Electronic Arts (tm) Presents NASCAR ® Revolution SE by EA SPORTS (tm) Thank you for purchasing EA SPORTS NASCAR Revolution SE. This README file contains information on new features not covered in the manual. It also contains instructions on installing and running NASCAR Revolution SE. Finally, this README contains information on known hardware problems. VERSION NOTE: The SE version is officially the v1.03 of NASCAR Revolution. We officially released two patches (v1.01 and v1.02) to the original game. We are going to release v1.04 in late October, which will add Internet Play. This version will update both the original Revolution as well as Revolution SE. Table of Contents =============================== I. Final Release Notes and Requirements A. SE Release notes (including changes made in the patches to the original Revolution) B. Installation Notes C. Game Notes D. Requirements II. Functions III. Supported Controllers IV. Supported 3D Hardware V. General Support A. Multiplayer B. Video Cards C. Sound Cards D. Controllers VI. Licenses VII. Staccato VIII. Software =============================== I. Final Release Notes and Requirements =============================== A. Release Notes =============================== The following changes have been added in the SE version (v1.03). - Added Internet Play (turned ON by downloading v1.04 patch available in late October) - CD Checking (need the CD in to play) - The default camera view is now the In Car view - Larger pit stop time variance for Pit Mistakes ON as well as OFF - Adding more detailed text messages i.e. more input to player about track status, penalty descriptions, and flag conditions (example: "Pace Car Out", "Black Flag for Speeding on Pit Row") - Removed flag man animation from In Car view and replaced with detailed Text Messages - Added mouse steering control (option available in Controller Options) - Added more dynamic bulb flashing for night tracks (ie. less frequency and tied to on track action) - Changed black flag penalty functionality (i.e. If you get a black flag for speeding on pit row or entering the pits when they are closed you will be given a black flag penalty after servicing). - Added a HARD_HIT case to the yellow flag triggering. It should create more yellow flag situations during a race. - Refined the AI driving in the game (more dynamic, more passing, and more taking looks) Upgrades/Fixes that were made in v1.01 and v1.02 that are also included in SE. - Improved race strategy for the CPU cars concerning yellow flags. - The force feedback ON/OFF setting gets saved when exiting. - Car Setups will now be saved when you leave the track and return (including leaving the game and returning). - Another pass at improving the spotter logic. - Smoke on the CPU cars is now visible. - Damaged cars in Simulation will retain the body and cosmetic damage after pitting. The following changes were been added in Patch v1.01 - Found some more performance improvements (should bring up the performance for AMD users). - Fixed a Save Game Bug, which crashed the game later in the race (linked to damaged out cars). - Fixed a Controller recognition bug that caused some users to have to recalibrate the controller every time they launched the game. - Added new sliders (Cars Drawn in Front and Cars Drawn in Back) to help overall performance (located in Video Options). The default is 12 cars in the Front and 4 cars in the Back. On most medium- to high-end systems you should be able to set these both to the maximum 42. - Added the ability to Turn Force Feedback ON and OFF (located in Controller Options). - Changed the logic behind counting black flags laps before disqualification. Basically, the first time you cross the start/finish line will not decrement the amount of laps remaining. - Improved Glide performance. - Improved frame rate in the in-car view. - Arcade Setting: The arcade setting in the game is very similar to the release version. There were changes to the physics model which result in greater tire squeal, improved braking, and a 'livelier' car feel. All the qualifying times and opponent strengths have been adjusted to these changes. The default car setups are adjusted for Arcade physics. - Simulation Setting This is completely changed from the release version. We've adjusted the feel of the car including adding tire squeal, wheel spin, and improved braking. All the qualifying times and opponent strengths have been adjusted to fit the physics changes, but the setups are not optimized for Simulation physics. NOTE: Please visit www.nascarrevolution.com if you want some setups to start with for Simulation mode. The default setups are optimized for Arcade physics and are not only not competitive in Simulation mode, but also are very unbalanced. - Fine-tuned the support for Creative Labs Environmental Audio Extensions. - Cleaned up yellow flags (including first place when a yellow comes