Alpha CD-ROM Bonus Pack

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METALTECH: EARTHSIEGE DEMO TUTORIAL This tutorial lets you jump right into this EarthSiege "active" demo and learn the basics by playing. Note: the tutorial and accompanying quick reference contain a lot of information. You may want to print out this document so you can refer to it while playing. If you experience any problems, please refer to the section below titled 'Troubleshooting'. OVERVIEW 2544 A.D. Sentient Cybrid robots have rebelled against their human creators and taken over the Earth. Determined to exterminate all humans, the Cybrids hunt us relentlessly. In a stroke of luck, we discovered powerful war machines, called HERCs, in a hidden base. By using hit-and-run guerrilla tactics and scavenging weapons and technology from defeated Cybrids, the human Resistance has endured and even grown in strength. But now the outlook is grim. The Cybrids have established numerous replication factories, bases, and supply lines. They have more resources to spare for new HERC design and production. They want a war of attrition--they can lose several Cybrids for each human and still be assured of eventual victory. The humans need new HERC pilots desperately, pilots with skill, luck, and bravado to overcome the superior Cybrid forces. Pilots who can learn fast, think fast, move fast, and shoot fast--who can carry out their missions and bring their squads back alive with enemy technology and salvage. If you volunteer for pilot duty, you know the odds are bad. You know the alternative is far, far worse. Good luck. TUTORIAL In this sample mission, you and a squad member will be defending your base against a Cybrid raid. Destroy the attackers and protect friendly HERCs and structures. This demo provides all the combat functions of the full simulation. Since the Cybrids will be attacking as you learn the controls, you will probably want to play through the demo a few times. You are INVULNERABLE and have UNLIMITED AMMUNITION. JOYSTICK SETUP When the mission starts, you will be looking out of your HERC's cockpit over the grim, desolate landscape of the future. Cybrid raiders are on the way. Before they arrive, you'll need to calibrate your joystick (if you have one). Press [F12]. (The demo Preferences are tailored to your system, but you can adjust them.) Open the Controls window. Select your joystick type, what you want it to control primarily (HERC or Turret), and then Calibrate it. Click DONE to return to the cockpit. HERC CONTROL You are piloting a Samson heavy attack HERC. It's a good HERC for this mission, heavily armored and boasting massive firepower. The following sections will help familiarize yourself with the Samson controls and displays. To maneuver the HERC, use the joystick or your cursor (or "arrow") keys. To switch between HERC and Turret control for the joystick, press [Enter] or Joystick Button 2. HEADS UP DISPLAY (HUD) and TURRET CONTROL The front window shows the HERC Heading Indicator and Waypoint Indicators. Beneath the Heading Indicator is a gray slide with a yellow bar, matched by the vertical slide at the left. These indicate the Rotation and Elevation of your turret, which you can move independently of your HERC's main body heading using your joystick or the following keys: turret rotation [J] and [K]; turret elevation [I] and [M]. To re-align the turret, press [Backspace]. WEAPONS CONTROL For this mission, your HERC has been armed with a 35 mm ATC autocannon, two 50 mm ATCs, two particle beam weapons (PBW), an electron flux generator (ELF), and two missile launchers (SAR10). Weapons will activate automatically when a selected target is within that weapon's range or locked (for missiles). To manually activate a weapon, just click its button or press its corresponding number key: fire with the trigger button or [Space]. You can press LINK to synchronize matching weapons, or select the I, II, or III buttons to select a predefined "firing chain." MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY (MFD) Directly under the cockpit window is the Multi-Function Display, currently showing your HERC's status. To cycle through its other available displays, click on the STATUS button, the