Overseer (Demo)/Overseer_demo.iso/README.TXT

Text File | 1998-03-19 | 39KB | 861 lines

=============================================================================
                           Tex Murphy: Overseer
                           Access Software Inc.
                               Version 1.00

=============================================================================
                     Instructions/Troubleshooting Info
=============================================================================

Build 247 Release Notes:
1. If you experience loss of digital sound, which is usually followed by random
   "popping" from the speakers, RSX audio processing is being overloaded.  This
   is a known RSX issue with lower-end machines.

   Try the following steps:
      A. Find and run the configuration utility in the "Intel RSX 3D" folder in the
         Windows Start menu.
      B. Select the "Advanced Settings - Buffer Times" tab.
      C. Change the output audio device buffer from its default 120 milliseconds
         setting to a higher one.  We suggest 240 milliseconds.  400 milliseconds
         is maximum.
      D. Select the "Audio Peripherals" tab.
      E. Remove the check from the "Use RSX True 3D Sound" check box.
   If this fails to correct the problem, go to the Config/Preferences menu in the
   Overseer game.  Select the "Advanced Preferences" button from the dialog.
   Remove the check from the "3D Sound" check box.  Reducing the window size
   (to 240 x 180, for example) and choosing interlaced "VR Style" may also help.

Build 245:
1. Throughout this document references are made to DVD or DVD-ROM.
   The same information below also applies to the CD-ROM version of the game.
   The DVD-ROM version uses MPEG2 (DVD) Video, while the CD-ROM version
   uses Smacker Video Technology from RAD Game Tools.  See the section on
   Differences and Similarities between DVD-ROM and CD-ROM versions of
   the game for more information.

Build 200:
1. In order to temporarily fix an Intel(r) RSX problem with Advanced Power
   Management, the Tex Murphy: Overseer executable automatically changes
   the RSX registry entry from "directsound" to "wave".  This change forces
   RSX to use the Windows wave device instead of DirectSound.  The registry
   entry is not changed back after execution of the game.  This change should
   not negatively effect the performance of other RSX 3D dependent applications.
   If you feel that this change causes problems with any applications, please
   contact Access Software Technical Support for directions on how to change
   it back to DirectSound.

Tex Murphy: Overseer
--------------------
Overseer is a virtual world adventure that melds the two prominent gaming
technologies, virtual world environment and full motion video, into one
package.  To run Tex Murphy: Overseer you must have DirectX 5.0 installed and
working properly.  The DirectX 5.0a runtime libraries are included with this
DVD.

To experience the 3D sound available in the game, you must have Intel(r)
RSX 3D audio drivers installed and functioning properly.  RSX runtime
libraries are also included with this DVD.

Help is available within the game in the online help system.  Help is also
available in Windows help format.  The Windows Help file is accessible via the
Start menu: Start->Programs->Tex Murphy Overseer->Tex Murphy Overseer Help.

AGP Enhanced Version Requires
-----------------------------
   Processor: Intel(r) Pentium(r) II processor, AGP Graphics Accelerator
   OS: Windows 95 OSR2.1 or greater
   RAM: 32 Megs
   Hard Drive: 35 Megs (during installation) 30 Megs (after installation)


Differences and Similarities between DVD-ROM and CD-ROM versions of the game:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Throughout this document references are made to DVD or DVD-ROM.
   The same information also applies to the CD-ROM version of the game, except
   these differences:
     A. The DVD-ROM version uses MPEG2 (DVD) Video, while the CD-ROM version
        uses Smacker Video Technology from RAD Game Tools.  The DVD-ROM can
        only be used if you have a compatible MPEG2 playback solution, whether
        that is hardware or software.
     B. The DVD-ROM version has an option on the Config:Video screen to select
        which MPEG2 device to play video with.  The CD-ROM version does not need
        this option.
     C. The DVD-ROM version does not require disk swapping, so the Config:CD-ROM
        screen only displays the drive for the single DVD-ROM disk.  The CD-ROM
        version has drive options for each disk.
     D. Everything else is essentially the same.
        Both DVD-ROM and CD-ROM support AGP 3D-accelerated graphics.


