GROUND CONTROL DEMO README May 23, 2000 _______________________________________________________________________ [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] TO ORDER: Please call Sierra On-line sales support at 1-800-757-7707 _______________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS I] MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS II] DEFAULT MOUSE AND KEYBOARD COMMANDS III] GAME BACKSTORY IV] RECOMMENDED TACTICS V] KNOWN ISSUES VI] COMPATABILITY ISSUES VII] FOR MORE INFORMATION I] MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ======================================================================= Ground Control Demo requires either a Pentium 200MHz with Direct3D accelerator card or a Pentium II 233MHz without a 3D accelerator card Windows 95/98 32MB RAM 50MB HD Space 4X CD-ROM or better 4MB Video Card or better DirectX 7.0a (included on CD) Windows(R) compatible sound device Mouse and Keyboard Our Recommended System for playing Ground Control is a Pentium II 333MHz or better Direct3D compatible 3D accelerator card 64 MB RAM II] DEFAULT MOUSE AND KEYBOARD COMMANDS ======================================================================= The mouse buttons have default and automatic meanings. Automatic features depend on what the mouse cursor is over. The cursor will change to indicate what will automatically happen. Additionally, the automatic system can be overridden by using the Ctrl or Alt keys at the same time the mouse button is clicked. Automatic functions can also be turned off completely in the options menu if desired. Left Mousebtn Default:Select Squads (Drag: Select squads in bandbox) Automatic: Attack if cursor over enemy unit Automatic: Move if not dragging mouse, and cursor is over empty terrain Right Mousebtn Default:Move Squads (Drag: Move and point squads) Automatic: Attack if cursor over enemy unit Automatic: Follow unit if cursor is over a friendly unit Automatic: Load troops into APC if cursor over APC and troops are selected Ctrl + L or R Mousebtn Attack (Drag: select multiple enemy squads to attack) [overrides automatic system] Supress area if targeting ground Alt + L or R Mousebtn Move Squads (Drag: Move and point squads) [overrides automatic system] Mousewheel Changes camera height up/down Arrow Keys: UP, DOWN Move Camera Forward/Backward LEFT, RIGHT Strafe Camera Left/Right PgUp, PgDn Change Preset Camera Altitudes Up/Down HOME, END Fine Tune Camera Altitude Up/Down F1..F12 Quick Select Squad 1-12 BKSPACE Quick Select APC Vehicle S Select all Squads D Deselect all Squads CTRL-1..9 Create group out of selected squads and assign to number key 1..9 Select group 1-9 E Use Special Equipment (selected squad) W Use Special Weapon (selected squad) M Activate/deactivate Large Tactical Overview R [over a unit] Examine the View and Fire Range of a unit SPACE Issue full stop & cease fire to selected squads B Toggle Squad Behavior Menu J Toggle Movement Mode K Toggle Fire Mode L Toggle Formation PrtScn Take Screenshot PAUSE Pause Game ESC Bring up Game Menu III] GAME BACKSTORY ======================================================================= Two political factions have gone to war over a distant world and the secrets it holds in Ground Control, a visually stunning and frenetically paced action/real-time strategy game from Sierra Studios and Massive Entertainment. By combining strategic combat with fast-paced 3D action elements, Ground Control promises to deliver a fresh experience that will appeal to a wide audience, including on-line gaming enthusiasts. At its core, Ground Control is a frenetically paced RTS played out in a visually stunning 3D world. During the course of the game, players will be challenged in an intense arena of battle-as they must effectively manage tactical squads of foot soldiers, mobile units, air craft and support units as they vie for control of a distant planet. In addition to the epic single-player game, Ground Control's extensive multiplayer component will feature several unique multiplayer modes including deathmatch-style drop-in games - a first for RTS. IV] RECOMMENDED TACTICS ======================================================================= SQUADS AND EXPERIENCE. Each Squad that survives a Campaign mission receives a number of Experience points depending on its actions in the mission. Damaging and killing enemy units and buildings give experience points. The Experience points are accumulated over missions and affect the efficiency of a Squads. A veteran Squad will have increased ACCURACY, STEALTH, PERCEPTION, inflict more DAMAGE and have a slightly higher MOVEMENT SPEED than an newbie Squad. Use your Squads wisely and make sure to build a balanced and experienced Battle Group. UNIT FACING AND FLANKING. Most Terradyne and Hoverdyne units in the game have better armor in the front than in the rear. It is important to use this wisely; a controlled attack from the flanks or the rear will hurt the enemy a lot more than an all-out frontal assault. It is equally important to deny the enemy the opportunity to attack your units from the rear or else they will quickly slaughter your units. ELEVATED POSITION. Attacking from an elevated position is very advantageous. Whenever you can, try to