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X-COM
TECHNICAL SUPPLEMENT
Q. Can I run my game through Windows?
No, this is not recommended, it is likely that you will have insufficient
memory to do so.
Q. Does my game run with DR DOS, Novell DOS 7 or
OS/2?
Success is not guaranteed. MicroProse games are currently designed to
run with MS-DOS 5.0 or 100% compatible DOS.
Q. What is Base Memory?
This is the original 1Mb (1024K) in your machine. It is divided up into
Conventional Memory (640K), where MS-DOS and all PC programs load
and Upper Memory (384K), where system programs reside.
In MS-DOS 5.0 the bulk of the operating system and associated drivers
(such as the mouse driver) are normally loaded into Upper Memory.
Other drivers held in the area of Conventional Memory will reduce
your 640K available for the program.
It is important to have as much Conventional Memory as possible free.
Q. What is Extended Memory (XMS)?
Further memory, beyond the 1Mb of Base Memory on your PC is called
Extended Memory. XMS can be used to free more Conventional
Memory so that bigger games can be run. XMS can also be used to
simulate Expanded Memory.
Q. What is Expanded Memory (EMS)?
EMS was originally designed to give the PC more memory to run
programs. It has been around far longer than XMS so most programs
take advantage of it. Most MicroProse games take advantage of EMS.
The DOS command EMM386.EXE can be used to turn XMS into EMS
and should be in your CONFIG.SYS.
Remember that hard disk space is also measured in Megabytes (Mb). Don’t
confuse this with memory - the two are completely different!
Memory Managers
If the program is occasionally freezing or crashing to DOS, you may
have a conflict with your current memory manager. MicroProse
recommend only the drivers which come with MS-DOS (i.e.
HIMEM.SYS and EMM386.EXE). Try using the memory managers
which come with MS-DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1, MS-DOS 6.0 or MS-DOS 6.2, in
that order.
PC Tec Sup E for PDF 2/19/97 7:35 PM Page 10
