THEXDER TECHNICAL TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS

Thank you for purchasing Thexder.  In order for you to receive the best
possible performance, Sierra has included additional technical tips and
game information that was not available when the documentation was 
printed.  The following supplemental information should be considered 
part of the game documentation.  Also, at the end of this README is 
information on how to install the demos included on this CD.


HANDY TO KNOW

Thexder is designed to only work in Windows 95.  It will not run under 
any other operating systems.

When Windows 95 is focused on Thexder, it will not allow sounds for 
other applications to play.  Thexder will perform best if no other 
applications are open in Windows 95.

Do not remove the CD while playing the game.

To skip over the movies you've already seen, move the mouse on top of 
the movie and click the left mouse 
button while the movie is playing.

There are graphic files of most of the Techies in a subdirectory in the
CD.  You may want to copy some or all of these to your Windows 95 
directory for use as wallpaper.


MENU CHOICE QUESTIONS

Question: The menu choice under "Options - Display Resolution - High 
(Most Detail - Least Speed)" is not selectable.  Why?
Answer:  This happens if your Windows 95 screen resolution is at 
800 x 600 or less.  Your Win95 monitor setting must be at least 
1024 x 768 to access this game resolution.  If you are 640 x 480, only
the "Low" choice is highlighted.

Question: My energy cells decrease when I die and restart, but don't 
decrease when I click on "File - Replay".  What's the difference?
Answer: The Replay menu choice lets you "try again".  You don't keep 
the points you scored in that level, but you do get the chance to get a
higher score to add to your cumulative instead of keeping the points 
you got the last time through.

Question:  When I select "File - Load", then load SEG01.THL or 
SEG02.THL, I can't read all the text on the screen.
Answer:  The SEG01 and SEG02 files are only used for network gameplay.
Do not load them for gameplay.


ERROR MESSAGES

Question:  When I remove the CD in the middle of gameplay, I get an error
message that I can't close.
Answer:  Do not remove the CD while playing the game.


GENERAL QUESTIONS

Question:  I started a new game of Thexder, but I don't hear any music
 - only sound effects and speech.  How do I enable the music?
Answer:  When you first start your Thexder game, the music option will 
default to the off position.  If you would like to hear the music while
you play the game, simply pull down the OPTIONS menu and select the 
MUSIC option.  When a check mark appears next to the MUSIC option in 
this menu, music will be enabled.  You will need a sound card with MIDI
(supporting either FM Synthesis such as the Sound Blaster series of 
cards, or a General MIDI device such as a Roland Sound Canvas) in order
to hear music.

Question:  How many worlds and levels are in Thexder?
Answer:  There are 10 worlds.  Each world has 5 levels, so there are a 
total of 50 levels to fight your way through.

Question:  I played the game before, but now I don't see an icon for it
on my computer.  Why?
Answer:  When you inserted the Thexder CD, the autoplay feature brings 
up some choices:  Run, Install, Uninstall, and Quit.  If you chose 
"Run", Thexder will not create an icon or install the game to your 
computer.  To create an icon to run Thexder now or later, choose 
"Install".

Question:  The game takes a while to load the data at the start of the 
game.  Why?
Answer:  All the music and data for each world is loaded at the start 
of the game to reduce delays during gameplay.

Question:  While the movie was playing, I minimized then maximized the
Thexder window.  Now the movie sounds weird, the movie flashes, or the 
colors in the game look weird.  What can I do?
Answer:  Don't minimize the game while the movie is playing.  

Question:  I'm on the first level.  I can't transform into a plane or 
tank.  Why?
Answer:  The Mission Director explained this in the briefing movie you 
see before starting the first level.  Your Thexder unit must collect 
equipment along the way.  You will not be able to transform into a 
plane until you complete the first five levels of Terra Nova and reach 
the second world, called Delta 6.  Once you complete the five levels of
Delta 6, you'll gain access to transform into a tank, plane, or walker.  

Question:  I'm in the middle of a level.  How do I save my game?
Answer:  Your saved game position and points are automatically saved 
after you quit the game.

Question:  While I hold down my up and right arrows to jump to the 
upper right, I press the spacebar to fire my weapons.  Whenever I do 
this, my computer beeps at me like I'm holding down too many keys at 
once.  However, when I play on a friend's computer, it works fine.
Answer:  Use the 1, 3, 7, and 9 keys on the number pad to move diagon
-ally.  Now you can press the spacebar to fire without problems.  Some 
computers' keyboards support multiple keypresses (pressing three keys 
or more at once).

Question:  I can't aim my laser at specific targets.  Why?
Answer:  The laser is an auto-aiming weapon.  Once there are no enemies
on the screen to "distract" it, the laser will fire in a straight line 
or at secret entrances.  This may be distracting at first, but when 
you're surrounded by lots of enemies, you don't want to take the time 
to aim.  Just face the enemies and shoot!

Question:  Whenever I'm tank mode, I have to transform into a plane to 
get back to walker mode, or when I'm a plane, I have to hit a wall to 
start walking again.  Is there an easier way to do this?
Answer:  Press the INS key on the number pad to transform into your 
walker mode.  If you'd rather use a different key, click on the menu 
choice "Options - Remap" to assign whatever keys you prefer to use.

Question:  I'm standing on a sloping platform with a low ceiling and 
I'm stuck! I can't move left or right, and I can't transform.  Help!
Answer:  Move using the Down-Diagonal key on the keypad (1 or 3).

