
REX BLADE DEMO RELEASE .666 READ ME FILE
February 21, 1997

I.   Installation
II.  Playing the Game
III. Troubleshooting
IV.  Teleporting
V.   Using REX++
VI.  Using the Level of Detail Control
VII. Getting the latest info on Rex Blade.

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I. INSTALLATION

Minimum Requirements

Pentium 75 (Pentium 100 recommended)
16 MB Ram
10 MB Free Hard Disk

DOS Based Installation

The Demo Release .666 of Rex Blade is contained
in a single .ZIP file REXDEMO.ZIP. From MS-DOS or Windows 95
simply create a directory for the game and unzip the game in
the directory using PKUNZIP or WINZIP. The only setup that is
needed is to run the sound utility SETSOUND.EXE. SETSOUND.EXE
will prompy you with a number of menus to allow you to select
your appropriate digital and MIDI sound source.

Once you have ran the sound setup program simple type:

REXDEMO.EXE

To launch the Rex Blade Demo.

II. PLAYING THE GAME

Rex Blade is controlled from the keyboard and has a number of
options such as Heads Up Display, Wetware Gadgets and a lot
of weapons. Take a look at the manual for a complete
description of the game play, but if you want to get right to
it, here are the control keys:

Rex's Control Keys

<ESC>               - Display Control Panel
<LEFT ARROW>        - Rotate Left
<RIGHT ARROW>       - Rotate Right
<UP ARROW>          - Move Forward.
<DOWN ARROW>        - Move Backward.
<ALT>               - Enable Strafing.
<ALT+D>             - Toggle Level of Detail on the fly.
<SPACE BAR>         - Inspect/Use Object.
<CTRL>              - Fire Weapon.
<X>                 - Jump Up.
<C>                 - Crouch Down.
<T>                 - Engage Site to Site Teleporter.
<LEFT BRACKET>      - Select Previous Weapon in Arsenal.
<RIGHT BRACKET>     - Select Next Weapon in Arsenal.
<F1>                - Toggle System HUD.
<F2>                - Toggle Bio-Stats HUD.
<F3>                - Toggle WETWARE HUD.
<F4>                - Toggle Weapon Display HUD.
<F5>                - Toggle Ammunition stores HUD.
<F6>                - Toggle all HUDS.
<F9>                - Quick Load.
<F10>               - Quick Save.
<SEMI COLON>        - Scroll Down on WETWARE Menu HUD.
<APOSTROPHE>        - Scroll Up on WETWARE Menu HUD.
<ENTER KEY>         - Toggle current WETWARE item On/Off.

Game play is simple: kill everything, collect everything and
when you find a computer hack around in it. To complete a level
you must use a computer to teleport out (which you will have to
figure out how to do)!

II.I USING THE NEW CD-PLAYER WETWARE

Rex Blade - "The Final Conflict" contains a new CD-Player
that can be found in the first world of Sexterra. The
CD-Player can be operated as follows:

1. Place your favorite music CD into the CD-Player before
   or after launching Rex Blade.

2. Acquire the CD-PLAYER wetware device by picking it up
   in the world.

3. Control the CD-PLAYER with the following controls:

 1) Play
 2) Stop
 3) Next Track
 4) Eject CD Door
 5) Close CD Door

If you don't hear any sound then make sure that the analog
cable from your CD-ROM is interfaced correctly into your
sound card.

III. TROUBLESHOOTING

* Crashes in Windows 95 *

Rex Blade is a 32-bit Protected mode application and likes to
run in pure DOS rather than from a DOS session under Windows 95.
So if you are having trouble running Rex from a Windows 95 DOS
session try re-starting in MS-DOS mode.

You can start MS-DOS mode from the Windows 95 Start Menu by
choosing shutdown and selecting restart the computer in MS-DOS
mode or by rebooting the computer and pressing the F8 key
during the start up phase.

