Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty Readme Introduction: Thank you for purchasing Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. These new missions are a standalone product, you can play it even if you don’t have the original game Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines installed on your computer. This readme provides additional gameplay and technical support information. System Requirements: •Windows 95/98 •DX6 and DXMEDIA installed •225 MB of Hard Drive Space •P166 or greater processor •32MB RAM •2MB SVGA card completely DX6 compatible Multiplayer
Commandos operates on TCPIP LANs. It is NOT designed for direct Internet play. The exception, Commandos will operate on the Mplayer Internet gaming service. Commandos will run optimally if all Multiplayer systems are using P200+ processors. Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty will not run on Windows NT and was not designed to run on Laptops. Setup and Installation To best prepare your system to run the game, please follow this procedure: 1. Run SCANDISK (Programs/Accessories) on your hard drive 2. Run DEFRAG (Programs/Accessories) on your hard drive 3.
Run a quality virus scanner on your hard drive 4. Make sure that you have at least 200MB free on the hard drive that will contain the game files (the extra 75 MB is for your Win95 swap file). To install Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty to your hard drive: 1. Place the Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty CD in your CD-ROM drive. 2. After a few seconds, the Autorun Menu will come on screen. Select the Install option. If this menu does not appear, click the Start button, select Run and type D:SETUP. EXE (where D is the letter of CD-ROM drive), and then click OK. 3.
The program will detect whether you have certified DirectX 6 drivers which allow Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty to run properly under all configurations. Your current drivers may be updated as necessary. 4. The Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty installation routine will then install the game files to your hard drive. At the end of the installation, you may be prompted to Restart your computer. 5. Click the Play button on the Autorun Menu or select Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty shortcut in the Eidos Interactive/Pyro Studios/ folder in the Start Menu to begin the game.
Uninstalling Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty You should use the Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty uninstall program, which can be found in the Start Menu;Eidos Interactive;Pyro Studios;Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. Select the Start Menu, Program Files, Eidos Interactive, and Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. This makes sure that all Windows associated fields are removed. You can also use the ADD/REMOVE Control Panel Applet to remove the game. Copy Protection To deter piracy, Commandos has been copy protected against mass duplication.
From this procedure, there is a possibility (less than 1% of users) that during gameplay, the CD ROM may not be able to read the CD. The cause of this “usually” relates to a CD ROM drive that is below specification, an older model, or is miscalibrated from heavy use. If you should experience a problem reading this CD, please try this option. Open your CONTROL PANEL, then select SYSTEM, then choose PERFORMANCE, and then click on the FILE SYSTEM button. Then choose CD-ROM, and change the Supplemental Cache Size for the CD drive to 470k (the half way mark between small and large). Features not listed in the Manual
General 1. Quick Save Feature When using Profiles for different users save games please note that the “Quick Save” option will overwrite any other quick saves previously made by other users. Multiplayer 1. All Users Need Game CD. The FIRST person to log into the server will be designated the HOST and MUST have the CD to proceed. . 2. Server limitation for High Latency User (Ping) When the user connects to the server, server will ping user, if ping is greater than 300ms, the user will NOT be allowed to join. We have implemented this minimum to prevent high latency users from adversely affecting the game speed.
