ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY
Copyright Blue Byte 1995-1996

Additional credits:

This game would have been
impossible without 
additional help from the 
following people:

Alpha CRC, England:
Translation

Mark L. Barrett, Iowa:
Making all the dialogues
lifelike

Maren Bitzer, Kaarst:
Editing and translation

David Howe & Brian Walter
Testing and localization

Thanks to all of you!
Wolfgang



Final changes and remarks for
version 1.120:

- This is the version 1.120 of
  Archimedean Dynasty.  To start
  the new version use "AD2.EXE"
  instead of "AD.EXE". 

  It may cause problems on older
  machines (P75 or lower). Please
  use "AD.EXE" if the new
  "AD2.EXE" doesn't run properly.

- Please make sure that the HD where
  you installed AD has at least
  16 MEGS of free disk space AFTER
  the installation of the update. 

- A movie player has been
  added to the OPTIONS-INPUT
  menu. Here you can view video-
  clips from the game.

- A new option has been added to 
  the Vectorgraphic menu called
  Transperency, when this is on
  it will allow you to see through
  explosions and other enviornmental
  effects.

- Added Z-Buffering which allows for
  more accurate targeting of
  gunturrets and other weapon systems
  on some of larger capital ships.


Final changes and remarks for
version 1.115:

- A new cockpit mode has been
  added; OFF and SMALL. On slower
  machines this will allow you
  to turn off the cockpit view,
  and will reduce the size of
  the combat window by half.

- Should you encounter any problems
  during installation when 
  starting the Sound Setup,
  you can manually set up your
  sound card by executing
  SETSOUND.BAT in the \BLUEBYTE
  \AD Directory.

- The front sonar, as described in
  the manual has been
  replaced with a second 
  overhead sonar in the
  cockpit view as described in
  the manual. The range of
  the second overhead sonar
  is smaller than the first 
  overhead sonar.
  This option will allow you
  to be more effective in
  combat and reduce the frequency
  of having to switch sonar modes.

- By pressing ALT-F5, you can
  switch the view back and
  forth between FULL LINE,
  HALF LINE and OPTIMIZED
  HALF LINE screen mode.
  The HALF LINE and OPTIMIZED HALF
  LINE modes are useful for computers
  with slow processors and/or
  slower graphics cards.

- During combat you are able 
  to switch the PERSPECTIVE
  CORRECTION on and off by
  pressing ALT-F6. 
  On slower computers,
  turning off PERSPECTIVE
  CORRECTION will speed up
  the action in combat.

- If your computer has 8 meg 
  RAM of memory you will
  have the following limitations:
  - No animation will be
    displayed in the stations
    or any of their rooms.
  - The movie player that can be
    found under OPTIONS in the
    notebook is deactivated.
  - The textures in combat are
    less detailed and less
    colorful.
  - There are no light effects, 
    fewer sound effects and 
    there is no on-board computer
    voice whilst in combat.
  - The hard disk will often be
    used as virtual memory
    (VMM) during combat, which will
    slightly slow the game down.
  - If using an 8 meg RAM computer
    with Windows 95 you should use
    DOS mode. Click on 
    START / SHUTDOWN /RESTART
    COMPUTER IN MSDOS
    MODE to install and play
    the game.

- We recommend that you run
  ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY in DOS
  mode if possible and not
  Windows 95 as this may cause
  system errors and may reduce
  game performance.

- On a 486 computer, you should
  select the following options
  in the VECTORGRAPHIC menu for
  optimum performance:
  1. SHADING MODE - FLAT
  2. PERSPECTIVE CORRECTION - OFF
  3. COCKPIT - ON or OFF AND SMALL
  and in the SOUND menu:
  1. VOICES - 4 

- Should you encounter any problems
  with the CauseWay DosExtender,
  we suggest you try starting
  ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY with the
  DOS4GW DosExtender. To do this
  you should start up the 
  SFD4G.EXE program.

- If you should die in battle,
  you have the option to
  return to the last station
  you visited. The game is
  automatically saved before
  you leave a station on a combat
  mission. You can also 
  re-start the combat mission,
  which will allow you to 
  keep trying, until you 
  are successful in completing
  the mission.

- The following errors may occur
  when starting up ARCHIMEDEAN
  DYNASTY if you have an
  old mouse driver. An overflow
  error may occur or your 
  mouse may move slowly.
  Using the latest Microsoft
  compatible mouse driver may
  solve this problem.

- In the BLUEBYTE\AD\DEV
  directory on the CD there
  is a configuration file
  for the THRUSTMASTER F16 FLCS.

- Outside views: Using the number
  pad you can activate various
  outside views of your ship 
  during battle:
  0: Pursuit camera of your ship.
  1: Pursuit camera of the target
     that is currently locked.
  3: Pursuit camera for the last
     torpedo that was fired.
  5: Outside-view of your own ship.
  7: Outside-view of the target
     that is currently locked onto.

  Control of the outside-view camera:
  4: Rotate camera left.
  6: Rotate camera right.
  8: Rotate camera up.
  2: Rotate camera down.

  9: Zoom camera towards object.
  6: Zoom camera away from object.

- VESA driver
  ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY supports the
  VESA VBE standard for SuperVGA
  graphics. Many SuperVGA
  graphics cards are directly VESA
  VBE-compatible.