console's F1-F6 buttons, or your [F1]-[F6] keys, as follows: [F1] STATUS, [F2] FLASHCOM, [F3] NAV MAP, [F4] RADAR, [F5] TARGET STATUS and [F6] MISSILE VIEW. ATTACK Press [F4] for Radar, and press [R] to activate it. The MFD will show yellow dots for enemy flyers and red dots for enemy HERCs. Feel free to blast away (you are invulnerable), but remember that your primary objective is to protect the base. To select a target, click on it using the mouse, or press the [Tab] key. When the target you want is bracketed in red on your HUD, press [F5] to change the MFD to Target Status. Now activate a weapon (press [1]-[4]), aim at the target with the Aiming Reticle (the crosshairs) on your HUD, and open fire. You can aim by moving the whole HERC or just your turret. Switch between HERC and turret control by pressing [Insert] or Joystick Button 2. You can also aim by pressing the TRACK button or [Alt]+[T]-- this turns auto tracking (aiming) on or off for any selected target. Note: The ELF is a very powerful but very short-range weapon. Get close, aim, and fire in a long continuous stream--the lightning-bolt effect is enough to completely gut most targets where they stand. Destroy your selected target. When you are done, pivot the HERC and press [Tab] to select another target. Experiment with the other MFD displays as you roam--for example, monitor a target on [F5] Target Status as you beat it to pieces. Don't get too smug--this gets much tougher when you can be damaged or run out of missiles. But for now, make some mayhem and enjoy. SQUAD COMMANDS You can command your squad mate in the other friendly HERC using the MFD Flashcomm commands [F2]. Press the highlighted message hot key, and then XMIT or [X] to send it. You can also send messages using the Command Display [F7]: select the pilot number [1], select the message hot key, and then send the message with [X] or XMIT. MISSILE LOCK Go back to the MFD Radar display [F4]. Notice that any target you select is surrounded by a yellow box on your radar screen. After a couple of seconds on Active radar (ACT), the red HUD target box acquires thick red corners. This means you have missile radar-lock: missiles you fire now will track the target. Note: Use Active radar sparingly--enemy missiles can home in on your scanner emissions. RETURN TO BASE Once you have beaten off the attackers, the Mission Alert panel will appear. Click the RETURN TO BASE option to end the mission. General Gierling will then evaluate your performance, and the Debriefing panel will appear to detail your kills, losses, and salvage. ALL DAY REPLAY You know the basics now. Once you master controlling your HERC, you'll want to replay the demo to explore all the cockpit controls and displays. (You can find out a lot more mission options and cockpit controls on the following quick reference.) --Check out the Heads Down Displays [F7] and [F8] for squad communications, tactical map, and system status. --Experiment with firing chains, shield and weapon power, missile lock, and missile view. --Try the External View [V] to watch the action from a "bird's-eye" view. OBLIGATORY PROMOTIONAL BLURB In the full EarthSiege simulation, you and your squad prowl a target-rich wasteland to deliver some heavily mechanized payback and win back the Earth. Choose from many HERCs, choose your weapon configurations, repair battle damage and even build HERCs from scratch (if you gather enough salvage). In Career mode, you will enlist in eight extended campaigns made up of 45 different missions with widely varying terrain, objectives, and increasing Cybrid opposition. The CD-ROM version adds digital speech and sizzling cinematic sequences to the experience. EarthSiege Options: Speech Pack: If you get EarthSiege on floppy disk, the Speech Pack upgrade brings you the same full digitized speech as the CD-ROM version! Expansion Disc: CD-ROM version users can add new cinematics, new weaponry, and three new campaigns with the Expansion Disc. Yes--the Cybrids are back: meaner, smarter, and stronger. Have Fun! EARTHSIEGE DEMO QUICK REFERENCE COCKPIT Insert or Joy But. 2 Movement/Turret Control Up/Dn Arrow Forward/Reverse L/R Arrow Steer I Turret up M Turret down J Turret left K Turret right Backspace Turret centered F9 Pan View Left F10 Pan View Right F11 Mission Objectives Esc Return to Cockpit EXTERNAL VIEW V External View On/Off Tab or Joy Button 2 View/HERC Control N View next squad HERC WEAPONS Space Fire current weapon Tab or T Select target Alt+T Auto Target Tracking On/Off 1 ... 