Daggerfall:Official WWW FAQ

NOTE: This is an old FAQ that was once available on the Elder scrolls official website. For Bethesda's latest up-to-date FAQ on Daggerfall see here.

This is Bethesda's Official FAQ about Daggerfall, maintained here for historical interest since Bethesda no longer provides it on its website. It is the final release (v1.2) of the FAQ, which was originally posted in the Bethesda Forum on CompuServe in the Tech Support Library on 24 October 1996. It was retrieved from a repost on the newsgroup comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg.

Other available Daggerfall FAQs are:

• The Unofficial FAQ, version 0.992
• The Unofficial FAQ, current version
• The Unofficial Newbie FAQ

This is an archive of a historical document and should not be edited other than formatting, links, or minor typos.

I have a Cyrix CPU, and the game keeps locking up/crashing. Is there a fix?

The problem is fixed in the DAG177 update.

I'm having a lot of trouble reading the Automap! Any help?

Here are some tips for using the automap. You can't annotate the map per se, but you can click on a section (it will start blinking), then click on the gray bar at the bottom and type stuff in. It's best to use this for passages that split (e.g. Went West, next time go North).

The map is the key. Everytime you come to an intersection, check the map. See where you have been and where you haven't. Another thing to do is the Left/Right rule. In a maze/dungeon. Always go in the same direction. Always make a Left/Right turn and you will either find everything or find your way back to the exit. When you are lost, drop a piece of inventory (not gold) at the intersections that you try. This will tell you - I've been that way, time to try another.

Please note you can right click on a section of the map and it will vanish - you can also view it in 2D by clicking the red square. The Automap feature does take a bit of getting used to, but once you do, you'll see it the most innovative automap ever created.

When running the install routine I consistently get the following error:"dos error: file font0000.fnt not found". What does this mean?

The message you are getting is due to the incorrect version of MSCDEX. You must have MSCDEX v2.23 or higher. Type MSCDEX at the DOS prompt and the version will be displayed. If you go to the Bethesda web site (www.bethsoft.com) and select DAGGERFALL and then tech/patches there will be an MSCDEX button you can click on which will download the correct version of MSCDEX. Delete and reinstall the game after you have updated MSCDEX to the correct version. Dosbox users should ensure the target directory (default is C:\DAGGER\) is created before installing.

My save games are corrupted, can I do anything to prevent this?

You should run the game with Write Caching disabled when running the game from within Win95. In order to turn Write Caching off, you'll need to double Click on "My Computer" and then again on the Control Panel icon. Once the Control Panel is up, double click on the System icon, and select the Performance Tab. Towards the bottom of the Performance Page, you'll see a File System... icon. Click on this, and then select the Trouble Shooting Tab. The very last listing is:

Disable write-behind caching for all drives.

Click on the box next to it so a check mark appears. Then click on Apply, and re-boot your PC. This will disable the Write Caching. To enable it, just repeat these steps, clicking on the check mark box to enable it. Reboot.

If you have a crash with the game, having write caching turned on, could cause your saved game to be trashed. This is why it is recommend that it be turned off.

The ORACLE quest is broken

Skip and try something else.

Mynisera's Letters

Sometimes Aubki won't acknowledge the return of the letters. Don't worry it is not a big thing and will not stop you from winning the game.

I am getting a message that the bethesda.inf file cannot be found.

MEDIUM INSTALL BUG. There is a problem with the medium install. Please copy REPORT.EXE from your ARENA2 subdirectory on the Daggerfall CD to the ARENA2 subdirectory on your hard drive. Please do this BEFORE attempting to run the game. If you have already started the game you should see a noticeable improvement in stability.

How do you climb ladders?

Climbing Ladders : To climb a ladder make sure you have the grab icon active (F2). then click on the ladder. You will go right up.

There is currently a problem with REPUTATION

in the nightly which will cause your advancement to be very slow. The same thing seems to be happening in the DARK BROTHERHOOD.

RUNNING UNDER WIN95

When I play the game from Win 95 - I run the install from a DOS window ( if the auto run is not broken). I have an SB AWE32 which is set at 220, Irq5 and Dma1 - high DMA 5. When I select sound select SB 16/32 and manually enter the values 220, 5 and1. I DO NOT USE DMA 5. For midi I again select sb16/awe 32 and take the default Port value the set up program uses. I disable write caching in WIN 95. I have no autoexec.bat and I have a small CONFIG.SYS which has 2 lines. The first line is DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS and the second is FILES=99. That's it and it runs fine for me under WIN 95 All my other drivers are WIN 95 drivers. If you need to load real mode drivers, you should play the game from a DOS boot disk.

If you have a SB16

and are experiencing a lot of crashes please try selecting SBPRO and see if that helps.

If you are running a Promise EIDE card in my machine

It boots by default in "Turbo mode" . When you override that and set it to "normal mode", many of your problems will disappear.

The problems which will be solved by this are:.

1. Various causeway crashes
2. blanked screens

If you are experiencing sound card troubles

select Sound Blaster compatible mode if your sound card supports one. There are currently problems with the GUS and Roland Sound Canvas.

MAIN QUEST

It is NOT a bug if a Main quest stays in your log book after you have completed it. It will go away when the sequel quest is generated. Do NOT worry about it.

I had Lycanthropy and even after the cure quest my hit points are still low.

