PC Gamer 10/1996-11_-_Disc_2.10.bin/patches/rip105.exe/README.TXT

Text File | 1996-07-30 | 10KB | 206 lines

The following is a list supplemental information not included in the
Ripper manual.

*Video Problems*
Ripper allows you to play in four different video modes. You can select the
mode that you wish to use in the Game Option's screen. The average system
will run most effectively in the Mode Change mode. This is the most versatile
video mode as it switches automatically between high and low resolution on
the fly. If however you notice intermittent popping noises as the modes are
switching or excessive delays between modes, you may wish to try running in
the Small Window mode which runs the game interactions and cinematics in a
smaller portion of the screen making for smoother transitions. The Interlaced
and Full Screen modes will allow high end systems to take advantage of
their hardware's capabilities.

*Sound Problems*
When you first run the SETUP program, the game attempts to load the
appropriate drivers for your sound card.  As good as it is, it may make
a mistake.  Check to see what your particular sound card is compatible with,
and also check the I/O PORT, IRQ, and DMA settings.  This information can be
found in the documentation that came with your sound card/computer.  Try
manually loading this information in the setup program.
In Windows '95, if the game is detecting your settings incorrectly, try using
DOS mode to set up the parameters.  From the Windows desktop, click on
START, then SHUTDOWN, then RESTART IN MS-DOS MODE.  Change to the directory
where you have Ripper installed (example: C:\RIPPER) and then run the setup
program.

*VESA Driver*
Ripper requires a VESA driver. If you are trying to run it without one, you
will not even be able to get into the setup program for the game.  If you do
not have a VESA driver for your video card, check the software and
documentation that you recieved with your hardware. If that fails, contact
your the card's manufacturer. They should be able to supply you with the
appropriate VESA driver for your card. There are several VESA drivers in
the Software Libraries folder on VESA's America On Line area.
Do a Keyword search by "VESA" to check it out.  You may also wish to
contact SciTech, the maker of the UniVBE universal VESA driver. You can reach
them via the Internet at www.scitechsoft.com.  For more information on
using VESA drivers, consult the VESA FAQ which can be found on the Internet
at http://www.vesa.org/faq.html.

*Win '95 update.*
Autoplay no longer supported.
The Windows '95 Auto Play function described on page 4 of the game manual is
no longer supported by Ripper. Instead, make a shortcut to run the game.

To make a shorcut, RIGHT CLICK anywhere on your desktop.  A menu will pop up.
move your mouse to the word NEW, then, on the next menu, choose SHORTCUT.
The first thing you will have to enter is the path to the game.  If you used
the default installation, type in C:\RIPPER\RIPPER.EXE then click on NEXT.
The next menu asks you to name the shortcut, it most likely already says
RIPPER.  You can change the name if you want, then click on NEXT.  Choose
an icon from the choices shown, then click on FINISH.  A new icon will appear
on your desktop.  You can simply double click this icon to run the game.

*Don't Multi Task Ripper*
We do not recommend trying to run other programs while you are playing Ripper.
Instead, we would suggest that you save your game and exit Ripper completely
before opening another window.

*Game Interface updates.*
New C-Space Mouse Cursor
A new cursor has been added for negotiating the main Cyber Space
interface. The deck port cursor acts in exactly the same way as the dagger
cursor does in the real world, in that you can point it in the direction that
you wish to scroll your view and then click your left mouse button.  Remember
that your cursor will only rest on C-Space WELLS that are currently active.

*Ctrl +R to replay last scene.*
A replay feature has been added to assist you in playing the game. If you
press the "Ctrl" plus the "R" key, the last cinematic or excerpt of
conversation that occurred in the game will be repeated so that you can take
a closer look.

*Screen Shots.*
You can take a screen shot anywhere in the game by pressing CTRL + "P". The
captured footage will be written to a PCX file in your Ripper directory where
you can retrieve it later. The files will be named "SHOT####.PCX", and be
numbered consecutively in the order that you took them. Take many Ripper
screen shots and take them often. They make great wallpaper in your Windows
once you've converted them to a BMP format.

