GBD Tutorials Clive Ellison GBC Manual.Pdf

By Clive Ellison Jack Nicklaus 6 Golden Bear Challenge Manual Tutorial

The following is a summary of the advice contained at the Activision support website combined with information obtained from posts at the Course Depot forum plus some of my own input. I have incorporated some corrections where I felt the information was misleading.

To locate the online manual for Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge

- Go to My Computer and right click on the CD drive the disc is in. - Go to the Setup folder. - Go to the JNGBC folder. - Go to the data folder. - Go to the help folder. - Double click on the index.html file and it will bring up the manual.

Problems when installing the game

If when installing Golden Bear Challenge the CD spins up and nothing ever happens and you cannot access the CD from explorer or from my computer.

1) Check for a 32 bit file system. Right click on the "My computer" icon and select properties from the menu. Click on the performance panel. Look for the line that says "File System" and make sure it says 32 bit to the right of it. If it does not, this could be causing the problem. 2) Check for a possible bad CD. In a case where the CD is damaged, then return to the point of sale for another copy of the game If during the installation Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge freezes.

Try the following:

-Empty the Temp Folder. -Turn off all background programs except for Systray and Explorer. -Turn down the cache on the CDROM. Also try turning down the CD ROM speed.

If the game will not install because the CD is shown as an audio CD then all background applications must be shutdown prior to running the game. Make sure you have 32 bit drivers for your CD-ROM drive.

If after installing Golden Bear Challenge and selecting the option to view the readme.txt, the text doesn't appear then you can still access the readme from the Start Bar after the game is installed. Just go to Start>Program Files>Activision>JN6 Golden Bear Challenge>JN6 Golden Bear Challenge Read Me.

If you are trying to install Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge to a custom directory and the game will not install then you will have to install the game to the default directory. Occasionally the game has a problem installing to a custom game directory.

If when installing Jack Nicklaus 6 Golden Bear Challenge you get a "move data process" error.

1) Check for the minimum drive space needed to play the game. Golden Bear Challenge requires that you have at least 400 MB of uncompressed hard disk space for game files (Minimum Install), plus at least 50 MB, for the Windows swap file.

2) Empty the temp directory. Empty the temp directory by following these instructions. Restart your computer. Double click on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and open the following folders in order: C drive-->Windows-->Temp. Delete all the files out of the temp folder. Sometimes there may be some files that cannot be deleted, don't worry about those and delete the rest. This folder is used by some installers for temporary storage of files needed to install an application and when it gets full it can cause other installers not to work properly. After that, while still in the Windows folder, look for a "Temporary Internet Files" folder and delete the files from that folder as well. Don't neglect to restart your computer before this step, if you do not restart you may risk corrupting a program that is using the temp folder. Restart the computer and then empty the temp folder. Empty the Recycle Bin at this time.

3) Copy all the contents of the CD to a folder on the desktop and install it from there.

4) Check for 32 bit CD-ROM drivers. Right click on the "My computer" icon and select properties from the menu. Click on the performance panel. Look for the line that says "File System" and make sure it says 32 bit to the right of it. If it does not, this could be causing the problem.

5) The CD may be damaged. Check it and you might want to consider taking it back the store for a replacement copy.

If following installation the game will not run.

1) Check to see if Windows 98 Second Edition (or higher) is installed on the PC. If so check to see if the game has been loaded to the specified folder by using Windows Explorer to locate it. If it hasn't then reinstall the game but push no during the installation when it asks you to install Directx 6, push no when it asks you to put an icon on the desktop, and finally put a check in the box that says view readme.txt. Finish the installation and the game should work. These steps are needed to overcome a fault with the Golden Bear Challenge installation routine that occurs with the more recent versions of Windows. The installation appears to work but the game files are not loaded to the hard drive. People are regularly finding this problem and the steps defined above are essential to get a successful installation.

2) You may not have 32-bit CD Rom drivers. To check for 32-bit CD rom drivers, right click on "My Computer" and select properties. Then, click on the Performance tab. Next to File System, it should say 32- bit. If it does not, then you will need to contact your CD-ROM manufacturer for the latest drivers for your CD- Rom.

3) If the game indicates "could not find sounds.sts" error or "could not find home.sts" errors and the Windows 98 Second edition installation problem is not the reason then it is possible that you have chosen the medium or minimum install. You will need the CD in the drive, and these errors or similar ones may occur if the CD is not 4) If the game indicates that the file "ingame.sts" is missing and the Windows 98 installation problem is not the reason then copy the file "ingame.sts" from the CD located in the Setup\JNGBC\Data folder to C:\Program Files\Activision\JN6 - Golden Bear Challenge\Data directory on your hard drive. If this file is already there and it asks you to overwrite it say yes.

Then try the game again and it should work. This same approach could also be used for other files if similar messages appear.

5) There are problems with running the game on Windows 2000. The game will appear to play but will frequently exit by crashing to the desktop. It has been suggested that saving regularly during play will avoid this problem which is caused by an incompatibilty with the Windows 2000 operating system for which the game was not designed.

