Gone Fishing manual
GONE FISHIN' DIGITAL FRESH WATER FISHING OFFICIAL ANGLER'S MANUAL AMTEX(TM) SOFTWARE CORPORATION TABLE OF CONTENTS A Word From Gone Fishin's Producer Acknowledgments Table of Contents Introduction Introduction Introducing Your Fishin' Buddy Installation and Setup System Requirements Installation and Setup Remember Let's Go Fishin' Before We Start... Let's Go Fishin' New Fishing Trip Toolbar On The Shore Fishing Lodge Bait Shop Fishing Map Casting Screen Menu Options Fishing Techniques Game Fish Species Game Fish Species Trouble Shooting Compuserve Memberships Free AMTEX Product Support AMTEX Gone Fishin' Lodge - Online Trouble Shooting Last Word A WORD FROM GONE FISHIN'S PRODUCER When you set out on your first trip with Gone Fishin', you'll find there's a lot more to the sport than just sitting in a boat and catching fish. From the early morning visit to the bait shop, to the swapping of fish lore later in the day at the lodge, we've set out to capture as much of the real fishing experience as possible. The creation of Gone Fishin' has been a very exciting and rewarding project. The original design for Gone Fishin' was scratched out on a piece of paper in a dimly lit mini van as we bumped along the Interstate during a 14 hour drive to Chicago. One year later, as we prepare the final version for mastering, it seems incredible that our hasty caffeine induced ideas have finally made it from that crumpled paper into the product you see before you. We hope our enthusiasm, as well as AMTEX's well-known commitment to product excellence will allow you to enjoy many happy hours out on the Bay of Quinte (pronounced kwin-tee). Whether you're going for a big trophy muskie or poking around in the weeds looking for a nice 3 or 4 pound bass, Gone Fishin' will continue to challenge you. The more fishing experience you get, the more you'll learn from your successes and failures. You'll soon find your fishing trips are so much fun, it'll be hard to leave that favorite hole you've discovered. Who can resist dropping a line in the water and getting away from it all, even for five minutes? We thank you for purchasing Gone Fishin' and wish you luck on your trips to the Bay. Of course, like any self-respecting angler, we have our share of tall tales. If you have a good one about the one that got away, we'd love to hear from you. Write to tell us about it. Even better, you could drop into AMTEX's very own bulletin board Fishin' Lodge and swap tales with the best of them. Happy Fishing! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Gone Fishin' Design and Production Team Executive Producer: Peter Zuuring Creative Direction: Paul Couch, Peter Zuuring Fishing Consultant: Bill Saiff Marketing and Promotion: Lisa Moore Kyle Hagerman Package and Manual Design: Joe Van Veenen, Darren Catherwood R&D, System Design & Programming: Eric Stremler, Director Model Programming: Senior Engineer: Patrick Hodoul Graphic Arts & Interface Design: Director: Francois Beaumont Graphic Arts: Artist: Suzanne Brind'Amour Project Management & Support: Director: Richard Pappas Sound Tracks & Sound Effects: Sound Specialist: Daniel Groulx, Mathematical Modeling (Fish Behavior, Lure & Rod): Physicist: Martin Bergeron, AMTEX would like to thank all those anglers who have shared their expertise with us, and helped to make Gone Fishin' a true fishing experience. Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing, he went on dreamily: messing - about - in - boats; messing ... Whether you get away or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular. --Ratty telling of the joys of boating to his friend the Mole in The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame INTRODUCTION The fishing enthusiasts at AMTEX welcome you to Gone Fishin'! We're confident you'll get so involved computer fishing you'll think you're right out in the Bay of Quinte doing the real thing. You'll soon be choosing the rods and lures, checking weather conditions, and heading out to find those hot fishing spots just waiting to be discovered. Before you set out onto the Bay, you might want to trade tall tales with the old timer at the lodge. Don't forget to get a few tips from your Fishin' Buddy, Bill Saiff, who can tell you just about everything worth knowing about fishing. Remember, you are the one who will be doing the fishing, and you'll have to take the rap if you don't catch any fish - or the glory if you land a big one! Be sure to get any trophy-size fish mounted and hung in the lodge for all to see. As everyone knows, anglers are notorious truth stretchers so you may need proof. This manual will help you get quickly through any technical information you might need. If you follow the on-screen installation advice you'll be fishing in no time. Like any good fishing trip, you'll pick up most of what you need to know through experience, and by using a little savvy out on the water. When you've done a bit of fishing, you might want to come back to this manual to do a little browsing. Get to know the fish you are trying to catch, and see if you can pick up a few tips on lures and where the fish might be hiding. May you never fall out of your boat, get your line tangled, or find that the only things biting are the mosquitoes. We wish you many thrilling fishing excursions, all from the comfort of your office or home. INTRODUCING YOUR FISHIN' BUDDY Your fishin' buddy, Bill Saiff, can be called upon whenever you need a little helpful advice. He's a fishing pro, so you can be sure his opinions are backed by lots of experience. But he's not infallible. Always balance everything with your own knowledge. Bill is the president of a Public Broadcasting Television Station in Watertown, New York. He came to public television from CBS in 1973, and has done everything from camera work to directing. His first love, though, has always been fishing. Anglers nationwide know him for his program Rod and Reel. Come summer, Bill turns to his charter fishing business in Henderson Harbour on Lake Ontario. When things get too hectic, and it's time to get away from it all, Bill heads up to his own quiet cabin where he - what else - goes fishing. In 1961, Bill was the U.S. Powerboat Racing champion. Sometimes when he takes people out on the lake, some guests think he's still in the racing business. This illusion quickly evaporates as the fish start coming over the rail. If all of this isn't enough, he has written a cookbook called Hookin' and Cookin' which contains some of the best recipes by Bill and his fishing guests. I like to get out early in the morning, before the other guys get there. Boat pressure is a big issue with walleye. Boat pressure is Bill's term for all the noise and disruption caused by motors and sonars. It can put walleye off their dinner. Overcast weather, on the other hand, perks up the walleye, according to Bill. Walleye bite both in the morning and evening, largemouth bass are more evening fish, and smallmouth prefer just the morning. However, the more you know about a particular species' habits, the more you'll succeed at any time of day. Working with your mouse to get the right casting motion is close to the real thing, says Bill, who has had a lot of experience with both kinds of fishing. Getting the right pressure and consistent motion are things you have to practice to get right. Most of all, says Bill, you have to relax. As soon as you try to force it, things go wrong. It's not important how far you cast but how accurately. Whenever you're fishing on the Bay, don't be shy about asking for his expert advice. He is located on the Toolbar, at the top of your screen. The pleasant'st angling is to see the fish Cut with her golden oars the silent stream And greedily devour the treacherous bait. -William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Sometimes you can get so relaxed in your boat, you almost hope some nasty muskie doesn't decide to hit the bait and ruin your moment of solitude. While you're resting, the Gone Fishin' program is extremely busy performing millions of calculations. Determining fish locations, lure action, weather effects, and generating the real 3D scenery. For your computer to handle all of this, it must meet the following minimum system requirements. Minimum 386DX-33MHz IBM or 100% compatible 4 MB RAM VESA SuperVGA graphics card with 512 KB of video memory 5 MB hard disk space for minimum installation 30 MB hard disk space for full installation Up to 8 MB free hard disk space to run CD-ROM drive (dual speed recommended) Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse DOS version 5.0 or above Recommended (MPC2 Compliant Computer) 486DX-33MHz IBM or 100% compatible (or better) 8 MB RAM (or more) VESA SuperVGA graphics card or accelerator 5 MB hard disk space for minimum installation 30 MB hard disk space for full installation Up to 8 MB free hard disk space to run Dual speed CD-ROM drive Sound Blaster or 100% compatible sound card Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse DOS version 5.0 or above Microsoft Windows 3.1 To operate properly, Gone Fishin' requires all of your PC computing power. Please exit Windows to DOS before running Gone Fishin'. INSTALLATION AND SETUP Program Installation 1. Insert the Gone Fishin' CD ROM in your CD drive. 