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╔═════════════════════════╗ ║ ║ ║ RELEASE NOTES FOR ║ ║ DESCENT 2 v1.2 ║ ║ ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ ─────────────────────────────────────── ! DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS GAME ! DESCENT 2 IS A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT See section 11 for details ─────────────────────────────────────── ╔═══════════════════╗ ║ TABLE of CONTENTS ║ ╚═══════════════════╝ 1. VERSION CHANGES 2. MANUAL ADDENDA 3. DESCENT 2 FEATURES a. Feature List b. Notes on New Features 4. COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS 5. TIPS FOR NEW PILOTS 6. USING SPECIAL JOYSTICKS & CONTROLLERS 7. VR HEADSET INFORMATION 8. TROUBLESHOOTING & COMMON PROBLEMS a. General problems b. Modem/Serial problems c. Netgame problems 9. MINOR BUG FIXES SINCE VERSION 1.0 10. HARDWARE ACCELERATED VERSIONS 11. TECHNICAL SUPPORT 12. DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔════════════════════╗ ║ 1. VERSION CHANGES ║ ╚════════════════════╝ DESCENT 2 FULL VERSION 1.0 Initial PC DOS release 1.1 Initial Mac release; PC DOS update 1.2 Initial PC Win95 version; PC DOS update Features new for version 1.2: - Added Hoard multiplayer game (Vertigo version only) - Added support for bitmap and robot modification features of the Descent II Mission Builder - New commandline switch "-playermessages" disables all weapon-related HUD messages in multiplayer games - Added option (on by default) to make players invulnerable for two seconds when they reappear after dying in a multiplayer game - Multiplayer game info screen now displays Short Packets and Packets per Second info (press 'U' in Join menu) - Only the game master can kick players from a multiplayer game (v1.1 allowed all Demigod players to kick) - Players can now be kicked by number: "kick:#n" will kick player n. Players are numbered starting with 1, according to their position on the HUD kill list. Bugs fixed for version 1.2: - Capture-the-flag modem games now work in all missions - Lifetime kill count now saved properly - Toggle bomb error message fixed - If restore from autosave backup, default menu item not changed - Fixed miscellaneous demo playback bugs - Made escort menu items always do primary function - Fixed crash when using homing weapons cheat - Fixed mixed up rankings when a player wasn't selected to join a game - If a saved game has an invulnerable boss, fix it when game loaded - Made all goal textures full brightness - Fixed some problems with stuck doors in multiplayer games - New players now get death counts for other players when joining multiplayer games - Allow user to use function keys with ALT, SHIFT, and CTRL without aborting death sequence - Fixed a bug with the homing weapons cheat - Fixed a bug in coop games where a robot would drop a smart mine on one machine and a proximity bomb on the other machines Features new for version 1.1: - Main menu screen now shows version number - Added toggle bomb function to keyboard config - Added commandline options for packets per second ("-packets #") and short packets (-shortpackets) - Added lifetime rankings to multiplayer (-norankings to disable) - Added "move:" command to move players to other team - Capture-the-flag now can be played in modem games - 'ping:' command now works in modem games - When joining netgame, the 'U' key shows players in the game (type "!names" from F8 prompt to disable sending of names) - When playing a non-D2 audio CD, tracks 1-3 can now be played. - Small windows (i.e. rear view, missile view, etc.) now work in stereo modes - Now supports version 2.0 drivers for the Forte VFX-1 headset - PrintScreen support in stereo modes (see section 2) - Added no redundancy switch to suppress duplicate messages (-noredunancy) See section 3 for Feature additions since Descent 1. Major bugs fixed for version 1.1 - Level 20 & 24 bosses were invulnerable on higher difficulty levels - Redbook no longer skips on Adaptec SCSI cards (& others) - Sounds no longer disappear after playing for several hours - 800x600 mode now works correctly on Matrox Millennium cards - CD is now detected properly if there are multiple CD-ROM drives in the system - Redbook audio now works with multiple CD-ROM drives - CD is now detected properly under OS/2 - Fixed divide overflow crash on AST machines - Level 6 had two red goals in capture the flag mode - Low-res main menu no longer says "Beta Version" - Movie & sound effects now work correctly on GUS cards - Eliminated redbook pause when going to next track See section 9 for a more complete list of bugs fixed since version 1.0 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔═══════════════════╗ ║ 2. MANUAL ADDENDA ║ ╚═══════════════════╝ The following are supplemental items/changes to the DESCENT II manual. If you can find no information regarding a problem you're having, Section 9 below lists several sources of DESCENT II support. IMPORTANT NOTES FOR WINDOWS 95 USERS ──────────────────────────────────── This readme file pertains to the DOS version of Descent II. If you wish to run Descent II under Windows95, you should install Descent II fron within Win95. To to this, insert your Descent II disk, and when the autorun menu comes up, select "Install". To manually bring up the autorun menu, open up "My Computer", then double-click on the "Descent_ii" CD icon. USING PRINTSCREEN IN STEREO MODES ───────────────────────────────── Descent II uses the PrintScreen key to save screenshots from within the game. Normally, these images are saved sequentially with the name "Screen00, Screen01, etc." When playing in stereo modes, PrintScreen will save a separate image for each eye. These images are also numbered sequentially, but are named "Left01" and "Right01" respectively. Please note that images saved in stereo are exactly half the height of the current resolution. For example, grabbing an image in 320 x 200 mode will result in 2 images that are 320 x 100 each. CHANGES & CORRECTIONS ───────────────────── - On page 10 of the manual, the Options menu is said to contain sound volume sliders and other options. These have all been moved into a Sound Effects & Music submenu found on the Options menu. - In the Options/Sound menu, you can now enable/disable redbook music by using the Disable CD Music toggle. Volume levels can be adjusted individually. - On page 15 of the manual, the Always Show High-res Automap toggle was left out