MW3 goes MechVM

MechVM - A MechWarrior 2 remake.

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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Skyfaller »

I could integrate an installer for MW3 that installs the game in a similar fashion to how MechVM installs MW2 variants. After that, MechVM can import the mechs from that directory. The problem is that the files that need to be installed are compressed. For the particular compression used, one of the following tools would have to be integrated and used in MechVM:

i5comp: http://programmerstools.org/node/122
i6comp: http://programmerstools.org/node/123

The packages include source code, and contain the following licensing statement:
*Any use is authorized, granted the proper credit is given*
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Col.Kell »

Hope it goes well.
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Skyfaller »

i5comp correctly uncompresses the data, though without directory structure. The easiest solution would be to run i5comp.exe from MechVM, then move/delete files as needed. Today, only highest quality is needed ...

Patches from this thread should be installed. The thread also gives hints about what registry keys may be required to run the game, look at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microprose\Mechwarrior 3\1.0 in regedit.exe.

Like the various MW2 editions, MechVM needs an installed version of the game for importing, the MechLab or running the sim, once that is implemented.
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Skyfaller »

Progress: i5comp decompresses MW3 *with* directory structure when using the "x" command. In fact, this works so well, that you can run MW3 after setting Win98 compatibility mode. MechVM greedily imports the mechs directly after that :twisted:

However, I have not yet included code that will create all the necessary registry settings, so it only works if you had MW3 installed before.
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Col.Kell »

"Greedily :twisted: " import mechs you say? I guess that means you can get the MW3 mechs to come up quick and easy.

You seem to be making great progress, Sky. You may eventualy want to be a forum member at http://www.mech3.org and tell all the Mech3 fans there about this. :)
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Skyfaller »

Col.Kell wrote:"Greedily :twisted: " import mechs you say? I guess that means you can get the MW3 mechs to come up quick and easy.
Yes, MechVM grabs the mechs from a MW3 CD and displays them in the MechLab, some of them with animations.
It means that you just insert your MW3 CD, and MechVM handles all the details of extracting and processing the data so you can see walking mechs in the MechLab.
You seem to be making great progress, Sky. You may eventualy want to be a forum member at http://www.mech3.org and tell all the Mech3 fans there about this. :)
I got some of the knowledge from EaterOfPies, whom I met on mech3.org, so I guess they know ...

I haven't decided whether I'll do the same for MW3's mission disk yet - more trouble, fewer mechs, and we already have a cool textured Atlas from Whammy.

And with adding files to the PRJ and texturing the MW2 mechs, there's already plenty of work for me.
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Col.Kell »

What the heck are you using as an O.S., Skyfaller??? :P
I have never seen something like that before. Is that Linux?

But cool texture! I DO wish MW2 had skin detail like that...
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Re: MW3 goes MechVM

Post by Skyfaller »

Col.Kell wrote:What the heck are you using as an O.S., Skyfaller??? :P
I have never seen something like that before. Is that Linux?
The screenshot was made under SuSE Linux. MechVM can be compiled from source for Linux, that's why I distribute the source package.
Col.Kell wrote:But cool texture! I DO wish MW2 had skin detail like that...
Whammy has created ten mechs like that, and they are supported (but not yet included) by MechVM. Yes, and I also wish we had textures of similar quality for MW2. I wonder if GIMP and Blender would suffice to create models like that, but I found little time to work on my Sagittaire lately. And there are simpler models than the Sagittaire.
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