Alright gents last PSA and then I'll stop spamming this subreddit. The easiest game of the bunch to get working is the incredible Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries.
All you really need to do is go back in time and revisit this thread from our own sub.
Download the files in the link and follow the readme, you should be good to go from that alone. If you're getting graphical problems/game won't start, then download dgVoodoo2 and do the same copy-paste process I've gone over in the other threads, should be kosher. That download includes ~100 mechs with many quality customs and weapons you can use in single player, it's amazing.
MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries Update Information Update Boxart Add Screenshots Add Video Report File The sequel to Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance. When you're a 'Mech Mercenary, you call the shots.
For Mechwarrior 4 Vengeance and Black Knight you will need to do only a little work.
You can grab the ISO for Vengeance and Black Knight here.
Proceed to install and patch the games with the most recent update.
Last step will be to use the dgVoodoo2 fix you are probably familiar with by now. After that you should be good to go, this game is nowhere near as frustrating to run as 3, and is still great fun to play.
Hope that helps you all out, and gives you something fun to do over Christmas/whatever holidays freebirths celebrate. Now if only we could build a time machine and get ahold of Mechwarrior 5....
Update (2/01/2019): I am working on a new tutorial for this post, I am going to update the work around to get these games working on windows 10 by using the Wine D3D DLLs. I am also updating the section on using game controllers in mechwarrior 4 as the Pinnacle Game Profiler doesn't seem to be working in the current windows 10 and the support forum on the Pinnacle website is shut down. Last I heard the software developer for Pinnacle died and they are trying to find a replacement for him. I have an alternative to pinnacle witch is free, vJoy+UJR, this will allow customization of both the axes and button mapping. This update will be coming soon.
Update (5/10/2018): For those of you who have been asking about getting Vengeance and Black Knights to work with the latest game patch, I am working on it, when I get them working I will update to tutorial to include the patch. Additionally the Clan and Inner-sphere Mech Packs no longer seem to be working on Windows 10, I am looking into a fix for this issue and I will post the fix as soon as I have it.
Update (5/9/2018): I added some additional tips to the 'Troubleshooting' section of the tutorial. Also, Game Ranger is the only stable way I have found to get Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries to work in online multiplayer. Vengeance and Black knight do not work in online multiplayer and they do not work with Game Ranger. If you want to play online, you will have to use game Ranger with Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries.
Update (4/26/2018): Alternate download links have been posted in the 'Download the Mechwarrior 4 Game Files' section of the tutorial for Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1.
Update (4/26/2018): The download links for Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1 is currently down, I am working on a new source for the game files. I will have a new set of links posted ASAP.
Update (4/20/2018): I fixed the issue of the joystick function crashing the game when I start Vengeance or Black Knight. Both are working with the joy stick now. You can delete the /gosnovideo switch from the target line in the shortcut file.
Update (4/16/2018): Game Ranger will only work with Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1 release #51.03.01.0030c. Vengeance and Black Knight will not work with Game Ranger. This is due to the way Game Ranger executes the .exe files for the games.
I have also added installation instructions for the Clan Mech Pack and the Inner Sphere Mech Pack for Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance/Black Knight.
Update (4/15/2018): I have updated this tutorial with the latest fixes to get all of the mech warrior 4 games working on windows 10.
I have fixed the fallowing issues:
The mouse cursor locks to the bottom right of the screen.
The display, during game play, renders of screen to the bottom right.
The game fails to start when double clicking the desktop shortcut or the .exe file.
Before you do anything make sure you install the Direct Play Windows Component first.
Right click Start
Click Programs and Features
Click Turn Windows Features On or Off
Make sure there is a check in Legacy Components
Click the + to expand
Check the box for Direct Play
Windows will now install/enable the Direct Play Windows Component
For the purposes of this tutorial I am going to use the standard window download directory “C:Users'your user name'Downloads”
Download Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance + Patch ver. 2.0, Black Knight Expansion, Clan Mech Pack, and Inner Sphere Mech Pack here
Download Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1 Release #51.03.01.0030a here
Alternate download here
Download the three patch files to patch Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MP3.1 Release #51.03.01.0030a to MP3.1 Release #51.03.01.0030c here
Alternate download here
If you are installing the MekTek MP3.1 Release #51.03.01.0030c version of the game you will need to install 7zip to extract the file folders containing the game files.
If you are installing Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, The Black Knight Expansion, the Clan Mech Pack, and the Inner Sphere Mech Pack, you will need to install qBittorrent to download the the torrent file that will initiate the download with qBittorrent.
Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance (CD/ISO)
Navigate to the download directory “C:Users'your user name'Downloads”
Locate the file titled MechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaks.7z
Right click on the file MechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaks.7z and select 7-Zip then select Extract to “MechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaks”
Install the game from the installation disks if you have them. If you have an ISO file of the game (virtual copy of the disk) mount the ISO to a virtual drive and install the game. You can find instructions for mounting and running ISO files to virtual drives here.
