Some time back, I wrote an article about Mercs being 'The Greatest Game'. Since that time I have given a lot more thought about it actually being the greatest game. I am sure there are many that would disagree and I can not say they are wrong. I may not agree with them, but it doesnt make them wrong. The thing is, if you read any forums like NBTs or MWLs or MekTeks, you do see new players coming on board and old players coming back.
By now, all of us know that MekTek is working on another MekPak for this game. Every time they do this, players that have long since kicked their joysticks to the curb come crawling out from where ever they have been and decide to brush off the rust and give it a go once more to see what MekTek did this time. It never fails. Look at the forums. Some of these folks have not posted in a year or two have decided to 're-install' 'the game'.
Look at your MekMatch web link some time (link = http://www.mektek.net/joomla/index.php?option=com_mekmatch&Itemid=3) during a week night or a weekend night around 7.0p to 8.0p EST. Several servers are up and running and are full or near full. Also, check the league matches, many are happening every night (usually locked servers). I spend most of my gaming time in Sunder or my own server, but several others like Brawl Busters are full or near full, every night!
For those players making a come back, I have to tell you to be ready. You may have, at one time, been the nastiest gunslinger in the game. The people that play today are pretty damn good. The changes made since way back then and the steady (sometimes nightly) play of many has those edges sharp. Your 'old faithful' config of your one time favourite mech may not hold up as well as it once did. In Sunder, you will run into a large amount of assault mechs. Probably,the majority of mechs used there are assaults. Let me also say that the players there have learned a lot about alpha power and dont be surprised if you die in 1 or 2 shots in 'old trusty'. Dont be discouraged. Get back in there the next round and give them what you got, It will come back to you.
For new players joining the game on line for the first time, be aware that you are entering a game that is very old and the players already in the game are very good. Very good. Watch some of them. See what they do. Learn from your mistakes and dont repeat those errors next time. Use terrain. Use cover. Dont expose yourself longer than needed. Unless you are in a closed box with no doors, you CAN be seen on the map. If you can be seen, you can be shot.
With an influx of new players (or old players getting back in to the game), comes a new generation of 'issues' related to getting the game running or getting on line to play. We (we as a group of peoples) have been through a few Operating Systems changes since this game 1st came out. I would venture to say that most of you started playing this game using Windows 98 or Windows 2000. Of course, thats a guess on my part, but I would bet that I am pretty close to correct (and I am talking about the old timers and the players that are returning to the game, not the new players). Since that time, we saw Win98SE, WinME, Win2000, Win XP and now Vista (assuming that most players are using a Windows Platform PC). Well, thats 5 operating systems (even if some were just updates to existing ones like Win98SE). So not only has the game changed (MekTek MekPaks) but the OS we use to make the game work has changed.
When Mercs came out (or Vengeance) I suspect many players were dial up users and fewer were 'hi-speed' players. Now, that is most likely reversed. I would Also guess that most players are using some form of Windows XP (or even Vista) with only a slight minority using Win98SE or Windows 2000. Back in the early days, there weren't too many running a firewall or using a router, heck, I would go so far to say that only small numbers were even running virus protection. Again, in today's world, the non-users of those things would be only a small fraction of the people playing the game (or any game).
Mercs is one of the few games still being played that dial up folks can enjoy on line. Yeah, I know there are others and I dont even want to get into that, so maybe it was a dumb statement. Maybe not. I would think that 'high action' games with lots of graphics and 8 or more players going at would almost 'require' a hi-speed connection just to compete or to keep the game itself from being a lag fest.
What we see with old players returning and new players finding their way to MekTek is confusion. People are confused as to what is needed to be installed and they are confused as to why they cant connect to any servers and they are confused as to why, when they finally get everything installed and they finally 'see' servers out there with people in them, why they cant connect to them.
Many people have said that MekTek 'did' something to the last MekPak that caused the rash of problems of connectability (just made up that word) because before MP302b they never had a problem. Some folks also do not understand why certain ports must be opened when they 'dont remember doing that' before installing mp302...
Let me give you Vettie's View on this. WRONG! MekTek did nothing to the connect codes or net routing in MP302. Nothing. What your are seeing is changes in the OS. Even if you have always run the game from Win XP, Win XP itself has changed several changed several times with monthly updates and we are up to 'service pack 2' with a 3rd one in the works. Again, when we started, Win98 or Win2k and a dial up account, now Win XP or Vista and a router and a firewall and a hi-speed connection. So we have introduced changes to the OS and we have added 'things' between the game and the Internet that were not there before.
Additionally, Direct X has been updated a few times since Mercs was released. Direct X 7 was the flavour in the beginning, we are now using DX 9c. That would suggest 4 or 5 changes, but it could be more than that depending on the numbers of revisions 7 went through before changing to 8 and how many 8 went through before the release of 9.
