PowerPlay 1999 February/PowerPlay0299.bin/Demos/rosquad.exe/Rogue Squadron/Readme.txt

Text File | 1998-12-02 | 22KB | 506 lines

Star Wars«: Rogue Squadron 3D(TM), Demo Version 1.0
LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC

Thank you for playing Star Wars«: Rogue Squadron 3D(TM) demo.
We recommend that you read this file to get the most up-to-date
information about installing, running and playing this demo.

For additional information and in-depth technical documentation
about specific hardware, we recommend reading the Troubleshooting
Guide which can be accessed by clicking on Readme & Trouble-
shooting on the Rogue Squadron 3D Launcher.

Be sure to check the LucasArts website at www.lucasarts.com for
the very latest information related to Rogue Squadron 3D.

System Requirements

Computer:     100% Windows 95/98 DirectX compatible computer
              required.
Video Card:   Requires a 4MB PCI or AGP Direct3D (D3D) or Glide
              compatible accelerator. Please refer to Section 6 of
              the Troubleshooting Guide for a complete list of
              supported cards.
CPU:          Pentium 166 or faster required.
CD-ROM:       Quad speed or higher IDE or SCSI CD-ROM drive
              required for the full version of the game.
Memory:       32MB or higher RAM required.
Sound Card:   100% Windows 95/98 DirectX compatible 16-bit sound
              card recommended.
Input Device: 100% Windows 95/98 compatible keyboard required. We
              highly recommend using a joystick to play Rogue
              Squadron.

DirectX:      Microsoft DirectX 6.0 must be installed before
              playing the Rogue Squadron 3D demo. A link to the
              Microsoft DirectX page is available at the LucasArts
              website. Please refer to Installation (Section 3)
              and DirectX Setup (Section 6) in the Troubleshooting
              Guide for more information about DirectX.

Note:         Your system may require the "latest" Windows 95/98
              drivers for your particular hardware.

          Rogue Squadron is a 3D-only game that requires a 3D
              accelerated video card to play.

Installation: Installation requires 46 MB free hard drive space.
              You should also allow for at least 100 MB of free
              hard drive space for the Windows swap file and
              saved games.


GENERAL INFORMATION

Joystick Recommended.
A joystick is not required to play, however, it is highly recom-
mended that you use one.  This is a flying game, after all.

Video Card Requirements: 4MB for your 3D card.
To run Rogue Squadron, you need at least a 4MB PCI or AGP Direct3D
or 3Dfx Glide compatible accelerator card.

To find out if your Video Card will work.
First, find the name of your video card.  Then, refer to the List
of Supported and Unsupported Cards in Section 6 of the Trouble-
shooting Guide to see if your card has any known issues.  If your
card or chipset is supported, check the æSpecific Video IssuesÆ
section of the Troubleshooting Guide to see if your card has
any known issues.

If the game does not launch, check your 3D card and DirectX setup.
If you experience problems launching the game, check your 3D card
setup and your DirectX status.  Please refer to Section 5 of the
Troubleshooting Guide for detailed information.

If the game crashes while entering a mission.
If you crash to the desktop when you attempt to enter a mission,
your video card may cause this. You may have chosen a video resol-
ution that is not supported by your card. This is usually caused
by your card falsely reporting the memory on your card.

Sound Corruption When Using a Voodoo Graphics Card
When using the DirectX or the Windows 98 driver for your 3Dfx
Voodoo Graphics based accelerator card, you may hear sound
corruption in the game. We recommend that you use 3Dfx Voodoo
Graphics driver version 2.16 or above. These drivers are avail-
able on the 3Dfx website. After installing these drivers, you
will want to use the Direct3D (D3D) driver. Follow the steps
listed below to change to this driver.

When using the Glide driver with your 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics based
accelerator card, you may hear sound corruption in the game.
Changing to the 3Dfx Direct3D driver may correct this. To change
drivers:
  Go to the Rogue Squadron 3D Launcher menu.
  Select Hardware Configuration.
  Select Change 3D Video Card

If the subtitles stop working.
If you turn the voice volume all the way off, the subtitles option
is locked to off.  The only way to turn them on is to increase the
voice volume just a notch. Note:  you have to press space bar to
toggle subtitles, everything else on that screen is activated by
left and right arrows, or the enter key.
  Select 3Dfx DirectX 5 Driver (Driver: D3D).

