The Video Game Solution CD

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SPECTRE DEMO ------------- USER REFERENCE MANUAL --------------------- This demo version of Spectre is meant to give you a sense of how simple, fun, and addictive this game can be. In Spectre Demo, the number of levels you can play is limited, and several features are deactivated. Most importantly, Spectre Demo does not include network support. With the full version of Spectre, you can do battle with up to seven other people over a local area network. This manual will help you get the most out of this demo version of Spectre. The full version of Spectre has many more features including: - Infinite levels of increasing game play! - Multiplayer action over networks, modem or direct connect! - Up to 8 players on a network! - Save and restore a game in progress! - Many more texture maps (graphics on objects). - Full, unlimited technical support. - Upgrade path to new versions of Spectre. To get your hands on the full version of Spectre, visit your local retailer or call 708-991-0594 to order direct from Velocity. Spectre is also available for the Macintosh computer. Velocity Development Corporation P.O. Box 875 Palatine, IL 60078 phone: 708-991-0594 fax: 708-991-4408 bbs: 708-991-0597 CompuServe: 76670,2202 Prodigy: VFSS19A Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- GETTING STARTED --------------- REQUIREMENTS Spectre should run on most newer PCs. Below is a list of the equipment required to run the game: - An IBM or 100% compatible computer with a 286/16 mhz or better processor - A hard disk drive with at least 2 Meg free space - A 100% VGA compatible graphics card and monitor - A High Density (1.2Mb) 5.25" diskette drive OR a double density 3.5" (720K disk drive) depending on which disks came in your package. The following are also supported by Spectre: - An AdLib or Sound Blaster compatible sound board. - A Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse and driver. - A Joystick or game pad. - Microsoft Windows 3.0 or later INSTALLATION Before you install this Demo version of Spectre, please be sure you have met all the requirements listed above. To install Spectre Demo: - Insert the Spectre Demo disk in a diskette drive. - Type that drive letter followed by a colon (usually A: or B:) and press [Enter]. - Type INSTALL and press [Enter]. Now, simply follow the on-screen instructions. The INSTALL program will copy and decompress Spectre to your hard disk. You MUST run the install program to play Spectre. You can not simply copy the Spectre files to your hard disk. The installation program will default to installing Spectre to the C:\SPECTRE directory. You can easily change this during installation. If you have any trouble installing the game, you may want to: - be sure you have at least 2 Meg free on your hard disk - make sure you DID NOT write-protect the original diskette - be sure you have 510K free conventional RAM RUNNING SPECTRE Below is all you need to do to run the game. These examples are for people who choose the default drive and directory (C:\SPECTRE). - Log on to the drive where Spectre was installed: C: [Enter] Page - 2 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- - Change into the directory where Spectre was installed: CD\SPECTRE [Enter] - Run the game by typing: SPECTRE [Enter] If you have any trouble running the game, you should consult the TROUBLESHOOTING section of the manual. SINGLE PLAYER TUTORIAL This short tutorial will get you up and playing in minutes. If you have followed the instructions on the preceding pages, you should be able to launch Spectre. Once the Main Menu appears on your screen, select PLAY by clicking on it with the mouse or pressing either the [P] or the [Enter] key. After selecting Play, the vehicle selection dialog box appears. Choose the Balanced Spectre vehicle for this first time. Now, press the PLAY button. In a moment you will see the words "Level 1" spin up on your screen. You will then descend into the Arena. Now is a good time to take note of the keyboard layout. The [Up] and [Down] arrows move you forward and backward. The [Left] and [Right] arrows turn you to the left and right. Try the [Left] or [Right] arrow key and hold it down. Now, take some time to drive around the Arena. If you see a red tank, get close to him...but not too close. Line up the enemy robot craft in your sights, and press the [Space Bar] to fire a cannon shot at him. If you hit him, he will blow up. Do this for any other enemy tanks in your sights. Now try the [Up] arrow in combination with the [Left] or [Right] arrows to practice moving around in the Arena. As you can see, you can move forward and turn at the same time. Get used to how it feels to move around. If you prefer, you can press the [Tab] key, and this will give you an external camera view. Pressing the [Tab] key again brings you to an overhead map view, and the third time toggles you back into the internal cockpit view. You can use the keyboard [+] and [-] keys to zoom in/out in the external and overhead map views. In the forward view you also have a radar in the upper right corner that allows you to locate enemy craft, ammo dumps and flags. Your tank is in the middle of the radar and the arena rotates around your position. The single player game is played in levels of increasing difficulty. To complete a level, you must collect all the flags on the level, while avoiding or destroying the enemy robot tanks. Drive around until you see a flag. To collect a flag, just run over it, at which point you will hear a sound and see the flag disappear from your radar screen. The