Fade to Black other
Documentation on FADE TO BLACK, a game from DELPHINE SOFTWARE
PC Version 1.00 August 26, 1995
**********************************************************************
This README file contains important information about Fade To Black. It
includes late breaking information, trouble shooting tactics, and
recommendations on how to configure the game for best results.
Contents:
-----------------------------
1. System Requirements
2 Installation
3. WIN95 NOTES
4. Sound cards
5. Joysticks/Game ports
6. Decreasing load times
7. Increasing game speed
8. Decreasing game speed
9. Game tips
10. Troubleshooting
11. QA Test Machines
12. Other problems
1. System Requirements
----------------------
- Intel 486DX2/66 with at least 8 Mb of RAM and 16 Mb
of free hard disk space.
- Double-speed or faster CD-ROM drive
- Local bus VGA video card
- MS DOS 5.00 or higher
- MSCDEX Version 2.10 or higher
- FILES=40 setting in your CONFIG.SYS file
Memory Requirements:
- 5700 Kb available extended memory (XMS)
- 400 Kb available conventional memory
- EMS memory is not used by the game.
Recommended:
Intel Pentium processor or higher
16 MB of Ram or higher
Supported Digital or 100% compatible sound card
Wavetable music card
Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse
Advanced Joystick (Flightstick Pro, Thrustmaster, Gravis Phoenix)
2. Installation
----------------------
Installation in MS DOS:
- Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive.
- From your CD-ROM drive (usually D:), type INSTALL.
- To run Fade To Black type F2B at C:\F2B directory.
Note: You must keep the CD in the CD-ROM drive while you play the game,
even if you have selected a FULL INSTALLATION.
After Installation, to change the configuration of your sound card or
to use other options, you can run INSTALL from your hard drive, from
the directory in which you have installed the game (the default is
C:\F2B).
Installation in Windows 95:
- Insert the Fade To Black CD into the CD-ROM drive.
- Wait one minute for the Fade To Black AUTOPLAY screen to appear.
If the AUTOPLAY screen DOES NOT appear, it may mean that you do
not have a 100% Windows 95 compatible CD-ROM drive or it could
mean that your CD-Drive does not autodetect. If this is the case,
select your CD-ROM drive (within the My Computer window) and click
on the Fade To Black icon. After clicking the Fade To Black icon,
the Autoplay screen will appear.
- After the AUTOPLAY screen appears, click on Install.
- After game is installed, click the Run button in the Autoplay
screen to play Fade To Black.
- For more information on Win '95 installation, CONTINUE READING
BELOW
Before you can Run the game, Fade To Black must be installed on
your hard disk.
Whenever you need to reinstall the game (for example, if you would like
to switch to another language), you have to delete all files from
the game directory first. Use the following as a guide.
**********************************************************************
DELETING FILES FROM THE GAME DIRECTORY
To remove all Fade To Black files from your hard disk, you need to
erase the directory in which you have installed the game. The default
game directory is C:\F2B. To erase this directory, use the DELTREE
command if using DOS 6.xx or higher.
For example, at the C: prompt type:
deltree c:\f2b
You should also delete the F2B.BAT file and the F2B.PIF file located
in the root directory on your hard disk.
For example, at the C: prompt type:
del c:\f2b.bat
del c:\f2b.pif
**********************************************************************
3. WIN95 notes
-------------------
If you have deleted the config.sys and autoexec.bat files from your
hard drive, you may experience some difficulty getting Fade To Black
to run under Win '95 when using the autrorun feature. In order to
correct this problem, you will need to load your CD-ROM drivers and
mouse driver into your config.sys and autoexec.bat files.
In order to find your CD-ROM drivers and mouse driver, you will need
to look in your config.dos and autoexec.dos files. You can do this
by typing:
EDIT C:\CONFIG.DOS
You will then need to copy your CD-ROM driver line onto a piece of
paper for future reference. Provided that your CD-ROM Drive is labeled
as D:, you should find the device line that references /D:
For example, it might read:
DEVICE=C:\SB16\SBCD.SYS /D:MSCD001 /P:220
----------
If your CD-ROM driver comes from the SCSI directory, for example,
DEVICE=C:\SCSI\ASPICD.SYS /D:ASPICD0, then you should also write
down all other lines that come from the SCSI directory, in the
order in which they appear.
Once you have these lines written down, exit the editor by hitting
the key, followed by the letters . This should
bring you back to the DOS prompt. From the DOS prompt, type in:
EDIT C:\CONFIG.SYS
This should bring you to a blank screen. If there is text on the
screen already, exit the screen and call customer service for help.