Task Switching is not recommended.
We recommend that you do not task switch (pressing Alt-Tab,
Ctrl-Esc, or the Windows key to access another program) while
playing Rogue Squadron. At the time of release of this game, we
have seen problems while task-switching on various video cards
that can cause the game to lock up or quit unexpectedly.

What is a Primary Display Driver?
A Primary Display Driver is actually your computerÆs main video
card. A pass-through card, such as a Voodoo2, is not a Primary
Display Driver

What are D3D and Glide?
Please refer to sections 5 and 6 of the Troubleshooting Guide
for a more detailed description of DirectX, Direct3D (D3D), Glide
and many other video issues.


RUNNING ROGUE SQUADRON 3D
You need to run the launcher to create the shortcuts in the Start
Menu. You can run the launcher immediately after installing or
by going to Programs Files\Lucasarts\Rogue Demo and then double
clicking on the Rogue demo.exe.

Later you can run the game by going to Programs\Lucasarts\RogueDemo
in the Start Menu to bring up the launcher.  The Launcher has the
following options:

  Play Rogue Squadron 3D
  Readme & Troubleshooting
  Hardware Configuration
  Visit www.lucasarts.com.
  Uninstall Rogue Squadron 3D
  Exit to Windows

Click on the "Play Rogue Squadron 3D" button to start the game.


PLAYING ROGUE SQUADRON 3D Demo

Front End Interface

General
Use the arrow keys, the mouse, or the joystick to navigate through
all front end screens, starting at the Player Roster screen, where
new pilots are named.  Press the Enter key, or use mouse or joy-
stick button #1, to select options in the front end interface.

If the mouse cursor (glove icon) constantly moves from button to
button, check your joystick fine-control knobs, and make sure the
joystick is centered.

Low-end to Midrange machines (anything under about a P200/32MB)
may experience slow transition times in the front end, including
long black screens.  This is normal on the low end systems.

Mouse Options:
Mouse Options - Unlike the keyboard and joystick settings, the
player must use enter to confirm a change to the mouse settings.

Video Options:
Current Video Device - displays the driver that Rogue Squadron is
currently using.

Enable V-Sync - disabling this option can increase performance,
but can also result in graphics ætearingÆ effects during gameplay.
We recommend that you leave this option checked.

Gamma Slider Bar - this option adjusts the brightness, or gamma,
only if your video card supports it. If your video card does sup-
port gamma adjustments, the effects will be noticeable immediately,
as the slider bar is moved.  If your card does not support gamma,
the slider bar is present, but non-functional, or it does not
appear at all.

Audio Options:
Enable High Fidelity Sound - checking this box will change the
sampling rate of the sound, from 11KHz to 22KHz.  Performance may
degrade on some systems (please see Performance Tips, below).

Enable 4 Speaker Surround Sound - selecting this option activates
4 channel surround sound.  Note that systems with 2 speakers will
have an increased æsurroundÆ effect.  Also,  a performance degrad-
ation may occur when this box is checked (please see Performance
Tips, below).

In-flight

We highly recommend using a joystick to play Rogue Squadron.
However, it is possible to also use the mouse or the keyboard to
play the game.  Feel free to remap buttons and keys according to
your particular playing style.

The default joystick Hat assignment is æLook Around.Æ  Note that
in external flight cameras, you can only look left and right, but
in Cockpit mode, you can also look up and down.

Camera Views Front, Back, Left and Right.  The fixed camera views
looking in these directions (mapped to the keyboard buttons Home,
End, PgDown and PgUp)  cannot be panned with the function æPan
CameraÆ

In-game Pause Screen -if the options are scrolling uncontrollably,
please check that your joystick is in the center position, and
that the fine-control knobs are also centered.

