Wing Commander 3 Help File
The Terran Knowledge Bank
| wc3help.txt | |
|---|---|
| Creator | Origin Systems Inc. |
| Download | Download |
| Filesize | 46 kB |
Description
Most Common Problems
Wing Commander III : Heart of the Tiger
Version 3.0
6-15-95
Written, compiled and updated by :
Anthony L. Sommers
Assistant Project Leader
Wing Commander III QA Team
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(C) 1995, Origin Systems, Inc. This document may not, in whole or part,
be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any
electronic medium or machine readable form without prior consent, in
writing, from Origin Systems, Inc.
This help file has been provided as a supplement to the Wing Commander
III documentation. It details a number of the most common questions
asked and their solutions.
It is recommended that the Playguide, Install/Troubleshooting Guide AND
the README.TXT file on the CD are also read in addition to this file.
Origin Systems, Inc. believes the information contained in this document
is accurate and reliable. Origin Systems, Inc. reserves the right to
update this manual at any time and without notice.
This file will be updated continuously and can be found on our BBS
(512-331-4446) & on the Internet (ftp.ea.com /pub/patches/wc3help.txt).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[INDEX]
NOTE : * indicates the section has been added or modified in this
revision
0.0 Making a BOOT DISK for Wing Commander III
1.0 Movies pausing (starting and stopping)
2.0 Long load times
3.0 The "DOTS"
3.1 You see "Loading Wing Commander III ......." and it
returns you immediately back to the CD-ROM drive prompt
3.2 Lockups at the fourth or sixth dot
4.0 Error messages
4.1 This error may be the result of a bad CD-ROM read...
4.2 A processor exception has occured.
Your system may be unstable at this point.
* 4.3 Critical error on file : ..\..\data\movies\origin_s.mve or
Critical error on file : ..\..\data\movies\opening.mve
4.4 Exception 13 happened :)
4.5 CVMManager::getPtr () failed
* 4.6 Write failed on file : SWAPFILE.$$$
* 4.7 Malloc () failed
4.8 Non system disk or disk error
Replace and strike a key when ready
4.9 Invalid drive specification
* 4.10 Message index 1214972 is out of range
5.0 Lockups
5.1 Lockups after the fourth or sixth dot
5.2 Lockups During opening movie, [ESC] takes you further into
the game
5.3 Lockup at the joystick calibration screen
6.0 Reboots
7.0 Gameplay
7.1 Movies are of "poor quality"
7.2 No descriptions of possible actions (Attend Briefing, etc.)
7.3 TAB and ~ (afterburners) do not work in spaceflight
7.4 Installation program rates machine slower than normal
7.5 Crackling sounds in SVGA
7.5.1 Cirrus Logic GD-542x
7.5.2 Orchid Kelvin 64
7.6 Pressing [ALT-X] "flashes" 'Exit To DOS? [Y/N]'
* 7.7 Undocumented keyboard commands
8.0 Specific Hardware
8.1 Control (keyboard, mouse, joystick)
8.1.1 Flightstick Pro support
8.1.2 Thrustmaster and Logitech Wingman Extreme support
8.1.3 WING3.ADV compiler errors
8.1.4 Programmable keyboards
8.1.5 Advanced Gravis Phoenix WCS
8.2 Video cards
8.2.1 Diamond Viper VLB
8.2.2 Matrox PCI
8.2.3 Hercules Graphite
* 8.2.4 Compaq Qvision
* 8.2.5 ATI Graphics Expression (ATI Mach 64)
8.3 Sound cards
8.3.1 Mozart by Oak Technologies
8.3.2 Media Chips MAD 16
8.3.3 Media Magic 16 (ISP16 and MAGICS20)
8.3.4 Sound Blaster AWE 32
8.4 CD-ROM drives
8.4.1 Texel DM-3024
* 8.4.2 Mitsumi 4x IDE
8.5 Miscellaneous (CPUs, hard drives, SCSI host adapters, etc.)
8.5.1 Cyrix 486 processors
8.5.2 AMD processors
8.5.3 OS/2
9.0 Patches
9.1 WC3JOY.DLL, the joystick patch
9.2 WC3JOY.DLL, the Thrustmaster hat patch
* 9.3 WC3JOY.DLL, the Notebook Gameport patch
* 9.4 VIDEO.DLL, the Compaq QVision patch
* 10.0 Problem CD-ROM drivers and their updates
* 11.0 Acknowledgements
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[0.0] Making a BOOT DISK for Wing Commander III
Almost all problems can be solved by making a boot disk for Wing
Commander III. Regardless of the total amount of RAM and/or conventional
memory, processor speed/power, etc., the boot disk will set up your
computer specifically to run Wing Commander III. Expanded Memory
Managers (EMM386, QEMM386, 386MAX, NETROOM, etc.) are not needed and if
configured incorrectly, will often conflict with our own protected mode
memory manager.
To make a boot disk for Wing Commander III, please use the following
instructions :
1) Place a blank disk in drive A:
2) Type C: and press [ENTER]
3) Type FORMAT A: /S and press [ENTER]
4) Type A: and press [ENTER]
5) Type COPY C:\CONFIG.SYS and press [ENTER]
6) Type COPY C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and press [ENTER]
7) Type EDIT A:\CONFIG.SYS and press [ENTER]
8) Different computers have different sound cards, CD-ROM drives, etc.
