Welcome to Shanghai: Dynasty!
This Read Me file contains last-minute installation instructions and product information for the Windows 95 version of Shanghai: Dynasty. The on-line guide – “Rules & Strategy,” under the Help menu -- also provides essential information to help you begin playing Shanghai: Dynasty. For additional installation instructions, please see the Players' Manual, the Install Guide inside the CD Cover, and the Troubleshooting/Technical Help on the CD (which is accessible by clicking on the Help button on the Splash Screen).
Minimum System Requirements for Windows 95®
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 95, English language version.
• Processor: Pentium® Processor - 90 Mhz, 100% IBM PC®-compatible
• RAM: 16 MB
• CD-ROM Drive: 2x (double-speed - 300K/second sustained transfer rate).
• 2X CD-ROM users should use the standard or full installations to avoid any potential inferior game performance which may result from animations playing from the CD-ROM.
• Hard Disk Space: 40 MB, uncompressed
• Video/Display: 256-color SVGA (640x480), PCI or VLB video card with 1MB RAM
• Sound: 100% Windows 95-compatible sound card and drivers
• Mouse: 100% Windows 95-compatible mouse and driver
• Windows 95 Drivers: 32-bit Windows 95-compatible drivers for CD-ROM, Video Card, Sound Card, Modem and input devices.
Additional Minimum System Requirements for Multiplayer Play (Windows 95 only)
• Internet: 100% Windows 95 compatible modem, 28.8 Kbps or faster or TCP/IP network
• Local Area Network (LAN): 100% Windows 95 compatible network or IPX (LAN) network
• Modem: 100% Windows 95 compatible modem, 28,000 bps or faster
Note: In order to play Shanghai: Dynasty, the CD must be in your CD-ROM drive at all times, so the program can access the music and other information stored on the CD.
As with all new and evolving technology, Activision is committed to providing upgrades that improve quality and performance. See the Customer Support area of the Activision Web site for further upgrades at www.activision.com.
Setup and Installation
This readme file contains the latest improvements to the game and the latest troubleshooting information.
Before Installing:
Before installing the game, check the minimum system requirements and the information below for additional important requirements and considerations. Please make sure your computer system is 100% Windows 95-compatible.
Install sizes:
In order to allow you more flexibility in your space requirements, Shanghai: Dynasty offers you the possibility of choosing different install sizes, according to the space available on your hard drive:
Standard Install: This option requires that you have at least 160 MB available on your hard drive. If you choose this option, all the files (with the exception of the background tunes) will be loaded to the hard drive during the install process instead of being loaded only when they are used in the game. This option will load all the tile sets, tile animations, and reward animations to your hard drive.
Medium Install: This option requires approximately 70 MB of space on your hard drive. This option will install only the tile sets and game files to your hard drive. The reward sequences will remain on the CD and will be loaded only when used in the game.
Minimum Install: This option requires only 40 MB of space on your hard drive. If you choose this option, only the Mah-Jongg tile set and reward sequence will be installed along with the files needed to play Shanghai: Dynasty and Mah-Jongg. The other tile sets, and respective animations that will be played throughout the game will be kept on the CD and will be loaded to your hard drive only when used in the game.
Custom Install: This option allows you to choose the number of tile sets and reward animations you wish to have installed on your hard drive, depending on the space you have available. To select the tile sets you wish to have loaded to your hard drive, click in the appropriate boxes.
Windows 95 Version
Installation Instructions (with AutoPlay):
1. Before installing, close all applications.
2. Insert the Shanghai: Dynasty CD into your CD-ROM drive and wait a few moments until the Shanghai: Dynasty splash screen appears. (If the splash screen does not appear, please refer to AutoPlay in the Troubleshooting section on the following page.)
3. Click the Install button to begin the install process and then follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Now you can run Shanghai: Dynasty for Windows 95 by choosing Programs/Activision/Shanghai: Dynasty from the Start menu or by clicking Play on the Shanghai: Dynasty splash screen.