On the blank screen, copy in your CD-ROM lines EXACTLY as they
appeared in the config.dos file that you just referenced. Once you
finish typing the lines in, exit the file once again by hitting
the key, followed by the letters
After returning to the DOS prompt, type in EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.DOS.
Once again, this should bring you to another screen full of lines.
From here you will need to locate your MSCDEX line and your mouse line.
To find the MSCDEX line, simply look for a line containing the
word MSCDEX and copy this entire command line onto a piece of paper,
for example: C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD001 /M:5
To find your mouse line, just look for a line that has the word mouse
in it that does NOT begin with the word SET and copy it onto your
paper. For example, the mouse line you would want may read:
LH C:\MOUSE\MOUSE /Y
Once you have these lines, exit the editor by hitting the key,
followed by the letters . Once back at the DOS prompt, type
in EDIT C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT, which will bring you to a blank blue screen.
Again, if there is text already here, please call customer service
for help. If the screen is blank, type the MSCDEX and mouse lines
EXACTLY as they appeared in the autoexec.dos file that you copied. Once
again, hit the key, followed by the letters and you
are all set!
Reboot your system using the reboot command from the start bar to
make sure everything initializes, at this point you should be able to
install and run Fade To Black directly from the Fade To Black Autoplay
screen.
PLAYING FADE TO BLACK IN WINDOWS 95
- Note: Fade To Black was not designed to run within the Windows '95
environment. You may experience poor game performence and possible
erros if you attempt to play Fade To Black in this mode.
BELOW, FIND PARAMETERS THAT MAY LIMIT PERFORMENCE ERRORS...
- Disable the screen saver option before you start playing.
- Select full video screen rather than a window.
- Avoid switching to a different task during game (by pressing
Alt-Tab) Instead, should you need to perform another task
elsewhere in Windows, save the game and exit before returning
to Windows 95.
Note that CD-ROM access time will take longer in the Windows
environment than in DOS. In general, the game runs more
smoothly in DOS.
If you encounter any difficulty with regard to speed, sound, or
memory, you can run the program in MS DOS mode by allocating a
shortcut icon in the F2B.BAT file and specifying parameters for
that icon properties to start the game in DOS mode. (Fade To Black
was designed to play in the MS-DOS environment, this is the optimal
operating environment)
4. Sound cards
-------------------
8-bit sound boards, (Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro, Pro Audio
Spectrum Plus) have problems mixing the 16-bit samples down to
the proper resolution. The result of this is digital sound which
has a slightly static undertone.
About Ensonique Soundscape Sound Cards:
Version 4.02 of the "ssinit" command does not reset the card properly
for General MIDI sounds, whereas the same command works fine in the 4.00
version. For other versions, check that General MIDI sounds are reset
properly (the program displays a message). Otherwise, you will need to
get a different version of "ssinit". In case you cannot find this
version, a quick-fix type solution is to use the General MIDI driver in
INSTALL. Doing so results in poorer sound quality, though.
5. Joysticks/Game ports
-----------------------------
If you get an error telling you that the calibration of your
joystick is incorrect make sure you only have one active joystick
port on your system. It is very common to have a built-in joystick
port as well as one that comes on most sound cards. If you find you
have more than one 15 pin joystick port make sure only one is active.
Refer to the documentation that came with your computer system or
sound card.
In some cases faster machines (especially Pentiums) can cause
a conflict with joystick calibration. If you get an error telling
you to re-calibrate your joystick you may need to install a speed
adjustable game card in your system. These cards allow you to
adjust the speed of the signal sent to the software by the
joystick.
If you have a Sound Blaster 16 and the Wave Blaster daughter board
the joystick calibration utility will not recognize any CH product
due to a pin conflict in the hardware. Try a different brand of
joystick.
If you have a Thrustmaster be sure and NOT move the hat while the
game loads. This may cause problems in the game.
6. Decreasing load times
-----------------------------
If your system has DOS 6.20 or higher you can minimize the time it
takes for your system to load missions and switch scenes in the game
by loading a Smartdrv that caches the CD-ROM. The following line
can be added to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your boot disk.
8 MB of Ram:
LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 512 /X
12 MB or more:
LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE 4096 /X
7. Increasing game speed
-----------------------------
If you notice that the game slows down in areas with a lot of
action and rooms with many objects, you can drop the detail
level of the game with the hotkey combination of the [LEFT CTRL]
and [D] keys. The game will cycle the detail level of the
game through High, Draft, and Low.
