JAGGED ALLIANCE 2 Readme File - December 1999 Version 1.06 _________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Installation 2.0 Computer Requirements 3.0 Video Troubleshooting 4.0 Sound Troubleshooting 5.0 Technical Tips 6.0 Driver Update Web Links 7.0 Manual Addendum 8.0 Technical Support 9.0 End-user License Agreement 10.0 Game Updates __________________ (1.0) INSTALLATION ___________________________ (1.0.1) Installing the Game 1. Launch Microsoft Windows 95/98 2. Place the Jagged Alliance 2 Install Disk in the CD-ROM drive. Auto-Run should launch the Install program. Proceed to step 5. 3. If Auto-Run is disabled on your computer you will need to run the Install program manually. From the Desktop, click on the Start button on the Taskbar and select Run. 4. When the Run window appears, type E:\Install\Setup.exe and click on OK. NOTE: If your CD-Rom drive letter is not E: (as shown above), then substitute the appropriate letter (e.g., D:\Install\Setup.exe) 5. When you reach the Welcome screen, click on the Next> button to continue. 6. When the Choose Destination Location screen appears, either choose the default folder by clicking the Next> button, or see the note below. NOTE: The default folder for installation is C:\Program Files\TalonSoft\Ja2. If you wish it to be something other than that, click the Browse button and enter a new destination in the Path box. If the folder you specify does not exist, the program will prompt you to create it. __________________________ (1.1) Installation Options When you install JA2 for the first time, you have the choice of various installation sizes. We recommend that you use the largest possible installation option for your hard drive. The more room JA2 has on your hard drive, the smoother the game will play. In addition, when you run JA2, you will need around 30 MBs of free hard drive space for files that are created when playing and for saving games. The game will warn you whenever you become low on hard drive space. _______________ (1.2) Play Disk Regardless of the Installation option, in order to play JA2 you will be required to insert the Jagged Alliance 2 Play Disk in the drive from which you installed the game. The game will not run without this disk in the CD-ROM drive. ________________________ (1.2.1) Playing the Game Insert the Play Disk into your CD-ROM drive and select the Play button from the window that appears. If the Auto-Run feature on your system is disabled, or not working, use the shortcut created during the installation. If you didn't create a shortcut, click on the Start button on the Taskbar. Then select Programs, then TalonSoft, then Jagged Alliance 2. Finally, select Jagged Alliance 2 to begin. ______________________________ (1.2.2) Multiple CD-ROM Drives If you have more than one CD-ROM drive installed, or have a CD-ROM drive and a CD-R Drive, be sure to insert the Play Disk into the drive you installed the game from. If you installed from your CD-ROM drive but try to play the game from the 2nd CD drive, JA2 will be unable to locate the Play Disk. To get around this, you will need to edit the JA2.INI file at the root of your installed JA2 directory. On the 2nd line where it states CD=X; X is the drive letter for your Play Disk CD-ROM drive. Make the change, save the changes, and then start the game. Everything should work fine. _______________________________ (1.3) Improving game performance Gameplay performance can be increased depending on the size of the install. Choosing a full install will maximize performance and enjoyment, whereas a minimum install will result in waiting states while your CD-ROM is accessed. If you have a slow CD-ROM drive, or one that has a long spin-up cycle and you did not perform a full installation, you do not need to re-install JA2. To speed up gameplay, you will need about 350 MBs of free hard disk space on the hard drive where you installed JA2. - Insert the JA2 Play Disk into your CD-ROM drive. - Select and copy Speech.slf into your \JA2\Data directory. The game can be further sped-up by copying another file; NPC_Speech.slf. You will still need to have the JA2 Play Disk in your drive to play. ________________ (1.4) Game Hints If you're having trouble getting started, read the opening Tutorial section of the manual. The Tutorial walks you through the opening steps of JA2. Need Hints? Call the Jagged Alliance 2 Hint Lines 1-900-933-4468 Cost $0.95/min/18 years