If you cannot find answers you need, contact us at support@celeris.com. Include a full description of the issue.

I get stuck on call shot or illegal break screens. What's wrong?
It is likely that the auto-hide feature of your Windows taskbar is causing issues. You need to turn off auto-hide for you task bar. Right click on your task bar where no minimized tasks are or on the clock readout. Select Properties then uncheck "Auto-hide the taskbar".

I'm using Windows XP and see flashing desktop objects while running in full screen mode. How can I prevent flashing?
Go to the Start Menu and select Settings, then click on Control Panel and Open Add/Remove Programs. Find the Windows update KB824141 and uninstall it. It will ask you if you are sure you want to remove it as some programs may not run, select Yes. Restart your computer and VP3 should work without any flashing.

What version of DirectX do I need to run Virtual Pool 3 DL?
VP3 requires DirectX 8 or later. Get DirectX 8 free here: click here.

My system will only run Virtual Pool 3 DL in software mode. Why can't I use my 3D hardware acceleration?
Try setting the "Hardware Acceleration" in the Settings/Graphics menu of the game.

If you still can't get hardware acceleration, your 3D video card is probably not DirectX 8 compatible.

You can also try lowering the texture resolution. To do this, click the settings menu, then click on graphics, then deselect "high resolution textures". You will be prompted to quit and restart VP3 DL.

My frame rate is slow with 3D hardware acceleration. How can I speed it up?
Some video graphics cards don't support lightmaps or run very slowly with them enabled.
Try turning off the lightmaps by unselecting the "Lightmaps" checkbox in the "Graphics Menu" found via "Settings" on the main menu of the game.

The pool balls look wrong, why are my pool balls drawn incorrectly?
The most common problem found on older video cards is the pool ball textures cutting up or flashing the wrong texture on the ball. This can be corrected if the manufacturer has released a fully functional DirectX 8 driver. Because manufacturers and chip vendors do not support products past a certain age, you may not be able to get a driver that works. In this case you need a new video card to run with hardware acceleration turned on.

What should I do if Virtual Pool 3 DL crashes or has drawing problems?
Install the latest drivers for your video card. You can usually get these from the card manufacturers web site or from the video chip manufacturers web site. It is usually best to use the version from the card manufacturer.

Make sure that your video card is DirectX 8 compatible and that you have DirectX 8 or later installed. Get DirectX 8 free here: click here. Most newer cards will work.

If the latest driver from the card manufacturer does not fix the problem, go to the chip manufacturer's website to download and install the latest driver. You can find the video and chip information in the System Information section of your computer by checking Display property details. Or you can find out the chip manufacturer by looking at the first information shown after a power on or reset. If this does not work you can try examining the video card. Look at the largest chip on the board. Some boards have heat sinks on the graphic chips that may prevent this.

Virtual Pool 3 DL will not start. What should I try?
If Virtual Pool 3 DL will not start there are some command line arguments to force it into different graphics modes. If your card is not DirectX 8 compatible or has driver problems it may not start or may crash in D3D hardware accelerated mode (the default mode). All the settings specified by the command line arguments can be set in VP3 DL in the "Graphics" menu. The arguments should only be specified if you can't get VP3 DL to start.

If you get VP3 DL to run with these arguments then later correct your D3D problem (most likely by getting a driver update).

You will need to remove the command line arguments as they override the Graphics menu settings on startup. The command line arguments are placed at the end of the Target line. You can access the Target line by: bring up the Start Menu, go to Virtual Pool 3 DL, highlight it, click the right mouse button, and select properties. The target line may be in double quotes. The command line arguments should go outside the quotes. All arguments start with a dash (-). The arguments are:

• Argument / Description
• -soft / Force VP3 to start in software mode
• -vlight / Use vertex lighting
• -lowrestex / Use low resolution textures

GameSpy cannot find Virtual Pool 3 DL. What can I do?
The download version of VP3 DL has a different executable name (vp3dl.exe instead of vp3.exe). GameSpy needs to be explicitly told where the exe file is located.

The VP3DL forum post has details on how to tell GameSpy the exe file location.

How do I play online through a firewall or proxy server?
Playing online may require configuration of your firewall or proxy server. Firewalls may be software/and or hardware such as a router. VP3 DL requires DirectPlay and GameSpy ports to be open.
To play VP3 DL online on Gamespy the following ports have to be enabled:

• Port range from 60876 to 60976
• Single ports: 13139, 27900, 28900, 29900 to 29901.

For more information on firewall setup:

• Visit the VP3 Online forum firewall setup post.
• If you have a router. Check your documentation and the help or knowledge base from your manufacturers web site. The DirectPlay and GameSpy port configurations are common and the are probably documented.
• You can for more information on the GameSpy Arcade FAQ regarding firewalls.