Copysoft - SKUNNY KART Trouble Shooting Guide ------------------------------- This game requires a 100% IBM compatible computer equipped with 4MB of memory and a VGA card. Your version of DOS must be at least version 3.0 or later. The game must be run under DOS and NOT under WINDOWS! This program has been tested for many hours and has gone through strict quality checks but because of the diversity of hardware and software combinations that exist with PC's there may be problems that we could not possibly test for. Here is a list of the most common problems that may occur. We strongly recommend that you use joysticks to play SKUNNY KART and it will be easier to play with a Gravis Game Pad (similar to NINTENDO's joysticks). Since SKUNNY KART is a two player game, you can connect two joysticks and the program will detect them (see information at the end of this document). MEMORY RELATED PROBLEMS ----------------------- Q. When I execute the game the program tells me that there is insufficient memory or give a FATAL ERROR 9874. A. This program requires 4MB of memory to run. If you have that memory, you should remove some lines in your CONFIG.SYS file that reserve that memory when the computer starts. The minimum CONFIG.SYS required must contain the following lines: FILES=20 BUFFERS=20 A good CONFIG.SYS that will run the game and WINDOWS can be: device=himem.sys device=emm386.exe noems dos=high,umb buffers= 30 files= 20 However, this CONFIG.SYS will cause the game to run slower. We recommend using the 2 line CONFIG.SYS if you have a slow machine. CALL YOUR LOCAL COMPUTER DEALER FOR ASSISTANCE. GAME STOPS WORKING, BEHAVES ERRATIC OR IS SLOW ---------------------------------------------- Q. When I start the game it "locks" after the message "FM SOUND CHIP DETECTED". A. This is typically a hardware address conflict. You probably have a network card with address 360h and there is a conflict with the SOUNDBLASTER FM chip. Change the address of your network card. Q. When I run the game it "locks" up. A. The most common causes of this are :- 1. You do not have the correct files or files are missing that are needed to run the game. You will need to compare the distribution file (FILES.LIS) with the actual files in the directory. 2. If you have a SOUND BLASTER or compatible card and the program cannot detect it, or is not using it, this can lead to a "lock up". Please refer to SOUND RELATED problems in this document. Q. The game tells me that my machine is very slow. A. Try to activate your TURBO button on the front panel of the computer or make sure CACHE is activated (SETUP of the computer). Q. The game runs slowly. A. All the games have been written using the fastest method available. Our games support 256 color VGA and some use advanced "Parallax" scrolling and larger than normal sprites. For this reason your computer must be a 386 or above. Old VGA cards can also be slow and were not designed for todays modern applications. Some 386SX computers are actually slower than 286 based machines! This is because graphic based programs need to move large amounts of data in a very short time and some SX based processors take longer to process these type of loops than a 286 would. It seems a crazy situation but we have had direct experience with this. You can also go into SETUP from the games main menu and change the VGA7 RESOLUTION to LOWRES for faster game speed. You can change the GAME SPEED parameter in the setup menu. The default is 50%. If you increase the game speed, you will be able to see the difference ONLY if your machine has enough processor power (fast 386 or 486)! JOYSTICK PROBLEMS ----------------- Don't forget that if you have a joystick port in your PC, you MUST disable the joystick port on your SOUNDBLASTER card (the jumper JYEN must be open - please consult your SB manual)! NB: However, on a 486 DX2 clone, we had to close the jumper JYEN on a SOUNDBLASTER PRO to detect both joysticks! Q. I have set the JOYSTICK option but the character "drifts" on the screen. A. The game requires you to "CALIBRATE" your joystick and you have not followed this procedure correctly or you have changed the joystick or altered the speed of your machine since you last calibrated. Some joysticks have "trim" controls and these may have moved after you calibrated. As a final measure check that the stick is fully connected. If you experience any problem with your joystick, it is a quick and simple procedure to calibrate it using our built in program. Here are a few tips to help you calibrate correctly. 1. Choose JOYSTICK from the SETUP/ CONTROL PLAYER option if this option is on KEYBOARD. If the option is already JOYSTICK, reset it to KEYBOARD and then to JOYSTICK again (with left and right keys). This will force the program to calibrate when you exit the SETUP (Return or Esc). 