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Welcome to the Microsoft Baseball 3D Trial Version
This file contains important information about the trial version of Microsoft Baseball 3D. If you are looking for information on 3D video card drivers or other 3D card issues, please also check the trial version help file.
Important information for Windows 98 users
Because Baseball 3D was released before Windows 98, we were only able to test it with some of the 3D card drivers that are optimized for Windows 98. If you are running Windows 98 and have trouble running Baseball 3D or displaying the game graphics, check with your 3D card manufacturer for an updated display driver. For card manufacturer contact information, see the trial version help file.
Important note for ATI Rage Pro AGP card owners running Windows 98
If you have an ATI Rage Pro AGP 3D card (such as All-in-Wonder Pro, XPERT@Play, XPERT@Work, or XPERT XL) and you're running Windows 98, Baseball 3D will not run on your system with the video driver that is included with Windows 98 or on the Baseball 3D CD-ROM. You should check the ATI Web site for an updated Rage Pro display driver that has a build number greater than 4.10.2323. Point your browser to http://www.atitech.com/. To install the driver, follow the ATI installation instructions, or see the Driver and 3D Card Information help file on the Windows Start menu where Baseball 3D is installed.
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Contents
1. System Requirements
2. 3D Card Notes
2.1 Getting 3D card and driver information
2.2 3D graphics acceleration required
2.3 Restart computer after enabling 3Dfx card
2.4 Diamond Monster 3D II users should use drivers on CD
3. Game Play and Graphics Issues
3.1 Restart Baseball 3D after changing screen resolution
3.2 Baseball 3D closes after changing screen resolution during game
3.3 Tips for improving graphics
3.4 Graphics may not display correctly in the game
4. Game Performance Tips and Issues
4.1 Tips for improving frame rate
4.2 Change screen resolution to improve performance
4.3 Game may have refresh rate problems with older monitors
4.4 Sound stutters or chirps on some systems
5. Game Controller Notes and Issues
5.1 Do not switch game controllers while game is open
5.2 Diagonal controls may not work on some keyboards
5.3 Default controller commands cannot be changed
5.4 Game does not support two-button controllers
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1. System Requirements
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To play Microsoft Baseball 3D, you need:
*Microsoft Direct 3D-compliant 3D graphics accelerator card with at least 2 MB of VRAM
*Multimedia PC with 133 MHz or higher processor
*Microsoft Windows 95 operating system
*16 MB of RAM (32 recommended)
*33 MB of available hard disk space
*Quad-speed CD-ROM drive
*Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
*Windows 95-compatible sound board
*Headphones or speakers (recommended)
*Supports force feedback hardware compatible with Microsoft Direct Input API
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2. 3D Card Notes
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2.1 Getting 3D card and driver information
Baseball 3D requires that you have a DirectX-compliant 3D graphics accelerator card installed in order to run the game. For the game to run correctly with your card, you should have the most up-to-date drivers installed. For information on 3D card and video driver issues (including how to get and install drivers), please see the trial version help file.
2.2 3D graphics acceleration required
Many computers come with 2D graphics accelerator cards. However, Baseball 3D requires that your card supports 3D graphics acceleration. If your video card does not support 3D graphics acceleration, the game will not run. Baseball 3D will work with many 3D accelerator cards, including cards by Diamond, Creative Labs, ATI, Matrox, VideoLogic, STB, Sierra, Canopus, Intergraph, and Hercules. It will also work with cards based on chip sets and technologies by Rendition, 3Dfx, PowerVR, Matrox, ATI, Cirrus Logic, 3DLabs, S3, and Nvidia. See the trial version help file for more information.
2.3 Restart computer after enabling 3Dfx card
If you enable your 3Dfx card, restart your computer before starting Baseball 3D. Otherwise, the game may not run.
2.4 Frame rate is slow with Diamond Monster 3D II card
Baseball 3D's frame rate is slow using the Diamond Monster 3D II card with the retail driver version (mnstr2.drv version 4.10.1.200). To speed up the frame rate, use the driver available on the Baseball 3D Web site. For installation instructions, see the trial version help file. Browse for the topic Updating Video Drivers for 3dfx Cards.
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3. Game Play and Graphics Issues
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3.1 Restart Baseball 3D after changing screen resolution
On some systems, you may need to restart Baseball 3D after changing your screen resolution in the Options/Performance dialog box. Baseball 3D may not run correctly if you do not close and restart the game.
3.2 Baseball 3D closes after changing screen resolution during game
Baseball 3D may quit if you change your screen resolution while a game is in progress. Depending on your system, there are a few things you can do. First and foremost, always change your screen resolution before starting a game. If you are playing a game and decide you want to change the resolution, quit the game first. If Baseball 3D has already closed, try restarting Baseball 3D and/or your computer. If the game does not restart, uninstall and then reinstall the game. If that does not work, then remove and reinstall the driver for your card.