Installation Instructions (no AutoPlay):
1. Before installing, close all applications. Also make sure Virtual Memory (located in your System Control Panel under Performance) is NOT disabled.
2. Insert the Shanghai: Dynasty CD in your CD-ROM drive, double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop or right-click on it and choose the Open option.
3. Select the Refresh option located in the View pull-down menu.
4. Double-click on the Shanghai: Dynasty CD icon in the window or right-click on it and choose the AutoPlay option.
5. After the Shanghai: Dynasty splash screen appears, click on the Play/Install button and follow the instructions on the screen.
6. Now you can run Shanghai: Dynasty for Windows 95 by choosing Programs/Activision/Shanghai: Dynasty from the Start menu or by clicking Play on the Shanghai: Dynasty splash screen.
Troubleshooting (Windows 95)
AutoPlay
If the AutoPlay feature does not function, please check the following:
1. Make sure the CD is clean and properly placed in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Verify that your CD-ROM driver is optimized for use with Windows 95. To do this:
a. Open the Windows 95 Control Panel folder and double-click on the System icon.
b. Click on the Performance tab. If any of your hardware drivers are not fully optimized for use with Windows 95, they will be listed here with an explanation of the exact problem and suggestions on how to fix it.
2. Verify that the Auto-Insert Notification for your CD-ROM is enabled. To do this:
a. Open the Windows 95 Control Panel folder and double-click on the System icon.
b. Click on the Device Manager tab. Your system’s devices will be listed here. Click on the + symbol that appears next to the CD-ROM listing. Double-click on the CD-ROM make and model that is on your system.
c. Click on the Settings tab. Under Options there will be a check-box labeled Auto insert notification. Make sure this box is checked. Click OK.
3. Double-click on splash.exe located on the CD to start the Shanghai: Dynasty Splash Screen and installer.
Common Problems and Solutions
I am trying to install the game and can’t find the Help option.
From the Splash Screen, select More, then Technical Help to get technical help.
Program won’t install.
One of the reasons for this may be that you have insufficient hard disk space for the program to copy the files it needs from the CD to your hard drive. You need to free up more hard disk space by deleting more files.
Game doesn’t start.
This problem may be caused by lost clusters on the hard drive.
1. Run SCANDISK to determine if this is the problem. See your Windows 95 manual for more details on SCANDISK.
2. Also make sure you have at least 10 MB of free hard disk space (after installation of the game) before starting Shanghai: Dynasty.
Game Freezes.
1. Make sure your computer has at least 16 MB of RAM.
2. Make sure you are using Windows 95 with the latest 32-bit drivers for all your peripheral devices.
No sound, partial sound, or no voices or sound effects.
1. Make sure you have a 100% Windows 95 compatible sound card in your computer.
2. Make sure your speakers are plugged in correctly and turned on, and make sure the volume is turned up to an audible level.
3. Make sure your audio card is properly installed and that you have the correct audio drivers installed. Check your audio card’s installation and its setup parameters within Windows 95 to be sure all is correct.
4. Select your audio control panel (either by double-clicking on the speaker icon on your screen or by going to the Start Menu and selecting Settings, Control Panels, Multimedia Properties, Audio) and adjust the volume. Consult your card’s manual and your Windows 95 manual for details.
5. Make sure the Sounds option in the Preferences menu in Shanghai: Dynasty is checked.
Game too slow.
1. If your computer has a turbo button, make sure it is ON and set to the highest MHz possible.
2. Make sure you are running Shanghai: Dynasty on a Pentium 90 MHz or faster system.
3. Try using a larger install size if you have available space on your hard drive.
Customer Support
Before contacting Customer Support, please consult the technical help file.
It contains the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions and may quickly and easily provide a solution to your difficulty. If after reviewing the technical help file you are still experiencing problems, please feel free to contact us through any of the services listed.
