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HELLDORADO v1.1981
Readme file � Febuaray 27th, 2009

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Thank you for choosing HELLDORADO. Spellbound and Viva Media hope you will enjoy
your new game.

This Readme file contains important information that can help you eliminate
problems with the game.
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CONTENTS

* System Requirements
* DirectX(tm)-driver information, Acrobat Reader/Manual and known driver issues /
browser issues / game issues
* Installing and starting the game
* Uninstalling
* Technical Support

System Requirements
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Minimum System Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: 2.0 GHz Processor
RAM: 512 MB
DVD-ROM
Hard drive space: 4 GB available
Video: 128 MB RAM and DirectX(tm)9 compatible
Sound: DirectX(tm)-compatible sound card
Input: Keyboard, mouse

Recommended System Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP/Vista
Processor: 2.5 GHz Processor
RAM: 768 MB (Windows XP) 1024 MB (Windows Vista)
DVD-ROM
Hard-drive space: 4 GB available
Video: 256 MB RAM and DirectX(tm)9 compatible
Sound: DirectX(tm)-compatible sound card
Input: Keyboard, mouse

DirectX(tm)-driver information, Acrobat Reader / Manual and known driver issues /

browser issues
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This game requires Microsoft's DirectX(tm)9 or later to run. To play the game, you
must have DirectX(tm)9 or later compliant drivers for your hardware installed.

You will find the latest version of DirectX(tm) at: www.microsoft.com/directx

There is version of DirectX(tm) valid for the time the game was published in the
folder extras\directx in your HELLDORADO download directory. Double-click on
DXSETUP.exe to start the installation.
To read the digital version of the manual, you will need at least version 6.0 of
Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have this program installed on your
computer, follow the link to the Adobe Web site, which you can find in the Windows
Start Menu under Helldorado.

Known driver issues:

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0. Issues with shared-memory video cards

- If your video card also uses the main memory of your computer to store video data
(shared memory), then the actual memory of the video card will not be evaluated
correctly by Helldorado's automatic recognition - in this case Helldorado assumes
that there is more video-card memory than there actually is and automatically sets
high texture details. This can cause the rendering speed of your system to slow
down considerably. To increase rendering speed, go to Options / Video and set
Texture Details to standard. If this does not result in satisfactory performance,
we recommend also setting other video options under Options / Video to middle or
low values.

1. Issues with Automatic Hardware Recognition

- Helldorado recognizes the hardware you are using and in many cases calculates the
appropriate game settings - particularly the video settings. If Helldorado runs too
slow or choppy on your system, please change the texture details under Options /
Video to a lower setting, and if necessary change other settings to middle or lower
quality.

2. Issues with ATI video cards

- The performance of ATI cards with the current drivers lags slightly behind that
of comparable Nvidia cards (by up to about 20%). However, updates of ATI drivers
issued later than the Catalyst 7.6 drivers might resolve this issue.

3. Issues with Nvidia cards

- For some Nvidia cards (including the 7900 series) there is a chance that flicker
effects might appear for a short time or even permanently at some screen
resolutions. Please switch to other resolutions to avoid this issue.

4. Video cards not supported by HELLDORADO:

- XGI and S3 cards are not supported, including S3 Chrome S25, S3 DeltaChrome S8,
XGI Volari V3, XGI Volari V8. However the game might still be able to run on many
of these cards.

- Matrox video cards, particularly Matrox Millenium P750 and Matrox Parhelia, are
not supported. However the game might still be able to run on some cards from this
manufacturer.

To obtain the latest drivers from your card manufacturer please visit these links:

ATI Technologies: www.ati.com

Creative Labs: www.creative.com
Nvidia: www.nvidia.com

5. Sound Cards

a) Particularly on sound cards on portable computers, voice distortion can occur.

If this happens, go to Audio Options in Helldorado's menu and turn off hardware
acceleration for your sound card. This should resolve any voice distortion issues.
b) If you cannot hear any music, sound or voice output on your computer, make sure
that the volume settings under Options / Audio are set correctly. If one of the
audio elements still cannot be heard, you should install the latest driver for your
sound card or motherboard. This resolves any audio issues known to us.