Therefore, after the first 5 initial lines, we cannot list out the
exact lines needed. However, the original lines from your hard disk
CONFIG.SYS will be there, and you can try to make sure lines of the
CONFIG.SYS on the boot disk read somewhat like the following :
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
DOS=LOW
FILES=25
BUFFERS=99
SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS\ /P
DEVICE=C:\<path>\<possible sound card drivers>
DEVICE=C:\<path>\<CD-ROM drivers>
DEVICE=C:\<path>\<possible mouse driver>
Lines to make sure you want to remove from the CONFIG.SYS of the
boot disk :
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE ...
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\IFSHLP.SYS
DEVICE=C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE ...
9) After you are finished with the CONFIG.SYS, press [ALT-F], then [X],
then [Y]. You should return to the A: prompt.
10) Type EDIT A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT and press [ENTER]
11) Similiar to CONFIG.SYS, since different computers have different
sound cards, CD-ROM drives, etc., we cannot list out the exact lines
needed for the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. However, the original lines from
your hard disk AUTOEXEC.BAT will be there, and you can try to make
sure lines of the AUTOEXEC.BAT on the boot disk read somewhat like
the following :
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\DOS
C:\<path>\MSCDEX.EXE ...
<possible soundcard lines (SET BLASTER=, SET SOUND=, etc.)>
<possible mouse driver line (C:\DOS\MOUSE or C:\MOUSE\MOUSE)>
Lines to make sure you want to remove from the AUTOEXEC.BAT of the
boot disk :
C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE ...
C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE ...
12) After you are finished with the CONFIG.SYS, press [ALT-F], then [X],
then [Y]. You should return to the A: prompt.
13) Reboot your computer with the new boot disk. You may now try to
install/run the game!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.0] Movies pausing (starting and stopping)
The movies pause because data cannot be transferred from the CD-ROM
drive to our game at a sustained rate. The following may be attempted to
help alleviate movie pausing :
1) Play the movies in VGA. There is roughly 4 times as much data in
SVGA to display to the screen than in VGA. Run the installation with
WC3 -I and make sure Movie Video Mode is VGA. You may also go to
the Main Terminal, under Controls/Graphics Modes/Movies and click on
the box next to VGA.
2) Make sure your CD-ROM driver is up to date. You will need to contact
your CD-ROM drive manufacturer to see if you have the latest
version. You can check the list of problem CD-ROM drivers at the end
of this file to see if your driver needs to be updated.
3) We test the speed of your machine and rate it according to the time
it takes for certain actions to be completed (see README.TXT for
more information). The benchmarks for your system are accurate. You
must make sure you rate at least :
0-25 for CPU Speed. Lower score = Faster processor
0-12 for Video Card Speed. Lower score = Faster video card
300+ for CD-ROM drive transfer rate. Higher rate = Faster CD-ROM
If you do not meet any of the above requirements, you probably will
experience movie pausing, even in VGA.
NOTE : If the installation program specifically detects that a
particular component is too slow, you will see a message that will
let you know. There may not be anything that can be done about the
movie pausing if you encounter one of these messages.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.0] Long load times
If you are experiencing long load times (in excess of approximately 2
minutes), the following are suggested to help make the transition from
gameflow to spaceflight a little shorter :
1) Check to see if you are using disk compression. If so, there may not
be anything else that can be done. (Of course, suggestions 2-6 may
be attempted, but may have no effect...)
2) The disk utilities listed below (with the exception of SCANDISK) are
shipped with DOS 6.0 and above (SCANDISK is shipped with DOS 6.2 and
above). Consult your DOS manual for more in-depth instructions on
how to use them.
It is recommended that before you play, you do the following for
drive C: and the savegame drive (if it differs from drive C:) :
CHKDSK C:
or better,
SCANDISK C:
CHKDSK and SCANDISK check and repair hard disk file damage. If any
damage is found, you will want to remove the C:\WC3 directory and
the savegame directory (if it is different) with :
DEL C:\WC3
RD C:\WC3
and repair any damage found according to the instructions in your
DOS manual.
2) Severely fragmented hard drives are a top cause of long load times.
You will then need to run a defragmentation utility doing a "full
optimize" for the savegame drive. For example :
DEFRAG C: /F
4) If enough disk space is available, try copying all 42 MB to the HD.
Try lower settings if less disk space is available.
5) In the CONFIG.SYS of your boot disk, use BUFFERS=99. Each buffer
uses 532 bytes of conventional memory, so this will use
approximately 50K.
6) If you have enough memory, you may try to squeeze in a 100K
SMARTDrive cache. After SMARTDRV.EXE, specify the savegame drive
letter. It is DEFINITELY NOT HELPFUL to have an amount lower than
100K, this will increase load times. For example :
C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE C 100
*7) More RAM will definitely shorten load times.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.0] The "DOTS"
The "dots" signify the progress of the initialization phases of the
game. Here are some things to check :
1) Set up a BOOT DISK! :)
2) Make sure your VESA driver is current and up to date. Try "UNIVBE",
or playing in VGA with "WC3 -V".