2. At the DOS prompt, type X:\INSTALL and press ENTER where X is the drive letter of your drive. For example, if your CD ROM is drive E:, then type E:\INSTALL [Enter] 3. Follow the on-screen instructions. The Gone Fishin' installation program offers two types of installation. Partial Installation: a minimum amount of files will be transferred to your system's hard disk. Full Installation: all files will be transferred to your system's hard disk. The full installation will consume up to 30 Megabytes of your system's hard drive. However, it will allow the program to run much faster especially on a slower 386 or a computer with a single speed CD ROM drive. Program Setup Before starting Gone Fishin', you must run the setup program to configure Gone Fishin' for the hardware you currently have installed in your computer. If you change your computer's hardware, you may have to run the setup program again. This can be accomplished by typing SETUP, while in the Gone Fishin' directory and pressing the ENTER key. The main setup window shows the current selections for your display, input device and sound card. You can change any of these by clicking the change buttons associated with each device. Note: The setup program must be run before starting Gone Fishin' for the first time. Change Display The Change Display window allows you to identify your system's graphic card or adapter. This is necessary in order for the program to initialize the proper VESA video BIOS extension for your video card. VESA stands for the Video Electronics Standards Association, who are video card manufacturers that have established a common standard (VESA) to support SuperVGA graphic applications such as Gone Fishin'. The list contains several popular brand name cards. The items listed in bold characters are possible selections for your system. Selecting the wrong graphics card will cause a graphics initialization error when starting the game. If this happens, run the setup program again and select another graphics card from the list. If your SuperVGA card does not appear on the list, or fails to initialize properly prior to playing Gone Fishin', you must run the VESA driver supplied by your card manufacturer and then choose the VESA SuperVGA selection from the list. The manual that came with your graphics card should explain how to do this. If you still receive a graphics initialization error when starting the game, you can try running the universal VESA driver supplied with this game. It's located in the UNIVBE directory on the installation CD. Switch to this directory, type INSTALL and press ENTER. When the installation procedure is complete, run the setup program again, select Change Display and choose the VESA SuperVGA selection from the list. Change Input The Change Input window allows you to identify the appropriate pointing device such as a mouse or trackball. Currently, there is only one selection available here. The device interface developed by Microsoft Corporation for its own mice and pointing devices has been accepted as the standard by most other manufacturers. For this reason, and to make the process as simple as possible, only pointing devices offering Microsoft compatibility are supported at this time. In the future, specialized devices such as joysticks and other controllers may be incorporated. Change Sound The Change Sound window allows you to identify your system's sound card. The sound card is used to play the wide variety of sound effects and music contained in Gone Fishin'. The list contains several popular brand name sound cards. If your sound card appears on the list, select it and press OK. If your sound card does not appear on the list or has failed to initialize properly you may try selecting one of the Sound Blaster choices. Many sound card manufacturers have adopted Sound Blaster as a standard for compatibility. Check the documentation that came with your sound card to see which Sound Blaster standard you should use. Once you have selected the appropriate sound card, it may be necessary to identify its specific settings (interrupt, DMA channel etc...) in order for the program to use it properly. All that you need to do is select DETECT and the setup program will do the rest. If your card settings can not be auto-detected, click on the appropriate box and manually enter the correct setting. Once you are satisfied with all your selections, press ACCEPT. The selections that you made will be stored in a configuration file that will be read each time Gone Fishin' is started. If at any point during this process you feel you have made an incorrect choice you can press Cancel and exit the setup program. Any changes you made will not be saved. Note: The process of detecting your sound card settings may cause your computer to hang or cause other components to operate improperly. If this happens, reboot your computer to restore its original settings. Sir, but that Angling is an Art, and an art worth your learning: the Question is rather, whether you be capable of learning it? for Angling is somewhat like Poetry, men are to be born so: I mean, with inclinations to it ... he that hopes to be a good Angler must not only bring an inquiring, searching, observing wit; but he must bring a large measure of hope and patience, and a love and propensity to the Art itself; but having once got and practic'd it, then doubt not but Angling will prove to be so pleasant, that it will prove to be like Virtue, a reward to itself. -The Compleat Angler,1653 BEFORE WE START... Let's quickly review how actions are performed in the game. We use many technical sounding terms just to keep the bulk of this manual easier to read and less repetitive. For instance, when we say Click the OK Button, we really mean move the mouse pointer over the button labeled OK, then press and release the left mouse button. There are some other items that are repeated throughout this manual as well. These are listed below. Drop Down List Box A drop down list box is simply a tool used to select an item from a list. Typically, the list is hidden from view. To select an item, just click on the small arrow to the right of the drop down list box to expand the list. Then select an item from the list by clicking on it. After making a selection or changing something in a Gone Fishin' window, you can click the OK button to confirm your choice. In virtually all Gone Fishin' windows, there is a Cancel button. To cancel the current action, select the Cancel button. Having problems? Press Help to receive context sensitive help at any time. You can also press the F1 function key to get help. LET'S GO FISHIN'! To begin, switch to the directory on your hard disk where Gone Fishin' was installed, then type GF and press ENTER. New Fishing Trip Set the weather, location and date of your new fishing adventure and head out for the shores of the Bay of Quinte. Resume Fishing Trip Selecting this option allows you to pick from a list of previously saved games. Perfect for continuing the hastily interrupted trip from yesterday, or last month. Enter Fishing Derby Ready to compete? Amtex will release the starting code for fishing derbies that test your mettle against anglers across the world. Stay tuned for details! Exit This ends the game and returns to DOS. New Fishing Trip Gone Fishin' can be better than real life! Every part of your fishing day can be set to your satisfaction. Time of day, date, and even weather conditions can be changed to match your idea of a perfect day. Trips to distant fishing holes, seemingly