Microsoft KB Archive/231657

The Pandora Directive: Contents of the Readme.txt File

PSS ID Number: Q231657 Article last modified on 05-17-1999

WINDOWS:

WINDOWS

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The information in this article applies to:

 == Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive == 

= SUMMARY =

This article contains the complete text of the Readme.txt file located on Disc 1 of Tex Murphy: The Pandora Directive.

= MORE INFORMATION =

README The Pandora Directive 7/1/96
If you have problems running the install program or the game, or you have problems once the game is running, please refer to the information below.

INDEX:
  Installation problems   Windows 95 Issues   Sound under Windows 95   Digital Sound   VESA Video Drivers   VR Movement Suggestions </li>  VR Controls </li>  Game Crashes </li>  Running under Windows 3.1 / 3.11 </li>  Running under OS/2 </li>  Recommended Configuration / Minimum Requirements </li>  How to contact Technical Support </li>  Game-play related issues </li>  Frequently Asked Questions </li>  Additional Help </li> == Installation problems == </li></ol>

To install the game under DOS, switch to the drive for your CD-ROM (usually D:) and type INSTALL. To install the game under Windows 95, click on Start, then Run, then type D:.EXE (where D: is your CD-ROM drive).

If the install program for the game crashes or doesn’t complete successfully, we have included a secondary text-based install program that will install the game to your hard drive. To run this, go to the CD-ROM drive (usually D:) and type INSTALL2. This program will step you through the process of installing the game.

2. Windows 95 Issues
We have tested the game under a variety of systems running Windows 95 and we have not encountered any problems. However, running the game under Windows 95 with systems that have less than 12 megs of RAM is not recommended. The reason is that with Windows 95 running in the background, the game will only have 3-4 megs of RAM available to run. You will see that the graphics in the VR rooms are quite blocky under this configuration. We highly recommend that if you only have 8 megs of RAM that you create a boot disk and run the game under DOS (see section 8 for info on creating and using a boot disk).

If the graphics in the VR room appear blocky under Windows 95, that means the game is running low on memory. If you notice long pauses or major skipping in the game, Windows 95 may be trying to swap information from RAM to the hard drive. This can happen if you have other programs running in the background. There are some programs such as System Agent, Microsoft Exchange, screen savers, and other power-saving programs that may conflict with the game. These programs will often kick-in while the game is running and cause it to quit. When running the game under Windows 95, we recommend closing all other running programs before starting the game.

Another thing to consider if you choose to run the game on an 8 megabyte system under Windows 95, is that Video Playback will be affected. We create a 2 megabyte buffer to ensure Video Playback is smooth. However, this buffer may not be created on an 8 megabyte machine under Windows 95.

If you receive a low-memory warning under Windows 95, and you feel you should have a sufficient amount of memory available, try shutting down Windows 95 and restarting.

If you have problems under Windows 95 that you can’t seem to resolve, you should try running the game under DOS. The game will often have more memory available and will run into less overhead when run from DOS.

3. Sound Under Windows 95
You may run into problems with sound if your computer has not been setup correctly for DOS programs. If your computer came with Windows 95 preinstalled, you may not have all of the necessary sound drivers installed correctly. Please check the documentation that came with your computer for instructions on setting up your sound card for DOS programs.

If you cannot get the game to work correctly under Windows 95, we recommend that you create a boot disk to boot DOS before running the game. If you type AUTOBOOT from the PANDORA directory, it will walk you through the process of creating a boot disk that you can use to run the game.

4. Digital Sound
We have found that most sound cards will work correctly with the Auto-Detect option in sound setup. There are some sound cards that do not respond well to the auto detection process. If your computer locks up during this process, reboot your computer and try Auto Detect again, the game will not try the same sound card again.

If your sound card is a SOUND BLASTER (SB) compatible and doesn’t work as either a SB 1.0 or SB Pro, you might try the No Verify option. At the bottom of the sound card list, there are options for SB 1.0 (No Verify) and SB Pro (No Verify). With these selections, you will need to manually enter the I/O Address, IRQ and DMA Channel for your sound card.

