Some Important Notes
   
This web page provides solutions for common Terminus problems. If you cannot find a satisfactory solution, please email tech@vvisions.com. This web page assumes you have the latest Terminus patch installed. Also, if you are experiencing a hardware related problem, make sure your hardware drivers are the most recent version.

Visit the Downloads page to get the latest Terminus patch.

 

  System Requirements

  Windows:

Required:
Windows 95/98
DirectX 6 or later
P2-300 or greater
At least 64 megs of ram
Direct3D or Glide compatible video card
4x or faster CD-ROM

Recommended:
Sound card
Joystick
TCP/IP network connection (for multiplayer only)

  Linux:

Required:
Linux kernel 2.2.0 or greater
X Windows
glibc 2.1 or later
pthread library 0.8 or later
P2-300 or greater
At least 64 megs of ram
Glide or OpenGL/DRI compatible video card
4x or faster CD-ROM

Recommended:
Sound card
Joystick
TCP/IP network connection (for multiplayer only)

  Mac:

Required:
G3-300 mhz CPU or faster
At least 96 megs of ram
OpenGL compatible video card
OpenGL 1.1.2 or later
Virtual Memory (at least 128MB)
Mac OS 8.6 or 9.0
4x or faster CD-ROM


Recommended:
Joystick
TCP/IP network connection (for multiplayer only)


  Feveriously Anticipated Questions



  What's wrong with my 3D card?

ATI Rage Pro
This card is extremely low performing and is not recommended.
i740
Some i740 based cards have problems drawing points. This should not prevent the game from working. However, the starfield and some particle based effects will not appear.
Matrox
The Matrox G400 has been tested under OpenGL in Linux. It requires XFree86 4.0 and should work without problems.
NVidia
NVidia based cards have been tested and should run under OpenGL in Linux. We do require XFree86 4.0 or higher. Under Direct3D in Windows, the Riva 128 experiences numerous errors. It is not supported. Also under Direct3D, some TNT2 cards have experienced problems where the text is out of alignment. To fix this problem go to Display Properties in the Control Panel. Look for an advanced option to adjust the texel alignment. A value of 3 for the texel alignment seems to correct the problem.
Voodoo
Some Voodoo cards experience rendering errors when Palettized Textures are enabled. Go to the Advanced Graphics options menu in Terminus to disable this option.

Some older Voodoo cards, notably the Pure3D, do not function properly when running in Direct3D and Windows. Use the Glide renderer instead.

On Macintosh systems, Voodoo3 cards have been tested with the Beta12 drivers. The only known issue is sometimes the lens flares fail to display. This is a driver issue.
General Issues
Some cards experience problems when Lens Flares are enabled. This option can be disabled in the Graphics Options menu of Terminus.

Some cards running in Linux will not display textures on models when Mipmapping is enabled. Go to the Advanced Graphics options menu in Terminus to disable this option.


  Why doesn't force feedback work?

 
Force feedback is only supported under Windows. Furthermore, multiple force feedback devices running simultaneously are not supported. In general, if you can get your joystick to work correctly with DirectX, it should work with Terminus. If you are having problems with force feedback, you can disable it by running terminus as follows: 
	terminus +game_forcefeedback 0


  How come I can't send any voice communication?

 
Sending voice communication requires a full duplex sound card. In Windows and MacOS, make sure input from the microphone is enabled. You can test your microphone but using a sound recording program first, before playing Terminus.

  Does MacOS X work with Terminus?


MacOS X is unsupported.

  I'm having problems with OpenGL and X Windows. Can you help?


Sure, we can help. First, make sure you have XFree86 4.0 or higher installed. You can get this software at XFree86's website. Next, you to install the latest video card drivers. As of this writing, only NVidia has updated drivers. Visit their website for more info. Check your XF86Config file in /etc/X11. Check for the following lines:
Section "Module"
	...
	Load "glx"
	...
EndSection

Section "Device"
	...
	Driver "Name Of Driver Here"
	...
EndSection

If your 3D card uses a kernel module, make sure you have it installed before starting X. Finally, when starting Terminus you may have to run as root.

An excellent source for more information about setting X and DRI is available at the DRI Users Guide.

  What's the deal with Windows 2000 and NT?

 
We performed limited testing with Windows 2000. Terminus should run properly in single player modes. In our multiplayer testing, Termnius experienced a large amount of lag. We are looking into this. For now, Windows 2000 is not supported.

