Help for the Hunting Unlimited Games (part 2)

Some help on installing and playing the
Hunting Unlimited PC Games
(part 2)
shared with you by
Kraig J. Rice
www.7-star-admiral.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Clicking on these links will move you down the page

Some Hints For Playing the Challenges	How to Create User Missions
Sharing User Missions	Troubleshooting
Compatibility with Windows 7	Some Help Links

A Few Game Hints For The HU Challenges

Note: if you wound an animal and it is down but suffering, you can't tag it until you kill it first.

Note: always keep your weapon loaded at all times, no exceptions if you want to live.

Note: if you go to tag an animal and can't find it, look in a bush, or sometimes under the water.

Note: when a challenge starts, the way you are facing is mostly always the direction for you to move.

Note: You have to get off of the ATV or horse to use your binoculars, shoot, or tag your animal(s).

Note: Tier 7 in HU2009 and Hu2010 introduces you to wolves. How do you shoot them? At close range, I like to use a 12 gauge pump shotgun on cougars, lions, pigs, moose, and wolves because of the beneficial shot spread pattern against fast moving and dangerous animals. But feel free to use any weapon that suits your fancy.

The first 6 tiers in the HU Challenges are nearly identical in HU3, HU4, HU2008, HU2009, & Hu2010. So, let's look at a few challenges in Hunting Unlimited 10 going tier by tier.

TIER 1:

The basic function of Tier 1 is to teach you how to move and to introduce you to the game. These challenges are simple, not dangerous, and don't need much explaining.

There is a challenge hunt called "tracking." There are some fast and dangerous animals in this challenge. When choosing your rife, click on the default rifle to bring up other choices and choose the Win Mag semi automatic rifle. This will allow you rapid fire with a fast reload. As soon as the game starts hit the Esc key and go to options. Change the bullet cam to "never." Then click on apply and then return to the game. Shoot the mountain lion first and the grizzly bear second. Then hunt down and kill the moose. If you don't get them, they might get you. Have fun.

There is a challenge hunt called "trophies." When the game starts get on the ATV and go straight ahead- but don't drive off of the edge of the cliff. Stop on the rim. Look across the river at the mountain range there. You will see a kind of a bowl shaped valley up in the mountains. In the middle of that bowl are 3 targets. Zoom in with your scope. I always aim a tad above the biggest animal to allow for bullet droppage. Start shooting. Then get on your ATV and go north to the canyon incline and drive down by the river. Turn left or go north again until you get to the narrowest part of the river and cross over there. Then go along the river heading SW until you find the canyon incline that allows you to drive up into the bowl where you first spotted (and hopefully shot) the antelope- claim your prize or keep going to find it. Keep hunting. Good luck.

There is a challenge hunt called "wild warthawgs." It's wise for a beginner to save your life by getting up into the box stand on this hunt.

There is a challenge hunt called "panic." When the challenge starts I like to spin around and get into the water as fast as possible. Then I like to attack slightly (only go a few feet) and then retreat slightly back to the water, letting loose with all of the arrows I can shoot until I kill the grizzly or it kills me first. Note: when possible, I like to get the bear circling me while I walk backwards, spinning and firing at the same time. As it keeps circling me, I fill it full of arrows at close range.

There is a challenge hunt called "mish mash." None of the animals in this challenge can kill you so use them for target practice. You might fill 3 tags, then restart the hunt and fill another 3 tags with different animals, as you prefer.

TIER 2:

There is a challenge hunt called "on the trail to dinner." When the challenge starts Walk about 20 paces straight ahead so you can see the lake. There are 2 white tailed deer straight ahead. Start shooting.

There is a challenge hunt called "got elk?" You can see the elk in the valley- easy shooting. Beware of the hostile moose- it is dangerous so take him out.

There is a challenge hunt called "cougar country." Choose the ATV. When the challenge starts, get on the ATV and drive East to the box stand on top of the little hill. Using a 12 gauge pump, shoot and tag the 3 cougars.

There is a challenge hunt called "across the river." The black powder rifle is a close range weapon with a slow velocity bullet, so you need to get close to your target when using it. When the challenge starts walk straight ahead until your feet are in the water. Using open sites, aim at the bull elk's feet for the kill shot. Turn south and go over the bridge to tag your prize.

TIER 3:

There is a challenge hunt called "getting close to moose." When the challenge starts take 2 steps forward and wait for the 2 moose to come to you. Those moose will not kill you. Shoot and tag each one.

There is a challenge hunt called "snow joke." When the challenge starts head down the hill a few steps as you don't have a tag to kill the cat. Then head back up the hill staying on the ridge line. You will meet the grizzly. Make sure bullet cam is on "never" for fast shooting. In this challenge I like to run with the gun sites placed up to (toggled) to my eye for fast action. Kill and tag the bear.

There is a challenge hunt called "don't get buffaloed." When the challenge starts run East up the mountain incline. Wait for some buffalo to separate from the crowd to come and get you. Take 3 of them out and tag them when you can. There are other ways to play this challenge, but just remember, you only have 3 tags.

TIER 4:

There is a challenge hunt called "Bulls Looking For Trouble." When the challenge starts only shoot and tag one as they are harmless.

There are 2 challenge hunts called "In the Midst of the Mist" and "Mission Impossible". These challenges will scare you and get you killed. No hints for these missions. Prepare to die.

There is a challenge hunt called "Lion's Breakfast." When the challenge starts shoot the lion when it attacks you. Tag it before any harm befalls you.

There is a challenge hunt called "King of the Jungle." Before the challenge starts choose the 300 Win Mag & 7mm; and the ATV. When the challenge starts stand still. The lions will come at you from 2 directions: from the West and from the South. Make sure bullet cam is set on never. Shoot the lions using your rapid fire rifles and tag 3 of them.

There is a challenge hunt called "Safari Chase." When the challenge starts get on your ATV and ride north until you catch the elephants. They are harmless. Only shoot and tag the one with the long tusks.

There is a challenge hunt called "Broken Tusked Bull." When the challenge starts get on your ATV and follow the elephant tracks through the sand. You will find this elephant by the water hole- it will kill you if it can so shoot it from a distance if you can. If you wound it chase after it. Get in the box stands to stay alive if the elephant doubles back on you. Shoot and tag it.

