User manual GAMES PC ACES OF WORLD WAR I

MANUAL 2 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: INSTALLATION: CONFIGURATION: GRAPHICS GAME CONTROLS GAMEPLAY: NEW GAME LOAD GAME TRAINING NETWORK GAME SETTINGS CREDITS EXIT FLYING THE PLANE: ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: 4 5 5 7 9 10 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: MINIMUM: ­ Windows 98/Me/XP ­ 400 MHz Celeron or faster processor ­ 64 MB RAM ­ 16 MB DirectX 8.0 compatible video card with 3D acceleration ­ 12x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive ­ mouse; keyboard ­ DirectX 8.0 RECOMMENDED: ­ Windows 98/Me/XP ­ 800 MHz Celeron or faster processor ­ 128 MB RAM ­ 32 MB AGPx2 DirectX 8.0 compatible video card with 3D acceleration ­ 12x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive ­ 16-bit sound card ­ mouse; keyboard ­ joystick with Force Feedback support ­ DirectX 8.0 4 INSTALLATION: After you insert the Aces of World War I CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive the game should install automatically on your hard drive. If there are any problems with running the automatic installation, click [Start] and [Run...], choose [Browse...] and select install.exe from the CD-ROM drive, then click [OK]. Follow the on-screen installation instructions. The installation program will suggest a destination folder for the game to be installed in and a group where the shortcut is to be placed. If you don't want to change the default settings, just proceed by clicking the "Next" button. The installation program will also check the amount of available disk space on your hard drive. If you don't have DirectX 8.0 or higher installed, you have to install it before running Aces of WWI for the first time. Windows 9X/Me/2000 of version of DirectX is available on the Aces of WWI CD-ROM in the DIRECTX folder, both in English and in Polish. To install DirectX, open [My Computer] on the desktop, right-click on the CD-ROM drive icon containing Aces of WWI CD-ROM and choose [Explore]. After opening the DIRECTX folder, click on a version best suited to your operating system and language settings. Before starting the installation it is strongly recommended that you exit all other Windows programs. It will help to avoid slowing down the installation by other applications or opening other windows during the installation process. To run Aces of WWI, choose [ Start | Programs | StrefaCD | Aces of World War I ] from the Start menu or click on the desktop shortcut. You can also run asy.exe program file directly from C:\Program Files\StrefaCD\Aces of World War I (default location). The game starts in the settings window. NOTE: Messages appearing in the [Settings] dialog box depend on the operation system and DirectX language versions. If you chose a language different than Polish, all messages will be displayed in the language of the operation system. CONFIGURATION: Before you start the game, the [Settings] window is displayed, allowing you to configure the settings of the game before you play. Graphics ­ set the parameters of the graphics displayed during the game to get the best performance from your system. Game controls ­ configure the keyboard, mouse and joystick game control settings. 5 Sound ­ choose the sound driver to change the default settings if you have several sound cards installed. Player ­ create your own player or choose an existing one, load the game status and more. You can choose any of the characters whose career had been saved previously. GRAPHICS Video card ­ choose a graphic display card if you have more than one installed. Graphic adaptor ­ you should choose the HAL option (which enables video card hardware display acceleration) if possible. Another option available is REF (software emulation of the video card features). Graphic display mode ­ the resolution 800x600 with 32-bit color by default, higher resolutions cause more hardware requirements. Note that in resolutions lower than default some graphic elements might not be clearly visible. Texture quality ­ determines the overall landscape image quality. Lower texture quality saves graphics card memory use and speeds up the performance at the cost of quality. Visibility ­ determines how far the horizon is from the plane. Greater visibility causes more hardware requirements. Antialiasing ­ removes "squares" on the edges of objects. This option is supported by more sophisticated graphic cards. Number of trees ­ sets up the number of individual trees appearing in the landscape. The lower the number of trees, the faster the performance. GAME CONTROLS In the top menu of the [Settings] window you can configure the controls, deciding how the keyboard, mouse and joystick will be used during the game. Before making any changes, make sure the ASY profile is selected in the [Player] window. If it isn't, click on the arrow and choose it from the pull-down list. The changes will not take effect unless this profile is selected. To change the key assigned to an action, double click on the triple-underline symbol or on the action besides the current key. When the [Available actions] window appears, choose the action which you want to assign to a key. One action can be assigned only to one key of a game control device at a time (e.g. dropping bombs cannot be assigned to both [B] and [Space]), but a keyboard key can be assigned to the same action as a mouse or joystick key. Press [Reset] to return to the default settings, press [OK] to save the changes. 