LEGO Racers 2 - Readme.txt 01 / 08 / 2001 _________________________________________________________________ © 2001 LEGO Media Thank you for purchasing LEGO Racers 2 ...........! This Document contains all the latest information concerning LEGO Racers 2 and lists the requirements for the product. INDEX: 1.0 - SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS 1.1 MINIMUM SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS 1.2 RECOMMENDED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS 2.0 - TECHNICAL DETAILS 2.1 OPERATING SYSTEM 2.2 PROCESSOR 2.3 MEMORY REQUIREMENTS 2.4 VIDEO ADAPTER 2.5 CD/DVD DRIVE 2.6 SOUND ADAPTER 2.7 DIRECTX 2.8 INPUT DEVICES 2.9 INSTALLATION 2.10 OUTPUT 3.0 - TROUBLE SHOOTING 3.1 FUNCTIONALITY ISSUES 3.2 PERFORMANCE ISSUES 3.3 RECOMMENDED SETTINGS 4.0 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT _________________________________________________________________ | 1.0 - SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS | _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 1.1 MINIMUM SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS LEGO Racers 2 requires the following system specification as the absolute minimum, for the game to function correctly and at a playable level. - PROCESSOR > Pentium II 266MHz - MEMORY > 64MB System RAM - VIDEO > 16MB Display Memory / Direct3D Compatible - SOUND > 100% Windows(R) 95/98/ME - DirectX(R) 8.0 compliant. - CD-ROM > 12X or Greater CD-ROM / DVD Drive - HARD DRIVE SPACE > 200MB / 450MB [Free and uncompressed*] - INPUT DEVICE/S > Windows 95 / 98 / ME - 6+ Button-Joystick 6+ Button-GamePad and Keyboard. - DIRECTX > LEGO Racers 2 requires the installation of DirectX(R) 8.0a [This is provided on the Racers 2 CD....] * - Uncompressed means that the hard drive space has not been subjected to compression methods to increase capacity. Note: If your system does not conform to the above minimum requirements, LEGO Racers 2 will not function correctly on your system. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 1.2 RECOMMENDED SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS LEGO Racers 2 contains some stunning visual effects and high levels of detail. The following specification is recommended for optimal performance and visual quality while playing LEGO Racers 2. - PROCESSOR > Pentium II 400MHz - MEMORY > 128MB System RAM - VIDEO > 32MB Display Memory / Direct3D Compatible - SOUND > 100% Windows 95 / 98 / ME - Direct-X 8.0 compliant - CD-ROM > 16X or Greater CD-ROM / DVD Drive - HARD DRIVE SPACE > 450MB [Full Installation Option] - INPUT DEVICE/S > Windows 95 / 98 / ME - 6+ Button-Joystick 6+ Button-GamePad and Keyboard. - DIRECTX > DirectX 8.0a _________________________________________________________________ | 2.0 - TECHNICAL DETAILS | _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.1 OPERATING SYSTEM LEGO Racers 2 has been designed to operate on Microsoft Windows 95/98 and Windows ME. The game has been tested for functionality on the following operating systems: > Microsoft(R) Windows 95A [Retail] > Microsoft(R) Windows 95B [OSR/2] > Microsoft(R) Windows 98 First Edition > Microsoft(R) Windows 98 Second Edition > Microsoft(R) Windows Millennium Edition LEGO Racers 2 will also function on the following operating systems: > Microsoft(R) Windows 2000 Professional [NT5] > Microsoft(R) Windows XP The game was not designed to run on the following operating systems: > Windows(R) NT4 OR LOWER > OS/2 > Linux > Emulated Windows Environments _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.2 PROCESSOR Performance levels will vary depending on the manufacturer of your Processor. The following information should be used as a 'guideline': INTEL > PENTIUM(R) II - It is recommended that LEGO Racers 2 is run on a 266Mhz processor or above. [266Mhz - Minimum Specification] *PII Range - [Range 233Mhz - 450Mhz > Slot1] > PENTIUM(R) III - The Pentium III range offers excellent performance. *PIII Range - [Range 450Mhz - 1130Mhz > Slot1] [Range 500Mhz - 1200Mhz > PGA370] > PENTIUM(R) 4 - Recently introduced and offering high-end performance. *P4 Range - [Range 1300Mhz - 1800Mhz+ > 423Pin Package] > CELERON(TM) - It is recommended that LEGO Racers 2 is run on a 400Mhz Celeron processor or above. *Celeron Range - [Range 266Mhz - 766Mhz > 66Mhz FSB Various] [Range 766Mhz - 900Mhz > 100Mhz FSB FC-PGA] AMD > K6(R)-II - It is recommended that LEGO Racers 2 is run on a 400Mhz processor or above. *K6-II Range - [Range 266Mhz - 550Mhz > Socket 7] > K6(R)-III - The AMD K6-III generally offers good performance. *K6-III Range - [Range 400Mhz - 450Mhz] > K7 [Athlon(TM)] - The K7[Athlon] range offers excellent / high-end performance. *K7 Range - [Range 500Mhz - 1400Mhz+ > 200Mhz FSB] [Range 1000Mhz - 1400Mhz+ > 266Mhz FSB Socket] > K7 [Duron(TM)] - The K7[Duron] range offers excellent performance. *K7 Range - [Range 800Mhz - 950Mhz+ > 200Mhz FSB SocketA] * Indicates the range of processors that are AVAILABLE in that class. > CORRECT AS OF 01 / 08 / 2001 OTHER: CYRIX > It is recommended that a MIII 500Mhz Processor is used, together with a hardware accelerator. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.3 MEMORY REQUIREMENTS LEGO Racers 2 requires 64MB of SYSTEM memory [RAM] to function correctly. Due to the design of some video adapters [ON-BOARD]* your system may have less than the required memory for LEGO Racers 2. Some of your system memory may be allocated for use by the On-Board video adapter. SHARED VIDEO RAM - [STATIC ALLOCATION] This type of Video adapter will allocate 4-8 MB of SYSTEM RAM to use as Video RAM. This means your system may actually only have 56-60 MB of ACTUAL SYSTEM RAM available. [Based on a 64MB configuration] SHARED VIDEO RAM - [DYNAMIC ALLOCATION] Some video adapters can allocate SYSTEM RAM dynamically. The amount allocated can range from 0.5MB to 16MB so you may have as little as 48MB of ACTUAL SYSTEM RAM available. [Based on a 64MB configuration] NOTE: The installation of LEGO Racers 2 will 'NOT' proceed if you have less than the required memory available. The following message will be displayed: ERROR: NOT ENOUGH MEMORY * ON-BOARD Video - This type of video adapter is integrated into your system's MainBoard. It is usually incorporated to reduce cost and generally, they do not perform as well as independent PCI/AGP Video adapters. On-Board adapters can usually be disabled to allow for an upgrade. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.4 VIDEO ADAPTER 16MB of Video RAM is required for LEGO Racers 2 to function. Some older computers may have a video adapter with LESS than this critical amount of memory. In this case LEGO Racers 2 will 'NOT' function. VIDEO DRIVERS - What is a video driver...? A Video driver acts as a link between the video adapter [hardware] and the operating system [Software] and allows it to perform the functions requested by an application. Manufacturers of Video adapters regularly publish new DRIVERS for their products. These are made available as FREE Downloads from their WEB site. If you are using older drivers for your hardware, LEGO Racers 2 may fail to function. Graphical problems and performance issues can often be resolved over a wide array of applications by updating the drivers for your video adapter. --- PLEASE CONTACT YOUR HARDWARE MANUFACTURER FOR DETAILS CONCERNING VIDEO DRIVERS --- _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.5 CD/DVD DRIVE LEGO Racers 2 requires a 12X CD-ROM or a DVD drive that is capable of reading CDs at 12X. SLOWER drives will increase the installation time and may compromise video quality when playing video from the CD [Minimal install]. NOTE: It is unlikely that if you have a DVD drive installed, your system will fail to meet this requirement LEGO Racers CD-ROM - The CD 'MUST' be present in the CD/DVD Drive when running the game. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.6 SOUND ADAPTER LEGO Racers 2 requires a sound adapter that is compatible with DirectX(R) 8.0a. This is true in most cases however some old legacy cards will not be compatible. 