Free Ride Games Player
Overview Using the Free Ride Games Player Player Tabs All Games Tab My Games Tab Downloads in Progress Tab Player Menu All Games My Games Downloads in Progress Open Settings Appearance Connection About Exit Buffering Process

Overview

The Free Ride Games Download Player is the desktop application that downloads and launches the game you have selected.

The service does not run if the player is not installed.

The player is also designed to provide you with an optimal user experience by running what is referred to as the “buffering process”, in which it continuously transfers the game data to your PC, even before you need it.

When you download a game, the player starts the initial buffering process, preparing the game to run on your PC. You can start playing as soon as the initial buffering process is complete, as well as configure the player to suit your personal preferences.

When the Free Ride Games player is active, its icon is displayed on the Windows tray:

However, the icon may change according to the Player status. For example, when the player is in the course of downloading a game, its icon takes on the following shape:

Another example is the clock display of the player’s icon on the tray:

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	Using the Free Ride Games Player
The Free Ride Games Player interface consists of the following components: = Player’s header = Browser screen where the content of the selected tab is displayed, and its scroll bar = 3 tabs that allow you to choose, download, and run the games = The Advertising Area
Player Tabs
The player interface consists of 3 tabs: All Games My Games Downloads In Progress
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All Games Tab

Presents a list of all the available games. You may browse the catalog of games from here and select games for download, or visit www.freeridegames.com for more detailed information.

Once the All Games tab has been selected, the connection with the game storage is being established, and the following animated message is displayed on the player’s screen:

Sort

The Sort dropdown list allows you to sort the order in which the games are to be presented on the browser.

= Name – selecting the sort order by Name causes the games to be listed on the screen in ascending alphabetical order

= Most Popular - selecting the sort order by Most Popular causes the game list on the screen to be presented in descending order according to their popularity: starting with the most popular and ending with the least popular game

Game Functions

For each game listed in the All Games tab two buttons are available:

= The top button serves to select the game and displaying its current status.

= The bottom button is a link to additional information about the selected game.

The table below presents the various status states that are displayed on the top button:

	Initial button. Clicking the button at this state triggers the download process.
	Once you have clicked the Play Game Free, the game joins the downloading queue.
	When it’s the game’s turn in the queue, the actual streaming process of the download starts.
	When the initial download has been completed and the game can be initiated, the game becomes ready to play.
	Indication that the game is being played.

The bottom button allows you to browse through the selected game’s web page:

Link to the Free Ride Games web page that includes additional details about the selected game, as the screen below illustrates:

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My Games Tab

Once the game has been downloaded sufficiently for you to start running it, it appears in the My Games tab:

Each title entry consists of the following listings:

u Title name

u Title’s CD cover picture

u Set of action buttons

The following actions are available for a downloaded game:

u Click the Play button to run the game

u Click the Info button to display the game’s details

u Click the Delete button to delete the game from your PC

u After clicking the Delete button, the following confirmation box is displayed:

The checkbox for preserving all the settings and saving the application’s information is checked by default.

To delete the application and all its traces from your computer,

u Uncheck the Preserve all settings…checkbox

u Click OK

To confirm the deletion of the game:

u Click OK

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Downloads in Progress Tab

After the connection with the game has been set up, the buffering process is initiated, and the game is being downloaded to your computer.

As long as the game is downloaded to your PC, the icon on your tray reflects the download status:

The progress and details of this process are displayed in the Downloads in Progress tab per selected game, as seen below

The details displayed for each game are:

u Game name - name of the downloaded game

u Downloading progress – the amount already downloaded out of the whole game file size.

u Estimated time left - according to the bandwidth and statistics of the file download rate, the remaining time of the initial download is presented.

u Progress bar – showing the download progress graphically

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Action Buttons

The following actions are available while a game is downloading:

= Resume/Pause download session

= Browse through the game info web page

= Delete the downloading game from your PC

= Set game download priority relative to other downloading games

Resume/Pause game download session

u Click Resume to restart the download:

The Download button switches between Resume and Pause the download according to the current operation. When the downloading is resumed and running, the button switches to Pause, as shown below, and vice versa:

u Click Pause to stop the download:

Game Info

u Click the Info button to display the selected game’s details

The Info window displays information specific to the title you are currently downloading. While the game is downloading the player remains open, and you can read more details without interrupting your download:

Delete Game Download

u Click the Delete button to cancel the download process and delete the part already downloaded from your computer

The Delete confirmation dialog box is displayed:

The checkbox for preserving all the settings and saving the application’s information is checked by default.