6) If you get an error message stating "no valid combination of display settings found." Make sure that your desktop can be set to 800X600 and High Color 16. If it cannot, then the game will not work. Golden Bear Challenge needs to be played at 800X600 and High Color 16. If the monitor or display card cannot handle this, then the game will not work at all. Consult with your video card manufacturer or monitor manufacturer for further assistance.

7) If you installed a Minimum (or Medium) install and but after a few moments the game is interrupted by the splash screen then to fix this bypass the Auto-run feature. When you put the CD in the drive, hold down the Shift key until the blinking light on your CD-ROM stops, usually about 10-30 seconds. To turn Auto-run off (this means no splash screens will pop up on any game until re-enabled) go through this process.

Double-click My Computer Double-click Control Panel Double-click on System Click on Device Manager Click on the + next to CD-ROM to view the drive Click on the CD-ROM and click on the Properties button Click on the Settings tab and uncheck the Auto-Insert box Apply and OK. Reboot to have the settings take affect

If you insert the CD, Realplayer launches and starts recording the tracks from the CD. Disable the Realplayer StartCenter. All background applications must be shutdown prior to running the game.

Patching and Uninstalling the game

Uninstalling the game If for any reason you need to uninstall GBC your save games and any user made custom courses that were installed should remain in their folders and will not be deleted.

Game patch

If you can't patch the game make sure the game is not already patched. You can get the patch from here at Golden Bears Den GBC Patch and make sure you do not have any programs running when the patch is downloading, as they may corrupt the patch. Uninstall, delete the game folder and then reinstall the game and then the patch. To unistall the patch for Golden Bear Challenge you must uninstall the game itself and then install just the game.

Problems with running the game

If Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge locks up in Multiplayer when the host leaves then ensure all players have been updated to DirectX version 6.1 or higher. Direct play was fixed in the later versions.

If the game is too dark then there are no in-game gamma controls. It will be necessary to increase brightness through your Windows settings. The procedure for this varies based on the video card.

If during play, the screen drops back to the desktop, the game freezes/crashes, you get a fatal exception OE or the game runs very slowly then try the following.

1. Download and install the latest patch for the game from Activision downloads or from this site if you have not previously installed it.

2. Check for updated drivers for your soundcard and videocard. Golden Bear Challenge uses Directx 6.1 (or higher) so you need to make sure you have the latest drivers for your video and sound cards. If you already have DX6 installed on your system, DX6.1 sometimes will not overwrite 6.0 when you try to run the installer from the splash screen. You will need to run DXSETUP from the CD in order to install DX6.1 properly. DX6.1 is necessary since there is a DX component in 6.1 that is required in order to play the game properly. To check to see if you have DirectX 6.1 drivers, run DXDIAG (which should be in the DirectX folder on the hard drive), and check the version number listed on DXDIAG. Even if you bought the hardware recently they are most likely shipped with the original drivers and not the updated ones.

3. Make sure the desktop is set to 800 X 600, 16 bit high color. To change the desktop, right click on the desktop and select properties. Then click on settings. Change the desktop settings to 800 X 600 and High Color 16, and then reboot the system.

4. All unnecessary background applications should be shutdown prior to running the game. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL keys to bring up the Close Program window. The only programs you need to leave open are Systray and Explorer. Highlight the program you want to close and hit the End Task button. Once all the programs are closed EXCEPT Systray and Explorer, you can try the game once again. Note that disabling virus protection software does carry a risk if you should forget to switch it back on when you finish playing but disabling it during play will help with the game performance.

5. Check to make sure that your computer meets all of the minimum system requirements.

6. Ensure that your hard drive is not very fragmented. Running defrag should be a reasonably regular activity ie every 2 or 3 months or so subject to level of use. Many people recommend running more regularly but the benefits of doing so may be marginal against the additional wear on the hard drive and PC due to running defrag. Windows has been designed to work with a level of fragmentation and performance only drops significantly if it is very fragmented. Dependent on the size of the hard drive running defrag will take quite a bit of time.

7. Some user designed courses may play sluggishly on lower specification PCs or those that are not set up properly. These courses will be the ones that have a large file size that force the game to render large numbers of objects particularly custom objects.

The very popular user designed courses Glenhurst and New Hartselle Creek fall into this category but they are also a good test of how the machine is set up and if it plays these well then it should handle most courses without problem.

8. Go to control panel/system/performance and reduce the stting by at least one notch

Game advice

The accuracy of the mouse meter depends on how fast you move the mouse.

The faster you move the mouse the less accurate it will become

If the wind arrow dissappears but it was there before then re-enable it via the hole information screen by the bottom menu at the display options.