Starting Application
--------------------
To Start Tex Murphy Overseer with Autoplay:
1. Insert the Overseer DVD-ROM disc.
2. Click the LAUNCH button when it appears.

If Overseer has not been installed, inserting the DVD will initiate the
Overseer installation program.  Once the game has been installed, inserting
the DVD will provide an option to launch the game.

To Start Tex Murphy Overseer from the Start Menu:
1. Verify the Overseer DVD-ROM is in your DVD drive.
2. Click the START button.
3. Point to Programs
4. Point to Tex Murphy Overseer.
5. Click TEX MURPHY OVERSEER.


Install/Uninstall
-----------------
To Install in Windows 95 OSR2.1:
1. Insert the Overseer DVD into your DVD-ROM drive.
If Windows is set up to use the AutoRun feature, instructions will appear
   onscreen.
2. Follow the instructions onscreen.

If instructions do not appear:
1. Verify the Overseer DVD-ROM is in your DVD drive.
2. Click the START button.
3. Click RUN.
4. Type E:\SETUP (Where E: is the letter of your DVD-ROM drive.)
5. Follow the instructions on the screen.

------------------
To Uninstall:
1. Insert the Overseer DVD into your DVD-ROM drive.
   If Windows is set up to use the AutoRun feature, a menu will appear onscreen.
2. Click the UNINSTALL option.
3. Select the correct letter for your DVD-ROM drive in the drive list box.
4. Click OK.
5. Complete the uninstallation by clicking YES, then OK.

If instructions do not appear:
1. Verify the Overseer DVD-ROM is in your DVD drive.
2. Click the START button.
3. Point to Programs.
4. Point to Tex Murphy Overseer.
5. Click UNINSTALL.
6. Select the correct letter for your DVD-ROM drive in the drive list box.
7. Click OK.
8. Complete the uninstallation by clicking YES, then OK.

NOTE:  You may also uninstall Tex Murphy Overseer from Add/Remove Programs in
       the Windows Control Panel.


Direct X Setup
--------------
When Tex Murphy Overseer is installed, the installation searches for
DirectX 5.0a runtimes.  If they are not detected, a message box will
appear to inform you that DirectX 5.0a is not installed, and to ask if you
would like to install it.  If you need to install DirectX again,
you may do so by doing the following:

1. Insert the Overseer DVD into your DVD-ROM drive.
2. Click START.
3. Click RUN.
4. Type E:\DIRECTX\DXSETUP. (Where E: is the letter of your DVD-ROM drive.)
5. Click OK.
6. Select ReInstall DirectX.
7. Click OK to restart your machine.


Saving the Game
---------------
To Save a Game:
1. Move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen to activate the control
   panel.
2. Click SAVE.
2. The COMMENT field is an optional field that allows you to give your saved
   game a description to help you identify it later.
3. The SLOT field defaults to 000 for the first game you save and increments
   automatically when additional games are saved. I.e. 001, 002 etc.
5. Click SAVE again and your game will be saved.


Changing the Sound Setup
------------------------
On some systems it is necessary to adjust the Windows mixer and the volume
controls within the game to get the individual feature volume levels
synchronized.

To Adjust Audio Preferences for Tex Murphy Overseer:
1.  Activate the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the
    screen.
2.  Click the CONFIG button.
3.  Select the AUDIO tab.

Your system may be equipped with more than one MIDI playback device.  If your
system is capable of both FM synthesis and wavetable MIDI playback you will
want to select the wavetable device for superior MIDI quality.

To Select a MIDI device:
Highlight the name of the device you wish to be active, under the MIDI section,
by moving the mouse cursor over the device name, and clicking with the left
mouse button.  The red highlight indicates the active MIDI device.

To Adjust the Master Volume:
1. Press and hold the left mouse button on the MASTER VOLUME slide control.
2. Move the slider up for maximum volume, and down for minimum volume.

Note: Moving the slider down as far as it can go has the same effect as the
      mute option.

