Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries FAQ
                                       
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   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.
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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.
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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".)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.)
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  Dan Kegel