The Movies(TM) READ ME Last Updated: 2005-09-28 INTRODUCTION Refer to this document if you encounter difficulties with one or more aspects of installation or running the The Movies(TM) game. Many of the most commonly encountered issues are covered here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION & SET UP ISSUES Minimum System Requirements - English version of Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 98SE/ME/2000/XP - Pentium(R) III 800 MHz or Athlon(TM) 800MHz processor or higher - 256MB RAM - 8x Speed CD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers - 2.4 GB of uncompressed free hard disk space (plus 500MB for Windows(R) swap file) - 100% DirectX(R) 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers - 100% Windows(R) 98SE/ME/2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers - DirectX(R) 9.0c (included) - Updated Windows Media(R) Player 9 Codecs (included) - 800 x 600 Monitor Resolution - 3D Hardware Accelerator Card required - 100% DirectX(R) 9.0c compatible 32MB Hardware T&L-capable video card and latest drivers* ATI(TM) Radeon(R) series (7000 or better). 7000, 7200, 7500 8500 9000, 9200, 9250, 9550, 9600, 9700, 9800 x300, x600, x700, x800, x850 NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) series (GeForce 3 or better). GeForce 3, 3 Ti GeForce 4, MX, Ti GeForce FX 5200, 5600, 5700, 5800, 5900, PCX 5300, 5750, 5950 GeForce 6200, 6600, 6800 Important Note: *Some 3D accelerator cards with the chipsets listed here may not be compatible with the 3D acceleration features utilized by The Movies(TM). Please refer to your hardware manufacturer for 100% DirectX 9.0c compatibility. Online Requirements: Internet (TCP/IP) supported Online content requires broadband connection and the latest drivers. NOTICE: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some disc and virtual drives. DirectX(R) Detection & Installation The Movies(TM) installer does not check for the version of DirectX you have currently installed, it just prompts you to install DirectX 9.0c. Activision recommends allowing the installer to proceed with the DirectX 9.0c installation, even if you think you may have 9.0c installed. Re-installing DirectX 9.0c will not harm your DirectX configuration. The Movies(TM) requires DirectX 9.0c to install and play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TROUBLESHOOTING If you are experiencing any problems running The Movies, please review these possible solutions before contacting Activision Customer Support. DirectX Ensure that you have DirectX 9.0c installed on your PC. To install DirectX 9.0c, first insert your game CD into your CD drive. If Autoplay is enabled you’ll be given an option to install DirectX from the "Extras" section of the Installation Menu. If Autoplay isn’t enabled on your CD drive, browse the CD and find the DirectX folder and then run the dxsetup.exe file. Alternatively you can visit www.microsoft.com/windows/Directx/ and download the program from there. Playing as a Limited User The Movies requires that the first time you run the game, and the first time you access the online section you are logged in to the computer as a user with Administrator privileges. After this all users will be able to play the game, regardless of their user privileges. Windows Media(R) Player In order to play The Movies(TM) and view your own movies outside of the game, you will need to update your version of Windows Media(R) Player. Please insert your installation disc and select the "Extras" option. A link to Windows Media(R) Player 9 should appear, and clicking on this will update Windows Media(R) Player. Rebooting Sometimes, simply rebooting your PC then reloading The Movies can rectify the problem. Hardware Acceleration Make sure that you have Hardware Acceleration turned on and set to 'Full'. In order to check and adjust your hardware acceleration settings Right Click on your desktop and select Properties. Go to the 'Settings' tab and select Advanced. A new window should open. On this window select the 'Troubleshoot' tab. Here you should see a slider that allows you to adjust your hardware acceleration levels. Graphics Card Driver Your graphics card may be using an old driver that is not compatible with The Movies, and so may need updating. In order to do this, consult your Graphics Card’s documentation where you should find a website from which you can download the latest driver for your card. Once downloaded, run the driver file and follow the prompts. Once the installation is complete, reboot your machine and try loading The Movies. Background Applications You may have too many background applications running on your PC, such as anti-virus and spyware-detection software. Try turning some of these applications off - especially any anti-virus software - then