TIER 5:

There is a challenge hunt called "Buffalo Crush." When the challenge starts turn around and run NE up the incline to the top as fast as you can. Once at the top, shoot any buffalo, one at a time, as they come up the incline. You might have to shoot one 20 to 30 times before you bring it down. Fill your 3 tags.

There is a challenge hunt called "Trouble's Amidst." When the challenge starts turn east and look at the buffalo herd. With them you will see a white- tailed deer. You should be able to get off 3 shots at it before it runs off. If you miss it, restart the challenge and try again. If you drop it, walk north in a horseshoe kind of trail and approach it going south.

There is a challenge hunt called "Black Bear Ridge." When the challenge starts get on your ATV and head down the valley. Stop and shoot as it is safe to do so, then ride and shoot, and ride and shoot using commando hit and run tactics.

TIER 6:

There is a challenge hunt called "A Lonely One." When the challenge starts look up on top of the ridge and see the animal. Make sure bullet cam is set to "all shots" so you can see where you are shooting. Shoot it. If you miss it, restart the challenge and keep trying until you drop it. Then drive your ATV up there to tag it.

There is a challenge hunt called "Get Whitey." Ride north about 300 yards and stop by the river on top of a little knoll. The mule deer will be to the east of you running along.

There is a challenge hunt called "A Carrion." The black bear is going to come at you from the north so be prepared. Shoot and tag it.

There is a challenge hunt called "Big Mac." You are the big mac hamburger to the grizzly bear. When the challenge starts ride your ATV down the road. Turn west at the scarecrow with the pumpkin head. Once you are headed south you will come to a narrow piece of ground between 2 lakes. The dangerous grizzly is just ahead. Hunt it down and kill it and tag it.

There is a challenge hunt called "Field of Dreams." Climb down off of the mountain and walk west. Keep walking west. You should run into the moose herd.

TIER 7:

There is a challenge hunt called "Black Bear In A Blizzard." When the challenge starts look down on the ground for bear tracks and follow them. When it seems you loose the tracks that go around a tree, go up the hill to the south to find them again. Kill the bear and tag it.

There is a challenge hunt called "Who's Chasing Who." Choose the 300 Win. Mag. and the ATV. Use commando tactics- shoot & ride, shoot & ride, try to tag 'em if you can.

There is a challenge hunt called "Endangered Elk Hunter." Choose the 12 ga. pump as your secondary weapon. Ride an ATV. When the challenge starts stand still. 3 wolves will attack you coming from the North. Shoot them with the 12 ga. & then go after the elk- keep driving NE to find it- no more wolves.

There is a challenge hunt called "No Shotgun Available." Ride SE past the lake and a couple of harmless black bears that I had no tags for. The one turkey will be at the base of the bluff and you will have to try to hit it on the fly.

There is a challenge hunt called "Alaskan Run." This is a survival challenge- prepare to die.

TIER 8:

There is a challenge hunt called "Prize Day." Go to the lake and turn right. There are a couple of deer down yonder that need to be shot.

There are a couple of challenges called "Hunter or Hunted?" and "Return of the Rogues." These are survival challenges- prepare to die.

There is a challenge hunt called "Black Powder Whitetails." Turn south and position yourself along the lake. 3 deer are coming along the lake from the North. Shoot and tag one of them.

There is a challenge hunt called "Thrill Of the Hunt." When the challenge starts, turn to your right and start shooting. Make sure your weapon has a scope on it and bullet cam is set on "never".

TIER 9:

There is a challenge hunt called "Bear Mania." When the challenge starts run to the SE. You have to shoot and run. You will be instantly attacked by 5 grizzly bears and 2 black bears that will kill you unless you kill them first.

There is a challenge hunt called "Kodiak Kaos." When the challenge starts get on your ATV and drive westward. Get in the box stand on top of the hill and then hunt as you will.

There is a challenge hunt called "Africa's Triple Crown." When the challenge starts one way to play is to travel south through the valley and then west to the box stand. Once inside of it look east to see a Kudu on the far distant mountain top.

There is a challenge hunt called "Stampede Survival." When the challenge starts turn around and walk into the water slowly until you get the message "it is too deep here". Shoot the elephants. Tag them when it is safe.

TIER 10:

There is a challenge hunt called "Bear Behave." When the challenge starts get on your ATV or horse and ride east. Be quick lest the bears get you. There are 3 grizzlies and 1 black bear. Keep riding east until you get a checkmark that reads "hope I didn't miss the buffalo". Ride to the south to find one lone buffalo. Kill and tag it. The game will give you a gold cup for it.

Follow the directions and checkmarks for each of the challenges in this tier and the last one (Tier 11).

How to Create User Missions

The game, first, has to be installed and running good on your computer. You can create user missions in HU2, HU3, HU4, HU2008, HU2009, and HU2010 but in the HU2 and HU3 user missions there is no script point. I am only going to touch on some of the most basic fundamentals of creating your own user missions as you'll pick up on everything else we don't cover here just by using the program in a trial and error kind of way. And you'll have fun doing it.

The user mission games give you a lot of choices on how to play them. You can choose not to see blood and gore if you want to. You can choose to have dangerous animals hunt you if you want to. It's your choice on whether or not the animals in your user mission are dangerous or not. If the big game animals are dangerous then they can kill you. You can activate the bullet cam (short for bullet camera) if you want to. This is a camera view in motion that follows your fired bullet or arrow to it's destination. And there are more choices.

In HU2 the game engineers give you one user mission called Bag 'em and Tag 'em. You can use this mission as an example of how to create your own user missions if you want to. I recommend you using any passwords to protect your user missions if you share your computer and HU games with a lot of others who may continually want to change your user missions on you.

So, let's go ahead and create a user mission together and you can learn as we go along. Let's create one in HU2009 (even though creating one in another HU game will be very similar). Click on "User Missions" in the left margin. At the bottom of the user missions window are 3 links:
New Edit Delete
left click on the "New" link. Then in a new window you will see a pull down choice menu of several geographical areas. Left click on Upper Midwest. By clicking on this name you will get the game to give you the Upper Midwest topographical map. If you don't click on this name the game will give you the default map which is not what you want. We have to create a name for this user mission. You can name it whatever you want but I always like to use the map reference plus a number I can use in sequence such as uppermidwest01 - that way I can create more Upper Midwest user missions in the future and this name gives me a kind of navigation point for future reference.

