Thank you for purchasing GRID™. This document contains last minute information about GRID™ and other information not found in the manual. Please read through if you are experiencing any difficulties running the game.
- GRID™ development team
System Requirements
Supported Controllers
Installation Instructions
Known Issues/Troubleshooting
Force Feedback and Steering Wheel Setup
Audio
Further Troubleshooting
Advanced Features
Useful Websites
Minimum Specifications
Recommended Specifications
TCP/IP mode (2-12 players) Requirements
Supported Graphics Cards
ATI Radeon x1300, x1550, x1600, x1800, x1900, x1950, HD2600, HD2900, HD3870
NVIDIA Geforce 6800, 7100, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950, 8600, 8800, 9600, 9800
Not compatible with all integrated sound/graphics solutions (inc.Laptops)
GRID™ can be configured to use almost any PC controller, however we recommend the following controllers for the best game play experience:
GRID™ provides default configurations for all of the above, meaning that you should be able to plug-and-play, with no tweaking required.
If you are setting up a wheel manually it is recommended that the pedals are on separate, rather than combined axis.
It is advisable to close down all applications before either starting the installation or running the game. Not doing so may cause the game to lose focus or run poorly.
Place the GRID™ disc into your DVD drive and close the disc tray. If you have Autorun enabled on your PC, the game should launch automatically – simply click ‘Install’ to continue.
If Autorun is disabled, open up ‘My Computer’ from the desktop or start menu. From there, double click on the icon for your DVD drive to explore the contents of the disc. Locate the file called ‘Setup.exe’ and double click it to begin installation.
GRID™ requires the presence of DirectX 9c on your system in order to run. Your version of DirectX will be automatically updated (if required) during installation.
Once you have entered the game and created a profile, you can alter your graphics and resolution settings from within the Options Menu.
i) The game won’t install!
If you find that you are getting ‘file not found’ errors (or other similar messages) during installation, it may be that your DVD drive is malfunctioning. There are several simple tests you can perform to verify this:
If any of the above tests succeed, then it is highly probable that there is an issue with your DVD drive. Such problems may not manifest themselves with all discs, so even if other games appear to install correctly then this may still be the case.
To install or uninstall the game you will need administrative privileges within Windows. On Windows Vista, simply enter the administrator password if and when you are prompted for it. On Windows XP, log on as an administrator before running Setup.
ii) The game does not launch
If you find that the game fails to start and does not display the GRID logo, we recommend altering the properties of the GRID application shortcut and adding the argument –novirtual to the end of the “Target:” box. For example:
"C:\Program Files\Codemasters\GRID\GRID.exe" -novirtual
This fixes an issue with certain Antivirus software and users running on XP64.
iii) I changed my graphics settings – now the game won’t boot!
If you changed your graphics settings and now can’t get into the game – don’t panic! This can occur if you enable an option unsupported by your graphics card, or set the resolution beyond what can be handled by your monitor. GRID™ includes a ‘Safe Mode’ to help under such circumstances, which can either be run using the shortcut under the start menu in Windows XP, or by right-clicking the game in the Games Explorer in Windows Vista, or else by launching the game using the ‘–safemode’ parameter. Safe Mode will simply boot the game using the lowest possible resolution and graphics settings, so that any PC meeting the minimum spec should be able to at least reach the options menu to rectify the problem. Alternatively, simply delete the hardware_settings_config.xml file, and the game will generate a new one the next time it is run.
iv) Visible shearing/tearing
You may experience tearing across the picture. This can be avoided by turning on 'vsync' which is available from the advanced graphical options menu. Please note that this may reduce the performance of the game, and so is disabled by default.
v) Poor frame-rate
GRID™ has been designed with multi-core processors in mind, and as such will run significantly better when one is available. If you are running in Vista, the game may also require a larger amount of RAM than if you were running in XP.
If the game runs at an unsatisfactory framerate, try turning off some graphics systems from the graphics options menu. Mirrors and Wind Effects can both be disabled for a significant performance increase with little loss in visual fidelity.
More advanced users may want to tweak the settings in the hardware_settings_config xml file, located in your savegame directory. Turning down the shadow mask quality to 0 has been found to provide good framerate improvements for those with older graphics cards.
vi) The game looks stretched/squashed!
Check that the aspect ratio and resolution settings that you are using are supported by and are applicable to the monitor you are using.
vii) Graphical Corruption Warning!
Using extremely high resolutions on Graphics Cards with less than 512MB of memory may result in graphical corruption. To resolve these issues simply run the game using the safe mode executable.
viii) Why can’t I choose a higher screen resolution?
Higher resolutions require large amounts off video RAM. If GRID detects that your primary graphics card has less than 512MB of RAM, higher resolutions will be made unavailable to avoid poor performance and potential graphical issues.
ix) Is ATI’s Crossfire or NVIDIA’s SLI supported?
Unfortunately, due to the working of GRID’s engine, systems which link two or more graphics cards (i.e. Crossfire or SLI) are not implicitly supported. This means you may not see a performance boost from having the second card, and you may even have trouble running the game. If GRID is failing to start properly and your system is SLI or Crossfire enabled, try disabling the technology in either NVIDIA’s or ATI’s control panel in Windows and see if this helps.
x) Problems joining/creating network sessions
If you are running a Firewall, ensure it is set to allow the game to communicate on the following ports for both inbound and outbound traffic:
TCP and UDP port 3074
xi) Graphical corruption on ATI’s Radeon X1xxx cards:
You may experience graphical problems if using a Radeon X1300 through to X1950 graphics card with Catalyst 8.3 drivers. This is down to a problem with this specific version of the drivers, and can be fixed by switching to a different driver version. At the time of writing, the problem must be fixed by rolling back to an older driver version. To do this, first uninstall the Catalyst 8.3 or 8.4 drivers via the control panel (Add/Remove Programs in XP, or Programs and Features in Vista), then browse to the following website: ati.amd.com/drivers. Choose your operating system and graphics card from the lists, and click GO. If the subtitle of the page is “ATI Catalyst™ 8.3 (or 8.4) Display Driver…”, scroll to the bottom of the page, and choose “Previous Drivers and Software”. Download and install the Catalyst 8.2 drivers.
