Collection Encyclopedia of Computer Games/GAME_ENCYCLOPAEDIA_VOLUME_1.iso/ultdom/read.me

Text File | 1995-01-01 | 9.8 KB | 234 lines

                        "ULTIMATE DOMAIN" HELP TEXT
                        --------------------------


Welcome to "Ultimate Domain" Help!  As you are reading this, it is likely
that you have received an error message when attempting to boot the game,
and that the message indicated that you do not have enough free Conventional
memory, Expanded (EMS) memory, or both.  Please note that the "Ultimate
Domain" program requires 590K free Conventional memory and 1 megabytes of
free EMS.  Attaining these limits, though not impossible to do, can
sometimes be tricky.

>>>BE SURE TO READ THIS ENTIRE DOCUMENT BEFORE DOING ANYTHING!!!<<<


                               BASIC MEMORY
                               ------------

First, a word abut memory in general.  Most modern computers are shipped
from the factory with more than 1 megabyte of RAM memory (4 or 8 meg.s is a
common configuration).  The first meg. is divided into 2 sections known as
Lower (or Conventional) memory, which is the first 640K of RAM, and High
memory, which is the remainder of the first meg.  All of the memory above
the first 1 meg. is called Extended, or XMS, memory.

Very sophisticated (and expensive) programs use XMS memory.  CAD programs,
flight simulators, professional graphics applications, etc., all use XMS
automatically.  HOWEVER, MOST PROGRAMS THAT YOU BUY COMMERCIALLY DO NOT USE
XMS MEMORY AUTOMATICALLY.  90% of the software that you buy in stores
(including ours) operate primarily in the Conventional memory area.  This
640K block is also home to your device drivers and related software,
including DOS, your mouse driver, sound card and graphics card drivers,
CD-ROM drivers, and so on.  These utilities compete with the programs that
you run for space in the Lower 640K area.  When everything that's in RAM
cannot find a home, conflicts (and crashes) occur.

Some of this traffic can be alleviated by using a Memory Manager, such as
the MEMMAKER.EXE that comes with DOS.  These utilities load some of the
smaller device drivers into High memory.  But there are only a few hundred
Kilobytes of High memory available, so loading everything that you can there
could still leave a lot of drivers and utilities in Conventional Memory.

If you load environments automatically (like booting straight to Microsoft
Windows, DOS shell, or a menu program, to name a few), the traffic in the
Lower 640K gets worse.  To further complicate the matter, the more sound and
graphic-intensive programs (like ours) use more of the Lower 640K than
most.  Our "Ultimate Domain" game, for example, requires 590K OF FREE
CONVENTIONAL MEMORY!  That leaves only 50K for all of those devices that
cannot load into High memory.


                         RUNNING THE "ULTIMATE DOMAIN"
                         -----------------------------

So what does all of this mean to you?  Two things:

1) NO MATTER HOW MUCH RAM YOU HAVE IN YOUR MACHINE, IN MOST SITUATIONS, YOU
   HAVE ONLY 640K OF RAM TO WORK WITH.

2) IF YOU WANT TO RUN GRAPHIC AND SOUND-INTENSIVE SOFTWARE, YOU >>MUST!!<<
   FREE UP ENOUGH CONVENTIONAL MEMORY TO DO SO, OR IT WILL NOT RUN!!!



                                DOS 6'S MEMMAKER
                                ----------------

There are many ways to go about freeing required memory, depending on your
situation.  As mentioned above, using a Memory Manager program is a
straightforward and dependable way to do this.  If you are using DOS 6 or
higher, you already have a pretty powerful Memory Management tool called
MEMMAKER.EXE, which you will find in your DOS directory.  Anytime that you
find yourself short of memory in DOS 6+, do the following:

1) Go to a DOS prompt.

2) Type MEMMAKER, then hit the Enter key.

3) If you need it (and with "Ultimate Domain" you do), answer "Yes" when the
   program asks you if you will be using programs that require EMS memory.

After the computer reboots, get to your DOS prompt.  Then type MEM, and hit
the Enter key.  Note the amount of FREE CONVENTIONAL and FREE EXPANDED
(EMS); these should be 590K+ and 1024K+, respectively.



                           THIRD PARTY MEMORY MANAGERS
                           ---------------------------

If they are not, or you do not have DOS 6, you might consider purchasing a
professional Memory Manager like Quarterdeck's Expanded Memory Manager
(QEMM).  These utilities are the finest and most sophisticated way to
control memory in all situations, are very easy to use.  They do, of course,
require you to purchase an additional piece of software.  Please note that
as the computer industry moves toward more sound and graphic-intensive
products (Multimedia), that more and more software that you purchase will
require large amounts of free conventional memory, as well as some amount of
available EMS.  In other words, purchasing a professional Memory Manger is a
good bet for your computing future.



