rec.autos.simulators

I recently purchased "Grand Prix II" largely based on the
unanomous glowing reviews. However, the game keeps
constantly crashing on my system!! My machine is:

Tyan Tomcat III motherboard w/512 cache
Intel Pentium 166 Mhz with MMX
32 megs 60 ns EDO RAM
4 meg Matrox Mystique video card
Creative Labs 16-bit Sound Blaster
NEC 8V CD-ROM
Mag Innovision DX 1795 monitor

The intro screen runs just fine. Sometimes it crashes immediately
afterwards and sometimes it doesn't. When I AM able to play a race
it inevitably crashes at its conclusion!! The monitor goes blank and
I have to reboot. This also happens whenever I attempt to end a race
early and hit the "Escape" key.

Believe me, I have tried EVERY suggestion in the manual!! I've
tried running through Window's '95 AND pure DOS.  I've tried it
with AND without the "video: vesa" switch. I've run it with AND
without the "nosound" switch (even though my sound card always
passes the sound test during setup). I have the memory settings
configured precisely as the manual recommends. Heck, I've even
reinstalled in the default directory!!

I'm at my wits end here. It's a dynamite game/sim and I do NOT
want to have to return it!! I have already read the FAQ on Micro-
prose/Holobyte's Web site and it offers no solution.

One note - when I execute the game in DOS it always asks me
to install the CD in the drive even though it's already in there.
Also, do I have to re-calibrate the joystick everytime?

Any advice and sage wisdom will be GREATLY appreciated!!
I already wrote Microprse/Holobyte tech support and here's the
reply I got.

In other words, they don't know!!!

Thanks Oodles,

Houston,TX

: I recently purchased "Grand Prix II" largely based on the
: unanomous glowing reviews. However, the game keeps
: constantly crashing on my system!! My machine is:

: Tyan Tomcat III motherboard w/512 cache
: Intel Pentium 166 Mhz with MMX
: 32 megs 60 ns EDO RAM
: 4 meg Matrox Mystique video card
: Creative Labs 16-bit Sound Blaster
: NEC 8V CD-ROM
: Mag Innovision DX 1795 monitor

I am not positive, but I think you need to upgrade the BIOS on your
video card.  I am pretty sure there were posts in the past about this
problem with GP2.

--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
     Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=<[ /./.  [-  < ]>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

There's your problem.  Early versions of the mystique were incompatible
with GP2.   Their tech support dept. promised a bios update.  Dunno if it's
been released, as I returned the card in disgust.

JH
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
When everything else failed, we can still become im-
mortal by making an enormous blunder....

                             John Kenneth Galbraith
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The problem seems to disappear if you run both the game AND menus in
vga,
OR both the game AND menus in svga.

To get the game to run in the first place, you need to start it in
vga,
execute the GP2 game by typing

GP2 video:vga    at the prompt (in Dos mode)

This will start the game with vga menus as well as vga in-game
graphics.

Then in the graphic options, change the graphics to svga.

Then exit the game, and restart it, WITHOUT the video command.

It should now run OK, with svga menus, and svga game graphics.

I hope this works for you.

Keith Windsor, UK

        That should do it. It dit for me and a lot of others.

        Good luck,
--
Claude Marcil,
Boisbriand,
Quebec, Canada,

                        Autour du globe sur le NET.
                                        Around the globe on the NET.