                  "TORIN'S PASSAGE DEMO" README FILE
										   for DOS

Thanks so much for checking out our "Torin's Passage Demo." This sample
is just a small piece of the actual game, but we've tried to include
enough to show you some of the game's humor, animation, backgrounds and
puzzles.  Torin's has lots of great new features (many of which you find
in this demo), but it also has something which we can't include here: a
plot that will keep you guessing, involved, and intrigued while you're
solving puzzles and exploring the five worlds of Strata.

This file isn't like your normal README file, with a few warnings about
bugs and stuff. We have none! <G> (or :-) for you Internet folks...)
It's so simple, I bet you'll have no problems installing and playing it,
either in Windows or DOS. However, Sierra's crack tech support team is
so proud of their big new Question & Answer file, they asked me to
include it. Heck, we've got loads of room! Why not? But don't let it
scare you. In fact, why don't you just ignore everything below the next
paragraph!

Again, on behalf of our entire development team, thanks for trying
"Torin's Passage." I'm really proud of this game and know you'll like it
too.

Al Lowe
Game Designer


******
Note:  To run Torin's Passage in DOS, you need at least 540K of free
conventional memory, and a minimum of 8MB of RAM.

Rob "Not as funny as Al Lowe" Kenny
Lead Programmer
******

========================================================================


                  TECHNICAL TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS

In order for you to receive the best possible performance, here are some
additional technical tips and information.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

* Installation Procedures
* Handy To Know
* DOS Problems and Solutions
* DOS Error Messages and Solutions
* Memory Troubleshooting
* Sound Card Troubleshooting


INSTALLATION PROCEDURES 

To install Torin's Passage under MS-DOS, follow these instructions:

1)  Insert the Torin's Passage CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2)  From a MS-DOS prompt, type the CD-Drive letter followed by a colon 
    and press the <ENTER> key.  For example, if your CD-ROM drive is 
    labeled as your D drive, you would type:   D: <ENTER>
3)  At your CD-Rom drive label prompt, type:  INSTALL <ENTER>
    This will not work if you type D:INSTALL <ENTER>.
4)  Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.


HANDY TO KNOW

A list of BBS and Tech Support Numbers for Sound Card, Video Card, and
Miscellaneous Computer Peripheral / Software Manufacturers is provided on
the Torin's Passage CD.  To view this file, type "EDIT D:\CONTACT.TXT"
(if your CD-ROM drive is D:).


DOS PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

Problem:  Your video card's VESA driver is not listed during INSTALL's
VESA test.
Solution:  Although we try to provide as many VESA drivers as possible,
your particular video card may not be listed.  If this is the case, exit
INSTALL, and do one of the following:
   - Look in your video card manual to find the command to enable VESA
     on your particular video card.  Run this command to enable VESA, 
     then rerun the Torin's Passage INSTALL program.
   - If you cannot find your video card's special VESA driver program or
     have no information how to enable VESA, try using one of the VESA
     drivers provided on the Torin's Passage Demo CD in the 
     \INSTALL\VESA\VESA directory.  Once you see the VESA enabled message, 
     rerun Torin's Passage INSTALL program. If you do not see a VESA 
     enabled message, please call your video card manufacturer for more 
     assistance.

Problem: The game runs too slow
Solution: Here's some things to try: 
   - Make and use a boot disk.  
   - Add the following line to the boot disk's A:\AUTOEXEC.BAT:
     C:\DOS\SMARTDRV /512

Problem: Random crashes on Compaq Presario CDS 524, 920, etc. 
Solution:  Make a boot disk.
   

DOS ERROR MESSAGES AND SOLUTIONS

-INSTALLATION

Problem: The INSTALL program fails with the message "Invalid directory.  
   Bad command or file name."
Solution: This means you typed "D:INSTALL".  Please type "D:" and press 
ENTER, then type "INSTALL" and press ENTER.

Problem:  "Can't create output file" during installation.
Solution:  You need to free up more hard drive space before installing
   the demo.


-STARTING AND RUNNING THE DEMO

Question:  How do you start the demo?
Answer:  Assuming you installed the demo to the C:\SIERRA\TORDOS
   directory, type in the following MS-DOS commands:
   C:
   CD\SIERRA
   TORDEMO

Problem: "No VESA support detected" message when the demo tries to start.
Solution: This means your video card's VESA program was not run before 
the game started.  VESA allows DOS games to run in colorful, crisp 
high-resolution.  Please refer to your video card manual for more
information to run your particular VESA program to enable high resolution
in DOS.  Some examples are "VVESA.COM", "VESA.COM", and "VMODE VESA".
More Information:  We have provided many popular VESA drivers for you on
the Torin's Passage CD.  They are located in the \INSTALL\VESA\VESA
directory on the CD.  Please refer to the READ.ME file in this directory
for more information.