The game will normally try to verify that the card that you have selected is the card that is actually installed. With some sound cards, this may cause the card to respond incorrectly. If this is the case, try these No Verify options to see if this resolves the problem. There will be no effect in sound quality or performance when using the No Verify option.

If you have a SOUND BLASTER PRO card (or compatible) and you are running under Windows 95, the program will not be able to auto detect the sound card. This is because Windows 95 does not set the SET BLASTER parameter to include the T4 switch that identifies the card as a Sound Blaster Pro or compatible. If you have this card and are running under Windows 95, you just need to manually configure the card for the correct I/O, IRQ and DMA settings.

If you have a GRAVIS ULTRASOUND or ULTRASOUND MAX, you will need to start the game by typing PANGRAV. This is a batch file that loads the necessary MIDI patches before starting the game. If you do not have a Gravis, do not use this batch file.

If you are using a NEW Microsoft (or Windows) Sound System Compatible, the program may not be able to properly detect your card. This is due to a recent change in the Plug ’N Play standards, and you will have to select and configure the card manually. Generally: I/O 530 Interupt * DMA 1

If your sound still doesn’t work, please check the documentation that came with your computer to see if they give information on particular settings for your sound card. We have also included a file called PROBLEMS.TXT that describes problems and solutions that we have found with particular video and sound cards. This file was NOT installed to your hard drive, it is in the root directory of the game CD.

NOTE: If the sound volume seems too low, check the mixer levels in your sound card setup. You can also check for a Volume adjustment on the back of the card.

5. VESA Video Drivers
The install program will detect if a VESA video driver is already loaded, if so, the game will use that driver. If a VESA driver is not detected, the program will attempt to install the UNIVESA video driver. We have found that this driver works with the majority of current video cards. If you have video related problems with the install program or the game, you should reinstall the game by typing INSTALL -V. This will force the game to use the UNIVESA driver built into the game and it will ignore any built in VESA drivers on the card. If this does not resolve the problem, you should check to see if your video card came with any VESA video drivers that you can load before starting the game.

There is a utility that is included with the game called SETVESA that can help you to setup and test the VESA video driver. To run this program, type SETVESA from the PANDORA DIRECTIVE CD and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the screen is breaking up during play, and small squares appear while running in VR, try playing the game with a switch “J”. Example: PANDORA /J

If you are having sound or video problems that you cannot resolve, there is a file called PROBLEMS.TXT that describes common problems and solutions for both video and sound cards. It was NOT installed with the game, it is located in the root directory of the first CD.

6. VR Movement Suggestions
If you find the game seems to react slowly when walking around in VR there are a few things you can try to remedy the problem. This issue is essentially CPU dependent. The faster your computer, the faster the VR rooms will run. To speed up the refresh rate, you can lower the screen size by hitting the number keys (1-0). #1 is the smallest screen and will yield the fastest frame rate. #7 is full-screen and will probably run acceptably on only the fastest Pentium’s with fast video cards.


 * NOTE ***

The amount of RAM available to the game has nothing to do with rendering speed. Increasing the amount of available memory will only affect the blockiness of the images on the screen.

You can use the F2, F3, and F4 keys to switch from SVGA (High Resolution), down to VGA (Low Resolution). VGA will run the fastest, but doesn’t look as good as SVGA mode.

7. VR Controls
When walking around in VR, there are several controls that will help you to control movement.


 * To stop in the current position, click the right mouse button.
 * To “slide” to the left or right, hold down the left mouse button as you move the mouse either direction.
 * Use the left shift key to move your eye level up and the left control key to lower your eye level. This is like making Tex taller or shorter.
 * The up and down arrow keys on your keyboard will tilt your view up or down. This is like tilting your head up to look at something, or down to look down into something.

