Some help on installing and playing the
Hunting Unlimited PC Games
(I have nothing to sell here)
shared with you by
Kraig J. Rice
Bread On The Waters (BOW)
www.breadonthewaters.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Clicking on these links will move you down the page

Introduction Understanding How Your Computer Works
Checking Your Computer Hunting Unlimited (Hunting Unlimited 1)
Hunting Unlimited 2 Hunting Unlimited 3
Hunting Unlimited 4 Hunting Unlimited 2008
How to Create User Missions Sharing User Missions
Troubleshooting Some Help Links

Introduction

Sometimes, you can't just take one of these games home with you, pop it into your computer and expect it to work right. You wouldn't try to drive a car with a flat tire, would you? Of course not! You want to drive your car when it is at peak efficiency. It's the same with your computer. Your computer is only a tool and you want to keep this tool as sharp as you can so it will serve you well. Sometimes your computer might need a little help from you to bring it up to full speed before you attempt to play any of the HU games. Yes, I know you want to play your game as quick as you can and you are impatient, but you probably have tried this anyway and something went wrong. That's a good reason for visiting this web page- you are looking for solutions- and I have a lot of solutions for many problems listed here. I will try to walk you through many steps to help you help your computer so you can play your HU game.

The help advice I render here is for those folks who have purchased the game disk. However, if you have downloaded a trial version from the web, the advice will be the same except for placing the disk in your cd tray.

Always choose to have fun with this hobby and enjoy it as much as you can.
Warning: these games contain graphic scenes of violence and blood. It's not always you hunting the animals- sometimes the animals hunt you. Sometimes you get killed by them. If any of this bothers you I suggest that you not purchase or play any of these games. Always remember to be courtious and respectful to others in your household. If the gun-fire noise when playing the game bothers other family members please remember to turn the speaker volume down, close the door to your room, or choose to hunt with a crossbow which is much quieter.

I have mostly all of the Hunting Unlimited (HU) games and love to play them on my personal computer (pc). It's a great way to have fun and these games can provide hours of great entertainment for you if you like to hunt. These games cannot always be compared to arcade games. Why? Because you will have to take your time finding the animals, stalking them, shooting them, and then collecting them. If you don't like the challenge tier games (created by the game engineers) then you can create your own games in the user missions section. You can make these missions like arcade games if you want to. If you like to compete against other players you can join a tourney group online and strive for the most points.

I never had to use any of the game cheats on any of these games. I liked and wanted to play the challenge tier games. By doing this you will gain experience with different weapons and get to travel over different terrain in different kinds of weather. Working your way through these levels will give you some likes and dislikes on where you might want to hunt in some of the user missions that you can create.

In my opinion these games are better than the Cabella ones. Why? Because the Cabella game I had would not save your key choices for you. Every time you started their game you had to use their default key choices or re-program them each time you played. That was aggravating. It's not that way in HU. Your key choices are saved under your user name and are just the way that you want them each time you sit down to play. That is great!

There are other games on the market with the same names. Which ones? There is a Hunting Unlimited 4 PC game demo from Gameworld Network. It's an action strategy game set in WWII. Then there is Hunting Unlimited 3 - The ultimate Cricket Simulator Game. If you are looking for info on these games you have come to the wrong web page. The games I deal with here are made by ValuSoft and I place the pictures of the game box in each section. Please don't get these games mixed up.

About Playing These Games On Your Computer

These are high quality games that demand the very best from your computer. And sometimes there can be problems playing these games if your computer is not up to the task. Nothing can be more aggravating or disappointing than installing a game that won't play. You feel cheated, angry, and want your money back but no store will do that (once the game disk has been opened), so you feel stuck with a game disk that is a piece of junk. That is why many gamers purchase the playstation, Wii, or other game players. They don't have to put up with computer problems and can just play and enjoy their games. Therefore, I don't recommend that you play any of the Hunting Unlimited games on your computer if your computer isn't up to the task. My advice is to do a little bit of searching and researching of facts about your computer before you make your game purchase so you don't have to put up with any untold aggravation in this respect. But if you have already bought your HU game disk (or received one as a gift) and it won't play right- you might want to take a stab at trying to get it to work. If so, I suggest you make some computer adjustments. These next sections (listed below) may help you out a lot. If not, please visit the troubleshooting section towards the bottom of this web page where I give a few pointers (on what you can do) or (what links you can follow to get help) to make your computer play these games so you can enjoy them. I think it's worth a try, don't you?

Understanding How Your Computer Works

Your computer has several different components much like a human being created by God. The processor is much like a person's brain. The hard drive is much like a person's heart. Ram memory is much like the memory part of the human brain. The video card is much like the eyes of the human body, while the sound board is much like the ears. These are the major physical components of your computer. You can see and touch these parts.

Then there are some parts that you cannot see. A driver is a little software device that makes your video card work right. You might think of it as a kind of a pacemaker for the human heart. If the pacemaker is faulty then the heart won't work right. Sometimes video drivers get corrupted (or faulty) or get too old to work right. When that happens they have to get replaced with new ones. Once you get a new driver your video card should work at peak performance.

Another software program that you can't see is called Direct X. Some games come with Direct X that can be installed at the same time that you install your game. If your computer's Direct X is not sufficient enough you can download an updated version free from Microsoft.
(For more info on this look in my troubleshooting section at the bottom of this web page).

These parts (seen and unseen) are referred to as your computer system. All of these have to be taken into consideration when playing a HU game. Each HU game has "system requirements" that have to be met before playing the game. If your computer system is lacking then your HU game won't play right.

Checking Your Computer

You can check your computer's "system requirements" with a few clicks of your mouse. Let's go ahead and do this now so you can see what you have. These instructions are for the Windows XP Home Operating System (OS) but should be similar to other windows OS as well. You have to know what your computer's system requirements are before you play any HU game.

With your computer up and running and while you are looking at your desktop- left click on the start button. There should be a word there named "run." Left click on "run" and type in the exact word dxdiag and click the ok button. The term dxdiag is a short term for "dx diagnostic."

To Activate the "Run" Button on Your Computer:

Note: if you don't see the word "run" after you right click on the start button, then you want to adjust your computer so you can see it so you can click on it. To do this right click on the start button. Click on properties. This will bring up the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties display. At the top of this display click on the "Start Menu" tab. Choose the "Classic Start Menu" by placing a dot in front of it and then click on the "Customize" button. This will bring up the Customize Classic Start Menu display. Place a check mark in front of the words "Display Run." Click the "ok" button then click the "apply" button.

With your computer up and running and while you are looking at your desktop- left click on the start button. There should be a word there named "run." Left click on "run" and type in the exact word dxdiag and click the ok button. The term dxdiag is a short term for "dx diagnostic."

This will bring up the DX Diagnostic Tool display. On this page you can view your computer's:
Processor (measured in gigs such as 2.80GHz),
Memory (this is RAM memory measured in megabytes not hard drive memory measured in gigs), and it's
Direct X version

Now go to the top of this display and click on the "Display" tab. Your computer's display adapter is just another name for it's video card. This card is not like a football card made of cardboard- rather it's a small computer chip board that you can easily place inside of your computer (if you need a new one). There are exceptions with video cards built in to the motherboard but I won't go into these.

The computer's video card manufacturer's name will be listed. There are several companies that make video cards. You should see a statement that reads "Approximate Total Memory." It might be something like 128 MB. This is the video card memory measured in megabytes. You can physically see and touch this card inside of your computer and, therefore, replace it with another one if you want to.

Now if you look to the right side of this video display you will see your card's main driver, version, and date. You can't see or touch the video card's driver, which is a small little computer file that makes your video card work at top efficiency. This driver is very important when playing HU games and might have to be updated.

See my troubleshooting section toward the bottom of this webpage for help in this regard.

