******************************************************************************** Hexen32 README file - Hexen32 v0.2.4 October 23, 1999 By: Sheldon Clarke Copyright 1999 Please visit the Hexen32 website for updated information and new binaries. Also, please e-mail me with comments/suggestions and bug reports. Website: http://www.raven-games.com/hexen32 E-Mail: sclarke@raven-games.com ******************************************************************************** ------------- Introduction: ------------- This readme file explains how to get yourself up and running with the latest version of Hexen32 as well as to give an explanation of any bug fixes and feature differences between versions. Hexen32 is a fully 32-bit Windows application currently supporting DirectDraw as the rendering interface. This product is a work in progress and should be treated as such. There are many more features planned, so please send in bug reports and suggestions. Any feedback is appreciated :) Hexen32 has been tested on the following platforms: - Windows 98 (DirectX 6.1), AMD K6-166, 48 MB ram - Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 5 (DirectX 3), AMD K6-2 300, 64 MB ram The basic requirements for Hexen32 are: - Windows 95/98/NT PC - DirectX 3.0 or greater - 16 MB of RAM ------------------------------- How to install and run Hexen32: ------------------------------- Simple, just extract the archive into your Hexen directory (say c:\hexen). Then run it either from the command line (recommended so you can see any output) or by double-clicking it from within Windows Explorer. Easy eh? Also, as an added bonus, I have also supplied a few batch files. The ... below means you can supply more arguments if you wish. "td.bat" provides a base for running -timedemo benchmarks. Run it by typing the following at the prompt: "td ..." ex: "td 640 400 demo2" "h32.bat" allows you to run the game without having to type a long command-line: "h32 ..." ex: "h32 1024 768 -vid_device 1" NOTE: You must have the Raven released Hexen v1.1 patch installed if you haven't already done so. It can be obtained at the iD software website here: ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/.1/idgames/idstuff/hexen/hexn11rp.exe (893k) ----------------------- Command Line Arguments: ----------------------- The following is a breakdown of currently supported command-line arguments for Hexen32. Others will be added as the port is developed. Others not listed may work but have not been tested: Video: ~~~~~~ -vid_device - Choose the video device. During loading, Hexen32 will enumerate all available display devices. Use the numbers presented to switch devices. -vid_novsync - Turn off vertical sync (useful for benchmarking). Not recommended for gameplay unless you are running on a slow system or don't mind the ill-effects of screen tearing. :) -width - Set the Width of the video mode (default 320). -height - Set the Height of the video mode (default 200). -bpp - Set the Bits Per Pixel of the video mode (default 8). NOTE: The -bpp (bits per pixel) switch has been implemented but 8-bit color is the only mode that Hexen32 supports right now. Benchmarking: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -timedemo - For benchmarking. Supply "demo1", "demo2" or "demo3" as an argument to run that demo at top speed. After it is done, you will be given a number in FPS (frames per second) that you can carry around and boast to your friends how fast Hexen32 runs on your system. :) Best used with the -vid_novsync flag. Miscellaneous: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -ravpic - Initializes screenshot mechanism. Pressing F1 in-game will save screenshots to the current game directory. ------------------------------------------------- Known Issues with current version: ------------------------------------------------- - Weapon placement is slightly off for non-multiples of 320x200 (ie: everything but 640x400). Not on my high list of priorities as the optimal video mode to run would be 640x400. - Windows mouse pointer may sometimes appear if you move it to the outer edge of the screen. I am using SetCursor(NULL), but it doesn't seem to cut it. This should go away once DirectInput support is in for the mouse. - Sound/music doesn't work. Planned for a future release. - Networking doesn't work. Planned for a future release. - Mouse doesn't work. Planned for a future release. Also plan to include mouselook feature. ------------------------------------ Fixes/Changes introduced in Hexen32: ------------------------------------ v0.2.4 - Increased MAX limits to match those in wHeretic. This should hopefully spark some increased activity in Hexen level development. :) Specifically the limits are now: MAXVISPLANES 1024 MAXOPENINGS SCREENWIDTH*256 MAXDRAWSEGS 1024 MAXVISSPRITES 1024 - Sky textures now scale properly to resolution. - Lookup/Lookdown now scaled properly to resolution. - Fixed lighting tables that was causing higher resolutions look brighter than original. - Fixed Player Sprite (ie: Weapons) placement and scaling. - Timedemo returns xx.xx FPS to make the results more accurate. - Automap is now displaying properly. - Issue with keyboard translation fixed. You should delete hexen32.cfg before running so that the proper keycodes are saved to the config file. - Added version readout on Title screen. - All menus are now scaled and repositioned properly. - Screenshot mechanism fixed. Use -ravpic command-line option and use F1 to take screenshots. v0.2.3 - Added multi-resolution support up to 1600x1200. Currently, only 8-bit mode is supported. Please use -width and -height command-line arguments. Multi-resolution support is an ongoing process and still has some issues (as listed above). - Changed to not enumerate Standard VGA modes under NT. - fixed vid_novsync message always indicating ON. v0.2.2 - Improved DirectDraw code. It is cleaner now and has additional features in the form of new command-line arguments. Hopefully this should clear up some incompatibilities a fellow tester had with NT. If not, well, then I'll just keep pluggin' away. :) - Added a few command-line arguments. Try them. Love them. - TimeDemo code fixed. Try it out and impress your friends. Getting a built-in benchmark in an early release of an unfinished product is all the rage nowadays. :) - Rendering of different sized screen view (using + and -) has been fixed. This was causing some crashes on certain systems on startup if the default view was less than that of full screen. v0.2.1 - DirectDraw support for the original 320x200 resolution. - All basic single player gameplay features intact. - New config file: hexen32.cfg. Will be created after the first run of the game. New keyboard mapping is used so the original "setup.exe" will not assign them properly. Keys are now mapped to Windows Virtual Keys (VK_...) for those who wish to edit them. Facilities will be added later for key assignments. v0.1 - HexenDOS - DOS recompile, sound has been disabled. - Other functionality like networking is unchanged and should still work, but it has not been tested. (That's your job. :) ) - Basic single gameplay seems to work fine (tested on Win98 - It is still DOS remember :)). ******************************************************************************** DISCLAIMER - Use this software at your own risk. I will not be held responsible if Elmo gets tickled and/or giggles or if anything happens to your computer by using this software. I am doing this port for the benefit of educational value for myself and for the benefit of others who still want to play this game on their newest hardware. Have fun with it! :) HexenDOS and Hexen32 are not supported by Raven Software or iD Software. ********************************************************************************