of the Toggles menu. Enabling this will always run the Automap in 640x480 instead of the 320x200 default. - On page 17 of the manual, the Guide-Bot menu key is mistakenly listed as SHIFT-F2. The actual key is SHIFT-F4. - On page 19 of the manual, the Cycle Primary/Secondary keys are mistakenly listed as DEL/,. The actual keys are "," for Primary and "." for Secondary. - On page 31 of the manual, the Flash Missile was not mentioned. This missile will blind opponents with a bright flash of light. When robots are hit with these missiles, they will become briefly disoriented and will be more vulnerable to attack. - On page 41 of the manual, label #12 (the ProxBomb/SmartMine count) was not labeled on the screenshot. This display appears in the lower right of the cockpit below the key displays. - On page 46 of the manual, the Multiplayer section states the delay for incoming players to be accepted as 5 seconds. The delay is actually 8 seconds. - On page 57 of the manual, the Bright Player Ships toggle was left out of the Start Netgame options. When enabled, this will make the player ships brighter and easier to see in dark corridors. - In the VR Headset controls section of the manual, the following changes were made to the keys: Alt+F5 [VR Reset] o On the CyberMaxx, toggles victor mode on/off o Centers the head tracking o Resets all stereoscopic parameters to default Alt+F9 [Decreases the interaxial separation] Alt+F10 [Increases the interaxial separation] SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS ────────────────── REDBOOK AUDIO TRACK LIST ------------------------ The following is a listing of the redbook songs that appear on the DESCENT II CD. Please note that track one is game data and should not be played on audio CD players. 2) Title (menu) Composer - Brian Luzietti Mixed by - Charles Deenen 3) Crawl (credits) Composer - Brian Luzietti Mixed by - Charles Deenen 4) Glut Composer - Ogre of Skinny Puppy Mark Walk 5) Gunner Down Composer - Brian Luzietti Mixed by - Charles Deenen 6) Cold Reality Composer - Larry Peacock Brad Cross Leslie Spitzer Mixed by - Bob Brown 7) Ratzez Composer - Ogre of Skinny Puppy Mark Walk 8) Crush Composer - Brian Luzietti Mixed by - Charles Deenen 9) Composer - Mark Morgan 10) Haunted Composer - Type O Negative 11) Are You Descent? Composer - Ron Valdez Mixed by - Johann Langlie 12) Techno Industry Composed and mixed by Johann Langlie 13) Robot Jungle Composed and mixed by - Johann Langlie Netgame Info and User Queries ───────────────────────────── When sitting on the Multiplayer/Join Netgame screen, you can now hit "I" to get more detailed info on a netgame in progress. This feature was added after the manual went to print. As of version 1.1 pressing the "U" key on this screen will show a list of players in the game. You may disable name sending from within a game by pressing f8 and typing "!names". Multiplayer Rankings ──────────────────── Version 1.1 of Descent II features a system that ranks players in multiplayer games based on their lifetime kill record. Information is stored everytime you kill or get killed by someone. The better you get, the higher your rank. Rankings start at 'Cadet' and continue up to 'Admiral'. You will advance to the next rank for every 375 kills that you score. However, if your lifetime efficiency is below 60% you will advance much more slowly, and the lower your efficiency the slower you'll advance. If the "-norankings" command line switch is used your machine will not display rankings for any player. However, your machine will still send your pilots' rank to the other players in the game. Moving players in team games ───────────────────────────── If you are the 'master' of a team netgame and you wish to move players to other teams, press F8 and then type 'move:<player>' where <player> is the name of the person to be switched. Example: move:Sirloin Afterwards, if Sirloin was on the blue team he will be switched to the red team, and vice versa. CD/MIDI Track Advancing ─────────────────────── Also undocumented in the manual is the use of ALT -/+ keys (ALT-minus and ALT-plus). Using these keys in the game will play the previous/next redbook track on the CD. If you're listening to MIDI music, it will advance to the next level song. GuideBot & Markers ────────────────── The GuideBot is now able to find markers you have placed. Hitting SHIFT-2 twice will send him to marker #2, hit SHIFT-1 to find marker #1, etc. the Strategy Guide ────────────────── Descent II: The Official Strategy Guide is available from Prima Publishing. To order, call 800-531-2343. Also available at better bookstores and multimedia outlets nationwide. DESCENT II and Internet Head-to-Head Daemon (IHHD) ───────────────────────────────────────────────── While playing Multiplayer DESCENT II through the IHHD software is possible, it is not recommended. The delay in packet delivery will almost certainly lead to strange results. You may see players jump around suddenly, or even disappear for several seconds at a time. You may also witness players not dropping powerups when killed, staying cloaked too long, or other unfavorable results. See Section 8 for additional ideas and suggestions. DESCENT II and Novell's NETX ─────────────────────────── When playing network games, all players should either have NETX loaded or all players should not have NETX loaded. If one player has NETX loaded and the other player doesn't, this will cause noticeable slowdowns and delays when starting netgames. DESCENT II and OS/2 ────────────────── To get DESCENT II to run under OS/2, just increase your DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT to 8 megs or more. Descent should then run perfectly with full sound. If your joystick behaves strangely under OS/2 try using the "-JoyPolled" command line option. Keep in mind that DESCENT II does not officially support OS/2. DESCENT II and Windows 3.1x ────────────────────────── Use the following settings in your PIF file: Optional Parameters: -JoyPolled EMS Memory: KB Limit -1 XMS Memory: KB Limit -1 Display Usage: Full Screen Execution: Exclusive If you use a joystick, the -JoyPolled option uses an alternate method of joystick reading that should increase performance under Windows. Keep in mind that Descent does not officially support Windows. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔═══════════════════════╗ ║ 3. DESCENT 2 FEATURES ║ ╚═══════════════════════╝ ╔══════════════════╗ ║ 3a. Feature List ║ ╚══════════════════╝ The following is a somewhat-complete list of full-version DESCENT II features. Major features: ─────────────── 30 new levels 30+ new robots, including new bosses 10+ new weapons/powerups afterburner full-map powerup ammo rack powerup energy->shield transfers flash/stun missiles guided missiles smart mines headlight powerup more! Redbook CD soundtrack featuring Ogre from Skinny Puppy full motion, high-resolution cinematics new anarchy levels flowing water, lava, and seismic disturbances advanced AI including thieves, snipers, and escort robots 640x480 support with high resolution cockpit, as well as other hi-res modes enhanced lighting effects (blastable lights!) new multiplayer features: capture the flag game mode option to disallow any weapon play by kills or time limit player handicapping flexible player limits improved slow-packet handling restricted game mode Minor features: ─────────────── new redbook, MIDI, FM soundtrack with new digital sound effects automap markers w/text descriptors minefields new control boxes, forcefields and triggers multiple HUD camera views including teammates, missiles, and markers custom weapon autoselection priorities advanced secret level system ability to drop weapons Robot AI behaviors: GuideBot Thief Snipers Energy Drainers More advanced Brain behavior Robots which fire two different kinds of weapons Robots which attempt to get behind the player in battle More dynamic robot behavior, more complex strategies based on the player. ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 3b. Notes on DESCENT II Features ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ THIEF-BOTS ────────── Not all new robots are designed to help you. Thief robots are fast and evil robots, designed to steal your weaponry when you least expect it. If you kill a Thief robot, he will drop items he has stolen from you. If he's stolen more than a few items, however, there is always the chance one or two have been destroyed. GUIDED MISSILES ─────────────── Guided missiles can be a great weapon in any single- or multi-player game. When you fire one of these, your pitch/bank controls will control the flight path of the missile. Remaining controls (throttle, sliding) will still control your ship. You will continue to control the Guided missile until it runs out of fuel (30 seconds), it hits an object or wall, or until you hit the fire key again (at which point the Guided missile will "home" like a Homing missile). By default, the Guided missile view will be displayed in the secondary weapons display. The view can be enlarged by using the appropriate toggle in the Options/Toggles menu. THE AFTERBURNER ─────────────── New to the DESCENT II display is the Afterburner. In Cockpit mode, the new gauge appears as a red energy bar on the left side (the key display has been moved to the right side). This new energy bar will only activate if you are currently carrying the Afterburner. In Status Bar mode, it appears below the main Energy Gauge. In Full Screen, it appears as a percentage above the Energy/Shield display on the left (if Afterburner is available). The Afterburner uses a separate energy bank, which charges from your main Energy. AUTOSAVE/RESTORE BACKUPS ──────────────────────── New in DESCENT II... When you save over an existing savegame, it will copy the old one to a backup file. This allows you to restore the old one in case you accidentally overwrote it. The backup game appears as "[autosave backup]" at the bottom of the Restore Game list. Likewise, whenever you Load a saved game, the game will save your current game in the backup slot. This will allow you to "undo" the restore in case it was accidental. Thank Mike for this welcome addition to DESCENT II! BOMB DISPLAY ──────────── A new ProxBomb/SmartMine display has been added to your screen. It appears as a red or gold "B:xx" counter somewhere on your screen. In Cockpit mode, it appears in the lower right corner. On the Status Bar, it's in the lower left of the Secondary Weapons display. In Full Screen, it's above your current weapons display on the right. If you have no ProxBombs or SmartMines, this display will be blank. This display tells you what weapon will be dropped when you hit the Drop Bomb key (default is 'B'). If the display shows a red-colored "B:04" it means you have four ProxBombs ready to be dropped. A gold-colored display indicates SmartMines. Note that this does not indicate that the weapon is "armed" as a Secondary weapon, and only refers to the Drop Bomb key functionality. You may also assign a key of your choice to toggle between SmartMines and ProxBombs in the customize keyboard menu. NOTE: This display will reflect the ProxBomb/SmartMine positions in the Secondary Autoselect Ordering menu, even if they appear below the "Never Autoselect" line. Example: Both ProxBombs and SmartMines appear below the "Never" line, but ProxBombs appear higher. The "B:xx" display will change to ProxBombs over SmartMines if you have some of each. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔═════════════════════════╗ ║ 4. COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS ║ ╚═════════════════════════╝ The following DOS command-line options are available in DESCENT II. Upper/lowercase is not significant. General Options: -Verbose Shows initialization steps for tech support -LowMem Lower animation detail for better performance with low memory -NoLowMem Force high animation detail even when low memory -NoMemCheck Disables memory requirement checking -NoDOSCheck Disables DOS version checking -NoFileCheck Disables the file handles check -NoHighRes Disables 640x480 mode for menus and movies -ForceVesa Enables VESA linear frame buffering (if available) -Subtitles Turn on movie subtitles (English-only) Input devices: -NoMouse Disables mouse drivers -NoJoystick Disables joystick support -JoyPolled Poll joystick w/ counter. Use for Windows, OS/2 -JoyBios Use the system BIOS for joystick. -JoyNice Joystick poller allows interrupts to occur -GamePort Use Colorado Spectrum's Notebook Gameport Sound & Music: -Volume <v> Sets sound volume to v, where v is between 0 and 100 -NoSound Turns off sound & music -NoMusic Disables music; sound effects remain enabled -DisableSound Completely disable sound system (also disables movies) -NoLoadPats Disables patch loading for Gravis UltraSound -Sound22K Use 22KHz sounds, even if machine has less than 16 MB -Sound11K Use 11KHz sounds, even if machine has more than 16 MB -No16Bit Disable 16-bit sound (movies only) Network & Modem: -CtsRts Enables CTS/RTS handshaking during null-modem games -NoNetwork Disables network drivers -NoSerial Disables serial drivers -Packets # Specifies the packets per second where # is the number of packets -Shortpackets Turn on short packets -Norankings Disable multiplayer ranking system -Noredunancy Suppresses duplicate messages such as "You already have ..." ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔════════════════════════╗ ║ 5. TIPS for NEW PILOTS ║ ╚════════════════════════╝ Here are a few things that help new players adjust to the fully 3D world and intelligent robots of DESCENT II. Heed these tips and you'll soon be blasting robot hordes (and your friends!) with ease. o Use a quality joystick. Thrustmaster, Advanced Gravis, Logitech and CH Products provide full lines of controls well suited to 3D flying. o If you use a two-button joystick, try keeping one hand on the A and Z keys to control your FORWARD and REVERSE. o If you're up against a wall, try using REVERSE to back away instead of turning around. o Learn how to SLIDE well. Using vertical sliding instead of pitching will help keep you upright. If your joystick has a Hat Switch, use it to slide. o Rescue the hostages! If you rescue all hostages in a mine, you receive a full rescue bonus. But be sure you make it out after picking them up - if your ship's destroyed, so are they. o Try clearing a path to the exit before you attack the Main Reactor. You may run out of time if you're battling hordes of robots on your escape! o Look for secret doors. Weapons and ammo are often behind them. They can be a different color, or have small seams running down them. Keep in mind, DESCENT II is fully 3D, and secret doors aren't only in the walls... o DON'T SIT STILL. The best way to stay alive is to keep moving. Using SLIDE to circle a target while you're firing is very effective. o Learn to use your ship's Automap. It can reveal things your eyes may miss. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 6. USING SPECIAL JOYSTICKS & CONTROLLERS ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝ Thrustmaster, Gravis Phoenix, CH, and Logitech controls are fully supported by DESCENT II. The device control files (DESCENT2.ADV, DESCENT2.M50, D2WCS.M50, D2TQS.M50, DESCENT.PHX, and DESCENT.KEY) can be found in the \CONTROLS subdirectory. If you have a Wingman Extreme, Flight Force Pro, or other FCS-style stick, you should use the "Thrustmaster FCS" option. SpaceBall Avenger: In the \CONTROLS subdirectory on your DESCENT II CD there is a self-extracting zip file (AVGRD2.EXE). This archive contains the drivers and instructions needed to use your Avenger with DESCENT II. Thrustmaster FCS: Choose "Thrustmaster FCS" under Options/Controls. This is for players NOT using the WCS. If you use the WCS throttle with the FCS, follow instructions for the WCS below. * Thrustmaster WCS: Load the DESCENT2.ADV file into your WCS. In Mark II DESCENT II, choose "Joystick" under Options/Controls. Now choose "Configure Above" and change the THROTTLE entry to respond to the WCS (the Y2 axis). * Thrustmaster FLCS: Load the D2FLCS.B50 file into your FLCS. If you also use a WCS throttle, no program should be loaded into the WCS. * Thrustmaster TQS: Load D2TQS.B50 into your FLCS. This will automatically configure your TQS for DESCENT II. Follow directions above to configure your throttle entry in DESCENT II. Gravis Phoenix: Load the DESCENT2.PHX file into your Phoenix. In DESCENT II, choose "Joystick" under Options/Controls. Now choose "Configure Above" and change the THROTTLE entry to respond to the throttle slider (the Y2 axis). Logitech Cyberman: You must have the Cyberman MOUSE.COM driver loaded before you run DESCENT II. If you have a standard mouse connected as well, you will need to use the "/dual" option when you load MOUSE.COM. See Cyberman docs for details. NoteBook GamePort: Run DESCENT II with the -JoyBios command line switch and everything should work like normal. Make sure that you have the joystick TSR installed. Calibration Note: When using one of the analog throttles listed here or the CH Flightstick, you will be prompted to calibrate your throttle as well as your joystick. * >> NOTE TO WCS and FLCS USERS: Because these devices intercept the keyboard signals, your ship may fly strangely when you also hold down keyboard keys (like 'A' and 'Z'). If you keep the WCS or FLCS on your system, it's recommended that you use those devices for throttle control and sliding, not the keyboard. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ 7. VR HEADSET INFORMATION ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╝ If you have questions about the headsets, the manufacturers can be reached at the following numbers: - VFX-1 Head Mounted Display, by Forte Technologies, Inc. tel: 716-427-8595 fax: 716-292-6353 - CyberMaxx HMD, by VictorMaxx Technologies, Inc. tel: 1-800-279-6880 fax: 708-267-0037 - i-glasses!, by Virtual I-O tel: 800-646-3759 fax: 206-382-8810 net: vio@vio.com - 3D-MAX shutter glasses by Kasan http://pcvr.kasan.co.kr Europe: 011-46-18-187777 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 8. TROUBLESHOOTING & COMMON PROBLEMS ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝ Regardless of configuration, you should have no trouble running DESCENT II. But in the unlikely case you do have problems, here are some helpful pointers: ╔══════════════════════╗ ║ 8a. General Problems ║ ╚══════════════════════╝ => Q: I HAVE A RELATIVELY FAST COMPUTER, SO WHY CAN'T I PLAY BACK THE HIGH-RES MOVIES? A: The estimated minimum setup for playing back the high-res movies properly is a Pentium-90 and a 2x CD-ROM. If you have such a system (or a faster one), and SETUP still suggests low-res movies, you should try one of the following: - Increase your CD-ROM buffers to 30 or more (see CD-ROM manual). - Use a Large or Crazy install. The movies will play back better from a hard drive. => Q: I OCCASIONALLY GET 2-3 SECOND PAUSES IN THE MIDDLE OF PLAYING. A: DESCENT II uses Redbook audio (like normal audio-only music CD's) which provides music straight through the CD instead of synthesizing digitized music through the sound card. The limit to redbook audio is that is need to pause the game momentarily when it reaches the end of the CD. This is normal and there is not due to a problem on your system. => Q: MY CD (REDBOOK) MUSIC