Unprotect 6

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Unprotect 6 / Unprotect-6.0.iso / update / tgv11 / faq.txt < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1996-03-27 | 15.2 KB | 359 lines

****************************** TOP GUN: FIRE AT WILL Frequently Asked Questions 3/27/96 ****************************** Problems ======== Q: The game sometimes crashes when I click on "End Mission." A: Please try installing the Maximum Version of the game, which requires 140MB of hard drive space. If you do not have enough hard drive space, try editing your TOPGUN.INI file in your \TOPGUN directory. Change the line that reads "ASYNC=YES" to "ASYNC=NO". This text change may cause some pauses in the game when you hear the digitized radio messages. In addition, the Top Gun update to version 1.1 should solve some of these crash problems. Q: Whenever the digitized speech starts, the game pauses for some time (1 to 2 seconds) as my CD-ROM drive spins up. A: Some CD-ROM drives are designed to spin down after as little as 30 seconds of inactivity. You can change the spin-down time on some drives by editing your CONFIG.SYS file and adding "/C:#" to the CD-ROM driver line (where # is the number of minutes before the CD-ROM drive spins down). If you change the number to "0" (zero), then the CD-ROM drive should never spin down. Some drives, such as ones from Toshiba, however, cannot be prevented from spinning down. The Top Gun update to version 1.1 includes a fix for this problem. Q: What is Disc 2 used for? The game hasn't used it so far. A: You only need Disc 2 for the later missions in the game. You'll be prompted to insert Disc 2 when it's needed. Q: I am trying to run Top Gun on an HP Pavilion with an onboard S3 Trio 64V+ or S3 Trio 32 video card under Windows 95, but the game crashes. A: This problem is fixed in the Top Gun update to version 1.1. Since the HP Pavilion will not run any high-resolution 256-color games under Windows 95, however, you may want to contact your HP dealer. Sound ===== Q: The Setup program correctly detected my sound card and I heard the sound test OK. However, when I load the game, I don't hear anything or I just hear the engine sound even though I set all the sliders in the Sound menu to maximum. A: Because you pressed Esc or "Go Back" at the Sound Setup screen, the Master Volume level was set incorrectly. To fix this, open the TOPGUN.INI file in your \TOPGUN directory with a text editor. Then change the line "MASTER_VOLUME=0" to "MASTER_VOLUME=10". Q: My Sound Blaster 16 is set to IRQ 10, and both the Sound Setup program and the Top Gun game crash. A: We recommend choosing "Sound Blaster Pro" at the Sound Setup to avoid this incompatibility. Q: The digitized speech sounds scratchy or I hear a lot of popping in the sound. A: Try lowering the Master Volume level. Open the TOPGUN.INI file in your \TOPGUN directory with a text editor. Change the line "MASTER_VOLUME=10" to "MASTER_VOLUME=5". You may need to turn the volume up on your speakers, but this should prevent your sound card from being overdriven. If you have a Sound Blaster 16 or Sound Blaster Pro and a video card that uses the Cirrus Logic chipset, you may hear crackling noises in the game. This problem includes the Diamond SpeedStar Pro and the Orchid Kelvin 64 video cards. To solve this problem, try loading a DOS-based VESA driver. For example, you can try using the UniVESA driver that comes with Top Gun instead of your video card's built-in driver. Graphics ======== Q: Is there any way to make the ground terrain look better? A: Try the SUPERHI option. Type "TOPGUN SUPERHI" at the DOS prompt, and the ground terrain will be rendered in single-pixel resolution. Be sure, however, to set the Terrain Detail setting in the Graphics menu to Medium. The SUPERHI option will significantly decrease your frame rate. If you have Top Gun version 1.0, make sure you always start with Disc 1 in the CD-ROM drive when you use the SUPERHI option. Q: Everything works in the game, but I can't see any of the 3-D objects, such as any planes, missiles, etc. A: This is because your system's math coprocessor is not 100% compatible with Intel's. Top Gun requires either a 486DX or a Pentium. The coprocessor emulation on some NexGen systems, such as the NexGen 100, is not 100% compatible with Intel's. Joysticks ========= Q: Is the Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro joystick compatible with Top Gun? A: Yes, this joystick works fine with Top Gun. First, make sure your SideWinder 3D Pro is set to emulate a CH FlightStick Pro by moving the "Joystick switch" on the bottom of the joystick to position 1 (the side with one dot). When you're in the Top Gun game, choose "Setup" and then "Joystick." Select "Choose Type" and then "CH FlightStick Pro" from the list. Next choose "Calibrate" and follow the