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4x4 Evolution Public Beta
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WELCOME

Welcome to the 4x4 Evolution Public Beta. 4x4 Evolution is nearing completion but we need your help in testing our network infrastructure. The purpose of this beta test is to stress our network and check compatibility with a large number of different performance machines. The following is the completion percentage of various areas of the game:

Graphics: 95%
We have some tweaking on track graphics such as ugly trees, bad textures, etc.
Game play: 85%
Sound: 95%
Multiplayer: 90% 
Some minor issues with layout, polishing, and some small bugs.
UI: 95% 
The multiplayer UI has some small polishing left.

For the Public Beta the career mode is not working, you only have the Nissan Xterra, and one track. Everything else should work such as Time Attack, Quick Race, and Multiplayer. While online you may run across people who have different tracks or trucks then what you have. Those people are either testers from Terminal Reality testing the full version of the game or testers from our Private Beta group.

Since the game is in a beta state and has not been tested with a large variety of computer combinations chances are high that you may encounter a bug in the game. If at any time you have any problems with the game please visit the 4x4 Evolution beta site at http://www.4x4evolution.com/beta or you can email a full description of the bug, how to reproduce it, and the configuration of your system to: beta@4x4evolution.com

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HOW TO GET HELP

The purpose of the beta is to get feedback from you the consumer on 4x4 Evolution. If you encounter any problems, have any ideas, or have a suggestion on how to make something better please let us know. You can get help by visiting the 4x4 Evolution Beta site at:

http://www.4x4evolution.com/beta

At the forum you can post problems, suggestions, get help, or share your ideas with other beta testers. All of the team at Terminal Reality will be reading the forum and listening to your feedback. If you do not want to post on the forum you can send a bug report to:

beta@4x4evolution.com

All emails sent to that address will be read and added to our bug database.

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MINIMUM RECOMMENDED SYSTEM

Pentium 200MMX
32MB of RAM 
3D Accelerator with 4MB of texture RAM

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INSTALLATION AND SETUP

Run 4x4test.exe from the file you downloaded and follow the prompts

3D graphics cards are notoriously hard to setup.   When we get close to release, we'll auto detect as best as possible, but for now, you'll have to setup your card manually.

Please make sure that you have the latest drivers for your graphics card.

If you have a Voodoo2 or Voodoo3, you'll have to select 16-bit graphics mode only.   Currently there is no support for most Voodoo1 cards (most do not have at least 4MB of texture RAM).

If you have hardware T&L on your video card, use OpenGL.

The OpenGL driver may have problems with the "leaked" Nvidia drivers. Please use the latest drivers that are available at Nvidia's site (http://www.nvidia.com/Products/Drivers.nsf)

We have done our best to insure that we have no bugs in our video drivers.   However, due to the nature of 3D acceleration, you may have to try different drivers in 4x4 and from your 3D card manufacturer in order to get the best frame rate and least visual anomalies.

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GAME DESCRIPTION

4x4 is an off-road racing game. 4x4 allows you to take your favorite SUV or truck and race it in realistic off-road locations. To accurately capture the feel of off-road racing we designed the game so that there are no artificial walls to keep you on the track. In 4x4 the tracks are completely open and you can drive anywhere that your truck can take you. The game is a race from checkpoint to checkpoint. If you can find a better route than the racetrack itself, take it. In order to find out where the next checkpoint is follow the arrow. If the arrow is green you are headed in the right direction. If the arrow is red you are heading in the wrong direction. The upper left hand of the screen will show you what position you are in; your times, and what lap you are on. The map on the upper right hand side of the screen gives you a general idea of the course and where the other trucks are. Watch the map carefully as the AI does not always drive on the track. If you see an AI truck taking a short cut you might want to try it also as it may be a faster path. The lower right portion of the screen shows you your tachometer, speedometer, and gear position.

If you ever get lost use the reset position key to reset your position to the last checkpoint that you drove through.

