.
•Walking Bounce• Game defaults include a visual feature to simulate the bounce of a walking step on-screen. The default setting is "Low". Additional settings are "Medium" and "None".
•Difficulty Level• Game defaults include a difficulty control which impacts how easy or hard it is to play the game. Challenge your skills as you improve. The default setting is "Normal". Additional settings are "Easy" and "Overkill". If you find the normal setting too difficult, you can practice on "easy". Similarly, if you should happen to play the game through on "easy" mode, note your playing statistics when/if you finish. Go back and try your skill on the harder setting. Good Luck!!
•Sound Volume• and •Music Volume• Sensory Overload lets you customize the sound effect volume level and, for Sound Manager 3.0 users, background music volume.
NOTE: WHILE THE DEMO VERSION SUPPORTS MUSIC PLAYBACK WITH ONLY 2.5MB OF AVAILABLE RAM, THE FULL-PRODUCT INCLUDES LARGER MUSIC TRACKS REQUIRING A MINIMUM OF 2.8MB OF AVAILABLE RAM TO GET MUSIC PLAYBACK.
When properly installed, Sound Manager 3.0 enables Sensory Overload’s stereo & distancing sound effects and background music playback. Most versions of System 7.1 & above already have the SM3.0 extension and control panel. SM3.0 requires your computer to already have System 7.0 with QuickTime installed, or System 7.1. NOTE: THE FULL-PRODUCT INCLUDES APPLE'S SOUND MANAGER 3.0 AS AN ADDED BONUS FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.
The Sound Manager 3.0 installed files should be in your System Folder as follows: the SM3.0 extension should be in your Extensions folder, and the new Sound control panel should be in the Control Panels folder. To utilize SM3.0 you will need to restart your machine before playing the game. When SM3.0 installs correctly, you will see its icon during startup. Once installed, you should check that its settings are correct by doing the following: open the Sound control panel, click on the popup menu and choose “Sound Out”, and then make sure that the “Stereo” radio button is selected.
Sensory Overload is compatible with Apple's Sound Manager 2.0 under System 6.0.7 and higher . When this configuration is detected, Sensory Overload will use alternative sound processing commands in order to workaround limitations in sound effect playbacks which occur on older machines (IIsi and up). The integrated sound capabilities of Sensory Overload enhance the overall game experience, and we don't want any users to miss out. As a result, users may notice a difference in sound effect playback on Sound Manager 2.0 versus Sound Manager 3.0. We recommend that all System 7‚Ñ¢ and above users whose machines can support Sound Manager 3.0 run with the SM3.0 extension and newest Sound control panel. Sound Manager 3.0 not only adds capabilities for background music playback, but also SM3.0 enhances the stereo & distancing sound effects for your game experience.
Although Sensory Overload was designed to run on a system with as little as 2.5MB of available memory, the game performs better as you can provide it with more memory (up to 4MB). Providing more than the minimum 2.5MB does a few things. First, if you have Sound Manager 3.0, music playback will be enabled only when 2.8MB or more free memory is available to the game. In addition, if you assign more RAM to the game you can get improved performance, richer sound effects, greater visual detail and larger "viewport" sizes up to a full-screen view.
The ‘preferred’ memory size for the game can be set by selecting the Sensory Overload game icon, and choosing Get Info from the File menu of the Finder. Users with newer System versions will find 4MB already set as the preferred value (and 2.5MB as the minimum). This means that the System will automatically use as much memory up to 4MB as is available at the time you launch the application. Selecting "About This Macintosh" or "About The Finder" from the Apple Menu will tell you how much memory you have available on your machine. (To free more memory see ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE TIPS, below.)
Note: If you are running System 7.1 or later, the game will automatically use extra memory if you have it.
If you are running an earlier System, follow these next steps. Select the Sensory Overload application file and choose Get Info from the File menu. This will bring up a window of information about the file you have selected. In the bottom-right corner of the window is a box with the number '2560' in it. You should change that to the amount of memory you want to give the Demo. Any number larger than 2560 is fine. We suggest 4096, which is 4MB. This will allow you to fully experience all of the game's detail and will enable music playback if you have Sound Manager 3.0.
