***************************************************************** S T R O N G H O L D (R) 2 D E L U X E

********************************************* IMPORTANT LAST MINUTE INFORMATION Mastertronic ReadMe V.2d.5.4.1 ENGLISH ***************************************************************** Contained in this 'ReadMe' file: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Mastertronic quick reference guide About Adobe Acrobat Reader. Instructions for installing the software. Instructions for loading the software. Last Minute Information & FAQ's Troubleshooting. Product Support

***************************************************************** 1. MASTERTRONIC QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE ***************************************** Loading computer games can sometimes be a daunting task. We here at Mastertronic try to make the installation of our games as quick, simple and effortless as possible. To aid yourself in the installation of this piece of software it is helpful that you have at hand certain bits of information regarding your system set-up. 1. The drive letters associated with your machine: All computers have letters assigned to different drives. By default your 'floppy' drive will have the letter A:\ assigned to it, your hard drive will be C:\ and your DVD-ROM will be lettered D:\. If, let's say, you have more than one hard drive then it is most likely that the second hard drive would be D:\ and your DVD-ROM would have E:\ assigned to it. To avoid confusion, it is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the letters assigned to your computer's drives before trying to install your game. To do this, click on the 'My Computer' icon on your Windows desktop with your right mouse button and then select 'Explore' with the left mouse button. The left-hand window will contain all your drives and applicable letters. 2. When we specify 'default directory' it drive that the game installation has been You may change the installation directory games are installed to a directory called means the directory and pre-set to install to. if, let's say, all 'Games' on your system.

***************************************************************** 2. ADOBE ACROBAT READER AND YOUR ELECTRONIC MANUAL

******************************************************* We have provided an electronic manual for this product. This manual is in a PDF format, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the file. We have provided you with Adobe Acrobat Reader for Windows. Once you have successfully installed Acrobat Reader you can open the electronic manual PDF file, which is located on your DVD-ROM and called MANUAL. Use the scroll bar to browse through the pages (for full instructions on Acrobat Reader use the on-line guide from the Help menu). You are free to distribute Adobe Acrobat Reader but you must follow to Adobe's License Agreement and proprietary notices that are contained in the Reader installer program. For further information see the README file within the MTXONE\ACROBAT folder on your DVD-ROM. Adobe Acrobat Reader -------------------To manually install Acrobat Reader you should do the following: 1. Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, 2. Select 'Run', 3. Type: D:\MTXONE\ACROBAT\SETUP.EXE (Assuming that the letter of your DVD-ROM drive is D:) 4. Click 'OK'. Manual -----To view the manual you should do the following: 1. Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, 2. Select 'Run', 3. Type: D:\MANUAL.PDF (Assuming that the letter of your DVD-ROM drive is D:) 4. Click 'OK'. Or simply open the manual by clicking the 'View Manual' button on our installer. (Scroll down to section 3 for details on how to launch the Mastertronic installer) ***************************************************************** 3. INSTALLING STRONGHOLD(R) 2 DELUXE ***************************************** The following is the complete step-by-step loading instructions for STRONGHOLD(R) 2 DELUXE.

1. Insert the 'STRONGHOLD(R) 2 DELUXE' DVD in your DVD-ROM drive. 2. The Autorun should automatically launch the Mastertronic installer, if it does not come up then follow these instructions: Click 'START' on your Windows taskbar, Select 'RUN' and then type: D:\SETUP.NOW.EXE (Where D: represents the letter of your DVD-ROM drive) Click OK. If you still cannot see the Mastertronic installer then please refer to Section 6 (Troubleshooting) later in this ReadMe file. 3. Click on the 'Install Game' button. 4. Read through the licence agreement and if you accept the terms, click on 'I ACCEPT', then click 'Next'. 5. Choose your Setup Language and click 'OK' to continue. 6. At the welcome Screen click 'Next' to continue. 7. At the License Agreement click 'Yes' to continue. 8. Click 'Next' to accept the default location for the game (recommended) or click 'Browse' to select your own location. 9. Click 'Next' to accept the default program folder (recommended) or select a different folder from the list and then click 'Next'. 10. Click 'Next' to continue. 11. Please wait while the game files are now copied to your machine. 12. Click 'Finish' to complete the installation. 13. If you have installed DirectX, you will need to restart your PC before running the game. ***************************************************************** 4. LOADING STRONGHOLD(R) 2 DELUXE ************************************** Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, Select - 'Programs' or 'All Programs' (XP users), Select - 'Firefly Studios', Select - 'Stronghold 2', Then click - 'Play Stronghold 2'. You will be ready to play the game. ***************************************************************** 5. LAST MINUTE INFORMATION & FAQ's *************************************** PATCH INSTALLATION ==================