Question:  I'm stuck in a certain spot of the game.  What can I do?
Answer:  Thexder has been heavily play-tested to make sure you won't 
get unfairly trapped in corners.  Make sure you don't trap yourself by 
using all your weapons and having nothing left to get past enemies and 
walls.  There will be one-way tunnels and special puzzles that demand a
lot of exploration and experimentation.  Some of the walls can be 
destroyed to access new areas of the levels.  Some areas can only be 
accessed if you are in the right form of Thexder (example: a plane to 
fly up a tunnel, a tank to crawl through some rubble, a walker to fall 
down a narrow tunnel, etc.).

If you're stuck walking up or down stairs with tight corners, try 
pressing the diagonal keys on your number pad to "hug" the corners.  
If an enemy chases your tank into a corner, drop a bomb (if you have 
any left).  If you can't get to certain areas that appear on the map, 
click on the arrows in your equipment window to access the "view" 
options (such as view shootaway to see secret entrances to blast, view 
foreground to see hidden tunnels behind walls, or view objects to see 
hidden enemies).  If you feel like you can't get out of a situation, 
and you've done everything you can think of, click on "File - Replay" 
to start over.

You also may need to move using the Down-Diagonal key on the keypad 
(1 or 3).

Question:  Sometimes the auto-turrets fire at me, and sometimes they 
don't.  Why?
Answer:  The auto-turrets only fire at you when you are in plane mode.

Question: When I click on a new weapon to select it, there is a delay before
the weapns is highlighted.  Why?
Answer:  Go to the Thexder menu bar, and turn down "Options - Update Speed".

GAME SPEED QUESTIONS

Tip:  You can increase the performance of the movies shown in Thexder 
by accessing the Windows 95 Control Panel under "Performance - File 
System".  Select CD-ROM and increase the Supplemental Cache Size to run
these movies.

Tip:  If you have changed your Windows 95 Media Player so it is set to 
play movies at full screen, it will degrade the performance of 
Thexder's movies.  For better performance, you may want to change it 
back to playing in a window.

Question:  Thexder runs smoother on my friend's Pentium.  I've got a 
486, and it runs slower.  What can I do to speed up gameplay?
Answer:  The best way to improve game speed is to click on the menu 
choice "Options - Playfield Width" and choose Standard instead of Wide.
You'll see less of the screen, but you'll notice a significant improve-
ment in game speed.  You can also make sure to set the following from 
the menu bar:
	Options - Performance - No Scrolling Background
	Options - Update Speed - Maximum Update Speed
	Options - Display Resolution - Low
	Options - Playfield Width - Standard
If the game runs too fast, reduce the Update Speed.


NETWORK AND MODEM PLAY QUESTIONS

Tip:  To play network or modem play, wait until all movie sequences in
the single-player game have completed before selecting the menu choice
"File - Connect".

Question:  I'm on a network at work during lunchtime.  I want to play 
against a friend, but we can't see each other to start our battle.  
Why?
Answer:  The network version of Thexder cannot play across a "router" 
or "repeater".  Computers trying to connect to each other on a network 
must be on the same segment or "leg" of the network to be able to play 
network Thexder.  Try playing network Thexder with the computers in 
your room, since they should be on the same segment.  The same problem 
occurs with Microsoft's network Hearts game.

Question:  I keep shooting at enemies in network or modem play, but my 
score doesn't increase.  Why?
Answer:  You only get points to shooting the other Thexders (the other 
people playing against you).

Question:  Where is the exit on the network level?
Answer:  There is no exit during network play.  The object is to score 
as many points as possible by doing damage to the other Thexder players.
The more damage, the higher the score.  Avoid techies in the Network 
game, since you don't score points for blasting them.

Question:  Why does the network play end suddenly and I'm asked if I'd 
like to continue playing Thexder by myself?
Answer:  One of two things happened: Either the person who created the 
game quit the game, or someone reached the set score limit and ended 
the game. The score limit may be set by the person who CREATES the 
network game.


PRODUCT DEMOS

Your Thexder CD comes with demonstrations and movies of six exciting 
new Sierra Products. In order to see these, make sure your Thexder CD 
is in your CD-ROM drive, and install them according to the following 
instructions:

1.  Command: Aces of the Deep Demo
Click the Start button and select "Run."  Type X:\CAODDEMO\SETUP (where
X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) and follow the on-screen 
instructions.

2.  EarthSiege 2 Demo
Click the Start button and select "Run."
Type X:\ES2DEMO\SETUP (where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) and 
follow the on-screen instructions.

3.  The Last Dynasty Demo
Click the Start button and select "Run."
Type X:\LASTDEMO\SETUP (where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) and
follow the on-screen instructions.

3.  Lode Runner: The Legend Returns Demo
Click the Start button and select "Run."
Type X:\LODEDEMO\INSTALL (where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) 
and follow the on-screen instructions.

4.  3D Ultra Pinball Demo
Click the Start button and select "Run."
Type X:\PINDEMO\SETUP (where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive) and 
follow the on-screen instructions.


MOVIES
To view movies of these exciting new Sierra Products:

5.  CRY.SYS
Open your Media Player in your Accessories group.  Choose File/Open, 
and go to the CRYDEMO directory on the Thexder CD.  Open CRYSYS2.AVI 
and play.

6.  Command: Aces of the Deep
Open your Media Player in your Accessories group.  Choose File/Open, 
and go to the CAOD directory on the Thexder CD.  Open CAOD.AVI and play.