• Make sure all other applications are closed before running Sensory Overload.
• Remove non-essential extensions and control panels (menubar clocks, macro-key players, & screen savers). Some control panels, such as a CD-ROM controller, may use a considerable amount of memory, so if you need more memory, this is a good thing to check. To remove an extension or a control panel under System 6, open the System Folder, locate the extension you wish to remove, and drag it out of the System Folder. Under System 7, the same procedure applies, except that the extensions and control panels are stored in sub-folders called "Extensions" and "Control Panels." Don't drag the removed files to the trash, however, unless you want to remove them permanently. Simply store them somewhere outside of the System Folder.
• Turn off your disk cache and/or RAM disk in the Memory control panel.
• Remove fonts from your System file (or from the Fonts folder in System 7.1 and greater).
iii) Summarizing Tips to Enhance Performance in General
• Make sure all Control Panels and Desk Accessories, (as well as other applications), are closed before running the game.
•System 6 users should can also try running without MultiFinder for increased game performance.
• Remove non-essential extensions and control panels.
• Optionally remove all Network-related extensions and control panels, and turn AppleTalk OFF in the Chooser. These are not needed while playing the game, and you can restore them after you're done playing by moving them back into your System folder.
• Turn off Virtual Memory in the Memory control panel. This will reduce available memory, but increase performance considerably in most cases. Apple Computer recommends that you turn off Virtual Memory if you are running SM3.0.
• For fastest possible screen performance, you can optionally turn off the "Music" option from Preferences ("Prefs") inside the game. Computing resources applied to music can reduce the display performance of the viewport; however, music benefits your overall playing experience. Disabling music playback for your game is a personal decision.
Sensory Overload's on-screen interface was designed to be largely self-explanatory. As we described above, you may want to review your Preferences settings in order to maximize game playing performance.
GAME PLAYING KEY CONTROLS FOLLOW BELOW, THERE ARE ALSO ADDITIONAL USES FOR THE MOUSE WHICH WILL BE DESCRIBED IN THE INFORMATION DISPLAY ON-SCREEN AS YOU EXPLORE THE ENVIRONMENT.
You can use the mouse to select some Viewport Preferences during the game (bottom of screen), to select/equip weapons and items which you'll discover in the game (left & right sides of Viewport), and to interact with objects during play (you'll be given options to use mouse in the Viewport to turn on/off switches, for example.)
To choose amongst alternative key-set layouts, just select the layout you prefer from the "Movement Controls" dialog box. Pictures displayed will disclose key layouts as well as default Joystick charts. For joysticks, we have provided you default "key-press" configurations which are exactly the same as the Sensory Overload default keyboard settings. If you have any questions about your joystick Control Panel, please contact your stick manufacturer.
When you joined the CIA twelve years ago, back in 1998, you never imagined an assignment like this one. In the briefing session, they told you they suspected Biotex Research Labs of jamming communications signals with an advanced network of superwave broadcasters. Looking back, you realize they didn’t have a clue what Biotex was really doing.
You are posing as a test subject on the “AlphaChannel" project, searching for leads and sizing up the Biotex technology gurus. Dr. Craven met with you at the hospital before the first treatment to explain how the device works. You were told that the special AlphaChannel video transmitter was designed to enhance your memory, and would relax your mind and body. Dr. Craven made this process of “feeding your brain” sound so refreshing, how occasionally you'd even fall in and out of sleep. But after a month of testing, the only effect you could feel was a splitting headache after every session.
At the moment, all you know is that yet again your head is throbbing. You suddenly awaken, as if from a coma. And as you struggle to your feet and regain your senses, you begin to realize that the Biotex hospital research facility is hauntingly quiet. You try to remember what went on, but everything is hazy. And then you hear distant gunfire. Exploring for answers, you find hospital orderlies lying dead in pools of dried blood. The stench is overwhelming.
Now it’s up to you. Threatened by the recurring sounds of gunfire nearing, you are pressed for time. You need to locate the AlphaChannel unit and figure out just what role Dr. Craven and Biotex each play in this bizarre horror. To survive, you’ll need more than a CIA textbook -- you’ll need to rely on your natural instincts and reflexes.