So that we can better help you, please be at your computer and have the
following information ready:
1. Complete product title
2. Exact error message reported (if any) and a brief description of the problem
3. Your computer’s processor type and speed (e.g. Pentium 90)
4. Video and sound card make and model (e.g., Diamond Stealth 64 video, Sound Blaster 16 sound)
Online Services with Activision Forums,
E-Mail, and File Library Support
• Internet: support@activision.com or www.activision.com
• America Online: Use keyword “Activision” to locate the Activision forum.
• CompuServe: 76004,2122 or [GO ACTIVISION]
• Activision BBS: (310) 255-2146; Up to 33,600 Baud; Settings: 8 Bits,
• No Parity, 1 Stop Bit (8, N, 1)
Please note that Technical Support for the multiplayer component is
available via our online services only.
In the U.S.
Fax: (310) 255-2151, 24 hours a day
FaxBack: (310) 255-2153, 24 hours a day
Mail: Activision, Customer Support, P.O. Box 67713,
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: Call our 24-hour voice-mail system for answers to our most frequently asked questions at (310) 255-2050. Or contact a customer service representative at the same number between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) Monday through Friday, except holidays.
In Australia & the U.K.
For Technical Support:
In Australia, please call 1902 962 000.
In the U.K., please call 0990 143 525.
If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions about this game, or any other Activision product, you can contact us in the U.K. at 0181 742 9400 between the hours of 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (U.K. time) Monday through Friday, with the exception of holidays.
For Technical and Customer Service for the rest of Europe please contact your local distributor.
Errata in the Players’ Manual and additional information:
Page numbers refer to the location of the erratum in the English manual as it was printed.
Page 7 (add one extra bullet-point for "Common Problems and Solutions" for Windows 95 users):
Can't maximize game window.
If you run Shanghai: Dynasty on a monitor set to a pixel resolution greater than 640x480, clicking on the "Maximize" button at the upper right corner (the one between the Minimize button and the Exit button) will not enlarge the game to fill the monitor screen. The game's maximum window size is 640x480 pixels. We recommend setting your monitor to 640x480 if you have difficulty reading small text or graphics. Use the Display Control Panel to change this. Go to Start button. Select Settings. Select Control Panel. Select Display. Select Settings. Move the Desktop Area slider to the left until 640x480 is selected. Hit OK. If the computer asks if you want to restart the computer, you can probably just say no.
Page 12 (bottom paragraph). Add: "(Macintosh users: Ctrl-click)" after "Right-Click" and before "Help".
Page 19 ( 2nd-to-last paragraph in the first "Dynasty" section). It says a Dynasty game is 3 rounds. Should read: "The first player to win two rounds wins the game."
Page 24 (beneath picture of Honors tiles). Add: "When Arabic Numerals are turned off in the Mah-Jongg game, the White Dragon is shown as a plain white tile."
Page 27. "Shanghai: Dynasty includes both the Chinese game of Mah-Jongg (as it is played in Hong Kong) and the Western game of Mah-Jongg (as it is played in Europe, Australia, and North America)" should read: "Shanghai: Dynasty includes both the Chinese game of Mah-Jongg (Cantonese/Hong Kong "Old Style") and the Western game of Mah-Jongg (as it is played in Europe, Australia, and North America)."
Page 34 at the top -- Add: "Note: in Western Mah-Jongg, all players are scored when one player goes out."
Page 36 (just before Printing Results section -- after "Fully Concealed Hand - When you have 13 tiles in your hand (no melded groupings) and go Out on a self-drawn tile." And before the title "Printing the Mah-Jongg Results", as a new paragraph) -- Add: "When the Score Display is visible, you can use the Up and Down buttons (when highlighted) to scroll up and down the list, to see how the winning hand is scored. When the Payments Display is visible, you can use the Next and Prev buttons to see how other hands in the game were paid."
Page 36. " When the Results box is displayed on screen, press the Print Screen button on your keyboard." Should read: "When the Results box is displayed on screen, press Alt-Print Screen on your keyboard." since copies only the active window.
