EA GAMESÖ and Westwood StudiosÖ are Electronic ArtsÖ brands.
INTERGALACTIC NET-7 NEWSFLASH
September 2002
For latest news and updates visit http://www.earthandbeyond.com/
You can also access our online support database with answers to many technical and game related issues at http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/
For any additional help, please look inside the ôSupportö folder located on the CD.
Table of Contents
1. Trouble Shooting
1.1 Bug reporting
1.2. Video issues
1.2.1 Specific video card incompatibilities
1.3 Sound issues
1.3.1 Specific sound card incompatibilities
1.4 Windows accessibility feature
2. Networking
2.1 Hardware firewalls
2.2. Software firewalls
2.3 Patching
3. Game features
3.1 Undocumented commands
3.2 Customizing chat and interface
1. Trouble Shooting
1.1 Bug reporting
Earth & Beyond simulates a whole galaxy of possibilities, occasionally you might run into inconsistencies in this universe. We try to eliminate all bugs as fast as possible and appreciate your feedback on our progress. If we missed a bug please use our Bug Submission Form, located in the private section of the website, to report a bug. DonÆt worry, we made it easy to report bugs, so it only takes a minute of your time and then you can get back to playing the game! And remember that we'll be trying to duplicate the situation you encountered so we can properly address the problem. Details and a clear explanation of what you encountered are extremely important.
Things to consider in filling out a bug report:
1. Was there an error message generated? If so, please be sure you include that information.
2. Were you able to duplicate the bug or did it happen only once?
3. What EXACTLY were you doing when the bug occurred?
You can also use the in-game form to submit a bug: first go to HELP on the chat menu, next go to PETITION, finally select I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT A BUG.
1.2 Video issues
If you are experiencing any visual anomalies, please be sure to have the latest video drivers installed for your system. DirectX 8.1 or later version must be installed to run the game. In general, we always advise obtaining the latest set of drivers from your video card manufacturer. Very often, graphical anomalies in the game disappear completely after you update your system to the latest set of drivers. You should consult your video card manufacturer for instructions for installing video card drivers.
Please note that Earth & Beyond requires at least 32MB of video memory to run. If your card is below this requirement you might still be able to play the game, however your video quality and speed will suffer.
For additional information about Video issues, please visit http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/earthandbeyond.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=%7Eany%7E&p_prod_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_cat_lvl1=66&p_cat_lvl2=170
1.2.1 Video card incompatibility
Earth & Beyond requires video cards or video chip sets that are compatible with DirectX 8.1. The Voodoo, S4 Savage and Trident T64 series of cards do not have the necessary drivers to support DirectX 8.1 and cannot be used with Earth & Beyond.
The ATI Rage Fury and Rage Fury Pro cards showed a flickering border around some objects in the game. An updated driver that fixes this issue is not yet available but please check the manufacturers website for updates frequently.
1.3 Sound issues
If you are experiencing any sound problems such as stuttering, distortion or inconsistent volume levels, please be sure to have the latest audio drivers installed on your system. In general, we always advise obtaining the latest set of drivers from your audio hardware manufacturer. You should consult your audio card manufacturer for instructions on installing the drivers.
We have found that certain USB enabled speaker systems and USB sound cards have playback problems during the game. If your sound is stuttering or skipping please run the Earth & Beyond configuration utility from the START menu and decrease the ôQualityö and ôPlayback rateö settings on the ôSoundö tab. The correct settings depend on the speed of your CPU and on how many other USB devices are connected to your computer. The slower your computer and the more USB devices you are using the lower these settings need to be.
For more information about sound issues, please visit
The following cards demonstrated sound distortion or stuttering during parts of the game: Diamond Monster Sound MX400, Altec Lansing ADA70 USB Speakers, Microsoft Digital Sound System 80 USB. In all of these cases reducing the ôQualityö and ôPlayback rateö settings on the ôSoundö tab in the Earth & Beyond configuration utility fixed the audio problems.
If you experience stuttering or distortion with your Creative Labs Sound Blaster Extigy device please obtain the latest drivers from the manufacturers website and if possible reduce the amount of other devices connected to the USB bus of your computer. Also changing the sound output settings as described above can help to alleviate any problems your might have.
1.4 Windows accessibility feature
Pressing the 'num lock' key for 5 seconds while using Windows 2000 or XP will bring up a 'toggle keys' window which will essentially freeze the computer. This is a built-in function of Windows 2000 and XP and Earth & Beyond does not support this feature.
2. Networking
The content in this section is subject to frequent changes due to the rapid changes in technology. Please refer to our support website at http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/ for updated information.
2.1 Hardware firewalls
For hardware firewall information, please visit http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/earthandbeyond.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=%7Eany%7E&p_prod_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_cat_lvl1=66&p_cat_lvl2=61&p_search_text=hardware
2.2. Software firewalls
For software firewall information, please visit http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/earthandbeyond.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=%7Eany%7E&p_prod_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_cat_lvl1=66&p_cat_lvl2=61&p_search_text=software
2.3 Patching
For patching information, please visit http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/earthandbeyond.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=%7Eany%7E&p_prod_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_cat_lvl1=66&p_cat_lvl2=182
3. Game features
3.1 Undocumented commands
Occasionally we add commands to the Earth & Beyond interface to simplify certain tasks. Please check the following pages for information about these new commands: http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/earthandbeyond.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=%7Eany%7E&p_cat_lvl1=99&p_search_text=commands
3.2 Customizing chat and interface
For a complete list of chat customizations and instructions on how to configure the game interface, please visit http://earthandbeyond.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/earthandbeyond.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php?p_lva=&p_li=&p_page=1&p_prod_lvl1=%7Eany%7E&p_prod_lvl2=%7Eany%7E&p_cat_lvl1=99&p_cat_lvl2=330&p_search_text=chat