onscreen directions. Top Gun supports the slider, hat switch and four conventional buttons on the SideWinder 3D Pro joystick. Q: I can't calibrate the throttle wheel on my joystick. A: First, select a joystick from the "Choose Type" list and then "Calibrate." When you see "A throttle device is found. Do you want to use it?" press "Y" for "Yes." Calibrate your joystick as normal. When the calibration routine asks you to move the throttle to the idle position, move the throttle wheel to its minimum setting and press the fire button. When it asks you to move the throttle to full MIL power, first move the throttle wheel to its maximum setting and then back down to the full MIL power (100% RPM) setting and press the fire button. When you're asked to move the throttle to full afterburner, move the throttle wheel to its maximum setting and press the fire button. Q: I chose "Suncom F-15E Eagle" from the list of joysticks in the game, but it doesn't support all the buttons on my Suncom F-15E Eagle joystick. A: First, you need the KEY file for Top Gun. The KEY file is available in the Top Gun update to version 1.1 and in \JOYSTICK\SUNCOM if you have Top Gun version 1.1 on CD-ROM. Next, before loading Top Gun, you need to run Suncom's EAGLE.EXE utility to download the SUNCOM.KEY file to your Suncom F-15E Eagle. Then choose "Suncom F-15E Eagle" from the Joystick setup screen in the game and calibrate the stick. Q: I'm at the joystick calibration screen, and it's telling me to move my joystick to the upper left corner and then the bottom right. But when I move my joystick, the box doesn't move. A: The joystick calibration screen is showing you where you should move the joystick. The box does not move when you move the joystick. You simply need to move the joystick to the upper left corner when the program asks you to and then press the fire button. When it displays the box in the lower right corner, just move your joystick to the bottom right and press the fire button. Q: The rudders don't seem to work in the game. A: The rudders in Top Gun have been simplified to work more like a sideslip. In addition, the rudders are only effective at slower speeds, such as 250 knots or less. The rudders are most useful for landing. You can check to see if the rudders are working by looking at a distant fixed object (such as the carrier) and pressing the "[" or "]" key. Since the rudders are only used to sideslip, Top Gun does not support analog rudder controls. Mice ==== Q: I have a Logitech Marble trackball, and Top Gun crashes as soon as the mouse is active. A: Use the regular MOUSE driver instead of the the CLOAKING driver for your Logitech Marble trackball. Top Gun and your other programs will work fine with the MOUSE driver. Q: My mouse doesn't work in the game. A: If you do not have a mouse driver loaded when you install the game, the game will default to playing without a mouse even if a mouse driver is loaded later when you play. You can re-enable mouse support either by reinstalling the game with a mouse driver loaded or by manually modifying the TOPGUN.INI file in your \TOPGUN directory. If you want to manually modify the TOPGUN.INI file, use a text editor to open the TOPGUN.INI file in your \TOPGUN directory on your hard drive. Find the line that reads "MOUSE=NO" and change it to read "MOUSE=YES." Simulation ========== Q: I am having a difficult time evading enemy missiles. A: Always scan your Radar PIP to look for enemy missiles. Don't forget to vary the radar range with the "Z" and "X" keys to make sure you're checking ranges from 120 to 2 miles. The Radar PIP only displays missiles that are targeting you, missiles that you have fired and anti-ship missiles. All missiles on the Radar PIP must have a lock or else they will not show up. The Radar Display, on the other hand, shows all missiles in the air within its 120-degree cone. Set object size to Enlarged Objects in the Difficulty menu to make the missiles more visible. Turn labels on by pressing the "4" key to make the missiles more visible. This will also identify the type of missiles for you: Alamos are radar-guided whereas Atolls and Archers are heat-seekers. In addition, the missile labels will tell you what each missile is targeting. Keep an eye on your warning lights. If you see the Launch Light go on, this means an enemy missile has been fired at you. If you then see the Infa Light illuminate, it's a heat- seeking missile. Otherwise, it's a radar-guided missile. In addition, you'll hear three distinctive warning tones: one for SAMs (surface-to-air missiles), one for heat-seeking missiles and one for radar-guided missiles. Merlin will yell out, "Missile inbound!" or "Missile at eleven o'clock" when it gets close. If a heat-seeking missile (such as an Atoll or Archer) is targeting you, be prepared to head straight at it. Keep