Microsoft KB Archive/174666

Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far Contents of Readme.doc

PSS ID Number: Q174666 Article last modified on 05-27-1999

WINDOWS:2.0

WINDOWS

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The information in this article applies to:

 == Microsoft Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, version 2.0 == 

= SUMMARY =

The following information is contained in the Microsoft Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far 2.0 Readme.doc. This file is copied to the A Bridge Too Far folder by Setup. It can also be found in the root folder on the A Bridge Too Far compact disc. This text has not been modified and appears as is.

README.DOC

This document contains important information for installing and using Microsoft Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far.

CONTENTS

A. Installation Notes B. Setup Troubleshooting C. Audio Problems D. DirectX Problems E. Hardware and System Compatibility: Performance Issues F. Head-to-Head Play G. Tips, Information, and Corrections

A. Installation Notes

Recommended Windows 95 or Windows NT System Configuration.

To run A Bridge Too Far on Windows 95 or Windows NT, you need:

Personal computer with a Pentium 90 or higher processor (Pentium 133 recommended). 16 megabytes (MB) of RAM for Windows 95 or 24 MB of RAM for Windows NT. At least 45 MB of available hard disk space. 4X CD-ROM drive or higher. Video card that supports 800 x 600 resolution or higher and 16-bit color. Sound card (recommended but not required). Microsoft Windows 95 operating system or later, or Windows NT operating system version 4.0 Service Pack 3 or later. Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device. Headphones or speakers (recommended). 28.8 modem for head-to-head play.

B. Setup Troubleshooting

Before installing A Bridge Too Far, verify that you have the following minimum system requirements:

A Bridge Too Far requires at least a Pentium 90 processor. If necessary, either upgrade to a Pentium 90 or equivalent processor or switch to a computer with a Pentium 90 or equivalent CPU.

A Bridge Too Far requires a Microsoft Windows 95 operating system or later or a Windows NT operating system version 4.0 Service Pack 3 or later. To purchase a Windows upgrade, see your local retailer.

A Bridge Too Far requires 16 MB of RAM for Windows 95 or 24 MB of RAM for Windows NT. To verify how much RAM your computer has:

On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.

Under Computer, you will find the amount of RAM on your computer.

If A Bridge Too Far does not run properly once it is installed, try reinstalling:

Run A Bridge Too Far Setup.

If Autorun is enabled, you can do this by inserting the A Bridge Too Far compact disc into the CD-ROM drive. You can also run A Bridge Too Far Setup by double-clicking the My Computer icon on your desktop, right- clicking the CD-ROM drive icon, and then clicking Install Close Combat.

To reinstall A Bridge Too Far, click Reinstall.

C. Audio Problems

If you experience audio problems, the source could be your sound card or your system. Use the following list of troubleshooting suggestions if A Bridge Too Far does not play sound properly:

Be sure your speakers are plugged in and turned on.

Be sure you are using the latest sound driver available. To obtain the latest sound driver, contact your sound card manufacturer.

Be sure that your system’s volume control is not muted and is turned up.

Verify that your system can play .wav files:

Click the Start button, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click the Sounds icon.

Try to play a .wav file.

If your system cannot play a .wav file:

On the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties.

Click the Device Manager tab, and make sure the View devices by type button is selected.

Click Sound, video and game controllers, and look for your sound card.

If you don’t have a sound card, contact your equipment dealer to obtain one.

If your system can play a .wav file:

Start A Bridge Too Far.

Press F8 to get the Options dialog box.

Verify that both the Enable Sound and Enable Music check boxes are selected.

D. DirectX Problems

Audio or Video Problems

If you are experiencing sound or video problems using DirectX, connect to the DirectX web site for the latest troubleshooting information:

Connect to http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp.

At the web site, click the DirectX Pavilion button.

On the left side of the web page, click Games.

Click DirectX Games FAQ.

Video Problems

Some video drivers that are incompatible with DirectX may boot to Safe Mode. The first time your computer boots to Safe Mode, shut down your computer completely and then turn it back on. This frequently fixes the problem.

If your system goes into Safe Mode again:

Insert the A Bridge Too Far compact disc.

In the A Bridge Too Far Setup dialog box, click the DirectX 5.0 button.

In the DirectX Setup dialog box, click the Reinstall DirectX button.

If your system goes into Safe Mode a third time:

Insert the A Bridge Too Far compact disc.

In the A Bridge Too Far Setup dialog box, click the DirectX 5.0 button.

In the DirectX Setup dialog box, click the Restore Display drivers button.

After you have started A Bridge Too Far, if you go to the Close Combat Options dialog box and, under Screen Resolution, choose a resolution that is not supported by your monitor, you receive an error message telling you to exit and restart the game. You may not be able to see the error message because your video display is distorted.

To exit the game:

Press ALT+F4.

Press Enter.

-or-

Press ALT+TAB.

Right-click A Bridge Too Far on the taskbar.

Click Close on the menu.

To restart the game with the Close Combat Options dialog box present:

Hold down CTRL while double-clicking the game icon on your desktop.

In the Close Combat Options dialog box, select a resolution supported by your monitor under Screen Resolution.

E. Hardware and System Compatibility: Performance Issues

Users of slower machines may experience a delay in gameplay when A Bridge Too Far is loading game data. Please do not restart your computer if this occurs.

To improve game performance:

Press F8 to get the Close Combat Options dialog box.

In the Game Speed box, select Fast.

Select the Remove Trees check box.

Select the Remove KIA Soldiers check box.

Removing trees and KIA soldiers is not persistent across game sessions. Each time you begin A Bridge Too Far, you will need to reselect Remove Trees and Remove KIA Soldiers in the Close Combat Options dialog box to improve game performance.