Screenshots
The F12 key takes screenshots of the action, and creates bitmap
files and puts them in your installed game directory, naming them
Shot_01.bmp, Shot_02.bmp, etc.  Note that a slight pause occurs in
gameplay as a screenshot is taken.  After quitting the game, you
can open these by double clicking on them, if the appropriate
viewing application, like Paint, is present. Note that on systems
running under D3D, certain front-end screens, like the Video
Options, or Player Roster screen, may appear black in the picture.
To date, no problems have been noted on machines running under
Glide.  For more detailed information on D3D and Glide, please
refer to the Troubleshoooting Guide.

Mouse Support
For maximum fun and ease of use, we highly recommend using a
joystick.  However, it is possible to fly using only the mouse:

 Button1    Fire Laser Cannons
 Button2    Fire Secondary Weapon
 Button3    Brake
 Mouse Axes    Control your ship - fly up, down, left and right

The mouse x- and y-axis and mouse buttons can be remapped in the
game. Press the æSettingsÆ button, then the æMouseÆ button.
Mouse Wheels, such as found on the Microsoft Intellipoint, or
Logitech mice, are not supported.

To disable mouse control of your craft while flying, press Ctrl-M.
To re-enable mouse control, press Ctrl-M again. Mouse control will
automatically be restored when the level ends, in any manner.

If you are having problems controlling your craft while flying
with a Mouse. Try reducing the mouse sensitivity.  To do this,
select your pilot, then click on æSettings,Æ then click on æMouseÆ
and adjust the slider bar labeled æSensitivity.Æ

Keyboard Support
For maximum fun and ease of use, we highly recommend using a
joystick.  However, it is possible to fly using only the keyboard.
All flight control functions are available on the keyboard, and
they can be used in conjunction with the mouse and/or joystick.

Certain keyboards can only maintain 3 simultaneous button presses.
Playing Rogue Squadron on these keyboards can result in problems,
such as a beeping noise from the computer, or the ability to only
press 3 buttons at the same time.

To remap keyboard keys, go to the æSettingsÆ screen, then press
the æKeyboardÆ button.  Note that this option screen has 3 pages,
that can be navigated by clicking on the blinking arrows in the
lower left of the screen.

Default Keyboard Settings
[Spacebar] or [0] (num pad) or Left [Control]
        Fire primary weapon. Hold key down to fire continuously.
[Alt] or [Enter] (number pad)           Fire secondary weapon.
[4] (num pad) or [Left Arrow] or [J]   Turn craft left.
[6] (num pad) or [Right Arrow] or [L]  Turn craft right.
[2] (num pad) or [Down Arrow] or [K]   Pitch up; craft will ascend.
[8] (num pad) or [Up Arrow] or [I]     Pitch down; craft will descend.
[W]    Thrust; accelerates craft. Tap button to speed up in short
    bursts. Hold button down for continuous acceleration.
[S]    Brake; tap key to slow down. Hold key down to drop to
    minimum speed.
[A]    Left brake (airspeeder)
[D]    Right brake (airspeeder)
[E]    Rolls X-wing, Y-wing, and A-wing. It is not used in
        V-wing. Hold the Roll key while using directional controls
        to roll craft. Continue rolling to fly upside down.
    Let go of Roll key to fly normally.
[F]    Special action; enables craft-specific functions such as
        opening and closing S-foils
    in X-wing.
[X]    Link weapons, switches primary firing rate and weapon
        configuration on craft (except airspeeder).
[Escape]       Pause game at any time.
[~] (Tilde)    Cycles between camera views.
[Home]           Camera look front
[End]           Camera look back
[Delete]       Look left
[Page Down]    Look right
[F1]           Camera 1
[F2]           Camera 2
[F3]           Camera 3
[F4]           Camera 4
[F5]           Camera 5
[F8]           Toggle cockpit view; turns cockpit camera on/off.
[F12]           Screen snapshot
[Z]           Drop camera; fixed view in midair
[Tab]           Rotate camera; hold TAB down and use directional
               controls to look around.
[Control]+[J] Joystick on/off
[Control]+[M] Mouse on/off

