Starship Creator(tm)
Version 1.0.1
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1. About the Program
2. Installation, General Setup, Re-installing
3. Quick Start Tips
4. Advanced Features
5. Troubleshooting
6. Support

Both Macintosh(r) and Windows(r) information 
is included in this file.



1.About the Program---------------------------------------

Welcome! Here is the software that will finally allow you to build and 
launch your own ultimate Star Fleet vessel!  Star Trek: Starship Creator 
gives you the tools to design your own starship, choose a crew, and send 
your ship out on missions -- then you, the newest admiral in Starfleet 
can test the performance of your own fleet of specialized Federation 
vessels on automated missions to see if your ship designs measure up to 
Starfleet's exacting standards.

We suggest you start out as a BEGINNER, to get a feel for the program.
This way, when you select a Class of ship to add to your fleet, 
you will have a ship with many systems already installed for you. 
On the Fleet screen, a few easy missions are available to you at this level.

At INTERMEDIATE level, only the basic essential systems are preinstalled.
You will probably want to add more. And there are more available missions.

When you select ADVANCED, any new Class you choose to build requires that
you install everything. Your ship will read as "under construction" if
you dont have all the required systems and crew installed. At this level,
all possible missions are made available to you.

The USING file, which is adjacent to this ReadMe, has many more tips in it.



2.Installation--------------------------------------------


__SETTING UP for Windows Users_______________________

  Minimum Windows System Requirements
          90 MHz or Faster
          Windows 95
          14 mb free memory minimum 
            (this is roughly equivalent to 24mb installed RAM)
          Quad-speed or faster CD-ROM drive
          25 MB free space on Hard Disk
          640 X 480 capable color monitor
          Thousands of colors

  Recommended Windows System
          200 MHz or Faster
          Windows 95
          24 mb free memory minimum
          8X or faster CD-ROM drive
          25 MB free space on Hard Disk
          Greater than 640 X 480 capable color monitor
          Thousands of colors (16-bit)

  Windows Installation___________________________
  1. Insert the CDROM into the drive.
  2. Select the "Start" button.
  3. Choose Run from the Start Menu.
  4. At the Open box, type "D:\setup.exe", where D is 
     the letter of your CD-ROM drive.
  5. Click on OK and follow the prompts.
  6. Do install Quicktime unless you already have a 
     full install of version 3.

  For further details and hints, consult the 
  file called USING, which is adjacent to this ReadMe.

  Troubleshooting information is below in section 5.

  Windows - Starting the Program_________________
  From the Start button, select:
  Programs > Starship Creator > Screator.exe.

The CDROM must be in the drive for the program to run.


__SETTING UP for Macintosh(r) Users_____________________

  Minimum Mac System Requirements
          80 MHz or Faster
          Mac OS 7.5 or later (PowerPC)
          14 mb free memory minimum
          Double-speed or faster CD-ROM drive
          25 MB free space on Hard Disk
          640 X 480 capable color monitor
          Thousands of colors

  Recommended Mac System
          200 MHz or Faster
          Mac OS 7.5 or later (PowerPC)
          24 mb free memory minimum
          (without Virtual Memory on)
          8X or faster CD-ROM drive
          25 MB free space on Hard Disk
          Greater than 640 X 480 capable color monitor
          Thousands of colors

  Macintosh Installation_________________________

   1. Insert the CDROM into your Mac.
   2. Double-click on the disk icon, "CREATOR" which 
       appears on your desktop.
   3. If you do not have a full copy of Apple Quicktime(r) version 3, 
       do use the installer on the CD.
   4. Drag the folder "Starship Creator" onto your 
       hard drive.

  For further details and hints, consult the 
  file called USING, which is adjacent to this ReadMe.
  Troubleshooting information is below in section 5.

   Macintosh - Starting the Program______________
    Double-click the "Starship Creator" icon in 
    the "Starship Cretaor" folder.

The CDROM must be in the drive for the program to run.



__IN GENERAL_______________________________________________

Please do not change the name or relative location
of any of the program files on your hard drive,
although the Starship Creator folder may be located anywhere.

The fixed image size of Starship Creator is 640x480, 
although the "info" windows can be dragged anywhere.
The preferred color depth setting is thousands of colors.

Having other applications open while Starship Creator 
is running can cause poor performance. We highly recommend
quitting any other program, turning off networking if not 
needed, and disabling other unnecessary system extensions.


__REINSTALLING?_______________________________________

If for any reason you need to re-install the program from 
the CD, and you want to preserve your work, you should know
these technical details:

1. Your "User" files (that is, your Fleet and Mission 
History) are kept in the folder called USR which is inside
the "ShipMain" folder, which in turn is inside the "Starship Creator" 
folder on your hard drive. Copy that folder to 
another location before reinstalling, then replace the 
installed folder with your saved folder.