Now in the upper left hand corner you will see a black box with 4 sections to it. Just for the fun of it let's number these with Roman Numerals. Click on the top section that is labeled:

I. General Settings

Then you will see that this section has several parts to it- all choices to be made by you:
Mission Name
Mission Briefing
Forecast (weather)
Time of day
Dangerous Animals

Let's take a brief look at these:

Mission Name- I won't change the mission name as it already has one given by me previously:
uppermidwest01

Mission Briefing- Type in your description of the hunt from your imagination so others who play this user mission (including you) will have some idea as what to what it's about.
Just for the fun of it let's type in a name here: Fast Shooter-
and then we will type in a description below it:
You have 1 white tailed deer in front of you and 1 tag. Shoot fast and fill your tag. Then you get a trophy. If you're not a fast shooter you loose.

Note: you can move your typed letters with a cursor by pushing it with your keyboard's space bar or backspace key and you can re-position your cursor at any time with the computer mouse.

Forecast (weather) - Do I want to hunt in the snow? No. Do I want to hunt in the rain? No. So I choose to hunt on a warm beautiful day.

Time of day - Let's start this hunt at 10 a.m. Note: sometimes if you are hunting a lot of animals then you want an early start as it may take you all day long.

Dangerous Animals - This 1 white tailed deer is harmless to mankind so let's choose the "no" option here for this hunt.

Note: if you are hunting animals who can kill mankind and you choose the "yes" option here then you might be the one who gets hunted. This option is never "set in stone." You can always edit any user mission and change it anytime that you want to. If you create a user mission that is too difficult for you and you get killed too much- you don't have to delete the user mission- all you have to do is to change this setting from yes to no and still enjoy the hunt.

At the bottom of this section click on "close."

II. Goal Settings

Click on goal settings. There are 3 "slots" in the Tag Settings section. We are hunting 1 white tailed deer so let's go to the first slot and choose "white-tailed deer" from the pull down menu. We will leave the other two slots blank.

Below these slots are some icons. Click on any of these you are interested in. I now click on one that reads: "spine shot" awarded for a kill shot in the spine. Then the game will place a little mark there to let you know what you have chosen.

III. Gear Settings

Left click on the gear settings section. When this section opens you will see 2 tab links. One tab link is for weapons and the other is for equipment.

Left click on weapons. When this window opens I now click on every N/A there changing it to "all." What is there? Bolt action rifles, lever action rifles, automatic rifles, muzzleloaders, bows, etc.

Left click on equipment. When this window opens I now click on every N/A (not applicable) there changing it to "all." What is there? Scents, calls, lures, blinds, etc.

At the top you will see a word link that reads Secondary Slot:
By default it is set on disabled. Click on this and change it to enabled.

Now I have a full range of awesome weapons to choose from whenever I run this user mission. And my primary and secondary weapons slots are available so I can choose 2 weapons to take along on my hunt instead of just one. Once you start your hunt with these 2 weapons you are limited to these two weapons. If you don't want these two weapons you have to close this user mission and start it all over again with your "new" weapons of choice.

Click on "close" at the bottom of this section.

IV. Mission Objects

Don't click on mission objects because there is nothing there yet. It may sound a little bit odd but you are an object and the animals you are hunting are objects. And these objects have to be placed somewhere on a topographical map.

On your screen you are looking at this landscape. On your lower left you will see a thumbnail view of the Upper Midwest topographical or geographical map. In the middle of this map you will see a little orange circle.

Put your cursor on the little orange circle and move this cursor slowly around on the map. You will have an "airplane view" of the ground as your screen allows you to look at the terrain- there may be hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes.

So I decide I want to hunt on the shore line of a large lake and I stop my cursor where I am looking directly above this shore line. But how do I place myself on that map? When you look to the right of your screen you will see a vertical tool bar with a number of icons. I double click the "little man" icon, then I move my mouse cursor to the map location on the screen where I want to be and left click my mouse. The game will place me at this starting location. In this game I want to place my script point right next to me- so I go once again to the tool bar and double click on the icon directly over the "little man" icon (it looks like a star cross), then I move my mouse cursor to the map location on the screen next to where I am and left click my mouse. Move the slider all the way to the right for a wider area. Adjust this as you choose.

Attached to my starting character on the map is a thin red arrow. This is the direction that you are facing when the game starts. You can take your cursor and move this red line around in a circle if you want to so you can face the deer when the game starts.

Now, I have to create the white tailed deer I want to hunt. I move the map a little bit with the orange circle. The spot I choose on the map is about 100 yards away from me. So I go once again to the vertical tool bar with a number of icons. I double click the "animal" icon, then I move my mouse cursor to the map location on your screen where I want it to be and left click my mouse. The game will place the animal at this location.

Note: there are 2 animal icons. Don't get these confused. One icon is for animals that you hunt and the ambient animal icon is for ambient (harmless) animals.

When you create your animal- the Animal Properties window will appear. In the Species pull down window I can choose which animal I wish to hunt. I choose the White-tailed Deer. The Type (of this kind of animal) is Buck. The Mate (of this kind of animal) is No Mate.

Also you will see 2 major sections: (Animal) Stress Factors and (Animal) Start Values.
Under stress factors you will see a pull down window named Preset:
I don't want the animal I am hunting in this case to be aggressive or calm or insensitive. Rather I want my animal to be sensitive so I choose this option.
Under start values you will see a lot of options with sliders. I don't want my deer to be hungry, tired, or full of lust. So I keep those sliders to the left. Rather, I want my deer to be thirsty- that is why it came to the edge of the lake. So I move the slider for thirst all the way to the right. There are also other sliders there that will help determine your animal's aggression level, stress level, and attack probability. In this hunt I keep these sliders all the way to the left.

Do you want your animal to have long horns or long tusks on elephants? If yes, go to the Left Antler Beam. Choose between 0-6. Choice 6 will give the longest horns or tusks on their left side. Also go the Right Antler Beam. Choose between 0-6. Choice 6 will give the longest horns or tusks on their right side.

