Advanced Gravis Computer Technology, Ltd. =============================================== North America ============= Technical Support: (610) 266-9505 FAX: (610) 231-1022 WWW Site: http://www.gravis.com FTP Site: ftp.gravis.com Internet Email: pcstick@gravis.com Europe - Advanced Gravis Europe B.V. ==================================== Austria 0660-5791 UK 0800-894383 Belgium 0800-16778 Netherlands 0800-0222-694 Denmark 800-17838 Norway 800-11335 Finland 9800-13228 Spain 900-993129 France 05-906053 Sweden 020-795845 Germany 0130-810654 Switzerland 155-8605 Hungary 00800-11727 Tech Email : Gravis_Europe@compuserve.com Gravis Xperience CD =================== This Read Me file contains installation instructions and product information for your Gravis controller. The Online Help and User Manual also provide essential information to help you use your controller and the included software. Context Sensitive Help is available using the What's This button, located in the upper right corner of each dialog screen and the main window of the Keyset Manager software. Using the F1 key, you can activate the main Help contents. INSTALLING THE GRAVIS SOFTWARE ============================== The software includes: * This readme file * Gravis Xperience uninstall * Windows 95, Windows 98 and DOS drivers (for GrIP supported DOS games) * Keyset Manager - A drag & drop interface used for assigning keyboard commands to Gravis GrIP controllers * Xperience On-line Manual * Gravis Games Controllers Properties Dialog - A custom dialog which attaches itself to the Control Panel's Games Controllers applet and is used when you are testing or configuring Gravis GrIP controllers. * Microsoft DirectX 5(R) To install the software: * Insert the Gravis Xperience CD into your CD ROM drive. Windows may start the setup program automatically. If not, choose Run from the Start menu and type the letter of your CD ROM drive, then :\SETUP.EXE. e.g.: D:\SETUP.EXE * Follow the instructions provided on the screen. * The contents of the Gravis Xperience CD-ROM may also be installed manually as follows: 1. Ensure that DirectX(TM) 5.0 is installed by running Dxsetup.exe in the directory \DirectX5\Directx on the CD-ROM. 2. Install the Gravis Xperience software by running setup.exe in the directory \Gravis Known Issues - Installation =========================== * If the installation is cancelled by selecting the "Cancel" button or the X in the upper right of a dialog box, the Gravis Xperience Installer may not completely close; if this happens, it will be necessary for the user to finish exiting the Installer by clicking on the X in the upper right corner of the Gravis Xperience Installer window. * Use of third party uninstall programs may cause problems with the Gravis Xperience installation program. If this occurs, turn off these utilities and install again. * The Installer updates your autoexec.bat file with path information needed if you wish to use your controller to play GrIP enabled games in DOS. It adds the needed information to your path, but does not remove any already existing path information, including that added by itself in an earlier usage. If you reinstall the Gravis Xperience software several times, you may want to manually delete this duplicate information. * Installation of Gravis Xperience will overwrite the calibration information of any game controllers you already have installed. These controllers will have to be recalibrated in the Game Controllers applet of the Control Panel before you can use them again. * If you are running the original version of Windows 95, the installer will install a new version of the system file "comctl32.dll" in your Windows\System directory. The original version is saved as "comctl32.bak". * After installation and rebooting, it is possible that the Controller may not appear when you run the Game Controllers applet in the Control Panel. In this case simply click the Add button and add the necessary controllers from the list provided. Known Issues - Keyset Manager ============================= * Restrictions within Windows95 on the handling of DOS boxes makes it impossible for the software to determine which game is executing within a DOS box. For this reason, the Keyset Manager detects DOS games and when a DOS game is detected, activates the Active DOS Game check box in the Game Properties dialog box. Only one DOS game may have this property selected. Selecting it in one game, will clear it in the previously active game. Therefore, if you wish to change DOS games, you must first run the Keyset Manager and select the new game that you are going to play to be the active DOS game. If you don't, the new game will run with the keyset for the active DOS game rather than its own. * Operation of the Keyset Manager requires approximately 16MB RAM. Users running less than this may experience problems with video display. * Selections within the tree and list view of the main Keyset Manager window take a moment to complete. Pause for a moment to allow for each operation to complete before you click again. * If the Windows Taskbar command "Minimize All Windows" is used, the Keyset Manager will fail to minimize. It can be minimized using its own minimize caption button. * The Scroll Lock, Pause and Print Screen keys cannot be used in keysets. Known Issues - Gravis Joystick Properties ========================================= * When testing the Gravis