MindRover: The Europa Project V1.07 - Release Notes 10/11/00 ------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2000, CogniToy, LLC. SciTech GLDirect(TM) graphics driver technology copyright 1997-2000, SciTech Software Inc. All rights reserved. ------------------------------------------------ The most up to date information can be found at our website. Please read this file and then come to our website for updates: http://www.mindrover.com Also, please look on the CD in a directory called MRExtras for add-ons and example vehicles. NOTE: First time users should go through the tutorials in the game. Use the F1 key to get help on components and scenarios in the game. Contents of Release Notes: - System Requirements - Install Instructions - Graphics Card Settings - Uninstall - Running MindRover - Graphics Card Support/OpenGL - Gamma (Brightness) Control - Scripting Support - Known Bugs - Contact Us =============================================== System Requirements =============================================== The minimum system requirements needed to run MindRover are: * 200MHz PC running Win95/98/NT/Win2000 (300Mhz recommended) * 3D graphics accelerator card (such as Voodoo1, Voodoo2, Voodoo3, Riva TNT, TNT2, ATI Rage 128 and Rage Pro series, Matrox G200/G400, Permedia2, GeForce) * OpenGL driver for graphics card (optional) * DirectX7.0a drivers from Microsoft * 32M RAM (64M recommended) * 70M hard disk space * 4x CDROM * 16 bit color mode * Sound card NOTE: OpenGL is an evolving standard, and graphics card manufacturers are constantly updating their support. Please see below for more information on 3D graphics options. =============================================== Install Instructions =============================================== To install MindRover for the first time, place the CD in your CDROM drive. If you have autoplay enabled, the MindRover autorun program will start automatically. If not, run the AutoRun.exe file on the CD to install MindRover. This will extract files to the directory you specify or to the default directory: c:\games\mindrover. Mindrover adds files only to its install directory; it does not touch your system directories. If you have a demo version already installed you should install the full version in the same directory, which will be the default. As part of the installation, you will get a chance to modify your graphics card settings (see below). =============================================== Graphics Card Settings =============================================== As mentioned in the system requirements, MindRover requires a hardware 3D accelerator card. We have included a program called Settings.exe, which will run at the end of the installation. You can also run this program later to test your 3D drivers and set the desired screen resolution. You can find Settings.exe in your MindRover install directory or you can find it through Start Menu, Programs. When you run the settings program it will display a spinning cube on your monitor using OpenGL drivers or simulated D3D. Try the OpenGL setting first since that will usually result in the best performance. After 10 seconds, you will get a message asking if you saw the spinning cube. If not, you may need to install OpenGL drivers, or you can try the simulated OpenGL setting. Save the settings once you determine what works for you. The recommended settings are 800x600 with 16 bit color. You will also get a frame rate reading from the Settings program. Frame rate, measured in frames per second, is an indication of how fast your graphics are being displayed. The MindRover Settings program reports the frame rate it calculates while spinning a simple cube with the settings you chose. These frame rates will be higher than what you will see in the actual game. You can compare the frame rates that you get using various settings to decide what settings you want for the game. If you use the windowed (not full screen) option, you will get the best performance by ensuring that your color depth (16 bit or 24 bit) is the same for both MindRover and your desktop. =============================================== Uninstall =============================================== To uninstall MindRover use the 'MRuninstall.exe' program, which can be found in Start Menu, Programs. Alternatively, you can run this program directly from your MindRover install directory. =============================================== Running MindRover =============================================== To start MindRover, insert the MindRover CD in the drive. If you have autorun enabled, the MindRover AutoRun program will start up automatically. From here you can click Play to start the game, or click on Movies to see the introduction and tutorial movies. You can also start MindRover by clicking on the Windows Start Menu, Programs, and navigating to the MindRover folder. Click on the MindRover entry to start the game. The MindRover CD MUST be in the drive when the game is started. We strongly recommend that you close down as many other programs as possible before running MindRover, especially if your machine has only 32 megabytes of RAM. There is an in-game tutorial, MindRover Basics, that will prompt you through your first use of MindRover. The next tutorial, Getting Started, takes you through the creation and programming of your first rover. There are three more tutorials after that for more advanced topics. Please come to our website to exchange ideas, make comments, get help and download new components and scenarios: http://www.mindrover.com ================================================= Graphics Card Support/OpenGL ================================================= We have tested this release of MindRover on a wide range of 3D graphics chipsets. Most video cards are now supported by glsetup.exe, which is a program that loads OpenGL drivers for many graphics cards on Win98. Version 1.0.0.117 of this program is on the MindRover CD, in the drivers directory. A newer