Dust: A Tale of the Wired West
F A Q
(Frequently Answered Questions)
Version 1.0
9/19/95
Welcome to the OFFICIAL DUST: A TALE OF THE WIRED
WEST FAQ. Here you can find pointers and
answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions about
DUST: A TALE OF THE WIRED WEST. This FAQ
provides an up-to-date supplement to the README.TXT
included with every DUST game. (The README file
contains essential information every Dust player should
read.)
There are no gameplay hints in this FAQ; see 2d. We've
attempted to create an informative FAQ. If you have any
suggestions on how to make this FAQ easier to understand
or more helpful send these to CyberFlix @ aol.com.
The following names mentioned in this FAQ are registered
trademarks:
Dust, CyberFlix, DreamFactory, GTE Entertainment,
Pentium, Microsoft, Windows, Windows 95, IBM, PC-DOS,
Joy Stick, Gravis GamePad, DirectDraw, DirectSound and
every other brand name.
You are welcome to duplicate and redistribute this
document, as long as it is not modified from its original
form. (C) Copyright 1995 by GTE Vantage. All rights
reserved.
1) Introduction
1a) Who created Dust: A Tale of the Wired West?
1b) What is needed to run Dust?
1c) Can I play Dust under OS/2?
1d) Can I play/install Dust under Windows 3.1?
1e) Can I play/install Dust in Windows 95?
1f) Can I play/install Dust under Windows NT 3.51?
1g) Can I play Dust in Dust DOS ?
1h) Can I play/install Dust on the Macintosh?
1i) How do I uninstall Dust under Windows?
2) The Game
2a) The demo. Check out this web page
http://www.im.gte.com/Dust for a
demo of Dust.
2b) What is Dust: A Tale of the Wired West?
2c) Which keyboard commands should I use for
Windows?
2d) Gameplay hints
2d.1) Getting help
2d.2) Save your games
2d.3) Movement
3) Other Problems
3a) Playing over a network/modem.
3b) General troubleshooting for Windows
3c) Troubleshooting for Windows 95
3d) Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1
3e) Troubleshooting for Windows NT
3f) Troubleshooting for Macintosh
4) Super common questions/YES and NO answers
4a) Will Dust run in more than 256 colors?
4b) Will Dust use the new graphics accelerator cards?
4c) Will Dust be network/modem playable?
4d) When will the hints will be out and where?
4e) Does Dust have gamma correction?
4f) Can I use a joystick or Gravis GamePad with Dust?
5) How to contact CyberFlix
5a) How can I contact CyberFlix on the internet?
5b) How can I contact CyberFlix by phone?
5c) How can I contact CyberFlix via US (snail) mail?
FAQ Answers
1) Introduction
1a) Who created Dust: A Tale of the Wired West?
Dust was developed and published by CyberFlix and is
distributed by GTE Entertainment. Dust is an interactive
western adventure created with DreamFactory, a
proprietary authoring tool developed by CyberFlix.
DreamFactory is a set of multimedia-authoring tools that
enable CyberFlix to create interactive CD-ROM titles.
DreamFactory is designed so that artists, writers, and
craftspeople can quickly and easily fashion an interactive
experience without knowing much about programming.
You'll notice DreamFactory in use as you walk around the
town of Diamondback, New Mexico, the setting for Dust.
Using DreamFactory, the artists have built striking 3D
environments, which have a faster operating speed, fewer
delays, and richer colors and textures.
1b) What is needed to run Dust?
To run Dust on Windows you'll need an IBM or compatible
multimedia computer with a double-speed or faster CD-
ROM drive, a 486 cpu (33MHz or faster processor is
recommended), 8 MB of RAM (12 MB is recommended for
faster game play), a hard drive with 30 MB of free space,
Windows 95, Windows 3.1 (DOS 3.3 or higher is required
to run Windows 3.1), or Windows NT 3.51 (Dust is
especially designed for Windows 95 and runs at an
optimum level on Windows 95), Super VGA monitor with
256 colors (640 x 480) video card, 100% Windows
compatible sound card and speakers.
To run Dust on a Macintosh you'll need a color Macintosh,
system 6.0.7 or greater (68030 or faster processor is
recommended), 8 MB RAM (4 MB available free), double-
speed CD-ROM drive, and a 256 color monitor. Dust is
Power Macintosh native.
1c) Can I play Dust under OS/2?
No. Dust requires Win32s version 1.25a and WinG version
1.0 to operate. At the time we released Dust, OS/2
had support only for Win32s 1.15. If IBM chooses to
upgrade their Win32s support, Dust may run under OS/2,
but it hasn't been tested on that operating system.
1d) Can I play/install Dust under Windows 3.1?
Yes. Dust will run on Windows 95, Windows 3.1, or
Windows NT 3.51. Dust was designed specifically for
Windows 95 and really rocks if you use Windows 95.
Dust is a 32-bit Windows application. Windows 95 and
Windows NT have built-in support for
32-bit applications. If you're running Windows 3.1, Dust
will install Microsoft's 32-bit extensions, Win32s, and
Microsoft's graphics accelerator, WinG. These extensions
are used by many other recent applications and are a
shared system resource.
Since Windows 3.1 was not originally designed to run 32-
bit applications, some existing video- and sound-card
drivers are incompatible with Win32s or WinG. To ensure
that Dust runs smoothly on your machine, you should
make sure that you are using the most recent drivers
available.
Here's how to install Dust on Windows 3.1:
1. Insert the Dust CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive.
2. In Program Manager, select "File/Run" from the
menu.
3. Type "D:SETUP", where "D:" is the drive letter of
your CD-ROM drive.
4. If Dust says you need to "Upgrade Windows," follow
steps 5 through 7. Otherwise, proceed to step 8.
5. Select "Upgrade Windows" from the window that
appears.
6. Follow the upgrade instructions.
7. After your computer restarts, rerun the Dust setup
program as you did in steps 2 and 3.
