|
Jade Star posted:
PTN can probably correct me if I'm wrong. (please do) If I'm remember right if you're firing at close to maximum fire rate then there's a randomized chance that the shot just misses. Goes off, generates heat, doesn't inflict damage.
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 15:50
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 19:49 |
|
|
PTN, Here's some improvements for the DOSBox/general Mechwarrior 2 install/setup advice section in the OP: ==== -sometimes the jumpjets in Mechwarrior 2 vanilla, Mechwarrior 2:Ghost Bear's Legacy, and Mechwarrior 2: Mercs fail to recharge, or recharge extremely SLOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLLLLY. The fix for jumpjet recharging problems is "reduce CPU allocation" for DOSBox. -ALT+ENTER combo in DOSBox switches to FULL SCREEN mode/exits from FULL SCREEN mode. this variable can be hardcoded to a on/off state in the DOSBox configuration file. -the .cue file does not contain the CD music tracks. the .cue file is a Table of Contents text file that references where CD tracks stop & start in the .bin CD image. -The reason why I had you image your Mechwarrior 2 Mercs cd was to minimize the wear & tear on the 18 yr old MW2 Mercs game CD, and make a backup copy in case the game CD got damaged or lost. And lets be honest, in the year 2014, CD's & CD drives are obsolete technology. Like you stated, the Mechwarrior 2 games won't run properly unless they are able to detect & play the Music soundtrack on the CDs. The Mechwarrior 2 CDs are a combination of music tracks+ 1 data track commonly refered to as Mixed-Mode CDs. Normal CD imaging will capture EITHER the data track OR all the music tracks on a Mixed Mode CD. To properly capture both the data track and all the music tracks on a Mixed Mode CD, specialist CD imaging software is required. That is why I recommended IsoBuster to you. For people using linux, cdrdao will work perfectly...this is how I originally imaged all my mechwarrior 2 game CDs. ==== I can write up a Advanced DOSBox Gaming discussing general practices I use, if anyone is interested. The Advanced DOSBox Gaming post would be details on how I manage DOSBox configuration files on 20+ DOS game library without using a DOSBox front-end, general advice for tweaking DOSBox configuration filea and how to use a USB stick for on-the-fly work/home/travel DOSBox gaming.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 16:22
|
|
|
Alchenar posted:Throw Mechcommander to Firaxis, let them turn it into a turn-based XCOM style game.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 16:25
|
|
|
Sylphosaurus posted:Be still, my beating heart.. Can you imagine Pilot Checks on Rookies with X-Com RNG? 
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 16:28
|
|
|
tuluk posted:PTN, I would be interested in reading this. If PTN doesn't want it here, we could probably use a DOSBox thread in games anyway.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 16:31
|
|
|
Sylphosaurus posted:Be still, my beating heart.. Y'all know Microprose made Mechcommander/Mechwarrior 3 and X-Com right. And Firaxis is made up of some of those old Microprose devs. So yes Friaxis are totally the right people to make new mechwarrior games, I wonder if they have any interest in getting the licence though. Oh the matter of CD Emulation, Deamon tools can mount mix mode CDs just fine, And Dosbox can do it too if you mount the bin and cue correctly. You just need to make sure that the Disk mounts as the D: Drive or the game wont find it. Panboy fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Sep 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 16:50
|
|
|
Panboy posted:Y'all know Microprose made Mechcommander/Mechwarrior 3 and X-Com right. And Firaxis is made up of some of those old Microprose devs. I'd settle for a not-mechcommander game. Actually what I want is XCOM 2 to be a recasting of Interceptor as a turn based mix of The Few with Battletek style mechanics.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 17:12
|
|
|
Artificer posted:Can you imagine Pilot Checks on Rookies with X-Com RNG? So many first turn running and turning on pavement piloting roll fails resulting in a fall and TAC head blowing off.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 17:12
|
|
|
RickVoid posted:I would be interested in reading this. If PTN doesn't want it here, we could probably use a DOSBox thread in games anyway. I'll wait for PTN to respond before dumping the dosbox advanced advice. Anyway here's something PTN left out of his DOSBOX setup guide for MW2 mercs ... MECH2.ORG & MECH2.ORG IPX relay is currently down as of 9:19 AM PST 9-29-2014 Sadly, the Mechwarrior 2 games came out before TCP/IP was established as the internets #1 communication protocol, a time when dial-up connections were king, novell software wasn't a joke, and ISDN/DSL service was a pricey $150/month cost. The Mechwarrior 2 games use Modem, Null Modem, and IPX as connection protocols.  