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- Nitemare-3D Tech Notes
- ======================
-
- This file contains technical notes in the form of frequently
- asked questions on running Nitemare-3D.
-
-
- 1. What exactly do I get when I register?
-
- The complete trilogy package including the program and
- all three episodes, four cheat functions, a 30-page
- hint booklet and a full page map viewer.
-
- Episodes 2 and 3 continue from the end of episode one
- and contain stunning new artwork, sounds and monsters
- including some fiendish 3D style robots and aliens.
- Each episode contains 10 levels.
-
- These episodes are jam-packed with puzzles and to give
- you as much enjoyment as possible a 30-page hint booklet
- is included. This explains how to set the four cheat
- modes to tailor your game preference, either emphasizing
- the puzzle-solving or monster-bashing. It also includes
- a complete walkthrough of every puzzle in every level so
- you can complete the game with as much or as little help
- as you need.
-
- The full page map viewing utility allows you to browse
- all 30 levels and shows every single wall, object, monster,
- secret panel, door, etc. in the game.
-
- Please see the online instructions or print the ORDER.TXT
- order form for details of how to order the trilogy.
-
-
- 2. How do I get to the secret level 5?
-
- There is a secret level 5 in episode one, accessed from level
- 4 which would otherwise bypass it straight to level 6. Here
- is a hint to find the secret level entrance:
-
- Having completed the rest of level 4, find the pile of boxes
- at 8,24. [Use the position readout on the status display].
- Go into the small room nearby which contains two adjacent dumb
- waiters. Enter either dumb waiter and notice how you fall out
- of the other one without getting anywhere. The secret is to
- obstruct one of the dumb waiters (either will do) which will
- prevent you from inadvertantly emerging from the other in the
- same room. Then you will be able to proceed to a secret ante-
- chamber which leads to a second transportation booth which
- leads to the secret level 5.
-
-
- 3. How much memory does Nitemare-3D require?
-
- At least 500Kb conventional memory. Note that this amount
- must be available, not just installed. To find out how
- much is available, run the DOS "mem" command. If not
- enough is available, try unloading some TSRs or drivers.
- If you are running DOS 6.0 or higher, it includes a handy
- utility called "memmaker" which will automatically maximize
- your available conventional ram. Nitemare-3D keeps many
- often-used images in conventional ram so the more you
- have available, the more efficiently the game will run.
-
- Nitemare-3D also needs some extended memory. It can run
- without it but you will find it runs slower. Any amount
- up to 2Mb will be used. For best results this should be
- available extended memory but you may also allocate
- all extended memory to a disk cache such as SMARTDRV with
- only a negligable loss of speed. (This is because the disk
- cache is effectively using the extended memory the same way
- Nitemare-3D would be using it).
-
-
- 4. Is my sound card supported?
-
- Music is supported on any Adlib or Sound Blaster compatible
- sound card but digitized sound effects are only supported
- on true Sound Blaster compatible cards. Some cards, such
- as the PAS 16, require you to set the card in SB-emulation
- mode and you should consult your sound card manual. The
- emulation setting is usually IRQ 7, DMA 1, I/O Port 220H.
-
-
- 5. Why can't I vary the music volume?
-
- Only Sound Blaster Pro or later compatible cards include the
- mixer chip which allows this function from within the game.
- The same goes for the stereo sound effects.
-
-
- 6. I'm having trouble running the game in Windows.
-
- The game is not designed to run under Windows, however you
- may be able to get it to run. PC speaker sound is not
- available when run from within Windows. The game will run
- slower and jerkily under Windows. There may be sound card
- problems running from within Windows. In general, don't!
- See the discussion below on use of startup switches.
-
-
- 7. I'm having trouble running the game in DOS.
-
- To allow for various troublesome combinations of hardware,
- the following switches can be used singly or in combination
- when starting the game, e.g. "n3d -t -x -s"
-
- -t Disable timer interrupts and use DOS time functions.
- This is enabled by default when running from within
- Windows but it is possible the game will not detect
- that it is running from within Windows and you can
- try this switch. It may also be required from DOS
- if there are conflicts with your real time clock
- setup.
-
- -x Disable use of extended memory.
- The game attempts to use up to 2Mb of extended memory
- if available. If you suspect this is causing a
- problem then use this switch to force it to ignore
- any extended memory.
-
- -p Force PC speaker sound. If you are able to get music
- but no digitized sound from your sound card, you
- may be able to force PC speaker sound. Note that PC
- speaker sound is not possible under Windows and the
- rendering of digitized sounds through the PC speaker
- gives very poor results, anyhow. Do not attempt to
- use the -t switch with the -p switch since this can
- cause the game to freeze.
-
- -q Force detection of SoundBlaster compatible DSP. This
- switch may be able to force detection of a sound card
- that is not auto-detected. If you have a Sound Blaster
- compatible card but the game produces sound through
- the PC speaker try this switch to see if you can get
- digitized sound through your sound card. You must include
- the port number and IRQ number after this switch. Example:
- n3d -q 220 7
- will assume the DSP is on port 220(hex), IRQ 7 (decimal).
- [Use the -o switch to check the results in DEBUG.TXT]
-
- -s Disable detection of sound cards.
- It is possible that the auto-detection function used
- to detect sound card hardware can cause the game to
- lock up during start up. Use this switch to avoid
- this problem but be aware that sound, music and the
- joystick will be unavailable since they are all
- handled by the same third-party sound functions.
-
- -o Enable debug output.
- This causes a small text file called DEBUG.TXT to
- be written when the game starts. It should look
- similar to this:
-
- Initializing...
- Bootstrap ok
- SB DSP detected at IRQ 7
- Sound card ok
- Timer ok
- Display ok
- Memory ok
- Keyboard ok
- Mouse ok
- Initialize complete!
-
- Examination of your DEBUG.TXT after an unsuccsessful
- startup may indicate the problem.
-