In addition, you can limit the shading of polygons to increase the
speed. The hotkey for this action is [LEFT CTRL] and [F] keys.
The game will display the shading change from Gouraud to Flat.
486 class machines may find it helpful to ensure that the Frame
Limiter of the game is off. The frame limiter is designed to force
the game to run at a maximun of 15 frames per second. Turning this
limiter off will cause the game to run faster at certain parts of
the game.
Owners of slower machines may want to make sure they are running
the game in the lowest resolution of 320x200. This can be most
easily accomplished through the install program. Type install at
a DOS prompt while in the game directory. Select the change graphics
configuration then select the mode you want. Alternatively, you can
cycle through all the modes by pressing [F7] while in the game.
This will allow you to compare the various speed for graphics
tradeoff.
Please see the section titled Decreasing Load Times. This suggestion
is valid for increasing the frame rate as well.
8. Decreasing Game Speed
-----------------------------
Faster Pentium class and above machines may experience gameplay
that is too fast if the Frame Limiter is not being utilized
properly. Pressing [F8] will give you a message. Either
no speed limit or speed limitation should be displayed. No
Speed Limit means the frame limiter is off and the frame
rate is governed completely by your machine speed. Press [F8]
again to limit the speed of the game to 15 frames per second.
Owners of faster machines may want to take advantage of Fade
To Black's enhanced VGA or SVGA modes. This mode change can
be most easily accomplished through the install program. Type
install at a DOS prompt while in the Fade To Black directory.
Select the change graphics configuration then select the mode
you want. Alternatively, you can cycle through all the modes by
pressing [F7] while in the game. This will allow you to compare
the various speed for graphics tradeoff.
9. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
-----------------------------
- If you wish to move savegames to a different location, copy all
*.SAV files, as well as all O_INVENT.* files found in your game
directory.
- It is very difficult to play Fade To Black with the mouse in Icon
Mode as a controller. If you are using the mouse, we strongly
recommend that you change to either the keyboard, joystick, or
change the mode of the mouse to Pro Mode(Mouse without Icons).
- A disk cache program (such as SMARTDrive) installed in your system,
with a cache of 256 Kb, will noticeably speed access times to your
hard disk.
- If you do not have a disk cache program, try to install FASTOPEN,
which requires less memory space and is just as efficient for this
game.
- Select Full Installation at installation time, in order to speed up
the change from one level to the next.
***NOTE***
Fade To Black supports multi-CD drives, but some versions of the
MSCDEX driver tend to detect a CD in such drives, even when none is
present. If you start Fade To Black (or INSTALL) with an empty slot
in a multi-CD drive, you may get a critical error. This is a
detection failure, which can be resolved by answering "Fail" until
the game or Install starts.
10. Troubleshooting
-----------------------------
Problem: I get a DOS error while installing the game.
Solution: Smartdrv which comes with DOS 6.20 or higher may be loaded.
You need to disable its CD-ROM caching feature while you install.
After the game has been installed you can reactivate the CD-ROM
caching.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The installation program fails completely.
Solution: There is a program that is included as a back up. It will
perform the Full Installation from the command line. The
program is located in the \BAT directory on the CD. If you
change to the \BAT directory and run the program INST.BAT,
you will get a list of options which will be needed to run the
installation. After using INST.BAT you will need to run Setsound
to setup your Sound Card.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The game is too slow.
Solution 1: If your PC is not fast enough, you can speed the video
display by pressing F1, to reduce the window size, and
by pressing CTRL-D, to switch to a less detailed background.
Solution 2: During a movie sequence, you can improve image fluidity
by setting the sound volume to 100 % (set the sound volume
using the control knob on your speakers, or on your sound card,
or by using the utility included with your sound card).
Solution 3: To speed a movie sequence, if you have a triple- or quad-speed
CD-ROM with a slow PC, add -2 as a parameter on your command line.
This forces the game to consider your CD-ROM drive as being
double-speed only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The program exits immediately and returns to DOS.
Solution 1: The game CD must be in your CD-ROM drive in order for the
game to run. When you close the CD-ROM drive tray,
wait a few seconds before starting the game.
Solution 2: Check how much space is available on your hard disk and reinstall
the game. Some files may be missing from your hard disk.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: After the movie scenes of the game introduction have played,
the game crashes as soon as the first image of the game is
displayed.