It's a good idea to keep a written record of all this if you want to ask others for help. In order to do this you can click on the "Save All Information" button at the bottom and save a text file to your desktop. Then you can print it if you want to.

Adminstrator Rights

Your computer has an adjustment that allows you to be an administrator. Please make the computer adjustment so you are an administrator. This game program has to be installed and run under an administrator account in Windows XP Home. Why? Because the game program needs to perform the various "write operations" that includes tying in the game system to the computer's system and this can only be done successfully under an Administrator account.

How do you check on this or do this? Left click on the start button, highlight "settings," left click on the "control panel," left click on user accounts, and make any changes, if necessary.

XP Pro Users:
1. Navigate to the game folder by using Windows Explore- Right click on START and choose "Explore."
2. Right-click on the game folder and choose "Sharing and Security."
3. On the Security tab grant Full access to the users that will be playing the game.

If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

Additional help and resources on this subject can be found at:
http://www.valusoftsupport.com/KBArticle.asp?kbid=2129

Create A Restore Point

Your computer probably has a backup system that can be activated in case you make a mistake while making computer adjustments. This helps you get back to where you originally were. If that is the case then create a "restore point" now before going any further.

How do you do this in Windows XP Home? Left click on start, go to programs, go to accessories, go to system tools, and left click on "system restore." Choose "create a restore point" and proceed from there. This pathway will help you get back there in case you want to "restore your computer to an earlier time."

If your "system restore" activates automatically and makes a system backup while you are playing any HU game then your game will probably crash when this happens. Some folks like to turn their "system restore" option off but I don't recommend this. It's not unusual to expect an occasional computer game crash for one reason or another.

If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to back up and restore your computer's system files. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

Upgrade Your Video Card Driver (if necessary)   

Even if you have a new computer (it's new to you), there's the possibility that it has sat on the shelf in a warehouse for several months before it was shipped out to you. Or, if you purchased a new video card (it's new to you) for your computer, there's the possibility that it, too, has sat on a shelf in a warehouse for several months before you purchased it. So what? Well, manufacturers create new display drivers from time to time- some manufacturers make a different driver every year or so. So by the time you get your computer up and running the video card display driver may be out-dated. If your HU game was made with the newest driver in mind and you have an out-dated one then your game won't work right. In other words you are supposed to have apples but but you have oranges instead. Houston, we have a problem! You may think you have apples but you don't. You need to have the latest and best display driver for your video card.

If you know how to upgrade your video card driver then go ahead and do it now. If not, please see the troubleshooting section below.

Upgrade Your Computer's Direct X Program (if necessary)

DirectX 9.0c is sufficient for all the first 5 HU games. This is your Direct X goal mark for these 5 games. If you need "up to this" amount and you know how to upgrade your computer's "Direct X Program" then go ahead and do it now. If not, please see the troubleshooting section below.

Installing the HU Game

Place the game disk into the cd tray, close the tray, and install the game.

I now quote the following information from Arush:
Installation:
Each game is supposed to self-start via it's auto-run program that is built into it. "To install Hunting Unlimited, insert the game CD into your CD_ROM drive. If installation does not start automatically,
click on START and then Run and type
D:\autorun.exe and click OK. If you CD-ROM drive uses a different drive letter, replace the "D" with the letter that your computer uses for the CD-ROM drive. Click on the Install button to begin the installation process. Follow the on-screen instructions to install Hunting Unlimited.
If you experience problems running the autorun.exe try using the setup.exe also found on the CD."

Once the game is installed you should have an icon on your desktop that you can click on to "fire up the game" after you have inserted the disk in your cd tray.

One time I had an old computer with a 8 mb video card. I tried to install HU2 that requires a 16 mb video card but the game would not play. Did I give up? No way! I just put a 16 mb video card in it, installed new video drivers, installed the game, and it worked just fine. I had hours of enjoyment as a result. You can do the same thing if you want to.

I used to install all of my games into a folder with a name like this:
games_12_01_2004
But when I installed my HU3 game into that folder it didn't work. The game doesn't appear to recognize any underscores or dashes in folder titles. These games are really "touchy" and have to be handled just right. So I had to un-install it and then re-install it letting the computer place it by default. What is the default location? The default location is
C:\Program Files
Then the game worked just fine.

So if I have any advice to give to you let it be this: let the game install to it's default location.

Run "Disk Cleanup"

If you are running Windows XP Home it's time to run a program on your computer called "Disk Cleanup." What's that? This calculates the amount of space you will be able to free up on your hard drive. It's a computer tune up program.

Where's it at? Left click on the "My Computer" link on your desktop. Right click on Local Disk (C:) Left click on "properties." On the "general" tab click on the Disk Cleanup button and wait a few minutes for the program to run it's course. If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

Defragment Your Hard Drive

There's another computer tune up program that you need to run. This is called "defragmentation." What's that? Simply speaking, this program helps put back together many files that are fragmented- one half of the file may be here and the other half over there. Too many of these kinds of fragmented game files might affect the game's performance.

Where's it at? Left click on the "My Computer" link on your desktop. Right click on Local Disk (C:) Left click on "properties." On the "tools" tab click on the "Defragment Now" button. This will bring up the "Disk Defragmenter" panel. Click on (C:) (highlight it) and then click on the "Defragment" button. Allow your computer about one hour to run this program as it does take some time but it's worth it. You should do this about once a month, anyway, as general computer maintenance. If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

Run Your Computer's Anti-Virus Program  

Some folks have an anti-virus program on their computer but hardly ever run it. I can assure you that if you have a malicious worm or virus system on your computer and it activates to destroy or cripple some of your computer's system files then any HU game you play on your computer is not going to work right.

Now- and only now- after you have completed all the above steps and whipped your computer into tip top shape are you ready to play any HU game. By doing it this way, you may save yourself a lot of aggravation. I know. I have had my fair share and that is one reason why I am writing this- to help you.

Hunting Unlimited (Hunting Unlimited 1)

What's this game about? You can hunt White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, and Brown (Grizzly) Bear. There are 175 different expeditions. You can explore some of the rugged terrain of Colorado, Texas, Alaska, Arizona, and British Columbia. Sometimes you hunt in good weather but sometimes in the rain and snow. There are some 24 rifles, pistols, shotguns, and bows and arrows to hunt with.

This game doesn't have user missions and you can't change your weapons. You can't ride a horse or an ATV. You can't toggle your scope (that means to put the scope up to your eye). In other words- if your weapon has a scope it will come up to your eye when you raise your weapon. You can't shoot from your hip if your weapon has a scope. Generally speaking, you don't have to wait too long to find the animals you want to hunt. This game has no bullet cam. However, this game won't fold your weapon into your arms when you are running forward and shooting- or maybe running backwards in self defense while shooting at the same time. And this game has the good announcer who shows excitement in his voice and who praises you sometimes when you make a good shot. It's a good game and I recommend that you get it when you can.

The following is quoted from Arush's description of this game:
"Episodes - There are 6 episodes total. One is a Free Episode that includes tutorial missions and Teaser hunts. These are just to get you started. After that, each animal has its own episode, each of which contains 8 Campaigns.

Campaigns - A campaign in HU is basically a set of 5 missions that have a similar theme. For example, one campaign is based upon bow hunting from treestands. Some campaigns will be based solely on one animal species, while others may include more or all of them.

Missions - A mission is basically a hunt, but we call them missions because you have certain objectives to complete as you hunt the animals."

After you first install this game and go to play it- the first thing you may want to do is to turn off the annoying music that starts playing. To do this go to options, sound, and click on "disable music."

Some of My Game Hints

Do you think that this is just a lame-o game because it is the first one that Arush came out with? If you play the 5 games I mention here you will find it's far from boring. So you like the fast arcade type of action? So do I to a point. Out of all the games on that one disk I have 5 that I enjoy the most. Here are some of my game hints for those 5 games if you like it
fast and furious-   and dangerous.

