Madden NFL(tm) 99
9-15-98
- REMOTE PLAY SUPPORT
Low Latency and High bandwidth are required for playing Madden
remotely. If you have a low latency connection, (150ms) but a small
bandwidth (24,000 baud) you will experience sub optimal results. The
same result will happen with a High bandwidth, and a high latency.
- Latency
Low latency connections are necessary to play Madden 99 on TCP/IP
networks. We have found that a latency of 190 or less is optimal for a
good experience. To find out what your latency is for a remote game,
use the ping utility that is included with Windows. It is an ms-dos
utility. Simply type "ping" and the IP address you would like to ping
from the run command, and you will see a window with the ping time. A
"timed out" message means that the other computer can not be reached.
If your latency is too high a warning will be displayed. If a user is
behind a security firewall, that user will not be able to host a TCP
game. For more info. on this subject please consult http://whatis.com/
Search for latency, and ping.
- IPX Games
To assure that you can see your opponent do not enter the remote play
area until they have hit the confirm button to host a game. Sometimes
an IPX game that is created will not be able to be seen from the client
side of the connection. The games will not be found if your are
negotiating too many routers. Trying different hosts will sometimes
help.
- Modem Games
A CONNECTION of 28.8 is REQUIRED to connect with Madden 99. Warnings
will be displayed if you are not connecting at 28.8. Sometimes modems
on certain telephone lines will not be able to connect at such high
speeds. The result will be high latency and inconsistent results.
Having a 28.8 modem does not mean you will connect at that speed.
To test your modem connection we found a good application called
net.medic available at http://www.download.com
- Chat Mode
Chat is available from the pause menu. A red dot and a horn sound will
alert the user that the other player is chatting. If the user is at the
small pause menu there will only be a sound indication. The alert will
only be triggered after a player has typed in the chat room.
- Output Files
At the end of any remote game, a file will be created to report the
results and conditions of the game played. The file will be created in
the rosters directory. Use this file to validate your game with your
league manager. This file will be over written with each remote game,
if you need to save your results make sure that you copy or move this
file to keep it.
- Frame Rate
Frame rate will vary depending on your system. To increase the frame
rate, turn the detail settings lower. The lower the settings, the
faster the frame rate will be. The high settings should only be used if
your system is a a P2 333 or faster, even some 333's will experience
slower frame. A frame rate warning will appear at the conclusion of a
play if your frame rate is too low. If this occurs lower your detail
settings and try again. Switching to Direct3D or Glide (if available)
may help increase the frame rate.
- Auto Detect Detail Settings
This feature will evaluate your system performance and suggest the
appropriate detail settings. This works on system performance not
hardware detection. If you think your system should report better
results, make sure your system is optimally configured.
- High Resolution Support
The option of 800x600 and 1024x768 should only be used on high end
systems. These settings require a lot of resources. SLI Voodoo II 12MB
is required for 1024x768 in Glide. Only high end systems are
recommended with Direct3D and software acceleration for higher
resolutions, anything less will result in poor performance. The first
time the game runs it will detect if your hardware is capable of these
high resolutions, if not the option will not be available to you.
- Downloadable Rosters
Again this year we will update the NFL rosters weekly. Hitting update
at the launch menu will launch your browser and connect you to the
update page. Please make sure you have an active Internet connection
before hitting the update button. Follow instructions on the Web page
to update your rosters.
To play a remote game with updated rosters, both parties must have the
same roster. You may experience erratic results if both parties rosters
are not consistent.
If you have an existing franchise, season, tournament, saved game
etc.,the game will retain the roster that it was originally created
with. Updated rosters will only affect if you create a new franchise,
season, exhibition game,etc.
- Shared Files
The files below can be shared between users, simply put the file in the
appropriate directory to see the file in the game. (in the \MADDEN
99\SAVE directory)If you are sharing files from others make sure that
you don't overwrite your saved files. Copying your files to another
folder is a good way to assure this does not happen. (Do not share
settings files, these could cause erratic results)
!!!!DO NOT RENAME FILES, THEY WILL BECOME INVALID!!!!!!!
Profile settings (including playbooks and created plays)
named- *.PRO0 (PRO1 etc)profile name as wildcard,in the save directory.
Created teams
named- *.TEM1 team name as wildcard, in the save directory
Instant replays
named- *.IRS0 (IRS1 etc)matchup as wildcard, in the save directory.
Franchise games
named- MADN99 YR 1 WK 1.FRA0 (FRA1 etc), in the save directory
-Other Files
At the end of a franchise game, a file will be created that shows the
results of the simulated games of your selected team for each week. It
is created in the root of the Madden 99 directory.
- Supported 3D Accelerator Hardware
Madden 99 supports most 2nd generation 3D chipsets including:
ATI Rage Pro
i740
G200
MGA-2164 (Millennium II)
MGA-1164 (Mystique 220)
Permedia 2
Rendition V2100
Rendition V2200
Riva 128
Riva 128 ZX
Riva Tnt
Ticket 2 Ride
Voodoo
Voodoo2
Voodoo Banshee
Voodoo Rush
- Hardware issues
Gravis Gamepad Pro
If you are using a Gravis Gamepad Pro, make sure you are using
the most recent drivers. Available at http://www.gravis.com.
The game only supports Gravis Xperience 2.1.
Matrox Millennium II
Users who experience graphical problems should try the version
3.70 drivers available at Matrox's web site,
http://www.matrox.com
Riva 128
Cards with this chipset should use nVidia's 4.10.01.0250 or later
drivers, and use the following settings:
- "Use square textures only" should be turned off
- "Auto mipmap generation" should be turned off
If this is still not working, try turning off more options in the
RIVA 128 control panel. Updated drivers are available at
http://www.nvidia.com
Voodoo graphics
If you are experiencing music stutters within the menus of Madden
99, you will need to download the newest drivers available at
http://www.3dfx.com/download/download.html
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SOUND NOTES
* Madden NFL '99 defaults to "Dolby" mode. If you don't have surround
speakers, you may get better sound if you switch the Sound Type in the
Sound Options screen to "Stereo". If you only have 1 speaker, you may
get better sound if you switch the Sound Type to "Mono". If you have a
DirectSound 3D or Creative Labs Environmental Audio-capable sound card
such as a Sound Blaster Live! or Diamond Monster Sound, a fourth mode
called "DSound 3D" will become available. Select this mode and your
card's special features will be used to accelerate Madden NFL '99s
sound effects.
* If audio malfunctions occur in "DSound 3D" mode, contact your sound
card manufacturer for updated drivers. If the drivers do not fix the
problem, you can always fall back to Stereo or "Dolby" mode. In those
modes, the game will not attempt to use your sound card's special
features and should be compatible with any 16-bit sound card.
* If the commentary speech echoes and you are using a Creative Labs
Sound Blaster Live! card in "DSound 3D" mode, check the Creative Labs
web site at http://www.sblive.com/ for updated drivers. If newer
drivers that fix this problem are not yet available (as of September
13th, 1998 the drivers on the site were not new enough), you will need
to fall back to "Stereo" or "Dolby" mode until Creative releases the
fixed drivers.