Monsters vs. Aliens™ README
Last updated: December 22, 2008
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
* INTRODUCTION <#INTRODUCTION>
* INSTALLATION AND SETUP <#INSTALL>
1. Minimum and Recommended System Requirements
o Minimum System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows® XP <#XPMIN>
o Minimum System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows Vista®
<#VISTAMIN>
o Recommended System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows® XP
<#XPREC>
o Recommended System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows
Vista® <#VISTAREC>
2. Autoplay
3. DirectX® Detection and Installation
* VIDEO ISSUES <#VIDEO>
1. Monitors
2. In-game and Desktop Resolutions
3. Video Settings and Button Prompts
* GENERAL ISSUES <#GENERAL>
1. General DVD Read Problems
2. Administrator Privileges
3. Options for Lower End Systems
4. General Audio Problems
5. If you are experiencing crashes...
6. How to Delete the Save Game File
7. Rebinding the Pause Button on Gamepads
8. Uninstalling with Antivirus Software Enabled
9. Key Binding
10. Patches and Updates
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INTRODUCTION
Refer to this document if you encounter difficulties with one or more
aspects of installation or running Monsters vs. Aliens™. Many of the
most commonly encountered issues are covered here.
If you encounter any problems not covered in this document, please
contact Activision Customer Support. A list of contact information for
all supported worldwide territories can be found by:
1. Click the Start button, and navigate to Programs – Monsters vs.
Aliens™ – Monsters vs. Aliens™ Help - Customer Support
or
Open My Computer, and navigate to C:\Program Files\Activision\Monsters
vs. Aliens(TM) Game\Docs\CS\customer_support.htm. /("C:\Program Files"
is the default root directory for installation; if you chose to install
the game to a different directory, navigate there, to the Activision
folder, then follow the path as described.)/
INSTALLATION AND SETUP
1. Minimum and Recommended System Requirements
Please note that Monsters vs. Aliens™ does not support Microsoft®
Windows® 2000.
*Minimum System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows® XP:*
* 3D hardware accelerator card required - 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant
128 MB video card and drivers*
* Microsoft® Windows® XP
* Pentium® 4 1.8GHz or Athlon XP™ 2400+ or higher processor
* 512 MB of RAM
* 7.5 GB of uncompressed hard disk space (plus 400 MB for the Windows®
swap file and 12 KB free for saved games)
* A 100% Windows® XP-compatible computer system including:
* DirectX® 9.0c (Included)
* 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant true 16-bit sound card and drivers
* 100% Windows® XP-compatible mouse, keyboard and drivers
* 100% Windows® XP-compatible 6x speed DVD-ROM drive (600 K/sec
sustained transfer rate) and drivers
*Supported Chipsets for Windows® XP
All NVIDIA® GeForce® 6600 128 MB RAM and better chipsets
All ATI Radeon™ x800 128 MB RAM and better chipsets
*Minimum System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows Vista®:*
* 3D hardware accelerator card required - 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant
128 MB video card and drivers*
* Microsoft® Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1
* Pentium® 4 1.8GHz or Athlon XP™ 2400+ or higher processor
* 1 GB of RAM
* 7.5 GB of uncompressed hard disk space (plus 400 MB for the Windows®
swap file and 12 KB free for saved games)
* A 100% Windows Vista®-compatible computer system including:
* DirectX® 9.0c (Included)
* 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant true 16-bit sound card and drivers
* 100% Windows Vista®-compatible mouse, keyboard and drivers
* 100% Windows Vista®-compatible 6x speed DVD-ROM drive (600 K/sec
sustained transfer rate) and drivers
*Supported Chipsets for Windows Vista®
All NVIDIA® GeForce® 6600 128 MB RAM and better chipsets
All ATI Radeon™ x800 128 MB RAM and better chipsets
*Recommended System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows® XP:*
* 3D hardware accelerator card required - 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant
256 MB video card and drivers*
* Microsoft® Windows® XP
* Pentium® 4 2.4GHz or Athlon XP™ 2400+ or higher processor
* 1 GB of RAM
* 7.5 GB of uncompressed hard disk space (plus 400 MB for the Windows®
swap file and 12 KB free for saved games)
* A 100% Windows® XP-compatible computer system including:
* DirectX® 9.0c (Included)
* 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant true 16-bit sound card and drivers
* 100% Windows® XP-compatible mouse, keyboard and drivers
* 100% Windows® XP-compatible 6x speed DVD-ROM drive (600 K/sec
sustained transfer rate) and drivers
*Recommended Chipsets for Windows® XP
NVIDIA® GeForce® 7600GS 256 MB RAM and better chipsets
All ATI Radeon™ X1600XT 256 MB RAM and better chipsets
*Recommended System Requirements for Microsoft® Windows Vista®:*
* 3D hardware accelerator card required - 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant
256 MB video card and drivers*
* Microsoft® Windows Vista® with Service Pack 1
* Pentium® 4 2.4GHz or Athlon XP™ 2400+ or higher processor
* 1 GB of RAM
* 7.5 GB of uncompressed hard disk space (plus 400 MB for the Windows®
swap file and 12 KB free for saved games)
* A 100% Windows Vista®-compatible computer system including:
* DirectX® 9.0c (Included)
* 100% DirectX® 9.0c-compliant true 16-bit sound card and drivers
* 100% Windows Vista®-compatible mouse, keyboard and drivers
* 100% Windows Vista®-compatible 6x speed DVD-ROM drive (600 K/sec
sustained transfer rate) and drivers
*Recommended Chipsets for Windows Vista®
NVIDIA® GeForce® 7600GS 256 MB RAM and better chipsets
All ATI Radeon™ X1600XT 256 MB RAM and better chipsets
2. Autoplay
If the Windows Autoplay feature is enabled on your computer, the
installer will begin when you insert Monsters vs. Aliens™ DVD into your
DVD-ROM drive. Follow the on-screen instructions to continue the
installation. If the game is already installed on your system, the
Monsters vs. Aliens™ Game Launch screen will appear.