3) Make sure you have a 100% compatible mouse driver. Attempt to REM
out your mouse line and see if the problems persist.
4) You have a clean hard disk with at least 25MB of free space (50MB
if you are using disk compression).
5) Check sound card settings and compatibility. Try disabling your
sound card to see if that allows you to get into the game.
6) Make sure your CPU is 100% Intel compatible.
[3.1] You see "Loading Wing Commander III ......." and it returns
you immediately back to the CD-ROM drive prompt
Edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of your boot disk and type REM at the
beginning of your mouse driver line. You are not using a 100% compatible
mouse driver. Please refer to the Install Guide for more information in
obtaining a 100% compatible mouse driver.
[3.2] Lockups at the fourth or sixth dot
Run the installation program with WC3 -I and select NONE for "Setup
Music Card" and "Setup Digital FX Card". If you can now get into the
game, either your sound card is not set up correctly or your sound card
is not 100% compatible with the selection you are trying to choose.
Please verify your sound card settings and try again.
We do know of a few problem sound cards that may lockup. (See section
8.3 below.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[4.0] Error messages
[4.1] This error may be the result of a bad CD-ROM read...
Don't panic, you don't necessarily have a bad CD. Simply make sure
you're using a boot disk, and try again. If you cannot solve the problem
with a boot disk, see if your error message ABOVE the "This error..." is
listed anywhere in the Install/Troubleshooting guide, the README.TXT
file, or this help file. You may want to try exchanging the CDs at the
place of purchase to see if a new CD actually solves your problem.
[4.2] A processor exception has occured.
Your system may be unstable at this point.
1) Make sure the line DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS is in your CONFIG.SYS.
2) If you have the following :
Hardware : Mitsumi CD-ROM model FX001/FX001D
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\<path>\MTMCDAE.SYS /D:MSCD001 <parameters>
HOW to solve :
Use the MTMCDAS.SYS driver found in the same directory. If
this driver is not in the directory, look on the disks that came
with the CD-ROM.
DEVICE=C:\<path>\MTMCDAS.SYS /D:MSCD001 <parameters>
As an alternate solution, you may try /T:S on the MTMCDAE.SYS
line. Use this if the customer does not have MTMCDAS.SYS on
his/her hard drive.
DEVICE=C:\<path>\MTMCDAE.SYS /D:MSCD001 /T:S <parameters>
Mitsumi BBS 415-691-4469
Tech Support 415-691-4465
3) Make sure you're using a 100% Intel compatible processor. Other
processors may not be compatible with our game.
[4.3] Critical error on file : ..\..\data\movies\origin_s.mve or
Critical error on file : ..\..\data\movies\opening.mve
after several seconds of viewing the introduction.
1) If you have the following :
Hardware : Phillips LMS 206 CD-ROM drive
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\<path>\DD260.SYS /D:MVCD001 ...
How to solve :
Try adding the "/F:5" parameter to the end of the line. You may
alternately try "/F:1". This will attempt to clear a conflict
between the CD-ROM interface and the soundcard.
DEVICE=C:\<path>\DD260.SYS /D:MVCD001 /F:5 ...
2) If you have the following :
Hardware : Mitsumi 4x IDE CD-ROM drive and an enhanced IDE hard
drive
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\MTM\MTMCDAI.SYS /D:MTMIDE01 /P:170,15
How to solve :
There seems to be an incompatibility with our game, certain
motherboards and this setup. We are currently researching this.
The drive will only work on IRQ 15. It will work on IRQ 14 if it
is set up as a slave to a master hard drive on IRQ 14.
Also, the drive will not cache correctly. Do not use SMARTDRV.EXE
to cache the CD-ROM drive when playing Wing Commander III.
You may want to download the latest IDE CD-ROM driver for the
Mitsumi 4x. It is IDE133.EXE on Mitsumi's BBS.
Mitsumi BBS 415-691-4469
Tech Support 415-691-4465
3) If you have the following :
Hardware : Texel DM-3024
How to solve :
The Texel DM-3024 needs a firmware EPROM upgrade. During test, we
found that the drive could not read past the 300 MB mark. After
contacting Plextor, we found that the firmware needs to be
upgraded from version 1.09 to version 1.13. At the time of writing
this document, the price for the upgrade is $18.00. This price may
have changed. Please contact Plextor for more information.
Plextor T/S 408-986-1569
4) You may want to verify that you have the latest CD-ROM driver for
your CD-ROM drive. See section 1.0 for more information.
[4.4] Exception 13 happened :)
Make a boot disk and retry. Also please review section 6.0 which
discusses reboots. The same possible solutions apply to the Exception 13
error messages.
[4.5] CVMManager::GetPtr () Requested: 397984, Available: 379932
Hardware : Generally 8 MB machines
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE 7168 RAM
DEVICE=C:\<CD-ROM Driver> /M:<Large number>
AUTOEXEC.BAT : C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE <Large number>
C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /E /M:<Large number>
Why this occurs :
You will find this error code on mission J003 on disc 3.