6 GAMEPLAY: After you start the game, first an animated intro is played. After that the game starts in the main menu where the following options are available: New game, Load game, Training, Network game, Settings, Credits and Exit. NEW GAME When you choose this option, you start a game scenario. Descriptions of the mission objectives can be found in the pilot's logbook. You can browse the logbook using the arrows in the corners of the pages. You should follow the instructions in the logbook entries ­ they set the rules and the objectives of your missions. Besides, you should always remember not to destroy civilian buildings, ambulances and friendly planes during the mission. If you don't follow these instructions, you will fail to accomplish the objectives. Under the logbook there are four buttons: [Save game] (with a floppy disk symbol), [View map] (with a map symbol), [Start mission] (with a plane symbol) and [Main Menu] (with a return arrow symbol). When you press the [Save game] button you are taken to the career progress window. To save the current game, click on an element on the list. If the element you selected is not empty, you will be asked if you want to overwrite the game. To return to the logbook screen, click the [Return] button in the bottom right corner of the screen. NOTE: the first savegame name on the list (in purple characters), is used by Aces of WWI for autosave purposes and cannot be modified by the player. After clicking on the [View map] button you can see the mission area map, which will help you to understand the mission objectives. To return to the logbook screen, click the return button in the bottom right corner of the screen. When you press the [Start mission] button you are taken directly to the mission area. After the mission ends (successfully or not) you go back to the logbook screen. Clicking on the [Main Menu] button takes you back to the main menu, without saving changes to your career. LOAD GAME This option restores a game saved during a scenario game. When you choose this option, you are taken to the window with previously saved games. Clicking on one of the savegame names on the list loads the career progress and takes you to the logbook screen appropriate for the scenario. 7 TRAINING Choosing this option allows you to perform a single mission. You can choose the missions from the list on the left and the plane you will pilot from the list on the right. First choose the plane using the left and right arrow buttons, then choose the mission using the buttons on the left to the mission list. Slightly different missions will be available if you choose an Allied or a German plane. After choosing the plane and mission, start the game by pressing the button with the plane symbol. During the mission you may need to check the map, which is displayed by pressing [M] on the keyboard. NETWORK GAME This option allows you to create a network game (a game server) or to join an existing game session. If you create your own server, you can add planes controlled by the computer, but no more than eight. Use [+] and [-] buttons besides the plane images on the left to add these plane models to the game or remove them. Choose your own plane on the right, in the same way as in the Training option. After choosing the settings, start the server and the game by pressing the [Start server] button. During the game, your opponents will be either Allied or German planes, depending on the choice of your own plane. This applies especially to the planes controlled by the computer. NOTE: The computer which is used to host a game server should meet at least the recommended, not only the minimum system requirements. You can join a network game only if there is a network copy of Aces of WWI currently running on the Web. Press the button with the curved arrows to refresh the information about active Internet servers. If more than one server is currently active, you can switch between servers using left and right arrow buttons. Choose your own plane on the right, in the same way as in the Training option. After choosing the settings, press the [Join game] button to start the game. It is recommended that no more than six player planes are playing on a server at the same time. SETTINGS This option takes you to the Settings window, also available before running the game for the first time, which is described above in the CONFIGURATION section. It allows you to change various game and player settings. CREDITS After choosing this option you can read about the people who created Aces of World War I and find out how to contact Infomedia company. 