I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
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- I.S. Mech Washer
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:06 am
I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
Big thanks to Kontza for making the Mercs patching method and the MechPrep tool. I wouldn't have been able to get Mercs 1.1 working in the first place without them.
This took a lot of trial and error, and I'm not even sure what all the steps involved were, but I've gotten Mercs 1.1 XP to run on 3 different machines now, and I've put together a patch that should be a lot simpler to use than the confusing mess that currently exists.
There were three main issues that I encountered:
The official 1.1 patch frequently will not install properly.
Kontza's patch takes some effort and technical knowledge to apply properly.
MW2Hook is in my experience completely useless.
A warning: I have only tested this on the version with the jewel case that says "Enhanced Direct 3D Video and 3D Positional Sound." I have no idea if this works on other versions, and I'm pretty sure it won't work on Titanium Mercs.
To use this patch, first install the game fresh, into a clean directory. You can use the DOS installer or the Windows installer. Do not attempt to launch the game, or install other mods or patches.
If you used the DOS installer, then you must copy the "WAV" folder from the CD into the installation directory. If you used the Windows installer, it should already be there.
Next, download this:
http://www.box.net/shared/uoqhgbmhy3
Open it, and extract the contents of the folder inside "mercs11p" (don't extract the folder - extract the contents of the folder) into the directory where you installed Mercs, overwriting anything.
Go into that directory and run "MechPrep." Select your resolution, then click "Save GFX Prefs" and "Exit."
Right-click the file "MERCSWIN.EXE," select "Properties," and set the compatibility to "Windows 95." Do this for "mercnet.exe" too.
Now run MERCSWIN.EXE. If all goes well, the intro movie will play, and you will get the main menu. The first thing you should do is to test out Instant Action. If it works, great. From now on you should be able to launch this game just by running MERCSWIN.EXE, provided you don't uninstall.
One annoyance, is that it seems like no matter what resolution you pick in "MechPrep," the game will always use 800x600. Nevertheless, you MUST run MechPrep at least once in your computer's lifetime or the game will fail once a mission begins. I'm not even really sure what this does - I can use an installation that was backed up prior to running MechPrep, so the files will be unmodified by MechPrep, and the game will still work just fine.
Also, I've heard about a MechLab bug, but I don't know the details of it, so I couldn't say whether it's present here or not.
One last thing. If you have multiple CD-ROM drives, physical or virtual, the disc must be in the lowest-lettered one, or you won't get any music. This is a common issue with games that use redbook audio, but I thought it worth a mention here.
This took a lot of trial and error, and I'm not even sure what all the steps involved were, but I've gotten Mercs 1.1 XP to run on 3 different machines now, and I've put together a patch that should be a lot simpler to use than the confusing mess that currently exists.
There were three main issues that I encountered:
The official 1.1 patch frequently will not install properly.
Kontza's patch takes some effort and technical knowledge to apply properly.
MW2Hook is in my experience completely useless.
A warning: I have only tested this on the version with the jewel case that says "Enhanced Direct 3D Video and 3D Positional Sound." I have no idea if this works on other versions, and I'm pretty sure it won't work on Titanium Mercs.
To use this patch, first install the game fresh, into a clean directory. You can use the DOS installer or the Windows installer. Do not attempt to launch the game, or install other mods or patches.
If you used the DOS installer, then you must copy the "WAV" folder from the CD into the installation directory. If you used the Windows installer, it should already be there.
Next, download this:
http://www.box.net/shared/uoqhgbmhy3
Open it, and extract the contents of the folder inside "mercs11p" (don't extract the folder - extract the contents of the folder) into the directory where you installed Mercs, overwriting anything.
Go into that directory and run "MechPrep." Select your resolution, then click "Save GFX Prefs" and "Exit."
Right-click the file "MERCSWIN.EXE," select "Properties," and set the compatibility to "Windows 95." Do this for "mercnet.exe" too.
Now run MERCSWIN.EXE. If all goes well, the intro movie will play, and you will get the main menu. The first thing you should do is to test out Instant Action. If it works, great. From now on you should be able to launch this game just by running MERCSWIN.EXE, provided you don't uninstall.
