3DNA Help

FAQ

This version of the FAQ was written on Monday, June 9, 2003.. The most up to date version is always available at our website at:

http://www.3DNA.net/support/faq.htm


Troubleshooting

Using the 3DNA Desktop

Navigation

Known Issues


Troubleshooting

Each time I start the 3DNA Desktop it says that I have Insufficient 3D Graphics Memory, and that the program must restart. What should I do?

Unfortunately, your system is not capable of running our software. The most common cause of this problem is that you either do not have a 3D graphics card in your system, or you have one but do not have enough video memory.

Sometimes when I quit out of playing a video game and return to the 3DNA Desktop, it says that it needs to restart. Why is this happening?

The majority of 3D drivers and games are not written taking multi-tasking into consideration, and they attempt to take control of as much system resources as they can. They do this so they can maximize their performance and provide the highest level of quality that is possible. Because of this, certain 3D applications will interfere with the 3DNA Desktop and cause it to stop using your 3D hardware. When this happens, the 3DNA Desktop will prompt you to restart back into hardware mode.

Will the 3DNA Desktop slow down my machine?

If you are below the recommended system requirements, the 3DNA Desktop will run sluggish on your machine, but it will not affect other running applications. The 3DNA Desktop gives up virtually all of its system resources when you switch to another application.

There are strange 'zebra stripes' appearing on the textures in the scene, is there anything I can do?

There are several different possible solutions to this problem. The most common cause of this is from running your desktop at 16 bit color depth. Changing your color depth to 32 bit should fix this. Another possible solution is to acquire the most up to date drivers for your graphics card.

When my laptop goes into Hardware Suspend Mode it lowers the screen resolution and forces the 3DNA Desktop to restart. How can I fix this?

Laptops can automatically change the default hardware settings in an attempt to maximize the life of the battery. If your computer enters Hardware Suspend Mode and forces software mode, the 3DNA Desktop should detect this and restart in hardware acceleration mode. If this is unsuccessful you can manually restart by right clicking on the 3DNA Systray and selecting Stop 3DNA. Once the program has shut down, right click on the systray again and select Start 3DNA.

When I play a video file when running 3DNA, my screen becomes filled with strange, colored lines. What's going on?

Some users have reported issues with running .mpeg and .mov video files with the 3DNA Desktop. We recommend you install the most recent version of your video drivers. If this does not work, we recommend the following:

  1. Click on Start
  2. Select Settings
  3. Select Control Panel
  4. Click on Display
  5. Select the Settings Tab
  6. Click on Advanced
  7. Select the Troubleshoot Tab
  8. Move the Hardware Acceleration slider to "Disable all DirectDraw and Direct3D accelerations"
  9. Restart the 3DNA Desktop

If this still does not solve the problem, we recommend that you stop the 3DNA Desktop when you are planning on watching video files on your computer.

I am trying to name a shortcut that includes asterisks in the name but it doesn't display properly.

If a name is created with one or more asterisks in it, everything after the asterisk(s) will be deleted from the name. That character is reserved for special purposes.

When my Windows screen saver starts in Windows XP, it causes the 3DNA Desktop to restart. How can I stop this?

By default, the Windows screen saver takes you to the welcome/login screen when you return to Windows. This casuses the graphics mode to be reset, which in turn causes the 3DNA Desktop to restart. You can turn this off by going to your Windows screen saver options, and unchecking the box beside "On resume, password protect" or "On resume, display Welcome screen".

Back to top


Using the 3DNA Desktop

How do I start the 3DNA Desktop?

There is a 3DNA icon in the systray area of the Windows taskbar (by the clock) that allows you to control the 3DNA Desktop. Right clicking on this icon will show you the options that are available. Choose Start 3DNA to launch the 3DNA Desktop.

What can I click on?

You can left or right click on any of the panels on the walls, the buttons on the walls, the Options Kiosk, and any of the toys or objects that glow or that show text when you roll over them with your mouse.

How do I launch applications?

You can launch applications by double clicking on 3D objects and panels.