3. To globally mute the volume, select the MUTE option for MASTER VOLUME.

To Adjust the Sound Effects Volume:
1. Press and hold the left mouse button on the VOLUME slide control under
   Sound Effects Volume.
2. Move the slider up for maximum volume, and down for minimum volume.

Note: Moving the slider down as far as it can go has the same effect as the
      mute option.

3.  To mute the sound effects volume, select the MUTE option for Sound Effects.

To Adjust MIDI music Volume:
1. Press and hold the left mouse button on the VOLUME slide control to the
   right of the MIDI device list box.
2. Move the slider up for maximum volume, and down for minimum volume.

Note: Moving the slider down as far as it can go has the same effect as the
      mute option.

3.  To mute the volume, select the MUTE option for MIDI.

IMPORTANT:  Click the OK button at the bottom left of the screen to save
            changes.

3D Sound
The 3D sound in Tex Murphy: Overseer is produced via the Intel(r) RSX 3D
sound technology.  This option can be enabled or disabled by selecting or
deselecting the box next to 3D sound in the advanced preferences applet.

IMPORTANT:  Click the OK button at the bottom left of the screen to save
            changes.



Changing the Graphics Setup
---------------------------

The graphical settings for Tex Murphy Overseer are accessible via
Config->Preferences, Config->Preferences->Advanced Preferences, and
Config->Video located in the Control Panel.

To Access the Video configuration:
1. Move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen to expose the control panel.
2. Click CONFIG.
3. Click VIDEO.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

To Access Preferences:
1. Move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen to expose the control panel.
2. Click CONFIG.
3. Click PREFERENCES.

Basic Preference Descriptions

Display Mode
There are two display modes in which to run Tex Murphy Overseer: 800x600 and
640x480.  640x480 is the default display mode.  The only benefit to running
the game in the 800x600 display mode is for video playback.  The native size
for the video playback is 720x480 which is slightly larger than the default
screen size of 640x480.  To run the movies in 640x480, the video must be
downsized in order to fit.  Selecting 800x600 will allow the video sequences
to be played without any shrinking.  Nevertheless the video sequences will
appear slightly smaller in 800x600.

The option for 800x600 mode is only available when the game is 3d accelerated
with an AGP 3d accelerator video card.  It is not available when the software
VR renderer is being used.

To select a display mode, simply click the box next to the display mode in
which you want to run Overseer.

Captions (Subtitles)
Captions are the text subtitles displayed at the bottom of the screen during
movie sequences.  This option turns movie subtitles on and off.

To enable or disable captions: click the toggle box next to captioning.

Hints
Hints are only available in Entertainment mode. This option enables or disables
the Hint system.

To enable or disable the hint system (Entertainment mode only): select or
deselect the box next to Hints.

Walking Speed
There are three walking speeds: fast, medium and slow.  If you are
experiencing difficulty maneuvering in the VR environment select the slow
option.

To select the walking speed: click the box next to the speed with which you
want to move.

Window Size
Window size is the physical size of the VR display area.  If you are
experiencing choppy VR performance you can decrease the window size to
increase performance.

To Select the VR window size: click the box next to the window size you wish
to use.

To Access Advanced Preferences:
1. Move the mouse cursor to the top of the screen to expose the control panel.
2. Click CONFIG.
3. Click ADVANCED PREFERENCES.

Advanced Preference Descriptions

Texture Quality
Textures or maps are the graphical materials used to cover the 3D mesh objects
in the VR environment.  The large complex textures used for Tex Murphy:
Overseer can have a large memory footprint.  Some computers equipped with
only 32 MB RAM may experience performance degradation when texture quality is
set to maximum.  But, the vr rooms look the best with the texture quality set
to the maximum.  You may need to experiment with the texture quality setting
to find what level works best for your computer.

To adjust Texture Quality:
1. Open the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
2. Click the CONFIG button.
3. Click the PREFERENCES tab.
4. Click the ADVANCED PREFERENCES button.
5. Click and hold the left mouse button on the TEXTURE QUALITY adjustment
   slider.  You may also click the arrows at the top and bottom of the
   adjustment slider.
6. Move the slider down to decrease texture quality or up to increase texture
   quality.