When the game starts you will see 6 icons at the top. (I'm assuming you have already have your user name and have established your keyboard movements.) Click on the last one- the one that has the bear's head. You are going bear hunting. Click on Master Campaign. Then choose Master Blaster. There are 5 angry bears coming after you- one right after another. You have a shotgun with 5 rounds. You win this game by just staying alive.

My game hints- I have played this alot using different tactics. It's either fight or flight. It's your choice. If you fight you can stand on the edge of the bluff above where the river goes underground. This tactic kind of traps each bear in the water below you for only a short time. Short enough for you to shoot each one and hope you have time to reload. I only like to shoot 2 shells and then reload due to the time factor because the bears are fast and dangerous. If you choose flight there is a safe place. After the game starts- run down hill and to your right above where the river goes underground. Turn to your right at the river and follow it down stream until you see a fallen tree across the gorge. Walk out on this tree over the gorge until you are in the middle of the gorge. The bears can't get you there and you can shoot any who come close to you. Stay there until the game times out and you win but be careful not to fall into the gorge lest you die.

When the game starts you will see 6 icons at the top. Click on the last one- the one that has the bear's head. You are going bear hunting again. Click on Light Weight Arms. Then choose Make it to the cabin. There are 5 angry bears coming after you- one right after another. You have a long bow. You win this game by staying alive and making it to the cabin.

My game hints- I have played this alot using different tactics. You can either shoot these bears "in the open" or shoot them "from a place of safety." It's your choice. There are 3 cabins and you don't want to get confused as to which one you are going to or you won't win this game. The game starts with you alone in a snow covered field. If you look to your right you will see a cabin- let's call this cabin #1. Then leading away from cabin #1 are some electrical power lines. Follow these to cabin #2. Once you get to cabin #2 keep on going north past cabin #2 down the draw about 300 yards or so. There you will see cabin #3. You have to touch it before your time runs out to win the game.

I've tried shooting these bears when I was out in the open and it is quite a challenge with a long bow. You can try it if you want to- if so, good luck! If you get past the first two bears and you are moving fast, you might just make it.

There are 2 different locations where you can shoot the bears "from a place of safety." The first one is at cabin #1. Place your bear bait in the snow about 2 feet from the porch where you enter and exit this cabin. You are safe as long as you stay on this back porch. After you place your bear bait, let the game run- get up from your computer and go into the kitchen and get yourself a cup of coffee or a cold soda and then come back to your computer. It takes awhile for the bears to come but they will come. You can call them if you want to but they will come whether you call them or not. Kill all 5 of them when they come there. As soon as you kill the last one start running- run all of the way to cabin #3 before the time runs out- you can just make it!

The 2nd place of safety is on the airplane dock. Go past cabin #1 to the shore of the lake and follow it to the airplane. Place your bear bait on the edge of the shore directly across from the dock. Get on the dock and wait patiently. The 5 bears will come one at a time. After you kill the last one start running- run all of the way to cabin #3 before the time runs out- you can just make it!

When the game starts you will see 6 icons at the top. Click on the last one- the one that has the bear's head. You are going bear hunting again. Click on Master Campaign. Then choose Master Trailer. There are 5 angry bears coming after you. You have a .300 Winchester Magnum semi-automatic rifle with a telescopic site. You win this game by making it to the cabin alive.

My game hints- I have played this alot using different tactics. You can stomp your way through the mountains and fight the bears there or you can have the bears come to you. It's a matter of tactics. I will help you with the tactics of having the bears come to you. When the game starts head SE towards the cabin but don't go to the cabin lest the game end before it gets started. Place your bear bait on the lake's shore line in front of the cabin. Then head due East out into the water- don't worry- it's shallow enough for you. Stay away from the peninsula of land in that direction. Go until the game won't let you go any further and then wait in the water for 3 minutes for the first 2 bears to show up to get your bait. Kill them and then wait another 2 minutes or so for the other 3 bears to show up. With this rifle you can shoot fast and reload fast in order to save your skin. After you kill all 5 bears go to the cabin and win the game. Feel normal if you are shaking from fear and from an adrenalin rush at this time- it's part of what makes this game a lot of fun.

When the game starts you will see 6 icons at the top. Click on the last one- the one that has the bear's head. You are going bear hunting again. Click on In Self Defense. Then choose Can You Make It? There are 2 angry bears coming after you. You have a .30 06 single shot bolt action rifle. You win this game by staying alive. You can stay where you are and shoot both bears or you can go forward and climb up the side of the water tower and shoot them from there. Either way, it's an adrenalin rush.

When the game starts you will see 6 icons at the top. Click on the next to the last one- the one that has the moose head on it. You are going moose hunting this time. Click on Kill or Be Killed. Then choose Double the Action. There are 2 hostile moose coming after you. You have a .303 British bold action single shot rifle. There is no safe place. Your only protection is in your own ability to get them before they get you. Good shooting!

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for HU before installing this game. Here are the

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 95/98/ME/2000
Pentium II 350 or 100% compatible
64 MB RAM
100 MB HD Space (allows for swap file)
8 MB RAM Direct X / Direct 3D compatible video accelerator card
DirectX 8.0 or later
DirectX compatible sound card

However, the Recommended Requirements are:
Pentium III 500 MHz
128 MB RAM
16 MB 3D accelerator

Initializing this game's compatibility setting on your computer:
If you are running a Windows XP or Vista operating system on your computer you are going to have to initialize this game's compatibilty setting on your computer. Why? Because this is the first HU game and it was first released when computer's were "less modernized."
How do I initialize this game's compatibility setting?
Once you have installed this game on your computer, go to the game folder where this game is installed on your hard drive. If you don't know where it is you can left click on the start button, highlight search, then left click on "Files and Folders." Type "Hunting Unlimited" into the slot and click the search button. The computer will find the location of the game for you. Once you find the game folder you will see 3 icons- two of these icons have a deer's head and the third one is purple. Right click on the first deer head icon. Choose properties. Click on the middle tab at the top that reads "compatibility." Choose the "Windows 2000" option. Then click ok at the bottom. Do the same on the second deer head icon. And do the same on the purple 3D prism icon. If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

When I was running my old Gateway computer that had a pentium 2 processor- even though I had Windows XP Home installed on it- this game ran better when the compatibility factor was set on Windows 98. That's because this computer originally had Windows 98 installed on it before I upgraded it. You can always change these compatibility settings whenever you want to. If one doesn't work good for you then try changing it until it does- it's kind of a trial and error situation.

When initializing the game- this game runs good on the 3D Prism setting.

There is a Game Patch available if you want to download it for this game. You can play the game without it, however, this patch adds a new Master Campaign for each species of animal.

If you load your game disk and the HU icon on your desktop has disappeared how do you play it? Once you load your game disk, click on the "My Computer" link on your desktop. There you should see the following: HU2 v1 0 (E). Click on this to activate the game.

Hunting Unlimited 2

You can hunt more animals in this game. Whereas in HU1 you could only hunt White-tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, and Brown (Grizzly) Bear- in this game you can also hunt buffalo, Pronghorned Antelope, Mountain goats, and Mule deer. You should easily find several deer and buffalo in the first five missions to hunt. This is also a first-person shooter game wherein you can move in any of four directions and "draw a bead" on an animal by using your mouse. You can use accessories including binoculars, deer calls, and buck urine to help you "draw out" your target to make the kill. You get points for hunting the right way- and points are subtracted for hunting the wrong way.

This game incorporates nearly everything from HU1 with improved graphics. If you download the demo version of this game you can only play 5 out of the 75 total missions. Also you won't be able to go to the shooting range, play free hunt or any of the mini-games. However, you can play Squirrel Bash which is an amusing point-and-shoot game.

Generally speaking, you don't have to wait too long to find the animals you want to hunt.

What are the advantages of this game?

