The normal reason for this occurring is that your PC doesn't have Microsoft Direct X 7 or higher installed. Direct X is a Microsoft product which most games require for them to run on the Windows operating systems. It is free and available for download from www.microsoft.com, also it can be commonly found on computer magazine CD ROM cover disks.

FishSim 2 has been extensively tested on Windows 95, 98. ME and XP. There are 1000's of users with these operating systems who use FishSim 2 for hours on a daily basis. The problems occur not with FishSim 2, but with the dreaded drivers. You should ensure that you have the latest drivers for your hardware **, note, these will probably not be the drivers that came on the CD ROM with the hardware. In fact, they very rarely are, a search on the internet will point you in the direction of updated drivers for your sound and video cards.

** Exception NVidia GForce and XP ** - There is a compatibility problem with the later NVidia GForce drivers on Windows XP with Fishsim 2. The latest update version should be downloaded from the download page on www.fishsim.net to cure this problem.

You can download the shareware version of fishing simulator 2 still from here, but you will require your original registration name and number to turn it from the shareware version to the full version. Please email and we will send you a link to the download. This version still requires activation via your unique registration code, if you has miss-placed or lost it, please include the name you registered and if possible the aproximate date ( month / year ) that you registered. This will help retreive your registration details faster.

Yes, the CD ROM contains the full registered version of Fishing Simulator 2, and has a selection of venues, fish species, tackle and bait pre-installed. There are many more addons contained on the CD ROM that can be imported. To import an add-on from the CD ROM, go to the options button on the main menu and choose the Advanced tab option. On the screen that appears there is a button at the bottom saying CD ROM, click this button with the Fishing Simulator 2 CD ROM inserted into the drive and a list of available addons will appear. Click the addon in the list to import it. You do not need to restart after importing each addon, you can import as many as you like, and then restart once for the addons to be included. It is recommended that you import the xspecies addon first, as this contains many extra fish species that are in the additional venues

For more information on how to import addons see the tutorial page.

Please ignore the references to registration in the 'in game' manual, these are not relevant to the CD ROM version.

If you have the fishing simulator 2 CD ROM, then there are plenty of addons on the CD ROM ready to be imported, also besides these, there are more available on various sites around the internet. The main place to find most internet downloads for fishsim 2 is by accessing the FS2 downloads menu option on fishsim.net.

To fish with two rods at the same time you will need to enter the Tackle page from either the main menu or via the 'T' key while fishing. When the tackle selection screen appears you will notice two buttons in the bottom right rod one and rod two, click on the rod two button so that the button presses in and the text turns yellow. Then click on the rods tab at the top of the screen. You will see a check box saying "use this rod". click this check box to turn the second rod on. Whichever rod button is selected in the bottom right hand corner is the one you are setting up. The second rod can only be used for ledgering only though. While fishing, it can get a bit hairy, especially if you get a bite on each rod, or worse still a fish on each rod at the same time ! You can only hold one rod at a time though, and to change which rod you are holding press the SPACE key.

This is a difficult one to answer because there are literally billions of different combinations in FishSim 2, but there are a few general rules to help. First of all it is important that when you first use FishSim 2 you will probably be fishing real time and this could be in the middle of the night in winter. Chances are that fish are not going to be easy to come by then, so it needs changing. To change the date and time you are fishing, click on the Real time box prior to going fishing. a dialog will appear asking you to select the day, month, and hour you want to fish. Select a summer day ( in July or August ) and set the time to late afternoon ( 5 pm ). This will greatly improve the fishing.

Another factor which could be resulting in the lack of fish is the tackle set up. Keep it light with small hooks. Try hookline of no greater than 4 lbs and small hooks of between size 16 - 22. Fish with a caster or a maggot and you're bound to get something. Avoid using heavy line and large hooks, unless you are fishing for the monsters or using large hook baits.

There is also a useful tips page on the Internet with tips for almost every single venue, click here for more info.

When you go fishing, you can take upto eight bait boxes to the bankside with you. The contents of these bait boxes can be filled or emptied on the tackle selection screen when it is accessed from the main menu. While fishing press the C key on the keyboard to change which bait you are fishing with. You can also change the size of the bait and the quantity you want to place on the hook as well. If you are fishing with two rods, then you will be changing the bait of the rod you are holding at that time.

This is probably down to the tackle set up, although there are some species that are finicky biters. If you are float fishing, make sure you are not fishing a long way over depth. The small depth indicator in blue with a yellow line at the top of the screen while fishing will give you a guide to how deep you are fishing relative to the area you have casted in. When ledgering with a bolt rig, leave off the back stop shot. You can do this by moving the mouse cursor over the back shot until the cursor changes and pressing the right mouse button. Also, try to keep your weight as light as possible, and leave about 5" to 12 " of slack line, depending on the detector being used.

There is a tutorial available which guides you through the whole process from start to finish. After downloading and importing your first addon, the rest are easy. You can read this step by step tutorial by clicking here.

Please note that if you import addons that are not contained on the CD ROM, no technical support can be given on any matters.

All reels created for FS2 have different reel in speed settings. The fly reel has three settings to adjust the speed that the line is retrieved - Fast, slow, and back-wind. It is likely that it is currently on the backwind setting which is useful for feeding line out slowly while fly fishing. To adjust the reel speed settings for any reel use the [ and ] keys on the keyboard ( default, they can be re-defined ). As you press the keys the bar at the top of the screen will move to indicate the current setting. The reel drag setting can also be adjusted while fishing using the up and down arrow keys.

Record catches can be submitted directly to the Internet from within version 2.10a or higher, you can update Fishing Simulator 2 to the latest version by clicking here. To submit your fish, click on the peg image prior to going fishing, then on the "venue records" button. There will be a button at the bottom of the page titled "submit". You will need to be connected to the Internet, and have your firewall ( if you have one ) configured to allow fishing simulator 2 to access the Internet.

Addon creation is difficult to explain and requires more space than is available on this FAQ page. The best place to begin is by using the "creation" section on www.fishsim.net and reading the documentation hosted there.