F. Head-to-Head Play

If you use international characters (high ASCII) during chat in head-to- head play between a Macintosh computer and a PC, the character display will be garbled.

G. Tips, Information, and Corrections

Tips

If you’d like to hear frequently updated tips and strategies for Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, call our automated Hints Line at (900) 786-HINT, 24 hours/day. Calls are $0.95/minute. You must be 18 years or older or have parental permission.

For more information on Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far, visit our web site at http://www.microsoft.com/games/closecombat.

If you would like to play against opponents over the Internet, check out MSN Gaming Zone at http://zone.msn.com.

Information

Regardless of which speed (Slow, Medium, or Fast) you have selected in the Game Speed box in the Close Combat Options dialog box, during head-to-head play game speed is always Medium.

When you see a value for percentage done, it refers to percentage of time complete. For instance, if a battle is five days long and you have completed one day, you are 20 percent done.

The numeric keypad does not work during chat. You will need to use the number keys at the top of your keyboard.

To view Help in its best colors, use a 16-bit color desktop setting on your computer.

The progress of XXX Corps is shown on the maps of the Briefing and Supply screens by a wide green or yellow line. Green indicates XXX Corps has been or is currently at that operation, while yellow shows the operation where they are about to arrive.

When defining deployment zones using Battlemaker, you must allow one square for each additional force added to your original units or you may have deployment errors where not all of your units can be deployed at the start of the battle.

When playing a Grand Campaign or the Nijmegen Sector Campaign, the operations for Nijmegen River Crossing and The Island begin with the arrival of XXX Corps. The initial day number you see is an estimate of when they arrive and may change according to gameplay results. For the Nijmegen River Crossing, it will begin two hours after XXX Corps has arrived at the Nijmegen Bridge operation unless XXX Corps arrives after 1200 hours. In this case, the Nijmegen River Crossing will start at 1000 hours the next day.

When playing a Grand Campaign or the Arnhem Sector Campaign, the Arnhem Relief Attempt operation will only start if the allies in the Arnhem Bridge operation make it to the Arnhem bridge.

Sometimes during gameplay, soldiers under a Defend order may shoot at enemies you cannot see on the game screen. You learn about enemy soldiers through observation. Initially, you may only see a red dot on your map monitor representing enemy troops. You won’t be able to see the actual enemy soldiers, but you will be able to see muzzle flashes if they fire at you. Through continued observation, enemy soldiers will be listed on your soldier monitor, but they will show only grayed-out information or question marks. When you have had the enemy in your sights for some time, you will be able to get detailed information on their physical and mental state in the soldier monitor just as you can for your own men.

When you use the Requisition screen to add new troops, you are not guaranteed their exact experience and morale levels. The bars you see on the Requisition screen represent your request. Once you return to a battle, you will receive troops close to the levels you requested but they may differ slightly because of the actual quality and rank of the soldiers received.

You can customize three types of Battlemaker files. The first is a points- only file where both players can requisition equipment based on the points allocated to them in the file. The second type of file has troops that are already allocated and there are no additional requisition points. In this type of Battlemaker file, players go immediately into battle. The third type of Battlemaker file is a combination of the first two types and has both allocated troops and requisition points. During the requisition phase in this type of battle, a player cannot alter established troop allocations. Players can get new troops only through available requisition points.

When you issue any kind of move order to a unit, that unit will attempt to deploy behind protective terrain in the direction of the move. For example, if you give a move order to the north, the soldiers in that unit will look for cover to use against enemy soldiers to the north of them. With this method, you can use short move orders to reposition teams in buildings.

When you issue a fire order to a target out of the line of sight (red fire line), the order may not be disobeyed if the unit can move closer to the target and get in line of sight there. If still out of the line of sight, the order will be canceled, but this may result in unanticipated movement by your troops. It is generally best to only give direct fire orders to those targets you can see.

Corrections

On page 13 of the manual, the information about the Hide order is incorrect. Units given a Hide order will not fire back if fired on and will only fire if an enemy unit comes within 30 meters of their location. Once they start firing, they may continue to fire at other targets until order is restored and they revert back to hidden status.

On page 15 of the manual, a prone soldier can only throw a grenade up to 1/2 its normal range.

On page 15 of the manual, prisoners will follow the team that captured them around the map. If prisoners move near a lower value team belonging to the side of the capturing team, they will start following that team. Should no enemy team be near the prisoners because the capturing team has been eliminated, prisoners will free themselves and run for the friendly edge of the map.

On page 17 of the manual, if both sides agree to a ceasefire but one side controls no victory locations on that map, the side with no victory locations will be forced to flee the map. Also, if you choose to flee, soldiers near enemy teams or belonging to static units such as 88 FlaK guns will be lost. The confirmation dialog box will tell you how many soldiers you lose if you choose to flee. If the number is unacceptable, click Cancel and try to move friendly teams away from enemy teams and then try to flee again.

On page 22 of the manual, the Stunned action does not occur. G.I. is also used for British and Polish infantrymen.

On page 28 of the manual, the Supply screen is only available for Grand Campaign games. For all other campaigns and operations, supply is handled automatically.

On page 57 of the manual, the information about DirectPlay TCP is no longer appropriate, as the feature has been removed from A Bridge Too Far. Also, there are the following changes in terminology:

Close Combat TCP is now TCP/IP for Internet or LAN Play.

DirectPlay Modem is now Modem Connection For DirectPlay.

DirectPlay Serial is now Serial Connection For DirectPlay.

Thank you for choosing Microsoft Close Combat: A Bridge Too Far.

Additional query words: 2.00 cc abtf

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========================================================= Keywords : kbdisplay kbenv kbreadme kbsetup kbsound kbtlc kbhowto Version : WINDOWS:2.0 Platform : WINDOWS Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.