1. Battlespire v1.5 is the current version. Get patch 1.5 here.

Upgrade your Battlespire software to the current version by downloading and installing the current patch available for download at this site. Read the readme text file enclosed in the patch for additional features and problems addressed in this patch. [You can review this readme text file at this site before downloading.]

2. Installation Problems

A. If the installer appears to freeze after choosing the "Install Battlespire" option from the main menu, then it is likely that one of your disk drives is not responding [typically a network drive].

B. Some users have problems using the Installer in Win 95. If you cannot install the game using the Autorun installer, you can perform a forced install following the instructions below.

C. A known problem causes the installer to crash with the IBM MWave Aptivas [from the Magic series (i.e., if your machine is from the M-series, as in "M51"), or from the Odyssey series (i.e., from the A-series), or from the Courageous series (i.e., from the C-series), or from the Stealth series with an Mwave card (i.e., if your machine is from the S-series), and with Acer's Aspire 3, Aspire 4, and Aspire 5 models. To install Battlespire with these machines, enter DOS Mode [from the Start button to "Restart the computer in MS-DOS Mode"] and use the forced install as described below.

3. Forced Install

If you have tried using the installer and it fails to install the game for some reason, you can still install the game by following this procedure:

A. Run the installer with the /f option. [Select the "Run" option from the Win95 "Start" button menu. Click "Browse" and locate the INSTALL.EXE program on your Battlespire CD ROM.] You must specify the drive letter where you want to install the game. For example, a typical forced install command would look something like:

   
   INSTALL /F C

4. Detecting Available Memory and Random Crashes

With patch version 1.5, Battlespire automatically detects the amount of available memory, counting both actual physical RAM and virtual memory swap file space. If it detects an insufficient amount, then it will print out a DOS warning message before loading the game (e.g., "Warning: 31M RAM + Swap detected....... if you decide to play the game, there is a good chance that it will crash").

Insufficient available memory can cause various types of seemingly random crashes. To assure Battlespire of sufficient available memory, make sure you have at least 40 megs of unfragmented free space for a swap file on your virtual memory hard drive [typically drive c]. If you have more than 40 megs of free hard drive space, and still receive warnings of insufficient available memory, you may need to defragment your drive.

How do I defragment my disk," you say?

Click on START on the Win95 Taskbar and follow the hierarchical menus to the "Disk Defragmenter" application by the following path [Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter]. When "Disk Defragmenter" is running, follow the directions to defragment your disk.

When the defragmenting is finished, run Battlespire again. Presuming you now have enough free space on drive C [40 megs], AND presuming you have your DPMI memory settings correct, you should get the following DOS message as Battlespire is launched: "Good: 55+ RAM and swap detected." Now you are Happy, and will not have Bad Crashes.

5. Random Crashes (DPMI Memory Settings)

This is the most common problem with running Battlespire. Most random crashes can be traced back to improper properties setting of the Windows 95 DOS box. [NOTE: When Battlespire is run from the Autorun screen or from the "spire" desktop icon, the proper DPMI memory settings are automatically set properly. If you run Battlespire in these ways, you DO NOT need to configure DOS box memory settings.]

In order to run the game from a Windows 95 DOS box, you must configure it do so. Here is how:

Start up the DOS box like you normally would.
If the DOS box is full screen, make it windowed by hitting the alt + enter key combination.
There is an icon in the toolbar of the DOS window that looks like a hand holding up a sheet of paper. This is the properties icon. Click on it.
Now you should be looking at the properties sheet of the DOS box. There is a 'memory' tab near the top of that sheet. Click on that.
Now you are looking at the memory properties of the DOS box. Near the bottom is an area that is labelled "MS-DOS Protected Mode (DPMI) Memory". This value is normally set to "AUTO" when Windows 95 is installed. That won't work with Battlespire. What you need to do here is to change this value to '65535' by typing it in manually.
Near the top of the memory properties sheet is an area that is labeled "Conventional Memory".Inside that area is something called "Initial environment". Change the value in there to 2048.
Now click on the 'OK' button, and close the DOS box by typing 'exit' at the command prompt. The next time you open up that DOS box, it will use the new memory configuration. Battlespire will now run without bombing out randomly.

6. Object Memory Crashes [especially level 5 crashes]

With Patch 1.5, users experiencing restored game crashes on Level 5 [or whenever receiving the error message "unable to allocate OBJECT memory"] can avoid these crashes by setting object memory to a higher value as follows. [NOTE: Unless you are experiencing crash problems on level 5, increasing OBJECT memory size is neither necessary nor recommended. It will NOT increase game performance.]