'Updated' SOUND card DRIVERS are regularly published by hardware manufacturers and are made available as FREE Downloads from their web site. If you experience any sound corruption or other sound related problems during game play, you should update your sound drivers. This will often solve sound related problems. --- PLEASE CONTACT YOUR HARDWARE MANUFACTURER FOR DETAILS CONCERNING SOUND DRIVERS --- _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.7 DIRECTX LEGO Racers 2 requires DirectX(R) 8.0a or later to be installed on your system. The latest version of DirectX(R), DirectX(R) 8.0a, is supplied on the LEGO Racers 2 CD-ROM. You will be asked if you wish to install the DirectX(R) components during the installation of LEGO Racers 2. If you do not have DirectX 8.0a installed or 'Do not Know' then: Choose YES when asked if you wish to update DirectX(R) components. You will need to RESTART your machine for changes to take effect. For more information and the latest updates concerning Microsoft(R) DirectX(R) go to: http://www.microsoft.com/directx/ IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are using Windows 95 and do NOT have Internet Explorer 4.0 or later installed on your system, you will be required to install Microsoft(R) DCOM95. The installation of DirectX 8.0 is dependent upon the presence of DCOM95...! This can be located in the following directory: X:\DCOM95 [Where X is the letter assigned to your CD-ROM / DVD Drive] _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.8 INPUT DEVICES LEGO Racers 2 supports the use of the following input devices: KEYBOARD / GAMEPAD / JOYSTICK / RACING WHEEL Each device must be 100% Microsoft Windows compatible and should have the latest available drivers installed. Gamepad / Joystick / Racing Wheel: The button configuration for the Gamepad/Joystick/Racing Wheel is fully re-definable. It is recommended that you use a device with no less than 6 operational buttons. If the Joystick/Gamepad is enabled the Keyboard will 'not' function during game play except escape for menu access. NOTE: For Joystick/Gamepad calibration, please refer to the calibration function in the control panel: Start/Settings/ControlPanel/Game Controllers or Gaming Options. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.9 INSTALLATION The installer for LEGO Racers 2 will allow you to choose from 2 different install configurations; these options are as follows: > COMPACT INSTALL - 200MB = This option will install only the files that are required for the game. In-game movies will play/stream from the CD-ROM/DVD Drive. > RECOMMENDED INSTALL - 450MB = This option will install ALL files from the CD to your hard drive. This option will improve the playback performance of in-game movies. NOTE: The LEGO Racers 2 CD-ROM must be inserted into the drive at ALL times _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 2.10 OUTPUT LEGO Racers 2 will allow you to take snapshot of on-screen action as you play...! To do this you can hit F10 at anytime during play, which will grab the screen and save it to your hard drive in .BMP format. You will find ALL of you screenshots in the following directories For Windows 9X users: C:\My Documents\Games\LEGO Racers 2\Photos For Windows 2000 / XP users: C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\Games \LEGO Racers 2\Photos Double clicking on the image file will allow you to view the photo using your default paint editor. To print the photo, please make sure that your printer is installed correctly and is on-line, ready to print. You should then select PRINT from the FILE... Menu [Default]. --- PLEASE CONTACT YOUR HARDWARE MANUFACTURER FOR DETAILS CONCERNING YOUR PRINTER --- _________________________________________________________________ | 3.0 - TROUBLE SHOOTING | _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 3.1 FUNCTIONALITY ISSUES This section may answer some of the questions you have about LEGO Racers 2 and may present a solution