your eye on the missile's position by checking it on the Radar PIP. When the missile is about 4 miles away, you should drop flares and pull hard and up. If a radar-guided missile (such as an Alamo) is targeting you, try to beam it. Keep your eye on the missile's position by checking it on the Radar PIP. Beam the missile by turning your plane so that it's perpendicular to the flight path of the missile. This will help break the missile's radar lock on you. When the missile is about 6 miles away, drop chaff and pull hard and up. Keep an eye on your radar and Launch Light to see if the missile re-acquires you by getting another radar lock on your plane. To really get a good look at what's targeting you, pause the game by pressing the "P" key. Then switch to the Outside View by pressing the F5 key. You can look at different objects by pressing the "N" key. If you turn labels on by pressing the "4" key, you can tell which missiles are targeting you. In addition, Top Gun version 1.1 makes missiles easier to spoof at the Novice Enemies level. Q: I don't see all the missiles on the Radar PIP. A: The Radar PIP only shows the missiles that are locked onto you, missiles that you fired or anti-ship missiles. It does not show missiles fired by your wingmen or missiles that target your wingmen. In addition, if an enemy plane breaks the radar lock on your missile, the missile will disappear from the Radar PIP. Similarly, if the missile re-acquires a radar lock, it will reappear on the Radar PIP. The Radar Display in the Full Cockpit view, on the other hand, shows all missiles within its 120-degree cone. In fact, the Radar Display shows all objects within its 120- degree cone except surface ships, ground units and air bases. Q: There doesn't seem to be any way to turn on ECM in my F-14. A: Because the F-14 does not have any onboard ECM (electronic countermeasures) capability and because your plane is never equipped with an ECM pod, there is no way to activate ECM. The ECM Light in the cockpit does not refer to your ECM. Q: I am having problems using the ILS or landing the plane. A: The most important rule when landing is to start your approach from at least 10 miles out from the carrier. This will give you ample time to make corrections during the approach. Your altitude should be about 2,700 feet when you are 10 miles away. At five miles out, your altitude should be 1,500 feet and your airspeed should be 250-300 knots. Extend the hook and lower your landing gear. At one mile out, your altitude should be 275 feet and your airspeed should be 180 knots. Don't forget to also put on the flaps. Try to hit the deck at about 150 knots and land between the white lines. Missions ======== Q: I don't get unlimited weapons in the Libyan theater even though I chose "Unlimited Weapons" at the Difficulty screen. A: To make sure the final theater was a real challenge, we disabled "Unlimited Weapons" in Libya. You can choose either "Unlimited Guns" or "Limited Weapons." Q: I can't figure out to successfully complete a reconnaissance mission in Top Gun. A: The most important thing in recon missions is to make sure you're flying low enough. You must be within 5,000 feet or less of the target to successfully use the TARPS pod to take photos. The range of the TARPS' camera is under 5,000 feet. Multiplayer =========== Q: Do I need two copies of Top Gun to play head-to-head? A: Actually, you can use Disc 1 and your friend can use Disc 2 to play a head-to-head game, whether over a null-modem serial cable, modems or a local network. Q: Top Gun does not support my modem, which is at IRQ 10. A: Unfortunately, Top Gun only supports modems at IRQs 2 through 5. Q: How can I play Top Gun head-to-head over Kali? A: In order to play Top Gun over Kali, please read all the Kali instructions first about how to play network games over Kali. Then you need to tell Top Gun how much network bandwidth it has available to it by setting the NETDATARATE parameter in the TOPGUN.INI file. The chart below tells you what number to use for the NETDATARATE parameter. The top row is the number of players and the left-hand column is the slowest modem of any player in the game. | 2 3 4 6 7 ------------|---------------------------------- 9600 baud | 1344 1008 | 14400 baud | 2016 1512 1344 | 28800 baud | 4032 3024 2688 2520 2419 The NETDATARATE number is figured out from the equation NETDATARATE = (0.7 * #_players * slowest_modem)/(#_players - 1) where the slowest_modem is in bytes/second. Please note that you will want to use the Axxis Kali server (205.199.96.2) or else your performance will suffer and the equation becomes NETDATARATE = (0.7 * #_players * slowest_modem) Q: I pressed "P" to pause a multiplayer game, but nothing happened. A: Pause is disabled in multiplayer games. You can, however, press Esc to pause your game on your machine.