Hitman: Blood Money
README file 16/06/06 Version 1.2


Part 1: Things You Should Know

Please read through the DirectX section of this document. This section has information that is vital to successfully running Hitman: Blood Money on your system.


1.1 DirectX

This game is optimised for Microsoft's DirectX 9.0c.   In order for you to play the game, you must have DirectX 9.0c compliant drivers for your video card and sound card.  Please note that although DirectX 9.0c is installed with the game, your video and sound card drivers will not be upgraded to DirectX 9.0c drivers. 

You will need to obtain the latest DirectX 9.0c drivers from your card manufacturer or PC supplier. These drivers cannot be supplied by Eidos.


1.2 Memory and Performance

While the game will run fine in 512 Mb of RAM, your playing experience will be smoother if you have at least 1GB Mb.

Regardless of how much memory you have, you can maximize your available memory and increase the overall performance of the game engine by doing the following:

Closing any open windows
Shutting down all other programs, including menu-bar programs like ICQ
Defragmenting your hard drive

Eidos recommends that you have no other programs running at all while playing Hitman: Blood Money. Other programs, including virus checkers, system utilities and screen savers can cause system degradation when playing games software and may conflict with the game for system resources, potentially resulting in instability and crashes.


1.3 Known Issues

Ensure you are running latest drivers from nVidia and ATI.
If you experience any issues in game this could be linked to your sound card, try reducing the hardware acceleration option within the DXDIAG tool - Run DXDIAG and move the slider option to the left within the SOUND tab.

IO Interactive and Eidos Interactive are committed to providing customer support for our games on a continuing basis.  In that spirit, there may be a patch for Hitman: Blood Money forthcoming; visit the Eidos website for more information.

http://www.eidos.com/
http://www.hitman.com

Updates

We are committed to bringing you the best game experience possible therefore its likely that we will keep your version up to date with patch downloads from time to time. Installing Game Shadow ™ will help keep your version of Hitman: Blood Money up to date. Customer support details can be found at the end of this ReadMe. 



To download drivers, you need to contact your computer manufacturer (or motherboard manufacturer if your computer custom built).



Part 2: Technical Issues


2.1 Installation & Set-up

System Requirements

The minimum system requirements are as follows:

OPERATING SYSTEM:
Microsoft Windows 2000/ Microsoft Windows XP (admin rights required) 95/98/ME/NT not supported. CPU:
Pentium 4 1.5GHz or Athlon XP equivalent
RAM:
512MB system Memory
GRAPHICS:
Direct3D 9 compliant cards supporting pixel shader 2.0 (nVidia GeForce FX or ATi Radeon 9500) SOUND:
Direct X compatible sound card
DVD-ROM:
DVD-ROM drive
HARD DRIVE:
5GB Free Space
INPUT DEVICES:
Keyboard and mouse

The recommended system requirements are as follows:

OPERATING SYSTEM:
Microsoft Windows 2000/ Microsoft Windows XP (admin rights required) 95/98/ME/NT not supported.
CPU:
Pentium 4 2.4GHz or Athlon XP/64bit Equivalent
RAM:
1GB system Memory
GRAPHICS:
ATI X800 series, nVidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card
SOUND:
Direct X compatible sound card
DVD-ROM:
DVD-ROM drive
HARD DRIVE:
5GB
INPUT DEVICES:
Keyboard and 3 button mouse


Preparing Your Hard Drive

To ensure that your installation is trouble free, you should check to see that your hard drive and file system are both tuned for optimum performance. Windows comes with a utility programs that will help optimise your hard drive performance.

You can optimise your hard drive's performance by running a program called Disk Defragmenter. You can run Disk Defragmenter by clicking on the Start button from the Windows desktop, followed by Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and finally Disk Defragmenter.


Installing Hitman: Blood Money

Installing Hitman: Blood Money is easy. Simply insert the DVD into your DVD-ROM drive. After a few seconds, the Launch Panel will appear.

This program will guide you through the remaining process via onscreen prompts. If at any time you are instructed to restart your computer, do so.

In the event the Launch Panel does not appear when you insert the DVD:

Double-click on the My Computer icon, then double-click on the DVD-ROM icon, and lastly double-click on the autorun.exe file to bring up the Launch Panel OR:

Click on the Start button.
Choose Run from the pop-up menu.
Type d:\autorun in the box provided (where d: designates your DVD-ROM drive letter).
Click on the OK button to begin the install program.



You will be prompted to select the path and directory to which you wish to install the game on your hard drive. The default is

C:\Program Files\Eidos\Hitman Blood Money

You may change this if you wish to.