One annoyance, is that it seems like no matter what resolution you pick in "MechPrep," the game will always use 800x600. Nevertheless, you MUST run MechPrep at least once in your computer's lifetime or the game will fail once a mission begins. I'm not even really sure what this does - I can use an installation that was backed up prior to running MechPrep, so the files will be unmodified by MechPrep, and the game will still work just fine.
Also, I've heard about a MechLab bug, but I don't know the details of it, so I couldn't say whether it's present here or not.
One last thing. If you have multiple CD-ROM drives, physical or virtual, the disc must be in the lowest-lettered one, or you won't get any music. This is a common issue with games that use redbook audio, but I thought it worth a mention here.
- Col.Kell
- House Steiner Archon
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:44 am
- Location: An Isolated Tennessee Valley.
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
I'm going to have this downloaded on my dial-up connection while I'm asleep, and then I can give this thing a shot next afternoon and finaly see what 1.1 looks like!
Great job, hermit!
Great job, hermit!
MechWarrior 2: 31stCC
- Col.Kell
- House Steiner Archon
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:44 am
- Location: An Isolated Tennessee Valley.
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
This is cool, I can play Mercs on Windows and without the hook. And no crashes!
Only problem I have is, when I play a mission, all I see is a white screen with nothing but shadows of mechs and cockpit textures. That's all I see.
I have experimented with all sorts of 3d and resolution modes, but I get the same result; White.
I am playing on a mercs disk... that I don't quite know what version it is. I know it is not the Titanium Edition, and this disk says "version 1.05" on it.
Am I doing something wrong? Do I have to apply the 1.06 upgrade before the 1.1? What is it???
CAN SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE?!?! I WANNA PLAY THIS!!!
Only problem I have is, when I play a mission, all I see is a white screen with nothing but shadows of mechs and cockpit textures. That's all I see.
I have experimented with all sorts of 3d and resolution modes, but I get the same result; White.
I am playing on a mercs disk... that I don't quite know what version it is. I know it is not the Titanium Edition, and this disk says "version 1.05" on it.
Am I doing something wrong? Do I have to apply the 1.06 upgrade before the 1.1? What is it???
CAN SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE?!?! I WANNA PLAY THIS!!!
MechWarrior 2: 31stCC
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- I.S. Mech Washer
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:06 am
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
You did run MechPrep.exe, right?
Is the game set to use "Primary Display Adapter" as the video renderer? That should be the default - Mercs 1.1 has serious problems with software rendering.
Also, what video card are you using? And do you have the latest GPU drivers installed?
Also, since you seem to be using a different version than me, here's something you can do to give me a bit of info:
* Uninstall the game, delete the directory, etc.
* Reinstall fresh, do not touch anything or modify anything
* Extract the files from mercs11 into the installation directory. Don't follow any of the other steps in my original post.
* Open up a command prompt, and cd into the installation directory.
* Type this command:
dir /s > out.txt
Now look at the installation directory. There should be a file in there called "out.txt." Upload this file somewhere where I can read it. This file should list every single file in your installation, its size, and its timestamp, and I can compare it to mine. If anything differs, then we have a suspect.
Is the game set to use "Primary Display Adapter" as the video renderer? That should be the default - Mercs 1.1 has serious problems with software rendering.
Also, what video card are you using? And do you have the latest GPU drivers installed?
Also, since you seem to be using a different version than me, here's something you can do to give me a bit of info:
* Uninstall the game, delete the directory, etc.
* Reinstall fresh, do not touch anything or modify anything
* Extract the files from mercs11 into the installation directory. Don't follow any of the other steps in my original post.
* Open up a command prompt, and cd into the installation directory.
* Type this command:
dir /s > out.txt
Now look at the installation directory. There should be a file in there called "out.txt." Upload this file somewhere where I can read it. This file should list every single file in your installation, its size, and its timestamp, and I can compare it to mine. If anything differs, then we have a suspect.
- Col.Kell
- House Steiner Archon
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:44 am
- Location: An Isolated Tennessee Valley.
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
I am using (I firmly believe) the Pentium edition of Mercs, version 1.05.