2. You will also need to save your login information, or your 
"User" files will not be found by the program. To do that, 
locate the file named "Prefs.cxt" which is inside the 
"ShipMain" folder, which in turn is inside the "Starship 
Creator" folder on your hard drive. Copy "Prefs.cxt" to a secure 
location before reinstalling, then replace the 
installed "Prefs.cxt" with your saved prefs file.

ALTERNATIVE: If all you want to save are some of your ship 
designs, you can simply use the Export function on the Fleet 
screen, which saves a ship description to an external file. 
You can then later re-Import that file in the freshly 
installed program, using the IMPORT button on the Fleet screen.



3.Quick Start Tips-----------------------------------------

The file called USING, which is adjacent to this ReadMe, contains lots 
of helpful tips, including:

__A Quick Tour of the Screens
__What the Experience Levels Mean
__To Create a Ship
__To Launch a Mission
__To Refit or Finish or Repair a Ship
and more about these advanced features...



4.Advanced Features----------------------------------------

Mac Users: If you have the "Mac OS Easy Open" control panel, 
make sure the "Translate TEXT documents" check box is UNchecked
before attempting the import of custom bios, ships, or missions.

__CUSTOM CREWMEMBERS__________________________________

On the CREW screen, click the ADD button to bring new crewmembers
you have "recruited" yourself into the roster of available
candidates. For the details on how to prepare a crew bio and
photo for adding, consult the file called USING.


__IMPORT/EXPORT SHIPS_________________________________

To share your designs, or swap them among the various Admirals in
your Log-in collection, simply use the IMPORT and EXPORT buttons
on the FLEET screen, to save the description file and images of
any one of your ships. (This file is in a special format which
only the Starship Creator program will be able to read.)


__MISSION SCRIPTING___________________________________

If you're interested in doing a little Programming - a separate
file called WRITING contains the details of how you can write and import 
your own Mission Scripts.





5a. Windows Troubleshooting----------------------------------


If the program is very slow____________
1. Close any unnecessary applications that may be running.
2. Make sure your display setting is at 640x480 resolution or higher and 
thousands of colors (16-bit). Refer to your system or Windows documentation for 
how to do this. In extreme cases, setting your display to 256 colors 
will improve speed, but the diagrams may suffer in appearance.


If display problems occur______________
If you experience graphics problems while running the program, contact 
your video card or system vendor to obtain the latest version of their 
video driver.


If sound problems occur________________
If you experience sound problems while running the program,
contact your sound card or system vendor to obtain the latest version of 
their sound driver.
Occasionally, while music is playing, the sound will pause and then 
continue. This is normal and is due to the cacheing behavior of 
streaming audio files.

Screen savers__________________________
If you are running a screen saver in the background and experience video 
and sound problems during the program, disable the screen saver and the 
problem should be resolved. Refer to your screen saver documentation on 
how to disable the screen saver.



Windows 95 TaskBar_____________________
The Windows 95 Taskbar may interfere with the user's ability to view the 
program graphics, animations and program information in certain 
activities. If you encounter difficulties when the Windows 95  Taskbar 
appears on-screen, enable the Taskbar's Autohide feature:

*   Click the Start button, then select Settings, then Taskbar.
*   At the dialog box that appears, uncheck 'Always on top' and check 
'Auto hide'.
*   Click the 'Apply' button, then the 'OK' button.

You also have the option of relocating the Taskbar to different sides of 
the display screen:

*   Click and hold down the mouse pointer on a blank area of the 
Taskbar.
*   Drag and release the Taskbar on the side of the screen where it 
causes the least interference.

Note: If you need to access the Taskbar or the Start menu at any time 
while the program is running, press CTRL+ESC. To return to the program, 
click on the program's display area, or press ALT+TAB until the 
program's icon is selected.


Improving system performance(Win95)____

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop, then click 
Properties.
2. From the dialog box, select the Performance tab.
3. Click the File System button.
4. Select the CD-ROM tab. Set the Supplemental cache size to Large.
5. Match the Optimize access pattern setting to that of your CD-ROM. (It 
should be set to Double-speed or higher.)
6. Click Apply, then OK. 
7. Restart the computer for the changes to take effect.



5b. Macintosh Troubleshooting------------------------------

System Performance Tips________________

If you have more than 32mb of installed memory (RAM), it is best to try running 
the program without Virtual Memory at first. (Virtual Memory can be turned on or 
off in the Memory control panel.)

If the screen redraws slowly or objects appear to be missing, you might 
be having a shortage of available memory. In those cases, try turning Virtual 
Memory ON and setting it to at least 32mb.