Basically, you have just barely enough extended memory to run
the game, but not enough to load the mission data.
HOW to solve :
You will have to load all drivers possible into conventional, and
try not to use as little extended memory as possible.
1) REM out EMM386.EXE and DOS=UMB. This will load all drivers
into conventional memory, freeing upper memory.
2) On the CD-ROM driver line in the CONFIG.SYS, remove the switch
or lower the amount of CD-ROM buffers allocated (if this is
what the /M switch for that particular driver does).
3) REM out SMARTDRV.EXE from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
4) Remove the /E switch from the MSCDEX.EXE line and lower the
buffers from the number specified after the /M: to 5.
5) Use DOS=LOW in the CONFIG.SYS of your boot disk.
6) 99.9% of the time, 1-5 work just fine. If 1-5 have no effect,
as a last resort, re-run the installation program and disable
sound for that particular mission.
[4.6] Write failed on file : SWAPFILE.$$$
Hardware : Badly fragmented hard drives
Things to try :
1) Make sure you have enough free space on the drive you're trying
to run the game on. You should have at least 25 MB of
uncompressed space. If the hard drive is compressed, the size
should move up to 50 MB.
2) Make sure there are NO lost allocation units, cross-
linked/truncated files, bad sectors, etc. Use SCANDISK or CHKDSK
to check for the presence of file damage and repair accordingly.
With SCANDISK, when it asks to do a full surface scan, select
YES. This will allow you to test the drive for any hard drive
anomalies.
3) DEFRAG completely with "DEFRAG C: /F"
For a more detailed explanation of using CHKDSK, SCANDISK and
DEFRAG, refer to section 2.0, "Long load times," or your DOS manual.
[4.7] Malloc () failed
This error may occur if you MANUALLY flew toward the NEXT point. ALL
(not most, not some, ALL) nav points should allow you to auto-pilot to
the next nav once you to complete the nav area task. This may involve
killing fighters, linking with transports, mining jump buoys, etc. For
example :
If the you must escort transports, the you MUST auto-pilot link with
the transport by flying within 500 units of the transport to
establish the link. The auto-pilot light will then light up, and
auto-piloting is possible. PRESS "A" to autopilot to the next nav-
point.
[4.8] Non system disk or disk error
Replace and strike a key when ready
This is a DOS error which means that the boot disk that you created for
the game does not have the DOS system files on it. You will need to :
1) Restart your computer with the boot disk out of the A: drive. Go to
the DOS prompt (exit Windows).
2) Type C: and press [ENTER]
3) Place the boot disk in drive A:
4) Type SYS A: and press [ENTER]
5) Reboot your computer with the disk in the drive after the SYSTEM
TRANSFERRED message.
[4.9] Invalid drive specification
Your CD-ROM drive has not loaded properly or the drive letter has
changed. When MSCDEX loads, it will tell you the drive letter of your
CD-ROM drive :
DRIVE D:= MSCD001
[4.10] Message index 1214972 is out of range
This error message happens on mission LG04 (last mission in the Alcor
system, the terrain mission rescuing Dr. Severin) right before the
ascent from the planet after you have rescued him if you are using
FRENCH or GERMAN sub-titles. Simply switch the subtitles to ENGLISH
or turn subtitles OFF before flying the mission. Once past this mission,
you can switch the sub-titles back to FRENCH or GERMAN.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[5.0] Lockups
Make a boot disk and retry.
[5.1] Lockups after the fourth or sixth dot
See section 3.2.
[5.2] Lockups During opening movie, [ESC] takes you further into
the game
You have chosen the incorrect sound card settings or have an IRQ or DMA
conflict with your sound card and another device in your system. Verify
your sound card settings are "conflict free" and re-run the installation
program.
See the Install Guide for more information.
If you have an SB16 and you are sure your sound card settings are
correct <this may not work for everyone>, but you may want to try to
set the low and high DMA to the same channel in the boot disk's
AUTOEXEC.BAT. If you have lines that read something similar to :
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H5 P330 T6
SET SOUND=C:\SB16
C:\SB16\SBCONFIG /S or C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
you may want to change the SET BLASTER line to reflect the same low and
high DMA (DO THIS ON THE BOOT DISK!):
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P330 T6
SBCONFIG and DIAGNOSE will dynamically set the IRQ and DMA of your
sound card according to the settings in the SET BLASTER line. Refer to
your SB16 User's Guide for more information.
[5.3] Lockup at the joystick calibration screen
We are unsure why this happens, but with a bit of troubleshooting, we
should be able to find the cause :
1) Make sure you have only one joystick port active. If you do not, you
may have a joystick port conflict. Resolve and retry.
2) Remove the joystick completely, and see if you can get into the
game's installation program. Plug in the joystick after the game has
been installed and calibrate from within the game.
3) Try another joystick.
4) If you have more than one joystick port, disable the current
joystick port and the second joystick port and retry.
5) Try the Wing Commander III Joystick Patch (section 9.1).
6) Disable all open joystick ports and try using a speed adjustable
gamecard.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[6.0] Reboots
Reboots normally occur when going after Flint, during Behemoth mission,
planet ascension, switching CDs, or (R)eplaying a mission after you have
died or ejected.
