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IFH (I've Found Her) is the computer game project maintained by Space Dream Factory. It is a space combat simulator. Its storyline is based upon the popular Sci-Fi TV show Babylon 5, so the project is completely noncommercial and should be considered as a kind of fan-fiction. You can find more information about this project by visiting its homepage at: http://ifh.firstones.com
What is Space Dream Factory?
Space Dream Factory (SDF) is an unofficial, noncommercial, and voluntary organization founded by Oleg Petrov for Babylon 5 admirers in late 1998. All members of SDF are currently involved in the IFH project.
What is IFH: Danger and Opportunity?
IFH: Danger and Opportunity is the prequel campaign to the main IFH campaign that hopefully will be made in the future. This is the first complete and playable game produced by SDF and made available to the public.
Disclaimer
Babylon 5, characters, names, and all related indicia are trademarks of Time Warner Entertainment Co., LP. C1994-2000 Time Warner Entertainment Co. The great universe of Babylon 5 was created by J. Michael Straczynski.
Installing this game
Just run ifhsetup.exe and follow the onscreen instructions.
OpenGL requirements
OpenGL support is REQUIRED to play this game. OpenGL is a low-level API (Application Programming Interface) that works with compatible 3D video hardware to render 3D graphics. It gives the amazing ability to render images using 16- or 32-bit color depth and immensely improves the application performance. This program uses the OpenGL drivers installed on your system (usually in the WINDOWSSYSTEM32 directory) with your card's drivers. If you are not sure whether your card supports OpenGL, please consult your video card manufacturer.
DirectX requirements
DirectX version 3.0 or better is required to play this game. DirectX is required for input device handling (using Direct Input). In order to have some Force Feedback effects, you have to install DirectX 6.0 or better.
Uninstalling this game
You can uninstall the game either using the "Add or Remove programs" from Control Panel or using the Uninstall shortcut from the IFH folder in the Start Menu.
How to run this game
When the game is installed, you can run it by launching it from the Start Menu. Click on the START button, choose Programs from the pop-up menu, select the IFH folder and click on "Play Danger And Opportunity" from the pop-up menu. The launcher will appear on the screen with three options: PLAY GAME, SETTINGS and QUIT GAME.
If you click PLAY GAME the game itself will be launched. If you click "SETTINGS", the settings window will open. Here you can change a number of video and sound options, some of which cannot be changed in the game itself.
Screen Resolution - This options sets the screen resolution in the game, as well as the color depth (16 or 32-bit). Higher resolutions and 32-bit color depth give greater quality, but reduce the performace.
Refresh Rate - This option sets the refresh rate of your monitor while playing the game. Note that some refresh rates might be supported by your monitor, so please refer to your monitor manual for the correct values.
Z-Buffer Depth - This options sets the Z-Buffer bit depth. 16-Bit mode lowers the video memory requirement, but gives poorer quality. 32-Bit mode increases the memory requirement, but gives better quality.
Windowed Mode - You can run the game in a window by checking this option. Otherwise the game will run full-screen.
Vertical Sync - This opition enables syncronisation of the frame rate with the refresh rate on CRT monitors.
Use AGP - This option enables AGP memory usage which significantly increases performace. It is not recommended to turn off this option, unless your videocard doesn't support AGP.
Motion Blur - This option enables a cool cinematic effect, but significantly reduces the performance on slow videocards.
Texture Filtering - This option sets the texture filtering mode. BILINEAR increases performance, but gives poorer quality, ANISOTROPIC decreases perfomance, but gives better quality.
Texture Compression - This option enables or disables texture compression. Compressed textures significantly reduce video memory usage, so it is not recommended to disable this option, unless your video card has a lot of video memory.
Texture Size - This option limits texture size and therefore can allow the game to run on video cards with less texture memory.
Details - This option sets the level of detail in game models. LOW increases performance, but gives poorer quality, HIGH decreases perfomance, but gives better quality.
Switching Distance - This option set the distance at which models will be switched to lower level of details. NEAR increases performance, but gives poorer quality; FAR decreases perfomance, but gives better quality.
Use ATI TruForm - This option works only on ATI Radeon 8500 cards. It enables hardware tesselation which gives the game models a significantly smoother look.