IS TOO LOUD/SOFT, WHY IS THIS? A: Thanks to generally non-uniform standards in CD-ROM drivers, the average volume level for CD playback is very random. If the CD Music volume slider in DESCENT II doesn't give you the level you need, try adjusting your driver levels from DOS (see your CD-ROM manual for details). => Q: I'VE GOT 128 MEGS OF RAM IN A MACHINE WITH A SOUND BLASTER AWE32. DESCENT II ISN'T WORKING, WHAT DO I DO? A: For Redbook music, run Descent II with the -nomusic switch. If you prefer MIDI music, configure your AWE32 as a SoundBlaster 16 in the setup program. => Q: I CANNOT LOAD ANY OF MY SAVED GAMES. WHAT'S THE DEAL? A: DESCENT II needs your files set to at least 30 to be able to load save games. You can either make a bootdisk as described in Question number 14 or you can do a simple edit to your config.sys as instructed below: (Win95 or Windows 3.1) 1 Exit Windows to DOS. 2 Type: EDIT C:\CONFIG.SYS 3 Find the FILES=## 4 Increase the FILES=number to 30: FILES=30 5 Go to the Menu Bar and select File/Save. *6* In the Menu Bar, select File/Exit to Exit. => Q: I CAN'T GET MY SIMULEYES TO WORK CORRECTLY WITH DESCENT II. A: Copy the LCDBIOS.EXE and STEREO.BAT into your Descent2 directory. These files are on the Destination:Saturn CD in the /DESCENT directory. Edit the STEREO.BAT (or STEREOLO.BAT if you use the lower resolution mode) file from: "/lcdrun:descent" to "/lcdrun:d2 /hrefresh". The /hrefresh reduces flicker by using a faster refresh. Save the file, and exit the editor. Run the Descent II setup program and select the VR device of Simuleyes. Run the STEREO.BAT (or STEREOLO.BAT) file to start Descent II. => Q: I GET "CANNOT FIND MOON01.BBM" (OR OTHER FILE) ERROR WHEN I RUN DESCENT II. WHAT'S WRONG? A: DESCENT II requires that you specify FILES=15 or higher in your CONFIG.SYS. If you are having problems saving/loading games, then make sure that you're not doing a clean boot by holding down the F5 key during the Loading DOS process. Adding FILES=15 to your CONFIG.SYS should clear this up. => Q: DESCENT II DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE SOME OF THE COOL SOUND EFFECTS IT USED TO. FOR EXAMPLE, MY FLARES MAKE LASER FIRING SOUNDS. WHAT HAPPENED? A: If there is less than 5 MB of available physical memory, DESCENT II "recycles" sound effects to save memory. Increase your available physical memory above 5 MB, and all sound effects will be loaded. Another option is to run with the -NoLowMem command line option. This forces Descent to use all sound effects regardless of available memory. However, Descent may run slower with this option. => Q: I HAVE LESS THAN 10MB OF RAM, AND I'M LOW ON DISK SPACE. DESCENT II HANGS/CRASHES ON ME. WHAT CAN I DO? A: If DESCENT II doesn't have enough free RAM available, it uses hard drive space instead of RAM. If this is the case, make sure you have plenty of free disk space (at least 8-16MB free). => Q: DESCENT II RUNS SLOWLY ON MY MACHINE, ESPECIALLY IN LARGE BATTLES. WHAT CAN I DO? A: Try one or all of the following: - Using F3 and +/- to shrink your 3D window size - Lowering any/all of the detail level sliders in the Options/Detail level screen. - Use SHIFT-F1/F2 to remove any secondary views you may use. => Q: I HAVE A SMALL GAME WINDOW AND A LOW DETAIL LEVEL, BUT DESCENT II STILL LOADS AND RUNS SLOWLY. A: Check your sound card settings in SETUP. Incorrect settings can cause significant slowdown. => Q: ONCE IN A WHILE DESCENT II WILL LOCK UP WHEN PLAYING A MOVIE. WHAT CAUSES THIS? A: Check and see if you are running any TSR programs that make use of the PC speaker (mail notifiers like Castaway frequently do this). To avoid these lockups, you will need to disable any such TSRs before running DESCENT II. => Q: THE WALLS IN MY GAME SEEM TO JUMP AROUND IN THE DISTANCE. WHY? => Q: I GET A COLORED WALL IN THE MIDDLE OF MY TUNNELS. WHAT IS THIS? A: These are due to the Detail Level being set below the highest setting. Consult your DESCENT II Manual. => Q: MY COMPUTER HAS 4 MEGS OF RAM. THE GAME IS SLOW AND ACCESSES THE HARD DRIVE ALL THE TIME. A: DESCENT II requires 8 megs of RAM to run. If you have less than 8 it is unlikely you will be able to run it well. => Q: DESCENT II LOCKS UP WHEN I RUN IT. A: Try running DESCENT II with the "-nosound" option. If this works, then chances are it's a sound card problem. Run SETUP and make sure your card settings are correct. If you don't hear digital sounds or music when you test them in SETUP, try Autodetection. If this doesn't help, refer to your sound card manual for troubleshooting instructions, or call Interplay Technical Support. => Q: MY COMPUTER LOCKS UP WHEN AUTODETECTING SOUND CARDS IN SETUP. WHAT'S WRONG? A: Due to hardware conflicts, autodetecting for sound cards is a risky process. If you know the brand, port address, IRQ, and DMA of your sound card(s), it is recommended that you manually configure these items. Lockups are also common when autodetection is used when no sound cards are installed. => Q: I CAN'T SELECT THE RIGHT PORT/IRQ/DMA FOR MY SOUNDCARD IN SETUP. A: If the proper selections don't appear in the SETUP, then you can always select them manually by editing your DESCENT.CFG file located in your DESCENT II directory. While we tried to account for every possibility, some of the more exotic configurations may not be listed. Contact Interplay if your setup is not listed. => Q: WHY DON'T I HEAR ANYTHING WHEN I TEST MY SOUND IN SETUP? A: You may have the wrong sound card selected, or incorrect port, IRQ or DMA settings. Volume may be set too low in your sound drivers (or the volume slider on the back of your sound card). Hardware conflicts or loose cables may be to blame as well. => Q: MY JOYSTICK ISN'T RESPONDING IN THE GAME. WHAT'S WRONG? A: Be sure you have JOYSTICK selected in the Options/Controls menu, and that it's calibrated. If your joystick connects to your soundcard, make sure the joystick port jumper is ENABLED on the card. Some soundcards have this disabled by default. => Q: HEY! SOME OF MY POWERUPS DISAPPEARED. WHAT HAPPENED? A: Certain powerups will remove themselves from the game if they have been around 4 or 5 minutes. This only happens to Concussion Missiles, Energy, and Shield powerups dropped by a dead player. => Q: WHY DOES DESCENT ACT STRANGELY WHEN I RUN IT UNDER WINDOWS 3.xx? A: While DESCENT II may run under Windows, it isn't recommended. You will probably get odd behavior and slowdowns due to timer conflicts. GUS users