                                   BOOT DISKS
                                   ----------

The final way to free up memory is to create a Boot Disk.  A Boot Disk is a
disk that runs the computer from a floppy drive, loading only the bare
essentials for running the program in question.  A Boot Disk for Ultimate
Domain would include a driver for your mouse, the memory manager that loads
the mouse driver high, and the basic system configuration information that
is always necessary to run your computer.

To create a Boot Disk, put a blank disk into floppy drive A:.
Then type the following:

FORMAT /S A:

Then hit the Enter key.

Next, you will want to copy two files to this disk: AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.
SYS.  AUTOEXEC.BAT is the file that automatically launches utilities that
contribute to running your system; CONFIG.SYS is the file that configures
that basics of your system.  to copy these files, do type the following:

COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT A:\

Then hit the Enter key.  Then type:

COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS A:\

Then hit the Enter key again.

The next important step is to Edit these files in order to remove all
utilities and programs that are not necessary to the Ultimate Domain game.
To Edit AUTOEXEC.BAT, type the following:

EDIT A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

Then hit the Enter key.  A blue screen containing batch file information
will come up.  You can edit this information by moving the cursor to a line,
using the Delete key to delete unwanted text, and the Insert key to add to or
overwrite existing text.  You will DELETE all but the following lines, with
one exception.

@ECHO OFF
PROMPT=$P$G
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=DOS

*NOTE: IF THE LINES IN YOUR AUTOEXEC.BAT DO NOT READ >>>EXACTLY<<< AS THE
ABOVE, MODIFY THEM SO THAT THEY DO!!!

The one exception is your MOUSE driver.  If there is a line in your AUTOEXEC.
BAT file for your mouse, it should be relatively obvious to you.  It will
have a file ending in .BAT, .EXE, or .COM which contains either the word
MOUSE, or a an abbreviated name of the company that makes your mouse.  DO
NOT DELETE THIS LINE!  If the line does not begin with LH, add the letters
LH (followed by a space) to the beginning of the line.

When you have finished these modifications, pull down the File menu (using
your mouse or the Alt-F keyboard command) and choose Exit.  You will be
asked if you want to save the changes to his file; say "yes".

Now we will do the same thing to CONFIG.SYS.  Type the following:

EDIT A:\CONFIG.SYS

Then hit the Enter key.  You'll see the blue screen again, this time with
lines of DEVICES and such.  Again you will DELETE all but the following
lines, with TWO exceptions:

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024
FILES=20
BUFFERS=10
DOS=HIGH,UMB

*NOTE: IF THE LINES IN YOUR CONFIG.SYS DO NOT READ >>>EXACTLY<<< AS THE
ABOVE, MODIFY THEM SO THAT THEY DO!!!

The two exceptions are the MOUSE driver (it might be in either AUTOEXEC.BAT
or in CONFIG.SYS, depending on the brand and version) and any HARD DRIVE
COMPRESSION utility that you might be running.  The MOUSE driver will be a .
SYS file containing the word MOUSE, or an abbreviated name of the company
that makes your mouse.  The HARD DRIVE COMPRESSION utility (if you have one)
will also be a .SYS file, and will either be DOUBLESPACE (the DOS 6+
utility), STACKER or SUPERSTORE (two common third-party utilities), or
something similar.

The line containing either of these types of files will begin with a DEVICE
statement.  DO NOT DELETE THESE LINES!  If they do begin with the statement:

DEVICE=

...then change them to read:

DEVICEHIGH=

As before, Exit and Save the changes at this point.

Now you have a Boot Disk.  To use it, make sure that it is in the A: drive
with the drive door closed, and reboot the machine.  To see if it has gotten
you enough FREE CONVENTIONAL MEMORY and EMS, type the following:

MEM

Then hit the Enter key.  You must have more than 590K of FREE CONVENTIONAL
MEMORY and more than 1024K of FREE EMS at this point in order to run the
game.  If this is not the case, compare all of your work to the instructions
above to make sure that you didn't mistype anything, reboot, and check MEM
again.  If it STILL doesn't work (especially if you have the HARD DRIVE
COMPRESSION utility), then make arrangements to contact our Technical
Support Department.

*NOTE: IF YOU CALL TECH SUPPORT, BE SURE THAT YOU ARE NEXT TO YOUR MACHINE
AND AT A DOS PROMPT WHEN YOU CALL.



                      TECHNICAL SUPPORT CONTACT INFORMATION
                      -------------------------------------

Here is Technical Support's hours and phone number:

[phone]
8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M.,
Monday through Friday, Pacific Time.

Calling later in the day and later in the week is generally best.

Enjoy the game!