Cobra Gunship Macintosh Support

Copyright © 1997-99, Elysium Digital, L.L.C.
17 November 1999

Revision History

1.3.3 - 17 November 1999 1.3.2 - 12 May 1998 1.3.1 - 18 April 1998 1.3 - 30 January 1998 1.2 - 5 December 1997 1.1 - 18 November 1997 1.0 - 14 November 1997

Joysticks

Cobra Gunship 1.3.1 and later supports the following joysticks directly: Other joysticks which are capable of emulating keypresses have always been supported, but not directly. By configuring such a joystick to emit movement keypresses when you use the axes, you can control your helicopter with your joystick.

Troubleshooting

A low-level diagnostic window will automatically appear if any fatal error occurs during startup. If there are no fatal errors (if everything is fine or there's a nonfatal warning) the window will only appear if you hold the Option key down when you launch the application.

Q: Whenever I try to launch Cobra Gunship, a window pops up telling me "No Time Manager detected," and then it quits.
A:This is a known conflict between Mac OS 9 and Cobra Gunship versions 1.3.2 and earlier. Download the 1.3.3 update to resolve this problem.

Q: The cool weapon I just purchased disappeared.
A: Your chopper can hold more than one kind of primary and secondary weapon at a time. You may switch between purchased weapons by using the weapon selection keys. You currently have one of your inferior weapons selected.

Q: I just failed a mission and now the only available mission is Mission 0.
A:You need to save your games explicitly from the Main Menu. Your game is not automatically saved after you successfully complete a mission. After all, you might discover that you really should have collected more cash on Mission 16. When you fail a mission, you then load your previously saved game to resume where you left off.

Q: When I launch the game, the game freezes for several seconds and then continues as if nothing happened.
A: This behavior is harmless, though annoying. It is due to a known conflict between Mac OS 8 and DrawSprocket 1.1.2 and earlier. This behavior has been seen on earlier versions of the operating system as well. DrawSprocket 1.1.3b1 and later resolves this problem.

Q: Cobra Gunship plays very slowly on my PowerBook 5300/100.
A: Unfortunately, PowerBooks have a slow video bus. PowerPC-based PowerBooks also lack a Level 2 cache. In layman's terms this means that a PowerPC-based PowerBook runs graphically intensive games at least as slowly as a 68K Macintosh. The game should still be playable if you turn all of the options down.

Q: I bought a serial number, but when I try to register the game, it won't accept my name and serial number
A: If you are using Gunship 1.0, make sure that you backspace over the "(NAME)" and "(SERIAL #)" values that are preset in the fields. If you still have problems, this means that you have typed in the name or the serial number wrong. REALLY. The program will tell you which is mistyped. Check it carefully, and you'll find a mistake. Make sure that your name is exactly right, meaning that you didn't add a middle initial, or enter anything different from the name you registered.

Q: After I set my display settings, the screen fades to black and hangs. Hitting return exits the application.
A: Make sure you are using Cobra Gunship 1.1 or later. If you are, your display settings are probably incompatible with your hardware. You may change the settings from the "Configure Displays" dialog. See the "Changing Your Mind" paragraph of the "Display Configuration" section in the Read Me. If you're sure that your settings should be working (but aren't), please contact us.

Q: I can't hear any sound.
A: First, go to the Options menu in the game and select Audio options. Make sure that the volume is not set to 0. If you still can't hear any sound, quit the game and open the Sound control panel from the Apple menu. From the pop-up menu, select Volumes. Make sure that your speakers and/or headphones are not muted.

Q: I have my Mac's sound turned all the way down, but Cobra Gunship still makes a lot of noise.
A: Cobra Gunship manipulates your machine's volume directly. In general, if you want your computer to be completely silent, go to the Sound control panel, select Volumes from the pop-up menu, and mute your speakers and headphones. If you just want Cobra Gunship to be quieter, go to the Options menu in the game and select Audio options. Lower the volume and click OK.

Q: Cobra Gunship crashes on my 68K Mac with a Type 10 error.
A: Cobra Gunship requires a 68040 processor with FPU. It will not run on a 68LC040, as found in the Centris 610, some Performa models, and unmodified 68K PowerBooks.

Q: Cobra Gunship crashes horribly right after I begin to play a mission.
A: The only known incompatibility is with RAM Doubler. If you are using RAM Doubler and you see this behavior, you must turn RAM Doubler off to play Cobra Gunship. If you are not using RAM Doubler and Cobra Gunship is still crashing, please contact us.

Updated 17 November 1999