At the bottom of the animal screen is a word link that reads Script Point. Left click on this link and another screen will appear. This screen has 2 sections to it. On the left are the words Script Commands. Left click on the N/A and that will make the 2nd section "come to life" adding a pull down window under Command Properties. What kind of behavior do I want my animal to display inside of the script area? Since my deer is thirsty and next to a lake, I want it to drink. So under the Action pull down window I choose the Drink option.

You have other actions if you want them. What are they? Appetite, attack hunter, drink, feed, play behavior, kill hunter, pursue animal, rest, restart script, scrape, search for mate, serious injury, etc. You can create more than one script point and place any animal(s) inside of it as you wish. If you choose the "Attack Hunter" script the animals will leave their script area to come after you.

What if you choose the "play behavior" script? Under this category the "kill the hunter" option is only available for the dangerous animals. Will an animal stay inside of your script area? Not for very long. An animal will eventually walk outside of your script area. It will also eventually trott outside of your script area. It will also eventually "kill hunter" outside of your script area.

What if you choose the "move" script? You have to create your script areas before you create your animals. Let's say you create 5 script areas. You place one animal inside of each script area. The first animal00 will be placed in the script00 area. Each script area will be numbered and you choose the right one from the pull down box. Place each of your animals in the respective script area. Will an animal stay inside of your script area? Not for very long.

Want to try out each script command? I recommend that you create one user mission with one script area and one animal. Try a script command and see how your animal responds. Edit the animal or script command each time you wish. Keep notes for reference, if necessary. The trial and error method can be fun and educational at the same time.

Then click on close at the bottom and then close again on the next window. Then create another animal- or more- if you want to.

Every time I create an animal the game gives it a number. The game starts the numbering at 0. If you change your mind and want to change anything about your animal you can edit just that one animal.

How do I edit an animal?
Click on Mission Objects and then click on the number of your animal. When you do that the game will show you where your animal is located on the map. Place your cursor on the animal- specifically on the little white square next to it. Right click on it and this will open up the the Animal Properties window where you can edit your animal.

What are the other icons on the tool bar used for?
The icon with the squirrel in HU2 allows you to create an ambient animal. These are harmless animals that are good for the atmosphere of the game. What kind of animals? A squirrel, boar, coyote, fox, rabbit, wolf, lizard, eagle, wood pecker, sparrow, buzzard, ducks, fly, butterflies, crow, and vulture.

The icon with the wavy line is used to "place an animal attractant."

The icon with the barrel is used to "place an object container." What kind of containers? You can place a box stand, carrion (an animal's dead body), grave stone, camp fire, old tire, animal skull, barrel, scarecrow, rangers (pickups), haypack, flag poles or tent. What is the altitude number below it? That's for placing these objects on top of one another. The first object will be 0 or ground level. The one on top of it will be 1 or one level higher, etc. If you want to make a haypack fort the second tier higher will be .5 rather than 1 to make it more realistic.

With the "track" icon you can lay an animal trail to the location where you created the animal. What kind of animal trails? Under "trail properties" you can choose white-tailed deer, buffalo, pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain goat, mule deer, grizzly bear, moose, and more, depending on what game you have.

The flag icon establishes a check point.

The delete icon is above the animal icon. This icon sets the delete mode.

And there are icons for a camera, save mission to disk, run mission, and exit editor.

How do you delete an animal?
Click on Mission Objects and then click on the number of your animal. This is how you find your animal on the map. Then go to the tool bar and double click on the delete icon. Then move your cursor to the animal you want to delete and click on the little white white square next to it. Then a little pop up window will appear with the words: "are you sure you want to delete this animal?" Click yes and it will be deleted.

After you delete an animal or anything else the game will stay in delete mode and not allow you to move the orange circle around on the topographical map. The game has not frozen on you so don't panic. Rather, click on Mission Briefing and then close it. This cancels the game's delete mode and will now allow you to move the orange circle again. Have trouble moving this orange circle? Sometimes this is the case so just keep clicking on it or around it until it moves. If it really gets stubborn sometimes you might have to close the editor and go back to user missions, choose the user mission and then edit it to get it to work properly again. I don't know why this is- the game just has a glitch in it for some reason. Many times the game will not allow you to create animals or other items and then drag them around on the topographical map. If the game objects and will not allow you to play that particular user mission as a result, simply delete the objects that you moved and then recreate them where you choose. That should solve the problem.

We are finished creating this game so we now click on the save mission to disk icon and then on the exit editor icon.

Now we can play this user mission if we want to. If you want to change anything about the mission you have to choose this mission by clicking it's name and then click the edit button, make your changes, and then save it to disk again. If you want to delete this user mission you have to choose this mission by clicking it's name and then click the delete button.

It takes a lot of time, effort, and imagination in order to create a user mission so it is really a blessing when a friend comes along and gives you one or more of theirs for you to play without you having to go through all of the work of doing it yourself.

Sharing HU Missions Files

The HU game engineers implemented a great idea when they invented mission files that could be shared by HU users like you and me. This allows for more creativity and diversity as not everyone thinks alike and few like to hunt alike. You can email your mission files to your friends and share them with others who also have HU games.

I have a few on my computer. Will I share them with you? Sure, why not! Just don't criticize me if my game action is different from yours. That's the beauty of the user missions- you can create each game just suited for your individual tastes. When I create my user missions I hate to be bored. I like to get right into some quick action where I have to use various tactics and quick reflexes to stay alive. I don't always mess around with points and filling tags- sometimes I run and fight just to stay alive. But sometimes I attack as well. And sometimes I shake with fear or get an adrenalin rush. Use your own creativity in your user missions. My user missions are for off-line game-play for 1 player only.

How do you download my user missions?
Right click on the link and choose "Save Target As" and download the zip file to your hard drive. Download these files to a folder that is easy for you to find. These files are in a zip folder which means that they have to be "unzipped" once they are on your computer. You can get a free zip program at download.com if you need it. Once these files are unzipped you will have to place them in your missions folder. Where in the world is that?