My graphics card is "ATI Mobility 128 AGP 2X". I have no clue what or how GPU is/does.
And yes, I have ran MechPrep.exe, I have toyed with all kinds of resolutions both under ATi and RGB mode.
And setting it to "Primary Display Adapter", how is that done?
Here it is, this is the out.txt file you asked for, go ahead and click it:
My graphics card is "ATI Mobility 128 AGP 2X". I have no clue what or how GPU is/does.
And yes, I have ran MechPrep.exe, I have toyed with all kinds of resolutions both under ATi and RGB mode.
And setting it to "Primary Display Adapter", how is that done?
Here it is, this is the out.txt file you asked for, go ahead and click it:
- out.txt
MechWarrior 2: 31stCC
-
- I.S. Mech Washer
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 11:06 am
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
If you move the cursor to the top of the screen while in any of the 2D screens, you'll see an "options" toolbar. In that toolbar is a "video options" item. Select that - the "Primary Display Adapter" option will be in there.
Also, I noticed that your MW2.PRJ file is about 10MB bigger than mine. MW2.PRJ should only be 49.4MB, or 41,479,843 bytes. See if a file with that size is on your disc and try copying that to your installation directory. If not, that file is included with MercNet 1.1. You can just install MercNet to a new directory, and copy that file over your inflated one.
Also, I noticed that there is no sign of the SMK directory or a WAV directory. You need to do a full installation to get fullscreen movies, and you need to copy the WAV directory from your disc to the installation dir to get sounds.
Your MERCS directory isn't exactly clean, BTW. There's plenty of stuff in it that you would never see in a clean installation. There's not much more I can do to help unless I can compare the directory on my system to a clean one on yours. If this post doesn't help get the game running, then please repeat the instructions of my last post, and this time make sure you follow the instructions precisely. This includes starting with a 100% clean MERCS installation, doing a full installation, copying the WAV directory into it, and not putting *anything* in the directory that the instructions don't call for.
Also, I noticed that your MW2.PRJ file is about 10MB bigger than mine. MW2.PRJ should only be 49.4MB, or 41,479,843 bytes. See if a file with that size is on your disc and try copying that to your installation directory. If not, that file is included with MercNet 1.1. You can just install MercNet to a new directory, and copy that file over your inflated one.
Also, I noticed that there is no sign of the SMK directory or a WAV directory. You need to do a full installation to get fullscreen movies, and you need to copy the WAV directory from your disc to the installation dir to get sounds.
Your MERCS directory isn't exactly clean, BTW. There's plenty of stuff in it that you would never see in a clean installation. There's not much more I can do to help unless I can compare the directory on my system to a clean one on yours. If this post doesn't help get the game running, then please repeat the instructions of my last post, and this time make sure you follow the instructions precisely. This includes starting with a 100% clean MERCS installation, doing a full installation, copying the WAV directory into it, and not putting *anything* in the directory that the instructions don't call for.
- Col.Kell
- House Steiner Archon
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:44 am
- Location: An Isolated Tennessee Valley.
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
I'll see what I can do then and give it a shot. Thanks.
MechWarrior 2: 31stCC
- Sir MMPD Radick
- Clan Nova Captain
- Posts: 1625
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:07 am
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
hate to tell ya hermit, your build is one of the few which would have a WAV folder. Most versions do not have that.
James 3:5-10: My Reminder
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
- Col.Kell
- House Steiner Archon
- Posts: 868
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 7:44 am
- Location: An Isolated Tennessee Valley.
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
Mine doesn't have a WAV folder. Does this effect the game in any way other than sound?
If it is absolutly nessecary, can you post the WAV folder here?
If it is absolutly nessecary, can you post the WAV folder here?
MechWarrior 2: 31stCC
- Sir MMPD Radick
- Clan Nova Captain
- Posts: 1625
- Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:07 am
Re: I put together a Mercs 1.1 XP patch
(DO NOT PUT IT HERE)
Normally that folder should not effect anything except for the version he has.
Normally that folder should not effect anything except for the version he has.
James 3:5-10: My Reminder
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.