version may be available at: http://www.glsetup.com If you are not sure of the status of your OpenGL installation, please run glsetup and follow directions. Note that glsetup requires DirectX7 to be installed. If you need it, you can find it on the MindRover CD in the drivers subdirectory as well. You can also get the latest DirectX drivers from Microsoft's web site. You cannot install DirectX7 on a WinNT machine. Also, glsetup currently does not work for Win2000. You should go to your manufacturer's website for latest drivers, or try the simulated OpenGL setting from the Settings program. MindRover's default graphics resolution is 800x600. If you have a Voodoo I or another graphics card that only runs 640x480, then you can change this resolution by running the Settings program as described above under "Graphics card settings". Note that some fonts are difficult to read in 640x480. ---- Voodoo III ---- At the time that we are writing this Readme, the released voodoo III drivers for Win98 will crash when you exit MindRover or the Settings.exe program. 3dfx has fixed this, but has not yet released the new drivers. You may want to try the simulated OpenGL setting. You can go back to the hardware accelerated OpenGL settings when new drivers are released. We recommend 800 x 600 with 16 bit color. ---- WinNT or 2000 installations -- WinNT and Win2000 drivers are not supported through the glsetup program. Please go to the website of the chip manufacturer to get latest Win2000 or NT drivers, or try the OpenGL simulation setting from the settings program. ================================================= Gamma (Brightness) Control ================================================= If the game screen appears too dark, then login to the game, click on the Options button in the upper left and adjust the gamma setting. The smaller the number, the brighter the game will appear. The default setting is 1, so you can get a brighter picture by choosing a value between .6 and .8. Greater than 1 will be darker. The gamma setting will be saved automatically and reused on your next use of MindRover. Note: This does not work on WinNT or Win2k. ================================================= Scripting Support ================================================ Scripting allows you to run multiple scenarios automatically. This can be used for running contests. Supported commands include: Login - log in as the given user (must be before the first LoadScenario) LoadScenario - makes the named scenario the current scenario. Scenario name must be the full scenario filename, including the path to the scenario. Looks like this: scenarios/s_goldrush.vmf LoadVehicle - loads the named vehicle into the team and slot for the current scenario (teams are 1 and 2, slots are 1 and 2 per team). Vehicle name is the full filename: vehicles/username/vehiclename.vmf StartScenario - equivalent to hitting the GO button with the specific seed. The seed is an optional integer. Useful if you want to run all of the matches in a tournament with the same starting configuration. SetConsoleLog - all messages sent to the console get recorded in MRInstallDir/logname.log. If logname is empty, console messages are not recorded (the default). ReturnOnEndScenario <1/0> - if true (default is false), when the scenario ends the scenario automatically returns to the console. Clearslots - clears the vehicles from the slots. This is important when you are running the same scenario with the same vehicles in opposite locations back to back. First clear the slots before loading the second set of vehicles. Exec -- executes the given script. This is a subroutine call; when the exec terminates, the previous script is continued. Rem -- This command is ignored. Used for placing remarks in the script file. SetScenarioTimeOut - will force a scenario to end after the specified number of seconds. Quit - exits back to the operating system Example script file: Login Tournament1 ReturnOnEndScenario 1 SetConsoleLog Tournament1.log SetScenarioTimeOut 300 LoadScenario scenarios/s_hotpotato.vmf LoadVehicle 1 1 vehicles/Tournament1/contestant1.vmf LoadVehicle 2 1 vehicles/Tournament1/contestant2.vmf StartScenario Clearslots LoadVehicle 1 1 vehicles/Tournament1/contestant3.vmf LoadVehicle 2 1 vehicles/Tournament1/contestant4.vmf StartScenario Quit It is used with the /exec command line parameter or the Exec console command. The command file MUST reside in a subdirectory of MindRover (you may want to create a subdirectory for this purpose), and you must specify its path relative to the MindRover root: mindrover /exec commands/test.cfg Or pop up the command console within MindRover (found at the bottom of the command screen) and type: exec commands/test.cfg =============================================== Known Bugs =============================================== The Voodoo III drivers crash when you exit the game. It is recoverable without a reboot. The shift-0 (free-flying) camera can get lost in space. Simple workaround is to press 1 and the camera will fly back to watching your vehicle automatically. The gamma setting in the Options screen doesn't work for NT or Win2000. There is a bug forum and known bug list available at our website. If you would like to report a bug, please visit the player's forums and add your comments. http://www.mindrover.com/players/players.htm =============================================== Contact Us =============================================== There is a players forum for posting questions, comments, and ideas. If you have a question, you might get the best response by posting it on the forum: http://www.mindrover.com/players/players.htm If you would prefer to send us a direct email use one of these addresses: bugs@cognitoy.com (for problems/bugs) support@cognitoy.com (general support issues) webmaster@cognitoy.com (general website support) Or call us at our toll free number (US and Canada): 888 788-1792 Or our regular phone number (and international): 978 264-3945