Also, if you have a middle mouse button, you can use the middle button to switch between Interactive and Movement modes. (If you have a three button mouse and the middle mouse button is not working, you are probably not loading a three button mouse driver. Consult the documentation that came with your mouse.)

8. Game crashes or other problems
We have found that most problems that occur with the game are caused by conflicts with other programs. These can usually be resolved by creating a boot disk that loads only the necessary drivers for the game to run. By creating a boot disk, the game will usually run faster, and have more available RAM for the game to use.

Read Errors
If you encounter a READ ERROR while playing the game this means that the game was not able to get the correct information from the CD. This is usually caused by dirt, scratches or fingerprints on the bottom of the CD. Turn the CD over and look on the bottom of the CD under a bright light. Please use a soft cloth and gently wipe from the inside of the disk to the outer edge.

Creating a Boot Disk
You will need to insert a blank formatted disk into your A: drive, go to the PANDORA directory and type AUTOBOOT. This program will create a boot disk that you can use to run the game.

To use a boot disk, insert the floppy disk that AUTOBOOT created into your A: drive and restart your computer. When you are finished running the game, remove the floppy disk and restart your computer. For problems with sound, please see the section ‘Digital Sound’ listed above.

WINDOWS 95: Should you encounter problems under Windows 95 that you cannot resolve, your best solution is to try running the game under DOS. If you have 12 MB of RAM you can try creating a separate configuration for Windows 95. Follow the steps below:

<ol style="list-style-type: decimal;">  Right click on My Computer. </li>  Select Properties. </li>  Select Hardware Profiles. </li>  Click on Original Configuration. </li>  Select Copy. </li>  In the space provided, Create a name for your new configuration. </li> <li> Press OK. </li> <li> Under Device Manager, double-click on devices you want to remove to conserve memory (Modem and Network are good examples). If the device can be removed, both configuration will be listed under General and Device Usage. Simply Un-check the box for your new configuration. </li> <li> Once complete, restart your computer. You will see your new configuration as an option when you start. </li> <li>== Running under Windows 3.1 / 3.11 / Windows NT == </li></ol>

The game does not work correctly under Windows 3.x or Windows NT. You should exit completely out of Windows and run the program in DOS. The install programs will also not work under these operating systems.

10. Running under OS/2
This game will not run under any versions of OS/2.

11. Recommended Configuration / Minimum Requirements
The game will run on a 486-33 with 8 megs of RAM and a VESA compatible video card (640x480 @ 256 colors). We strongly recommend having a VESA Local-Bus or PCI video card. The game will run optimally on a fast Pentium with 16 megs of RAM and a fast video card. The video speed benchmark in the config screen should be somewhere above 10,000 k/s. If you are going to run the game under Windows ’95, we recommend at least 12 Megs of RAM.

12. How to contact Technical Support
If you run into problems that you cannot resolve please make sure you have read through and tried the above suggestions. Please, also try running the AUTOBOOT program. We have found that this will help resolve a lot of problems that cause the game not to work.

If these things don’t work there are several ways to get help. If you have access to the Internet, we have a Web page at http://www.accesssoftware.com you can send mail to Tech Support, get new video, sound drivers and other helpful information. You can also send mail through the following online services:

Internet
World Wide Web http://www.accesssoftware.com E-mail tech@accesssoftware.com

To call our Tech Support department directly call 1(800)793-8324. They are open from 7:30 AM to 8:30PM (Mountain Standard Time) Monday through Friday. For Tech Support outside the U.S. please call (801)359-1294.

After releasing a new product, we are usually bombarded by a large number of calls. If you have trouble getting through, you might try one of the other options listed above.

13. Game-play related issues
Listed below are some issues related to game play that you might run into.

Saving Often
We recommend that you save your game whenever you enter a new room or at the start of a conversation. There are several parts in the game where you can die, and you’ll will want to have a saved game to go back to. Just click on the Aux. Panel, click Save, then click Increment File and Save.

