************************* Winter Race 3D Beta 0.20 ***************************

Hello,

Thank you for downloading the beta of Winter Race 3D.  We have put quite
a bit of work into this project and we hope you will enjoy it.


HERE ARE THE LATEST UPDATES FOR BETA VERSION 0.20:

First let me say we got mixed feedback on the difficulty level on this
track.  Some people said it was too difficult, others said that it was
very addicting and enjoyed the challenge.  So we decided to compromise.
We made a number of changes that make the game considerably easier but
still made it challenging.  Please also keep in mind this is the stunt
track and is designed to be challenging.  You need to get to know the
track and where to turn and how hard to hit the jumps.  Half of the goal
of this track is not how fast you can complete the track, but just being 
able to complete it.  After you have mastered the track, it becomes more of
how fast you can complete it.  Other tracks on full version are totally 
different, for example no time limit or jumps, just high speed racing action. 

Now on with the new changes.

Gameplay Changes:
1.  1st pool shortened to allow more landing room.
2.  If you land in the pool skier can now get out with a speed penalty
3.  At 3rd jump, (log jump), logs are smaller and moved closer to the jump
      allowing more landing room.
4.  If you don't make the log jump you are now only given a speed penalty
      instead of having to try the jump again or start over.
5.  At 4th jump, (time extended 2), the jump ramp is wider
6.  More time given at 2nd time extension.
7.  If you land in 2nd pool you can now get out and possibly finish the track.
8.  If you don't make the 2nd log jump you are now only given a speed penalty
      instead of having to try the jump again or start over.



Graphic Changes.
1.  Texture filtering added for cards that support it.
2.  For hardware card owners, gouraud shading was added to the mountains and slopes.
3.  Higher resolution 24 bit texture used on mountains.
      (all important textures are 24 bit)

Bug Fixes.
1.  Game no longer locks up if you land on a fence or the logs.
2.  You cannot go back up the hill.
3.  No more jumping over fences.
4.  Some people mentioned when the game started they automatically veering in
      one direction.  This was because there was and active joystick port with no joystick
      or it wasn't calibrated through Windows 95.  You may now disable the joystick through
      the options screen.
5.  Speed resets to 0 when starting round over.
6.  Game uses 1 meg less memory (with more memory optimizations to come)   
7.  For users with 3D hardware you may now shut off the hardware and the 
    framerate will not be so slow. For users without hardware this has 
    no impact.

Thanks to everyone who gave us feedback in this early beta stage.  We still have some more 
tweaking to do but we've changed a lot since last week.  Please keep watching our site, 
www.3DGameArena.com, for the latest enhancements.


Winter Race 3D was developed by 3D Game Arena.  Our site is devoted to
sponsoring FREE contests with BIG PRIZES to our registered customers.
Our upcoming contest is $500.00 for best downhill time on the "Speed Track"
available on the full version CD ROM. We will be continuously running
new contests for the different tracks and upcoming games.

Please visit our web site at www.3DGameArena.com for details.



This track is one of our more challenging ones so here are some tips for
playing the game:

* You may use either a keyboard or joystick:

-- Keyboard players:
      Left and Right arrows allow turning
      Ctrl key allows tucking 

-- Joystick players:
      Move joystick left and right to turn
      Use fire button 1 to tuck

* Tucking increases speed which you must do to make the jumps and beat
    the opponent skier.  The trick is memorizing each jump and how much
    speed is needed.  If your speed is too high you'll fly into the fence,
    too low and you won't clear the obstacles.

* When coming upon a jump, give your self time to get a straight approach.

* When in a tuck position your movement is restricted. Since the controls
    are less sensitive this is a good way to fine tune your heading,
    which is necessary for jumping.

* If you get stuck or you're having a bad run just press escape to retry
    from the beginning. The escape key will also get you out of any menu.





There are a few things you should know before running the game.

* Winter Race 3D uses Direct 3D, Direct Draw, and Direct Sound.  
  It will use your 3D hardware as long as you have the correct 
  drivers supplied by your card manufacturer.

* You must have DirectX installed on your machine.  It is free and
  you can download it from numerous places including our site.

* Direct 3D does some initialization on the data before the game starts.
  On a 133 MHz Pentium it takes about 1 minute 15 seconds before Direct 3D
  finishes loading the data then 30 more seconds while Direct 3D initializes
  the data.  This last stage is currently just a black screen but we will be
  changed to a splash screen letting people know the data is being initialized.

* This is only a beta.  There are some known bugs (and probably some
  unknown ones).  Please feel free to report any suggestions or bugs to
  us via our website www.3DGameArena.com



Thanks again and have fun!!!