A. Open the spire.cfg file [in your Battlespire directory; usually Batspire] with any text editor. [The Win95 Notepad works fine.]
B. Add the following line to the file. [Add this new line after the "captions" line, and before the "video" line. The format for these configuration lines is "Word[tab]value or phrase".]

   OBJMEMSIZE   3500

   path         C:\BATSPIRE\
   pathcd       D:\
   bypass       1
   captions     0
   OBJMEMSIZE   3500
   video        #9 V.T.C. MotionFX 771

7. Memory Allocation Under MS DOS

Users playing under MS DOS [i.e., DOS 6.2 or DOS 7.0 - not Win95 DOS box or MS DOS Mode] should increase the size of the virtual memory swap file and the amount of memory available by editing their spire.bat file as follows. Unless MS DOS users increase these values as indicated, they will receive the DOS warning message before loading the game (e.g., "Warning: 31M RAM + Swap detected....... if you decide to play the game, there is a good chance that it will crash").

1. Open the spire.bat file in Notepad or some other editor.
2. Change the Causeway available memory and swap file size values from "40" to "65" as follows:

set causeway=MAXMEM:65;PRE:65;NAME:spire.swp

8. Performance Issues

A. Wow. I am a power-user, and I have a super stud muffin game machine with boatloads of RAM, a superfast processor, and a huge, honking video card. So why does my game run choppy and pixellated?

Hmmm. Tough question. Guys here with 200mhz and 32 megs are getting 18-24 frames per second. But here are a few suggestions:

Try both "Bypass" and "Normal" video configuration modes. In most cases normal video modes will be faster and smoother.
Check the Screen Size in your Game Options Screen. Make sure you are in High Resolution mode.
Cyrix 6x86 users should try using a CPU optimizer. [A user has reported significant performance improvement. See --- for more details.]

Brief Discussion of Battlespire Performance: Battlespire is not Quake II. Battlespire is not hardware-accelerated. [See below concerning accelerator cards and 3DFX game versions.] Nonetheless, Battlespire is way-too-much fun because it offers action-adventure-CRPG elements that no other game has. We are proud of Battlespire's graphics and gameplay. We cannot be all things to all people, but we know Battlespire is fun, and hope you can appreciate its many charms.

B. Wow. I am a normal guy, and I have a kinda old computer with not-so-much RAM, a not-quite-obsolete Pentium processor, and a little bitty video card. So why does my game run choppy?

This is a much easier question. Check the Screen Size in your Game Options Screen. Choose the LOW resolution option, reduce your screen size. And if you can afford it, consider getting a new video card and more memory. By the way, Battlespire requires a minimum of one meg video RAM.

9. So where's the 3DFX version?

There will not be a 3DFX version, or any other form of hardware acceleration, for Battlespire. In the process of making the coolest possible game for the Xngine, we created a game that cannot be ported to the current 3DFX hardware without substantial redesign of the original game. We know you are disappointed. But Battlespire running in software looks pretty great. And more important, it is a grand game design. So please have fun.

10. Bypass or Normal Video Install Options: Which should I use?

Should I bypass my own video card drivers, and run with the drivers provided with Battlespire [Bypass mode for video configuration] or use my own video drivers [Normal mode for video configuration].

Simple answer: try both. Rerun the Install program to reconfigure video to bypass or normal mode. Use the option that works best for your hardware.

Technical answer: If you have video drivers that provide VESA 2.0 support with linear frame buffering, Battlespire PROBABLY works just fine in normal mode. Otherwise, use the drivers provided with Battlespire in bypass mode.

Technical Exceptions: You may have super-sexy, ultra recent video card. In that case, the drivers provided with Battlespire may NOT work for you. this may be because we didn't have the necessary drivers yet when we published Battlespire [see " Display Adapter Drivers for Hot New Video Cards" below], OR, it may be because your super-sexy video cards doesn't support 15-bit graphics [see " Error: Could not initialize VESA 15 bit 640x480 mode" below; patch 1.5 addresses this issue].

11. Error: Could not initialize VESA 15 bit 640x480 mode.

What this error is trying to say that it could not find any 15 bit color modes on your video card. The patched game now will try to find 16 bit modes also.

