MechWarrior 2: Resource Forum

Hi all,

I'm wondering what version you all recommend playing.

Version 1.1 apparently has "dynamic salvage", which sounds like a cool feature. It also claims to include various bug patches, including stuff that sounds very important. ("Engine type can now be modified in the Mercenaries Commander and
Mercenaries games." -> So without it, I'm stuck with whatever engine was already in any Mech I obtain?)

However, according to this, it also adds a bunch of new bugs. Although, a lot of the stuff on that page seems to be issues across all versions of Mercs, or people complaining about how the computer games differ from the board games. (The latter isn't an issue for me.)

If I go for 1.1, I'm also interested in some tips on how to maximize my salvage. I know getting head shots is the best way to win a whole Mech, but can I also get one by (for example) shooting out one leg, and then destroying the other one after it falls over? Are there any other ways to recover a Mech intact?

BTW, are there any solutions to the bug that keeps me from blowing off the legs of enemies? I played through the game once without the economy mode, and resorted to carrying a few machine guns on my designs to finish off "red" legs that just won't die. Is there a better way?

Sorry I am not a mercs person... I would suggest 1.06 though because of online play.

If I duplicated my Mercs installation directory and installed 1.1 into one of them, would the other one still play 1.06 properly? Or does that patch modify stuff in Windows system folders that both have to access?

I may try multiplayer at some point, but I'm more interested in which provides the better single player experience.

If I duplicated my Mercs installation directory and installed 1.1 into one of them, would the other one still play 1.06 properly?

Yes, if you copied the non-patched version of the game into two different directories you would have no problems patching either of them to either version.
There are no registry modifications as far as I am aware.

I'm more interested in which provides the better single player experience.

Part of the reason I answered the way I did is that the subject of 1.06 or 1.1 is a very touchy subject.
There are people that will argue to the death that 1.06 is better because it lacks dynamic salvage and the graphics have not been altered.
Pretty much it boils down to, I believe, personal preference. Generally though I can tell you from experience 1.06 is more reliable as far as stability.

Well as far as Mercs 1.1 goes I have almost bet the entire campaign on vista and I have only had one crash so far, and that was when I targeted the control tower with the textured target hud thingy on, but I could only get it to crash that way once, so perhaps it was just the level. But the main problem with 1.1 is that as you play through the campaign you will find that if your using the 3d accelereation version that Activision must have redid some of the 3d models when they textureded them. That would normally be fine, but they went off and reshapped entire cities while doing it, and even some cliffs. WITHOUT going back to redo mechs waypaths, which often ends up with the mech or vehicles getting stuck on walls. So far the results have been minor, except on the level where you just escaped from clan wolf and you have to get to your drop ship. The drop ship gets stuck on a wall, turns around, and never comes back. In the end I had to use the LE cheat to beat that one. Otherwise I definatly think 1.1 is worth it, although how much missiles slow down after their first major turn really pisses me off, but that might be caused by something else.

Oh, another problem I keep forgetting to ask about: in Mercs DOS, I can't get the game to recognize my middle mouse button (clicking the wheel), even when using mouse2kv.exe in the batch file. Additionally, there are some jumpiness issues: for example, if I press the slash key to re-center my torso, and then fire weapons before moving anything else, the gunsight will jerk over to the side. Anyone know how to solve this?

I switched to the Win95 version (on the same CD), which runs fine (except for the issues below), but I'd like to get the DOS version working in case I want to play online at some point.

Anyway, my problems with 95 are:
1) The CD music doesn't play (it works in the DOS version).
2) Is there a way to play in 1024x768 res, like I can in DOS?
3) Lots of crashing in the mission where you drive the hover tank; I found I had to do things like turn left a bit before I start moving to prevent it. Of course, this might happen in the DOS version, too. (Also, I get totally shredded by the enemy 'mechs, even on Easy, and ended up having to cheat to beat the mission, but that's a separate issue...)

Oh, and not a bug, but a complaint: how come it's so ridiculously expensive to customize Mechs? Simply moving a medium laser from one section to another costs $100,000, far more than the purchase price of the weapon itself! Isn't that what I'm paying a monthly technician salary for? Is there any way around this?