Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries released for FREE!

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries has been released for free, along with a few mods made by the community, including an online match-making server.

Get it here.


PS -- yes, I did a search on these forums and found nothing regarding this. If it has been posted already, sorry...

 

Just be careful what you download. From the looks of it...it's possible that a virus might have gotten into downloads.

Download only from a trusted source.

 

Saw this on Anandtech forums not too long ago, this just reminds me I need to get off my butt and download it

 

Is this game any good? Looks like that Crysis Mod Mechwarrior living legends

 

Read the post at their site:

"Echoing Supermike's post below, we are advising users with Norton Anti virus products installed, such as Norton 360, as well as other security software products sharing the same virus definition tables, that Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries has been falsely detected as containing malicious code. The particular version of Mechwarrior affected is version .0017 which was the initial version released to the public back on April 1st, 2010. Based on our conversations with Norton representatives, we understand that Norton will be unable to resolve this problem until their team has had a chance to examine all files we have sent them. Currently, Norton claims that this process will take approximately two weeks."

 

For me, the game is very good. I loved a game called Missionforce: Cyberstorm which is very old (at least 15 years old), which had you configure mechs with various weapons for a turn-based tactical game. More weapons requires more energy, which is limited per turn, and makes the mech slower.

In MW4:MC the concept is the same, except that it is real-time and first-person. I've been enjoying it immensely, I like the variety of weapons and configurations you can put, and the fact that lighter mechs, being smaller and more agile, can be effectively used in hit-and-run tactics as long as you don't push it.

And it's free, so just try it!

 

It's for free now?! And I still have the CD around here somewhere...Madcats with PPCs !

 

#*&%@*!!!!

(sigh!)

I know I'm in the minority here, but I really, REALLY like the turn-based strategy side to games. I was so excited, thinking this was going to be like Cyberstorm (great game, btw) - but alas, my hopes are dashed again...

(No hard feelings toward you real-time and FPS guys - just wish I'd get some love, too!)

 

Read this:

"The only explainable scenario is that someone submitted our files with malicious code to anti virus and security companies. These companies witnessed the frequency of these files in the wild and without confirmation from the source added our files to their black list. It is unknowing to us when this occurred but it was likely weeks ago. This problem has been known to stop our MTX application from downloading and installing updates. The problem also prevents you from playing Mechwarrior4."

It is also possible there are wild copies that have embedded viruses.

 

Eh any good gamer doesn't use Norton anyways right? Talk about an invasive software bad for gaming... Eset NOD32 FTW!

 

You get love from me

I loved Cyberstorm, no doubt there. Mechwarrior 4 is a related approach, it at least provides the great satisfaction of customizing the mechs to great detail. Still, a turn-based approach that had the graphics and weapon diversity of MW4 would be very, very cool.

 

Oh god, I mistakenly thought this was Living Legends and nearly creamed my pants. Anyways it looks very similar to the MechAssault I used to play on Xbox, one question though: does it have cockpit view? I want to feel like I'm in a mech and not playing with an action figurine.

 

Yep, both first person and third person views are supported. If you use a good pair of headphones, crank up the volume and use a big screen, when you get hit by a simultaneous blast from two or three PPCs (think "railgun" from Quake 2)... THEN you will cream your pants.

The good news is, you have plenty of time to change your pants while your Mech recovers from the electromagnetic interference... oh, actually no you don't, because the other enemy mechs already launched their 40-round missile salvos at you.

Great fun

 

is mechwarrior like front mission or armored core?

 

(judging from Youtube videos)

No, not really. Front Mission seems to be similar to Missionforce: Cyberstorm, already mentioned a few times. Armored Core is very fast paced, almost seems like a racing game...

 

awesome, downloading now!

 

OH MY LORD
I still have Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries on its CD case..
Also Mechwarrior2, Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance
Battletech on Sega Genesis...
I almost CREAMED MY FREAKING PANTS, when they announced a new Mechwarrior for PC...
<out of topic>
I hate steel batallion.
</out of topic>

I'm just a BIG FAN

*listed this as a new download*

 

FYI: 7-zip will take care of the MFX archives nicely; no need for their bloatware.

 

hmm, why don't they release Vengeance first? isn't Mecs just an expansion, or am i missing something?

 

Mercenaries is a standalone expansion, you do not need Vengeance to play it. This one was picked over Vengeance because it had the better user interface out of the two.

 

Will Black Knight also be released?

