                            Strike Commander  
                            ----------------
                       
This README file contains important information about Strike Commander
which did not make it into the manuals.  Please read this file completely.

Contents:
---------

 1.        High Memory Required for Play
 2.        Warning for people with non-Microsoft mouse drivers.
 3.        Warning for people with 16 Meg of RAM or greater.
 4.        Warning about changing hardware.
 5.        Player Score
 6.        Engine Noise
 7.        Damage MFD
 8.        Radar and IR Warning Lights
 9.        Reference Card Errata
10.        Thrustmaster and Flight Stick Pro
11.        Thrustmaster Weapon Control System DIP Switches
12.        CH GameCard III Automatic
13.        Rookie, Veteran and Ace Options
14.        Unlimited Ammo Option
15.        SCSI Drive Problem
16.        CD-ROM Drive Problem
17.        Saved Game Limit
18.        Show Weapons
19.        Soundblaster auto-detection
20.        Creating a Boot Disk
21.        QEMM's OPTIMIZE program
22.        DOS version SMARTDRV.SYS
23.        Re-Installing and New Versions of DOS
24.        Strike Commander and DOS 6.00+
25.        If You Still Have Trouble...


 1.        Extended Memory Required for Play
--------------------------------------------

   The Installation Guide for Strike Commander states that a minimum of
   2.1 Megs of availiable extended memory is required to play the game with 
   no sound and with bare minimum detail level.  This number is incorrect.  
   You actually need a BARE MINIMUM of 2.5 Megs of available extended memory
   to play the game.


 2.        Warning for people with non-Microsoft mouse drivers
---------------------------------------------------------------

   You may experience trouble running Strike Commander with a non-Microsoft
   (or 100 percent compatible) mouse driver.  If you do, any of the
   following steps should fix the problem:

   1. Replace the mouse driver with a Microsoft mouse driver.
   2. Disconnect your mouse and use your keyboard or joystick instead.
   3. Remove the mouse driver and use your keyboard or joystick instead.
   

 3.        Warning for people with 16 Meg of RAM or greater
-----------------------------------------------------------

   Because direct memory access (DMA) will not work with memory addresses
   above 16 megabytes, the digitized speech of Strike Commander may not work
   correctly on machines with large amounts of memory.  If you hear static
   in the game when speech would be more appropriate, then this
   problem could be occurring.

   The best solution is to remove your memory manager and let the game
   supply the high memory using its own memory manager.

   See the installation manual for more details on memory configuration. 


 4.        Warning about changing hardware
------------------------------------------

   If you change your hard drive and video card, you must reinstall 
   Strike Commander or the game will not work correctly. 
   Symptoms of this not working correctly include not being
   able to set the plane's throttle above MIL 2.  If this is happening to
   you, do not panic.  Simply reinstall the game.  Your saved games will
   remain intact.  You can also copy your saved games to a floppy for
   backup purposes without any harm to them.  Simply copy all of the files
   in the Strike Commander directory that have the extension .SAV to
   a safe place.


 5.        Player Score
-----------------------

   The game keeps a running total score of how well the player is doing.
   You can look at your score by pressing Alt-S during the cinematic
   option screens.  To maximize your score, play the game with the Ace
   options.


 6.        Engine Noise
-----------------------

   Strike Commander cannot simultaneously run both music and engine noise.  
   If you want to hear the engine noise, turn the music off.


 7.        Radar and IR Warning Lights
--------------------------------------

   An undocumented feature has been added to the warning lights in the
   cockpit.  As missiles get closer to you, the lights blink faster.


 8.        Damage MFD
---------------------

   The Damage MFD has an undocumented feature.  Systems which are damaged
   but not destroyed appear in yellow.  Only when a system is destroyed
   does it appear in red.


 9.        Reference Card Errata
--------------------------------
   
   The following are errors in the reference card:
       - The Q key does not select previous weapon.  It has no function.
       - The 5 key does not re-center the stick in keyboard flight.  The
   keyboard automatically re-centers.
       - The right mouse button does not cause the mouse to go into panning
   mode.  If you wish to use the mouse as the cockpit panning control,
   select the mouse panning option from the flight option screen.
       - The arrow keys do not rotate objects in the Object Viewer.  These
   keys move the cursor.
   
   
10.        Thrustmaster and Flight Stick Pro Joysticks
------------------------------------------------------

   The third and fourth buttons on the Thrustmaster and FSPro are
   incorrectly documented.  The third button selects targets and the fourth
   button switches you back to the forward cockpit view.  
   
   If you select the FSPro panning option in the flight control options 
   screen, the coolie hat on your Thrustmaster or FSPro will control 
   cockpit panning.  Selecting the FSPro flight control option will
   enable the extra buttons on your Thrustmaster or FSpro.


11.        Thrustmaster Weapon Control System DIP Switches
----------------------------------------------------------

   The DIP switch settings on the Weapon Control System for Strike
   Commander are switches 1, 2 and 6 on.  All other switches should be
   off.