If the Autoplay feature is disabled, you can begin the installation by
doing the following:
a) Go to the Start Menu and select Run.
b) Type D:\SETUP.EXE (assuming D is your DVD-ROM drive letter) and press
Enter.
-or-
a) Double-click on My Computer
b) Double-Click your DVD-ROM drive icon.
-or-
a) Navigate to your DVD-ROM drive with Windows Explorer
b) Double-click on SETUP.EXE
3. DirectX® Detection & Installation
You will need to have DirectX® 9.0c and the latest runtime updates
installed on your computer for Monsters vs. Aliens™ to run properly.
At the end of Monsters vs. Aliens™ install setup, the installer will
automatically install DirectX 9.0c and all required runtime updates on
your computer. If you already have other Windows XP games on your
computer, chances are you already have a version of DirectX installed.
In this case, the Microsoft installer will detect it and will not
overwrite any files. You will not need to restart your computer after
installation in order to run Monsters vs. Aliens™. If, however, you do
not already have DirectX 9.0c installed the Microsoft installer will
detect and overwrite any previous versions with DirectX 9.0c. At that
point, you will need to restart your computer for the changes to take
effect.
You can also manually install it later. To do so, use the following
instructions:
1. Place your Monsters vs. Aliens™ disk in the DVD-ROM drive. The Launch
screen should appear. (See the AutoPlay section above if it does not
appear.)
2. Click on the "Extras" button.
3. Click on "DirectX" and follow the installation process. When DirectX
installation finishes, you will need to restart your computer for the
new drivers to work.
If you encounter the following error message, then you have tried to
start the game without the correct version of DirectX installed on your
computer:
"DirectX 9.0c is not installed on this computer. Install it and try again."
You will need to follow the directions above to install DirectX before
starting the game.
VIDEO ISSUES
1. Monitors
- Please make sure your monitor supports the game resolution you are
trying to play in. To check what resolutions your monitor supports, do
the following:
a) Open up My Computer
b) Double-click on Control Panel
c) Find the Display icon and open it
d) Choose the Settings tab
e) Locate the resolution pointer in the Desktop or Screen Area box and
drag it to the far right
The resolution choice shown is the maximum resolution your monitor is
capable of displaying. If you do not want to change to this resolution
now, select cancel. Your Desktop Area should be set to the game
resolution you are trying to play in or higher.
NOTE: Please make sure your monitor type is properly specified to insure
correct reporting of available video resolutions.
2. In-game and Desktop resolutions
In most cases, Monsters vs. Aliens™ should choose the proper resolution
for your system based on your processor, system memory, and video card.
Changing the game resolution may result in decreased performance or
visual quality.
3. Video Settings and Button Prompts
Some of the challenges within Monsters vs. Aliens™ require the player to
complete timing-based button prompt challenges. It’s been found that
when lower-end systems set their graphical settings too high, the game’s
reduced framerate may throw off the timing of these challenges. If you
are experiencing difficulty passing one of these challenges, try turning
your graphical settings down.
GENERAL ISSUES
1. General DVD Read Problems
There are a few things that could be wrong with DVD read problems, as
such, we have a few things for you try.
* First, try holding down the left shift key when inserting the game
disc. This should prevent the AutoPlay splash screen to come up.
* Next, try another DVD disk in the same drive to make sure that
Windows® can properly read this other disk.
* Additionally, if you have burning software Alcohol 120%® installed
you may need to turn off all of the emulation options.
1. Go to File > Options.
2. Click on Emulation in the menu to the left.
3. Uncheck all options in the window to the right.
2. Administrator Privileges
If you are experiencing the following error:
*“Please login with administrator privilege and try again”*
The game must be installed by an account with administrator privileges.
