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Hardware FAQ

Q: What video adapter do I need to play Evil Islands?

A: According to the sustem requirements a 3D accelerator with 8 Mb of video memory is need, AGP-bus adapter is highly desired. You must also have a driver compatible with DirectX 7.0 or higher. The game only works via API Direct3D, API Glide or OpenGL are not supported.

Recommended video accelerators: nVidia GeForce 2, GeForce; Riva TNT2; Riva TNT; 3dfx Voodoo 5, Voodoo 4; Matrox Millennium G400, G200; ATI Radeon, Rage Fury, Rage 128; S3 Savage 2000, Savage 4; 3DLabs Permedia 3; Power VR 3.

Accelerators supported with some limitations (may distort colours and "semi-transparent" background): 3dfx Voodoo 3, Voodoo Banshee, Voodoo II; Matrox Millennium G100; ATI Rage Pro; nVidia Riva 128, Riva 128ZX; Intel i752 (i810), i740; S3 Savage 3D; SiS 620v; 3DLabs Permedia 2; Power VR 2; Ticket to Ride; Trident Blade 3D.

Unsupported accelerators: 3dfx Voodoo Graphics; ATI 3D Xpert; S3 Trio 3D.

Q: Why there is only limited support of Voodoo accelerators?

A: The main reason is the fact that Voodoo I and II architecture uses static division of video memory into the screen area and texture area. This gets in the way of normal display of 2D-objects of the game interface, in particular the cursor. The first retail version of Evil Islands didn't support Voodoo II. Now this accelerator is supported. Still, we do not recommend using it because it became obsolete and doesn't provide sufficient speed compared to more modern 3D accelerators. Similarly, Voodoo Banshee (which is a separate board with PCI bus) in principle can be made to work with Evil Islands, but due to insufficient speed it's not really suitable for the game. Voodoo 3 with AGP bus works much better.

Q: Can I launch the game with Intel 740?

A: This video adapter is not recommended for the game and it hasn't been included in the Evil Islands first edition's list of supported adapters. The reason for that was the fact that Intel no longer develops driver updates for this adapter, and never released a DirectX 7.0-compatible driver for Windows 9x. The problem was this: when textures above certain size have been loaded into video memory, there was an unreported fault due to conflict between the driver and DirectX, which caused the game to crash as soon as the player entered any of the game zones.

However, the situation changed after release of DirectX 8.0. We found out that if DirectX 8.0 is installed in Windows 98/ME with reference driver i740, the system works more correctly, and the above error disappears. The new DirectX version also takes care of the fault in Windows 2000, for which Intel released appropriate i740 driver (probably the last one). Still, the picture quality remains rather inferior (approximately like with i752) due to certain features of these controllers (no 32-bit mode, limited anti-aliasing etc.). During our testing the game worked in 640x480x16 mode with most options set to "minimum" values.

Despite successful launches of Evil Islands on i740 systems, we still can't guarantee that this accelerator will work with all Windows versions (unlike the video adapters included in the recommended list), so we do not recommend using i740.

Q: What drivers should I use with my nVidia TNT, TNT2, GeForce256, or GeForce2?

A: We have found that the reference Detonator drives found on the nVidia site www.nvidia.com work well. Most manufacturer-provided drivers will also work, but if you run into incompatibilities, the Detonator3 drivers are a safe bet. As of this writing, version 6.31 have been found to be fully compatible.

Q: How can I get my 3dfx Banshee to support full-screen mode?

A: This card is not fully supported by Evil Islands. You may play the game in windowed mode, but there still may be small graphics errors surrounding the pointer. Getting the latest drivers from www.3dfx.com may alleviate these problems, depending on your system configuration.

Q: On my Voodoo3, 4, or 5, system, I get the error message "Can't create DDSurface 0:0 with default BPP". How do I fix this?

A: If you get this error, you may need to install the 3dfx reference drivers. We have found that some manufacturers' drivers are not 100% compatible with the game. The 3dfx Reference drivers are available here: http://www.3dfx.com/downloads.htm (You may also try using windowed mode.) Note that installing the reference drivers may not support some of the specific features of your board.

Q: On my Voodoo3, 4, or 5, system, I get the error message " Can't create HW IDirect3DDevice# interface - unsupported renderer bit depth. (0x88760091) The pixel format was invalid as specified ". How do I fix this?

A: This error message occurs if the game is run in windowed mode, and the desktop resolution is in 32-bit. The desktop must be set to 16-bit if running in windowed mode).

Q: On my Intel752 (i810)-based card, I get corrupted graphics. How do I fix this?

A: The graphics displayed on this card will be fixed when the latest (Version 6.1) drivers are installed from Intel. This driver may be downloaded from http://appsr.cps.intel.com/, the speed of this card may provide unacceptable performance for the game.

Q: How do I fix the graphic corruption on the Global map on my Diamond S3 Savage4 card?

A: Using the official drivers (Version 8.20.30 and 8.20.31), the problem is addressed. These drivers may be downloaded from http://archive:archive@ranger.s3.com/

Q: How do I get the game to run on my Diamond S3 Savage2000 card?

A: This card may not work correctly in fullscreen mode. Changing to the windowed mode in the initial menu will address this problem.

Q: I have problems with sound-related crashes, or stuttering on my Soundblaster Live! How do I fix this?

A: You need to enable the Safe Sound option. Under the initial menu (the first menu you see when you start the game), select Options, and then click the box to enable the Safe Sound option. Installing the latest version of LiveWare! may also alleviate sound-related problems on Soundblaster Live!-equipped systems.

Q: I have Matrox video card installed on my computer. When I am in town trying to buy or sell things in a shop, the image on my screen is disfigured, and both items and control buttons are not clear or cannot be seen at all. What shall I do?

A: You can try running the game in the window mode. This option is available in the autorun menu. Be careful not to confuse it with the «Full-screen video» option. You can zoom the game window to fit your screen by setting your desktop resolution equal to the game window resolution. It is important to start the game at 16-bit color depth. Desktop color depth should also be 16-bit.

Q: My problem is still not fixed. What should I do now?

A: If your particular problem is not covered by the FAQ or addressed in the forum, you can e-mail evil-islands@support.fishtankgames.com. Be sure to include detailed information about your system. If you need to speak with someone immediately, you can call (603) 382 - 0572.

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