unreachable during the normal grind of life, are a mouse click away, as soon as your monitor warms up and the hard drive starts spinning. Initially, Gone Fishin', has the renowned Bay of Quinte for a destination. There's miles of water to explore and numerous hot spots to discover. Check out the map that comes with your game. The date, time of day and weather can be set precisely using the Edit options, but the impetuous angler can press the Random Settings button and take their chances. When everything is set just the way you want it, click OK to begin your trip. Edit Angler Initially, Gone Fishin' has a default angler set up for you. If you're feeling lucky, or need a challenge, settings can be modified to suit your mood. New anglers can be added with their own individual preferences. Click the Edit Angler button to add players or change the settings. Luck and skill are what makes one fishing expedition a success and another a disappointment. For each angler, settings for Skill and Luck can be set and saved. For example, if you decide to be Very Lucky, you will catch more fish. Choosing a more difficult level, will affect how easy it is to fish. As a beginner, you'll get fewer snags and fish will tend not to throw the hook as often. For young players, Very Lucky and Beginner are a good place to start. But remember, no matter how carefully planned or prepared you are, fish have a mind of their own. How often the best laid plans of man and computer go astray! Click on the Angler Name box, and enter your own name. Any trophies you earn or any prize-winning fish you mount in the Lodge, will now have your mark. Put the rumors to rest. Take your doubting buddies into the Lodge and show off your awards. Edit Date So, what time of year do you like to fish? Perhaps your birthday, maybe during the spring. Haven't you ever sat in your favorite chair, with the winter winds howling around the windows, yearning to visit some cherished secret fishing spot. Gone Fishin' has a calendar covering every day of the summer fishing season. To select a day, click on the calendar with the mouse. The current selection is highlighted by a yellow box. Use the Next Month and Previous Month buttons to scroll through time in search of the perfect day. The day you settle on greatly affects fish behavior. During spawning season, some species stop eating, although a largemouth bass may go after a lure to protect its nest. In mid-season when alewife move into the Bay, walleye feed almost exclusively on these abundant fish and ignore most artificial baits. Choosing different times of the year will make the game more challenging and hone your skills. Edit Time Choose the time of day that you want to fish. Click on the Hours : Minutes box and enter the time in the format HH:MM AM. For instance, 6:30 in the morning would be 6:30 AM. Four o'clock in the afternoon would be entered as 4:00 PM. The sunrise and sunset times are displayed for your information. If you want to select the earliest or latest time that you can start out on a new trip, then just press the Earliest Start or Latest Start radio button and have Gone Fishin' select it for you. Edit Weather Do you enjoy hunkering down under your wetgear in the pouring rain while dreaming about the potential trophy just one cast away? How about feeling a fresh breeze on a warm sunny day, while testing the shallows of a special hot spot. All this and more is available in Gone Fishin'. Sun, temperature and wind can all be set using these windows. The current selection is highlighted with a white box. Using the mouse, click on the different pictures to set weather conditions for the day. Each condition greatly affects fish behavior. For example, on windy days, the surface of the water is stirred up, decreasing the amount of light entering the water. This entices walleye to come out of the depths and feed in the shallows. Toolbar The Toolbar is located along the top of all Gone Fishin' screens. The buttons in the tool bar are selected by simply clicking on them. A window will appear over the current screen and you can make selections or read information. All the windows have a button labeled OK to return to play or a HELP button where a description of the window can be found. Some of the windows have a CANCEL button where you can return to play without making any changes. For example, if you open the Tackle Box to switch lures and then decide against it, you can click on CANCEL and return to play without any change taking place. Tackle Box This opens your tackle box. You can select a lure from the drop down list box. This will list all the lures that you select from the bait shop. Remember, you can snag your lure and lose it, or a fish can get away from you, lure and all. The Tackle Box window also allows you to select from among three different rods and reels and the weight of line to use. Catches This window lists all the fish you have caught on the current fishing trip. Only the fish you kept are listed here. The ones you released can still be seen in the Trip Statistics window. You can list the fish by time, species or size by selecting your preference in the drop-down list box. When a fish on the list is highlighted, its statistics will be displayed. You may release a fish by highlighting its name and clicking Release. Fishin' Buddy Your Fishin' Buddy is Bill Saiff from Public Television's Rod & Reel. He'll be with you to give you some general information about each of the fish species that are available in the Bay of Quinte. To find specific information, just select the fish species of interest from the drop down list box, and select the topic you want by clicking on the radio button associated with it. Environment The Environmental Information window gives you information on the current weather conditions as well as other information such as wind direction and water temperature. Trip Statistics Trip statistics give you information that let you know how well your fishing trip is going. This way, you can track your success (or failure). Use them to gauge how well things are going. For example, you can keep track of how well a particular lure you are using is working. Fishin' Notebook You can record information in your journal to help you on your next fishing trip. If you are having a lot of success with a particular lure, at a particular date during certain weather conditions, you can record this information in your notebook. You can enter any information you want into the notebook simply by typing it into the space available. To save and retrieve a notebook, just click on the notebook icon located beside the text area. This will pop up another window that allows you to save or retrieve your personal notes. Camera Click the Camera button to take a picture of the current screen. (What it really does of course is save the current screen image as a file in PCX format.) This snapshot can then be imported into most paint programs or printed on your printer. When you click on the camera icon, you are asked to input a unique file name consisting of the typical DOS restriction of eight characters. All the snapshots will be saved in a sub-directory of your Gone Fishin' directory called SNAPSHOT. Bug Spray Every time you click on the bug spray icon, you spray a little (extremely environmentally friendly) bug juice. If you constantly hear the mosquitoes buzzing around you, click this button and they will go away (for a while). This button is only available if you remembered to select the bug spray when you were in the bait shop - a couple of fishing experiences by a bug-infested swamp will teach you to remember it! Help! Click the help button to receive help on the current display. Remember that most windows have a help button which will provide help as well. You've now arrived at the shores of the legendary Bay of Quinte. Join the many other digital anglers who have stalked these waters and returned with live wells filled to the limit and stories of the one that got away. The mouse cursor changes from the pointer to a hand to indicate all possible selections. To enter the Fishing Lodge or Baitshop, click on a door. Clicking on the Dock will open up the map for the Bay of Quinte. Using the mouse, you can explore the Bay and set your destination. If it's time to head back to the city, click on the Town sign to end the game. While leaving, you will have a chance to save your trip. This allows