<< H A R D W A R - R E A D M E F I L E >> =========================================== The original readme, plus the various updates up to and including U2.04 is at the end of this document. 1.<< UPGRADE UIM.06 >> ---------------------- An upgrade to fix a couple of bugs. Features and fixes for UIM.06 ----------------------------- 1) The savegames now correctly load from an earlier UIM??? version, 2) The display settings are checked at startup - it was not converting the old pre-UIM settings correctly. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.06 will connect to itself in a network game and UIM.05 UIM.06 really will load any UIM save games, or U3.04 but not earlier ones. 2.<< UPGRADE UIM.05 >> ---------------------- An upgrade to fix a few old problems and a new one. Features and fixes for UIM.05 ----------------------------- 1) The terminal negative deposit problem is fixed. 2) The problem whereby automatically generated pirates etc ran out of names, is cured. 3) Dead pilots are once again saved in the SAV file. They really are this time. 4) An old savegame problem (present since 1998 I believe) is fixed. This caused a fatal crash at load, occasionally. 5) Analogue gamepads (similar to Playstation controllers) should use analogue signals now, 6) Loading an old game will recreate monorail cars when all have been destroyed. 7) The chat messages were sometimes mixed with the FROM, this is fixed. 8) Attacks on monorails will no longer be tolerated. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.05 will connect only to itself in a network game. UIM.05 will load any UIM save games, or U3.04 but not earlier ones. 3.<< UPGRADE UIM.04 >> ---------------------- An upgrade to fix an old problem with the in-game videos. Features and fixes for UIM.04 ----------------------------- 1) The in-game videos now no longer need to switch resolution to play. This gives a smoother transition, and fixes a crashing problem on some machines. 2) The embossed textures can now be disabled in Hardman, Mipmaps are automatically enabled if using embossing. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.04 will connect to itself and UIM.02 or later in a network game. UIM.04 will load any UIM save games, or U3.04 but not earlier ones. 4.<< UPGRADE UIM.03 >> ---------------------- Another small upgrade, mainly to fix a single but significant problem. Features and fixes for UIM.03 ----------------------------- 1) The messages system would crash if Target Subject was performed, on a dead pilot after a game load; the game save no longer saves dead pilots (see below). 2) The embossed textures are now loaded directly from 2 BMPs, rock_e.bmp and met_e.bmp These can be modified as you wish, but they must be 24 bit BMPs (even if you reduce the actual number of unique colours), and they must remain square. Rock_e.bmp is used to emboss the crater walls and floor; met_e.bmp for the tunnel floor, and hanger floors. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.03 will connect to itself and UIM.02 or UIM.02.01 in a network game. UIM.03 will load any UIM save games, or U3.04 but not earlier ones. 5.<< UPGRADE UIM.02.01 >> ------------------------- A small upgrade, mainly to fix a couple of issues from UIM.02 Features and fixes for UIM.02.01 -------------------------------- 1) A problem with the new cloud texture's alpha mask is fixed. This should tile OK on most cards. Mipmaps should be enabled to use this feature. 2) A route finding problem from Alpha-Riverside (caused by the Downtown-Res Tunnel) is fixed. 3) An optional new feature is some simple embossing on the crater textures, tunnel floors and hanger floors. 4) The navigation map now has the new tunnel included. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.02.01 will connect to itself and UIM.02 in a network game. UIM.02.01 will load any UIM save games, or U3.04 but not earlier ones. 6.<< UPGRADE UIM.02 >> ---------------------- Welcome to Ian Martin's second unofficial Hardwar upgrade. The main purposes of this upgrade are some fixes to UIM.01 and the addition of 24/32 bit support - a cosmetic update. Requirements ------------ Hardwar should still run on a 1998 era PC, but DirectX9 is required. Please download this from http://www.microsoft.com/directx. We detect the DirectX version, and report if DirectX9 is not detected, but do allow the user to continue anyway, just in case the detection code, which uses DLL file versions, shows a fault. A Direct3D compatible 3D accelerator card is required from UIM.02 onwards. Features and fixes for UIM.02 ----------------------------- 1) 3DFX Glide is deleted. Any 3DFX users should select Direct3D. Users of an old 3DFX pass-thru card should select Secondary Display. 2) Software rendering is deleted. 3) 24/32 bit display mode is introduced. If operating in windowed mode, it selects the desktop's colour depth, where the desktop is 16 bits per pixel or above. 4) An option to select 32 bit textures is added. This should ONLY be used where 64Mb or more of texture memory is available. Hardwar does not use the automatic texture management system, it shrinks textures until they all fit. If texture memory is limited on your system, try some or all of these (in this order) a) Do not use 32 bit textures. b) Clamp textures to 256x256 (some older cards do not allow larger textures anyway, so Hardwar shrinks them regardless). c) Use the old explosions. d) Disable mipmaps. 5) An option is added to revert to the old fog colours. 6) Hardman was not correctly reading the max number of network players - this is fixed. 7) The 'victim' modes introduced in UIM.01 are disabled in network games. 