                 METALTECH: EARTHSIEGE

               Version 1.0 Release Notes

Thank you for purchasing Metaltech: Earthsiege (ES).  While we have
made an effort to provide you with complete documentation, some last
minute additions and changes did not make it into the manual.  The
following information should be considered an extension of the
Earthsiege Simulation Manual.


I.  INCOMPATIBILITIES

    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.  For more information, please refer 
    to your simulation documentation.

    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
    If you have the CD version of ES, you will need a Sound Card with
    DAC in order to view the fully animated introduction and/or death
    sequence at proper speed.  Without a sound card, these animated
    sequences 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.

II. MISCELLANEOUS

    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.

    INSTALL SIZE OPTIONS
    The documentation outlines that there are two installation options
    for the CD version of Metaltech.  In order to allow a wider variety
    of install choices, three are now available:

      MIN Install .............Installs 5 Megs of DATA to Hard Drive
      MED Install..............Installs 12 Megs of DATA to Hard Drive
      FULL Install.............Installs 32 Megs of DATA to Hard Drive

    NOTE - Even when the FULL install option is selected, you may want
    to keep the Metaltech: Earthsiege CD in the CD-ROM drive during play
    so that you see the best version of the movie sequences.

    MEMORY REQUIREMENTS
    Memory requirements for the game have been increased slightly. 
    Thus the requirements outlined in the documentation are a little
    low.  The new requirements 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.         

    VIEW INTRO
    The View Intro option that is reported on page 19 of the game 
    manual has been replaced by a View Demo option.  View demo will 
    play back a recording of an example mission.  To view the 
    Introduction, simply restart the game.

    SAVE/RESTORE
    You will be able to save your game once per mission.  There is
    no longer a limitation of three saved game slots per campaign
    as outlined on page 21 of the Earthsiege manual.

    ELECTRON FLUX WEAPON (ELF)
    You can now link or place your ELF in a firing chain.  This 
    feature has been added and contradicts what is outlined in
    the game manual on page 57.

    ECM POD (ELECTRONIC COUNTERMEASURES)
    The information listed in the manual on page 61 regarding the ECM
    pod is incomplete. ECM pods only can jam SARH and ARH missiles.
    ARM (Anti-radiation missiles) have a "home on jam" capability that
    allows them to target units using radar OR an ECM pod.

    If you wish to "jam" a single enemy target (for instance, an enemy
    listening post) to prevent it from calling for reinforcements, you
    should do so at the maximum possible range. Jamming a base after it
    has already called in reinforcements has no helpful effect.

    KIA RATINGS
    K.I.A (Killed In Action) ratings will only appear in the Stats
    view screen - you will not see it listed in the Career roster
    screen as documented on pages 20 and 21.

    CHANGING DETAIL LEVELS
    - With the Mouse:
    Pressing the Right Mouse button will lower the detail level 
    setting in the preferences menu, while the left mouse button
    will raise the detail level.

    - With the Keyboard
    Use the (+) key on your keyboard to raise the detail level
    in the preferences menu, and use the (-) key to lower the
    detail settings.

    USING THE MOUSE TO SET FIRING CHAINS
    You can use the right mouse button to toggle a weapon in and
    out of the current firing chain. Right-click on the button 
    for the desired weapon to add or remove it from a firing chain.

    CONFIGURING YOUR JOYSTICK
    The first time you run Earthsiege after installing it onto 
    your computer, you must manually select and calibrate your 
    joystick.  Once you have done this, the computer will 
    automatically remember your settings.  

    To select and calibrate your joystick, go to the Main Menu and
    select the OPTIONS button.  From the Options screen, click on the
    CONTROL button.  From this menu, click on the Joystick button to
    select the best description of your joystick configuration.  
    Once you have selected you joystick, click on the Calibrate button
    to calibrate you joystick.  NOTE - you may also press [F12] when
    in the simulation to select and calibrate your joystick.

    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.
    
    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.

    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.

    SIERRA PRODUCTS DEMO:
    As an added bonus, the CD version of Earthsiege includes a Demo
    of other products released by Sierra Publishing.  The demo needs
    a VESA driver to run properly.  If you do not have a VESA driver,
    the demo provides a set of drivers for you to use, but you may 
    not be able to find one that performs well.  In that case, you
    can still run the demo, but it won't look as good as it could,
    and the text will be hard to read.

    CONTACTING SIERRA CUSTOMER SERVICE:
    Since the manual was printer, the customer support and direct
    sales address has changed.  The new contact information is:

     Sierra On-Line Direct Sales   Sierra On-Line Customer Service
     P.O. Box 3404                 P.O. Box 3404
     Salinas, CA  93912            Salinas, CA  93912

     Phone: (800) 757-7707         Phone: (800) 743-7725 
     Fax:   (408) 644-2018         Fax:   (408) 644-2018

    NOTE - Sierra On-Line Technical Support, Patch Disk Dept.,
    Refund/Exchange Dept., and Disk/Doco Replacement Dept. is 
    correctly documented in the game manual.
    
    CUSTOMIZING YOUR BOOT DISK
    Because Metaltech: EarthSiege uses a 32-bit DOS extender,
    you do not need to load a memory manager as outlined in the
    game documentation on page 68.  The automatic boot disk 
    creator in the install program will create a boot configuration
    that is optimized to run this game.  It will allow ES's built
    in memory manager to optimize your full computer's memory to run
    the game as effectively as possible.  
