Drome Racers
Readme
Version 3.0
October 15 2002
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Table Of Contents
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1. Minimum PC Configuration
2. Recommended PC Configuration
3. Installation
4. DirectX
5. Uninstall
6. 3D Device Setup
7. Troubleshooting Video / 3D cards <if applicable>
8. Peripherals
9. Save Games
10. A brief overview of DirectX and Direct3D
11. Trouble Shooting
12. Help
13. Other information
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1. Minimum PC Configuration
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Minimum Configuration
Operating System Windows(r) 98/2000/ME/XP (Windows 95/NT are not supported)
Processor 500 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or comparable
Memory 64MB RAM
Videocard 16 MB Direct3D video card
HDD Space 650 MB free hard disk space plus space for saved games (additional space required for
Windows swap-file and DirectX installation)
CD ROM Speed 4X
Soundcard DirectX 8.1 compatible
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2. Recommended PC Configuration
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Operating System Windows(r) 98/2000/ME/XP (Windows 95/NT are not supported)
Processor 700 MHz or faster Intel Pentium III / 4 or AMD Athlon processor
Memory 256MB RAM
Videocard 32 MB Direct3D video card
HDD Space 650 MB free hard disk space plus space for saved games (additional space required for
Windows swap-file and DirectX installation)
CD ROM Speed 8X
Soundcard DirectX 8.1 compatible
Required for Multiplayer
Single System (2 players)
Supported input device required for each player
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3. Installation
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NOTE: Drome Racers will only install and run on machines installed with Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
1. Start your machine and wait for the Windows 98/ME/2000/XP operating system to load.
2. Place the Drome Racers CD in the CD drive.
3. Windows will automatically detect the CD and begin the installation. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Drome racers. If you need to install DirectX8.1, you can do this as part of the installation.
4. The installation program adds a program group called LEGO Interactive/Drome Racers to your Start/Programs menu, and a shortcut to your desktop (optional). Click on this shortcut or alternatively click on the start button on your Windows task bar. Under Programs/LEGO Interactive/Drome Racers and select Drome Racers to play.
Note: If the Auto insert notification feature has been disabled or the CD is not recognised, run Setup.exe from the root directory of the CD to begin the installation program.
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4. DirectX
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For your convenience, we have included DirectX8.1 on the Drome racers CD.
a) Installing DirectX8.1 directly from CD (if you skipped it during game install)
Drome racers comes with DirectX8.1 and will prompt you to install it during installation. If you would like to install it manually, make sure the Drome racers CD is in the CD-ROM drive and browse to the following folder.
"Redist\DirectX"
and click on DXSETUP.EXE
b) DirectX8.1 and supported hardware
We recommend that Drome racers be run with DirectX compatible sound cards and video cards. While there is a chance that Drome Racers will run with non-DirectX compatible hardware, you may find that:
i) Sound quality suffers.
ii) The game runs slower.
iii) The game does not run at all.
If your sound card or video card does not support DirectX, please contact your vendor.
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5. Uninstall
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To uninstall Drome Racers go to Programs/LEGO Interactive/Drome Racers in the Start menu. Click on Uninstall Drome Racers to proceed. Alternatively, click on the Start menu, select Settings and then Control Panel. Now find Add/Remove Programs and click to run. Scroll down the list until you see Drome Racers, select it and click on Add/Remove to uninstall.
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6. 3D Device Setup
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Drome Racers requires a 3D capable video card. Important! Check Your Video Card Drivers. If you are having trouble
running Drome Racers please make sure you have the most recent drivers available for your video card(s).
It is highly recommended that the latest versions of all device drivers (i.e.video and sound card drivers) be obtained and installed. Please consult your card manufacturer for their newest drivers.
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7. Troubleshooting Video / 3D cards
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Video cards that use the 3DFX chip (Voodoo brand etc.) no longer have support for DirectX libraries 8 and above. As Drome racers requires DirectX8.1 or higher these video cards are no longer fully supported.
Drome Racers requires a 16 MB DirectX 8.1 compatible video card in order to play. Some cards have experienced some graphical issues, usually due to using older drivers. Please check your video card manufacturer's website and make sure you have the most recent display drivers.
Note: With all cards, anti-aliasing is not recommended with resolutions higher than 800x600.
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8. Peripherals
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Drome Racers supports Microsoft Windows-compatible keyboards, mice and DirectX compatible game controllers (8 buttons recommended)
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9. Save Games
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Drome Racers saves the game in a separate folder, apart from the rest of the installed data.
In Windows 2000 and XP, the folder can be found by following this path in My Computer: C:\Documents and Settings\*YOUR USER NAME*\My Documents\LEGO Interactive\Games\Drome Racers. Application data is sometimes listed as a hidden file. In order to view this folder, select Folder Options under the Tools menu, select the View tab and make sure that "Show Hidden files and Folders" is selected. In Windows 98/Me, the LEGO Interactive folder can be found by following this path: C:\Program Files\LEGO Interactive\Drome Racers\LEGO Interactive\Games\Drome. Do not exit the program while the game is saving. Doing this could cause the loss of the previous save data.
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10. A brief overview of DirectX and Direct3D
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WHAT IS DIRECTX?
DirectX is an API (Application Program Interface) that allows games designed for Windows 98/2000/Me/XP to have
access to your hardware through a standard interface. Without a standard interface, stable compatibility
between games and your computer's hardware would be virtually impossible. With DirectX, game developers can write
for this interface, and let your Windows 98/2000/Me/XP DirectX compatible drivers "talk" to your computer's
hardware. Drome Racers requires DirectX 8.1 or greater. Refer to the following Microsoft link for more general
information on DirectX.
http://www.microsoft.com/DirectX/default.asp
WHAT IS DIRECT3D?
Direct3D is a universal API from Microsoft providing a standard interface for programmers to access your 3D hardware without having to write for specific devices. Most 3D cards support Direct3D. The latest driver package for your card should contain Direct3D drivers for your video card.
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11. Trouble Shooting
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SOUND CARD SUPPORT
Drome Racers requires a sound card that is fully compatible with DirectX 8.1. As with video adapters, updated sound card drivers are regularly published by hardware manufacturers and are available off their web site. If you experience any sound corruption or other sound related problems during game play, update your sound drivers. This will often solve sound related problems.
Questions:
1. When I try to play Drome Racers, the game will quit and return to the desktop. What should I do?
If you are having trouble running Drome Racers, make sure you have the most recent drivers available for
your video card(s). Consult your video hardware documentation for information about where to find the latest
drivers -- usually they can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. If you continue to have difficulty,
refer to the General Performance/Lockups section of the enclosed install guide.
2. I cannot assign all the Drome Racers control and camera features to my controller, which has six buttons. Why not?
Drome Racers requires an eight-button controller in order to play the game with all its features correctly. It will
work with less than eight, but the keyboard will have to be used in conjunction with the controller to access some
features.
3. How can I get Drome Racers to run smoother on my machine?
Enter the Advanced Graphics Options in the Options menu. From there, lower the anti-aliasing to none and lower the
player and background details to low. Doing this will enhance game play and speed up the action on slower machines.
4. Do I need to keep the Drome Racers disc in the CD drive in order to play?
Yes. Drome Racers requires that the disc be in the CD drive during the game. Taking the disc out during a game will
cause the program to cease operating.
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12. Help
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If the above does not resolve your problem then please use the EA Technical Help file situated in Start Menu/Programs/LEGO Interactive/Drome Racers/EA Technical Help.
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13. Other information
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To find the latest information about Drome Racers, please visit our websites:
http://www.lego.com/interactive
http://www.ea.com/