OUTPOST


TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1 - HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURES
SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS
SECTION 4 - COMMON WINDOWS PROBLEMS
SECTION 5 - COMMON SOUND PROBLEMS
SECTION 6 - GENERAL WINDOWS PROBLEMS
SECTION 7 - MOUSE PROBLEMS
SECTION 8 - OUTPOST BOOTDISK INSTRUCTIONS
SECTION 9 - IF YOU STILL HAVE PROBLEMS...


SECTION 1 - HARDWARE  REQUIREMENTS

Floppy disk (3.5") version:
REQUIRED

385/25.
4 MEG RAM
20 MEG hard drive space (compressed 42 MEG)
MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
Windows 3.1 or higher
256 colors in Windows
Mouse

RECOMMENDED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE

486DX
8 MEG RAM (with 4 MEG free XMS)
MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
Windows 3.1 or higher
Windows compatible sound card

CD version
REQUIRED

385/25.
4 MEG RAM
1.5 MEG hard drive space (compressed 3.5 MEG)
Windows 3.1 or higher
MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
256 colors in Windows
Mouse

RECOMMENDED FOR BEST PERFORMANCE
486DX
8 MEG RAM (with 4 MEG free XMS)
35 MEG hard drive space (compressed 70 MEG)
MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
Windows 3.1 or higher
256 colors in Windows
Windows compatible sound card.


SECTION 2 - INSTALLATION PROCEDURE
Windows Floppy : 
Insert the Setup disk into the appropriate drive and start Windows.  From 
Program Manager, click on FILE, then RUN.  In the Command Line field, 
type the letter of the drive followed by \SETUP.  Ex: A:\SETUP or 
B:\SETUP.  Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

Windows CD :  
Insert the CD into the appropriate drive and start Windows.  From 
Program Manager, click on FILE, then RUN.  In the Command Line field, 
type the letter of the drive followed by \SETUP.  Ex: D:\SETUP.  Follow 
the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

SECTION 3 - COMMON INSTALLATION PROBLEMS

PROBLEM: During the installation of the game, it asks if you have a 
Roland MT32, CM-333 or LAPC-1. You don't know what that is, or if you 
have one.

SOLUTION: If you don't know, more than likely, you don't have one.  
Answer "All other sound cards", the game will use the currently installed 
Windows sound drivers. If you find out later that you do have one of those 
sound cards, you can re-run the installation and  change the settings.

SECTION 4 - COMMON WINDOWS PROBLEMS

PROBLEM:  You can play the game, but the graphics look nothing like 
the pictures on the box. They are kind of blue, gray, pink and purple.

SOLUTION:  Sierra's Windows games require that Windows is running in 
256 color mode.  Even though your monitor and video card may be 
capable of displaying 256 colors, Windows may not be set up to use this 
resolution.  To check, double-click on Windows Setup in the Main 
program group.  If the Display line reads "VGA" or "16 color", you will 
need to change to a driver that supports 256 colors.  ("VGA" is a default 
Windows video driver that only supports 16 colors and will not work with 
Sierra's Windows games.)  To change video drivers, select Options, then 
Change System Settings.  Open the Display box to see the list of video 
drivers that are currently available.   You should check your video card 
documentation for information on what 256 color driver to select.  

Warning: Be careful when changing video drivers!  If you choose one that 
is not designed for your particular video card, Windows will not display 
properly.  If this occurs, change to your Windows directory, type: SETUP, 
and choose the "VGA" driver again.  You should contact your video card 
manufacturer for the correct driver. 

PROBLEM: No animation or speech in Outpost (3.5" Disk Version). 

SOLUTION: Because of the size of the animation and sound files, there 
are no animation or AI speech in the disk version of this game.

PROBLEM: No animation in Outpost (CD Version) 

SOLUTION: Go to the Drivers section of Control Panel and remove the 
[MCI] Autodesk Animation driver.  Restart Windows, then reinstall the 
game.  This should give you the animation back. 

