Frequently Asked Questions

Starting the Game

1. How do I start the game?
2. Where can I set the JAVA_HOME environment variable?

Timer Issues

1. The game runs jerky.
2. What's the difference between these timers?
3. Which timer is best?

Starting the Game

How do I start the game?

First, the ZIP file must be unpacked to an arbitrary target directory. On Windows, double click the 'run.bat' batch file to start the game. On Linux, the 'run.sh' script must be executed instead. This script was also reported to work on MacOS X 10.5 Leopard.

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Where can I set the JAVA_HOME environment variable?

Windows XP: Click on Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System. Select the 'Advanced' tab and click on the 'Environment Variables' button.

Timer Issues

The game runs jerky.

Try to select a different timer in the Settings -> System menu. The available timers are: GAGE (the default) and SYSTEM.

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What's the difference between these timers?

GAGE

The GAGE timer is taken from http://java.dnsalias.com/ and is integrated to the Golden-T Game Engine via the GTGE_add_ons. It ought to reach the target frame rate of 100 frames per second best. But it's implementation is based on a busy-waiting principle, which means that the CPU usage will always be at 100% during the game.

SYSTEM

This timer is the built-in timer of the Golden-T Game Engine. It's implementation is based on sleep calls, which won't raise the CPU usage but are not as accurate as the GAGE timer. So the game might not reach the full frame rate of 100 frames per second.

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Which timer is best?

The answer strongly depends on the machine and operating system. The GAGE timer is supposed to be the best choice for most systems.