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1.1 root 1: Fixed bug where 1.06 and earlier save files couldn't be loaded
2: by WinQuake.
3:
4: Removed "Net play pauses every few seconds" bug; it was determined
5: not to be a bug, just an artifact of network play.
6:
7: Noted that even when BIOSes do have VESA 2.0 built-in, it's often
8: so buggy that WinQuake crashes in faster configurations, and that
9: SciTech Display Doctor is the easiest way to get reliable VESA
10: support.
11:
12: Added note on Alt-Tab only working if Tab released first.
13:
14:
15: -----------------------------
16: | WinQuake 0.992 readme.txt |
17: | update |
18: | 2/12/97 |
19: -----------------------------
20:
21: Implemented force_centerview.
22:
23: Fixed backspace bug in dedicated console.
24:
25: Made "player entering game" messages and "say" messages visible
26: in dedicated console.
27:
28: Added description of -heapsize (how to change default memory
29: allocation).
30:
31: Added description of "net play pauses every few seconds" bug.
32:
33: Added description of "playdemo fails across multiple levels" bug.
34:
35: Added hooks for QHost; however, WinQuake won't work with QHost
36: until a new version of QHost 3.0, which uses the hooks, is
37: released. QHost 3.0 will not work with WinQuake.
38:
39: Fixed bug where savegame descriptions weren't always terminated
40: properly.
41:
42: Fixed bug where running -dedicated reset part of config.cfg to
43: defaults.
44:
45:
46: -----------------------------
47: | WinQuake 0.991 readme.txt |
48: | update |
49: | 2/10/97 |
50: -----------------------------
51:
52: Fixed problem with pre-1.07 (DOS) clients connecting to WinQuake.
53:
54: Got rid of "Starting Quake..." dialog when running -dedicated.
55:
56: Added -novbeaf switch to turn off VBE/AF support in case of problems,
57: and updated documentation.
58:
59: Corrected Scitech's U.S. Mail address in documentation.
60:
61: Added joystick bug decriptions and workarounds.
62:
63:
64: ----------------------------
65: | WinQuake 0.99 readme.txt |
66: | |
67: | 2/5/97 |
68: ----------------------------
69:
70: WinQuake (WQ) is a native Win32 version of Quake, and will run on
71: either Win95 or Windows NT. It is designed to take advantage of
72: whatever enhanced video and sound capabilities (such as DirectX or
73: VESA video modes) are present, but has fallback functionality so it
74: can run on any Win32 system, even if, for example, neither DirectX
75: nor VESA is installed. You may experience problems running WQ on
76: some systems, because driver and operating-system support for game
77: functionality are not yet mature, and many bugs and incompatibilities
78: remain. If you encounter what seems to be a bug, first please check
79: through the list of known problems, below. If your problem doesn't
80: appear on the list, please fill out and submit the WQ bug report at
81: http://www.idsoftware.com/contact/.
82:
83: NOTE: This is version 0.99 of WinQuake; it is not a final, supported
84: release.
85:
86: The material accompanying Quake is the reference for all
87: non-Windows-related matters concerning WinQuake; in terms of gameplay,
88: WQ is the same as Quake. This file contains Windows-related
89: information only.
90:
91: The rest of this document is organized as follows:
92:
93: Installing WinQuake
94: Common problems and workarounds
95: A bit about how WQ video works
96: Video command-line switches
97: A bit about how WQ sound works
98: Sound command-line switches
99:
100:
101: -----------------------
102: | Installing WinQuake |
103: -----------------------
104:
105: In order to run WinQuake, you must first have Quake installed. Assuming
106: Quake is installed in the standard directory, c:\quake, unzip wq099.zip
107: into c:\quake. The following files from the zip file must be present in
108: order for WQ to run:
109:
110: winquake.exe
111: pmpro62.dll
112: pmpro62f.dll
113: wdir62.dll
114: wdir62f.dll
115: wdirnop.com
116: wdirnop.pif
117:
118: Then you can run WinQuake by making c:\quake the current directory,
119: typing "winquake" and pressing the Enter key. Alternatively, you can
120: use wq.bat to run WinQuake. The wq batch file requires one parameter
121: describing how to configure WQ for performance; just type "wq" to get
122: a list of the five options. The first of the five options is
123:
124: wq fast
125:
126: This is the same as typing "winquake"; this runs WinQuake in an
127: aggressive configuration that is likely to yield the best performance
128: if it runs successfully on your system, but which has a risk of causing
129: WinQuake or even your system to crash if there are bugs or
130: incompatibilities in your video or sound drivers. Alternatively, you
131: can use
132:
133: wq safe
134:
135: to run WinQuake in a conservative configuration, likely to run
136: on almost all machines with no problems, but possibly with slower graphics,
137: fewer high-resolution modes, and delayed sound. Or you can run
138:
139: wq verysafe
140:
141: to run WinQuake in a very conservative configuration that is pretty much
142: guaranteed to run, but will probably have slow performance, and will have
143: no sound. Two other options are
144:
145: wq fastvid
146:
147: which has maximum video performance, but greater sound latency (delay
148: until the sound is heard), and
149:
150: wq fastsnd
151:
152: which uses more conservative video modes, but low-latency sound.