Future driver versions (i.e. 8.5 and later) should be fixed so that this problem no longer occurs.
xii) Very poor performance using high graphical settings on Vista:
On Windows Vista, if you have not installed the recommended Service Pack 1 patch, you may experience poor performance when running on a high-end card, at high resolutions and detail levels. To fix this, you must install Microsoft’s SP1 patch, available online from Microsoft’s Download Center: www.microsoft.com/downloads (search for “Vista Service Pack 1”). In the near future, the patch will also be available through the Windows Update service.
xiii) The rear speakers are not playing
Switch your speaker configuration from stereo to surround in the Windows Control Panel. GRID supports 5.1 surround in software and 7.1 with OpenAL hardware acceleration.
xiv) The side speakers are not playing
The software mixer supports up to 5.1 channel surround. For 7.1 surround, with two extra speakers, select Hardware Acceleration with a suitable set-up (e.g. X-Fi with current OpenAL drivers).
xv) Hardware audio acceleration slows down the game
Please download the latest drivers for your X-Fi card. Creative Labs OpenAL drivers were updated in Spring 2008 to ensure high performance on games like GRID. For hardware-accelerated X-Fi cards on XP and Vista the current driver, used to test the game, is web update 5: SBXF_PCDRV_LB_2_15_0006.exe, available from http://www.soundblaster.com/support/ - note that the SoundBlaster Xtreme Audio requires a different driver, currently XFXA_PCDRV_LB_1_04_0079.exe, available from the same site.
For best results configure the system to Game Mode using the Creative Audio Console application installed with the driver, and select the most appropriate speaker set-up (or headphones, for 3D effects).
xvi) Poor Online Performance
If you notice opponents’ cars ‘jumping’ around during online races, this may be caused by your low frame rate. Try turning down some of the graphics options for a better frame rate, and the improved performance may reduce this problem.
If you have a steering wheel, the following options are available in the GRID™ controller setup screen.
i) Dead Zone
This setting can be used to create a dead area around the center of the wheel. If you feel the steering is too twitchy, increase this setting to increase the size of the dead zone. Note that a higher Linearity value (see below) may give a more desirable effect than increasing the dead zone, so consider trying that before increasing the dead zone.
ii) Saturation
This alters the amount that you have to turn the wheel to make the car turn. Increase this if you feel the steering is too sensitive. Reduce this if you feel that you have to move the wheel too much to get around the corners.
iii) Linearity
This changes how easy it is to hold the car in a straight line and to maintain drifts. Increase this if you are finding it too difficult. Decrease this if you feel the steering is too sloppy. Positive numbers mean that the steering is less sensitive around the center point whilst still giving fine control when cornering. Negative numbers mean that the steering is more sensitive around the center point than it is when cornering.
As well as the above settings, the following force feedback wheel options are available.
i) Force Feedback Strength
The overall strength of force feedback. Caution: setting this value too high may cause oscillation and an unrealistic feel to the force feedback.
ii) Force Feedback Weight
Higher values make the force feedback feel 'tighter' - only small changes in wheel orientation are required to cause large forces. This increases the perceived strength, but removes some of the subtlety and smoothness.
iii) Effects Strength
The amount of force feedback from crashes, rumble strips, and other environmental effects.
i) Performance
The audio system in GRID has been designed to scale greatly, to suit all machines and cards.
Hardware acceleration on
This option uses the OpenAL system, and is designed for use on Creative Labs X-Fi cards. It allows utilisation of high DSP quality and supports hardware audio acceleration on XP and Vista. Some budget X-Fi cards (such as X-Fi Xtreme Audio) do not support 'game mode'. If you have one of those you will only be able to select software audio.
Hardware acceleration off
This option gives you a software mixer. This uses the PC processor to mix sounds to stereo or up to 5.1 channel surround (depending upon your Windows settings). It gives the maximum compatibility with all sound cards.
ii) Drivers
You should ensure you have the latest drivers for your soundcard. If your drivers aren't up to date, you may not be able to choose OpenAL or DirectSound3D mixing, or you may be limited to DSP being LOW or OFF.
iii) Acknowledgment
Uses Ogg Vorbis libraries © 2006, Xiph.Org Foundation, http://www.xiph.org/ (see disclaimer below)
If you are still experiencing problems the please contact our customer support where we will be more than happy to help. Details can be found in your GRID™ manual or on the Codies website – www.codemasters.com. You can also see if other users are experiencing similar problems by visiting the GRID forums which are accessible from the main Codemasters website.
If your system has a motion platform, then GRID™ should be able to control it. This feature is completely untested beyond checking that the basic data output is correct, and as such should be used entirely at your own risk. The output format is designed to be compatible with the "Live for Speed" outsim motion platform format. To enable, just open the hardware_settings_config.XML file and edit the motion attributes:
<motion enabled="true" ip="192.168.0.10" port="20777" delay="1" extradata="0" />
Codemasters website: http://www.codemasters.com/
GRID forum: http://community.codemasters.com/forum/...
If you are having problems running the game, you may want to try updating your graphics card drivers from one of the following websites:
ATI Technologies: http://ati.amd.com/drivers
NVIDIA:
http://www.nvidia.com/drivers
Neither the name of the Xiph.org Foundation nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. This software is provided by the copyright holders and contributors “as is” and any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. In no event shall the foundation or contributors be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this software, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.