I'll give you an example. My desktop's name is Kraig on Windows XP Home. Therefore, I would look in
C:\Documents and Settings\Kraig\My Documents
or if your computer does not have multiple desktops then the game info will probably be stored at it's default location in Windows XP Home similar to:
C:\Documents and Settings\(all users or default user)\My Documents

Let's say that the game we are running is Hunting Unlimited 2009.

Take the unzipped user missions files and cut and paste them into the
Hunting Unlimited 2009\missions folder. Then you are ready to play.

When I look at
C:\Documents and Settings\Kraig\My Documents
I see 6 out of 7 of my HU games there because I have all 7 of them installed. HU1 will not install there but will be found under program files, however, it does not have any missions files that you can share.

After you have played these games for a few months, you can create your own user missions, use mine that you downloaded, get some from your friends, etc. It would be a wise move to backup all of your user missions. Just highlight and copy all of them and then paste them onto your external hard drive that you are using for backup. Or burn them onto a cd or dvd data disk. Why? So you don't have to create all of your user missions all over again if your hard drive crashes. That happened to me one time. Once I got my new hard drive installed, then I installed my HU game. I got my user mission files from backup and placed them in my "new" missions folder. Then I played my HU game just as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

Some of my user missions may be password protected. If you need the password to edit any of them, just email me for the password. My email address is on my home page. In the subject slot of your email to me place the words "password needed for HU2009". I get a lot of spam email so that way I should recognize your email as important.

HU2 User Missions
Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 2. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

HU3 User Missions
Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 3. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

HU4 User Missions
Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 4. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

HU 2008 User Missions
Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 2008. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

HU 2009 User Missions
Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 2009. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

HU 2010 User Missions
Download my user missions for Hunting Unlimited 2010. Most of these missions are defensive maneuvering where you are being hunted- kind of similar to the Kill or Be Killed episodes in HU1.

Troubleshooting

How to Download and Install a New Video Display Driver

You will probably have to replace an old driver with a newer one. Will this cost anything? No. The new driver is free and should be on a website waiting for you to download it. Where do you find it? If you have a Gateway video card you can go to gateway.com and get the free driver from there. If you have a nvidia video card you can go to nvidia.com and get the free driver from there, etc. Here is a sample list of some of the larger video display card manufacturer sites:

www.nvidia.com	www.dell.com
www.3dfx.com	www.ati.com
www.hp.com	www.compaq.com
www.gateway.com	www.creative.com
www.intel.com	www.micronpc.com
www.s3.com	www.matrox.com

Now here is the kicker. Sometimes the maker of the computer will make a driver for the video card inside of it's computer that is made by another company. For example, I have a Dell computer that has an Intel video graphics card built on to the motherboard. Intel makes a driver for this video card but Dell also makes a driver for this same video card. Is there a difference? Oh, yes, the Intel driver won't run my HU games but the one from Dell will. How do I know this? It was trial and error. I tried each driver to see which one would work the best.

Let me share with you how I did this so you will know how to do it as well. I downloaded an .exe file. I am running a Dell Dimension E310 computer that contains the
Intel 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family (embedded video card)
I got a driver for it at the Dell website support center.
The description of this driver states it is for Intel Graphics 915G solutions
It's a hard drive installation (via WinZip) with Setup.exe File for R112734.EXE

Then Dell gives you instructions on how to download this driver:
1. Click Download Now, to download the file.
2. When the File Download window appears, click Save (Windows XP users will click Save) this program to disk and click OK. The Save In: window appears.
3. From the Save In: field, click the down arrow then click to select Desktop and click Save. The file will download to your desktop.
4. If the Download Complete window appears, click Close. The file icon appears on your desktop.

Then Dell gives you instructions on how to Install this driver:
1. Double-click the new icon on the desktop labeled R112734.EXE.
2. The Self-Extracting window appears and prompts you to extract or unzip to C:\dell\Drivers\R112734. Write down this path so the executable (I.e. Setup.exe) file can be found later.
3. The Self-Extractor window appears.
4. Click OK.
5. After completing the file extraction, if the Self-Extractor window is still open, close it.
6. Click the Start button and then click Run.
7. Type C:\dell\Drivers\R112734 in the Open textbox and then click OK.
8. Follow the on-screen installation instructions.

I think you get the general idea of how you download and install a new driver for your computer's video card.

If you need additional help you can visit this web page:
http://www.valusoftsupport.com/KBArticle.asp?kbid=451

If this sounds a little too technical for you then just ask someone close by to help you.

About Direct X

Microsoft makes Direct X as a core Windows technology that drives high-speed multimedia and games on your pc.

If you are running a windows os (operating system) then Direct X is already installed on your computer. You have to have at least DirectX 8.1 in order to play HU 2008. Direct X 10 is good for all of the HU games, however, if your Direct X is lower than 8.1, then your HU games may not play right. Some games come with a newer Direct X on a game disk that can be installed at the same time that you install your game. If you are installing a higher Direct X from a game disk then go ahead and let the game disk install this for you when you install the game.

You can also download Direct X 10 free from the Microsoft website. Here is the web address:
www.microsoft.com/directx/
or
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=9226a611-62fe-4f61-aba1-914185249413
Just follow their instructions on how to install it.

About Replacing Your Computer's Video Display Card

Why replace your card? Because a newer one will be faster and offer better performance.

But you want to be careful if you go to replace your computer's video display card. When replacing a video card make sure of your computer's system info first. Some motherboards have these cards embedded and you cannot replace them. Other motherboards have a special slot called an AGP slot that is sometimes colored brown. This is the only slot where the video card is supposed to be installed in. Some motherboard will only recognize a 1.5 volt video card. If you put in a 3.3 volt video card you will have problems. And there are other factors, as well, that I won't go into here.

If you go online and go to your computer maker's website you should be able to find your computer listed. Click on "updates" and there should be some info there that will give you some indication of what kind and type of a video card to purchase if you want to upgrade it. This also goes for upgrading ram memory sticks (cards).

Not all video cards are the same. You might have to spend some time doing research (on the computer) trying to find out just what kind of options you want. You may want one that you can plug a television into, or one that will run 2 monitors rather than one, etc. Every video card will contain a certain amount of memory. You want to get the greatest amount (measured in mb) that you can afford. Why settle for 128 mb when you can get 250? And various video cards are available at various prices from online stores or possibly from your local computer store.