8. Select "Install Dust" from the window that appears.
9. Follow the on-screen instructions.
1e) Can I play/install Dust in Windows 95?
Yes. Dust is among the first multimedia titles released that
we've designed specifically to take advantage of the
Microsoft Windows 95 operating system. Because of the
32-bit power in Windows 95, PC users will have a faster
and smoother gaming experience while playing Dust, and
Window 95's AutoPlay feature makes Dust easy to use and
install.
Here's how to install Dust on Windows 95:
1. Insert the Dust CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive.
2. Select "Install Dust" from the window that appears.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions.
1f) Can I play/install Dust under Windows NT 3.51?
Yes. You need at least the 3.51 version.
Here's how to install Dust on Windows NT 3.51:
1. Insert the Dust CD in your computer's CD-ROM drive.
2. In Program Manager, select "File/Run" from the
menu.
3. Type "D:SETUP", where "D:" is the drive letter of
your CD-ROM drive.
4. Select "Install Dust" from the window that appears.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.
If case you have trouble installing Dust, we have provided
an alternate installation program that should avoid
whatever problems you're having.
See section "3e) Troubleshooting for Windows NT."
1g) Can I play Dust in DOS ?
No. Dust is designed for Windows.
1h) Can I play/install Dust on the Macintosh?
Yes. Dust is available on CD-ROM for Windows and
Macintosh.
Here's how to install Dust on the Macintosh:
To install, simply copy the Install folder from the DUST CD
to your hard drive by dragging this folder onto your hard
drive. Once copied to your hard drive, you may rename
the install folder at this time if you wish. ***HOWEVER,
after DUST has been installed and played, do not change
the names of any files or folders. Doing so after the initial
installation may prevent DUST from working properly.***
1i) How do I uninstall Dust under Windows?
Dust is designed to be easily removed from your computer
when you are finished playing. To uninstall it, select
the Dust icon as you normally would to play, and choose
"Uninstall" from the title screen. Then, follow the on-
screen instructions.
If you had problems installing Dust and used the alternate
installation program, you will have to remove Dust from
your computer manually. To do so, follow these
instructions:
1. If you're using Windows 95, right-click the Start
button and select "Explore." Then, navigate to the
"CyberFlix" file folder, highlight it, and press "Del." This
will remove Dust from your Start Menu.
2. If you're using Windows 3.1 or Windows NT,
minimize the Cyberflix group in Program Manager. Click
once on the group icon to select it and once on the
Program Manager background to hide the pop-up menu that
appears. Then press "Del" to delete the Program Manager
group.
3. Open a DOS window or Command Prompt and change
to the root directory of your hard drive.
4. Type "DELTREE C:\DUST." If you installed Dust
somewhere else, substitute the appropriate directory for
"C:\DUST." This will remove the Dust program files from
your hard drive.
Windows 3.1 users may want to remove Win32s and
WinG from their computer, although doing so is not
recommended as it may cause other programs that use
these components to stop working. If you know what
you're doing and want to remove them anyway, see the
instructions in the "Troubleshooting - Windows 3.1" section
under 3) Other problems.
2) The Game
2a) The demo. Go to page TK for a demo of Dust.
2b) What is Dust: A Tale of the Wired West?
Dust is an interactive narrative adventure on CD-ROM for
Windows and Macintosh. Dust takes place in Diamondback,
New Mexico in 1882. Living in Diamondback are an odd
assortment of more than three dozen characters with
distinct personalities-fortune-hunters, renegades,
drunkards, and fools. Each has a story to tell and a secret
to hide. It's up to you to find them all out. Dust has an
easy-to-use game interface and takes place in real time.
The town of Diamondback is fully explorable. In addition to
its mysteries and stories, Dust also has lots of puzzles and
shoot-outs. You can also stop by the saloon to play poker,
the slot machine, or blackjack.
2c) Which keyboard commands should I use for
Windows?
While playing Dust, you can use the following keys for
Windows:
Esc Skips the current animation or stops talking to the
current character
Arrow keys Up moves forward, Left and Right turn
A, W, D Same as the arrow keys, use the Dust control
menu to change
Ctrl+0 through Ctrl+9 Set sound volume, Ctrl+0 is off,
Ctrl+9 is loudest
Ctrl+Q Quits the game and return to Windows
Ctrl+F1 / Ctrl+F2 Increase/decrease the brightness of
the screen
Ctrl+F3 / Ctrl+F4 Increase/decrease the redness of the
screen
Ctrl+F5 / Ctrl+F6 Increase/decrease the greenness of
the screen
Ctrl+F7 / Ctrl+F8 Increase/decrease the blueness of
the screen
Ctrl+F9 Restores the screen to its default settings
2d) Gameplay hints
If you get stuck while playing Dust and need a hint, the
best place to look is on the Internet newsgroup
alt.games.dust. or try America Online. (For AOL use the
keyword PC GAMES. Go to the message board. Under the
topic ADVENTURE GAMES select DUST. Mac users-use
the keyword MGM. Go to the message board. Under the
topic CD-ROM GAMES A-K select DUST.) Here, you can
discuss Dust and trade hints with other people who are
playing Dust. If your Internet provider doesn't carry
alt.games.dust, send an e-mail message to
news@yoursite.name and ask the provider to please start
carrying it.
For more information and history on Diamondback, its
inhabitants, and their secrets, pick up Dust: A Tale of
the Wired West-The Official Strategy Guide, published by
Prima Publishing, available at most software retailers, or
call 800-531-2343.
2d.1) Getting help
You can always get help by clicking on the HELP button
located in the Control Panel (get to the Control Panel by
clicking on the cow skull located at the bottom of the
Main Game Panel). You can also get help by visiting the
Curiosity Shop. The Shop's owner, named Help, will give
you clues if you get stuck.
2d.2) Save your games
Be sure and save your games often. Saving allows you to
begin later at the point where you've just finished rather
than having to start over.