8 EXIT Choose this option to exit the game and return to Windows. All saved games are stored on the hard drive and can be loaded when you run the game the next time. FLYING THE PLANE: When you pilot an airplane in Aces of WWI, remember that each of the aircraft models available will perform differently in the air. Better machines are faster and have more maneuverability, but they are also more difficult to control, demanding greater skill. You can configure any of the game control keys. Below the default settings for all the actions are described. You control the movement of the plane with the cursor keys and [<] [>] keys, or with the mouse buttons and [<] [>] keys. If you have a joystick or a gamepad, the default keys will depend on the particular model you are using. Pressing DOWN cursor or moving the mouse down moves the nose of the airplane up, pressing UP cursor or moving the mouse up moves the nose down. Pressing LEFT or RIGHT cursor or moving the mouse left or right rolls the plane to the left or to the right, respectively. Use [<] and [>] keys to control the movement of the tail (keel), which can be used to take the plane into a wide turn. You can also control the throttle (engine output), increasing or decreasing the speed of the airplane, using [+] and [-] keys on the numeric keypad. A word of warning: if you are climbing slowly up and your speed decreases below a certain level, the engine may choke and die, which puts the plane into a corkscrew descent. You can check the map in any moment of the mission by pressing and holding down the [M] key. In the bottom right corner of the map there is a small compass rose, with the North on the map being on the top of the game screen. You can also use the compass during the game to make orientation easier. The game (with the exception of the network game) can be paused at any moment by pressing [P]. To return to the game, press [P] again. It can be very useful to pause the game first and then use the map. This way you will avoid crashing the plane while looking on the map. You can change the view from the camera during the game using the following keys: [Q] ­ move the camera up, [A] ­ move the camera down, [S] ­ close-up, [C] ­ change the camera. Your plane's armament is shown in the bottom left corner of the screen. Beside the appropriate symbols you can see the number of machine guns, ammunition, bombs and sky-rockets your plane is currently holding. To fire the machine guns, 9 left-click the mouse or press the right [Ctrl] key. To drop bombs, press the [B] key and to fire a sky-rocket, press the [R] key. Use the crosshair to aim the machine guns, but keep the distance and movement of target always in mind. It takes practice to fire the machine guns efficiently. It is a good idea to fire short rounds ­ this way you save ammunition and avoid choking the guns. If a machine gun chokes anyway, you can try unblocking it by firing once. ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Q: My computer meets the system requirements, but the game doesn't work properly after installation. What should I do? A: The game requires Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, DirectX 8.0 and DirectX compatible graphics driver. If one or more of these components is missing or damaged, the game may not run properly. You should check if any of those need reinstallation. If there are problems with the graphics driver, install the latest version. Q: My computer meets the minimum system requirements, but the game doesn't run smoothly. Can I correct this? A: Minimum system requirements define the lowest system configuration on which the game will run at all. To speed up the performance on a slower machine, reduce texture quality, number of trees and visibility in the Settings window. Q: During the network game, even though my computer is fast enough and the game runs smoothly, other players' planes still jerk. How can I avoid it? A: To play a network game you have to set up a main computer, which will work as a server for this game. It should be the fastest machine available between the players involved in the game. The "number of trees" setting will always be the same on all the computers as on the server, so if the other computers are slow, you should decrease the number of trees on the server. Q: There is a "texture quality" option in the game settings. What does it change in the performance of the game? A: This parameter changes the colour depth of the textures used during the game. Textures with less colour depth take up less graphics card memory. If you 10 have a 16 MB RAM graphic accelerator and a slow processor, changing this parameter should speed up the game considerably. However, lowering texture quality can cause unwanted dithering to appear. Q: During the game sound stops suddenly or fades. What is wrong? A: Some sound card drivers can experience problems with DirectX 8.0. You should download the latest driver for your sound card from the Internet or look up the sound card manufacturer's Web page for solutions to your problem. 11