----------------------------------------- Star Fighter - Version 1.04 Playable Demo Copyright 1996, The 3DO Company & Krisalis Software Ltd ----------------------------------------- Game Notes ---------- You are now looking at the first playable preview of Star Fighter for the PC! This game was designed to take advantage of a Pentium processor [The programmers at Krisalis hand-coded each line in assembly from the original 3DO version]. To see the true power of the graphics engine, try it out on a P133 or better with a PCI graphics card. Of course, Star Fighter supports all ranges of machines down to a 486, but nothing can beat the experience of flying around and destroying massive chains of buildings in hi-res 640x480 at 24 frames per second. Just compare Star Fighter against the competition to see the superior graphics quality in hi-resolution. If you own a 486, Star Fighter will run extremely fast in low-resolution mode, plus we will soon be supporting Creative Labs' 3D Blaster! History ------- If you are at all familiar with the 3DO version of Star Fighter, you will notice right away that the PC edition bears as little resemblance to its predecessor as it did to the Archimedes classic. For one, the game engine now utilizes a natural fogging technique to bring terrain into view without pop-up. We have also added realistic textures to every object among the 8 planet types, ranging from photographic quality grass, water, ice, and rock to steel and glass skyscrapers. All 60 maps have been updated and all fighter craft enhanced with additional polygon and texture detail. Best of all, we have retained the same playability that made the original game so great. A few logical loopholes have been closed here and there, and the mission objectives have been tweaked to provide an extremely challenging game with plenty of hidden features. Hunting for crystal combinations is now more convenient with the addition of a ship-board analytical computer, and an altimeter makes cockpit control easier for flight simulator enthusiasts. Game Tips --------- Here’s how to rapidly get into the game and see all the new features: First, you should experiment with the detail and fog settings for your machine. Star Fighter makes its best guess at default settings based on your processor speed, but you will want to override these to see the maximum extent of the game engine. These settings should be adjusted every time the program is exited and re-started. · Press F8 several times to increase game detail to the highest level. Detail settings can range from flat shaded polygons all the way up to fully fogged and shaded textures with transparency effects for explosions and engine flames. F7 reduces detail. · Press and hold F6 down to reduce fog and extend the viewing region further into the distance. F5 increases fogging. · If you want to see what a difference a high resolution 640x480 display can make, just press F9 to toggle between lo-res 320x200 and high. Wicked things to check out: · Every single item in the game can be destroyed. For some particularly good effects, use air-to-ground (ATG) missiles to take out a large collection of buildings. Towers that look like a space needle with a revolving restaurant on top provide very satisfying explosions. Look for pipelines and glass bridges, where destroying one link can set off a massive chain reaction that ripples down the entire line. · Terraform the planet surface by firing your lasers into a hill or mountain. This can actually be used as a tactical advantage when destroying hillside gun installations by blowing the ground out from underneath. · Check out the multiple camera settings. You can view the Star Fighter from any or distance. The complete freedom of camera movement in this game is unparalleled. You can play from a flight simulator cockpit view down to a Zaxxon ¾ perspective if you desire. Test out the missile-cam for a mad effect. Minimum Requirements: --------------------- Processor: 486/33 MHz minimum, Pentium 90 MHz or better suggested. Memory: 6 MB RAM minimum (5.5 MB extended memory XMS, 400K conventional), 8 MB RAM suggested (required for Windows 95). Hard Disk: 1 MB of uncompressed space available. CD-ROM: Double-speed (300 K/s transfer rate). O/S: MS-DOS 5.0 or later or Windows 95. Video Card: VESA local bus or PCI video supporting 256 color SVGA (320x200 / 640x480). Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster or 100% compatible. Supports Sound Blaster (Basic, Pro, ASP, 16, and AWE 32), Ensoniq SoundScape (8 and 16), Microsoft Sound System (8 and 16 Mono/Stereo), Pro Audio Spectrum (Basic and 16), Gravis UltraSound (Basic and Max), ESS Audio Drive (488 and 688), Roland RAP-10, and Adlib Gold (1000 and 2000). Although Star Fighter will run on any 486 processor, the minimum realistic requirement is a 486 running at 33Mhz. StarFighter will run nicely in MS-DOS or Windows 95. Re-configuring your sound card ------------------------------ After installing Star Fighter, to change the sound card settings, press either one of the shift keys while Star Fighter loads. This will display the sound configuration screen. 640x480 Mode (High resolution) ------------------------------ High Resolution mode (640x480) is not recommended for machines slower than a Pentium running at 90Mhz (or equivalent). You may press the F9 key within Star Fighter to toggle between low and high resolutions. Windows 95 ---------- When running Star Fighter in high resolution (640x480) mode in a DOS box under Windows 95, it is not recommended that you switch between full-screen and a window, as the testing we have done has shown that display is not always restored correctly. Keyboard -------- StarFighter responds to the keyboard at all times in addition to input from control pads or joysticks. Use the directional arrows, space bar, enter key, and escape key to navigate the various menu systems. The default keyboard configuration is described below: General Up: P or Up Arrow Down: L or Down Arrow Left: Z or Left Arrow Right: X or Right Arrow Select Item: Space or Enter Previous Menu: Escape or Left Control Skip Movie: Space or Enter Toggle Resolution: F9 (Toggle low (320x200) and high (640x480) res) Increase View: F6 (Less fog - decrease frame rate) Decrease View: F5 (More fog - faster frame rate) Increase Detail: F8 Decrease Detail: F7 Aboard Ship Fire Weapon: Enter Select Weapon: Left Alt Thrust: Space Toggle Camera: Right Shift View Map: B E. C. M.: Left Shift Pause Menu: Left Control Strategic Map Lock on Target: Space Status/Target Info: B Mission Briefing: Right Shift Zoom In: Enter Zoom Out: Left Alt Exit/Previous Menu: Left Control External Camera Rotate View: Up/Down/Left/Right Zoom In: Enter Zoom Out: Left Alt Other Pause Game: F1 (press any key to resume) Quit to DOS: F12 Problems with StarFighter ------------------------- If StarFighter is running too slowly for your liking, there are a couple of things you can do to improve the situation: 1. Decrease the detail level. Using the F7 key, you can lower the amount of detail used, thus speeding the game play. 2. Decrease the visibility. Using the F5 key, you can lower the visibility by bringing in the fog. This will result in faster game play. Star Fighter Credits -------------------- Krisalis Software Ltd. Producer: Tony Kavanagh. Director: Pete Harrap. Original Design: FEDNET - T.D. Parry and A.P. Hutchings. PC & Console Programming: Pete Harrap, Mark Incley, Richard Teather, and Karen Crowhurst. Modelling & Cinematics: Dave Colledge. Artwork: Mark Potente and Neil Adamson. Music & Sound: John Avery, Rhubarb Productions. Quality Assurance: Steve Sumner, Richard Beirne, and Graham Morley. Thanks To: Mark Adamson and Darryl Blandford. The 3DO Company Executive Producer: Greg Richardson. Producer: Nick Earl. Director: Gary Lake. Narration: Howard Swain. Audio & Sound F/X: Bob Vieira, Jeffrey Bihr, Spark Studios. Quality Assurance: Mike Herauf, Jason Wildblood, Dan Silberman. Thanks To: Scott Walker for providing novice pilot input and low score testing. USES SMACKER VIDEO TECHNOLOGY BY INVISIBLE INC. D.B.A. RAD SOFTWARE. End of readme.txt