Microsoft Baseball 2000 Readme March 1999 ? 1998-1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Welcome to Microsoft Baseball 2000 This document contains important information and late-breaking news about Microsoft Baseball 2000. For more information on playing the game and maximizing your machine's performance, see the online Player's Guide. To access the Player's Guide, click the Help button in the upper right corner of any pregame screen and then click Player's Guide. For Microsoft Product Support information, see Support.txt. Contents 1. Installation Notes 2. General Troubleshooting 3. Tips for Improving Graphics 4. Graphics, Display, and 3D Card Troubleshooting 5. Game Performance Tips and Troubleshooting 6. Gameplay Troubleshooting 7. Game Controller and Hardware Troubleshooting 8. General Manager Troubleshooting 9. 3D Card Manufacturer Web Sites --------------------- 1. Installation Notes 1.1 System Requirements To play Microsoft Baseball 2000, you need: * Multimedia PC with Pentium 133 MHz or higher processor with 2 MB video card. Recommended: Pentium 200 MHz or higher processor with DirectX? 6.1 compatible 4 MB 3D card * Microsoft Windows? 95 or Windows 98 operating system * 32 MB of RAM * 100 MB of available hard-disk space for minimum install (50 MB of available hard-disk space for swap file) * Quad-speed or faster CD-ROM drive * Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device * DirectX 6.0-compatible sound card * Headphones or speakers required for audio 1.2 Installation freezes with Gravis Xperience software running If you have Gravis Xperience 2.1 software (for Gravis game controllers) installed, your installation may freeze before completing. To fix this issue you should disable the Gravis software. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL, click Dbserver in the list of programs, and then click End Task. 2. General Troubleshooting 2.1 Using ALT+TAB can cause corrupted graphics Pressing ALT+TAB to leave the program while a game is in progress can cause graphics problems on some systems. We recommend that you save and close a game before switching out of Baseball 2000. If you use ALT+TAB and encounter graphics problems, press CTRL+F5 to refresh the graphics. 2.2 Use CTRL+F3 to unfreeze game If the game freezes while you are playing, press CTRL+F3 to reset the play. Note: this will bring up a new batter. 2.3 Do not change Windows settings while game is running If you need to change any Windows settings such as your color display or screen resolution, we recommend that you exit Baseball 2000 before doing so. 3. Tips for Improving Graphics Baseball 2000 is designed to deliver great graphics and outstanding baseball action whether or not you have a 3D-accelerated video card. However, because every system is different, you may occasionally encounter graphics problems. Usually there is a simple solution for getting the graphics to look good. See section 4 for issues affecting specific 3D cards. 3.1 Upgrade your 3D card drivers Most 3D card manufacturers provide updated drivers on their Web sites that fix known issues (see section 4 for issues affecting Baseball 2000). * If you don't know what kind of 3D card you have, right-click on My Computer and click Properties. Click the Device Manager tab. Your 3D card should be listed under Display Adapters. Right-click on the card name and select Properties to find the manufacturer name. * For help with getting and installing drivers from your card manufacturer, see the Video Card and Driver Information section of the online Player's Guide (or click MS Baseball 2000 Help on the Start menu where the game is installed). * For a list of card manufacturer Web sites, see the section at the bottom of this Readme document. Important: If you plan to update drivers for a Diamond video card and have Internet Explorer 5.0 installed, read the Internet Explorer release notes first. 3.2 Adjustments to graphics settings Try these adjustments to improve your graphics display: * Try a different screen resolution on the Graphics Options screen. * Enable or disable the MIP Mapping and/or Triple Buffering controls on the Graphics Options screen. The effect of these controls usually depends on your 3D card's capabilities. * If some graphics are missing during a game, press CTRL+F5 to refresh the graphics. This may take several seconds to complete. * Close and restart the game. If refreshing the graphics does not repair a graphics issue, try restarting. 3.3 Common graphics problems and solutions If you see any of these graphics issues during a game, try the suggested solutions: * Graphics are too bright or pale and washed out -- Right-click on your Windows desktop, click Properties, and then click the Settings tab. If there is a tab for your 3D card in the Display Properties dialog box, select it, or click Advanced. Some video cards allow you to change color settings (may be called gamma correction). Adjust the color control to your preferred setting. * Textures turn white after changing screen resolution during a game -- Try a lower screen resolution. Note: we recommend closing a game before changing your resolution. * Graphic textures display in the wrong place on screen -- Try turning off MIP mapping and triple buffering on the Graphics Options screen. * Parts of outfield don't display correctly -- If some of the outfield graphics don't display correctly (for example, some may appear white), try turning off MIP mapping on