Lego Technic - TechLab 0…Interactive Model Catalog/FOL0297Lego.iso/pc/readme.txt

Text File | 1996-09-20 | 17.5 KB | 436 lines

TechLab 01  Windows ReadMe Text:
This ReadMe file contains tips on installation, TechLab 01
features, optimization and troubleshooting.

Starting up TechLab 01:
(Note: TechLab 01  will not run if QuickTime is not properly
installed - see installation instructions below).
The TechLab 01 program runs straight from the CD-ROM and,
except for QuickTime, no installation is necessary. For better
performance however, the entire CD-ROM can be copied onto a
hard disk, and then run straight from the hard disk.

On Windows 3.X Install QuickTime by double-clicking on the
file qt16inst.exe in the program manager. Start the LEGO
TECHNIC CD-ROM by double-clicking on the file techlab1.exe
in the program manager.

On Windows 95 open the CD-ROM window. Install QuickTime by
double-clicking on the icon Qt16inst in this window. Start
the LEGO TECHNIC CD-ROM by double-clicking on the icon for
Techlab1 in the CD-ROM window.

About QuickTime for Windows:
The install program installs QuickTime files into your
Windows and Windows/System directories. It also creates
icons and adds them to a program group. The install process
takes approximately 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the speed
of your system.

In order to install QuickTime for Windows, your system must
meet the following requirements:

- PC 386 or better
- Windows 3.1 or greater installed
- 6MB available disk space

To install QuickTime for Windows, double click on the
qt16inst.exe (Win 3.X) or Qt16inst (Win 95) icon and
choose either install or help for further installation
instructions.

TechLab 01 CD-ROM features:

Introduction:
(Note: In order to use the questionnaire and order form
feature of TechLab 01, your computer must be connected to
a printer). After choosing your country and language, you
enter TechLab 01 by clicking on the helmet.

The Lab:
By using your mouse and a few keyboard controls you will
be able to use Appleís QuickTime VR technology to navigate
around the entire lab in virtual reality viewed through the
helmetís display. There are 19 different virtual locations
that can be explored on three levels - Land, Air and Sea,
as well as objects that you can rotate, such as the Full
Track Vehicle, the Bar Code Truck, the Submarine and the
Helicopter. (See the navigation controls for Appleís
QuickTime VR technology described below).

The Information Bar:
A text read out of important TechLab 01 features and navi-
gation controls will appear in the green Information Bar
located just above the helmetís display.

How to navigate in the Lab.:
The following describes the cursors, indicators and keyboard
controls for navigating in QuickTime VR:

  Explore Cursors: appear when you hold down the
mouse button anywhere in the scene. Drag the mouse in any
direction to turn around. The further you drag the faster you
turn.

  Jump Cursor: appears when there is another scene you can
jump to. Click the mouse button to jump.

  Object Cursor: appears when the mouse is over something you
can rotate or use. Click the mouse to access it.

  Rotation Cursor: appears when the mouse is over an object
you can rotate. Drag the mouse to turn the object.

  Zooming Cursors: appear when you are zooming in and
out at your current location in the scene. Hold down the shift
key to zoom in or the control key to zoom out. The keys are
located at the bottom left of your keyboard. Drag the mouse
while zooming to change the viewing area.

TechLab 01 CD-ROM features (continued):

Help:
The Helper will guide you and give you status updates as you
explore TechLab 01. He can also be accessed by clicking on
the green button under his display screen.

Health meter & Oxygen gauge:
Your vital health functions will be monitored and indicated
by a steady green light wave at the top of your helmet dis-
play. Your oxygen level will be displayed via the gauge on
the upper left. Be sure that you are wearing an air tank to
stay under water or you might run out of oxygen. An air tank
is located to the left of the elevator.

Map:
You access a Map of the Lab by clicking on the green Map
button. Once displayed, you can click on a green dot to
link to a location within the Lab.

Settings:
You access the Settings panel of the Lab by clicking on the
green Settings button. The three states of Help and Sound:
none, middle and high can be set from this control panel.

Accessing the Land, Air and Sea consoles:
As you navigate around TechLab 01, you will locate three
consoles, one for each level - Land, Air and Sea - which
will be your plug-in point.  When you locate it, click on
the flashing green console power button to turn the console
on. You can unplug from the console and go back to the Lab
by pressing the "unplug console" button.

Features of the Land, Air and Sea consoles:
After you have turned on the console power, you can inter-
act with LEGO TECHNIC models by clicking on the small model
images at the bottom of the console display. Roll the cursor
over the full-sized picture of the model and click down when
the cursor turns into a magnifying glass to zoom in on a
detail. By clicking on the highlighted animation, you can
watch most models animate. Click on the arrows at the bottom
to see more models.