You can run forward while shooting- or maybe run backwards in self defense while shooting at the same time. The later HU games fold your weapon into your arms when you are moving which is really a drawback for running and shooting at the same time.

This game has user missions, and you can change your weapons.

And this game has the good announcer who shows excitement in his voice and who praises you for a good shot.

The game has bullet cam if you want to use it.

The animals appear to abide by natural law. Fences, walls, and building will stop them. Canyons, cliffs, and deep rivers can also serve as barriers. Fortunately, the animals can't run on top of water, through buildings or fences, or straight up cliffs and waterfalls like in the later HU games.

Because HU2 is the most realistic of all of HU games it is my favorite.

What are the disadvantages of this game?

You can't ride a horse or an ATV. You can't toggle your scope. Toggle means to put the scope up to your eye. In other words- if your weapon has a scope- it will come up to your eye when you raise your weapon. That means you can only shoot from your hip if your weapon has no scope.

The dangerous animals that can kill you in this game are the grizzly bears, moose, and buffalo. You might want to keep this in mind when creating your user missions just in case you want them to hunt you. Don't think you can hide in a hunting stand, at the top of a windmill tower, or on top of a natural rock arch while being attacked by hostile bears, moose, or buffalo. If these animals can get under you or near the base of your platform- you will die.

In the later HU games hiding in a hunting stand is about the only safe place to hide from dangerous animals attacking you.

Bullet Cam Adjustment:
Bullet cam is short for "bullet camera" that follows your bullet or arrow to it's destination. The default setting on this is set at "promising shots." I didn't like the bullet cam at first and if you feel the same way you can turn it off. How do you do this? Once the game is up and running go to options, graphics, and you should see bullet cam listed. You have 3 choices: all shots, promising shots, and never. Choose the "never" option. Also you can change it in the middle of your game any time you want to. Later, I started liking it and use it all of the time now except when I'm being "rat packed" my multiple hostile animals that require quick kills.

I don't have any game hints for this game- it's fun all the way through it.

When initializing the game- this game runs good on the 3D Prism setting. You can also choose OpenGL if you want to.

When going on a hunt-
When choosing your weapons just "drag and drop" any weapon into the primary and secondary slots. To put a scope on a weapon, click on Select Scope, choose one such as 4.5 and then click ok.

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for HU2 before installing this game. Here are the

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Pentium III 700 or 100% compatible
128 MB RAM
400 MB Hard Drive Space (allows for swap file)
16 MB RAM DirectX / Direct3D compatible video accelerator card
DirectX 8.1 or later
DirectX compatible sound card

Initializing this game's compatibility setting on your computer:
If you are running a Windows XP or Vista operating system on your computer you are going to have to initialize this game's compatibilty setting on your computer. Why? Because this is an older HU game and it was first released when computer's were less modernized.
How do I initialize this game's compatibility setting?
Once you have installed this game on your computer, go to the game folder where this game is installed on your hard drive. The default location should be:
C:\Program Files\Hunting Unlimited 2
Once you find the game folder you will see 2 icons- one of these icons has a deer's head and the other one is purple. Right click on the deer head icon. Choose properties. Click on the middle tab at the top that reads "compatibility." Choose the "Windows 2000" option. Then click ok at the bottom. And do the same on the purple 3D prism icon. If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it. You can always change these compatibility settings whenever you want to. If one doesn't work good for you then try changing it until it does- it's kind of a trial and error situation.

There is a free Game Patch available if you want to download it for this game. I had trouble several times after installing this game patch. If you do, too, you can un-install your game and then re-install it without the patch, or, run a system restore to put your computer back to where it was before you tried the patch.

Other than that, it's a good game and I recommend that you get it when you can.

Hunting Unlimited 3

When you install this game from a game disk, the game will check your computer's hardware to see if it is up to par. This is called "Verifying installer." If it is not the game will not be installed.

What are the advantages of this game?   

You can hunt in Alberta (Canada), Arizona, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, and Zambia (Africa).

In this game you can hunt all of the animals in HU2 plus these:
Wild Boar (pigs), Cougars (Mountain Lion), Kudu Antelopes, Lions, and African elephants. The boar, cougars, lions, and elephants can kill you in this game if you are not careful.

This game does not have the automatic reloading of your weapon, but the manual reload is the best in my opinion and the most realistic.

I like the crashed and burning flying saucer in Alberta which is really a nice touch of imagination.

I like the fact that you can toggle your scope- meaning you can shoot from your hip even if your weapon has a scope on it.

This game has a horse and an ATV for a hunter to ride that can be a lot of fun in this game.

This game has user missions, and you can change your weapons.

This game has bullet cam- in case you want to use it.

What are the disadvantages of this game?

This game has the annoying announcer who is critical and shaming.

The animals can run on top of water, through buildings or fences, or straight up cliffs and waterfalls. The only place a hunter can feel safe- when he is being hunted by wild dangerous animals- is in a hunting stand.

This game folds your weapon into your arms when you are moving which is really a drawback for running and shooting at the same time.

Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives in this game and you can still have a good and fun hunting experience.

This game does not run on Direct 3D- rather, it runs on Open GL. Most modern computers will run either one of these with no problem.

Generally speaking, if your computer will play HU3 it should also play HU4 and HU2008 as well.

You can download a patch for this game if you want to. There is also a cheat code for it but I have more fun playing it as it is. You can download a demo version of this game via the internet. There are also some downloads for this demo version such as
HuntingUnlimited3v1.0NoCDFixedDLLEng.rar
and if you download these files understand that they are to be used in the downloaded demo version only and not placed in with your game files you get from a game disk.

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for HU3 before installing this game. Here are the

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Pentium III 800 or 100% compatible
256 MB RAM
1 Gb Hard Drive Space (allows for swap file)
32 MB Direct X / Direct 3D and T&L compatible video accelerator card
DirectX 8.1 or later
DirectX compatible sound card
Mouse
CR-Rom drive

Hunting Unlimited 4

When you install this game from a game disk, the game will check your computer's hardware to see if it is up to par. This is called "Verifying installer." If it is not the game will not be installed.

What are the advantages of this game?   

HU4 has 6 landscapes to explore that are different from those in HU3.

In this game you can hunt all of the animals in HU3 plus these:
Black bears, and Bighorns. The black bears can kill you in this game if you are not careful.

This game has bullet cam- in case you want to use it.

This game has user missions, and you can change your weapons.

I like the fact that you can toggle your scope- meaning you can shoot from your hip even if your weapon has a scope on it.

This game has a horse and an ATV for a hunter to ride that can be a lot of fun in this game.

What are the disadvantages of this game?

This game has the annoying announcer who is critical and shaming.

The animals can run on top of water, through buildings or fences, or straight up cliffs and waterfalls. The only place a hunter can feel safe- when he is being hunted by wild dangerous animals- is in a hunting stand.

This game folds your weapon into your arms when you are moving which is really a drawback for running and shooting at the same time.

This game has the automatic reload of your weapon. This is a drawback when you are running and shooting at the same time. It's quicker to change weapons than to wait for the game to slowly reload your weapon. By that time the hostile animal has gotten too close or you are already dead. It's too bad the game does not give you an option on this.

Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives in this game and you can still have a good and fun hunting experience.

This game does not run on Direct 3D- rather, it runs on Open GL. Most modern computers will run either one of these with no problem.

Generally speaking, if your computer will play HU3 and HU2008 it should also play HU4 as well.

Keep checking to see when you can download a patch for this game.

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for HU4 before installing this game. Here are the

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Pentium 4 1.4 Ghz or 100% compatible
256 MB RAM
1 Gb HD Space (allows for swap file)
64 MB Direct X / Direct 3D and T&L compatible video accelerator card
DirectX 8.1 or later
DirectX compatible sound card
Mouse
CR-Rom drive

Direct X 9.0c will be installed from the game disk if you need it.