the Graphics Options screen. * Graphics don't display correctly after using ALT+TAB -- If the in-game graphics don't display correctly (for example, colors are wrong) after returning to game play from another application or a pregame screen. try pressing CTRL + F5 to refresh the graphics. The refresh process may take several seconds. * Field radar does not display correctly -- If the field radar graphic appears out of place on screen (it should be in top right corner) or looks discolored, try pressing CTRL + F5 to refresh the graphics. The refresh process may take several seconds. * Screen display is off-center -- If you encounter this, there are several possible solutions: 1) Make sure you have selected the correct monitor that is connected to your system. To check your monitor, right-click on the Windows desktop, click Properties, and then select the Settings tab. Click Advanced and select Monitor. 2) Adjust the controls available on the front of your monitor. 3) Change your adapter's refresh rate or change your screen resolution. To do this, right-click on the Windows desktop, click Properties, and then select the Settings tab. Click Advanced and select Adapter. Under refresh rate, select Adapter Default. 4) Change your screen resolution. To do this, right-click on the Windows desktop, click Properties, and then select the Settings tab. Under Screen Area, change the setting to 800x600. Click OK to accept the change and make sure your screen is centered on your monitor. Use your monitor controls to change if necessary. 3.4 More 3D card information and driver installation instructions For more information on video card and driver issues (including how to get and install drivers), please see the Video Card and Driver Information topics in the Player's Guide. On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, Microsoft Games, Baseball 2000, and then click MS Baseball 2000 Help. 3.5 Try running without hardware acceleration If you've updated your 3D card drivers and still have graphics problems, you can run the game without using 3D hardware acceleration. On the Graphics Options screen, select Software under Video Card. 4. Graphics, Display, and 3D Card Troubleshooting 4.1 Some monitors do not support all resolutions supported by the game Not every monitor will support all screen resolutions that may be available in the game (resolutions are determined by your video card). The game may freeze while loading if you try to start in one of these resolutions. If you encounter this, choose a new resolution on the Graphics Options screen and restart your match-up. 4.2 Use 16-bit color setting On some systems, you may get a black screen or text might not display if your system is running with color settings other than 16-bit color. To fix this issue, right-click on your Windows desktop and click Properties. Select the Settings tab. Under Colors, select 16 bit. Be sure to restart your computer after changing your color setting. 4.3 Recommendations for Riva TNT cards If you have a 3D card that uses the Nvidia Riva TNT graphics engine, you may get better performance by installing the latest driver from the Nvidia Web site (http://www.nvidia.com/). After installing the Nvidia driver, you may encounter some graphics problems in the game. To fix these problems, right-click on your Windows desktop and click Properties. Select the Settings tab and then click Advanced. Select the tab for your Riva TNT card. Set the automatic MIP mapping levels and the PCI memory allocation option to 0 (zero). To improve frame rate or if the crowds in the game are blurry, you can also disable anti-aliasing. 4.4 Recommendations for Riva 128 cards If you have a 3D card that uses the Nvidia Riva 128 graphics engine, you may get better performance by installing the latest driver from the Nvidia Web site (http://www.nvidia.com/). Note: if you have a Nokia monitor, see the next issue. After installing the Nvidia driver, you may get better graphics performance by adjusting some settings. Right-click on your Windows desktop and click Properties. Select the Settings tab and then click Advanced. Select the tab for your Riva 128 card. Set the automatic MIP mapping levels to 0 (zero) and turn square textures off. Within Baseball 2000, you may also want to turn off MIP mapping on the Graphics Options screen. 4.5 Game may not display with Nvidia driver on Nokia monitors -- STB Velocity 128 If you are using the Nvidia driver for your STB Velocity 128 (Riva 128 chip set) and have a Nokia monitor, you may see a black screen when trying to run the game. If you encounter this problem, install the latest driver from the STB Web site (http://www.stb.com/). 4.6 Recommendations for ATI Rage Pro cards If you have a 3D card that uses the ATI Rage Pro graphics engine, you may get better performance by installing the latest driver from the ATI Web site (http://www.atitech.com/). 