These are some of the video cards that this fix applies to:

  
  Creative Labs 3D Blaster
  Diamond Viper V330
  Diamond Stealth II S220
  STB Velocity 128
  STB Lightspeed

12. Display Adapter Drivers for Hot New Video Cards

Battlespire uses Scitech's Univbe 5.3 video adapters to customize your video card for optimal Battlespire video performance. If you have a hot new video card, and you are having trouble with your video display, you may need to download and install Univbe Version 6.0 from the Scitech web site (www.scitechsoft.com). Example: Diamond Fire-GL 1000 users should try Univbe Version 6.0.

13. Imagine 128 Series 1 & 2 Video Card Problems

The Imagine 128 Series 1 & 2 will work with Battlespire, but users must get the latest bios upgrade from Number Nine, and also get the latest drivers ( i.e. the drivers don't work very well without the latest BIOS). [Note: Also the IMAGINE series DOES NOT run with any current version of UNIVBE.]

14. Gamma Control [new feature in patch 1.5]

There are two ways to control your monitor brightness [gamma correction].
First way: In the spire.cfg file add a line that says "gamma" and next to it put a value from 1.0 to 1.9. [Place this line BEFORE the video, or bad things happen.]
Second way: Start playing the game, and then use "ctrl +" and "ctrl -" to increase or decrease the gamma. [The current gamma value is NOT saved, so the next time you run Battlespire, the gamma value will be reset to the default 1.0, OR to any value you have specified in the spire.cfg file.

15. "CODE 0: Not found in X:\BATSPIRE"

COMMON CAUSE: users who do not have the Battlespire CD in the driver will get this message and the game will crash. The game does not check for the CD in the drive until it goes to get a file from the CD. Then if the wrong CD is in the drive the game crashes with a NOT FOUND message.
OTHER CAUSE: An incorrect CD ROM drive reference in SPIRE.CFG file [located in the X:\BATSPIRE directory] can produce this error message. Make sure that "path" is set to the DOS directory the game is installed on. "pathcd" should read the CD-ROM drive ONLY, i.e., E:\ or D:\.
YET ANOTHER CAUSE: A missing spire.cfg file produces this error. If this file is accidentally deleted, reinstall.

16. No Sound Card Option [new feature in patch 1.5]

There have been reports that computers without any sound cards or people who prefer to run the game with the sound setting set to 'none' can not run the game at all. That has been fixed with this patch.

17. No Music Heard

Battlespire plays music via your CD-ROM's redbook audio feature. If you are in the game and can not hear any music playing:

A. Make sure that the volume control for CD Audio is raised up to an audible level, and that it is not muted.
B. If it still doesn't work, make sure that there is a thin cable running from the back of your CD-ROM to your sound card. Refer to the manual that came with your CD-ROM for further information.

18. Sound problems in MS-DOS Mode with IBM Aptiva

If you are having problems with sound when running Battlespire in MS-DOS Mode [not in a DOS box in Win95, but in MS-DOS Mode, when you "Restart the computer in MS-DOS Mode"] on the IBM APTIVA (with Mwave), you may configure the machine as follows:

1. From DOS Mode, run the "FASTCFG.BAT" application. [This application is used to customize MS-DOS Mode sound configuration on your Aptiva.]
2. If your Aptiva is from the Magic series [i.e., if your machine is from the M-series, as in "M51"], or from the Odyssey series [i.e., from the A-series], or from the Courageous series [i.e., from the C-series], select the "Games" choice for Sound Blaster emulation.
3. If your Aptiva is from the Stealth series and you have an Mwave card [i.e., if your machine is from the S-series], select the "Standard Configuration" choice for Sound Blaster emulation.
4. After you have customized the sound options for your Aptiva, then run the Setsound application [on your Battlespire CD in the "mss" directory] to configure your Battlespire sound for "Soundblasters and Compatibles."

19. Ensoniq Sound Card problems

If you are having problem with sound and have an Ensoniq sound card, reconfigure your sound for "Sound Blaster and Compatibles."

20. Known Intellimouse Driver Problems

The driver currently shipping with the Intellimouse is causing lock-ups and crashes and crashes when used with Battlespire. This problem has been reported to the manufacturer; hopefully they will release an updated driver. In the meantime, do not use the Intellimouse driver; use one of the standard mouse drivers provided by Win95.

How do I change my mouse driver, you ask?