out, lap down pitting under yellow) including adding a wider distance between cars, and limiting the behind the field catch-up speed. - Cleaned up computer control under yellow flags. - Cleaned up restarts (you will get an audio "The lights on top of the pace car are out" when coming out of the last turn before a restart). The lights will then go out on the pace car. As you cross the start/finish line we've smoothed the transition back to the racing line (from the yellow line) and regulated the player's car speed relative to the other cars. - Increased the volume for non-player car engine sounds. - Spotter logic has been reworked. - Removed the post RETIRE camera pull out entirely, with the exception that it will stay when you finish a race and at the end of qualifying. - Fixed Voodoo2/Glide issues with the latest 3Dfx drivers. - Fixed unlocked legends not tracking properly in Championship Standings. - New AI lines at 10 tracks. - Fixed engine cut out (new STSC011.DLL) Please note that all SAVE GAMES and SAVE REPLAYS (saved with the release version) will not be compatible with this patch. B. Installation Notes =============================== Auto run disclaimer - If the game doesn't auto run properly, please run setup.exe which is located in the root directory of the NASCAR Revolution SE CD. NASCAR Revolution SE can't be run directly off the CD. Please find and run setup.exe on the CD to install the game. Detecting Glide® in the launcher- If you're experiencing problems having the launcher detect Glide, please find the USERSAV folder and delete the launcher.sav file, and try again. If you are experiencing problems after you have installed a new video card or changed any hardware settings and the game was running properly on your previous video card or previous hardware settings, try deleting the launcher.sav and tech.cfg files located in the USERSAV folder. Please don't delete the USERSAV folder, it's required for Revolution SE to work properly. C. Game Notes =============================== Keyboards and Game pad - Due to the limitations of these controllers we recommend that you drop the opponent strength to 85% in Arcade, and 95% for Simulation. Serial and Modem Play - For best performance limit the amount of CPU cars on the track. We recommend a maximum of 4 total cars for both modem and serial play. Force Feedback Limitation - There is no force feedback in Multiplayer or League Play. Pit Row Assignments - If you qualify 21st or higher you will be put in the front pit stall on the front stretch of all dual pits tracks. If you qualify 22nd or worse you will be placed in the front stall on the backstretch. Sometimes when loading a Saved game the pit window will not come up when you are coming down pit lane. Press 'P' to bring up the pit window. D. Game Requirements =============================== NASCAR Revolution SE requires DirectX(tm) 6 to run. Note: You can install DirectX 6 from the NASCAR Revolution SE CD. Go to the DirectX6\DirectX directory and run DXSETUP.EXE. Minimum Configuration =============================== Windows® 95 or 98 (Windows NT is not supported) 200 MHz or faster Intel® Pentium®, Cyrix® 6x86(tm), or AMD(tm) K6(tm) processor 32MB RAM 8X CD-ROM drive (600K/second transfer rate) using 32-bit Windows 95 or 98 CD-ROM driver High Color (65,535) capable 1 MB PCI video card with DirectDraw(tm) compatible driver Sound Card with DirectSound(tm) support 370MB free hard disk space plus space for saved games (additional space required for DirectX 6 installation) 3D Accelerator with Direct3D(tm) and/or Glide 3.02 and higher (see Supported 3D Hardware section) Recommended Configuration =============================== 266 MHz Pentium II processor or higher 64 MB RAM (or higher recommended for Multiplayer hosting) 24x or faster CD-ROM drive using 32-bit Windows 95 or 98 CD-ROM driver Voodoo2(tm) accelerator card or Voodoo3(tm) (see Supported 3D Hardware section for detailed listing) DirectSound3D(tm) and Environmental Audio(tm) supported audio card Racing wheel or game controller (see Supported Controllers section) Required for multiplayer games =============================== Network (2-8 players) - IPX Network Modem (2 player) - 100% Hayes-compatible 28.8bps or faster modem - High speed serial port (16550 UART) Serial Play (2 player) - Null modem cable - High speed serial port (16500 UART) - Recommended Baud Rate: 115200 (for best results use the same Baud Rate) What is Direct3D? Direct3D is a universal API from Microsoft® providing a standard interface for programmers to access your 3D hardware without having to write for specific devices. Most 3D cards support Direct3D. The latest driver package for your card should contain Direct3D drivers for your video card. Note: You can install DirectX 6 from the NASCAR Revolution SE CD. Go to the DirectX6\DirectX directory and run DXSETUP.EXE. What is Glide? Glide is a proprietary API (Application Programming Interface), especially designed for 3Dfx. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your 3Dfx card, your vendor will have a driver set that contains both Glide and Direct3D runtime drivers. You can download them from your card manufacturer's homepage. If your card manufacturer does not include the required Glide version or greater in their driver package, or if you are having trouble with their latest drivers, we suggest using the 3Dfx reference drivers available at www.3dfx.com. We have provided for your convenience the 3Dfx reference drivers for the Voodoo1(tm) and the Voodoo Rush(tm) on the NASCAR Revolution SE CD in the 3Dfx directory. =============================== II. Function Keys =============================== [F1] - Help (overlay on/OFF) [F2] - Trackmap (on/OFF) [F3] - Race Statistics (ON/off) [F4] - Car Dials (ON/off) [F5] - Speed and Gear (ON/ add Tire Wear overlay / off) [F6] - Reflections (ON/off) [F7] - Dynamic Skies (ON/off) [F8] - Horizon (ON/off) [F9] - Draw Distance (low/MEDIUM/high) [F11] - Rear View Mirror (on/OFF) [F12] - TV Style Race Standings (on/OFF) [V] - Cycle Through Available Views =============================== III. Supported Controllers =============================== These controllers are detected (showing a picture of the controller in the Controller Options) and specifically button mapped for use in NASCAR Revolution SE. ACT Labs RS Steering Wheel Gravis Exterminator Gravis Game pad Logitech Formula (please use Logitech Wingman Software 3.1 for proper game detection) Logitech Formula Force USB and Serial (please use Logitech Wingman Software 3.1 for proper game detection) Logitech Wingman Extreme Digital Logitech Thunderpad Digital Mad Catz Andretti Racing Wheel Microsoft SideWinder game pad Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Wheel Microsoft SideWinder 3D Pro Microsoft SideWinder Freestyle Pro Thrustmaster NASCAR Pro Racing Wheel Thrustmaster Sprint Racing Wheel Thrustmaster Super Sport Most other controllers will be defaulted to their specific categories (example: wheels are recognized as generic wheels) and will work in the game with default button mappings. Button Mapping - We have made every effort to make all button configurations mappable on every controller, but in some cases the buttons are not mappable. If you are experiencing problems with the button mapping after switching to a different controller please try either clicking "Use Defaults" in the controller options or manually remap the individual buttons. =============================== IV. Supported 3D Hardware =============================== The game supports most 2nd generation chipsets including: 3Dfx (Voodoo, Voodoo Rush, Voodoo2, Voodoo3 and the Banshee(tm)), Intel I740, NVIDIA® RIVA TNT, RIVA TNT2, and RIVA 128(tm), ATI Rage 128, S3 Savage 3D, and the Rendition Verite 2200. =============================== V. General Support =============================== A. Multiplayer =============================== - Serial Link Problems - If you are experiencing difficulties establishing a serial game connection, check to ensure you are using a null-modem cable and not a standard serial cable. Also, make sure that you are trying to connect at the same BAUD RATE. If you are still having trouble connecting, double check that the COM port that you are using is a valid COM port. - Canceling out of League/Multiplayer games - In you are the client in a League/Multiplayer game and upon returning from a race you cancel out of the lobby before the Host returns you will sometimes experience problems. Please be sure to allow the Host machine to return back to the lobby before Canceling. B. Video Cards =============================== - It is highly recommended that the latest versions of all video and sound drivers are obtained and installed. - Voodoo2 owners - If you're experiencing a black square around your mouse pointer, make sure that under Advanced Properties in the 3Dfx Voodoo2 Display Properties, that Enable Automatic Mipmapping for Direct3D is unchecked. - Voodoo2 owners - If you're experiencing graphical problems (like yellow sheets on the Select Car and Track screen), Please make sure Force Triple Color Buffer for Glide Apps is unchecked in 3Dfx Voodoo2 Display Properties under Advanced Settings. - Voodoo2 owners - If the rearview mirror is not functioning properly (blinking with yellowish colors) in Glide, Please make sure Force Triple Color Buffer for Glide Apps is unchecked in 3Dfx Voodoo2 Display Properties under Advanced Settings. - Voodoo1/Voodoo Rush owners - If you're experiencing text and/or mouse pointer distortion please make sure the default gamma settings are being used. - Voodoo1/Voodoo Rush owners running Glide - If you're experiencing problems with the currently installed drivers then, a) Get the latest drivers from you card manufacturer b) Get the latest drivers from 3Dfx (www.3Dfx.com) c) Use