153:
154: (One odd note is that DirectSound has much lower-latency sound than wave
155: sound, but is currently quite a bit slower overall. Thus you may find that
156: "wq fastvid" is actually faster, by as much as 5-10%, than "wq fast";
157: however, it may not feel faster, because the sound will lag.)
158:
159: Note that DirectX is not required for WQ to run, but WQ will automatically
160: take advantage of DirectSound and DirectDraw if they are present. If
161: DirectSound is not present, there will generally be considerable sound
162: latency (sound will become audible several hundred milliseconds after the
163: event that caused it). Note also that there are currently no true
164: DirectSound drivers for Windows NT, so WQ will always run using wave
165: output on NT, and will consequently have lagged sound. See below for
166: information about obtaining DirectX if you do not have it.
167:
168: Note that VESA modes aren't required for WQ to run, but WQ will automatically
169: make VESA modes available if they're present. Your BIOS may already have
170: VESA (VBE) 2.0 support built in, but most BIOSes don't. Worse, some BIOSes
171: do have VESA 2.0 built-in--but have buggy implementations, which may prevent
172: you from being able to run the faster configurations of WQ. An easy way to get
173: reliable VESA 2.0 support is by obtaining Scitech's Display Doctor; see below
174: for further information. WQ can also use VBE/AF 1.0 and greater modes; again,
175: Display Doctor is the commonest way to get VBE/AF support.
176:
177: Note that winquake -dedicated completely replaces the old winded dedicated
178: Win32 server, which is now obsolete.
179:
180: WinQuake normally uses half the physical memory in your system for its heap,
181: but not less than 8.5 Mb and not more than 16 Mb. You can override this
182: with "-heapsize xxx", where xxx is the amount of memory to allocate for the
183: heap, in Kb.
184:
185:
186: -----------------------------------
187: | Common problems and workarounds |
188: -----------------------------------
189:
190: WQ crashes or won't run
191: -----------------------
192:
193: If WQ refuses to run or crashes on your system, try running
194: it using "wq safe" or "wq verysafe". Or you can use command-line switches:
195:
196: winquake -nodirectdraw -nowindirect -wavonly
197:
198: This will almost certainly solve your problem; however, it may result in
199: lagged sound (a long delay from action to hearing the sound), and may
200: result in fewer or slower high-res video modes. If this does work, you
201: can try removing each of the command-line switches until you identify the
202: one that fixes the problem, thereby sacrificing as little functionality
203: as possible.
204:
205: If the above command line does not fix your problems, try:
206:
207: winquake -dibonly -nosound
208:
209: which forces WQ into silent operation with bare-bones video support.
210: Again, if this works, try removing switches until you identify the
211: needed one.
212:
213: Both of the above command lines are quick fixes. Often, the problem is
214: caused by outdated or buggy DirectX drivers or code, and can frequently
215: be completely fixed simply by installing the latest Microsoft-supplied
216: version of DirectX, which you may be able to find on
217: http://www.microsoft.com/mediadev/download/directx.exe, although
218: availability and location of the DirectX file seems to come and go;
219: note that at last check, this is a 3.4 Mb file. (In fact, getting the
220: latest MS-supplied version of DirectX is a good idea if you have any
221: video or sound problem.)
222:
223: One known problem of this sort involves the current SB16 drivers from
224: Creative Labs, which cause WQ to crash on some machines. The
225: DirectSound drivers from Microsoft, available via the above-mentioned
226: URL, fix this problem.