3.3 Tips for improving graphics
On some systems, you may occasionally encounter problems with the in-game graphics. However, there is usually a simple solution for getting the graphics to display correctly. Following is a list of adjustments you can make to improve your graphics display. See section 3.3 for a list of specific issues.
* Try turning off Mip Mapping and/or Triple Buffering in the Performance dialog box on the Options menu.
* Press CTRL+F5 in the game to refresh the graphics. This may take several seconds to complete.
* Press CTRL+F7 in the game to toggle between Draw Primitive and Execute Buffer modes. This may help if you see blue flashing on the screen.
* Close and restart the game. Sometimes, refreshing the graphics may not repair a graphics issue. In this case, try closing and restarting the game.
3.4 Graphics may not display correctly in the game
Following is a list of issues that may affect the game graphics, followed by things you can do to improve the situation.
Sample graphics issues:
* Textures turn white after changing screen resolution during a game.
On some systems, player faces and uniforms may turn white after you change the screen resolution during a game. If this happens, you must close and restart the game to fix the problem.
* Pink outline on graphics.
On some systems, you might see a pink outline on graphics in the game. If you encounter this, you can try to improve the graphics by turning OFF triple buffering in the Performance dialog box on the Options menu.
* Graphics may display in the wrong place on screen.
If you encounter this problem, you can try to improve the graphics by turning OFF mip mapping and triple buffering in the Performance dialog box on the Options menu.
* Parts of outfield may not display correctly.
On some systems, parts of the outfield graphics may not display correctly (for example, some may appear white). You can try to fix this problem by turning OFF mip mapping in the Performance dialog box on the Options menu.
* Graphics may not display correctly after returning to game.
On some systems, the in-game graphics may not display correctly (for example, colors are wrong) after returning to game play from another application or a pregame screen. If you encounter this problem, press CTRL + F5 to refresh the graphics. The refresh process may take several seconds.
* Field radar does not display correctly.
On some systems, the field radar graphic may sometimes appear out of place on screen (should be in top right corner). The graphic may also look discolored or messy at times. In both cases, press CTRL + F5 to refresh the graphics. The refresh process may take several seconds.
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4. Game Performance Tips and Issues
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4.1 Tips for improving frame rate
On some systems, you can improve the game's frame rate by disabling the synchronize vertical refresh feature (sometimes called "Vsync in flip"). If the game is running slowly and your 3D card includes the option to disable vertical refresh, try disabling this feature. To determine if your 3D card includes this feature, right-click on your Windows desktop and click Properties. If there is a tab for your 3D card in the Display Properties dialog box, click to open it. Look for a checkbox for the vertical refresh feature and turn it off. If your card lets you manually set the refresh rate, you may find that changing it from 60Hz may improve your frame rate when running at resolutions other than 640x480. If you experience graphics problems in the game after changing these options, you can switch these options back to the original settings.
4.2 Change screen resolution to improve performance
When Baseball 3D is started, it automatically selects a screen resolution based on your computer's configuration. You can change the default screen resolution to try to improve the game's performance on your system. On the Options menu, go to the Performance dialog box. Select a lower screen resolution if you want to improve the speed at which the game runs. Select a higher resolution (if available) to improve the game graphics. Note: You should close and restart Baseball 3D after changing the screen resolution.
4.3 Game may have refresh rate problems with older monitors
If you run Baseball 3D on a system with an older monitor (5 or more years), you may have trouble finding a monitor refresh rate setting that works with the game. If your screen displays only wavy lines when you start the game, you should try changing the refresh rate in your Windows Display Properties.
4.4 Sound stutters or chirps on some systems
On some systems, there are conflicts between the video card, sound card, and CD-ROM drive that may cause stuttering or chirping sounds during game play. You can try a couple of things to prevent the stuttering or chirping:
* In the Performance dialog box on the Options menu, turn OFF triple buffering and switch to LOW player detail.
* In the Sound dialog box on the Options menu, try turning off some of the sound options, such as crowd noise.
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5. Game Controller Notes and Issues
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5.1 Do not switch game controllers while game is open
If you want to switch your game controller (ex. unplug joystick and replace with game pad), do so before you open Baseball 3D. If you switch controllers while the game is open, it may not recognize all commands correctly.
5.2 Diagonal controls may not work on some keyboards
If the keyboard is your game controller, you may not be able to move diagonally using the 1,3,7,9 keys on the numeric keypad. If they do not work, try using a combination of two keys to move in a diagonal direction.
5.3 Default controller commands cannot be changed
Baseball 3D does not support the customizing of game controller commands. Some game controllers allow you to change the default commands for specific games. However, because of the complexity of the commands, Baseball 3D does not support this option.
5.4 Game does not support two-button controllers
Baseball 3D is designed for use with game controllers that have four or more buttons. It will not work with two-button game controllers. If you only have a two-button controller, use the keyboard instead.
