Microsoft KB Archive/156111

Deadly Tide: Contents of Readme.doc

PSS ID Number: Q156111 Article last modified on 06-03-1999

WINDOWS:1.0

WINDOWS

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========================================================= 1.0 WINDOWS kbreadme kbusage kbsetup kbref kbdisplay kbhw kbenv kbsound

= SUMMARY =

The following article contains a copy of the complete text of the Readme.doc file located on the Microsoft DeadlyTide compact disc.

= MORE INFORMATION =

Microsoft Deadly Tide Readme File

CONTENTS

A. Hardware and System Requirements B. Installation Notes C. Audio Troubleshooting D. Video Troubleshooting E. Hardware and System Compatibility F. Slow Gameplay Troubleshooting G. Additional Features H. Playing Deadly Tide-An Overview

A. Hardware and System Requirements


 * Personal computer with a Pentium 75 MHz or higher processor.
 * 8 MB or more of RAM.
 * 25 MB of available hard disk space.
 * 4X CD-ROM drive or faster.
 * PCI SVGA video with 1 MB of memory.
 * 256-Color display.
 * Microsoft Windows 95 or NT 4.0 operating system or later.
 * Mouse or other pointing device.
 * Joystick or other flight control recommended.
 * Sound board and speakers or headphones to hear audio.

B. Installation Notes

Windows

Deadly Tide requires Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. To purchase a Windows upgrade, see your local retailer.

DirectX 2.0

To play Deadly Tide, you must have DirectX 2.0 installed on your computer. DirectX 2.0 is automatically installed when you run Deadly Tide Setup. DirectX makes Deadly Tide gameplay faster and smoother because the Windows drivers allow it to directly access your computer’s hardware.

If you have any problems when setting up Deadly Tide, use the following troubleshooting list.

If you try to run Deadly Tide and get an error message (for example, “Cannot find Ddraw.dll”), you need to reinstall DirectX files.

To reinstall DirectX files Run Deadly Tide Setup, and then click Reinstall.

If you experience display problems after you install DirectX 2.0, try changing the refresh rate.

To change the monitor refresh rate

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. Click the Settings tab. Click Change Display Type to display the Advanced Display Properties dialog box. Click the Adapter tab. If there is no Adapter tab, see the next set of steps, “To Select a DirectX-Compatible Driver.” In the Refresh Rate box, change the refresh rate, and then click OK.

If your screen is unreadable or you are unable to follow the preceding steps, try selecting a DirectX-compatible driver.

To select a DirectX-compatible driver

Restart your computer in safe mode by pressing F8 when you see the message “Starting Windows 95.” Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. Click the Settings tab. Click Change Display Type to display the Change Display Type dialog box. Under Adapter Type, click Change. In the Select Device dialog box, select the DirectX-compatible video driver suggested by your video card manufacturer. If you do not have a DirectX-compatible video driver, contact your video card manufacturer for an updated video driver. Restart your computer to apply this change.

If you are using UNIVBE 5.1, you will need to disable it before playing Deadly Tide or the game may not function. Be sure to re-enable UNIVBE 5.1 when you are finished playing Deadly Tide.

To disable UNIVBE 5.1 before playing Deadly Tide

Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type sysedit. Click OK. A number of windows will appear. Click the title bar of the window labeled Autoexec.bat. At the beginning of the line that lists UNIVBE 5.1, type REM. On the File menu, click Save. On the File menu, click Exit. Restart your computer to apply this change, and then start Deadly Tide.

To re-enable UNIVBE 5.1 after playing Deadly Tide

Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type sysedit. Click OK. A number of windows will appear. Click the title bar of the window labeled Autoexec.bat. At the beginning of the line that lists UNIVBE 5.1, delete “REM.” On the File menu, click Save. On the File menu, click Exit. Restart your computer to apply this change.

DirectX 2.0 does not currently support the Matrox Impression video card. If you play Deadly Tide on the Matrox Impression card, you may experience display problems. Please contact Matrox for updated drivers for this card.

C. Audio Troubleshooting

If you are experiencing sound problems, please use the following list of troubleshooting steps (note that there is no sound in the Pilot Control Center under Windows NT due to system incompatibility at the time of release).

Verify that your speaker and volume control are enabled and turned up.

Make sure that Windows 95 has sound.

To verify that Windows 95 has sound

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Sounds icon. Play a .wav file.

If Windows 95 cannot play a .wav file, check to see that a sound driver is enabled.

To enable a sound driver

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab. Click the plus sign next to Sound, Video And Game Controllers.

If you have a sound card and there is no Sound, Video And Game Controllers entry or you have no sound card listed, contact the manufacturer of the computer or sound card for help on how to reinstall the sound card drivers.

If Windows 95 can play a .wav file, verify that your sound card is supported by DirectSound and that you are using the latest DirectX- compatible sound drivers.

To see whether or not your sound card is supported by DirectX

Insert Deadly Tide Disc 1 into your CD-ROM drive. Double-click My Computer. Right-click Deadlytide1. Click Install DirectX. If DirectSound is listed as having “No Hardware” in the DirectX Setup dialog box, click ReInstall DirectX.

If the problem persists after reinstalling DirectX, contact your sound card manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible sound drivers.

If Adjusting the Volume Slider in the PCC Does Not Change Your Volume

If you adjust the volume in the Pilot Control Center (PCC) and your volume does not change, contact your sound card manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible sound drivers.

D. Video Troubleshooting

Changing the Video Display to 256 or Greater Colors

Your computer must display at least 256 colors to run Deadly Tide.

To display 256 or greater colors in Windows 95

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the Display icon. Click the Settings tab. Under Color Palette, click 256, High, or True Color. Click OK.

If you don’t have the necessary 256-color driver, or if you aren’t sure that your video card supports at least 256 colors, contact your video card manufacturer.