Hunting Unlimited 2008

When you install this game from a game disk, the game will check your computer's hardware to see if it is up to par. This is called "Verifying installer." If it is not the game will not be installed.

What are the advantages of this game?   

HU2008 has 8 nice landscapes to explore. You have 28 weapons to pick from as well as 28 hunting accessories, calls and lures. You can go on Safari hunt and take part in online tournaments if you want to.

In this game you can hunt all of the animals in HU4 plus this one:
Turkeys. The turkeys cannot kill you. There are a grand total of 16 animals to hunt in this game and some of these can kill you.

This game has bullet cam- in case you want to use it.

This game has user missions, and you can change your weapons. There are 16 more challenges in this game than in HU4. That means that there is a grand total of over 60 challenges if you want to hunt your way through them.

I like the fact that you can toggle your scope- meaning you can shoot from your hip even if your weapon has a scope on it.

This game has a horse and an ATV for a hunter to ride that can be a lot of fun in this game.

What are the disadvantages of this game?

This game has the annoying announcer who is critical and shaming.

The animals can run on top of water, through buildings or fences, or straight up cliffs and waterfalls. The only place a hunter can feel safe- when he is being hunted by wild dangerous animals- is in a hunting stand.

This game folds your weapon into your arms when you are moving which is really a drawback for running and shooting at the same time.

This game has the automatic reload of your weapon. This is a drawback when you are running and shooting at the same time. It's quicker to change weapons than to wait for the game to slowly reload your weapon. By that time the hostile animal has gotten too close or you are already dead. It's too bad the game does not give you an option on this.

Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives in this game and you can still have a good and fun hunting experience.

This game does not run on Direct 3D- rather, it runs on Open GL. Most modern computers will run either one of these with no problem.

Generally speaking, if your computer will play HU3 and HU4 it should also play HU2008 as well.

Keep checking to see when you can download a patch for this game.

Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for HU 2008 before installing this game. Here are the

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Pentium 4 1.4 Ghz or 100% compatible
256 MB RAM
1 Gb HD Space (allows for swap file)
64 MB Direct X / Direct 3D and T&L compatible video accelerator card
DirectX 8.1 or later
DirectX compatible sound card
Mouse
CR-Rom drive

How to Create User Missions

The game, first, has to be installed and running good on your computer. You can create user missions in HU2, HU3, HU4, and HU2008, but in the HU2 and HU3 user missions there is no script point. I am only going to touch on some of the most basic fundamentals of creating your own user missions as you'll pick up on everything else we don't cover here just by using the program in a trial and error kind of way. And you'll have fun doing it.

The user mission games give you a lot of choices on how to play them. You can choose not to see blood and gore if you want to. You can choose to have dangerous animals hunt you if you want to. It's your choice on whether or not the animals in your user mission are dangerous or not. If the big game animals are dangerous then they can kill you. You can activate the bullet cam (short for bullet camera) if you want to. This is a camera view in motion that follows your fired bullet or arrow to it's destination. And there are more choices.

In HU2 the game engineers give you one user mission called Bag 'em and Tag 'em. You can use this mission as an example of how to create your own user missions if you want to. I don't recommend you using any passwords to protect your user missions unless you share your computer and HU games with a lot of others who may continually want to change your user missions on you.

So, let's go ahead and create a user mission together and you can learn as we go along. Let's create one in HU2008 (even though creating one in another HU game will be very similar). Click on "User Missions" in the left margin. At the bottom of the user missions window are 3 links:
New         Edit          Delete
left click on the "New" link. Then in a new window you will see a pull down choice menu of several geographical areas. Left click on Upper Midwest. By clicking on this name you will get the game to give you the Upper Midwest topographical map. If you don't click on this name the game will give you the default map which is not what you want. We have to create a name for this user mission. You can name it whatever you want but I always like to use the map reference plus a number I can use in sequence such as uppermidwest01 - that way I can create more Upper Midwest user missions in the future and this name gives me a kind of navigation point for future reference.

Now in the upper left hand corner you will see a black box with 4 sections to it. Just for the fun of it let's number these with Roman Numerals. Click on the top section that is labeled:

I.     General Settings

Then you will see that this section has several parts to it- all choices to be made by you:

  Mission Name

  Mission Briefing

  Forecast (weather)

  Time of day

  Dangerous Animals

Let's take a brief look at these:

  Mission Name- I won't change the mission name as it already has one given by me previously:
uppermidwest01

  Mission Briefing- Type in your description of the hunt from your imagination so others who play this user mission (including you) will have some idea as what to what it's about.
Just for the fun of it let's type in a name here: Fast Shooter-
and then we will type in a description below it:
You have 1 white tailed deer in front of you and 1 tag. Shoot fast and fill your tag. Then you get a trophy. If you're not a fast shooter you loose.

Note: you can move your typed letters with a cursor by pushing it with your keyboard's space bar or backspace key and you can re-position your cursor at any time with the computer mouse.

  Forecast (weather) - Do I want to hunt in the snow? No. Do I want to hunt in the rain? No. So I choose to hunt on a warm beautiful day.

  Time of day - Let's start this hunt at 10 a.m. Note: sometimes if you are hunting a lot of animals then you want an early start as it may take you all day long.

  Dangerous Animals - This 1 white tailed deer is harmless to mankind so let's choose the "no" option here for this hunt.

Note: if you are hunting animals who can kill mankind and you choose the "yes" option here then you might be the one who gets hunted. This option is never "set in stone." You can always edit any user mission and change it anytime that you want to. If you create a user mission that is too difficult for you and you get killed too much- you don't have to delete the user mission- all you have to do is to change this setting from yes to no and still enjoy the hunt.

At the bottom of this section click on "close."

II.     Goal Settings

Click on goal settings. There are 3 "slots" in the Tag Settings section. We are hunting 1 white tailed deer so let's go to the first slot and choose "white-tailed deer" from the pull down menu. We will leave the other two slots blank.

Below these slots are some icons. Click on any of these you are interested in. I now click on one that reads: "spine shot" awarded for a kill shot in the spine. Then the game will place a little mark there to let you know what you have chosen.

III.     Gear Settings

Left click on the gear settings section. When this section opens you will see 2 tab links. One tab link is for weapons and the other is for equipment.

Left click on weapons. When this window opens I now click on every N/A there changing it to "all." What is there? Bolt action rifles, lever action rifles, automatic rifles, muzzleloaders, bows, etc.

Left click on equipment. When this window opens I now click on every N/A (not applicable) there changing it to "all." What is there? Scents, calls, lures, blinds, etc.

At the top you will see a word link that reads Secondary Slot:
By default it is set on disabled. Click on this and change it to enabled.

Now I have a full range of awesome weapons to choose from whenever I run this user mission. And my primary and secondary weapons slots are available so I can choose 2 weapons to take along on my hunt instead of just one. Once you start your hunt with these 2 weapons you are limited to these two weapons. If you don't want these two weapons you have to close this user mission and start it all over again with your "new" weapons of choice.

Click on "close" at the bottom of this section.

IV.     Mission Objects

Don't click on mission objects because there is nothing there yet. It may sound a little bit odd but you are an object and the animals you are hunting are objects. And these objects have to be placed somewhere on a topographical map.

On your screen you are looking at this landscape. On your lower left you will see a thumbnail view of the Upper Midwest topographical or geographical map. In the middle of this map you will see a little orange circle.  

  •   Put your cursor on the little orange circle and move this cursor slowly around on the map. You will have an "airplane view" of the ground as your screen allows you to look at the terrain- there may be hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes.