you to resume the same trip the next time Gone Fishin' is started. Fishing Lodge Take a moment to visit the Fishing Lodge. Click on either door to enter. Meet with the old timer. He has plenty of time to talk and lots to say. He'll have some good advice to share mixed with a healthy dose of questionable lore. Check out the basket by the door. Read carefully, many clues lie buried in these old clippings left by previous visitors. Any screen location where the mouse cursor changes from a pointer to a hand, indicates something to explore. Mounted above the crackling fire, are the finest specimens caught in each species. Is your prize catch there? The answer is a mouse click away. Trophies on the mantel have the names of previous anglers who've won prestige for their fishing prowess. The Gold trophy is the Amtex Award which is given to the angler with the most points. Points are gathered by catching one of the top five fish for each species. They are awarded as follows: Largest Fish: 100 points 2nd largest: 70 points 3rd largest: 50 points 4th largest: 30 points 5th largest: 10 points The Silver trophy is the Bill Saiff Award, given to the individual who catches the most fish in a single fishing trip. Finally, the Old Boot is a trophy that you might not want your name on. It's awarded to the angler who catches the most boots or snags during a single fishing trip. You can enter the lodge as often as you like, but remember, the clock is always ticking. If you want to get out on the water while the sun is still rising with the mist on the water, don't hang around too long! Bait Shop You don't want to go fishing without any lures! The Baitshop is the next place to visit before opening up your map and charting a course. Click on the display case to explore the wide variety of baits and lures. It's time to load up your tackle box. We took the liberty of stocking a Default one for you. Add to it if you like, but feel free to start over with your very own. Clicking on New, opens an empty box and displays the available lures and bait. Highlight an existing name, with the mouse, and choose Open to retrieve a previously stored box. Begin loading tackle by clicking on the arrow to the right of the Lure Type box. This displays the various lure categories. Selecting a category name will reveal the associated lures in the Bait Shop Lures scroll box. Use the scroll bar arrows to view the list of lures available. Click on a lure name to display its information. To add a lure or live bait to your tackle box, click on the lure name and press the Add button. To remove a lure, click on the lure name in the Tackle Box Contents window and click on the Remove button. You can load up to four lures of the same type and up to a maximum total of 20 lures. You're also allowed 20 live baits. Up to 12 night crawlers and 12 minnows can be loaded. Clicking on the tackle box icon, located in the bottom right corner of the window, allows you to save the current tackle box for the next time you start a fishing trip. Click on the Tackle Box Name box to change the name. It's a good idea to save a specific box suitable for each type of fish, just like the pros. If you are happy with the lures you have chosen, you're ready to start fishing, but don't forget the bug spray. Click on the cans stacked on the counter. Note the Bug Spray icon added to the Toolbar. Leave the bait shop by clicking on the door. Fishing Map The map view details the shoreline of the Bay and indicates the location of your boat. To change the boat location, click with your mouse at the desired site. A cross hair will indicate the planned position, and the Legend will update with the selected location and estimated time of arrival (E.T.A.). To motor your way to the new site, click on the Motor icon in the lower right of the screen. All boat movement must be navigated without running into islands or the mainland. If you are heading to an area that can't be navigated in a s straight line, make several shorter trips around the island or peninsula blocking your way. Use the Magnifying Glass icons to adjust the zoom factor of the map. To locate your boat at a precise location, zoom in for a closer look. In the upper left corner is the reference map, which indicates your current location on the Bay. Below the reference map, is the map legend. Items can be toggled on and off by clicking on the labels. For instance, clicking on the Buoy label, will alternately show or hide the buoy locations on the map. Take note of the Navigable Limit. This thin white line along the shoreline, indicates how close your boat can come to land. The legend also indicates where you are, by naming the closest landmark; such as an Island, Point or Bay. Use the map screen, to explore the Bay of Quinte. Different fish species have their favorite habitats and you may have to try several spots to find them. Fish locations will change throughout the season, and throughout the day. Keep track of the areas where you have the most success. When you start your trip, you are located in the small bay near Ox Point, where the Fishing Lodge is located. Click on a point further out into the main Bay. The estimated time of arrival (ETA) is indicated just below the legend. Keep an eye on the time. If you spend too much time traveling around, you may miss some of the best fishing. Casting Screen Now you're ready for fishing. You've visited the Lodge, loaded up with tackle in the Baitshop, scanned the map and decided on a destination. Click the Reel on the Toolbar for the view from the boat. That's you in that Pro Fishing boat. And we've equipped you with all the latest electronic gear required for the complete fishing experience. Boat Control This control panel is used to perform minor boat movements. On the perimeter of the boat controls are the forward, backward, clockwise and counter- clockwise buttons. Remember, you can only move within the navigable limits. To rotate the angler, click on the buttons on the inside of the control. The angler can not be rotated to an angle that requires casting over the stern of the boat. Sonar The side-scanning sonar, with the triangular display, represents fish activity in the casting zone. Fish will appear as small blips on the sonar screen. Depth Finder Pay close attention to your depth finder. Water depth is very important to fish location. Line Controls While casting and reeling, or especially when playing a fish, keep an eye on these indicators. The green area on the lure speed indicator represents the best speed for the lure you've chosen. For example, a crankbait will move listlessly through the water if you reel in too slowly, and will wiggle unrealistically fast if reeled in too quickly. The lure speed is measured in feet per second. Line tension must be watched very closely while retrieving a good sized fish. If the tension increases to the yellow area, you are dangerously close to snapping your line and should let the fish run to reduce tension. If the line tension reaches the red area, your line will snap. The line tension is measured in pounds. The line out indicator gives you an idea how far you are casting and how far away the fish is if you have one on the line. Casting great distances is not always in the angler's best interest. You will have less line to play with if you catch a big one and the elastic properties of the line make it more difficult to set the hook. Line out is measured in feet. Lure Depth Indicator The lure depth indicator is one of your more powerful weapons. Many fish such as walleye are hesitant to come to the surface, especially on sunny days. Take note how deep your lure is when you catch most fish and try to keep your lures at that depth. Remember though, that some fish like bass will hit a surface lure even on the sunniest of days. Each lure behaves differently. A surface lure, for instance, will always stay on the surface. A crankbait will dive down as it is reeled in, and float to the surface when you stop reeling. Casting Control To cast your lure, click on the cast control and while continuing to hold down the left button, pull the mouse toward you until the rod is back over your shoulder (that's you you're looking at on the screen), and then while pushing gently forward with the mouse, release the button. The lure should fly through the air and splash as it hits the water. This skill is very similar to real casting and may take