8) The clouds now use a new BMP texture, and are redesigned. They are still an option. 9) A missing building was re-added, Vacant 008. 10) A bug was found and fixed in the texture shrinking code (see 4 above) causing a fatal crash where available texture memory was limited. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.02 will only connect to itself in a network game. It has a new network GUID. UIM.02 will load UIM.01, U3.04 save games, but not earlier ones. 7.<< UPGRADE UIM.01 >> ---------------------- Welcome to Ian Martin's first unofficial Hardwar upgrade. The main purpose of this upgrade is stability. Requirements ------------ Hardwar should still run on a 1998 era PC, but DirectX9 is required. Please download this from http://www.microsoft.com/directx. We detect the DirectX version, and report if DirectX9 is not detected, but do allow the user to continue anyway, just in case the detection code, which uses DLL file versions, shows a fault. Features and fixes for UIM.01 ----------------------------- 1) A server side bug where menu options were displayed but no longer valid at the client side due to lag, is fixed. The bug caused a crash on the server. 2) The tunnel between Reservoir and Downtown is opened permanently. 3) A bug in some of the navigation, causing AI pilots to get confused, is fixed. 4) Retire pilot in a multiplayer game has a confirmation screen. 5) Some new explosion graphics are added, for Direct3D users only. These are high quality 256x256 24 bit colour images. There is an option to retain the original ones. This has been tested on a 32Mb NVidia TNT, and a 128Mb GeForce4. 6) A bug with USB gamepad axis values is fixed. This has been tested on a Thrustmaster 12 button gamepad. 7) An old frame buffer problem which has been present since 1998 is fixed, for Direct3D. This caused a very occasional crash. 8) There is a new fog distance option, for Direct3D, which allows most of the largest craters to be seen at all times. This is only intended for contemporary fast machines and has been tested on an Athlon 2600, Celeron 2.4Ghz and faster machines. 9) There is an option to limit the number of remote players in a network server. This is intended for users who host servers with modest bandwidth. Hardwar does require a lot of network bandwidth (though this is being looked into) and if you allow 64Kpbs per player, you should be able to host a server. If, for example, you have a 256Kbps upload speed (from your perspective) you should be able to have 4 remote players. 10) Some work has been done to compress the network data, and tokenise the information. Data sizes have typically fallen by 20% but this can be much lower. 11) The manually activated autopilot now flies to a lightwell. 12) Direct3D W buffering is now enabled, where the accelerator supports it - most cards do. This cures the z ordering problems in tunnels, and other areas. It defaults to on, but there is an option to disable it - at least one user has reported a problem with an old Voodoo card. 13) The flares cast a less harsh but richer light. 14) A new server side clicking bug is fixed - caused by unloading cargo. 15) The joystick throttle problem has been addressed, and there are additional config options. 16) The maximum number of players in a network game works. 17) An option is added to simulate lag, in a single player game. Each frame lags by 10 frames. 18) If a pilot is named "I am a victim" most of the AI pilots attack him. If the pilot is named "I am a made victim" then he is invulnerable. This was done to test the engine at its limits, both in terms of display capabilities and control code. 19) When games are saved, dead pilots are not saved. 20) When using developers info, it was always allocating a huge buffer, not needed. 21) The CD music selects random tracks during extended flying. 22) The sky colour is changed to be more like the real Titan. 23) Remote players in a network game, are updated at 10 fps when using radar, messages or hanger display, to minimise network bandwidth. Compatibility. -------------- DirectX9 required. UIM.01 will only connect to itself in a network game. It has a new network GUID. UIM.01 will load U3.04 save games, but not earlier ones. This has been tested with a save from a long term server U3.04 (5000+ days!). Making Videos ------------- Some time ago, a facility was added to allow silent videos to be created. There are problems with this facility, but used with care, it can create effective videos. This is acheived by recording your actions for a short period, then replaying that recording, grabbing each frame into incrementally numbered 24 bit BMP files. Use a third part utility to create an AVI, MPEG or QT, using those BMPs. a) To record, set the detail options for highest speed. You need to be able to record at 12 or 24 frames per second. Start a single player game, and get to the point where you wish to start recording. Save the game. For this example , your save is called "vid1.sav" In the command prompt, go to the hardwar directory, and enter:- hardwarw.exe /t:load "vid1.sav" /t:recordsave Act out the scene. A maximum scene of 30 seconds is recommended. b) To play back and grab at 24 frames per second:- Set the detail options to maximum. Choose a sensible resolution for the video. hardwarw.exe /t:load "vid1.sav" /t:recordplaygrab24 Lots of BMPs will be created in your hardwar folder. You can then use these to create a video. Specify 24 frames per second. It's not perfect, and it's not easy. ============================================================================= ORIGINAL HARDWAR README ----------------------- Thank you for purchasing Hardwar. This readme file is a quick guide to game controls and setting up and also contains information regarding setting up the game for optimal performance. Contents -------- 1. Setting 2. Hardwar System Requirements 3. The Hardwar Manager 4. Default Keys 5. Known issues 6. Troubleshooting 7. Tips! 8. Copyright Information 9. Upgrade U2.0/U2.01 10. Upgrade U2.02 11. Upgrade U2.03 12. Upgrade U2.04 13. Upgrade U3.00 [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 1.