    So I decide I want to hunt on the shore line of a large lake and I stop my cursor where I am looking directly above this shore line. But how do I place myself on that map? When you look to the right of your screen you will see a vertical tool bar with a number of icons. I double click the "little man" icon, then I move my mouse cursor to the map location on the screen where I want to be and left click my mouse. The game will place me at this starting location. In this game I want to place my script point right next to me- so I go once again to the tool bar and double click on the icon directly over the "little man" icon (it looks like a star cross), then I move my mouse cursor to the map location on the screen next to where I am and left click my mouse.

    Attached to my starting character on the map is a thin red arrow. This is the direction that you are facing when the game starts. You can take your cursor and move this red line around in a circle if you want to so you can face the deer when the game starts.

    Now, I have to create the white tailed deer I want to hunt. I move the map a little bit with the orange circle. The spot I choose on the map is about 100 yards away from me. So I go once again to the vertical tool bar with a number of icons. I double click the "animal" icon, then I move my mouse cursor to the map location on your screen where I want it to be and left click my mouse. The game will place the animal at this location.

    Note: there are 2 animal icons. Don't get these confused. One icon is for animals that you hunt and the ambient animal icon is for ambient (harmless) animals.

    When you create your animal- the Animal Properties window will appear. In the Species pull down window I can choose which animal I wish to hunt. I choose the White-tailed Deer. The Type (of this kind of animal) is Buck. The Mate (of this kind of animal) is No Mate.

    Also you will see 2 major sections: (Animal) Stress Factors and (Animal) Start Values.
    Under stress factors you will see a pull down window named Preset:
    I don't want the animal I am hunting in this case to be aggressive or calm or insensitive. Rather I want my animal to be sensitive so I choose this option.
    Under start values you will see a lot of options with sliders. I don't want my deer to be hungry, tired, or full of lust. So I keep those sliders to the left. Rather, I want my deer to be thirsty- that is why it came to the edge of the lake. So I move the slider for thirst all the way to the right. There are also other sliders there that will help determine your animal's aggression level, stress level, and attack probability. In this hunt I keep these sliders all the way to the left.

    At the bottom of the animal screen is a word link that reads Script Point. Left click on this link and another screen will appear. This screen has 2 sections to it. On the left are the words Script Commands. Left click on the N/A and that will make the 2nd section "come to life" adding a pull down window under Command Properties. What kind of behavior do I want my animal to display inside of the script area? Since my deer is thirsty and next to a lake, I want it to drink. So under the Action pull down window I choose the Drink option.

    Then click on close at the bottom and then close again on the next window. Then create another animal- or more- if you want to.

    Every time I create an animal the game gives it a number. The game starts the numbering at 0. If you change your mind and want to change anything about your animal you can edit just that one animal.

    How do I edit an animal?
    Click on Mission Objects and then click on the number of your animal. When you do that the game will show you where your animal is located on the map. Place your cursor on the animal- specifically on the little white square next to it. Right click on it and this will open up the the Animal Properties window where you can edit your animal.

    What are the other icons on the tool bar used for?
    The icon with the squirrel in HU2 allows you to create an ambient animal. These are harmless animals that are good for the atmosphere of the game. What kind of animals? A squirrel, boar, coyote, fox, rabbit, wolf, lizard, eagle, wood pecker, sparrow, buzzard, ducks, fly, butterflies, crow, and vulture.

    The icon with the wavy line is used to "place an animal attractant."

    The icon with the barrel is used to "place an object container." What kind of containers? You can place a box stand, carrion (an animal's dead body), grave stone, camp fire, old tire, animal skull, barrel, scarecrow, or tent.

    With the "track" icon you can lay an animal trail to the location where you created the animal. What kind of animal trails? Under "trail properties" you can choose white-tailed deer, buffalo, pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain goat, mule deer, grizzly bear, moose, and more, depending on what game you have.

    The flag icon establishes a check point.

    The delete icon is above the animal icon. This icon sets the delete mode.

    And there are icons for a camera, save mission to disk, run mission, and exit editor.

    How do you delete an animal?
    Click on Mission Objects and then click on the number of your animal. This is how you find your animal on the map. Then go to the tool bar and double click on the delete icon. Then move your cursor to the animal you want to delete and click on the little white white square next to it. Then a little pop up window will appear with the words: "are you sure you want to delete this animal?" Click yes and it will be deleted.

    We are finished creating this game so we now click on the save mission to disk icon and then on the exit editor icon.

    Now we can play this user mission if we want to. If you want to change anything about the mission you have to choose this mission by clicking it's name and then click the edit button, make your changes, and then save it to disk again. If you want to delete this user mission you have to choose this mission by clicking it's name and then click the delete button.

    It takes a lot of time, effort, and imagination in order to create a user mission so it is really a blessing when a friend comes along and gives you one or more of theirs for you to play without you having to go through all of the work of doing it yourself.

    Sharing HU Missions Files

    The HU game engineers implemented a great idea when they invented mission files that could be shared by HU users like you and me. This allows for more creativity and diversity as not everyone thinks alike and few like to hunt alike. You can email your mission files to your friends and share them with others who also have HU games.

    I have a few on my computer. Will I share them with you? Sure, why not! Just don't criticize me if my game action is different from yours. That's the beauty of the user missions- you can create each game just suited for your individual tastes. When I create my user missions I hate to be bored. I like to get right into some quick action where I have to use various tactics and quick reflexes to stay alive. I don't always mess around with points and filling tags- sometimes I run and fight just to stay alive. But sometimes I attack as well. And sometimes I shake with fear or get an adrenalin rush. Use your own creativity in your user missions. My user missions are for off-line game-play for 1 player only.

    How do you download my user missions?
    Right click on the link and choose "Save Target As" and download the zip file to your hard drive. Download these files to a folder that is easy for you to find. These files are in a zip folder which means that they have to be "unzipped" once they are on your computer. You can get a free zip program at download.com if you need it. Once these files are unzipped you will have to place them in your missions folder. Where in the world is that?

    I'll give you an example. My desktop's name is Kraig on Windows XP Home. Therefore, I would look in
    C:\Documents and Settings\Kraig\My Documents
    or if your computer does not have multiple desktops then the game info will probably be stored at it's default location in Windows XP Home similar to:
    C:\Documents and Settings\(all users or default user)\My Documents

    Let's say that the game we are running is Hunting Unlimited 2008.

    Take the unzipped user missions files and cut and paste them into the
    Hunting Unlimited 2008\missions folder. Then you are ready to play.

    When I look at
    C:\Documents and Settings\Kraig\My Documents
    I see 4 out of 5 of my HU games there because I have all 5 of them installed. HU1 will not install there but will be found under program files, however, it does not have any missions files that you can share.

    After you have played these games for a few months, created your own user missions, and/or edited mine that you downloaded, and worked your way through the challenge hunts- it would be a good idea if you came to this location again on your computer. Highlight and copy all of the HU games you see there and then paste them onto your external hard drive that you are using for backup. Or burn them onto a cd or dvd data disk. Why? So you don't have to create all of your user missions all over again if your hard drive crashes. That happened to me one time. Once I got my new hard drive installed, then I installed my HU game. I got my user mission files from backup and placed them in my "new" missions folder. Then I played my HU game just as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

    HU2 User Missions
    Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 2. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

    HU3 User Missions
    Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 3. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

    HU4 User Missions
    Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 4. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

    HU 2008 User Missions
    Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 2008. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

    Gun
    I thought I would throw in this free bonus download for you called "gun." Download the free Gun.exe program. Once you click on this program on your computer your cursor turns into a gunsight. A left click on the mouse will fire this gun placing bullet holes on your desktop. To close this program press the control, alt, and delete keys at the same time. Highlight gun and close the program. Have fun and enjoy!