a few tries to master. It will soon become very natural. Once the lure hits the water, it will be time to reel in. Your casting control becomes your reel control. This is indicated by the word Reel which is now shown on your control. Click and hold the left mouse button down while positioned on the reel control. Then, while holding down the left button, press and hold down the right button as well. At this point you will hear the line start to reel in. Check your lure speed, depth and line out indicators to see how they are doing. You can increase the reeling speed by pressing the SHIFT key, and decrease your reeling speed by pressing the CTRL key. You can also set reeling speed by using the numeric keypad. (Single numbers only) Pressing 1 will set your reeling speed to 1 ft./sec. Pressing 2 will set your reeling speed to 2 ft./sec., etc... The PLUS and MINUS keys alter the drag setting, as do the buttons on the reel control. Pulling the mouse back towards you will pull on the rod. Release the right mouse button to stop reeling momentarily. When the line is completely reeled in - cast again! If you want to get really fancy (and you'll have to if you want to hit all the targets in the practice mode) you can cast slightly to the left or right by sliding the mouse slightly to the left or right as you perform the cast. MENU OPTIONS Most of the actions performed in Gone Fishin' are accomplished by selecting options with the mouse during normal game play. All of these functions and more are available from the menu bar located at the top of the screen. For example, you can enter the Fishin' Lodge by selecting Fishin' Lodge from the menu item titled Action, but it is easier to just click on the door of the lodge. A menu will become active by clicking on the menu name, or by holding the ALT key while pressing the underscored letter of the menu title. A menu choice is made by clicking on the menu item or use the arrow keys to highlight an item and press ENTER. Each game option, that is not performed during the normal game play by on-screen options or tool bar selection, is explained as follows. Trip Menu Save This allows you to save the current fishing trip to resume it at a later time. All aspects of the current trip such as weather, time, catches and setup will be saved and when the trip is resumed, you can pick up right where you left off. You must enter a unique name for the fishing trip or select a previously saved name from the list. Delete To delete previously saved fishing trips, select the name of the fishing trip from the list and select DELETE. Action Menu Action menu items will differ depending on the current state of the game. For instance, the action items if you are visiting the Lodge are different while fishing on the Bay. Practice The practice screen allows you to hone your casting skills. After selecting PRACTICE from the menu, the water will show a grid with a target circle. Try landing your lure within the casting target for a cheer from the usually silent crowd. Have contests with your friends! Target position can be set by holding the left mouse button down on the Casting Circle and pressing keyboard keys 0 through 9. The progress monitors track and report your score. How many casts to hit target #3? How close was the last cast to the target? Our experienced casters have proven that each one can be hit. To end the practice session, select ACTION from the menu and click on END PRACTICE. Remember that while in this mode you will not be able to return to the dock until you have ended practice mode. Cut Line If you find yourself hopelessly snagged on the bottom or stuck in the weeds, you can use this option to cut your line. This of course will result in the loss of your lure. Cutting the line may also be your only option if you hook onto a very large fish. Your equipment may not be capable of landing such a large catch. Options Menu System Information Display technical information about your computer and its memory. This information could be very useful to our technical support staff in the event of any problems. Fishing Options These options allow you to configure Gone Fishin' to suit the capabilities of your computer. If you have a relatively slow computer or if you just want to speed up the game, you can turn various options off to increase the speed. Click Sonar Off to disable or enable the sonar. A small x beside the text indicates that the sonar is disabled. The landscape can be set to detailed or draft. The draft mode is useful on slower computers and will cause the 3D world to be displayed without texture. The mouse speed can be set slower or faster. This setting is a matter of preference. Setting the mouse speed affects only the casting. If you prefer the angler to move further with less relative motion of the mouse, set the mouse speed to a faster setting. Sound Options With Sound On selected, individual sound categories can be disabled. The small x beside the item indicates the sound is enabled. All game sounds will be disabled by selecting Sound Off. Pause This option pauses the game temporarily so you can take a break during your trip. While paused, the time of day within Gone Fishin' will not advance. So far, you've learned how to do everything except catch a fish! Every angler will give you different advice on how to set the hook, play a fish, and land it. There are so many different ways to do it - each with their own advantages and disadvantages. We can't explain everything here, but we will get you started. As you experiment with different techniques and methods, you will learn from experience which works best for you. Locating the fish is the secret to being a successful angler. The Bay of Quinte is vast, and finding where the fish are biting is no easy task. Some of the more popular fishing hot spots are shown on the map that comes with Gone Fishin'. Use this as a reference to locate the spots that produce great fishing. However, not all the good spots are shown on the map. Experiment a bit with areas that seem likely to provide a good habitat for fish. If you find a good spot, remember to record the location's latitude and longitude in your notebook so you can find it again. Once you have found the fish, you have to convince them to bite your lure. You've got many different lures to choose from. Some lures attract different types of fish than others. Lures can, generally, be broken down into 4 main categories: surface, subsurface, jigs and live bait. Surface lures won't sink and are quite effective for pike and bass. Subsurface lures travel downwards while you retrieve them and are sometimes the only way to get suspended walleye to bite. Jigs sink on their own and can be used to entice fish lurking on the bottom. Live bait can be good for most fish as well, but you'll have to put up with catching numerous sunfish and perch. The best technique for catching fish in Gone Fishin' is to keep the lure speed within the green zone of the lure speed gauge. This area indicates the lure speed with the most attractive wiggle. This guarantees (actually there is no guarantee when it comes to fishing!) attracting even the most stubborn fish. You will also have to keep a close watch on the lure depth. Certain fish such as walleye will choose a particular depth based on light levels, temperature levels and oxygen levels that best suit them. If you seem to have good success at a particular depth, record the weather, time of day etc. in your notebook and use the same technique on following trips. If all goes well, a fish will hit the lure. Fish will hit the lure varying ways. A bass for example will break the surface of the water and make a splash. Other's may just inhale the lure and gently tug. Your main job here is to react as soon as possible when a fish strikes by pulling back on the rod to set the hook. If you wait too long, the fish will probably realize he's grabbed a lure and spit it out. If he does, you will notice that the line tension gauge returns to zero. Setting the hook is very important and is an essential skill to master. Once the hook is set, all fish will behave in different ways. Pike will generally run side to side, walleye will head straight to the bottom and bass will jump from the water in an attempt to spit out the hook. Of course, each fish has a mind of its own and may do something completely unpredictable. You'll soon learn from experience to determine