<< S E T T I N G >> --------------------- Welcome to the City of Misplaced Optimism; A neglected corporate mining outpost established on the freezing moon of Titan centuries ago, in a series of tunnel linked craters. Once it was a money spinning enterprise; but the backers pulled out long ago leaving the staff and colonists behind to fend for themselves. Factions have formed in the centuries since then and a smouldering political and military stalemate has evolved. Various organisations hoard and grudgingly trade Titan's scarce resources in an attempt to survive, always waiting for a break which might tilt the balance of power their way: thus allowing them to crush all asunder and rule the moon without challenge. The factions themselves are no longer the wholesome corporations they once were, distrust of others has led to some extremely unorthodox methods of keeping power under control and in the hands of a select few. Centuries of interbreeding, wholesale cloning, genocidal class cleansing, sterilising and other spiteful operations have all contributed to shape a race which can now only tenuously be labelled Human. You are a lone pilot, you have a modest solar powered "moth" and scant money. Do your best to make a living in the hostile airways of the city, but watch what you do, events have a nasty habit of catching up on people around here. [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 2.<< S Y S T E M R E Q U I R E M E N T S >> -------------------------------------------- The following system is required to run Hardwar with Software graphics: Minimum System: Processor: Intel Pentium 166 (or equivalent) Memory: 16Mb or greater Videocard: 1Mb DirectX 5 compatible Videocard Soundcard: DirectX 5 Compatible Soundcard CD-ROM: 2X CD-ROM Harddisk: Harddisk with approx 35Mb free space Controls: Keyboard and Mouse required Recommended System for Optimal performance: Processor: Intel Pentium 200MMX (or equivalent) Memory: 32Mb or greater Videocard: 2Mb or greater DirectX 5 compatible Videocard Soundcard: DirectX 5 compatible Soundcard CD-ROM: 4X CD-ROM Controls: Keyboard and Mouse required 3D Accelerator: 4Mb Direct3D compatible card Optional: --------- Hardwar also supports the following Hardware: 3D Accelerators: ---------------- Support for all Direct3D compatible cards (4Mb recommended) Native Support for all PowerVR and 3DFX based accelerators Input Devices ------------- Hardwar is compatible with all DirectInput devices (with relevant drivers loaded). Hardwar also supports devices that feature Force Feedback. Multiplayer Support ------------------- Hardwar supports the following gametypes via DirectPlay. Network Play: (16 Player max) Play by LAN over IPX or TCP/IP protocols Serial Play: (2 Player) Play by Serial Connection, Serial Cable required Modem Play: (2 Players) Play by Modem Connection, 56K modem required [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 3.<< H A R D W A R M A N A G E R >> ---------------------------------- After installing the game, either insert the CD or click on the Start Button and select 'Hardwar' from the Programs Menu to bring up the Hardwar Manager. The Manager allows you to configure the Game Type (1 Player or Multiplayer) and lets you choose your Video, Sound and Control options. Multiplayer options are also selected via the Hardwar manager. Main Screen ------------ When you first start the Manager you will be faced with a screen with Various options available. Click on the various Tabs on the top to select the options you wish to change. ============================================================================== << G A M E T A B >> -------------------- Launch Button: -------------- Click Launch to start a game, this will allow you to then choose to Start a new game, continue a Saved game, Host or connect to a Multiplayer game and to continue a saved Multiplayer game. If you wish to return to the Manager, click Cancel. When you have chosen the game type you wish to play, you will be prompted to enter a filename for a new game, or a choice of files to load if restoring a saved game. Readme: ------- Select the Readme button to view this file! Uninstall: ---------- Choose this button to Uninstall Hardwar. WARNING: Your saved games will also be removed! ============================================================================== << D I S P L A Y T A B >> -------------------------- Select this Tab to adjust the games Visual settings, and also to choose 3D Hardware modes. The game performance can be affected by the options you select here. 3D Rendering: ------------- Select the mode that matches the Hardware installed in your Computer. The choices are: Software. --------- This produces the in-game graphics using your PC's videocard, and is intended for use on computers with no 3D Acceleration support. Direct 3D. ---------- Select this option if your computer has a Direct3D compatible card installed, and the game will use your 3D hardware to enhance the in-game graphics. 