NOTE:  Moving the Slider all the way to the top selects maximum texture
       quality.  Moving the slider all the way to the bottom selects minimum
       texture quality.

The Bilinear Filter, Trilinear Filter and Mipmap options are only available
when using the hardware renderer for VR.  That is, these options can only be
selected if you have an AGP 3d-accelerated video card and have Hardware
selected on the Advanced Preferences config screen under the section, VR Renderer.
If you do not have an AGP system, these options, along with the section, VR Renderer,
will not be available.

If you do not have an AGP video card, you are using the VR Software Renderer.
It is not 3d accelerated.  You have three options that can either improve performance
at the cost of visual quality (goes faster, but doesn't look as good), or can improve
visual quality at the cost of performance (goes slower, but looks better).
These options are found on the Advanced Preferences config screen
under the section, VR Style.  They are Normal, Interlaced, and Quad.  These
options are not available with the Hardware VR Renderer.

Bilinear Filter
Bilinear Filtering is a technique designed to create a smoothing or blending
affect on coarse textures.  The algorithm scans the texture surfaces and
attempts to smooth the appearance of the textures by finding color values
somewhere between two distinct colors and creating a gradient.

To Enable or Disable Bilinear Filtering: select or deselect the box next to
Bilinear Filter.

Trilinear Filter
To Enable or Disable Trilinear Filtering: select or deselect the box next to
Trilinear Filter.

MipMap
To Enable or Disable Mip Mapping: select or deselect the box next to MipMap.

Interlaced VR Style
This option only draws every other line on the screen.  Selecting this option
increases performance at the cost of visual quality.  This is the recommended
style if the computer is suffering from a reduced frame rate in VR.

Quad VR Style
This option draws each pixel on the screen as twice the size.  Selecting this
option increases performance at the cost of visual quality.

Normal VR Style
This option draws every single line and pixel at the regular size.  Selecting
this option improves the visual quality at the cost of performance.  This is the
recommended style if your computer is fast enough.

Animated Textures
To Enable or Disable Animated Textures: select or deselect the box next to
Animated Textures.  In some VR rooms, textures will have a video played on
them.  This is used for example to make the flames in a lit fireplace dance,
or an animal to appear to move and come alive.  Sometimes using this feature can
negatively affect frame rate performance.   If you experience performance
degradation in a room with animating textures, try turning this feature off.

3D Sound
The 3D sound in Tex Murphy: Overseer is produced via the Intel RSX 3D sound
technology.  This option can be enabled or disabled by selecting or
deselecting the box next to 3D sound in the advanced preference applet.

IMPORTANT:  Click the OK button at the bottom left of the screen to save
            changes.

Default Controls: Key Mappings
------------------------------

Key Assignment Descriptions                            KEY

Cancel (Menus, Movies, Voice Overs etc.)        ESC, Spacebar, Enter
Online Help System                                      F1
Save a Game (Available only during a game)              F2
Load a Saved Game                                       F3
Hints (Available only during a game)                    F4
Configuration                                           F9
Quick Exit                                           Alt + F4
Screen Capture                                       Alt + F10

(Available only in VR)
Decrease Screen VR Area                                 F7
Increase Screen VR Area                                 F8
Forward - Move forward                               Up Arrow
Backward - Move backward                            Down Arrow
Up - Raise eye level                                  Page Up
Eye Level - Center eye level                      Return [Enter]
Down - Lower eye level                               Page Down
Turn Left - Turn to the left                        Left Arrow
Turn Right - Turn to the right                      Right Arrow
Slide Left - Strafe to the left                       Insert
Slide Right - Strafe to the right                     Delete
Look Up - Increase eye angle                           Home
Look Forward - Center eye angle                     Keypad #5
Look Down - Decrease eye angle                         End
Run Fast - Fastest movement                           Shift
Run - Move faster                                       R
Walk - Slowest Movement                              Control (Ctrl)


Hints
-----
The easiest way to move around in Overseer is to move the mouse while
holding down the right mouse button.  If you press the right mouse button and
move the mouse in the direction you want to go, you should find it very easy
to get around.