 

Can they just release it on steam like normal humans? Seriously- someone bug them about that.

 

I would bug them, but in reality I'm actually quite thankful for having a great game for free. You don't even need to run their MTX software after you download and install the game, so it's not a major hassle.

 

Is there even an install? You just extract and run! Unless I missed something?

 

After you install their MTX software, you select "install", and it will download and install automatically. After that's done, a shortcut will appear on your desktop, and you can start laying waste to those puny Hummers and Tanks with your pulse laser and Clan gauss rifles

 

OH, I just used 7-zip to extract it (0.17, 0.18, 0.20 in that order), and ran the .exe and it ran fine. Does the mtx installer give you the option for widescreen support?

 

I've been running the game at 1440x900, so yes, I suppose so.

 

MTX Software download is only the first step; after that you have to download torrents of the game and then let the MTX software install the game.

 

Yes, but when you select "install" it will download and install the game, that's what I meant.

It would be clearer if they had called it "download and install".

 

ten char .

 

no thx, i do not want to pay 1.99 for this...
downloaded already

 

Bah, I hated pulse lasers.
"Oh good I get 3 damage there, there and 2 there, instead of taking off your arm or getting a headshot which kills the pilot." (ER larges do 10 damage and thus can one-shot-kill even the biggest mechs as the max head armor was 9)

I liked clusters of ER Large Lasers for long range plink and LBX Autocannons for up-close pounding "oh look, I crit, you died" finishing power. Note the LBX are also great for swatting smaller 'mechs. (bubbye legs) The ER Large cluster worked as my "every situation" firepower as well.

 

How did you manage the heat from the ER lasers?

Please don't reply "add more heatsinks". I know I should do that, I simply find myself losing firepower, armor, or something else. Ah, well, that's the fun in it, and with only 2 days of playing I shouldn't aim at being an expert anyway.

 

Always max armor for your tonnage and make sure movement is over 60 if possible, try to make sure you have jump jets and as many heat sinks as possible. DO sacrifice additional weapons for heat dissipation as quite frankly 2-3 weapons you can always fire are a lot better than 20 weapons you fire once and blow up (or shut down) afterwards. Keep at least one energy weapon in reserve placed in a torso mount as the game likes to cheat and "magically blow up" a weapon-loaded arm. I finished many a mission minus the weapon arm and a perfectly yellow or green torso with ONE single large ER laser. (and empty autocannons)

Being hit LESS is a good thing... keep moving and rotate torso to make sure you are presenting a less easy target to hit... do NOT always move at max speed... alter your speed so you are not predictable. Fire in bursts of individual fire. Fire during lower speed periods. Max speed between firing times (cooling down). Group your weapons and choose when to use them.

ER larges are very long range. Set up the cluster on your arm mount as chain fire and use individual fire until you reach reasonable heat levels then hit the speed button (perhaps even jump jets) and let it cool down.

Autocannons are mid-range dogfighting punch. (think shotgun) When you get to autocannon range, (i tended to pick LBX10s if I could get them/fit them) target an damaged mech and burn some LBX rounds... you'd be surprised how few it takes! Note projectile weapons put a lot of damage down on an enemy with less heat than energy in most cases. Since you loaded heatsinks for ER lasers, you likely will LOSE heat while bursting projectiles for kill. Don't forget to pop a few individual large laser blasts if you have the heat to spare.

If you have space/tonnage available, don't hesitate to buff your secondary (torso) weapon group (ER mediums work great) remember, this is in case you lose some or all of your main weapons and can be balanced around your ample heat budget.

Keep alpha strikes/energy weapon group fire for emergencies or for "its gotta die NOW" situations... I prefer controlled fire, but there is a time and place to burn it all and risk explosion, especially after your ammo is gone.

 

+1!

... and wow, thank you KernalPanic! That is great info!!

 

So what controllers do you all use? I wish it was mouse and laptop keyboard friendly. Seems to prefer the numberpad. I just hate getting out my joystick or gamepad. It always ends up in the hands of my little ones somehow.

 

I use a joystick and a desktop keyboard, but don't use the number pad. Actually, I think the joystick is not optimal: aiming with a mouse is much easier. But the "clunkiness" feeling helps the realism

 

I'm currently playing it ok with the mouse and keyboard.... had to do a bit of remapping, but nothing too drastic... aiming with the mouse works much better for me than my joystick

 

Good advice, although now that I've been playing for a week I have a slightly different opinion.

LBX is a great weapon. Great to "finish off" a badly damaged mech, as you said.

