Nitemare-3D Tech Notes ====================== This file contains technical notes in the form of frequently asked questions on running Nitemare-3D. 1. What exactly do I get when I register? The complete trilogy package including the program and all three episodes, four cheat functions, a 30-page hint booklet and a full page map viewer. Episodes 2 and 3 continue from the end of episode one and contain stunning new artwork, sounds and monsters including some fiendish 3D style robots and aliens. Each episode contains 10 levels. These episodes are jam-packed with puzzles and to give you as much enjoyment as possible a 30-page hint booklet is included. This explains how to set the four cheat modes to tailor your game preference, either emphasizing the puzzle-solving or monster-bashing. It also includes a complete walkthrough of every puzzle in every level so you can complete the game with as much or as little help as you need. The full page map viewing utility allows you to browse all 30 levels and shows every single wall, object, monster, secret panel, door, etc. in the game. Please see the online instructions or print the ORDER.TXT order form for details of how to order the trilogy. 2. How much memory does Nitemare-3D require? At least 565Kb conventional memory. Note that this amount must be available, not just installed. To find out how much is available, run the DOS "mem" command. If not enough is available, try unloading some TSRs or drivers. If you are running DOS 6.0 or higher, it includes a handy utility called "memmaker" which will automatically maximize your available conventional ram. Nitemare-3D also needs some extended memory. It can run without it but you will find it runs slower. Any amount up to 2Mb will be used. For best results this should be available extended memory but you may also allocate all extended memory to a disk cache such as SMARTDRV with only a negligable loss of speed. (This is because the disk cache is effectively using the extended memory the same way Nitemare-3D would be using it). 3. Is my sound card supported? Music is supported on any Adlib or Sound Blaster compatible sound card but digitized sound effects are only supported on true Sound Blaster compatible cards. Some cards, such as the PAS 16, require you to set the card in SB-emulation mode and you should consult your sound card manual. The emulation setting is usually IRQ 7, DMA 1, I/O Port 220H. 4. Why can't I vary the music volume? Only Sound Blaster Pro or later compatible cards include the mixer chip which allows this function from within the game. The same goes for the stereo sound effects. 5. I'm having trouble running the game in Windows. The game is not designed to run under Windows, however you may be able to get it to run. PC speaker sound is not available when run from within Windows. The game will run slower and jerkily under Windows. There may be sound card problems running from within Windows. In general, don't! See the discussion below on use of startup switches. 6. I'm having trouble running the game in DOS. To allow for various troublesome combinations of hardware, the following switches can be used singly or in combination when starting the game, e.g. "n3d -t -x -s" -t Disable timer interrupts and use DOS time functions. This is enabled by default when running from within Windows but it is possible the game will not detect that it is running from within Windows and you can try this switch. It may also be required from DOS if there are conflicts with your real time clock setup. -x Disable use of extended memory. The game attempts to use up to 2Mb of extended memory if available. If you suspect this is causing a problem then use this switch to force it to ignore any extended memory. -p Force PC speaker sound. If you are able to get music but no digitized sound from your sound card, you may be able to force PC speaker sound. Note that PC speaker sound is not possible under Windows and the rendering of digitized sounds through the PC speaker gives very poor results, anyhow. Do not attempt to use the -t switch with the -p switch since this can cause the game to freeze. -s Disable detection of sound cards. It is possible that the auto-detection function used to detect sound card hardware can cause the game to lock up during start up. Use this switch to avoid this problem but be aware that sound, music and the joystick will be unavailable since they are all handled by the same third-party sound functions. -o Enable debug output. This causes a small text file called DEBUG.TXT to be written when the game starts. It should look similar to this: Initializing... Bootstrap ok SB DSP detected at IRQ 7 Sound card ok Timer ok Display ok Memory ok Keyboard ok Mouse ok Initialize complete! Level read okLevel init okFrame init okLevel tune okFade to new level... Examination of your DEBUG.TXT after an unsuccsessful startup may indicate the problem.