
REX BLADE RELEASE 1.0 READ ME FILE
Nov. 6, 1996

I.   Installation
II.  Playing the Game
III. Troubleshooting
IV.  Teleporting
V.   Using REX++
VI.  Using the Level of Detail Control

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I. INSTALLATION

Minimum Requirements

Pentium 75 (Pentium 100 recommended)
16 MB Ram
25 MB Free Hard Disk

DOS Based Installation

The Release 1.0 of Rex Blade is contained in a single directory
"REXBLADE" on the CD-ROM. From MS-DOS or from a MS-DOS session within Windows 95
simply change drives to your CD-ROM. For example, if your CD-ROM is drive D:
then you would type at the command prompt:

D:

Then change directories to the REXBLADE sub directory:

D:\CD REXBLADE

Then to install REX BLADE simply type INSTALL.EXE eg.

D:\REXBLADE\INSTALL.EXE

This will launch the installer which is menu driven. Install the game into
the drive and directory of your choice. After the game is installed the
sound setup program will be launched automatically to setup your sound.
Follow the menus and setup your sound for sound system.

Windows 95

From Windows Explorer or from "My Computer" navigate into your CD-ROM drive
and navigate into the REXBLADE directory on your CD-ROM. To install REXBLADE
run the install program INSTALL.EXE this will guide you through the installation
of REXBLADE and the sound setup.


II. PLAYING THE GAME

Rex Blade is controlled from the keyboard and has a great many options
such as Heads Up Display, Wetware Gadgets and a lot of weapons. Take a look
at the manual for a complete description of the game play, but if
you want to get right to it, here are the control keys:

Rex Control Keys

<ESC>               - Display Control Panel
<LEFT ARROW>        - Rotate Left
<RIGHT ARROW>       - Rotate Right
<UP ARROW>          - Move Forward.
<DOWN ARROW>        - Move Backward.
<ALT>               - Enable Strafing.
<ALT+D>             - Toggle Level of Detail on the fly.
<SPACE BAR>         - Inspect/Use Object.
<CTRL>              - Fire Weapon.
<X>                 - Jump Up.
<C>                 - Crouch Down.
<LEFT BRACKET>      - Select Previous Weapon in Arsenal.
<RIGHT BRACKET>     - Select Next Weapon in Arsenal.
<F1>                - Toggle System HUD.
<F2>                - Toggle Bio-Stats HUD.
<F3>                - Toggle WETWARE HUD.
<F4>                - Toggle Weapon Display HUD.
<F5>                - Toggle Ammunition stores HUD.
<F6>                - Toggle all HUDS.
<SEMI COLON>        - Scroll Down on WETWARE Menu HUD.
<APOSTROPHE>        - Scroll Up on WETWARE Menu HUD.
<ENTER KEY>         - Toggle current WETWARE item On/Off.

Game play is simple: kill everything, collect everything and when you find a
computer hack around in it. To complete a level you must use a computer to
teleport out (which you will have to figure out how to do)!

III. TROUBLESHOOTING

Crashes in Windows 95

Rex Blade is a 32-bit Protected mode application and likes to run in pure DOS
rather than from a DOS session under Windows 95. So if you are having
trouble running Rex from a Windows 95 DOS session try re-starting in MS-DOS mode.
You can start MS-DOS mode from the Windows 95 Start Menu by choosing shutdown
and selecting restart the computer in MS-DOS mode or by rebooting the
computer and pressing the F8 key during the start up phase.

If you are still experiencing crashes in Rex Blade, try changing your EMM386
line in your CONFIG.SYS file to no EMS. To do this, edit your config.sys file
with any text editor and look for the line that reads EMM386.EXE. Add NOEMS to
the end of this line. If there is RAM statment or any numbers then you must
delete them. For example, if your EMM386.EXE line reads something like:

device=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024

then you would change it to:

device=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS

Sound Problems

Rex Blade uses the Miles Sound System. If your sound or music
is not audible or doesn't sound correct then try running SETSOUND.EXE and
re-selecting a different sound card for either digital or midi. If problems
continue, try running the game in MS-DOS mode or changing the settings of
your sound card and setting up the sound again with SETSOUND.EXE.

Memory Problems

Rex Blade has a virtual memory manager and should run fine in 16MB of RAM.
Rex may run on some systems with less than 16MB of RAM, but performance
may be degraded.

Speed Problems

If you find that Rex doesn't run fast enough then try running the game from
pure DOS and make sure you have a disk caching program such as SMARTDRIVE.
Or buy a faster computer! You can also try switching to low detail mode
(see section VI. below).

IV. TELEPORTING

To exit a level you must find a computer workstation that has teleporter software
and then engage the teleportation program. The only way for you to determine
if a workstation has teleporter software is to "hack" around in the computer
looking for commands and programs to execute. Once you have found the
teleportation program and launched it, you will undoubtedly need a password.
The password can be found somewhere within the computer. After
teleporting you will see a statistics screen that will show you how
you did on the level and your time verses the par time.

When you have finished the levels of a world then you will be teleported to
the next world (long range teleport) and receive the thanks of
of any remaining organic creatures. When you have finished the three worlds then
you...I guess you'll just have to play!


V. USING REX++

Programming

REX++ is a programming language created specifically for the game Rex Blade.
REX++ is based on the BASIC programming language with the free form syntax
found in C. The programming language can be found within the virtual computers
in the game. To use the language you must run the interpreter from within
a virtual computer, this is accomplished by typing "REX++" at the virtual
computer command prompt.

A manual on the use of the language and its keywords can be found on the Rex
Blade CD-ROM under the name REXPP.DOC. Read this document using a MS Word
compatible program such as MS Word or MS Wordpad. The manual will give
you enough information and examples to create cool little programs.

Troubleshooting

REX++ gives you a lot of freedom when programming and it's possible that you
might be able to create a program that crashes the language interpreter.
Therefore, when you are programming in REX++ keep in mind that you are
using a real language and a real IDE, so if you really try to write bad
programs then you will probably be able to do so! Some common errors that
can cause problems are:

1. Defining variables more than once.
2. Sending parameters that are out of range.
3. Performing illegal or non-real mathematical calculations.

If you avoid the above pitfalls then you shouldn't run into any problems with
REX++.

TIP: if you are going to do something risky then be sure to save your
     position in the game first!

VI. USING THE LEVEL OF DETAIL CONTROL

In the main control panel of the game under OPTIONS you can switch the level
of detail from low to high. Low detail speeds up the game by flat
shading the floors and removing the ceilings instead of using full texture
mapping. Alas, there is a small penalty for doing this! There are a few
secrets in the game that won't be so obvious without the texture mapping and
floor lighting. So, to help you out we have added a quick Level of Detail Toggle,
so that you can switch the LOD on the fly. While playing Rex Blade, simply
press <ALT+D> and the Level of Detail will toggle from low to high and back.

However, even without the extra hints a real Cyborg could carry out
his mission!



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