8 replies to this topic

[Star Commander Freya]

Hello, everyone. First, I would like to thank all of you for your help in getting me back into Mechwarrior Online. I appreciate your patience and advice.

Earlier this week, I had a craving to revisit Mechwarrior 4, and I am having some trouble installing it. I was wondering if you could help with my issue.

Installing the base games is not the problem. I have all three MW4 games installed and running, but I cannot seem to get either of the Meck Paks running. Do you have any suggestions? I'm on Windows 7 64x, and I'm starting to think that it's a DRM issue, since all three games start running, again, once the Mech Packs are removed.

Thanks, again! It took me several hours to figure out how to get the base games running, but I would love to play the Mech Packs, too.

[VonBruinwald]

IIRC there were DRM issues with the MechPaks

If you can find a copy of the MW4:Mektek Edition (3.1) it runs pretty much out of the box and features the MechPack plus a ton of additional content/mechs. Just extract the archive/iso and you're good to click MW4.EXE
I've been meaning to backup my archive online but have bigger priorities atm.

In the meantime there's [Redacted]

Spoiler

Edited by draiocht, 18 November 2019 - 10:57 AM.
software piracy

[KHETTI]

Wow i'd completely forgotten about Mektek's AT1 project, that had tons of potential!.

[LordNothing]

ive never been able to get mechwarrior 4 to run on anything newer than windows 7. it wont even install. perhaps run it in a vm.

Edited by LordNothing, 19 November 2019 - 11:23 AM.

[Koniving]

Does downloading abandonware count as piracy? It's abandoned.

Anyway, use the term when looking for the game and you'll find a free legal service to acquire it.

In the meantime. I was able to get it to run on windows 7 just fine, simply use windows XP compatibility mode. Just be sure to turn off any proprietary hardware settings for Nvidia/ATI because they won't work. I used software mode.

From what I understand, online servers for Mektek, however, were an issue since the Mektek crew were inspired to abandon the project to find friendlier pastures with fewer alcoholics.

I'm not sure if it's the mektek crew, the living legends crew, or if the two are the same, but one of them asked Russ about redoing the project using MW5...
Since that requires owning MW5, Russ was all for it (as this means people have to pay PGI for the game to be able to play it)

[VonBruinwald]

Koniving, on 19 November 2019 - 12:52 PM, said:

From what I understand, online servers for Mektek, however, were an issue since the Mektek crew were inspired to abandon the project to find friendlier pastures with fewer alcoholics.

Nothing was abandoned. Jeho (lead Dev) had a stroke which pretty much shut down development of MP4

Then Smith & Tinker goes bankrupt and legal hell begins as it was through their backing MekTek had the rights to develop and distribute their MW4 in the first place.

The MekTek crew where in a hard place with no Dev, no money/backing and surrounded by lawyers trying to claim the rights to the next MechWarrior game. They had to abandon the project, if they had fought for (and won) their legal rights to distribute MW4 it could have torpedod any future MechWarrior games. At worse they could have become another Harmony Gold.

[Koniving]

Hence "Inspired."

Also "Nothing was abandoned."
Few lines later.
"They had to abandon the project,"

[VonBruinwald]

Koniving, on 20 November 2019 - 03:11 AM, said:

Hence "Inspired."

Also "Nothing was abandoned."
Few lines later.
"They had to abandon the project,"

Lol, good eye. I point was, it wasn't wilfully abandoned.

[KitK]

It has something to do with a piracy protection program that was eventually jettisoned by Microsoft and which is incompatible with just about everything. Thus, MekTek aside, the installs will not work at or past one of the final XP service packs. Best bet is a retro gaming rig with Windows 97. And as I recall from the last time I had mine out, the packs only work in instant action for Vengeance and Black Knight. I'm not sure about the campaigns for Mercs 4.