OpenRCT2/distribution/readme.txt

Last updated:    2015-12-04
Release version: 0.0.3-1-beta
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Table of contents
-----------------
1.0) About
2.0) Contacting
 * 2.1) Reporting bugs
3.0) Supported platforms
4.0) Installing and running OpenRCT2
5.0) Development
6.0) Translation
7.0) Troubleshooting
8.0) Licensing
9.0) Credits

1.0) About
---- -----
OpenRCT2 is an amusement park simulation game based upon the popular game
RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, written by Chris Sawyer. It attempts to mimic the
original game as closely as possible while extending it with new features.

OpenRCT2 is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.0, but
includes some 3rd party software under different licenses. See the section
"Licensing" below for details.

2.0) Contacting
---- ----------
The easiest way to contact the OpenRCT2 team is by submitting issues on GitHub
(https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2) in the form of questions or bug reports.
You can also chat with us on gitter (https://gitter.im/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2).

2.1) Reporting bugs
---- --------------
GitHub is used for tracking bugs in OpenRCT2. Please check if the bug has
already been reported using the search functionality before submitting.

When you are sure it is not already reported you should:
 * Make sure you are running a recent version, i.e. run the latest stable or
   nightly based on where you found the bug.
 * Make sure you are not running a non-official binary, like a fork.
   When you are playing with a fork you should report any bugs to the bug
   tracker for that fork which is most likely another GitHub repository.
 * Make it reproducible for the developers. In other words, create a savegame
   in which you can reproduce the issue once loaded. It is very useful to give
   us the crash.dmp, crash.sav, crash.log and crash screenshot which are
   created on crashes.
 * Check whether the bug is already reported on our bug tracker. This includes
   searching for recently closed bug reports as the bug might already be fixed.

After you have done all that you can report the bug. Please include the
following information in your bug report:
 * OpenRCT2 version (PLEASE test the latest git develop build)
 * Bug details, including instructions how to reproduce it
 * Platform (Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, ...) and compiler (including version) if
   you compiled OpenRCT2 yourself.
 * The processor architecture of your OS (32 bits Windows, 64 bits Windows,
   Linux on an ARM, Mac OS X on a PowerPC, ...)
 * The language and culture your operating system is using.
 * Attach a saved game *and* a screenshot if possible
 * If this bug only occurred recently please note the last version without
   the bug and the first version including the bug. That way we can fix it
   quicker by looking at the changes made.
 * Attach crash.dmp, crash.log and crash.sav. These files are usually created
   next to your openrct2.cfg. The crash handler will tell you the location.

3.0) Supported platforms
---- -------------------
OpenRCT2 currently requires the original RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 binary. While
this is still the case, the only supported platform is Windows. OpenRCT2 can
still be played on other operating systems either via a virtual machine or a
compatibility layer application such as Wine. Further instructions can be found
on GitHub.

4.0) Installing and running OpenRCT2
---- ------------------------------
Installing OpenRCT2 is fairly straightforward. Either you have downloaded an
archive which you have to extract to a directory where you want OpenRCT2 to
be installed, or you have downloaded an installer, which will automatically
extract OpenRCT2 in the given directory.

OpenRCT2 requires an installation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (RCT2) to run. You
must have either installed the original RCT2 disc, the GOG version or the steam
version. Alternatively you can manually specify the location of where your RCT2
data files are. These may be directly copied of the original disc and placed in
a directory of your choice.

When you start OpenRCT2 for the first time, it will look for the RCT2 data files
in the following locations:
  - C:\Program Files\Infogrames\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2,
  - C:\Program Files (x86)\Infogrames\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2,
  - C:\Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2,
  - C:\Program Files (x86)\Infogrames Interactive\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2,
  - C:\Program Files\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2,
  - C:\Program Files (x86)\Atari\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2,
  - C:\GOG Games\RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 Triple Thrill Pack
  - The location of the openrct2.exe (where OpenRCT2 was extracted/installed)

If none of these locations are found, OpenRCT2 will ask you to manually specify
the directory. Alternatively after running OpenRCT2 for the first time, you can
edit openrct2.cfg in the OpenRCT2 sub directory of your documents folder to set
the RCT2 install path.

If you are running Windows and have set a DPI scale, OpenRCT2 might look blury.
This is because OpenRCT2 currently uses the original RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
binary as a application host. However you can manually configure this binary to
not be scaled. This will make the game more crisp, but may result in the
interface being too small to see clearly and less ergonomic to use. To stop DPI
scaling, right click the binary itself (openrct2.exe) in the install directory
or the OpenRCT2 shortcut either in your start menu or on your desktop and then
select properties. Select the compatibility tab, check
"Disable display scaling on high DPI settings" and then click OK.

If you wish to use Steam Overlay or capture game for video recording or
streaming, you might have to enable hardware display in the options window.
This will still render the graphics on the CPU but the pixel data will be
displayed using either DirectX or OpenGL. This might slow down the game but can
also make the game look smoother.

5.0) Development
---- -----------
OpenRCT2 is an open-source collaborative project. It is developed voluntarily
and hosted on GitHub. If you would like to contribute to the development of
OpenRCT2, please read the readme file in the OpenRCT2 repository or on the main
GitHub page at (https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2). This gives more detailed
information about the project, its roadmap and how to compile the source code.

6.0) Translation
---- -----------
For more information about the game's translation and how to contribute, please
visit the GitHub page and wiki at (https://github.com/OpenRCT2/OpenRCT2).

7.0) Troubleshooting
---- ---------------
If you are having problems running OpenRCT2, you can run OpenRCT2 in verbose
mode to view a detailed diagnostic log. This can be activated by running the
game via Command Prompt or PowerShell with the command line switch --verbose.

This log can help pinpoint where a problem exists and is a useful resource if
you wish to ask online for help.

8.0) Licensing
---- ---------
OpenRCT2 is licensed under the GNU General Public Licence version 3.0. For
the complete licence text, see the file 'licence.txt'. This licence applies
to all files in this distribution, except as noted below.

argparse | MIT licence.
CuTest   | zlib licence.
Jansson  | MIT licence.
libcURL  | MIT (or Modified BSD-style) licence.
libspeex | BSD-style license.
LodePNG  | zlib licence.
SDL2     | zlib licence.

Licences for sub-libraries used by the above may vary. For more information, visit the libraries' respective official websites.

9.0) Credits
---- -------
For the full list of contributors to OpenRCT2, see the file 'contributors.md'.