2d.3) Movement
To move around think of the mouse as your hands and the
keyboard as your feet. To walk, press the left-arrow key to
go left, right-arrow key to go right, and up-arrow key to
walk forward. You can also customize the arrow keys
from the Control Panel (to get to this panel in Dust, click
on the cow skull at the bottom of the Main Game Panel).
3) Other Problems
3a) Playing over a network/modem. Dust is not a
modem/network game and will not be playable with either
of these devices in future versions. If there is to be a Dust
sequel, modem/network support will be addressed.
3b) General troubleshooting for Windows
(The following general problems apply no
matter what version of Windows you're running. For
specific problems, see the sections "Troubleshooting for
Windows 95", "Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1", and
"Troubleshooting for Windows NT.")
3b.1) My screen is too dark.
You can adjust the brightness of your screen while playing
Dust by pressing Ctrl+F1 to brighten and Ctrl+F2 to darken.
If the colors in Dust seem slightly wrong, you can change
the color balance by using Ctrl+F3/Ctrl+F4 to adjust the
red, Ctrl+F5/Ctrl+F6 to adjust the green, and
Ctrl+F7/Ctrl+F8 to adjust the blue. If you want to reset
the color balance to the default setting, press Ctrl+F9.
3b.2) Dust is too quiet / too loud.
When playing Dust, you can press Ctrl+0 through Ctrl+9 to
adjust the sound volume. Ctrl+0 turns the sound off, and
Ctrl+9 turns the volume up all the way. You can also
click on the cow skull to access the Dust control panel.
There's a slider in there that will adjust your sound
volume.
Certain older sound cards, notably the original Sound
Blaster, don't support changing the sound volume from
software. If you own one of these cards, you'll have to
manually adjust the volume on your speakers or at the
back of your computer.
3b.3) I'm having problems installing Dust.
If you are running Windows 3.1, your installation problems
could result from incorrectly configured Win32s or virtual
memory, or obsolete video or sound-card drivers.
If you are using Windows 3.1, you should also be sure that
you are loading SHARE.EXE in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
SHARE is a resident program that allows shared access to
files on your hard drive and CDs. Make sure that the
following line is in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE
Also verify that you aren't loading the CD-ROM driver
MSCDEX.EXE into high DOS memory MSCDEX is designed
to be loaded in low memory only. If either of these lines:
LH MSCDEX.EXE [...]
or
LOADHIGH MSCDEX.EXE [...]
appear in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, edit to remove the
"LH" or "LOADHIGH" keyword.
It's important that you have virtual memory set up
correctly to run Win32s. Please do the following:
1. Double-click on the Control Panel icon in the Main
Program Manager group to open the Control Panel, then
double-click on the "Enhanced" icon.
2. Select "Virtual Memory..." and verify that you have
a permanent swap file that is at least 8192 KB. If
necessary, select "Change" to change your swap file
settings.
3. If possible, enable 32-bit disk and file access. This
will improve the performance of your hard drive and CD-
ROM under Windows.
If Windows is configured correctly, you should make sure
that all other running application are closed before trying
to install Dust. If you have any screen savers or antivirus
software loaded, try disabling them. Also, make sure that
you have at least 4 megs of free space on the drive where
Windows is installed.
Finally, if these suggestions don't help and you're still
having problems installing Dust, we have provided an
alternate installation program that should prevent the
problems. If you're using Windows 3.1, re-run SETUP.EXE
after a failed installation and you will be asked if you
want to use the alternate installation program. Choose
Yes. If you're using Windows 95 or Windows NT, follow
these instructions:
1. Select Start/Run from the Start menu, or File/Run
from the Program Manager menu.
2. Type "D:\INSTALL\ALT31\_SETUP.EXE" where "D:"
is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive. Be sure to type
the underline character before SETUP.EXE.
3. Follow the on-screen installation instructions.
The alternate installer is identical to the standard Dust
installer, except the options for installation size it offers
aren't as flexible, and it doesn't support automatic un-
installation. For instructions on manually uninstalling
Dust after you've finished playing, see the section
"Uninstalling Dust" above.
If all else fails and you still can't install Dust, please
contact CyberFlix Technical Support for assistance. See
the section "Technical Support" above for more
information.
3b.4) Dust runs slowly.
There are several things you can do to speed up Dust.
First, make sure your display is running in 256-color
mode. If it is running in 16- or 24-bit color mode, Dust
may run slowly. Also, make sure that you don't have any
other applications running when you're playing Dust.
Closing them can free up memory and allow Dust to run
faster. Finally, see the question "My CD-ROM drive runs
slowly" in the "Troubleshooting for Windows 95" or
"Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1" sections below.
3b.5) Dust says I need to change my display settings.
We recommend that you do. Dust is designed to run at
640 x 480 resolution with 256 colors. If your screen size
is larger than 800 x 600, Dust will appear small on your
monitor. If you are using 16-bit color (also known as 64k
color or high-color mode), the colors in Dust will not look
as nice as in 256 color mode. Strange as it may sound,
256-color mode actually allows cleaner and more lifelike
colors than 16-bit color. Also, if you are using 16- or 24-
bit
color modes, Dust will run slightly slower on your
machine. If you have an accelerated video card, the
slowdown might not be very bad, but on some machines it
can make Dust almost unplayable.
If you are using Windows 95, Dust can change your screen
resolution automatically and restore it when you're
finished playing. Under Windows 95 and Windows NT,
Dust can also change the number of colors that Windows
uses, but it will have to restart your computer for changes
to take effect, and you'll have to change the settings back
by yourself. If you're using Windows 3.1, you'll have to
change your display settings manually. See the statement
"I need to change my display settings" in the section
"Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1" below for more
information.
3b.6) Dust says my CD-ROM drive is too slow.
The CD-ROM speed check in Dust is not very accurate.
Depending upon what operating system you're using and
what disk caching you have enabled, the speed Dust
reports can be off by as much as 50 percent. If Dust runs
slowly, see the question "My CD-ROM drive runs slowly" in
the section "Troubleshooting for Windows 95" or the
section
"Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1" below. Otherwise, you
can ignore this warning.
