MechVM-2010-06-15

MechVM - A MechWarrior 2 remake.

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Skyfaller
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MechVM-2010-06-15

Post by Skyfaller »

Hi all,

the new release of MechVM is finally ready! News include:

- Integrated NetMech: download the NetMech plugin, click Install+Import|Install Netmech, and point the pop-up browser to where you downloaded the plugin - please click "open" in the file browser instead of double-clicking the plugin to prevent an error
- MechVM Shell seems stable enough to install as an option for 31stCC and GBL (DOS+Titanium Trilogy)
- MechVM's Mech Lab now works and is fully integrated with MechVM's shell
- Update to DosBox 0.74
- Ability to configure Battlemaster, Tarantula
- MechVM uses the GBL engine to launch 31stCC games in Titanium Trilogy, allowing to use AMS, Arrow IV and Inferno (Streak) SRMs

This release has been tested to compile and work under Linux as well. After installing a MW2-DOS game, mount the game folder as C: and use the BAT files to launch the sim.
Tests on Windows 7, 64-Bit:
MW2-31stcc-DOS (DOS, DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-DOS Jade Falcon Campaign (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-DOS Clan Wolf Campaign (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-NetMech (DOS, DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-NetMech Jade Falcon Campaign (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-NetMech Clan Wolf Campaign (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-NetMech (Win95): Fails after intro video
MW2-31stcc-Pentium Edition: Fails after intro video
MW2-31stcc-Battlepack: Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-Titanium Trilogy: Quick test passed, (1)

MW2-GBL-DOS (DOS, DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-DOS (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-Pentium Edition: Shell crash
MW2-GBL-Pentium Edition (MechVM Shell+Win95 sim): Sim crash
MW2-GBL-BattlePack: ...
MW2-GBL-TT: Quick test passed, (1)
MW2-31stcc - Jade Falcon Campaign (MechVM shell + GBL-Titanium sim): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc - Wolf Clan Campaign (MechVM shell + GBL-Titanium sim): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL (MechVM shell + Titanium sim): Quick test passed

MW2-Mercs-DOS: Quick test passed
MW2-Mercs-Win95: Sim won't start

NetMech-DOS:
MercNet-DOS:

"Quick test passed" means the shell and sim were tested briefly, that means
the shell was used to fire up the sim and the sim launched successfully

(1) rebooting the PC may help if the sim or shell doesn't work
Tests on Windows XP, 32-Bit
MW2-31stcc-NetMech (DOS, DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-NetMech Jade Falcon Campaign (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-NetMech Clan Wolf Campaign (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-Pentium Edition: Shell won't start
MW2-31stcc-Battlepack: Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc-Titanium Trilogy: Quick test passed

MW2-GBL-DOS (DOS, DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-DOS (MechVM Shell+DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-Pentium Edition: Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-Pentium Edition (MechVM Shell+Win95 sim): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-BattlePack: Quick test passed
MW2-GBL-TT: Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc - Jade Falcon Campaign (MechVM shell + GBL-Titanium sim): Quick test passed
MW2-31stcc - Wolf Clan Campaign (MechVM shell + GBL-Titanium sim): Quick test passed
MW2-GBL (MechVM shell + Titanium sim): Quick test passed

MW2-Mercs-DOS (DosBox): Quick test passed
MW2-Mercs-DOS (native): Sim won't launch
MW2-Mercs-Win95: Sound problems

NetMech-DOS: Quick test passed
MercNet-DOS: Quick test passed

"Quick test passed" means the shell and sim were tested briefly, that means
the shell was used to fire up the sim and the sim launched successfully

(1) rebooting the PC may help if the sim or shell doesn't work
Download, Last version

Enjoy, Skyfaller
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TheReader
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Re: MechVM-2010-06-15

Post by TheReader »

Thank you so much for developing MechVM! It's great to see your affection for the fantastic Mechwarrior 2, and that it motivated you to write this great piece of software. I share your affection for Mechwarrior 2, and am very pleased that I am able to run it on my newish laptop. There are so many different PC configurations out there; getting 3D game software to work on a wide variety of different configurations is daunting, to say the least!

I have a couple of questions/observations about MechVM that I thought I would post. First let me give you a rundown on my laptop's configuration. It is a SOny Vaio Z12 custom configuration. It has an Intel CORE i7-620, 6GB of RAM, the graphics chip is an NVIDIA Geforce 330M. The "standard" resolution of the laptop is 1920x1080, but it can successfully run many other resolutions. It sports an Bluray/DVD/CD optical drive (so I do use the game CD when I run the game). The operating system is Win7/64bit Professional.