or Parent's Permission/ Touch-Tone Phone Required Ask your local retailer about the Jagged Alliance 2 Official Strategy & Secrets hintbook. ___________________________ (2.0) COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS Minimum Computer Specs: Operating System: Windows(R) 95/98 Intel Pentium(TM) 133 MHz 4x CD-ROM drive 32 MB RAM 300 MB free hard drive space Input Device: 100% Windows(R) 95/98 compatible mouse Sound: 100% Windows(R) 95/98 compatible sound card Graphics: Video card that supports 16-bit DirectDraw calls DirectX 2.0 External speakers Recommended Computer Specs: Operating System: Windows(R) 95/98 Intel Pentium-MMX(TM) 166 MHz 6x (or faster) CD-ROM drive 64 MB RAM DirectX 6.1 (or later) Graphics: DirectX certified 4MB PCI/AGP Video card (see notes below) Sound: DirectX certified ISA/PCI Sound card External speakers w/ Sub-woofer ___________________________ (3.0) Video Troubleshooting Jagged Alliance 2 is one of the first 16-bit DirectDraw games. Some video cards that don't fully support 16-bit DirectDraw may encounter difficulties. If you are experiencing poor performance that does not correlate with the general speed of your machine, chances are your video card driver does not fully support 16-bit DirectDraw calls. We've tested a number of video cards that have display problems. There are three identified problems with video cards: - Incompatible Drivers - Old or problematic BIOS versions - DirectX driver certification. We hope this section will correct any problems you may have. ________________________ (3.1) Matrox Millenium I If you have this card, you may experience sluggish video performance. Based on tester feedback, we recommend you install Matrox's PowerDesk v3.63 drivers in conjunction with MS DirectX 5.2. Installing Matrox's latest driver, PowerDesk 4.12, may not correct the slowdown problem. To download PowerDesk v4.12, please follow this link: ftp://ftp.matrox.com/pub/mga/millennm/win95/1677_412.exe If this does not help, see the Diamond Stealth II S220 notes below. In addition, Matrox has released a Unified BIOS update for most cards. This update will re-program the BIOS chip on your video card, often times adding or even correcting troublesome compatibility. Please follow this link to obtain the BIOS update. Please note that Flashing your BIOS improperly can ruin your card. Make sure to read any enclosed readme files with the Matrox BIOS flasher. http://www.matroxusers.com/BIOS/Bios/setup345.zip ___________________________ (3.1.1) Matrox Millenium II A few reports have be recieved that the Millenium II has similar problems as the Millenium I. The latest drivers for this card can be found at: http://www.matroxusers.com/Driver/win98/1677_426.exe __________________________ (3.1.2) Matrox G200 Series We've heard mixed reports from G200 users that performance is slower than expected on this card. We recommend that you download the latest drivers from Matrox. Early reports indicate that this has corrected problems with JA2 and Windows 95/98. Latest Non-certified Driver: http://www.matroxusers.com/Driver/win98/1677_451.exe Latest Certified Driver: http://www.matroxusers.com/Driver/Win9x/w9x_430.exe _________________________ (3.2) Matrox Mystique 220 Isolated cases of Mystique 220 users have reported a similar slowdown. Although we don't have a formal solution for this card, we recommend that you download and install the Matrox Mystique 220 v3.82 drivers from this link: http://www.matroxusers.com/Driver/Win95/1677_382.exe If this does not help, see the 'Diamond Stealth II S220' notes below. _______________________ (3.3) Voodoo Rush cards Single board Voodoo Rush-based cards such as the Alliance AT25 and Intense 3D with 6MB VRAM have shown cursor redraw errors. Graphics around a moving cursor are distorted between screen scrolls. Although we tested these cards, the solution we have is only a work-around. This card is no longer sold, and as such, drivers are no longer updated. Please follow the Diamond Stealth resolution to correct issues with this card. Current 3Dfx Reference Driver version - 4.10.01.2073 ____________________________ (3.3.1) Voodoo Banshee cards (3Dfx Interactive finally released Public Reference Drivers to OEM manufacturers. Until Non-Reference board makers can issue their own tailored drivers, we cannot provide adequate support for the Banshee.) Current 3Dfx Reference Driver version-4.01.0234.100 BIOS-1.02.02 (v1.0) The 