227:
228: It can also sometimes help to get the latest Windows drivers for your
229: video adapter or sound card (although as the SB16 example indicates,
230: this is not always a good idea), and for video boards that have flash
231: BIOSes, it can help to get the latest BIOS upgrade.
232:
233:
234: How do I select fullscreen or windowed WQ operation?
235: ----------------------------------------------------
236: Check out WQ's new, spiffy Video menu, accessible from the Options menu.
237: There are now two types of modes listed, windowed and fullscreen. You
238: can make any of these modes the current and/or default mode, just as in
239: DOS Quake. If you make a windowed mode the default, WQ will still
240: briefly start up in fullscreen mode, then switch to windowed; if this is
241: a problem, use the -startwindowed command-line switch. More complete
242: video control is available through the console, as described in the "A
243: bit about how WQ video works" section, below.
244:
245:
246: Gee, I wish I could use a mouse to play WQ with when running in a window
247: ------------------------------------------------------------------------
248: You can! While in a windowed mode, go to the Options menu. At the
249: bottom, you'll find a new selection that lets you choose to have the
250: mouse active when you're in a window. Of course, if you do this, you'll
251: have to use the keyboard (Alt-Tab, the Windows key, or Ctrl-Esc) to
252: switch away from WQ.
253:
254:
255: WQ crashes when Alt-Tabbing from fullscreen WQ to a fullscreen DOS box
256: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
257: We are in the process of fixing this problem, but currently you should
258: never Alt-Tab from a fullscreen WQ session using a DirectDraw or VESA
259: mode or VGA mode 0x13 to a fullscreen DOS box. (You can tell whether a
260: mode is a DirectDraw or VESA mode or VGA mode 0x13 by using
261: vid_describemodes in the console, as discussed below.) If this is a
262: particular problem for you, try running -dibonly. Apart from switching
263: to a fullscreen DOS box, Alt-Tab, Ctrl-Esc, and the Windows Key should
264: work properly.
265:
266:
267: Serial/modem menu is missing
268: ----------------------------
269: WQ does not currently support direct connect serial or modem play.
270:
271:
272: WQ causes dial-in networking popup to come up
273: ---------------------------------------------
274: Occasionally, WQ seems to cause the dial-in networking popup to come
275: up when WQ is run in single-player mode. We're checking into it.
276:
277:
278: Multiple Alt-Tabs sometimes leave screen blank
279: ----------------------------------------------
280: Sometimes, rapidly pressing Alt-Tab multiple times leaves a blank
281: screen. If this happens, just press Alt-Tab slowly one or two more
282: times, and the screen will come back.
283:
284:
285: DOS Quake reports unknown variables on startup after running WQ
286: ---------------------------------------------------------------------
287: WQ uses some console variables that do not exist in DOS Quake, and some
288: of these are automatically archived in config.cfg when you exit WQ. If
289: you then start DOS Quake, DOS Quake will complain that it doesn't
290: recognize those variables. You will also lose the settings of these
291: variables when you return to WQ. Apart from losing the settings, this
292: is harmless; ignore it.
293:
294:
295: Can't run fullscreen on NT 3.51
296: -------------------------------
297: Unfortunately NT 3.51 doesn't support DirectDraw or any other mode-
298: setting mechanism. You can run in a window, though.
299:
300:
301: Ctrl-Alt-Del does bad things when running fullscreen
302: ----------------------------------------------------
303: We're working to fix this one, but it's true that in DirectDraw
304: and VESA fullscreen modes, Ctrl-Alt-Del on Win95 results in a blank
305: screen. Try not to do this, and if you do, hit Esc to return to WQ.
306: (DON'T hit Enter, because that kills WQ, and then you're stuck there
307: with a blank screen and no way to get back to the desktop.)
308:
309:
310: WQ crashes while switching modes or Alt-Tabbing
311: -----------------------------------------------
312: So far, all cases of this seem to be tied to Creative Lab's SB16 sound
313: drivers, and have been fixed by getting the latest DirectX drivers, as
314: described above. Alternatively, you should be able to fix this either
315: by not switching modes or Alt-Tabbing, or by running -wavonly to disable
316: DirectSound support.
317:
318:
319: The maximize box on the WQ window doesn�t work
320: ----------------------------------------------
321: It�s not supposed to; it�s grayed out. You don�t want to run a
322: fullscreen window at your desktop resolution; it�d be really slow.
323: That�s why we have all those nifty lower-resolution fullscreen modes in
324: the Video menu.
