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	=     SHERMAN 2 - Beta Demo 3     =
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		By Cross-Bones Software
			http://www.cross-bones.co.uk



Introduction:
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Your goal in Sherman is to gather as many points as possible in the time allowed. To do this, you can pick flags up from around the map, steal flags from an opponent tank or base, find points in a crate and attack the hunter target. The methods available to you will depend on what game mode you play in, but you will generally have more that one option to choose from.



Minimum Requirements:
---------------------

	Windows operating system,
	300MHz IBM compatible processor,
	27Mb hard drive space,
	32Mb physical memory,
	DirectX 8.0,
	Direct3D compatible 3D accelerator.



Installation:
-------------

To install Sherman 2 to your computer, simply extract the contents of the zip file into a directory on your hard drive. For example, "C:\Sherman2". Make sure that you preserve the directory structure, or else Sherman will not install propery. Consult your decompression software user guide for more details.



Gametypes:
----------

	Arcade -
Arcade is the standard Sherman 2 gametype. You have a maximum of five armour points which you can heal at base. Points are awarded by bringing flags back to your base or by killing enemy tanks. Flag respawning and crate drops are set to low. Each tank will exhibit unique properties and similarly coloured tanks will form a team.

	Classic -
Classic is designed around Sherman 1. Your tanks move quicker than in Arcade and have more hit points. Flags cannot be taken from an enemy base while they are sitting over it and the only way to get points is to carry flags back to your base. There are no crate drops or flag respawns.

	Deathmatch -
In this mode there are no flags on the map. You cannot steal flags and there will never be any to carry. The only way to get points is to kill your opponents or find the points one of the regular crate drops. Teams can be formed for cooperative play.

	Hunters -
One tank is designated the hunted. Similar to deathmatch, but you cannot heal at base and there will always be a hunted tank on the map which yields lots of points for killing.

	Madness -
You have only three hit points but move very fast. Flags respawn and crates are dropped very often. Teams can be formed and each tank will behave differently. This is a high speed game that will normally result in high scores.

	Custom -
Create your own gametype by altering various options such as tank speed, crate drops, match time, and many more.



Tank Properties:
----------------

In certain gametypes, each tank will have unique properties that may give you the advantage during play. The properties for each tank are outlined below:

	Sherman		- Extra Speed
	Chieftain	- Increased Fire Rate
	T-90		- Boosted armour
	Panther		- Larger flag hopper



Controls:
---------

Here is a breakdown of each control set:

	1) Up arrow	- Fire
	   Down arrow	- Engine
	   Left/Right	- Turning

	2) W		- Fire
	   S		- Engine
	   A/D		- Turning

	3) 0 (Ins)	- Fire		(These are on numeric keypad)
	   . (Del)	- Engine
	   9/6		- Turning

	4) J		- Fire
	   M		- Engine
	   ,/.		- Turning

	5)
	   A		- Fire		(Should not be used with control 2)
	   Z		- Engine
	   X/C		- Turning



Crates:
-------

What you can expect to find in crates:

	Armour Plate	- Extra, healable armour points.
	Arrow		- Tank speed up
	Blue Skull	- Kills every tank but you
	Clock		- One minute extra on the clock
	Cogs		- Boosts firing speed
	Crosshairs	- You become a hunted tank
	Gold flag	- Five points
	Purple flag	- Respawns all flags on map
	Red Skull	- Kills all tanks
	Silver flag	- Three points
	Star		- Boost cannon range
	Trap		- Destroy all tanks in a small area
	White Bomb	- Self-defence detonation device
	X		- Nothing



Operating Systems:
------------------

Sherman 2 has been tested and runs correctly under Windows 95 and 98. Although not tested on later versions of Windows, such as 2000 and ME, it is unlikely they will suffer incompatibilities. Sherman 2 will not run under earlier versions of Windows and it is improbable that it will run under non-Windows operating systems such as Linux or MacOS.



A Note on 3D Accelerators:
--------------------------

Sherman 2 uses several large textures. Some older 3D cards may not be able to display these textures correctly and will instead draw the texture as being completely black. This will not make the game unplayable, but will result in a drastic loss in video quality. Owners of newer cards need not worry about this issue as your card should have no problems with such textures.



Performance Tips:
-----------------

Sherman is designed to run on a wide range of computers, but there will always be some systems where performance is an issue. Here are some ways in which you can improve the playability of Sherman:

	- Depending on your sound card, turning sound and/or music off may give a slight performance boost.

	- Depending on your video card, lowering the video resolution and/or bitdepth may improve game speed.

	- Lowering the effects level in the video setup may make a drastic improvement.

	- Closing other applications, including MP3 players, will yeild a performance boost.

	- Make sure your video card, sound card and DirectX drivers are all the latest versions.



Technical Support:
------------------

Technical support can be acquired by mailing to this address:

	drdoomer@cross-bones.co.uk

Please give a brief description of the problem you are encountering, under what circumstances it appears and any error messages the game displays.



Version History:
----------------

     This Version:
	Two new levels added,
	Alterations and additions to level 2,
	Improvements to lighting on level 3,
	Tank turning altered slightly,
	Negative alphablending enabled on shadows,
	Minor graphical changes regarding tank explosions and debris,
	AI cannon accuracy problem amended,
	New purple flag and white bomb powerups found in crates,
	Time delay between crate drops decreased,
	Teamplay between similarly coloured tanks available,
	Different tanks can now exhibit unique properties,
	Bug when loading from Default.ini fixed,
	Additions and optimisations to main menu,
	New red colour for T-90.

     Beta Demo 2:
	AI control has now been added,
	Level 2 has been completely replaced,
	All six levels have waypoints,
	Copyright and version information displayed on title screen,
	Slight alterations to GameTypes,
	Debris now disappears correctly on levels three and five,
	Fixed lighting problem with winning screen,
	Detail level now applies to tank polycount,
	Tank turning speed has been increased slightly,
	In-game demo now plays when system left idle.

     Beta Demo 1:
	First shareware version,
	Help and credits screens now working,
	Panther tank added,
	Crashes on low detail mode fixed,
	Various graphical changes.

     Alpha Demo 2:
	Basic tank speed increased,
	Main menu completed,
	Chieftain and T-90 available,
	Basic weapon range increased,
	Size of tanks decreased,
	Hunter target ring improved,
	Level 5 and 6 implemented,
	All levels now have icons,
	Inter-tank collision code re-written,
	Crate drops added,
	Setup now saved to ini file,
	Custom game mode now available,
	Pause menu implemented,
	Match will now end and goto winner screen,
	Hi effects level will no longer crach the game.

     Alpha Demo 1:
	Four levels,
	Sherman tank available,
	Main menu and intro,
	Temporary music,
	All sound,
	Low and mid detail levels integrated.



Copyright:
-----------

	Sherman 2 is copyright (C) 2001, Cross-Bones Software
	(http://www.cross-bones.co.uk)