Remember that to look up and down, and to raise and lower eye level, you must
press the appropriate keys on the keyboard.  Refer to the key mapping section
in this document.


=============================================================================
                    Known Problems and Solutions
=============================================================================


PROBLEMS LISTED BY SYMPTOMS
===========================

1. If you have just purchased a DVD kit or a computer containing a DVD kit and are not
   able to see the MPEG video clips playing, but get the dialogue boxes for interaction
   with game characters, then there are a few things you should check:
   a.    Insure that you have installed the MPEG cardÆs drivers correctly.  Most MPEG cards
      will install themselves under the Sound, Video and Game Controllers area in the
      Device Manager.  If they have installed as Other in the Device Manager, they are not
      installed correctly.  You should delete the drivers from the Device Manager and
      reinstall them according to the instructions that came with your kit or computer.
   b. Insure that you do not have a software MPEG decoder installed on your system.
      Software MPEG decoders are currently not DirectDraw exclusive-mode compatible and do
      not work with Overseer.  Checking with the computer manufacturer is the easiest
      method of checking for this type of decoder.  Also, if you cannot locate a decoder in
      the Device Manager, you most likely have this type of MPEG solution.  At this time,
      we are working with several of the companies that make software decoders to try to
      resolve this issue.
   c. You may have an MPEG card that does not support the way in which the video clips are
      shown or the video card in your system may not support the MPEG playback properly.
      We are working with these manufacturers to try to resolve any issues between our
      game and their hardware as quickly as we can.


2. In the course of viewing the intro or playing video sequences, you may experience
   choppy video or sound. This can be caused by the sound card settings not being correct
   for the game.  To resolve this issue, follow these steps.
   a. Click on Start, then Settings, then Control Panel.
   b. Double click on System.
   c. Click on the Device Manager tab.
   d. Click on the + next to Sound, Video and Game Controllers.
   e. Select the sound card, then click on Properties.
   f. Click on the Settings tab.
   g. Place a check mark next to FULL DUPLEX.
   h. Click on OK, then close System Properties screen.
   i. Restart the computer for changes to take effect.

3. If you are running Windows 95, versions 4.00.950 or 4.00.950a, and you are playing the
   DVD version of the game, you may experience intermittent lockups when you try to solve
   puzzles or look at objects in the game.  This is caused by the CDFS.VXD file that is
   included with these versions of Windows 95.  It does not allow Windows to properly work
   with any data above 2 GB and may erroneously report the size of the Overseer DVD.  At
   this time, Creative Labs is the only known DVD kit producer that makes a UDF file to
   alleviate this issue.  Unfortunately, the file DXR2UDF.VXD, located in the
   Windows\System\Iosubsys folder, causes the game to crash when asking Eve Clements
   about anything on the Ask About list.  As a temporary workaround you can rename the
   DXR2UDF.VXD file to DXR2UDF.BAK, then restart the computer to get through the
   conversations with Eve Clements.  After speaking with Eve Clements, you will need to
   rename the file as DXR2UDF.VXD and restart the computer to load the file back into
   memory. You will need to do this each time you talk with Eve or your computer will
   crash unexpectedly.  We are working with Creative to resolve this issue and we are
   looking to find a file that will allow other after-market kits to operate properly
   with these two versions of Windows.

NOTE:  If you have the OSR2 or OSR2.1 versions of Windows 95 and own a Creative DVD kit,
       you will crash at Eve Clements as stated above, but simply renaming the file
       DXR2UDF.VXD to DXR2UDF.BAK should be all you need to do as these versions of Windows
       have a CDFS.VXD capable of supporting up to the full 16 GB of data a DVD is capable
       of holding.

4. Customers with a DVD kit may experience video that appears to be squashed either
   vertically or horizontally.  This is normally caused by not having the DVD Player
   software set up for the resolutions that the game runs in.  Overseer supports 640x480
   resolution if you have a PCI video card.  With an AGP video card and hardware rendering
   active, the game will also run at 800x600.  The Windows 95 desktop resolution must be
   set to these resolutions BEFORE running the DVD player so that the player software can
   set those resolutions in the registry.