Page 41, at the end of the Jokers section, add: "In certain cases, the computer may not recognize how you want to use a joker, especially in Chows of special hands."
Page 42: Immediately after the sentence " As much as you want to go out yourself, sometimes it's wiser to keep anybody else from winning. " add: "Especially, you don't want to "feed" a high-scoring hand. If a player has melded three sets of all one suit, that's especially dangerous (you might feed a Pure or Clean hand, and have to pay a high price); thus the player announces the danger when making a third meld in one suit."
Page 42, bottom of the page. Add: "- You can vary the challenge by how you allocate the difficulty setting of your A.I. opponents. When playing offline against A.I. opponents, A.I.#3 will always be the player to your left (the player whose discards can be used for Chows), A.I.#2 will always be the player across from you, and A.I.#1 will always be the player to your right. You might try setting A.I.#3 to Easy (so that player will be somewhat friendly in discarding tiles that you might be able to use), A.I.#2 to Hard, and A.I.#1 to Medium difficulty. You can experiment with other combinations too."
Page 43, first question, answer #6 -- should read: "Context-sensitive information: right-clicking (Macintosh users: Ctrl-clicking) on the tiles (anywhere on the table) will tell you the name of the tile and offer some courses of action."
Page 52 (two places). "Kong is counted as two pairs if concealed" -- should read -- "Kong is counted as two pairs if fully concealed in the hand"
Page 53. "Kongs are counted as two pairs if concealed" -- should read -- "Kongs are counted as two pairs if fully concealed in the hand"
Page 57 -- Description of Heavenly Gates should read: "Pongs of ones and nines, plus a run of 2-8 (all in one suit), plus any one tile of that suit."
Page 66. "When the Wall of Fame is displayed on screen, press the Print Screen button on your keyboard." should read: " When the Wall of Fame is displayed on screen, press Alt and press the Print Screen button on your keyboard to take a screen shot." since copies only the active window, making for a smaller file on the hard drive.
Page 67, paragraph after the 2 bullet points -- "Dynasty folder" should be "Shanghai Dynasty folder" -- and ".WOF file" should be "Dynasty Preferences file".
Page 74, just before the last paragraph: Add: " Note: the multi-player features described below are only available on the Windows 95 version at this time. Multi-player online play is not available for Macintosh."
Page 76, #7 -- Should read: "Set your game options, and wait for other human players to join your game or Add computer players (you can set their difficulty by right-clicking on the icon by their names). It's a good idea to chat with the other human players until the connection stabilizes. Then click Launch to start your multiplayer game."
Page 77, third paragraph. After the paragraph, which reads: " All players can be playing with their favorite tile sets - the game does not care if Player 1 is using the Mah-Jongg tiles, and Player 2 is using the Fantasy tiles, and Player 3 is using a custom tile set, for example." The following should be added: "It is strongly recommended that you only use a tile set which is installed on your hard drive; playing online with a tile set which requires frequent accessing of the CD will likely cause delays while playing."
Page 78, very bottom. " If a player takes too long to make his/her move, and all of the other players have "urged" the slow player, the computer takes over for that player until s/he rejoins
the game. If a game ends while the computer is playing for a player who dropped out, the win is credited to that player's number or seat position (rather than to the name of the player who dropped out)." Should read: "If a player takes too long to make his/her move, and all of the other players have "urged" the slow player, the computer takes over for that player until the end of the hand. The other players may then have to quit and form a new game."
Page 80. After the sentence: " The theory is that once a young player has mastered layouts
of 68 tiles, and desires layouts comprised of more than 68 tiles, that that
player is most likely ready to graduate to Classic Shanghai (with 144 tiles,
without the voice, and without the extra onscreen buttons).", the following should be added: "If you create a custom Dynasty layout, you should probably label it in a manner to make it recognizable as a Dynasty layout when navigating to it in the "Open" dialog box. Or make a separate folder within the Layouts folder. All of the layouts provided in the Custom folder are 144-tile layouts suitable for Classic Shanghai, Pandamonium, 2-Player, or Tournament -- 144-tile layouts are not suitable for Dynasty games."
