


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

             MissionForce: CyberStorm v1.1 Patch
            Copyright 1996 -- Sierra On-Line Inc.
                              
============================================================

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

To install the patch, locate the CSPAT11.EXE in the directory where 
you have placed the patch file(s), and double-click it. Then follow the
directions (you will be prompted) from there to install the patch and update
your game.

NOTE: 

  This   document  is  long,  but  contains  some   very
  important  information  about using  the  new  features
  correctly.   Your  patience  will  be   rewarded   with
  information you should not miss!)

Thank  you  for your support of CyberStorm.  To  return  the
favor, we are offering this CyberStorm v1.1 patch.  We  hope
this  provides  many hours of improved game  play  for  you.
Many of these features are a direct result of the great user
requests  and  early feedback we received.  So,  keep  those
comments coming.

This  patch  officially  updates  the  English  version   of
CyberStorm  1.00a  to version 1.10a.  You  may  verify  your
version of CyberStorm by running it and picking 'About' from
the  'Help'  menu.   This patch will not update the  foreign
language  versions of CyberStorm, though many  of  the  bugs
fixed here are already fixed in those releases.

As  some  of  you  have  noted, this update  was  originally
intended for a fall `96 release.  Due to some extra features
we added and other tasks that were required to fine-tune our
Holiday-products,  it released now.   We  never  forgot  our
users  and  our  promise of a free update.  Once  again,  we
appreciate your patience.


  SIERRA ON-LINE, INC. DOES NOT WARRANTY OR PROMISE  THAT
  THE  INFORMATION  HEREIN WILL  WORK  WITH  ANY  OR  ALL
  COMPUTER   SYSTEMS.   SIERRA  DOES   NOT   ASSUME   ANY
  LIABILITY, EITHER INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL, FOR  THE
  USE  OF  THE INFORMATION HEREIN, INCLUDING ANY AND  ALL
  DAMAGE  TO OR LOST USE OF COMPUTER HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE
  PRODUCTS,  LOSS  OF WARRANTIES, OR  LOST  DATA  BY  THE
  CUSTOMER  OR  ANY  THIRD PARTY.   NO  ORAL  OR  WRITTEN
  INFORMATION  OR ADVICE GIVEN BY SIERRA, ITS  EMPLOYEES,
  DISTRIBUTORS,  DEALER  OR  AGENTS  SHALL   CHANGE   THE
  RESTRICTION  OF LIABILITY OR CREATE ANY NEW WARRANTIES.
  IN NO CASE SHALL SIERRA'S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE
  PRICE OF THE SIERRA SOFTWARE PRODUCT.



Important Compatibility notes:
============================================================
     
     * Saved Games:
          Because of some internal difficulty level changes,
          there  has  been  a  change to the  single-player-
          career  saved games.  Any old single-player  games
          loaded will automatically be reset to the `Normal'
          difficulty setting.  You can change this  to  suit
          your  level of play from the HercBase screen under
          a  new `Special' menu.  Select the difficulty  for
          the  game under the new scheme and save it.   This
          has  to be done only once for each saved game  you
          want    to   use.    We   apologize    for    this
          inconvenience.
     
     * MultiPlayer:
          Version   1.1   of  CyberStorm   can   only   play
          MultiPlayer  games with Version 1.1 of CyberStorm.
          You  will  not be able to see sessions of  Version
          1.0 games to join, and the Version 1.0 gamers will
          not see your Version 1.1 sessions.  Though this is
          a  minor inconvenience, it was required to get the
          features you requested.
     
     * What if I Don't like it:
          Though  we  anticipate this update  will  be  well
          received,  you  can  go  back  to  your   original
          CyberStorm version fairly easily.   There are  two
          files  on  your original CyberStorm  CD  (in  sub-
          directory  called  CSTORM) that  can  be  used  to
          restore  your  game  to  its  original  condition.
          Copy CSTORM.EXE and CYBDATA1.RBX over the versions
          you  patched and things will be right  back  where
          you started from.
     