what fish you've caught simply by its behavior. There are a few things to look for to help you determine where the fish are and what they're up to. On the water's surface, you will see the spot where your fishing line enters the water. This point will move around as the fish swims back and forth or changes depth. Sometimes, when this point in the water seems to be traveling away, it is only as a result of the fish coming towards thesurface. Watch the Line Out meter to determine how much line is remaining. If the amount of line out continues to increase even though you're reeling in, then you've got your drag set too low. However, if the drag is set too high, a large fish may increase the line tension to the point where your line will break. A good technique is to let the fish run with your line for a while, and then reel it in a bit. Repeat this process until the fish tires, at which point you can pull it up to the side of the boat. Once at the side of the boat, you will automatically pull the fish from the water where you can check its size. Now that you've caught your fish, you can choose to release it, or keep it. If you need to check your live well to see if your fish is a keeper, just click the fish icon located in the catch window to review the fish you have already caught. Hot Tip from Bill: Most of the fish is found between the head and the tail. GAME FISH SPECIES Northern Pike The Anglo Saxons named this fish after their deadliest spear and indeed this is a fierce looking fish. In unfished areas where pike are plentiful, they'll bite at almost anything. Pike were likely a lifesaving meal for many early North American explorers. The northern pike is a fierce fighter, but it can also be lazy. In a world where the preservation of energy could be a life saver, pike will quite happily gobble up a freshly dead sucker, rather than work at subduing a livelier meal. Once on your line, you'll definitely have a challenge landing a decent sized pike. Pike spend their summers in the shallows and go for deep water during the fall, so remember to change your fishing habits as the weather changes. Size: 18 to 30 inches. World record catch: 46 lbs. 2 oz. In Canada, the record catch for this species is 42.13 lbs., made way back in 1946. Don't be too disappointed if you can't quite match that. Food: fish, frogs. Walleye Walleye are a branch of the perch family. You can recognize them by the distinct black blotch on the rear end of the first dorsal fin. Walleye have strong canine teeth and spiky dorsal fin rays, so watch out! Some experts, including your fishing buddy Bill Saiff, say walleye are light sensitive. Others say it ain't necessarily so. Experiment a bit and, depending on conditions, you might get some good daytime fishing in. Still, like most fish, walleye like to feed at dawn and dusk when certain prey are around. Perch, for example, can't adjust their vision to the changing light at these times nearly as well as their larger cousins, so when the two meet, walleye definitely have the advantage. If you run into a school of perch, try a little crankbaiting with the appropriate lure and you might come up with a prize walleye! Walleye like to stay deep during the day, and nearer the surface in the evening, on dark days and in windy weather. Size: 13 to 25 inches. World Record Catch: 22.25 lbs. in Canada, again some years ago, in 1943. Food: fish, crayfish. Largemouth Bass Bass are considered to be intelligent fish, so you better sharpen your wits, get your depth finder going and do a little research if you want to go for largemouth. Years ago, it was thought that bass were shallow water feeders only. Today, we know they simply move to deeper reaches in the heat of the day. If you want a challenge, check out your chart and try your luck along sharp drop off points. Experiment with different depths at different times of day and see what works best. Note everything: overcast or clear skies, temperature, time of year and so on. In cooler weather, bass slow down. Slow your fishing methods as well. Size 8 to 18 inches. World Record catch: 22.25 lbs. In Canada, the record is 10.48 lbs, caught in 1976. Food: fish, crayfish, frogs and insects. Smallmouth Bass For their size, bass are good fighters. To escape, they alternate between making deep runs and making spectacular leaps. The bass family have had a varied career in North America. Today, they are the sport fish of choice for many anglers as evidenced by the many bass competitions across the continent. It wasn't always so. Early anglers more interested in trout looked down on the bass, considering them an invasion on their hitherto exclusively trout filled lakes and streams. Compared with the more sophisticated trout, they must have been surprised at the aggressive way the bass attacked their bait flies. By the way, if you are confused by the many different terms for bass, you are not alone. Today, both largemouth and smallmouth bass are part of the black bass family. Originally, smallmouth were known as black bass, and largemouth were known (among other things) as Oswego bass. Today, many anglers call smallmouth smallies or brown bass. As Juliet might say, a bass by any other name would taste as good. Size: 8 to 15 inches. World Record catch: 11 lbs. 14 oz. In Canada, the record is 9.84 lbs., caught in 1954. Food: fish. Muskie You might confuse your first muskie (or, to be more proper, muskellunge) with a northern pike. Muskie have 6 to 9 pores on the underside of their lower jaw, while pike have 10 to 11. You must have patience if you want to stalk the muskie. They put up a thrilling battle if you manage to get one on the line. Be warned, though: many experienced anglers have spent their lives tracking down muskie. It is not for nothing that some have dubbed the muskie the fish of a thousand casts. Still, if you're up for the challenge, you may get the thrill of a lifetime. With your prize muskie in the boat comes the dilemma: do you throw it back in hopes of another battle of wits, or do you take it back to be proudly displayed on the wall of the lodge? It's your call. Size: up to 60 inches, although the average is 23 to 40 inches. World Record catch: 69 lbs. 15 oz. In Canada, the record catch was 65 lbs., made in 1988. Food: fish, frogs. Sunfish Resign yourself to catching a few of these little fighters, especially if you are fishing in or near weeds. Sunfish are generally a nuisance for anglers, but they rival trout in beauty. There are twenty five known types in North America, and in some parts they are sought after as a popular panfish delighting children worldwide The world record for size and weight in this species was caught in Alabama and weighed 4 pounds, 12 ounces, but was only 14 inches long. You won't find anything near that size in the Bay, although you might be surprised by the tenacity of these little guys. Perch The yellow perch has long been a mainstay of Lake Ontario fishermen. It is an active feeder all year and is readily available to fishermen, both commercial and recreational. It's flesh is white, flaky, delicious and extremely popular. Perch are also used as bait fish for pike and other predator fish. Perch are not known for their fighting ability and tend to nibble very lightly. It takes a skilled angler to realize he's got a perch on the line. Catfish Catfish have long been caught for food because of their abundance. However, they are usually caught by anglers who are trying to catch some other species. A growing number of anglers now search them out perhaps because of their potential size. I 've never been a fish. Bill Saiff, 1994. FREE, INTRODUCTORY COMPUSERVE MEMBERSHIPS Amtex customers receive * Free access to all of CompuServe's Basic Services for one month * A $15.00 introductory usage credit to explore the AMTEX Section of the Game Publisher's Forums and CompuServe's other Extended and Premium Service offerings * A private User ID Number and Password * A subscription to CompuServe Magazine, CompuServe's monthly computing publication Get online fast! Call 1-800-848-8199 toll-free and ask for Representative #618. Outside the US and Canada, call 1-614-529-1349. CompuServe offers many services, including technical support, upgrades and patches from most major hardware and software vendors, online news, travel, reference libraries, weather, stock market quotes, games, shareware, shopping, global communications and more. This free offer is limited to first time subscribers only. Don't miss this opportunity to access the CompuServe Information Service and join the AMTEX Forum! FREE AMTEX PRODUCT SUPPORT Before calling, please - 1. Review the installation, setup and operation instructions. 