Solution: The sound parameters you have specified in the INSTALL program
are incorrect. Select another sound card or no sound card at all.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: Conrad starts to move by himself, or the view changes by itself.
Solution 1: Disable or re-calibrate the joystick.
Solution 2: Try to play, using the joystick, with the sound off (by pressing
CTRL-S). If this solves the problem, you can set the sound
by typing -mx in the command line, where x is the DMA channel
used by your sound card. If you have a 16-bit sound card,
we recommend you select a number between 4 and 7 as the DMA
setting. Otherwise, sound effects will require more system time.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: Conrad does not crouch when I pull the joystick back all the way.
Solution: Re-calibrate the joystick.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The Hat Switch hat on the joystick does not respond or results in
incoherent moves.
Solution : Make sure you select the right type of joystick in the
installation program, if your particular joystick is supported.
If it is not supported, you need to select a joystick with the
same brandname, or select the standard joystick.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The game does not start from MS Windows 3.xx.
Solution: This game is not designed to run in MS Windows 3.xx. You
need to exit windows completely (by pressing Alt-F4). Then,
start the game from MS DOS.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The program stops and displays an error stating that not enough
memory is available.
Solution 1: You can free some memory by reducing the size of your disk
cache (such as SMARTDRV).
Solution 2: Start the program with virtual memory, by using the command:
VIRT_F2B. This solution requires that you have 8 Mb available on
on your hard disk.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: The game has no sound at all.
Solution 1: Configure the sound card in the INSTALL program. If you do
not have a sound card, no sound will be possible.
Solution 2: Turn the sound on by pressing CTRL-U.
Solution 3: Increase the volume by pressing F4 and F6 (these keys are valid
only in player mode or during a film sequence).
Solution 4: Connect loudspeakers to your sound card and adjust the volume.
You should test your sound setup using another piece of software,
such as MS Windows, for example.
Solution 5: Your sound card may not be configured properly in MS DOS.
If you do get sounds while you are in Windows, run Windows,
play some sounds and return to DOS to configure the sound card,
before starting the game.
Solution 6: If you have an 8-bit Pro Audio Spectrum card, refer to the
section about this card, further in this file.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: INSTALL does not start or does not work properly.
Solution 1: Check that you have enough hard disk space available.
You should make sure also that your system meets all
requirements and configuration recommendations described
in the Installation Guide.
Solution 2: Install the game using the INST.BAT command, located
in the \BAT directory of your CD-ROM.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: Color palette trashing or white flashes in the cinematics.
Solution 1: Use the -m parameter to mask the DMA channel used by your
sound card. If your sound card is a Gravis Ultrasound, there
is no need to include this parameter, since DMA channel
masking is automatically performed with this card. You should
note, however, that masking of the DMA channel may
considerably impair sound quality on a slow PC.
Solution 2: Try to select a different DMA channel for your sound card.
For example, if your sound card is a 16-bit card using the
DMA channel 1, reconfigure your card so that it will now use
DMA channel 5.
NOTE: You will need to reconfigure all sounds in the games
through the INSTALL program if you ever change the number
setting of the DMA channel used by your sound card.
Solution 3: Disable the sound.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Problem: I have a Sound Blaster with the Wave Blaster daughter board. If
I plug my joystick into the Sound Blaster's joystick port, I
don't get any music.
Solution: If you have a joystick which only has 12 pins instead of the
normal 15, and you plug it into the Sound/Wave Blaster
combination's joystick port, the card thinks that a MIDI
connector has been plugged in and stops playing MIDI
music. This is a problem documented by Creative Labs.