If you're curious about the details of your system's memory, here's what to 
check for: 
Before opening Starship Creator, while in the Finder, click on the Apple 
symbol at the upper left of your screen, and select "About this 
Computer" (or "About this Macintosh"). Your "Largest Unused Block" of memory
should optimally be 24mb or more. You can increase this number by not 
having any other applications open, minimizing your System resources 
(starting up with fewer extensions and control panels, for example, see 
below), and/or installing more RAM.


If sound problems occur________________

Occasionally, while music is playing, the sound will pause and then 
continue. This is normal and is due to the cacheing behavior of 
streaming audio files.


Extensions and Control Panels__________

+ Import Error Messages: If you have the "Mac OS Easy Open" control panel, 
make sure the "Translate TEXT documents" check box is UNchecked
before attempting the import of custom bios, ships, or missions.

+ It may be possible to optimize your system's performance by disabling 
certain Extensions and Control Panels. Select Extensions Manager (or 
another third-party extensions manager) from Control Panels under the 
Apple menu. Uncheck any Extensions or Control Panels that are 
unnecessary for basic operation of the computer and CD-ROM drive. Do not 
disable Quicktime(tm), Quicktime PowerPlug or the QuickDraw(tm) 3D 
extensions, or any components you need to connect to the Internet.

+ If an extensions manager cannot be found, place the unnecessary 
extensions in a folder called "Extensions (disabled)" and the Control 
Panels in a folder called "Control Panels (disabled)," then restart your 
Macintosh.

+ If you have any questions about which files are necessary, please 
consult the manual that came with your computer. 


Other Tips_____________________________

If the program seems to be running slowly:
+ Close any unneccesary applications that may be running.
+ The computer should have a minimum of 24MB of available built-in 
memory to run the program. 
+ If your Mac has 16 MB or more available built-in memory, make sure 
Virtual Memory is off.

Screensavers:  If you are running a screensaver in the background and 
experience video and sound problems during the program, disable the 
screen saver and the problem should be solved. Refer to your user 
documentation on how to disable the screen saver.



6a.Support WINDOWS USERS ----------------------------------

We hope your experience with Starship Creator is
trouble-free. But if you have any problems,
after having read through the following steps,
Technical Support is available as described below: 


Before you call...

Video drivers and system settings(Win95)_________

Information about your system's video drivers can often assist our 
Technical Support staff in diagnosing problems that are encountered when 
running the program.

To get information about your system's video drivers:
1. Right-click the My Computer icon and select Properties.
2. Click on the Device Manager tab.
3. Double-click on Display adapters.

Device Manager also displays settings for hardware devices that are not 
fully supported by Windows 95 or are using device drivers that need to 
be updated. 

Contact the system vendor or manufacturer if any subkeys, such as those 
under 'Display adapters' or 'Sound, video and game controllers' are 
displayed with a red X or yellow exclamation mark.(Click the plus [+] 
sign to see the subkey.)


Your Windows Configuration Information____________

Please have the following information ready if and when you call:

1. The product name and version number located at the top of this ReadMe 
file.
2. The processor and clock speed of your computer (e.g., P2/90).
3. The brand name of the sound device installed in the computer.
4. The amount of free memory (memory available to run the program) that 
the computer has. (Open Explorer on the desktop and select About Windows 
95 from the Help menu.) From the dialog box that appears, write down the 
Memory and System Resources values.
5. The complete and exact error message reported by the program (if 
any).

Telephone: (303) 739-4020.

Fax: (303) 739-4513, 24 hours daily.

E-mail: support@ssi.teksupport.com



6b.Support MACINTOSH USERS ----------------------------------

We hope your experience with Starship Creator is
trouble-free. But if you have any problems,
after having read through the following steps,
Technical Support is available as described below: 


Before you call...

It is essential to have the following information ready:

1.) Product name and version number of this product, available from the 
top of this ReadMe file.
2.) The model name of your Macintosh.
3.) The system version number and memory. Under the Apple menu, select 
About This Macintosh (or About This Computer in System 7.6 or higher). 
In the dialog box that appears, the system version number will be at the 
upper right and the memory at the lower left as "Total Memory".


Telephone: (303) 739-4020.

Fax: (303) 739-4513, 24 hours daily.

E-mail: support@ssi.teksupport.com



___________________________________________________________



Published by Simon & Schuster Interactive, 
a division of Simon & Schuster, 
the publishing operation of Viacom Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

STAR TREK  (tm) and (c) 1998 Paramount Pictures. 
All Rights Reserved. 
STAR TREK and Related Properties are Trademarks of Parmount 
Pictures. (c)1998 Simon & Schuster Interactive, a division of 
Simon & Schuster Inc. Microsoft and Windows 95 are registered 
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

QuickTime, QuickDraw, the QuickTime logo, and Macintosh are registered 
trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. Used under license.

Made with Macromedia, a trademark of 
Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Developed by IMERGY(r) www.imergy.com. 
IMERGY is the registered trademark of The Imergists, Inc.
     
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