Star Wraith 3: Shadows of Orion Minimum System Requirements: - Windows 9X/Me/XP or better operating system - DirectX 7 or higher (available free at www.microsoft.com/directx) - 64 MB RAM or more (128 MB or more recommended) - 16 MB or higher 3D accelerated video card, including the following tested cards: 3DFX VooDoo3/4/5 ATI Radeon/8500/9000/9700 Nvidia TNT, GeForce256/2/3/4/Ti STM Kyro2 (GeForce3/4/Ti or ATI Radeon/8500/9000/9700 recommended for optimal play) A card that supports hardware T&L is highly recommended for added performance. Note: May work on some 8 MB 3D video cards, but the game has not been tested on such systems and will likely suffer poor performance. - 50 MB Hard Drive Space - 400 MHz processor minimum (700+ recommended) - Mouse or compatible pointing device - Game controller highly recommended - Internet service required for internet TCP/IP multiplayer gameplay. While there is no charge for internet gaming in Star Wraith 3, charges may apply through your internet service provider to pay for their service and/or long distance charges. LAN (Local Area Network) or Parallel cable connection required for direct cable network TCP/IP multiplayer gameplay. Installation/Setup: To install Star Wraith 3, run the SW3.EXE program that can be found on either the CD-ROM (CD edition) or from the website for the download version. The program will guide the installation and install an icon to your desktop. To setup the game for your computer's configuration or to customize the buttons on your controller, simply click on CONFIG in the main menu or multiplayer chatroom. You can fine tune the game's settings for audio, video, detail, and other miscellaneous options. The SW3 graphics engine is designed to work with a variety of screen resolutions and FSAA settings. See the OPTIONS section below for more details on configuring the game. Getting Started You will be prompted to configure your game controller the first time you run the game. A menu will appear with each available axis you can use to control your fighter. Follow the instructions to set a particular axis to control each flight rotation. You can test your configuration when finished or change it later from the main menu by clicking on CONFIGURE CONTROLS instead of selecting single player or multiplayer gameplay. The configuration you choose is saved. You also have the option to remap the keyboard to your preference. Some multiplayer keys and throttle control can't be altered, but any other game function can be set to keys of your choice. If you aren't able to get a particular axis to function correctly, you can click on NONE when prompted for the axis in the configuration menu and use the keyboard for that control. If a particular control doesn't respond right away in the game, simply move the control around. If the control still fails to respond, verify it is configured properly in Windows. Once the game has loaded, you will be prompted to enter your pilot's callsign. Choose a callsign you wish to use for both campaign play and multiplayer (you can change it later if needed). You will then be given the option to choose the gameplay mode. Click on Single Player or Multiplayer to begin. Single Player will give you access to the campaign and instant action modes, the Multiplayer mode lets you connect to other players via TCP/IP connection through the internet or a LAN. If you select the single player mode, the next screen will be the main menu. From this screen you can change the game options, view your squadron's statistics, start the campaign, choose an instant action mode, or view the technical database. If you've played Star Wraith before, you may want to skip the training mission. If this is the first time you've played Star Wraith, it is suggested that you try a few created/random instant action missions before starting the campaign. O P T I O N S RESOLUTION: Star Wraith 3 supports 5 resolution settings, 640X480, 800X600, 1024X768, 1280X960, and 1600X1200. Select the one that give you the best combination of appearance and frame rate. COLOR DEPTH: You can select either 16-bit or 32-bit color. 32-bit provides the best appearance, but can cause slower performance on some cards. Some cards may not support 32-bit color. Other cards, such as the Kyro2 or VooDoo5 can run in 16-bit mode with near 32-bit quality. You may want to try a few different combinations of color depth and resolution to find the settings you prefer. HUD COLOR: HUD color choices are Blue, Cyan, and Green. MUSIC: You can choose to do without music if you like. STICK SENSITIVITY: Select the stick sensitivity. Some analog controllers may cause sudden movements in gameplay, to reduce the effect of this problem, you can reduce the sensitivity setting. STICK TYPE: You will notice several modes for controlling the ship under STICK TYPE. You can set the controller to MOUSE, KEYBOARD, and 5 different joystick settings. You will need to set this mode to your controller type. Use the chart below to select the correct setting: 2 Axis, Normal = Joystick with control for only up/down/left/right, no throttle. Use this mode if you would rather use the keyboard for throttle control. 3 Axis, Normal = Joystick with control for up/down/left/right, plus throttle. 3 Axis, Rev Roll/Yaw = Same as 3 axis, reverses the roll/yaw axis for traditional flight simulator control. 4 Axis, Normal = Joystick with control for up/down/left/right, plus throttle, plus twist control. 