the drivers located on this CD in the 3DFx folder - Voodoo Banshee running Glide (reference driver version: 3.10.00.0122) - If you're experiencing clear menu highlights, some of the colored in game overlays not appearing, and the mouse cursor is slow to update it is a known issue. Please check the 3Dfx website for an updated driver. - NVIDIA Riva TNT - In the front end menus selecting through items (example: car selection) occasionally causes a pink/white flash. - All ATI 3D Rage Pro cards (ATI Rage Pro 4MB AGP, ATI All-In-Wonder PRO 4MB AGP, ATI All-In-Wonder PRO 4MB, ATI Xpert@play 4MB, ATI Xpert@work 4MB) are unsupported. - Macronix Voodoo Rush 4MB, Macronix Voodoo Rush 6MB - In the in game pause menu the mouse cursor has a pink or magenta hue around the edges. Glide is not supported on these cards. - Diamond Stealth (tm) II S220 4MB (Rendition Verite 2100) - In the pause menu, the mouse cursor has some pink or magenta hue around the edges. - Symetrix Glider-Max 2 - During fly by in the game, all the textures flash green. - Intel I740 - We recommend that you limit the in game Screen Resolution (adjustable from within the Video Options) to 800x600. B. Sound Cards =============================== - Sound Problems (playing menu and game sounds only once) with the PCI128 and Windows 98. Please decrease the amount of audio hardware acceleration under the Multimedia Properties located in the Control Panel. - Music Volume - On some sound cards the music volume will not be adjustable within the game. We recommend adjusting the CD audio volume outside of the game. C. Controllers =============================== - If you're experiencing loss of control with any wheel, please go into the Game Controllers applet located in the Control Panel, and uncheck "Poll with interrupts enabled". - If you're experiencing problems with the ACT Labs RS wheel either re-calibrating or losing connection altogether make sure you use driver version 103. In testing we experienced problems with driver versions 103a and 104. - Thrustmaster Super Sport and Sprint Wheels - If you're having trouble calibrating these wheels within NASCAR Revolution SE (from Controller Options, Calibrate Joystick), please try calibrating outside the game from within the Control Panel -> Game Controllers applet. Please also make sure you have the latest software installed from Thrustmaster. - If you're using the Logitech Wingman Formula or the Logitech Wingman Formula Force USB or Serial make sure you use Logitech Wingman Software version 3.1. In order for the game to properly detect these wheels make sure you select these exact entries in the Game Controllers applet "Logitech Wingman Formula", "Logitech Wingman Formula Force USB", and "Logitech Wingman Formula Force Serial". =============================== VI. Licenses =============================== "John Andretti" name and likeness, and likeness of #43 STP car used under license from Petty Enterprises. 'General Mills, Inc.' trademarks, 'Roush Racing' and Johnny Benson, Jr's name and/or likeness by authority of Roush Racing, Livonia, MI. "Geoff Bodine" name and likeness used under license from Mattei Motorsports. "Geoff Bodine" is a U.S. Registered Trademark of G.E.B., Incorporated. 'Exide' trademarks, 'Roush Racing' and Jeff Burton's name and/or likeness by authority of Roush Racing, Livonia, MI. 'Primestar' trademarks, 'Roush Racing' and Ted Musgrave's name and/or likeness by authority of Roush Racing, Livonia, MI. "Ricky Craven" name and likeness, and likeness of #25 Hendrick Motorsports car under license granted by Hendrick Motorsports. © 1999 Hendrick Motorsports. "Ward Burton" name, signature and likeness, and likeness of Bill Davis Racing Team Car #22 are used under license granted by Ward Burton and Bill Davis Racing. "Dale Earnhardt" name and likeness, and likeness of the #3 Richard Childress Racing car used under license from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. © 1999 license for driver, helmet, car and uniform granted by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. "Bill Elliott" name and likeness; likeness of the Bill Elliott Racing Team and "McDonald's" trademark are used under license granted by Advantage Management, Inc. "Jeff Gordon" name, signature and likeness; "DuPont" trademark, and likeness of #24 Hendrick Motorsports car used under license granted from Jeff Gordon, Inc. © 1999 license for driver, helmet, car and uniform granted by Jeff Gordon, Inc. "David Green" name and likeness, and likeness of the #96 Caterpillar sponsored stock car, "CAT" and "Cat Racing" designs used under license. Bobby Hamilton name and likeness, Morgan McClure Motorsports, KODAK, GOLD, MAX and Trade Dress are trademarks licensed to Electronic Arts Inc. by Eastman Kodak Company. © Under license from Eastman Kodak Company. "Bobby Labonte" name and likeness used under license from Redline Sports, © 1999 Redline