3Dfx Banshee chipset can be found on the following cards (PCI & AGP): Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee Diamond Multimedia Monster Fusion Guillemot MaxiGamer Phoenix Quantum3D Raven Power Color EvilQueen _____________________________ (3.4) Diamond Stealth II S220 Once again, tester feedback has helped us find a work-around for sluggish performance with this card. With DirectX installed, the DirectDraw Hardware Acceleration option is turned-on by default. Turning it off seems to help scrolling and frame rates on the Stealth II S220 and in many instances, for the above mentioned Matrox cards as well. To turn it off, follow one of these two methods: a) Got to the Start button in your Task Bar. b) Select Find and search for DXTool. c) Launch DXTool. d) A screen of DirectX info will appear. Deselect the Use DirectDraw Hardware Acceleration option. e) Click OK to close and quit DXTool. If you have the DirectX control panel installed, follow these steps: a) Go to the Start button in your Task Bar. b) Select Settings, and then Control Panel. c) Open the DirectX control panel. d) Go to the DirectDraw tab. e) Uncheck the Use Hardware Acceleration option. Click on OK. ________________________________ (4.0) Sound Card Troubleshooting ______________________ (4.1) Ensoniq AudioPCI This card is now supported and re-manufactured by Creative Labs. When scrolling during combat, this card may produce some skipping. Older drivers produce more skip, whereas newer drivers produce less. Please download these drivers to decrease or solve this problem: http://www.soundblaster.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ftpnew.html _________________________ (4.2) MonsterSound series This includes the M80, MX200, and MX300 PCI boards. We have heard some reports that the in-game music may sound garbled. Please download the latest drivers: http://www.diamondmm.com/products/drivers/driver-index.html ________________________ (4.3) Sound Blaster Live Although we have not heard of any problems with this card, we do recommend that you download the latest Live! drivers from Creative: http://www.soundblaster.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ftpnew.html ____________________ (5.0) Technical Tips A general rule of thumb with Video cards is to ensure that you have the latest driver available. However, since Jagged Alliance 2 has 16-bit DirectDraw calls, not all new drivers solve this issue. In some cases, your problems may lie with other system-related problems. Please follow these guidelines to help solve any other problems you may have: ______________________________ (5.1) Installing DirectX 6.1 may not help, as drivers need to be certified to work properly. Reverting your system to DirectX 5.0 or 5.2 may help with your card if your manufacturer has not updated its drivers. ______________________________ (5.2) If you have Windows 98 on your computer, older cards may not be fully compatible. Check your card manufacturer's web site for info on Win 98 driver updates. ___________________________________________ (5.3) If your computer crashes frequently, run Scandisk by right-clicking on your hard drive and selecting Properties. Severe mapping errors on drives could lead to crashes in JA2 or your operating system when saving games etc. Scandisk under Window NT may require you to restart. ___________________________________ (5.4) If you have more than 32 MBs of memory and are experiencing poor performance due to hard disk swapping, you may have fragmented hard disk space. Defragment your hard disk(s) to improve performance. ___________________________________________ (5.5) If your system performs erratically and you cannot pinpoint the problem, you may want to scan your computer's hard disks for viruses. Certain recent viruses such as theWin32 CIH virus infect games and cause them to misbehave. If you are a frequent Internet downloader, you may be infected with a strain of the Win32 CIH virus. ____________________________________________________ (5.6) If you use an early generation DVD-ROM drive, and use this as your Play Disk source and experience cinematic or speech stuttering errors, there is a solution. Go to your System Properties under the Control Panel, select Device Manager, click on CDROM, and then select the properties for your CD-ROM device. When the CD-ROM properties window appears, select the Settings tab, and check-on the DMA box. Restart