PC Action 1998 July/PCA0798.ISO/mcdemo/readme.txt

Text File | 1998-05-27 | 11.0 KB | 200 lines

Welcome to the MechCommanderÖ Demo

MechCommander is a real-time game of tactical combat and persistent resource management set in the
BattleTech« Universe. Players assume the role of a MechCommander in charge of a unit of MechWarriors«. The
goal is to clear the way for an invasion that will retake the planet Port Arthur from the technologically superior
Smoke Jaguar Clan. The player commands up to 12 MechWarriors and fights against dozens of enemy 'Mechs«,
Elementals, armored vehicles and fortified emplacements. The condition of both 'Mechs and MechWarriors carries
forward from mission to mission. Players can buy new 'Mechs, components and pilots or use salvage from the
battlefield to gain superior enemy 'Mechs and weapons. The game will be fully multiplayer network capable.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
IBM PC 133MHz Pentium compatible or better
Windows 95 or Windows 98
DirectX version 5.0
16MB RAM Windows 95  32MB RAM Windows 98
4X-speed CD-ROM drive
2MB VRAM
Hard drive (200MB free)
Mouse
Keyboard

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
IBM PC 166MHz Pentium compatible or faster
Windows 95 or Windows 98
DirectX version 5.0
32MB RAM
2MB VRAM
8x-speed CD-ROM drive
Hard drive (200MB free)
Mouse
Keyboard

You must have 48MB of free space on your hard drive for the swap file to play the MechCommander Demo. This
swap space must be available on the hard drive where your operating system is installed, which is usually drive C.

UNINSTALLING THE DEMO
It is unclear why you would ever want to do this, but to uninstall the MechCommander demo, click on the Start
Menu, select Settings, and select Control Panel.  Double-click on Add/Remove Programs and select
MechCommander from the list.  This will not remove your saved game files.  To remove your saved game files, delete
the Fasa Interactive directory in the Program Files directory.

PREPARING FOR A MISSION
After launching the game and selecting äPlay Demo,ô review the Mission Briefing on the Briefing/Deployment Screen.
Check out each `Mech in your roster by clicking on it in the Ready Area in the bottom left of the screen. Then, go to
Purchasing by clicking the "Purchasing" button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

In both Purchasing and the MechBay, the equipment you own is located on the left side of the screen in your
Current Inventory. Equipment available from Battalion Inventory is located on the right side of the screen. Click the
appropriate tab (located next to your Current Inventory) to view your supplies. Note that these tabs change the
display in both the Current Inventory and Battalion Inventory areas to show either BattleMechs, MechWarriors,
Components or Vehicles.

To make a purchase, drag the BattleMechs/MechWarriors/Components/Vehicles you choose from Battalion
Inventory on the right side of the screen into your Current Inventory on the left side of the screen. Once you have
completed your purchases, go to the MechBay by clicking the MechBay button in the upper left-hand corner of the
screen.

In the Mech Bay, you can repair your `Mechs' damaged armor, internal structure and engine by clicking on the
"Repair All" button. You can also replace all its damaged weapon and sensor gear by clicking on "Refit All."
Additionally, you can selectively replace components by dragging them from the component list on the `Mech and
dropping them into your inventory to remove, or dragging from your inventory and dropping in the component slot of
the `Mech in question. You can also swap around MechWarriors in the same manner. Player-controlled vehicles do
not appear in this demo.

When you are ready to deploy into a mission, return to the Briefing/Deployment screen by clicking the
Briefing/Deployment button in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Drag your units into the force group drop
zones and click the Start Mission button. Note that 'Mechs without MechWarriors do not appear in the Ready Area
of the Briefing/Deployment screen.

COMMAND AND CONTROL
Select a unit                    left-mouse click or drag box
Select a group of units                drag box or select appropriate Function key
Select all units on screen                [e]
Deselect a unit                    [Shift] + left-mouse click
Deselect all units                    right-mouse click

Move                        left-mouse click on the destination
Run                        [Spacebar] + left-mouse click
Jump                        [j] + left-mouse click
                        (jump-capable Mechs only; limited distance)
Stop/Hold Fire/Cancel Artillery Selection        [Backspace]

Attack, from current location            [c] + left-mouse click
Attack, long-range                [l] + left-mouse click
Attack, medium-range                [m] + left-mouse click
Attack, short-range                [s] + left-mouse click

Attack head                    [8] + left-mouse click
Attack left torso                    [7] + left-mouse click
Attack right torso                    [9] + left-mouse click
Attack left arm                    [4] + left-mouse click
Attack center torso                [5] + left-mouse click
Attack right arm                    [6] + left-mouse click
Attack legs                    [1,3] + left-mouse click


Pause                        [Esc]
Guard                        [g] + left-mouse click
Lay mines                    [f] + left-mouse click (minelayer only; not available
                    in this demo)
Power down                    [Page Down]
Power up                    [Page Up]
Eject                        [Home] + left-mouse click on the æMech

Capture                        Context-sensitive cursor
Repair                        Context-sensitive cursor (not available in this demo)

