DiRT.

[Mario]

Here is the official DiRT readme file.

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DiRT™ Readme
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Thank you for purchasing DiRT™. This document contains last minute information about DiRT™ and other information not found in the manual. Please read through if you are experiencing any difficulties running the game.

- DiRT™ development team

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Contents
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- System Requirements
- Supported Controllers
- Installation Instructions
- Known Issues/Troubleshooting
- Further Troubleshooting
- Advanced Features

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System Requirements
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TCP/IP mode (2-100 players) Requirements

Broadband internet connection required - 512kbps + Recommended
TCP/IP Network

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Minimum Specifications
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- Windows XP
- DirectX 9.0c
- Pentium 4 @ 3.0GHz or Athlon 64 3000+
- 1GB RAM.
- Graphics Card: GeForce 6800 / Radeon X1300 or above
- DirectX Compatible Sound Card
-*Dual Layer Compatible*DVD-ROM Drive
- 12.5 Gb Hard Drive Space

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Recommended Specifications
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- Windows XP/Vista.
- DirectX 9.0c
- Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.66Ghz or Athlon X2 3800+
- 2GB RAM.
- Graphics Card: GeForce 8800 or Radeon X1950
- Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Sound Card.
- Dual Layer Compatible*DVD-ROM Drive
- 12.5 Gb Hard Drive Space

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Supported Graphics Cards
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- ATi Radeon x1300, x1600, x1800, x1900, x1950

- nVidia Geforce 6800, 7100, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950, 8800

Not compatible with all integrated sound/graphics solutions (inc.Laptops)

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Supported Controllers
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DiRT™ can be configured to use almost any PC controller, however we recommend the following controllers for the best game play experience:

- Logitech G25
- Logitech MOMO
- Logitech Driving Force Pro
- Microsoft X360 controller

DiRT™ provides default configurations for all of the above, meaning that you should be able to plug-and-play, with no tweaking required.

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Installation instructions
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It is advisable to close down all applications before either starting the installation or running the game. Not doing so may cause the game to lose focus or run poorly.

Place the DiRT™ disc into your DVD drive and close the disc tray. If you have Autorun enabled on your PC, the game should launch automatically – simply click ‘Install’ to continue.

If Autorun is disabled, open up ‘My Computer’ from the desktop or start menu. From there, double click on the icon for your DVD drive to explore the contents of the disc. Locate the file called ‘Setup.exe’ and double click it to begin installation.

DiRT™ requires the presence of DirectX 9c on your system in order to run. Your version of DirectX will be automatically updated (if required) during installation.

Once you have entered the game and created a profile, you can alter your graphics and resolution settings from within the Options Menu.

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Known issues/Troubleshooting
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I) The game won’t install!

If you find that you are getting ‘file not found’ errors (or other similar messages) during installation, it may be that your DVD drive is malfunctioning. There are several simple tests you can perform to verify this:

- Does the same disc install correctly on a different PC?
- Does the same disc install on your PC using a different DVD drive?
- If you browse the DVD manually, can you locate the ‘missing’ file?
- Try copying the contents of your disc directly onto your hard drive – do you get a standard Windows ‘Insert disc’ error (or similar) whilst copying?

If any of the above tests succeed, then it is highly probable that there is an issue with your DVD drive. Such problems may not manifest themselves with all discs, so even if other games appear to install correctly then this may still be the case.

Other installation issues are generally caused by the user having insufficient privileges to modify elements of the operating system. The installer requires access to the Windows registry, in addition to access to the selected DiRT™ installation directory.

If you find that you cannot install the game due to insufficient privileges, you should ask somebody with administrator privileges on your system to either install the game for you, or else elevate your account privileges so that you may do it yourself.

II) The game won’t save!

As with the installer, you should make sure that you can access the folder where DiRT™ save games are being stored. This is specified during installation and is, by default, in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Codemasters\DiRT in Windows XP, or the equivalent Vista folder (C:\Users\Public\Documents\Codemasters\DiRT). If a location other than the default one was used, and you have limited file access on your user account, you may not be able to read or write to the save game directory.

III) Where have all my vehicle set-up files gone?

Saved set-up files cannot be transferred between different vehicles. If you choose the ‘Load’ option on the vehicle set-up screen, you will only see the files that you have saved for that particular vehicle.

You also cannot transfer vehicle set-up files between different user profiles.

IV) I changed my graphics settings – now the game won’t boot!