At some point, the Microsoft DirectX 9.0c install prompt will appear if you do not have it on your system already. Please read the on-screen information before selecting an option. You may either choose to install or not install at this time. If the Hitman: Blood Money installer detects an active version of DirectX 9.0c on your system, we encourage you to not reinstall DirectX. If the installer does not detect DirectX 9.0c, you must install it before you are able to play Hitman: Blood Money (please refer to the next section of this guide before proceeding).


Starting/Loading The Game

Once the install has finished the Launch Panel will appear on the screen.

Simply click on the Play button to start the game.

You may also:

Click on the Uninstall button to uninstall the game.
Click on the View Readme button to view the readme file.
Click on the Exit button to exit the Launch Panel.


If you are going to play the game at a later time insert the DVD into the DVD-ROM drive. After a few seconds, the Hitman: Blood Money Launch panel should appear on the screen via the AutoPlay feature. Now click on the Play button to start the game. There is also a button present to Exit. 

In the event the AutoPlay feature does not work, you may click on the My Computer icon and then click on the DVD-ROM icon to bring up the Launch Panel.

OR

Click on the Start button.
Choose Programs from the pop-up menu.
Drag your mouse to the right and click on Hitman: Blood Money from the list.
Click on Hitman: Blood Money from the ensuing pop-up menu.


Uninstalling Hitman: Blood Money

If you need to UNINSTALL Hitman: Blood Money, you may do any of the following three things:

Insert the Hitman: Blood Money DVD into the DVD-ROM drive to activate the AutoPlay feature. This will bring up the Launch Panel. Click on the Uninstall button, then click on the Yes button from the ensuing pop-up panel to uninstall the program

OR

Click on the Start button.
Choose Programs from the pop-up menu.
Drag your mouse to the right and click on Hitman: Blood Money from the list.
Click on UninstallShield from the ensuing pop-up menu and follow the onscreen instructions.

OR

Go to the Control Panel and choose Add/Remove Programs. Click on Hitman: Blood Money from the pop-up panel to follow, select the Add/Remove button, and follow the onscreen prompts.


2.2 DVD-ROM Problems


Hitman: Blood Money requires at least a Quad-Speed DVD-ROM drive with 32-bit Windows drivers.

I receive a "xxxxxx.xxx not found" error message when installing or running Hitman: Blood Money

This error message is usually the result of your computer using MS-DOS (16 bit) drivers instead of Windows (32 bit) drivers for your DVD-ROM drive. You can easily check to see if this is causing problems by opening the Control Panel (either click on the My Computer icon or click on the Start button followed by Settings, then Control Panel).

In the Control Panel window, double-click on the System icon then click on the Performance tab. You should now see a summary of the performance status of your computer. One of the lines should say “File System: 32-bit” and the last line should say "Your system is configured for optimal performance." If you see a message saying "Drive X is using MS-DOS compatibility mode," then you will need to contact your system vendor to obtain and install 32-bit drivers for your DVD-ROM drive.


AutoPlay Issues

Why doesn't the AutoPlay feature come up when I insert the Hitman: Blood Money DVD into the DVD-ROM drive?

This is usually a configuration issue. There are many different ways to enable the AutoPlay functions of Windows. The standard method is described below:

1) Enter the Control Panel from the desktop by clicking on the Start button, followed by Settings, and then Control Panel.
2) Double-click the icon labelled System, usually located alphabetically towards the bottom of the Control Panel window, to bring up the System Properties panel.
3) Click on the tab at the top labelled Device Manager and when the new panel appears, locate the section labelled DVD-ROM and click the Plus (+) sign in front of it. (If there is a minus sign in front, don't click it.)
4) Now double-click the DVD-ROM drive revealed and the DVD-ROM Properties panel will appear.
5) Click on the Settings tab at the top.
6) Towards the middle of the panel, you should see a few checkboxes within the Options section. At the bottom of that section, you should see a checkbox labelled Auto insert notification.
7) Make sure there is a check mark in the box provided and click on the OK button to complete the process.


If the game Auto Plays multiple times:

Some DVD ROM drives cause Hitman: Blood Money to AutoPlay multiple times, which also may result in lack of control within the game. To remedy this problem click on the DVD ROM properties in the System Properties panel and under settings turn off Auto Notification.


2.3 Crashes and Lock-Ups


When I start Hitman: Blood Money, my mouse cursor disappears and my computer locks-up.

Chances are your installed audio card drivers are not compatible with DirectX. The only solution is to get a DirectX 9.0c -compatible driver from your audio card manufacturer.