ER large lasers: I ended up preferring Clan Heavy Lasers (some large, some medium). The damage per heat generated is better, as is the tonnage.

I also added an ATM launcher to most of my mechs.

As for the Mechs themselves, I've been playing with a lance of Kodiaks and one of Atlases. Man, those Kodiaks ROCK! All the firepower and armor of a 100-ton mech with a pretty decent top speed... Sure, light mechs still run circles around me, but when that circle passes in front of my crosshairs, that's one less circle to worry about.

It's too bad I haven't found enough Kodiaks to run a second lance of them.

Here's some tips for those of you also starting:

1) When you can, get 8 100-ton mechs. Even 90 or 95 ton mechs can get destroyed in some of the later missions, especially when dropships are involved. So far, the Kodiak gets my preference, seconded by the Atlas and thirded by the Daishi. Max the armor on these, and use Ferro Fibrous armor. Also, make sure both of your lances have consistent speeds. My primary lance (Kodiaks) has a speed of 76 or so on all Mechs, while my second lance has 60-something. The actual value should be above 60, but more importantly, it should be consistent on all four Mechs.

2) Keep the heat efficiency above 50 (must), and if possible above 70. Energy weapons should be used to damage Mechs. Heavy lasers (large or medium size) are, so far, my pick for this role. Remember to factor tonnage into this weapon class: a 4 ton laser that generates lots of heat might be better than a 8 ton laser that generates less heat (per damage or per time), because the former can add four heatsinks.

3) Bring ammunition based weapons as finishers. Clan LBX are my favourites so far. Use them once the head or central torso section of the enemy Mech starts flashing red, meaning that it's almost destroyed. It should only take one or two blasts of the LBX to waste the mechs. If using the Large LBX, add an extra ton of ammo for a total of 40 rounds.

4) Top off remaining tonnage with another ammo-based weapon. I use clan ATM missiles, but you might prefer a Gauss Rifle for long range punch. If going for missiles, remember to ensure they have lock-on, or that you have a very good aim.

5) If you have 0.60, 0.70 etc remaining tonnage, remove a bit of armor from legs until you have 1 ton to spare, and use it on a heatsink or ammo.

6) Non-mech related: once you get used to it, a joystick is actually a very nice controller to use. The twisting of the torso maps greatly into twisting the stick. Also, my Saitek Cyborg X has 4 secondary fire buttons -- great for all the weapon groups. I would guess that a double-analog gamepad would work well too, but it might be short of buttons. My Cyborg X has 12 buttons and I still use the keyboard occasionally.

 

Lose the armor on the back, and reinforce armor on the front, that'll gain you some extra weight for heatsinks...

Also, do not use pulse lasers...
use CERLL's, fire them in groups of two...
SO that when two are recharging, two are hitting, then the other two, etc..
That has to give you the advantage (at least multiplayer wise it was annoying lol)...
Try it against someone, have them hit you timing-ly with the lasers... you'll see you barely have time to aim(because 2 cerll makes your cockpit just move away) and try to hit the oncoming laser-y friend...
Also, a single ppc or single gauss rifle gives the same impact on an enemy mech; making them turn their cockpit away from you...
Speed for mechs 75+ T is not that important, but dont make them couch potatoes lol

Oh an also, joystick works best...
Logitech wingman ftw... (mine got busted YEARS ago, so its back to keyboard for me )

 

Ah, now I see why my suggestions were different... I was suggesting stuff for single-player campaign mode

 

Easing up a little on leg armor is fine... (especially on the mechs with 40+ armor) I highly recommend against pulling much armor out of rear sections as a favorite light mech tactic is run behind 100-tonner and one-shot em.

Even the lightest mechs can usually fit at least a single large laser and that's all it takes sometimes to get a crit roll on people who yank too much from their rear sections.

I am not usually a fan of 100-tonners... although the Kodiak is an exception, I HATE the Daishi (always takes rear damage for some reason, despite no obvious hits from behind) and kinda neutral on the Atlas (roomy, tough, but SLOW and takes way too much to get it up fast enough IMHO)
I always like a souped-up Summoner. Fast, jump jets, and plenty of room for the RIGHT weapons. Plus, its tougher than it looks.

 

Well I unzipped the .mtx patches and thought I was being clever, but it refuses to recognize I'm upgraded to .0020 (still displays .0017 on multiplayer), anyone know how to fix this, i.e. if I'm missing a registry key?