Virtual Resort: Spring Break README file 08/19/2002 Version 1.0 Part 1: Things You Should Know Please read through the DirectX section of this document. This section has information that is vital to successfully running Virtual Resort: Spring Break on your system. 1.1 DirectX This game is optimized for Microsoft's DirectX 8.1. In order for you to play the game, you must have DirectX 8.x or higher-compliant drivers for your video card and sound card. Please note that although DirectX 8.1b is installed with the game, your video and sound card drivers will not be upgraded to DirectX 8.1b drivers. You will need to obtain the latest DirectX 8.x drivers from your card manufacturer or PC supplier. These drivers cannot be supplied by Eidos. 1.2 Memory and Performance While the game will run fine in 128 Mb of RAM, your playing experience will be smoother if you have at least 256 Mb. Regardless of how much memory you have, you can maximize your available memory and increase the overall performance of the game engine by doing the following: q Closing any open windows q Shutting down all other programs, including menu-bar programs like ICQ q Defragmenting your hard drive Eidos recommends that you have no other programs running at all while playing Virtual Resort: Spring Break. Other programs, including virus checkers, system utilities and screen savers can cause system degradation when playing games software and may conflict with the game for system resources, potentially resulting in instability and crashes. 1.3 Known Issues q We highly recommend that you do not ALT-TAB out of Virtual Resort: Spring Break at anytime. q We recommend that you do not minimize the window during installation q Windows XP Professional – User account must have administrative rights to run the game. Deep Red and Eidos Interactive are committed to providing customer support for our games on a continuing basis. In that spirit, there may be a patch for Virtual Resort: Spring Break forthcoming; visit the Eidos website for more information. http://www.eidos.com/ 1.4 Additional Information q Windows 2000: Virtual Resort: Spring Break can run on systems with Windows 2000 though neither Eidos Interactive nor Deep Red have tested it extensively and unfortunately cannot offer support for any technical issues related to systems running Windows 2000. q 64 MB RAM: Virtual Resort: Spring Break can run on systems with 64 MB RAM and Windows 98 (not 2000 or XP) though this with may affect performance. Neither Eidos Interactive or Deep Red can offer support for any technical issues relating to computers with less than 128 MB RAM. q Graphics Cards: Technically speaking Virtual Resort: Spring Break may run on Graphics Card with as low as 2 MB RAM as long as the drivers are supported by DirectX 8.x or higher. Again this has not been tested extensively so neither Eidos Interactive nor Deep Red can offer support for any technical issues relating to Graphics Cards with less than 16 MB RAM and without Direct X 8.x (or higher) support. ATI Cards: Any ATI graphics cards using drivers released after July 2002 may experience issues when running Spring Break for any period of time. At the time of release there are no fixes available from ATI though they are looking to address the problem in the near future. Where possible we recommend using display drivers prior to July 2002, as these did not experience any display issues. These older drivers can be found on ATI’s support site at www.atitech.com by following the standard method to find a driver and clicking the link for “Previous Display Drivers”. Part 2: Technical Issues 2.1 Installation & Set-up System Requirements The minimum system requirements are as follows: COMPUTER: IBM PC or 100% compatible OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 98/Me/XP (Admin rights required) CPU: Intel PII-450 or equivalent RAM: 128 MB GRAPHICS: 100% DirectX 8.1 compatible 16Mb Graphics Card SOUND: 100% DirectX 8.1 compatible Sound Card CD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) CD-ROM drive HARD DRIVE: 950 MB free disk space (more will be required for save games) INPUT DEVICES: 100% Windows 98/Me/XP-compatible mouse and keyboard The recommended system requirements are as follows: CPU: PIII-800 or equivalent RAM: 256 MB GRAPHICS: 100% DirectX 8.1-compatible 16 MB Graphics Card SOUND: 100% DirectX 8.1-compatible Sound Card CD-ROM: Eight-speed (8x) CD-ROM drive or faster HARD DRIVE: 950 Mb free disk space (more will be required for save games) Preparing Your Hard Drive To ensure that your installation is trouble free, you should check to see that your hard drive and file system are both tuned for optimum performance. Windows comes with two utility programs that find and fix any errors and optimize your hard drive performance. The first of these programs is called scandisk. Scandisk will check your hard drive for problems and can fix any that it finds. You can run scandisk by clicking on the Start button from the Windows Taskbar, followed by Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and finally scandisk. Once scandisk has finished running, you should next optimize your hard drive's performance by running a program called Disk Defragmenter.. You can run Disk Defragmenter by clicking on the Start button from the Windows desktop, followed by Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and finally Disk Defragmenter. Installing Virtual Resort: Spring Break Installing Virtual Resort: Spring Break is easy. Simply insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. After