reload The Movies. Please note that if you disable any background applications your PC may no longer be protected from viruses, spyware or other threats. Fragmented Hard Disk If your Hard Disk is overly fragmented, you may experience problems running The Movies. In order to defragment your hard disk, go to the Start menu in Windows and then select Accessories. From there, highlight System Tools. You should now see an option to defragment your hard disk. Once defragmentation is finished, try running The Movies. Graphics Detail Levels You may be running the game at a graphical detail level that’s too high for your machine to cope with. From the game’s Main Menu, click on Options, then on Video Options. You’ll now be given the option to lower Graphics Detail, Screen Size and Color Depth. Try lowering each one, then return to the main menu and exit the game. Now try running The Movies again to see if the problem has been solved. Desktop Color Depth To ensure maximum compatibility and quality when playing the game please set your desktop colour depth to 16 bit color or higher. To do this Right Click on your desktop and then select the "Properties" option. A Display Properties window should open with tabs along the top. Select the tab labelled "Settings". Using the "Colour Quality" drop down box select a setting of 16 bit or greater. DirectVobSub If you have the DirectVobSub codec installed on your PC, try disabling it and running the game again. To disable DirectVobSub, right click on the DirectVobSub icon in your System Tray (or find it via Window’s ‘Start’ button) and select Properties, then select the ‘Do Not Load’ option and reboot your PC. Alternatively, go to Control Panel and uninstall DirectVobSub using the Add Or Remove Programs function. Overclocking If you have overclocked any part of your computer, it may be unstable and cause The Movies to crash. You may have utilities installed to overclock your CPU, memory or video cards that need to be disabled. You may also need to set jumper settings on your motherboard or change BIOS settings to make sure that your CPU and memory speeds are running at their rated speeds. Please consult your motherboard manual if you are not sure how to do this. The Movies Online In order to access the full features of The Movies online you will need to register with the Lionhead community site at www.themoviesgame.com/register and complete the online registration form. This will allow you to upload your own movies, rate other players' movies and also download new content via the Prop Shop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN-GAME The following are clarifications of gameplay mechanics. The Half-Price Bonus The Half-Price bonus, once earned in-game, makes it so that only 50% of all Stars' salaries are deducted from your bank account. This doesn't mean that you can pay them 50% of what they want, of course! Just that you have some very creative accountants... Post Production - Movie Length The time taken to export a movie from the game can vary depending on the output quality and the specifications of the PC you are using. For users with less powerful computers, we would recommend making shorter movies, not exceeding 20 minutes in length to ensure they suffer no drop in performance. Recording Dialogue in Post-Production The Movies is currently limited to 98 custom audio tracks in game. In order to not overwrite your custom audio tracks by another film, we recommend that you archive your tracks in a folder within the "My Documents\The Movies\Sounds\Dialogue" folder. To do this, you can create a folder with the name of your film and select the custom audio tracks that are associated with your film and move them to the folder you have just created. Once this is done, you can continue creating custom audio tracks for other movies. If the movie with the archived tracks is reloaded in game it will appear that the movie is using sound from another movie. To fix this, move the archived tracks from your archive folder to the main "My Documents\The Movies\Sounds\Dialogue" folder. Please look for this to be resolved in a future release. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Movies(TM) (R) 2002-2005 Lionhead Studios Ltd(TM). Lionhead(R), the Lionhead(R) logo, The Movies(TM) and The Movies(TM) logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lionhead Studios Ltd(R). All rights reserved. Published by Activision Publishing, Inc. Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. All rights reserved. Portions utilize Microsoft Windows Media Technologies. Copyright (c) 1999-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Hollywood TM & Design (c) 2005 Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Licensed by Global Icons, LLC. All rights reserved. www.globalicons.com