Joystick Support
Joysticks are fun.  We highly recommend using a joystick.
Joystick buttons can be reassigned, but all joysticks (and
gamepads) default to the following button assignments:
 Button1    Fire Primary Weapon
 Button2    Fire Secondary Weapon
 Button3    Thrust
 Button4    Brake
 Button5    Special Action (S-foils, etc)
 Button6    Link Weapons
 Button7    Roll
 Button8    Cycle Camera Views
 Button9    Right Brake
 Button10    Left Brake

 Z-axis        Thrust/Brake

To disable joystick control of your craft while flying, press
Ctrl-J.  To re-enable joystick control, press Ctrl-J again.
Joystick control will automatically be restored when the level
ends, in any manner.

If you are having problems controlling your craft while flying with
a Joystick. Check the fine-tune control knobs on your joystick.
Make sure they are centered.  If the problem persists, re-calibrate
your joystick, either through the Launcher (Hardware Configuration
button) or through the Windows Control Panel.

Also, when using a joystick, make sure youÆre not accidentally
bumping or moving the mouse while playing  Although the craft will
auto-center itself if this is done, it can be very disorienting,
and make the craft difficult to fly.  One solution is to disable
mouse support by pressing Ctrl-M while in-flight.

Force Feedback Support
Rogue Squadron has support for Force Feedback joysticks through
MicrosoftÆs Direct Input. If a Force Feedback joystick is detected,
the appropriate box in the Joystick Settings screen will be auto-
matically checked (Enable Force Feedback). All of these joysticks
vary  in their functionality and may work differently in the game,
or you may have a newer Force Feedback joystick that is not
supported.  Some forces may be stronger than others, depending on
the type of Force Feedback stick you are using.

Force Feedback Passcodes.  Enter these in the æGeneral SettingsÆ
screen:
 LEIAWRKOUT   Activates forces for acceleration and deceleration.
 GUNDARK      Activates forces for varying the stick resistance
              depending on your velocity.

Also:
If the LEIAWRKOUT cheat is enabled, there is a command-line switch
that can be used to desensitize the craft to joystick-movement
caused by force feedback effects (-i).  Please see below, under
Performance Tips, for instructions on how to enable this option.


PERFORMANCE TIPS

We have not found that lowering video resolutions provides much of
an increase in framerate, or game performance.  To substantially
increase performance, adjust the Audio options. Also, please refer
to the Troubleshooting Guide.

BASIC
 In Video Settings, deselect the æEnable V-SyncÆ checkbox.
 In Audio Settings, make sure æHigh Fidelity SoundÆ is not
 selected.
 In Audio Settings, make sure æ4 Speaker Surround SoundÆ is not
 selected.
 Turn off Overlays (not recommended for beginners, however-
 this turns off your radar!)

ADVANCED
There are some command-line options, or switches, that can be used
to increase performance. To use these, first create a shortcut to
Rogue Squadron, or Rogue Squadron.demo exe. Its default directory
is C:\Program Files\Lucasarts\Rogue Demo. To create a shortcut,
right click on the file labeled æRogue Squadron.demo exeÆ (some
folders only show it as æRogue SquadronÆ) and drag the file to your
desktop, then select æCreate Shortcut here.Æ  Then, right click
on the shortcut and select æProperties.Æ Then, select the tab at
the top labeled æshortcut.Æ  In the field labeled æTargetÆ should
be the path to the Rogue Squadron executable.  At the end of that
line, after the quotation marks, put a space, and then the command:

 -s 0    Silence. Disables music, soundFX and voice. Provides the
        best performance, but no sound.
 -s 1    Low quality sound.  2 channel non-interpolated. Provides
        the best performance with sound.
 -s 2    Med quality sound.  4 channel noninterpolated.  Does not
        provide a huge framerate increase.
 -s 3    High quality sound (game Default).  2 channel interpolated.
 -s 4    Surround sound (in-game Audio option æ4 Speaker Surround
        soundÆ)- 4 channel surround sound. Note that systems with
        2 speakers will also have a æsurroundÆ mode enabled. This
        option may result in a gameplay degradation on low-end
        systems.