In the Land level console you can click the Test button to
test drive a vehicle, or click the Code button to try the
Bar Code Truck. In the Air level console you can click the
test button to test fly a helicopter. In the Sea level
console you can click the test button to test dive a
submarine, but you will first need to assemble the Pneuma-
tic System. You can access the Pneumatic System by return-
ing to the Lab and clicking on the computer screen at the
Land level. The computer screen is right next to the fire
extinguisher. Click the VR button to see the current model
in virtual reality. You can also watch product videos by
clicking on the small images at the bottom of the console
in the Air and Land level, by clicking on the CD-ROM icon
when it appears in the Sea level, and by clicking on the
porthole in the pool.

Test directions:

Test Drive:
Select a vehicle of your choice by using the arrow keys and
press start to test your track time against the computer.
You control the carís accelerator by pressing "ctrl," and
the left and right arrow keys to steer. You have five test
laps to beat the computer.

Rescue Helicopter Test:
Your mission is to rescue the people off the buildings and
take them to the heliport. You can only carry two at a time.
When the men flash, you are about to lose them - so hurry
before they disappear. Control the helicopter with the Right,
Left, Up and Down keys and use the spacebar to toggle between
the furthest buildings and the closest buildings.

Pneumatic System:
To test the submarine, you need to assemble the Pneumatic
system. To access it, click on the computer screen located
next to the fire extinguisher on the Land level of the Lab.
Correctly place the pump, air tank, grabber and switch,
then connect them with the hoses. You position a part by
clicking on it and dragging it to the right place
while you hold down the mouse button. When you let go of
the mouse button with the part over the right spot, it will
click into place.  When you are done, press TEST to try
the system. If you see the grabber working, you have been
successful.

Submarine Test:
Barrels containing radioactive waste have been found at
the bottom of the ocean and it is your job to recover the
barrels before they leak radiation. Pick up the barrels
using the grabber and take them to the bottom of the
surface platform. When the barrels flash they are
about to leak - so hurry before they discharge waste.
Control the submarine with the Right, Left, Up and Down
keys. Use the spacebar to grab or drop a barrel.

Bar Code Truck test:
The LEGO TECHNIC Bar Code Truck is controlled by a Code
Pilot that reads bar codes. To read a bar code, click on
the Code Pilot and drag it from left to right over the
bar code, while you hold down the mouse button. When you
have read 3 codes, drag the Code Pilot onto the truck
right between the cab and the platform. Then press
the green PLAY button to see the truck start to work.

Model Bank:
You can transfer the model currently in view to the Model
Bank by clicking the Insert button, or remove the current
model by clicking the Delete button. There is room for
eight models in the Model Bank. Switch to the In Bank mode
to view the contents of the Model Bank, then Switch to the
In Console mode to view all the models on the current level.
You can print out the contents of the Model Bank to use
as a wishing list by clicking the Order button.


Windows troubleshooting:

For problems during installation:
SYMPTOM:  Installation fails because Windows cannot create
a Program Group.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Windows has a maximum of 40 Program
Groups allowed; you may have reached the maximum.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Remove other unnecessary Program
Groups and try installation again.

SYMPTOM:  Divide by 0 error while installing QuickTime .

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  System has run out of DOS memory.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Boot from a floppy with minimal
autoexec.bat and config.sys, then install QuickTime.

SYMPTOM:  The QuickTime installer cannot delete
VIEWENU.DLL (an icon file for the Viewer Windows item)
because it is "In Use".

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Installer cannot delete files which
are being used by the system.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Quit installer, leaving a partial,
incomplete install; restart Windows; re-install.

General problems:
SYMPTOM:  The program doesn't run properly, freezes, or
won't load.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  You may have other programs running
at the same time.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Check your Startup program group to
see what programs automatically load at startup.  Restart
Windows, and make sure you've quit all other running
programs.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  A screensaver may be interfering with
this program.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Disable any screensavers.  You may
need to restart.

For problems with movie playback:
SYMPTOM:  Movies are not playing smoothly, frames are
dropping out, or your computer crashes or locks up when
trying to play movies.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Your audio or video drivers may be
out-of-date,  especially if you are using a Trident video
card or a Diamond Stealth video card.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Turn the sound all the way down
during playback.  If the video plays smoothly without the
sound, then the problem likely resides with your sound
card or sound card drivers.  Refer to the instructions/
manual for your sound card for help diagnosing and
solving this problem.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Obtain the latest version of the
drivers for your video card and sound card.  Contact the
vendor of each card for help  getting those drivers.
Trident's newest drivers are on their BBS, in the USA
at [phone]. Diamond's drivers may be obtained from
their World Wide Web site or their BBS at 408-325-7000
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  ISA-bus card may perform poorly with
QuickTime.  Practically any other alternative will enhance
performance.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Try the Microsoft SVGA Drivers
(although not with video cards using the S3 Vi0sion 964
chip set such as Diamond Stealth 64 VRAM,  #9 GXE64 Pro,
Orchid Fahrenheit Pro 64, Paradise Barbados 64.)
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Change the "draw method" in the
"Video Optimization" area of your QuickTime control panel
(press the "More" button at the bottom of the control
panel and then "Video" tab at the top). If the setting
"Video Hardware" is available, this may be faster than
the "Video Driver" setting. As a last resort you may
want to try the "Bitmap (BMP) setting if it is available.
Any other setting will probably be too slow. If you do
not notice an improvement, switch the setting back to
"Video Driver."
- POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: Use the latest drivers particularly
if you are running an IBM 755CE ThinkPad with an MWave
DSP chip for audio, and IBM Aptiva using Cirrus Logic
(5462/28) card, a Compaq QVision card, a Reveal card which
employs the Ensoniq chip set, or a Turtle Beach Tahiti
card with Quad Studio multitrack drivers.