325:
326:
327: WQ sometimes runs pretty slowly fullscreen
328: ------------------------------------------
329: There are several possible reasons for this, starting with "You have a
330: slow computer." Assuming that's not the case, if you don't have either
331: DirectDraw or Scitech Display Doctor installed (see the "A bit about
332: how WQ video works" section), it would probably be a good thing to
333: install one or the other, because slow operation can be a result of slow
334: copying or stretching of pixels to the screen by a Windows driver,
335: something that's eliminated by both DirectDraw and Display Doctor. The
336: -noforcevga command-line switch can also help produce a faster 320x200
337: mode on Win95 (but may not work on some video cards); you can get the
338: same result by doing vid_describemodes, then using vid_mode to select a
339: non-VGA 320x200 mode, as described in the "A bit about how WQ video
340: works" section.
341:
342: You can also try using a primary sound buffer on Win95 (it doesn't work
343: on NT) by using the -primarysound command-line switch; this can improve
344: performance by several percent, but does not work on all systems, and
345: can result in odd sound effects on some systems when minimizing WQ or
346: switching the focus away from it. If you use this switch, please don't
347: report sound bugs; it's in there purely for you to use if it helps you,
348: and we know it has problems on many systems. Finally, you can use
349: -wavonly to select wave sound; this will increase your sound latency
350: (sounds will be heard later than they should), but allows WQ to run
351: 5-10% faster on some systems. That's about all you can do to speed up
352: fullscreen WQ on Win95, other than shrinking the active area of the
353: screen.
354:
355: NT 4.0 comes with DirectX installed, but doesn't have any resolutions
356: lower than 640x480. In order to support a lower-resolution 320x240
357: mode, WQ has NT double each pixel in both directions to get enough
358: pixels for 640x480. The extra stretching costs some performance, the
359: result being that NT can seem sluggish on all but high-end Pentiums and
360: Pentium Pros. (In fact, depending on the quality of your driver's
361: stretching code, it can sometimes be faster to run WQ at 640x480 than
362: 320x240-stretched on NT.) One thing that can help is using the Options
363: menu to shrink the active area of the screen.
364:
365: A common cause of slowness running in a window is having the desktop run
366: in 16- or 32-bpp mode. WQ is an 8-bpp application, and it slows things
367: down if pixels have to be translated from 8-bpp to 16- or 32-bpp. (Note
368: that this is generally a problem only when running in a window;
369: fullscreen apps rarely suffer from this.)
370:
371:
372: Sound is sluggish on NT
373: -----------------------
374: NT doesn't have any real DirectSound drivers yet, so there's no way to
375: do quick-response sound on NT. When DirectSound drivers for NT appear,
376: WQ's sound should automatically be snappier.
377:
378:
379: Sound breaks up or gets choppy, especially in menus
380: ---------------------------------------------------
381: This is generally a sign that WQ's frame rate is too low on your system.
382: Try reducing resolution or shrinking the active area of the screen
383: (getting a faster computer is another, more expensive alternative). In
384: some circumstances, it may help to set the console variable
385: _snd_mixahead to a larger value.
386:
387:
388: The color black doesn't change with palette flashes sometimes
389: -------------------------------------------------------------
390: DirectDraw lets WQ change all 256 colors, so when a palette flash
391: happens, we can change all the colors, including black. However, on NT,
392: DirectDraw doesn't allow changing black; likewise, black can't be
393: changed in a window, either a normal window or fullscreen.
394: Consequently, some parts of the WQ screen (such as the sigils on the
395: status bar and the spray where a shotgun blast hits) stay black when the
396: palette flashes. There is no workaround.
397:
398:
399: Problems can result if Office shortcut bar is running
400: -----------------------------------------------------
401: Various odd behaviors, especially with sound, have been reported if the
402: Office shortcut bar is running while WQ is running. If you experience
403: odd problems, you might try shutting down the Office shortcut bar and
404: see if that fixes anything.
405:
406:
407: Other apps fail to play sound while WinQuake is running
408: -------------------------------------------------------
409: The sound hardware is not a fully shareable resource on Win32 currently.