The most common cause of a reboot is a video card with the S3 chipset.
There is a problem reinitializing the video mode when going from mission
to mission or from mission to movie to mission (as opposed to from
mission to gameflow to mission).
The video cards reboot if in SVGA when this occurs. We are currently
researching this, but a solution at this time is to go into installation
program with WC3 -I and set the Spaceflight Video Mode to VGA. If you
want to play in SVGA that is fine, but you must manually switch to SVGA
with ALT-3 or ALT-4. The mission MUST LOAD UP in VGA.
Some other possibilities :
1) If you have the following :
Hardware : BUSLogic 542S SCSI Host Adapter
HOW to solve :
You will need to use EMM386.EXE and possibly exclude DC00-DFFF.
The address range is used by the host adapter and may conflict
with Wing III. You must consult your documentation for specific
information on which range to exclude. For example :
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM X=DC00-DFFF
BusLogic BBS 408-492-1984
Tech Support FAX 408-492-1542
Tech Support 408-492-9090
Tech Support 408-988-7338
2) If you have the following :
Hardware : PAS 16 and a SCSI CD-ROM Drive connected to the PAS 16
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\<path>\TSLCDR.SYS /D:MVCD001 /R
HOW to solve :
You will need to download 316.EXE or 318S-MV.EXE from the
MediaVision BBS to upgrade TSLCDR.SYS to version 3.16 or 3.18.
316.EXE should be sufficient. 318S-MV.EXE is only needed if you
have a Sony 55S or a Sanyo 94S CD-ROM drive.
316.EXE contains :
MSCDEX EXE 25,377 02-12-93 6:00a
README DOC 1,344 10-04-93 4:04p
TSLCDR SYS 35,201 04-26-94 3:36p
318S-MV.EXE contains :
MSCDEX EXE 25,377 02-12-93 6:00a
TSLCDR SYS 35,425 11-11-94 10:53a
README DOC 1,372 12-06-94 4:50p
NOTE : MSCDEX.EXE included in this executable is version 2.21.
Version 2.23 is a requirement for the game. If you do not already
have Version 2.23 (it is shipped w/ DOS 6.2 and up), you will need
to contact Microsoft for the latest version.
Media Vision BBS 510-770-0968 14400bps
BBS 510-770-0527
General 800-684-6699
Tech Support 800-638-2807
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[7.0] Gameplay
[7.1] Movies are of "poor quality"
If "streaks" are seen, either your gamma correction or monitor
brightness is TOO high. Adjust the brightness of your monitor and/or
gamma correction so that "Origin Presents" and "A Chris Roberts Game"
fades to complete darkness. This should lessen the "streak"ing effect.
[7.2] No descriptions of possible actions (Attend Briefing, etc.)
A 100% Microsoft compatible mouse driver must be installed in order to
get gameflow descriptions (ie. Talk to Hobbes, Attend Briefing, etc.)
[7.3] TAB and ~ (afterburners) do not work in spaceflight
The use of afterburners (TAB or ~) or slide (CAPS LOCK and /) will not
work when mouse flight is enabled. You will have to double-click the
right mouse button to afterburn, or use a joystick or the keyboard. The
control type can be changed in the Spaceflight Options Menu (ALT-O).
[7.4] Installation program rates machine slower than normal
If CPU Speed is rating slower than normal, make sure that both internal
and external CPU caches are enabled. Also, check to see that the turbo
button is on. Our benchmark scale applies to Intel microprocessors.
Other processors tested may show a result slower than their Intel
counterparts. Contact the microprocessor manufacturer for a more
detailed explanation.
[7.5] Crackling sounds in SVGA
In SVGA, you hear crackling/static/popping sounds from the sound card.
First, make sure you do not an IRQ or DMA conflict.
[7.5.1] Cirrus Logic GD-542x
If the you have the Cirrus Logic GD-542x video card, you may download
542XVGA.EXE from the Cirrus Logic BBS. It upgrades the video BIOS to
1.41.
Cirrus Logic BBS 510-440-9080
General 510-623-8300
[7.5.2] Orchid Kelvin 64
If you have the Orchid Kelvin 64 there is currently no solution for
this problem. We are in contact with Orchid working on a solution.
Orchid Technology BBS 510-683-0327
General 510-683-0300
Sales 800-767-2443
Tech Support 510-683-0323
[7.6] Pressing [ALT-X] "flashes" 'Exit To DOS? [Y/N]'
Your joystick calibration may be incorrect. Try recalibrating the
joystick [ALT-J] in gameflow and see if that works.
[7.7] Undocumented keyboard commands
The following spaceflight keyboard commands were not listed in the
reference card :
ALT-F Display frame rate
ALT-G Synchronize gun blasts
CTRL-J Set control type to joystick
CTRL-K Set control type to keyboard
CTRL-M Set control type to mouse
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[8.0] Specific Hardware
There are several hardware specific issues that need to be addressed
as follows.
[8.1] Control (keyboard, mouse, joystick)
It is very important that 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse drivers are
used. It has been noted that non-100% Microsoft-compatible mouse drivers
will cause lockups during game initialization or during the movies.