Microsoft removed IPX connectivity from Microsoft Windows starting with Windows Vista, so systems running Windows 7/Windows 8.x would normally be out of luck. Luckily DOSBox has a built IPX emulation mode, which is another reason why DOSBox is so awesome. first of all, IPX emulation has to be enabled in your dosbox configuration file for DOSBox. PTN's sample dosbox configuration file has it enabled. you want to open the .conf file with notepad, notepad+, or vim/emacs/gvim and search for the string [ipx] you will find something that looks like the following ==== [ipx] ipx: Enable ipx over UDP/IP emulation. ipx=true ===== if ipx=false, change that variable to "true" and save the settings. next we are going to add a line to the [autoexec] section which will establish an IPX connection i usually insert the IPX connect command line before any of the "mount C/mount D" lines go to your [autoexec] section in the dosbox configuration file and add a new line ==== [autoexec] # Lines in this section will be run at startup. # You can put your MOUNT lines here. # IPXNET CONNECT mech2.org 10001 save & close the dosbox configuration file. If everything is configured correctly & the MECH2.ORG IPX relay is up, multiplayer Mechwarrior 2 gaming works. right now, as of 9:19 AM PST 9-29-2014, MECH2.ORG IPX relay is down. so multiplayer mw2 gaming won't work using the mech2.org IPX relay. quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Sep 29, 2014 |
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 17:31
|
|
|
Voyager I posted:The first post of the LP does raise a rather poignant issue with the knight-errant picture of mercenaries in the MechWarrior universe. Even the smallest, most basic battlmechs represent substantial amounts of wealth for a private owner, they retain value very well (until they explode), and they have a healthy market. Even if you're like the character in the LP and you're too ambitious to cash out on your Commando and be merely comfortable without ever working again in your life; it's still enough money that you could start up a business where you aren't always one bad break from destitution or death, especially since being a Mech pilot is uncomfortable work that can come with all the usual hardships of being a soldier on campaign. The first rule of mercenary work is that you can't spend the money if you're dead and it seems like you'd pretty quickly hit the point where you're rich enough that you don't need to do this poo poo anymore unless you have truly opulent taste and no sense of self-preservation. I've never read a book set in the MW universe, but I imagine they solve this issue the same way we do now: Underwriting. The gist of it is that you solicit investment in your venture, which has some amount of risk and possible reward. The investors pony up capital with the expectation that they will take a cut of the result. You might say, "hey Bozart, who has that kind of space bucks that they can absorb having an entire lance blowed up?" The thing is, they wouldn't have to absorb the whole cost. They might invest only 1% of the cost of hiring (and insuring!) a particular lance of mercs. They can do the same thing in 99 other lances, each of which would be performing unrelated, independent missions, and they would have diversified enough that the risk of all 100 getting "blowed up" would be extraordinarily low. If the profits from the successful missions exceed the losses in the other ones, then they've come out ahead, yay! Of course, why would you tie up all of that money anyway? Instead, you'd take a loan from 1st Interstellar Space Bank, and as long as the cost of servicing the debt was lower than the expected return from your 100 merc ventures, you would still be coming out ahead, and you wouldn't need to line up nearly as many investors to do it (or rather, you've substituted the bank in place of the investors, but this way you don't have to deal with a bunch of other equity holders). Alternatively, you could IPO on the Neo New York Stock Exchange as Mercs R' Us (MRU) and own a bunch of merc outfits outright (or lease them...) and directly control their activities. You might want to do that if you thought you could gain something by coordinating them. For instance, scheduling and O&M would almost certainly be more efficient, which would allow you to collect more profit from offering them into a particular merc contract. You could expect that over time corporations like this would drive small outfits out of business. Honestly, you'd expect merc outfits to merge on their own due to this pressure. But hey, giant iron space shooty mans doesn't have to be realistic! 
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:10
|
|
|
Bozart posted:Honestly, you'd expect merc outfits to merge on their own due to this pressure.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:12
|
|
|
The Mechwarrior games (and, to an extent, the MechCommander games) have always been about exceptional edge cases in the setting where far fewer people than would be expected are achieving impressive feats and making off like bandits doing it. Mechwarrior 3050 is probably the most egregious example, with a single Timber Wolf laying waste to entire regiments and encamped positions that would require at the least a Star to clear in tabletop, if not a full Trinary. Mech2Mercs isn't quite as bad, but you're still shooting with an accuracy that would be considered blasphemous on tabletop and you somehow never need to pay (or wait) for jumpship transportation between systems. But also I prefer my giant stompy robots without large amounts of financial planning and accounting, thank you very much, the setting's dystopian enough as it is.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:36
|
|
|
I'd play Mechwarrior Tycoon any day, to be honest, but it'd be a tricky design thing to pull off when the core of the gameplay and mainline of development attention is clearly always going to be "giant stompy robot pew pew".