To bring your version of 'STRONGHOLD(R) 2 DELUXE' up to version 1.3.1 please install the following patch. To install the v.1.3.1 patch do the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Insert the 'STRONGHOLD(R) 2 DELUXE' Disc. Click 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, Select 'Run', Type:- D:\Patches\stronghold2_deluxe_v1.3.1_update.exe (Assuming that the letter of your CD/DVD-ROM drive is D:) 5. Click 'OK' and follow the on screen instructions. PATCH INFORMATION/FIXES ======================= Features -------8 New Historical Castles Including Windsor in England, The Heuneburg in Germany and Fougre in France. 3 New AI Players - The Queen, the Bishop and Noble Sir Grey. 4 New Kingmaker Maps Including maps based on Europe and Korea. 'The Conquest Trail' - A whole new game mode where you must battle through a collection of Europe s mightiest castles! Game Balancing -------------Pheasant hunting less productive but deer hunting more productive. Apple Farms more productive. Dairy Farms more productive. Pitch production now twice as productive. Crossbowmen s firing range and shot damage increased. Knights cost more to build. Axe throwers now less effective against metal armor. Assassins not effected by traps - invisible at closer range. Monasteries cost less to build and provide more honor. Gong Farmers or Falconers are no longer affected by crime. Towers are more expensive to build. Gatehouses cost a little more to build. Statues provide less honour. Tunnelling range reduced.

Cannot now tunnel under water. Moat costs reduced. Rock throwers and baskets now have triple damage. The range of burning logs has been halved. Torture devices now give honour every month. Bug Fixes --------Various gameplay and movement code optimizations. Fixed occasional crash in War Chapter 4 and 6. Fixed a crash when selecting the map type in editor. All objects in editor can now be deleted. Fixed crash to desktop experienced playing War Chapter 4 and 6. Fixed issues with knights mounting horses. Fixed controlling gatehouses bug. Fixed pitch workers turning to crime bug. Fixed invisible outlaws bug. Fixed Lord walking on keep bug. Fixed speech when placing pitch. Fixed rocks sticking through buildings. Fixed stone tippers on walls bug. Fixed catapults not firing stone bug. Fixed mangonels firing at long range bug. Rock baskets can now be placed on towers and gatehouses. Honor from punishments is now displayed in the interface. Stopping carter post now refunds goods. Various other bug fixes. Before You Start ================ Before you run Stronghold 2 close all other programs. Ensure you have the latest graphics card drivers installed on your machine, this is essential for the best performance and

reliability. We recommend using the latest Microsoft approved WHQL driver or the latest driver posted on the manufacturer s website. We have listed a few graphics card manufacturers websites below where you can download the latest drivers: ATI NVIDIA Intel (Intel Extreme) PowerVR (Kyro) Matrox S3 3Dfx XGI (Volari) 3Dlabs http://support.ati.com http://www.nvidia.com/drivers http://www.intel.com/support/graphics http://www.powervr.com/downloads/drivers http://www.matrox.com/mga/support/drivers http://www.s3graphics.com/drivers.jsp http://www.3dfx.com http://www.xgitech.com/sd/sd_download.asp http://www.3dlabs.com/support/drivers

To run Stronghold 2, Microsoft DirectX 9.0c or higher must be installed on your computer. If you have an older version of DirectX installed on your system, the Stronghold 2 installation will ask you to install DirectX 9.0c. If you are having problems installing DirectX, you can download it from the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx If you are playing Stronghold 2 on Windows 2000, please ensure you have at least Service Pack 2 installed. The latest Windows 2000 service pack can be downloaded from the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads We also recommend using Windows Update to ensure your version of Windows is fully up-to-date. However we do recommend downloading your graphics card driver updates separately. For the best possible sound quality please also ensure you have the latest sound card drivers installed. Graphics Settings ================= Changing your graphics card settings -----------------------------------Graphics settings can be changed using the Stronghold 2 Graphics Configuration utility accessible from the Start menu. Generally speaking reducing settings or turning effects off will increase the graphics performance in the game. Basic: Texture Detail -------------This setting adjusts the size of the textures used in the game. The smaller the texture size the more textures the graphics card can fit in its memory. Adjusting the texture detail will help users with graphics cards with no on-board memory (e.g. Intel