3DFX. ----- If you have a 3DFX 3D Accelerator card fitted, choose this option for Enhanced graphics support in-game. PowerVR. -------- If you have a PowerVR 3D Accelerator card fitted, choose this option for Enhanced graphics support in-game. Game Resolution. ---------------- Select this option to choose the resolution that the flight sequences will play in. Higher resolutions provide finer graphics, but will lower the performance of the game. Colour Depth. ------------- This option allows you to choose the number of colours the game will use in the flight sequences. In Software modes, you can choose between 256 or 16 Bit colour. More colour enhances the games look, but can lower game performance. This option will be greyed out in any 3D acceleration mode (the game will use 16 Bit colour). Use Software Mouse pointer: --------------------------- If you experience any corruption with the Mouse pointer, then tick this Box. Bilinear Filtering: ------------------- If using a 3D accelerator card which supports Bilinear Filtering, you can tick this box to get filtered (or smoothed) graphics during the in-game flight sequences. Translucent Textures: --------------------- In Software mode, you can tick this box to enhance certain in-game textures (transparent smoke). This option can affect the in-game performance but enhances visual quality. Fog Depth: ---------- By moving the slider bar, you can adjust the distance at which the in-game fog is drawn. Drawing the Fog nearer can speed up the flight sequences, while setting Fog level to far can improve the distance you see, it may lower performance. Lens Flare: ----------- This option allows you to enable or disable the in-game lens flare effects. This option may affect performance if enabled. Clouds: ------- This option allows you to enable or disable the in-game cloud effects. This option may affect performance if enabled. Building Smoke: --------------- This options allows you to enable or disable the Vent smoke emitted from certain buildings. This option may affect performance if enabled. ============================================================================== << A U D I O T A B >> ---------------------- This Tab allows you to configure the Sound aspects of the game. Again the game performance may be affected by the options you choose. Sound Effects. -------------- You can enable or disable in-game sound effects by checking or clearing the box. Sample Rate. ------------ Choose the Quality of sound effect playback. Higher values will be clearer, but may affect performance. Stereo. ------- This box allows you to select whether the sound effects will be played in Stereo. Enable Computer Voice. ---------------------- This box allows you to enable or disable the ships computer voice. Music. ------ This option allows you to enable or disable the CD music that is played during the game. Levels ------ Pressing this button will bring up the Windows Volume panel, which will allow you to change the way the sound is played on your computer. NOTE: Changing these settings will affect all the other software on your computer! ============================================================================== << C O N T R O L S T A B >> ---------------------------- This Tab allows you to alter the controls that you will use in-game, as well as as enabling Force Feedback support on compatible controllers. Flight. ------- Select the device you wish to control the flight sequences with. All currently configured controllers will appear in the box. If your controller does not, ensure it is setup from the Windows Control Panel. Use Force Feedback. ------------------- If you have a Force Feedback controller, checking this box will activate Force Feedback and the controller will respond to the on-screen action. Use POV hat for Directional Movement. ------------------------------------- This option allows controllers with a POV (Point of View) Hat to be able to control the Vertical and Horizontal Movement in addition to the standard flight controls. Use Throttle Controller. ------------------------ If your controller has a throttle feature and you wish to use this to control the Thrust levels in flight, tick this box. Use Rudder for Pilots Head -------------------------- This allows controllers with a Z-Axis to use this to change the Pilots viewpoint. Ensure your controller is properly calibrated (In the Windows control panel) before enabling this option. Keys ---- You can change any of the in-game key assignments using the Key setup feature, please refer to the manual for more details. Buttons: -------- You can change any of the in-game controller buttons using the Buttons setup feature. Please refer to the manual for more details. ============================================================================== << N E T W O R K >> ------------------- This tab allows you to set various Multiplayer options to configure the way the Multiplayer game works. You can radically alter the style of the game by choosing a combination of options. For example if you want to have quick frantic dogfights you could restrict the game to one crater and remove the CPU moths. Alternatively if you wish to play a longer more freeform game based on the development of each players pilot, then disable all the options by clearing all the boxes. NOTE: These settings only apply if you are Hosting a game, clients are unable to affect the games setup... Player Announcement. -------------------- There are Three different settings: Anonymous: When a player joins the game, an Email is sent to other players, but the Email does not disclose the Pilots name or Location. Named: When a player joins, the Email sent to all the other players names the Pilot but does not allow you to Target the player via the Email. Named and Target: When a player joins the game, the email sent to all the other player names them, and allows them to Target the new player from the Email.. Include CPU pilots ------------------ With this option enabled, the Network game will feature CPU crafts going about their business. With the option disabled, only human pilots will be in the game. Restrict to Alpha Crater ------------------------ This limits the game to the Alpha Crater, to allow for quicker multiplayer battles. Moth Hopping ------------ With this option enabled, new random moths will be created in random hangers. If a player discovers one of these unoccupied moths, he will be able to use it! ============================================================================== << C O P Y R I G H T T A B >> ------------------------------ Click this Tab to see Copyright and Credit information for the game. [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 4.