    Troubleshooting

    How to Download and Install a New Video Display Driver

    You will probably have to replace an old driver with a newer one. Will this cost anything? No. The new driver is free and should be on a website waiting for you to download it. Where do you find it? If you have a Gateway video card you can go to gateway.com and get the free driver from there. If you have a nvidia video card you can go to nvidia.com and get the free driver from there, etc. Here is a sample list of some of the larger video display card manufacturer sites:

    www.nvidia.com www.dell.com
    www.3dfx.com www.ati.com
    www.hp.com www.compaq.com
    www.gateway.com www.creative.com
    www.intel.com www.micronpc.com
    www.s3.com www.matrox.com

    Now here is the kicker. Sometimes the maker of the computer will make a driver for the video card inside of it's computer that is made by another company. For example, I have a Dell computer that has an Intel video graphics card built on to the motherboard. Intel makes a driver for this video card but Dell also makes a driver for this same video card. Is there a difference? Oh, yes, the Intel driver won't run my HU games but the one from Dell will. How do I know this? It was trial and error. I tried each driver to see which one would work the best.

    Let me share with you how I did this so you will know how to do it as well. I downloaded an .exe file. I am running a Dell Dimension E310 computer that contains the
    Intel 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family (embedded video card)
    I got a driver for it at
    http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R112734&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=147600
    The description of this driver states it is for Intel Graphics 915G solutions
    It's a hard drive installation (via WinZip) with Setup.exe File for R112734.EXE

    Then Dell gives you instructions on how to download this driver:
    1. Click Download Now, to download the file.
    2. When the File Download window appears, click Save (Windows XP users will click Save) this program to disk and click OK. The Save In: window appears.
    3. From the Save In: field, click the down arrow then click to select Desktop and click Save. The file will download to your desktop.
    4. If the Download Complete window appears, click Close. The file icon appears on your desktop.

    Then Dell gives you instructions on how to Install this driver:
    1. Double-click the new icon on the desktop labeled R112734.EXE.
    2. The Self-Extracting window appears and prompts you to extract or unzip to C:\dell\Drivers\R112734. Write down this path so the executable (I.e. Setup.exe) file can be found later.
    3. The Self-Extractor window appears.
    4. Click OK.
    5. After completing the file extraction, if the Self-Extractor window is still open, close it.
    6. Click the Start button and then click Run.
    7. Type C:\dell\Drivers\R112734 in the Open textbox and then click OK.
    8. Follow the on-screen installation instructions.

    I think you get the general idea of how you download and install a new driver for your computer's video card.

    If you need additional help you can visit this web page:
    http://www.valusoftsupport.com/KBArticle.asp?kbid=451

    If this sounds a little too technical for you then just ask someone close by to help you.

    About Direct X

    Microsoft makes DirectX as a core Windows technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on your pc.

    If you are running a windows os then Direct X is already installed on your computer. You have to have at least DirectX 8.1 in order to play HU 2008. Direct X 9.0c is good for all of the HU games, however, if your Direct X is lower than 8.1, then your HU games may not play right. Some games come with a newer Direct X on a game disk that can be installed at the same time that you install your game. If you are installing a higher Direct X from a game disk then go ahead and let the game disk install this for you when you install the game.

    You can also download Direct X 9.0c free from the Microsoft website. Here is the web address:
    www.microsoft.com/directx/
    or
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=9226a611-62fe-4f61-aba1-914185249413
    Just follow their instructions on how to install it.

    What about DirectX SDK?

    I suggest that you stay away from this version of Direct X if you have an older computer. Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME are unsupported by DirectX SDK. This version of Direct X is not necessary to play any of the first 5 HU games.

    About Replacing Your Computer's Video Display Card

    Why replace your card? Because a newer one will be faster and offer better performance.

    But you want to be careful if you go to replace your computer's video display card. When replacing a video card make sure of your computer's system info first. Some motherboards have these cards embedded and you cannot replace them. Other motherboards have a special slot called an AGP slot that is sometimes colored brown. This is the only slot where the video card is supposed to be installed in. And there are other factors, as well, that I won't go into here.

    If you go online and go to your computer maker's website you should be able to find your computer listed. Click on "updates" and there should be some info there that will give you some indication of what kind and type of a video card to purchase if you want to upgrade it. This also goes for upgrading ram memory sticks (cards).

    Not all video cards are the same. You might have to spend some time doing research (on the computer) trying to find out just what kind of options you want. You may want one that you can plug a television into, or one that will run 2 monitors rather than one, etc. Every video card will contain a certain amount of memory. You want to get the greatest amount (measured in mb) that you can afford. Why settle for 128 mb when you can get 250? And various video cards are available at various prices from online stores or possibly from your local computer store.

    Your video card will come with an installation disk that also contains a driver for it. After you install it go to the manufacturer's web site to see if there is a newer driver for it that they just made. If so, download and install it.

    My HU4 Game Tries to Load But Then It Freezes Up

    I had this trouble with my HU4 game. I would put in my game disk, click on the desktop link, and then the game would try to start- but then when I went to click on user missions it would freeze up and the cursor would not move. I had to turn off my computer in order to get back to windows again.

    This problem is caused by 2 programs trying to start at the same time that causes the freeze. The way that I solve this problem is by not getting in a hurry. I load the game disk and wait for the first program to self start. When it does you will get an idiot window that has the word "install" on the left, the HU 4 logo in the middle, and the word "close" on the right. It makes you wonder what the makers of this game were thinking- as the game is already installed. Just click on "close" and as this program closes you will see a little pop-up window appear and then disappear that reads "Demo Shield 7." After this program closes then you can click on the HU4 link on your desktop to play the game. And everything should work fine.

    If not-
    You might try reducing the desktop screen resolution and color depth to 640 x 480 and High Color (16 bit) color depth in Display Properties. Many games will attempt to switch to this particular screen resolution and color depth when loading. Switching to this mode manually can help to determine if the issue is with switching video modes or with loading the game. Additionally, some OpenGL games will attempt to run at the current desktop color depth. Some video cards (graphics adapters) do not support 3D acceleration at higher than 16-bit color depth, so they will not be able to use OpenGL 3D acceleration at true color (24-bit or 32-bit color depth).

    If your computer is running "system restore" and it makes an automatic back up of your computer system while you are playing any HU game- the game will crash. This is nothing serious as it is caused by a selfish computer who does not want to share it's system files with any pc game. If this happens to you simply reboot your computer and continue playing your game again.

    My Game Is Running Slow

    After installing any HU game it's a good idea to reboot (turn off and restart) your computer before trying to play the game. It may run slow if you don't. This is good advice after you install any game on your computer.

    Maybe your computer is playing your HU game slow because your computer is "lugged down." What does that mean? It simply means that your computer is running too many programs at the same time. Your HU game needs full access to many of your computer's system files and does not like to share them with other programs while it is running. It's a good idea to close all other programs that you don't need while you are playing any HU game. Make sure you are off line and close your firewall protection program (unless you are playing on-line), and then shut down your anti-virus program, your Yahoo or Microsoft Messenger program, etc.

    How do you temporarily close any unecessary programs from running on your computer? You have to press 3 keys on your keyboard at the same time. Press Control (Ctrl), Alt, and delete (del). This will bring up the Windows Task Manager. Choose the "Processes" tab. End all processes that have your user name (desktop name) except taskmgr.exe and explorer.exe, or, if you are running a default desktop, close any processes with names you recognize. For instance, I am running AVG anti-virus. I see a couple of avg program files there that I close. You can use the trial and error method here except that your computer will shut down if you close the wrong program. To activate all of these programs again simply reboot your computer.

    When you go to close a computer's running process program you will probably get a pop-up message similar to this:
    "Warning: Terminating a process can cause undesired results including loss of date and system instability. The process will not be given the chance to save its state or data before it is terminated. Are you sure you want to terminate the process?"
    Click yes. Don't worry you won't hurt your computer by clicking on yes.

    I remember when I first got a Packard Bell computer in 1998 with less than a Pentium 1 processor and running Windows 98. I paid $2,000 for it at the time. When HU1 came out I had to "end the processes" of many programs in order to play it (or any other game for that matter) but it was worth it.