This increments the filename so that it doesn’t overwrite any previously saved games. If you save over the top of the same game over and over, you may not be able to go back to where you want. The saved games are extremely small, even 100 saved games takes up less than half a meg of harddrive space.

Switching from Game Player Level down to Entertainment Level
If you switch from Game Players Level down to Entertainment Level, you may experience some strange behavior. For example, if you have switched down to Entertainment level, and have saved a game in a VR room that only appears on Gamer level, when you leave the room, you will not be able to return to that room. This is because that room is not available or necessary on the Entertainment Level. It may seem like the room has disappeared, and in a sense it has.

There are several puzzles throughout the game that can be solved more than one way. For example on Entertainment Level, there are some objects you can find that will help you solve some puzzles. But on Gamer Level, you may have to solve those puzzles without the help of other objects.

Problems with the hint system
If you are stuck at a certain point in the game and the hints list something that cannot be accomplished, you will need to follow one of the other hint paths. For example, if one hint says to go talk to Mac Malden, and when you try to travel there he is gone, this means that you should pursue a different hint. At some point later on in the game, Mac will return to his office.

New travel locations
At certain points in the game, a new location will appear on your travel map. It will occur when you have talked to someone and heard about a new location, or when you examine an item. If you get stuck in the game, check all of the travel maps for locations that you haven’t seen.

CD swapping
The Pandora Directive is over 3.8 Gigabytes in size and because of this, we had to ship the game on 6 CD’s. We have spent a significant amount of time trying to reduce the problem of having to swap disks too often. We would suggest that when you want to go to a location, use the Travel button and click on that location directly (rather than leaving through a door and travelling on foot). You will see a small indicator by each location to tell you if that location is on the CD that is currently in the drive. It makes sense to explore all of the areas on the current CD before going to a location that would require a disk swap.

You will also find that the first part of the game is based more on conversations and the rest of the game is based more on exploring VR rooms. Because of this, you will probably need to swap CD’s more often at the start of the game and less often during the rest of the game.

14. Frequently Asked Questions
<ul> <li> I’ve seen the game on another computer and the graphics looked really good, but they appear quite blocky on my machine. What’s wrong? The game is running low on memory and is scaling the rooms. See the section above under section 8 called Creating a boot disk. </li> <li> When walking around in Movement mode, it is very difficult to control, what can I do? This could be a couple of different things. We recommend lowering your screen size by hitting the 1-4 keys on your keyboard and maybe use a lower rendering quality by hitting F3 or F4. We also recommend viewing the VR tutorial so that you are familiar with the VR controls. To view this tutorial, click the ? key from the main console, then select Tutorial. </li> <li> What can I do to make the game run faster, smoother? If you are running under Windows ’95 and the game is running poorly, we strongly recommend rebooting to DOS before running the game. If you are running from DOS, you might consider making a boot disk. (see Creating a boot disk in section 8 of this README) </li> <li> I’d like to make a screen capture of some scenes in the game, is this possible? Yes, to capture a screen in the game, hit ALT-C. The screen will be saved to the PANDORA directory with the file name SCR00001.TGA, then the next capture would be named SCR00002.TGA etc. The capture routine is very fast, so don’t hold the keys down very long or you’ll capture more than one copy of the same screen. (The screen capture is an 8 bit color-mapped TARGA file. A 640x480 screen takes up about 300K per file and can be loaded up directly into AutoDesk Animator Pro, Aldus Photostyler etc.) </li> <li> I can’t seem to get the sound setup correctly in the game, what should I do? First, reread the section on setting up sound in Section 4 listed above. Go through the steps carefully and be sure to follow the directions

exactly. Also, try to collect as much information as you can about your system. The information that is required to setup the sound is often