*Passwords automatically added to WAC.*
To assist you in your quest to catch the Ripper, some C-Space WELL
passwords will be added to your WAC notebook automatically when Jake Quinlan
learns them.  The passwords that are added in this way will be those that
are given to you directly and not ones that you will have to decrypt or
discover through solving a puzzle. In other words, a character will have to
tell you directly, "The WELL address is such and such" for the password to be
placed in your notebook.

*Puzzle Difficulty does not always apply.*
Even though you can set the difficulty levels for combats and puzzles in
Ripper, there are some puzzles that, by their nature can not be altered to
make them simpler or more complex.  None of the puzzles are unsolvable how-
ever, so take heart. We have taken great pains to make sure that the puzzles
in Ripper are carefully integrated into the game environment. There is never
a situation where the solution to a puzzle is something completely off the
wall. The solutions are all there waiting for you to find them.

*Game Hints.*
As a general rule, we don't approve of giving out clues on our puzzles. We
hate to ruin the sense of satisfaction that a player gets from solving a
particularly heinous challenge without any outside assistance. That being
said, the Ripper puzzle that gave the majority of our testers the most fits
was Catherine's Crystals. There are just so many possibilities that we
decided to bend the rules just this once. So, if you are a truly dedicated
gamer who is determined to tough it out on your own, read no further. For
those of you that can't resist, take a look at this:

X X O X X X X X X
O X X X X X X X X
X X X O X X X O X
X X X X X O X X X

And that's all we're going to say!

Enjoy the game. All of us here at Take 2 hope that you have as much fun
playing it as we did putting it together for you. It's been an experience
that none of us will ever forget, and if our hunch is right, neither will you.

- The Take 2 Team




           --------------- VERSION HISTORY ---------------

Changes from Ripper v1.03 to Ripper v1.05:     [July 30 1996]

  - Added a workaround for a buggy CD-ROM driver (from Mitsumi) that mostly
    affected Compaq Presario and Hewlett Packard computers with S3 Trio
    video chipsets (this has nothing to do with the video card or chipset).

  - Added command line option to select your Ripper.  To use, type one of:

        RIPPER /1
        RIPPER /2
        RIPPER /3
        RIPPER /4

    to start the game and use a particular Ripper.  This can be combined with
    other command line options (i.e., RIPPER /1 /V3).


Changes from Ripper v1.02 to Ripper v1.03:     [March 29 1996]

  - Added command line options to INSTALL, SETUP, and RIPPER to disable
    support for Vesa 2.0, disable use of protected mode bank switching code,
    or both.  Use /V1, /V2, or /V3 (respectively) to disable these features.
    Example:
               RIPPER /V3
    This will run Ripper, disabling support for both Vesa 2.0 and protected
    mode bank switching code.

    You can still use the /V option to force Ripper to run in 480 line mode.

    If you experience black screens or apparent lock ups, try this:
              RIPPER /V /V3

  - RIPPER now prints out the error number that DOS reports when it gets
    a CD read error.  This should help Take 2's technical support staff to
    diagnose the problem.


Changes from Ripper v1.01A to Ripper v1.02:    [March 16, 1996]

  - Fixed restore game problem where it would delete the contents of the
    W.A.C. notebook.

  - Corrected problem that could cause graphic glitches behind the mouse
    cursor on Tseng video chips.


Changes from Ripper v1.01 to Ripper v1.01A:    [March 11, 1996]


Changes from Ripper v1.0 to Ripper v1.01:      [March 8, 1996]

  - Prints the version number when you quit the game.

  - Fixed problems relating to Vesa 2.0 drivers.  This, in particular, caused
    various display problems for different parts of the game on the Matrox
    Millenia video card.

  - Fix various problems relating to bad values in C:\TAKE2.INI and
    RIPPER.INI.

  - Exit gracefully if there isn't a CD in the CD-ROM drive when you start
    the game.

  - Fixed several problems with the WAC Notebook.

  - Implemented ripper choice cycling.  This will guarantee a different
    ripper each time you start a game until all 4 possible Rippers have been
    selected.  Then it resets and randomly selects the next one (for the 5th
    new game).  To have it randomly choose from all 4 suspects, delete the
    SETTINGS.DEF file.

  - Fixed up the INSTALL program to be friendlier about some problems (it
    checks for disk full when copying files and keeps the file date and
    time off of the CDs).

  - Repaired the README file.