How does the Browser Bay work?

When you want to visit a specific site, you simply double click on the picture of the site. You can also glance at a site to determine if you want to visit it by single clicking and holding the mouse button down on the site. This will zoom into a picture of the site without going out to the Internet, allowing you to quickly visit many sites in a short amount of time. You can add your own websites to the panels by right clicking on the panel, selecting Choose Web Page and following the instructions.

How do I create shortcuts on the Shortcut Panels?

You can create a shortcut to any file or folder on your computer by right clicking on any Shortcut Panel, selecting Create Shortcut and following the steps that are presented.

Is there anyway to select more than one shortcut at a time in the Shortcut Chooser and Web Favorites Chooser?

To select more than one shortcut at a time, hold down Ctrl while clicking on each icon.

Does the Web Favorites Chooser support Netscape Navigator bookmarks?

Not yet. Currently we only support Internet Explorer Favorites. We plan on adding support for additional browser in the future.

I purchased the product and entered my serial number but I still see the advertising posters ?

To deactivate the posters you must right click on the 3DNA Systray or the 3DNA Control and select Options. Uncheck the box beside "Display Poster ads", and hit OK. Your posters will now be replaced by poster sized picture panels.

I purchased the product and the Switch Posters button on the Kiosk still does not do anything?

The Switch Posters button does not do anything until you have turned off the advertising posters. To turn of the advertising, please see the previous entry.

How come when I click on the 3DNA Audio Controller and nothing happens?

The 3DNA Audio Controller currently only works with Winamp v2.x and 3.x, and Windows Media Player 6.x, 7.x, 8.x and 9.0.

How come when I double click on the backboard for the basketball game, and the ball does not come back to me?

Double-clicking on the backboard only brings the ball back when you are in the Hoopshoot game, not when you are just playing casually.

Back to top


Navigation

Do I have to walk everywhere?

No. By clicking on the teleport hotspots located throughout the space you can teleport to different sites in the 3DNA environment. You can also use the keyboard hotkeys (default 1 to 5) to teleport from place to place.

How do I pick up, shoot, or move the toys around the 3DNA Desktop?

To pick up an object, double click on it

To shoot an object after picking it up, hold down the left mouse button, and watch it move towards you like a slingshot. When you are ready to release it, let go of the button and watch that sucker fly.

To move an object horizontally, left click and hold down your mouse button while moving it left or right. To move an object up or down, hold shift and left click and hold down your mouse while moving it up or down.

How come I can’t map to certain keys?

There are several keys that are reserved and can't be changed.

F1 through F12
Print Screen
Enter (Keypad)
Control
Caps Lock
= +
] }
, <
Ins
Scroll Lock
Windows keys
Alt
` ~
\ |
; :
. >
Esc
Pause
Num Lock
Shift
- _
[ {
' “
/ ?

Is there any way that I can stop rolling down the stairs so that I can look at my pictures? I'd also like to be able to hover in the air?

You can lock yourself in place at anytime (even when you are flying in the air) by holding down the Shift key. You can still use the left and right navigation keys to look around when you are locked.

The walk and turn speed is too fast and my system and it is making me feel sick to my stomach! Help!

You can change the walk and turn speed at any time by right clicking on the 3DNA Systray or the 3DNA Control and selecting user options. Under the Movement section, move the slider for Walking Speed and Turning Speed all the way to minimum.

Back to top


Known Issues

The dynamic skies do not work while playing the in-scene games. They are purposefully disabled so that as many system resources as possible go towards the quality and experience of the game play.

Extremely long URL's (Web page addresses) can cause errors with the 3DNA Desktop. We recommend that you try to avoid pages that have names over 200 characters.

Wildcat VP and Radeon 9700 boards have reported certain clipping plane issues that cause black holes to appear when looking at the dynamic skies.

While plalying Hoopshoot, the basketball game may not record a successful basket related to slow frame rate (slow CPU).

On low-end graphics cards that do not support multi-texturing, various artifacts may appear such as the 3DNA toy (tetrahedron) displaying as all white.