In the lobby, the user is shown this text – “Your connection at this time is to slow to properly play Commandos. Please try again later. ” This applies only to user created network games. It “should” alleviate most latency related game problems on networks by preventing high bandwidth users from entering. You are able to customize the ping filter at the command line. To do so, run the dedicated server executable with the command line argument -ping (# of ms). For example, “mpserver. exe -ping 200” will set the maximum ping to 200ms. 3. End Game Record Screen
After a successfully completion of a Multiplayer game, the users will be returned to the chat lobby. There they will receive a brief summary of their game. Mission name Player names Time to finish (listed as #H #M #S, for Hours, Minutes, Seconds) Please note, the time to finish is by no means a comparison indicator. No matter how fast you complete the mission, if your team runs P166 systems and your rivals run on PII systems, they will have the speed and time advantage. This is the best we could do in the limited amount of time. Our advice is to play by the honor system and use a system speed handicap. . Menu options •Player that is HOST, has name shown in red text •Commando selection screen – once selected by user, that Commando cannot be taken unless original person gives up control •Mission selection – only missions listed are those that equal or greater than player number •During a game, is Host presses ESC, RESTART GAME has been added •Master cannot start game unless ALL players have chosen a Commando (Commando Selection) 5. Chat Feature changes •Allow text erase with BACKSPACE KEY •Z = CHAT WINDOW OPENED •CTRL + Z = CHAT WINDOW CLOSED •Player name text is shown in RED Player chat text is shown in BLACK •Send messages to specific players. To use this feature, type in the number of the Commando with a space after the number, and then type in the message. For example, if you type “1 Shoot the barrel”, the message will be sent to the player controlling Tiny, the Green Beret. Here is a list of the Commandos and their associated numbers: 1)Green Beret – Jack “Butcher” O? Hara 2)Sniper – Sir Francis “Duke” Woolridge 3)Marine – James “Fins” Blackwood 4)Sapper – Thomas “Fireman” Hancock 5)Driver – Samuel “Brooklyn” 6)Spy – Rene “Frenchy” Dechamp 7)Partisan Officer – Dragisa Skopja )Dutch Contact – Natasha “Lips” Van Der Zand 6. Out of Sync players During a game, if a player leaves a game or is out of sync, users are returned to Commando selection screen and shown this message: “player name has left the game” Mplayer Service Through both Eidos Games and Mplayer, Commandos can be played over the Internet with reasonable speed. Mplayer offers fast connection and advanced Multiplayer gameplay features. You must first install the Mplayer client software and the gizmo program before you play on the service. You will need to have a connection to the Internet via an ISP (Internet
Service Provider) like Mindspring. Troubleshooting Video Issues The game’s default resolution is 640×480 at 16bit color depth. For most users, this resolution offers the best speed and character size. The higher the resolution, the sharper but smaller the graphics. Additionally, the game will scroll and play slower. 1024×768 resolution is only recommended for users of Pentium II systems with 19+ inch monitors. Commandos uses DirectDraw acceleration. It does not use D3D or any 3D acceleration. Therefore, if you have a fast 2D-video card, you can use 800×600 resolution with little slowdown. Problems:
Problem: Cannot view videos or no sound in videos Solution: This is most likely a 2D-video card issue. If you are using older drivers that are not fully DX6 compatible, this could the cause. Please update your video card drivers. Additionally, please verify that you have ActiveMovie and/or mediaplayer installed. Problem: The game moves very slowly when I move the screen. Solution: Try changing the in game resolution to a lower setting. Problem: When I zoom in the map, the characters and buildings look splotchy and blocky. Solution: The game graphics are 2D sprites that look best at a certain distance.
Getting too close reveals the small squares they were created with. Use the numerical * to reset the screen. If you are using an S3 Virge based video card, it is IMPERATIVE that you update your drivers to DX6 compatible versions. Sound Issues It is important that you install the latest drivers. If you hear sound that contains static or popping, it probably is one of two reasons. First, you soundcard volume is too high. You need to reduce the WAVE and MIDI volume settings to half. The other reason is a DMA conflict with the card and another device. Click on START MENU>SETTINGS>CONTROL PANEL>SYSTEM then access Device Manager.
Click on each hardware tree (+) and make sure no “! ” marks or red Xs appear. If they do, you will need to change the settings of the device. Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty requires that you have a sound card, which fully supports DirectX 6 If you are getting loud static popping, or get no sound effects at all, you will need to update your sound card drivers to drivers that are compatible with DirectX 6. Please note that some sound card manufacturers do not have DirectX 6 compatible drivers yet. Until there is a driver available, you can try reducing the Wave volume in Volume Control.
Double-click on the small speaker on the Windows task tray to open Volume Control. If you hear no sound or no music, make sure ALL volume sliders are placed at 75% full volume. CD ROM Issues Some users have non-recognized Win95 32bit drivers or the CD is not properly installed. This results in an aborted installation or not being able to see all the CD’s data contents when accessed. The best action to take is a reinstallation of the CD ROM driver. Get it from the manufacturer. If you cannot, use a generic cd driver from Adaptec (go to their website).
