ReadMe file (by 2 users)

Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4

Readme File (English)
V1.00
March, 2002

Contents

1. Video cards successfully tested on & supported
2. Video Card Drivers
3. Advanced Graphics configuration
4. Audio Problems and Sound Card drivers
5. Processors successfully tested on & supported
6. 3D performance
7. Networked play
8. Keyboard Shortcuts
9. Web Site
10. Credits

1. Video cards successfully tested on & supported


3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP
3Dfx Voodoo3 3500 AGP
3Dfx Voodoo3 3000 PCI
3Dfx Voodoo3 2000 PCI
3Dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP
ATI Rage 128
ATI Rage Pro AGP 2x (Software)
ATI Rage Fury
Kyro 2
NVidia GeForce256
NVidia GeForce256 DDR
NVidia GeForce 2
NVidia GeForce 3
NVidia Riva TNT2 & Ultra
NVidia Riva TNT2 M64
Matrox Millenium G200
Matrox Millenium G400 Dualhead
Matrox Millenium G400 MAX
Matrox Millenium G550
Radeon 256
Radeon 7500
Radeon 8500
S3 Savage 4
Savage 3D

Grand Prix 4 requires the latest video drivers, available from your
hardware manufacturer's web site. Please see below for internet links to
hardware
manufacturers web sites.

2. Video Card Drivers


You can download these drivers from the Internet. If you are experiencing
problems with Grand Prix 4, look for your video card below to find the Web
address where you can download the appropriate drivers.

Creative Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT
Creative Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT2 & Ultra
Creative Graphics Blaster Annihilator & DDR
#

Matrox MGA Millennium series
Matrox MGA Mystique series
Matrox Millennium G400 & G400 Max
#

ATI 3D Rage Pro
ATI Rage II
ATI Rage II+
ATI 3D Rage 128
ATI 3D Rage Fury Maxx
#

3Dfx reference drivers (for all Voodoo cards - recommended)
#

NVidia reference drivers (for all NVidia chipset based cards - recommended)
#

3. Advanced Graphics configuration


*** This information is intended for advanced users only. It is recommended
that you ***
*** back-up the file "cards.txt" before making any changes.
***

GP4 creates a file named "cards.txt" in the root of the installation
directory when the
game graphics are first calibrated. This is a .ini style file which lets you
override
certain Direct3D specific settings at run-time.

The file will have an entry for each 3d card in your system (usually only
one) in the
following format:-

[Video card make and model]

There will also be a [general] entry - this is unused at present and can be
safely ignored.

The following is a list of the current flags you can set. Simply type the
required flag
beneath the card which you want to affect. The defaults for each flag are
listed in the
examples below.

FLAG EXPLANATION
++++ +++++++++++

CompressedTextures=0 Force compressed textures to off.

CubeMaps=0 Force cubemapping to off.

Tnl=0 Force tnl off.

MipTyres=0 Turn mipmappin off on tyres.

FMTA8R8G8B8=0 Force textures to be 16 bit.

explicitTyreSize=0 Resize tyre textures on load.

wheelSpecular=0 Turn off specular on wheels.

surfaceAsRenderTarget=0 Don't allow surfaces to be used as render targets.

D3DTextureSize32=0 Resize textures of with a width or height of 32 .

4. Audio Problems and Sound Card drivers


4.1 Sound Driver Issues

As with all drivers you should ensure you have the latest available. This
will usually fix any problems associated with older drivers. When you
install new drivers please remember to re-calibrate the audio from within
the audio menu to get the suggested audio settings. The recalibration may
not work on all sound cards. If you experience any problems recalibrating
the audio please manually change your audio settings.

4.2 Reducing CPU hit for audio

Some sound cards and drivers can have a detremental effect on the
performance of the game. When you have no hardware acceleration available or
selected in the audio menu, windows will be mixing all the sounds for the
game in software. This can reduce the speed of the game considerably. You
can adjust windows audio system settings in the windows control panel.

*In windows 98/Me look at Control Panel- Properties-
*In windows 2000/XP look at Control Panel- Devices-
Here you will find two sliders. The top slider is the amount of hardware
acceleration windows will try to use for the sound. The bottom slider is the
output quality of the sound.