4 Axis, Rev Roll/Yaw = Same as 4 axis, reverses the roll/yaw axis for traditional flight simulator control. STAR DETAIL: Lets you fine tune the background star appearance. If you are running in a lower resolution without FSAA (full scene anti-aliasing), you may want to change this setting to low to reduce background sparkle. COCKPIT STRUTS: You have the option of turning on or off the cockpit struts. Some players prefer to filter out the cockpit, leaving only the HUD visible. This may also help boost performance slightly on slower systems as it does reduce the scene's polygon count slightly. VOICES: In game voices are optional. If you would rather not have radio chatter, turn this option off. HAT SUPPORT: You can turn the HAT system on or off. The HAT allows you to control the pilots view point, if your controller is equipped with a HAT option. ADVANCED EFFECTS: For more modern video cards you can enable Advanced Effects. When enabled, this option will use some graphics technology that newer cards support with hardware acceleration. CUSTOMIZE BUTTONS: You can customize the button layout of your controller to perform various in-game functions. You can locate the number of a particular button by simply pressing the desired button on the controller. The number will be displayed at the bottom of the menu. To assign a button to a function, simply click on the function you wish to change. The menu will ask you to press the button that you want to bind to the function. Once you press the appropriate button, that button will control the selected function. Any adjustments you make are saved. If there is a conflict caused by one button being assigned to two functions, the game will solve the conflict for you by swapping the function's old button number with the conflicting one. You may want to try out each button to verify what it controls before exiting the menu. Keyboard quick reference: Learning to Fly the F-144E Space Superiority Combat Fighter The target that you are currently tracking will be shown by the Target Indicator box as displayed above. To obtain a missile lock, keep the target inside the outer gunsight circle until the target box secures a lock. When you are within missile range and have acquired a missile lock, the indicator will switch to the Target Lock Indicator. The distance the lock will be obtained will vary depending on which secondary weapons you are currently carrying. Once locked, the target can move anywhere in your forward visible range and still remain locked. If the target leaves your view or reaches a distance beyond your missile's range, the lock will be lost. When you are in gun range, the Target Lead Indicator will appear which will help you aim manually. The Targer Lead Indicator will not appear for static (non-moving) objects such as capital ship turrets or cargo containers. For static targets, simply fire when you are within 500M. When the lead indicator appears and the MDTS (multi-directional targeting system) is active, the target must be in the outer circle of your gunsight to automatically fire towards the lead indicator. The MDTS will fire at static objects in a similar manner, you will just need to be within 500M of the target. The shield levels for all enemy craft in the area are displayed in the bottom right corner of the HUD. The target you are currently tracking is yellow in color, the rest are red. As your target takes damage, the yellow will reduce in size and a green bar will begin to appear behind. The more green that is visible, the more damaged your target is. Once the target is destroyed, your HUD will automatically track the next target. One very important rule to remember about your shielding system. Shielded craft can generally collide with other shielded craft at nearly any speed with little risk of damage. The repelling effect of both shield systems counteracts the inertia of a collision fairly well. But your shields will not protect you from surface contact with planetary terrain, asteroid caves, or asteroids in open space. Your shielding system will repel other energy contact, it will not protect you from solid material collisions. Depending on the surface, you will need to keep your speed low if you plan to fly near such obstacles. Around 40 is safe in an asteroid cave, 50 in a asteroid field, and around 50-55 over planetary terrain. The radar screen used on all Alliance fighters displays information in 3D. To face a target, you must align the corresponding radar target indicator (colored red) with the light blue box in the middle. If the radar target indicator is large, the target is behind you, if small, it's in front. Imagine viewing the combat area from above and slightly behind, that is the perspective of the radar. You may want to try a few created missions with cargo containers to familiarize yourself with this concept. Once you've learned how to interpret the radar screen, you will be able to quickly determine the exact direction an enemy target is approaching from. Friendly craft are colored green and incoming missiles are yellow. Larger capital ships that are less of a threat are colored darker shades of red (enemy ships) or green (friendly ships). M E N U S & F L Y I N G From the main menu, you can configure the game's options, change your pilot's name and view statistics, start the single player campaign, choose an instant action mode, view the technical database, or exit the game. If you're new to the game, you may want to complete a few created/random missions before starting the campaign. Mission creation lets you quickly build a mission of your own design and saves the options for the next time you enter the