If you have a computer system with more than 1 CD-ROM drive, or a CD changer – Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty runs most efficiently when the CD is in the first CD-ROM drive. The game will run in any of the CD drives, but you may experience some slowdown. Depending on your hardware configuration, the game will sometimes try to stream data from the primary CD drive. In order to get the best performance, we recommend using the first occurring CD-ROM drive (or slot if a multi-changer) with Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. DirectX Issues Commandos does not use D3D or any accelerated graphics API. It does use Direct Draw and Direct Play.
YOU MUST HAVE A PROPER INSTALLATION OF DIRECT X 6+ and DXMEDIA to run the game. To verify that you do, go to START MENU;SETTINGS;CONTROL PANEL;ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. (Note: if you have a DirectX icon in your Control Panel – click on it. ) Once there select Direct X drivers and then click on the Add/Remove tab. A listing of your DirectX installation will appear. Career Ranking System There are two variables to be considered: 1. Sustained damage – You will have 60 points at the start of the mission Each time you are injured you lose health and some points. If you maintain: Between 50 and 60 points, you will have 3 silver stars
Between 40 and 50 points, 2 silver stars Between 30 and 40, 1 star Below 30 no stars, No soup for you! 2. Time consumed – According to CPU speed (to avoid differences between fast and slow computers) we will measure the time it takes your to complete the main mission objective. You will have: 3 silver stars if you do it fast (close to our testers) 2 if you are just ok. (up to 20% more time) 1 if you are a tad slow (up to 40% more time) 0 if you need more training Then, your stars are averaged (i. e. 2 silver for damage, and 2 silver for time = 1 gold) and then you are awarded the result in gold stars.
Each time you earn 6 stars you are promoted 1 rank. The ranks are as follows: 1. Lance-Corporal (Start) 2. Corporal 3. Sergeant 4. Quartermaster 5. Lieutenant 6. Captain 7. Major 8. Colonel 9. Brigadier 10. General 11. Field-Marshal (You are the best and could easily write the Strategy Guide! ) Multiplayer Game To play the network game, the TCP/IP Protocol must be enabled for all users. The recommended minimum system for the Multiplayer game is: P200 with 32 MB RAM Cyrix chip based systems WILL run slower than their Intel equivalent during the Network game. This is due to the FPU performance of the chip.
If all variables “seem” right and yet you still are getting poor performance, it is probably due to one system in the configuration that is dragging down the performance of the others. The server runs at the lowest system connection speed. Modem or Serial Link support is NOT available in this game. IPX NETWORK protocol is NOT supported. SETUP NOTES: 1. Faster gameplay can be achieved by starting a dedicated server (multiplayer server menu option). This means locating the fastest system, installing the game, starting the server, and then getting the IP Address and giving it to the clients. 2.
If the Host chooses to run the server in the background, this is possible, but latency will increase by 10-20%. 3. All users will need the game CD. 4. There is no automatic LAN/WAN server search, Clients need to manually enter the IP Address of the server. 5. Playing Commandos over the Internet is gutsy call. Generally if you and your clients live in a country will excellent phone lines or you and your chums have a 56k+ connection, you can play the game with efficiency. If you do not, play at your own risk OR ask your kind boss if you can play at the office. GAME NOTES: 1. If you lose a Commando, you will need to restart. . We know this kind of stinks, but for the host, we do have QUICK SAVE and LOAD enabled – So save often! 3. Pressing “Z” activates the chat window. CTRL+Z closes the chat window. Backspace deletes text. Enter sends it to the other players. 4. You will have access to all 20 game missions. Available missions are listed according to the number of human players. 5. Multiplayer Game resolution is set at 640×480. Playing on a Network The submenu ” MULTIPLAYER GAME” can be found in the “NEW GAME” menu in Commandos. This option allows you to connect to a network game or Internet server that is awaiting the arrival of new players.
