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OUTWARS TRIAL VERSION
Updated: 09 April, 1998
Read Me Notes 

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Thank you for downloading the Outwars Trial version!

Leading a team of Dreadnaught Marines takes more than a lethal
arsenal and a high-tech battlesuit. Every mission requires that 
you learn a new skill, adopt a new tactic, learn from the 
cunning madness of your enemies and change your approach. It 
will take a sound combat strategy to defeat the hordes of 
merciless aliens. In the Solo Campaign you will run, jump jet, 
and gliderwing your way through 26 wildly diverse missions 
across 5 planets.

And just for fun, we've included 11 multiplayer worlds, each
with 5 gameplay varieties, so you have 55 ways to waste your
buddies.

Look for the full version of Outwars, available at retail 
outlets at the end of this month.
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OUTWARS TRIAL VERSION SETUP

The Outwars Trial version is a self-extracting Zip file. 

After downloading it, simply double-click on the OWTRIAL.EXE
and follow the onscreen directions.

Please note that the Outwars Trial version REQUIRES DirectX
5.2.  You can download this from http://www.microsoft.com/directx.

You will not be able to run the Outwars Trial version without
DirectX 5.2.

The required minimum configuration to play the Outwars
Trial version is:

- P133 or higher
- Windows 95
- 16 MB of RAM
- 25 MB of available hard drive space
- Super VGA card supporting 16-bit color
- Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
- Sound board plus speakers or headphones to hear audio
- 3-D accelerated video (4MB or higher D3D compatible board) for best
  graphics
- 28.8 kbps modem for head-to-head play
- Internet access for internet play

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MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY

To play a multiplayer game, you must have Direct Play 5.0a or a later 
version. 

You can play the Outwars Trial version over the LAN, Modem, Serial
Connection, or on the internet on the Internet Gaming Zone 
(http://www.zone.com) in the Outwars Trial Version Lobby.

You must run the Outwars Trial version at least once in order
to join or host a game in the Zone. Running the Outwars Trial
version will set up some required software.

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MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY AND DIRECTX 5.0

You may experience a long pause if a player is dumped from the game 
while you are playing in the TCP/IP protocol. This is due to a
DirectX 5.0 setting.

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HOSTING A MULTIPLAYER TCP/IP GAME

If you want to host a multiplayer TCP/IP game, you MUST connect to 
the Internet before starting Outwars.

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MULTIPLAYER SHELL RESTRICTIONS UPDATE

Occasionally, you may be able to select restricted weapons in the
multiplayer game shell. You will be reassigned available weapons 
in the game.

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ALT-TAB IN MULTIPLAYER SCREENS

Alt-Tab is disabled in most multiplayer screens in order to prevent
Direct Play timeouts. If you alt-tab from the chat screen in the 
game shell, you may cause your game to hang.

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SCREEN MINIMIZATION IN MULTIPLAYER GAMES

If, during a multiplayer game, your screen is automatically minimized 
by another Windows application such as a Schedule + Reminder, you 
must re-enter the game within 2 minutes or you will be dropped from
the game. This is a standard DPlay timeout.

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OUTWARS AND ADVANCED POWER MANAGEMENT

If you have APM (Advanced Power Management) for your monitor, you may 
want to disable the sleep feature in your control panel before playing
Outwars. This minimizes the chance of a crash or disruption when
your monitor is automatically powered down.

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DELAY BETWEEN END OF GAME AND SCORE SCREEN

It is normal to experience up to 1 minute of lag time between the end 
of a multiplayer game and the score screen when playing Outwars
on the Internet.  This delay is due to Internet latency.

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OPTIMAL INTERNET MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY

Outwars multiplayer gameplay will perform best over the Internet 
with four players or less. You may experience some performance 
degradation with a greater number of players.

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JOYSTICK

The generic term "joystick" is used to refer to all input gaming 
devices, including the Microsoft Gamepad, other than a "keyboard" 
or "mouse."

