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Op For Readme
Op For Readme
Version 1.0.0.1
Readme File
17 November 1999
[ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ]
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About This Document:
This document contains last-minute information about Half-Life: Opposing Force and
other information about the program not found in the Help Files. This README file
includes information that pertains to general problems and questions you may have
concerning the game or your computer. Should you experience any problems with Half-
Life: Opposing Force, please refer to this file for addition help on answering
questions about the game and solving technical difficulties.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
II. HALF-LIFE: OPPOSING FORCE GAME INFORMATION
III. GENERAL TECHNICAL ISSUES
A. Driver Issues
B. Sound Problems
C. The Console
D. 3d Hardware Issues
E. Updates in version 1.0.0.1
IV. CREDITS
V. CONTACTING SIERRA
I. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
=======================
Minimum System:
Pentium 133mhz, 24MB RAM
SVGA, high-color (16-bit)
2x CD-ROM drive
200 MB HD space
Win-compatible soundcard
Mouse, keyboard
Half-Life installed
Recommended System:
Pentium 166+, 32+ MB RAM
3D accelerator card (Open GL or Direct 3D)
Internet/Multiplayer Requirements:
32-bit Internet service provider with
28.8+ modem or Local Area Network
This game has been fully tested with Intel and AMD based computers including the
AMD Athlon microprocessor.
II. HALF-LIFE OPPOSING FORCE GAME INFORMATION
=======================
Addendum to Manual:
The medic class can heal other nearby friendly soldiers. If a friendly soldier is
wounded and calls "Medic!" within earshot of the medic, he will move to their aid.
However, players often will wish to keep all of the medic's supplies for themselves
or the player will simply not want the medic to interrupt his alert combat mode by
healing a wounded soldier. Therefore, a medic that has been commanded to follow
the player will never aid another wounded soldier. To coax your medic into healing
other soldiers, lead him to the wounded characters and "use" him to tell him to
stay put. When nearby soldiers call for him, he'll heal them with any remaining
supplies he has. The medic will only heal other soldiers who call for him when he
is not following the player.
Please see the Half-Life: Opposing Force manual for additional game play
information.
Also Note: Sean Reardon just thinks it's all about him.
A. DRIVER ISSUES
The copy protection used on this disc is potentially incompatible with the
following CD drives:
Sanyo CRD-256P
Sony CDU77E
Acer CD-624a
MATSHITA UJDB110
Various Pioneer DVD models
All Yamaha CD-R's
Pioneer DR-A01S
Pioneer DR-A24X
Samsung SCR-1231
When running Half-Life in OpenGL, you must select '3Dfx Mini Driver' from the
drivers list in the Video Options menu if you have a 3Dfx card (Voodoo, Voodoo2,
Rush or Banshee). Choosing the 'Default' driver may severely impact Half-Life's
performance.
The Diamond Viper 550 drivers older than 4/2/99 cause the game menus to be drawn
incorrectly. Use the drivers from the Nvidia home page (http://www.nvidia.com)
dated 2/17/99 or later.
Make sure the most current version of DirectX is installed on your computer.
DirectX 6 is the most current version (as of 10/31/98), and it is included on the
Half-Life CD in the 'DirectX' folder.
If you are running a pre-OSR2 release of Windows95, get the OpenGL 1.1 fix in order
to run Half-Life in OpenGL mode. The fix can be found at
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/softlib/mslfiles/opengl95.exe
Make sure you have installed the most recent drivers for all your hardware before
playing Half-Life.
B. SOUND PROBLEMS
If you don't hear any sounds while playing Opposing Force or if you only hear
music, another application you are running may have control of the sound hardware.
Exit Opposing Force, close the other application, and restart the game.
1) The Opposing Force CD needs to be in the first CD-ROM drive (only an issue if
you have more than one CD-ROM drive).
2) Another application is actively using the CD Audio when Opposing Force starts
up.
3) CD Audio isn't enabled for the CD-ROM drive.
To fix the first problem, make sure the Opposing Force CD is in your first CD-ROM
drive. To fix the second, close other applications which may be accessing your CD-
ROM drive, such as CD music players. If you still can't hear the Opposing Force
music, run the application "CD Player" that comes standard with Windows located on
your Start Menu Programs, Accessories, Multimedia. If the CD Player doesn't play
the music tracks on the Opposing Force CD, then check Control Panel, Multimedia, CD
Music, CD ROM Selection, and make sure it's set to your first CD-ROM drive. If
you're under NT, you may also want to check Control Panel, Devices, Cdaudio, and
make sure it's not disabled. Once the first two requirements are met, and the "CD
Player" application works, then Half-Life should be able to play the CD music
without any problems.
CD MUSIC VOLUME
You cannot control the CD music volume within Opposing Force. To adjust your CD
music volume, go to the Windows Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, Multimedia, and
select the Volume Control applet.
CD AUDIO SLOWDOWNS
Some CD-ROM drives take a few seconds to spin up to their playing speed. You may
notice some parts of the game that will momentarily slow down before the CD audio
will play.