In order to be able to play a multiplayer game, there must be a computer in the network that is acting as the Server. To act as server, a computer must be running the Multiplayer Server application that is provided in the Commandos Start Menu folder. This program is accessible from the Start menu next to the game, and is called “Multiplayer server”. When running Multiplayer Server, a window will display the IP address of the computer in which the application is running. Those players who wish to join a new game session with that computer, as a server must know this address and specify it when connecting.
The first person who connects to the server will be the HOST for that game. The Host specifies mission details for the game. As soon as a game server computer is running, following these steps can create a multiplayer session: FIRST STEP: the players connect to the server When a player selects ” MULTIPLAYER GAME ” from the “NEW GAME ” submenu in Commandos, the following window will be displayed: Select server The option “SERVER IP ADDRESS” permits you to indicate the IP address of the server (you must type it in).
As we have seen above, this is the address shown by the Commandos program Multiplayer Server when it is run in the computer that will be used as the server. When this option is selected for the first time, the address is displayed as IP 0. 0. 0. 0. Select the IP option and press Enter to type in the Host IP address. Once you have typed one in, the address will be kept in a configuration file and will be set by default each time you enter Commandos. If in another game session, the server should change, all the players will need to re-enter the new IP address before connecting. Select player name
In the option “PLAYER NAME” each player will enter a name or nickname that identifies him. This name will appear later on the list of connected players and under the photos of the soldiers in the Commandos selection screen. The first time you will see DEFAULT as the name of the player, but once you have typed in a name, it will be kept in a configuration file and will be the default name each time you start Commandos. If two different players were to use the same name, the game server would accept this, but this is a situation that should be avoided. Connection to the server and player inscription
The option “CONNECT TO GAME SERVER” will check to see whether a game session has begun in the server and will attempt to join it. The first player to connect to the server will be considered from then on as the Master, and his menus will have some additional options. In any case, once a player has activated the option “CONNECT TO GAME SERVER”, the following menu will appear in his computer: In the computer of the Master player (the first player to connect) the word MASTER will be displayed to the right of the word “Players”, and in the last line there will be a Select mission button which is not available to the other players.
It is only possible to join a Multiplayer session while the Master is in the screen called “Players”. Once the Master has selected a mission by using the Select mission option, the group of players will be closed and it will no longer be possible to join that game session. If at the time the option “CONNECT TO GAME SERVER” is activated, the program Multiplayer Server is not running in the server, or the sign-up phase for players has finished, the “close session” warning will appear in the message window. The line labeled “Players” is informative and shows how many players are connected to this game.
Their names appear on the list that is displayed below “Players”, which means that the number of players is equal to the number of names that appear on that list. When it is the Master who enters the game, the number of players shown is 1 and on the list there will be just his name. Next, you will see a chat box for dialogue among the players, followed by a line on which each player can write his own messages. When someone, from his computer, sends a message (and ends that message by pressing Enter), his phrase will appear on the player message list, proceeded by the name (or nickname) of the transmitting player.
In this stage, for example, the Master can use the message window to warn everyone that he is about to select a Mission. During the player sign-up phase, any player may use the option “Exit” to disconnect from the network game and return to the Main Menu. This will remove him from the list as a player in this game session. If it is the Master who does this, then another connected player will inherit this role. Finally, the option “Select mission”, only available in the Master’s computer, closes the player admissions phase and begin the next phase: selecting the mission.
System Messages during a network game session The message window will also display, in all network game menus, the messages issued by the system that will have a different color than the players’ messages. These messages include, for example, those that advise of the success or failure of a mission. When any of these circumstances occurs, in all computers there will appear a menu window with the message issued by the system in the list of messages. Second step: the Master selects a mission
When the Master considers that there are enough players and selects the option “Select mission”, the following menu will appear in all the computers. The new menu will show on the top line the number of players that are connected and how many missions can be selected. Then it shows a list of the available missions. These missions will be the ones in which there are at least as many allied soldiers assigned, as there are players involved. The message exchange window is still on display in this menu so that it is possible for players to communicate with each other during this stage.