PROBLEM: Restoring saved games takes a long time.

SOLUTION: Restore time for saved Outpost games can be quite long, 
depending on the size of the saved game file.  The best way to get around 
this is to optimize your computer system to make the games restore as 
quickly as possible. 

PROBLEM: You can't trade with the rebel colony, build any roads or 
monorails, or access macro-management.

SOLUTION: Please remember to register your game so that you are 
eligible for the FREE Outpost upgrade now in progress. The upgrade will 
contain the trade system, macro-management, roads, monorails, and a 
variety of other new features that were not included in version 1.0 or 1.1 of 
the game.  The new version will also include as many new features 
suggested by current Outpost owners as possible, while maintaining all of 
the benefits our current customers enjoy.  The upgraded version of Outpost 
should be available before the end of the year.

PROBLEM: I can't get the terraforming to work.

SOLUTION:  Be warned that "cheaters never prosper."  If you use the 
cheat keys, (SHIFT-F11 unlimited resources; SHIFT-F12 force morale, 
education and crime levels,) you will not be able to do some of the more 
advanced functions of the game, such as terraforming, even if you turn off 
the cheat later in the game. Therefore, ANY colony that has been cheated 
on will be unfinishable.

PROBLEM: Save game option is grayed out in the menu. I can't save my 
game.

SOLUTION: The save game option is only available right after a turn has 
been run. If a player runs a turn and places a tile or even dozes a site, the 
save game option will be disabled until the turn button (the circle right-
hand lower corner of the screen) is pushed.

PROBLEM:  I keep dying in the first 150 turns of the game/ I keep 
running out of mineral ??.

SOLUTION:  For the first 200 turns of the game, much of the focus is on 
the proper use and conservation of limited resources. In short, you need to 
think small. Only build facilities that are necessary until you are better 
able to extract minerals from your mines and SPEWs. (HINT: Do 
scientific research to achieve nanotechnology.)  Also make sure you are 
digging your mines down 4 levels (if you are on a planet that can go down 
4 levels,) but don't do it all at once. Dig down 1 level wait about 90 to 100 
turns and then go down another level. Be careful not to let the mine go off-
line (white), or you can not start it up again. This should extend the life of 
the mine.

SECTION 5 - COMMON SOUND PROBLEMS

PROBLEM: No Speech from the Artificial Intelligence computer.

SOLUTION: The [MCI]Sound driver must be installed in the Drivers 
section of Control Panel in order for Outpost to play sounds.  This can be 
tested by running Media Player and attempting to play a .WAV file.  
Media Player can't play .WAV files unless the [MCI] Sound driver is 
installed, even though Windows can.  Problems can also occur if the 
TIMER applet is not installed in the Drivers section. Reinstall these 
drivers from your Windows installation disks by choosing the ADD button 
in the Drivers section. (Note: the 3.5" disk version of this game does not 
have speech.)

PROBLEM: No background music.

SOLUTION: There is no music during the game.  The Mars symphony 
plays once during the introduction and does not loop.  To hear music 
during the game you must use the Media Player.  During game play, 
minimize Outpost by toggling to Program Manager using ALT-TAB or 
choosing Program Manager from the Task List, which is invoked by 
pressing CTRL-ESC.  Once in Program Manager open the Accessories 
group icon and double-click on the Media Player icon.  From the Device 
menu in Media Player choose MIDI Sequencer.  In the Open dialog box 
that comes up, locate the MARS.MID file in the Outpost directory on your 
hard drive and click OK.  After the music loads, click the Edit menu in 
Media Player and choose Options.  In that window, check the Auto Repeat 
box, and click OK.  Click play (the button with the triangle that points 
right), and minimize Media Player.  Click the minimized Outpost game 
icon and the music will continue until you close Media Player.  Also, 
the Auto Repeat box will stay checked until you uncheck it, even if you 
restart Windows.

