Mechwarrior 2, anyone? Yes, even on Windows XP

[Wolfe]

For any Mechwarrior 2 fans around here, I thought I'd announce that Warp13 recently released a new patch that allows you to play the Windows 95 versions of the Mechwarrior 2 trilogy (MW2, GBL, Mercs) on Windows XP. His older patch was supposed to do the same thing, but didn't work for everyone. This one, MW2Hook, seems to be having more success.

What's more, I was inspired to make this thread when I discovered that by using a .bat file I could get MW2Hook to launch NetMech 95. It would be awesome to play with you guys. Hamachi would probably work perfectly.

You can download the patch here:
http://www.warp13.co.uk/mech2

To play NetMech...
1. Open up Notepad and type the directory MW2 is installed in followed by "MECH2.EXE net" (without quotation marks). Save it in that same folder as netmech.bat
2. Make a copy of the Mechwarrior 2 shortcut MW2Hook created, and name it "NetMech" or whatever you like. Open its properties, and under "Target" change mech2.exe to netmech.bat

Hamachi is kind of a virtual LAN, which will allow us to fool Mechwarrior 2 into thinking our computers are all connected to a router. To get Hamachi:
https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/vpn.asp

 

[High-Test]

I've never gotten my hands on a copy of MW2, but I have 3, 4, and 4: Mercenaries. I hear MW2 is great.

(And a crudload of MW minis, 2 battletech novels, and 16 Mechwarrior Novels)

I have Vista. I can't even run MW4: Vengeance on it. But I do enjoy Mercenaries and the MekTek packs. 👍 Mmmmm... Warhammer.

Watch as I use contractions! Silly spheroids, tricks are for kids! Wait..what?


Nicholas Kerensky was an ass.

 

[DQuaN]

Any ideas on Vista compatibility?

 

[Venari]

Fab! I had a Matrox Mystique version for my... uh.... 4th PC ago. I bet it won't play on my current PC, but I'm going to give it a shot! I still have the music, dragged off on my playlist.

EDIT: Aw, drat. It plays the opening sequence and menus like gangbusters, but when it wants to do the 3D jig, it stops dead.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I had an ATI 3D Rage Pro version for my first computer. Actually I still have it. I wonder if it works. But my current graphics card may be borked.

 

[Wolfe]

@High-Test: You could always torrent an .iso of the original disc -- at 126MB, it's not a large download. A quick Google serach yielded a torrent (with seeds!) that has the iso and the official 1.1 patch, as well as the older XP patch. If you download that pack, I would recommend ignoring the included XP patch and trying MW2Hook first.

@DQuan; Venari; ROAD_DOGG33J: Did you guys try the patches I linked to? No idea if they'll do anything at all for Vista users, but there's no harm in giving them a shot. As for the ATI 3D Rage Pro version, the author thinks it might work and would actually like for you to send him an email telling him if it does. The Matrox Mystique version is probably the same situation.

 

[Venari]

Yeah, Wolfe, I did. it was the only way it would run at all... but once it got to the main game, it folded. I suppose I could ask the guy, but I suspect the encoding of the game would mean he'd need a copy of it to look at, or at least a Matrox Mystique tech manual.

Too much like hard work!

Anyone got a spare copy of the basic for-all game?