<< D E F A U L T K E Y S >> ---------------------------- The default keys assigned to the game are: Movement Cursor keys - Alter the moth's direction of face. Ctrl key (in conjunction with Cursors) - Strafe moth (retain attitude of moth and move, dead useful) and/or increase/decrease altitude. Throttle Controls Z - More reverse thrust X - More forward thrust Backspace - Full steam ahead Right Shift- Full steam astern Return- Stop dead Weapons Space Bar - Fire W - Select next weapon Q - Select previous weapon Targeting The targeting system can be used for weapons, navigation, salvage recovery and ship identification. Y - Toggle through targets in radar range. T - Target building, cargo or Moth in HUD reticule. N - Access Main Navigation menu (You can target certain Ships and Buildings from here) Views F1 - Cockpit view F2 - External view (control with PgUp, PgDn, Ins, Del, + and - on keypad) F3 - Target view (external, pointing towards your current target) F4 - Rear view (from behind your moth) F5 - Inverse Target View Insert (Num Pad) - Pan view Left Del (Num Pad) - Pan view Right Pg Down (Num Pad) - Pan view Down Pg Up (Num Pad) - Pan view Up + (Num Pad) - Zoom view in - (Num Pad) - Zoom view out 5 (Num Pad) - Centre view Other I - Activate Infra red imaging D - Release drone to collect cargo (must target cargo first) S - Launch Star shell (illumination) F - Launch Flare R - Launch Chaff J - Jettison Cargo M - View messages H - Hud Function (Cycles through Weapons, Cargo and Hardware fitted) Esc - Main game options (Pause, Save and Quit etc). Network Game Keys: C - Multiplayer Chat, please see manual for more details U - Display players and Ratings Esc - Multiplayer options [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 5.<< K N O W N I S S U E S >> ---------------------------- DIRECT 3D --------- General --------- If you experience any problems whilst playing in D3D we suggest that you change your desktop colour depth to 16 bit (high colour). Required Hardware ----------------- Selecting Direct3D as the renderer will fail if Hardwar cannot find suitable hardware. Hardwar needs an accelerator card which can render to a 16 bit colour screen, and supports z-buffering. Hardwar Fails to use Direct3D ----------------------------- If Hardware fails to use your Direct3D card (which meets the above criteria) please check the following:- 1) Check that 'Use Hardware Acceleration' was set when DirectX was installed. 2) Your video card may have its own section in the 'Display Properties' window (accessed from 'Control Panel' or by pressing the right mouse button on the desktop). If there is an option to enable/disable the card's 3D acceleration capabilty, please ensure this is enabled. Hardwar Displays a Warning -------------------------- Some Direct3D cards lack some of the features used by Hardwar; the following warning is displayed:- 'Your Direct3D Device is unable to correctly display some of the features of Hardwar'. Hardwar will still function using these cards, which lack some or all of the following:- 1) Translucent Textures. The clouds and explosions will appear solid and as they cannot be faded out, will seem to vanish suddenly. We recommend disabling the clouds. 2) Translucent Polygons. These are used on lasers, fog lamps etc. If Hardwar cannot use a translucent polygon (which blends into the scene) it will use a solid one. 3) Fog effects. Some Direct3D cards are unable to produce the fogging required to realise Hardwar's misty enviroinment during the day and night times. If it cannot produce fogging, Hardwar will display the sky as black, and smoothly blend the landscape into the black background. 4) Textures. Some Direct3D cards support no texturing. Hardwar will function without these, and it is still possible to play the game, but the image quality is so poor that we recommend that the game is played with another renderer. 5) Transparent Textures. Some Direct3D cards cannot deal with transparent textures, resulting in unavoidable black areas around some of the textures (such as explosions and smoke). Direct3D Limitations -------------------- We have observed the following limitations, even if your card does not issue the above warning:- 1) Z-Buffering. Some scenes will not sort correctly on some cards. The most common example of this is a monorail line inside a tunnel. Another example we have noticed is the soil around the base of some of the buildings can appear to move, as your viewpoint shifts. We have not noted any incorrect scenes which would interfere with the gameplay. 