2. Ensure that any AUTO FIRE capability is SWITCHED OFF 3. Follow the prompts and make sure that when pressing the FIRE button you press the button when you are requested to do so. 4. If your machine has a TURBO facility then note the state of this switch. These settings are saved to disk so you do not need to set them every time you play the game. Q. The menus selector is moving automatically. A. This problem is similar to the previous one. You must first quit the game then at the DOS prompt you can type: DEL SKUNNYK.SUP This will delete the SETUP and reset the controls to default values (KEYBOARD). You can now reload the program and change CONTROL PLAYER from the SETUP menu to JOYSTICK. Make sure the TURBO button on you computer is ON. Q. The game detects the joystick but I cannot calibrate it. A. The cause is probably that another device is using a port address near 200h (201h is the joystick port). Change the address of that device to solve the problem. SOUND RELATED PROBLEMS ---------------------- The game supports the ADLIB and SOUND BLASTER standards as well as providing support for the internal speaker. The SOUND BLASTER provides an additional function to allow "DIGITAL voice capability". Any problems that may arise will have to do mainly with this voice capability. Incorrect settings can cause your computer to "lock" up. Q. I receive the message "BLASTER environment variable not found." A. The game searches the DOS environment for a variable called BLASTER. If the variable is present, the game will use the parameters to configure your SOUNDBLASTER. If the variable is not present, the game will try to detect the interrupt but this method is not very reliable and can crash your computer (You will have to reboot). So we suggest that you add the variable by typing the following command at the DOS prompt (C:\>): SET BLASTER=A220 I7 This command will setup the soundblaster for DSP address 220h and IRQ 7 (or any other value you specify). The program will only work with interrupts 2, 5 and 7. The game only supports DMA channel 1! Q. I receive the message "Impossible to initialize Sound Blaster..." A. The DOS environment variable BLASTER has been found but the game cannot initialize the SOUNDBLASTER with the specified values for the interrupt and DSP address. Check these values and try again. Q. I have the SOUND BLASTER option set but when I am playing the game the program "locks" A. Again this means that the SOUND BLASTER may have been detected but the IRQ and BASE IO address settings are still incorrect or there is a conflict with some hardware or software. Refer to your technical information on your sound card to determine how to find these two numbers. Q. The autodetection does not report the interrupt number properly. A. Reset your computer and retry, if it does not work, read the next paragraph. Remember, ONLY interrupts 2, 5 and 7 are accepted by the game. Q. The autodetection does not report the interrupt number properly. A. We have experienced this problem with a SB16 card. Remove the line SBCONFIG /S from your AUTOEXEC.BAT and it will work. This program seems to conflict with the interrupt detection program (even with TESTSB16 from Creative Labs!!). The best solution to avoid such problems is to use the BLASTER environment variable! Q. On a COMPAQ 486-66 the music works but I cannot hear sound effects. A. The sound card delivered with the compaq (onboard) seems to be an ADLIB compatible card and not a SOUNDBLASTER. You will have to set the SOUNDEFFECTS to BEEPER (SETUP from the main menu). IMPORTANT --------- This game supports cards that ARE 100% Compatible with the Sound Blaster. If you are sure that the settings are correct and the program still refuses to recognize the card then it is most likely that the card is not 100% compatible!. We hope that these notes will clear up any problem you may encounter. If this is not the case then please contact your nearest COPYSOFT dealer and he will either handle the query himself or pass the information on to us. DUAL JOYSTICK CABLE SCHEMATIC ----------------------------- To connect two joysticks you only need one joystick port! You can find, in every good computer shop, a dual joystick connector which is a very simple cable with one male joystick connector at one side and two female connectors at the other side. If you simply can't find these joystick adaptors locally you can order one from us for only $4.95 plus shipping. Joystick Y-Adaptor, item #8230. If you're handy with electronics, you can also build one yourself, the schematic is as follows: Female A 8 15 7 컴컴컴컴 7A 14 6 컴컴컴컴 6A 13 5 12 4 컴컴컴컴 4A 8 11 9 컴컴컴컴 1B 3 컴컴컴컴 3A 7 컴컴컴� 7A 10 10 컴컴컴� 2B 2 컴컴컴컴 2A Male PC 6 컴컴컴� 6A 9 11 컴컴컴� 3B 1 컴컴컴컴 1A 5 컴컴컴� 4B 12 4 컴컴컴� 4A Female B 13 컴컴컴� 5B 3 컴컴컴� 3A 8 14 컴컴컴� 6B 15 2 컴컴컴� 2A 7 컴컴컴컴 6B 15 14 1 컴컴컴� 1A 6 컴컴컴컴 5B 13 5 12 4 컴컴컴컴 4B 11 3 컴컴컴컴 3B 10 2 컴컴컴컴 2B 9 1 컴컴컴컴 1B Document (C) EDISYS 1993,1994 SOUND BLASTER is a registered trademark of Creative Labs Inc. GRAVIS Gamepad is a trademark of GRAVIS. ADLIB is a registered trademark of Adlib Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines.