SimCity 2000 DEMO for OS/2 Warp       Febuary 9, 1996
Last Minute Info


Please read all of this document - it's important! Really!

I.   Using the OS/2 System Editor to view this document
II.  Technical Help
III. Gameplay Issues - Including loading SCURK object sets
IV.  How to Reach Maxis Technical Support
V.   Introducing the Maxis TechGeeks


Using the OS/2 System Editor to view this document
To make this document easier to read, you can enlarge the editor window to its maximum size.  To do so, click the Maximize button in the upper-right corner of the window or open the Control menu in the upper-left corner of the editor window (press ALT+SPACEBAR or use the left mouse button), and then choose the Maximize command.

To move through the document, press PAGE UP or PAGE DOWN or click the arrows at the top and bottom of the scroll bar along the right side of the Write window.

For Help on using the OS/2 System Editor, press F1.


Technical Help

SimCity 2000 for OS/2 requires the same video driver features that the Direct Interface Video Extensions (DIVE) require.  You must run in a 256-color or greater mode, and the video card must not be an 8514 card, or setup in an 8514-emulating mode.

If your card is emulating an 8514 but is not actually an 8514, you will need to update your video driver to a more recent version.

If you are in a high-color mode (24-bit or 32-bit color) and SimCity 2000 video is not displaying correctly or SimCity crashes when trying to bring up a city window, you will need to update your video driver or change your display mode to a lower color depth (like 256 colors).

ALADDIN.DLL, this is a Trident video driver problem.  Make sore you have the most recent driver for your adapter.  ALADDIN.DLL errors may occur immediately when loading, or when querying on microsimulator objects (hospitals, police stations, etc.).

If your mouse cursor blinks erradically, your video display adapter does not have hardware cursor support.  This problem can sometimes be alleviated by letting SimCity 2000 handle cursor control.  To try this, start SC2000.EXE with a /C command line switch.  If this works for you, open up the Maxis folder, click the right mouse button on the SC2000 icon, click on Settings, and place the /C in the Parameters section.


Sound and Music

SimCity 2000 for OS/2 supports all sound cards that are compatible with MMPM/2 on OS/2.  If you do not have a sound card, you will not hear sound effects or music.

OS/2 does not support simultaneous playback of Sound Effects and Music on 8-bit audio cards.  If you have an 8-bit card, you will not hear both together.

If you do have a sound card, check the Options menu while playing SimCity 2000.  There are two items in the Options menu called Music and Sound Effects.  For music and sound effects to play, both menu items MUST be checked.

Your sound card and its OS/2 software must also be configured for MIDI music in order for SimCity 2000 to grace your ears with its sonic beauty.  To check this, go into the Multimedia folder on your desktop and determine if there is a MIDI player icon.  If so open it and try playing BACH.MID.  If it plays fine, all is well and good in the land of the Sims.  If, instead, you get some kind of error message (or worse yet, no error, but no music) you'll need to consult your OS/2 manual or contact the dealer where you purchased the sound hardware or the manufacturer.

If you experience loss of music and/or sound effects during gameplay and your sound options are enabled, you have encountered an OS/2 MMPM/2 stream handler problem.  Other problems you may see include hard lockup of the computer, system traps in the audio driver, and constant repitition of the last sound.  If the system is still runing and sound has stopped, you must shut down and restart SimCity 2000 to get sound back.  If the system is repeating a sound over and over, click on an object to make another sound (like a toolbar button) and it will stop.  Contact IBM support for the latest corrective service diskettes for OS/2 and MMPM/2.


Video drivers, palettes and pictures

What are Video Drivers?
OS/2 uses a set of programs called Video Drivers to control how it accesses your particular hardware to display things on the screen. Usually, the video card that you have installed in your machine will come with a set of video drivers that you can install for use with OS/2.  OS/2 comes with some video drivers that work on almost any video card and allow OS/2 to display 16 colors at a resolution of 640x480 pixels.

What does this have to do with SimCity 2000?
SimCity 2000 for OS/2 will not run in a 16 color environment.  Make sure your video driver is setup to provide at least a 256 color environment.  SimCity 2000 for OS/2 fully supports color depths of 256 or greater.

The steps to change the type of video driver you are using are system-specific; you may have a driver for your adapter on the OS/2 disks, or an OS/2 driver disk from the manufacturer.  We recommend that you check with your vendor or manufacturer for information on your display card, but here are some general hints and tips we can run through.

Find the System Setup folder, usually located in the OS/2 System Folder.  Open the System Setup folder, then find the System icon.  Double click on the System icon, then check the Screen Settings.  If it's 640x480x16, that means 640x480 resolution (which is fine) but 16 colors (which we need to change).  To change, you will likely need your original OS/2 disks, so keep them handy.  Select one of the other selections (such as '640x480x256').  If you do not have any other selections, you need to install another video driver for your adapter.  Once you have selected another item, close the settings window, then shutdown and restart OS/2.

Gameplay Issues

Loading object sets
If you have SimCity 2000 object sets in your SimCity 2000 directory (some are provided), an option in the New Game window and the file menu will be available. These will allow you to load object sets from the SimCity 2000 directory.  The object sets from the SimCity 2000 Urban Renewal Kit for Windows may also be loaded. You cannot import .TIL sets from the Urban Renewal Kit for DOS - they must be converted in the Urban Renewal Kit for Windows.  When importing a object set, only the tiles that exist in the set will affect SimCity 2000. If you have an object set with only 2 buildings, only those two tiles will be replaced in SimCity 2000 when loaded.  You may load object sets on top of object sets to create a completely original set, but when SimCity 2000 is exited and re-launched, only the original object set will be loaded.

Saved Cities

For your simulating pleasure, we have included several saved cities created by various Maxis employees and other SimCity 2000 users. They are located in your SimCity 2000 Cities directory.

Micro-Simulators

When querying some structures, you get local statistics about that structure. For instance, querying on a Police Station will tell you how many crimes and arrests were handled by that station, and querying on a school will tell you how many teachers and students are attending that school as well as the average grade of the students. Most placeable structures (police, fire, schools, colleges, power plants, the Mayor's House, arcologies, etc.)have these micro-simulators. Some structures share one micro-simulator for all the structures placed. Things like the bus system, railroad depots, marinas, libraries, windmills, and hydroelectric power plants among others have one micro-simulator for each category (one micro-simulator for all the bus stations, one for all the railroad depots, etc.). Where is this all headed, you ask? Well, each city can only have 150 microsimulators in it. If you go beyond that, the structure you place will still affect the simulator globally (police stations will still stop crime, bus stations will still carry passengers, arcologies will still hold people), but you just won't be able to see any local information on those structures. This isn't going to harm your city in any way. We're telling you this because it's pretty easy to run out of micro-simulators in a large city and we don't want you thinking something's wrong.

Terrain Editing

If you are building a city and go into the terrain edit mode, your city will disappear, but any trees or water that you have placed in the city will show up in terrain edit mode. Also, if you have placed a bridge or other structure that automatically builds landfill, the landfill will also show up in terrain edit mode. These can be removed with the Lower Terrain tool.

Airports

Keep in mind when building an airport that it needs space for a runway, or it will not build. The minimum usable airport space is 2 x 6 tiles. Your best bet is to build the airport in 4 x 6 tile increments. And make sure no tall buildings are nearby; SimCity 2000 pilots are not known for their building-avoidance skills! In addition, make sure that your airport is blanketed with power lines. Airports may not initially build unless they are receiving power to certain tiles.

Importing files from other platforms and SimCity Classic

SimCity 2000 for OS/2 will import cities from other versions of SimCity 2000 and SimCity Classic. To import SimCity Classic files and SimCity 2000 Macintosh files, you will need to rename the file to have the .SC2 extension. SimCity 2000 for OS/2 automatically converts the SimCity Classic cities into SimCity 2000 format.

Keyboard Commands

Even though SimCity 2000 requires a mouse, there are several keyboard shortcuts that (with practice) can greatly enhance the SimCity 2000 experience.

The Shift key has several functions, depending on where you use it:
Holding down the Shift key and clicking on a tile in the edit window will have the same effect as using the Query tool on that tile. Pressing the shift or ESC key while placing a draggable item (Zones, Roads, Power Lines, Rail, etc.) BEFORE you release the mouse button will abort the placement of that object.

Pressing the Home key will zoom in one level on your city.
Pressing the End key will zoom out one level on your city.
Pressing the PageUp key will rotate your city to the right 90 degrees.
Pressing the PageDown key will rotate your city to the left 90 degrees.
The Cursor Keys will scroll your city.

How to Reach Maxis Technical Support

What You Should Do Before You Call Technical Support

Before you call Technical Support, please be sure that you have read this Read Me file and any other appropriate material. When you are at your wit's end, scratching your head and grumbling, read on to find out what we would like you to have ready when you call, so that we can get you running as quickly as possible.  It will save both you and our overworked technicians lots of time and aggravation!

What You Should Have With You When You Call

1.  Have a print-out of your CONFIG.SYS file.  If you can't print out your CONFIG.SYS file (ie. you don't have a printer), it isn't the end of the world, as long as you are at your computer when you call!  Make sure that your computer system meets or exceeds the requirements defined on the SimCity 2000 system label.  The system label is located in the lower-left portion on the front of the box.

2.  If you are getting error messages or General Protection Faults (GPFs), write down exactly what the error message says.  That will help us diagnose the problem.

3.  Write down all of the steps you have taken to try to solve the problem.  If we know what you've already done, we may be able to get you running faster.

4.  Have your program disks, your manual, and your Addendum available and within easy reach.

Where You Should Be When You Call

Please, please call us from your computer!  We need to have you at your computer to explore your system to identify what is causing your problem.

Let's Do the Numbers!

There are a number of different options that you can use to contact Technical Support. The first is by telephone, but this may not be the best option for you.  If you decide that you would like to call and hear a friendly voice, you'll find the number and hours of operation for Technical Support listed on the Maxis Maxims sheet, included in the box your program came in. There is lots of other useful info there, so keep your Maxis Maxims somewhere handy.

We are present on all of the major on-line services if you subscribe to any of these. If you don't currently subscribe, many on-line services will give you a 30-day trial membership.  Refer to the Maxis Maxims for more information on signing up. On AOL, just e-mail to "Maxis", or use keyword "Maxis". On CompuServe, do "GO GAMBPUB" and leave a message in the Maxis forum.

NEW! Internet users! We can be reached on the Internet via e-mailing to SUPPORT@MAXIS.COM; we have a web page at http://www.maxis.com with links to other technical support resources and our FTP site.

If you have a modem, on-line support is often a better option for you.  We maintain a BBS that is free-of-charge (excluding long distance charges from your phone company) to all registered users of Maxis products.  The BBS number is (510) 254-3869 and it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  We support up to 14.4k bps and have four nodes. The settings are 8-N-1.  You can also find the latest FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), hints and tips from other users and other good stuff.

SimCity 2000 for OS/2, 1995 (c) Maxis.
