Patch to Fix Jump Jet Fuel in MechWarrior 2 for DOS

General Mech2 related Developments go here. Discussions welcome!

Moderator: Skyfaller

Forum rules
If you are writing a guide please do not post it here! Post in the Dev FAQ section please.
Post Reply
User avatar
Valter
I.S. Baby
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed May 13, 2020 1:16 pm

Patch to Fix Jump Jet Fuel in MechWarrior 2 for DOS

Post by Valter »

Hey everyone,

I just posted this in the Discord, but I thought I'd put it here for more exposure. I've been working on a patch to fix the jump jet fuel recharge rate in the DOS version of Mech2 and I'd like to put it out there for testing. All the notes are in there and a download for an .ipf file you can use to patch your MW2.exe as if it were a ROM hack for NES or something.

Patch to Fix Jump Jet Fuel in MechWarrior 2 for DOS

In theory, this will let you run the game in DOSBox with maximum cycles without losing the ability to use jump jets. Patches for NetMech, GBL, and Mercs are pending.

Have fun!
s997863
I.S. Baby
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 8:41 am

Re: Patch to Fix Jump Jet Fuel in MechWarrior 2 for DOS

Post by s997863 »

I tried the patch but got a black screen. This is probably because my CD is the DOS-only version (the MW2.EXE CRC doesn't match, not even patching to DOS 1.1).

But I really appreciate the info about the frame-rate command line argument. This worked flawlessly for me in DosBOX with max cycles. Even at 45fps it was way smoother and more enjoyable than manually setting DosBOX cycles (which results in FPS varying a lot depending on the scene). This brings me back to my childhood with my Pentium 200MHz :)

Do you know a way I can start the game normally with the FPS limited to 45, rather than jumping into a specific mission by command line?
User avatar
PROX
House Steiner Private
House Steiner Private
Posts: 25
Joined: Tue Mar 17, 2020 2:30 am

Re: Patch to Fix Jump Jet Fuel in MechWarrior 2 for DOS

Post by PROX »

Everyone. DO NOT USE THIS at its current state. It only works sometimes and when it doesn't, it needs to be reinstalled. Also lowering DOSbox cycles will no longer fix jets with this enabled. I had to uninstall this completely just to get everything working again.
s997863
I.S. Baby
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2020 8:41 am

Re: Patch to Fix Jump Jet Fuel in MechWarrior 2 for DOS

Post by s997863 »

I found the same CD version that the GitHub author was using (CRC matched), and the patch seemed to work fine with that.

I've uploaded a zipped mech2 install from that CD on archive.org here:
https://archive.org/details/mech-2-jumpjet-fixed.-7z

This archive contains a DOS full install of mechwarrior 2 using the CD version labeled "Windows 95 / MS-DOS 1.1". You will still need the corresponding CD to play the game.

This folder includes a modified MW2.EXE file, patched as per the instructions here:
https://gist.github.com/anpage/9b5ec3d7 ... 696e8b4280

But the 1.1 version CD reportedly has some music tracks out of order. So I also tested this install folder using my own CD version of mechwarrior-2 (Dos only, volume label "MECH2_16B") in the image drive, and it worked too! So you might also try this folder with your own CD, so as to have the audio tracks play in the right order, and also to avoid finding/downloading the entire 1.1 version CD image.

Credits and thanks to the original patch author (Alex Page).
Post Reply