Tesselation Quality - If ATI TruForm is enabled this option sets the quality of the tesselation process. LOW increases performance, but gives poorer quality, HIGH decreases perfomance, but gives better quality.
Play Music - This option enables or disables music in the game
Music Volume - This option sets the music volume in the game.
Sound Effects - This option enables or disables sound effects in the game
Sound Effects Volume - This option sets the sound effects volume in the game.
Use DirectSound - This option enables or disables the use of DirectSound interface. Some older soundcards (like the Vortex 2) might not work properly with DirectSound enabled. Otherwise it is recommended to leave this option enabled.
Sound Driver - This option allows you to select which audio device the game should use, if you have more than one device installed.
Sound Channels - This options sets the number of sound channels (i.e. the total number sounds that can play concurrently). The more channels that are used, the more CPU power is consumed.
Sound Rate - This option sets the sound mixing rate (frequency). Higher mixing rates consume more CPU time.
First launch
When you launch the game for the first time, the game introduction will be played. To skip the introduction (or any other cutscene in the game), klick the "SKIP" button on the top-right corner of the screen. Next you will be brought to the "Pilot Selection" menu. If you do not wish to watch the introduction the next time you start the game, uncheck the "Show intro next time" checkbox in the pilot menu.
Managing pilots
To create a new pilot, enter the desired name and click CREATE. To select the existing or newly created pilot, select it from the list and click SELECT. To delete the existing or newly created pilot, select it from the list and click DELETE.
Main menu
To create a new game, click NEW GAME. You'll be then brought to the campaign selection menu where you can choose from 2 options: training campaign, taking place in the year 2242, or the IFH Prequel campaign itself. It is highly recommended however that you play the training campaign first, to get yourself accustomed to the game ideology and flight controls. Besides, it should give you some hyperspace flight skills.
To continue the current active campaign, click CONTINUE. For newly created pilots, clicking the CONTINUE button will start the IFH Prequel campaign.
Unfortunately, the SKIRMISH section is unavailable in this release.
The SETTINGS section is described below.
The DATABASE section will provide you with some interesting information about your crewmates, technical details and storyline.
We do not recommend you to click the QUIT button unless you are pretty sure that this is exactly what you want to do... :)
Settings menu
There are four groups of settings: video settings, sound settings, game settings and controls.
Video setting
V-Sync - This opition enables syncronisation of the frame rate with refresh rate on CRT monitors.
ATI TruForm - This option works only on ATI Radeon 8500 cards. It enables hardware tesselation which gives the game models a significantly smoother look.
Tesselation - If ATI TruForm is enabled this option sets the quality of the tesselation process. LOW increases performance, but gives poorer quality; HIGH decreases perfomance, but gives better quality.
Details - This option sets the level of detail in game models. LOW increases performance, but gives poorer quality; HIGH decreases perfomance, but gives better quality.
LOD Bias - This option set the distance when models will be switched to lower level of details. NEAR increases the performance, but gives poorer quality, FAR decreases the perfomance, but gives better quality.
Direction Indicators - This option enables or disables HUD flight indicators.
Starfield Density - This option sets the density of the background starfield.
Debris - This option toggles the debris which appears when some ship explodes.
Sound settings
Music Volume - This option sets the music volume in the game.
Effects Volume - This option sets the sound effects volume in the game.
Game settings
Invulnerability - This option enables invulnerability of the player's ship.
Infinite Ammo - This option enables infinite ammo for you and all the other ships.
Infinite Fuel - This option enables infinite fuel for you and all the other ships.
Difficulty - This option sets the difficulty of the game.
Controls
This window allows you to completely customize the game controls. Controls are divided into four groups(Flight, Weapons, Targeting and Misc). Click on the group name to list the conrresponding controls.
For each control you can assign up to two keys or controller buttons/axes by clicking in the corresponing column("CURRENT" or "ALTERNATIVE"). After clicking, you'll be prompted to either press a key or button, or move an axis or POV HAT. After you've done this, the corresponding key/button/axis will be assigned. Please note, that you are able to assign the same key or controller button/axis to more than one game control, so be careful to check if this key/button/axis is already assigned (unless you explicitly want to assign it to more than one game control).
