Across the Rhine Frequently Asked Questions

Q: The disk access time and screen changes take forever.
Why is this so slow?

A: If you are running on a 486DX/33 or greater, we have found
that a SmartDrive cache with write caching turned on will
improve performance significantly.

Q: I am not getting digital sound. Why?

A: Across the Rhine requires at least 5MB of
free XMS for digital sounds to work.

Q: How can I disable all the voice messages
like "Artillery Firing" without disabling the
digital sounds like gunfire and explosions?

A: In battle, hit ALT-C and you can selectively
turn on or off the voice messages that you
want to hear.

Q: In pre-battle briefings with partial intelligence,
I sometimes see enemy units on the map, but when I
go into battle, they don't show up.

A: This is correct; partial intelligence may or may
not be correct.

Q: I sent out Air Assets (recon or attack), and
in route, they disappeared. What happened?

A: If an air unit flies over enemy units that
anti-aircraft units, the air asset may be shot
down.

Q: In battle, my mouse suddenly stopped working or
acted funny. I could still move the cursor, but
nothing would click and it was real jerky movement.

A: Press ALT-F1 to reset your mouse. If this continues
to occur, make sure you are using Microsoft Mouse Driver
version 9.01 or greater.

Q: I gave platoon orders to advance and attack, but when
they made contact, they turned around and ran like cowards. Why?

A: Units will not act outside of their doctrine and training.
For example, you can order an infantry unit to advance
against Tiger tanks, but once they engage the tanks they
will withdrawal.

Q: What are the game requirements for Across the Rhine?

A: The minimum requirements are:
486DX/33 or greater
8 MB of memory (4 MB if you don t want digital sound)
Microsoft Mouse Driver 9.01 or greater
Double-speed CD-ROM drive using MSCDEX 2.22 or higher
MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
SVGA graphics

You must have at least 450k of free conventional memory and 5MB
of free XMS memory for digital sound to work. In addition,
in your CONFIG.SYS file, FILES must be set to 40 and BUFFERS must
be set to 40.

For optimum performance, we recommend a Pentium with 16MB of
memory, Quad Speed CD-ROM, VLB or PCI SVGA video card, and
16BIT sound card.

Technical Notes:

Video Setup and Test:
To display the following modes, you video card MUST have
the minimum amount of DOS-usable VRAM (Video RAM) as stated
below. Note that some accelerator cards may have 2+ MB
of memory available for Windows, but only 512K available for DOS.

640x480, 800x600 requires 512K
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 requires 1MB
640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 requires 2MB+

If you use a bootdisk, make sure that your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
contains the following line:
SET TEMP=C:\TEMP
and that the directory TEMP exists on your harddisk. You can
create this directory by typing MD TEMP at the C:> prompt.

Also, if using the /SHADOWRAM:ON parameter in your HIMEM.SYS
device line, make sure there is a space before the forward slash,
i.e.:
DEVICE=HIMEM.SYS /SHADOWRAM:ON

Game Play Manual Changes

1. On page 35, the Invulnerability option in the Battle Reality
Options is incorrect. While INVULNERABLE, none of the
vehicles in the character s platoon may be destroyed.

2. On page 66, in the Platoon s active subordinate list, once a
unit has been put out of action it is listed as Knocked Out,
therefore it is removed from the list.

3. On page 71, you can remove your highest numbered waypoint by
right clicking anywhere on the Zoom Map only.

4. On page 76, Fighter Bomber attacks will search for targets
around the target icon, make any attacks and exit the map.
Fighter bombers may be automatically attacked by units with
anti-aircraft capabilities, but they may not be manually targeted.

5. On page 88, Gun Homes must be added in the location of an
existing house. They cannot replace the larger buildings in cities.

6. On page 91, in the Organization paragraph, the statement
concerning the Data Viewer is incorrect. The full data Viewer
is available in the Battle Builder.

7. On page 91, the following additional Data Viewer controls
are active. You may switch nationalities by left clicking
the Nationality Symbol under the unit name. Left clicking
on the center button of the compass will rotate the object.
The PREV/LIST/NEXT switch will allow you to scroll through the
other units or activate a list of units which you may select
by left-clicking on the desired name.

8. On page 122 and 123, the Combat unit descriptions for
Assault Guns and Mortars are missing the appropriate
military icons for these units. These icons are listed
correctly in the Appendix.

9. In all organization screens, the following colors are
used as unit overlays to indicate special status:
Orange Fill: Platoon/Unit is rested.
Blue Fill: Unit is broken down.
Gray Fill: Unit is destroyed.
Orange Border: Platoon/Unit is attached.
Red Border: This is your HQ Section and HQ Unit.

Designer Comments from Jim Day, Producer and Designer of ACROSS The
RHINE.

I want to thank everyone for their patience in waiting for the
release of ACROSS THE RHINE. It has been a long and drawn out
process for all of us here at MicroProse.

Please keep in mind that AtR is a complex program that combines
the elements of a sim and a strategy game into one product.
You must play it for a period of time to become comfortable
with its systems and concepts.

PLATOON/SECTION LEVEL AI:

Individual platoons and sections follow their company orders or
individual detached orders until they spot an enemy formation
and break for combat. They then determine individual combat
maneuvers based on their company level orders. The company
level orders control how aggressive a platoon or section is in
combat. A company with Break Contact orders tends to run away,
while a company with Assault orders tends to close with the
enemy. The platoons and sections also determine their combat
maneuvers based on the type of unit they are and the nature
of the opposing forces. HQ and mortar units do not generally
close with the enemy. If the friendly units are totally
unable to hurt the opposing forces, they will probably turn
away. They have a basic survival instinct built into their
AI. This does not mean that they are cowards, but they will
determine their actions based on an evaluation of the overall
situation. They also attempt to flank and trap the opposing
force, so all units may not move in the same directions.

MAP ZOOM:

The map zoom has tree basic levels. Full, Company and Platoon.
When at the Full or Company level, only the Company level
icons are displayed on the map. When at the platoon level,
all of a company's platoons and sections are displayed on
the map. Clicking on the icons on the tool bar also changes
the zoom level of the map. If the tool bar is set looking
at company level units, clicking on a combat icon switches
to the company level zoom. If the tool bar is set on platoon
level units, clicking on a combat icon switches to the
platoon level zoom.

PRE-GAME INTERFACE:

The are two 320x200x256 color screens, and they are
the main menus for the US and Germans. This was presented
in that mode due to the full motion video running in the
background. If not, the video would run far too slow.
There are not any 320x200x16 color screens in AtR.

DISK INTENSIVE:

It is recommended that you have SMARTDRV loaded for AtR.
The default settings for you system is more than adequate;
AtR does not require any special size for SMARTDRV. If not
loaded, there is a great deal of disk access that goes on.
This is generally true of many programs. We are not aware
of any incompatibility problems with SMARTDRV.

DISK LOAD:

AtR does have a great deal to load before a battle starts
and when you initialize the Battle Builder. It can not be
helped, there is just a great deal of information. Please
see the comment on SMARTDRV in the Disk Intensive section.

TARGETING:

Look for the target indicator on the lower left of the 3D
views. When that is visible, you have a good line-of-fire
to a target. Remember, you can manually fire at friendly
targets -- be careful.

Need More Help?

You can contact Spectrum HoloByte-MicroProse On-Line Services
at support@microprose.com if your question wasn't answered here.


Regards,
Tim/Spectrum HoloByte-MicroProse

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