Leave nothing unturned if you plan to succeed. As you explore further, you’ll come across weapons, supplies and lots of clues which will help you figure out what's been going on here.
Please closely review the System Requirements below. The game will not load unless you have the minimum system requirements for Sensory Overload. If you do not meet these requirements, the game will tell you what the problem is.
Minimum CPU: 68030-20MHz or faster. Supports Macintosh® IIsi & up, LC-III & up, Performa® 450 & up. And all Centris®, Quadra®, & Power Macintosh® models.
Hard-disk with 8MB free space, System 6.0.7 or greater (System 7 required to play music).
Memory: Requires 2.5 MB available RAM, minimum 2.8MB to enable music playback.
Video: 13" Color Display or larger, Minimum 256-color & 640x480 resolution.
ii) You Have Sound Manager 3.0, But Music Won't Play
If you've just installed Sound Manager 3.0 for the first time then be sure to restart your machine to enable SM3.0 extension and control panel to load up.
If you're sure SM3.0 is running properly then review the Prefs screen in the game to ensure that the Music button is set to "ON ".
If you've eliminated the above two conditions then you should evaluate your free (or available) RAM inside your machine. Sensory Overload requires a minimum of 2.8MB of available memory in order to play haunting background tracks. You should re-evaluate the Summarizing Tips to Free Up Memory, above.
iii) You Only Have 4MB Total Memory in Your Machine
You may not actually have enough free memory to run Sensory Overload, depending upon what System extensions you have previously installed. If you try to run Sensory Overload with "borderline" memory, the game will try to auto-configure the screen options as best it can on your behalf. If you don't have enough memory, you will be told that fact. See the section entitled Summarizing Tips to Free Up Memory , above, for suggestions on how to increase your available memory for the game to use.
After you've played for a long time in a single session (i.e. without quitting the game application), it is possible that the game will not be able to find large chunks of memory that it needs for graphics. If you get an "out of memory" error message while running (probably while loading a new level), give the game more memory if you can (see Before You Begin Playing, above). If you can't, just restart from your last saved game and everything should be back to normal.
v) You Received a File Creation Error ≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈
Make sure that the Sensory Overload folder is on an unlocked disk with at least 100K of free space on it. The game needs to create a file during play to keep track of where you've been.
vi) Textures on Walls Turn to a Single Color, Temporarily
You are probably running on an older machine and had selected Emergency Speed mode from the Preferences dialog. This mode sacrifices shadows, textures on some objects, and text messages when you see or pick up objects. The result is that the game will run at a faster speed. When even this is not enough, such as during a firefight with 5 or more enemies, Emergency Speed will start drawing walls as a single color, rather than with the usual textured graphics. Once the crisis is over and game speed returns to normal, the walls will revert to their normal state.
vii) Game is Slower Despite that You've Changed No Prefs
To get the best frame rate (the number of graphics frames drawn per second) while you play Sensory Overload, you should avoid using virtual memory, RAM "expansion" programs, and network extensions/drivers. Also, avoid running other programs at the same time you're playing the game. Make sure especially that all desk accessories and Control Panels are closed. Otherwise, you may notice extreme choppiness in the frame rate and clicks or static in sound effects and music.
Reality Bytes™, the Reality Bytes™ distinctive logo, and Sensory Overload™ are trademarks of Reality Bytes, Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh®, Macintosh Centris®, Macintosh Quadra®, Performa®, and Power Macintosh® are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S.A. and other countries, and used under license. System 7™ is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Gravis® is a registered trademark, and, GamePad™ and MouseStick™ are trademarks of Advance Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. Thrustmaster® is a registered trademark and FCS™ is a trademark of Thrustmaster, Inc. FlightStick Pro™ is a trademark of CH Products, Inc. All other trademarks are acknowledged as the properties of their respective owners.
SOFTWARE LICENSE
FOR DEMONSTRATION VERSION 1.0 OF SENSORY OVERLOAD‚Ñ¢:
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