When you get Lycanthropy your hit points will drop to 4. To raise your hit points you must go out and eat some townspeople. If you raise a level BEFORE applying Patch 177, your hit point will be permanently set at the level they were at when you leveled. If you had not been eating townspeople to keep your hit points up then you will be stuck at a fairly low HP level.

I get errors 1002/1004 when I try to load a save game?

Try the FIXSAVE.ZIP in the library. Be sure to follow the directions and remember this program is still in beta. HOWEVER it will not fix quests which are part of the main quest.

I have enchanted an item and my games crashes with an error 1000

If you have enchanted an item with REPAIR ITEM, the game will crash with an error 1000 when you try to equip or use the item.

The following Spells DO NOT WORK!

• Polymorph
• Transfer Attribute
• Detect treasure/monster/item/enemy etc.

I get stuck in my house and it has no walls.

When you first buy a house, travel to another city and return BEFORE entering your house. This will prevent disappearing walls.

HOUSES/SHIPS BUGS

There is a bug with ships which causes an ERROR 2 crash to DOS when you select them as your travel option by Hitting T/clicking on the Legs and selecting SHIP.

Some house owners may experience a 2030 everytime they attempt to travel if they own a house.

Both of these bugs will be fixed in the next patch (v1.79).

If you get the WABBAJACK

from Sheogorath, the game will crash when you try to equip or use it.

I can't see the monsters - I can hear them and hit them, but can't see them.

This appears to be a problem caused by using QEMM in stealth mode. DAGGERFALL does NOT require the use of QEMM and it is better not to use it all. Once you stop using QEMM your monsters will appear.

I get crashes sometimes when buying spells?

When you buy spells, some people experience a crash after highlighting the spell and then clicking on BUY. This can also cause unpredictable results.

To correct this problem please DOUBLE-CLICK on the spell you want to buy.

Sometimes when asking about people I get dropped to DOS with a 115 error.

If you have taken the quest for the Cursed Mummy Finger, the game will crash when you try to ask about People. The problem will go away when you finish the quest or the time expires. DO NOT TAKE THIS QUEST!

What are the lamps and torches for? Can you use them?

You cannot use the lamps and torches. Just sell them at Pawn shops.

I contracted Lycanthropy. MY hit point are down to 4 what can I do?

Your hit points will drop to 4 until your go out and kill some townspeople. YOU need to morph into human form and then when you are next to a townperson, morph into Lycanthrope form and kill them. The Lycanthropy spell will morph you between Lycanthrope and human shape.

What other settings should I change to increase my stability in Win 95

• Shutting down the tool-bar for MS Office
• Prevent Daggerfall from seeing Windows '95 under the program properties options.
• Finally, run this as a full screen app. under protected mode with exclusive mouse control.

What sound cards DO NOT work in the game.

The Ensonique VIVO will NOT WORK IN DAGGERFALL. It will crash the game.

I have a GRAVIS card - But it doesn't work.

You will have to run your GUS in Sound Blaster Compatible mode.

What is the best way to configure my DOS system to play Daggerfall?

Since there are so many different systems, this question needs to be addressed on an individual bases. There are however, some basics. You'll need some working knowledge of DOS, and what drivers your system uses. A boot disk is often the best approach.

Here is a typical DOS CONFIG:

CONFIG.SYS

        DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS
        DEVICE=C:\DOS\EMM386.EXE NOEMS
        DOS=HIGH,UMB
        FILES=99
        BUFFERS=40
        LASTDRIVE=Z
        STACKS=9,256
        SHELL=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM C:\DOS /P /E:2048
        DEVICEHIGH=C:\PWRSCSI!\DCAM18XX.EXE /APM -----Loads SCSI drive
        DEVICEHIGH=C:\PWRSCSI!\FDCD.SYS /D:MSCD0001 ---- Loads CDROM driver
        
AUTOEXEC.BAT
        
        PROMPT $P$G
        PATH=C:\DOS;C:\WINDOWS;C:\UTIL;C:\CPEDIT;C:\3DS4;C:\ANI;C:\QEMM
        LH C:\DOS\MOUSE.COM
        LH C:\DOS\DOSKEY.COM
        SET COMSPEC=C:\DOS\COMMAND.COM
        LH C:\DOS\MSCDEX.EXE /D:MSCD0001 /M:12 /E
        LH C:\DOS\SMARTDRV /X
        SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 H1 P300 T6
        SET SOUND=C:\SB16
        SET MIDI=SYNTH:1 MAP:E
        C:\SB16\DIAGNOSE /S
        C:\SB16\SB16SET /P

How do I get help?

Phone: Technical Support is available at (301) 963-2002, Monday - Friday, between the hours of 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

On-Line - COMPUSERVE - GO BETHESDA

If you need technical help, you need to include information that will enable the tech to help you better. Be sure to include the following information whenever you're asking for help.

Are you running under Win95 or DOS?

How much installed memory do you have on your machine?

What sound-card do you have?

Using the sound set-up set the game to NO MUSIC/NO SOUND. If
you still have the same problem, let tech support know you've
tried this. If the problem is gone, you have a sound card
problem, and it's important to let them know what type of card
you have, and the setting the card is set at.

Is Write caching turned off in Win 95?

If you are running the game in DOS make sure that you have
version 2.23 of MSCDEX or higher.

How much memory have you installed on your PC?

What size install did you do?

How much free space on your hard drive do you have?

And if possible, post a copy of your config.sys and autoexec.bat.