Chicken Invaders:

At the game's main menu, select the 3rd button from the top ("Options"). From the set of wide buttons you see, select the last one (not the short "help" button at the bottom of the screen). A window should pop up (it says "Please restart the game and select your new language"). Click on "OK" to close the window, then at the bottom-left "< Back" button, and again at the bottom-left "X Quit" button. Now restart the game and select the correct language.

The Chicken Invaders license allows you to install the game on as many computers as you own. You can also play LAN multiplayer games between those computers using a single license. However, only one of your computers using your license (that is, with your particular authorization code) can participate in Internet multiplayer games at any given time. If you wish to play over the internet, then you will need a separate license for each participating computer.

Make sure that you've entered your authorization code correctly in the game (your authorization code was given to you when you registered). At the game's main menu, select "Options" and then "Network Wizard". On the third page of the Network Wizard, there is a field where you can enter your authorization code. Make sure that you type it in correctly (some letters and numbers look alike).

The "fly with a wingman" game type has higher system requirements than the rest of the game types. When two players play simultaneously, your computer has to handle almost twice as much information, and performance may suffer.

Performance is limited by the type and speed of your processor, and a faster processor will yield better results (in contrast to single-player games, where performance is mostly dictated by your graphics card). Make sure you have at least a 1.5GHz processor for "fly with a wingman" games.

Your DirectX version is out of date (you need at least version 8.0). Download the latest version from Microsoft's web site here.

Again, your DirectX version is out of date (you need at least version 8.0). Download the latest version from Microsoft's web site here.

This message says that your computer can't switch to full-screen to play the game. There is no legitimate reason for this (unless you have another full-screen application running in the background). It is more likely a bug in certain video drivers (in conjunction with DirectX 8.0+). Reboot and run the game immediately, before anything else.

If you continue to get this error, try updating your graphics card driver (check your manufacturer's web site) and/or DirectX version (here). Also, before running the game, shut down any instant messengers, and generally any program that may pop up a window. Check the system tray area (at the bottom right of your screen, next to the clock) and terminate any unnecessary programs.

The game should feel very fast and very smooth when you're playing. If it feels slow or "choppy", or it slows down when there's a lot of action on the screen, then there's room for improvement. The good news is the game offers extensive customization options that you can tweak to get the best out the game on your particular computer.

This guide will help you optimize your graphics performance. First of all, if you've changed anything, set all the menu options to their default values.

So, how do you find out if the game is running slowly in the first place? The engine automatically compensates for most variations in performance, meaning that normally you won't be able to tell whether the game is running "really fast" or simply "adequately fast", unless your system is really slow and you can just plainly see that the game is slow and jerky.

Start off with going to options/graphics/advanced and turning "show fps" on. This shows your current frames-per-second (fps) at the top-right of the screen. The higher your fps is, the faster and smoother the gameplay.

Now play through a game, and keep an eye on your fps. You shouldn't have any problems if this constantly stays above 50. If you are getting less than 35 fps, perform the following steps in sequence. At the end of each step, play a game and check your fps. If you are getting sufficiently high values, then you're done. If it's still too low, try the next step.

Step 1: Go to options/graphics/advanced and set the video mode to 640x480.

Step 2: Go to options/graphics and set "detail" to "low".

Step 3: Go to options/graphics/advanced and turn "bilinear filter" off.

Step 4: Go to options/sound and set "quality" to "low", and also turn "in-game music" off.

That's it! If the game is still running too slowly, you'll just have to buy a better computer :).