position your own squads higher than the enemy -- you will quickly notice that the total damage inflicted is dramatically increased. SHADOWS. Shadows increase the STEALTH of a unit and also decrease the ACCURACY of any attacking enemy. If possible, make sure to position or move your units in shadows. If needed you can even sometimes completely avoid being detected by enemy forces. SUPPRESIVE FIRE. When a unit is under attack it will slow down and receive an ACCURACY penalty. Light units can even suppress heavy units. Use this knowledge wisely and try to suppress an enemy unit if you need to slow down their progress. Even if your units don't inflict any major damage it might give you enough time to regroup. USING ARTILLERY. Artillery Vehicles have extremely efficient long-range attacks. However, they are very vulnerable to attacks from enemy units. Make sure to have protective units around your Artillery Vehicles or you will quickly lose them. Artillery Vehicles do not automatically attack when they detect enemy units unless you order them into FREE FIRE MODE. You as the Commander must give a direct order on what to target. Make sure that you don't have any friendly units near the target point or the effect will be devastating. MOVING ON TERRAIN. Infantry have much better movement capabilities than Terradynes and Hoverdynes. Most hills and mountains can be climbed by Infantry while only some Terradynes and Hoverdynes can move on steep terrain. Knowledge of how to use your units in the 3D terrain is imperative for a successful mission. FRIENDLY FIRE. It is important to avoid friendly fire. Units within a Squad will automatically avoid firing at each other. Avoid grouping several Squads in tight locations or your units will become victim of friendly fire casualties. [NOTE: This feature is disabled when playing on EASY or LIGHT difficulty setting] DEPLOYABLE STRUCTURES. Certain units can be equipped with Deployable Structures. Select the equipment and mark the spot where you want the structure to be placed. An icon representing the building will appear on the right side of the screen. V] KNOWN ISSUES ======================================================================= WINDOWS SWAP FILE. When running Ground Control on a computer with 32MB it requires approximately 100 MB of hard disk swap space. The game will exit with an error message if it runs out of hard disk space. VI] COMPATABILITY ISSUES ======================================================================= MICROSOFT DIRECT 3D. Some old 3D cards don't work properly with Ground Control. Always make sure to have the latest DirectX drivers installed. The game requires DirectX 7.0a. If your 3D card does not work, try running the game in software render mode. LOGITECH MOUSEWHEEL. If the mousewheel on your Logitech mouse doesn't work properly, install the latest drivers or disable Mousewheel in the Options menu. ATI RAGE PRO/RAGE 128. Ground Control may not run properly with these two chipsets using the ATI drivers that are most current at the time of ship (82560 for Rage Pro and 6269 for Rage 128). We have provided the next oldest set of drivers for these chipsets (82440 and 6263) as well as yet to be released Beta drivers for each (J511-1-T01-1 and 6278) on the Ground Control CD. Ground Control works with all 4 sets of drivers and we are providing both older and beta drivers for these chipsets to offer you a choice of which you wish to use. The drivers are as follows: Rage 128 Older - w98_r128_4_11_6263EN Rage 128 Beta - 633cd8w9x Rage Pro Older - w82440en Rage Pro Beta - J511-1-T01-1 NVIDIA TNT/TNT2/GEFORCE. Occasionally, when exiting Ground Control your Desktop (including icons) will be completely black. This is a refresh issue between the Windows Operating System and the drivers for your Nvidia card. In many cases, if you have the "Show Desktop" button in your Taskbar tray, pressing this will restore your desktop. HERCULES TERMINATOR BEAST/AMD K6. You may experience problems running Ground Control with this video card and CPU combination. RIVA 128/RIVA 128ZX. You may experience flickering triangles during gameplay. This seems to be a driver bug in the current RIVA 128/RIVA 128ZX drivers with high polygon output. Lowering the view range and the terrain detail will solve this problem. MATROX MILLENNIUM. This card should default to Software Renderer as it does not properly support Ground Control's D3D Engine. In rare instances, you may be presented with a "Select Renderer" dialogue box. Make sure to select Software Renderer if this happens. VII] FOR MORE INFORMATION ======================================================================= http://www.groundcontrol1.com http://www.sierrastudios.com http://www.massive.se ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sierra's end user license agreement, limited warranty and return policy is set forth in the EULA.txt, found on the CD, and is also available during the install of the product. Legal information on the use of this product is also given during installation. Sierra Sales 1-800-757-7707 Sierra Studios, Sierra On-Line, Inc. 3060 139th Ave SE, Suite 500 Bellevue, WA 98005 Copyright (c) 2000 Sierra On-Line, Inc. and Massive Entertainment AB. All Rights Reserved.