410: Consequently, while WQ is running, it always has the sound hardware in
411: use, to make sure that Quake sound is never lost to another app. This
412: means that normally, other apps that use wave sound (most non-game apps)
413: will not be able to play sound while WQ is running, even if WQ is
414: minimized or not the active app, although other DirectSound apps will
415: be able to play sound when WQ is not the active app. If WQ is using
416: wave sound (either because -wavonly is used on the command line, or
417: because there is no DirectSound driver, as is always the case on NT),
418: then no other app will be able to play any sound while WQ is running.
419:
420:
421: WQ gets funny colors when it�s not the active app
422: -------------------------------------------------
423: We're working on fixing this. But WQ puts everything back again as soon
424: as it is reactivated, and anyway, when it�s not active, you can�t
425: actually do anything in WQ, so it doesn�t really matter anyway, right?
426:
427:
428: Desktop redraws a lot when WQ runs windowed
429: -------------------------------------------
430: We're fixing this, but right now when WQ runs windowed with 256-color
431: wallpaper and the palette changes, the other stuff on the desktop often
432: redraws, sometimes flickering as it does so. Apart from being ugly, the
433: extra redrawing can cause a major slowdown. The best fix is to run
434: fullscreen or to change to 16-color wallpaper; otherwise, minimize as much
435: stuff as possible to reduce redrawing.
436:
437:
438: Desktop is weird colors when WQ runs windowed
439: ---------------------------------------------
440: WQ needs all 256 colors to look right, which causes it to have to change
441: the 20 colors used to draw the desktop. We may fix this if people think
442: it's important enough, but for now, if this is really a problem, run
443: fullscreen.
444:
445:
446: Fullscreen WQ sometimes drops the connection when switched away from
447: --------------------------------------------------------------------
448: We're working on fixing this, but right now, if WQ is running in a
449: fullscreen mode that�s not a fullscreen window mode (that is, if it�s
450: a DirectDraw mode, a VESA mode, or 320x200 VGA mode 0x13), then if you
451: switch away with Alt-Tab, Ctrl-Esc, or the Windows key, WQ will be
452: suspended. Not paused--completely suspended, doing nothing. After about
453: 30 seconds, your net connection to the server will be dropped. We�re
454: really sorry about this, but right now we can�t change it. One workaround
455: is to change to a windowed video mode when you want to switch away; there�s
456: no connection dropping if you�re running in a normal window. You could
457: also try running -dibonly, which uses fullscreen windows for fullscreen
458: modes; WQ is not paused when you switch away from fullscreen in this case.
459: The downside to -dibonly is that it can be significantly slower than normal
460: fullscreen modes, especially at low resolutions.
461:
462:
463: High-resolution modes don�t work on the Intergraph Reactor
464: ----------------------------------------------------------
465: Sad but true. Working on it, but for now try -nowindirect and see if
466: that fixes things. Or maybe their latest BIOS upgrade fixes the
467: problem. Or you can get Scitech Display Doctor (see below), which
468: fixes this problem.
469:
470:
471: Sometimes Permedia boards crash unless -nowindirect is used
472: -----------------------------------------------------------
473: Still working on this one too; for now, use -nowindirect.
474:
475:
476: Keys whacked during mode switches sometimes go to other apps
477: ------------------------------------------------------------
478: We're working on this, but right now during a mode switch, there is
479: a small period when WQ doesn�t have any window, and if you hit keys
480: then, they will go to the next app on the desktop, possibly doing
481: things you won�t like. So please don�t whack keys during mode sets.
482:
483:
484: Problems if an autorun CD is inserted while WQ is fullscreen
485: ------------------------------------------------------------
486: If you insert an autorun CD, then exit its window, you�ll switch back to
487: the WQ window, but input won�t be going to WQ properly for some reason.
488: Just do an Alt-Tab and you�ll probably be fine. We're doing our best
489: to fix this one.
490:
491:
492: Right-click|close on WQ button in system bar to close doesn�t work
493: ------------------------------------------------------------------
494: Right-click doesn�t work at all when minimized WQ is minimized in
495: fullscreen modes. Working on it; for now, don�t do it.
496:
497:
498: Quake turns system sound down to zero
499: -------------------------------------
500: This happens occasionally, although we have no idea why yet. If it
501: happens to you and you see any potential causative event, please let us
502: know.
503:
504:
505: Screen saver never kicks in when running fullscreen
506: ---------------------------------------------------
507: Something about being fullscreen convinces Windows that the machine isn't
508: idle. We�ll fix this in the future if people think it�s a problem.