flags will appear as flashing dots on your radar screen. Page - 3 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- If you see a robot tank, shoot it! You receive an extra bonus if you destroy all the tanks during a level before collecting all flags. If you haven't returned to the internal view, do so now by pressing the [Tab] key once or twice. There are a few other things you should note. First, every time a robot tank's cannon hits you, you lose shield strength. This is noted in the damage level. Every time you shoot your cannon, you lose ammo. This is noted in your ammo count. To rearm and boost your shield strength, simply drive over an ammo dump, signified by the undulating squares scattered all over the ground in the Arena. When you're done experimenting, press [Esc] to leave the Arena and return to the Main Menu. Page - 4 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- PLAYING SPECTRE --------------- This program reference is for both new and experienced PC users. If there is one section of the manual you plan on reading, this should be it. OVERVIEW In Spectre, you see a virtual world from the point of view of a battle craft, a 'Spectre', roaming around a computerized arena. The object of the game, of course, is survival. Shoot your enemies, collect ammo and flags, and race on to higher levels. That's basically all there is to it. Try not to get too addicted. STARTUP To begin playing Spectre, simply change into the directory in which you installed the game, and type SPECTRE [Enter]. THE MAIN MENU After you run Spectre, the Main Menu will appear. You will be presented with a number of options. Options can be selected by pressing the appropriate key or, if you have a mouse (and a mouse driver) on your system, you can click on the button. [P] Play a single player game. [N] Join a network game. Not available in the demo. [S] Top Scores. [H] Get some help. [A] Find out about Spectre. [O] Change options and configure Spectre.Finally you may [Q] Quit. There are also some 'hidden' options that don't have a button, but can be accessed by pressing the appropriate key. [Alt][P] Start at a higher level. Full version only. [Alt][R] Resume a saved game. Full Version only. [D] Self-running demo. [Esc] Exits game just like [Q]. If this is your first time in the arena, click on the Play button to start. After selecting Play, the vehicle selection dialog box appears. CHOOSE A VEHICLE Choose the Spectre vehicle you wish to use. Different vehicles are useful for various strategies, and each of the four has its own strengths and weaknesses. If you wish to create a more finely tuned vehicle, select the Custom Spectre at the bottom of the dialog, and select "Edit Custom..." This will bring up the custom vehicle dialog. Page - 5 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- Speed - You will need to experiment with these settings to become familiar with just how fast a setting feels to you. Here's a hint: the Speedy craft may be more easily destroyed, but in many cases you can play "chicken" against a robot or your opponent, run past him, quickly swing around and open fire. Shields - Each point is one shield of armor - each shot that hits your Spectre destroys one shield. Shield settings may range from 1 to 10. Ammo - Each point of ammo allows you to carry 10 rounds (shots) for your cannon. You may not carry more than the maximum number you set here. Ammo may range from 1 to 5, giving you between 10 and 50 rounds. After you have selected the vehicle you want to use, select Play to descend into the Arena. ROBOT SPECTRES Enemy Robot Spectres come in 2 flavors: regular and mean. You will see the regular (red) ones all over the place at every level of the game. The mean robots (orange) are taller and pointy and begin to appear at level 6 and beyond. MOVEMENT CONTROLS You can navigate your battle craft using the keyboard, a mouse or a joystick. Most users will probably prefer to use the keyboard. The joystick also works well, but the mouse is not a recommended control system. Still, it is available for those users who wish to try it. Movement - the numeric keypad The arrow keys on the numeric keypad move your tank in the specified direction. You can also use combinations of keys to move and turn at the same time. [Up] arrow and [Left] arrow will allow you to move forward and turn left at the same time. You can back up by pressing the [Down] arrow. Jump - keypad [5], mouse right button, joystick button B. Jumping can prove useful in certain situations. You can dodge enemy fire by jumping, but you can't pass over other objects. However, jumping will use up some of your hyperspace energy. Hyperspace - [~] or [Backspace] Cannons are blazing, you're surrounded by a hoard of enemy craft and your ammo and shields are giving out! Who ya gonna call? Hyperspace! Hit the [~] (Tilde) or [Backspace] key and you will be immediately transported to a new position in the Arena. Before doing so be sure to check your Hyperspace energy cell which is the vertical bar indicator labeled "H" located in the top central portion of your display. If this bar is solid then you have a full Page - 6 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- Hyperspace charge and may transport without the risk of being destroyed. WEAPON CONTROLS Your Spectre battle craft is equipped with two weapons: Fire Cannon - [Space] , keypad [0], mouse left button, joystick button A The space bar fires your cannon. Each press will fire one round of ammo which will do one point of damage to anything it hits. Fire Grenade - [Alt] Grenades are a more powerful weapon that become available at level 