iPANZER '44 for Windows 95 Version 1.08 Copyright (c) 1998 by Interactive Magic, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.imagicgames.com Developed by Charybdis Enterprises, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- README.TXT ------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION & STARTUP -If AutoPlay is enabled on your computer, insert the CD in your CD-ROM drive, then click the 'Install iPANZER '44' button on the startup screen. Follow the instructions carefully from there. If you do NOT have AutoPlay enabled on your computer, proceed to the next step, below. -To install the game, use Windows Explorer to find the iPANZER '44 CD, then double-click SETUP.EXE and following the instructions. To play the game, click the 'Start' menu button, select 'Programs, then 'I-Magic Games,' and then the iPanzer '44 folder and icon. You can also use Windows Explorer to find the PANZER.EXE file and double-click on that. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ONLINE MANUALS: -To view the online manuals, insert the iPANZER CD and click the the "online manuals" button on the startup screen. This gives you the option to immediately view the manual, or to install the Adobe Acrobat reader for faster access and viewing. We recommend installing the reader as a good general-purpose tool. -If you do not have AutoPlay enabled, and therefore see no startup screen, use your Windows Explorer program to look at the iPANZER '44 CD, open the 'Manual' directory, open the'acrobat' directory, and double-click on SETUP.EXE. This will install the Adobe acrobat reader. Once you've done this, again use Windows Explorer to look at the iPanzer '44 CD, open the 'Manual' directory, and double-click on panzer.pdf to view the manual. ------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALLATION NOTES -When using 3D hardware acceleration (the Direct3D screen type configuration described on page 18 of the manual), most systems need the recommended 32 MB of system RAM. We appologize for not making this clearer elsewhere, but the discovery was made at the last minute during testing. Today upgrading system RAM is quite cheap, and can help many products run faster and more reliably. -We recommend having AT LEAST 20 MB of free hard disk space when you start the game. This allows the standard Windows 95 virtual memory to run correctly. -DirectX Version 5, DirectX Media 5.1, and the Indeo Codec Version 4.1 are required to run this product. We recommend you always install these with the game. For those interested, you can determine if you have these and your current version manually by inserting the CD, then doing Start - Run - Browse - My Computer and then RIGHT-clicking on the CD icon. On the menu that appears select (Un)install DirectX. This will display the current drivers. Needless to say, don't actually continue with the (un)install unless you truly want to change your drivers. -For those with very peculiar computers with special configuration requirements, you can 'force' iPANZER '44 into most configuration options by adjusting the settings in PANZER.INI, a file located in the same directory as the game. We take no responsibility for the results of any changes you make here. Be warned that you can cause a vast amount of havoc to both the game and your computer system with certain settings here. If you're at all unsure, we recommend that you DO NOT edit this file. -Initially iPANZER uses the DIB screen type, for maximum compatibility with computer hardware. If you use the configura- tion options to change screen type (see picture on page 17 and description on page 18 of the manual), in extreme cases your graphics hardware could get so confused the game only displays a black screen. To restore the DIB type, find the PANZER.INI file located in the same directory as the game, open it using either the Notepad or WordPad program that comes with Windows, and find the line that says "DisplayDevice=DirectDraw" or "DisplayDevice=Direct3D". Change this to read "DisplayDevice=DIB". This will restore the game to DIB mode. Make sure that when you save the file, you save it in (ASCII) text only (TXT) form. ------------------------------------------------------------------- DIRECT 3D & HARDWARE ACCELERATORS -If you are having trouble with a 3D graphics accelerator, the first step is to experiment with DIB, DirectDraw and Direct3D configurations (see page 28 of the manual). This will tell you what is and is not working. -Many problems related to hardware acceleration come from old and/or buggy drivers. You should review pages 14 and 15 of the manual and acquire the latest drivers for your hardware. Most accelerator problems can be solved by updating your drivers. If that doesn't work, try using the reference drivers for your accelerator. 3DFX VOODOO -Due to certain hardware problems, you must run iPANZER once with a specific setting before the mouse cursor is enabled. To do this click the Start button, click 'Run...', then type into the entry area the following: c:\i-magic\panzer\panzer.exe -vtarget 3dfx If you installed the game into a location other than the default directory of c:\i-magic\panzer\, substitute the correct directory location for the one above. Next click OK. This should start the game and enable your mouse cursor. You can subsequently 'hide' your 3dfx card from iPANZER by entering the following into 'Run...' instead: c:\i-magic\panzer\panzer.exe -vtarget primary -The 3D systems programmer for iPANZER successfully used a number of 3Dfx boards with both Glide 2.43 and Direct3D 2.15. iPANZER has also run successfully on VooDoo Rush cards. NVIDIA RIVA 128 -The 1.06 WHQL certified reference drivers have worked well with iPANZER. At the time of this writing, version 1.31 is still in public Beta, and has some known problems with texture transparencies and the internal texture cache while running iPANZER. -If your RIVA 128 is running very slowly, not displaying a large number of textures, or just plain crashing a lot, you should first make sure you have the latest manufacturer drivers, or try the reference driver above. However, in addition, alpha versions of a well-known OpenGL driver are known to set Windows 95 registry entries for the Riva 128 to allow only square textures. This 'forcing' of the registry causes serious problems for iPANZER and other programs. To check and perhaps change registry settings you may wish to find and use the program 'nv3tweak.exe' which is available at various sites on the web (as of spring 1998). -The 3D systems programmer for iPANZER was able to run the game using the version 1.06 reference drivers. RENDITION VERITE V1000, V2100, V2200, etc. -There is currently a problem with the Rendition cards when using distance hazing. We recommend that you start the game, go to configuration (the radio on the bookshelf), select 'Advanced' on the first page, then find and make sure Hazing is set to 'off.' -The verite V1000 using Direct3D provides relatively minimal gains in display speed compared to DirectDraw. POWER VR -This chipset is not supported at this time. We recommend you use DirectDraw rather than Direct3D. ------------------------------------------------------------------- TURRET SOUNDS & JOYSTICK DRIFT -A number of people have noticed that when the battle first starts, the turret handles are moving and the turret sounds like it is turning, albeit very slowly. If you experience this problem, pressing Ctrl+J (joystick re-center) should cure it. -Some joysticks may slowly "drift" during the course of the battle. If the game acts like someone's pushing on the joystick, even when you're not touching it, press Ctrl+J to re-center it. ------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICKSTART HINT -In some of the quickstart battles, not all of the enemy will come to you. Some may remain in hiding. Trying to find them without getting slaughtered in an ambush can be challenging unless you use small, cheap, hard-to-see elements to scout the battlefield ahead of your main force. ------------------------------------------------------------------- FORMATION CHANGES -The vehicle arrangement within a formation, described on page 34 of the manual, is not entirely correct. The actual formation positions are: 11 LINE 12 COLUMN 13 15 12 11 13 14 14 15 ECHELON 11 11 ECHELON LEFT 12 12 RIGHT 13 13 14 14 15 15 VEE 15 14 11 WEDGE 12 13 12 13 11 15 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------- OPERATING NOTES -SNAPSHOTS: Due to the special graphics system used in iPANZER '44, you must use Ctrl+K to take a snapshot of the screen. These are saved in the same directory as the game, titled SNAP0000.bmp, SNAP0001.bmp, etc. You can view these screen shots in any program that reads .BMP files, including the 'Paint' program that normally comes with Windows 95. -QUICK CONFIG CHANGES: On page 27 of the manual, we neglected to mention that on the configuration screens you can also click on the text of the option to set it. Many people find this the most convenient way to adjust configurations. -GAME PLAY: There is a problem in the 'Expert' game play option that can cause problems on the tactical map. Instead of using this option, we recommend you select 'Custom' and set all your configurations manually (i.e., selected Config Type 'Advanced' and use the top knob to visit the other pages and select the options you find most challenging). -OPTIONAL COLLISIONS: We strongly recommend that you leave this option (described on page 21 of the manual) "Off" in all cases. -STRAGGLERS: Occasionally a man or vehicle may be blocked by a small obstacle and be 'left behind.' Although caused by route- finding limitations we prefer to view this a computer's way of duplicating morale or communication failures. Normally these 'stragglers' are visible on the map. To get them to rejoin their unit, give them a movement route that brings them within a couple hundred meters of their unit leader. In some cases you may need to issue reform orders, or even use maximum zoom to find individual elements. -MOUSEABLE INTERIORS: Certain objects within the tank turret and hull are now mouse-enabled. Click on the item to operate that piece of equipment. Functional items and areas vary from tank to tank. -GUN CANT: If your tank is tilted ('canted') on a hill slope, arcade and/or automatic ranging (see pages 20, 47 and 56) can lead to inaccurate results (incidentally, many modern tank and artillery ballistic computers have similar limitations). If your shot misses, adjust your aim to compensate for the cant and try again. -The DESIGNATE TARGET [Enter] [#1 Joystick Button] function, mentioned on page 45 of the manual, only functions if you are using binoculars. If binoculars are not in use, you cannot designate targets. -The DESIGNATE TARGET does not work reliably in this version, binoculars or not. Be careful using this function, it could give unexpected results. -AT GUNS: There are some problems with anti-tank guns that are currently being addressed by the programming team. We encourage you to visit http://www.imagicgames.com to get the latest 'patch.' -DECORATIONS: For those interested in collecting all possible decorations, lists are below. It is not possible for one persona to acquire every medal, since some depend on how successfully you complete the campaign. -American Decorations: Congressional Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross Presidential Unit Citation Silver Star Meritorious Unit Commendation Bronze Star for Valor WWII Victory Medal Army Commendation Medal European Campaign Medal American Campaign Medal Purple Heart -Russian Decorations: Hero of the Soviet Union Order of Lenin Order of the Patriotic War First Class Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov Third Class Order of Kutuzov Third Class Order of the Patriotic War Second Class Medal for Valour Order of the Red Star Medal for Meritorious Service in Battle Order of Bogdan Khemlnitsky Third Class -German Decorations: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Tank Assault Badge Knight's Cross of the War Service Cross with Swords War Order of the German Cross Iron Cross First Class War Service Cross First Class with Swords War Service Cross Second Class with Swords Iron Cross Second Class Gold Wound Badge ------------------------------------------------------------------- MULTI-PLAYER VERSION -We are aware that some people are looking forward to a multi- player version of iPANZER '44. We hope to surmount the problems associated with this and make a multi-player version available to you in the near future. We are striving to make the expansion of this game into a multi-player-capable simulation as simple and easy as possible. Check our web site (below) for the latest news. ------------------------------------------------------------------- LATEST UPDATE -By the time you read this, there may be improvements available for iPANZER '44. We suggest you investigate the I-Magic web site and download the latest update ('patch'). ------------------------------------------------------------------- CUSTOMER SERVICE: I-Magic Web site: http://www.imagicgames.com E-Mail Tech Support: techsupport@imagicgames.com If you have questions or need additional assistance with this or an other Interactive Magic product, feel free to call our Customer Service Department at (919) 461-0948, between 9AM - 9PM Eastern. For UK Tech Support call: (01344) 409399, between 9.30AM - 5PM GMT For German Tech Support call: (01805) 221126, between 5PM - 8PM Monday through Friday, or 2PM - 5PM Saturday and Sunday (GMT +1). ------------------------------------------------------------------- -'Windows 95' and 'Explorer' are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. -'Pentium' is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. -'Adobe' and 'Acrobat' are trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF DOCUMENT