When I start Hitman: Blood Money, I receive the following error message:

"The application HitmanBloodMoney.exe referenced memory at address xxxx:xxxx that can't be read from."

Its likely that your installed video card drivers are not compatible with DirectX. The only solution is to get a DirectX 9.0c -compatible driver from your video card manufacturer.


The Installer keeps stopping when a certain percentage is complete.

There are three likely causes:

You may have run out of free space on your hard drive. Please remove unwanted programs to free up additional space for the game, and then reinstall Hitman: Blood Money.
There may be dirt or fingerprints on the DVD-ROM disc itself. Examine the bottom of the disc; if you see any fingerprints or dirt, carefully clean the disc using a clean, soft, lint-free cloth by wiping from the centre of the disc (near the hole) towards the outer edge in a straight line.


Hitman: Blood Money is crashing to the desktop with no error messages.

This problem can be caused by several different things. Here's a list of the most common culprits associated with these crashes:

Make sure the DVD-ROM is clean (check for both scratches and smudges on the reading surface of the DVD).

Make sure the game has been installed properly.

Make sure DirectX 9.0c has been installed properly.

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your video card and that they are DirectX 9.0c -compatible.

Make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card and that they are DirectX 9.0c -compatible.

Make sure Virtual Memory is enabled on your system.

Run Disk Defragmenter.

Try exiting the game, rebooting your machine, and re-entering the game.


 Note: That if your system crashes to the desktop while playing Hitman: Blood Money, you should probably reboot your computer before starting a new play session.  Otherwise, DirectDraw or DirectSound may be in a locked state, and the game will be unable to use your sound or video hardware.

Logitech Headset

When using a headset, we advise that this is connected and set as “Favourite Audio Device” within your control panel before launching the game.

NOTE: Should the headset become disconnected during play, as this hardware is detected as a soundcard device you may lose audio as the ‘Valid Sound Device’ would have been lost, should this occur we recommend you check the connections to your Headset and re-launch the game as appropriate.



2.4 DirectX-Related Questions

DirectX has become the new standard in Windows application development. Nearly all high-performance software will be tuned around this technology, so we do not normally recommend that customers attempt to alter its installation on their system


Can I Run Without DirectX?

I cannot use DirectX on my computer! Is there any other way to run Hitman: Blood Money?

If you do not have DirectX installed on your computer, you will not be able to run Hitman: Blood Money.


2.5 Technical Support

If you need further technical assistance after reading the Readme file please do not hesitate to contact us using any of the methods listed below.

When contacting us, please be sure to provide us with as much information as possible. Make sure to note the exact type of hardware that you are using in your system, including: your sound card, DVD-ROM drive, amount of RAM present, speed and manufacturer of your processor.  Also, make sure to include the title and version of the game, and a detailed description of the problem.

It will also help if you prepare by creating a “DXDiag” diagnostic file in Windows before you call us. Simply follow these instructions:

Click on Start
Click on Run
Type dxdiag
Click on OK
Click on the Save Information button and save the file to your computer.

When you call our Technical Support line either have this file open or have a printed copy. If you send an e-mail query you may attach the file to the e-mail.


Technical Support Contact Details (United Kingdom)

Address                      Wimbledon Bridge House
1 Hartfield Road
Wimbledon
SW19 3RU

E-Mail                          customerservice@eidos.co.uk

Phone                          0870 9000222

Web                            www.eidos.co.uk/support/index.html



 Technical Support Contact Details (United States of America)

Address                      Eidos Customer Services
                                651 Brannan Street
                                  San Francisco
                                  CA 94107

E-Mail                          www.eidos.com/support.html

Phone                          415 615-6220
Fax                              415 547-1201

Web                            www.eidos.com/support.html



 Note:  Hints and tips will not be given out over the Technical Support lines.


Alternatively, you may find help with hardware problems on one of the websites maintained by the supplier, some of which are listed below:

3D labs: www.3dlabs.com
ATI Technologies: www.ati.com
Creative Labs: www.creative.com/worldwide.asp
Matrox: www.matrox.com
nVIDIA: www.nvidia.com
Intel support.intel.com
Terratec: www.terratec.net


Eidos Interactive maintains a web page with links to all major video and audio card manufacturers, which is a good first stop if you are looking to upgrade your drivers. You can reach this page at:

UK:    www.eidos.co.uk/support/index.html
US:    www.eidos.com/support.html

Further technical information and drivers for Windows-based PCs can also be found at http://www.windrivers.com/

Thank you and we hope you enjoy playing Hitman: Blood Money.

Eidos 2006.