9 Select corresponding weapon Alt+1...9 Add/Remove weapon in firing chain ~ or Alt+~ Select next/previous chain W or Alt+W Select next/previous weapon L Link selected weapon (if possible) + Increase setpoint - Decrease setpoint R Switch Radar Mode Alt+R Set Scan Range [ Increase rear shield ] Increase front shield DISPLAYS F1 MFD-HERC Status F2 MFD-Flashcomm Commands F3 MFD-Terrain Map F4 MFD-Radar F5 MFD-Target Status F6 MFD-Missile View F7 HDD-Command Display/Map F8 HDD-Detailed Status Display FLASHCOMM Alt+Hot Key Transmit Selected Message < or > Select Previous/Next Message A Attack My Target G Ignore my Target H Help Me Out O Join On Me C/E Scan For Hostiles/Emcon F Fire At Will/Hold Your Fire X XMIT Send Selected Message F7 COMMAND DISPLAY (HDD) Arrows Scroll Map + or - Zoom Map In/Out 1 ... 3 Select Pilot < or > Select Previous/Next Message Tab Select Unit D Disengage A Attack the Enemy F Defend Position T Patrol Gridpoint G Go To Gridpoint O Join on Me C Scan for Hostiles E Emcon X XMIT (Send Message) Backspace Cancel F8 DAMAGE DETAIL (HDD) L/R Arrow Select HERC S Structural I Internal W Weapons P Pause game Q Quit mission Alt+P or F12 Preferences Ctrl+Q/Ctrl+Esc Quit to DOS TROUBLESHOOTING TSR VIRUS DETECTION PROGRAMS AND "UNDELETE" UTILITIES: When installing or operating Metaltech: Earthsiege, we recommend that you disable any "undelete" utilities including Norton Smartcan or Mirror. You will also want to disable any TSR Virus Detection programs as each of these utilities might cause install problems or random lockups during game play. An easy and effective way to accomplish this is to create a boot disk using the install program's boot disk creator. MEMORY MANAGEMENT: Metaltech: Earthsiege runs in 32-bit protected mode and may suffer from incompatibilities with older memory managers including QEMM 6.02 and early versions of EMM386. If you experience lockups or other problems when running the simulation, try the following suggestions: a) Make a boot disk using the boot disk creator option in the install program. This option will create a custom boot-up configuration on a floppy disk and allow ES's own memory manager to better utilize all of your computer's available memory. Once the ES install routine has successfully created the boot disk, restart your computer with this disk in your A drive. b) Try an updated or newer memory manager. Many of the updated memory managers work more effectively with 32-bit protected mode applications. Check with your memory manager manufacturer for upgrade information. CD-ROM INTRODUCTION WITH NO SOUND CARD You will need a Sound Card with DAC in order to view the fully animated introduction sequence at proper speed. Without a sound card, this animated sequence will play at a faster rate. MOUSE DRIVERS In order to insure complete mouse compatibility within ES, we recommend that you use one of the following mouse drivers: - Microsoft Mouse driver version 8.20a or above - Logitech Mouse driver version 6.23 or above The above mentioned mouse drivers have been tested and found to work effectively within this simulation. Other drivers may cause program lock-ups, video distortion (in the form of white lines on the screen), or mouse control problems. SOUND BLASTER 16 AND BOOT DISK CREATOR: On occasion, the boot disk creator might not copy the SBCONFIG.EXE line onto the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of the boot disk. This may result in the introduction and the game running without any sound or music. If this occurs, you will need to manually insert the SBCONFIG.EXE line from your standard boot-up configuration into the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the boot disk. Below is an example of how the line should look: C:\SB16\SBCONFIG.EXE /S NOTE - the above line should appear immediately after all other Sound Blaster statements within the AUTOEXEC.BAT file of your boot disk. For assistance or more information about