may get no sound at all under Windows. If you are having joystick problems, try using the -JoyPolled command line option. => Q: I HAVE A THRUSTMASTER WCS HOOKED UP WITH A JOYSTICK. WHEN I USE THE STICK TO FLY, AND THE 'A' AND 'Z' KEYS TO MOVE FORWARD AND BACK, I START FLYING OUT OF CONTROL. WHY? A: Holding down keyboard keys will produce erratic results when the WCS or FLCS controls are installed. See note in Section 6 for details. => Q: WHY ISN'T MY MIDDLE MOUSE BUTTON WORKING IN DESCENT? A: While DESCENT II supports three-button mice, you still need to load a mouse driver that supports three buttons. Typically Microsoft mouse drivers support two and Logitech drivers use three. => Q: I HAVE A GATEWAY 2000 P75. THE COLORS IN DESCENT II ARE COMPLETELY MESSED UP. WHAT CAN I DO? A: Do a hard reboot of your computer and enter the BIOS setup. Find the "VGA Palette Snoop" option and disable it. This should fix the problem. => Q: DESCENT II LOCKS UP AT THE TITLE SCREEN. A: Turn off the "Hidden Refresh" option in your BIOS Advanced settings. Also make sure RAMBIOS.SYS does _not_ appear in your CONFIG.SYS and that "Hardware Video Shadowing" is turned off in BIOS. ╔═══════════════════════════╗ ║ 8b. Modem/Serial Problems ║ ╚═══════════════════════════╝ => Q: WHEN PLAYING A MODEM/SERIAL GAME, MY GAME FREEZES ON THE "WAITING FOR OPPONENT" SCREEN. WHAT GIVES? A: This screen will appear if you have died in/escaped from an exploding mine. If the other player is still flying there can be up to a 60 second delay. This is normal. However, if your game sits at this screen much longer, chances are something is wrong. Likely culprits: opponent is having technical difficulties, interference with unshielded serial cables, loose cables, baud rate set too high, or uncorrected errors in the modem transmission. => Q: MY MODEM GAMES ARE MUCH SLOWER THAN NORMAL ONE-PLAYER GAMES. A: Try using a higher baud rate in the Com Settings menu. If your computer does not have a 16550 UART, acquiring one will allow up to 38400 baud when communicating with the modem. Consult your Descent Manual for details. => Q: STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN IN MY MODEM/NULL-MODEM GAMES. WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP THIS? A: This may be a result of dropped serial characters. Some examples of "strange" things: players not dropping powerups when killed, ships jumping from place to place on screen, or ships flying through doors that appear closed. If you get error messages during play or during the "waiting for opponent" screen, this could be the cause as well. These problems may occur for several reasons. Serial play adds an additional burden to the CPU when playing the game, so a computer capable of playing the game in single-player mode may have difficulties with modem or serial play. If you are using a 4-megabyte machine, the disk activity needed to run the program in a small memory space can cause lost characters. A lot of sound activity can also cause lost serial characters. Increasing the RAM for the game or reducing the number of sound channels in the detail settings menu can sometimes help. Of course you can also reduce the baud rate in the Com Settings menu to slow down the game somewhat while improving reliability. Also try setting your music volume slider to 0 in the Options menu. The best thing you can do to improve serial performance is to equip your machine with a 16550 UART. However, even with this UART 38.4k baud rate can still be problematic if you have the burden of low RAM or heavy sound activity, so don't be ashamed to run a 16550 UART at 19.2k baud if need be. ╔══════════════════════╗ ║ 8c. Netgame Problems ║ ╚══════════════════════╝ => Q: STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN WHEN PLAYING DESCENT II UNDER KALI/IHHD. HITS DON'T REGISTER ON MY OPPONENTS, THEIR SHIPS SEEM TO "JUMP" AROUND A LOT, ETC. WHAT CAN I DO? A: While DESCENT II isn't really designed for slow connection games such as these, you may be able to improve them. One thing that may help is starting the netgame with a lower Packets per Second value (under Multiplayer/Start Netgame/More Options). => Q: I GET HUGE WAITS WHEN WAITING TO JOIN A NETGAME. A: Robo-Anarchy games and games with many players will sometimes take up to 30 seconds to transfer the needed join info to incoming players. Be patient. => Q: ROBO-ANARCHY PAUSES DURING GAMEPLAY DURING GAMES WITH 8 PLAYERS. CAN THIS BE IMPROVED? A: Due to the greater number of AI objects the game must handle, Robo- Anarchy will probably suffer more with 8 players than other game modes. We recommend playing with 4 players instead. => Q: I HAVE A ZEOS PANTERA P60 WITH A SOUNDCARD AND WHEN I TRY PLAYING A NETGAME IT LOCKS UP. WHAT CAN I DO? A: Instead of doing a full login to your server, try loading only the IPX drivers. Descent Netgames only require this to function properly. => Q: I'M GETTING AN ERROR SAYING MY IPX DRIVERS AREN'T LOADED PROPERLY. WHAT DO I DO? A: First, make sure you have a reasonable amount of low memory available. Although DESCENT II uses a DOS extender to avoid low- memory hassles, some low memory is still needed for network buffers. If this fails, make sure your IPX.COM and other network drivers are loaded properly. A good way to test this is to logon to a network server, if one is available. => Q: MY NETGAMES SEEM SLOW AND UNRELIABLE. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? A: Try using a different socket number. It's possible that some other application on your computer uses socket 5110h and this is preventing DESCENT II from opening a proper network connection. Try large values for the socket number (like 32 or 100). Remember, your opponents will need to use the same socket you do. Also try lowering the Packets per Second value in the Start Netgame/More Options menu. => Q: DESCENT II TELLS ME MY NETWORK CARD IS MISSING PACKETS. WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN? A: This can be a result of a slow network card, heavy traffic on the network, or software conflicts in your system. If you get this message, you can rejoin the game and try again. If the problem persists, one of the following could be to blame: - Too many packets being sent. DESCENT II is optimized for play over LAN-based networks. Slow LANs or WAN-based games (like KALI or IHHD) may be too slow to guarantee processing of all packets. Lowering the Packets per Second value in the Start Netgame/More Options