================================Imô¿ôU2 Bumper Wars Release 1.0 for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP ==================================== Congratulations on your purchase of Bumper Wars. To supply you with up-to-the-minute information, we have included this ReadMe file. (Please open this window to its maximum size for better readability.) =================================== INDEX: 1. Introduction 2. System Requirements 3. Installation Instructions 4. Running the Program 5. Uninstalling Bumper Wars 6. Manual Updates 7. Multiplayer Update 8. Known Issues/Incompatibilities 9. Troubleshooting and Tips for Improving Performance 10. Technical Support 1. INTRODUCTION ================================== Thank you for buying Bumper Wars. The information below is current as of December 5, 2001, and new updates may be available on www.ssinteractive.com. 2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ================================== Windows 98/ME/XP/2000 DirectX 8.0 or higher (included on Disk) Pentium II - 350 MHz (Pentium III - 500 MHZ Recommended) 64 MB RAM (128 MB RAM Recommended) 8 MB Direct3D Capable Video Card (16 MB Recommended) Install requires 250 MB of HD Space LAN or broadband Internet connection required for Multiplayer play Mouse (NOTE: Mouse is only required for installation and startup. The game is controlled only by using the keyboard arrow keys or a gamepad or joystick.) Gamepad (optional) Joystick (optional) 3. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS ================================== 1. Exit all running applications. 2. Place the Bumper Wars CD into the CD-ROM drive. 3. If AutoPlay is enabled, click the install option on the AutoPlay menu that appears. If the Autoplay menu does not appear, run the Setup.exe file from the contents of the CD. 4. Bumper Wars requires that DirectX 8.0 be installed on your computer. The program will look for DirectX 8.0. If it does not find it, it will give you the opportunity to install DirectX 8.0 from the CD during the game installation process. 5. If DirectX 8.0 is installed during the setup then you must run the Bumper Wars Configuration program. On the Windows START Menu go to the Start / Programs / Bumper Wars / Bumper Wars CONFIGURATION. 6. On the Bumper Wars Config window, make sure the appropriate 3D device is selected. If your card supports OpenGL you might wish to first try the Direct3D rendering instead to increase performance You will usually want to set the game for Full Screen. 640 X 480 is a good resolution with which to start, especially if you are concerned about game speed. This is the default setting. To change configurations later, click on the Windows START Menu, then click on PROGRAMS, then on Bumper Wars and finally on Bumper Wars CONFIGURATION. 4. RUNNING THE PROGRAM ================================== (NOTE: The Mouse is only required for installation and startup. The game is controlled only by using the keyboard arrow keys or a gamepad.) 1. After the game is installed, if you have Autorun enabled, just place the CD in the drive. The start-up screen will appear. Follow the on-screen prompt. or 1. Double click the Bumper Wars desktop icon which was created during the installation. The start-up screen will appear. Follow the on-screen prompt. or 1. Click on the Windows START button. 2. Click on PROGRAMS. 3. Click on Bumper Wars. 4. A submenu will open. Click on Bumper Wars. The start-up screen will appear. Follow the on-screen prompt. 5. UNINSTALLING BUMPER WARS ================================== 1. From the Windows START Menu select Programs and then select the Bumper Wars program group. 2. Select UNINSTALL Bumper Wars. The game CD is not required for the uninstall process. 6. MANUAL UPDATES =================================== IN-GAME CHAT- Chat (or taunt) within the game by hitting ENTER and typing a message. Close the chat window and send the message by hitting ENTER again. Mines have a magnetic disruptance property which scrambles a rocket's lock on your car. If you are being pursued by a rocket which you cannot evade, drop a mine and turn sharply to the side. The rocket will lose its lock on you and will look for a new target. This feature is not documented in the manual, but is provided for players like you who read README files. 7. MULTIPLAYER USING TCP/IP ================================== Multiplayer is available over both LANs and a broadband Internet connection by simply establishing your Internet connection and choosing the Multiplayer option in the Bumper Wars menu. There, choose either create or join a game. On the game screen you will see your own IP address. 8. KNOWN ISSUES / INCOMPATIBILITIES ==================================== Some systems require several seconds to begin the installation process. After you click on the Install button, allow several seconds for Bumper Wars to respond. Bumper Wars is analyzing your hard drives for free space. We have noticed poor performance with ATI RAGE IIc and RAGE LT PRO and PRO TURBO cards. We recommend these cards have shadow and blood effects turned off. Certain NVIDIA Riva 128zx and ATI RAGE IIc cards can display grid lines in the menu. The gridlines do not display during gameplay. Older systems (less than 400 MHz) may experience skipping in the machine gun audio. The machine gun continues to fire bullets normally without interruption, only the audio playback is affected. With some sound cards, the first syllables of the Tournament briefing repeat. When using GameSpy, it is possible to password protect only a chat room. It is not possible to password protect a Bumper Wars game. 9. TROUBLESHOOTING AND TIPS FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE ==================================== A. LOWERING VIDEO SETTINGS - If the system is working slowly, you may want to change the Bumper Wars video configuration and change settings to 640X480 resolution, while making sure that the following in-game video options are turned off: a. blood b. shield (low) c. smoke d. light e. shadows f. flares B. CHANGING VIDEO SETTINGS - If the game is working poorly, you may want to try changing the Bumper Wars video configuration to Direct3D. Also, some older video cards require configuration menu options to be turned off in order to display the game properly. If you are having problems