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:40
|
|
|
Tuluk, I'm fine with it. My personal hope is that one day Paradox will get the license, and will release Mechwarrior: Star Lord in the Crusader Kings style. Do you have what it takes to take a one-planet minor all the way to the head of House Marik? Fake edit: In other news, I'm sick, so I won't be talking over the tutorial for a day or two.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:46
|
|
|
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries comes with a mode for people who really don't want to deal with the finances. The story is the same, but instead of the line about "you own this poo poo now, good luck" from your former commander, it's "sign on with these guys, they know their poo poo and will take care of you." You don't have to buy your mechs or pay for anything, but what's available is limited by what the game's designers made available. You also do not get to pick your own missions, you take everything the game has in sequence, so it's more like the campaign from the original MW2 or Ghost Bear's Legacy. Also to join the "new robot game" chat, my ideal here would be a game that's kind of like the Front Mission series, where you put together your robot from parts and arm it appropriately and train up the pilots, but with more of an X-Com thing to it, where you don't get new parts and weapons when the plot makes them available. If you want new stuff, you have to kick the poo poo out of the invaders and reverse engineer their toys.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:55
|
|
|
I've had an itch for a game like Mechwarrior: Star Lord basically since this Let's Play started. I think it's because the focus on small numbers of important, powerful war-machines pairs really well with a warrior aristocracy - cultivating bloodlines of nobles to provide pilots for your stompy killing-machines and actually making combat a fun game as opposed to watching numbers grind against each other would be a huge step-up from the usual grand strategy game. Reading up on the setting's history on the wiki already sounds like reading someone's fluffed-up Paradox let's play anyway.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 18:58
|
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 Wiz Wizzz WIZZZZZZ Talk to your bosses please!
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 19:22
|
|
|
MechaCrash posted:MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries comes with a mode for people who really don't want to deal with the finances. The story is the same, but instead of the line about "you own this poo poo now, good luck" from your former commander, it's "sign on with these guys, they know their poo poo and will take care of you." You don't have to buy your mechs or pay for anything, but what's available is limited by what the game's designers made available. You also do not get to pick your own missions, you take everything the game has in sequence, so it's more like the campaign from the original MW2 or Ghost Bear's Legacy. I don't think I ever once picked that option, ever.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 19:36
|
|
|
It's unfortunate that the IP rights surrounding the Mechwarrior franchise are complex, to say the least.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 19:46
|
|
|
Alchenar posted:Throw Mechcommander to Firaxis, let them turn it into a turn-based XCOM style game. So, actual tabletop Battletech? Arquinsiel posted:Actually the rules for pay and contracts and the like are such that it's drat rare for a merc unit under regiment size to see combat and survive for more than a year. Collapse is the norm. If you're referring to the contract generation rules from field manual: Mercs, those always struck me as giving absurdly low pay to the point where keeping a company-sized company afloat and in the black was a challenge, and woe betide you if you actually failed a mission or lost a mech and didn't salvage one to repair and place it! For all that Battletech up to the Dark Ages made out Mercs to be a huge thing, the actual rules for them are not very well done, from my reading of them.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 19:52
|
|
|
paragon1 posted:It's unfortunate that the IP rights surrounding the Mechwarrior franchise are complex, to say the least. Not too bad for computer games at least, MS owns the rights. Other things.. Yea, not so simple lol.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:07
|
|
|
Ah, you're right, I was confusing Mechwarrior with Battletech in general.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:24
|
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:Tuluk, I'm fine with it. Hmm... a mod for CK2 might be doable, though it would take a little more work than the GoT mod. Each county could be a prefecture-sized region, with the Duchies as Marches, and the castles and such would be individual planets. You'd need to separate everything by sea tiles to simulate how important JumpShips are. You'd need to redo your unit art, of course, but the unit types would be a pretty easy correlation. You've got light infantry (PBIs), heavy infantry (Battle Armor), archers (artillery), light cavalry (tanks) and heavy cavalry (Mechs).