PROBLEM: I don't hear any music at all, even in the introduction.

SOLUTION: During the installation of the game, it asked if you had a 
Roland MT32, CM-333 or LAPC-1. If  you clicked on that button, but you 
do not actually have that device, you will not get any music. Re-run the 
Outpost installation and this time answer "All other sound cards", the 
game will then use the currently installed Windows sound drivers.

PROBLEM: No Music out of MT-32

SOLUTION: This could be due to an incorrect MIDI Mapper setup.  The 
MPU-401 and Roland MT-32 patches are shipped with Windows but the 
Midi Mapper might not be set up correctly.  You will need to create your 
own Midi Mapper from scratch.  Here are the guidelines to use for creating 
a MIDI Mapper for the Roland MT-32:
a)  Since the MT-32 is an Extended MIDI device, Midi Channels 1-10 will 
need to be active.
b)  Set the Port Name settings for MIDI channels 1-10 to MPU-401.  This 
is the port that the computer uses to initialize the MIDI device.
c)  For the Patch Map Name, set the device to MT-32 for MIDI channels 
1-9.
d)  For the Patch Map Name of MIDI Channel 10, select MT-32 Perc for 
the Percussion patches.

If you need more information, please consult the manual or contact the 
sound card manufacturer for additional 
help.


SECTION 6 - GENERAL WINDOWS PROBLEMS

PROBLEM: "____ Has caused a General Protection Fault in Module 
____"

SOLUTION:
A General Protection Fault in Windows is usually a conflict between two 
programs.  The game is probably conflicting with something else that is 
currently running.  Here are some possible solutions to the AAPLAY GPF 
in Outpost: 

1)  You should make sure that all screen savers, virus scans, and sound-
related Windows programs (IconHear It, Wired for Sound, etc.) are 
disabled before starting the game. In addition, if you are using an alternate 
Windows desktop like Norton Desktop or PCTools, try using just plain 
Program Manager.

2)  Disable Tile Animations in Preferences at game start-up

3)  Disable Music in the game in Preferences

4)  Make sure you have a swap file set up that is at least 4 megs permanent 
or 8 megs temporary.  You can check your swap file settings in the 
386Enhanced icon in the Control Panel.  In the Virtual Memory module, 
turn off 32-bit Disk Access.  

5)  Check with the video card manufacturer to make sure you have the 
latest version of their Windows video drivers. 

6)  Make a Windows Boot Disk to work around memory conflicts. The 
steps to create a boot disk are included with this document.  

SECTION 7 - MOUSE PROBLEMS

PROBLEM: Unable to save games in Outpost, restore games, basically 
everything on page 18 and 19.  Right mouse button does not seem to be 
functioning.

SOLUTION:  Check to see if the Right Mouse Button has been reassigned 
to a different key command. This message especially holds true for Track 
Ball devices.  Many allow you to program macros for the right mouse 
button.  Track Ball devices usually come with a Control Panel utility that 
allows you to disable the macro button assign feature which should restore 
the right track ball button to the standard button function. 




SECTION 8 - OUTPOST BOOTDISK INSTRUCTIONS

OUTPOST BOOT DISK INSTRUCTIONS
for IBM Compatibles using MS-DOS 5.0 or above
revised 11/01/94

The following instructions have been prepared by Sierra's Technical 
Support Department as an added service to our customers.  PLEASE 
NOTE: SIERRA DOES NOT MAKE ANY CLAIMS, GUARANTEES, 
AND/OR PROMISES THAT THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS 
WILL WORK ON ANY AND/OR ALL COMPUTER SYSTEMS.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Please read the entire instructions prior to starting 
at Step 1.  You can skip Steps 2 and 3 if you are not playing a CD game.