3b.7) I hear clicks or pops whenever a new sound starts
playing.
This is due to a badly designed sound card or sound-card
driver. Certain sound cards, notably the NEC-98 and early
models of the Sound Blaster 2.0, produce a noticeable click
or pause when resetting the sound DAC. If you have one
of these cards, the problem is unavoidable. This problem
can also be caused by outdated sound drivers. Make sure
that you are using the latest version of sound drivers for
your card.
3b.8) The sound occasionally pauses for a second when I'm
playing, then starts again.
This can be caused by several things. First, you might
have an outdated sound driver. Make sure you are using
the latest version of the sound drivers available for your
card. Second, you might have a CD-ROM drive with
a slow seek rate. Certain older drives, especially single-
speed drives, pause the entire system for up to a second
while looking for data on the CD. This can cause the
sound to drop out. Third, you might have a slow video
card. If you are running Dust in 16- or 24-bit color mode,
try changing to 256-color mode. Make sure you are using
the latest video drivers for your computer.
3b.9) The caption bar appears in black and white.
This is a flaw in Windows. Since Dust uses the full 256-
color palette, it takes for its own use the entries in the
color palette that Windows uses to draw static items such
as the caption bar, window frames, and icons. These
colors are still available to Windows, but at different
entries in the palette. Windows doesn't know how to look
for the colors in other entries, so it just displays them in
black and white. This will not affect Windows except
when you're playing Dust.
3b.10) I keep getting read errors; it says to check my disc
for scratches
If you are using Windows 3.1, this could be caused by not
having SHARE.EXE loaded, or having MSCDEX.EXE loaded
into high DOS memory. See the section "Upgrading
Windows 3.1" above for more information. If that's not
the problem, check your CD for dirt or scratches. You can
clean your CD with warm, soapy water and a clean, lint-
free cloth. When wiping a CD, always wipe from the
center to the outside edge, like spokes on a wheel. Small
scratches in this direction will not damage your CD. If
cleaning your CD doesn't help, you most likely have a
defective disc. To verify this, try running Dust on another
machine if
possible. If you do have a bad disc, you can
return Dust to the store you purchased it from for a
replacement, or you can return the disc to CyberFlix and
we'll be happy to send you a replacement. See the section
"Technical Support" above for more information on
contacting CyberFlix.
3b.11) I switched to another application then back to Dust;
now the screen has a border.
This is a known problem in Dust. You can continue
playing Dust without any problems, but the border can be
distracting. To get rid of it, save your game, quit Dust,
restart Dust, and reload your game.
3b.12) When the screen goes black, I see white areas for a
moment.
This is a known problem when Dust is running under
Windows 3.1. If you are using a 16- or 24-bit display
driver, switching to 256-color mode may help. See "I
need to change my display settings" in the
"Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1" section below for more
information. This problem is fixed in Windows 95, except
on certain display adapters.
3b.13) I can't get Dust to work under OS/2.
Dust requires Win32s version 1.25a and WinG version 1.0
to operate. At the time we released Dust, OS/2 had
support only for Win32s 1.15. If IBM chooses to upgrade
its Win32s support, Dust may run under OS/2, but it
hasn't been tested on that operating system.
3b.14) The character's voices don't match their mouth
movements.
This is a problem with your audio driver. Some audio
drivers incorrectly report the amount of a sound that has
been played. Consequently, character's mouths move
slightly before or after the appropriate speech. Dust
preforms best when your audio driver supports 32-bit
sound. Keep in mind that not all 32-bit cards have 32-bit
drivers.
3c) Troubleshooting for Windows 95
3c.1) Dust accesses the hard drive a lot and runs slowly
First, make sure that you close other applications
before playing Dust. This will make more of your
computer's memory available to the game. Also, make
sure that you have at least 16 megs of free space on the
drive that is being accessed. This will increase the amount
of virtual memory that is available, which will help
decrease swapping.
3c.2) Dust crashes in different places and at different
times
Make sure that Windows 95 has at least 16 megs of
free hard drive space on the drive it uses for virtual
memory. If this doesn't help, the problem is most likely
your audio, video, or CD-ROM drivers. Make sure that you
are
using drivers that were designed for Windows 95. If your
drivers are current and you're still having problems,
please contact CyberFlix Technical Support for assistance.
See the section "Technical Support" above for more
information.
3c.3) The task bar covers part of the game screen
This is a known problem with Dust. If you have your task
bar at the left or right side of the screen-or have it at the
top or bottom and its several lines tall-there's a chance it
will cover part of the Dust game window. If you
experience this, the only solution is to move the task bar
to the bottom of the screen and change the properties to
"AutoHide" it.
3c.4) My CD-ROM drive runs slowly.
The CD-ROM speed check in Dust isn't always accurate.
Depending upon your Windows configuration, the reported
speed can be off by as much as 50 percent. That said,
there are two things you can check to make sure that
Windows 95 is configured for optimal CD performance:
First, make sure that Windows isn't using real-
mode CD-ROM drivers. This can drastically reduce the
speed of your CD-ROM drive. To check this, look in Start /
Settings / Control Panel / System / Performance. It should
say "Your system is configured for optimal performance."
If you are warned that you're using real-mode CD-ROM
drivers, you should remove the appropriate DEVICE= lines
from your CONFIG.SYS file and the MSCDEX line from
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Be careful, though, as this can
cause your CD-ROM drive to be inaccessible from MS-DOS!
See your Windows 95 manual for more information.
Second, see that CD-ROM caching is enabled and
correctly set up. Look in Start / Settings / Control Panel /
System / Performance / File System / CD-ROM. Your
cache size should be "large" and the access pattern should
be set to the correct speed for your CD-ROM drive.
3c.5) The task bar appears in black and white, and the
icon colors are wrong.