completing this step, please refer to your sound card documentation or call Creative Labs Technical Support. SOUND CARD PROBLEMS While we have made every effort to support as many sound cards as possible, there are a few sound cards that are not supported directly within Earthsiege. You may have to configure your card for Sound Blaster emulation if you have a card that is not directly supported by the game drivers. Some Sound Blaster emulation utilities might not work properly with Earthsiege. NOTE - not all sound cards are compatible with the Sound Blaster card. Check your hardware documentation to determine if your card is compatible. SCSI DRIVERS If your system is equipped with a SCSI hard drive, you will need to make sure that you are loading the appropriate SCSI driver in your CONFIG.SYS file. For additional information or instructions on how to accomplish this task, please refer to your hard drive or SCSI controller documentation or manufacturer. MEMORY REQUIREMENTS Memory requirements for the game are as follows: * 3,550 kilobytes (3,640,000 bytes) of free total memory To run ES on a 4 Meg machine, you will most likely need to make a boot disk or remove your high memory driver from your config.sys file. ES doesn't require a high memory driver, and such drivers can take up enough memory to cause ES not to run. If you don't have at least 4,900 kilobytes of memory free, there won't be enough memory for the best version of ES to run. If this is the case, you won't be able to select the highest detail setting and there will be more hard drive accesses. CD-ROM PROBLEMS If you have the CD version of MetalTech: EarthSiege and you are experiencing "CDR-101 Read errors" or are experiencing random lock-ups, then make sure you are using the latest CD-ROM drivers and the correct version of MSCDEX.EXE for your revision of MS-DOS. To verify that you are using the correct device drivers in your CONFIG.SYS file, contact your CD-ROM manufacturer for verification. To verify that you are using the latest version of MSCDEX.EXE, please examine the chart below: MS-DOS 5.0 Users....................Use MSCDEX 2.21 or above MS-DOS 6.0 Users....................Use MSCDEX 2.22 or above MS-DOS 6.20-6.22 Users..............Use MSCDEX 2.23 or above NOTE - MSCDEX 2.22 is included with MS-DOS 6.0, and MSCDEX 2.23 is included with MS-DOS 6.20-6.22. To update from an older version of MSCDEX, simply copy the updated file from the DOS directory into the path where you are loading MSCDEX. For more information, please refer to your CD-ROM hardware manual or contact your CD-ROM manufacturer. CONTROL DEVICES THRUSTMASTER DEVICE SUPPORT ES.ADV This is a default WCS driver for use with the Thrustmaster Mark II Weapons Control System. You can find it in the directory you installed ES into, and you should see your WCS owner's manual for instructions on how to download it into your WCS. The red Base mode switch should be set to digital, and the black Hat mode switch should be set to analog. ES.B50 and ES.M50 ES.B50 is a default configuration for the new Thrustmaster F-16 FLCS. See the ES.M50 file for a description of the hat and button assignments. Consult your owners manual for downloading instructions. You can reach Thrustmaster technical support at (503) 968-3400 9-5 Pacific time weekdays if you have questions about the WCS MK II or the F-16 FLCS. GRAVIS GAME PAD We have found that ES works well with the Gravis Game Pad. To use this device, select and calibrate the pad as 1 Standard Joystick. Make sure you set the game pad to ANALOG rather than DIGITAL. Check your game pad documentation for instructions on how to accomplish this. KEYJOY.CFG This file exists in the DATA directory, off of the directory you installed ES into. It allows you to set some preferences for how certain keys are handled by the game. You may find it more natural to steer your Herc or turret by setting one of the options to REVERSE. To change one of these selections from the default setting, edit the keyjoy.cfg file in a text editor and replace "DEFAULT" with "REVERSE" where desired. CONTACTING SIERRA: Sierra On-Line Direct Sales P.O. Box 3404 Salinas, CA 93912 Phone: (800) 757-7707 Fax: (408) 644-2018 Thanks for playing EarthSiege!