X-Beyond the Frontier version 1.8 (English) 

In the following text we summarized some frequently asked questions
and their responses for you. Among other things this text also makes 
suggestions that should help if you have difficulties starting X on your 
computer. 

The most common question related to X: 
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Technical Problems 
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Q: The game does not start. It hangs while loading or it is easily 
   terminated, so that the desktop appears again. 
Q: The speech output is missing. What can I do? 
Q: The speech output does not seem to stop. What can I do? 
Q: No music is played. What's wrong? 
Q: The game runs very slowly, if I leave a space station or during the 
   intro sequences. I do not hear any music? 

Please examine the following possibilities. 
Every single one can be a reason for your problem! 

Possibility 1: 

Media Player is not correctly installed. Either the newest version is not 
installed by DirectX Media (a part of the Media Player) and/or no MP3 
codec. In order to solve this problem, make sure you install the Microsoft 
Media Player completely. 

Possibility 2: 

You have tried to play X directly from the CD-ROM. 
Another (rather improbable) possibility could be the fact that you start
X directly from the CD ROM without having installed it on your hard disk! 
Thus the music and speech output is faulty. 

Possibility 3: 

You did not create sufficient virtual memory: initially the game loads for 
a while and then locks up before the first 3D scene. The reason for this
problem COULD be that you did not create sufficient virtual workspace. 
Read also the previous responses with tips for correct music playback. 
An incompatible MP3 codec or MPEG streaming component can be a 
reason for X not to start. 

Possibility 4: 

A conflict with a virtual CD-ROM drive Another reason that X maz not 
start could be that you used a program for the creation of a virtual 
CD-ROM drive. Please terminate this program before you start X! 
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Q: The game locks up after a short time. 
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A: If the intro sequence from X and the credits run error free 
(with sound, music and speech output) perhaps one of the following 
paragraphs may help to locate the problem. 

1) Please find out if there is a new update patch for X These are available from 
Egosoft or THQ and also from their homepages (www.egosoft.com or www.thq.de). 
You are currently using version 1.7. For this reason only patches with a higher
version numbers will work for you. 

2) Some graphics cards need newer drivers. Particularly for graphics cards based on 
the Voodoo Banshee chip, e.g. the Diamond Monster Fusion you should use the newest 
reference driver released by 3DFX. Similar problems related to drivers were observed
with Voodoo3 graphics cards. 

3) Software e.g. a Screensaver runs in the background and uses processor time. From
this various problems can result - even crashes can occur. 

4) Please make sure that your graphic card doesn't share its IRQ with another PCI
card. If you have an AGP graphics card the PCI card in the card slot next to the AGP
card usually receives the same IRQ. This can slow down the system. In the worst case
this can cause a crash when the system is too heavily loaded. Many graphics card
manufacturers offer a solution for this on their homepage. 

5) Your 3D-Card or your CPU is over-clocked, RAM is defective, your system is unstable,
etc... Sometimes instabilities of the hardware occur only if the system is running at
full load! 

6) You are using old and possibly defective drivers for your sound card (A3D based
cards in particular may require an updated driver). 

