User manual GAMES PC STATIONFALL MAPS

[. . . ] To start Disk Defragmenter, left-click the ÿStart button from the Taskbar. As with ScanDisk, select the drive to which you wish to install game and click OK. 2 DIRECTX INSTALLATION NOTES READ THIS SECTION COMPLETELY BEFORE PLAYING NFS3 OR INSTALLING THE DIRECTX DRIVERS. DirectX is an Application Programming Interface that gives Windows 98 and 95 based applications high-performance, real-time access to your hardware while reducing the complexity of installing and configuring your hardware. NFS3 uses the DirectX 5 API and includes DirectX 5 files which you can install. Two DirectX components, DirectDraw and DirectSound, may require updating your video card and sound card drivers respectively for proper operation of these components. [. . . ] You can check these drivers from ÿStart \ Settings \ Control Panel \ System \ Device Manager \ CDROM \ Performance. NOTE: File System must be "32-bit. " If it is listed as "MS-DOS Compatibility Mode, " contact your computer manufacturer to find out how to configure your File System as 32-bit. x Do not use a DOS-based 16-bit driver (loaded in CONFIG. SYS) to control your CD- ROM. Performance may be significantly reduced. CHOPPY OR STUTTERING VIDEO OR AUDIO These problems may be improved by adjusting the CD-ROM read-ahead cache. At the Windows desktop, right-click the My Computer icon, then choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Click the CD-ROM tab, then click in the Optimize access pattern for: box, and choose QUAD-SPEED OR HIGHER. NOTE: Moving the slider to LARGE will not improve NFS3 video performance and may actually hinder performance by reserving RAM that would otherwise be available for the game. VIDEO PROBLEMS NFS3 requires a PCI SVGA video card capable of 640x480 resolution with 65, 535 colors (1 MB or more video memory). It is normal for the videos to have a single black line between each line of video on the screen. NOTE: If your Windows display driver does not support DirectDraw, you may experience difficulties installing or running NFS3. 7 GENERAL VIDEO CARD INFORMATION x During DirectX installation, the DirectX setup program attempts to install a display driver that supports DirectDraw for your video card. If your video card driver does not support DirectDraw, the DirectX setup program replaces your existing video card driver. In some cases, this may disable manufacturer specific utilities for your video card. If you want to keep these utilities functional, you may have to obtain the latest drivers with DirectDraw support directly from the manufacturer of your video card. x Please consult your sound card manufacturer for updated drivers if DirectSound drivers are not available for your sound card in DirectX 5 or higher. CR E AT I V E SO U N D B L A S T E R LI V E CA R D If you do not hear sound in NFS3 when using the Soundblaster Live card, select SBLive Experience from the Creative Taskbar, then run the speaker configuration. Additionally, the Soundblaster Live default Reverb setting is ON, which is not optimal for NFS3. To turn Reverb OFF, select Audio HQ in the Creative Taskbar, click on Environmental AudioTM, then click All Effects Off. Finally, be sure to check that you have the latest Soundblaster Live drivers. These can be downloaded from www. soundblaster. com. 10 CONTROLLER ISSUES GRAVIS GAMEPADTM AND 4 BUTTON CONTROLLERS Although NFS3 supports multiple buttons when using a single controller, you are limited to 2-button support when using two gamepads (or other 4-button controllers) with a Y-cable adapter. Joystick Calibration in Windows: You must calibrate your joystick from the Control Panel in order for the joystick to be recognized within the game. ¬ To install or calibrate your joystick in Windows, access the Control Panel, and launch the Game Controllers applet. Some gaming devices use their own applets or software for installation and calibration. GRAVIS GRIPTM USERS x Make sure the Gravis MultiPort is connected to the joystick port correctly. x Make sure the Gravis MultiPort switch is in the left position for GrIP support. If they are not, please refer to your GrIP documentation for installation instructions. x Make sure that the Gravis GrIP controls are calibrated under Windows. To calibrate the Gravis GrIP in Windows: ¬ To install or calibrate your joystick in Windows, access the Control Panel, and launch the Game Controllers applet. x Once the steps are complete, the green light should activate on the left wing of the Gravis MultiPort. [. . . ] These apply to the host computer as well as the clients, but try them on the host alone first as this may solve all the problems. x Make sure the host computer (the one that creates the network game) is the fastest of the computers, as it controls the game speed. x High-traffic networks slow games down considerably. Avoid playing the game at peak traffic hours while there are large file transfers or print jobs being done. x The slowest computer limits performance. Adjusting the screen size and decreasing graphics settings on a slow machine can help boost performance in a network game. GENERAL NETWORK INFORMATION x Do not run any Windows applications that communicate over the network in the background (e. g. , mail programs, personal schedulers, system or network monitors). x Make sure you have disabled Network Messages. TECHNICAL SUPPORT The NFS3 CD includes a Windows Help file that provides solutions and answers to the most common difficulties and questions about how to properly run this product. ¬ To access the Help file, click TECHNICAL SUPPORT on the Autorun launcher, or select the Technical Service file from the ÿStart \ Programs \ Electronic Arts \Need for Speed 3 menu. The Help file contains a utility that allows you to contact EA via fax or e-mail. [. . . ]