creation menu. If you click on Continue Campaign, the next screen will be the mission briefing menu. From here you can select which mission you want to fly. In some cases, there may only be one mission available depending on which way the dynamic campaign is going. Remember, your mission performance and selection will determine how the campaign develops. You can highlight the available missions to read the briefing. The blue table will display an overview of the environment you will be facing for each particular mission. Enemy targets will be red, friendly targets will be green, and environmental factors will appear as yellow. Many yellow dots indicate asteroids and a yellow circle indicates a nearby planet. Once you have chosen a mission, click on the mission number and the game will load the mission for you. The next screen will be the weapon menu. This menu lets you select the primary and secondary weapons for your fighter. There are "hard points" on each Alliance fighter that you can attach various secondary weapons to. Some weapons take up more hard points then others. Simply click on the weapon you'd like to load and hold the left mouse button down while you drag the weapon to the hard point display (the light blue diagram of your fighter with the boxes). Release the mouse button to apply the weapon. If there are enough available hard points, you will see the used hard points light up and the weapon count display will indicate the applied weapon. If there is not enough room, you will hear a buzz and the weapon will not be applied. You can start the loading process over if you make a mistake by clicking on CLEAR. The order that you load the weapons is the order they will appear in your Heads-Up-Display. If you move the mouse pointer over a weapon, a description will appear in the upper left corner of the display. If you'd like to try flying a different Alliance fighter, clicks on SHIPS. Then you can click on any fighter in your squadron to toggle through the various fighters. To change the fighter you are flying, click on the very bottom one (your callsign will appear once the mouse pointer is over your fighter). Once you have selected and fully armed your fighter, click on LAUNCH to begin the mission. If your fighter is not fully armed, you will be prompted to add more weapons. After clicking on launch, you will take off from the Lexington and your combat systems will activate if there are enemy craft in the area. If you are flying to enter a planet's atmosphere and there are no enemy craft in the area, your systems will remain passive until needed. M U L T I P L A Y E R IMPORTANT NOTES ON MULTIPLAYER: - DO NOT RUN ANY INSTANT MESSENGER OR TEXT CHAT SOFTWARE WHILE THE GAME IS RUNNING. - USING SOME ROUTERS OR FIREWALLS MAY INTERFERE WITH THE MULTIPLAYER SYSTEM. REFER TO THE FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION) SECTION AT THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION. Using the Star Wraith 3 Realm for internet gameplay: The SW3 Realm allows you to quickly locate active multiplayer games over the internet. After you click on MULTIPLAYER, the first menu that appears will display SET/JOIN IP, SW3 REALM GAMES, and EXIT. Click on the Realm games if you'd like to join a multiplayer game hosted by someone else. If there are any active public games, they will be displayed in the chatbox area. Simply click on a game to join one. If the game is in combat, you won't be able to join. You can continue to try and connect, notify the players you wish to join, or return to the menu to select a different game. The Realm may not always be available, so you can also connect to multiplayer games by manually setting IP information. Hosting a game or connecting with just an IP address: To host a public multiplayer game, make sure your internet connection is active, then click on SET/JOIN IP. The current active IP address will be displayed, use backspace to delete digits if you want to use a different address. The IP address is like a phone number for other people to connect with. Verify the IP address is correct (including dots) and click CONNECT. Once the game has been able to locate the correct IP address, it will ask if you want to host or join a game. There can be only one host per game, it is recommended that the host use the system with the fastest connection. Click on HOST to start the game and enter the main chatroom. Once in the chat room, click on ADD TO SW3 REALM to have your game listed so other players can see it over the internet. If no one joins after a few minutes, you can click on the [verify] label to make sure the game is correctly listed on the Realm. Entering the wrong IP address will mean no one will be able to join your game, so verify the IP address carefully before connecting. If you want to locate a different IP address, click on the option to locate an IP address. If you are using Windows 95/98/ME, a graphical menu will appear with a drop down box, select the network adaptor you wish to use as host for the game. The IP address will be displayed. Remember this number if you are hosting a game as you will need to enter it in when the game asks for it. Players that join the game you host will need to enter the same IP address if it is not listed on the SW3 REALM. Since the game automatically displays the current IP address for you, you can use the backspace key to erase the address and enter a different one if needed. Some internet service providers will use a different IP address every time you sign on, in that case, it is normal