If you changed your graphics settings and now can’t get into the game – don’t panic! This can occur if you enable an option unsupported by your graphics card, or set the resolution beyond what can be handled by your monitor. DiRT™ includes a ‘Safe Mode’ to help under such circumstances, which can either be run using the shortcut under the start menu, or else by launching the game using the ‘–safemode’ parameter. Safe Mode will simply boot the game using the lowest possible resolution and graphics settings, so that any PC meeting the minimum spec should be able to at least reach the options menu to rectify the problem. Alternatively, simply delete the hardware_settings_config xml file, and the game will generate a new one the next time it is run.

V) I’ve unlocked an event – why isn’t it showing up in Rally World Mode?

If you unlock any event in the game (using either Bonus Codes or through normal game play) you can only race in it if you own a suitable vehicle. Once you own at least one eligible vehicle, you will be able to access it from the Rally World screens.

VI) Visible shearing/tearing

You may experience tearing across the picture. This can be avoided by editing the hardware_settings_config .xml file, located in your save game directory. Under the resolution settings, simply set 'vsync' to '1'. Please note that this may reduce the performance of the game, and so is disabled by default.

VII) Poor frame rate

DiRT™ has been designed with multi-core processors in mind, and as such will run significantly better when one is available. If you are running in Vista, the game may also require a larger amount of RAM than if you were running in XP.

If the game runs at an unsatisfactory frame rate, try turning off some graphics systems from the graphics options menu. Mirrors and Wind Effects can both be disabled for a significant performance increase with little loss in visual fidelity.

More advanced users may want to tweak the settings in the hardware_settings_config .xml file, located in your save game directory. Turning down the shadow mask quality to 0 has been found to provide good frame rate improvements for those with older graphics cards.

VIII) The game looks stretched/squashed!
Check that the aspect ratio and resolution settings that you are using are supported by and are applicable to the monitor you are using.

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Force Feedback and Steering Wheel Setup
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As well as saturation and dead zone controls, the following force feedback wheel options are available in the DiRT™ controller setup screen. Modifying these values may increase the amount of 'oscillation' felt in the force feedback - e.g. the wheel vibrating slightly when driving straight.

I) Force Feedback Strength

The overall strength of force feedback. Higher values may increase the level of oscillation.

II) Force Feedback Weight

Higher values make the force feedback feel 'tighter' - only small changes in wheel orientation are required to cause large forces. This increases the perceived strength, but removes some of the subtlety and smoothness.

III) Steering Linearity

Negative values make the steering concentrated around the centre of the wheel - moving the wheel only a small way will give you most of the steering response, and then moving the wheel all the way to full lock will give only a little more. Positive values do the opposite - moving the wheel around the centre accomplishes little, but as you approach full lock you start to get the full steering effect. Wheel linearity is very much an issue of personal preference. You may find that using negative values requires the force feedback weight to be decreased in order to reduce oscillations.

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Audio
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I) Performance

The audio system in DiRT has been designed to scale greatly, so suit all machines and cards.

- Software:
This option gives you a software mixer. This gives the maximum compatilibity with all cards. You can select Medium level DSP, but this will be a heavy CPU hit, and we recommend at least a dual-core to handle this.

- D3D
This option lets you use a generic hardware mixer. This is signifigantly faster than software on most soundcards. Some chipsets that use the CPU for mixing may fare better in Software mode.

- OpenAL
This option uses Creative's OpenAL system, and is designed for use on Creative Audigy and X-Fi cards. It allows the selection of high DSP quality

II) DSP settings

- Off
This turns the DSP off entirely. This is the fastest option.

- Medium
This gives a single reverb, and two filters. This is much slower than having no DSP, and is not recommended for Software mixing.

- High
This gives dual reverbs, and dual filters, and gives a large boost to the quality of the reflections and reverbs in game. It requires a Creative Audigy or X-Fi card.

III) Drivers

You should ensure you have the latest drivers for your soundcard. If your drivers aren't upto date, then you may not be able to choose OpenAL or D3D mixing, or you may be limited to DSP being MEDIUM or OFF.

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Further Troubleshooting
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If you are still experiencing problems the please contact our customer support where we will be more than happy to help. Details can be found in your DiRT™ manual or on the Codies website – www.codemasters.com

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Advanced Features
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If your system has a motion platform, then DiRT™ should be able to control it. This feature is completely untested beyond checking that the basic data output is correct, and as such should be used entirely at your own risk. The output format is designed to be compatible with the "Live for Speed" outsim motion platform format. To enable, just open the system\hardware_settings_config.xml file and edit the motion attributes:

<motion enabled="true" ip="192.168.0.10" port="20777" delay="1" extradata=”0” />

enabled – Set “true” or “false” to enable or disable the motion platform
ip - The IP address of the motion platform
port - The port of the motion platform
delay - the time between data updates from the game (1/100ths second).
extradata - This should always be set to “0”