Command Adventures: Starship Version 1.0 Technical Reference Guide Minimum Hardware Requirements * '386SX-33 IBM PC or 100% compatible * 2 Megabytes of RAM, with 575K free low RAM * Hard drive with 26 Megabytes free space * VGA graphics * Microsoft or 100% compatible mouse Installing Starship on your Hard Drive -------------------------------------- Before you attempt to install Starship, you should ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements listed above. To install Starship onto your harddrive, place the Starship Disk 1 in any floppy drive and log onto that drive. You will then type: install [floppy drive] [destination drive and directory]. For example, if you placed the disk in drive A: you would type: a: [ENTER] install a: c:\starship [ENTER] Then, follow the on-screen directions for completing the hard disk installation. The installation will "flash" the appropriate number of the required disk. When prompted for the next disk, insert the correct disk and press any key to continue. The installtion requires 26 Megabytes of free hard disk space to install properly. NOTE: This installation will last approximately 20 to 30 minutes, depending upon your computer system. Sound Configuration ------------------- After the hard disk installtion is completed, the sound configuration screen will appear, enabling you to select the sound support which is best suited to your system. Select items 1 and 2 from the configuration menu to select the sound support option of your choice. Choose item 3 from the menu when you are done. The next time your play Starship, the program will default to your sound configuration selection. NOTE: If you wish to modify your sound configuration after the initial install, simply run CONFIG.EXE from the Starship directory: config [ENTER] If your select a sound support option other than 1) None, 2)PC Speaker or 3)Adlib, you will need to enter additional information regarding the IRQ, Base address, and the DMA channel settings for your sound card. On many sound cards, the default IRQ setting is 7, the default Base address is 220, and the default DMA channel is 1. Enter the settings of your choice, and then choose item 3 from the configuration menu when you are done. If you are not sure which IRQ, Base address and DMA channel settings are right for your sound card, please check the instructions that came with your sound card for the correct settings. NOTE: Many sound cards, including Sound Blaster Pro, use IRQ 5 as the default Interrupt setting. Starting the Game ----------------- To start Starship once it is installed to your hard drive, select the drive partition which contains the Starship subdirectory (Example C:); then type the following: cd\starship [ENTER] starship [ENTER] Once the program is loaded, you may press any key to exit the opening animation sequence and begin playing the game. Not Enough Low DOS Memory? -------------------------- If you do not have 580,000 bytes (575K) of low DOS memory available when you launch Starship, the program will display the following message: At least 580,000 bytes of free RAM are required to run STARSHIP. You will then be returned to the DOS prompt. If this message appears, you should use the MAKEDISK.BAT utility included with Starship to create a "boot disk" which will boot up your system but will bypass "CPU-hogging" TSR's that are part of your hard-drive's autoexecution sequence. The MAKEDISK.BAT utility is located in the root directory of the Starship subdirectory on your hard drive. To create a boot disk, simply put a blank formatted or unformatted floppy in disk A:. Make sure you are in the Starship subdirectory on you hard drive, and type: makedisk followed by your memory manager's name, or type normal if you are not using QEMM386 or 386MAX. EXAMPLES: makedisk normal - Makes a boot disk for use with HIMEM.SYS makedisk qemm - Makes a boot disk with use with QEMM386.SYS makedisk 386max - Makes a boot disk with use with 386MAX.SYS MAKEDISK.BAT will format the floppy disk in drive A: and will copy the necessary system information for making the disk self-bootable. When this step is com- pleted, the message, Format another? Y/N will appear. Be sure to answer N for No. At this point, MAKEDISK will copy the appropriate AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, depending upon the memory management option you have selected. NOTE: You must edit one of the starup files on your boot disk to include a line which loads your mouse driver, as Starship requires a mouse. Please refer to the READ.ME file, insert Disk 1 into your floppy drive. Log onto that drive and type: type read.me [ENTER] To use your new boot disk, reboot your computer with the boot disk in drive A:, and load Starship from your hard drive. EMM386.EXE Users ---------------- Starship does not use or require EMM386.EXE during the execution of the program. EMM386.EXE users should use a boot disk with MAKEDISK.BAT (makedisk normal), or should remove EMM386.EXE from their CONFIG.SYS file. NOTE: If you must run EMM386.EXE in order to load DoubleSpace, Stacker or other device drivers into the high memory area, use the NOEMS switch and set the sound card selection 1 (None), in the Starship sound Config program. ADDITIONAL NOTE: Starship will operate with a sound card and the NOEMS switch set, but performance may be erratic, and this is not recommended. DoubleSpace and Stacker Users ----------------------------- Please refer to the READ.ME file on Starship Disk 1 for detailed instructions about running Starship with DoubleSpace or Stacker. Mediavision Pro Audio Spectrum Users ------------------------------------ If your sound card is an older version (approx. 2 years), the music portion of Starship may not function properly. To correct this problem, you will need to obtain an older music driver called PASFM.ADV. Please call Merit Software's Technical Support Line for more information. Addendum to the Starship User's Guide ------------------------------------- Should you wish to exit Starship without returning to the main menu, you may return to the bridge of your starship and press X. This will immediately end the game and return you to the DOS prompt. Troubleshooting --------------- 1. Problem: The mouse cursor "freezes" periodically during gameplay. Solution: Please ensure that your Microsoft mouse driver is version 8.0 or later. 2. Problem: The music and/or sound does not play or plays incorrectly. Solution 1: Check the settings in the CONFIG.EXE program. make sure your settings match your audio card. Solution 2: Check to see if EMM386.EXE is installed in your CONFIG.SYS. If present, follow the instructions for using MAKEDISK.BAT (makedisk normal) to create a "clean" boot disk.