Warcraft: Orcs and Humans --------------------------------------------------------------------- - WHAT THIS READ ME TEXT CONTAINS: --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. System Requirements 2. Setup and Loading 3. Hot Keys 4. Unit Modifications 5. Movement Attack vs. Move 6. Network Play Messages on the Network Two player Warcraft Selecting Units in Two-Player Custom mode 7. Modem Play Modem Init Strings 8. Troubleshooting Smartdrive Conflicts EMM386 Conflicts Installing to the Network 9. Making Your System Run Faster --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 1. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS --------------------------------------------------------------------- Warcraft has a minimum requirement of DOS 5.0 or higher. It requires a 100% IBM PC compatible with a 386 microprocessor or better and a VGA monitor. Your system should have at least four megabytes of total memory. Warcraft will use either EMS or XMS memory and does not require any special memory drivers other than HIMEM.SYS. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 2. SETUP AND LOADING --------------------------------------------------------------------- To install Warcraft, type "INSTALL [Enter]" at the DOS prompt and follow the onscreen instructions. To configure Warcraft for your computer, go to the WARCRAFT directory and type "SETUP [Enter]" at the DOS prompt. To run the game, type "WAR [Enter]" at the DOS prompt. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 3. HOTKEYS --------------------------------------------------------------------- There are also additional functions available during game play. F1 or Alt-H Help Shift F2 - F4 Save map position for immediate recall F2 - F4 Recall saved map position F5 Display overview of map F6 Display Unit Screen (shows units in play/units destroyed) F7 Economy Screen (Lists total resources harvested) F8 Score (This is an indication of your success, including your rank and current mission objectives) F10 Options Menu G Shows the building grid for structures C Centers map on selected units Ctrl-M or Alt-M Music (toggles between ON/OFF) Ctrl-S or Alt-S Sound Effects (toggles between ON/OFF) Ctrl-X or Alt-X Exit the program Ctrl-Esc Disconnects the systems in two player mode + / - keys Speed up or Slow down the game speed Esc Cancel any command just issued in any menu Right click Cancel any command just issued in any menu Shift+Click on a unit Allows grouping of up to four units Ctrl+Drag Mouse over units Allows grouping of up to four units --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 4. UNIT MODIFICATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------------- Both Catapults and Summoned Creatures operate in manners dissimilar from other units in the game: The catapult will attack enemy units automatically ONLY if there are no friendly units that will be effected by splash damage from the missile. If you select the Attack command and specify a target, the catapult will fire at the selected target regardless of friendly unit proximity. Summoned Creatures have a Magic Point (MP) bar as well as a Hit Point (HP) bar. The MP bar will degrade over time, and when it is drained, the summoned creature will begin taking damage, as the powers that hold it here are no longer in force. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 5. MOVEMENT --------------------------------------------------------------------- ATTACK VS. MOVE When a Unit is instructed to Move, it will head to the selected location and ignore anything that crosses it path, including units that attack it. This allows for uninterrupted movement, as well as enforced retreats. When a Unit is instructed to Attack, you may choose either an area to attack, or a specific target. When you choose an area to Attack, the unit will move there, but if he is attacked in transit, the unit will stop and respond to the attack. When the unit arrives at the selected location, it will look for immediate targets within its range to attack. When you choose a specific target to Attack, your unit will move to engage the selected target, ignoring all other enemies or threats. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 6. NETWORK PLAY --------------------------------------------------------------------- MESSAGES ON THE NETWORK Messages can be sent to an opposing player in a Two-Player game by simply pressing the Enter key. A MSG: prompt will appear at the bottom of the screen. Type in your message, and then press Enter to send it. TWO PLAYER WARCRAFT Your CD-ROM enables you to play Warcraft with a friend who does NOT have a copy of the game. To play Warcraft with a friend over a modem or network, perform a PARTIAL or FULL INSTALL on one system and use the CD-ROM with any installation setting on the other system. This will allow both systems to play against each other, though at least ONE system MUST have the CD. SELECTING UNITS IN TWO-PLAYER CUSTOM MODE In a Two-Player Custom game, players can either have the default setting of two