   The Creative Labs Kits do not currently support cropping of the video to fit the
   640x480 playback window. Follow these steps to properly set up the MPEG playback modes.
   a. Click on Start, then Programs, then PC-DVD Encore, then PC-DVD Player.
   b. Click on OK when informed that DVD contains no DVD Video Directories.
   c. Click on the æOpenÆ folder.
   d. Double-click on the data folder.
   e. Double-click either the Accelogo.vob or the Tutorial.vob.
   f. Click on OK to configure the video.
   g. Click on OK to configure the alignment.
   h. Click on the Play button.
   i. After the video has finished, close the playback window and the DVD player software
      and start the game.

NOTE:  If the video still appears to be squashed, the following steps will help to resolve
       this issue.
   a. Open the DVD Player software.
   b. Click on the Settings button.
   c. Click on Video Configuration.
   d. Reduce the Alignment Ratio by exactly 300 points.
   e. Increase the X-Offset by exactly 100 points.
   f. Click on Save.
   g. Close the DVD Player software and start the game.

   This will restore the proper aspect ratio to the video playback window, but will reduce
   the size of the window. We are currently working on a work-around that will correct
   this issue and are working with Creative on a solution.

   If you own an original Creative PCP-DVD kit, then you can get the MPEG playback to work
   properly by editing the TEX.INI file and changing the line MCIMPEG2=pcdvdvideo to
   MCIMPEG2=mpegvideo.

   The original Diamond Maximum DVD kit uses an Auravision MPEG decoder card.  The drivers
   for this card are not compatible with Overseer at this time.  We are currently working
   to resolve this issue, if possible.

5. If you have a Yamaha sound card and the game is starting normally, then the screen
   goes black and the game locks up, you should edit the TEX.INI file and change the line
   that reads RSXDeviceType=wave to RSXDeviceType=directsound.

6. If you are getting a black screen when the game is initially starting, there are two
   possible solutions.  If you have an S3-based video card, see the hardware listing below
   for instructions on modifying the TEX.INI file.  Otherwise, you may need to
   upgrade your video drivers to the most current version. If you know the video card that
   is installed in your system, then you can visit the Internet site for the manufacturer
   to get the drivers.

   We are working to provide you with these drivers at www.accesssoftware.com, so keep an
   eye on our website. If you see a driver that is outdated on our website, then please
   let us know at [e-mail] and we will try to get the most current driver
   from the manufacturer.

7. If you are receiving an error message indicating that you are unable to load a VR
   room, then your video card may not have the necessary capacity to load the room at the
   highest texture quality. To resolve this issue, start the game and follow these steps.
   a. Click on Config, then on the Preferences tab, then on the Advanced button.
   b. Slide the Texture Quality down to about 70%.  NOTE:  You may need to drop it even
      further depending on your system.
   c. Click on OK.

8. If you have an Intergraph video card with the Rendition Verite chipset, you will need
   to edit the TEX.INI file in the Overseer directory and change the line that reads
   RasterMode=1 to RasterMode=3.


PROBLEMS LISTED BY HARDWARE
===========================

Graphics Issues
---------------
-- QUADRANT CINEMASTER I MPEG2:  The first time the game ever uses the
    Quadrant Cinemaster to play MPEG2 video, Cinemaster may display
    a configuration screen.  The screen has a white box in each
    corner of the screen and a color bar box in the center of the
    screen.  The machine will lock up.  The Cinemaster driver is
    waiting for a response from the user about the configuration
    screen, but due to DirectDraw exclusive mode the user never
    sees the response dialog and the response dialog can never
    receive input from the user.  You should be able to get past
    problem by hitting Enter 3 times.

    The problem will sometimes not go away if the video card in the
    machine is changed and the Cinemaster driver is not reinstalled.
    In this case the Cinemaster driver must be removed completely
    from the Windows device manager, and reinstalled.

    Adding the following lines to end of the
    \windows\cinemast.ini file, before the game is started may
        prevent this problem from occurring.