Extreme) or low on-board memory (e.g. 32MB) achieve greater performance. Texture Detail must be set before the game loads and cannot be changed in game. Texture Filtering ----------------An effect which improves the quality of textures. Reduce texture filtering to increase performance. Anisotropic Filtering --------------------Allows textures to appear cleaner and crisper when viewed at sharper angles. Reduce anisotropic filtering to increase performance. Geometry Detail --------------This option adjusts the amount of polygons drawn on screen. Reduce geometry detail this setting to increase performance. Draw Distance ------------Determines how far into the distance objects in the game will be drawn. Reduce draw distance to increase performance. Antialiasing -----------Reduces the jaggedness and pixelation you see on edges of 3D objects. Reduce antialiasing to increase performance. Shader Version -------------Shaders are graphical effects applied to game objects to enhance their appearance. The higher the shader version the more graphical effects used but at the expense of performance. Features: Ground Shadows -------------Turn unit ground shadows on or off. to increase performance. Arrow Trails -----------Turn arrow trails on or off. Turn off the arrow trails to increase performance. Particle Systems ---------------Turn off ground shadows

Turn particle systems on or off. systems to increase performance. Grass -----

Turn off the particle

Turn landscape grass/shrubs on or off. Turn off grass to increase performance. Bump Mapping -----------Bump Mapping is an effect which produces richer, more detailed textures on objects. Turn off bump mapping to increase performance. Bloom ----An effect that causes very bright objects to glow. Turn off bloom to increase performance. Depth of Field -------------An effect which simulates the focal properties of a camera lens. Turn off depth of field to increase performance. Advanced: Npatch Detail ------------Npatch technology is used by many recent ATI graphics cards (8500 upwards) to smooth the curved surface of 3D objects by increasing the polygon count through a process called Npatch tessellation. Distance Based LOD -----------------This allows you to control whether you want the detail level of objects to change as you zoom the camera in and out. Turn on distance based LOD to increase performance. Detail Level -----------If Distance Based LOD is enabled you can control how quickly the level of detail will change using this slider. Lower the detail to increase performance. Frame Rate Based LOD -------------------As the frame rate drops the level of detail of objects reduces to increase performance. Multipass Shaders

----------------Allows lower end graphics cards to simulate some shader effects used by higher end cards. Enabling Multipass shaders puts more strain on the graphics card and may reduce performance. Known Issues ============ On computers with Intel Extreme graphics text may corrupt at high resolutions. To fix this issue lower the resolution in the graphics configuration panel. If the Autoplay fails to start you can start the install by running setup.exe in the Disk1 folder on the Stronghold 2 Deluxe disc. ***************************************************************** 6. TROUBLESHOOTING *********************** General Troubleshooting ======================= Q: When I try to launch the game I get the following error: "Debugger detected - please close it down and restart. Windows NT users: Please note that having the WinIce/SoftIce service installed means that you are running a debugger." I do not believe I am running a debugger. What could be the problem? A: This error is caused by DivX 5.1. The issue you have mentioned is a bug in this release of the DivX codec. The codec is actually what`s showing the error, and shutting down Blaze Media Pro because it is erroneously detecting the software as a debugger. You can resolve the issue by updating to DivX 5.1.1 http://www.divx.com, and you will no longer have this problem. If you do still have any problems please contact Mastertronic Technical Support. Video Problems -------------The vast majority of problems that you are likely to encounter are probably related to drivers that allow the game to make optimum use of your systems resources. In particular, video games are most influenced by Microsoft s DirectX drivers, which are responsible for various aspects of your system including: video, sound, controller input, 3D graphic functions, DVD-ROM access and other functions. If you do experience problems, always ensure that you are using the latest drivers for these devices, and that your DirectX installation shows these devices as being certified (with DXDIAG).

DVD-ROM Problems --------------Make sure that the DVD-ROM disc is in the correct drive, with the label facing upwards. The DVD-ROM disc must be in the drive to install or run the game. If you have two DVD-ROM drives, the DVD must be placed in the drive whose drive letter comes alphabetically first for the game to work. Ensure that the DVD-ROM disc is free from any markings or scratches which may interfere with normal operation. If the disc requires cleaning, gently wipe the surface with a dry, non-abrasive cloth. Sound Problems -------------Make sure that your speakers or headphones are plugged into the correct socket, and that the volume control is at an appropriate level. If you are using powered speakers, ensure that the power is on. If you continue to experience problems, ensure that the Volume Control taskbar icon (depicted by a small yellow speaker) is present. Double-clicking this icon will open the Volume Control window. Make sure that the Wave and Master Volume controls are set at an appropriate level and that the Mute feature is not enabled. MSVBVM50.DLL Error ================== If the error "The MSVBVM50.DLL file is linked to missing export OLEAUT32.DLL:421." occurs while installing the game. The error occurs because during the setup process, the MSVBVM50.DLL file requires a version of OLEAUT32.DLL that is newer than what comes with the original version of Windows 95. Therefore you will need to replace this file with the copy supplied on your DVD-ROM. To replace the file simply double click on AXDIST.EXE file which can be found in \MTXONE\EXTRAS directory on your DVD-ROM. You will also have to restart your computer for the changes to take effect. When done, launch SETUP.NOW again and try to reinstall. The Mastertronic installer does not load ======================================== For the Mastertronic installer to work you must have the following configuration on your machine: * Display properties must be 'Small fonts'. If you get an error message on the Preload screen then click on the <AutoFix> button. To change you display properties to small fonts: ------------------------------------------------