Patch features:
============================================================
     
     *  Difficulty level tweaks:
          The first elite military mission has been softened
          up,   and  the  final  two  missions  are  notably
          tougher.    We also have a much wider  variety  of
          difficulty  levels  now.   'Hard'  will  now  mean
          something  more to those who found  the  game  too
          simple  before.  The wider variety  of  difficulty
          levels should offer more replayability.  The final
          elite   mission  can  draw  from  8   new   Cybrid
          configurations, which will be a better  match  for
          their human counterparts.
     
     *  New Play Modes:
          Hotseat and Play-by-EMail modes let you play large
          detailed games that can be saved and continued  at
          your  pace.  We think this is a feature that suits
          CyberStorm very well.
     
     *  Cheat codes released!
          These  codes activate a variety of options through
          out  the product.  Many are purely cheats,  though
          some codes can turn some new features on/off.  See
          the  CHEAT.TXT file for more information.    These
          are mostly the same cheat codes released some time
          ago,  although  they have been updated  for  extra
          version 1.1 codes and better documented in places.
     
     *  New Features:
               - True Opportunity fire
               - Special HercBase menu options
          These  are some new features we are glad  to  see.
          We  hope you will also, but if you decide  you  do
          not  like them you can turn them on/off using  our
          cheat-code mechanism.   See the CHEAT.TXT file for
          more information.
     
     *  New MultiPlayer Gaming area:
          You  may  now play games over the Sierra  Internet
          Gaming   System  (SIGS).   This  provides  another
          mechanism for meeting players and starting  games.
          More information may be found in a section below.
     
     *  Minor bug fixes wherever possible:
          Nothing  of  real significance here,  but  several
          minor bugs have been fixed.  These are things that
          you  likely never noticed, but now we can be  sure
          that you are not bothered by them.
     
     *  Better Multiplayer-Cheating protection:
          When a battle starts, you will be warned if any of
          the  enemy units look as if they have been altered
          illegally.   This will help keep battles fair.
     
     *  Misc. minor tweaks:
          HOG  missiles have been reduced to 750  points  of
          damage. Antigravity devices have also been reduced
          in  effectiveness.  The old AntiGrav  units  could
          make a large unit move so quickly, that there  are
          less strategic reasons for bringing lighter units.
          You  can  view  the exact effects by  viewing  the
          INTERNAL.TXT file and searching for "Anti".
     
          Both   of  these  components  were  too  powerful,
          particularly in multiplayer games.  These  changes
          make  the  battlefield more balanced,  since  they
          expand  the  strategies and tactics you  may  try,
          rather  than  focusing on a few small  areas.   We
          hope it expands your enjoyment of the game.
     
        *  Enhanced documentation and stats:
          See  the  section below, for explanations  of  the
          files.
     
     
     
     
     
Enhanced documentation and stats:
============================================================

With  CyberStorm, we made a conscious effort into  having  a
game  with an intuitive interface and abundant help at  your
fingertips.  However, the choice to not have a paper  manual
was not one that many were, shall we say, fond of.

In  addition  to  the lack of heft in the box,  many  missed
explicitly detailed statistics for the weapons.  Some wanted
more things to be able to read off-line.  Others had trouble
printing sections of the manual on their printer.

For  this  patch, we have tried to address this as  much  as
possible.   We have included some very detailed  information
about  CyberStorm in a basic text format for use in whatever
method  you choose.  We have also built a very large weapons
Excel spreadsheet ready for you to format however you like.

All the documents will be placed in a DOC subdirectory under
the  directory where CyberStorm was installed.  If you  have
trouble reading some of the tables with your editor, try  to
select all the text and pick a `Courier' font that can  help
the text stay lined up.   A list of files is as follows:

    General information:
    
    CHEAT.TXT    Information about special cheat  codes  and
                 how to turn on/off new optional features.
    KALI.TXT     Includes  notes  on how to play  CyberStorm
                 over  Kali.   This is something  that  many
                 people have asked about.
    
    
    Component information:
    
    CHASSIS.TXT  Statistics for all basic chassis types
    ARMOR.TXT    Statistics for all types of armor
    BATTERY.TXT  Statistics for all types of batteries
    DRIVE.TXT    Statistics for all types of drive systems
    LIFE.TXT     Statistics  for  all types of  life-support
                 systems
    LIMBS.TXT    Statistics for all types of legs
    REACTOR.TXT  Statistics for all types of reactors
    SENSORS.TXT  Statistics for all types of sensors
    SHIELDS.TXT  Statistics for all types of shields
    TCOMP.TXT    Statistics  for  all  types  of   targeting
                 computers
    TABLES.TXT   Includes  all  the  above  basic  component
                 files in one file.
    INTERNAL.TXT Statistics for every internal device
    WEAPONS.TXT  Full  statistics for all weapons (long text
                 format)
    WEAPONS.XLS  Full  statistics  for  all  weapons  (Excel
                 table format)
    
    Cybrid Intelligence:
    
    CYBBUILD.TXT Information   for  every  Cybrid   building
                 configuration
    CYBHERC.TXT  Information    for   every   Cybrid    unit
                 configuration


Also,  don't forget about right-click help.  This can reveal
all  sorts of information.  Much of the information  relates
to  how  to  use  the  game  interfaces,  but  some  of  the
information is unique.

     Example: Mid-battle, you may right click on a weapon to
          get its statistics.
     Example:   Right  click  on  the  planet  bitmap   when
          configuring a multiplayer or hotseat game  to  get
          its statistics and attributes.
     Example:   Right  click  on  a  pilots  face   in   the
          BioFacility   to   get  a  background   on   their
          biogenetic source.
     
     


Notes on Hotseat or Play-by-EMail (PBEM) play:
============================================================

CyberStorm  v1.1  now  has Hotseat and Play-By-Email  games.
Hotseat  play will let several people play a mission against
each  other on a single computer.   Play-by-EMail play  will
let people play a purely turn-based game across the world at
their own leisure.   Each person takes their turn, and gives
a saved-game file to the next person in line to continue.

You  may  start such a game by selecting "Multi Player"  and
then  "Hotseat  game" from the game menu.   After  selecting
the  desired  number of players you will be in  the  Hotseat
launch screen.  This startup screen is similar to the screen
used  to  configure  a multiplayer game, with  some  notable
differences:

     1)   You  can  enter a name and color for each  player.
       Tip:  It  is easiest to set the colors from  top-down
       in   the  list.   People  higher  in  the  list  have
       priority in color choices.
     2)    You can specify a force to use for each player by
       clicking on the large button to the right of their name.
       This force can be either a custom force of your own building
       or one of 130 default forces that shipped with CyberStorm.
       You can even adjust the sliders before loading each force,
       so that each user can use a different default force.

After finishing adjusting all the options and launching  the
game,  you  have  the choice to activate  an  automatic-save
option  that  is  useful for Play-By-EMail  games.   If  you
select   the   Play-By-EMail  option,  the  game   will   be
automatically saved at the end of your turn and you will  be
given  some brief instructions on whose turn is  next.   You
can  attach that saved-game-file to an EMail message to  the
next player.  The recipient can transfer this file from  the
EMail to their disk, load it into CyberStorm  (from the Menu
bar:  "Load Game"), and play their turn.  This cycle repeats
until the battle is complete.  NOTE: All Play-By-EMail  game
participants must have the updated CyberStorm v1.1, or  they
will get an error trying to load that saved game.

The  rest  of  the  game will proceed  much  like  a  normal
CyberStorm game with a few exceptions:

  Exceptions:
  
  For  fairness,  you cannot watch the Cybrid  turn  if
     you  have the Fog-of-War activated.  This was done
     because we have no way of knowing who is or is not
     watching  the screen at any time, and  having  one
     player  know the exact Cybrid locations and  force
     strength  was  unfair.   The Cybrid  turn  can  be
     viewed only if you set the Fog-of-War to `None'.
  
