PC Game Parade 1995 March/PCGAME.ISO/esdemo/install/readme

Text File | 1994-12-06 | 11.1 KB | 283 lines

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.

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