This is a flaw in Windows 95. Since Dust uses the full
256-color palette, it takes for its own use the entries in
the color palette that Windows uses to draw static items
such as the task bar, window frames, and icons. These
colors are still available to Windows but at different
entries in the palette. Windows doesn't know how to look
for the colors in other entries, so it just displays them in
black and white and displays icons with incorrect colors.
This will not affect Windows except when you're playing
Dust.
3c.6) Dust moves the icons on my desktop when I exit.
This is a flaw in Windows 95. When Dust changes your
display resolution, Windows decides to move any icons
that would be hidden so that you can still access them.
When
you switch away from or quit Dust and the display
resolution is restored, Windows doesn't always put these
icons back in their correct location.
3c.7) The screen isn't drawing correctly; it turns black
whenever the scene changes.
This is a known problem with some Windows 95 video
drivers. Make sure you're using the latest version of
your video drivers. If you're running in 16- or 24-bit
color
mode, try changing to 256 colors. You can do this by
right-clicking on the desktop and selecting Properties /
Settings. If that doesn't help, there's an alternate version
of the Dust runtime engine that might help your problem.
It's on the Dust CD in the folder "\Support\Beta43." See
the file "Readme.txt" in that folder for more information.
Finally, if the alternate version doesn't help and you have
an accelerated video card, you might try lowering graphics
acceleration. This setting can be found in Start / Settings /
Control Panel / System / Performance / Graphics. Contact
CyberFlix Technical Support if you can't resolve this
problem.
3c.8) The screen isn't drawing correctly; I see colored
blocks on top of the graphics.
This is a known problem with some Windows 95 video
drivers. If you're running in 16- or 24-bit color
mode, try changing to 256 colors by right-clicking on the
desktop and selecting Properties / Settings. If that doesn't
help, there's an alternate version of the Dust runtime
engine on the Dust CD that should solve this problem.
Check in the folder "\Support\Beta43" and read the file
"Readme.txt" there for more information. Contact
CyberFlix Technical Support if you can't resolve this
problem.
3c.9) Dust leaves an icon on my taskbar when I exit.
This is a known problem when Dust is running under
Windows 95. It's harmless. Just click on the icon and it
will disappear.
3c.10) When the screen fades to black, it takes a long time
before I see anything
This is a known problem with some older video cards and
drivers. If the problem is annoying, you can
speed up fades by installing the alternate Dust runtime
engine. See the file "\Support\Beta43\Readme.txt" on
your Dust CD for more information. This alternate engine
will add some white-pixel artifacts to the graphics but
won't affect gameplay.
3c.11) Does Dust support DirectDraw and DirectSound?
Dust was originally designed to support DirectSound.
However, Microsoft did not deliver a final specification for
the DirectSound API in time for our shipping deadline, and
DirectSound support was removed from Dust. We will
support DirectDraw and DirectSound, since we believe
they are the future of Windows graphics and sound. Look
for an updated runtime engine for Dust that uses
DirectDraw and DirectSound to be available in early 1996.
3d) Troubleshooting for Windows 3.1
3d.1) I get error messages from W32SXXXX /
WIN32S16.DLL / WINMM16.DLL
These errors are caused by a problem or conflict in
Microsoft's 32-bit Windows extensions, Win32s, or
Microsoft's graphics accelerator, WinG. See the section
above "Upgrading Windows 3.1" for information on these
components and some common problems and solutions. If
that doesn't help, perhaps one of these specific problems
from Microsoft's Knowledge Base applies to your machine:
- Early drivers for Diamond Viper cards included a
"Power Palette" option that is no longer supported by
Diamond. They recommend that you upgrade your drivers
if you have this option. WinG may be slower when power
palette is enabled.
- IBM no longer supports the IBM ThinkPad 720c.
There are some problems using WinG with the ThinkPad
720c display drivers.
- Cirrus drivers before version 1.43 have many known
bugs that have been fixed in the more recent drivers. Be
sure to upgrade your drivers if you are still running with
this version.
- Some ATI drivers offer a "Crystal Fonts" option.
Turning Crystal Fonts on in 8-bit modes sets up a non-
palettized driver that can slow WinG significantly.
- The ATI mach8 Radical drivers cause a number of
problems in both WinG and in Windows with some
versions of the ATI chipset. Be aware.
- Early ATI Mach 32 PCI cards have a hardware timing
problem and will hang while blting. ATI will replace these
cards for no cost.
- WinG is incompatible with the #9GXE "TurboCopy"
mode. Use the #9 control panel to disable TurboCopy (it is
off by default).
- WinG relies on the mmsystem timer drivers to
determine display performance. If mmsystem.dll and
timer.drv are not installed correctly, the results of the
performance test may be incorrect. mmsystem.dll should
appear on the drivers= line of the [boot] section of
SYSTEM.INI, and timer=timer.drv should appear in the
[drivers] section of SYSTEM.INI.
- If you are having video problems, check to see if you
have an S3 video card. Certain S3 drivers that exhibit
these problems can be made to work with Win32s by
making the following edit to your SYSTEM.INI file before
running any Win32-based applications. In the SYSTEM.INI
file, you will find an entry in the [display] section
"aperture-base=100." Change this entry to "aperture-
base=0." Restart Windows and the display problems will
no longer occur. If this does not help, obtain the latest S3
drivers. It is reported that S3 driver version 1.3 does not
have this problem.
- Make sure that the following line is in your
SYSTEM.INI file: "device=*vmcpd."
- If you have a printer driver by LaserMaster, delete it
or comment it out because it interferes with installing
Win32s. Then reboot the computer so that the changes you
made will take effect. After you successfully reinstall
Win32s, reinstall the driver or remove the comment
characters. The driver interferes with installing Win32s
because the LaserMaster drivers create a WINSPOOL
device. The extension is ignored when the filename
portion of a path matches a device name. As a result,
when Setup tries to write to WINSPOOL.DRV, it fails
because it attempts to write to WINSPOOL. In fact, any
Win32-based application that tries to link to
WINSPOOL.DRV also fails; however, most Win32-based
applications that print under Win32s do not use the
WINSPOOL application programming interfaces (APIs)
because they are not supported in Win32s. As a result,
you can usually just disable this driver while installing
Win32s and then re-enable it afterward.