509:
510:
511: WQ doesn�t work in a window in 16-color mode
512: --------------------------------------------
513: That�s 16 *colors*, not 16-bpp. If you�re still running 16-color mode,
514: only run WQ fullscreen.
515:
516:
517: Can't minimize window while mouse active
518: ----------------------------------------
519: When running in a window with the mouse active as a WQ input device,
520: there is no easy way to minimize the window, because the system menu
521: can't be brought up from the keyboard (because some of you use Alt
522: and Spacebar for playing the game), and the mouse can't be used to
523: manipulate the window because it's controlling WQ. Even if you switch
524: away with Alt-Tab to get the mouse back and then click on the Minimize
525: box of the WQ window, WQ doesn't minimize. This is a bug, and we hope
526: to fix it, but for now, if you really need to minimize WQ, enable the
527: mouse and use it to minimize the window.
528:
529:
530: WQ behaves oddly if Scandisk starts defragmenting
531: -------------------------------------------------
532: If WQ is running fullscreen on Win95 when Scandisk starts an automatic
533: defragging, WQ is minimized, and when it is brought back up, may either
534: be in a strange mode where it runs one frame for each keystroke (in
535: which case Alt-Tab generally fixes things), or may hang the system. We
536: don't know what the problem is right now, but you may want to make sure
537: you don't leave WQ sitting there fullscreen overnight if you have
538: automatic defragging.
539:
540:
541: Changing desktop resolution on Win95 can cause problems
542: -------------------------------------------------------
543: Changing desktop resolution on Win95 can cause problems when running
544: WQ in a window. We're checking into it. If you encounter this
545: problem, don't change the desktop resolution while WQ is running.
546:
547:
548: Hang reported with zero sound volume
549: ------------------------------------
550: When sound is turned all the way down via the WQ menus, hangs have
551: been reported. We're looking into it, but don't know any more
552: yet.
553:
554:
555: WQ runs very slowly when it has the focus under NT
556: --------------------------------------------------
557: In one case, WQ ran very slowly when it had the focus, but fast when
558: it didn't (obviously this is only visible in windowed modes). The
559: problem turned out to be that NT had a Sidewinder 3D Pro joystick
560: driver installed; when the driver was removed, things were fine.
561: If you see a similar problem, check whether WQ is detecting that
562: your system has a joystick when you don't think it should; if so,
563: try doing "joystick 0", or -nojoy on the command line, and see if
564: that fixes it. If so, there's something flaky in your system
565: joystick setup.
566:
567:
568: Joystick doesn't seem calibrated properly
569: -----------------------------------------
570: WQ relies on the information about your joystick stored in the
571: registry. If the joystick seems miscalibrated, run the joystick
572: applet and recalibrate and see if that fixes things.
573:
574:
575: Playdemo fails across multiple levels
576: -------------------------------------
577: If "record" is used to record a client-side demo, bad things will
578: happen on playback via playdemo if a level change is recorded.
579: (Timedemo works fine.) This is unfortunate, but WinQuake
580: internals make this not fixable without a good chance of
581: breaking something more important, so it'll have to stay this way.
582:
583:
584: Alt-Tab fullscreen only works sometimes
585: ---------------------------------------
586: I know it seems that way, but actually it only works if you let go
587: of Tab before you let go of Alt. This is due to a Windows quirk
588: involving what key events are visible, so you'll have to work
589: around it by remembering to let go of Tab first.
590:
591:
592:
593: ----------------------------------
594: | A bit about how WQ video works |
595: ----------------------------------
596:
597: WQ has the built-in ability to draw into windows, both normal, framed
598: desktop windows and fullscreen, borderless windows. It also has built-
599: in support for VGA 320x200 graphics, and supports both DirectDraw and
600: VESA (VBE) 2.0 graphics modes if those are available.
601:
602: In order for DirectDraw modes to be available, you must have DirectDraw
603: installed; some systems come with it preinstalled, but if it's not on
604: your system, you can download it from
605: http://www.microsoft.com/mediadev/download/directx.exe (the exact
606: may vary), and install it.
607:
608: In order for VESA (VBE) modes to be available, a driver must be
609: installed; a VESA driver can either be built into the BIOS, or loadable
610: software. The most common VESA driver is Scitech Display Doctor, from
611: Scitech Software. Display Doctor is also the commonest VBE/AF driver
612: (VBE/AF is similar to VESA, but adds support for accelerated hardware
613: features, although WQ does not use such acceleration); WQ supports
614: VBE/AF 1.0 and later.