Problem: "Fatal: Unable to find mouse driver"
Solution: This means your DOS mouse program was not run before the game 
started.  Rerun INSTALL and choose MAKE A BOOTABLE FLOPPY DISK to help us
find and use your DOS mouse driver.
More Information: DOS needs a mouse program to be run before it can use 
the mouse.  To see if a mouse program is hidden on your hard drive, type
"DIR \MOUSE /S /P".  Let's say you see:
   Directory of C:\MSMOUSE
   MOUSE   COM
   Directory of C:\WINDOWS
   MOUSE   DRV
   MOUSE   INI
A mouse program will end in ".COM" or ".EXE", so the mouse drivers in
C:\WINDOWS in this example won't do.  To run the mouse driver in MSMOUSE
in this example, type "C:\MSMOUSE\MOUSE.COM".  You should see a message
saying your mouse is now enabled.  You can now play Torin's Passage.  If
there is no .COM or .EXE file that has to do with your mouse, please
refer to your mouse documentation or computer dealer for more assistance.

Problem: You get no music on any Sound Blaster compatible card, or you 
   get a blank screen when the game starts, or the game gets stuck on the
   opening Sierra logo.
Solution: Check if your SET BLASTER environment variable is enabled and 
   at the correct setting.  To check this, at the C: prompt, type SET and 
   press <ENTER>.  You should see a line that says BLASTER = A220 I7 D1 
   (or something similar).  If you do not see such a line and your sound 
   card is on Address 220, IRQ 10, and DMA 1, at the C: prompt, type 
   SET BLASTER = A220 I10 D1 and press <ENTER>.  This line tells MS-DOS 
   how to access your sound card.  Now you can run the demo.

Problem: In MS-DOS, using a Reveal or Aztech Labs sound card, the music 
   is fine but the speech is barely audible.
Solution #1: The chipset used to emulate the Sound Blaster digital to 
   analog conversion is not 100% compatible with the Sound Blaster driver 
   built-in to the game.  Install Torin's Passage demo in Windows for full 
   sound.
Solution #2: Rerun INSTALL and choose Windows Sound System for AUDIO.

Problem: "EMM386 Error 6 or Error 12... " The error number may vary.
Solution:  This is caused by a memory conflict.  Running the game from 
   the boot disk will usually correct this problem.  Please see the 
   Memory Troubleshooting section of this README.

Problem: "Can't allocate X bytes in ..\(somename).cpp"
Solution: You are running low on conventional memory.  Please rerun 
INSTALL and make a boot disk.

Problem: "Out of Low Memory" or "Out of High Memory" 
Solution:  Make a boot disk.  Please make sure you have enough memory to 
   run the game.  If you have 4 meg of RAM instead of 8 meg, the game may
   try to run, but will fail when more memory is required.

Problem: "CDR 101 Error reading" or "DOS Error, Read Error".  Solution: 
This can be caused by an outdated version of the MSCDEX file.
   MS-DOS version 6.2 and above should use MSCDEX version 2.23
   MS-DOS version 6.0 should use MSCDEX version 2.22
   MS-DOS version 5.0 should use MSCDEX version 2.21
If you have MSCDEX version 2.20, please get a later version.

Problem:  "Error 105: ResSound (or ResView): Attempt to load wrong type"
Solution:  This type of error is usually caused by corrupted program files
or a bad installation of the game.  To correct this, delete the game and
run CHKDSK /F or SCANDISK to detect and correct any hard drive errors. 
Then, boot up with a Torin's Passage boot disk and reinstall the game in
a clean Windows environment.  Please see "Create a Boot Disk" under
Memory Troubleshooting for complete steps.

Problem:  "Error 99: Error Loading Resource 999.PAL, restype.cpp(56)
Solution #1: This type of error is usually caused by having the wrong 
game CD in the drive when you try to start Torin's Passage.  Please make
sure the Torin's Passage CD is in the drive before you start the game.
Solution #2: If you booted with a non-CD boot disk or bypassed your 
CD-ROM drivers on bootup, you'll get this error message.  Please reboot
and make sure your CD-ROM is responding beore starting the game.

Problem:  "Unable To Allocate XXXX Bytes" even with a boot disk.
Solution:  Torin's Passage doesn't require a lot of conventional memory,
but some users have found adding these lines to the Torin's Passage boot
disk's CONFIG.SYS solves their problems:  
     DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
     DOS=HIGH


-MAKING AND USING A BOOT DISK

Problem: "Can't find FORMAT.COM--Unable to make boot disk"
Solution: This is caused when our boot disk maker program cannot find
FORMAT.COM on your hard drive.  This usually happens if you installed PC
Tools or Norton Utilities.  These utilities rename FORMAT.COM to either
FORMAT!.COM or XXFORMAT.COM.  If this is the case, please type the
following commands
   CD\DOS
   COPY FORMAT!.COM FORMAT.COM
   COPY XXFORMAT.COM FORMAT.COM
One of these commands will help restore your FORMAT command back to
normal, and will allow our boot disk maker to work.