GamePad Pro using the Games Controllers Applet's properties dialog, the upper left corner of the D-pad may appear to not be operating. This is the fault of the Custom Dialog, the problem will not occur in games. * When testing the Gravis Xterminator using the Game Controllers properties dialog, the cross hairs of the analog directional pad may appear slightly off center on some displays. * When testing the Gravis Xterminator using the Game Controllers properties dialog, the right flipper may appear to not quite have full motion on some displays. This is cosmetic only, and does not indicate any problem. * When testing the Xterminator using the Test/Diagnostics tab on the Properties page of the Game Controllers applet in the Control Panel, the visual indication relating to flipper operation may not be exactly as you expect. This will mainly be true if you try to deflect the left and right flippers simultaneously. If this is done, what you are probably expecting to see, as an indication that both flippers have been depressed, is an illumination of both flippers. The expected illumination would be related to the amount of deflection applied to the flippers on the Xterminator. However, this is not the case. This is because in reality, under Windows 95, these two physical controls are conceptually one control. So, if you deflect the left flipper, and therefore the Test/Diagnostics tab shows the illumination of the left flipper, and while the left flipper is still deflected, you deflect the right flipper, what you will see is not what you expect. What you will see is a reduction in the illumination of the left flipper based on the amount of deflection applied to the right flipper. As you increase the deflection to the right flipper, you are reducing the effect of the left flipper's deflection, not just adding right flipper deflection. Again, this is because these seemingly two separate controls are conceptually one control. Probably the best way to think of this is using a "tug of war" analogy. When no force is applied on either end the indicator is in the middle. If equal force is applied to both ends (both flippers fully depressed) the indicator is still in the middle since they balance out. When all the force is applied to one side the indicator moves all the way to that side. * If you are using a Gravis Multiport with four Gravis GrIPPads, the Game Controllers applet in the control panel may not be able to display and test all four controllers. Direct X ======== What Is DirectX? Direct X is a set of software components designed by Microsoft to improve support multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and surround sound in Windows 95. Games and other applications supporting DirectX have direct access to your hardware, resulting in improved maneuverability, faster shooting, and explosive sound. DirectX is an integral part of Windows 98 and Windows NT 5.0, as well as Internet Explorer 4.0. Xterminator is Direct X compatible, and for full functionality you'll need to have Direct X installed. The Xperience graphical installer will give you the option of installing Direct X at the end of the installation process. Direct X components may also be automatically installed on your system by advanced multimedia games and applications written for Windows 95. It is important to note that while some applications may check your system for DirectX and let you know if you need to install (or re-install) it, most do not. It is left up to the user to be familiar with his/her machine. Generally, you can have Direct X check your system by running the DirectX Setup application (located in C:\Program Files\directx\setup\). The opening screen will give you a list of devices on your system and let you know if they are certified or not. If the status is 'Not Certified,' re-install DirectX. Possible DirectX Conflicts: Under certain rare system configurations, DirectX may conflict with your existing audio or video hardware and interfere with proper operation of your computer. DirectX is not easily removed from your system, and DirectX does not support ALL hardware. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, we recommend taking note of your system configuration prior to installing Direct X (see below). If you experience conflicts, you can use the DirectX setup application to restore your original display or audio drivers. If you still have problems, you will need to reinstall your original drivers from the diskettes or CD-ROM supplied with your hardware. Before installing DirectX: Write Down your Original System Configuration. It is always a good idea to check and write down what sound and video hardware you have in your computer before installing DirectX. To do this: * Right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. * Choose Properties. * Click the Device Manager tab. * Look at Display Adapters and Sound, Video, and Game Controllers. Write down your hardware devices in case you have to manually restore your video or sound card drivers. Important Notes =============== If you require further assistance with, or explanation of these issues, please contact Gravis Technical Support. Please see the Quick Install for the Technical Support number for your area. Please be sure to check our WWW site (http://www.gravis.com) frequently for the latest sample keysets, news on Gravis products, software updates and/or fixes. [End of File]