your PC to effect changes. Likewise, if you have a Pentium-II or Celeron class PC, you can increase hard disk performance by enabling DMA-buffering. To do this, Go to your System Properties under the Control Panel, select Device Manager, select System Devices in the list, open it and select Direct Memory Access Controller. Open its properties, select the Settings tab, and check-on Reserve DMA Buffer. Set its Reserved Kbytes to 64. Close all windows and restart. ___________________________ (5.7) DirectX Certification Depending on which version of MS DirectX you have, your 2D video card(s) and sound card need to be certified for use with it. We strongly recommend that you verify that this is in fact the case. Although JA2 requires a minimum of MS DirectX 2.0 to play, Microsoft has released several new versions since. The newest versions add compatibility for 3D acceleration, 3D sound, and online gaming. The most common version of DirectX is v5.0. Hence, most shipping drivers should be DirectX 5.0 certified. If you have installed DirectX 6.1, chances are that your sound and video cards may not be certified for use with this version. OEMs are slowly adding compatibility for DirectX 6.1 as most new Direct3D games require it. Please check with your video and sound card company's website for the latest DirectX 5.0 or 6.1 certified drivers. If you would like to upgrade your copy of DirectX to the latest version, please follow this URL link: http://www.microsoft.com/directx/default.asp _____________________________ (6.0) Driver Update Web Links Most manufacturers release new software drivers to correct bugs or add compatibility to new operating systems. If you are experiencing video and/or sound card problems with Jagged Alliance 2, we recommend you upgrade your drivers to the latest available versions. At the time of press, listed below were the most recent software drivers. ________________________ (6.1) Video Card Drivers Acer Peripherals (PA Card Family) http://www.aopen.com.tw/tech/addon/default.htm ATI Technologies (Mach 32, Mach 64, Rage II series, Rage Pro, Rage 128) http://support.atitech.ca/ Canopus Corporation (Spectra 2500, Total3D 128V) http://www.canopusvideo.com/support.htm Creative Labs (Graphics Blaster, 3D Blaster family) http://www.soundblaster.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ Diamond Multimedia (Stealth & Viper family) http://www.diamondmm.com/products/drivers/driver-index.html Matrox (Millenium I & II, Mystique, G100, G200 family) http://www.matrox.com/mgaweb/drivers/home.htm http://www.matroxusers.com/ S3 (S3 Virge, Trio, Savage3D) http://www.s3.com/bbs/0main/topindex.htm STB Systems (Velocity 4400) http://www.stb.com/drivers/ Trident http://www.tridentmicro.com/trident/html/drivers.htm ________________________ (6.2) Sound Card Drivers Avance Logic (ALS Series) http://www.realtek.com.tw/cp/download.htm Cirrus Logic (Crystal Dynamics) http://www.cirrus.com/drivers/audiodrv/win_95.html Creative Labs (SoundBlaster 16/32/AWE, 128PCI, Ensoniq, Live!) http://www.soundblaster.com/wwwnew/tech/ftp/ftpnew.html Diamond Multimedia (Monster Sound, Sonic Impact, Sonic Sound) http://www.diamondmm.com/products/drivers/driver-index.html ESS Technology (ESS488, ESS688, ESS1488, ESS1688, ESS18xx) http://www.esstech.com/Technical/drivers/downloadable/drivers/driver.htm Jaton (SonicWave 4D) http://www.jaton.com/web/support1.htm S3 (SonicVibes) http://www.s3.com/bbs/617drv/index.htm Yamaha (DB50XG, SW1000XG, WF192D, WF192XG) http://www.yamaha.com/ycaservice/frame2.htm _________________________ (7.0) JA2 Manual Addendum __________________________ (7.1) Automatic Save Games If you create a file named AutoSave.pls and place it in the same folder where JA2 is installed, the game will automatically be saved during turn based combat as soon as you hit Done (turn). The save will either be named auto00.sav or auto01.sav (they alternate every turn). These are regular saves that can simply be renamed and loaded from the normal Load Game screen. They also can be loaded without renaming them using ALT+A (for the LATEST save) and ALT+B (for the older one) from the Load Game screen. Note: It doesn't matter what the contents of the AutoSave.pls file is; the program merely checks for the existence of the file. _______________________ (8.0) Technical Support If you have a technical problem concerning the operation of our software, please contact our technical support staff. When you call or write, be at your computer if possible and have the following information ready: computer type, available hard drive space, total RAM, type of video card, and a list of options you chose when you installed the game. Phone: 1-410-933-9191, M-F 9-5pm, EST Address: TalonSoft, P.O. Box 43730, White Marsh, MD 21236 Website: http://www.talonsoft.com E-Mail: talon@talonsoft.com ________________________________ (9.0) End-user License Agreement By accepting the terms of this agreement, you are granted the right by Sirtech Canada, Limited and TalonSoft, Inc., to use one copy of the enclosed software program. You may not rent or lease it, disassemble, decompile, reverse engineer or modify the software in any way. The enclosed software program, libraries, graphics, and all written material are the sole property of Sirtech Canada Limited and its suppliers, and are protected under the copyright laws of the Canada and all International Treaties. This software product is sold AS IS, and Sirtech, TalonSoft, its suppliers, dealers or distributors make no warranty with respect to the performance, quality, merchantability or fitness for any purpose of the software. Any change, deviation or exemption from the conditions expressed in this license agreement must be authorized in writing by TalonSoft, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Uses Smacker Video Technology. Copyright (c) 1994-1998 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. SmackPlw.exe is Copyright (c) 1994-1998 by RAD Game Tools, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ___________________ (10.0) Game Updates Thank you to everybody that contacted us with observations and experiences concerning this product. Your comments have helped us make the following revisions, corrections, and refinements. We hope they make your game playing experience even more enjoyable. ____________________ Version 1.06 (12/15) The AP cost for firing a Talon grenade launcher has been corrected. The accuracy of the Talon grenade launcher has been improved. A re-appearing sector inventory situation has been resolved. If the last enemy in a sector is non visible and he dies, the game will now recognize that the sector is clear. An item duplication situation has been corrected. A problem related to firing someone in a vehicle when the sector was currently loaded has been resolved. A crash situation related to characters having statistics of 100 has been resolved. By popular demand, cheat keys have been included in this release. The cheat ability can be turned on by holding down CTRL and typing G A B B I when in the tactical game screen. Beware; if you use these keys, you have the potential to create havoc! For example, if you were to teleport a character to a non-valid location it could cause problems, etc. If problems occur as a result of using the cheat keys, our technical support staff will be unable to help correct the situation. If you choose to use these keys, please be sure to save your game first. This backup will prove useful, should problems develop. Once cheat mode is turned on, you can use: (Tactical screen) ALT + E Make all characters (enemies and NPCs) and items visible ALT + O Kill all enemies in current sector ALT + T Teleport selected character to cursor location CTRL + H Hurt character under cursor location ALT + D Refresh APs of selected character ALT + R Reload selected character's gun CTRL + U Refresh all characters' health and energy (heals them) ALT + ENTER Aborts enemies turn (Map screen) CTRL + T In travel mode, teleport squad to sector under cursor ALT + AUTO RESOLVE Kill all enemies in sector (without having to load sector and use ALT + O) (Laptop) + Increase funds by $100,000 - Decrease funds by $ 10,000 SPACE while Left clicking merc Forces any "away" character to join team ______________________________________ Version 1.05r (9/15 - Release Version) Crowbars are now working correctly. An issue with Kyle getting confused has been corrected. A situation where the Queen's palace was receiving reinforcements when under player control has been corrected. The unintended situation where the player retreating from a sector while fighting creatures would cause Deidranna to re-take the sector has been corrected. An unintentional feature that allowed a merc to open a structure when he wasn't close to it has been removed. Kingpin will no longer send email from his grave. __________________________________ Version 1.05 (9/03 - Beta Version) The unintended ability to duplicate items has been eliminated. A cursor lockup situation in the brothel was fixed. The ice cream truck no longer disappears after you recruit Hamous, even if you leave the sector without putting someone in it. Inventory issues regarding stacking and using shaped charges were corrected. Unintended results related to stealing were eliminated. A situation involving being captured while in a vehicle was corrected. Cans of gas may now be merged and cans below 10% status may now be used to refuel vehicles. Stealth values will no longer be reset when they are maxed out. Not having enough Action Points to drop ammunition no longer causes the game to crash. A situation involving duplication of a shopkeeper's items, by trying to buy too much from the shopkeeper, has been eliminated. An issue related to mercenaries dying in water has been corrected. An issue preventing the placement of mercenaries upon entering an enemy sector, that was also the destination of new recruits, was resolved. An issue causing squads to become corrupted was resolved. Issues concerning the attacking of "Bob" have been resolved. You can no longer climb roofs or jump fences when exhausted. A crowbar "status" related issue was resolved. ____________________ Version 1.04 (8/13) Experience gains related to crows and cows were adjusted to make the values more accurate. This was done in the best interests of the animals. Gas attacks now make civilians slightly angry. OK, very angry. Mercenaries can no longer gain experience points for disarming bombs they planted, since this activity can be abused (and is dangerous!). A new "double-pistol firing in water" animation has been added for the large mercenary body-type. A message has been added to notify you that a character's ceramic plates have been destroyed. The message "out of weapon range" has been changed to "out of effective weapon range" to help clarify the situation. Issues involving the helicopter crash were resolved. The unintended possibility of obtaining too many militia members while training has been eliminated. The game will no longer crash if a merc died while the player had an inventory item in the cursor. Issues involving hospital payments were resolved. Using the machete on dead bloodcats and cows will no longer produce human heads. Civilians will no longer remain non-chalant when attacked. The unintended possibility of getting 50 points to distribute to skills in character generation has been eliminated. Issues involving corpses were resolved. Items left behind when a mercenary is dismissed on a rooftop now show up on roofs and not the floor underneath. The unintended possibility of a mercenary passing through walls has been eliminated. Civilian "goons" killed will now stay dead, in nearly all cases! Hated or "buddy" mercs that are dead (but whose bodies are still hanging around) no longer affect contract renewals. Issues related to the functionality of the 'E' key were resolved. Interrupts while defending locations with militia now function as intended. Very rare issues involving the removal of dead mercenaries were resolved. The interrogation area will now have defending troops, even on the easiest difficulty level. A cursor lockup issue related to pulling switches was resolved. Transfer of tactical battle control to auto-resolve now functions as intended. Issues related to the use of LAWs on tanks were resolved. The Kingpin's goons will now become hostile when attacked. Very rare issues related to the destruction of walls were resolved. A cursor lockup that would occur when you spoke to Sgt. Krott while in combat has been eliminated. Issues involving Han's movement were resolved. Escorted characters will no longer attempt to search for items. An interface lockup that occurred when attempting to steal without having enough Action Points was resolved The possibility of Queen Deidranna appearing in the wrong sector has been eliminated. Issues involving the viewing of large numbers of items in the tactical item pickup interface were resolved. The possibility of items disappearing from a certain Meduna sector has been eliminated. Some "extreme fighting" related issues were resolved. Issues involving the on-line help have been resolved. Players will get credit for safe airspace. Issues involving character interaction with Carmen were resolved.