For any axis control you can set the inversed mode by clicking in "INV. AXIS" column.
To clear the control assignment, click on it and then press ESC. You cannot assign ESC to any game controlles since it's reserved for the in-game menu.
To reset all controls to their default values, press the DEFAULT button.
There are several options here:
Use Joystick - This option enables or disables joystick controls. It is recommended to turn it on only if you have a joystick.
Alternative Mouse - This option enables alternative mouse mode. In this mode, you don't have to move your mouse constantly in order to do a turn, you will have a mouse cursor and your ship will turn according the mouse cursor position.
There are also advanced control options, available by clicking on the ADVANCED button:
Mouse
Sensitivity - This option sets how well the ship will respond to mouse movement
Smoothness - This option sets how much the mouse movements will be smoothed.
Non-Linearity - This option sets how fast the ship will respond to increasing mouse movement.
Dead Zone - This option is used only in alternative mouse mode. It sets the size of the deadzone in the center of the screen, where the mouse cursor will be considered pointing stright forward.
Joystick
Dead Zone - This option sets the joystick dead zone.
Non-Linearity - This option sets how fast the ship will respond on increasing axis inclination.
Force Feedback - This options enables and sets force feedback strength.
Autocentering - This options enables or disables autocentering for force feedback joysticks.
Gameplay issues
Flying Starfury
1) Flying a Starfury is hard.
2) See 1)
We are dead serious here, so unless you're absolutely sure that you can handle a craft which can pull up to 8G on afterburners and rotate 180 degrees in one second, don't even think of flying it without a sufficient amount of training. Here are some tips:
1) Always be aware of your speed. It's easy to forget to ease off of the accelerator. As a result, you'll be flying several klicks per second in a direction you don't really want to fly.
2) Always be aware of your target's speed. The trick is to get close to your target while matching its speed and direction. Otherwise you'll be constantly flying away from your target and will never be able to shoot it.
3) Use afterburners. Note, that when you're using afterburners, you're not compensating for your sliding speeds. So don't use them constantly; use them only when you need to either accelerate or decelerate very quckly. When you're making a hard turn at high speed, it's usually better first to decelerate, then turn and accelerate again.
4) Target carefully. Don't shoot constantly in the hopes of hitting your target by accident. You won't. And your cannons will be constantly overheated and will not be able to shoot when the time comes. First, take a good relative position. Second, lead your target until the lead indicator turns red and only then shoot.
5) Slide constantly. If you're flying in a straight line, you're a perfect target. If you're turning all the time, you'll not be able to shoot your target. So, slide and shoot at the same time.
Navigation in hyperspace
There are two main dangers of hyperspace navigation:
1) You can't see a thing in there (unless you are really close), so you have no directional references.
2) You are constantly pulled by hyperspace currents (to find out more about hyperspace currents, refer to the book "Hyperspace Physics For Dummies", published back in 2170, still available at Narns and Noble).
So, in order to solve these problems, a tachyon beacon network was created by some advanced race several thousand years ago. We don't know who they were, but it dosn't mean that we can't use them. We're doing it and we're expanding the network all the time. There are two types of hyperspace beacons: Local, which spread their signal in every direction but on very limited range, and Beam beacons, which target another beacon by sending focused tachyon beams to one another, thereby creating a linked beacon pair. These beams travel great distances but they are very narrow, and ships have to travel along these beams or risk getting lost.
Here are some tips:
1) Always check your target beam signal level. If it's begins dropping quickly, you're going to be in a lot of trouble very soon. So start doing something right away.
2) Don't fly too fast along the beam or you might loose the signal very quickly and you won't have time to react. You might even miss the beam's end.
3) Don't fly too slowly: hyperspace currents can be very strong, and at low speed, you may not have enough speed to counteract them.
4) Don't panic. Even if you've lost the signal, it doen't mean you're completely out of luck. Always try to remember last direction to either end of the beam and to the beam's maximum. So, gather yourself, don't rotate your craft and try to move into the direction of the beam maximum. With luck, you'll pick it up again.
5) Always remember the old saying: "Flying through hyperspace ain't like dusting crops".
Technical support and contact information
Please refer all your questions regarding the game to our forum at ifh.firstones.com.