Page 81. After the last Custom Layouts paragraph: "If you rename a layout (by giving it a different extension) to try to "fool" the game into using it in a game mode other than described here, the game may crash (so don't complain to us if you do this!) - even if the game crashes, no damage will occur to your computer. Keep in mind that it is not recommended to be running other programs at the same time as Shanghai: Dynasty" should be added the following: "Activision will make new custom layouts and tile sets available from time to time -- watch our website (http://www.activision.com)."
Page 81. Bottom paragraph, first sentence. Should read: "Look in the folder where you installed Shanghai: Dynasty (on Windows 95 systems, this is normally C:\Program Files\Activision\Shanghai Dynasty\ -- Mac users won't have to look that hard to find it), or look on the Shanghai: Dynasty CD, in the Data\Custom Tilesets\ folder."
Page 82, the big paragraph. Change 3rd sentence to: " Make sure not to alter the palette
of the template file as you work on it. Make sure you do not use the first 10 colors of the palette or the last 10 colors of the palette (using those colors will cause the game to look strange -- we have a rather technical term for this phenomenon at Activision: "Hey, this game looks kaflooey!")."
Page 82, the big paragraph. " Your tile can have a one pixel-wide black border (already provided in the template) or you can alter the color of the border if you desire." Should read: "You can cut-and-paste a 38x48-pixel picture inside the borders of a tile in the template, or you can paste a 40x50-pixel picture over the 40x50 rectangle in the template (which would create a tile without a border)."
Page 82, the last paragraph. "When your custom tile set is ready to be imported, make sure you know where on your hard drive the file is located, then start Shanghai: Dynasty. From the Title screen, select Shanghai (or Kids). Go to the Tiles menu and select Custom Tiles.... Navigate to your file and there you are." should read: "When your custom tile set is ready to be imported, put the file into the Custom Tilesets folder inside the game's folder, then start Shanghai: Dynasty. From the Title screen, select Shanghai (or Kids). Go to the Tiles menu and select Custom Tiles.... Open the Custom Tilesets folder, highlight your file, and click on Open. Your tile set will be loaded and displayed on game tiles."
Page 85, first sentence. "There is a Custom folder" should read: "There is a Custom Tilesets folder".
Page 85, first paragraph. Add to the end of the paragraph: "Putting the file in a different folder might make it hard for the game to read the file, or might cause other problems."
Page 85, 2nd paragraph. Should read:: " If the creator of a custom tile set was not careful to preserve the tile set's palette (or if s/he used any of the first ten colors or the last ten colors of the palette), you may notice different colors on the menu, dialog boxes, and background when playing with the custom tile set. These different colors (while possibly hard to "read") will not affect the playability of the game. Playing with one of the tile sets that came with the game (selected via the Tiles menu, not via the Custom Tile Sets menu option) will restore the game's colors (the different colors will only be seen while playing with a custom tile set which was not properly palettized, or by loading an Activision tileset via the Custom Tile Sets menu option). If a custom tile set has so thoroughly confused the game's palette that you cannot read the menus to de-select the custom tile set, you can go into the Shanghai Dynasty folder on your hard drive, and delete or rename the file "Dynasty Preferences" to restore the menu colors. This will also set all the Preferences to their original "factory" settings and erase any Wall Of Fame entries you may have."
Page 85, end of Custom Tilesets section. Add: "After creating and enjoying your custom tile set, you can share it with others by Email or posting on the Internet. Activision will make new custom layouts and tile sets available from time to time -- watch our website (http://www.activision.com)."
Page 86, bottom of the page -- the description of the Millington book is erroneous, and should read: "Describes Chinese Mah-Jongg and gives an excellent history of the evolution of Mah-Jongg in the twentieth century."