    ;==========================

    [0x1002/0x4742/640/480/15]
    OffsetFormat=1
    StartOffset=0
    OverlayPossible=1
    BytesPerRow=1280
    BytesPerPixel=2
    PixelFormat=3
    Retest=1

    [0x1002/0x4742/800/600/15]
    OffsetFormat=1
    StartOffset=0
    OverlayPossible=1
    BytesPerRow=1600
    BytesPerPixel=2
    PixelFormat=3
    Retest=1

    ;==========================

-- CHROMATIC MPEG2:  This MPEG2 card does not work with the game, since
    it does not support playback in DirectDraw fullscreen
    exclusive mode.

-- SIGMA DESIGNS REALMAGIC:  This Hardware MPEG2 decoder does not playback
    correctly if the Windows desktop is not set to the same resolution
    as the game, whether that is 640x480 or 800x600 with 16 bit color
    (Thousands of Colors).

-- ZORAN COMPCORE SOFTDVD/SOFTPEG:  This software MPEG2 player does not work
    with the game, since it does not support proper playback in DirectDraw
    fullscreen exclusive mode.  We are currently working with Zoran on a
    solution to this problem.

-- NVIDIA RIVA128-based AGP Cards:  (Diamond Viper V330, STB Velocity 128, etc.)
    On machines with more than 32MB of memory, the Riva128 does not
    always allocate AGP memory correctly.  If you get a "Room Load Failure"
    in the game while a room is loading, you will need to reduce the
    Texture Quality.  This is done while in the game by bringing down
    the Control Panel from the top of the screen, and pressing the
    Config button.  Select Preferences and then press the Advanced Preferences
    button.  Slide the Texture Quality Bar down to reduce the Quality.
    This reduces the amount of memory used by the game's VR textures.
    For example, on a 64MB machine, move the bar below halfway.
    On a 128MB machine, move the bar below one quarter of the way from
    the bottom.

-- S3 864 thru 968-based Cards:  (Orchid Fahrenheit 64, Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM, etc.)
    In order to get the game to work on this video card, you must edit
    the tex.ini file.  This file is created when the game is played.  If you have
    never run the game, this file will not exist.  In this case, edit the
    default.ini file instead.

    1.  Using Notepad, open the tex.ini file that is in the \Overseer directory.
        If you do not find a tex.ini file in the \Overseer directory, open
        the default.ini file instead.
    2.  Under the heading [SYSTEM], change the following line
        from:

        LockVideo=0

        to:

        LockVideo=1

    If you have any problems using one of these S3-based cards with the game,
    look for a game update, which is sometimes called a patch, on the website
    www.accesssoftware.com or call Access Software Technical Support,
    who can guide you through this process.

Sound Quality
-------------

-- MIDI Music:  The game will default to the MIDI mapper.  If the MIDI mapper
    is mapping to the FM Synthesizer the MIDI quality in the game will be poor.
    If the system has a General MIDI synthesizer, the game should be directed to
    use the    capabilities of the GM Synth.  Follow the instructions under Audio
    Preferences in this document or see the on-line documentation and/or
    the Overseer Windows Help file.


Windows System Problems
------------------------



Controller Problems
-------------------
Tex Murphy Overseer does not support Joysticks, control pads, VR helmets etc.
Mouse and keyboard are the only supported input devices.


=============================================================================
                           Performance Issues
=============================================================================

The VR rooms for Overseer are very elaborate and detailed.  We have tried to
make the computer environment as realistic as possible, and we have added
several cutting-edge features to the game.  Because of this, lower-end machines
and even mid-range machines may experience low frame rates in VR with all game
features turned on.  It may seem strange to think of a Pentium(r) 200 MHz
computer as a mid-range machine, but for this game it is.

The best possible perfomance is obtained on machines with AGP 3D accelerator
cards.  These machines can run full screen or near full screen, and take advantage
of all the advanced features available in the game.  Please note that this does not
include PCI 3D accelerators, which do not have enough on-board memory to run
Overseer.

The software VR renderer must perform all of the calculations that are normally
handled by the hardware accelerator when using AGP, and therefore runs slower
than the AGP renderer.  How much slower depends on the speed of your computer.
When you use the software renderer you will probably need to use a smaller screen
size, and other adjustements to your system may be necessary.  If you are
experiencing low frame rates in VR, the following steps may be taken to improve
the frame rate.