Scroll battlefield view down            Mouse-down or [Down Arrow]
Scroll battlefield view left                Mouse-left or [Left Arrow]
Scroll battlefield view right            Mouse-right or [Right Arrow]
Scroll battlefield view up                Mouse-up or [Up Arrow]
Zoom battlefield view in                [ + ]
Zoom battlefield view out                [ - ]

Multifunctional Display
Open/Close with previous display active        [Alt]
Open/Close with Briefing active            [Alt] + [b]
Open/Close with Data active            [Alt] + [d]
Open/Close with Map active            [Alt] + [m]
Open/Close with Salvage active            [Alt] + [s]

Scroll tactical map down                [Ctrl] + [Down Arrow]
Scroll tactical map left                [Ctrl] + [Left Arrow]
Scroll tactical map right                [Ctrl] + [Right Arrow]
Scroll tactical map up                [Ctrl] + [Up Arrow]
Zoom tactical map in                [Ctrl] + [ + ]
Zoom tactical map out                   [Ctrl] + [ - ]

FIRE SUPPORT
Fire Support is located on the Multifunctional Display (MFD), located in the upper-left hand corner of the Battlefield
Display. To call in an artillery strike, click on the Small or Large Artillery Icon at the top of the MFD. The cursor will
change to a Fire Support cursor. Click the Fire Support cursor on the desired impact point in the Battlefield View.
Artillery strikes can only be called into revealed terrain, either on the Tactical Map or the Battlefield View. A sensor
probe or camera drone can be dropped into unrevealed terrain.

A small artillery strike arrives quickly, in about seven seconds, and delivers a reasonable amount of damage to a
limited area. It is an ideal support weapon for area control since its short in-flight time makes it easier to time a hit
against a moving target.

A large artillery strike takes about twice as long to arrive as a small strike and delivers significant damage to a larger
area. It is difficult to time a hit against a moving target, but it is ideal for destroying weapon emplacements, buildings,
and other structures.

GROUP ORDERS
Selecting a Group, either by clicking on the Unit Tab at the bottom of the screen or by hitting the associated Function
Key, issues any subsequent orders to the entire group. The unit then responds as a group, taking its cues from the
Point of the group, who is the leftmost of the Unit Icons for that group. When moving, the group roughly forms up
behind the Point and follows the Point into battle.

Note that if a Run Order is given to the group, the members of the group will get to the destination at the best speed
possible, which could mean they arrive at the destination before the Point does. If a Walk Order is given, any units
ahead of the Point will wait for the point to take the lead.

UNIT ORGANIZATION AND REORGANIZATION
The Tactical Combat Interface supports up to three Force Groups, each containing up to four combat units up to a
total of 12 units.

To change which unit is the current Pointman of that group, first, select the group. Then, hold down the [Ctrl] key
while pressing the Function Key for that Group. The "Point" Cursor appears. Click the "Point" Cursor on the unit that
is to be the new Pointman. The Group display then reorganizes to place the new Pointman in the leftmost position.

To change which units are in a group or to create an entirely new group, first select all the units that are to be in the
Group. Then, hold down the [Ctrl] key while pressing the Function Key (F1-F4) for that Group. The "Point" Cursor
appears. Click the "Point" Cursor on the unit that is to be the new Pointman. The Group display then reorganizes to
include the selected units with the designated Pointman in the left most position.

In addition to the three Force Groups the interface supports up to 12 independent units that are not assigned to any
Force Group and cannot receive a Group Order. To make a unit that is part of a Group independent, first, select the
unit. Then, hold down the [Ctrl] key while pressing the [F5] key. That unit is now independent. The Unit Icon display
reorganizes to move that unit to the right of any Force Groups. An independent unit is not part of a Group and cannot
be selected using a Function Key.

KNOWN PROBLEMS
Running any other applications concurrently with MechCommander may cause MechCommander to quit out when
minimized and switching between applications.  For performance issues we recommend that you quit all other
applications before launching MechCommander.

Ejecting pilots lose one health unit.  A pilot that ejects with only one health unit will appear in the MechWarrior bay
with an empty status bar.  Pilots with an empty status bar are dead.  Beginning a mission with a dead pilot in a Mech
will crash the game.

Pressing Scroll Lock will bring up a dialog box showing your system configuration and pause the game in a
windowed mode.  Press continue to resume and Alt+Enter to return to DirectDraw mode.  If you are reporting a bug to
the e-mail address below, save and attach your system configuration to the e-mail.

MechCommander installs the latest version of DirectX and drivers for your hardware.  If you encounter problems
running any other applications after installing MechCommander, you can restore your previous drivers and settings
by running DirectX setup and clicking on äRestoreà Driversô.

FINALLY
Thank you for your interest in the MechCommander demo. The full version of MechCommander will be in stores this
summer. We appreciate your support and welcome your feedback. If you have any comments, write to us at
[e-mail].

For technical support, e-mail FASA Interactive at [e-mail] or MicroProse at
[e-mail].

MechCommander is published by MicroProse, 2490 Mariner Square Loop, Alameda, CA 94501 [phone].