7) Please make sure your system has enough virtual memory. Check your Windows virtual
memory settings, and check if there is enough space left on your hard disk. A good
setting may be a minimum and maximum of 200MB virtual memory. 
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Q: The ship rotates as soon as I start the game. 
A: Press F8 in order to get to the options menu. Click on input devices, and adjust
   your joystick in the upper left corner. Even if your joystick is currently not
   attached it may be registered in Windows! Now click on OK. This should solve the
   problem. Another cause could be that the third axis of your joystick (sliding
   control or turning function of your joystick) is not calibrated. You can do this
   in the "system control". 
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Q: The game does not start up. It stops with a message saying "wrong graphic settings".
   What is wrong?
A: Maybe you have some incorrect settings stored in your registry. De-select the
   "use settings" button on startup. If this does not help, try to start the game in
   window mode. 
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Q: The ship de-accelerates, although I do not press the Z key? 
A: Probably you have a joystick with thrust control (Throttle). This input mode
   overwrites the keyboard entry. Either you use the thrust control of your joystick
   or you deactivate it using the the options menu or you remove your joystick. 
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Q: The displayed textures are sometimes incorrect. Problems with clipping? 
   (as far as we know this only happens on Riva TNT graphics cards.) 
A: This is a known problem that occurs on some DX6 drivers. Please try to use the
   XDX6.exe which we installed as alternative to x.exe, also on your computer. 
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Q: I would like to use a colour depth of 32 bits with my graphics card (e.g. RIVA TNT)
   What do I have to modify? 
A: Start the game with the default settings. 
   Press F11 during the game and select a texture format like 8-8-8-0 or 8-8-8-8 for
   both types of texture. Select a screen resolution with a depth of 32 bits. Remember
   that more graphics memory is needed and the game possibly refuses to run on some
   computers. 
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Q: The volume adjustments are ignored? 
A: In addition to the Windows volume adjustment you can change the volume within the
   game. Press F8 to display the options menu and click on the sound settings icon.
   Here you can make the adjustments to the different volume levels. 
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Q: The sound quality when using SB16 or AWE32 sound cards is bad / I hear clicking noises? 
A: Sound cards without accelerated sound buffer like the AWE32 and the SB16 can have 
   a bad sound quality. Particularly if the sounds are too loud, distortions can occur.
   There are some adjustments which can try you out: deactivate the 3D surround sound
   effect in the driver for the AWE32. Select a sampling rate of 22kHz within the sound
   menu of X. 
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Q: Sometimes I cannot control the speed of the ship (a/z)? 
A: Your joystick probably overwrites the speed setting with thrust control settings.
   Please decide if you want to use the thrust control of your joystick, re-calibrate
   your joystick or disconnect your Joystick from the system and remove it from the
   Windows system control. 
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Q: The game will not start, I double click on the icon but nothing happens? 
A: The installation of necessary DLL files went wrong. "X - Beyond the Frontier" uses
   the file ijl10.dll. This file MUST be in the same directory as the rest of the game.
   If you cannot find this file, try installing X again. 
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Q: The game crashes / hangs while loading, or after the Intro sequence?
A: Make sure you have enough virtual memory. X temporarily uses a lot of memory.
   Make sure your virtual memory settings (system settings -> performance) do not limit
   the maximum possible virtual memory, and check how much space is left on the drive.
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                          Game related issues 
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Q: How can I save a game in X? 
A: You must buy Salvage Insurance. Among other things you can obtain this in each
   factory, or trading station. 
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Q: What does the number tell me when I scan asteroids with a mineral scanner installed
   on my ship?
A: The higher the number you get, the more minerals it contains. 
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Q: Some Alien races don't allow me to dock at their stations? 
A: They don't trust you. You have to work on your reputation, try to shoot down a
   couple of Xenon's or pirates in their sector, this might help. 
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Q: Can I hire transporters to bring crystals to my Solar power plant? 
A: No you can't. You will have to bring them to your power plant yourself. 
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Q: Where do I find further information about the game controls and the flow of the
   game itself? 
A: Within the game there are different possibilities to obtain help. With <h> or
   <k> you receive an outline of the key assignment (refer to the manual as well).
   With <Shift h> you can get some game TIPS. 
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Q: How do I know which version I have of X? 
A: When you start up the game, a small window will be opened before loading. 
   Here you can see the version number. 
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Q: If I load a new logo, the whole screen becomes distorted?
A: This is because of some driver problems which appear on some 3D cards. 
   Press F8 to get to the option menu, then click on the Graphics device / 3D card
   and then press cancel. This will solve the problem.
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Q: I have problems with my Voodoo 3D card and have a motherboard with an ALI chipset,
   what do I do? 
A: There is a new driver(1.6) available for motherboards with ALI chipsets, using this
   driver should correct the problem. For more information please check the following
   Website: www.ali.com.tw and please make sure to use the newest (reference) driver
   for your graphic card.
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Q: Why are the credits I am earning in the game halfed after some time? 
A: This problem is related to the copy protection. Are you using an Original (and not
   a copy)? If yes please check the following things:
   1) Check if you hard drive is virus free.
   2) Make sure that you are not using any programs which simulate a CD-ROM drive etc.
   3) Make sure that you are not using an old DOS driver for your CD-ROM drive but
      a Windows driver instead.
   If this didn't help you please write an E-Mail to: info@egosoft.com. 
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Q: X slows down and the music starts to stutters after a while, what is wrong? 
A: Please make sure that Windows is not running any programs in the background,
   such as Virus Scanners(for example Norton Antivirus) and make sure that the
   Mediaplayer is fully installed.

  
        Further Tips & Tricks can be find on our web pages: 

        http://www.egosoft.com/X 
        http://www.beyondthefrontier.com 
                

EGOSOFT / THQ 26.08.99 