listed in the manuals that came with the computer. If you still cannot resolve the problem, see the section entitled Getting Help in Chapter <ol start="14" style="list-style-type: decimal;"> <li></li></ol> </li> <li> I’ve decided I need to upgrade my system, what parts should I upgrade? This really depends on what your computer is like now. The two most significant things that affect our game are CPU Speed and the amount of Free Extended Memory. If you are currently using a 486, you might consider going to a Pentium. If you have 8 MB of RAM, upgrading to 16 MB will make a significant difference in the quality of the VR rooms in the game. The price of RAM has dropped significantly in the past few months. </li> <li> When I try to run the game, it says that I don’t have enough memory. See the section below titled, “The graphics are blocky during room searches,” the problem can be resolved the same way. </li> <li> When I try to start the game it tells me that a VESA driver is not loaded. The Pandora Directive runs at a resolution of 640x480 at 256 colors.

In order to run, the game requires that a VESA Video driver is loaded into memory. If the install program detects that you don’t have this VESA driver installed, it will attempt to load a Universal VESA driver that works with most systems. If that driver fails, you will get this message. There is a utility called SETVESA that will help you to setup and test a VESA driver for your computer. To run it, change to the PANDORA directory and type SETVESA. Then follow the instructions on-screen. Note: We have found that some memory managers will conflict with the VESA driver that is built-into the video card. Quarterdeck’s QEMM will often do this if the Stealth mode is enabled. If you are having VESA video problems and are using a third-party memory manager, we recommend creating a boot disk to resolve the problem. To create a boot disk, see section 8, entitled, “Creating a boot disk”. </li> <li> There is quite a bit of static when sound is played in the game. We have found that some VESA Local Bus Video cards based on the Cirrus Logic chipset will produce some noise that the sound card will pick up. To resolve this problem, you will need to load a new VESA driver before starting the game. Try running the file called 542XVGAL.EXE in the VESAsub-directory on the first CD. If that doesn’t work, try running the 542XVGA.EXE driver in the same directory. If this resolves the problem, you will need to load this driver each time before you run the game. </li> <li> The graphics are blocky during room searches, what can I do? Go to the Configuration screen and check the amount of Available Extended Memory. If you have less than 8000K (8MB) available, the graphics have to scale to fit into memory and the more scaling that occurs, the more blocky the appearance. You will need to free up as much memory as you can, or purchase additional memory. You can also try creating a boot disk, see section 8. </li> <li> The game locks up when I try to run it. This problem is often caused by a sound configuration problem. From the PANDORA directory, type REN CONFIG.INI CONFIG.OLD, hit Enter, then restart the game. If the game loads up, the sound device was not setup properly. Go to the Configuration screen and try setting up the sound card again. If you continue to have sound problems, read the file called PROBLEMS.TXT, located on the first game CD. This file contains suggestions about specific sound and video card problems. </li> <li> Sometimes when I walk up or down some stairs, the game automatically tilts my view down, but other times it doesn’t, what’s wrong? When you walk over some stairs, the game checks your current height and the angle of your view. If you are up high enough and view is not tilted, the game will automatically tilt the view. If you are fairly low, or are already tilted down, it will not adjust your view. </li> <li> I’m stuck in the game and don’t know what to do next, help! Here are a few suggestions. Make sure that you examine each object that you pick up. There are often additional clues or information that might help. Also talk to the main characters and ask them about new information that you may have found. At certain points in the game, a new location will appear on your travel map. It will occur when you have talked to someone and heard about a new location, or when you examine an item. If you get stuck in the game, check all of the travel maps for locations that you haven’t seen. If you are still stuck and you are on Entertainment Level, you can use the hint system to give you some help on what you should do. On Gamer Level, you can click on hint and the game will give the option to switch down to Entertainment Level. Once you switch down to Entertainment Level, there is no going back. </li></ul>

15. Additional Help
A strategy guide is available from Prima Publishing. To order, call 1(800)531-2343. It is also available at bookstores and multimedia outlets nationwide.

FM Instrument bank provided by LoudMouth.

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========================================================= Keywords : kbimu Version : WINDOWS: Platform : WINDOWS Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.