If you are experiencing problems starting Terminus under Windows 2000, make sure you have the latest drivers for your hardware. Also, you can use the DXDiag tool to check your DirectX support. If your computer has DirectX installed you should be able to find this tool in Program_Files\DirectX\Setup.

Window NT is not supported.

  How can I get my joystick working under Linux?

 
See this website for information on setting joysticks in Linux.

  Where can I get DirectX?


DirectX is available from Microsoft at this website.

  Where can I find Game Sprockets?


Game Sprockets are available from Apple at their website.

  Where can I get the latest 3D card drivers?


3D card drivers can be found at manufacturers' websites. The following is a list of major card manufacturers.

  On a Mac, I'm having problems getting my mouse to work. Why?

 
Problems have been reported with some mice and Terminus. If you are having problems try going to Control Panels/Extensions and disabling any mouse specific extensions. For example, Microsoft's Intellieye extensions often interfere with Terminus.

  Linux Terminus says "terminus.tl: Error 98: Cannot open file." But the file is here. What's wrong?

 
There should be a symbolic link called either /etc/TerminusPath or ~/Terminus/TerminusPath which links to your Terminus directory. Make sure this link points to the correct directory.

  Help! I can't assign joystick or mouse axes to controls.

 
There has been some confusion as to how properly bind axes to controls. Follow these steps:
  1. Bring up the Control Options window by selecting the Options choice from the main menu and the Controls choice from the Options submenu.
  2. The top section of the Control Options windows contain various control groups. Joystick and mouse axises can only be assigned to the controls listed in the Joystick and Mouse control group. Make sure the Joystick and Mouse group is selected.
  3. The middle of the Control Options window contains all the controls you can bind to axises. Click on one of these controls, for example Yaw.
  4. Click the Add button in the button of the window.
  5. A dialog box will appear asking you to deflect the axis. Move the particular axis you wish to assign to the control.
  6. Another dialog box will appear displaying the axis you moved. Click OK to bind this axis to the control you originally selected.

  When I move the joystick or mouse, my ship turns on the opposite direction as the way I think it should. How do I fix this?

 
You can correct the problem by using the invert axis feature. Use the procedure given in the previous question to assign an axis to a control, with the following change. After you deflect an axis, a dialog appears informing you of which axis was moved. In that dialog box is a checkbox for Invert Axis. Select that checkbox and press OK. Now that axis is inverted and will move in the opposite direction.

  Ahhh! My sound card won't work right under Windows.

 
Some sound cards capable of mixing 3D sound in hardware do not function well with Terminus. If you are experiencing any problems, try running Terminus with the following command line. 
	terminus +snd_force_softmix yes


  I'm running Linux with a Voodoo 3 and XFree86 4.0. Terminus runs very slowly and/or crashes. Other OpenGL games work fine. What do I do?

 
Edit terminus.cfg. Find the line that looks like this: 
	gfx_renderer "glide"
Change it to this: 
	gfx_renderer "opengl"
Run Terminus as usual.

  Can I get a list of all the Terminus keyboard controls?

 
Sure can. Click on this link for a full listing.

  I don't understand what the colors on the scanner mean. Do you have a table I can look at?

 
Yes. Click on this link.

  How do I complete mining missions?

 
You need to find an asteroid which you can target. There are many in Belt Nodes 2 through 5. Target an asteroid and fly close to it. Make sure the Mining Beam is selected as your current weapon and approach the asteroid until the target box turns blue. Fire the mining beam continuously until you have a sufficient quantity of ore. Then return to the appropriate base. If you are military, you will complete the mission by docking at the base. If you are non-military, you must go to Parts/Cargo and sell the ore to complete the mission.

  How can I make Terminus brighter? The gamma slider in Graphics Options doesn't work and I'm using a Voodoo2 graphics card for the Macintosh.

 
Try creating the file "voodoo2.var" in your Terminus folder. Use SimpleText or some other ascii text editor to add the following lines to the file: 
[VOODOO2]
SSTV2_REFRESH_512x384=60
SSTV2_REFRESH_640x480=120
SSTV2_REFRESH_800x600=95
SSTV2_REFRESH_1024x768=75
SSTV2_VSYNC
SSTV2_GRXCLK=90
SSTV2_GAMMA=2.3
FX_GLIDE_SWAPINTERVAL=0
FX_GLIDE_NO_SPLASH=1
To modify the brightness of the Terminus graphics change the SSTV2_GAMMA line. Useful numbers are usually between 1.0 and 3.0. Thanks to Joseph Gabrielli for figuring this out.