Problem: "Can't make bootdisk since you're not using COMMAND.COM" or 
"Boot disk was not created"
Solution: This can be caused if you are using 4DOS or NDOS (in Norton 
Utilities).  Get to a C:\> prompt.  Type:  SET  and press the ENTER key. 
COMSPEC should equal C:\COMMAND.COM or C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM.  If COMSPEC =
4DOS.COM or NDOS.COM, the boot disk maker will not work.  To correct
this, type:  SET COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM This will allow our boot disk
maker to work.  When you reboot without a boot disk, the COMSPEC will
return to your original setting.

Problem: "Invalid Drive Specification" using a boot disk on a Western 
Digital IDE controller.
Explanation:  The Western Digital IDE hard drive controller displays a 
message "Press the SPACEBAR to boot from a floppy disk."  If you insert
the boot disk and reboot before seeing this message, you'll get the
message "Invalid Drive Specification" and won't have hard drive access
until you reboot without the boot disk.   
Solution: Remove the boot disk from the floppy drive.  Reboot your 
computer.  When you see this message, insert the boot disk and press the
SPACEBAR.

Problem: "Invalid Drive Specification" using a boot disk on larger 
Seagate hard drives, such as the Seagate 800 meg hard drive.
Explanation:  Seagate hard drives larger than 528 meg use a disk manager 
called "EZ-DRIVE".  If you insert the boot disk and reboot before seeing
this message, you'll get the message "Invalid Drive Specifica- tion" and
won't have hard drive access until you reboot without the boot disk.   
Solution: Remove the boot disk from the floppy drive.  Hold down the CTRL
key and reboot your computer.  You'll see a message "Insert bootdisk and
hit ENTER to reboot".  Insert the boot disk and press ENTER.


-OTHER PROBLEMS

If you don't see your question listed, most difficulties with Torin's
Passage can be resolved by simply running the game with a boot disk. 
Please see "Create a Boot Disk" under Memory Troubleshooting.  Also look
at the file D:\THEGUIDE.TXT (if your CD-ROM drive is D:).


MEMORY TROUBLESHOOTING

******
If you get this far, please note that Torin's Passage requires
8 Megabytes of memory to play.

Rob "Not as funny as Al Lowe" Kenny
Lead Programmer
******

Some game players have experienced difficulty getting enough memory to 
run Torin's Passage.  This usually occurs on computer systems with 8 
Megabytes of RAM, but can happen on machines with more memory.  If you 
are having trouble starting the game because of memory problems or are 
receiving memory-related errors during the game (such as an "Out of Hunk"
or "Out of Memory" message), please make and use a boot disk.

Create a Boot Disk:  Sierra has included a boot disk maker with Torin's
Passage.  You can create a boot disk by doing one of the following:
   -Rerun INSTALL on the CD and choose MAKE A BOOTABLE FLOPPY DISK
   -Type "BOOTDISK -c -p" at the D:\> prompt (if your CD-ROM is D:).  
    The "-c -p" option must be in lowercase.  
Once you have created a boot disk, turn off your computer.  Please leave
the boot disk in your A: drive and turn on the computer.  This will start
the demo for you automatically, allowing us to use all the memory 
available in your computer.


SOUND CARD TROUBLESHOOTING

Torin's Passage can adjust the volume of sound in the game.  If you
need more control, most sound cards' speech and music volume can be
controlled separately through software provided by the sound card
manufacturer.  Here is a list of some common sound cards' mixer volume
control commands in DOS.

Sound Blaster 16: 
Type C:\SB16\SB16MIX                      

Vibra 16 in AST Advantage: 
Type C:\VIBRA16\MIXERSET

Sound Galaxy 16 in Packard Bell: 
Type C:\SOUND16A\UTILITY\MIXTSR or type C:\SOUND144\MIXTSR

Compaq Presario CDS 524, 920, etc.: 
If DEVICE=C:\CPQDOS\VOLCTRL.EXE is in CONFIG.SYS on the boot disk, then:
Press CTRL-RIGHTSHIFT to increase volume
Press CTRL-LEFTSHIFT to decrease volume

Proaudio Spectrum Family: 
Press CTRL-ALT-U to increase volume
Press CTRL-ALT-D to lower volume

Sound Blaster 8 bit: 
No software control. Adjust thumbwheel on the back of the sound card.

Thunderboard: 
No software control. Adjust thumbwheel on the back of the sound card.