2. Check the section in this manual that covers trouble shooting to see if your problem is described. You may save yourself a phone call. 3. Be ready with the name of your computer as well as the model, configuration and operating system information. 4. If you can reproduce the steps that create the problem, please note these down as well. 5. When you call, you should be at your computer with Gone Fishin' loaded, if possible. Thank you. AMTEX Product support is available Monday to Friday (except holidays), 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST. Phone: (613) 967-7900 Fax: (613) 967-7902 VISIT THE AMTEX GONE FISHIN' LODGE - ONLINE If you've got a modem, one of the quickest (and funnest) ways to reach Amtex Technical Support is through the Online Fishin' Lodge. Drop in through any of our three cyberspace doorways. * Technical Help * New Product Information * Fishin' Tips * Fishin' Lore * Special Offers * Upcoming Derbies and Shows * Fishin' talk with other anglers The Amtex BBS 1. Set your modem to 8N1 2. Dial 1-613-967-9789 3. Follow the on-screen guide CompuServe 1. Sign on to CompuServe (see enticing introductory offer on following page.) 2. Type GO AMTEX from any CompuServe prompt. Internet Got e-mail access to the net? That's all you need. 1.Drop us a note c/o sysop@amtex.com or: 2.Request the file lodge@amtex.com for the lowdown on what's up. TROUBLE SHOOTING If you are experiencing any problems with Gone Fishin', please read the following trouble shooting section before calling our technical support team (see Free Amtex Product Support). We have tried to anticipate most of your technical problems and have described some procedures you may attempt in order to correct them. Typically, there are three main areas where you may experience some difficulty: Memory, Video and Sound. Memory Problems Gone Fishin' uses 8 MB of memory in operation. This is achieved by using available main and extended memory, and (if necessary) the creation of a temporary swap file (known as virtual memory) on your hard disk. How you organize your memory depends on how much memory is installed in your computer. If you are not sure, then run the MEM.EXE program found in your DOS directory. The output from this program will look something like the example shown below. This shows that the system has a total of 8,192K (about 8 Meg) of memory, and 7,721K of free or available memory. However, it also shows us that there is 4,384K of expanded memory (EMS). This will cause a problem since Gone Fishin' uses only extended memory. Memory Type Total Used Free Conventional 640K 71K 569K Upper 91K 81K 10K Extended (XMS) 7,269K 221K 7,048K Total memory 8,192K 471K 7,721K Total Expanded (EMS) 4,384K Free Expanded (EMS) 4,000K Largest executable program size 569K (582,640 bytes) Insufficient Memory Problems for 4 MB RAM systems The minimum memory requirement for Gone Fishin' is 4 MB. Specifically, the minimum memory requirements are 400 KB of main memory and 3 MB of extended memory (use mem.exe to determine your memory usage). When attempting to correct an insufficient memory problem, the goal is to free as much extended memory as possible. Before attempting any modifications, we recommend that you make copies of both your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Essentially, you need to remove all nonessential terminate and stay resident (TSR) drivers from memory. Do not LOAD HIGH drivers such the video, mouse, audio or the CD-ROM drivers. Most modifications require you to comment out commands from the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files which makes them easy to restore later on. To do so, use the rem option as shown in the examples below. In your AUTOEXEC.BAT rem SMARTDRV.EXE In your CONFIG.SYS rem DEVICE=DOS,UMB rem DEVICE=EMM386.EXE rem STACK x,xxx FILES=20 BUFFERS=20 You can check your DOS manual for information on this process. Don't forget that you'll have to reset your computer before any changes will take effect. Remember, the goal is to free as much extended memory as possible. Most of the modifications described above are designed to increase the amount of available extended memory to the program. Gone Fishin' will create a temporary swap file on your hard disk to compensate for the missing memory. Make sure that at least 8 MB of hard disk space is available for the creation of this file. Insufficient Memory Problems for 8 MB RAM systems As described above, Gone Fishin' uses 8 MB of memory in operation. Your system may have 8 MB of memory, but the amount of available memory may vary from setup to setup. Specifically, the memory requirements are 400 KB of main memory and approximately 7 MB of extended memory (use MEM.EXE to determine your memory usage). You can attempt to free memory by removing memory resident programs. Before attempting any modifications we recommend that you make copies of both your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Essentially, you need to remove all nonessential terminate and stay resident (TSR) drivers from memory. Do not LOAD HIGH drivers such the video, mouse, audio or the CD-ROM drivers. Most modifications require you to comment out commands from the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files which makes them easy to restore later on. To do so, use the rem option as shown in the examples below. In your AUTOEXEC.BAT rem SMARTDRV.EXE In your CONFIG.SYS use option DEVICE=EMM386.EXE NOEMS You can check your DOS manual for information on this process. Don't forget that you'll have to reset your computer before any changes will take effect. Remember, the goal is to free as much extended memory as possible. Most of the modifications described above are designed to increase the amount of available extended memory to the program. Gone Fishin' will create a temporary swap file on your hard disk to compensate for this missing memory. Make sure that at least 8 MB of hard disk space is available for the creation of this file. Insufficient Memory Problems for systems with more than 8 MB RAM As described above, Gone Fishin' uses 8 MB of memory in operation. Since your system has more than 8 MB of memory, the program should be able to find enough available memory and will not attempt to create a temporary swap file on your hard disk. Specifically, the memory requirements are 400 KB of main memory and 8 MB of extended memory (use MEM.EXE to determine your memory usage). If necessary, you can attempt to free memory by removing memory resident programs. Before attempting any modifications we recommend that you make copies of both your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files. Most modifications require you to comment out commands which makes them easy to restore later on. To do so, use the rem option as shown. In your AUTOEXEC.BAT rem SMARTDRV.EXE In your CONFIG.SYS use option DEVICE=EMM386.EXE NOEMS You can check your DOS manual for information on this process. Don't forget that you'll have to reset your computer before any changes will take effect. Remember, the goal is to free as much extended memory as possible. Most of the modifications described above are designed to increase the amount of available extended memory for the program. Is It A Memory Problem? If you are not sure that you are experiencing insufficient memory problems, try selecting NO SOUND DEVICE from the list of available sound options in the setup program. This will disable all the audio elements of Gone Fishin'. Sound is used extensively in the program and consumes a significant amount of memory. If the game plays fine without sound but continues to experience problems when sound is enabled, you are most likely experiencing insufficient memory problems. Video Problems Gone Fishin' uses high-resolution (640x480) 256-color graphics. Your video card must be SuperVGA with at least 512K of video memory. In order to display these graphics, the program may require that your card's VESA driver be loaded prior to playing the game. VESA stands for the Video Electronics Standards Association who are a group of card manufacturers that have established a common standard (VESA) to support