EPIC PINBALL
Brings true arcade-style pinball to life on
your PC! With 256-color scrolling graphics,
digital music and sound for SB/Pro/Gravis.
Contains the ultra-hot pinball table ANDROID
with all the shots, sounds, action, and
excitement of the real thing! Shareware from
Epic MegaGames, creators of the record
breaking commercial pinball game Silverball.

=============================================================================
Epic Pinball * Instructions & Troubleshooting Info * Version 1.1
=============================================================================


Epic Pinball Requires:
* A 386 or faster IBM-compatible PC
* VGA graphics
* Hard disk

Also supports:
* Sound Blaster, SB Pro, and compatible music cards
* Gravis Ultrasound music card

To start Epic Pinball:

1. Switch to the drive where the game is installed (C:)
2. Switch to the subdirectory where the game is installed (CD \PINBALL)
3. Type PINBALL.


=============================================================================
Common problems and solutions
=============================================================================


RUNNING WITH WINDOWS AND OS/2
=============================

This game should work properly under Windows and OS/2 if you turn all
sound card support OFF by running SETUP. However, if you want to hear
music or sound through your Sound Blaster, SB Pro, or Gravis Ultrasound,
only run Epic Pinball through DOS.

Here are some more Windows and OS/2 tips:

1. Even though Epic Pinball will work under Windows with sound card support
turned OFF, the graphics will run more smoothly under plain DOS.

2. If you try to run Epic Pinball through Windows or OS/2 with sound card
support ON, you'll get unpredictable results - Epic Pinball will not
run properly.

3. If you encounter any problems running through Windows or OS/2, exit and
run Epic Pinball through plain DOS instead! This will likely solve any
problems you are encountering.

4. Running Epic Pinball through the "MS-DOS Shell" in Windows (or the
OS/2 Dos box) is NOT the same as running it straight from DOS. For
best results, you need to completely exit from Windows or OS/2 and run
Epic Pinball from the DOS prompt.


NOT ENOUGH FREE MEMORY
======================

Problem: When I run Epic Pinball, the game refuses to start and gives
me the message "You need (amount) of free memory to run this program".

Solution: You need to free up more main (conventional) memory before
starting Epic Pinball. Here are some solution tips:

1. If you are trying to run Epic Pinball from Windows, completely exit
Windows and try running it from DOS.

2. If you are trying to run Epic Pinball from "DOSSHELL" or any other
menu program, please exit from the menu program. Then, run Epic Pinball
from the DOS prompt. Menu programs often occupy enough memory that
there won't be enough left for Epic Pinball.

If neither #1 or #2 solves the problem, do the following:

1. From the DOS prompt, type "MEM" and press Enter.

2. You'll see a lot of information about your computer's memory. Look at
the number after the words "Largest Executable Program Size". This is
how much memory you currently have available.

Now you need to free up more main memory. Here are some tips:

1. If you're using DOS 6.0 or later, reboot your computer by pressing
RESET or Ctrl-Alt-Del. Wait for the message "Starting MS-DOS..." to come
up. Now press the [F5] key.

This will cause DOS 6.0 to bypass all of your TSR's, memory managers,
and other programs which normally occupy main memory.

Now change into the Pinball directory and begin the game.

2. If you have a version of DOS earlier than 6.0: You need to create a
"boot disk" to allow you to start your computer without loading all
the TSR's and memory managers that take away main memory. Here's how.

A. Put a blank disk in your A: drive and format it as a DOS disk. (Don't
do this in your B: drive - it won't work!) To do this, type the
following command:

FORMAT A: /S

B. Wait while your computer formats the disk.
C. Label the disk "Boot Disk" and keep it handy. You'll need this
disk whenever you want to start Epic Pinball.

Now, you can reboot your computer and play Epic Pinball:

A. Put the boot disk in your A: drive.
B. Restart your computer, either by pressing CTRL-ALT-DELETE, by
hitting your reset button, or by turning it on.
C. Wait while your computer boots from the boot disk.
D. After a little while, your computer will stop and give you the A>
prompt.
E. Now change to your hard disk by typing "C:".
F. Go into the pinball directory by typing "CD \PINBALL".
G. Begin by typing "PINBALL".

Note to owners of "Stacker", "Superstor", and other hard disk compression
programs: If your C: drive is compressed and you need a boot disk to
start Epic Pinball, you must install Pinball on a different,
non-compressed drive. See your manual for instructions on doing this.
(This only applies to users of DOS version 5.0 or earlier).


OTHER PROBLEMS
==============

Problem: When I run PINBALL, the computer locks up or reboots.

Solution: Run SETUP and verify that your settings are correct. If you are
not using a sound card, make sure that SETUP is set for "No Sound Card".
If you are using a sound card, verify that:

1. The correct options are specified in SETUP. Check your address, IRQ,
and DMA settings (most sound cards operate on DMA 1). If you don't know
your card's address, IRQ, and DMA settings, consult your manual for
details on figuring them out.

2. Your sound card has no address, IRQ, or DMA conflicts with other cards
in your system! If your sound card works properly with other games, you
can assume that there are no conflicts. However, if your sound card does
not work with other games, you have a conflict. See your sound card
manual for details on resolving these conflicts.


Problem: I notice a bit of flicker in the dotmation (dot animation).

Solution: This will happen on slower computers (386, less than 33 mhz) when
you have the music playing through your Sound Blaster. If you find this
distracting, we recommend turning off the music.



NOTE TO PRO AUDIO SPECTRUM OWNERS
=================================

Epic Pinball should work fine with the PAS, PAS+, and PAS-16 sound cards.
You need to run SETUP and tell it that you have a Sound Blaster card (not
a Sound Blaster Pro).

Important! To run Epic Pinball on any Pro Audio Spectrum sound card, you
need to have the PAS drivers loaded properly. PINBALL will only recognize
your PAS card if the drivers are loaded. See your PAS manual for
instructions on loading the right PAS drivers in your AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS files.


NOTE TO GRAVIS ULTRASOUND OWNERS
================================

By popular request, Epic Pinball supports the GUS! Just specify Gravis
Ultrasound from within SETUP. If you have any problems, check your
address, IRQ, and DMA settings. If you still have problems, boot clean
and try running Epic Pinball without any GUS drivers loaded - these
drivers (such as SBOS) might perhaps interfere with the game's direct,
native GUS support.


CONTACTING EPIC'S TECH SUPPORT
==============================

If you need further assistance, please call our tech support department
at 301-983-9771 between 9AM and 5PM Eastern Standard Time, or fax us
at 301-299-3841. You can also contact us online:

COMPUSERVE:
Mail: 70451,633
Messages & Files: GO EPIC

INTERNET:
Mail: [email protected]
FTP: ftp.ulowell.edu

SOFTWARE CREATIONS:
Contact: Epic MegaGames
2400 Baud: 508-365-2359
14.4K Baud: 508-368-7036

EPIC'S BBS:
Contact: Help
2400-14.4K Baud: 301-738-0232

THE SHAREWARE SUPPORT BBS (Herts, England):
Contact: Epic MegaGames
2400-14.4K Baud: +44 (0) 442-891-109