Your video card will come with an installation disk that also contains a driver for it. After you install it go to the manufacturer's web site to see if there is a newer driver for it that they just made. If so, download and install it.

My HU4 Game Tries to Load But Then It Freezes Up

I had this trouble with my HU4 game. I would put in my game disk, click on the desktop link, and then the game would try to start- but then when I went to click on user missions it would freeze up and the cursor would not move. I had to turn off my computer in order to get back to windows again.

This problem is caused by 2 programs trying to start at the same time that causes the freeze. The way that I solve this problem is by not getting in a hurry. I load the game disk and wait for the first program to self start. When it does you will get an idiot window that has the word "install" on the left, the HU 4 logo in the middle, and the word "close" on the right. It makes you wonder what the makers of this game were thinking- as the game is already installed. Just click on "close" and as this program closes you will see a little pop-up window appear and then disappear that reads "Demo Shield 7." After this program closes then you can click on the HU4 link on your desktop to play the game. And everything should work fine.

If not-
You might try reducing the desktop screen resolution and color depth to 640 x 480 and High Color (16 bit) color depth in Display Properties. Many games will attempt to switch to this particular screen resolution and color depth when loading. Switching to this mode manually can help to determine if the issue is with switching video modes or with loading the game. Additionally, some OpenGL games will attempt to run at the current desktop color depth. Some video cards (graphics adapters) do not support 3D acceleration at higher than 16-bit color depth, so they will not be able to use OpenGL 3D acceleration at true color (24-bit or 32-bit color depth).

If your computer is running "system restore" and it makes an automatic back up of your computer system while you are playing any HU game- the game will crash. This is nothing serious as it is caused by a selfish computer who does not want to share it's system files with any pc game. If this happens to you simply reboot your computer and continue playing your game again.

My Game Is Running Slow

After installing any HU game it's a good idea to reboot (turn off and restart) your computer before trying to play the game. It may run slow if you don't. This is good advice after you install any game on your computer.

Maybe your computer is playing your HU game slow because your computer is "lugged down." What does that mean? It simply means that your computer is running too many programs at the same time. Your HU game needs full access to many of your computer's system files and does not like to share them with other programs while it is running. It's a good idea to close all other programs that you don't need while you are playing any HU game. Make sure you are off line and close your firewall protection program (unless you are playing on-line), and then shut down your anti-virus program, your Yahoo or Microsoft Messenger program, etc.

How do you temporarily close any unecessary programs from running on your computer? You have to press 3 keys on your keyboard at the same time. Press Control (Ctrl), Alt, and delete (del). This will bring up the Windows Task Manager. Choose the "Processes" tab. End all processes that have your user name (desktop name) except taskmgr.exe and explorer.exe, or, if you are running a default desktop, close any processes with names you recognize. For instance, I am running AVG anti-virus. I see a couple of avg program files there that I close. You can use the trial and error method here except that your computer will shut down if you close the wrong program. To activate all of these programs again simply reboot your computer.

When you go to close a computer's running process program you will probably get a pop-up message similar to this:
"Warning: Terminating a process can cause undesired results including loss of date and system instability. The process will not be given the chance to save its state or data before it is terminated. Are you sure you want to terminate the process?"
Click yes. Don't worry you won't hurt your computer by clicking on yes.

I remember when I first got a Packard Bell computer in 1998 with less than a Pentium 1 processor and running Windows 98. I paid $2,000 for it at the time. When HU1 came out I had to "end the processes" of many programs in order to play it (or any other game for that matter) but it was worth it.

Here are some in-game things you can try if your HU4 game is still running slow or choppy. Go to Graphics, and then to Details and Performance. Under Shadows choose "none." Lower your texture quality from high to medium. Push the slider to the left on Tree Quality. Change the water quality from high to normal. Push the slider to the left on Detailed Vegetation Density. Click apply at the bottom and play the game.

If that doesn't do the trick you can try one more thing as far as game adjustments go. Try different "Rendered Pathways." Try one and see if that does the trick. If not, try another.

My HU Game Won't Start

If you have any HU game installed on your computer that you have been playing and you install a new video card display driver the game may not work right. The game has to recognize this new driver and if it doesn't it may not load. The solution to this is to un-install the game completely and then re-install it again. That way the game will recognize the new driver. Don't worry, all your game settings will be there for you again just as you left it so you won't lose anything after you re-install it.

Can't My Computer Help Me?

Yes it can. I will tell you how. Click on the start button, click on Run, type in dxdiag and click the ok button. Choose the "More Help" tab, press the troubleshooter button, choose the 4th option from the top that reads "My Direct X, multimedia, or game has stopped responding." Then work your way through the various steps until your problem is solved. If you are running Windows Vista, please check your computer's instructions on how to do this. Microsoft has a help file with this info on it.

The River Water Is Invisible

One time I installed HU3 on my computer. As I played it I noticed that the water in the river was nearly invisible rather than a blue color. Also, the color of the water in Hu2009 was a washed-out pale green in color.

How did I solve this problem? Well, this is not a driver related problem but a simple game adjustment. The way I fixed it was to fire up the game, then go to options, then go to graphics, and change the Rendering Path from ARB to Glix. Then the water was a nice blue color like it is supposed to be. This is a trial and error kind of internal game fix.

Turning Off Bullet Cam

If you don't like bullet cam you can turn it off. How do you do this? Once the game is up and running go to options, graphics, and you should see bullet cam listed. You have 3 choices: all shots, promising shots, and never. Choose the "never" option. Also you can change it in the middle of your game any time you want to by pressing the Esc (escape) key, choosing options, and change it's setting. Then click apply and return to your game and continue playing. You can do this several times in the course of a hunt if you prefer.

My Game Crashes while Hunting On A User Mission

This happened to me one time when I was shooting wild boar. I had created too many of them for the game to handle so I had to edit my user mission, set the delete mode, and delete the wild boar one at a time until there were about 25 or so of them left. Then the user mission worked fine and I had no more crashes when I played it. An identical problem happened to me while playing HU2009. I had only created about 13 or so animals but the game kept crashing. I checked my computer's system restore to make sure that it wasn't the cause. If system restore runs your game will crash. That wasn't the problem so I started deleting animals and that solved the problem.