menu (to a number less than 10) may improve things. - Loose cables. Happens to the best of us. Check the plugs on the back of your computer, specifically the ones running to/from your network card. - Too many players. While 8 players is offered as the maximum in DESCENT II, it's possible that your LAN or computer configuration can only support 4-6 players reliably. - Bad network card. Some cards drop IPX packets even without heavy loads or interference. If you suspect your LAN card, try swapping it with one from another computer. - Software conflicts. Other drivers may be running that cause problems with the network interrupts. These conflicts may not emerge when performing other LAN tasks that either don't use IPX or have layers of error-checking. Try removing unneeded drivers from your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. - Router problems. Playing Descent with players on different sides of a router may cause lost packets or delays. Playing this way is not recommended because it creates a significant load on the router that may disturb other LAN users. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔══════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 9. MINOR BUG FIXES SINCE VERSION 1.0 ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝ - A trigger in level 24 blue key area was changed to 1-shot - A trigger on L24 is now linked to correct door - You are no longer able to become trapped in small room on L24 - When in 800x600, the window size now displays properly between levels - Pressing F3 while flying a guided missile no longer shows the cockpit for 1 frame - While flying guided missiles in a big window, the label no longer overdraws HUD messages - Problems joining team games with high-latency connections are fixed - Fixed incorrect "killed by ..." messages - In demo mode, the reticle is now correctly displayed after firing a guided missile - In demo mode, the flag goals are now textured properly - Headlights no longer stay on after thief steals them - Endgame movie now only plays for the built-in mission - Subtitles now match the spoken text in intro and endgame movies - A monitor on the alien levels was missing an animation when the mine was destroyed - Robots that the boss 'gated in' no longer explode with the force of a mega missile when they time out - Improved the handling of demo recording when disk space runs out - Fixed boss cloaking problems in demo that could cause crashes - Shift-ESC now exits properly when in multiplayer game - Joining netgames is now more tolerant of dropped packets - When configuring joystick, now you cannot reassign axis until cleared - When omega cannon is picked up, it now has the energy it had when it was dropped - Improved disk full error checking for game save - Improved respawning location for flags & weapons - Improved low-memory performance by fixing data problem - Typing a key to jump ahead in scrolling menus now works correctly - Guided missiles now show correct reticle in demo playback - Flag goal textures are now set during demo playback - 'Customize above' now configures the keyboard if the 'Keyboard only' option is selected - Fixed a problem with the robot briefings on systems left idle for long periods of time - Number '9' character for automap marker label now more lovely - 'Win95 Joystick' no longer shows up as option in a DOS game when creating a new pilot - Fixed omega cannon firing problems caused by ship having no energy, but, none-the-less, charging. - Omega cannon charge is now always displayed when switching to Omega cannon - Cruise text no longer overwrites other text on high-res HUD - Ambient sounds now pause while in automap - Made boss robots more responsive in coop and robo-anarchy games - Formatting errors in restore game menu were corrected - Weapon lock message is now not overwritten by small view windows - Fixed marker view window labels to match numbering in automap - All-weapons cheat now gives shareware and registered weapons - Kill-all-robots cheat no longer kills the boss, making it possible to finish level - Homing weapons cheat is now reset when a game is loaded or a new level is started - Wingnut cheat now cleared when a game is loaded or a new level is started - Level warp cheat now sets cheater flag - Fixed robots becoming invulnerable when using monster-mode cheat - Improved boss behavior in coop and robo-anarchy games - Killing boss no longer resets the timer in time-limited games - Exiting the screen resolution menu without making any changes no longer changes window size - On level 6, it was possible to get the yellow key without triggering the door to exit room - Made descent.net & descent.usr files more format-tolerant - Fixed restore game menu on 640x400 screen - Fixed background redraw bug caused by dying while playing in a small window - Fixed palette problems on 'prepare for descent' message during demo playback - Fixed some problems recognizing a new disc when switching CDs - When dying in a secret level after destroying the base level, weapons are now lost ╔═══════════════════════════════════╗ ║ 10. HARDWARE ACCELERATED VERSIONS ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════╝ There are hardware-accelerated versions of Descent II available for several different 3D chipsets. Each version has its own executable; be sure to get the correct version for your card. The available versions are: Chipset: S3 Virge Executable name: d2v.bat (runs d2virge.exe) Cards: S3 Virge & S3 Virge/VX Chipset: 3Dfx Voodoo Executable name: d2voodoo.exe Cards: Orchid Righteous 3D Diamond Multimedia Monster 3D Chipset: Rendition Verite Executable name: d2vt.bat Cards: Canopus Corp. Total 3D Creative Labs 3D Blaster PCI Intergraph Reactor 3D Sierra Screamin' 3D To use the accelerated version of D2, run the program or batch file listed for your card. NOTE FOR S3 VIRGE USERS: If you run Windows 3.1 before running Descent II/Virge, you may experience graphics problems when you run Descent II/Virge. If you experience this, reboot your computer and rerun Descent II. WINDOWS 95 USERS: The 3D accelerated versions of Descent II are DOS executables. If you want to run under Windows 95, please make sure you have done the following: - Go into the Control Panel/System/Performance/File System/CD-ROM dialog. First, make sure the Supplemental Cache Size is set to Large. Secondly, if you have a 2x CD-ROM drive, make sure the Optimize Access Pattern dialog is set to "Double