 -f 1    Low sample rate:  11KHz (game Default).  Provides the best
        game performance.
 -f 2    Med sample rate:  22KHz.  Also an Option in Audio settings,
        called  æHigh Fidelity SoundÆ A performance degradation may
        occur.
 -f 4    High sample rate:  44KHz.  Good on high-end systems only.
        This option may cause a performance loss.
 -i    This switch disables the Force-Feedback Filter. The FFF works
        by temporarily decreasing craft maneuverability after
        acceleration/deceleration force-effects. However, it also
        keeps the craft from reacting to unintentional joystick
        movement caused by these effects. Use the switch to turn off
        the FFF if you're playing w/force-feedback and feel the craft
        is too sluggish after acceleration/deceleration.

  FOR EXAMPLE:

"C:\Program Files\LucasArts\Rogue Demo\Rogue Squadron demo EXE" -s 1 -f 1

A shortcut with this in the Target line, or this command line in
the Start menu, Run command,  would run the game at the lowest
possible sound quality settings, but increase framerate on a
low-end machine.

NOTE:  Using command-line switches overrides in-game Audio options,
and any changes made in the Audio Options screen of the game. If
the game were run using the above example, you can still change
volume levels, but clicking on the æHigh Fidelity SoundÆ button
(to enable -f  2) would have no effect.

LEVEL OF DETAIL:
Rogue Squadron may increases the detail of landscape textures as
the player gets closer and closer to the texture. This variable
resolution of landscape textures can be modified. This may in-
crease or decrease performance, depending on your system. Rogue
Squadron auto-detects the processor speed, and modifies this
variable accordingly:

-l 0  Low detail only. Default for machines less than a P200.

-l 1  Low-to-med resolution textures. The resolution increases as
      the player approaches. May degrade performance on low-end
      machines. Default for P200 systems.

-l 2  Medium detail only. On low-end systems, this option may
      degrade performance.

-l 3  Med-to-High detail. P300 and above systems default.

-l 4  High detail only. May degrade performance if activated.

-l 5  Low-Med-High detail. P200 to P300 systems default.

Note that any time the landscape textures change resolutions,
(for example, by using -l 5 or playing on a P266), there may be
some graphic 'morphing' or movement on the landscape. Locking the
Level of Detail to a static resolution will eliminate this effect.


CONTACTING LUCASARTS
LucasArts has set up a variety of services to provide you with
information regarding our programs, hint & gameplay assistance,
and technical support.

HINT LINE: U. S.
If you need a hint, you may call our automated Hint Line. This
service costs 95 cents per minute, requires a touch tone phone,
and you must be at least 18 years old or have your parentsÆ
permission to call. The number is 1-900-740-JEDI (1-900-740-5334).
The option to speak with a live Hint Operator is also available
from this number. (Average call length is three minutes.)

HINT LINE: Canada
Our Hint Line is also available to our Canadian customers. This
service costs $1.25 (U.S.) per minute, requires a touch tone phone,
and you must be at least 18 years old or have your parentsÆ
permission to call. The number is 1-900-677-JEDI (1-900-677-5334).
(Average call length is three minutes.)

Where To Find Us Online
Visit the LucasArts Web site at http://www.lucasarts.com. From
there, you will have the option to receive online technical
support through Yoda's Help Desk, browse technical documents,
or leave a message for an online representative.

Yoda's Help Desk
We are proud to feature Yoda's Help Desk, which is available in
the Technical Support section of the LucasArts Web site at
http://www.lucasarts.com/support/. Yoda's Help Desk offers
interactive solutions to technical issues based on information you
provide. Visitors to Yoda's Help Desk will be able to receive
technical support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

LucasArts Company Store
Visit the LucasArts Company Store at http://www.lucasarts.com.
The Company Store offers the complete line of LucasArts games,
hint books and logo gear.

⌐1998 LucasArts Entertainment Company LLC. All rights reserved.