if the address is different every time you host a game after you sign on each time. Note to WindowsXP users: WindowsXP does not offer a graphical IP address program. When you click on the option to search for an IP address, a dialog box will open with the current IP address available. Type in EXIT and press enter or click on the X to close the Window and return to the game. If the game does not automatically restart after you locate the IP address you wish to use, simply locate it on the taskbar and click. If you are unfamiliar with setting up a network system, it is recommended that you read the Windows help category on networking. There are also resources available on the internet that offer instructions on installing and configuring a network. If you'd like to keep a multiplayer game private, only inform those players you wish to play with of the IP address you're using and do NOT click on ADD TO SW3 REALM. SW3 supports up to 8 players per game. If you are trying to join a game using the IP entry screen, make sure the desired game is displayed in the HOST/JOIN screen. If not, you may need to click REFRESH until the game appears. It will appear once the host has completed the setup process and you have entered the correct IP address to connect with the host. The host must start the game before any other players can join. Once the game has been started (by the host selecting the IP address and clicking on HOST), other players may join by entering the same IP address and then clicking on JOIN GAME. As players join, their callsigns will appear on the left side of the multiplayer chatroom screen along with each player's kill score. In the chatroom screen, players can exchange messages in real time and the HOST can configure the game setup. The host can select the update speed of the game. This option sets the rate at which object data is transmitted and received. The faster your computer is and the faster your internet/network connection is, the better the game will play at higher settings. The suggested connection for multiplayer gameplay is a 10/100 MBPS LAN (Local Area Network) or internet connection using DSL/Cable. A setting of INTERNET is a good standard to use for most internet connections. It is only recommended that you use the LAN setting if EVERY player in the game is connected to your LAN. Forcing the game to run in LAN mode over the internet may cause long pauses and lag if the signal quality of your connection becomes poor or is not fast enough to maintain a high exchange rate. There are two multiplayer gameplay modes, Dogfight and Team vs Team. In Dogfight, every player is on their own, every fighter is against every fighter. Your HUD will give you shield information and the option to lock on to any other player in the game. Team vs Team will let you assign specific pilots between two teams. The host must select the Team vs Team mode, but any player can assign themselves to any team. The team indicator appears at the left of each player's name. Green is one team, red is the other. The game can't start until there is at least one player on each team. In Team vs Team mode, the shield levels for the players on your team will appear on the right side of your HUD as in the single player mode. Working together and defending each other is what will win a team vs team match for you. Once the desired game has been configured, the HOST must click on LAUNCH to begin. The next screen will be the weapon loadout, other connected computers will automatically enter this screen once the host has started the game. Once all players have selected their fighters and weapons, they must click LAUNCH to begin the game. Once all players have clicked on LAUNCH, the game will start. If needed, the host can return all players back to the main chatroom by pressing ESC. Players can exchange messages in real time during gameplay by pressing ENTER, typing the message, then pressing ENTER again to send. Any player can also open the full chat dialog display at any time by pressing the ~ key. This will open the chat display automatically for all players. Any player can also click on EXIT CHAT to have all players return to the game. You also have the option of using the radio for communication. To send a radio message, press and hold the * key on the number pad while you talk into your computer's microphone. Release the key when you are finished talking. Your message will then be transmitted to the other players. When you press the radio key, you will see a green box appear. This box indicates how much time you have left to record a message. Once the box turns red, your message will be sent automatically, so if you have more to say, press the * key again once your first message is broadcasted. Keep in mind that the radio system will only function when you are in the cockpit and have access to the radio controls. Also, some players may not receive the message if they are exploding (quite difficult to hear over the roar of exploding fuel) or if the signal is jammed from too many people trying to talk at once. Use the radio only when needed and try not to overload the game with too much chatter, in internet games it can aggrivate lag. The speech quality will vary depending on the speed of your connections. In INTERNET mode, the sample rate is low, so you will need to talk near your microphone and clearly to make up for the low quality. In LAN mode, the sample rate is much higher and the speech will be very clear. If other players have a hard time hearing what you say, consider boosting the gain level