2) Transparencies. Some Direct3D cards have difficulty displaying scenes containing multiple transparent textures and/or polygons. You may see unsightly holes around clouds and explosion sprites. We suggest disabling the clouds, if this is the case. 3) Video Card Memory. Hardwar uses two screens, plus a z-buffer. The card's video memory is used by these, plus the textures. Hardwar will therefore allocate the memory needed for the screens and the z-buffer, and will then shrink the textures so that they fit into the remaining memory. You may therefore notice that the textures are blockier when in a high resolution, as less memory is available to the textures. Some cards have very little memory (as little as 2 Megabytes), which when in a resolution of 640x400, will leave about 0.5 Megabytes available for textures. In this instance, some textures will fail to load, and be displayed as polygons. PowerVR PCX-1 Chipset --------------------- When using accelerators with the PowerVR PCX-1 chipset, there are some problems with the 2D imaging around the 3D views when in the computer and hangar screens. We recommend using 'PowerVR' as the renderer. PowerVR ------- When you select 'PowerVR' as Hardwar's 3D renderer, you have selected PowerSGLDirect, the most efficient renderer to work with your PowerVR card. Texture Memory -------------- Occasionally, PowerVR cards fail to release their texture memory, and Hardwar cannot intialise the texture memory. You will receive a warning if this is the case, and will be required to reboot your system. CONTROLLERS ----------- Certain controllers with POV hats use a combination of button inputs to 'emulate' the POV input. To prevent unwanted weapon fire, we recommend you uncheck the 'Use POV hat for Directional thrust' if you experience this problem. [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 6.<< T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G >> ------------------------------------- DirectX and Drivers ------------------- If you experince any problems with the game, then first ensure you are using the most up to date driver software for your Hardware. If you are unsure about whether your driver software requires updating then follow these steps: 1: Double click on the 'My Computer' icon on your Windows Desktop 2: Double click on the icon with 'C:' underneath it. 3: Double click on the Folder icon marked 'Program Files' 4: Double click on the Folder icon marked 'DirectX' 5: Double click on the Folder icon marked 'SETUP' 6: Double click on the icon marked DXSETUP. This will bring up a list of all installed hardware on your PC, and let you know which drivers they are using. For Hardwar (and other DirectX 5 games) to run correctly, all the drivers must be of version 4.05.xx.xxxx or higher (for ex 4.38.xx.xxxx). If you find some of your drivers are not of this version, then you need to update the driver software installed on your PC. New drivers are available from the manufacturers of your PC's hardware, and can also be downloaded free from the Internet. Joysticks and gamepads: ----------------------- If you seem to be getting no response from these peripherals make sure you have set them up correctly and tested them in the Windows Control Panel. Speed: ------ If the game seems slow and sluggish, check your settings in the Hardwar Manager to be sure you are not trying to do more than your machine can handle. Slower machines using software rendering will run best in 256 colour mode, and the lower the resolution the faster it will be. Memory: ------- A common symptom of memory shortage is constant disk access during the game. If this happens, try reducing the resolution of the sound effects to 11KHz to save memory. Resolution: ----------- The front end, messages and hangar section of the game always run at 640x400. The Hardwar Manager lets you select the resolution for the in-flight sections of the game so you can get the optimum configuration for your machine. Slower machines should use lower resolutions. On some systems, mode switching itself can be rather slow and if you find this to be the case on your system, we recommend selecting a game resolution of 640x400 to eliminate the switching altogether. Mouse pointer: -------------- On some older video cards and drivers you may notice the mouse pointer flickering, or occasionally leaving a trail behind it. If you experience this then select the 'Use Software Mouse pointer' in the Display Tab of the Hardwar manager. TECHNICAL SUPPORT ----------------- If you have any problems or questions about Hardwar, then please contact the Gremlin Helpline. There are many ways the Helpline can be contacted and we like to help! Gremlin Helpline Contact by Phone: Monday-Friday, 9am-6pm GMT :- (+44) 0114 279 9020 Fax: (+44) 0114 273 8601 Email: help@gremlin.co.uk Post: Gremlin Interactive Helpdesk 33 Bowden Street Sheffield S1 4HS ENGLAND Please also visit the Gremlin Website for information/updates at: www.gremlin.co.uk [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 7.<< T I P S ! >> ----------------- * Read your E-mail carefully, and look out for important messages marked with a '*' on either side of the message title, it may be better not to delete these messages... * Don't forget to use all the weapons at your disposal, different weapons affect different systems on your enemies' moths. Check the Info section when choosing new weapons. * Caves are dark and dangerous places, don't forget your Infrared system. * Avoid shooting down independent or innocent ships, else feel the wrath of the police. * Pay any fines in time, or who knows what could happen to you. Make sure you have enough cash too... * Arm yourself to the teeth. Seek out the various weapons and software shops, browse through the stock and upgrades on offer, and use the fit/upgrade option to fit your chosen upgrades. * Use flares or chaff to decoy enemy missiles. * When manoeuvering use speed short cut keys to fox the enemy. (Backspace, Return and Right Shift). * Your Moth can be repaired at any "Breaker Maker", target the nearest one using the Navigation menu. * Refuel your moth by hovering in a light well when energy bar runs down. * Try to be fast at all times, prolonged battles are deadly. * Learn to use reverse and directional ('strafing') thrust to control your moth like an expert. * Be wary before attacking Police, Pirates, Faction and Gang ships, they are usually well-armed, and it may cause unwanted repercussions, especially if the pilot in question is allied with one of the more powerful factions.... * In multiplayer games, don't forget to press 'u' to see all the pilots names and rankings [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 8.