To delete the application and all its traces from your computer,

u Uncheck the Preserve all settings…checkbox

u Click OK

To confirm the deletion of the game,

u Click OK

Set Game Download Priority

When more than one game is being downloaded concurrently, you can set the priority of the download process so that your desired game finishes the process first.

To set the download priority among several downloading games,

u Click the Priority arrows according to your preference:

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Player Menu

When the Player’s service is active, its icon is displayed on the Notification Bar (the tray):

To display the player menu:

u Right-click the player icon in the system tray

The player menu is displayed:

The player menu offers the following options:

u Go to Free Ride Games

Opens the Free Ride Games home page on a new browser screen

u All Games

Opens the All Games tab of the player

u My Games

Opens the My Games tab of the player

u Downloads

Opens the Downloads in Progress tab of the player

u Open Settings

Opens the Player’s Settings dialog box

u Help

Opens the current Help file

u Exit

Closes the Player and quits the service

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Go To Free Ride Games

The first entry in the Settings menu is a simple link to the Free Ride Games we page.

To open your browser at the Free Ride Games URL,

u Click Go To Free Ride Game

All Games Menu

The All Games tab on your player is designed to allow you to view the list of available games, and download any game or games you may choose from the list.

To open the player’s All Games tab:

u Right-click the player icon in the system tray

u The player menu is displayed:

u Click All Games

The player is displayed focused on its All Games tab.

My Games Menu

The My Games tab

on your player is designed to allow you to view your downloaded games and run them.

To open the player’s My Games tab:

u Right-click the player icon in the system tray

u The player menu is displayed:

u Click My Games

The player is displayed focused on its My Games tab.

Downloads in Progress Menu

The Downloads in Progress tab on your player allows you to view the status of your currently downloading games.

To open the player’s Downloads in Progress tab:

u Right-click the player icon in the system tray

u The player menu is displayed:

u Click Downloads in Progress

The Player is displayed, focused on its Downloads in Progress tab.

Open Settings Menu

The player allows you to customize its display and behavior settings.

To access the Player's Settings window:

u Right-click the player icon in the system tray

u The player menu is displayed:

u Click Open Settings

Click here to see description of the Settings screens

Exit Menu

To close the player and quit:

u Right-click the player icon in the system tray

u The player menu is displayed:

u Select Exit

The player quits and the icon disappears from the tray.

Player Settings

The Settings default dialog box is displayed:

There are 3 options on the Settings screen:

= Appearance (the default Settings option) – for setting the skin and language of the player

= Connection – for setting proxy preferences

= About – player version and installed path are specified

Appearance

To set the preferred player skin:

u Select the skin of your preference from the Player Skin dropdown list

u Click OK

To set the player’s skin language:

u Select the language of your preference from the Language dropdown list

u Click OK

To start the player upon Windows startup:

u Check the checkbox “Launch at Windows start-up”

u Click OK

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Connection

The Connection window provides you with Proxy settings. If your Internet connection involves a specific proxy server connection, you can configure the player to connect through this proxy. You can also direct the player not to pass through a proxy server. The recommended option is to let the player automatically find and connect to the proxy server if such a server exists.

Automatic Proxy Detection

To allow the player to find and connect to proxies on its own,

u Check the Use Automatic Proxy Settings radio button

u Click OK

To force the player to connect to a specific proxy,

u Check the Connect through a proxy server radio button

u Enter the proxy’s Address and Port to the appropriate fields, then select OK

To force the player to NOT connect to any proxy server,

u Check the Do not use a proxy server radio button and select OK

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About

The About Settings section displays the player version and installation path on your hard drive.

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Buffering Process

Certain information must be downloaded to your PC before you can play a game.

During the initial buffering process the player transfers only the components required by the game to run. This short delay is experienced one time only, during the first time you download a particular game.

The initial download process has three stages:

Connecting to the server	Trying to connect to the application server to activate the title.
Loading application data	Receiving information about any upgrades and software components the buffered title requires for creating a “virtual CD” environment for the title.
Buffering application data to enhance performance	Buffering the title's information and sending it to your PC.

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The following section explains the general structure of error messages:

Error Message

To close the error message,

u Click OK

To see a more detailed description of the error that occurred,

u Click More Info

More detailed information about an error

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