To choose to use the 3 Click Swing, 2 Click Swing, or Mouse Swing in Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge? You can do this in either the Setup Game option, prior to playing the game, or you can use the "Options" button if you are within the game itself. From the shell, do the following. Go to Setup Game. Select the Golfers tab. Then choose the Golfer that you want to play with. Click on Edit Golfer. Now, you can choose which swing that you will like to use. Alternatively if you're in the game already, move the mouse to the bottom of the screen and a bar will pop up with various buttons. Click on the Options button (2nd one from the right). From there, you can select the 3 Click Swing, 2 Click swing, or Mouse Swing.

When playing the game after every shot the club changes. This is the way the game works. It tries to choose the best club for the shot. If you want to choose a new club, click on the the golf bag on the player info window and a menu will appear where you can select a new club from your bag. If you do not see the player info window, go down to the tool bar at the bottom and select the "screens" icon and click on the player info selection. The window should appear now.

To chat while playing a multiplayer game, there are two areas in the game where chat can be used. The Multiplayer Lobby and while actually playing the game. To chat in the Lobby, you can type a message in the white box next to the Send button. Click on the Send button to send the message. To chat while in the game, click on the Show button in the upper left corner. Type in your message in the box and click on the send button.

If you have played a full game and but have no player statistics then check if you have gimmes or mulligans enabled. Gimmes and mulligans are enabled in the game setup screen where the user chooses the game type. Uncheck the appropriate boxes to disable these options and your statistics should be saved at the end of the game. Gimmes and Mulligans are considered cheats, with cheats enabled the game will not track the statistics. Gimmes allow the player to avoid putting and mulligans allow the user to retry the shot without a stroke penalty.

To get the putt meter to work properly in Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge make sure you have installed the patch. Otherwise when you hit the ball at full strength, the ball may not reach the hole. The arrow, which appears when you putt, does not account for the slope of the green. All the arrow does is give you a general idea of the distance from the ball to the hole. As a result, you can move this arrow forwards or backwards by clicking on the arrow and moving it. You can also move the arrow to the left or right to account for left/right sloping as well. Thus, you will either be overshooting or undershooting in order to deal with the slope of the green.

Ready Golf does not work for certain games in Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge. Whatever you have set in stroke play (for ready golf, on or off), it will then be the standard for Match Play, Skins, and Stroke Play.

When playing multiplayer mode of Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge, the wind will be different for each player. This is how the game was designed, and it is meant to be that way.

In order to continue in a tournament of Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge select New Game and you will continue to the next level in the tournament.

To quit/exit Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge move the mouse cursor to the bottom of the screen and a task bar will appear. Click on the right hand icon on the bar and this will allow you to exit out of the game. If you are within the shell, choose "quit" to end the game.

In order to save a shot to watch later in "replay mode" when playing Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge you must go to the toolbar at the bottom of the screen and select options-->save shot. A window will show up with a list of all the shots on that hole, highlight the one you want to save and hit the save shot button. Once you hit the save shot button another window will appear prompting your for a file name, give it a name and hit save.

You cannot use a joystick in the game because it is designed to be used with a mouse. The whole game is driven with a mouse cursor, you cannot use a joystick to control a mouse cursor.

If you cannot print the score card in Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge ie it only prints a blank sheet of paper then get the patch for the game

If you cannot see the hole and player information. Go down to the toolbar at the bottom of the screen and select the display options. This will enable the various windows in the game. Hole and player information windows are listed on this tool bar.

If you cannot bring up the swing meter anymore. If the swing meter will not come up by either left-clicking on the golfer or pressing the space key, then try uninstalling the game and reinstalling.

To change the in-game resolution settings, go to Options > Display Settings.

Fast 3D is used when you have a 3D card and use 3D hardware acceleration. Standard 3D is used when you choose to play the game in software rendering. The standard 3D will be a lower quality rendering.

To play "Hot Seat" in Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge you simply add however many human golfers to the selected golfers screen as you want to play. If you put a computer golfer in, then you will not be able to control it. So if you wanted to play a 2 person "Hot Seat" game, you would simply add two human controlled golfers to the selected golfers screen, select a game and play. As soon as the first player takes his shot, the other person will be able to take theirs. The Course Designer,

Course Converter and downloaded courses

In order to play courses downloaded from the internet in Jack Nicklaus 6: Golden Bear Challenge you must place them in the "Course" folder. Go to the hard drive that you installed the program on; then go to JNG: GBC; then DATA; and then open COURSES. Place the unzipped course file in this folder. When the player starts the game, the course should then be selectable from the SETUP option.

The course designer (editor) is not supported by Activision. For specific questions seek advice at the Golden Bears Den Forum. There are also a lot of websites that contain advice and tutorials about using the designer.

The course converter is a program that takes JN5 and GBC uncompiled courses and makes them into GBC 6 compiled courses. It is part of the Course Editor, which is not supported by Activision. The Course Converter and Course Editor are two different options off of the Start Bar, and this may cause some confusion since it does not appear that the Course Converter is a part of the editor.

Compiled courses cannot be opened in the Course Editor. However JN5 courses and uncompiled GBC courses can be opened and amended. Note that these courses will have taken considerable effort to create and permission should be sought if you intend to make changes other than for your own use.