CD-ROM Drive related solutions:
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Make sure your CD-ROM drive is a dual
speed at minimum. The LEGO TechLab 01  CD-ROM is optimized
for dual and quad (or faster) CD-ROM Drives.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Virtual memory may be interfering with
QuickTime's internal caching.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Turn off virtual memory.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Your software CD-ROM caching may be
interfering with QuickTime's internal caching.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Turn off external caching (i.e.
SmartDrive). Refer to your DOS manual for help with
SmartDrive.

- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Some notebook computers have a power
save feature that spins down the hard drive periodically.
You should disable this option.

Additional Solutions:
- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  You may be using 16-bit graphics
(thousands of colors) when 8-bits graphics (256-colors)
may be faster for your machine OR, you may be running
8-bit graphics when 16-bit graphics (true color) may be
faster for your machine.(note that the LEGO TechLab 01
CD-ROM will well with either 8 - or 16-bit graphics
although 16-bit graphics will produce higher resolution
for the videos and animations).
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Change your video configuration
to 8-bit graphics. Note that this will, however, reduce
the color clarity. Alternatively, Change your video
configuration to 16-bit graphics.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM  Your video card may have compatibi-
lity problems with QuickTime for Windows.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Edit the QTW.INI file (in the
/WINDOWS directory); change the line which begins
"optimize = " to "optimize = driver".

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM  You may be using the Microsoft
Speaker Driver, which does not allow playing of sound
and animation of video at the same time.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Use another speaker driver.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM  You may be using outdated Sound-
Blaster drivers.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Use another speaker driver.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  You may not have your PC running
in Turbo mode.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Make sure the turbo switch on
the front of your PC is activated.

SYMPTOM:  The movies are "grainy," and the color is
not clear.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  You may be using 8-bits graphics
(256-colors);16-bit graphics (thousands of colors)
will produce the range of colors more smoothly.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Change your video configuration
to 16-bit graphics. Note that this may, however, make
the movies play back less smoothly.

SYMPTOM:  When the mouse cursor is over the playback
window, the video playback is poor and the audio falls
out of sync.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Your mouse drivers may be causing
this playback performance degradation.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Try a different mouse, or a
different driver for your current mouse.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Make sure you have the most
recent versions of your mouse driver.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  If you are using a custom cursor,
then the time needed to redraw the special cursor for
each frame may be causing the performance problems.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Turn off custom cursors while
using QuickTime.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Don't leave the mouse cursor
over the playback window during playback.


Other tips:
SYMPTOM:  Program uses only a small window in the center
of the screen (not the full screen).

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  You may have a multisync monitor
with the resolution set higher than 640x480.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Try explicitly setting the resolu-
tion to 640x480, as the program uses that resolution.

SYMPTOM:  Intermittent "Cannot find LINGO.INI file"
error message at QuickTime startup.

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Cirrus Logic video driver writes
outside its own memory area, causing intermittent error
messages.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  If you are using the Cirrus Logic
video drivers, try running the MS SVGA 256-color driver
that comes with Windows for  Workgroups, or any other
version of the Cirrus Logic driver.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Try using another video card /
video driver.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Do not use Packard Bell's "Navi-
gator" or Acer's "Explorer"

SYMPTOM:  The program suffers from frequent General
Protection Faults

- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  There may be a problem with the
configuration of your video card driver.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Re-configure the driver to use
640x480 resolution and 8-bit (256-color) graphics.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Make sure your DOS and Windows
memory managers are not interfering with the video
card's memory area.  Refer to the instructions/manuals
for DOS and Windows, as well as the manual for your
video card, for help with this.
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION:  Make sure you have the latest
versions of your video card's drivers. Contact the
vendor of the card for help.
- TabWorks (that comes with Compaqs), Kid's Desk, PC
Tools Desktop, may cause CD-ROMs to crash.

SYMPTOM:  AutoPlay fails with Windows 95.
- POSSIBLE PROBLEM:  Some CD-ROM drives do not support
the Windows 95 AutoPlay feature.

- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Contact your CD-ROM manufacturer
for updated drivers. (note that you do not need to use
AutoPlay to run the LEGO TechLab 01 CD-ROM)
- POSSIBLE SOLUTION: Temporarily disable AutoPlay by
holding the shiftKey down while inserting the CD-ROM
into the CD-ROM drive.