  Unlike  CyberStorm on-line multiplayer games, you may
     save  your  game  at any time through  the  normal
     'Save Game' menu option.  You may reload your game
     and  continue through the normal 'Load Game'  menu
     option.    This lets you run the game at your  own
     pace and schedule.
  



Notes on Opportunity Fire:
============================================================

Opportunity  Fire  (OpFire)  is  a  feature  that  lets  you
automatically fire on an enemy who advances into your range.
They will only fire if they have saved energy for shots  and
if  the  shot  is a smart one.   In the original  rules  for
CyberStorm,  when it wasn't your turn you  could  only  fire
back when fired upon.    This upgrade improves CyberStorm to
allow  your  targeting  computer to auto-fire  at  an  enemy
whenever it sees a good `opportunity' to make a shot.

For  multi-player  and  Hotseat  games,  a  new  option   is
available  on your launch screen to turn OpFire on  or  off.
This  affects  the  OpFire  settings  for  that  game  only.
Normally  we think you want this option ON, though during  a
team-play  game  you may want it off to  avoid  having  your
computer auto-fire on your allies.   For single-player games
OpFire  is turned ON by default, though if you like you  can
turn it off.  (See the CHEAT.TXT file for more information.)

CyberStorm uses some intensive 3D line-of-sight computations
to  determine weapon AI.  Having the OpFire option turned on
may  slow  the game down at times, as it runs this logic  to
decide who gets to fire as you move. This is included as  an
option,  since  it changes the nature, tactics,  strategies,
and  difficulties of the game somewhat.  Some may choose  to
stick  with  the  'Return-fire'  approach,  for  speed   and
simplicity.

When you are firing at a moving target, as with OpFire,  you
are  charged a penalty on your chance to hit.    Because  of
this, your units may choose to hold their OpFire until  they
have a very good shot.   If you have a good shot during your
turn,  you  may  have better luck taking the  shot  yourself
rather  than  just  letting the OpFire handle  your  firing.
Also,  note that Cybrids sometimes do not use OpFire  --  if
they see a good shot during their turn, they tend to take it
immediately and not save the shot for later.




Notes  on  playing  over the Sierra Internet  Gaming  System
(SIGS):
============================================================

You  can  play  CyberStorm v1.1 through  the  Internet  with
players around the world by using the Sierra Internet Gaming
System  (SIGS).   To use SIGS itself, only  a  PPP  internet
connection with WinSock32 support is required.  Players need
only a web browser to view SIGS on-line help.

  Installing SIGS:

  The  SIGS  drivers  should have been  installed  when  you
  installed the patch.  If you did not install them at  that
  time,  you  may run SIGSINST.EXE located in the CyberStorm
  directory.   If you had any problems installing  that  are
  not  solvable by rebooting & retrying, you might  consider
  downloading  the  SIGS-BlackJack program from  the  Sierra
  web  site  since it has a larger, more robust installation
  program.

  Connecting to SIGS:

  1. SIGS  should  work  with any Internet  Service  Provider
     with true 32-bit access.   Because of this requirement,
     SIGS  will  not  work with:  America On-Line,  Prodigy,
     WOW, and some others.
  
  2. Start  a  multiplayer game normally.  However,  if
     you  have  SIGS  installed you will see  a  new  `SIGS'
     option  after  your  old Modem /  IPX  /  TCP  options.
     Select the SIGS option to connect to SIGS.
  
  3. Your system will establish an internet connection,
     if  necessary, and link to the SIGS game servers.  SIGS
     itself  is free. (Your costs for Internet connect  time
     to SIGS depends on your Internet provider.)  If you are
     a  NEW MEMBER, you will be asked to enter your name,  a
     password,  and  other information the  first  time  you
     visit and download the SIGS software. Either write down
     your user name and password somewhere, or tell SIGS  to
     remember  them for you by checking the `Save  password'
     option.

