HardBall 6 - 2000 Readme.txt file March 8, 1999 ================================= =============== Copyright (c) 1999 Accolade, Inc. All rights reserved. Topics in this readme.txt file: - Importing BLANK.HB6 and EMPTY.HB6 teams - Video card related information - Internet Play and Firewalls - Gameplay issues to be aware of - Finding Help - General Troubleshooting - Technical Support IMPORTING BLANK.HB6 AND EMPTY.HB6 TEAMS --------------------------------------- We've included two teams you can import when creating your own leagues. BLANK.HB6 is a full team with all the names blanked out. It is useful when you want to create your own team by typing in all the names and stats for your friends, old players, or new players. EMPTY.HB6 is similar, but it doesn't have ANY players in it (not even blank ones). It is useful if you want to create a team by signing, drafting, and trading players which are already in your league. Both of these teams are imported normally by using the 'Import Team' button on league play's 'Edit League' screen. VIDEO CARD RELATED INFORMATION ------------------------------ Please view the VIDCARDS.RTF file for a complete listing of video card issues, known problems, and an updated list of supported 3D accelerators. vidcards.rtf can be viewed by selecting the Start menu shortcut "Video Card Info". If you have difficulty viewing the vidcards.rtf file, install the WordPad accessory from the Windows 95/98/NT CD-ROM. INTERNET PLAY AND FIREWALLS --------------------------- HardBall 6 Internet play can be made to work through corporate firewalls by asking your firewall administrator to enable passing UDP port 26000. GAMEPLAY ISSUES TO BE AWARE OF ------------------------------ At the last minute we found a few problems that you should be aware of and can easily be avoided: 1) If you're playing a network game in full screen mode and you press alt+tab or alt+esc to switch to another program, HardBall 6 will become suspended and unable to maintain communications with the other computer. If you don't switch back within one or two minutes, the other computer will give up and give a "Communication Failure" error. The solution: play in a window or don't switch away for more than a minute. 2) If you simulate consecutive seasons and you keep skipping the draft, pretty soon enough players will have retired from each team to prevent the teams from being able to play. You can work around this problem by resetting the current season to preseason (league options screen) and then going through the draft. FINDING HELP ------------ If you're looking for help solving a particular problem, here are some ideas to try: 1) Try looking through the on-line help file. You might be able to find help on your question by searching for certain words. 2) Try visiting Accolade on the internet at http://www.accolade.com for the latest information about HardBall 6. GENERAL TROUBLESHOOTING ----------------------- 1. In order for your to run this game, your hardware must be certified to work with Microsoft DirectX 5 or higher. If you are experiencing errors and crashes within your game, check to see if your hardware is properly running Direct X. DirectX 5 users Click Start-->Find-->DXSETUP.EXE (search your C: drive). Launch that file and ensure all components listed are CERTIFIED. If not, contact your computer manufacturer to receive newer and updated drivers that are capable of working properly with Microsoft's DirectX 5. DirectX 6 users Click Start-->Find-->DXDIAG.EXE (search your C: drive). Launch that file and check the Display and Sound page(s). If the driver says "Certified: NO" Then you must contact your computer manufacturer to receive from them newer and updated drivers that are capable of running properly with DirectX 6. 2. If your hardware is certified and you still have problems, it may be due to a software conflict. Close down all open applications and utilities. From your desktop, press Ctrl+Alt+Delete (just once!) and "End Task" on all programs listed EXCEPT the one called Explorer. Your system may not immediately shut down the programs listed. Wait for Windows to say it cannot close the program automatically. If this occurs, press "End Task". 3. If you encounter the screen flashing from a black screen to your desktop, you will need to set your video settings to High Color (16 bit) in the Color Palette. You will also need to make sure your screen size is set to 800x600. To change these settings simply right click on your Windows background and choose Properties from the menu. In the Properties you will need to choose the Settings tab to change your display size and color palette. 4. If your Microsoft SideWinder will not work in the game, disable the Sidewinder applet in your Systray. Do this by right clicking on the Sidewinder icon on the Task Bar and choosing to close the profiler. 5. To read the help file, Click Start\Programs\Hardball 6\Readme TECHNICAL SUPPORT ----------------- You can ask for help with your Accolade game by reaching us by Phone, Fax, Online and Mail: PHONE: Accolade can help you by phone between the following hours: Monday - Thursday 8:00am - 5:00pm PST and Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm PST (408) 296-8400 INTERNET: website - http://www.accolade.com email - techelp@accolade.com FAX: Faxes may be sent anytime to: (408) 246-0231 MAIL: Accolade Tech Support 5300 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 500 San Jose, CA 95129 That's all for now, enjoy the game!