a few seconds, the Autorun will appear. This program will guide you through the remaining process via onscreen prompts. If at any time you are instructed to restart your computer, do so. In the event the Autorun does not appear when you insert the CD: Double-click on the My Computer icon, then double-click on the CD-ROM icon, and lastly double-click on the Autorun.exe file to bring up the Autorun OR: q Click on the Start button. q Choose Run from the pop-up menu. q Type d:\setup in the box provided (where d: designates your CD-ROM drive letter). q Click on the OK button to begin the install program. You will be prompted to select the path and directory to which you wish to install the game on your hard drive. The default is C:\Program Files\Eidos Interactive\Deep Red\Virtual Resort: Spring Break You may change this if you wish to. At some point, the Microsoft DirectX 8.1b install prompt will appear if you do not have it on your system already. Please read the on-screen information before selecting an option. You may either choose to install or not install at this time. If the Virtual Resort: Spring Break installer detects an active version of DirectX 8.1b on your system, we encourage you to not reinstall DirectX. If the installer does not detect DirectX 8.x or higher you must install it before you are able to play Virtual Resort: Spring Break (please refer to the next section of this guide before proceeding). Starting/Loading The Game Once the install has finished and you have opted to run the game, the Autorun will appear on the screen. A list box allows you to choose which graphics card will be used by DirectX to render Virtual Resort: Spring Break. The option you choose will stay selected every time you run the game. Once you are happy with your choices, simply click on the Run button to start the game. You may also: q Click on the Uninstall button to uninstall the game. q Click on the View Readme button to view the readme file. q Click on OK to play the game. q Click on the Exit button to exit the Autorun. If you are going to play the game at a later time insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive. After a few seconds, the Virtual Resort: Spring Break Autorun should appear on the screen via the AutoPlay feature. Now click on the Run button to start the game. There is also a button present to Exit. In the event the AutoPlay feature does not work, you may click on the My Computer icon and then click on the CD-ROM icon to bring up the Autorun. OR q Click on the Start button. q Choose Programs from the pop-up menu. q Drag your mouse to the right and click on Virtual Resort: Spring Break from the list. q Click on Virtual Resort: Spring Break from the ensuing pop-up menu. Uninstalling Virtual Resort: Spring Break If you need to UNINSTALL Virtual Resort: Spring Break, you may do any of the following three things: Insert the Virtual Resort: Spring Break CD into the CD-ROM drive to activate the AutoPlay feature. This will bring up the Autorun. Click on the Uninstall button, then click on the Yes button from the ensuing pop-up panel to uninstall the program OR q Click on the Start button. q Choose Programs from the pop-up menu. q Drag your mouse to the right and click on Virtual Resort: Spring Break from the list. q Click on UninstallShield from the ensuing pop-up menu and follow the onscreen instructions. OR Go to the Control Panel and choose Add/Remove Programs. Click on Virtual Resort: Spring Break from the pop-up panel to follow, select the Add/Remove button, and follow the onscreen prompts. 2.2 CD-ROM Problems Virtual Resort: Spring Break requires at least a Quad-Speed CD-ROM drive with 32-bit Windows 98/Me/XP drivers. AutoPlay Issues Why doesn't the AutoPlay feature come up when I insert the Virtual Resort: Spring Break CD into the CD-ROM drive? This is usually a configuration issue. There are many different ways to enable the AutoPlay functions of Windows. The standard method is described below: 1) Enter the Control Panel from the desktop by clicking on the Start button, followed by Settings, and then Control Panel. 2) Double-click the icon labeled System, usually located alphabetically towards the bottom of the Control Panel window, to bring up the System Properties panel. 3) Click on the tab at the top labeled Device Manager and when the new panel appears, locate the section labeled CD-ROM and click the Plus (+) sign in front of it. (If there is a minus sign in front, don't click it.) 4) Now double-click the CD-ROM drive revealed and the CD-ROM Properties panel will appear. 5) Click on the Settings tab at the top. 6) Towards the middle of the panel, you should see a few checkboxes within the Options section. At the bottom of that section, you should see a checkbox labeled Auto insert notification. 7) Make sure there is a check mark in the box provided and click on the OK button to complete the process. If the game Auto Plays multiple times: Some CD ROM drives cause Virtual Resort: Spring Break to AutoPlay multiple times, which also may result in lack of control within the game. To remedy this problem click on the CD ROM properties in the System Properties panel and under settings turn off Auto Notification. 