Just as in the previous menu, all the players can still select the option “Exit” to leave the game session, although it will no longer be possible for new players to join. Finally, the option “Accept mission”, only available to the Master, closes the mission selection stage and moves on to the next one, which is the selection of the Commandos. The mission that has been selected by the Master from among the available missions will be loaded in the computers of all the players, and will then proceed to the next screen. Third step: the players select their commandos
Once the mission has been selected, a screen like this one will appear in all computers: This is the last step before starting to play. The message exchange window is still on display in this menu so that it is still possible for players to communicate with each other during this stage. Now you will see a gallery of photographs of the Commandos who participate in the selected mission. When a player clicks on one of the photographs, his name will be displayed under that portrait. This soldier will now “belong” to that player, and will be controlled by him during the game (the other players will not be able to give him orders).
A second click on a character that “belongs” to you will cancel your selection, leaving the character free to be selected by any of the other players in the game. A player will only be allowed to select the number of Commandos to which he is “entitled”. For example: If there are 4 players and 4 characters, then each player will have the right to one character. If, however, there are 4 players and 5 Commandos, one of the players may select two characters, but once this happens, the other players will only be able to select one.
Once all the characters have been assigned to a player, and only then, will the Master be able to select the option “Continue” (an option that is only available to the Master). The Master also has the exclusive option “Select mission”, which allows him to return to the mission selection window. When the Master selects the option “Continue”, the Multiplayer game will begin. Menu display during a Multiplayer game session In a game for a single player, if he presses Escape during the game, he will return to the Main Menu.
In a Multiplayer game, however, it will be enough for a single player to press Escape for the game to be interrupted for all the connected players, and for the character selection window to appear. While this window is being displayed, any player can cancel the selection of a character, leaving him free to be used by another player. It is also possible to select a character that has been abandoned by another player, exchange messages, or leave the game session by selecting the option Exit. In that case, all the characters selected by the “deserter” will be free to be selected by the remaining players.
The character selection window will also reappear during the course of the game if a player abandons the game, or if the communication of this player with the remainder of the network is interrupted for any reason. In this case, the remaining players must take charge of the characters that have become free. It will not be possible to continue the game while there are free characters (not selected by any player). During the reappearance of the character selection menu, the Master will also be able to change the mission, by using the option “Select mission”.
Just like in previous stages, if the Master is disconnected, someone will have to take over his role. The Master ONLY can save and load the game A network game can be saved and loaded. This option is only available to the Master, and only using the options of Quick Save and Load Quick Saved Game (Control + S and Control + L, respectively). If the mission has been changed during the Multiplayer game session, a game that has been saved using the Quick Save option and corresponds to the previous mission will no longer be valid.
Continuing after the success or failure of a mission As has been said before, any system message due to the success or failure of a mission will return all players to the Commandos selection screen. At that point, the Master will be able to press the “Continue” button to continue the game. What happens next will depend on why the mission has finished: •If the mission is over, the “Continue” button will cause the mission selection menu to be displayed, so that the players may play another mission.
If the mission has been finished successfully, then the next mission after the one that was being played will be selected by default. If, on the other hand, the mission has ended in failure, the option by default will be to play the failed mission again. •If something has occurred that has led to the failure of the mission, but that permits the game to continue (for example, if the escape vehicle has been destroyed), then the “Continue” button will permit you to continue playing the same mission from the point at which it was interrupted.
To play another mission or replay the failed mission, the Master must select the option “Select Mission”. Technical Support If you need technical assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us after reviewing the Readme file. For your convenience, if you cannot get through to a representative by phone and you have access to a fax machine or the Internet, please consider contacting us through one of these alternative methods. When contacting us, please be sure to provide us with as much information as possible.
Make sure to note the exact type of hardware that you are using in your system, including: your sound card, CD-ROM drive, amount of RAM present, speed and manufacturer of your processor, and the specific type of modem that you are using (for questions involving multiplayer gaming). Also, make sure to include the title and version of the game, and a detailed description of the problem. We have two great Technical Support teams, one in the United States and the other in the United Kingdom. Our European customers should contact the UK office.