There is no mention how the Flightstick Pro or Thrustmaster FCS Mark I
is supported in the documentation for the game. They are supported as
follows :
[8.1.1] Flightstick Pro support
Coolie Hat UP F1 (Forward View, Toggle Cockpit On/Off)
Coolie Hat LEFT F2 (Left View, Pan Left -it DOES pan)
Coolie Hat RIGHT F3 (Right View, Pan Right -it DOES pan)
Coolie Hat DOWN F4 (Rear/Turret View)
Trigger FIRE Guns
Left TOP Button Joystick Button 2
Middle TOP Button "Y" - Lock target and Match Speed
Right TOP Button Fire Missiles
[8.1.2] Thrustmaster (w/o the Mark II) and Logitech Wingman Extreme
support
Select Thrustmaster for the Control Type in the Spaceflight Options
Menu. The joystick is supported as follows :
Hat NOT SUPPORTED
Thrustmaster Controls
Trigger Fire guns
Top Thumb Button Joystick Button 2
Bottom Thumb Button Fire Missile
Pinky Button "Y" - Lock on closest enemy in
view and match speed
Logitech Wingman Extreme Controls
Trigger Fire guns
Top Thumb Button Joystick Button 2
Bottom Thumb Button "Y" - Lock on closest enemy in
view and match speed
Middle Thumb Button Fire Missile
* NOTE : There is a Thrustmaster patch available that will allow you
to use the hat with Wing Commander III. Refer to section 9.0 for
more details.
[8.1.3] WING3.ADV compiler errors
HOW to solve :
Edit the WING3.ADV file and remove the ( and ) (open and close
parentheses) from the lines w/ LALT and LCTL. Recompile, and it
should work fine.
The corrections to the file are listed below :
REM WING COMMANDER THREE by ORIGIN SYSTEMS
REM Written and Tested November 1994
REM ****************************************************************
REM Base Switch Settings
REM Black Hat switch = Digital
REM Red Switch = Digital
REM Game Settings: Regular Joystick if FCS is plugged into WCS
REM
GAME 1 70 REM DIGITAL CONTINUOUS 70 MS Delay
BTN UB ENT REM WEAPON FIRE
BTN MB TAB REM AFTERBURNERS
BTN LB Y REM TARGET AND MATCH SPEED
BTN HU F1 REM FRONT VIEW/COCKPIT TOGGLE
BTN HR F3 REM RIGHT VIEW
BTN HD F2 REM REAR VIEW
BTN HL F4 REM LEFT VIEW
BTN 1 /U S REM SHIELDS VDU
/M G REM TOGGLE GUNS
/D LALT W REM "WHAT'S YOUR STATUS"
BTN 2 /U D REM DAMAGE VDU
/M M REM CONFIGURE MISSILE
/D LALT A REM "ATTACK MY TARGET"
BTN 3 /U P REM POWER VDU
/M L REM LOCK TARGET
/D LALT B REM "BREAK AND ATTACK"
BTN 4 /U ] REM INCREASE CURRENT POWER SYSTEM 5%
/M T REM NEXT TARGET
/D LALT T REM RANDOM TAUNT
BTN 5 /U [ REM DECREASE CURRENT POWER SYSTEM 5%
/M a REM AUTOPILOT
/D W REM FULL MISSILES
BTN 6 /U LCTL ] REM TOGGLE LOCK CURRENT SYSTEM
/M E REM DROP DECOY
/D F REM FULL GUNS
RKR UP | REM NULL FUNCTION
RKR DN | REM NULL FUNCTION
THR 30 1 = - \ \ \ \ REM THROTTLE CHARACTERS
BTN MT /P /N BSP /R = REM THROTTLE CONTROL FROM IDLE TO OFF
[8.1.4] Programmable keyboards
Turn OFF the program function. (Usually FUNCTION-SUSPEND MACRO or
something similar. Also, REM out any lines that may install a
programmable keyboard device driver.
[8.1.5] Advanced Gravis Phoenix WCS
Our game does not support the way the Advanced Gravis Phoenix WCS
handles multiple keypresses. Commands like [ALT-B] and [CTRL-V] will
not work. There is no fix for this problem.
[8.2] Video cards
Our game is having a problem with the following video cards :
[8.2.1] Cirrus Logic
Crackling sounds in SVGA. See section 7.5.1.
[8.2.1] Diamond Viper VLB
The VPRMODE VESA program seems to cause random pixels and screen
trash. This appears to only be with the VLB version of the card in
SVGA. We are in contact with Diamond. For now, you will need to
play in VGA with WC3 -V.
[8.2.2] Matrox PCI
The Matrox PCI Windows Accelerator card seems to score poorly for
during video card testing (a rating of 43, when 12 is needed to play
the game). You will need to select VGA for Spaceflight and Movies, and
on some machines, the movies appear to run smoothly, on others pausing
is unavoidable. Contact Matrox for more information.
[8.2.3] Hercules Graphite
To use the HERCULES Graphite video card, the following line in
AUTOEXEC.BAT is needed :
C:\HERCULES\VESA C:\HERCULES\HG_OLD1.CRT
[8.2.4] Compaq QVision
There is a QVision patch that allows SVGA gameplay. Please refer to
section 9.4 for a description on this particular patch.