So yeah, there could be issues.
First lets look at the installation of Mercs and what we need to get going to be 'up to date' with the latest from MekTek.
1 Install Mercs
2 Install Microsoft Update PR1
This is available from the Microsoft Mercs Website
Link = http://www.microsoft.com/games/mw4mercs/downloads.aspx
3 Install MekTek PR1 to MP302A patch
this is avail from MekTek
Link (english version) = http://www.mektek.net/forums/index.php?automodule=downloads&req=idx&cmd=viewdetail&f_id=298
4 Install MekTek MP302A to MP302B patch
Also avail from MekTek
Link (english version) = http://www.mektek.net/forums/index.php?automodule=downloads&req=idx&cmd=viewdetail&f_id=304
That is all that is needed to get you current as far as the game. There are other mods available, such as NBT's Hardcore (or HC) and MechStorm's NetMech IV.
HC is available from
Linky = http://www.netbattletech.com/nbt-hc/
check the download section from there.
NetMech IV is available from
Linky = http://www.mechstorm.net/projectdocs/netmech/netmech.htm
IF you have the hard drive space, I suggest a separate install for each. This is actually easy to do. IF you KNOW you want these to MODS in addition to MP302B then follow these steps
Do steps 1 thru 4 as listed above.
Navigate to your Microsoft Games Directory on your Hard Drive.
Create a new Folder (or folders for both). Name it whatever you want. I suggest something like NBT-HC and/or NetMech4.
Navigate to your Mercs Folder.
Copy it (and all sub-folders) to your newly created folder. Repeat this process for each folder you created. Make sure in your 'view files' option that you have the 'view hidden files' options set, or you will miss a couple of files. This is important!
Download HC or NetMech as listed.
Run the installer for either and direct it to your newly created folder.
Either or both of these will access the internet and check for updates. If there are any, they will install if you agree. Once you are updated you should be good to go. For connectivity issues (if you have any) please check the respective web site for help in resolution.
The Microsoft Mech Packs (Clan Pack and IS Pack) can be installed at any time. NBT-HC does not require these packs and they have included them in their mod, but only for their mod.
IF you are interested in playing on line using the MekTek MP302B mod, there are some more steps you may want to do.
There are MANY maps in use on various servers. To insure you have all the maps and that you dont get kicked from the server because you dont have the map, I suggest you download the MWL Map Packs (1 thru 4). This will get you almost every map in play in most servers out there. Also, at this time, you do not have to be a member of MWL to download maps.
Linky = http://www.mechwarriorleagues.com/cgi-bin/ops/mapman.cgi
Each of these has a built in self installer set for the default installation of Mercs. (If you have a different install directory, or you are installing into a different folder (like NBT-HC, or NetMech) be sure to install the maps into the correct folder).
This gets you maps and mechs and weapons. What else? Well there is this connection issue you read about from time to time. See, some time ago, Microsoft discontinued support for Mercs on the 'Zone'. Every once in a while, games DO show up on there, but overall, 'The Zone' no longer supports Mercs. MekTek stepped up to the plate on this and created their own version of the zone called 'MekMatch.' (thanx Greeneyed and Jeho) Inside your Mercs directory, where ever you installed MP302B, there is a small file named 'mekmatch'. Double click that and click on yes when it asks you a question. This is a registry change that re-directs your Mercs game to look for MekMatch instead of 'the zone'.
There may be networking problems or the server maybe gone. Ever see this? Well, this goes along with some of the stuff I mentioned before, WIN XP and its updates are different from Windows 98. So what do you do? Well, this one is more a case by case issue, but some general info here can be helpful. If you see this error, it simply means something from your machine or your connection is blocking your ability to connect to 1 or more of the on line servers.
Again, in general terms the fix for this (or at least a start for a fix) is not to complicated.
1 Make sure your firewall is off or set to allow Mercs to talk both ways, incoming and outgoing.
This includes your Windows Firewall. Even though you may have turned it off in the past, some Windows updates turn it back on by default. Just check it and make sure.
2 If you are on a DSL or Cable connection, you will need to open certain ports for Mercs and
Direct X for your internal IP address. Access your routers settings through your browser
(you will need to check your users manual for how to do this, because they all could be different)
Then you will need to 'forward' ports 2300-2400 for your internal IP address.
3 IF you use a separate router and a 'newer' DSL modem, the modem itself may also be a router. IF this is the case, be sure that you access them both and forward the ports for your ultimate
IP address.
4 IF Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is enabled, you will need to disable this option.
Well, those are the things that fix 'most users' issues. Any more would need to be handled on a case by case basis. I hope this helps and I hope to see you online.
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