<< C O P Y R I G H T S >> --------------------------- Copyright (c) 1998 Gremlin Interactive Ltd. - http://www.gremlin.com Copyright (c) 1998 The Software Refinery Ltd. - htpp://www.refinery.co.uk Additional technology developed by Fish (UK) Ltd. for Software Refinery Music copyright - BLACK DOG Raxmus/Chase The Manhattan**. Downie/Handley/Turner. PUP1/Spanners. LFO Tied Up/Shut Down*. Bell *Bell/Varley. WARP39/ Advance. AUTECHRE Clipper. WARP38/Tri Repetae. Second Bad Vibel/Second Scepe. All Booth/ Brown. WAP64/Anvil Vapre. SQUAREPUSHER Chin Hippy*. Jenkinson. WARP50/Hard Normal Daddy. RAC Nine. Duckenfield/Benson. WAP61/Double Jointed . All Warp Music/EMI Music 7 1997* 7 1995 ** 7 1994 Warp Records Ltd except *** Chrysalis Music 7 1994 Warp Records Ltd. Hardwar Windows 95 English PC-CDROM HAW1P2A0M3P2 'DirectX' and 'Windows 95' are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Last Track - Disk 2. [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 9.<< UPGRADE U2.01 >> --------------------- Welcome to the second upgrade to Hardwar. The upgrade fixes the following bugs which were introduced in U1.0:- a) The 3DFX support was broken in modes other than 640x400. b) Direct3D support did not function on some cards and at some modes. c) There was a bug which resulted in the game crashing, or exiting to the desktop (often when in the mines crater). d) We've removed the flicker on Direct3D when DebugKeys was set (the frame buffer was not being locked, for debugging purposes). These new features are added (this is the reason for the major version number change):- a) We've added some newer shadow drawing technology for the moths - for hardware acceleration only. You'll note the smooth blended shadows. b) There is a new moth, called the Swallow. We've left a few scattered around in some hangers (you can steal them), and there are a few new pirates using them (look out for Max Barrow and Smokie China). Beware. c) 3DFX Glide2 and Glide3 may be selected independently; we recommend Glide3, but use Glide2 if you have any problems. We will continue to support Glide2. d) Direct3D users may choose to use their primary or secondary display. This allows 3DFX pass-thru users to continue to use their primary Direct3D card, if they so desire. e) There is an option to clamp Direct3D textures at 256x256. We recommend this for maximum performance on some cards - some of our textures are 1024x1024, and this can be slow on some cards, although it looks glorious. f) The infra-red device now produces a brighter display, 'day' is a little brighter and night a little darker. g) We don't really support it, but windowed Direct3D mode works on the cards we have tested. Your desktop needs to be in 16 bit colour mode. Use the Hardluck utility to enable this. Known Problems:- a) Sometimes on older 3DFX cards, using Glide 2 or 3 at 640x400, when clicking the mouse key to get past the intro screens, the game will task switch. Use the space bar instead, but we recommend using 640x480 - even our oldest 1997 Orchid Righteous 4Mb 3DFX card runs in this mode. [----------------------------------------------------------------------------] 10.<< UPGRADE U2.02 >> ---------------------- Welcome to the third upgrade to Hardwar. The upgrade fixes the following bugs:- a) Sometimes the changes to thrust settings were not being reflected in the engine noise. b) The stalled engine sound was sometimes broken. This is fixed now. c) The flicker on a client game, when using the DebugKeys option, is removed. d) The 'save game' was not correctly saving the time of day; this is fixed. e) Glide3 support was not working on some cards, notably Voodoo 3000 cards; this has been fixed. f) The lighting problem in the caves is fixed; they are darker now. g) Some of the moth shapes were rendering partial raised undercarriages. These have been removed. h) The Swallow moth was lacking its engine glow effect. Its outer wings now fold when in a hanger. i) On some systems, Hardwar was allocating too much memory. These new features are added:- a) The 'display' tab of the launcher program, now features a 'windowed' option, available in Direct3D and software modes. You MUST ensure that the desktop is set to 16 bit colour. Performance may be poorer in windowed mode. b) On the 'misc' tab, the DebugKeys and DebugSafe options are replaced by a Cheat Keys option, and a Developer's Info option; use the latter at your own peril. c) This version WILL load games saved using Upgrade U2.01, but the time of day cannot be restored from an old save game. Saved games from older versons cannot be loaded. d) You can now ride the monorail (see below). e) We have optimised considerably the multiplayer support, including restricting the size of the transmitted data packets, and clamping the frame rate in a multiplayer game. f) The Moth skins can now be replaced by user versions (see below) g) There is a new start option for the offline game - 'Dealer', which gives the user instant ownership of a