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General information
- Manual
Availability
| Source |
DRM |
Notes |
Keys |
OS |
| Retail |
|
|
|
|
| Official website |
|
Free download, English CD version. |
|
|
Version differences
- The CD version of the game included the Speech Pack as well as a special video intro sequence in place of the typical slides. It also supported multiple install sizes. The CD version of the Expansion Pack similarly included a new video for the introduction of the addon campaign in addition to the original video intro for those who had the floppy version of the base game. The CD version of the expansion also included new voiceovers for it's mission briefings in addition to the regular Speech Pack, though unlike the base game these new voiceovers were not available separately. Additional miscellaneous differences were that both CD versions included numerous demo or shareware games (ImagiNation Network, Aces of the Deep, etc.)
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
| Name |
Notes |
|
| Speech Pack |
Adds digital voices, included in the free version. |
|
| Expansion Pack |
English floppy version released as freeware with main game, downloadable here. |
|
Essential improvements
Patches
Patches are available. Patch 1.01 is included in the Expansion Pack.
Run in DOSBox
Change cycles=auto to cycles=50000 and mpu401=intelligent to mpu401=uart.[1]
Modern Windows installer
The Sierrahelp Metaltech: Earthsiege Installer automatically applies the latest patch and configures DOSBox with optimal cycles and MIDI settings as well as to play the game from the hard drive.
- Works with the freeware release.
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
-
PREFS.CFG contains in-game settings.
-
RESOURCE.CFG contains audio settings.
Save game data location
-
\CAR holds base campaign saves.
-
\BAR holds expansion campaign saves.
Video
Input
- Usage of a joystick is highly recommended.
Audio
| Audio feature |
State |
Notes |
| Separate volume controls |
|
Music, Sound Effects and Speech; toggle on/off only. |
| Surround sound |
|
|
| Subtitles |
|
Set Speech in Preferences to Text and Voice. |
| Closed captions |
|
|
| Mute on focus lost |
|
For DOSBox change the priority background value in the DOSBox configuration file. |
| Royalty free audio |
|
|
Localizations
| Language |
UI |
Audio |
Sub |
Notes |
| English |
|
|
|
Audio requires Speech Pack or CD version; Expansion Pack voices only available in CD version. |
| French |
|
|
|
Audio requires Speech Pack or CD version; Expansion Pack voices only available in CD version. |
| German |
|
|
|
Audio requires Speech Pack or CD version; Expansion Pack voices only available in CD version. |
Issues fixed
Expansions won't install
Sometimes you'll get an error with the floppy versions' installer and it simply won't install the expansion.
|
Extract and install the files manually[citation needed]
|
- Use the expansion's included UNCHUNK.EXE to manually open the files with the following command:
unchunk RESOURCE.000 [folder of you choice, ".\" for same folder] and let it finnish extracting the files. repeat the command but with RESOURCE.001 and RESOURCE.002 and so on.
- Manually merge the extracted files with the game's files, overwriting anything.
|
Intro cutscene issues
|
Copy to disk and edit cfg files[citation needed]
|
- Copy the FLIC folder and PLAYFLIC.EXE file off the game disk and place them in the installation folder. It's preferable to use these files from the CD version of the expansion, if you have it, as it includes the base videos in addition to the addon campaign one.
- Open RESOURCE.CFG and edit the line
pathFlic=D:\flic\ and change it to pathFlic=.\flic\ (the D: may be a different letter depending of the drive you used to install the game). Now open up ES.BAT and edit the line set ALT_DRIVE=D: (again may be different depending on the drive you used to install it) and change the D: to the letter of the disk you have the game installed on (usually C:).
- If you installed the expansion and the video intro no longer plays, rename the ES.EXE to ESCD.EXE and use ES.BAT to run the game. This is a common issue with installing the floppy version of the addon to the CD version of the base game.
- This fix assumes you used the complete install option for the game. This may also work on real classic PCs.
- The video intro sequence can be added to the floppy version by transplanting the files from a cd version using the steps above. The same is true for the expansion. Note however you may also want to copy the CD expansion's PSPEECH.VOL (or PGSPEECH.VOL or PFSPEECH.VOL for German and French) file to enable the briefing voices that the floppy expansion lacks as they were not sold separately like with the base game's Speech Pack.
- Removing the letter from the
set ALT_DRIVE= line in ES.BAT will restore the slideshow intro, replacing it with a .\ will completely disable the intro.
|
Other information
API
| Technical specs |
Supported |
Notes |
| DOS video modes |
VGA |
|
Middleware
|
Middleware |
Notes |
| Audio |
Human Machine Interface (HMI) audio drivers |
|
System requirements
| DOS |
|
Minimum |
Recommended |
| Operating system (OS) |
MS-DOS 5.0 | |
| Processor (CPU) |
80386/33DX
| 486/33 MHz |
| System memory (RAM) |
4 MB |
8 MB |
| Hard disk drive (HDD) |
27 MB (extra 8 MB needed for Speech Pack) | |
| Video card (GPU) |
VGA | |
- CD version requires a Sound Card with a Digital Analogue Converter (DAC) to play the video intro sequence; playing without one will cause it to play too fast.
References