to a problem you are having... > DESKTOP COLOR Your desktop must be in 256 color or greater for LEGO Racers 2 to function correctly. > HIGH RESOLUTIONS If you are using a Video adapter that has 16MB of memory you may experience texture problems / white icons when you switch to a resolutions that is higher than ,1280x1024,. If this occurs you should exit LEGO Racers 2 [ALT + F4] 'WITHOUT' saving your game to restore previous settings. Suggestion: If you wish to play LEGO Racers 2 in the highest resolutions you should upgrade your video adapter to 32MB. > SOUND QUALITY Some sound cards are not capable of using the HIGH setting for sound configuration. If you are having trouble with sound you should try lowering the settings from within the OPTIONS menu. Note: The default setting for sound is - MEDIUM > SOUND/MUSIC LEVELS You may find that your SOUND and/or MUSIC levels are conflicting. You can access the VOLUME CONTROL for each while you are in the MAIN MENU or the MAIN GAME. Adjust the levels of each item until you feel comfortable. > DRIVERS If you are having difficulties with LEGO Racers 2 please check the following: MINIMUM SPECIFICATION - Please ensure that your computer meets the minimum specification as defined in section 1.1 VIDEO DRIVERS - Please ensure that you have the latest drivers installed on your system as manufacturers frequently release new drivers for their products. The latest drivers should be DirectX 8.0 compatible. SOUND DRIVERS - Please ensure that you have the latest drivers installed on your system as manufacturers frequently release new drivers for their products. The latest drivers should be DirectX 8.0 compatible. > SHOULD I UPDATE MY DRIVERS...? YES...! If you have the opportunity to update your drivers you should do so. Newer drivers will, in general, improve performance and fix problematic issues and functionality. > SAVING SETTINGS ALL of your settings are saved when you select SAVE GAME from the LOAD/SAVE menu in the MAIN MENU. If you do NOT save before you exit the game, your settings will be LOST. > SAVE GAME When LEGO Racers 2 is uninstalled from your system, the Save game file will remain present in the following directory: For Windows 9X users: C:\My Documents\Games\LEGO Racers 2\Save Game For Windows 2000 / XP users: C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\Games \LEGO Racers 2\Save Game You can keep this file for future installations of LEGO Racers 2 or simply remove the folder completely [Delete Manually]. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 3.2 PERFORMANCE ISSUES > IMAGE QUALITY Setting the IMAGE QUALITY higher will require greater processing power and graphical capabilities. Performance may suffer if your computer is not up to the task. Suggestion - A LOWER setting of the IMAGE QUALITY will increase performance levels for older/Minimum specification systems. > DETAIL LEVEL Setting the IMAGE QUALITY higher will require greater processing power and graphical capabilities. Performance may suffer if your computer is not up to the task. Suggestion - A LOWER setting of the DETAIL LEVEL will increase performance levels for older/Minimum specification systems. > COMPRESSION Setting the COMPRESSION to LOW will give you better levels of detail during gameplay. Higher settings will increase performance. Suggestion - The default settings for COMPRESSION should be sufficient. > SOUND QUALITY Setting the SOUND QUALITY to LOW will increase system performance [MINIMAL] > RESOLUTION The default resolution for LEGO Racers 2 is 640x480x16. It is possible to increase the resolution to 1600x1200x32 [Dependent on Monitor]. Suggestion - It is NOT recommended that you raise the resolution above 800x600x32 if you are using a machine with MINIMUM SPECIFICATIONS. In general: [---x---x16] 16-Bit Modes will have performance benefits over [---x---x32] 32-Bit Modes. LEGO RACERS 2 SUPPORTS THE FOLLOWING GRAPHICS CHIPS/ADAPTERS: NVIDIA > VANTA TNT TNT II GEFORCE 256 / 256 DDR GEFORCE 2 - GTS / PRO / ULTRA / MX-200 / MX-400 GEFORCE 3 INTERNET URL - WWW.NVIDIA.COM [REFERENCE DRIVERS] ATI > RAGE 128 - XPERT / MAGNUM / FURY / ALL IN WONDER RAGE 128 PRO - XPERT2000 / FURY MAXX / ALL IN WONDER RADEON - VE / 32 DDR / 64 DRR VIVO / ALL IN WONDER INTERNET URL - WWW.ATI.COM 3DFX > VOODOO 3 - 2000 / 3000 / 3500 VOODOO 4 - 4500 VOODOO 5 - 5500 INTERNET URL - WWW.3DFX [REFERENCE DRIVERS] RECOMMENDED: Use MANUFACTURER drivers. MATROX > G400 - SINGLE-HEAD / DUAL-HEAD / MARVEL/ MAX G450 - SINGLE-HEAD/ DUAL-HEAD / E-TV INTERNET URL - WWW.MATROX.COM INTEL > INTEL 810 - 810 / 810E INTEL 815 - 815 / 815E INTERNET URL - WWW.INTEL.COM S3 > SAVAGE 4 SAVAGE 2000 INTERNET URL - WWW.S3GRAPHICS.COM POWER VR > KYRO KYRO II INTERNET URL - WWW.POWERVR.COM [REFERENCE DRIVERS] VOODOO OTHER GRAPHICAL ADAPTERS WILL FUNCTION IF DIRECTX 8.0 DRIVERS ARE USED. _________________________________________________________________ -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- 3.3 RECOMMENDED SETTINGS These recommendations are PROCESSOR based. If your system has a recently introduced 3D graphics accelerator installed [2000/2001] you may be able to take advantage of higher resolutions and detail settings with 'LOWER' clocked PROCESSORS. The following information is a guideline for your graphical settings. You should experiment to see which settings best suit you and your system. LOW SPECIFICATION [PENTIUM II 266 to 350] [CELERON 366 to 500] [K6-II 400 ------] [K6-III 400 to 450] DETAIL LEVEL |[]--------------------------| LOW OR DEFAULT IMAGE QUALITY |[]--------------------------| LOW OR DEFUALT COMPRESSION |-----[]---------------------| DEFAULT RESOLUTION |-------------[]-------------| 640x480x16 DEFAULT USE 16-Bit Modes ONLY MEDIUM SPECIFICATION [PENTIUM II 350 to 450] [PENTIUM III 450 to 600] [CELERON 500 to 800] [K6-II 550 ------] [K6-III 450 ------] [K7 ATHLON 500 to 600] [K7 DURON 800 ------] DETAIL LEVEL |-------------[]-------------| LOW TO MIDDLE IMAGE QUALITY |-------------[]-------------| LOW TO MIDDLE COMPRESSION |----[]----------------------| DEFAULT RESOLUTION |-------------[]-------------| 800x600 TO 1024x768 USE 16/32-Bit Modes HIGH SPECIFICATION [PENTIUM III 600 to 1000] [PENTIUM 4 1300 to 1400] [CELERON 800 to 900] [K7 ATHLON 600 to 1000] [K7 DURON 800 to 950 ] DETAIL LEVEL |--------------------[]------| MIDDLE TO HIGH IMAGE QUALITY |--------------------[]------| MIDDLE TO HIGH COMPRESSION |[]--------------------------| LOW RESOLUTION |-------------[]-------------| 800x600 TO 1280x1024 USE 16/32-Bit Modes ULTRA HIGH SPECIFICATION [PENTIUM III 1000+] [PENTIUM 4 1400+] [K7 ATHLON 1000+] [K7 DURON 1000+] DETAIL LEVEL |--------------------------[]| HIGH IMAGE QUALITY |--------------------------[]| HIGH COMPRESSION |[]--------------------------| LOW RESOLUTION |-------------------[]-------| 1280x1024 TO 1200x1600 USE 16/32-Bit Modes LOOKING AFTER YOUR CD-ROM Compact discs are very easily damaged if treated carelessly. Such damage has a much greater effect on the digital data of a CD-ROM than on the information of a music CD. A dirty or damaged CD-ROM is quite likely to malfunction. As CD-ROM drives become ever faster and more disc-sensitive, this is an increasing problem. The surface of the disc can quickly gather dirt and is easily scratched. To protect the data from scratches, fingerprints, dust particles, and smears, do not touch the data side (unlabeled side) of the disc. Also, never place it face down on a hard surface. Never leave the disc in a place subject to direct sunlight, high temperature, or high humidity. Recommended storage conditions are: Temperature: 10°C to 50°C (50°F to 122°F) Humidity: 10 percent to 80 percent. With proper care, CDs can have a long and productive life. _________________________________________________________________ | 4.0 - TECHNICAL SUPPORT | _________________________________________________________________ >>>> DETAILS CAN BE LOCATED WITHIN THE LEGO RACERS 2 MANUAL... _________________________________________________________________ |AUGUST 2001|