hanger, a healthy bank balance, and one or two violent enemies. h) There is one new weapon type. We're releasing no further info about this. Find and discover. i) Screen Grab. This has been in for some time. Ctrl K takes a screen grab, storing a 24 bit BMP in the Hardwar directory. These are incrementally numbered, starting with grab0000.bmp. These keys cannot be redefined. This does work for 3DFX cards too. j) You may launch a dedicated network server game. See below. k) Direct3D and Glide3 users now have the option to select mipmaps, using the 'display' tab of the launcher. When enabled, Hardwar uses lower resolution versions of each texture, when the textures are in the distance and therefore smaller. This can result in a considerable faster rendering time - the game runs noticeably faster on a TNT1, for example, when mipmaps are enabled. Riding The Monorail ------------------- You may now take a free monorail ride. There are 5 monorail lines:- 1) From Central Monorail (Downtown) to Lazarus Mine (Mines) via Vacant 0030 and Alpha Depot. 2) From Central Monorail (Downtown) to Monorail Depot (Highrise). 3) From Central Monorail (Downtown) to Mines Trading Post(Mines) via Port & Customs Block. 4) From Central Monorail (Downtown) to KlampG Mine (Mines) via Gamma Monorail. 5) From Riverside Monorail to Jupiter Four (Reservoir). To ride a monorail, fly to a building which has a monorail station (see the list above). Get out of your moth. You will then be presented with a list of available destinations, amongst the regular hanger options. Clicking one of these will take you to the monorail station, where you will wait for the monorail car. Whilst in the monorail station or monorail car, the Hardwar map view is configured to show the position of every monorail car. Your position is highlighted by a yellow circle. When the monorail car arrives, click to board the vehicle. Once aboard, you may not leave until the car stops in a station. Upon arriving at a station, you may move from the car into the station, and from there into the hanger. The monorail cars average 260mph, and are powered by superconductors along a magnetic linear track. If you have an adversary, be mindful that he may attack you when you're in transit. Defining Moth Skins ------------------- Upgrade 2.02 allows users to redesign the moth skins. The Hardman launcher has a 'moths' tab. On that page, you are able to enable user moth skins, and to set the filenames of each moth skin. We have supplied the original artwork for use as a frame of reference; these are located in the Hardwar directory (by default \program files\hardwar). Your skins may be located anywhere. How to design the skins:- 1) You MUST retain the original position of the components in order for it to function in the game. 2) The artwork MUST be a single layer 24 bit BMP. 3) The green area represents areas of the skin which do not appear in the shape, We recommend that you 'flood fill' this area with the predominant colour of your skin design; some of the UV coords are positioned at the edge of the green area, and some bleeding may occur on some systems. 4) Some of the sprites which are automatically cut out of your skin design by Hardwar (when it starts the game) are greater than 256x256 pixels. Users of cards which cannot support large textures (such as 3DFX people) will notice that Hardwar shrinks your skin in order that it may fit. 5) The skins are not transparent; the glass cockpit portions of the skins are merely for reference. Dedicated Network Server ------------------------ You may now launch a dedicated network server game. This displays some basic information from within a 256 colour DIB window; DirectDraw,Direct3D and DirectSound are not used. The average memory usage is 4-5 megabytes; this being the space needed to run the world logic for Hardwar. Dedicated server games autosave every 10 minutes. 11.<< UPGRADE U2.03 >> ---------------------- Welcome to the fourth upgrade to Hardwar. The upgrade fixes the following bugs, introduced in U2.02:- 1) Buying goods (and some other hanger functions) did not work. 2) A debugging error ('Link set oversized display packet') was being displayed. Even in a single player game, the server (control) section of the game sends a display packet to the client (display) section. On a single player game, of course, there is no need to restrict the size of that packet, but the control section's internal maximum had been increased (there is more to display now in the game) without telling the link section that this had happened. 12.<< UPGRADE U2.04 >> ---------------------- Welcome to the fifth upgrade to Hardwar. The upgrade fixes the following bugs, introduced in U2.02 & U2.03 1) There was a random crash or exit to desktop. This manifested itself in a number of ways, but most commonly as a disruption to the HUD radar. 2) There was a problem loading some U2.01 save games. The current version can now load saves from U2.01 onwards. 3) A bug in the Hardman launcher was preventing saved network games from being used. 4) Voodoo 3000 users will be able to operate Hardwar at higher resolutions using Glide3. 1024x768 now functions. 5) The supplied artwork skins were not sometimes not being installed. One new feature is added:- The monorail stations are now taxi destinations. Notes ----- 1) We are still supporting a software rendering mode. We strongly recommend users who opt for this mode to select a screen resolution of 640x400. This avoids a time consuming mode switch, if the game is running at a different resolution to the front end screens which are fixed at 640x400. 2) When using software rendering, user moth skins are not available.