At night you can use the L key to turn your headlights off or on. I recommend you drive with your headlights on though.

If you change the weather setting to rain change your tires to a deep cut.

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CONTROLS

If you select joystick, or steering wheel, make sure that you calibrate it in the game after calibrating from the controller from your Operating Systems control panel.

Accelerate = up arrow, forward on joystick, or gas pedal on shared axis driving wheel/paddles
Brake = down arrow, back on joystick, or gas pedal on shared axis driving wheel/paddles
Steer right = right arrow, or right on joystick
Steer left = left arrow, or left on joystick
H = reset position if lost or stuck
4 = Toggle Four wheel drive mode between 2WD, 4WD-HI, and 4WD-LO
E = Use handbrake which locks up your rear wheels and causes your vehicle to slide sideways.
L = toggle headlights
A = up shift (manual trans)
Z = downshift (manual trans)
F = toggle finder
D = toggle speedometer
O = toggle timing overlay
Tab = toggle map
V = toggle view

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VEHICLE SETUP

Setting up your vehicle is important to getting the most speed out of it. On all vehicles a player can adjust the Tire Type, Transmission, and Handling Balance. Class2 vehicles have some extra performance parts that allow you to adjust a few more options on your vehicle.

Tire Type: The available tire types are slick, medium cut, deep cut, and studded. Each tire type is designed to provide optimum traction on certain surfaces. The slick tire has no tread pattern and is designed for pavement only. The medium cut tire has a tread pattern designed for dirt and gravel roads. The deep cut tire has very aggressive tread pattern and is designed for mud, and sandy terrain. The studded tire has a tread pattern along with metal studs. The studded tire is designed for snow and ice roads.

Transmission Type: The two available transmission types are automatic and manual. The automatic transmission will perform shifting for you. The manual transmission requires you to do all up and down shifting. The manual transmission allows you to shift exactly when you want to where the automatic transmission only up or down shifts and preset rpm's. You may find that the Automatic transmission is a little slow because it does not downshift very early.

Suspension: In order to enable the suspension setting your vehicle must be equipped with race springs/dampers. If your vehicle did not come equipped with race springs/dampers you can purchase them in career mode. The suspension settings allow you to adjust the relative stiffness of the spring/damper combination. A soft setting will allow your vehicle to smoothly ride over bumps and rough terrain. A stiff setting will make your vehicle bounce over bumps and rough terrain. A soft setting will make your vehicle less responsive to steering input. A stiff setting will make your vehicle more responsive to steering input. A soft setting keeps your tires on the ground a lot for better acceleration. A stiff setting makes your car bounce more, which may hurt acceleration on a bumpy circuit.

Axle Ratio: In order to enable the axle ratio setting your vehicle must be equipped with a racing gearbox or a ring and pinion gear set. If your vehicle did not come equipped with a racing gearbox or a ring and pinion gear set you can purchase one in career mode. The axle ratio setting allows you to adjust the final drive of your vehicle. By adjusting the slider to the left your vehicle will have greater acceleration but less top speed. Greater Acceleration is useful on tracks that have lots of tight and twisty corners and no straights. If you adjust the slider to the right your vehicle will have greater top speed potential but slower acceleration. Greater top speed potential is useful on tracks that have very fast corners and long straights.

Brake Balance: In order to enable the brake balance setting your vehicle must be equipped with a brake proportioning valve. If your vehicle did not come equipped with a brake proportioning valve you can purchase one in career mode. The Brake Balance setting allows you to adjust how the vehicle behaves under braking. If the slider is adjusted towards the front (left side) the front brakes will get more power than the rear. More front braking will cause your vehicle to be very stable under braking but very difficult to turn while braking. If the slider is adjusted towards the rear (right side) the rear brakes will get more power than the front. More rear braking will cause your vehicle to be very unstable under braking but very easy to turn while braking.