[8.2.5] ATI Graphics Expression (ATI Mach 64)
Support for the ATI Mach 64 and its successors has been built into the
game by pressing Y during the appropriate time in the installation
program when is asks if text is seen at the bottom of the screen. This
will select an alternate video mode for movies only. Gameflow and
spaceflight are unaffected.
[8.3] Sound cards
[8.3.1] Mozart by Oak Technologies
The MOZART sound card (created by Oak Technologies) seems to lock up
after the "fourth" or "sixth" dot. We are currently working with Oak
Technologies on a solution. There is no work-around for this problem at
this time, you will have to play the game with NO SOUND. You can
recognize a Mozart sound card by spotting the following lines in the
configuration files :
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\MZT\MZTINIT.SYS /A220 /I5 /D1 /G /V7
AUTOEXEC.BAT : SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SET SOUND=C:\MZT
[8.3.2] Media Chips MAD 16
The Media Clips MAD 16 sound card must be configured as a Sound Blaster
Pro. You must add a parameter which is not normally found on the M16INIT
line (/C). You can recognize a MAD 16 by spotting the following lines in
the configuration files :
CONFIG.SYS : DEVICE=C:\MAD16\CDSETUP.SYS /T:S /P:340 /I:5
AUTOEXEC.BAT : SET MAD16=C:\MAD16
SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
C:\MAD16\M16INIT /B /C
[8.3.3] Media Magic 16 (ISP16 and MAGICS20)
Media Magic 16 sound cards (MAGICS20 and ISP16) work great with the
game, but in the installation program, should be set as Sound Blaster
Pro. Sound Blaster/Compatibles will cause lockups. The following lines
will appear in AUTOEXEC.BAT if the customer has any of these cards :
AUTOEXEC.BAT : SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SET ISP16=C:\ISP16
C:\ISP16\ISPINIT /B
AUTOEXEC.BAT : SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SET SOUND16=C:\MAGICS20
C:\MAGICS20\SNDINIT /B
AUTOEXEC.BAT : SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T4
SET SOUND16=C:\DIAMOND
C:\DIAMOND\SNDINIT /B
[8.3.4] Sound Blaster AWE 32
If the installation program reports that it cannot detect your AWE 32,
select the Digital FX card first, choose Sound Blaster AWE, then select
your Music card.
[8.4] CD-ROM drives
[8.4.1] Texel DM-3024
Refer to section 4.3.
[8.4.2] Mitsumi 4x IDE
Refer to section 4.3.
[8.5] Miscellaneous (CPUs, hard drives, SCSI host adapters, etc.)
[8.5.1] Cyrix 486 processors (DLC, SRX2, DRX2, DX, DX2)
If configured incorrectly, these have been found to cause random lockups
and Exception 13s. We are working together with Cyrix, and the most
common problem we have found is the processor is being used in an
incompatible motherboard.
[8.5.2] AMD processors
The AMD microprocessors seem to function adequately.
[8.5.3] OS/2
This section is written by J. Allen Brack.
A number of people have contacted us asking if the game runs under OS/2.
Wing Commander III is DPMI compliant, therefore it is relatively easy to
create a DOS session under OS/2 that will run Wing Commander III.
A 486 DX/2 66 with 16 megabytes are a recommended for reasonable
performance under OS/2. SVGA is fully supported under a full screen
secession. You can fly spaceflight missions on the desktop in VGA.
Sound cards natively supported under OS/2 work extremely well. You may
be able to get the sound to work with unsupported cards by adding the
appropriate sound drivers in the 'DOS_DEVICE' setting as specified in
your manual. You may also need to add your drivers in your system
AUTOEXEC.BAT for further compatibility.
The following instructions document the creation of a OS/2 DOS session
for Wing Commander III :
1. Open the OS/2 System folder
2. Open the Command Prompts folder
3. Right click once on DOS Full Screen
4. Left click on the copy choice
5. Highlight DOS Full Screen and type Wing Commander III in the title
bar
6. Left Click on 'Desktop' in the spiral, then Left Click on the copy
button
7. Close all open windows
8. Right Click on the Wing Commander III icon
9. Left Click on the Settings selection
10. Type your CD-ROM drive letter, a colon, a backslash, and WC3
(i.e. E:\WC3)
11. Left Click the Secessions tab
12. Left Click DOS Settings
13. Left Click OK for All DOS Settings
14. Change the settings listed below to the value indicated:
AUDIO_ADAPTER_SHARING REQUIRED
DOS_BACKGROUND_EXECUTION OFF
DOS_DEVICE <add sound driver lines>
DOS_FILES 30
DOS_HIGH ON
DPMI_MEMORY_LIMIT 16
EMS_MEMORY_LIMIT 0
HW_ROM_TO_RAM ON
HW_TIMER ON
IDLE_SECONDS 60
IDLE_SENSITIVITY 100
INT_DURING_IO ON
KBD_BUFFER_EXTEND OFF
SESSION_PRIORITY 32
VIDEO_8514A_XGA_IOTRAP OFF
XMS_MEMORY_LIMIT 0
15. Left Click the Save button
16. Close the window by left double clicking to upper left corner.
Your icon should be installed and ready to go. Left Double Click to
begin the game.