STEP 1
FORMATTING THE DISK
PLEASE NOTE: It is necessary to format the disk even if the disk is 
already formatted.  The /S switch will transfer files to the boot disk which 
are necessary for the disk to work correctly. To make a  CD-ROM Boot 
Disk, format a high density diskette in the A: drive.  (Use /F:360 or  
/F:720 parameter if using a low density diskette) For more information on 
using the FORMAT command, consult your DOS manual. Note: This will 
not work in the B: drive.  Type the command as follows: 

FORMAT  A:/S  <ENTER>

If after entering this command the system responds with a "Bad command 
or file name" error, then type:

PATH=C:\DOS  <ENTER>

Now retype the FORMAT command above.  If you still receive the same 
error, the MS DOS FORMAT command may not be on your system or it 
may have been renamed.  Programs such as PC Tools and Norton 
Disk Utilities can rename the format command to prevent accidental loss 
of data. If you are using a program like this, check your documentation to 
find out how to format a SYSTEM DISK, then proceed to Step 2.

STEP 2
LOCATING THE MSCDEX CD ROM EXTENSION (skip if not playing 
a CD game) 
MSCDEX is the Microsoft extension for CD ROM drives.  It must be 
loaded in order for your CD ROM drive to operate.  The following steps 
should assist you in locating this file on your system   To locate 
MSCDEX, at the C:\> prompt, type:	
TYPE  AUTOEXEC.BAT  |  MORE  <ENTER>

NOTE: The | is called a "pipe" command and is created by pressing 
<SHIFT> \ (backslash).  Now look for the line which loads "MSCDEX".  
This line should look something like this: : 

C:\DOS\MSCDEX  /D:MSCD001
LH  C:\DOS\MSCDEX  /D:MSCD001
LOADHIGH  /L:14429  \DOS\MSCDEX  /D:MSCD001 

Your line may differ from the ones listed above.  Please write down the 
entire line following the drive letter in the space provided below.  Be sure 
and include the full drive and path to your MSCDEX file.  For example, 
any of the above lines should appear as follows:

LH  C:\DOS\MSCDEX  /D:MSCD001					
			

LH										
				

STEP 3
LOCATING THE CD ROM DEVICE DRIVER (skip if you're not playing 
a CD game)  
Along with MSCDEX, the CD ROM also needs a device driver.  This 
driver is loaded in the CONFIG.SYS file.   To determine the correct CD 
ROM device driver, at the C:\> prompt type:

TYPE  CONFIG.SYS  |  MORE  <ENTER>

NOTE: If you have a SCSI CD ROM drive, there may be an additional 
driver in your CONFIG.SYS that must be run for the CD ROM device 
drivers to load correctly.  Check your CD ROM drive documentation for 
more information. 

Now look for the line that contains CD ROM device name which 
immediately follows the same "/D:" switch as the MSCDEX line in the 
AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  Using the example above, we would be looking 
for a line containing "MSCD001".  This line should look something like 
one of  the following lines:

DEVICE=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS  /D:MSCD001  /P:220 
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS  /D:MSCD001  /P:220  	
DEVICEHIGH  /L:14652  =C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS  /D:MSCD001  
/P:220

Your line may differ from the ones listed above.  Please write down the 
entire line following the drive letter in the space provided below.  Be sure 
and include the full drive and path to your CD ROM device driver.  For 
example, any of the above lines should appear as follows:	

DEVICEHIGH=C:\DRV\CDROMDRV.SYS  /D:MSCD001  /P:220	
		

DEVICEHIGH=								
		

STEP 4
CREATING THE CONFIG.SYS FILE
Now switch to the A: drive and type the following:

COPY  CON  CONFIG.SYS <ENTER> (The cursor will drop down one 
line and blink)
DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS  <ENTER>	
DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE  NOEMS <ENTER>	
FILES=30  <ENTER>	
BUFFERS=20 <ENTER> 
STACKS=9,256 <ENTER>
DOS=HIGH,UMB  <ENTER>	
LASTDRIVE=Z  <ENTER>	

SPECIAL NOTE:  MS DOS 6.0 users who have compressed the hard 
drive using DoubleSpace or Stacker 3.1, add the appropriate line listed 
below.	