If none of these problems applies, you might try re-
installing Win32s and WinG cleanly. To do this, follow the
instructions given below in the section "I want to remove
Win32s and WinG" from my computer. Then, re-run the
Dust setup program and select "Upgrade Windows."
If you're still having problems, please contact CyberFlix
Technical Support for the latest troubleshooting hints and
advice from our technical support staff. See the section
"Technical Support" above for more information.
3d.2) Dust says that Win32s isn't installed correctly. Dust
tells me it can't find a file.
If you're using Windows 3.1, this is probably caused by
not having SHARE.EXE loaded in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Check your AUTOEXEC.BAT file for the following line and
add it if necessary: C:\DOS\SHARE.EXE
If you had SHARE loaded or the problem persists, see the
section "Upgrading Windows 3.1" above and make sure
your Windows is upgraded correctly, or see the
troubleshooting guidelines for Win32s in the question
directly above this.
The "file not found" problem can also be caused by CD-ROM
read errors. If you're experiencing those also, see the
question "I keep getting read errors; it says to check my
disk for scratches" in the "General Troubleshooting for
Windows" section above.
3d.3) Dust has graphics problems or has problems profiling
my display.
This is most likely caused by a conflict between your video
driver and Microsoft's graphics accelerator, WinG. First,
make sure you are using the latest version of video drivers
for your card. See the section "Video Card Manufacturers"
below for more information. If that doesn't help, check
the following specific cases:
- IBM no longer supports the IBM ThinkPad 720c.
There are some problems using WinG with the ThinkPad
720c display drivers.
- Cirrus drivers before version 1.43 have many known
bugs that have been fixed in the more recent drivers. Be
sure to upgrade your drivers if you are still running with
this version.
- The ATI VGA Wonder drivers (W31-*.drv) will crash
during a call to StretchDIBits in the profiler. Users can
run the SVGA256.DRV driver that shipped with Windows.
- Many miro Crystal drivers have problems with
StretchDIBits, so they crash during profiling.
- Early ATI Mach 32 PCI cards have a hardware-timing
problem and will hang while blting. ATI will replace these
cards for no cost.
- WinG is incompatible with the #9GXE "TurboCopy"
mode. Use the #9 control panel to disable TurboCopy (it is
off by default).
- WinG relies on the mmsystem timer drivers to
determine display performance. If mmsystem.dll and
timer.drv are not installed correctly, the results of the
performance test may be incorrect. mmsystem.dll should
appear on the drivers= line of the [boot] section of
SYSTEM.INI, and timer=timer.drv should appear in the
[drivers] section of SYSTEM.INI.
If none of these cases apply, you might be able to work
around the problem by using the generic Super VGA
drivers that come with Windows. See the question "I need
to change my display settings" below for more information
on installing new drivers.
If you're still having problems, please contact CyberFlix
Technical Support for the latest troubleshooting hints and
advice from our technical support staff. See the section
"Technical Support" above for more information.
3d.4) My CD-ROM drive runs slowly.
If you're getting a "Slow CD-ROM Drive" warning when
you start Dust, you can usually ignore this message. On
some systems, the transfer rate measurement is off by as
much as 50 percent. If Dust is running slowly, however,
there are a few things you can do that might increase
performance.
Check in your AUTOEXEC.BAT to make sure that
MSCDEX.EXE isn't being loaded into high DOS memory. If
you see either the "LH" or "LOADHIGH" keywords at the
beginning of your MSCDEX.EXE line, remove them. Also
check in your CONFIG.SYS file and find where your CD-
ROM device driver is being loaded. If the line starts with
"DEVICEHIGH=", change that to "DEVICE=".
Check in your AUTOEXEC.BAT to make sure that you are
loading SMARTDRV.EXE, and be sure that it is being loaded
after MSCDEX.EXE. This will allow caching of your CD-
ROM drive. Refer to your DOS manual for information on
adding SMARTDRV if you don't have it installed.
In Windows, open the Control Panel by double-clicking on
the Control Panel icon in the Main Program Manager
Group. Then open the "Enhanced" icon and check to be
sure that you are using 32-bit disk and file access. If you
aren't, click "Change" and enable them if possible.
3d.5) Dust keeps telling me that I need to upgrade
Windows, even though I already have.
This was a known problem in the final beta release, which
should be fixed in the release version. If you
experience it, though, we have provided an alternate
installation program that should avoid the problem. To run
it, follow these instructions:
1. Select File/Run from the Program Manager menu.
2. Type "D:\INSTALL\ALT31\_SETUP.EXE", where "D:"
is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive. Be sure to type
the underline character before SETUP.EXE.
3. Follow the on-screen installation instructions.
The alternate installer is identical to the standard Dust
installer, except the options for installation size it offers
aren't as flexible, and it doesn't support automatic un-
installation. For instructions on manually uninstalling
Dust after you've finished playing, see the section
"Uninstalling Dust" above.
If you have problems with the alternate installer and still
can't install Dust, please contact Technical Support for
assistance. See the section "Technical Support" above for
more information.
3d.6) I want to remove Win32s and WinG from my
computer.
We don't recommend removing these components from
your machine, unless you're doing a "clean install" of
Win32s and WinG and are going to reinstall them
immediately. The reason for this is that other applications
you have might be depending upon these components to
function and would stop functioning if these components
are removed. With that in mind, if you still want to
remove Win32s and WinG from your system, follow these
instructions:
1. Exit Windows to a DOS prompt (this will not work
from a DOS shell inside Windows; you must exit to DOS).
2. Change to your Windows systems directory by
typing:
CD \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
3. Delete the Win32s system directory by typing:
DELTREE WIN32S
Respond "Y" for yes when asked to confirm deleting the
directory.
