School Tycoon Readme

Welcome to School Tycoon. This readme will help you troubleshoot the game if you are having trouble getting it to run. Troubleshooting School Tycoon Problem A: The game won't start, produces an error indicating it failed to initialize direct3d, freezes up, reboots the system or drops to the desktop. Problem B: The game runs slow or choppy. Problem C: The game looks very blurry, or ob ects glow white and!or flicker. Problem D: The window constantly scrolls away. Problem E: The mouse cursor dissappears during play or is invisible. *********************************************************************************************

Problem A:

The game won't start, produces an error indicating it failed to initialize direct3d, freezes up, reboots the system or drops to the desktop. Possible Causes: A1. "ardware acceleration is disabled on your 3# card. A2. The video card drivers need to be updated. $%ost common& A . #irect' is not installed properly. A!. (our system does not meet the minimum hardware re)uirements. Solution to A1: "ardware acceleration must be turned to full, or your system may behave as if it does not have a 3# card. To ensure your hardware acceleration is turned to full, do the following* +. ,ight-click on your desktop and select ./roperties0. 1. 2lick the .Settings0 tab. 3. 2lick .3dvanced0. 4. 2lick the .Troubleshooting0 tab. 5. 6nsure the "ardware 3cceleration slider is set to .7ull0. Solution to A2* To update your video driver, you need to know what video card you have, and then we can point you to the proper place to get updated video drivers. To find out what kind of video card you have* +. ,ight-click on the desktop and select ./roperties0. 1. 2lick the .Settings0 tab. 3. 2lick .3dvanced0. 4. 2lick the '3dapter' tab. The video adapter type will be displayed. The most common video cards are made by 3T8 $,adeon&, 9:8#83 $;force&, or %atro<. To update your video cards, go to the following websites* 3T8 video drivers - http*!!www.ati.com!support!driver.html 9:8#83 ;force - http*!!www.nvidia.com!content!drivers!drivers.asp %atro< - http*!!www.matro<.com!mga!support!drivers!home.cfm

8f you have a different type of video adapter, search the web for the manufacturer of your video card. =nce you have downloaded the latest driver for your particular hardware and operating system, make sure you install it. %ost drivers come in the form of a downloadable e<ecutable that you must run. %ost of these installations will re)uire you to restart your system. 3fter updating your video driver, you could find your desktop screen resolution has been reset $bigger!smaller looking desktop icons&. To set this back, do the following* +. ,ight-click on your desktop and select ./roperties0. 1. 2lick the .Settings0 tab. 3. 3d ust the .Screen area0 resolution slider to an acceptable setting and click .3pply0. Solution to A : 8f the installation program installed #irect', a full reboot must be performed in order for it to work properly. ,eboot your system, and try the game again. 3lternatively, you can download and install the latest version of #irect' at* >http*!!www.microsoft.com!direct<? or >http*!!www.microsoft.com!windows!direct<? Solution to A!: The most common shortfall in the system re)uirements is the 3# video card. This can be difficult to know for sure, as the names of the video cards can be deceptive. @pgrading your video card is relatively simple and ine<pensive. 9:8#83 ;force and 3T8 ,adeon cards are industry leaders and are highly recommended. Aeep in mind that hardware manufacturers fre)uently distribute outdated video drivers, so when installing new hardware, be sure to download the latest drivers from the manufacturers web site instead of using the ones that come with your card $31&. The second most common configuration shortfall is free disk space. %ake sure you have plenty of free hard disk space available when running the game. $3t least 1BB %C&. *********************************************************************************************

Problem B:

;ame runs slow or choppy.

Possible Causes: B1" ;ame detail settings are too high for your machine to handle. B2" (ou have walled off buildings or the entrance to your school. Solution to B1: 8n the School Tycoon %ain %enu, click 'Settings0. 3d ust the music volume to zero, set the detail to 'Dow', select '"igh 2olor', set the screen size to 'EBB<FBB' and select .:erte< Shading'. The game will run at its fastest at these settings. =n many systems the difference between high detail and medium detail can be very significant, so trying the medium detail option might be worthwhile. 8f the game continues to run slow, even at the start of a new level, upgrading your video card is the best solution. 8f the game only runs slow when you have a very large, developed level, then upgrading your system processor may be the best solution. Solution to B2: 8f the game suddenly becomes choppy, make sure you have not walled off a building or the entrance to your school. This can cause significant performance problems.

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Problem C:

The game looks very blurry, or contains glowing white or flickering ob ects. Causes: C1" (our video card memory is low. Solution to C1: 7rom the School Tycoon %ain %enu, click 'Settings'. Set the detail to '%edium' or 'Dow', and select ':erte< Shading'. The game should now run on video cards with low memory. *********************************************************************************************

Problem D:

The window constantly scrolls away. Causes: D1" 3n uncalibrated oystick or oypad connected to computer. Solution to D1: @nplug your oystick, or go to the oystick applet in the Windows 2ontrol /anel, and calibrate it. *********************************************************************************************

Problem E:

The mouse cursor dissappears or is invisible. Causes: @nkown Solution: While the game is running type 'safemouse' to enable a software mouse cursor.