For OS/2 2.0, 2.01, 2.1, and 2.11, omit the settings that are not
present in those versions. You should not need to change any other
settings.
Additionally, if you have DOS version 5.0 or above, you may find a
substantial performance increase if you create a virtual secession
running the actual copy of DOS. Creating a VMDISK is relatively easy,
and complete instructions can be found on-line by typing 'HELP VMDISK'
in an OS/2 window.
NOTE : OS/2 is not an officially supported environment for Wing
Commander III. These settings are suggestions only. While they should
work for you, Origin's Technical Support is not as knowledgeable at
resolving OS/2 difficulties as IBM. Origin recommends you contact IBM
Technical Support for a resolution.
Good Luck!!!
[9.0] Patches
There are four patches available at this time for Wing Commander III.
[9.1] WC3JOY.DLL, a joystick patch
This patch is for users who are experiencing problems with joystick
calibration (lockups, bad calibration, etc.) It is intended for users
with two button joysticks.
To remove the patch, type DEL C:\WC3\WC3JOY.DLL and press [ENTER].
Instructions for the installation and usage of this patch accompany the
file WC3JOYTM.EXE found on our BBS and FTP site.
[9.2] WC3JOY.DLL, the Thrustmaster hat patch
This patch was developed to provide hat support for the Thrustmaster
and 100% compatible joysticks (such as the Logitech Wingman Extreme).
The hat is used in spaceflight to control the different views :
HAT UP F1 - Front View; Toggle cockpit
HAT LEFT F2 - Left View
HAT RIGHT F3 - Right View
HAT DOWN F4 - Rear View
Instructions for the installation and usage of this patch accompany the
file WC3JOYTM.EXE found on our BBS and FTP site.
[9.3] WC3JOY.DLL, the Notebook Gameport patch
WC3JOY.DLL is a set of alternate joystick routines used to provide
support for Colorado Spectrum's Notebook Gameport. Joysticks
tested with the Notebook Gameport in combination with this patch
include the CH Flightstick, the CH Flightstick Pro, the Thrustmaster
FCS, and the Gravis Analog Pro.
Instructions for the installation and usage of this patch accompany the
file WC3JOYNG.EXE found on our BBS and FTP site.
[9.4] VIDEO.DLL, the Compaq QVision patch
VIDEO.DLL is an alternate set of video routines used to provide
support for certain video cards. VIDEO.DLL installs itself when
Wing Commander III is initialized.
During initialization, the patch will attempt to detect the Compaq
QVision. If the Compaq QVision is not detected, the patch will not
install itself and display a message asking you if you wish to continue.
If the Compaq QVision is detected, a message will let you know the DLL
was installed and you should be able to use the SVGA capabilities of the
Compaq Qvision.
Instructions for the installation and usage of this patch accompany the
file QVISION.EXE found on our BBS and FTP site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[10.0] Problem CD-ROM drivers and their updates
If you are experiencing problems with Wing Commander III (bad CD reads,
movie pausing, etc.) make sure your CD-ROM driver is up to date. The
following is a list of CD-ROM drivers we tested the game with and we
know that work with the game and their locations.
* NOTE : These may not be the latest CD-ROM drivers. You will need a
driver of this version or later.
+ This is a location where you can find the driver. It is not the
original source for the driver.
Driver Name Driver Driver Filename Driver Location
Version Date to DL
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ASPICD.SYS 3.13 6-10-94 N/A Adaptec
BBS 408-945-7727
TECH 408-945-2550
+ Creative Labs
BBS 405-742-6660
TECH 405-742-6622
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CDMKE.SYS 4.04 12-3-93 N/A + Reveal
BBS 818-704-6321
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DD260.SYS 1.42 MediaVision
BBS 510-770-0968
TECH 510-252-4315
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MTMCDAE.SYS 1.17 7-14-93 CDAE.EXE Mitsumi
MTMCDAS.SYS 1.16 FX116.EXE BBS 415-691-4469
MTMCDAI.SYS 1.33 IDE133.EXE TECH 415-691-4465
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SBCD.SYS 4.19 4-30-94 CD-DOS.EXE Creative
BBS 405-742-6660
TECH 405-742-6622
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SLCD.SYS 1.73a 173A.EXE Sony
BBS 408-955-5107
SLCD173.EXE MediaVision
BBS 510-770-0968
TECH 510-252-4315
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TSLCDR.SYS 3.16 4-26-94 316.EXE MediaVision
BBS 510-770-0968
TECH 510-252-4315
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[11.0] Acknowledgements
I would like to express thanks to the following people :
PS : J. Allen Brack, James Flores, Kay Gilmore, Andrew Hofmann,
Bill LaCoste, Jeremy Mappus, Chico Marvici, Donna Mehnert,
John Moreland, Michael P. Songy, Reece Thornton, Brian Wachhaus,
Todd Wachhaus, Marie Williams, Graham Wood
PD : Frank Savage, Jason Yenawine
all of QA, Customer Service, and the Wing III Development Team.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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