Speed Drives" (if you have a 4x CD, use "Quad Speed Drives", etc.). This will ensure good movie playback. - The DOS shell from which you run Descent II must have the correct memory settings. Bring up the Properties menu, and select the Memory tab. Under "MS-DOS protected-mode {DPMI} memory", select 16384. If you create an icon to run Descent II, be sure to make this change to the icon's properties. Other Win95 items: - DESCENT II normally uses the PrintScreen key to take screenshots of the game. If you wish for this key to function in the normal fashion, go to the Properties/Windows Shortcut Keys dialog. Make sure the checkbox next to "PRTSC" is enabled. This will restore the Win95 default setting for this key. - Disable any screen savers you have running. These will interrupt gameplay and possibly cause it to lock-up. - If you get an "HMI Driver Not Found" error, you should simply re-start DESCENT II. - Do not switch to another program while running Descent II. This could cause Descent II to become unstable. ╔═══════════════════════╗ ║ 10. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ║ ╚═══════════════════════╝ => Q: I CAN'T GET DESCENT II TO RUN PROPERLY! THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS ARE TAUNTING ME. WHAT CAN I DO?? A: Don't panic. Interplay Technical support is happy to help with with any problems you have. Help is available 24 hours a day through our Automated Customer Service system, with representatives available during normal business hours. Here's how to contact us: ╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Interplay Technical Support ║ ║ & Customer Service ║ ║ ║ ║ U.S.: 714-553-6678 (9am - 5pm PST, 24 hours automated) ║ ║ ║ ║ Europe: +44 (0) 1628 423723 ║ ║ ║ ╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ MacPlay support can be reached at 714-553-3530 Please try to have your system information available and be near your computer if at all possible. Other ways to get Interplay Support: in the United States ──────────────────── Interplay Productions Attn: Customer Service 16815 Von Karman Irvine, CA 92606 fax: (714) 252-2820 Attn: Customer Service Interplay BBS: 714-252-2822 In Europe In Japan ───────── ──────── write to: Customer Support Customer Support Interplay Productions, Ltd. Interplay Co., Ltd. Harleyford Manor Hiro-o Plaza, 6f Harleyford 5-6-6 Hiro-o Henley Road Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150 Marlow Japan Buckinghamshire SL7 2DX phone: 03-5421-3815 England fax : 03-5421-3722 phone: +44 (0) 1628 423723 fax : +44 (0) 1628 487752 Online ────── Interplay Web Page: http://www.interplay.com MacPlay Web Page: http://www.macplay.com Internet email: support@interplay.com MacPlay email: macplay@macplay.com FTP sites: ftp.interplay.com or ftp1.interplay.com BBS telnet: 199.182.211.86 or bbs.interplay.com America Online: keyword INTERPLAY or email to "IPTECH" GEnie: type "M805;1" Prodigy: email PLAY99B CompuServe: GO GAMBPUB, under INTERPLAY Prodigy: email to "PLAY99B" ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ╔══════════════════════════════╗ ║ 12. DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION ║ ╚══════════════════════════════╝ ─────────────────────────────────────── ! DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS GAME ! DESCENT II IS A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT ─────────────────────────────────────── Please report Software Piracy to the SPA: 1-800-388-PIR8 If you wish to distribute DESCENT II, grab the 3-level Interactive Demo from one of the sites listed below. See Software License below for specific distribution information of the DESCENT II Interactive Demo. The DESCENT II INTERACTIVE DEMO (as well as current updates) can be found at the following locations: ──────────────────────────────────────────────── Interplay web page: http://www.interplay.com Parallax web page : http://www.pxsoftware.com ──────────────────────────────────────────────── - Interplay BBS: 714-252-2822 - CompuServe: GO GAMBPUB, under INTERPLAY - America Online: keyword: INTERPLAY - Software Creations BBS: 508-368-4137 or telnet to swcbbs.com - Redeye BBS: +49.89.54662690 (v.34 or ISDN), Munich, Germany +49.89.54662680 (ZyXEL) - some Internet sites to check: (please notify us with site changes) ftp.wustl.edu in /pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/descent janus.library.cmu.edu in /pub/msdos/descent ftp.cdrom.com in /.5/descent ftp.gatech.edu in /pub/dos/games/descent ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/incoming/games ftp.funet.fi in /pub/msdos/games/interplay csc.mc.edu in /pub/games/descent bell.ecs.soton.ac.uk in /pub/pc/games/demos ftp.uml.edu in /msdos/games/temp ftp.demon.co.uk in /pub/ibmpc/dos/games/descent ftp.leo.org in /pub/comp/platforms/pc/msdos/games/demo doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu in /pub/descent Check the following locations for other Descent/DESCENT II-related goodies: the alt.games.descent & alt.binaries.descent newsgroup, the #descent IRC channel, or: http://www.eskimo.com/~jhroyer/ http://www.eskimo.com/~stickman/descent/ http://doomgate.cs.buffalo.edu/ http://www.primenet.com/ http://fiction.isdn.uiuc.edu/~jeske/descent/ http://www.prairienet.org/~jslagel PLEASE notify us with site location changes or additions. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── SOFTWARE USE LIMITATIONS AND LIMITED LICENSE This software product and the manual are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by Interplay Productions and are protected by the copyright laws that pertain to computer software. You may not copy the software except that you may make one copy of the software solely for backup or archival purposes. You may not loan, sell, rent, lease, give, sub license, or otherwise transfer the software (or any copy). You may not modify, adapt, translate, create derivative works, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise reverse engineer or attempt to reverse engineer or derive source code from, all or any portion of the software or anything incorporated therein or permit or encourage any third party to do so. DESCENT COPYRIGHT (C) 1996 PARALLAX SOFTWARE CORPORATION ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ALL TRADEMARKS ARE PROPERTY OF INTERPLAY PRODUCTIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERPLAY PRODUCTIONS IS THE EXCLUSIVE LICENSEE AND DISTRIBUTOR. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── -END OF FILE-