4. Delete the Win32s and WinG system files by typing:
DEL WINGDE.DLL
DEL WING.DLL
DEL WINGDIB.DRV
DEL WINGPAL.WND
DEL DVA.386
DEL WING32.DLL
DEL W32SYS.DLL
DEL WINMM16.DLL
DEL WIN32S16.DLL
Respond "Y" for yes if asked to confirm deleting any files.
You may get a "File Not Found" message when trying to
delete some files; don't worry, that's normal.
If you see an "Access Denied" error when deleting any file,
type:
ATTRIB -R [filename]
Where [filename] is the name of the file you were unable
to delete. Then retry deleting the file.
5. Edit your SYSTEM.INI file by typing:
CD \WINDOWS
EDIT SYSTEM.INI
6. Find the WinG device driver line by pressing F3 and
entering "DVA.386" in the dialog box and pressing enter.
7. If a line containing "DVA.386" is highlighted, delete it
by pressing Ctrl+Y. Press F3 again and delete any other
lines containing "DVA.386"
8. Find the Win32s device driver line by typing Alt+S
then "F" and entering "W32S.386" in the dialog box, then
pressing enter.
9. If a line containing "W32S.386" is highlighted, delete
it by pressing Ctrl+Y. Press F3 and delete any other lines
containing "W32S.386."
10. Find the Win32s audio driver by typing Alt+S and
then "F" and entering "WINMM16.DLL" in the dialog box,
then pressing enter.
11. If a line containing "WINMM16.DLL" is highlighted,
delete the reference by pressing "Del". DON'T delete the
entire line, just the WINMM16.DLL driver!
12. Press Alt+X to exit the editor. Respond "Y" for yes
when asked if you want to save the changes.
13. Restart Windows. Win32s and WinG have been
removed from your system.
If you have any problem with these instructions, or need
assistance, please contact CyberFlix Technical Support and
we'll be glad to help. See the section "Technical Support"
above for more information.
3d.7) I need to change my display settings.
Before you change your display settings, make sure that
you have your original Windows disks on hand. The
Windows setup program may ask you for them. If
Windows doesn't have built-in support for your video card
and you are changing to a video mode you haven't used
before, you must make sure that you have a floppy disk
with the appropriate Windows display drivers for your
video card, or have display drivers in a directory on your
hard drive. If you don't have display drivers for your
video card, try using the "SVGA 640 x480 256 color"
driver that's built into Windows, or see the section "Video-
Card Manufacturers" below and contact your video-card
manufacturer for drivers. If you have drivers, be sure
that there's a file called OEMSETUP.INF on the floppy or in
the directory, or this procedure won't work. If you don't
have an OEMSETUP file, you probably have to run a
custom-setup program for your video card to change
settings; see your video-card manual for more information.
Otherwise, follow these instructions:
1. Exit Windows to get a DOS prompt. This procedure
won't work from a DOS shell inside Windows.
2. Change to your Windows directory and run the
Windows setup program by typing:
CD \WINDOWS
SETUP
3. Press the up arrow key until the line "Display" is
highlighted, then press enter.
4. Use the up- and down-arrow keys to scroll though
the
list of display modes. If the one you want is listed, press
Enter and proceed to step 7. Otherwise, highlight "Other"
at the end of the list and press Enter.
5. If you have drivers on a floppy disk, insert that disk
in your floppy drive and press Enter. If the drivers are on
your hard drive, enter the directory path to them in the
dialog box then press Enter.
6. Use the up- and down-arrow keys to scroll though
the list of display modes until the one you want is
highlighted.
Press Enter to select it.
7. Windows will begin copying files to your Windows
directory and installing the drivers. You may be prompted
to insert your original Windows disks; do so as necessary.
8. When copying is complete, press Enter to exit back
to DOS.
When you restart Windows, your new display settings will
take effect. If you have problems, see your video-card
manual for troubleshooting advice. If that doesn't help,
see
the section "Video-Card Manufacturers" below for
information on contacting your video-card manufacturer
for assistance. CyberFlix will be happy to do what we can
to help also; see the section "Technical Support" for
information on contacting us.
3e) Troubleshooting for Windows NT
3e.1) Dust says I need to install WinG
If you get this message, you're trying to run Dust under
Windows NT version 3.5. Dust is designed to run under
Windows NT version 3.51 and later. Version 3.51 fixes
many problems with Windows NT, so we recommend that
you upgrade if you're still using 3.5. You can install WinG
by running the program "\Install\WinUp\_Setup.exe" on the
Dust CD, but Dust may have other problems running under
NT version 3.5.
3e.2) Windows NT says I'm using the wrong version of
CTL3D32.DLL
This is a known problem with our setup program on some
Windows NT configurations. You should be able to ignore
this warning message.
3e.3) Dust changed my display settings, but didn't restart
my computer
Because Windows NT is a secure operating system, it
doesn't allow programs to restart the machine without
gaining security access to do so. Dust isn't always able to
do this and thus can't restart your machine. You'll have
to restart manually, at which time the new display
settings will take effect.
3f) Troubleshooting for Macintosh
Notice to certain users:
USERS OF ANY SCREENSAVER: All screensaving programs
should be disabled before installing and playing DUST.
USERS OF POWERBOOK 540c: Be advised that there are
sound-compatibility problems with the Powerbook 540c.
MOBIUS EXCELLERATORS: Dust is incompatible
with Mobius Excellerators.
MEDIA VISION OR OTHER NON-MACINTOSH SOUND
CARDS:
Dust is incompatible with Macintosh sound
cards only.
TROUBLESHOOTING FOR THE MACINTOSH
General Note #1: Watch out for extensions that take up
lots of memory or cause other problems. Extensions (also
called INITs) are small programs that install themselves
when your system boots up. To turn off an extension, you
must remove the extension file from your system folder
and restart your machine. Dust is compatible with most
extensions so experiment to see if you can identify which
one is causing the problem. The only extensions that Dust
requires are the CD-ROM driver that came with your CD-
ROM drive and the Memory extension, so do not turn
those off!