The version of Mechwarrior 2 I own is Mechwarrior 2: Titanium Trilogy. No other versions. I use MechVM (the current version) to launch the game, as you recommend.

Here are my observations (I did some searches on the forums, but didn't see instances where these issues are directly discussed):

1) MechVM installed the game successfully and it pretty much works on my laptop, barring a couple of hiccups. So yay for that. (more on those hiccups in a minute)

2) MechVM seems to install Mech2 Titanium (and therefore run the game) in the "Windows XP Mode" that comes with Windows 7 Professional. Is that what I ought to be doing? Should I use any special "compatibility" settings? I didn't try to do it in WinXP mode, it's just how it turned out when I used MechVM to install Mech2. At least I THINK it's using "Windows XP Mode"... my shortcut to MechVM has the icon that Windows XP Mode uses...

3) This isn't an issue, but I thought I would let you know that my laptop has a manually selectable switch where you can turn on or off the discrete graphics chip. If it is turned off, the laptop operates under integrated graphics. I gave the integrated graphics a try, and to my surprise the game still worked and loaded a level. But then I tried to turn around and move, and it got kinda choppy. So I said forget that. I assume this behavior is the normal result of attempting to run a 3D game using business-style integrated graphics.

4) The hiccups/issues that I've noticed:
a) When the game starts up, SOMETIMES (like about half the time) the screen graphics are off-center during the intro movie and the clan hall/ready room area. By off-center I mean the graphics are shifted up and to left, such that about 30% of the in-game interface is off the top edge of my laptop's screen, and thus invisible and unreachable by the cursor. It's bad enough that mechs are not customizable (because some of the proper controls cannot be reached). The menu bar at the top of the screen is also unreachable. If I actually enter a level, however, then the screen looks centered and fine. This can occur whether or not I have the resolution and/or distance patches applied, but I think it MAY be happening more frequently when I've got the resolution patch applied. (If it's inadvisable to use the rez patch or distance patch, I'm ok with playing without them). Is there some way I can deal with this off-center error?
b) Sometimes I'm playing a level and notice that the music isn't running. I seem to have found a workaround by pressing ESC and going into the sound-submenu. That seems to give the music a command to restart and get rolling. I'm ok with doing that.
c) Every time I complete a mission and exit to the score and mission summary screen, the colors go all wonky. It's like snow or sand with all kinds of varied colors. I still read some parts of the screen and can recognize shapes, but it's like grain with lots of different colors. Maybe a color palette issue? I may be able to post a screenshot later this evening if that would help.

Is there a way to solve these hiccups? I don't care as much about the music issue; i DO care about issue a) and c), and would like to do something to address them if possible.

5) Is there a way to be able to run the game without having to use the CD every time? If not, it's no big deal. Thanks!
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Skyfaller
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Re: MechVM-2010-06-15

Post by Skyfaller »

Wow, long post, and thanks, it's nice to hear some kind words about MechVM.

Credit for fixing Titanium belongs to Köntzä.

MechVM does not have an icon. I never bothered to make one. It sets compatibility modes for MW2 automatically.

About the shifted screen and weird colors ... I can offer two partial solutions. The first is to Alt-Tab to another task when you encounter the issue. When you switch back, the screen should be centered again, and color should be restored once the opening video is over.

The other solution is to use MechVM's shell. It is a reimplementation of the original shell, and it is not yet complete. It lacks music and videos, but allows you to configure your Mechs, and offers a few options that are not present in the original mech editor.

You can play Titanium from CUE image files. I always use them. The original CDs are far too precious to risk scratching them while you insert or remove them from the drive. Virtual Clone drive allows you to do that for free. There was a discussion in a recent thread about programs that will create the images for you.

I hope I've covered your questions. You may want to experiment with the patches for the viewing distance and screen resolutions that MechVM installs in the game's directory.
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Re: MechVM-2010-06-15

Post by KeithShum »

Hello everyone, I want to start off by saying that MechVM rocks, I was able to get nearly every version of Mechwarrior 2 to run on Windows 7 64-bit. I do have a question though, is there any way to get the ATI Rage: IIC version of Mechwarrior 2 to run on MechVM? It will install fine, the movies will play fine, but when I click on the launch button the screen goes black for a second then kicks me right back to the screen I was just on. Any ideas on this or will I have to resort to rebuilding an old windows 95 computer with the ATI card on it?? Any help is greatly appreciated, I would love to go back and play this version!
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Re: MechVM-2010-06-15

Post by Demonslayer »

ATI rage's chance is a extreme high chance of not being playable
i recommend playing titan or DOS
those will have no problems except for a few
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