Welcome to Madden NFL 2004. This README.txt file contains information on issues not covered by the manual and install guide. - Supported 3D Accelerator Hardware Madden NFL 2004 requires a 32mb 3D Direct3D chipset including: Cards with these chipsets are officially supported ------------------------------------------------------- - nVidia GeForce2 GTS, GeForce3, GeForce4 MX series, GeForce4 Ti series, GeForce FX series Win98 driver ver: Detonator 44.30 WinME driver ver: Detonator 44.30 WinXP driver ver: Detonator 44.30 Win2k driver ver: Detonator 44.30 http://www.nvidia.com **NOTE**: Madden NFL 2004 does not officially support the GeForce 2 MX series. - ATI Radeon 8500, Radeon 9200, Radeon 9600, Radeon 9700, and Radeon 9800 Win98 driver ver: Catalyst 3.5 WinME driver ver: Catalyst 3.5 WinXP driver ver: Catalyst 3.5 Win2k driver ver: Catalyst 3.5 http://www.ati.com - Matrox Parhelia WinXP driver ver: 1.04.02.007 Win2k driver ver: 1.04.02.007 http://www.matrox.com **NOTE**: This game does not support workstation 3D cards or dual monitors.*** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Minimum System Requirements CPU: PIII or AMD Athlon 700MHz RAM: 128MB (256MB for Windows XP) Video: 32MB supported Direct3D capable video card with DirectX 9.0 or higher compatible driver (DirectX 9.0a is recommended) - Go to the "Windows and DirectX" section of this Readme. Recommended: 10 button dual analog gamepad ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Unreadable text with WindowsXP If you are having trouble reading the text in game and you are using the WindowsXP operating system, then you will need to download a patch from Microsoft to correct this. The patch can be downloaded from here: http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Patch/Q306676/WXP/EN-US/Q306676_WXP_SP1_x86_ENU.exe ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Running in Windowed Mode If you experience graphical issues while running in windowed mode at 640x480, turn the "Hardware Acceleration" setting for your video card to FULL. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Antialiasing and Anisotropic Filtering You may experience player model graphic corruption in the training and mini-camp drills with Antialiasing and Anisotropic Filtering set at 4 times or higher. Turn these settings OFF to resolve the issue. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Windows and DirectX Users with Windows (WinXP, Win2000, WinME, Win98 First or Second Edition) and a version of DirectX older than 9.0a may experience performance problems. These problems can be resolved by installing DirectX 9.0a BEFORE YOU INSTALL THE GAME, which is available on your Madden NFL 2004 game disc. Simply use windows explorer and go to X:\DirectX (where X is your CD Rom drive). From there run the DXSetup.exe file. YOU MAY NEED TO UNINSTALL MADDEN NFL 2004, INSTALL DIRECTX 9.0a, AND THEN RE-INSTALL THE GAME. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- AOL and MSN - Minimizing Madden NFL 2004 If you are running AOL or MSN on Windows XP or 2000, sometimes pop-ups will minimize the game. To prevent this, press the START button in Windows then go to Settings - Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services. Select Messenger then right click and select "Properties". Change service status to STOP then change "Startup Type" to DISABLED, then click APPLY. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Play Online" Connection Problems Behind a Firewall If you're having problems connecting two computers located behind the same firewall, change the following option in the "Madden.ini" file to "LAN". The ini file is located in the Madden NFL 2004 "My Documents" folder. // Option Group: Network Settings Online Connection Method [Internet/LAN] = LAN ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sound - Error with Initialization If you experience an error message that reads "Madden 2004 Error - Error intializing sound. Please make sure the correct sound drivers are installed. Continue without sound?" Lower the sound acceleration to none in the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (DXDIAG). This problem was found with the following hardware in Windows 98: Altec Lansing ADA70 USB Speakers Creative Labs SB Extigy Microsoft Digital Sound System 80 USB Sound - Incompatibility with some Gamepads When using a gamepad a small number of users may experience pausing for 1 to 2 seconds while the audio continues to play. This is due to a conflict between your soundcard and gamepad and is not related to Madden NFL 2004. Make sure you have the latest drivers for both your soundcard and your gamepad. If you continue to have this problem, the only solution is to uninstall and disconnect your gamepad and play with a different controller device. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Controller Priority If two players use a keyboard and a gamepad on the same team, the keyboard will always be associated with player 1, and the gamepad with player 2. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- AMD and nVidia Geforce2 If you have an AMD K7 processor (Athlon or Duron) with a nVidia Geforce2 video card and experience slow performance, you'll need to install the AGP Miniport Driver from AMD. It may also be helpful to install the updated IDE Bus Master Driver, and the AMD IRQ Driver. http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/bin/ **NOTE**: Not all K7 systems utilize the AMD chipset(s). If you don't know whether or not your system utilizes the AMD chipset(s), or if you are unfamiliar with installing these type of drivers, please contact your system manufacturer or motherboard vendor for assistance. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- MP3 File Support Madden NFL 2004 supports the MP3 music format. To play the game while listening to your own MP3s, go to the System Settings on the revolver menu in the lower right-hand corner. In the Audio Settings screen, there is a file path for your MP3s. Type in your MP3 directory here to listen to your collection of MP3s. If you do not remember your path directory, Madden NFL 2004 supports cutting and pasting your directory from the Windows Explorer address bar. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Playmaker Control (Requires a dual analog gamepad) New to Madden NFL 2004 is Playmaker Control, an additional control scheme that brings new depth and ability to the Madden experience. With the right analog stick on your gamepad, you now have more control on the field than ever before. Playmaker Offense (Before the Snap) Switch the direction of a running play - right analog stick left or right Hot Route the primary receiver on a passing play - right analog stick left, right, up or down Playmaker Offense (After the Snap) Guide the nearest blocker - right analog stick up, down, left or right Direct the nearest receiver - right analog stick up, down, left or right Playmaker Defense (Before the Snap) Cheat the secondary to one side - right analog stick left or right Playmaker Defense (After the Snap) Cheat against the run - right analog stick down (immediately after the snap) Cheat against the deep pass - right analog stick up ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Coverage Audibles Coverage audibles allow you to change the logic of the cornerbacks at the line of scrimmage. To use coverage audibles, press button 4 before the ball is snapped and then press in a direction on your d-pad. There are four different coverage audibles: 1) Button 4 + d-pad down puts the corner backs into bump and run. (Jam the receiver at the line for tight coverage) 2) Button 4 + d-pad up puts the corner backs into loose coverage. (Drop back 5-7 yards and play under the receiver) 3) Button 4 + d-pad right shifts the safeties and linebackers into better positions to cover their assigned men. 4) Button 4 then Button 4 again cancels the coverage audible screen. 5) Button 4 and then Button 7 resets the coverage. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Touch Passing Touch Passing gives you the ability to lob the ball or throw a bullet pass. With the Pass Icons up, lightly tap the pass button (1, 2, 3, 5, or 6 button) to do a lob pass, or hold the pass button (1, 2, 3, 5, or 6 button) down to do a bullet pass. Lob passes are good in single man-to-man coverage for deep passes. Bullet passes are good for short passes in the middle of the field or the flats. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Quick Passing If you turn Quick Passing OFF, you'll have to press button 2 to bring up the passing icons. After that button 7 will bring the passing icons up and down. Pull the passing icons down if you want to scramble with your quarterback. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Man In Motion Man In Motion is used on offense to change the formation shape and confuse the defense. While on offense at the line of scrimmage, press up and down to highlight the player you want to put in motion. Then press left or right on the D-Pad to send that receiver in motion. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hot Routes Hot Routes are used to change the route that a receiver will run during a pass play. While on offense at the line of scrimmage, press button 4, then press the button of the receiver you want to change the route for. Then press up, down, left, or right to change that receiver's route. Left - 5yd left out Right - 5yd right out Up - Streak Down - 5yd curl 7 - left slant 8 - right slant If you would like to reset the receiver's original route after changing it, simply press button 4, then press the receiver's button twice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rosters in Online Games In Network Games, if both users do not have the same rosters the game will automatically load the default roster. If you want to use non-default rosters in a Network Game, both users must have the roster in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\Rosters directory and load it in the game's File Management. If you have created teams, both players will need to have the team's custom art file located in the My Documents\Madden NFL 2004\CustomArt directory in order to see the team's art. For Play Online games, default rosters are always used. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Input Devices in Network Mode Network mode only allows 4 input devices to be active per machine (for a total of 8 spanning both computers). It does this by disabling access to all but four input devices. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Frame Rate Frame rate will vary depending on your system. To increase the frame rate, turn the system settings down. The lower the settings, the faster the frame rate should be. The following options usually have the most significant impact on your performance: Player Detail, Player Shadows, Stadium Detail, and Sideline Detail/Density. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- High Resolution Support It is recommended that only high-end systems use resolutions higher than 800x600. The game will automatically detect what resolutions your video card supports and make these available from System Settings. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 32-bit Color Selecting 32-bit color can cause a huge performance decrease on older video cards. Try 16-bit color options if you find that you are getting slow frame rates or graphical problems. Graphical problems range from players not having textures to corrupted textures on in-game banners. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Downloadable Rosters Current rosters can be downloaded through the update feature on the Madden NFL 2004 start-up screen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Madden NFL 2004 Game Disk 1 is required in the CD-ROM drive in order to be able to start the game, as well as loading into and out of gameplay. Game Disk 1 is also required to access any of the Game Modes or Features from the game's Main Menu. This applies to both single and multiplayer games. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Gravis If you are using a Gravis gamepad, make sure you are using the most recent drivers. Available at http://www.gravis.com Logitech If you are using a Logitech gamepad make sure you are using the most recent drivers. Available at http://www.logitech.com Microsoft If you are using a Microsoft Sidewinder, make sure you are using the most recent drivers. Available at http://www.microsoft.com/sidewinder Thank you for your purchase of Madden NFL 2004! For the latest news and updates, visit http://www.EASPORTS.com Copyright 2003 Electronic Arts Inc. All Rights Reserved.