Frequently asked questions for Ports of Call / POC XXL:
1. Shipwrecked More information about the game can found at www.portsofcall.de. If you got further technical problems with
Q: How can we save the shipwrecked ?
A: Try to approach with same speed and directions towards the raft (+/-10%)
2. Cheats
Q: Are there any cheats ?
A:
Not any known, but a trick to gain more money is to buy and sell ships. Watch the market prices, they are like like a sine curve. Buy preowned or better ships when the price is low and sell them once it is high.
3. POC starting problems
Q: POC does not start, are any files missing ?
A:
You must start POC from a DOS prompt. Change to the installation directory with cd ... then start POC with POCxxxx.exe at command level.
4. Sound/Mouse problems
Q:
Sound/Mouse does not work properly or at all.
A: For the sound, the blaster variables must be set in the autoexec.bat file (mostly done by the installation program on soundblaster compatible cards.
For the
mouse, starting in DOS also needs MOUSE.COM or LMOUSE.COM to be executed (either in autoexec.bat or done manually)
5. Crashes in Win98
Q: Does PoC crash when running on Win98 ?
A: Attention - never doubleclick on the Ports Of Call.EXE in Win98! If you then reset the computer without quitting the game, autoexec.bat and config.sys might not be restored by the operating system. This seems to be a general Win98 bug with all DOS programs. Win98 copies a temp autoexec and config, but if the program ist left without proper quitting (i.e by reset etc.) Win98 does not recall the actual data. There is nothing we could do about it. However, at least the old files are saved and can be restored manually.
It is best to start the game always in a DOS modus. To do so open DOS first, then change to the POC directory and enter pocux (or pocxxxx according to the language). Quit POC always in the main menue with Q (capital Q)
or by the menue option itself.
6. Writing own computer games