    Here are some in-game things you can try if your HU4 game is still running slow or choppy. Go to Graphics, and then to Details and Performance. Under Shadows choose "none." Lower your texture quality from high to medium. Push the slider to the left on Tree Quality. Change the water quality from high to normal. Push the slider to the left on Detailed Vegetation Density. Click apply at the bottom and play the game.

    If that doesn't do the trick you can try one more thing as far as game adjustments go. Try different "Rendered Pathways." Try one and see if that does the trick. If not, try another.

    My HU Game Won't Start

    If you have any HU game installed on your computer that you have been playing and you install a new video card display driver the game may not work right. The game has to recognize this new driver and if it doesn't it may not load. The solution to this is to un-install the game completely and then re-install it again. That way the game will recognize the new driver. Don't worry, all your game settings will be there for you again just as you left it so you won't lose anything after you re-install it.

    Can't My Computer Help Me?

    Yes it can. I will tell you how. Click on the start button, click on Run, type in dxdiag and click the ok button. Choose the "More Help" tab, press the troubleshooter button, choose the 4th option from the top that reads "My Direct X, multimedia, or game has stopped responding." Then work your way through the various steps until your problem is solved. If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

    The River Water Is Invisible

    One time I installed HU3 on my computer. As I played it I noticed that the water in the river was nearly invisible rather than a blue color.

    How did I solve this problem? Well, this is not a driver related problem but a simple game adjustment. The way I fixed it was to fire up the game, then go to options, then go to graphics, and change the Rendering Path from ARB to GLix. Then the water was a nice blue color like it is supposed to be.

    Turning Off Bullet Cam

    If you don't like bullet cam you can turn it off. How do you do this? Once the game is up and running go to options, graphics, and you should see bullet cam listed. You have 3 choices: all shots, promising shots, and never. Choose the "never" option. Also you can change it in the middle of your game any time you want to by pressing the Esc (escape) key, choosing options, and change it's setting. Then click apply and return to your game. You can do this several times in the course of a hunt if you prefer.

    My Game Crashes while Hunting On A User Mission

    This happened to me one time when I was shooting wild boar. I had created too many of them for the game to handle so I had to edit my user mission, set the delete mode, and delete the wild boar one at a time until there were about 25 or so of them left. Then the user mission worked fine and I had no more crashes when I played it.

    Explain Direct 3D and OpenGL

    In general computer terms software runs hardware. That is why you can tell windows to turn off your computer. Windows (the software) controls your computer (the hardware). In the military- software can pinpoint the destination and control a hardware rocket to it's destructive target.

    Inside of your computer is a hardware device- your video display card. This is the hardware device that plays your HU games. Similarily, it needs some software to make it work right. This software is called a driver. A graphics driver will help make Direct 3D or OpenGL work in your HU game. That's why you always have to have the latest driver or the best one.

    The software that is going to play on your video card in the HU games is Direct 3D or OpenGL. You have your choice in HU2. However, in the later HU games only OpenGL is played through your video card. Direct 3D or OpenGL were originally developed when Microsoft wanted to abandon DOS and build native Windows games. In essence they are systems that runs high fidelity 3D graphics.

    Years ago the Microsoft engineers had to find ways for windows to play games. So they invented a few programs that would help do this:
    Direct X - a family of game development API’s for Windows.
    Direct Draw - which gives you faster graphics,
    Direct Sound - for low level and quick access to sound hardware.
    Direct Play and Lobby - for Internet functionality.
    Direct 3D - for game playing in relation to 3D graphics hardware.

    Then began "the horse race" between 3D and OpenGL.

    In the early years Direct 3D was for "real-time" graphics and games while OpenGL was for high-end applications with "precise" rendering needs. In other words Microsoft's "official" position was that Direct 3D was for real-time and Games while OpenGL was for "high-end" stuff. Why? Because Microsoft's software OpenGL was pretty fast- and often faster than D3D in full color mode.

    Then game developers began rolling out their own specialized 3D engines that were getting end-users 20 frames a second or better when playing their games and D3D began pulling ahead, but it was generally understood that a well written OpenGL driver should perform no slower than a D3D driver on the same hardware.

    But there was a problem with the early 3D applications. Direct3D had widespread use, however, in some cases, it was not extremely reliable, such as when the accelerator crashed, the whole computer would crash in some cases, because some operating systems rely on the accelerator entirely.

    Then an improved OpenGL starting pulling ahead again. And even though it was a low-level, real-time 3D graphics API it had a history of more dependability. It had a fine degree of control as to how game rendering takes place with faster interactive 3D graphics. It then became the API of choice for many kinds of game applications including the later HU games.

    If you desire more info on this you can go to this web page:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_OpenGL_and_Direct3D

    Some Problems with Direct 3D and OpenGL

    I am running a Dell Dimension E310 computer that contains the Intel 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family with an embedded video card. When I was running the Intel driver for it it would only play HU1 and HU2- and only if I played them in Direct 3D. OpenGL would not work with this particular driver. The older Dell driver was better and would play all of the HU games- including the OpenGL ones. So the point I am trying to make here is that some drivers will act differently in regards to the same video card.

    The HU game engineers indicate that the embedded Intel 810/815 graphics card will run the older HU games, even though this video card is below the minimum system requirements. They also advise that "for users of some graphics cards and chipsets, please note that you may be required to switch to OpenGL instead of DirectX. If you cannot read the Main Menu words properly, you must do this." And they also recommend having the v1.1R patch installed for HU1.

    Some Help Tips from HU Users

    I have a Radeon 9600 ATI video card. The 7.4 version driver makes my HU games work just fine, whereas the 7.5 and 7.6 drivers cause my HU games to freeze and or lock up.

    I have a high end pentium 4 processor with hyperthreading technology so my computer runs normally hot. I put a new video card in it and it wouldn't run my HU games until I opened the computer and installed a big ventilator fan in front of it to cool it down.

    My gun moves while I am trying to aim. Mount and dismount the horse twice. That solves the "pulling" effect with the scopes. And sometimes if you reload your weapon it will stop moving long enough to get in one shot while still.

    How can I view my trophies?
    The game designers recommend:
    "Your Hunting Unlimited trophies can be viewed by clicking on HUNTER from the main menu. Under Best Trophies, click on VIEW. You can only view your best trophy from each animal. If you want a printed copy of all of your trophies, we would suggest that you take a screenshot when viewing your trophy (before you shoot a larger one)."

    More Help Please

    If you still have a problem and have not found the solution to your problem- here are some more places to look for help:

    HELP FILE:
    In HU2008 there is a full Help File in HTML format that can be accessed from the Start Menu. There is also an in-game Help Section found on the Main Menu.

    You can submit an online query for help at

    http://huntingunlimited.scssoft.com/tournaments/tournament_home.php

    Choose the forums tab. LadyHawke or others there may be able to help you. This is also the place to go for tournament info.

    Hunting Unlimited has online Support for all 5 of it's HU games at
    http://huntingunlimited.scssoft.com/tournaments/content_faq.php

    There is also some online help at HUGuide.com or you can go here for help:

    http://www.valusoftsupport.com/Results.asp?search=full&show=titles&results=20&submit=prod&pid=148

    General Trouble-Shooting Tips:
    http://www.valusoftsupport.com/KBArticle.asp?kbid=3075

    How To Articles:
    http://www.valusoftsupport.com/HowTo.asp

    For additional help in creating user missions
    http://www.huguide.com/?page_id=8


    Bread On the Waters shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this information. The contents of this web page is for general information use only in regards to public domain. Nothing reported in this web page is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any computer from acting but in a noble and honorable way. All computers are hereby placed on notice that if they don't play the Hunting Unlimited games right they are to be delegated to the scrap heap!

    Please do not email me with any specific questions regarding computers, or any of the HU games. Thanks:)

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    February 9, 2008