Get the Company of Heroes Singleplayer Demo off WP (1.8Gb)

Thank you for playing Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA. This application contains preview versions of two Single Player missions and the Tutorial from the final game.

1) INSTALLATION & SET UP

Please note that Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA does not support Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 95/98/NT/2000.

1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

MINIMUM (NOTE!! SOME OF THESE REQUIREMENTS WILL BE LOWER FOR THE FINAL GAME)

Windows(R) XP
DirectX(R) 9.0c (included on disc)
3.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD Athlon XP processor
1 GB RAM
4 GB free hard drive space for installation
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series and above with 128 MB Video Memory, or ATI x800 and above with 128 MB Video Memory
DirectX(R) 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card
Keyboard, Mouse

RECOMMENDED

3.0 GHz+ Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent AMD Athlon XP processor
1 GB RAM
NVIDIA Geforce 7600 series and above with 256 MB Video Memory

Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA was packaged and tested with the North American and United Kingdom markets in mind, so foreign versions of Windows(R) are not natively supported.

1.2 SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS

ATI Radeon X800 series
ATI Radeon X850 series
ATI Radeon X1300 series
ATI Radeon X1600 series
ATI Radeon X1800 series
ATI Radeon X1900 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6600 series
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7800 series
NVIDIA GeForce 7900 series

1.3 DIRECTX(R) DETECTION AND INSTALLATION

The Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA installer will check your computer for the currently installed version of DirectX(R). If it detects an older version of DirectX(R), it will install DirectX(R) 9.0c. THQ recommends allowing the installer to proceed with the DirectX(R) 9.0c installation, even if you think you may have 9.0c installed. Re-installing DirectX(R) 9.0c will not harm your DirectX(R) configuration. Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player Beta requires DirectX(R) 9.0c to install and play.

1.4 REMOVING PROFILE FILES AFTER UNINSTALL

The Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA generates user-specific game files. These files are located in the Windows My Documents folder at C:Documents and SettingsusernameMy DocumentsMy GamesCompany of Heroes Pre-Release Single-Player Beta. These files will not be removed when the Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA is uninstalled and must be manually deleted. These files take up very little space on your hard drive (less than 50K) so it's not necessary to remove them.

2. TROUBLESHOOTING

2.1 INSTALLER ISSUES

A. Windows(R) Installer Updates

The Windows(R) Installer may need to be updated. If this is the case, the Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA installer will update the Windows(R) Installer, reboot the machine, then continue normally.

B. Interference from Anti-Virus Programs

It is recommended that any anti-virus programs be disabled when attempting to install Company of Heroes. Anti-virus software can often interfere and corrupt the installation process of new software.

2.2 VIDEO ISSUES

A. Latest drivers required

For best performance and video quality, please make sure you have the latest drivers for your video card when running Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA. If you have an ATI or NVIDIA video card, you can find drivers on their websites.

http://www.ati.com/
Driver: Catalyst 6.5 or newer

http://www.nvidia.com/
Driver: ForceWare Graphics Driver Version 91.31 or newer

Preliminary tests with out-of-date ATI drivers have shown some graphic corruption while playing Company of Heroes. Upgrading to the latest ATI drivers can solve the problem for most users.

B. Cinematic scenes suffer from horizontal tearing

This problem can be rectified by turning V-sync on by default in your video card's display settings. Note: V-sync can result in reduced overall framerates since it is processor intensive.

C. Exeeding recommended Auto Settings for Graphics Options

Exceeding the recommended Auto Settings for Graphics Options can result in undesired performance degradation and graphical errors because the settings are exceeding the capabilities of yourhardware. If you are experiencing graphical issues after installing the latest graphics card drivers, ensure Auto Settings is selected in the Graphics Options page of the game's Main Menu.

D. Random black triangles rendered on screen while using certain NVIDIA video cards

This problem is a known issue that was unable to be fixed before the BETA's release. It is expected that only a very small percentage of users will experience this problem. Relic Entertainment and NVIDIA are investigating the cause together. Please ensure that you have the latest video drivers and set your Graphics Options to Auto Settings to minimize your chance of experiencing this problem.

2.3 SOUND ISSUES

A. Latest drivers required

Please make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card when running Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA.

B. The sound stutters while playing

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card. If stuttering persists try reducing Hardware Acceleration. From your Windows(R) desktop, click Start, then Run, type "dxdiag", then hit Enter. This brings up the "DirectX(R) Diagnostic Tool". Click the Sound tab and try reducing the "Hardware Sound Acceleration Level" slider.

C. Excessive sound static from speakers during movie playback

Some users may notice excessive sound static coming from their speakers during movie playback if their motherboard uses on-board audio. The ASUS A8N32-SLI has been identified as one motherboard with this problem. To prevent the interference:

i) From your Windows(R) desktop, click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices

ii) Then, on the Volume Tab, click Advanced

iii) Under the Options menu, select Properties and click the box to the left of 'PC Speaker' to display it in your Volume Control panel. Click OK.

iv) Mute the PC Speaker by clicking the Mute box directly below the PC Speaker volume control

The interference should now be gone.

D. Audio during cinematic sequences out of sync after using Microsoft(R) shortcut keys.

Using Microsoft(R) shortcut keys like Alt-Tab, Alt-Esc, Ctrl-Esc, Ctrl-Shift-Esc, and Ctrl-Alt-Del during non-interactive cinematic sequences will cause the audio to go out of sync. The audio should return to normal once interactive gameplay resumes.

4. MOTHERBOARD DRIVERS

Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA requires the absolute latest video card AND motherboard drivers to be installed, as there have been significant issues in recent, but not the latest, drivers. Please make sure you are running the latest drivers available for BOTH your video card and motherboard.

Often motherboard drivers are overlooked when updating systems, and as a result most computers are running very old versions that simply do not work properly and may cause very noticeable slow downs and stability issues.

5. OPERATING SYSTEM-SPECIFIC ISSUES

A. Windows(R) Key Interrupts Game in Windows(R) XP

If the Windows(R) key is pressed during game play, the Start Menu will interrupt the game. Should this happen, simply press the Escape (Esc) key to close the menu and return to the game. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent this from happening again except by being careful not to hit those keys while playing.

B. Administrator Privileges Needed To Install On Windows(R) XP

If you are running Windows(R) XP, you must have Administrator privileges to properly install the game. You do not, however, require Administrator privileges to play the game after it has been installed.

For information on how to change your user settings to obtain Administrator privileges, please refer to your Windows(R) documentation, or click the Start button and select ‘Help and Support’.

C. Alt-Tab to Switch Applications

Some drivers do not support the Alt-Tab switching between Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA and other applications. It is highly recommended that you do not use Alt-Tab to switch to another program while Company of Heroes is running. If you wish to switch programs, first close Company of Heroes.

3. IMPROVING PERFORMANCE

There are several ways to improve the performance of Company of Heroes Pre-release Single Player BETA on min and mid-spec systems, all accessible through the Options menu:

Choosing the Auto selection in the options menu will adjust the settings to best fit your hardware. If that does not work try some of the following:

- Reduce the resolution -- Select a lower resolution from the drop-down menu.
- Reduce the Texture Detail -- Select a lower Texture Detail setting from the menu.
- Reduce the Terrain Detail -- Select a lower Terrain Detail setting from the menu.
- Reduce the level of Shadow detail -- Select a lower Shadows Detail setting from the menu.
- Reduce the Model detail -- Select a lower Model Detail setting from the menu.
- Reduce the FX detail -- Select a lower FX Detail setting from the menu.

NOTE: This Pre-release Single Player Beta is an early version of the final software which is still in development and will receive further performance improvements before release. Players can expect the final release of Company of Heroes to have lower System Requirements and play well on wide variety of computer specifications.

4. Gameplay Hotkeys

The following keyboard commands can be executed in-game as an alternative to the Mouse commands for quicker access to units and abilities.

Infantry

• E - Engineers
• R - Riflemen
• S - Sniper
• H - HMG Squad
• M - Mortar Squad

Vehicles

• J - Jeep
• F – M4 Crocodile Sherman
• S – M4 Sherman
• T - M1 57mm Anti Tank Gun

Buildings

• W - Barbed Wire
• S – Sand Bags
• T - Tank Traps
• M - Mines
• B – Barracks
• E – Machine Gun Emplacement
• P – Observation Post

Upgrades

• C – Upgrade to Barracks
• U - M2HB .50 Cal Machine Gun
• B – Upgrade Bulldozer

Abilities

• N – Throw Grenade
• S – Throw Satchel Charge
• B – Raise or Lower Bulldozer