Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries: We Are Going to Need a More Expensive Boat

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries: We Are Going to Need a More Expensive Boat

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

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

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 09:41

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

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
...~~getting multiplayer running on dosbox 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

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

PoptartsNinja posted:

Tuluk, I'm fine with it.

thanks PTN.
I thought about it a bit, and will probably create a standalone dosbox advanced thread within the next day or so.
It wouldn't be fair to the followers of this thread to dump additional technical posts about off-topic DOSBOx stuff in here.

on-topic to this LP:
Once you've done the tutorial, the iconic Crab is the obvious choice for your next mech purchase.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2014 15:34

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

2D
I am figuring you won't be encountering many assault mechs in the flashman before you upgrade a to better mech.
And I really like how the mercenaries have a nickname & callsign that don't match. Gotta love the RNG.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2014 00:54

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

Cythereal posted:

It is. IIRC it's even on the box art.

and it's in the opening movie too.

# ¿ Oct 3, 2014 14:57

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

evilmiera posted:

I can get through setting my mech up, I can buy gear, but I can't actually start a mission without crashing. Phooey. Guess I won't be joining the fun of the LP that way.

how are you running mechwarrior 2 mercs?
mechvm, dosbox, PCP flashbacks, old rear end Win95 system, virtual machine setup?

# ¿ Oct 5, 2014 23:35

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

oh yeah.

terra nova: strike force centauri is basically Elemental: a battletech armored infantry story.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2014 00:32

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

evilmiera posted:

Compability mode and the XP patch.

i'd advise using mechvm if you only have the Windows version of mw2 mercs.
it works decently on all the Windows versions of Mechwarrior 2 series and it isn't insanely crashy.
there is a unofficial patch on mech2.org that fixes most of the Windows version flakiness,
but the unofficial patch also has a chance of disabling custom mechbuilds.
http://www.mech2.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=806 Option 2 -Slug's Hook method

the DOS versions of the Mechwarrior 2 series are more stable than the windows versions.
the Windows versions of the Mechwarrior 2 series came out before DirectX, and are heavily confused by DirectX drivers & what they do.

i've been able to walk PoptartsNinja and Shoeless through getting Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries running in DOSBOx so far.
PTN's guide is pretty decent, and you can always PM me or ask on the goon #retrochat IRC channel for help with getting mechwarrior 2 games running in DOSBOx.
the one thing PTN's guide doesn't cover is patching* the mechwarrior 2 series games.

*
PTN: there is a 1.06 patch for the DOS version of Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries.
installing it will invalidate your game saves and your mechlab builds.
Shoeless and I discovered it yesterday when we had to patch his version of MW2:Mercs from v1.0 to v1.05.
explanation of what the 1.06 patch adds/changes: http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~dank/mercfaq.htm

quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 14:58 on Oct 6, 2014

# ¿ Oct 6, 2014 13:53

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

Shoeless posted:

Speaking of Tuluk helping me get Mercs 2 running, I'm finding that LRMs seem to actually be really good. I don't know if my copy's bugged, but they seem to consistently deal damage without the issue that lasers have of occasionally clipping or failing to register, and they don't have a minimum range. Heck, they seem to be doing fairly good damage too.

You need to change your username to Morgan Kell asap.
you've got the touch, you've got the power.

# ¿ Oct 6, 2014 15:09

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

Chronojam posted:

You should help PTN get Win95 Mercs working because Mercs 1.1 is amazing. Maybe http://www.mech2.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=514 could help?

One of the big changes from the original 1.1 patchnotes is "Corrected shot checking. Fast projectiles do not miss their target due to changes in frame rate." Also dynamic salvage with a pile of fantastic bugs.

hahahahahahahahaha.
ahahahahahahaha.
nope.

each mechwarrior 2 series game has at least 4 different versions, and i'm not counting the crippled bundleware versions, the tied to 3d-accelerator card versions, the 3d sound hardware enhanced versions, the optimized for pentium versions, or the alternate language versions(german, french, spanish, etc). It would be drat hard to get identical versions of the gameCDs on each side without reverting to :filez:

or physically mailing the required game media back & forth for "archival backups".