11. QA Test Machine Configurations
---------------------------------------
Richard D. Zinser - Project Leader
----------------------------------
PACKARD BELL PENTIUM/60, 24 MEGABYTES RAM, DOS 6.20, MITSUMI 4X IDE CD-ROM
ON HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER, ATI MACH32 PCI/1 MEGABYTE, ENSONIQUE SOUNDSCAPE
PORT: 330 IRQ:7 DMA:1, FLIGHTSTICK PRO IN SOUNDCARD PORT, MICROSOFT MOUSE
8.20
Ed Ball - Assistant Project Leader
-----------------------------------
GATEWAY 2000 PENTIUM/100, 8 MEGABYTES RAM, DOS6.22/WINDOWS 95, MITSUMI
4X IDE CD-ROM ON HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER, ATI MACH32 PCI/2 MEGABYTE,
SOUNDBLASTER 2.0 PORT:220 IRQ:5 DMA:1, ROLAND RAP-10 PORT:330 IRQ:9 DMA8:5
DMA16:6
Andy Bruncke - Translator Liaison
-------------------------------
AST Bravo 486 DX/2 66 MHZ, DOS 6.22, 8 MEGABYTES RAM, SANYO 2X CD-ROM ON A
PROPRIATARY CARD, DIAMOND SPEEDSTAR PLUS ISA/1 MEGABYTE, SOUND BLASTER PRO
2.0 PORT:220 IRQ:5 DMA:1, THRUSTMASTER MARK I JOYSTICK CONNECTED TO THE
SOUND BALSTER PRO, MICROSOFT MOUSE 8.2
J. Allen Brack
--------------
DX/2 - 66 MHZ, MS DOS 5.00, 8 MEGABYTES RAM, CIRRUS LOGIC 5400 VLB/2
MEGABYTES RAM, MITSUMI X4 IDE CD-ROM SLAVED TO THE HARD DRIVE CONTROLER,
GRAVIS ULTRASOUND ACE - PORT 240 IRQ 11 DMA 3, SOUND BLASTER - PORT 220
IRQ 5 DMA 3, MICROSOFT MOUSE 7.01
Jason Habel
-----------
AST DX/4 - 75 MHZ, MS DOS 6.22, 8 MEGABYTES RAM, DIAMOND STEALTH VLB/1
MEGABYTE, PLEXTOR 6X SCSI CD-ROM, SOUND BLASTER AWE 32 PORT 220 IRQ 5 DMA
LOW 1 DMA HIGH 5, LOGITECH 6.04
Cinco Barnes
-----------
PENTIUM 66MHZ, 16 MEGABYTES RAM, PLEXTOR 4X (WITH A 1MB CACHE / HARDWARE)
ATAPI DEVICE DRIVERS FOR BOTH CD AND HARD DRIVE, MICROSOFT MOUSE VERSION 8.2
12. Other Problems
---------------------------------------
If you encounter a problem and these suggestions do not resolve
it, please get the following information ready:
- A listing of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT (either from
the boot disk or your hard drive or both).
- The information you get when you type the DOS command "mem".
- The make, model, and types of hardware in your system.
- Your exact sound card brand and its Port, IRQ, and DMA channels
it is set-up to.
- The DOS version you are currently running.
- The type and brand of your mouse and mouse driver.
- The type and speed of your CD-ROM drive. It would also be helpful
to know what the CD-ROM device is connected to.
- The contents of a CHKDSK statement from C: and the drive
Fade To Black is installed to.
- The place in the game where you are encountering the error.
- The error message you are receiving.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You can contact Technical Support personnel a number of ways:
ELECTRONIC ARTS TECHNICAL SUPPORT
* Customer Support Fax : (415) 571-6552 The fax line is open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
* Writing to Electronic Arts : If you have a non-critical problem,
you can write to Electronic Arts at :
Electronic Arts Technical Support
P.O. BOX 7578
San Mateo, California 94403-7578
* Customer Support : (415) 572-2787
The hours for customer support are Monday through Friday,
8:30 am through 4:30 pm. All listed times are Pacific Time.
If you cannot be near your PC when calling Customer Service,
please have print-outs of this information. Customer Service needs
this information to properly diagnose and correct the problem
you are having.
ORIGIN TECHNICAL SUPPORT
* America Online : E-Mail ORIGINCS
* CompuServe : E-Mail at 76004,2612
* Origin BBS : (512) 346-2227
The BBS supports baud rates of 300/1200/2400/9600/14,400
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
* Internet : E-Mail support@origin.ea.com
FTP site : ftp.ea.com
World Wide Web : http://www.ea.com/origin.html
* Customer Support Fax : (512) 795-8014 The fax line is open
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
* Writing to Origin : If you have a non-critical question,
you can write to us at:
Origin Systems Technical Support
5918 West Courtyard Drive
Austin, Texas 78730-5036
* Customer Support : (512) 434-4263
The hours for customer support are Monday through Thursday,
9:00 am through 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm through 4:45 pm. Fridays,
the hours are 9:00 am through 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm - 3:45 pm.
All listed times are Central Standard Time. If you cannot be
near your PC when calling Customer Service, please have
print-outs of this information. Customer Service needs
this information to properly diagnose and correct the problem
you are having. If you call after hours, you will get a recorded
message describing the most common problems which may be of help
to you.
===========================================
Electronic Arts and Origin Systems (C) 1995
All companies trademarks copyright by their respective owners.
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