Installation

In order to play The 4th Coming (T4C), you need a special program that runs on your computer called the T4C Client software. You also need to connect to a T4C Server, which is run by a company in your area or over the internet (more on this in Choosing Your Server below).

Getting the T4C Client

The T4C Client can be found in one of several places. If you have already chosen your T4C Server (also called "provider"), visit that provider's website and follow instructions on how to download their T4C Client. All T4C providers make the client available through their web page. Because the T4C Client is a rather large file (45+ Mb), it can be rather long to download. What you need to do is get from your provider a small program called T4CSETUP.EXE and start it. It will connect to your provider's server and download the complete T4C Client. After that, you need to double-click on T4CINSTALL.EXE and let the process run its course.

Not everyone will feel like downloading that 45 Mb Client, however. Some T4C providers have chosen to burn some CDs with the T4C Client on it. Ask your T4C provider to know if those CDs are available. Those CDs also include additional software (browsers, Worldgroup client, ICQ, etc.), so they could save you a lot of download time.

System Requirements

You will also have to download and install the latest version of DirectX that is provided freely by Microsoft Corp. If you do not have these drivers, The 4th Coming will simply not run. If you are using Windows NT, you will need to install SP3, or T4C will not work.

Installing T4C

Installing The 4th Coming is very simple. You will need to download and execute the T4CSetup.EXE installation file. The screen will go black, then the Welcome screen will pop up:

Uninstalling T4C

Choosing and Connecting to Your Server

The 4th Coming can be played on dozens of independent servers all over the world. In order to play on any one of those servers, you must visit their web page and create an account with them. Vircom maintains a list of all T4C servers. Once that is done, you can start T4C by double-clicking on the T4C shortcut on your desktop. You can also start T4C by going into your T4C directory in DOS and typing (not surprisingly) T4C.

Note: The first time you run T4C, the program will decompress the game music. This is an operation that requires a good deal of hard disk space and can take up to ten minutes.

Setting Up a Proxy

A proxy is roughly defined as a "middleman" machine that reroutes packets from external sources to individual internal machines. If you don't know what it is, odds are you don't need one and should skip this section. If you're connecting off a LAN and are experiencing problems connecting to T4C, you should consult your network administrator for assistance.

In order to set up your T4C client to go through a proxy, you need to the correct information in the connect box that pops up when you start the game:

First, you must edit the configuration of your proxy server. Your proxy should be set with two ports: a UDP service pointing to 11677 for the Server field and a TCP service pointing to 11679 for the Patch field. For the purpose of this example, we will assume that the proxy receives the client information for the server through port 200 (redirected to the server's port 11677) and the client's patch server information through port 201 (redirected to the server's port 11679).

Second, in the Server field, enter the IP address of the computer doing the proxy (with the port number after it, separated by a colon; see above illustration for syntax example). The server information (UDP service) will be sent to the proxy (through port 200) and passed along to the server port (11677).

Third, click on the I'm behind a Proxy checkbox. This will unlock the Patch field, in which you again enter the IP address of the computer doing the Proxy (again, with the port number using the same syntax as for the server). The patch server information (TCP service) will be sent to the proxy (through port 201) and passed along to the patch server port (11679).

What To Do in Case of Problems

Due to the numerous hardware combinations that exist, you may experience problems while installing T4C. The first thing to do is always to contact your T4C provider for assistance.

Here are a few of the most common problems that may occur while installing or playing T4C.

Once I have successfully downloaded the client software and executed it, I receive an error message stating that the file is not a Win32 executable. This is usually a serious case of file corruption because it means that even Windows does not recognize the file as a valid executable. In most cases of file corruption, the error usually happened when transferring the file with the File Transfer Protocol (FTP for short) in ASCII mode. You need to set your FTP client into BINARY mode to successfully download an executable file. Your FTP's client instruction manual should be able to tell you how to do that.

Once the installation has been started, the install program freezes before the process bar is completed and it claims that the file is corrupted. Either a bad download or external sources such as a virus has somehow corrupted data in your installation package. It might also be possible that you do not have enough hard disk space available on your hard drive where is located Windows's temporary directory. If this error repeats itself even after you have re-downloaded the entire package, you should contact your T4C service provider for more information. Their version may have been corrupted.

