------------------------------ Tomcat Alley readme file ------------------------------ ----------- Performance ----------- Tomcat Alley was designed to run optimally on computers meeting the following minimum requirements: - Pentium 66 MHz - 8 Mb RAM - Double speed CD-ROM drive (300 kb/sec) If your configuration is significantly less than the above specification, you may experience jerkiness or pausing in the video due to hardware limitations. ----------------- Video performance ----------------- The major causes for less than optimal video performance are usually slow video cards and slow CD-ROMs. There are number of utilities available from third parties that can measure the performance of your computer. Use the measurements to determine if your computer is truly multimedia ready. For best results, the video card should have a transfer speed of more than 8 MB/sec. An other cause for slow video under Windows 3.x might be an older video or CD-ROM driver software. Upgrading to the latest driver software for your video card and CD-ROM might improve the playback quality. Jerkiness and slow video playback can also be caused by background CPU activities. Please close DOS sessions running in the background to speed up the video projection. Video problems can also be a attributed to the lack of free real memory. To free up memory and precious system resources please close the applications that are inactive or running in the background. The program runs best in 256 color mode in normal window or full screen. Using 2 x ZOOM or TrueColor mode will require more processing power from your computer. ---------- Disk Space ---------- Installation of Tomcat Alley requires 1.6 MB of free space on your harddisk. Please make sufficient space is available on your harddisk should the setup program report insufficient disk space. The program installs the runtime files it requires by default in the C:\SEGA\TOMCAT directory. If you wish to remove Tomcat Alley and it's components, run TEASER.EXE found on the original Tomcat Alley CD and select the UNINSTALL option. Windows 95 users have the option of automatically running the TEASER whenever the Tomcat Alley CD is inserted into a CD-ROM drive which has autorun capability. ------------------ Joystick Selection ------------------ Due to extraneous input detection caused by uncalibrated joysticks under Windows 95, a new menu item (JOYSTICK) has been added to the OPTIONS menu. Selecting the JOYSTICK item will allow you to control the game with a joystick while deselecting the item will prohibit the program from accepting input from the joystick including false information reported by uncalibrated joysticks. Please calibrate your joystick or disable (deselect) your joystick if you are experiencing difficulties under Windows 95. Problems caused by uncalibrated or non existent joysticks might include unwanted skipping of introductory movie, erroneous Heads Up Display selections and missile firing. -------------- Corrupted Data -------------- Corrupted data read from the CD-ROM can cause a fault and the subsequent termination of the video decompression software. Please make sure your CD-ROM is clean and without visible physical damage. Please take care of your CD-ROM discs and clean them when necessary using standard methods for CD-ROM care.