For DoubleSpace, add:
DEVICEHIGH=C:\DOS\DBLSPACE.SYS /MOVE	

For Stacker 3.1, add:	
DEVICEHIGH=C:\STACKER\STACHIGH.SYS 	

Now add the CD ROM driver line as you wrote it down in the "Locating 
the CD ROM device driver" section above.Complete the file by pressing 
the  F6  Function key <ENTER>

STEP 5
CREATING THE AUTOEXEC.BAT FILE
Now create an AUTOEXEC.BAT file by typing:

COPY  CON  AUTOEXEC.BAT   <ENTER> (the cursor will drop down 
one line)
ECHO OFF <ENTER>	
SET  COMSPEC=C:\COMMAND.COM  <ENTER>	
C: <ENTER>
PROMPT  SIERRA  CD  BOOT  DISK  $_$P$G  <ENTER>	
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;  <ENTER>

If you're playing a CD game, add the MSCDEX line as you wrote it down 
in the "Locating the MSCDEX CD ROM extension" section listed above.  

Complete the file by pressing the  F6  Function key <ENTER>

STEP 6
REBOOT THE SYSTEM
Reboot your system by depressing the <RESET> button on your computer 
or by using the <CTRL>, <ALT>, <DEL> key sequence on your 
keyboard.  When you are at a C:\ prompt, type WIN /3 to start Windows.

STEP 7
CREATE A CLEAN WINDOWS ENVIRONMENT
You should make sure that all screen savers, virus scans, and sound-
related Windows programs (IconHear It, Wired for Sound, etc.) are 
disabled before starting your game. In addition, if you are using an 
alternate Windows desktop like Norton Desktop or PCTools, disable this 
and use standard Program Manager.

Also, make sure you have a swap file set up that is at least 4 megs 
permanent or 8 megs temporary.  You can check your swap file settings in 
the 386Enhanced icon in the Control Panel.



SECTION 9 - IF YOU STILL HAVE PROBLEMS...

If you continue to experience any problems with King's Quest VII, or if 
you have any questions, our Technical Support Department will be more 
than happy to assist you.  Please call (206) 644-4343 between 8:15 am and 
4:45 PM Monday through Friday.  We can also be reached by fax at (206) 
644-7697, by BBS at (206) 644-0112, or by mail at the following address:

Sierra On-Line
P.O. Box 85006
Bellevue, WA  98015-8506
ATTN:  TECHNICAL SUPPORT

You can also reach our Technical Support Team on one of the following 
services:
Sierra BBS	(206) 644-0112  (settings 8, N, & 1, up to 38,400 baud)
Compuserve		Sierra: GAMAPUB (ID 76004,2143)  
			Dynamix: GAMCPUB (ID 72662, 1174)
America Online	Keyword: SIERRA

If you decide to E-mail, write or fax, please be sure to include the 
following information:

*	CPU type (386, 486, etc.)
*	Type of graphics (VGA, SVGA, etc.) and brand of video card
*	DOS version (MS-DOS 6.2, MS-DOS 5.0, PC DOS 4.0, DR DOS 
	6.0, etc.).
*	Total RAM memory in your system (2 MEG, 4 MEG, 8 MEG, 
	etc.).
*	Whether or not you have tried using a boot disk.
*	Type of of sound card (Pro Audio Spectrum, Sound Blaster, etc.) 
	and the sound card settings.
*	Copies of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS
*	Version of Windows

Also, please let us know if are you using any of the following programs:
*	DoubleSpace, Stacker, DriveSpace, or any other disk compression 
	program.
*	Alternate Windows desktops like Norton or PC Tools 

And finally, please state in detail the situation you are experiencing, 
including any error messages.  Thanks!