1) Adjust _snd_mixahead. If you have access to the Opposing Force console, type
"_snd_mixahead 0.2" at the console. If not, create a file with notepad that
contains the line:
_snd_mixahead 0.2
And save it in your Half-Life\Valve\ directory. Name the file "autoexec.cfg".
2) Disable direct sound. Run Opposing Force with the command line argument "-
wavonly". Edit the Opposing Force shortcut. The 'target' field should say:
"HL.EXE -game gearbox -wavonly".
C. THE CONSOLE
For a complete listing of Half-Life's console commands, visit http://half-
life.pcgame.com/console/index.html
D. 3D HARDWARE ISSUES
Half-Life has the ability to use both OpenGL and Direct3D. Many cards with
support for 3D acceleration will provide both OpenGL and Direct3D drivers. Which
one is better depends upon the quality and performance of the drivers themselves,
and will vary from card to card.
The latest release of DirectX, version 6.0, is included on the Half-Life CD. It
should be automatically installed as part of the Half-Life installation process.
If you need to reinstall at a later time, open the DirectX folder on your Half-Life
installation CD and run dxsetup.exe.
In general, make sure you have the latest versions of the device drivers for your
display hardware. Most graphics card vendors make them freely available on the
Internet, and a collection of links to sites of many popular cards is installed on
your hard drive along with Half-Life. The default location for this file is:
C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\media\DrvPage\default.htm
The following section explains the known driver and compatibility issues for
specific chipsets at the time of Half-Life's shipping. If you have any questions
about which chipset is incorporated in your graphics card, consult the
documentation that accompanied your card, or contact the card manufacturer.
Get the latest drivers from your card manufacturer or get the latest drivers
directly from the 3DFX site. Half-Life ships with the current, tested GL mini-
driver. Make sure that you have Glide version 2.54 or above. Half-Life does not
support Direct3D on Voodoo cards.
The Voodoo 2 running in SLI mode on Windows/NT is prone to crashing. The solution
to this instability is to either get an updated driver from 3DFX, disable SLI mode,
or run under Windows 95/98.
3DFX Rush
With the current drivers, Half-Life supports the Voodoo rush in software mode only.
Check with 3DFX for an updated driver that offers support for Half-Life
You must have Windows 95 OSR 2 or later, Windows 98 or Windows NT. As of shipping,
Half-Life Riva 128 OpenGL support requires the latest reference driver from NVIDIA.
Get this driver off of their site, www.nvidia.com. Direct3D support is currently
unavailable. Contact NVIDIA for a Direct3D driver that supports Half-Life.
NVIDIA TNT
Half-Life supports the TNT in software, OpenGL and Direct3D modes. Get the latest
driver off of NVIDIA's site.
If you run OpenGL on the nVidia Riva TNT and switch to Direct3D, decals may not
appear. To fix this, type gl_polyoffset 4 at the console.
Matrox G200
Half-Life supports the G200 in software and Direct3D. Get the latest driver from
Matrox's site, www.matrox.com. Matrox will also be providing a GL mini-driver that
will support OpenGL in Half-Life. Check with Matrox for details.
S3 Virge
S3 Savage
Half-Life support the Savage in software and Direct3D. You can get the latest
drivers from S3's site, www.s3.com. S3 will also be providing a GL driver that will
support Half-Life. Check with S3 for details.
General Issues:
gl_polyoffset 0.1
If this doesn't work, try -0.1, 1 or 20. This tells the driver how far to offset
the decal from the surface of the polygon that the decal is being applied to.
gl_d3dflip 1
gl_ztrick 0
Network instability
If you have a connection to the Internet that is unstable, or prone to packet loss,
try typing 'cl_nodelta 1' at the console (bring down the console with the ~ key).
This will improve your overall network stability, but will sacrifice your overall
latency.
COMMON QUESTIONS
What can I do if the game is too dark?.
Some monitors are darker than others, but Half-Life provides controls to correct
this problem. You will need to adjust the Gamma and Glare Reduction settings in the
Configuration\Video\Video options menu in Half-Life. These are used to adjust for
different kinds of monitors and room brightness. Adjust the two sliders so that the
Soldiers camouflage pattern is dark but visible. If this still doesn't work, you
then may need to adjust the actual brightness and contrast of your monitor. This
is usually done by adjusting buttons or knobs on the front of your monitor, but all
monitors are a bit different so you may want to look through your monitors
documentation to be sure. Some places in the game are intentionally dark, and
you'll need to use your flashlight, but you should be able to see everything
without difficulty in the opening train ride and throughout the first part of the
game. Some graphics cards also have support for controlling how bright the display
is. If your card's device driver supports this, you can find it by going to the
Windows control panel, and selecting the Display applet.
- Animation fixed for using alt-fire with the pipe wrench in multiplayer.