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:26
|
|
|
This LP brings back so many memories. Played the poo poo out of this game as a kid, and I'm already feeling the old hatred of the Awesome mech boiling. Hated those things, because I was a kid too dumb to dodge PPC fire.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:29
|
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:Tuluk, I'm fine with it. My dream is that every FASA franchise gets merged into one universe with all my favorite PC games as a template. The game would take 20 years to make and balance and would still suck, but I wouldn't mind.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:35
|
|
|
"MechaCrash" posted:Also to join the "new robot game" chat, my ideal here would be a game that's kind of like the Front Mission series, where you put together your robot from parts and arm it appropriately and train up the pilots, but with more of an X-Com thing to it, where you don't get new parts and weapons when the plot makes them available. If you want new stuff, you have to kick the poo poo out of the invaders and reverse engineer their toys. ^ This, except the MechWarrior can exit their Mech and engage in personal level combat. And fight Mechs on foot. And hijack enemy Mechs.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:38
|
|
|
Edit: ^^^^ Wasn't that the MechAssault games? If all you're looking for is giant robots in space + grand strategy feudal politics game, it wouldn't strictly have to be the Battletech setting. It might even help in allowing people to invent their own noble houses and giant robots to not be bound to an existing IP. But, since this is a Battletech Let's Play, that's naturally what we'd be talking about.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:41
|
|
|
Dolash posted:If all you're looking for is giant robots in space + grand strategy feudal politics game, it wouldn't strictly have to be the Battletech setting. It might even help in allowing people to invent their own noble houses and giant robots to not be bound to an existing IP. It's alright, I didn't need the next ten to sixteen hours I'll be spending coming up with stuff for that. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:45
|
|
|
House JUGGALO of the THE DARK CARNIVAL Empire
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:51
|
|
|
Defiance Industries posted:House JUGGALO of the THE DARK CARNIVAL Empire You joke but I'm pretty sure that's a House Marik affiliate.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 20:53
|
|
|
Shoeless posted:So, actual tabletop Battletech? I phrased it like that for a reason: I'd use tabletop Battletech as a conceptual starting point (movement is life, weapons have different range brackets, pilot skills effect both) but for the actual mechanics I'd want them to start with a completely clean slate.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 21:38
|
|
|
Defiance Industries posted:They had to introduce the Clans to make them look not-so-bad by comparison. But they're not all bad; the Combine's secret police is called the Friendly Persuaders. Pretty sure the FP (which are officialy called the Civilian Guidance Corps) are the bog-standard street cops of the Combine - the ISF is doing the secret police part.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 21:47
|
|
|
Magni posted:Pretty sure the FP (which are officialy called the Civilian Guidance Corps) are the bog-standard street cops of the Combine - the ISF is doing the secret police part. This is correct. They're also called "Candy Stripers" because of their uniforms, which are supposed to help Civilians understand they need to get out of the way right the gently caress now. The Friendly Persuaders' police tool of choice in nearly every situation is the good old-fashioned automatic shotgun. Their uniforms exactly are as embarrassing as they sound. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:17
|
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:This is correct. They're also called "Candy Stripers" because of their uniforms, which are supposed to help Civilians understand they need to get out of the way right the gently caress now. The Friendly Persuaders' police tool of choice in nearly every situation is the good old-fashioned automatic shotgun. That is a very sassy pose for a stormtrooper.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:29
|
|
|
Hey, if you've got it, flaunt it, baby!
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:31
|
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:This is correct. They're also called "Candy Stripers" because of their uniforms, which are supposed to help Civilians understand they need to get out of the way right the gently caress now. The Friendly Persuaders' police tool of choice in nearly every situation is the good old-fashioned automatic shotgun.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:44
|
|
|
Not as funny when the automatics are firing at you for protesting. It's really quite interesting how close the comically over the top Draconis Combine is to actual present day China.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:49
|
|
|
Arquinsiel posted:Laughing is a capital offence.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:49
|
|
|
DatonKallandor posted:Not as funny when the automatics are firing at you for protesting. It's really quite interesting how close the comically over the top Draconis Combine is to actual present day China. Even more ironic considering the Draconis Combine is based on Imperial Japan as I understand it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2014 22:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 24, 2024 19:49 |
|
|
There are no words for how happy I am with the start of this LP. Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries, in spite of its age, is one of the best games ever created. It reminds me of my youth, honestly. I remember playing it when it was new... now I also feel old. After spotting this LP, I immediately booted up my tablet to see if there were any of the CBT novels available. To my dismay, it was nothing but Dark Age  Are there any good places to get those old things? They're not exactly Tolstoy, but I remember them always being good fun. It's a shame that Battletech was left to languish so badly... I remember it being an absolutely brilliant system to play with, and I loved the setting, as silly as it could be. My friends and I used to play it extensively, but eventually largely transitioned to 40K after the Clicky-tech debacle. (Thus, it ended poorly for us anyway.) I kind of wish I could wind back the clock twenty years on the whole franchise, though. Really enjoying the Draconis Combine discussion. It reminds me of the popular culture Japan that was - back when they seemed destined to take over the world economy. Shame what's happened to them, since.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2014 03:35
|
|
