C&C Tiberian Sun LATE BREAKING NEWS Copyright 1999 Electronic Arts All rights reserved. July 23, 1999 For latest news and updates visit WWW.WESTWOOD.COM Contents: 1. Windows 95/98/NT 1.1. Microsoft DirectX 1.2. Microsoft Office Toolbar 1.3. Windows NT 4.0 2. Troubleshooting 2.1. Known Video Card Problems 2.2. Known Sound Card Problems 2.3. Known DirectX Problems 2.4. Virtual Memory Settings 2.5. Known System RAM problems 2.6. AutoPlay 2.7. 16 bit CD-ROM drivers 2.8. CD-Changers and Multi-Drivers 2.9. Choppy movie performance 2.10. Power Saving Modes 2.11. Periodic Slowdowns 2.12. Game Updates and Patches 3. Gameplay Issues 3.1. Engineers 1. Windows 95/98/NT 1.1. Microsoft DirectX Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun is a Microsoft DirectX application. Version 6.0 of Microsoft DirectX is included on the CD and you have the option to install it when Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun is installed. Under some early versions of Windows 95, DirectX 6.0 cannot be installed directly from the Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun installer. If this occurs, please run DXSetup.exe located on the CD in the DXSetup folder. All Microsoft DirectX drivers are located in the DXSetup folder off of the root of the CD. To reinstall the Microsoft DirectX drivers go into the DXSetup folder and run DXSetup.exe. You can explore the CD by choosing the "Explore the CD" option in the AutoPlay title screen. If you have difficulty running Windows 95/98 after these new Microsoft DirectX drivers have been installed, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary, or write: Microsoft Customer Sales and Service, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399, USA USA telephone: 1-800-426-9400 International telephone: ++1-206-882-8080 1.2. Microsoft Office Toolbar If you make use of this feature of Microsoft Office and it appears over the game screen when playing Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun you will have to disable the Office Toolbar before playing. 1.3. Windows NT 4.0 Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun requires Service Pack 3 or later versions to be installed in order to work with Windows NT 4.0. Please contact your computer manufacturer if you need to get Service Pack 3. 2. Troubleshooting 2.1. Known Video Card Problems. Video monitor settings may need to be adjusted after installing the Microsoft DirectX video drivers. If you screen distorts, or is shifted horizontally or vertically, you can return it to normal by adjusting the controls on your monitor. Most video display problems can be corrected by installing the latest drivers for your particular card. Please consult your video card documentation for details on how to get the latest drivers for your card. If you cannot use the "Stretch to fit option" this most likely means that your video card does not support this feature. If you are using the Microsoft Theme Pack and have selected a custom cursor, video corruption can occur. For best results, please use default cursors while playing Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun. 2.2. Known Sound Card Problems. Old SoundBlaster AWE 64 and AWE 32 sound card drivers can cause skipping and repeating sound that may cause your computer to run Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun much slower than normal. If you have one of these sound cards and are experiencing these symptoms, please contact your card manufacturer for latest drivers. Audio may stutter on certain systems running Windows NT. To correct this problem you must install the latest audio driver for your sound card. Most sound card problems can be corrected by installing the latest drivers for your particular card. Please consult your sound card documentation for details on how to get the latest drivers. If you are using USB speakers, do not turn off the speakers during gameplay. Doing so may cause the game to crash. 2.3. Known DirectX Problems If another application is using the sound card while trying to install or run the game, a "DXSound Error" will appear. If this error occurs, please close all applications and run the install or game again. 2.4. Virtual Memory Settings Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun may need to use more RAM than is present on your system. Windows 95/98 automatically takes care of this by using what is known as "Virtual Memory" - which uses space on your hard disk to simulate the memory it needs and swaps data back and forth from your hard disk as required. Windows 95/98 allows you to manually set the amount of hard drive space it uses for Virtual Memory: WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO NOT DO THIS! To let Windows 95/98 manage the Virtual Memory, go to the Windows 95/98 start menu, select 'settings\control panel', then double-click 'system', click 'performance\file system\virtual memory' and then select 'Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings (recommended).' 2.5. Known System RAM problems Certain systems contain video cards that use system memory as video memory. With these systems, it is possible that Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun will not run properly if you have only 32MB of memory. Since the video card uses system memory, usually 4MB or 8MB, on 32MB machines there is not enough memory left to run the game. In order for Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun to run properly you will need to increase your system memory or use a video card with dedicated video RAM. 2.6. AutoPlay. If your CD does not AutoPlay when inserted in the drive, you may have this feature disabled. To Enable AutoPlay, right click on 'My Computer' and select 'Properties' then 'Device Manager'. Select your CD-ROM drive and click 'Properties'. Select 'Settings' and check the 'Auto insert notification' box. 2.7. 16 bit CD-ROM drivers Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun may fail to start if there is a 16 bit CD-ROM driver loaded from the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS. If you have references to MSCDEX or equivalent drivers then try removing them from your autoexec.bat and config.sys files. Windows 95/98 does not generally need these drivers to work and in most cases will actually perform better without them. 2.8. CD-Changers and Multi-Drivers Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun does not support multiple CD-ROM drives or CD-changers and assumes that you only have one CD-ROM drive. If you have more than one CD-ROM drive, you should insert the Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun CD in the first CD drive letter. For example, if you have CD drives E:, F: and G:, your Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun CD should be inserted into the E: drive. 2.9. Choppy movie performance If you find that the movie performance is choppy or jerky, try reducing the Windows 95/98 CD caching by going to the Start/Settings/Control Panel and double-clicking the System applet. In the System Properties dialog, click the Performance tab and then click the File System button. From the File System Properties dialog, click the CD-ROM tab and note the Supplemental Cache Size setting (so that you can reset the cache size if need be). Now set the Supplemental Cache Size to Small. This should have a marked effect on movie performance. 2.10. Power Saving Modes It is possible that your computer loses connection to your ISP due to long periods of inactivity. Sometimes this is caused by the sleep mode in your "Power Saving" options. This can cause problems during game play or when connected to Westwood Online. To avoid any problems please disable your screen saver or power-saving modes when running the game. 2.11. Periodic Slowdowns If periodic slowdowns occur while playing Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun while the CD is being accessed, it is most likely due to music being played from the CD. If this occurs, please reinstall Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun and install the music files onto the hard drive. This will greatly reduce the slowdowns on CD access. If periodic slowdowns occur while playing Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun and the CD is not being accessed please insure that there are no other applications running during your game session. This includes anti-virus software. 2.12. Game Updates and Patches Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun contains an auto-updating feature. Updated versions of the game will be announced to you when playing Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun on Westwood Online. When an updated version of the game is available you will be able to receive it and automatically have it installed, if you wish. If you do not intend to play Command & Conquer Tiberian Sun on Westwood Online then please check HTTP://www.westwood.com for update information. 3. Gameplay Issues 3.1. Engineers Engineers can be placed in Guard mode, like any other unit. When in guard mode, engineers automatically heal any nearby player owned structures that are damaged into the red or capture nearby enemy buildings.