If you put the top slider to "Full" windows will try to use all the features
of your sound card. i.e. hardware acceleration and EAX (if supported). If
you put the slider all the way to the left windows will use a very basic way
of creating the sound. (On some machines this will not replay the sound
correctly in the game). If you are having problems with the sound try
adjusting this slider until you find a satisfactory result.

The bottom slider is useful to adjust the sound reproduction quality. If you
do not have any hardware acceleration available in the game you can adjust
this to use less CPU time at the expense of sound quality. In windows XP the
default value for this slider is "Best". This will render the highest
interpolated quality sound (at a high CPU hit). Reducing this down to a
lower level will help to ease the CPU hit significantly and therefore speed
up the game.

4.3 Internet Driver Links

You can download these drivers from the Internet. If you are experiencing
problems with Grand Prix 4, look for your sound card below to find the Web
address where you can download the appropriate drivers. Please see below for
internet links to hardware manufacturers web sites.

Creative Audigy (all versions)
Creative Soundblaster Live
Creative Soundblaster PCI 512
Creative Soundblaster PCI 128
Creative Soundblaster PCI 64
Creative Soundblaster AWE 64
Creative Soundblaster 16 PCI
#

Videologic SonicFury
Videologic SonicVortex2
Videologic SonicStorm
Videologic SonicStorm Pro
#

All Yamaha branded Soundcards
#

Guillemot Maxi Studio ISIS
Guillemot Maxi Sound
#

Diamond Monster Sound
Diamond Sonic Sound
Diamond Sonic Impact
Diamond Sonic Vibes
#

Aztech Labs Aztech
Aztech Labs Sound Galaxy
Aztech Labs waverider
#

Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
Voyetra Turtle Beach Montego II
#

5. Processors successfully tested on & supported


Intel Pentium II
Intel Pentium III
Intel Pentium IV
Intel Celeron
AMD K6-2 3DNow! (via DirectX7)
AMD K6-3 3DNow! (via DirectX7)
AMD K7/Athlon 3DNow! (via DirectX7)

6. 3D performance


The game's 3D performance will vary from configuration to configuration, but
there are many options available in-game to allow the user to get the best
compromise between performance and gameplay.

During a race, you can find out your "Processor Occupancy" rating by
pressing
the "O" key.
This figure is given as a percentage. It is important that this figure is
kept
as close to (or below) the 100% mark as possible - anything higher and the
game
physics will be compromised and gameplay will suffer. Here are some tips
for
lowering the occupancy:-

- Run the game in a lower resolution
- Reduce the quality of the textures used in-game in the Advanced Graphics
Options
- Reduce the quality of the shadows and turn off environment maps in the
Advanced Graphics Options
- Reduce the objects shown in the mirror view in the Advanced Graphics
Options
- Turn off some of the trackside objects
- Lower the frame rate setting
- Reduce the size of your replay buffer in the Graphics Detail Menu
- Run the audio calibration from the sound menu. (see section 4 above)
- Adjust windows audio system settings from the control panel (see section 4
above)

7. Networked play


Network play is supported for up to eight players simultaneously via a Local
Area
Network. It is possible to play with up to 22 players, but this is not
supported
due to current hardware limitations, and the need for high-spec systems to
be able
to run such large network games. The following points should be noted for
larger
network games:-

1. The game will run at the same speed on all machines. This means that if
you
have one slow machine on the network, then everybody's game performance will
suffer.
The problem machines should lower the detail/frame rate settings to improve
overall
performance. You can trace problem machines using the Processor Occupancy
button
("O").

2. The game can support 22 players, but only if all players are running on
high
specification machines. This is to future proof the game. It is not
possible
at this time to have a large network game using minimum specification
machines.

3. TCP/IP play over the internet via analog modems is not currently
supported
due to the low transfer rates.

8. Keyboard Shortcuts


<shift <shift O - Show processor occupancy

9. Web Site


At Infogrames, it is a priority to ensure that you have everything you need
to get the best
out of your product. In fact, our web sites are designed to enhance your
playing or
learning experience and not just be there to help if you have a problem.
Therefore,
Infogrames has a full and exciting web site ...
read more »