Also if you create animals and then edit your user mission and drag your animals around on the topography- they may not work as programed. Also if you create animals and then edit your user mission and then change them- they may not work as programed. To solve this dilemma simply delete the original animal(s) and then re-create them anew.

Problem Editing A User Mission

When I edit a user mission sometimes the topographical map will freeze and I can't move the little orange circle.

What I usually do to solve this problem is to bring my cursor up to "general settings" and then open this box and then close it again. That usually frees the map so I can move the little circle again. However, if that doesn't work- sometimes I have to save any changes to disk and exit the editor. Then I start all over again by going to user missions and clicking on the name of the game I want to change and choose the edit option again. This usually works also. It's a trial and error kind of a situation. My advice to you is to keep trying different methods until you get your user mission the way you want it.

Explain Direct 3D and OpenGL

In general computer terms software runs hardware. That is why you can tell windows to turn off your computer. Windows (the software) controls your computer (the hardware). In the military- software can pinpoint the destination and control a hardware rocket to it's destructive target.

Inside of your computer is a hardware device- your video display card. This is the hardware device that plays your HU games. Similarily, it needs some software to make it work right. This software is called a driver. A graphics driver will help make Direct 3D or OpenGL work in your HU game. That's why you always have to have the latest driver or the best one.

The software that is going to play on your video card in the HU games is Direct 3D or OpenGL. You have your choice in HU2. However, in the later HU games only OpenGL is played through your video card. Direct 3D or OpenGL were originally developed when Microsoft wanted to abandon DOS and build native Windows games. In essence they are systems that runs high fidelity 3D graphics.

Years ago the Microsoft engineers had to find ways for windows to play games. So they invented a few programs that would help do this:
Direct X - a family of game development API�s for Windows.
Direct Draw - which gives you faster graphics,
Direct Sound - for low level and quick access to sound hardware.
Direct Play and Lobby - for Internet functionality.
Direct 3D - for game playing in relation to 3D graphics hardware.

Then began "the horse race" between 3D and OpenGL.

In the early years Direct 3D was for "real-time" graphics and games while OpenGL was for high-end applications with "precise" rendering needs. In other words Microsoft's "official" position was that Direct 3D was for real-time and Games while OpenGL was for "high-end" stuff. Why? Because Microsoft's software OpenGL was pretty fast- and often faster than D3D in full color mode.

Then game developers began rolling out their own specialized 3D engines that were getting end-users 20 frames a second or better when playing their games and D3D began pulling ahead, but it was generally understood that a well written OpenGL driver should perform no slower than a D3D driver on the same hardware.

But there was a problem with the early 3D applications. Direct3D had widespread use, however, in some cases, it was not extremely reliable, such as when the accelerator crashed, the whole computer would crash in some cases, because some operating systems rely on the accelerator entirely.

Then an improved OpenGL starting pulling ahead again. And even though it was a low-level, real-time 3D graphics API it had a history of more dependability. It had a fine degree of control as to how game rendering takes place with faster interactive 3D graphics. It then became the API of choice for many kinds of game applications including the later HU games.

If you desire more info on this you can go to this web page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_OpenGL_and_Direct3D

Some Problems with Direct 3D and OpenGL

I am running a Dell Dimension E310 computer that contains the Intel 82915G/GV/910GL Express Chipset Family with an embedded video card. When I was running the Intel driver for it it would only play HU1 and HU2- and only if I played them in Direct 3D. OpenGL would not work with this particular driver. The older Dell driver was better and would play all of the HU games- including the OpenGL ones. So the point I am trying to make here is that some drivers will act differently in regards to the same video card.

The HU game engineers indicate that the embedded Intel 810/815 graphics card will run the older HU games, even though this video card is below the minimum system requirements. They also advise that "for users of some graphics cards and chipsets, please note that you may be required to switch to OpenGL instead of DirectX. If you cannot read the Main Menu words properly, you must do this." And they also recommend having the v1.1R patch installed for HU1.

Some Help Tips from HU Users

I have a Radeon 9600 ATI video card. The 7.4 version driver makes my HU games work just fine, whereas the 7.5 and 7.6 drivers cause my HU games to freeze and or lock up.

I have a high end pentium 4 processor with hyperthreading technology so my computer runs normally hot. I put a new video card in it and it wouldn't run my HU games until I opened the computer and installed a big ventilator fan in front of it to cool it down.

My gun moves while I am trying to aim. Mount and dismount the horse twice. That solves the "pulling" effect with the scopes. And sometimes if you reload your weapon it will stop moving long enough to get in one shot while still.

How can I view my trophies?
The game designers recommend:
"Your Hunting Unlimited trophies can be viewed by clicking on HUNTER from the main menu. Under Best Trophies, click on VIEW. You can only view your best trophy from each animal. If you want a printed copy of all of your trophies, we would suggest that you take a screenshot when viewing your trophy (before you shoot a larger one)."

More Help Please

If you still have a problem and have not found the solution to your problem- here are some more places to look for help:

HELP FILE:
In HU2008 there is a full Help File in HTML format that can be accessed from the Start Menu. There is also an in-game Help Section found on the Main Menu.

You can submit an online query for help at

http://huntingunlimited.scssoft.com/tournaments/tournament_home.php

Choose the forums tab. LadyHawke or others there may be able to help you. This is also the place to go for tournament info.

Hunting Unlimited has online Support for 5 of it's HU games at
http://huntingunlimited.scssoft.com/tournaments/content_faq.php

There is also some online help at HUGuide.com or you can go here for help:

http://www.valusoftsupport.com/Results.asp?search=full&show=titles&results=20&submit=prod&pid=148

For additional help in creating user missions
http://www.huguide.com/?page_id=8

Compatibility With Windows 7

Windows 7 will play your older Hunting Unlimited games just fine and Direct X eleven is good for them. But there are a few tips you need to know in order to install and play these games.