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CENTERING JOYSTICK

If you have a joystick plugged into your computer's game port, but
prefer to use mouse and keyboard for Outwars, you should ensure that
the joystick is disabled in the Options\Input Devices menu. 

If you start the game and your character is running instead of 
standing still, center your joystick or disable it in the
Options\Input Devices menu.

Most joysticks have an auto-center function. The Microsoft Force
Feedback Sidewinder Pro may require that you center it manually.

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INTELLIMOUSE SUPPORT

The "wheel" button on the Intellimouse is defaulted to be a weapons
toggle switch. This is not customizable in the Options\Input Devices
menu.
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ENABLING DIRECT 3D

To enable a supported 3D-accelerator card:

1. Click Options in the main menu screen.
2. Click Graphics.
3. Click Direct 3D to highlight the button to green.
4. Use the scroll arrows, located immediately above the Direct 3D 
   button, to select the proper driver.

However, if you use Direct 3D, some lighting effects will not work. 
For example, you will not be able to toggle your helmet light.

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3D GRAPHICS HARDWARE

Outwars works best with the following 3D chipsets: Riva 128, 3dfx, 
or Renditions. If you experience problems while using a 3D graphics 
card, switch to the software version of Outwars (The "Permedia 2 PCI" 
card is known to have problems running Outwars).

You may also experience graphics problems if your drivers are not updated. 
If you still experience problems after you have upgraded the drivers, 
contact the hardware vendor.

Outwars is designed to run optimally on 3D graphics cards with 4 megs 
of RAM. If your 3D graphics card has less than 4 megs of RAM, you may 
experience lower quality graphics.

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GAMEPLAY IS SLOW/JUMPY

If you are experiencing performance problems with Outwars in DDraw or 
D3D mode during gameplay:

1. Press ESC.
2. Scroll down to Details.
3. Switch fogging off (known to enhance perfromance for the Riva 128 and Rage II chipsets).

If performance is still slow:

1. Press ESC.
2. Scroll down to Details.
3. Change detail to Medium or Low.

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COLLISION AND LOW FRAMERATES

If you are experiencing problems with being able to move through
solid objects in the game, it may be related to a low framerate. You 
may be able to increase your performance by lowering your resolution
or reducing detail under the \Options\Graphics menu.

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CHANGING RESOLUTIONS IN GAME

On certain configurations, you may experience problems while lowering
screen resolution during gameplay. You should be able to lower your
resolution in the UI under the Options\Graphics menu without problems.

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NON-INTEL PROCESSORS

Some non-Intel processors may cause occasional performance problems.
Please contact your hardware vendor for more information.

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SOUND PROBLEMS WHILE USING 3D GRAPHICS HARDWARE

If the sound in Outwars is distorted or breaks up while using a 
3D graphics card, lower the image resolution.

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SOUND PROBLEMS DURING HEAVY PROCESSING

You may experience choppy sound if your computer bogs down during 
heavy processing. This problem is expected. However, it should occur 
infrequently if your system meets the minimum requirements.

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SOUND PROBLEMS DUE TO OUTDATED HARDWARE DRIVERS

If you experience sound problems such as sound effects and voices 
being doubled or not being played smoothly, you may need to upgrade 
your sound card's drivers. If you still experience problems after you 
have upgraded the drivers, contact the sound card's vendor.

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DIRECTX AND VOLUME CONTROL

During the DirectX setup phase of installing Outwars, if you do not 
have volume control installed on your system, you will be prompted to 
insert your Win95 CD in order to copy these files.

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INTERNET EXPLORER

The Zone requires Internet Explorer. You can install a copy of 
Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Web site 
(http://www.microsoft.com).

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QEMM 8.03

If you run Outwars while Qemm 8.03 is active, you may experience 
problems such as your computer hanging and your screen going black.

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GUILLEMOT INTERNATIONAL MAXI SOUND GAME THEATER 64

You may experience sound problems while running Outwars if you use 
the Guillemot International Maxi Sound Game Theater 64 sound card. 
To fix, try using the most recent drivers.