2.3 Crashes and Lock-Ups When I start Virtual Resort: Spring Break, my mouse cursor disappears and my computer locks-up. Chances are your installed audio card drivers are not compatible with DirectX. The only solution is to get a DirectX 8.x or higher-compatible driver from your audio card manufacturer. When I start Virtual Resort: Spring Break, I receive the following error message: "The application Virtual Resort: Spring Break.exe referenced memory at address xxxx:xxxx that can't be read from." Chances are your installed video card drivers are not compatible with DirectX. The only solution is to get a DirectX 8.x or higher-compatible driver from your video card manufacturer. The Installer keeps stopping when a certain percentage is complete. There are three likely causes: q You may have run out of free space on your hard drive. Please remove unwanted programs to free up additional space for the game, and then reinstall Virtual Resort: Spring Break. q Files are possibly being copied to a corrupted area of your hard drive. If this is so, you'll need to run the scandisk program and make sure to use the Thorough option (see previous). After scandisk has finished running and has informed you that your drive is free of errors, try to re-install. q There may be dirt or fingerprints on the CD-ROM disc itself. Examine the bottom of the disc; if you see any fingerprints or dirt, carefully clean the disc using a clean, soft, lint-free cloth by wiping from the center of the disc (near the hole) towards the outer edge in a straight line. Virtual Resort: Spring Break is crashing to the desktop with no error messages. This problem can be caused by several different things. Here's a list of the most common culprits associated with these crashes: q Make sure the CD-ROM is clean (check for both scratches and smudges on the reading surface of the CD). q Make sure the game has been installed properly. q Make sure DirectX 8.1b has been installed properly. q Make sure you have the latest drivers for your video card and that they are DirectX 8.x or higher-compatible. q Make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card and that they are DirectX 8.x or higher compatible. q Make sure Virtual Memory is enabled on your system. q Run Scandisk. q Run Disk Defragmenter. q Clean out old temp (.TMP) files from the C:\WINDOWS\TEMP or C:\WINx\TEMP directory on your hard drive (from Windows Explorer). q Make sure you do not have any Anti-Virus utilities (like Norton's AntiVirus) running resident prior to playing Virtual Resort: Spring Break. q Make sure you do not have any third-party Windows memory management utilities (like QuarterDeck's QEMM) running resident prior to playing Virtual Resort: Spring Break. q Make sure you do not have any 3rd party Windows disk caching utilities running resident prior to playing Virtual Resort: Spring Break. q Make sure you do not have Norton's Crash Protector running resident prior to playing Virtual Resort: Spring Break. q Try uninstalling and then reinstalling the game. q Try exiting the game, rebooting your machine, and re-entering the game. Note that if your system crashes to the desktop while playing Virtual Resort: Spring Break, you should probably reboot your computer before starting a new play session. Otherwise, DirectDraw or DirectSound may be in a locked state, and the game will be unable to use your sound or video hardware. 2.5 Technical Support If you need further technical assistance after reading the Readme file please do not hesitate to contact us using any of the methods listed below. When contacting us, please be sure to provide us with as much information as possible. Make sure to note the exact type of hardware that you are using in your system, including: your sound card, CD-ROM drive, amount of RAM present, speed and manufacturer of your processor. Also, make sure to include the title and version of the game, and a detailed description of the problem. It will also help if you prepare by creating a “DXDiag” diagnostic file in Windows before you call us. Simply follow these instructions: q Click on Start q Click on Run q Type dxdiag q Click on OK q Click on the Save Information button and save the file to your computer. When you call our Technical Support line either have this file open or have a printed copy. If you send an e-mail query you may attach the file to the e-mail. Technical Support Contact Details (United Kingdom) Address Wimbledon Bridge House 1 Hartfield Road Wimbledon SW19 3RU E-Mail http://www.eidosinteractive.co.uk/support/index.html Phone 0870 90000222 Web http://www.eidosinteractive.co.uk/support/index.html Technical Support Contact Details (United States of America) Address Eidos Customer Services 651 Brannan Street San Francisco CA 94107 E-Mail http://www.eidosinteractive.com/support/techsupport.html Phone 415 615-6220 Fax 415 547-1201 Web http://www.eidosinteractive.com/support/index.html Technical Support Contact Details (Australia) Web http://www.ozisoft.com/extra/help.asp NOTE: Hints and tips will not be given out over the Technical Support lines. Alternatively, you may find help with hardware problems on one of the websites maintained by the supplier, some of which are listed below: 3D labs: www.3dlabs.com ATI Technologies: www.atitech.com Creative Labs: www.creaf.com Matrox: www.matrox.com nVIDIA: www.nvidia.com Intel support.intel.com Terratec: www.terratec.net Eidos Interactive maintains a web page with links to all major video and audio card manufacturers, which is a good first stop if you are looking to upgrade your drivers. You can reach this page at: UK: http://www.eidosinteractive.co.uk/support/index.html US: http://www.eidosinteractive.com/support/index.html AUS: http://www.ozisoft.com/extra/help.asp Further technical information and drivers for Windows-based PCs can also be found at http://www.windrivers.com/