To remove the Intellimouse, first remove all references to mouse drivers from Autoexec.bat. Then:

 - Open the Device Manager [Start/Settings/Control Panels/System/Device Manager]
 - Find and highlight the current mouse
 - Click on the "Properties" button
 - Click on the Driver tab
 - Choose "Update Driver"
 - Choose "Select from List"
 - Find and install the "Standard Serial Mouse"

21. Other Fixes in Patch 1.5

A. When you set the cdrom music volume to zero, the cdrom will now stop spinning. Before it would continue spinning and playing the music, even at zero volume, wearing out the drive.
B. Multiplayer fix: it should be much harder to get stuck inside a monster or another player -- it now automatically bounces you out of player/monsters if you get too close for comfort.
C. Problems with triggering the teleport light cone at the end of level 7 have been fixed.
D. Efforts have been made to improve network traffic for Mplayer network playing. This means you should see fewer of those "Synchronizing Network" messages.
E. A dialog bug that prevented an important transaction with the wraith Kirel Aman on Level 3 is fixed in this patch.
F. On the castle capture-the-flag multiplayer level, catapults worked the first time, but the second time around, they shot you backwards into oblivion. That bug has been squashed.
G. There are three new multiplayer deathmatch levels for your slaying pleasure.
H. In multiplayer, in the chat screen, you could see the scores of the other players but not their kills tally! Whoops. That has been fixed.

22. Missing game.exe files and Mplayer updates

Interrupted downloads of updates of Battlespire from MPlayer have resulted in the deletion of the Battlespire game.exe file. If you have trouble running Battlespire after an MPlayer download update, check your Battlespire directory for a missing game.exe. If the game.exe is missing, you have to reinstall Battlespire.

23. Problems reinstalling Battlespire

To reinstall the entire Battlespire application from the Autorun screen, you must find and delete any previous "batspire.dat" from your Windows directory.

24. Essential Critical Inventory and Forbidden Weapon and Armor Types

Any character, regardless of character design disadvantages, can use any item essential to the completion of the game. When in doubt, equip an item, even though your character class is forbidden to equip it, to test whether your character can use it.

25. Armor Classes and Values

Light armor provides protections of values 1-3. Medium armor provides protections of values 4-6. Heavy armor provides protections of values greater than 6.

26. Disabling the Windows key?

Accidentally hitting the Windows key can interrupt and terminate your game. You may disable your Windows key as follows. Download the Windows Logo Key Control kernel toy from [http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/info/kerneltoys.htm]. Run the file you downloaded (doswinky.exe). Right-click Doswinky.INF and select the install option. Restart your computer (after it is finished installing of course). The windows logo keys (and any other windows shortcuts for that matter) will no longer cause your game to exit! For more information, open doswinky.inf with notepad and read on.

27. Cool! Multiplayer Battlespire! How do I get started?

If you have a local area network [like lots of folks have at their offices at work and like some really cool people with extra money and computers have in their basements], you can start right away. The manual tells you all you need to know.

If you don't have a local area network, you can play over the Internet through MPlayer, a cool game Internet service. You can install Mplayer with an option on the Autorun screen, or run mplaynow.exe from the Battlespire CD.

28. Why do I have to jump around from place to place?

Because it's cool, and because Battlespire is an action-RPG-adventure game. We love action elements in RPGs because they put the player in the body of the character. Being afraid to fall to your doom is a cool feature of action movies, and it works fine in RPGs, too.

It may take a while to get used to the jumping interface. But try creating a character with a high Jumping skill and the Athleticism advantage. Then run around the game jumping OVER your opponents. This involves a cool move called the Running Jump, which involves pressing down the Jump key and holding it while you press the forward movement key down, then releasing the Jump key when the icon reaches full extension. It takes a while to figure this out, and you don't really need it to win the game or anything, but it is simply Real Cool to jump around like this.

#1. Lost Dropped Items on Save and Restore:
In very rare cases an item dropped on the ground may be missing when a saved game is restored. Only two cases are known, and the issue is still unresolved. No critical path item [nor any particularly cool magic or useful item] has disappeared under these circumstances. Nonetheless, if you want to be absolutely safe, don't rely on saved games where you have dropped critical path items before saving, AND maintain an archive of save game positions for your current game [so you can restore to a safe game position IF an important inventory item disappears].

#2. Corrupted Inventory Items and Level One-to-Level-Two Transition Crashes:
A few users have reported anomalous crashes when advancing from Level 1 to Level 2. Such users report crashing within one-to-five minutes of arrival on Level 2. In one case, a corrupted inventory item [a bow] was responsible for the crash. When the user discarded the bow, the crashes disappeared.

How inventory items may become corrupted is unclear. Please report such problems to Bethsoft technical support. In the meantime, discarding various items before making the level transition may resolve your problem.

If you can't find the solution to your problem in this FAQ, contact us!