12.        CH GameCard III Automatic
------------------------------------

   The CH GameCard III Automatic requires a program to be run whenever the
   machine boots up.  This program is called CHJOY3.EXE.  Please be sure
   that this program runs before calibrating joysticks in Strike Commander
   or unpredictable results will occur.


13.        Rookie, Veteran and Ace Options
------------------------------------------

   The main game options screen (accessed by pressing Alt-o during flight) 
   allows you to select Rookie, Veteran, or Ace difficulty levels.  Here is
   a summary of the various changes these modes will make to other options:

       EFFECT               ROOKIE            VETERAN           ACE             
--------------------        ------            -------           ---
  Mid-air Collisions         OFF                 ON              ON
       Easy Landings          ON                 ON             OFF
              Stalls         OFF                 ON              ON
      Unlimited Ammo          ON                OFF             OFF
       Easy Gun Hits          ON                 ON             OFF
  Enemy Intelligence        Rookie            Veteran           Ace
      Auto Targeting          ON                 ON             OFF
360 degree Targeting          ON                 ON             OFF
     Smart Targeting          ON                 ON             OFF
           Sun Glare         OFF                 ON              ON
     Gravity Effects         OFF                 ON              ON
         Smart Radar          ON                OFF             OFF
    360 degree Radar          ON                OFF             OFF
     Smart Raw Scope          ON                OFF             OFF


14.        Unlimited Ammo Option
--------------------------------

   The unlimited ammo option only applies to gun rounds while playing
   Strike Commander.  It will not give you unlimited missiles or bombs.
   The only exception to this rule is the training mission, which does 
   give you unlimited amounts of whichever weapons you are carrying.


15.        SCSI Drive Problems
------------------------------

   The sound card detection routines conflict with SCSI drives.  If you are
   using a SCSI hard drive, then you should not allow the installation
   program to auto-detect your sound cards.  You will be able to manually
   select your sound card from a menu so that the Strike Commander will be
   properly installed.


16.        CD-ROM Drive Problem
-------------------------------

   The INSTALL program cannot recognize CD-ROM drives that have not been
   fully initialized by the system.  This usually happens because the drive
   has not been turned on before powering up the computer.  Installation
   can bypass this problem by the command line parameter "-a".  Example:

         A:\>install -a

   will prevent the installation program from trying to detect your drives.
   You will be asked to type in the letter of the drive on which you
   want to install Strike Commander.


17.        Saved Game Limit
---------------------------

   Strike Commander will only recognize the first 100 saved games in the
   game directory.  All additional saved games are ignored and cannot be 
   selected in the save/load menu. You may delete unwanted saved games
   using the DOS delete command.


18.        Show Weapons
-----------------------

   The show weapons feature in Strike Commander will only show weapons on
   the player's plane and on planes that are viewed using the F6 camera.


19.        Soundblaster auto-detection
--------------------------------------

   If you have a Soundblaster with an IRQ setting other than 7, the
   install program will incorrectly auto-detect it as an Adlib card. 
   To avoid this problem, make sure you explicitly select the Soundblaster
   sound card option during the install program.


20.        Creating a Boot Disk
-------------------------------

   You may need to add lines to the basic boot disk CONFIG.SYS and
   AUTOEXEC.BAT for Strike Commander to support certain sound cards,
   game cards and other hardware.  Consult your documentation for these
   products.


21.        QEMM's OPTIMIZE program
----------------------------------

   Some versions of QEMM's OPTIMIZE program add lines to the CONFIG.SYS and
   AUTOEXEC.BAT which may cause problems with Strike Commander.  If you
   experience problems after running this program, your old CONFIG.SYS and
   AUTOEXEC.BAT are stored in CONFIG.QDK and AUTOEXEC.QDK.  Copy these files
   over the new CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.


22.        DOS 5.0 SMARTDRV.SYS
-------------------------------

   Strike Commander does not support the SMARTDRV.SYS that comes with some
   versions of DOS.  It does support SMARTDRV.EXE which comes with Windows
   3.0 or better.


23.        Re-Installing
------------------------

   Should you find it necessary to re-install Strike Commander, we recommend
   that you first delete all the files in the Strike Commander directory
   except the files with the .SAV extension (these are your saved games).
   The install process will not write over them.

   

24.        Strike Commander and DOS 6.00+
-----------------------------------------

   Although the Installation guide says that it is necessary to re-install
   Strike Commander if you have first installed the game with version 5.00
   and then changed DOS versions to 6.00+, this is no longer necessary.
   However, since further versions of DOS may cause configuration problems,
   we recommend that you go ahead and re-install the game if you have any
   trouble running Strike Commander.



25.        If You Still Have Trouble...
---------------------------------------

   If you call Customer Service with a problem, please have the following
   information handy:

     - A listing of your CONFIG.SYS (either from the boot disk or your hard
       drive.

     - A listing of your AUTOEXEC.BAT.

     - The information you get when you type the DOS command "mem".


   If you cannot be near your PC when calling Customer Service, please have
   print outs of this information.  Customer Service needs this information
   to properly diagnose and correct the problem you are having. 


=============================================================================