running the game, experiment with the settings on the CONFIGURATION window (see above). If you click the MORE button on the CONFIGURATION window, you will see further options. Try disabling some or all of the features, such as Full Screen Anti Alias, Trilinear Mip-Map filtering, Triple Buffering, etc., by removing the check marks. If video problems persist, de-select all video options on this screen. C. DISABLE BACKGROUND APPLICATIONS - Disabling any programs that are running in the background will often solve many software problems. To disable background applications on a Windows 98 or higher machine, click on START, then RUN, type in MSCONFIG and click OK. Click the Selective Startup in the General tab and uncheck the box next to "Load Startup Group Items", click APPLY, then OK, and reboot when prompted. If your computer locks up or crashes while running the game, it may be because you have other applications running in the background. You should close all other applications and programs while you are running this game. This may include screensavers and virus checkers. To disable a screensaver, read the documentation that came with the screensaver or with your computer's operating system. D. UPDATE VIDEO AND SOUND DRIVERS - Frequently, driver issues can cause unusual software problems. If problems persist after disabling background applications, contact the manufacturer of your computer to obtain the latest drivers for your video and sound cards. Go to your manufacturer's website and search for information about updated drivers. If you still have problems, please contact our technical support as listed at the end of this document. E. REINSTALL DIRECTX - Anytime that the system drivers have been updated, DirectX should be reinstalled to ensure that the system recognizes the updated software. DirectX is provided on the Bumper Wars CD and can be reinstalled by simply reinstalling the game. Be careful not to delete saved games. F. RESOLUTION - Generally, the best resolution setting for the game tends to be 640 x 480. Even on fast machines the game may slow down at higher resolutions, such as 1024 x 768. If the game is running poorly at 640 X 480, try changing video configuration options explained above. G. WINDOWED GAME - Running the game on a smaller game screen can also improve speed and performance. To do this, open the configuration screen (you'll see it during installation, or you can click on Bumper Wars CONFIGURATION in the Bumper Wars program group while not playing the game). Remove the checkmark beside Full Screen. Now when you start the game it will play on a smaller screen. H. AUTORUN - If your PC does not read your CD automatically, this is probably because the Autorun feature is not activated. To enable Autorun, double-click on My Computer on your desktop. Double-click on Control Panel, then double-click on System. Click on the Device Manager tab. Double-click on the CD-ROM icon, then double-click on the CD-ROM device that opens below it. On the window that opens, click the Settings tab. Make sure that the Auto Insert Notification box has a check mark beside it. Click OK. I. CD CARE - If you receive a message telling you that the CD is unreadable, make sure that the CD is clean and dust-free and that there are no scratches. About Video Cards and 3D Graphics Accelerators: ================================== A. This game requires a 3D accelerator. A 3D graphics accelerator card is a specially designed video card that renders 3D graphics, freeing up your computer's main CPU to do other jobs. A 3D accelerator means that your games can run faster and in higher resolution. Most computers sold within the last several years have one already installed. A new one can usually be purchased for less than $100. B. To find out what video cards and accelerators are installed on your PC, click the Windows START button, then click RUN. In the text box type, DXDIAG and then click on OK. The DirectX diagnostic tool window will open. Click on the Display 1 and/or Display 2 tabs. The screen should list the name, manufacturer, chip set and amount of memory your video card currently has. You can also use this method for determining which sound card(s) you are using. Just click on the Sound and Music tabs instead of the Display tabs. C. If the game is not running properly (flickering or choppy graphics, error boxes), you may need to update your video driver. Check your computer documentation regarding drivers and updating drivers. D. If you need the most recent driver for your 3D hardware, you can probably download it from the Internet. If you cannot find it this way, contact the manufacturer of the hardware and request that they send you the latest drivers. Some sites for downloading drivers: www.drivershq.com, www.download.com, www.3dfx.com, www.atitech.com, www.nvidia.com. 10. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ================================== If you need to call our technical support department, please make sure that you are at your computer and that you have the following information readily available: 1. The product name and version number, which can be found at the top of the Readme file and on the disk itself. 2. The processor and clock speed of your computer (e.g. Pentium II 500). 3. Your operating system's version number (e.g. Windows 98) and the amount of free memory and system resources you have available. (To find out, open Windows Explorer and select About Windows 98 from the Help Menu.) 4. The brand name of the sound device, video card and 3D graphics accelerator installed on your computer (see the above section, About Video Cards and 3D Graphics Accelerators.) 5. The complete and exact error message (if any) reported by the program. To Contact Us: ----------------- On-line: www.ssinteractive.com Email: support@ssi.teksupport.com Phone: (303) 739-4020 Fax: (303) 739 4513 Published by Simon & Schuster Interactive, a division of Simon & Schuster, the publishing operation of Viacom, Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. (c) 2001 Simon & Schuster Interactive, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and its licensors. All rights reserved. Microsoft is a registered trademark and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. DESIGNED, WRITTEN AND PRODUCED BY BOSTON ANIMATION, INC.