Peons/Peasants or they can elect to create custom armies through the Select Armies dialog. Not only can you effect what units you are choosing for your side, but you may select or deselect units for the enemy side by using the mouse to click the arrow keys in the Unit Selection area. If you wish to negate the ability to create specific units, they may be turned OFF in the same manner, making them unavailable for play. --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 7. MODEM PLAY --------------------------------------------------------------------- For best performance you will want to disable compression and error control on your modem. Here are some init strings for popular modems that we have found to work well. HAYES ACCURA 144B, ZOOM 14400, PRACTICAL PERIPHERALS: AT &K0 M1 S46=0 &D2 &Q6 US ROBOTICS SPORTSTER: AT &K0 M1 &D2 If your system does not run smoothly during MODEM or DIRECT LINK play, these are some suggestions which may help: * You can turn music OFF to increase game speed * Decreasing the BAUD rate may increase game speed --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 8. TROUBLESHOOTING --------------------------------------------------------------------- Most systems should experience no difficulties running Warcraft. However, a small percentage of systems may experience occasional system conflicts. Many of these problems are quite easy to fix using the information provided below. Before attempting to remedy any problem, we urge you to save your important system files (AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS in particular) before making any modifications. Please refer to your system's documentation before making any changes. -------------- Problem #1: The SAVE/LOAD game feature doesn't work properly, or causes my system to "freeze" occasionally. -------------- If you have SMARTDRIVE installed with WRITE-CACHING, the SAVE/LOAD feature may not work properly. This is due to problems with SMARTDRIVE and DOS. Every version of SMARTDRIVE we have tested from v4.0 through v5.01 has write-caching conflicts. Either disable write-caching on the hard disk containing WAR.EXE or remove SMARTDRIVE altogether. Example: if WAR.EXE is installed on the C: drive, try using the following command to remove write-caching: SMARTDRV C -------------- Problem #2: The install program cannot install the program to my hard disk due to an error condition. -------------- A SMARTDRIVE conflict is the most likely cause of this problem. see the solution to Problem #1 above. If you are using NDOS from SYMANTEC/Norton Utilites, the installer may be unable to copy Warcraft onto your hard disk. Remove NDOS and try to install again. -------------- Problem #3: Warcraft occasionally "freezes" or displays irregular behavior. -------------- EMM386.EXE is the most likely cause of irregular behavior. There are several known problems with EMM386.EXE which prevent proper program operation. We recommend trying the following alternatives: (this list courtesy of Rational Systems Extenders) * Run with HIMEM.SYS only (This will also speed your system performance). * Replace EMM386 with another memory manager, such as QEMM-386 or 386Max. * Run in a Windows DOS box. * Configure EMM386 with both the NOEMS and NOVCPI options. * Convert the DEVICEHIGH statements in your CONFIG.SYS to DEVICE statements, and remove the LH (Load High) commands from your AUTOEXEC.BAT. -------------- Problem #4: Warcraft does not work properly when I run it from a network drive. -------------- Warcraft should run properly using most network cards. A few network cards may cause sporadic crashes while running Warcraft. Try playing Warcraft from the CD (MINIMAL install), or perform a PARTIAL or FULL install to your local hard disk. -------------- Problem #5: I have two monitors, and Warcraft runs very slowly on my system. -------------- If you are using a monochrome monitor in addition to your VGA color monitor, the Diamond Stealth video card will cause the game to run very slowly. Other video cards may also display similar problems. Removing the monochrome card is highly recommended. -------------- Problem #6: I don't have enough free memory to play Warcraft -------------- Here are several solutions to increase your free memory: * Remove unneeded TSR programs from memory * Remove SMARTDRIVE, or reduce the size of its disk buffer * Run the memory optimizer that comes with your memory manager (MemMaker for EMM386, Maximize for 386MAX, etc) --------------------------------------------------------------------- - 9. MAKING YOUR SYSTEM RUN FASTER --------------------------------------------------------------------- Adjust the speed using the Options Dialog or the + or - keys. The EMM 386 memory manager (EMM386.EXE) slows the game speed of Warcraft considerably. Use HIMEM.SYS only (without EMM386), or another memory manager like QEMM or 386MAX to increase game speed. Refer to your DOS manual to change your memory configuration. Also, please refer to the notes regarding EMM386.EXE in the TROUBLESHOOTING section.