Page 87. Page should read as follows:
If you are interested in buying a Mah-Jongg set (either to play the game of Mah-Jongg or to play the game of Shanghai), there are many places to shop. You should base your selection on: (1) the type of Mah-Jongg you wish to play; (2) whether or not you can read the Chinese characters of the Craks suit without Arabic numerals; (3) what looks and feels nice to you. If you buy a beautiful set but can't use it to play, that's probably not the best set for you. So make sure you know what you need and want. Different sets are comprised of different numbers of tiles, and may or may not come with specific special tiles.
If you want to play Chinese Mah-Jongg, you will find a wide variety of plastic or bone-and-bamboo tile sets at board game stores or toy stores. To play Chinese Mah-Jongg, you do not need hard-to-find Jokers. You just need a standard 144-tile set (in addition to the standard 136 suit tiles & dragons & winds, there are also 4 Flowers & 4 Seasons). Most Chinese sets also do not come with racks or chips. Just choose a set that looks attractive to you and is of a pleasing size and material (and, assuming you cannot read the Chinese characters on the Craks, make sure that the set has Arabic numerals).
If you want to play Western Mah-Jongg, and especially if you want to play National Mah-Jongg League rules, you need an American-style Mah-Jongg set -- 152 tiles. In addition to the standard 136 suit tiles & dragons & winds, you need eight Flowers/Seasons and eight Jokers, four racks, and chips. American Mah-Jongg sets can cost more than twice as much as Chinese sets due to the need for these extra parts. Some people use the blank tiles (which often come in addition to White Dragons and Flowers) as Jokers, either applying decals or just writing on them with an indelible marker. The National Mah-Jongg league has a service for tile "matching" -- send them detailed info on your set's colors and dimensions and materials, and they'll sell you suit tiles and Joker decals.
If you want to play Japanese Mah-Jongg, you may need to buy a Japanese set -- but only if you play with Red Fives (otherwise you can use a Chinese set or a Western set, and just not use some of the tiles). Japanese sets are comprised of just the basic 136 tiles (the suits & dragons & winds -- no Flowers or Seasons). If you want to play with Red Fives and you are not inclined to paint them yourself, you need to make sure that the set also comes with the Red Fives. Note that Japanese Mah-Jongg sets usually do not come with both White Dragons and blank tiles (in Japan, blank tiles are used for White Dragons), and may not come with eight Flowers (Japanese players do not play with Flowers -- you may get four Red Fives and only four Flowers in your set). If you get a Japanese set, it can be used for Chinese Mah-Jongg as long as you use the blanks for White Dragons and the Red Fives as Flowers, or as long as you play without using the Flowers. Japanese sets do not have Arabic numerals on them -- so you and your friends need to be able to read the Chinese numerals on the Crak tiles.
If you want to play Singaporean Mah-Jongg with "Cat catches Rat" play, make sure you have those special tiles! If you have a Singaporean set, use the Cat and Rat and Fisherman and Fish (or Old Man and Bag Of Gold) as Flowers and you can play Chinese Mah-Jongg just fine.
Many stores that sell board games can order a Mah-Jongg set for you if they don't have them in stock. Just make sure you know what you'll be getting. If you live in a large city, there may well be
Chinese or Japanese import shops nearby, where the chances are very good that you'll
find a selection of Mah-Jongg sets for sale.
There are various sites on the Internet where you can find Mah-Jongg sets for sale.
You can use your Internet Search utility to locate such sites. Whenever shopping
over the Internet, use caution when giving your credit card number and mailing
address.
Lastly, if you want to play Shanghai with Mah-Jongg tiles, keep in mind that the rounded backs of bamboo-backed tiles make them bad for stacking. Flat-backed plastic tiles are best for playing Shanghai.
-- End of rewritten "Tips on Buying MJ Tiles."
-- End of manual errata.
Activision is committed to providing upgrades that improve quality and performance. See the Customer Support area of the Activision Web site for further upgrades at http://www.activision.com.
Shanghai and Activision are registered trademarks, and Shanghai: Dynasty is a trademark, of Activision, Incorporated. ©1997 Activision. All rights reserved.