615:
616: -----------------------------------------------------------------------
617: **************************
618: * Scitech Display Doctor *
619: **************************
620:
621: The latest version of Display Doctor can be obtained from the
622: following locations:
623:
624: www: http://www.scitechsoft.com
625: ftp: ftp.scitechsoft.com
626: CIS: GO SCITECH
627: AOL: Keyword SciTech
628:
629: SciTech can be contacted at:
630:
631: email: [email protected]
632:
633: SciTech Software
634: 505 Wall Street
635: Chico, CA 95928
636: -----------------------------------------------------------------------
637:
638: What all this means is that on Win95, WQ will always be able to run in
639: the following modes:
640:
641: 1) in a window
642: 2) fullscreen 320x200 VGA mode 0x13 (unless -noforcevga is used)
643: 3) fullscreen high-resolution of some sort
644:
645: Category #3 can be any of several configurations. On Win95, if either
646: DirectDraw or VESA modes are available, then all the DirectDraw and VESA
647: modes will be presented as high-res choices. (320x200 will always
648: default to VGA mode 0x13 unless the -noforcevga command-line switch is
649: used.) In the case that a given resolution is supported by both
650: DirectDraw and VESA, the VESA mode will be used. (However, the command-
651: line switch -nowindirect can turn off VESA modes entirely.) If neither
652: DirectDraw nor VESA modes are available, then high-resolution modes will
653: be provided by using fullscreen, borderless windows in whatever
654: resolutions the Windows driver supports, usually starting at 640x480 and
655: going up.
656:
657: NT is similar but not identical, because neither VESA modes nor VGA mode
658: 0x13 are available. On NT, WQ will always be able to run in the
659: following modes:
660:
661: 1) in a window
662: 2) fullscreen high-resolution of some sort
663:
664: On NT, category #3 can be one of two configurations. If DirectDraw
665: modes are available, then those will be the high-res choices; otherwise,
666: fullscreen, borderless windows will be used in whatever resolutions the
667: driver supports, usually starting at 640x480 and going up. Because
668: there is normally no low-resolution mode such as 320x200 or 320x240 on
669: NT, a pseudo low-res mode is created by rendering at 320x240, then
670: stretching the image by doubling it in each direction while copying it
671: to a 640x480 screen. However, stretching performance depends on the
672: driver, and can be slow, so sometimes 640x480 is actually faster than
673: 320x240 on NT.
674:
675: The bottom line here is that you can generally just use the Video menu
676: and pick one of the modes and be happy. In some cases, though, you may
677: need to use command-line switches (described next) to get the types of
678: modes you want. One useful tip is to go into the console and do
679: vid_describemodes, which lists all the modes WQ supports on your machine
680: given the command-line switches you've used. Each mode is followed by
681: the name of the internal WQ driver that supports it, so you can tell
682: which modes are DirectDraw, VESA, and so on, as follows:
683:
684: WINDOWED: WQ runs in a normal window
685: FULLSCREEN VGA8.DRV: VGA 320x200 mode
686: FULLSCREEN LINEAR8.DRV: VESA (VBE) 2.0 mode
687: FULLSCREEN ACCEL8.DRV: VBE/AF 1.0 or later mode
688: FULLSCREEN DDRAW8.DRV: DirectDraw mode
689: FULLSCREEN DIB: fullscreen borderless window
690:
691: You can use vid_mode from the console to set any of these modes. So,
692: for example, if you see that there are two 320x200 modes (such as one
693: VGA mode 0x13, normally mode 3, and one VESA mode, normally mode 4), you
694: can choose the VESA mode, which will often be faster, with vid_mode 4.
695:
696: The windowed modes are more interesting than they seem. 320x240 is just
697: what you�d think, but 640x480 is actually rendered at 320x240 and
698: stretched up to 640x480, because most machines can�t handle real 640x480
699: rendering. Likewise, 800x600 is a stretched 400x300. Actually, though,
700: vid_mode 2 (the 800x600 mode) is a user-configurable mode. By setting
701: the following console variables, you can change the characteristics of
702: vid_mode 2:
703:
704: vid_config_x: width of window
705:
706: vid_config_y: height of window
707:
708: vid_stretch_by_2: whether to render at half-resolution in each direction
709: and stretch up to the specified size, or render at full resolution
710:
711: After setting these variables in the console, do a vid_forcemode 2, and
712: you�ll have the window you specified. Note that after making these
713: changes, the new resolution will show up as the third windowed mode in
714: the Video menu.