General Note 2: Anytime your computer is acting
strangely, we suggest that you restart the machine. Be
sure it is off when connecting SCSI cables or other
hardware.
General Note 3: Dust offers extra features, speed, and
sound when there is plenty of RAM. Dust will also take
advantage of extra hard-disk space. Machines with 68030
and higher processors will display smoother arcade
animation than 68020 machines. For these reasons, Dust
may operate differently on different machines. Overall
game play is not affected by these differences.
General Note 4: Before you contact us, please open and
read the file called "readme" on the Dust CD-ROM disk.
This document contains new information and updates
that did not make it into this guide. If problems persist call
CyberFlix at 423-546-7846 between noon and 5 p.m.
Eastern time. Our fax line is 423-546-0866 and is the best
way to contact us. Please have ready, your system
configuration, a description of the problem, and the exact
wording of any error messages from Dust.
3f.1) Problem: Dust doesn't have enough RAM to start.
Solution 1: Be sure that you are not running any other
applications. Don't run a spreadsheet and Dust at the
same time.
Solution 2: Check the control panels that handle memory.
Be sure the RAM cache is off or as small as possible. Be
sure your computer is in 32-bit mode if possible (24-bit
machines can access only 8 MB of RAM). Virtual Memory
should be off as well.
Solution 3: Check for extensions that hog memory (see
General Notes 1 above). Extensions that add sounds or
graphics to your system take up lots of RAM.
Solution 4: Dust must have at least 4 MB to run. A
Macintosh with 8192K (8 MB) memory usually allocates
no more than 1500K to the System software, which should
leave 6692K free for Dust. If your System software takes
up more than 1500K and you only have 8 MB total, then
you should disable some of your extensions.
3f.2) Problem: Dust runs slowly.
Solution 1: Check your extensions (see General Note 1
above). Extensions that run networks or implement screen
savers are sometimes quite slow.
Solution 2: Use the "large install" version of Dust. This
will put more data on your local hard disk for faster
access.
Solution 3: Give Dust more RAM. Dust will use all
available RAM for caching and other speed and sound
enhancements.
Solution 4: Check the performance of your CD-ROM drive.
Most drives have an access time of at least 250
milliseconds or faster, and a data transfer rate of 300K
per second or faster.
3f.3) Problem: I can't hear the sound.
Solution 1: Command-1 through Command-8 will set the
sound volume. Be sure that the volume has not been
accidentally set to zero.
Solution 2: If the external speaker jack is in use, the Mac's
internal speaker will be deactivated. Turn on the external
speaker or remove the jack.
Solution 3: Try saving the game and restarting your
computer. If problems persist, please call CyberFlix (see
General Note 4 above).
3f.4) Problem: Dust bombs or crashes.
Solution 1: Maybe your CD-ROM disk is dirty. Look at the
disk in a strong light for any scratches or oily fingerprints
that may be there. Clean the disk with mild soapy water,
dry gently with a Kleenex (do not scratch!), and try again.
Solution 2: Some CD-ROM drives have trouble reading
disks. The problem could be an old version of your CD-ROM
driver extension. Get a new version from your CD-ROM
dealer. Another problem is that some CD-ROM drives
overheat or misread data.
Solution 3: Check extensions (see General Note 1 above).
Solution #4: If problems persist, please call CyberFlix (see
General Note 4 above)
4) Super common questions/YES and NO answers
4a) Will Dust run in more than 256 colors?
No. Dust runs in 256 colors. If you've managed to get it to
run in higher color you will slow the game down.
4b) Will Dust use the new graphics-accelerator cards?
Yes, if you have a Windows driver. See the note about
special video card exceptions under "Troubleshooting for
Windows 3.1."
4c) Will Dust be network/modem playable?
No. At this time there aren't plans to make Dust
network/modem playable.
4d) When will the hints will be out and where can I see
them?
The major hints in Dust are available in the hint book,
Dust: A Tale of the Wired West-The Official Strategy
Guide, published by Prima Publishing. You can find it at
most software retailers, or call 800-531-2343.
4e) Does Dust have Gamma Correction?
Yes. Dust does have gamma keys for Windows. There
aren't gamma keys for the Macintosh. We suggest using
your monitor controls for the Mac.
Here are the keys for Windows:
Ctrl+F1 / Ctrl+F2 Increase/decrease the brightness of
the screen
Ctrl+F3 / Ctrl+F4 Increase/decrease the redness of the
screen
Ctrl+F5 / Ctrl+F6 Increase/decrease the greenness of
the screen
Ctrl+F7 / Ctrl+F8 Increase/decrease the blueness of
the screen
Ctrl+F9 Restores the screen to its default settings
4f) Can I use a Joystick or Gravis GamePad with Dust?
You can use both under Windows 95. Be sure to go to the
control panels and configure your device. You can also
customize the keystrokes in the Game Control Panel (to get
to this panel, click on the cow skull on the Main Control
Panel.)
5) How to contact CyberFlix
5a) How can I contact CyberFlix on the internet?
World Wide Web: The CyberFlix Web server is
www.cyberflix.com, and is available via
the following URL: http://www.cyberflix.com
E-mail: You can e-mail your technical support
questions to support@cyberflix.com.
FTP: Patches and updates for CyberFlix
products are available from our FTP site,
ftp.cyberflix.com.
Usenet: Peer-to-peer support for Dust is available
in the Usenet newsgroup alt.games.dust.
Although we read this group and try to
respond, we can't guarantee that we'll
receive every message. It's a great place
to find gameplay hints, though.
5b) How can I contact CyberFlix by phone?
The CyberFlix technical support hotline is 423-546-7846.
Customer-support technicians are available from noon to 5
p.m. Eastern time to assist you with any problems
you may have. We also have an automated help service
available day and night at the same number.
5c) How can I contact CyberFlix by mail?
CyberFlix Inc.
4 Market Square
Knoxville, TN 37902
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CyberFlix, Inc.
Knoxville, TN
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