If you are still experiencing crashes in Rex Blade, try
changing your EMM386 line in your CONFIG.SYS file to no EMS.
To do this, edit your config.sys file with any text editor and
look for the line that reads EMM386.EXE. Add NOEMS to the end
of this line. If there is RAM statment or any numbers then you
must delete them. For example, if your EMM386.EXE line reads
something like:

    device=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE RAM 1024

then you would change it to:

    device=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS

* Sound Problems *

Rex Blade uses the Miles Sound System. If your sound or music
is not audible or doesn't sound correct then try running
SETSOUND.EXE and re-selecting a different sound card for either
digital or midi. If problems continue, try running the game in
MS-DOS mode or changing the settings of your sound card and
setting up the sound again with SETSOUND.EXE.

Rex Blade allows you to change the volume of both the
digital and MIDI channels under the OPTIONS of the
Main Menu. However, on some sound cards changing the volume
of the MIDI channel doesn't seem to work.

* Memory Problems *

Rex Blade has a virtual memory manager and should run fine in
16MB of RAM. Rex may run on some systems with less than 16MB
of RAM, but performance may be degraded.

* Speed Problems *

If you find that Rex doesn't run fast enough then try running
the game from pure DOS and make sure you have a disk caching
program such as SMARTDRIVE. Or buy a faster computer! You can
also try switching to low detail mode (see section VI. below).


IV. TELEPORTING

To exit a level you must find a computer workstation that has
teleporter software and then engage the teleportation program.
The only way for you to determine if a workstation has
teleporter software is to "hack" around in the computer looking
for commands and programs to execute. Once you have found the
teleportation program and launched it, you will undoubtedly
need a password. The password can be found somewhere within the
computer. After teleporting you will see a statistics screen
that will show you how you did on the level and your time
verses the par time.

When you have finished the levels of a world then you will be
teleported to the next world (long range teleport) and receive
the thanks of of any remaining organic creatures. When you
have finished the three worlds then you...I guess you'll just
have to play!


V. USING REX++

* Programming *

REX++ is a programming language created specifically for the
game Rex Blade. REX++ is based on the BASIC programming
language with the free form syntax found in C. The programming
language can be found within the virtual computers in the game.
To use the language you must run the interpreter from within
a virtual computer, this is accomplished by typing "REX++" at
the virtual computer command prompt.

A manual on the use of the language and its keywords can be
found on the Rex Blade CD-ROM under the name REXPP.DOC. Read
this document using a MS Word compatible program such as
MS Word or MS Wordpad. The manual will give you enough
information and examples to create cool little programs.

* Troubleshooting REX++ *

REX++ gives you a lot of freedom when programming and it's
possible that you might be able to create a program that
crashes the language interpreter. Therefore, when you are
programming in REX++ keep in mind that you are using a real
language and a real IDE, so if you really try to write bad
programs then you will probably be able to do so! Some common
errors that can cause problems are:

1. Defining variables more than once.
2. Sending parameters that are out of range.
3. Performing illegal or non-real mathematical calculations.

If you avoid the above pitfalls then you shouldn't run into any
problems with REX++.

TIP: if you are going to do something risky then be sure to save
     your position in the game first!


VI. USING THE LEVEL OF DETAIL CONTROL

In the main control panel of the game under OPTIONS you can
switch the level of detail from low to high. Low detail speeds
up the game by flat shading the floors and removing the ceilings
instead of using full texture mapping. Alas, there is a small
penalty for doing this! There are a few secrets in the game that
won't be so obvious without the texture mapping and floor
lighting. So, to help you out we have added a quick
Level of Detail Toggle, so that you can switch the LOD on the
fly. While playing Rex Blade, simply press <ALT+D> and the
Level of Detail will toggle from low to high and back.
However, even without the extra hints a real Cyborg could carry
out his mission!


VII. GETTING THE LATEST INFO ON REX BLADE

You can find the latest tips, bug fixes, patches, and general
information about Rex Blade by loging into the official
Rex Blade Web Site at:

http://www.rexblade.com