Sports. "Terry Labonte" name and likeness and Kellogg's marks under license granted by Kellogg Company and Hendrick Motorsports. TM, © 1999 Kellogg Company. "Sterling Marlin" name and likeness and likeness of SABCO Racing cars © 1999 SABCO Racing, Inc. All rights reserved. "Valvoline" trademarks, "Roush Racing" and "Mark Martin" name and/or likeness by authority of Roush Racing, Livonia MI. "Steve Park" name and likeness, and the likeness of the Dale Earnhardt racing car #1 are used under license. HOT WHEELS is a trademark owned by and used under license (with permission) from Mattel, Inc. © 1999 Mattel, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Richard Petty items licensed by © Petty Marketing Co., LLC. Richard Petty name is a trademark exclusively of © Petty Marketing Co. LLC. Ricky Rudd's name, signature and likeness, and the #10 car number of the Winston Cup Car owned by Rudd Performance Motorsports, Inc. are used under license granted by LCR, Inc. TIDE is a registered trademark of Procter & Gamble Company. "Ken Schrader" and "Andy Petree Racing" licensed under the authority of SCM Marketing. "Mike Skinner" name and likeness, and likeness of the #31 Richard Childress Racing Team Car are used under license. "Hut Stricklin" name and likeness; "Circuit City" trademark, and likeness of Stavola Brothers Racing Team are used under license. "Dick Trickle" name and likeness, and likeness of Junie Donlavey Racing Team used under license. © 1999 Square D. All rights reserved. D [the "D" is in a square] and Square D are registered trademarks of Square D Company. Kenny Wallace/FILMAR Racing licensed by TMDG, Harrisburg, NC. "Rusty Wallace" name and likeness used under license from Rusty Wallace, Inc. "Penske" and "Penske Auto Center" trademarks under license from Penske Racing South, Inc. "Darrell Waltrip" name and likeness, "Darrell Waltrip Motorsports" and the likeness of the Darrell Waltrip racing car #17 are used under license. "Michael Waltrip" name and likeness and likeness of "Wood Brothers Racing" are used under license. "Cale Yarborough" name and likeness used under license. No Fear is a registered trademark of No Fear, Inc. and its use is pursuant to a limited trademark authorization from No Fear, Inc. STP ® trademark used under license. Tracks: Darlington Raceway, Phoenix International Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, Watkins Glen and all associated logos are the property of International Speedway Corporation and used under license. Pocono Raceway ® is the registered trademark of Pocono International Raceway, Inc. All other car, team and driver images, track names, trademarks and other intellectual property are used under license from their respective owners. NASCAR is a registered trademark of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. NASCAR Revolution SE software © 1999 Electronic Arts. All rights reserved. =============================== VII. Staccato =============================== Patent Notice: "Certain sound technology included in this product is licensed under patents of Stanford University and Yamaha Corporation as listed on the following website: www.sondius-xg.com" Copyright Notice: "This Product contains one or more programs and/or data/parameters protected under international and U.S. copyright laws as unpublished works. They are confidential and proprietary to the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, Yamaha Corporation and/or Staccato Systems, Inc. Their reproduction or disclosure, in whole or in part, or the production of derivative works therefrom without the express written consent of Owners is prohibited. Copyright -1986-1999 by Owners. All rights reserved." =============================== VIII. Software =============================== Windows® 95 or Windows® 98 is either a trademark or registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other Countries. Microsoft®, DirectX(tm), DirectDraw(tm), DirectSound(tm), DirectSound3D(tm) and Direct3D(tm) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. © 1999 3Dfx Interactive, Inc. The 3Dfx interactive logo, Voodoo Graphics ®, Voodoo Rush(tm), Voodoo Banshee(tm), Voodoo2(tm), Voodoo3(tm), and Glide® are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of 3Dfx Interactive, Inc. in the USA and in other select countries. All rights reserved. NVIDIA ® is a registered trademark of Nvidia Corporation. Pentium ® is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. 6x86(tm) is a trademark and Cyrix is a registered trademark of Cyrix Corporation. AMD(tm) and K6(tm) are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Dolby and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. "Environmental Audio" is a trademark and the Environmental Audio logo is a registered trademark of Creative Technologies Ltd. NASCAR Revolution SE software © 1999 Electronic Arts. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.