10. Because this demo ends before that level, you will need the full version of Spectre to use grenades. VIEW CONTROLS There are three main view positions in Spectre: Interior, Exterior, and Map. Change View - [Tab] or [*] on the keypad To cycle between three possible views press the [Tab] key. Zoom View - [+] and [-] on keyboard In the exterior or map views, you can zoom in and out. Look Right - [Right Shift] When in interior view, this lets you look out the right of your tank. Look Left - [Left Shift] Look Behind - [Both Shift] keys DISPLAY CONTROLS Spectre allows you to customize the display to suit your tastes. Users with fast machines may want all display features turned on. Users on slower machines may prefer to turn off some display features to increase the "frame-rate" of the game. The "frame-rate" refers to the smoothness of animation. If you feel your display is too slow or "jerky", you may want to turn off some features. Grid Dot Control - [D] Filled Polygon Mode - [F] Flag Texture Toggle - [F5] Billboard Texture Toggle - [F6] Windmill Texture Toggle - [F7] Misc Texture Toggle - [F8] Page - 7 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- These keys allow you to customize the amount of texture mapping in the Arena. Textures add a lot of visual impact to the Arena, but they take additional processing power. MISCELLANEOUS CONTROLS Here are some other important controls in Spectre: Sound ON/OFF - [S] Return to Main Menu - [Esc] Pause Game - [P] Joystick Calibration - [J] Save Game [Alt-S] (between levels only) In the full version of Spectre, you can save your game in progress. OPTIONS MENU The options menu lets you configure Spectre to your preferences. To select an option in the OPTIONS menu you may either click on the desired option with your mouse or press the keyboard key corresponding to the underlined character in the option title. Most options can also be changed during game play. See the previous section on GAME CONTROLS. Page - 8 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- BATTLE IN CYBERSPACE -------------------- OVERVIEW OF NETWORK PLAY Network play is the most fascinating part of Spectre. It is a first step towards easy to use, interactive cyberspace. This Demo version of Spectre does not contain network play, but we will describe it here to wet your appetite. Spectre will run on 4 types of networks: - Novell IPX or compatible networks - NetBIOS compatible networks - Serial port direct connect with a "null-modem" cable - Modem to Modem play over the phone lines Spectre is both a single and multiplayer game. Much of Spectre's appeal can only be seen during a Spectre network game. It is something that you have to experience yourself to appreciate. THE CYBERSPACE SCENARIOS The full version of Spectre has 4 different multi-player games to choose from. Arena A total free-for-all. Drive around, shoot your friends, and get one point for each player you destroy. The match is over when someone gets enough points, or time expires. Flag Rally This is similar to arena, but a little more complicated. No teams, every man for himself, but this time to get a match point you must collect all six flags on the field. To collect a flag simply run over it. Once you have collected a flag it will stop flashing in your radar display and the letter of the captured flag will appear in the bar next to your name at the top of the screen. If you are destroyed, all the flags you have collected go to the person who destroyed you. Base Raid Remember capture-the-flag? Imagine it with missile weapons. Two teams, two bases, infinite lives. Each team gets a match point for "destroying" the other base. When the contest begins you will rez in near your home base. Home bases are identified on the radar by color coded crosses. To destroy the enemy base you must drive across the Arena and bump into it, not just shoot it. Tricky. Notice anything strange out there? Yup, there are no ammo dumps in this scenario. If you run out of ammo you must drive back to your base and bump into it to resupply. Page - 9 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- RUNNING SPECTRE FROM WINDOWS ---------------------------- Spectre contains an interface for Microsoft Windows. If you are a frequent Windows user, you can launch the game without having to exit to DOS. Please see the previous sections for information on game play controls. RECOMMENDATIONS Because Windows places great demands on your computer system, the recommended equipment for running Spectre from Windows is a bit different. We suggest: - A 386/33 or faster machine - 4Mb of RAM or more SETTING UP AN ICON While Spectre is a DOS program, it contains a Windows "front-end". This "front-end" is a true Windows program which lets you make all your selections and then launches the game. When you finish playing the Spectre, the system returns you to the Windows "front-end". You can add Spectre to a group in the Program Manager to make starting Spectre even easier. First, select the program group in which you would like Spectre to reside. This is done by simply clicking on the selected group. Next, select NEW from the FILE menu. You can now use the browse feature, or enter the name of the Spectre Windows program. This program is called SPCWIN.EXE. If you chose the default drive and directory during installation, the full drive and path will be C:\SPECTRE\SPCWIN.EXE. RUNNING SPECTRE FROM WINDOWS To run Spectre once you have set up a program icon, simply double click on the icon. You will see a Windows version of the Spectre main menu. SUGGESTIONS Spectre is a high performance program, and requires all the "attention" of your computer. Some Windows programs may perform background tasks that rob Spectre of processing time. Because of this, we recommend closing all other applications before running Spectre from Windows. Additionally, Windows may take control of some system resources, such as sound boards, and not let DOS based applications make use of them. If you receive a warning to this effect, you can usually continue without any problem. If you have a persistent problem, you should verify that Spectre runs from DOS before trying to run it from Windows. Page - 10 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING ----------------------------------------- INSTALLATION If for any reason the installation process fails on your machine, you should try it on another machine if at all possible. This will help diagnose the problem faster than anything else you can do. Q: Is there an un-installation process? A: To remove Spectre from your machine, simply delete all the files in your Spectre directory (for most people this will be C:\SPECTRE) and remove the directory. If you need help deleting files and directories, please consult your DOS manual. Q: Can I run Spectre from the original floppy disk? A: No. Spectre is shipped in compressed format. You MUST install the game in order to run it. Q: What if my floppy disk is not readable? A: If you receive the message "Error reading drive A:", you may have a bad disk, the wrong format disk drive, or a dirty diskette drive. Try installing the program on another computer and see if your disk is ok. In the unlikely event that your disk is bad, you can obtain a replacement from the dealer, or direct from Velocity. Again, please BE SURE your disk drive is a HIGH DENSITY 5.25" drive if using 5.25" diskettes. Q: The install program won't run on my machine. A: Try the install program on a different computer. The install program is quite simple and should run on any machine. If you have trouble, that may be the sign of a hardware incompatibility. If it works on a different machine, you should notify your computer dealer. If the disk does not work on another machine, it may be damaged. Q: Can I run Spectre from 3.5" or 5.25" floppy diskettes. A: If you can fit all of the Spectre files you need (see previous question) on ONE DISKETTE, then there is no reason the program should not run. The install program will NOT install to diskettes. Consult your DOS manual for information on copying files and formatting disks. PROBLEMS RUNNING SPECTRE If you are having trouble running Spectre, please read this section. It covers the most common problems that people experience with their computers. SOFTWARE CONFLICTS The most common cause of trouble with running any program is some sort of software conflict. You may have loaded a memory resident program, TSR, device driver, or utility that Page - 11 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- is 'taking over' part of the machine that Spectre needs direct access to. These programs are usually loaded via the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files. For more information on these files consult your DOS manual. Spectre is self-checking. This means that if the program installs, it should work. If your disk was bad, it would probably not even install. The FIRST thing to do if Spectre stops running is to boot from a 'virgin' DOS system disk with no extra features added to it. You can create a system disk by using the DOS FORMAT command. Place a blank disk in drive A: and type: FORMAT A: /S The /S tells FORMAT to create a system disk. Now, you can use this new system disk to start your computer. NOTE: You must create a system disk in drive A:. Most computers will not boot from a disk in drive B: Turn off your machine. Place the system disk in drive A: and turn the computer back on. Your machine will now boot- up from this new system disk instead of the hard disk drive. This will prevent any special software features you have added to your system from being loaded. You now have what many users refer to as a 'CLEAN SYSTEM'. Now see if Spectre will run properly. If the game runs, you need to find and eliminate the program that was causing the problem. HARDWARE INCOMPATIBILITIES If you're sure you don't have a software conflict, you should start checking for hardware incompatibilities. The BEST way to do this is to try running your copy of Spectre on a different computer. Perhaps you have a friend with a machine, or ask your computer dealer if they will let you try the game on their machine. If the game runs fine on a different machine, and you're sure you don't have a software conflict, you may have some type of hardware incompatibility or 'quirk'. Just because your computer dealer said your machine was 100% IBM compatible does not mean it truly is. Don't worry, however. Most hardware incompatibilities are actually easy to solve, and you can often get your dealer to help you out. Because we probably don't have your specific type of machine here at Velocity, you will need to call your dealer, or the manufacturer of your computer for help. Describe to them Page - 12 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- the problem you are having, and let them know that the program worked on a different machine. Computer manufacturers are usually happy to help out. After all, they want to be sure that their machine runs all of the software out there on the market. Also, we want to be sure that our software runs on their machines. So, if they ask for our number, please give it to them. We can usually work with the manufacturer to try to find a solution to the problem. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Q: I run the program, but I don't see anything. A: Be SURE you have VGA graphics. Spectre requires VGA and will not run in CGA, EGA, MCGA or Tandy 16 color mode. Q: I was playing the game, everything was fine, and then suddenly my computer locked up! A: You probably had a memory resident program, TSR, or hardware board that interrupted Spectre in such a way that the game could not recover. Simply re-boot your machine, and everything should work fine. If this becomes a chronic problem, you should try a 'boot-disk' as described above to isolate the program. Q: The game said my copy was damaged and is now running in DEMO mode. A: Spectre has found that one or more of your program files has become corrupt, or your serial number was not found. You should re-install the game from the original disks. Don't worry, your high scores and saved games should stay intact. Q: I have a Sound Blaster Pro, and the volume level is very low. A: The Sound Blaster Pro, and some other sound cards, have a software controlled volume setting. This control may be set low prior to running the game. The utilities that came with your sound board should allow you to adjust the volume before you play Spectre. Q: Could my Memory Manager be causing trouble? Spectre seems to work without it installed! A: Spectre has been tested to work with all the major memory managers, but there is one important requirement: DON'T LET YOUR MEMORY MANAGER USE VIDEO MEMORY! If your memory manager uses the VGA video memory area, Spectre may not work. Why? Simple! Spectre is a GRAPHICS program, and it NEEDS that graphics memory. That memory is supposed to be RESERVED for graphics applications like Spectre. Q: My Joystick won't work! Q: I can't properly calibrate my joystick. Page - 13 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- A: Joysticks are tricky things. Here are some suggestions: Be sure you don't have 2 joystick cards active in your computer at one time. Remember, the SoundBlaster has a joystick port! Disable one if necessary. Some joystick cards were not designed to work with today's high speed computers. You may need a newer joystick adapter. Q: I have a programmable joystick card, and I set it to match my machine, but it still doesn't work. A: You must EXPERIMENT with the settings! Some people need to set their joystick adapter to 4MHz even though their computer runs at 66MHz. Q: I can't use my Joystick to jump. A: This can be caused by two things. First, some joysticks have an auto-repeat or "rapid-fire" feature. You may need to turn this off to use the jump button. Second, some joysticks have button configuration switches. You should be sure that the jump button is active. Q: I can't get my Mouse to work. A: First, be sure you have your mouse driver loaded, and confirm that your mouse works with other applications. Also be sure you have the most current version of your mouse driver. Second, your mouse must be 100% Microsoft compatible to work with Spectre. It is also important to know that Microsoft Windows has its own mouse driver. Just because your mouse works in Windows DOES NOT mean your driver is loaded! Q: I'm using DOSSHELL and Spectre won't run. Q: Spectre won't run from my menuing program. A: Spectre requires all the resources of your computer. DOSSHELL and most menu programs use up some system resources when they launch other applications. Spectre may not be able to function without these resources available. Try exiting to DOS before running the game. RUNNING SPECTRE FROM WINDOWS Q: Can I run the game in a window? Q: Is Spectre really a Windows program? A: No to both. Microsoft Windows is unfortunately not suited to running high-speed 3D animation. Spectre contains a Windows "front-end" which allows you to configure and launch the game. When Spectre runs, it is actually a DOS based program. This allows us to take direct control of your computer's video system and produce smooth 3D animation. Q: Spectre runs really slow when I launch it from Windows. A: Be aware, Windows is multitasking and performs background processes while Spectre is running. As we said Page - 14 Spectre Demo User's Guide ----------------------------------------------------------- earlier, a fast 386 based computer or better is needed to make Spectre run smoothly from Windows. You can try closing as many Windows applications as possible before running Spectre. This may cut down the amount of background processing that is done and speed up the game. Q: I get an error that says my sound card is in use by another application. A: In some configurations, Windows won't let Spectre use the sound card properly. Usually, you can simply continue with the game and all sounds will be OK. If this does not work, we recommend running Spectre from DOS. Q: The menus for Spectre work fine in Windows, but the game doesn't run. A: You probably don't have enough free DOS memory. We recommend at least 550K free DOS memory before you try running Spectre from Windows. . Q: How can I make Spectre run better from Windows? A: Windows slows the performance of Spectre down because it 'shares' system resources with other programs. Try closing as many applications as possible before running Spectre. Also, we recommend having AT LEAST 4 MB to run Spectre. If the game still won't run well, we recommend exiting to DOS before playing Spectre. Q: I Get a error saying DMA buffer is too small. A: Your system does not have enough resources to play the SoundBlaster digitized sounds. Consult your Windows documentation on increasing the size of the DMA buffers. You can also switch to AdLib sounds. Page - 15