================================================================================ UBISOFT Beowulf November 2007 README.TXT ================================================================================ Thank you for buying Beowulf. This README file contains information not included in the game's manual. ================================================================================ Table of Contents ================================================================================ 1. Minimum/Recommended Specifications 1.1. PC hardware requirements 2. System Detection 2.1. Game graphic options 3. Update Launcher Utility 4. Known Issues 4.1. Installing video drivers 4.1. Installing sound drivers 4.3. Installing DirectX 4.4. Windows Service Packs 4.5. PC Known problems 4.6. Sound Card Support 4.7. Unsupported Video Cards 4.8. Three-Button Mouse support 5. Graphics, performance and troubleshooting FAQ 6. Important Web Sites, Contact Information and Technical Support 6.1. Technical Support 6.2. Other Important websites ================================================================================ 1. Minimum/Recommended specifications ================================================================================ 1.1. PC hardware requirements PC hardware minimum requirements ======================== Supported OS : Windows XP / Vista Processor : Pentium IV 3.0 GHz or AMD 3000 RAM : 1GB RAM Video Card : Nvidia 6800 / ATI X1600 Sound Card : DirectX 9.0-compliant sound card DirectX : DirectX 9.0c (included on DVD) DVD : 4x DVD or faster Hard Drive Space : 8.0 GB free PC hardware recommended requirements ======================== Supported OS : Windows XP / Vista Processor : Intel Core 2 duo 4400 or AMD X2 4800+ RAM : 2GB RAM Video Card : Nvidia 7900 / ATI X1900 Sound Card : DolbyDigital 5.1 and EAX 4.0 compatible DVD : 4x DVD or faster Hard Drive Space : 8.0 GB free ================================================================================ 2. System Detection ================================================================================ Suppplied with the game is a tool called System Detection. You can access it on Windows XP through the start menu -> programs -> Ubisoft -> Beowulf-> System Detection. For Windows Vista, go to the start menu -> Games, then right click on Beowulf and select System Detection. You can run manually the System Detection to detect your system configuration. If your system doesn't meet the required minimum specifications, the Configuration Utility will show a window with the list of system requirements. If an item in the Minimum Specifications list does not have a green check next to it, the game may not run properly or it may run too slowly. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.1. Game graphic options The Configuration Utility will try to determine the optimal graphic settings based on your system performance. It will try to balance performance with visual quality and set the appropriate graphic options settings. You can override these settings in the options menu of the game. ================================================================================ 3. Update Launcher Utility ================================================================================ For Windows XP, in the Start menu, there is a utility called Beowulf Updater used to detect if there are any new Patches to the game since you have purchased it. You will need to be administrator of your PC to run this utility. For Windows Vista, go to the start menu -> Games, then right click on Beowulf and select Beowulf Updater. ================================================================================ 4. Known Issues ================================================================================ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1. Installing video drivers If you experience any graphical problems, please install the recommended video drivers for your video card. Links to the most popular video cards manufacturers are available at the end of this document. 4.2. Installing sound drivers If you experience any sound problems, please install the latest sound drivers available for your sound card. Links to the most popular sound cards manufacturers are available at the bottom of this document. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.3. Installing DirectX Beowulf needs DirectX 9.0c to run properly. To get the latest version of DirectX, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9226a611-62fe-4f61-aba1-914185249413&displaylang=en&Hash=s4te8796lfVSBaBD8piUCZV4Zv3lrpi%2bQMbAJN9w0j2X7QWzgAb0ey9CfGiR0lBqT%2fzaJdB%2b6Q29w1vWLGItBA%3d%3d -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4. Windows Service Packs It is recommended to install the latest service packs for all PC operating systems. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.5. PC Known issues - If the game crashes, the settings may revert to their default states by precaution to allow you to safely restart the game the next time. - It is strongly recommended that you close all running programs before installing this application. If you are experiencing slow game speed or if the game speed is too fast on AMD Dual-Core, the AMD Dual-core Optimizer Utility is available for download on AMD¡¯s website at the following links: http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9706,00.html http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_14098,00.html http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html If still you have problem, AMD recommend that you install the latest AMD Athlon? 64 X2 Dual Core Processor Driver available for Windows XP Edition and Windows Server 2003 Editions (64-bit and 32-bit versions) which can be found at: http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.6. Sound Card Support Beowulf does not support sound device selection and it will use the default sound card set by the PC. To change the default sound device, go to Control Panel, select the Sounds and Audio Devices icon and select the Audio tap. In the Default device, pick the desire sound card from the drop down list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.7. Unsupported Video Cards The following video display cards are not supported in the game: -GeForce 8500 GT -GeForce 8400 GS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.8. Three-Button Mouse support Beowulf supports middle mouse button for controls customization but it does not support mouse scrolling. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.9. Graphical Glitches Some graphical glitches occurs when playing the game on Ati X1900 with FSAA X4. To solve this problem, try setting FSAA to 1X. ================================================================================ 5. Graphics, performance and troubleshooting FAQ ================================================================================ Q: Where are my profiles and saved games stored? A: To support Windows Limited User Access, the profiles and saved games are stored outside of the installation directory. If you want to copy them to another computer or back them up, you will find them in the "Documents and Settings\UserName\My Documents\Ubisoft\Beowulf" directory. Q: My card supports Shader Model 3.0 but I can't enable HDR. A: Some Shader Model 3.0 cards don't support floating point blending thus HDR rendering isn't possible and this option is grayed out. Q: When I rotate the camera, sounds that are behind the camera are completely faded out. A: The game uses surround sound for modeling the 3D sound environment. If you have surround sound speaker setting enabled in the "Sound and Audio Devices" of Windows control panel while using stereo speaker setup (e.g. headphones), only left and right audio channels are played. Change the speaker setup in the control panel to match your actual speaker settings. Q: The game runs slow on my PC. What can I do? A: There are several things which may cause the game to run slower than expected: 1) Some background applications may have a negative impact on the performance of the game, thus it's preferable to close most of them to leave more resources for the purpose of the game. For instance virus protection software may monitor memory and hard drive access thus slowing down your PC. Also, make sure that your PC is free from viruses and spyware. 2) Install latest graphics card drivers from your graphics card vendors web page. Graphics card vendors constantly optimize and fix their drivers thus it's good to keep your graphics card drivers up to date to maximize your gaming experience. 3) Install the latest DirectX (www.microsoft.com) and drivers for other peripherals (motherboard, sound card, etc.) 4) Defragment your hard drive to optimize your hard drive performance. 5) If you have an AGP graphics card, make sure that AGP is enabled and is running in maximum speed. 6) Try to find a good balance between quality and performance with graphics settings (resolution, shadow resolution, texture filtering, etc.) to match your needs. After each setting you can run the timedemo and see how it impact to the performance of the game on your PC. ================================================================================ 6. Important Web Sites, Contact Information and Technical Support ================================================================================ 6.1. Technical Support Before contacting UBISOFT's Technical Support Department, please browse through our FAQ listings or search our support database at our website: http://support.ubi.com. Here you will find the most recently updated information since the game release. Also please make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements, as our support representatives will be unable to assist customers whose computers do not meet these criteria. Whenever you contact the Technical Support Department, please include the following information or have it available if you are calling: -Complete product title (including version number) -Exact error message reported (if applicable) and a brief description of the problem you're encountering -Processor speed and manufacturer -Amount of RAM -Operating system -Video card that you are using and amount of RAM it has -Maker and speed of your DVD-ROM drive -Type of sound card you are using Contact Us Over the Internet: This is the best way to contact us. Our website is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it contains the most up to date Technical Support information available including patches that can be downloaded free of charge. We update the Support pages on a daily basis so please check here first for solutions to your problems http://support.ubi.com/. Contact Us by E-mail: For fastest response via e-mail, please visit our website at: http://support.ubi.com/ From this site, you will be able to enter the UBISOFT Solution Center where you can browse through our listings of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), search our database of known problems and solutions, or, for fastest e-mail response, you can send in a request for Personal Assistance from a Technical Support Representative. It may take up to 72 hours for us to respond to your e-mail depending upon the volume of messages we receive. Contact Us by Phone: You can also contact us by phone by calling (919) 460-9778. Note that this number is for technical assistance only. No hints or tips are given over the Technical Support line. When calling our Technical Support line, please make sure you are in front of your computer and have all of the necessary information listed above at hand. Be advised that our Technical Support Representatives are available to help you Monday-Friday from 9 am- 9 pm (Eastern Standard Time). While we do not charge for technical support, normal long distance charges apply. To avoid long distance charges, or to contact a support representative directly after these hours, please feel free to use one of the other support avenues listed above. E-mail issues usually receive a response within 2 business days. Contact Us by Standard Mail: If all else fails you can write to us at: Ubi Soft Technical Support 3200 Gateway Center Blvd Suite 100 Morrisville, NC 27560 USA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.2. Other Important websites Beowulf official web site: http://www.beowulfgame.com/ Beowulf's official forums: http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/3361053375 Latest DirectX Runtime: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/Browse.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=2 Latest ATI Drivers: http://www.ati.com Latest NVIDIA Drivers: http://www.nvidia.com Latest Intel Drivers: http://www.intel.com Latest Creative Labs Drivers: http://www.creative.com ================================================================================