MW2 hitbox issues (RAVE Enhanced Macintosh)

Post up issues you are encountering with MechWarrior 2 here, this includes Netmech.
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VoraciousGorak
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Joined: Tue Jul 30, 2019 10:26 am

MW2 hitbox issues (RAVE Enhanced Macintosh)

Post by VoraciousGorak »

So I'll be amazed if I get anyone who even knows about this problem, much less a fix for it, but:

I'm trying to play MechWarrior 2 RAVE Edition on some old-school Macintosh hardware: a G4 MDD 1.25GHz tower, running Mac OS 9.2.2 (os9lives version). I'm experiencing a massive problem with hitboxes. Screenshots are difficult to attach because, well... old Macintosh...

Missiles are almost unusable because they seem to either spawn behind the 'mech or are impacting a hitbox that extends well past the 'mech itself (the default Mad Dog takes REAR hull damage when firing its LRMs). Small lasers, for example, have a usable range of between 50 and 60 meters; any closer or farther and they will pass through the target completely ineffectively. Building hitboxes extend invisibly WELL outside their normal bounds; though 'mechs can walk through the empty air as normal, weapons impact / detonate / cannot pass through seemingly random slabs of invisible hit zone. Jade Falcon 14 (Iron Piston) was a friggin' nightmare because of this, I almost ran out of time.

What might be causing this? Extension issues? Extremely high framerate / physics glitches? I am running it on a computer well in excess of the original speed after all, and can't change the resolution above 640x480 despite running a Radeon 9000 (the first time I played this game over twenty years ago it ran on a Rage IIc at 1024x768.)
slickrcbd
I.S. Mech Washer
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Joined: Mon Mar 11, 2019 9:41 pm

Re: MW2 hitbox issues (RAVE Enhanced Macintosh)

Post by slickrcbd »

I don't have a clue about your problem. MW2 came bundled with my PowerMac 6500/300 back in 1997. IIRC I have the RAVE version, though I thought it was the RAGE version (if that is a different version, sorry). I never encountered anything like what you describe.

What I can say is that for screenshots, have you tried <COMMAND>+<SHIFT>+3 and looking in the root directory of your system drive (or was it the system folder? My 6500 died in 2008, I haven't used Mac OS 8 or 9 since then) for PICT files with the screenshots?
I don't recall if I ever tried it within the game, but I do know that that was built into the OS for Mac OS System 6.0.7 through at least 9.2.1. It could have been in earlier versions, but I don't recall using anything older than 6.
VoraciousGorak
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Re: MW2 hitbox issues (RAVE Enhanced Macintosh)

Post by VoraciousGorak »

So I ran across the DOSBox packaged version and got it running on Windows 10, and interestingly this issue is manifesting for me in absolutely identical fashion on a cutting-edge modern PC in x86 software DOS emulation as it was while 3D accelerated on Mac OS 9.2.2. I figure if it was clockspeed-related or API-related it would behave a little differently on my 5800X3D as it did on my 1.25GHz MDD Macintosh, but now I'm baffled since my post here from three and a half years ago is the _only_ evidence I can find of anyone having this issue at all and I would have expected it to be a little more widespread.

Perhaps I am cursed to never enjoy my beloved 'Mechs in their glorious mud-puke textures properly ever again.
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