home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
PCPP Game Guide 2
/
PCPP_GG2.iso
/
PCPP
/
faqs
/
merc.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1998-06-02
|
8KB
|
166 lines
Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries FAQ
_________________________________________________________________
These questions and answers are preliminary- nothing here should be
taken as the final word. We are working on a patch which should
address most of the technical issues.
_________________________________________________________________
Finding a copy of Mercenaries
Why can't I find it in stores?
We printed over a hundred thousand copies of Mercs, and shipped as
many copies as each store requested. Some stores requested air
freight, and they already have theirs. Others requested ground
freight, and those stores should be getting theirs about now
(9/26/96), so look again in a day or two. Those that sold out will get
more as soon as they reorder- if they wait until they sell out to
reorder, they will probably be out for two weeks.
What's the story on 3D card support for Mercenaries?
We haven't announced 3D card versions of Mercenaries yet. It's fair to
assume we're working on something, but for now stick to the software
only version. Writing a well optimized Direct-3D version or a version
tailored for a particular 3D card would take some time.
_________________________________________________________________
Installing Mercenaries
How do I install in DOS? I keep getting "Bad Command or Filename".
You must be in the CD's \DOS\ directory to run INSTALL.EXE.
What are the system requirements?
* 486 DX2/66 MHz processor
* 8 MB RAM (but see below; might really need 10 MB RAM)
* Win95 or Microsoft MS-DOS 6.22 operating system with MSCDEX 2.10.
* Double-speed CD-ROM drive (300K/second sustained transfer rate)
* 65 MB of uncompressed hard disk space
* VESA local bus (VLB) or PCI video with 1 MB RAM
* 256 Color SVGA (640 x 480) video card
For modem/internet play:
* One of:
+ 14.4 Hayes-compatible modem and 16550 UART for 3 players;
+ 28.8 Hayes-compatible modem and 16550 UART for 5 players; or
+ direct Internet connection or ISDN modem for 8 players.
* A PPP account with an Internet service provider
Here are some recommended performance guidelines:
* 486 (all speeds): 320x200, all options off
* Pentium (60-75mhz): 320x200, all options off
* Pentium (90-133mhz): 320x200, all options on -or- 640x480, all
options off except shadows
* Pentium (150-200mhz): 640x480, all options on
(The options can be adjusted by pressing the ESC key in a mission or
in the shell, and selecting "Combat Variables".)
_________________________________________________________________
The Mech Lab
I'm having problems adding Ferro-Fibrous or Endo-Steel to a 'Mech.
When you highlight "Endo-Steel Internals Upgrade" or "Ferro-Fibrous
Armor Upgrade", and see "Assign Crits" appear, you must click on the
units of endo or armor that appear below "Assign Crits"! This will add
the unit to an empty critical slot of the selected mech part.
_________________________________________________________________
Crashes and CD-ROM Problems
I have 8 Meg of RAM, and am playing in the lowest resolution. Whenever I play
a mission, once I destroy the third 'Mech, it locks up on me.
There seems to be a bug where it briefly requires MORE than 8 meg of
RAM! Install that extra memory, and you should be fine. We're looking
for a better workaround.
When I get into the Merc95 sim, it says "Error 53: CD Not Mounted", but
MercDOS sim works fine.
One person reports "It was because I had the MS powertools flexi CD
loaded. When I exited flexi cd (closed it from the sys tray) the game
ran fine."
When I try to run with a multiple-CDROM-turntable drive, it takes forever to
sense the drive, or exits with "Error 53: CD Not Mounted".
One person reports that switching his CD-ROM drive to take just one
drive letter seems to fix this problem.
_________________________________________________________________
Controls and Keystrokes
Hey! Where'd Image Enhancement go? 'w' doesn't work anymore.
You can get it back by adding the line
ENHANCED_VISION w
into GAMEKEY.MAP. It was taken out because it wasn't quite finished-
lasers don't show up when it's on.
The custom config screen can't flip the direction of torso twist, nor will it
let me use CTRL, ALT, or SHIFT!
Will Day (who has a great Mech2 web page) posted a good explanation:
In Mech2, you might recall, there were two columns on the custom
config screen: one that let you flip the direction of some functions,
like the torso twisting, from Up/Down to Down/Up, and another that let
you assign a keymodifier to the input device or key (ctrl, alt, or
shift). This former column would let you reverse the direction as you
want to to.
In Mercs, those two columns appear to be absent. They don't show up on
the config screen at all. However, it appears that the functions of
the columns are, in fact, still there. That is, you can click in the
locations of the columns, and produce the same changes as you were
able to in Mech2. You just can't see the results of those changes, at
least without exiting the game and looking at the INPUT.MAP.
... As you noticed, the INPUT.MAP file is replaced whenever you change
your active configuration. I think, but I'm not sure, that the four
config setups are saved in GIDDI/CONFIGxx.CPC in a binary format, and
the chosen one is then used to produce the INPUT.MAP file used by the
game's input routines.
My solution to the problem was to config my controllers with Mech2,
and copy the GIDDI/CONFIGxx.CPC and INPUT.MAP files back to the Mercs
directory. This so far as worked just fine, as it appears the file
formats are virtually identical between the two games.
Needless to say, this should be fixed in a future patch.
_________________________________________________________________
Extra goodies
What about a mission editor?
Mission tools are on the disc. A mission editor would be a good
project for a determined 3rd party; we probably won't be doing one any
time soon.
_________________________________________________________________
MercNet
Trouble getting the KLOS dialer to accept my configuration and dial When I
run MERCPPP, and enter in my ISP's phone #, etc., it takes all my inputs, and
seems to "save to net.cfg" just fine, but I never get the main menu
afterwards. It only gives me the "current" selection again.
The first time you go through MERCPPP.BAT, and enter in your COM port, you
*must save and exit* before you can see the main menu. That's right, hit ESC
again after saving, and say YES when it asks if you want to leave. MERCPPP
will then take you to the main menu. (The main menu won't show up until PPP
is loaded, and it can't load PPP until you tell it what COM port you have and
exit.)
________________________________________________________________________
Dan Kegel