Filename: HB4DEMO.ZIP Description: Demo of HardBall IV Requirements: 386 or better CPU, SVGA, 4MB of RAM. Copyright (c) 1994 Accolade, Inc. Installation instructions ========================= Simply unzip the file HB4DEMO.ZIP into its own directory (since you are already reading this file, you've probably already done that). Once that's finished, just type HB4DEMO at the DOS prompt and the demo will begin. If it gives you problems, then please read on... Memory issues ============= 1. Determining how much memory you have available Due to the sophisticated nature of this game, it requires at least 3.3MB (3,300,000 bytes) of free RAM (memory) in order to run. There are several ways RAM can be used by programs. The most common method is called "Conventional RAM", or "the RAM below 640K". The other two common types are EMS and XMS. To find out how much of each type of RAM you have available, go to a DOS prompt and type "MEM" and press Enter. You should see something like this: C:\>mem 655360 bytes total conventional memory 655360 bytes available to MS-DOS 509808 largest executable program size 655360 bytes total EMS memory 163840 bytes free EMS memory 3145728 bytes total contiguous extended memory 0 bytes available contiguous extended memory 2719744 bytes available XMS memory MS-DOS resident in High Memory Area The amount of free Conventional RAM is 509,808 bytes, as reported beside "largest executable program size". There are 164,840 bytes of free EMS memory, and 2,719,744 bytes of free XMS memory. If we total these 3 numbers, we'll see that there is 509808+164840+2719744 = 3394392 bytes free RAM, more than enough to run the game. Special note to users of QEMM, 386MAX, and some other memory managers: these memory managers "share" EMS and XMS memory, meaning that if a program uses EMS memory, it takes away from the total available EMS and XMS memory. With these types of memory managers, to calculate the total free RAM, you should only add the larger of the EMS free or XMS free, never add both. 2. Freeing up more memory If you find that you don't have enough free RAM to run the game, you'll need to free up some of the memory which is used by other programs. The two most common programs which tend to use a lot of memory are SMARTDRV (a disk cache program) and Windows. If you don't know how to modify your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to release some of the memory used by other programs, then you should refer to the appendix titled "Booting Clean" (not included with this demo), or read the virtual memory section below. Using Virtual Memory ==================== If you can't free up any more memory, but you've got at least 5MB of free space on your hard disk, there's another solution: virtual memory. Virtual memory allows your computer to pretend it has more free RAM than it really does by swapping things out to your hard disk when they aren't needed. Included with the demo is a batch file which turns on the virtual memory feature of HardBall IV. To run it, simply go to the HardBall IV Demo directory, type "VM", and press Enter. For example: C:\HB4DEMO>VM Virtual memory for HardBall IV has been enabled. C:\HB4DEMO> If you don't have enough disk space on the drive the game is installed on, you can put the swap file on another drive by typing the drive letter of the other partition after VM. For example: C:\HB4DEMO>VM D: Virtual memory for HardBall IV has been enabled. The swap file will be called "D:\DOS4GVM.SWP" C:\HB4DEMO> To turn off the virtual memory feature, simply type "vm off". The swap file is called DOS4GVM.SWP and if you need to free up the disk space it uses, you can delete it any time after you have exited the game; it will be recreated automatically the next time you run the game. With virtual memory enabled, you may find the game runs slightly slower than usual because it must copy data back and forth from the hard drive. The only solution to this problem is to free up more RAM so that less swapping occurs. If you have at least 2MB of free RAM, you may not even notice any slowdowns. SVGA cards, VESA drivers, and all that stuff ============================================ HardBall IV runs in a high-resolution Super VGA mode (640 by 400, with 256 colors). Because each SVGA card is different and not all of the card manufacturers build cards which are compatible with one another, the game needs to know how to program your SVGA card to work in this mode. HardBall IV has been programmed and tested to work with SVGA cards that use the following chipsets: VESA compatible cards (see notes below) ATI 18800 (and the more recent models) Tseng Labs ET3000 and ET4000 Trident 8900 and 9000 Paradise 1024i Chips & Technologies 82C452 (Boca 1024VGA) Genoa 6400 If you do not have one of those cards, don't despair - there is an emerging standard called the VESA VGA Bios Extensions (VESA VBE), but unfortunately not all of the video cards support it "right out of the box". If HardBall IV reports that it cannot find the SuperVGA VESA driver, you will need to install the VESA driver program that probably came on a disk with your video card. If your video card did not come with a driver, you can probably find one on a local bulletin board, or the computer dealer you bought your video card from should be able to provide one. Once you have installed the VESA driver, run the game again and it should be able to set the appropriate video mode. Joystick problems ================= Your joystick(s) will be automatically calibrated when the demo boots up, so it is important that you leave the joystick centered and don't press any buttons until the first screen comes up. If the auto-calibration does not work properly for you, then press Esc from the game to take you to the line-up screen, then press "Options", and then press "Adjust Joysticks". Follow the on-screen instructions. Running under Windows or OS/2 ============================= This demo runs fine under Windows and OS/2 but you must run it in full screen mode and you must have enough memory available. Bug Reports =========== If you have problems running this demo, we want to hear from you to ensure we get the problems fixed before the final product is released. Most problems are related to video drivers or available memory, so please read those sections of this readme file and try the suggestions made there before reporting any problems. Bugs may be reported to Accolade Customer Support in any of the following ways: Accolade BBS: (408) 296-8800, with settings of 8,N,1 and supports up to 14400 baud. 4 lines, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. America Online: Industry Connection, keyword: "Accolade", E-mail address: Accolade Compuserve: Game Publishers A Forum, type "GO GAMAPUB", E-mail address: 76004,2132 Internet email: 76004.2132@compuserve.com or accolade@aol.com Voice: (408) 296-8400, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm PST Fax: (408) 246-0231 Mail: Accolade Customer Support 5300 Stevens Creek Blvd. Suite 500 San Jose CA 95129 Distribution restrictions ========================= You may not modify or add any files to the archive but you may use other archivers. Please spread this demo far and wide. Ordering Information ==================== To ensure you get your copy of HardBall IV as soon as it comes out, you may order directly from Accolade by calling 1-800-245-7744. Copyright (c) 1994 Accolade, Inc.