6. AGEIA PhysX SDK

If you have already installed AGEIA PhysX software on your computer, please make
sure to abort installation of PhysX software when installing Helldorado. Otherwise
the PhysX software will initiate the uninstallation routine by default and
uninstall the software. If this should happen inadvertently, you can perform a new
installation of the PhysX software at any time by going to the folder extras\Physx
in your HELLDORADO download directory and running the program
PhysX_7.01.12_SystemSoftware.exe there.

Known Browser Issues

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1. Link in the Start Menu

In the Start Menu under Helldorado there are links to the Spellbound and Helldorado
Web sites, which do not function correctly on some operating systems - for example
Windows Vista - the first time one attempts to load the page. In some cases the Web
browser might report an error, claiming that it cannot display the page. If this
happens, click behind the Web address shown in the browser and then press return to
view the Spellbound or Helldorado Web site correctly.

Known Game Issues

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1. Trembling opponents / opponents in unnatural poses

In rare cases opponents you have taken out might tremble for several seconds or
remain in an unnatural position (including hovering in the air). This is a minor
visual annoyance, but it does not hinder progress in the game.

2. The effect of gas vials on NPCs

In rare cases NPCs will freeze in unnatural poses as a reaction to the gas. This
will not affect continued game play. If you want the NPCs to return to a normal
pose, you can throw a rock at them, for example.

Installing and Starting the Game

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If the installation of the game does not start automatically, please follow these
instructions to start the setup manually:

1. Double-click on "My Computer" on the Desktop.

2. Select the HELLDORADO download dirctory or the DVD drive Containing the DVD-ROM.
3. Double-click on the program "Setup.exe" to start it.

This will start the installation. The instructions on the screen will guide you
through the installation.
Please read the information on the screen carefully before you select an option.

The installation program will recognize if you already have a current version of
DirectX(tm) installed on your computer. If this is the case, you will be able to
start the game immediately after installation.
If DirectX(tm) needs to be installed, on some systems you will have to restart the
computer before you can start the game.

Setup will recognize if you already have a current version of AGEIA PhysX installed
on your computer. In some cases you may get a message saying that you have to
uninstall your existing version of PhysX before you can install the version that is
coming with Helldorado. If the version you have installed on your computer is newer
than the version that is coming with Helldorado, you should not uninstall that
newer version (compare the version numbers displayed in the message). Just choose
cancel to complete the installation. If this is the case, you will be able to start
and play the game as soon as Helldorado has been installed.
Otherwise you will have to install AGEIA PhysX.

Setup will recognize if you already have a current version of the XviD video driver
installed.
If not, you will have install that driver later to be able to use Helldorado's
Movie Mode Export feature.

After the installation has been successfully completed, you can start the game by
using the shortcut in the "Start" menu or by double-clicking on the Helldorado
symbol on your desktop.

Uninstalling
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You can uninstall the game by using the uninstallation shortcut in the "Start" menu
or by selecting "Add or Remove Programs" under "Control Panel."

We recommend that inexperienced users use automatic uninstallation.

Spellbound Studios and Viva Media feel an obligation to their customers to provide
continuing support for their games. Because of this, we may offer one or more
patches to eliminate errors.

Please visit the game's Web sites (www.helldorado.spellbound.de,

http://www.helldorado.es and http://www.helldorado-lejeu.com), the Spellbound Web
site (www.spellbound.de) or the Viva Media Web sites (http://www.viva-media.com)
for more information.

Technical Support and Game Information Hotline

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If you are still encountering problems with the game after reading through this
file, do not hesitate to contact our technical support department by any of the
methods described below. To ensure that our experts can provide you with the best
possible assistance, please make sure you have the following important information
ready when you contact them:
Type of hardware installed on your system (sound card, video card, etc.), RAM,
processor speed and make, as well as an exact description of the problem and where
it occurs.

You can also obtain all this information about your hardware and software by
launching the DirectX diagnostic program. Please follow the steps below to do so:

1) Click on "Start."
2) Click on "Run."
3) Type "dxdiag" (without the quotation marks).
4) Click the button that reads "Save Information" and save the file to your
computer.

Please visit www.viva-media.com and go to the support section of our web site. You
will find more information and solutions to common problems and you can contact our
customer support department via e-mail. Please describe the problem you encounter
and copy the information from the dxdiag file you have saved on your computer into
the e-mail.

Have Fun with Helldorado!