in your Windows configuration or talk louder and closer to your microphone. Rules for multiplayer are fairly simple. Cheats do not work in this mode. Any weapon is available to any player. The host must end the game before any scores are saved. New final score totals won't appear until the next multiplayer game session. Players are positioned randomly in the combat area. Each time a restore is used, shields are fully charged and weapons reloaded. Once restores are exhausted, the game automatically informs the host that a player has no more restores. Out of courtesy, the host should end the game once a player has no more restores so everyone's scores can be saved. If a player other then the host exits the game before the host does, that person's score will not be saved. If a player's system hangs or crashes, the game will attempt to hang on to the connection to allow the player to try and rejoin after correcting the problem in the operating system. When this happens, a "ghost" version of the player remains in the game. The ghost will not take damage until the player is again back in the game (in turn, their shields will also not recharge, leaving no advantages or cheating). Ghosts will often remain still or fly in only one direction (based on the last direction the player was headed). If the player is unable to rejoin the game, the ghost will eventually disappear. Outside players can't join a game that is in combat. They must wait until the players are in the main chat room before they can join. There is no time limit for games, the host determines the length of the game by setting the restore level. Strategy Tips: When you fly over a planet's terrain, your fighter depends on the atmosphere to keep it in the air. You must maintain a minimum speed in order to stay airborne. If you collide with an object, you risk losing altitude and crashing into the ground. You do have atmospheric thrusters that work hard to keep you in the air should your speed drop dangerously low, but they are only moderately effective. Also, your shields only offer protection against other shielded craft or energy weapons, they won't save you from colliding into the ground. Watch your altittude. Exodus missiles are very powerful, but are not very useful in a dogfight. They are too slow to be a completely effective weapon against enemy fighters. Use them primarily for striking targets such as capital ship gun turrets or cargo containers. If you are fortunate enough to fire an Exodus missile at an enemy fighter that is flying directly at you, there will be little they can do to avoid total destruction. Technical Notes/Known Issues: REFER TO THE FAQ SECTION AT THE WEBSITE FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITH TECHNICAL PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS. - It is strongly recommended that the game be played on a 3D card that supports texture sizes larger then 256X256. SW3 uses large textures for many aspects of the game, if the textures are scaled down when used on an older video card, detail may be lost. It may be difficult to read the heads-up-display on a 3D card that's restricted to 256X256 texture sizes. Ideally, the game should be played on cards such as the 3DFX VooDoo5 5500, ATI Radeon/8500/9000/9700, Nvidia GeForce2/3/4/Ti, Kyro2, or better. - If you are configuring a LAN for the multiplayer mode and your ISP (Internet Service Provider) program dials through your phone line when you select the IP address instead of just directly connecting through the network, you can fix the problem by clicking on START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL, INTERNET PROPERTIES, then click on the CONNECTION tab. In the middle of the window you will see the dialing options. Select "never dial" or "connect to the internet using a modem" (depending on options available). The exact wording of the option you need to select may vary, but you will want to disable automatic dialing in some way to prevent your ISP from dialing when you access a TCP/IP connection. - Make sure you are running the latest drivers available for your video card. Doing so will minimize compatibility and/or reliability problems. _____________________________________________________________________ Being an independant developer means my resources are limited. This project only reached completion with the help from a few outside sources. Additional credits and contact information are available at the website. Thanks to those of you who helped beta test this project. Thanks to the DoGA team for giving me permission to use the model meshes I made with their program. Check out DoGA for a great way to build machine based models, link at website. Thanks to Mika Lindroos for donating the music for the project. Thanks to Ryan Anderson for donating some of the speech for the game. Thanks to Aaron Herring for listening to me complain about programming problems and offering suggestions/advice. Thanks to DarkBasic Software for creating the programming language that allowed me to create this game. Their software package also offered superb media (textures, sounds, etc) that helped add to the feel of the game. Finally, thank you to all of you who have supported this project over the years. Your e-mails and words of encouragement helped keep this project alive over the years and SW3 became what it is through your suggestions and requests. I appreciate your patience and understanding when it took so long for one person to create media and program this project. I truly hope that all of you enjoy playing SW3!