Please re-install the game. Run the game the FIRST TIME within an
account with Admin or Power User privileges. The program must install
Windows® XP/Vista® drivers onto the system, which requires administrator
privileges. Subsequent plays are allowed from any account level.
3. Options for Lower End Systems
On lower end systems, it is advised to close any and all programs
(including anti-virus software) that are running in the background,
followed by choosing the lowest resolution in the Options Menu. If the
game runs well at these settings, then slowly increment the quality with
a single resolution change to a higher setting. If the game continues to
perform well under the new circumstances, then continue this process
until it performs at the best visual quality, without any loss or effect
to gameplay.
4. General Audio Problems
If audio corruption issues are experienced, it may be related to using
higher than recommended settings for your computer specifications. It is
recommended that you first try a lower resolution setting to fix the
issue (i.e. 800x600). Turning off any and all anti-virus software that
is running in Windows in the background is also recommended. Finally,
any and all unnecessary software that is running in the background
should also be exited.
Most sound issues are remedied by installing the latest version of
DirectX®, or obtaining newer sound card drivers. Sound issues can
include corrupted or distorted sound or even choppy game play. Generally
updated drivers can usually be found on the manufacturers website.
Updating drivers is highly recommended and easy to do. If choppy game
play is your problem, please make sure your system meets the Minimum
System Requirements. Any deviation from these may cause problems with
the game and its overall performance. If you have questions about your
sound cards DirectX 9.0c compatibility or for information about which
drivers are right for your hardware, you should contact your sound cards
manufacturer for details. Please note that DirectX 9.0c and all
necessary runtime updates are included on the game disk, you may want to
consult the DirectX section of this help system for more information.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You may encounter distorted sound and/or choppy game
play if your sound card is not 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible. You may
want to contact your sound card manufacturer to see if your card is 100%
DirectX 9.0c compatible.
5. If you are experiencing crashes...
First you need to make sure you computer meets the minimum system
requirements.
You also need to make sure you have the latest drivers for your video
and sound cards and in some cases updated motherboard drivers. You can
generally find these on your manufacturer's website, refer to your
hardware documentation for further instructions on updating your
hardware drivers.
If controllers are being used, after checking all drivers, please unplug
controllers and restart.
Also check to make sure the 3D hardware acceleration is turned all the
way up.
For Windows® XP:
1. Click on the Start button > Settings > Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Display icon.
3. Click the Settings tab.
4. Click the Advanced button.
5. Click the Troubleshoot tab.
6. Make sure the acceleration slider is set to Full.
For Windows Vista®:
1. Click on the Start button > Control Panel.
2. Select Personalization > Display Settings.
3. Choose Advanced Settings > Select the Troubleshoot Tab.
4. Make sure the acceleration slider is set to Full.
You can also try setting your desktop to a resolution of 800x600, 32 bit
True Color.
For Windows® XP:
1. Right-click on your desktop and select Properties.
2. Click the Settings tab.
3. Set your screen area to 800x600.
4. Set the colors to 32 Bit (True Color).
5. Click Apply and OK.
For Windows Vista®:
1. Right-click on your desktop and select Personalize.
2. Select Display Settings.
3. Set your screen area to 800x600.
4. Set the colors to 32 bit (True Color).
5. Click Apply and Ok.
6. How to Delete the Save Game File
Monsters vs. Aliens™ creates one save game file per user account. If
this file is removed all progression will be lost. Please note that
there is no Delete Game functionality within Monsters vs. Aliens™.
During the uninstall process Monsters vs. Aliens™ will give the player
the option to remove the save game file for the user that uninstalls the
game. Any other user's save game will remain. If the user wants to
manually move this file, the save game file is named "MVA_Save.fpop" and
is located here:
- Go to My Documents
- Navigate to the Activision folder, then the Monsters vs. Aliens folder.
- Open the Save folder
7. Rebinding the Pause Button on Gamepads
Monsters vs. Aliens™ gives you the option to rebind the commands to any
button on your gamepad. We recommend not rebinding the Pause button on
your gamepad to a function other than its default function, as it can
lead to problems saving additional changes to custom command bindings.
8. Uninstalling with Antivirus Software Enabled
The uninstallation process may take more time if an antivirus software
(like Norton Utilities™ or McAfee®) is currently running, even if the
antivirus software is running in the background. Although Monsters vs.
Aliens™ will still uninstall correctly with this software running,
disabling any antivirus program will make this process run faster. You
will be able to uninstall Monsters vs. Aliens normally.
9. Key Binding
Please note that the Escape, Print Screen, Scroll Lock and the Pause key
can not be bound to any of the game functionality. Each of those key
will keep their original functions no matter what control settings the
user will choose.
Please note that rebinding keys will not affect menu operability and so
the default bindings will be kept throughout the menus: The binding menu
will only affects in-game controls.
10. Patches and Updates
For updates and patches (if available) for this game, please check:
www.activision.com <http://www.activision.com/>