SuperVGA graphic applications like this game. If your SuperVGA graphics card did not appear in the setup program's list, or fails to initialize properly, prior to playing the game, you must run the VESA driver supplied by your card manufacturer and choose the VESA SuperVGA selection from the setup program's list. If this fails to resolve the problem, then run the universal VESA driver UNIVBE.EXE supplied with the game as your card's VESA driver and choose the VESA SuperVGA selection from the setup program's list. As always, we have tried to make the process as simple as possible and with as many options as we can. If all the preceding attempts fail, you must obtain the most recent VESA support software from your graphics card manufacturer. Sound Problems The setup program's list contained several popular brand name sound cards. Selecting the wrong sound card may cause an error when starting the game. If this happens, attempt another selection from the list. If your sound card did not appear in the list or fails to initialize properly, try reconfiguring your sound card (you may need to load a specific driver for SB compatibility) as a sound blaster compatible and select the Sound Blaster driver from the setup program's list. Many card manufacturers have adopted Sound Blaster as a standard for compatibility. As always, we have tried to make the process as simple as possible and to supply as many options as we can. If all the preceding attempts fail, or your system does not have a sound card (we strongly recommend one) the game will run without sound if the NO SOUND DEVICE option is selected from the setup program's list. If you are experiencing crackling sounds while music or sound effects are playing, verify your sound card parameters and installation. If the crackling persists it may be caused by your video card's VESA driver. Prior to playing the game, run the universal VESA driver UNIVBE.EXE supplied with the game instead of your card's VESA driver and choose the VESA SuperVGA selection from the setup program's list. Miscellaneous Problems Mouse Gone Fishin' operates best with a 100% compatible Microsoft mouse driver. The device interface developed by the Microsoft Corporation for its own mice and pointing devices has been accepted as the standard by most other manufacturers. For this reason, and to make the process as simple as possible, only devices offering Microsoft compatibility are supported at this time. In the future, subsequent versions may support additional and specialized devices such as joy sticks. Background Noise When Moving the Cursor If you are experiencing crackling sounds while music or sound effects are playing, verify both your sound card and mouse for possible conflicts. If the crackling persists it may be caused by your video card's VESA driver. Prior to playing the game run the universal VESA driver UNIVBE.EXE supplied with the game instead of your card's VESA driver and choose the VESA SuperVGA selection from the setup program's list. Improving Game Performance Gone Fishin' contains a large number of high-resolution (640x480) 256-color graphics. In order to display these graphics, the application requires memory and lots of it. If your computer is a 386 with 4 MB RAM, increasing performance may not be possible. The following paragraphs provide helpful hints on how you can increase the performance of your system by making simple system changes. To Install or Not to Install ? The Gone Fishin' installation program offers two types of installation; Partial Installation where a minimum amount of files are transferred to your system's hard drive, and a Full Installation where all files are transferred to your system's hard disk. If you have a slow system or a single speed CD-ROM drive, we suggest a Full Installation. A single speed CD-ROM drive's transfer rate is 150 KB/sec. Most computer hard drives are several time faster (500-1500 KB/sec.). If you can afford the disk space, this modification should dramatically change the performance of the game. Memory is the Key Most computer games require memory, and Gone Fishin' is no exception. The more memory available to the game, the faster it will go. Any modifications that will increase your systems available main and extended memory should be attempted. (For suggestions, reference the Trouble Shooting section under Insufficient Memory) Hard Drive Performance We have recommended a Full Installation because most computer hard drives are faster than CD-ROM drives although this may not always be the case. The files on your CD-ROM are sequential, which reduces the seek time (the time needed to find a file). Even if your hard disk is faster, if its fragmentation level is high (files are scattered all over your hard disk) you may not experience a dramatic increase in performance because it is spending too much time searching for files. With the advent of dual, triple and quadruple speed CD-ROM drives, the difference in performance can disappear all together. If you experience performance problems, you should try running a disk defragmenting tool. Eliminating Sound Effects You can increase performance by eliminating certain or all of the background sound effects. Use the Options Command pull down menu to select the Sound Options window. By reducing the number of active sound effects, you are freeing memory that could be allocated to other parts of the game. If your intent is to eliminate all the sounds contained in the game, for maximum results, we recommended that you select the NO SOUND DEVICE option from the setup program's Sound Card list. Eliminating Graphical Animations You can increase performance by eliminating certain or all of the animations contained in the game. Use the Options Command pull down menu to select the Fishing Options window. By reducing the number of active animations, you are freeing memory that can be allocated to other parts of the game. It's Entirely Possible... Fishing can be a lot of different things to different people. For some, it's the excitement of hauling in that big muskie after a long, exhilarating battle. You and the muskie have something in common and after it's all over, you want to throw him back so you can meet another day. You have a kind of respect for him. He's lying there now, exhausted, in the bottom of your boat. You place him carefully back in the water, and he glances back at you quickly before he glides to the depths. There'll be another day ... For others, there is the thrill of landing a 12-pound walleye on an 8-pound line. You've been working on your casting and reeling skills and with a little care and attention you can do it. Or maybe you prefer to out think a bass: it's two in the afternoon on a sunny day, the odds are against you, but you know if you do something a little different, you can land a nice 4-pounder. Perhaps it doesn't really matter whether you catch anything at all. The mist gathers over the water, the sun casts a red glow over everything, and you're slowly drifting just off-shore. Cast out... reel in ... cast out ... reel in ... What is that fish down there thinking, you wonder. And then, Do fish think at all? You laugh at yourself and remember when you were a kid and these questions really concerned you. Cast out... reel in ... cast out ... You look behind you. There's a lot of bay out there, you think. Theoretically, I could cast a line clear to the other side. If the wind was right, and my lure was aerodynamically designed. It's possible ... no, it's absolutely ridiculous. Cast out ... reel in ...cast out - And then BANG! You've got a big one on the line and your whole world changes. You come back to the present with a jolt and try to remember what your fishin' buddy told you. Stay calm, relax, give the fish some slack - not too much. Your rod's bending so much it's making you nervous, and your reel is screaming as it winds out line. Suddenly it stops and you know your fish is doubling back. Frantically you wind in .... And on it goes until finally your fish tires and you can reach over with your net and haul him in. A beautiful ten-pound walleye. Wait till they see this back at the lodge! It's getting dark, and you can see the lights of the cottages on the opposite shore begin to twinkle. You start the motor and head back. On second thought, you muse, maybe it is possible to cast clear to the opposite shore. Yeah ... it's entirely possible.
Back to the game