The client requires a file named DINPUT.DLL or DDRAW.DLL. You will have to download and install the latest version of DirectX. It can be downloaded for free from Microsoft. If you are using Windows NT, you must install SP3.

Whenever I switch to another window while the T4C client is running in background, I will get bumped and lose my connection when I re-enter in the client. Also, the desktop is resized in 640x480 in 256 colors. We are aware of this problem and there isn't really a solution. You must avoid using alt-tab, ctrl-esc or the Window button because this has not been fully implemented yet.

I have a 3D video acceleration card such as a Stingray 128 for example and I found out that the T4C client is behaving in a peculiar manner. You should disable the 3D hardware acceleration option in your DirectX setup.

I have a Genius NetMouse PS/2 and I am unable to use it in the T4C client. Our tests with the Genius NetMouse showed that it worked perfectly with the T4C client on our computers. We recommend that you download and install the latest drivers available from Genius.

I was forced to delete the entire T4C client directory without using the supplied uninstaller. This caused useless icons on the desktop and a now useless group under Programs. I am aware that this was not the right way to uninstall the client, but now I would like to ensure that there is no files left on my hard disk. If you have deleted the T4C directory, it makes the task a little bit more difficult to remove everything. The Beaulieux font has been installed on your computer in your usual Fonts directory, you might want to remove it manually. The exact filename is BE______.TTF and you should find it in WINDOWS\FONTS You can easily delete the icons on the desktop by clicking on them and pressing the DEL key. Finally, to delete the group you have created for the client, right-click on the Start button, select Open and click on Programs. Now, click on the group name T4C (or any other group name you have chosen) and press the DEL key.

The client seems to make too much disk access for no apparent reason. The first possibility is that you are running low on memory. The T4C client requires 32 Megs of memory. If you do have the recommended amount of memory, you should close any useless programs running in the background. Finally, you should also consider doing regular defragmentations of your hard disk especially if more than 2% of its contents is fragmented.

How to Report Bugs & Problems

Reporting problems is vital. Without your feedback, Vircom will not easily track them, reproduce them and fix them. Not only should you report all problems to your T4C provider, but you should also include as much information as possible on the bug you encountered. There is no such thing as too much data when it comes to problem solving.

Reporting T4C Client Bugs

If you are experiencing "general" bugs, such as client crashes or excessive client lag (when your drive's red light keeps on lighting up), we need to know everything you can tell us about your hardware and software, and what was happening on the screen when it occurred. What kind of computer are you using? How much hard disk space do you have? What about your RAM? What kind of internet connection do you have? Are your DirectX drivers (6.1) certified? What server are you connecting to? How far are you located from it? Is this something you can reproduce at will? Do you know someone else who's experiencing the exact same problem (and if so, who is it?)?

IMPORTANT: Often, when your client crashes, it generates a .GP file. If you are reporting a crash to your T4C provider, make sure you attach this file to your email. Do so before you restart T4C (that can destroy the .GP file).

Reporting Quest Bugs

Quest bugs occur when you are trying to finish a quest and are encountering a stone wall. This may be because there aren't enough hints in the game or because the quest is broken (i.e. it isn't doing what it *says* it should be doing). This is a lot harder to document without your assistance. Please take down the exact name and responses of the NPC which you suspect is broken, and report it to your T4C provider. Please don't just report "the pot seller in T2 is broken. Fix it!" This will not help us narrow down and reproduce the problem. Rather, tell us what you have done prior to talking to the broken NPC, where you've been, who you've talked to, etc., then tell us why you suspect the NPC isn't behaving as it should. It is extremely important that you be as specific as you can so we can reproduce the problem.

Lag Debugging Icons

Three icons may occasionally appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. They are designed to help Vircom track down and identify any occurrence of lag that you may experience in the game.

Disk Access: This occurs when the client software is accessing your hard disk, either to access game graphics or to manage its memory allocation.

 

Network Access: This is due to a slow or lagging internet connection (a ping time of at least 1500 milliseconds). If you find that you are experiencing network access lag a lot, this may be due to a bad connection or some other form of network slowdown.

World Map Access: The client is slowing down because it's loading a new section of the map that wasn't in memory. If you find that this icon stays on for inordinately long amounts of time, you should report it to your ISP or to Vircom.