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. OR 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, Select 'Settings', Select 'Control Panel', Double-click on the 'Display' icon, Select 'Appearance', Change the font settings to 'Small Fonts'. Click on 'OK' button to apply changes

Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, Select 'Settings', Select 'Control Panel', Double-click on the 'Display' icon, Click on the 'Settings' tab, Click on the 'Advanced' button, Select the 'General' tab, And change the font settings to 'Small Fonts'. Click on 'OK' button to apply changes

To bypass the Mastertronic installer and load the separate components on this DVD, follow the instructions below. The Game -------To install the game you should do the following... 1. Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, 2. Select 'Run', 3. Type: D:\Disk1\Setup.exe (Assuming that the letter of your DVD-ROM drive is D:) 4. Click 'OK'. 5. You should now refer to Section 3 from step 4, to install the game. Adobe Acrobat Reader -------------------To install Adobe Acrobat Reader you should do the following... 1. Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, 2. Select 'Run', 3. Type: D:\MTXONE\ACROBAT\SETUP.EXE (Assuming that the letter of your DVD-ROM drive is D:) 4. Click 'OK'. Manual -----To view the manual you should do the following... 1. Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, 2. Select 'Run', 3. Type: D:\MANUAL.PDF (Assuming that the letter of your DVD-ROM drive is D:)

4. Click 'OK'. DirectX ------To install DirectX you should do the following... 1. Go to the 'Start' button on your Windows taskbar, 2. Select 'Run', 3. Type: D:\Disk1\DirectX\dxsetup.exe (Assuming that the letter of your DVD-ROM drive is D:) 4. Click 'OK'. ***************************************************************** 7. PRODUCT SUPPORT *********************** Please read the following section before calling technical support: Because of the millions of different hardware and software combinations possible with today's Personal Computers, you may still have to refer to your computer manufacturer of software publisher to properly configure their product to run our game. Contacting Technical Support ---------------------------If you have technical questions about the game, our Technical Support Department is here to help. Our web site contains up-to-date information on the most common difficulties with our products. If you are unable to find the information you need on our website, please feel free to contact us via e-mail, telephone, Fax or mail (for contact us details - see below). If possible, be at your computer when you call. The support representative will need specific information about your computer and may need you to access or change some of the files while you are on the telephone. If it is impossible for you to be at your computer, be sure to have the following information: A listing of your computer's hardware and the settings from Device Manager, including what sound and video card you system has. (Contact your computer manufacturer if you aren't sure.) What version of Windows(TM) you are using. What version of DirectX(TM) is currently loaded on your computer? How the game is currently configured. The version number of the game (if possible).

Our technical support personnel will do their very best to get

our software working on your system, so please be patient with them. Certain times of the year (around Christmas, or when we release a brand new game) the Technical Support lines can get rather busy. If you need faster support or wish to view the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) please use our website and check the Technical Support web pages (see below). This is where the most common problems can be fixed with easy step-by-step instructions, and we recommend trying it before contacting the Technical Support line. The answer to your question just might be sitting right there. Also, if you have any questions about this or any other Mastertronic product, please contact our Customer Service/Technical Support Group. For contact us details see below. Contact "Mastertronic" details: =============================== Customer Service is available on Monday to Friday (except Public and Bank holidays) from 10.00AM to 5.00PM (GMT). Address: Mastertronic Customer Services 122 Southwark Street London SE1 0SW United Kingdom +44 (0) 845 234 4250 +44 (0) 845 234 4243 support@mastertronic.com www.mastertronic.com

Tel: Fax: E-mail: Website:

----------------------------------------------------------------Disclaimer ----------------------------------------------------------------Although Mastertronic believes this Game and any attachments to be free of any virus or other defect which may affect your computer, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and Mastertronic does not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage arising in any way from its use. -----------------------------------------------------------------