S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl Read Me GSC Game World, (c) Transavision Ltd 2006. Exclusively published and distributed by THQ Inc. THQ and the THQ logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. All rights reserved. Weapon Sound FX by Bob & Barn Ltd. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are property of their respective owners. This product contains software technology licensed from GameSpy Industries, Inc. (c) 1999-2007 GameSpy Industries, Inc. GameSpy and the "Powered by GameSpy" design are trademarks of GameSpy Industries, Inc. All rights reserved. For news and updates visit http://www.stalker-game.com/ ======================================================= CONTENTS System Requirements Installation Default Basic Game Controls Configurable Game Controls Hints, Tips, and Other Information Performance Tips Contact Information Technical Support Uninstalling End User License Agreement ======================================================= SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Microsoft® Windows® XP (Service Pack 2) / Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4 Processor type : Intel Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz / AMD XP 2200+ 512 MB RAM 10 GB available hard drive space 128 MB DirectX® 8.0 compatible card / nVIDIA® GeForce™ 5700 / ATI Radeon® 9600 DirectX® 9.0 compatible sound card LAN/Internet connection with low latency Cable/DSL speeds for multiplayer Keyboard, Mouse RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Microsoft® Windows® XP (Service Pack 2) / Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4 Processor type : Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 / AMD 64 X2 4200+ 1.5 GB RAM 10 GB available hard drive space 256 MB DirectX® 9.0c compatible card / nVIDIA® GeForce™ 7900 / ATI Radeon® X1950 DirectX® 9.0 compatible sound card LAN/Internet connection with low latency Cable/DSL/T1+ speeds for multiplayer Keyboard, Mouse HIGH SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Microsoft® Windows® XP (Service Pack 2) / Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4 Processor type : Intel Core2 Duo E6700 / AMD 64 X2 5200+ 2 GB RAM 10 GB available hard drive space 512 MB DirectX® 9.0c compatible card / nVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 / ATI Radeon® X2800 DirectX® 9.0 compatible sound card LAN/Internet connection with low latency Cable/DSL/T1+ speeds for multiplayer Keyboard, Mouse Note: recommended specifications provide optimal experience for single player and up to 4 player/medium size map multiplayer ======================================================= INSTALLATION How to Install Place the S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl disc into your DVD-ROM drive. If the Installer does not automatically run after the disc mounts in the operating system, manually Explore the disc and run "Setup.exe" to launch the Installer. It is recommended to shut down all virus-checkers, as they may significantly reduce the speed of game installation. ======================================================= DEFAULT BASIC GAME CONTROLS — Left Left Arrow — Right Right Arrow — Up Up Arrow — Down Down Arrow — Forward W — Back S — Strafe left A — Strafe right D — Jump Space — Walk Shift — Crouch Control — Low Crouch Control + Shift — Sprint X — Lean Left Q — Lean Right E — Weapon 1 1 — Weapon 2 2 — Weapon 3 3 — Weapon 4 4 — Weapon 5 5 — Weapon 6 6 — Change Ammo Type Y — Fire Mouse1 — Zoom Mouse2 — Reload R — Grenade Launcher V — Next Firing Mode 0 — Previous Firing Mode 9 — Inventory I — Active Tasks in PDA P — PDA map M — PDA Contacts H — Flashlight L — Nightvision N — Quick Bandage ] — Quick Medkit [ — Drop G — Pause Pause — Use F — Screenshot F12 — Exit Esc — Console ` (grave accent/tilde key) — Artifact 7 — Points Tab — Chat , (comma) — Team Chat . (period) — Buy Menu B — Skin Menu O — Team Menu U — Begin Voting F5 — Vote F6 — Vote "No" F7 — Vote "Yes" F8 — Voice Messages (1) C — Voice Messages (2) Z ======================================================= CONFIGURABLE GAME CONTROLS Controls can be configured by going to the main menu, selecting Options and then selecting the Controls tab. To reset all controls to their default, click the Default button on the Controls tab in the Options menu. ======================================================= GAMEPLAY HINTS, TIPS, AND OTHER INFORMATION —Check your map constantly for clues and locations of other S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s stashes. —NPCs often have useful information. Don't forget to speak with them. —Keep an extra weapon on hand in case the durability of your main weapon affects its condition. —Low crouch will imporve your aim. —Don't forget to explore the environment for better positions or hidden locations. —If you are in a hostile area and are approaching a corner, it is wise to lean/peek around the corner before proceeding. —In multiplayer, remember to spend your money frugally. Money is a limited resource, so budget wisely for longer games. Good luck! ======================================================= MULTIPLAYER S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl LAN and Direct IP Multiplayer Connect: Players can connect to each other either locally over a Local Area Network (LAN) or remotely via direct IP connection. Both connection types use the TCP/IP protocol. To host or join either type of game, select Network Game from the main menu. Product Key Required • You must have installed S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl with a valid product key in order to connect and play online. A product key cannot be connected by two PCs at the same time. If upon connection you receive an error message related to your product key, please re-install S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and enter a valid product key. Firewall settings • Hosting multiplayer games from behind a router/firewall/proxy is not currently supported. Players can connect to a host using the following information. If you are behind a firewall/proxy and are able to configure its settings, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl needs the following TCP ports open in order to function: 6667 (IRC) 3783 (Voice Chat Port) 27900 (Master Server UDP Heartbeat) 28900 (Master Server List Request) 29900 (GP Connection Manager) 29901 (GP Search Manager) 13139 (Custom UDP Pings) 6515 (Dplay UDP) 6500 (Query Port) Make sure that S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl appear on your Windows Firewall exception list, and the exception lists of other firewall products you are currently running. If you are behind a DMZ, disable all on-access scanners. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s installer automatically adds the game to the list of exceptions for Windows Firewall. Anti-virus software • Many users of antivirus software (such as Nvidia Access Manager, NOD32, Norton, PandaSoft, etc.) are unable to connect to GameSpy, experience poor performance or game crashes. If you experience trouble, we suggest that users place S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on the exception lists for these software products or otherwise disable them during gameplay. Routers with Symmetrical NAT • Certain routers that use symmetrical NAT may not work well with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. These routers are very rare, and most have firmware updates available to fix the problem. If you are using a router with symmetrical NAT, please contact the manufacturer to see if there are firmware updates available. ======================================================= CONTACT INFORMATION General Information http://www.thq.com Mailing Address THQ Customer Service 29903 Agoura Road Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Technical Support The THQ technical support department will attempt to help you resolve any problems that you may experience with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Web-based technical support can be found on the support section of our web site at http://info.thq.com/support/ Prior to contacting our technical support representatives, we ask that you have the following information available. • Your phone number • Your E-Mail address and Postal address • Model of computer you are using • The version of the Windows operating system you are using • Manufacturer information for the DVD-ROM, mouse, and keyboard peripherals you are using • The THQ game you are having problems with (e.g. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl) • Description of the problem or the error message you received Support web address: www.thq.com/support E-mail Address: support@thq.com Phone (US/Canada): 818-880-0456 Our support representatives will not answer questions pertaining to game playing hints, product release dates, and other non-technical issues. ======================================================= PERFORMANCE TIPS To improve performance, from the main menu, select Options, and then select the Video tab. Any of the following should result in improved performance. —Change Render to Static Lighting —Lower the Quality Settings to Medium, Low or Minimum —Lower the game resolution to 1024x768 or lower —Enable Full Screen —Under the Advanced button, lower the settings for Vision Distance; Anisotropic Filtering; Antialiasing; and Shadows Quality Background Applications and Performance Programs that run in the background while on the Internet, such as ICQ, web browsers, voice communication applications, or file sharing programs cut into the speed at which S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl plays. Turning off these Internet-specific applications can also increase your game speed. Antivirus and firewall software also commonly contribute to performance issues. If you experience performance problems with Antivirus or firewall software try to configure the software to exclude S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl from security checks. Contact your software vendor for details. System RAM and Performance Another method of increasing performance in S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is to add RAM to your computer if you are playing on a 512MB system. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl can consume a great deal of memory in very large games causing the system to use virtual memory. This process is slower than using RAM directly, and while the speed of your processor is a factor in the performance of the game, additional memory can greatly enhance your game speed on baseline systems. Please ensure that virtual memory is enabled in your operating system. Dual Core and Performance S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl should utilize your dual and quad core processor natively and automatically. Running a dual or quad core processor is one of the best ways to improve performance. Updated Video Drivers It is highly recommended that you install the latest drivers for you video card. These can be downloaded from your video card manufacturer's website. Please visit http://www.asus.com/ depending on the type of card you have. Updated Sound Drivers If you are experiencing problems with audio, or general performance problems, you should check with your soundcard manufacturer to see if there are updated drivers available. These can usually be obtained from the soundcard manufacturer website. Motherboard Drivers Often motherboard drivers are overlooked when updating systems, and as a result most computers are running very old versions that simply do not work properly and may cause very noticeable slow downs and stability issues. Please check with your motherboard manufacturer to see if there are updated drivers available. ======================================================= UNINSTALLING To uninstall S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl follow these steps: 1. Click on the Start menu 2. Choose Control Panel 3. Select Add/Remove Programs 4. Select S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl 5. Click Remove 6. 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