4.7 Shredded graphics -- Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee The in-game graphics look shredded when using a Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee with the version 4.10.01.0108-6.232 drivers from the 3Dfx Web site. If you encounter this problem, there are two solutions: 1) Right-click on the Windows desktop, click Properties, and then select the Settings tab. Click Advanced and select Blaster Control. Click the Advanced button and uncheck "Enable DirectX 6 support."; 2) Reinstall the Creative Labs driver that came with your card. 4.8 Recommendations for Creative Labs Graphics Blaster 3D If you have a Creative Labs Graphics Blaster 3D card, you may get better performance by running without 3D Hardware enabled. On the Graphics Options screen, click Software under Video Card. 4.9 Recommendations for Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 If you have a Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 card, you may get better performance by running without 3D Hardware enabled. On the Graphics Options screen, click Software under Video Card. 4.10 Recommendations for S3 cards If you have a 3D card that uses any S3 chip set (Virge, Savage 3D, etc.), we recommend installing the latest drivers from the S3 Web site (http://www.S3.com/). This includes the Hercules Terminator Beast card. 4.11 Recommendations for Diamond Monster Fusion You may experience graphics problems with the Diamond Monster Fusion video card. You can download an updated video card driver that fixes these problem at the 3Dfx Web site (http://www.3Dfx.com/). Look for the Voodoo Banshee reference drivers. 4.12 Triple Buffering not supported -- Voodoo cards Video cards based on the 3Dfx Voodoo 1 and Voodoo 2 chip sets do not support the triple buffering setting on Baseball 2000's Graphics Options screen. 4.13 Field radar does not display correctly-- Voodoo cards If you have a 3D card based on the 3Dfx Voodoo or Voodoo 2 chip sets, the field radar graphic may be cut off or invisible. You can download an updated driver that fixes this problem at the 3Dfx Web site (http://www.3Dfx.com/). If you have a Voodoo 2 card, turning off gouraud shading in the game's Graphics Options will also fix the problems. 4.14 Field radar not visible on Gateway system -- AccelStar 2 The in-game field radar may not be visible on some systems running Windows 98 with the AccelStar 2 card (Permedia 2 chip set). You can download an updated driver (version 4.10.1.2105 or later) from the 3Dlabs Web site (http://www.3dlabs.com/). 4.15 Game may crash during profiling with outdated driver -- Rendition Verite 1000 On some configurations running a Rendition Verite 1000 card, the game may crash to your Windows desktop during the profiling stage of loading a game. The problem will usually not occur again the next time you load the game. An updated driver that fixes this problem is available at the Rendition Web site (http://www.rendition.com/). 4.16 Ball-landing marker may not be visible with outdated driver -- Hercules Thriller 3D On some configurations, the ball-landing marker that appears on fly balls may not be visible. If you are not able to see a ball-landing marker, you can download an updated driver from the Hercules Web site (http://www.hercules.com/) that fixes this problem. Make sure you also download and install the Thriller 3D BIOS when you update the driver. 4.17 Can't load game graphics -- Matrox Mystique 220 On some systems with a Matrox Mystique 220 card, you may not be able to load the game graphics with 3D Hardware enabled. If you encounter this, try running without hardware acceleration. On the Graphics Options screen, click Software under Video Card. 4.18 Graphics redraw several times -- Matrox Millennium G200 On some systems with a Matrox Millennium G200 card, some graphics will redraw multiple times during game play. If you encounter this, try running at a lower screen resolution. You can change your resolution on the Graphics Options screen in the game. 4.19 3D card detected, but game won't run in 3D Hardware mode -- Matrox Millennium Even though the Matrox Millennium will be detected as a 3D card by Baseball 2000, the card does not have enough hardware acceleration support to run the game. In the Graphics Options screen, select Software under Video Card to run the game in software emulation mode instead. 4.20 Install updated driver -- Matrox Mystique If you experience graphics problems using a Matrox Mystique video card, we recommend that you install an updated driver from the Matrox Web site (http://www.matrox.com/). 5. Game Performance Tips and Troubleshooting 5.1 Change Windows display settings On some systems, you can improve the game's frame rate by changing video card settings in the Windows Display Settings. To determine if your video card lets you adjust these advanced features, right-click on your Windows desktop and click Properties. If there is a tab for your video card (example: 3Dfx) in the Display Properties dialog box, select it. Or, select the Settings tab, click Advanced, and look for video card controls there. You may improve frame rate by changing the following settings: * Turn off the synchronize vertical refresh feature (sometimes called "Vsync in flip"). If your card lets you manually set the refresh rate, you may find that changing it from 60Hz may improve your frame rate when running at resolutions other than 640x480. * Turn off anti-aliasing. * Turn off alpha-blending. * If your card lets you manually set the refresh rate, you may find that changing it from 60Hz may improve your frame rate when running at resolutions other than 640x480. * Turn off auto-mipmapping. 5.2 Change Baseball 2000 graphics and sound settings You can change several settings that may improve performance on the Baseball 2000 Options screens. * Turn off gouraud shading * Turn off shadows * Select a lower level of player detail * Switch to a lower screen resolution * Turn off sounds 5.3 Refresh rate problems with older monitors If you run Baseball 2000 on a system with an older monitor (5 or more years), you may have trouble finding a monitor refresh rate setting that works with the game. If your screen displays only wavy lines when you start the game, you should try changing the refresh rate in your Windows Display Properties. 