                           PLATFORMTRON FAQ
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q000: The compiler says that it cannot find PLATFORMTRON include files
      and pltron.lib. What should i do ?
Q001: I get "Undefined symbol 'symbolname' in module 'modulename' " error
      messages when i try to link PLATFORMTRON with my program. pltron.lib
      is in my project file. What's wrong ?
Q002: The view window is too big for my game. How can i reduce its size ?
Q003: How can i have a sprite that is always displayed on a fixed position
      on the screen ?
Q004: 640K is not enough memory to do something good. What about EMS,XMS,
      protected mode ?
Q005: Can i use only one layer ? I dont need the other one.
Q006: I have written a simple program that uses PLATFORMTRON and it
      crashes. What can be wrong ?
Q007: I like to reduce the frame rate of PLATFORTMTRON. What should i do ?
Q008: I want to display a menu in the middle of my game.
      Is it possible to write directly at video ram under PLATFORMTRON ?
Q009: I think i have found a bug in PLATFORMTRON. What should i do ?
Q010: What about parallax scrolling ?



Q000: The compiler says that it cannot find PLATFORMTRON include files
      and pltron.lib. What should i do ?
A:    Go to Options|Directories and add the directories that contain
      PLATFORMTRON include files and pltron.lib, into the appropriate text
      fields. Then go to Options|Save to save the changes.


Q001: I get "Undefined symbol 'symbolname' in module 'modulename' " error
      messages when i try to link PLATFORMTRON to my program. pltron.lib
      is in my project file. What's wrong ?
A:    Make sure that "case-sensitive link" is off.
      Look at Options|Linker|Settings


Q002: The view window is too big for my game. How can i reduce its size ?
A:    You cant. The view window is always 320x200.


Q003: How can i have a sprite that is always displayed on a fixed position
      on the screen ?
A:    That's really very simple:
      Your sprite must use the following action function:

       void  fixedaction(TOobject *obj)
        {
          obj->x=obj->owner->x + (screen x coordinate);
          obj->y=obj->owner->y + (screen y coordinate);
        }
      Be sure that you assign, a priority number greater than the priority
      number of any object that does the scrolling, to your sprite,
      so fixedaction() is called after the scrolling has been done.



Q004: 640K is not enough memory to do something good. What about EMS,XMS,
      protected mode ?
A:    EMS memory is already supported by PLATFORMTRON, but only for bitmaps
      see TOworld::storebitmap() , TOworld::getbitmapdataptr(), and
      TOworld::freeemsbitmaps() fore more details.
      XMS memory is not supported and will never be.
      I am currently porting PLATFORMTRON to protected mode for WATCOM C/C++
      So there will be a protected mode version of PLATFORMTRON soon or late.



Q005: Can i use only one layer ? I dont need the other one.
A:    You cannot use only one layer. You must always have background AND
      foreground layers. Background attributes layer is optional.



Q006: I have written a simple program that uses PLATFORMTRON and it
      crashes. What can be wrong ?
A:    If your program crashes the first thing you have to do is to
      check what every function ,you call, returns. If you find a
      function that returns an error code then you can correct this
      error.
        The most of the times you will propably have forgotten
      to call some other function.
      For example:
      You tried to call TOworld::makelayer() without first calling
      TOworld::setdimensions();
        There is also an other common type of error:
      For example:
      TOworld::makeframesdescrs(1);
      TOworld::makebitmaps(12);
      TOworld::make1bitmapdescr(0,12, 0);
      The last function call makes a frame descriptor of a single bitmap,
      the bitmap number 12. That's a serious mistake because bitmap numbers
      go from 0 to 11 (you have made only 12 pointers to bitmaps) and so
      the bitmap number 12 doesnot exist. make1bitmapdescr() will return
      ERR_OUTOFRANGE, but if you ignore this and try to call, later,
      TOworld::animate() then your program will propably crash.



Q007: I like to reduce the frame rate of PLATFORTMTRON. What should i do ?
A:    You must change PLATFORMTRON kernel. See PLATFORMTRON kernel in the
      manual for more details.



Q008: I want to display a menu in the middle of my game.
      Is it possible to write directly at video ram under PLATFORMTRON ?
A:    The only functions that allow you to do that are TOworld::M2Vsolid()
      and TOworld::M2Vthru(). See their descriptions in the manual for more
      details.



Q009: I think i have found a bug in PLATFORMTRON. What should i do ?
A:    First make sure that it is a real bug. It may be your fault.
      Then fill in the BUG.FRM and send it to me.



Q010: What about parallax scrolling ?
      It is not supported and propably will never be.