  Should you encounter any
  problems with your graphics
  card, we suggest you try the
  following:

  If you have received a VESA VBE
  driver with your graphics card,
  install it and then re-start
  the game. Many VESA VBE drivers
  can be installed directly in   
  DOS. Follow the instructions in
  your graphics card manual.

  If your graphics card is not
  directly VESA-compatible, or you
  do not have a VESA driver, you 
  may be able to use a third-party
  VESA driver.

  (e.g. the UNIVBE program from the
  SciTech Software Co. Web site;
  http://www.scitechsoft.com).

- ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY uses
  16-bit high-color mode.
  You will receive an error message
  if your graphics card does
  not support this mode.

- To achieve optimum performance,
  we recommend your system be
  configured as follows:
  - DOS mode.
  - VESA 2.0-compatible graphics card.
  - 16 meg RAM memory or more.

- Autostart:
  If you have installed 
  ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY in
  Windows 95 NOT using the
  auto-run program, you will not
  be able to use the AUTOSTART menu.

- Boot Disk:
  If you have problems getting
  the game started, create a
  boot disk.

  You can create this with
  the DOS command "Format", followed
  by the letter of your disk
  drive:
  - Place a blank disk in your
    diskette drive.
  - Type FORMAT A: /S
  - Copy your AUTOEXEC.BAT and
    CONFIG.SYS files to the disk.

  Remove all the drivers in your
  CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT
  except for CD-ROM, mouse
  and VESA drivers, in order
  to gain more memory. 
 
  By using the DOS command
  "MEM" you can obtain information
  about the currently available
  memory at any time. If 
  you want to find out how
  much memory each driver uses
  type "MEM/C".

  For example - this is how
  the "CONFIG.SYS" and
  "AUTOEXEC.BAT" files should look
  on the boot disk:

  (CONFIG.SYS)
  C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
  NOTE: This is where your CD-ROM driver
  has to be installed (look in your
  standard configuration file).

  (AUTOEXEC.BAT)
  NOTE: This is where your CD-ROM driver
  has to be installed (look in your
  current configuration and copy those
  lines)

  C:\DOS\MOUSE
  (Your mouse driver may be located
  in another directory).
  NOTE: Your VESA driver may
  have to be loaded here too.

- Make sure that the ARCHIMEDEAN
  DYNASTY CD is always in the drive
  so that the program can read data
  from the CD at any time.

- WINDOWS 95 AUTORUN
  If during gameplay, the
  Windows 95 Autorun Window appears
  on the screen, it may cause the
  game to freeze.  We suggest you 
  try the following: switch off the 
  "AUTOINSERT NOTIFICATION" in
  Windows 95.

  You'll find this option in
  "START/SETTINGS/CONTROL PANEL/
  SYSTEM/DEVICE/CD-ROM/PROPERTIES/
  SETTINGS" window.

- If, during the game, movies
  appear to be jerky or slow
  on your system, your CD-ROM
  buffer may be too big. You 
  can adjust the size of the
  buffer in Windows 95.

  This setting should be located
  in the "START/SETTINGS/CONTROL
  PANEL/SYSTEM/PERFORMANCE/FILE
  SYSTEM/CD-ROM/SUPPLEMENTAL CACHE
  SIZE" window.

If you experience any difficulties,
have any other problems or need
advice on ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY,
you are welcome to contact
us at (847) 995-9981 (USA) or 
(01604) 259090 (UK) during regular
business hours.

=================================
Hints & Tricks
=================================

- Be economical with your torpedoes!
  They are expensive and you can only 
  use them once. You do not need to 
  use torpedoes to destroy a normal
  "Scout".

- Ensure your ship is armed with 
  the best equipment you can
  afford; sensors, shields
  the latest weapons!

- Need cash? Try "gunrunning"!
  You can make some quick money 
  buying weapons cheaply, in one
  station, selling it for a
  higher price at another
  station.

- Always save your games under
  different names. There are
  many branches in the game
  which you will not be able
  to follow by playing the
  game once.

- Choosing different options
  during discussions will give
  you different missions. During
  gameplay you may want to retrace
  your steps and find another way to
  tackle a mission.

- The more advanced sensors will
  tell you whether your target 
  is within range. The key is to 
  keep up with the latest technology.

- Save ammunition! Don't waste
  your energy on shooting at
  targets which are out of range.

- Enemy bombers are extremely
  dangerous and loaded with gun towers.
  Keep your distance, stay cool and
  attack from behind!

- Attack all tanks from behind...

- You cannot be located by enemies
  with passive sonar (yellow symbol).
  If you are very quiet (switch off
  sonar and stop your engine) they
  will never see or hear you!

- Plasma guns need a lot of energy.
  It is a good idea to equip your
  gunturrets with different weapon
  systems. This will prevent the
  your energy supply of your boat
  from overloading and losing power
  when you need it the most!

You can also find more information
about Blue Byte Software, our
products and other useful tips
on ARCHIMEDEAN DYNASTY
from our web pages on the Internet
located at http://www.bluebyte.com.

Have fun!
The Blue Byte Team.

All product names in this
Readme are in each case
registered trademarks
of the respective manufacturers.
