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Text File | 1998-06-29 | 15.3 KB | 392 lines

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Small Soldiers- Squad Commander (c)1998 DreamWorks Interactive ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Demo Notes ------------- Thanks for Downloading Small Soldiers: Squad Commander!! This is just a small sample of the game. The full version includes 20 levels of intense action. These release notes are intended to provide last minute information regarding Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. Small Soldiers: Squad Commander uses the latest in game design technology. We don't expect you'll encounter any problems, however, if you are having trouble getting Small Soldiers: Squad Commander to run on your system, please read the troubleshooting section below. Need a hint? Grab a phone! If you get stuck and need hints or tips on how to defeat the Commandos or the Gorgonites, call the DreamWorks Interactive Hint Line at 1-900-454-GAME. It's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and costs $.95 per minute within the United States. If you're under 18 years old, please make sure you get your parent's permission. Also, look for the official Small Soldiers: Squad Commander Strategy Guide from Brady Games, available at your local retailer or through their website at www.Bradygames.com. For up-to-date news about this and other DreamWorks Interactive products, visit us at our World-Wide Web address- www.DreamWorksGames.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS 1. HARDWARE AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 2. RUNNING THE GAME 2.1 QUICK INSTRUCTIONS 3. PERFORMANCE TIPS 4. VIDEO TROUBLESHOOTING 4.1 Specific Video card trouble shooting 5. AUDIO TROUBLESHOOTING 6. OTHER HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY ISSUES ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. HARDWARE AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Pentium 100 MHz 4x-speed CD-ROM drive 16 MB RAM Windows 95 640x480 Super VGA Monitor 1 MB Video Card Windows compatible sound card Microsoft compatible mouse 30MB hard disk space *Warning* If you do not have DirectX installed on your machine, Small Soldiers: Squad Commander will not run. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. RUNNING SMALL SOLDIERS: SQUAD COMMANDER DEMO Download the Small Soldiers: Squad Commander demo to your hard drive. Unzip the demo to a folder of your choosing. The demo will create a smallsoldiers folder. Inside the smallsoldiers folder will be another folder named netdemo. The netdemo folder contains the ssoldier.exe and the data for the game. To run the demo just double click the ssoldier.exe in the netdemo folder. 2.1 QUICK INSTRUCTIONS: Click and drag the mouse to select your Small Soldiers, then click where you'd like them to go. Click on Enemies you wish to attack, or Items you wish to pick up. To use a Throwable Explosive you've picked up, click on its picture in the right-hand panel. Then click on the battlefield or enemy where you'd like it thrown. To use a Key or other Object you've picked up, click on its picture in the right-hand panel. Click on the battlefield where you'd like to use it. NOTE: The cursor will change to "use here" or "put here". If you lose one of your Small Soldiers, return to your Toy box and double-click it to choose another Small Soldier to add to your team. Batteries supply extra health to your Squad Members. Your soldiers' health bars are displayed underneath them. Mousetraps and Barrels can be blown up to clear the way! The Glowing Orbs upgrade your Weapon's strength. Pull all switches and levers - you never know what they'll activate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. PERFORMANCE TIPS * Close other programs that are running before playing Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. Doing this may free up available memory and improve performance. * Some sound-producing programs, like a screen saver or any program that makes a sound in the background, may take over the sound capability of your computer and interrupt Small Soldiers: Squad Commander sounds. If you suspect you have such a program, do not run it or any other sound-producing programs at the same time as Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. *Some Desktop toolbars may not be observing Windows logo requirements and could draw over Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. If this happens, please disable the tool bar. * Check your monitor and video card settings. The best settings are 640 x 480 and 256 colors. (See the section below on VIDEO TROUBLESHOOTING for instructions on how to change the settings.) * Small Soldiers: Squad Commander requires a certain amount of free hard disk space in order to function properly. The amount required depends on the amount of memory (or RAM) your computer has, and the memory settings for the computer. In general, the more RAM you have, the less free hard disk space you need. If you are using Windows with the default settings which allow Windows to manage the Virtual Memory, Small Soldiers: Squad Commander runs best with at least 30 megabytes (MB) of free hard disk space when using the minimum installation option. If you have more space, you can choose to install the typical or maximum install options (the next section explains in detail installation of Small Soldiers: Squad Commander). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. VIDEO TROUBLESHOOTING "A message appears telling me to run in 256 color mode or higher." - Your computer must display at least 256 colors to run Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. To display 256 colors: 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Display icon. 3. Click the Settings tab. 4. Under Color Palette, click 256 Color. 5. Click OK. If you don't have the necessary 256-color driver, or if you're not sure that your video card supports 256 colors, contact your video card manufacturer. - Make sure you have the correct Monitor Type selected for your computer. To do this use the following steps: 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings and click Control Panel. 2. In Control Panel, double-click the Display icon. 3. Click the Settings tab and click Change Display Type. 4. Under Monitor Type, verify that the correct Monitor Type is selected. If the incorrect monitor is selected or if the Monitor Type is set to Unknown, click Change to select the correct monitor. "When I started the game, I received a message that said my video drivers do not support DirectX" -This may or may not affect game play. If game play is affected, try re-installing DirectX -If re-installing DirectX does not certify your video drivers and the other troubleshooting tips do not work, please contact your video manufacturer for the latest DirectX video drivers. - If your computer has a graphics acceleration card, then try disabling Direct3D Hardware Acceleration. To disable Direct3D Hardware Acceleration: 1. Run the file \Setup\Directx\Dxsetup.exe from the CD-ROM. 2. Clear the Direct 3D Hardware Acceleration check box. - If the problem still occurs, change Graphics Acceleration to Basic. 