I had a rant about how it hard would to sync up the test environments(software levels/QA environment) correctly, find enough free time to actually work on the project, and actually be understand & modify the code that the mechwarrior 2 games were made in. I'm not a coder at all too, so yeah.......

tldr version:
It isn't as easy as editing .xml tables & loving around in the crysis engine toolkit like :pgi:

does for Mechwarrior:Online.

quantumfoam fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Oct 6, 2014

# ¿ Oct 6, 2014 20:30

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

OptimusShr posted:

You could also with enough time burn through the CT of an assault mech with that laser. I almost did that to a fafnir once.

EDIT: also we should see if there are any servers still up and get together on mumble.

a Living Legends teamup sounds good.
I'm dying for a goon Living Legends server...why are there so many dayz or minecraft servers, and not a LL server?
the existing LL servers on the internet are full of insanely skilled players.

# ¿ Oct 9, 2014 05:25

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

How does a LL meetup for 10/13 or 10/14/2014 9pm CST sound?
I'm suggesting a date sometime next week, because it'll give people more time to download & install MW:LL.
i'm not offering any mumble info, because i'm a mumble holdout.

If anyone has an alternative date/time suggestion, lets talk about in the dedicated non-MWO Battletech PC games thread.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3665099

MW:LL 0.71 combined installer (crysis wars 1.5 trial included in combined installer)
http://forum.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php/topic,19022.0.html

gamespy server redirection fix...(gamespy matchmaking servers are shutdown & crysis wars is hardcoded to use gamespy)
http://forum.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php/topic,20422.msg351882.html

# ¿ Oct 10, 2014 01:15

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

evilmiera posted:

Of course you'd be the one they managed to roll to hit the head on. Best of luck finding an engineer to repair it, just ask if you need a few C-bills.

a front windshield is more of a SENSORS hit. you can still operate the mech but you can't see poo poo.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2014 03:26

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

I pick 1) Assassin
Be bizzaro and pilot the Assassin while your hired NPC teammate pilots the Zeus.

# ¿ Oct 23, 2014 21:32

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

7c Nickel posted:

As a graduating member of Tri-M� Mercenary Academy, I'll thank you not to cast aspersions on Mr. O'Grady or his school.

the graduate quotes & pictures were the best part of the manual.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2014 17:12

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

Alchenar posted:

Eh, huge amounts of mechcommander consist of left clicking your way around the map and nothing more tactical than that. As I said in this thread or the MWO one, what the game really needs is a Firaxis XCOM style turnbased mode (maybe a tabletopesque/Frozen Synapse wego system where you plot movement and select a target and both sides go at once) and a deep rpg tree for the pilots/mechs.

I request that the next PTN battletech computergame let's play be "Crescent Hawks Revenge", or Mechwarrior 1. Crescent Hawks Revenge is tough, and it's final arc involves the Clan invasion, Mechwarrior 1 was a just groundbreaking game with economic engine and has a hard time limit for completion.
Mechwarrior 1 is extremely easy to get running in DOSBox too.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2015 05:48

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

radintorov posted:

While it's very different from Revenge, if PTN intends on LPing it, I hope he actually does The Crescent Hawk's Inception first: it is a simple game, but I always found it an interesting experiment.

If you're gonna try & play Crescent Hawks Inception via dosbox, you need to hard-set the CPU allocation to 20-30 and adjust from there depending on your PC.

Why? You will autofail one of the tutorial mech piloting missions, the reach a point & return in quickest route tutorial
because Crescent Hawks Inception calculates time by CPU speed instead of movement hexes used for that particular mission.

To get around that issue in Crescent Hawks Inception, use these [CPU] settings in the dosbox.conf settings and adjust CPU allocation with ctrl+f11 & ctrl+f12

code:

[cpu]

core=simple
cycles=20
cycleup=10
cycledown=5

# ¿ Jan 30, 2015 14:39

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 09:41

quantumfoam: Dec 25, 2003

Remmon posted:

Of course all you require to perform orbital strikes is a sufficient large solid mass and a rocket to attach to it. The better your rocket in terms of precision, the more you can narrow down which part of the planet you want destroyed.

And this is where we get into modern weapons vs BattleTech physics. We've already got suborbital weapons that can hit a target within a few dozen meters, for the low yield direct impact nuclear bunker busters to work. Given that technology, straight up orbital bombardment is a piece of cake. You don't just get to hit the stadium full of people or the specific person you want dead, you get to pick whether you want to hit him in the feet or the face. Of course then minimum masses come into play and you end destroying the entire stadium anyways.

norden bombsights are LosTech

# ¿ Feb 3, 2015 16:50

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries: We Are Going to Need a More Expensive Boat