If Your Screen Blanks After Adding a New Pilot

If your screen blanks after adding a pilot name in the Pilot sign-in box, insert Disc 1 before restarting the game.

If You Click Start in the PCC and You Cannot Start

If you click Start in the Pilot Control Center (PCC) and it returns you to the PCC, your video card driver might not support the graphic quality mode you have chosen. Select a different graphic quality mode and try again. If none of the graphic quality modes work, contact your video card manufacturer for the latest DirectX-compatible video drivers.

If You Experience Other Display Problems

If you experience other display problems, see the DirectX section of this Readme file in Section B, “Installation Notes.” You may have to contact your video card manufacturer for the latest DirectX 2.0 drivers.

General video problems, such as banding, slow performance, and crashing, and so forth, may be a result of not having the proper DirectX drivers installed.

To reinstall DirectX drivers

Insert Deadly Tide Disc 1 into your CD-ROM drive. Double-click My Computer. Right-click Deadlytide1. Click Install DirectX. Click ReInstall DirectX.

 Hardware and System Compatibility

If Deadly Tide Crashes When Your Hardware “Sleeps”

If Deadly Tide crashes when your hardware “sleeps,” you may need to disable Advanced Power Management.

To disable Advanced Power Management

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click System. Click the Device Manager tab. Double-click System Devices. The current system devices appear. If Advanced Power Management Support is listed and is enabled, you must disable it using your computer’s BIOS program. See your BIOS manual for specific instructions on disabling Advanced Power Management.

If Your Joystick Functionality Is Twitchy

Some joysticks under Windows 95 will cause the cursor to twitch or jump. This is a known issue that we are in the process of fixing with DirectX 3.0. Watch for the release of DirectX 3.0 on http://www.microsoft.com.

If You Have a NexGen Nx586 Processor

There are two minor performance issues related to Windows 95 on the NexGen Nx586 processor. NexGen has addressed these issues by making its Windows CPU Identifier applet available from their web site. You can download the VL and PCI versions of this applet from the following address: http://www.nexgen.com/support/toolbox.htm.

F. Slow Gameplay Troubleshooting

Graphic Quality

Deadly Tide examines the capabilities of your graphics hardware and drivers to determine available graphic quality modes. Depending on your hardware, some modes may cause the game to run more slowly.

If Deadly Tide is running slowly, try to improve performance by decreasing your graphic quality to Level I (in the Pilot Control Center). After adjusting your graphic quality, you will be prompted to begin Deadly Tide from your last save point, if you have the gameplay portion running.

CD-ROM Performance

During the setup of Deadly Tide, a CD-ROM performance test will automatically run to determine your CD-ROM drive’s performance. This test will give a warning if your CD-ROM drive’s performance is not sufficient to play Deadly Tide smoothly. If you get this warning and choose to continue to install, Deadly Tide will still run, but it might be slow in some cases. The following things might help increase your CD- ROM drive’s performance.

Older CD-ROM Drivers

Check the performance of your system to see if you need updated Windows 95 drivers.

To check your system’s performance

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. Click the Performance tab. Make sure this page states “Your system is configured for optimal performance.” If it doesn’t, check with the CD-ROM drive manufacturer for updated Windows 95 drivers.

Slow CD-ROM Interface

We have found in some cases that a CD-ROM drive using a controller on a sound board has caused poor performance. If possible, use a different controller for the CD-ROM drive.

G. Additional Features

Demo Mode

Demo mode allows you to run and demonstrate Deadly Tide automatically[ASCII 190]especially useful for in-store demonstrations.

To run Deadly Tide in demo mode

Start Deadly Tide. In the Pilot Control Center, click Add, and then type Demo. When you start the game, it will loop from the introduction through level 1 and then repeat.

Internet Explorer 2.0

Internet Explorer 2.0 is included with Deadly Tide.

To access and install Internet Explorer 2.0

Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. Right-click the Deadly Tide icon. Click Install Internet Explorer 2.0.

F5 Restarting a Level from the Beginning

Some levels have save points. When you die during gameplay, Deadly Tide will restart your game from the last save point of the level you last played. To restart the level from its beginning without returning to the Tactical Engagement Sphere, press F5 during gameplay.

Redbook Audio Tracks

Disc 4 contains the original soundtrack of Deadly Tide. Insert Disc 4 into your CD-ROM audio player and enjoy tracks 2 through 10. Do not play track 1, as it contains gameplay data.

Path Selection Cursors

When path selection is available, your cursor will change color and shape. Move the cursor around the screen until it turns into an arrow. The arrow indicates that a particular path can now be selected. Select the path by pressing joystick button 1 or 2. Remember that there is always more than one path to choose from.

Joystick Button 3 Also Fires Grenades and ACTs

Press joystick button 3 or the SPACEBAR to activate a grenade or Aquatic Concussion Torpedo.

H. Playing Deadly Tide-An Overview

Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Games, and then click Deadly Tide. Remember: Your objective is to save Earth from the alien threat. To ensure success:

Shoot everything that shoots at you or that has a yellow bracket around it. Keep an eye on your HUD, and closely monitor your weapon temperature gauge and shield integrity indicator. The first instrument determines when you’re about to lose your weapon power. The second indicates when you’re about to die. There are two modes of play. In flight mode, Navigational Control handles your steering. In rotate mode, your forward movement stops and you can rotate as if in a sphere. Both modes are signaled by the rotate/flight indicator on your HUD. Use your joystick to aim and fire! And never forget the EOA is counting on you!

Thank you for choosing Deadly Tide.

Additional query words: 1.00 Deadly tide readme.txt readme kbhowto

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Version : WINDOWS:1.0 Platform : WINDOWS Issue type : kbinfo ============================================================================= Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1999.