1. In the Windows 95 Control Panel, double-click System. 2. On the Performance tab, click Graphics. 3. Change the Acceleration slider to one notch above None. 4. Click OK, then click Close. - Your computer must have a PCI video card with 1 MB VRAM to display video scenes properly. If your computer has an ISA video card or a video card with less than 1 MB of VRAM, it is recommended that you upgrade to a PCI video card with at least 1 MB of VRAM. To find out how much VRAM you have: 1. Double-click My Computer. 2. Right mouse click on the Small Soldiers: Squad Commander icon. 3. Click Open. Double-click the setup folder. 4. Double-click setchaos.exe. 5. Read under Installation Information the amount of Video Memory. If this number is less than 1000000 or Video Memory is emulated, then you do not have 1 MB of VRAM. "The desktop area and resolution are different after I quit the game." It is recommended that you have your display area size set to 640x480 and 256 colors before playing Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. To do this use the following steps: 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Display icon. 3. Click the Settings tab. 4. Under Desktop area, move the slider to the left so that 640x480 pixels is displayed. 5. Under Color palette select 256 color. 6. Click OK. 7. You may have to reboot your computer before changes take effect. Be sure to close all any open applications before doing so. "The display utility program doesn't work anymore." If your video card was installed with extra utility software programs, these may be disabled after installing DirectX. You may want to re-install the video card utility programs. "I got a SetDisplayMode Error: DDERR_GENERIC message" If you receive this error you probably have a video card that doesn't fully support on the fly mode switching. To fix, set your resolution to 256 color and restart. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1. Specific Video Card Troubleshooting * If your computer has an ISA video card, you may experience crashes or freezes while playing the game. ISA video cards are not supported by this product. It is recommended that you upgrade to a PCI video card with at least 1 MB of VRAM. * If your computer has a Compaq Qvision PCI 1 MB VRAM video card, your desktop area and resolution may change after exiting the program. It is recommended that you change your display resolution to 640x480 and 256 colors before running Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. *UniVBE: If you are using UniVBE 5.1, you will need to disable it before playing Small Soldiers: Squad Commander or the game could possibly not function properly. Be sure to re-enable UniVBE 5.1 when finished playing. To disable UniVBE 5.1 before playing Small Soldiers Click the Start button, and then click Run. In the Open box, type sysedit Click OK. A number of windows will appear. Click the title bar of the window labeled Autoexec.bat. At the beginning of the line that lists UniVBE 5.1, type REM followed by a space. For example, REM UniVBE 5.1. On the File menu, click Save. On the File menu, click Exit. Restart your computer to apply this change, and then start Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. To re-enable UniVBE 5.1 after playing Small Soldiers Click the Start button, and then click Run. In the Open box, type sysedit Click OK. A number of windows will appear. Click the title bar of the window labeled Autoexec.bat. At the beginning of the line that lists UniVBE 5.1, delete REM. On the File menu, click Save. On the File menu, click Exit. Restart your computer to apply this change. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. AUDIO TROUBLESHOOTING Most sound cards can play only one sound at a time. Some sound-producing programs, like a screen saver or any program that makes a sound in the background, may take over the sound capability of your computer and interrupt Small Soldiers: Squad Commander sounds. If you suspect you have such a program, do not run it or any other sound-producing programs at the same time as Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. "I don't hear any sound." - Make sure your speakers are plugged into a power source, if applicable, and that the power is turned on. - Try adjusting the sound card volume with a program that is often called a "mixer." To access the sound mixer: 1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Multimedia and click Volume Control. 2. Turn up the volume using the volume slider bars under Volume Control and Wave Balance. Make sure that the Mute box is unchecked, then close the Volume Control window. - Make sure your speakers are plugged into the correct connection on your sound card. - Make sure the sound card is pressed securely into its slot. - Make sure the sound card switches and settings were set correctly when the sound card was installed. Refer to your sound card manual for more information on your sound card settings. - Make sure the sound card doesn't conflict with other hardware by using the Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter. The Hardware Conflict Troubleshooter was designed specifically to help with hardware conflicts in Windows. To use the Troubleshooter: 1. In Windows, click the Start button, and then click Help. 2. Double-click Troubleshooting. 3. Double-click If you have a hardware conflict and follow the on screen instructions. "The sound is distorted, skips, or cuts off." - If the sound is distorted, try adjusting the sound card volume with a program that is often called a "mixer." See instructions above on how to do this. - If you have a Media Vision Pro Audio 16 sound card and the sound is scratchy, the Direct Memory Access (DMA) may be set incorrectly. For instructions on changing your DMA settings, refer to your sound card manual. "When I started the game, the game said my sound drivers do not support DirectX" This may or may not affect game play. If game play is affected, try re-installing DirectX -To re-install DirectX: 1. Double-click My Computer on the desktop. 2. Right mouse click on the Small Soldiers: Squad Commander icon, then click Open. 3. Double-click the setup folder, then double-click the DirectX folder. 4. Double-click DXSETUP then click reinstall DirectX. 5. After installation, you will be prompted to restart your machine. Click OK. -If re-installing DirectX does not certify your sound drivers, please contact your sound manufacturer for the latest DirectX sound drivers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. OTHER HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY ISSUES * If you're using IntelliPoint software with your Microsoft mouse. The Snap To feature can cause the mouse pointer to jump around on the screen when you do certain things in Small Soldiers: Squad Commander. To fix the pointer problem, turn off the Snap To feature. To turn off the Snap To feature: 1. In Windows, click the Start button, and then point to Settings. 2. Click Control Panel, and then double-click the Mouse icon. In the lower-right corner of the Mouse Properties box, you'll see Microsoft IntelliPoint mentioned. 3. Click the Activity tab, and then click Snap To. Make sure there is no 'x' in the box. 4. Click OK.