----------------------------------------------------------------------- Origin Systems, Inc. Wing Commander: Secret Ops ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (C) 1998, ORIGIN Systems, Inc. believes the information contained in this document is accurate and reliable. ORIGIN Systems, Inc. reserves the right to update this file at any time and without notice. To find out the latest information about Wing Commander: Secret Ops, please check out the Wing Commander: Secret Ops web site at: www.secretops.com. Information on other Origin products can be found at the main Origin page. This site is located at www.origin.ea.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1.0] Introduction [2.0] About Wing Commander: Secret Ops [3.0] Minimum Requirements [A] Direct X v 5.0 [B] 3Dfx Glide 2.43 [C] Direct3D [4.0] WC: Secret Ops FAQ [5.0] Product Support [6.0] Thanks! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [1.0] Introduction The purpose of this file is to give you additional information on Wing Commander: Secret Ops. Should you have comments, see the Product Support section located at the bottom of this document. [2.0] About Wing Commander: Secret Ops Wing Commander: Secret Ops is a continuation of the Wing Commander saga and begins where Wing Commander: Prophecy left off. Every week, for a period of seven weeks, a new set of missions, in the form of an episode, will be posted on www.secretops.com. Downloading this file and installing it will let you continue the game from where the previous week left off. An additional file providing speech and inflight comms is also available for download in order to enhance your gaming experience. For any questions on registration, installation or the playing of the game, be sure to check out the windows help file included as part of this original SecretOps.exe download. [3.0] Minimum Requirements The minimum requirements for Wing Commander: Secret Ops are as follows: Minimum Standard Machines: Pentium 166 MHz 32 Megabytes of RAM 2 Megabyte PCI or AGP video card supporting 16-bit color depth 65 Megabytes free hard drive space Windows 95 with DirectX 5.0 installed Sound Card supported by DirectX 5.0 Joystick Minimum Hardware Accelerated Machines: Pentium 133 MHz 32 Megabytes of RAM 4 Megabyte PCI or AGP 3Dfx or Direct3D supported video card 65 Megabytes free hard drive space Windows 95 with DirectX 5.0 installed 3Dfx card with Glide version 2.43 installed Sound Card supported by DirectX 5.0 Joystick Please note that Direct3D requires 4 megabytes of video RAM. Supported Direct3D video chipsets include: ATI Rage Pro Intel 740 Matrox Mystique Permedia 2 Rendition 2200 Riva 128 [A] DirectX v 5.0 DirectX is a set of drivers designed to provide hardware compatibility to game companies under Windows 95. At this time, some hardware companies do not fully support DirectX 5.0. If your hardware is not fully supported by DirectX, it is likely the game will not function. Please check with your computer or hardware manufacturer for information on DirectX compatibility. [B] 3Dfx Glide 2.43 Wing Commander: Secret Ops requires Glide 2.43 to run properly. Glide is a set of drivers by 3Dfx Interactive, designed to provide hardware compatibility between your 3Dfx card and Wing Commander: Secret Ops. The following 3Dfx cards have been tested with Wing Commander: Secret Ops: Creative Labs 3D Blaster Voodoo II Canopus Pure 3D II Deltron Flash 3D Diamond Monster 3D Diamond Monster II 3D Hercules Stingray 128-3D Orchid Righteous 3D Intergraph Intense 3D Voodoo [C] Direct 3D Under DirectX, Microsoft provides game developers a standard way of handling all video 3D chipsets. This standard is known as Direct 3D. Since Direct3D is in its infancy, video card manufacturers release driver updates at regular intervals. Due to the nature of Direct 3D, only a certain number of cards are supported. Direct 3D support requires 4 megabytes of video RAM. The following chipsets are currently supported via Direct 3D: ATI Rage Pro Intel 740 Matrox Mystique Permedia 2 Rendition 2200 Riva 128 It is important to note that for the best and most reliable performance, the newest drivers for your particular video card are required. Contact your video card manufacturer for information on obtaining the latest drivers. Should you experience unusual video problems, it is likely that your video card drivers need updating. [4.0] WC: Secret Ops FAQ Q: How do I obtain a callsign and number key? A: Visit the Wing Commander: Secret Ops web page at www.secretops.com to register your callsign. On this page is a register button that will take you to the registration location when pressed. Once you have registered, you will be given a numeric key that corresponds with your callsign. Q: I forgot my callsign and now can't get into the game. How do I figure out what it was? A: Just open the Secret Ops directory on your hard drive (C:\Games\Secret Ops\ in most cases) and then open the History directory therein. Within this History directory will be a directory named after your registered callsign (assuming you have played at least one mission since registering your callsign). Q: What are the benefits to downloading the optional speech file? A: Though the game can be played through completely without this file, it is provided to enhance your overall gaming experience. The download provides speech for the mission briefings and speech for the inflight comms in the missions. NOTE: If you have installed the Full version of Secret Ops, you already have the full speech file on your hard drive. You need only download the speech file if you have downloaded the Basic installation size, though the game will play just fine without it. Q: What happens when I reach the end of an episode? A: Upon reaching the end of an episode, the game menu screen will appear. Clicking on Return to Game will bring up a splash screen letting you know that you have successfully completed this episode, giving you the name of the next episode, and giving you a password which you can use when logging on to www.secretops.com. Q: What does the password on the splash screen mean? A: The password can be used to log in to parts of the Secret Ops website. You will then have access to information which reflects your performance within the game. Q: How do I install a new episode? A: To install a new episode, download the latest episode from www.secretops.com. Double-click on the downloaded file and click Yes when asked if you wish to to install the episode. In just a matter of seconds the new missions will be installed. The next time you start the game you will then have access to the new missions. Q: Once I have installed a new episode how do I play the new missions? A: If the last mission you flew was the last mission in the previous episode, then when you install the new episode the game will automatically continue with the new missions. However, if you choose to refly any of the missions in an episode after reaching the end of that episode, you will have to refly the last mission of that episode before you can play the new missions. Q: How often will new episodes be released? A: After the original game release, episodes will be posted once a week every Thursday for a period of seven weeks. Q: My screen appears washed out. How do I change the brightness level? A: In the Options menu for Secret Ops (ESC key) are two Gamma slider bars, one for the inflight comm videos and one for the rest of the game. Adjust these two bars to obtain the desired brightness level. Q: I'm having a hard time destroying certain capital ships engines. A: Sometimes, torpedoes will not inflict damage on the ship's engines despite a direct hit. Attack the engine from an angle so that your torpedo does not hit the engine directly in the center, but rather a little to the outside of the circular engine. If you run out of torps, simply restart the mission (ESC key), or order your wingmen to attack the Leviathan by targetting the ship and hitting ALT+A. [5.0] Product Support For further information, contact the Wing Commander: Secret Ops web site at www.secretops.com. For technical support, hints, or additional questions, contact us on the web at www.ea.com/techsupp/origin or through e-mail at support@origin.ea.com. Be sure to include any error messages, details of the problem, and information on the various types of hardware present in your computer. [6.0] Thanks! Thanks for playing Wing Commander: Secret Ops. If you enjoyed this game be sure to check out Wing Commander: Prophecy. Happy Gaming! The Wing Commander: Secret Ops Development Team -EOF