Decrease the Texture Quality
----------------------------
If you notice that the hard disk is being accessed all the time when you are in a
VR room, you can increase performance by decreasing the room texture quality.  This
loads smaller bitmaps into memory and decreases the amount of memory swapping that
is needed to display the room.

To adjust Texture Quality:
1. Open the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
2. Click the CONFIG button.
3. Click the PREFERENCES tab.
4. Click the ADVANCED PREFERENCES button.
5. Click and hold the left mouse button on the TEXTURE QUALITY adjustment
   slider.  You may also click the arrows at the top and bottom of the
   adjustment slider.
6. Move the slider down to decrease texture quality or up to increase texture
   quality.


Disable 3D sound
-----------------
The Intel RSX technology can be used to create the sensation of 3D sound.
However, the calculations used to create the 3D sound are very intensive and
can use a large percentage of the CPU time, especially on systems without MMX.
Disabling this option will remove the 3D effect, but will result in better frame
rates.  Please note that disabling this option has no effect on playback of the
Dolby Surround Sound encoded in some of the video sequences on the DVD.

To Disable 3D Sound:
1. Open the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
2. Click the CONFIG button.
3. Click the PREFERENCES tab.
4. Click the ADVANCED PREFERENCES button.
5. Click the 3D Sound Box to clear it.


Set VR Style to Interlaced or Quad
----------------------------------
Performance can be improved by reducing the amount of Video data sent to your monitor.
Changing the VR style to Interlaced causes only every other line of the VR room to be
displayed.  The room will appear slightly darker but will run faster.  Changing the
VR style to Quad will draw fewer pixels but at twice their normal size.  This will
reduce the sharpness of the video image but will increase the frame rate.  Normal
Mode produces the best image but runs the slowest. Try experimenting with both modes
to see which you prefer.

To Set the VR Style:
1. Open the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
2. Click the CONFIG button.
3. Click the PREFERENCES tab.
4. Click the ADVANCED PREFERENCES button.
5. Click the button next to the VR style you wish to use.


Change the VR Window Size
-------------------------
Reducing the size of the VR window reduces the amount of data processed and improves
frame rate.  Please note that changing the VR window size will not affect the size
of the movie sequences.

To Change the Size of the VR Window:
From a VR room, press F7 to decrease the size of the window, F8 to increase it.

Otherwise:
1. Open the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
2. Click the CONFIG button.
3. Click the PREFERENCES tab.
4. Click the button next to the window size you want


Animated Textures
-----------------
On some machines, the video hardware does not support rapid locking of video buffers
to allow animating of textures.  On these machines, most rooms will play fine, but
some rooms will slow down considerably because many animated textures are playing.
If you encounter a room that is much slower than the other rooms, you can temporarily
disable the animated textures from the control panel until you go to a new room.

To Disable or Enable Animated Textures:
1. Open the Control Panel by moving the mouse cursor to the top of the screen.
2. Click the CONFIG button.
3. Click the PREFERENCES tab.
4. Click the Animated Textures box.


=============================================================================
                      Contacting Access Software Inc.
=============================================================================
Access Software Inc.
4750 Wiley Post Way
Building 1, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, UT 84116

Orders           1-800-800-4880  M-F 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MT
Tech Support     1-800-793-8324  M-F 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. MT
Main Office      1-801-736-7000  M-F 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MT

Internet
www.accesssoftware.com

Tech Support Email  [e-mail]
Info Email          [e-mail]
America Online      [e-mail]


=============================================================================
                           Additional Credits
=============================================================================
Special Thanks to:
-----------------

Stan Barnett
Sandy "Sandholio" Khaund
Sandeep Kundra
Chuck M Jewell
Bob Hicke
Joe Becker
Mike Redding
Rand Crippen

Testers
-------
Russ Jenkins
Jason Bowler
Thorsten Moeckel
Bruce Darby


Legal
-----

Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation
MMX is a trademark of Intel Corporation

All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.