Torque Split: In order to enable the torque split setting your vehicle must be equipped with a racing transfer case. If your vehicle did not come equipped with a racing transfer case you can purchase one in career mode. The torque split setting allows you to adjust how power is distributed between the front and rear tires of your vehicle while in 4WD mode. If the slider is adjusted towards the front (left side) then the front tires will get more torque than the rear. More torque on the front tires helps steer the vehicle through the corners but can also cause your vehicle to under steer. The front tires will spin easier than the rear if they have more torque. If the slider is adjusted to the rear (right side) then the rear tires will get more torque than the front. More torque on the rear tires helps the vehicle accelerate quicker. Too much torque on the rear can cause the rear tires to spin easily.

Handling Balance: The handling balance slide allows you to adjust how the vehicle is balanced while cornering. If the slider is adjusting towards under steer (left side) the vehicle will be easy to control but difficult to turn. If the slider is adjusted towards over steer (right side) the vehicle will be more difficult to control but will turn very quickly. You will want to run as much over steer as you can handle with having the vehicle get sideways too much. If you are having problems controlling the vehicle you will want to run less over steer or more under steer.

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DRIVING TIPS

- Usually the fastest route is the shortest one between checkpoints.

- For vehicles that have an adjustable axle ratio run as low an axle ratio as possible. The lower the ratio the better your acceleration off the line.

- Try to keep your wheels on the ground as much as possible. The more time you spend with your tires on the ground the faster you will be. When your tires are in the air they can't accelerate the vehicle.

- If you are spinning your tires too much (your engine keeps hitting the red line) go a little easier on the gas peddle or run a higher gear ratio towards more top speed.

- Medium cut is the best cut tires for the two tracks included in the Public Beta.

- Try to stay out of water or puddles, as it will slow you down.

- Try to avoid getting sideways too much as you scrub off a lot of speed when sideways.

- At the start of a race you do not have to pass through the START/FINISH gate you can head straight to checkpoint 1. This trick helps when starting at the back of the grid with 8 vehicles playing.

- Use 4WD-Low to get a jump off the line at the start of a race or to climb a steep hill. Just be careful though because 4WD-Low tops out very quickly.

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ADVANCED CONTROLS

Currently we do not have in the game a way to assign any control to any button on your joystick or steering wheel. If you want to do so you will need to manually edit the metal.ini file in the system folder where 4x4 Evolution was installed. When you open the metal.ini file scroll down to the following section:

[Control]

Once you have found the [Control] section scroll down to the following items:

buttonFunction0=9
buttonFunction1=8
buttonFunction2=11
buttonFunction3=33
buttonFunction4=32
buttonFunction5=23
buttonFunction6=31
buttonFunction7=16

This is where you want to edit the file to give each button the function that you want. Below is a list of all the possible functions:

	"keyAccelerate",		// 0
	"keyBrake",			// 1
	"keyTurnRight",			// 2
	"keyTurnLeft",			// 3
	"keyViewLeft",			// 4
	"keyViewRight",			// 5
	"keyViewForward",		// 6
	"keyViewBack",			// 7
	"keyUpShift",			// 8
	"keyDownShift",			// 9
	"keyNextView",			// 11
	"keyCockpitView",		// 12
	"keyFinder",			// 13
	"keyDashboard",			// 14
	"keyMap",			// 15
	"keyNames",			// 16
	"keyCamera",			// 21
	"keyResetPosition",		// 23
	"keyEscape",			// 28
	"keyHeadlights",		// 31
	"keyEBrake",			// 32
	"keyDriveMode",			// 33

For example in the following assignment:

buttonFunction0=9

Button 0 is assigned to the down shift function. To change Button 0 to toggle the map you would look for the keyMap in the list of possible functions. In the list you find that keyMap is associated with 15. So you would change buttonFunction0=9 to buttonFunction0=15. By using the above method you can assign any of your joystick or wheel buttons to any of the available functions in the list of possible functions.
