Eschalon: Book I - Help File - Updated 09/02/2010

*** MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIRMENTS ***
WINDOWS
Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, or Vista
1.8 GHz processor or faster
256MB RAM (512 Recommended)
3D Accelerated Video Card

MACINTOSH
MacOS X 10.4 or later
Intel 1.8 GHz processor or faster
256MB RAM (512 Recommended)
3D Accelerated Video Card

LINUX
1.6 GHz processor or faster
256MB RAM (512 Recommended)
3D Accelerated Video Card


*** LAUNCH OPTIONS ***
GRAPHIC RENDERER
DirectX - This recommended rendering mode for Windows users and offers the highest level of compatibility on most video cards. Macintosh and Linux users: DirectX is not available on your systems and the Graphic Renderer will default to OpenGL.

OpenGL - For Windows users, this video mode is an alternative if you are having problems running the game in DirectX mode. In some cases, OpenGL may actually run the game faster than DirectX depending on your video hardware. For Macintosh and Linux users, OpenGL is the default renderer and cannot be changed.

COLOR DEPTH
32-bit (Millions of colors) - This is recommended default color depth and offers the best visual appearance.

16-bit (Thousands of colors) - If you have any problems running the game in 32-bit Color Depth, you should try this alternate color depth mode. 16-bit color may offer better performance on older video hardware.

SCREEN PREFERENCE 
Full-Screen 800x600 - This option displays the game full-screen in its default 800 x 600 pixel resolution. This mode is compatible on most computer systems, but if you discover that you cannot properly display the game this way, try the Windowed option below.

Windowed - This option allows you to run the game in a window on your computer’s desktop. Please note that some video cards may not be able to run this game in windowed mode (there have been reports that some MacBooks have trouble running the game in a window).  As always, we recommend you update your video drivers to ensure you have the highest level of compatibility.

Refresh Rate (Advanced Users Only) - Eschalon’s game engine runs at 60 “ticks” per second, which translates to a screen refresh rate of 60hz. This is the default refresh rate and we do not recommend changing this value. For LCD monitors and laptop screens, this is the standard hardware refresh rate and the game will look its best set at this value.

If you require a higher refresh rate due to the monitor you are running the game on, you will need to open the eschalon.cfg file (using a text editor such as Windows Notepad or Macintosh TextEdit) and manually change the number under the Screen Refresh Rate label to the refresh rate that you want. The eschalon.cfg file is found inside the Eschalon Book I Saved Games folder. This folder is located in your “My Documents” folder in Windows, your “Documents” folder in Macintosh OS X, or your “Home” folder in Linux. If you accidentally corrupt the eschalon.cfg file, simply delete it and the game will create a new one with the default values the next time you start it.


*** TROUBLESHOOTING ***
"Help me! The game won’t even start!!!"
Stay calm...first, try switching the game from DirectX to OpenGL, or from 32-bit color to 16-bit color, or from Full-screen to Windowed. We have found some older computers and laptops have trouble running the game in certain configurations, so try out different combinations of settings. If this doesn’t work, update your video drivers (see performance issuers below for more information).

“Why does the game stutter from time to time?” 
If you notice the game stuttering, especially right after you start it up, it may be because the game is loading and caching sounds as you are playing. The game engine does not load all the available sounds at once when you start the game- it only loads the sounds when they are needed. This may present a small “stutter” the first time any particular sound is played as the game loads the sample in from the hard drive. Usually the game smoothes out after the most common sounds get loaded and cached.


*** PERFORMANCE ISSUES ***
If Eschalon: Book I is running sluggish, slow, or not at all on your system, there are many things you can do:

>> Update your video and sound drivers. In troubleshooting performance issues on several test machines, the number one culprit was outdated video drivers. Outdated drivers can cause slow performance, visual glitches, and in some cases failure to run the game at all. If your computer is more than a year old and you’ve never updated your video drivers, there is a good chance you may need to. If you need help with the process of updating your video drivers, please contact your computer manufacturer’s technical support center.

>> If you have a Windows-based computer, try changing the renderer from DirectX to OpenGL, or vice-versa. On some video cards this can create a very noticeable speed difference depending on what brand of video hardware you have in your computer.

>> Try changing the color depth from 32-bit to 16-bit. On certain older brands of video cards, such as the nVidia GeForce 4 series, this has been reported to make a significant difference in speed.

>> Once inside the game, you can change the graphics quality in the Options Menu to gain performance on older computers. There are two settings: High and Low. As you flip between these settings you will see the game screen shrink because the less the game has to draw, the better the performance will be. Also, certain graphic effects like translucent smoke and other visual effects are only available when this option is set for High Graphics quality.

<< Verify that your computer’s DirectX drivers are up to date (Windows users only). DirectX is a collection of game related drivers that most PC games require to run properly. If you are experiencing problems or glitches playing this game, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/directx to download the latest version of DirectX for your computer.


*** COMPUTERS WITH WIDESCREEN MONITORS ***
Eschalon: Book I uses a default resolution of 800x600. If you have a widescreen monitor, the game screen may appear to be stretched across the width of your screen, making the game appear distorted. This can usually be fixed by going into your computer’s Display Properties and locating the option to maintain video aspect ratio. If you need help doing this, please contact your computer manufacturer’s technical support center.

Other causes for stuttering can be a result of slow video hardware. Many of the game’s special graphic effects, especially dust and smoke, use a high number of semi-transparent sprites. Some older video cards have trouble drawing a large number of these sprites at the same time, and so you may notice the game slow down or stutter when certain visual effects are displayed. You can turn off certain intensive effects in the options menu by setting the Graphics Detail Level to Low.

*** UNINSTALLING ESCHALON: BOOK I ***
If you are a Windows user, you can either click the Uninstall icon inside the Eschalon tab on the Start menu, or you can go to Add/Remove Programs in the control panel and chose to remove the game from there. Macintosh users can simply drag the Eschalon folder from their Applications directory to the trash bin to remove the game.

The saved game files for Eschalon: Book I are stored in the “My Documents” folder (Windows) or “Documents” folder (Macintosh) or your “Home” folder (Linux). Inside this folder is another folder called “Eschalon Book 1 Saved Games”. This will need to be manually removed by dragging the folder to the trash can on either system, or you can just keep the folder if you intend to reinstall the game at a later time and want to continue your game.

“My problem is not solved! I need more help!”
For online support, visit the Basilisk Games forums at http://basiliskgames.com/forums and enter the Technical Support forum. There you can leave a message describing your problem or search the forums for a possible solution that might have already been answered.

Also, you can send a message to support@basiliskgames.com. We will do our best to resolve your problem as quickly as possible.