6. Game Play Troubleshooting 6.1 Z, X, C, V keys not available When the keyboard is the selected controller, the Z, X, C, and V key configuration is not available, contrary to what is stated in the jewel case booklet. 6.2 Mouse pointer may disappear when viewing Player's Guide during game Your mouse pointer may flicker or disappear when viewing the Player's Guide during a game if you're running a theme pack that uses a detailed pointer. To correct this problem, open the Mouse control panel and select the Pointers tab. Under Scheme, select Windows Standard. 6.3 Mouse inactive on play and pause controls during replay During a replay, clicking the mouse on the play and pause buttons does not have any effect. Use your game controller instead. On the keyboard, the spacebar and Enter toggle between play and pause. On a game pad, button 1 toggles play and pause. See the Instant Replays topic in the online Player's Guide for more information. 7. Game Controller and Hardware Troubleshooting 7.1 Game does not support two-button controllers Baseball 2000 is designed for use with game pads and joysticks that have four or more buttons. It will not work with two-button game controllers. If you only have a two-button controller, use the keyboard instead. 7.2 Do not switch game controllers while a game is in progress If you want to switch your game controller (ex. unplug joystick and replace with game pad), do so before you open Baseball 2000. If you switch controllers while the game is open, it may not recognize all commands correctly. 7.3 Microsoft Freestyle Pro users should turn sensor off If you're using the Microsoft Freestyle Pro game controller, turn the sensor off. This ensures that directional input is handled through the d-pad. Using the d-pad while the sensor is on may cause problems. 7.4 Game pad devices may show up as joystick in the game Some game controllers may show up as a joystick on the Controls screen even though they look like a game pad. If you encounter this, you may still select the controller and it should work as expected in the game. 7.5 Second controller works only when first controller is also used If you have two game controllers hooked up, the second controller (when it is plugged into the first controller) will not work unless the first controller is in use. If you want to use the second controller in a one-player game, plug it directly into your computer. 7.6 Problems when joystick and game pad are used in head-to-head game You may encounter problems when you're playing a head-to-head game with a joystick and game pad as the two controllers. If so, restart the game and use a different controller combination (such as keyboard and game pad). 7.7 Game will not run if CD-ROM drive location changes after installation If the location of your CD-ROM drive changes (for example, from drive D: to drive E:) after the game has been installed, the game will no longer run from the new drive location. You will need to uninstall and reinstall the game from the new drive location. 8. General Manager Troubleshooting 8.1 About the General Manager The General Manager is a separate application from Baseball 2000 that lets you edit players and rosters, trade players, create players, and change default starting lineups. You can open the General Manager by clicking the Windows Start button, Programs, Microsoft Games, Baseball 2000, General Manager. It cannot be opened when Baseball 2000 is open. 8.2 Can't find season database if you run General Manager before running Baseball 2000 You should run Baseball 2000 at least once before you use the General Manager application. Otherwise, the General Manager cannot find the correct database. 8.3 Player photos do not display with minimum or typical install In order to see player photo within the General Manager, you must use the Maximum installation option. If you used the Typical or Minimum installation option, you will not see a photo when you edit a player. 9. 3D Card Manufacturer Web Sites You may be able to obtain updated drivers from your 3D card manufacturer's Web site. ASUS http://www.asus.com/ ATI http://www.atitech.com/ Cirrus Logic http://www.cirrus.com/ Creative Labs http://www.soundblaster.com/ Diamond Multimedia http://www.diamondmm.com/ Hercules http://www.hercules.com/ Intergraph http://www.intergraph.com/ Matrox http://www.matrox.com/ NEC PowerVR http://www.videologic.com/ Number Nine http://www.nine.com/ Nvidia http://www.nvidia.com/ Rendition http://www.rendition.com/ S3 http://www.s3.com/ STB http://www.stb.com/ 3DFX http://www.3dfx.com/ 3DLabs http://www.3dlabs.com/ Trident Microsystems http://www.tridentmicro.com/ VideoLogic http://www.videologic.com/ Computer Manufacturer Web Sites If your video card was pre-installed when you purchased your computer, you may need to check with the computer manufacturer for new drivers. Here is a list of popular computer manufacturer Web sites. Acer http://www.acer.com/ Compaq http://www.compaq.com/ Dell http://www.dell.com/ Gateway 2000 http://www.gateway.com/ Hewlett-Packard http://www.hp.com/ IBM http://www.ibm.com/ Packard Bell http://www.packardbell.com/ Sony http://www.sony.com/ Toshiba http://www.toshiba.com/