715:
716:
717:
718: -------------------------------
719: | Video command-line switches |
720: -------------------------------
721:
722: The full list of video-related command-line switches is:
723:
724: -dibonly: WQ will use only windows (both normal, framed windows on the
725: desktop and fullscreen, borderless windows), not any direct hardware
726: access modes such as DirectDraw or VESA modes, or even VGA 320x200 mode.
727: This is the closest thing to a guaranteed-to-run fullscreen mode WQ has.
728:
729: -nowindirect: WQ will not try to use VESA (VBE) 2.0 modes, or VBE/AF 1.0
730: or later modes. Note that if there are both DirectDraw and VESA modes for
731: a given resolution, WQ will normally use the VESA mode; -nowindirect
732: allows DirectDraw modes to be the preferred choice for all resolutions
733: except 320x200 (see -noforcevga below).
734:
735: -nodirectdraw: WQ will not try to use DirectDraw modes.
736:
737: -novbeaf: WQ will not try to use VBE/AF 1.0 or later modes.
738:
739: -startwindowed: WQ will come up in a windowed mode, without going
740: fullscreen even during initialization.
741:
742: -noforcevga: normally, WQ uses VGA mode 0x13 for the default 320x200
743: mode, even if a DirectDraw or VESA 320x200 mode exists. However,
744: DirectDraw and VESA modes can be considerably faster than mode 0x13,
745: because they can set up a linear framebuffer with higher memory
746: bandwidth. If you specify -noforcevga, the default 320x200 mode will be
747: a DirectDraw or VESA mode if one exists. The downside to this switch is
748: that DirectDraw and VESA modes can cause problems in some systems, due
749: to driver bugs or hardware incompatibilities; if you experience problems
750: with this switch, don't use it.
751:
752: -noautostretch: don't stretch windowed mode selected with -startwindowed
753: to double resolution.
754:
755: -nofulldib: don't use fullscreen, borderless windows, even if there are
756: no DirectDraw or VESA modes available.
757:
758: -allow360: allow listing of 360-wide modes in the video mode menu. These
759: are normally filtered out to make sure the menu doesn't fill up, which
760: would cause high-res modes not to be displayed.
761:
762:
763:
764: ----------------------------------
765: | A bit about how WQ sound works |
766: ----------------------------------
767:
768: WQ can use either DirectSound or Windows wave output to generate sound.
769: If DirectSound is available, it is used; if not, if wave sound is
770: available it is used; and if neither is available, there is no sound.
771: DirectSound results in the best sound quality, and also the lowest-
772: latency sound; use it if you can, because you will be happier with the
773: results. (Note, though, that no NT sound drivers yet support
774: DirectSound.) Wave sound will often have high latency, lagging the
775: events that generate sound by hundreds of milliseconds on some machines.
776:
777: You can tell what kind of sound WQ uses on your system by looking at the
778: startup portion of the console; you will see either "DirectSound
779: initialized" or "Wave sound initialized" (neither message is printed if
780: there's no sound). Any sound failure messages will also be printed in
781: the startup portion of the console.
782:
783: Note that WQ generates sound only when it is the active app, the one
784: with the input focus.
785:
786:
787:
788: -------------------------------
789: | Sound command-line switches |
790: -------------------------------
791:
792: The full list of sound-related command-line switches is:
793:
794: -wavonly: don�t use DirectSound, but use wave sound if available. Note
795: that wave sound is generally faster than DirectSound, but has considerably
796: greater latency. This switch is redundant on NT, because all sound output
797: on current NT drivers is wave sound.
798:
799: -nosound: don�t output any sound
800:
801: -primarysound: use DirectSound primary buffer output. This is generally
802: faster than normal secondary buffer output, but does not work in some
803: systems, and produces odd sound glitches on minimization and focus
804: switching in other systems. Use it at your own risk, and please do not
805: report sound bugs if you're using this switch.
806:
807: -snoforceformat: WQ will not create a primary buffer and try to force
808: the sound hardware to 11 KHz, 16 bits per sample. This may be useful if
809: DirectSound is failing for no apparent reason, but generally WQ will
810: produce better sound and better performance if this switch is not used.
811:
812: ========================================================================
813: End of Document 2/5/97
814: ========================================================================
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