This first thing you need to know is your computer's monitor screen resolution, it's color bit size, and monitor refresh rate. So, let's take a look at your computer right now that is running Windows 7 to see what these numbers are because you will need to choose them in every older HU game that you play that was made before Windows 7 came out. Right click on your desktop, and left click on screen resolution. Your monitor's screen resolution will be displayed in the screen resolution box. I am using a laptop computer with an external mouse and an external sound card (to play external speakers) in order to play these games. My laptop flat panel LCD screen resolution is 1444 x 900 because my laptop has a 17" screen rather than a 15" one. Write that number down and then left click the advanced settings link (over towards the right of the window). Click the monitor tab. There you will see true color listed in bits- usually 16, 32, or 64 bits. Mine is 32 bit. There you will also see your monitor's refresh rate- mine is 60 hertz or 60 hz. Write these numbers down in order so you will have something like this:
1440 x 900, 32 bit, 60 hz. This is the way it will appear in each game's option menu under video mode.

The next step is to temporarily turn off your anti-virus and firewall protection programs because these may hamper the installation and running of these game programs. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to play a game that won't work because of program conflicts.

Once that is done it is time to install your HU game. Place your game disk in the dvd tray and the game launcher installer program should appear and start the installation process.

If the game launcher installer program does not appear, you may have to manually start it. To do this left click the start button, left click computer, left click on your dvd drive that might be labeled (E:) drive. This should bring up the "install program" wizard. If it does not, then right click on the (E:) drive and left click on open. This will open the files that are on the game disk. Left click on launcher.

This will bring up the "user account control" window. Left click yes. This will start the install shield wizard. This window will ask you if you want to install HU on your computer. Left click next. Accept the license agreement.

This will bring up the "choose destination location" window. Do NOT click next. The computer will want to install your HU game at program files (x86) by default. This is NOT where you want it because the HU games do not easily recognize file names with underscores, dashes, or quote marks. Installing your game in this folder may cause it not to work right. Instead, left click the browse button. Choose program files. This is a different folder than program files (x86). The older HU games were always meant to be loaded into the program files folder. Your destination folder should read: C:\Program Files. Click next and the game will be installed there. Then you should get the "install wizard complete" window.

The next step may be optional for some, but I like to run it so I know the game recognizes and accepts the direct x program that helps to run the game. Keep the check mark in the box "install Direct X 9" and left click the finish button. This will bring up the "welcome to the setup for Direct X screen." Accept the agreement and left click next. The Direct X 9 runtime installer will appear. Left click next. You should get a message that "Direct X has determined that a newer version of Direct X is already installed. No installation was necessary." Click ok. Then you should get the installation end screen. Click finish. Remember that Windows 7 is running Direct X ten or eleven (depending on whether or not you have service pack one (SP1) installed so Direct X 9 is not necessary.

What if you have already installed a HU game in the wrong folder? You need to uninstall it and then re-install it in the right folder. To uninstall a HU game left click on the start button, left click control panel, left click programs and features, left click the title of the HU game that you want to uninstall. Sometimes this will happen as soon as you click on the title, if not, left click the title to highlight the game and then click the uninstall option on the toolbar.

The next thing to do is to set your game's compatibility settings. Most HU older games were meant to be played on the Windows XP operating system or before. The game was installed in Program Files. You will need to go there in order to set the game's compatibility settings. In order to go there left click on the start button, left click on computer, left click on OSDisk (C:), left click on program files, and you should see your Hunting Unlimited game listed there. Left click on the HU folder (for example: Hunting Unlimited 3). Right click on the primary file- the one that has the deer head next to it. Left click properties. Left click the compatibility tab. Place a check mark by left clicking on the empty slot for "run this program in compatibility mode for." From the list choose (left click) the windows 2000 option. At the bottom left click on apply and ok. If you are running HU 2010 then you might want to choose Windows XP rather than windows 2000. And, of course, HU 2011 was made to run on windows 7.

Do the same thing for the the prism 3d file and the uninstall (uninst) file.

Follow the same procedure for each of your older HU games that you install on Windows 7.

Now it is time to download my user missions from this web page. They are in zip folders. Download them to your computer and then unzip them. You need to place these in your missions folder so you can have more fun. In order to get to your missions folder on Windows 7, left click on the start button, left click on your user name (if your computer has more than one user). My user name is Kraig and I find it at the top. Left click on your user name. Left click on My Documents folder. Left click on the title of the HU game that you just installed. Left click on missions. Cut and paste the downloaded missions into that folder. The game will find them and allow you to play them. Be prepared for a lot of quick action. Have fun.

Now it is time to reboot your computer after installation. Don't try to play your game after installation without turning off and re-starting your computer (rebooting it) because you have affected it's system files and sometimes "these files can be touchy" until rebooted.

Make sure your game disk is in the dvd tray and the game might start automatically but if it doesn't click the game's icon or link on your desktop.

Once you start your HU game, you will have to make adjustments to the game so your computer can play it properly. Remember those numbers that you wrote down? Well, now it is time to use them. Left click on options. Left click on video mode. Look for your numbers in the drop down box and left click on them. Mine are 1440 x 900, 32 bit, 60 hz. Left click on apply at the bottom. Your computer will ask you if you want to accept this display setting and give you a few seconds to accept it. Left click to accept it and your HU game will be set to your monitor's settings- by accepting this you are only changing the game's settings, not any of your computer's settings. You are putting the HU game and your computer in sync with one another.

Every time you start your HU2 game you may have to re-set the game's screen resolution like you did above. Why? Because some of the older games were created before they had larger monitors and the game can't save those settings it was not made for. I have not had this problem with HU3 and later HU games. Also, I used to play HU2 on the prism 3d setting when I was running windows XP but on windows 7 I see no great difference.

A few other tips might improve your game's enjoyability. If you see black water rather than blue water in your HU game you can change the rendering path to ARB2. If the brightness of your game is too high, slide the slider on the brightness bar to the left to drop the brightness level. If you need more color detail you can change the texture quality from default to 32 bit.

I hope these tips help you to enjoy your HU games on your windows 7 computer.

7 Star Admiral's Vision of Evangelism (7 SAVE) and/or Kraig J. Rice shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this information. The contents of this web page is for general information use only in regards to public domain. Nothing reported in this web page is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any computer from acting but in a noble and honorable way. All computers are hereby placed on notice that if they don't play the Hunting Unlimited games right they are to be delegated to the scrap heap!

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June 15, 2014