  Joining or Starting a Game:

  1. After  you  sign  into SIGS, you will see  the  "Gaming
     Rooms"  screen. Here you can join a room for  the  type
     of  game you want to play, or Create a Room if you want
     to  start  something on your own.  Use  the  SIGS  Chat
     window to find out about games that are starting.
  
  2. When  you see a game you want to join, simply click  on
     it  and then click `Join Game'. That Game's Master will
     decide  if  you  can  join or not. (Don't  be  hurt  if
     you're  not  let  in -- some folks just  want  to  keep
     their  games private.) You can also choose  to  `Create
     Game,' and invite others to join.
  
  3. When  the  game  has enough players, the Master  clicks
     `Start Game' to get things rolling.
  
  4. The rest of CyberStorm should proceed normally.
  
  5. When  you  leave  a  battle  under  normal  conditions,
     CyberStorm  will  escort you back to the  SIGS  waiting
     rooms  where you can chat or join another battle.    In
     some  cases,  such as when a connection was  lost,  you
     may  be placed back at your HercBase.  If this happens,
     you  can  click on your HercBase launch-pad to  connect
     back  into SIGS and continue as you please.    If  were
     placed  back  in  SIGS, but would  rather  be  at  your
     HercBase  to adjust your forces, simply close the  SIGS
     window to see your debriefing and return to your base.
  
  Important SIGS Notes:
  
     When  you replay several SIGS games in a row, you  keep
     the  forces left from the previous battle.   This is  a
     feature  to  let you keep existing forces and  work  on
     building   your   pilot's   experience   and   ratings.
     However,  if  your  force  is  mostly  destroyed  in  a
     battle,  you will probably want to reload some  fresher
     forces when you get to the launch options screen.

  SIGS Help and Support:

     SIGS  is  a  product that is constantly improving.   It
     represents the direction that Sierra is going with  on-
     line  gaming,  not a final destination.   Whenever  you
     use  SIGS, your computer will automatically be  updated
     with  the  latest  features and improvements  from  the
     SIGS team.
     
     For  further  information about  using  SIGS,  see  the
     `Online Help' option in the SIGS screens (for this  you
     need   a  web  browser).    Other  useful  information,
     answers  to  frequently-asked-questions  and  technical
     support may be found through the Internet at:
                         http://www.sierra.com/sigs



Coming Soon!
============================================================

CyberStorm will be on the next generation of the Imagination
Network    3.0.      You    may    get    information    at:
http://www.inngames.com/
     
Other interesting sites you should check out and bookmark:

     Sierra On-Line:
               http://www.sierra.com/

     Sierra's MissionForce: CyberStorm Home Page:
               http://www.sierra.com/cyberstorm/

     Sierra's MissionForce: CyberStorm Message Forum:
         http://www.sierra.com/messages/cyberstorm/index.html
     
     Sierra Internet Gaming System (SIGS) Home Page:
               http://www.sierra.com/sigs
     
     Official CyberStorm Page:
               http://www.techline.com/~outlaw/guns/cs/
               (Lots   of  information,  including  Internet
                tournaments, and FAQs)

     Herc Base Alpha:
               http://www.uncg.edu/~jsrobard/cs_index.htm
               (All-around great site)
               
     CyberStorm RP (Role-Playing) Home Page:
               http://www.cs.ucr.edu/~gaastra/CSRP/CSRP.html
               (Information  on  playing  CyberStorm  in   a
                unique role-playing context)

     StormWatch:
               http://stallion.jsums.edu/~redmax/
               (Was Sierra's official tournament site)
     
     
We  hope  this update keeps our CyberStorm fans happy  until
the  release  of our CyberStorm sequel, which will  be  cool
indeed!   So, stay tuned.

-- The MissionForce:CyberStorm team

