----------- WineX 2.2 ----------- Release Notes, October 7, 2002. TransGaming is pleased to announce the release of WineX 2.2. TransGamers can now download RPM, Debian and TGZ packages from the downloads section of http://www.transgaming.com/ WineX 2.2 is primarily a maintenance release, focusing on sound and multimedia improvements that have been made in the last several weeks. In addition, WineX 2.2 now includes preliminary support for Sony Online Entertainment's popular massive multiplayer game, EverQuest. In addition to features provided by WineX 2.2, TransGamers using it or any previous version of WineX should how be able to play Valve Software's popular Half-Life and CounterStrike games on-line. Previously, anti-cheat software would reject users running with WineX. New Features ------------ * Many improvements have been made to the sound system in WineX. Several new combinations of hardware and device drivers should now work better than previously. * Hardware sound buffering is supported when explicitly activated. It can be configured in the ~/.transgaming/config file, along with support for Full Duplex mode. See the WineX Beginners Guide v 2.2 for additional information. * DirectShow support has been significantly improved, both in performance, as well as with support for additional media types. DirectShow performance is best when hardware sound buffering is enabled. * Several improvements have been made to DirectInput, including support for Unicode APIs and multi-button mice. * A number of fixes have been made to Direct3D 8, including support switching rendering between threads, as well as various Transformation and Lighting fixes. * Preliminary support for EverQuest. The Game is now fully playable using the default 'new' EverQuest user interface mode, however the auto-updater may not always work properly. The standard UI mode is not fully functional, and performance improvements will be made in future releases. For more information, see below. * Fixes for Mandrake 9.0 and RedHat 8.0 CD device auto-detection. Note that Mandrake 9.0 appears to have a bug with SuperMount which can cause problems reading files from a CD-ROM in some circumstances. To work around the problem, disable the SuperMount feature in the OS. Known Issues ------------ RedHat 7.2, 7.3, 8.0 ==================== Default Kernels shipped by RedHat in versions 7.2, 7.3, and 8.0 include patches that can cause significant performance degredations in WineX. Both EverQuest and StarCraft are affected by these issues. For best results, install a stock Linux kernel from Kernel.org. TransGaming is paying close attention to this issue and we hope to have it resolved in the next WineX release. Gnome 2.0 ========= Gnome 2.0 users may experience problems with Gnome panels overlapping WineX windows. TransGaming expects these problems to be solved in future releases of WineX. In the meantime, we advise users to disable Gnome top-bar panels during play. WarCraft 3 ========== There are some known issues running WarCraft 3 in Direct3D mode under WineX. Users may experience incorrect cursors, poor font display and minor rendering artifacts. It is highly recommended that WarCraft 3 be played in OpenGL mode. This can be done with the -opengl command line option. This option is automatically added to the desktop and menu shortcuts so there is no need for it to be changed. Note that after upgrading to the latest patch to support Battle.net play, the game will be restated in Direct3D mode. Simply restart the game from the desktop icon shortcut to use OpenGL mode. Civilization 3 ============== Currently copy protection for Civilization 3 will only work with the 1.0 and 1.07 versions of the game. If the game is updated to a later version, it will no longer pass copy protection even with the disc properly mounted. It is recommended that users not update their copy of Civilization 3 to version 1.21 until copy protection support in WineX is updated. Users may also experience minor problems with area of influence lines around settler units and diplomatic indicators found on the Foreign Advisor screen. Grand Theft Auto 3 ================== The opening videos for Grand Theft Auto 3 work quite slowly under WineX. The movies may be skipped by pressing the space bar twice. Black and White =============== At this time the mouse wheel is not working in Black and White. Users can zoom by holding both the left and right mouse button at the same time and moving the mouse towards or away as needed. Zooming can also be accomplished using the ctrl key and the up/down arrows. EverQuest ========= Preliminary support for EverQuest is included in WineX 2.2. A number of problems remain with the game that will be addressed in future versions of WineX. Performance issues will also be addressed in future versions, as general WineX performance improves. Known issues include: o Issues during the initial install of EverQuest. With some Window Managers, a final dialog will appear behind the main window after EverQuest's install is complete. Minimize the backdrop window to see the dialog box and complete the install process. o The Everquest.exe updater sometimes does not work. If you experience a hang in the updater after update information has been checked, you man need to kill the winex process (killall -9 wine), and re-run it. It may require several re-runs to get the game to work. Alternatively, the game may be run without the auto-updater by using the command 'winex eqgame.exe patchme'. o Fonts in the game are illegible for some users. We highly recommend the use of the new Everquest user interface. If this is not the default for your EverQuest session, use the following commands to activate it: - Start Everquest and log-in - Enter the server of your choice and select or create a character to enter the world of Everquest - Once loaded, use the '/newui' command to enable the new user interface - The new User Interface will require you to restart Everquest. To do so use the '/sit' command, followed by the '/camp desk' command. Make sure to completely exit Everquest and restart it to enable the new User Interface o Fonts may also appear illegible if you are running the game in 24-bit or 32-bit color mode. Restart your X Server in 16-bit color and re-launch EverQuest to work around this issue. o Some users may experience problems in the standard WineX 'Managed' mode. If you see desktop panels overlapping your EverQuest session, you may wish to switch into 'Non-Managed' mode. For more information, please see the WineX Beginner's Guide. o EverQuest may perform very poorly under stock RedHat 8.0 and earlier Linux Kernels. We highly recommend using a stock Linux Kernel from Kernel.org.