IV. CREDITS
=======================
Gearbox Software:
Production/Direction:
Randy Pitchford
Art Direction:
Brian Martel
Lead Programming:
John Faulkenbury
Level Design:
Rob Heironimus
David Mertz
Randy Pitchford
Mike Wardwell
Programming:
Patrick Deupree
John Faulkenbury
Steve Jones
Sean Reardon
Sound Effects:
Rob Heironimus
Landon Montgomery
Voice Talent:
Jon St. John
Harry S. Robins
Mike Shapiro
Network Administration:
John Faulkenbury
Stephen Palmer
Writing:
Stephen Bahl
Rob Heironimus
Kristy Junio
Randy Pitchford
Manual:
Kristy Junio
Randy Pitchford
Administration:
Stephen Bahl
Landon Montgomery
QA Testing:
Joe Kennebec
Frank Nuccio
Dustin Porter
John Shaffstall
Sierra Studios:
Marketing:
Marc Tardif
Original Music:
Chris Jensen
Localization Team:
Flavie Gufflet-Dowling
Paul Cooke
Donncha Ryan
Kevin Boyle
David Hickey
Conor Harlow
Valve Software:
Ted Backman
T.K. Backman
Kelly Bailey
Yahn Bernier
Ken Birdwell
Steve Bond
Dario Casali
John Cook
Greg Coomer
Wes Cumberland
John Guthrie
Mona Lisa Guthrie
Mike Harrington
Monica Harrington
Brett Johnson
Chuck Jones
Marc Laidlaw
Karen Laur
Randy Lundeen
Yatzse Mark
Lisa Mennet
Gabe Newell
Dave Riller
Aaron Stackpole
Jay Stelly
Harry Teasley
Stephen Theodore
Bill Van Buren
Robin Walker
Douglas R. Wood
V.CONTACTING SIERRA
=======================
Sierra Direct
P O Box 629001
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-9972
Email: customer.support@sierra.com
http://www.sierra.com
United Kingdom
Havas Interactive
Main: (0118) 920-9111
Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Fax: (0118) 987-5603
Disk/CD replacements in the U.K. are �6.00,
or �7.00 outside the UK. Add "ATTN.: Returns."
2 Beacontree Plaza,
Gillette Way,
Reading, Berkshire
RG2 0BS United Kingdom
France
Havas Interactive
T�l�phone: 01-46-01-46-50
Lundi au Jeudi de 10h � 19h
Vendredi de 10h � 18h
Fax: 01-46-30-00-65
Parc Tertiaire de Meudon
Immeuble "Le Newton"
25 rue Jeanne Braconnier
92366 Meudon La For�t Cedex
France
Germany
Havas Interactive
Tel: (0) 6103-99-40-40
Montag bis Freitag von 9h - 19Uhr
Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35
Robert-Bosh-Str. 32
D-63303 Dreieich
Germany
On-Line Sales
CompuServe United Kingdom:GO UKSIERRA
CompuServe France: GO FRSIERRA
CompuServe Germany: GO DESIERRA
Internet USA: http://www.sierra.com
Internet United Kingdom: http://www.sierra-online.co.uk
Internet France: http://www.sierra.fr
Internet Germany: http://www.sierra.de
Product Returns*:
Havas Interactive
Sierra On-Line Returns
4100 West 190th Street
Torrance, CA 90504
Havas Interactive
Sierra On-Line CD/Doco Replacement
4100 West 190th Street
Torrance, CA 90504
NOTE: To replace your cd(s) please send only the damaged cd and copy of your dated
Receipt, if less then 90 days. After 90 days please include a $10.00 handling fee
along with the cd(s). For Documentation replacement, please include a $5.00
handling fee and a photocopy ONLY of either your disk or cd. Payment should be
made at the time of your request. Sorry, no credit cards.
B) TECHNICAL SUPPORT
-------------------------
North America
Sierra On-Line offers a 24-hour automated technical support line with recorded
answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service,
call (425) 644-4343, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific
topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still
write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Web site.
Sierra On-Line
Technical Support
P.O. Box 85006
Bellevue, WA 98015-8506
http://www.sierra.com
support@sierra.com
United Kingdom
Havas Interactive offers a 24-hour Automated Technical Support line with recorded
answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service,
call (0118) 920-9111, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific
topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still
write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Internet or CompuServe
sites.
Havas Interactive
2 Beacontree Plaza,
Gillette Way,
Reading, Berkshire
RG2 0BS United Kingdom
http://www.sierra-online.co.uk
France
Havas Interactive
Parc Tertiaire de Meudon
Immeuble "Le Newton"
25 rue Jeanne Braconnier
92366 Meudon La For�t Cedex
France
T�l�phone: 01-46-01-46-50
Lundi au Jeudi de 10h � 19h
Vendredi de 10h � 18h
Fax: 01-46-30-00-65
http://www.sierra.fr
Germany
Havas Interactive
Robert-Bosh-Str. 32
D-63303 Dreieich
Deutschland
http://www.sierra.de
Spain
Havas Interactive
Avenida de Burgos 9
1�-OF2
28036 Madrid
Spain
Italy