MechWarrior 3

MechWarrior 3

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	Action, FPS, TPS, Vehicle combat
Vehicles	Robot
Art styles	Stylized
Themes	Sci-fi
Series	MechWarrior

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 action, 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

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		SafeDisc DRM.

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]
Install the 1.2 Patch. Download dgVoodoo 2. Extract dgVoodooCpl.exe, as well as the following files from the MS\x86 into <path-to-game>: D3DImm.dll and DDraw.dll. Set the Mech3.exe compatibility options to Windows 98 / Me compatibility mode, with administrator rights and display scaling disabled. From the Windows Control Panel, enable DirectPlay. Run the game.

Method 2: Configuring compatibility settings[citation needed]
Install the 1.2 Patch. Set compatibility settings for mech3.exe to Windows 98 / Me. Through the graphics card's control panel, enable "Vertical sync" and "Triple buffering". From the Windows Control Panel, enable DirectPlay. Run the game.

Game data

In-game general settings/options menu.

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

Video

In-game video/audio settings.

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.
High-fidelity upscaling		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

In-game control settings.

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.

Install the 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
Download the unofficial patch. Copy file to <path-to-game>. Run the patched .exe. Try to complete the mission.

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