Difference between revisions of "MechWarrior 3"
AlphaYellow (talk | contribs) (→Video) |
(→Video: fps) |
||
Line 132: | Line 132: | ||
|vsync notes = | |vsync notes = | ||
|60 fps = true | |60 fps = true | ||
− | |60 fps notes = | + | |60 fps notes = FPS should be limited to 30, see [[#Fix bouncing APCs and dysfunctional AMS|issues fixed]]. |
|120 fps = unknown | |120 fps = unknown | ||
|120 fps notes = | |120 fps notes = |
Revision as of 17:51, 1 January 2024
Developers | |
---|---|
Zipper Interactive | |
Publishers | |
MicroProse | |
Hasbro Interactive | |
Engines | |
GameZ | |
Release dates | |
Windows | June 1, 1999 |
Taxonomy | |
Monetization | One-time game purchase, Expansion pack |
Modes | Singleplayer, Multiplayer |
Pacing | Real-time |
Perspectives | First-person, Third-person |
Controls | Direct control |
Genres | FPS, TPS, Vehicle combat |
Vehicles | Robot |
Art styles | Stylized |
Themes | Sci-fi |
Series | MechWarrior |
⤏ Go to series page | |
Subseries of BattleTech | |
MechWarrior | 1989 |
MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat | 1995 |
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries | 1996 |
MechWarrior 3 | 1999 |
MechWarrior 4: Vengeance | 2000 |
MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries | 2002 |
MechWarrior: Living Legends (unofficial game) | 2009 |
MechWarrior Online | 2012 |
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries | 2019 |
MechWarrior 5: Clans | 2024 |
Warnings
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see Availability for affected versions).
MechWarrior 3 is a singleplayer and multiplayer first-person and third-person FPS, TPS and vehicle combat game in the MechWarrior series.
The game received two official patches, as well as the Pirate's Moon expansion in December 1999, which introduced a new campaign, multiplayer maps and 'Mechs.
Since the Windows XP era, the game has had severe compatibility issues, which would manifest in one or more of the following: rendering and control issues, refusal to start up, broken physics and uncontrollable game speed. Two methods are known to resolve most of these issues on modern systems.
General information
- BattleTech Wiki - A massive wiki for everything BattleTech related
- MechWariorsUnited - A community with patches and multiplayer maps
- Mech3Mod - A community with mods
- MechWarrior3.org - A huge fansite for MechWarrior 3 (archived)
Availability
- SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows Vista and later (see above for affected versions).
- Free demos are available from GameFront: singleplayer, multiplayer.
Version differences
- The Gold Edition includes the base game and the Pirate's Moon expansion.
Monetization
DLC and expansion packs
Name | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Pirate's Moon |
Essential improvements
Patches
- The latest patch for the game (v1.2) can be downloaded from the Files section. The patch is available in English, French, and German.
Official map pack
- An official map pack has been released, and is available here.
Adding compatibility for modern Windows
The following methods apply to both MechWarrior 3 and the Pirate's Moon expansion pack (except for the official patch step, as none were ever released for Pirate's Moon).
Method 1: Use dgVoodoo 2[citation needed] |
---|
|
Method 2: Configuring compatibility settings[citation needed] |
---|
|
Game data
Configuration file(s) location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MicroProse\MechWarrior 3\1.0\ |
Save game data location
System | Location |
---|---|
Windows | <path-to-game>\pilots[Note 2] |
Video
Graphics feature | State | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|
Widescreen resolution | See Widescreen Patch. | ||
Multi-monitor | See Widescreen Patch. | ||
Ultra-widescreen | See Widescreen Patch. | ||
4K Ultra HD | See Widescreen Patch. | ||
Field of view (FOV) | |||
Windowed | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
Borderless fullscreen windowed | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
Anisotropic filtering (AF) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
Anti-aliasing (AA) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
Vertical sync (Vsync) | See the glossary page for potential workarounds. | ||
60 FPS | FPS should be limited to 30, see issues fixed. | ||
120+ FPS | |||
High dynamic range display (HDR) |
Input
Keyboard and mouse | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Remapping | ||
Mouse acceleration | ||
Mouse sensitivity | ||
Mouse input in menus | ||
Mouse Y-axis inversion | ||
Controller | ||
Controller support | ||
Full controller support | ||
Controller remapping | ||
Controller sensitivity | ||
Controller Y-axis inversion |
Controller types |
---|
XInput-compatible controllers |
---|
PlayStation controllers |
---|
Generic/other controllers |
---|
Additional information | ||
---|---|---|
Controller hotplugging | ||
Haptic feedback | ||
Digital movement supported | ||
Simultaneous controller+KB/M |
Audio
Audio feature | State | Notes |
---|---|---|
Separate volume controls | Speech volume is tied with music. | |
Surround sound | ||
Subtitles | ||
Closed captions | ||
Mute on focus lost | ||
Royalty free audio |
Localizations
Language | UI | Audio | Sub | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
English | ||||
French | ||||
German | Infantry can not be crushed, as they vanish when a 'Mech aims at them or approaches them. |
Network
Multiplayer types
Type | Native | Players | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
LAN play | 8 | |||
Online play | 8 | The official multiplayer service has been shut down. |
Issues fixed
Installing under modern Windows
For many people, the version of Installshield which MechWarrior 3 uses refuses to start, and instead just hangs. This appears to be caused by conflicting programs running in the background. Singling out which program this is can be quite difficult. A simple workaround is to create a new account with administrative privileges, and install MechWarrior 3 under that.[citation needed]
Alternatively, open task manager, go to details tab, right click setup.exe, click "analyse wait chain", tick both boxes to end both processes. Repeat these steps until setup launches.
Fix bouncing APCs and dysfunctional AMS
Limit the game's framerate to 30 FPS and/or force v-sync through a third-party application[citation needed] |
---|
Variable game speed
- Game speed may constantly shift between too fast and too slow when the computer uptime is high.
Instructions[3] |
---|
Install Widescreen Fix |
Pirate's Moon 4th pirate mission crashes often
- Caused by corruption of data used by the game's physics code.
- The game physics may still glitch out and destroy the player's mech, but the chances of completing the mission normally remain higher than on an unpatched game.
Instructions |
---|
|
Other information
API
Technical specs | Supported | Notes |
---|---|---|
Direct3D | 6 | |
Software renderer |
Executable | 32-bit | 64-bit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Windows |
Middleware
Middleware | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Multiplayer | MSN Gaming Zone |
System requirements
Windows | ||
---|---|---|
Minimum | Recommended | |
Operating system (OS) | 95 | 98 |
Processor (CPU) | Intel Pentium 166 MHz | Intel Pentium 200 MHz |
System memory (RAM) | 32 MB | 64 MB |
Hard disk drive (HDD) | 240 MB | 390 MB |
Video card (GPU) | 2 MB of VRAM DirectX 6.1 compatible | 8 MB of VRAM |
Notes
- ↑ SafeDisc retail DRM does not work on Windows 10[1] or Windows 11 and is disabled by default on Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 when the KB3086255 update is installed.[2]
- ↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below
%PROGRAMFILES%
,%PROGRAMDATA%
, or%WINDIR%
might be redirected to%LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore
on Windows Vista and later (more details).
References
- ↑ Not Loading in Windows 10; this will break thousands of - Microsoft Community - last accessed on 2017-01-16
- ↑ Microsoft - MS15-097: Description of the security update for the graphics component in Windows: September 8, 2015 - last accessed on 2018-02-16
- ↑ Verified by User:AlphaYellow on 2023-04-19