Patch to version 2.0
Navigate to the download directory “C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercsMechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaksMechWarrior 4 VengeanceMW4 Update 2.0”
Locate the file PatchApply.exe
Right click on PatchApply.exe and select Run As Administrator
Fallow the prompts and install the patch
Your game is now patched to Ver. 2.0
Replace MW4.exe with the NoCD cracked version
Navigate to the download directory “C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercsMechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaksMechWarrior 4 Vengeance”
Locate the NoCD cracked MW4.exe file
Drag and drop the MW4.exe file into your games install directory “C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMechWarrior Vengeance”
Overwrite and replace the original MW4.exe with the NoCD cracked version
Apply compatibility settings
Locate the MechWarrior Vengeance desktop shortcut
Right click on the MechWarrior Vengeance desktop shortcut
Select Properties
In the Shortcut Tab locate the line titled Target
Copy paste the fallowing command line script after the file path director so it looks like this 'C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMechWarrior Vengeancemw4.exe' -32 -window -f 1024x768 -gl -GameTime.MaxVariableFps 60 /gosnovideo /gosnojoystick
Next navigate to the Compatibility Tab
locate the line titled Compatibility Mode
Check the box next to the line titled Run This Program In Compatibility Mode For
In the drop down menu select Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
Next navigate to the line titled Settings
Check the box next to the line titled Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Setting
Check the box next to the line titled Run This Program As An Administrator
Navigate to the button that says Apply
Click the apply button
Next navigate to the OK button
Click the OK button
Next double click on the desktop short cut and play the game
You can switch between windowed view and full screen view by pressing Alt+Enter on your keyboard
Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight (CD/ISO)
Install the game from the installation disks if you have them. If you have an ISO file of the game (virtual copy of the disk) mount the ISO to a virtual drive and install the game. You can find instructions for mounting and running ISO files to virtual drives here.
Replace MW4x.exe with the NoCD cracked version
Navigate to the download directory “C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercsMechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaksBlack Knight Expansion”
Locate the NoCD cracked “MW4x.exe” file
Drag and drop the “MW4x.exe” file into your games install directory “C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMechWarrior Vengeancemw4x”
Overwrite and replace the original MW4x.exe with the NoCD cracked version
Apply compatibility settings
Locate the MechWarrior Black Knight desktop shortcut
Right click on the MechWarrior Black Knight desktop shortcut
Select Properties
In the Shortcut Tab locate the line titled Target
Copy paste the fallowing command line script after the file path directory so it looks like this 'C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft GamesMechWarrior Vengeancemw4xMW4x.exe' -32 -window -f 1024x768 -gl -GameTime.MaxVariableFps 60 /gosnovideo /gosnojoystick
Next navigate to the Compatibility Tab
locate the line titled Compatibility Mode
Check the box next to the line titled Run This Program In Compatibility Mode For
In the drop down menu select Windows XP (Service Pack 3)
Next navigate to the line titled Settings
Check the box next to the line titled Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Setting
Check the box next to the line titled Run This Program As An Administrator
Navigate to the button that says Apply
Click the apply button
Next navigate to the OK button
Click the OK button
Double click on the desktop short cut and play the game
You can switch between windowed view and full screen view by pressing Alt+Enter on your keyboard
Mechwarrior 4: Clan Mech Pack
Go to your download directory 'C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercs'
Locate the folder titled MechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaks and open it.
Locate the folder titled Clan Mech Pak
Locate the file titled MW4CLAN.iso, right click and mount the ISO image.
You can find instructions for mounting and running ISO files to virtual drives here.
Install the Clan Mech Pack, enter the serial number from the file Serial.txt when prompted to enter the serial number. The file Serial.txt for the Clan Meck Pack is located in 'C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercsMechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaksClan Mech Pak'
When prompted to install a game patch to upgrade to a newer version, decline the patch. Do not patch the game from the disk or your copy of Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance/Black Knight will fail to start when executed.
You have now installed the Clan Mech Pack for Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance/Black Knight
Mechwarrior 4: Inner Sphere Mech Pack
Go to your download directory 'C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercs'
Locate the folder titled MechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaks and open it.
Locate the folder titled Inner Sphere Mech Pak
Locate the file titled INNERSPHERE.iso, right click and mount the ISO image.
You can find instructions for mounting and running ISO files to virtual drives here.
Install the Inner Sphere Mech Pack, enter the serial number from the file Serial.txt when prompted to enter the serial number. The file Serial.txt for the Inner Sphere Meck Pack is located in 'C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4mercsMechWarriors 4 Vengeance_Expansion_MechPaksInner Sphere Mech Pak'
When prompted to install a game patch to upgrade to a newer version, decline the patch. Do not patch the game from the disk or your copy of Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance/Black Knight will fail to start when executed.
You have now installed the Inner Sphere Mech Pack for Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance/Black Knight
Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1
Navigate to the download directory “C:Users'your user name'Downloads”
Locate the file titled MW4.3.1.w.maps.7z
Right click on the file MW4.3.1.w.maps.7z and select 7-Zip then select Extract to “MW4.3.1.w.maps”
Navigate to the folder MW4.3.1.w.maps in “C:Users'your user name'DownloadsMW4.3.1.w.maps
Locate the folder titled MW 4 – Complete
Right click on the folder MW 4 – Complete
Select Rename
Rename the folder MW 4 - Complete to Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek Mekpak
Then drag and drop the Folder to 'C:Program Files (x86)'
The complete file path should now look like this: 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek Mekpak'
Next you will need to install the patch files to patch the game to Release #51.03.01.0030c for the game to work properly.
Navigate to your download directory “C:Users'your user name'Downloads”
Right click on the file 0030_hotfixes.rar
Select 7-Zip then select Extract to “0030_hotfixes”
Navigate to the folder titled 0030_hotfixes in “C:Users'your user name'Downloads0030_hotfixes”
Hotfix #1
Right click on the file named mekpak31.0030a(0030)-hotfix1.exe and select Run as Administrator
Next select the button titled Browse
Now navigate to your install folder for the game, it should be in this file path, 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek Mekpak'
Select the button titled OK
Now click the button titled Apply
The program should patch the game to version #51.03.01.0030a
You have completed step one, now go to step two to apply hotfix #2
Hotfix #2
Right click on the file named mekpak31.0030b(0030x)-hotfix2.exe and select Run as Administrator
Next select the button titled Browse
Now navigate to your install folder for the game, it should be in this file path, 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek Mekpak'
Select the button titled OK
The program should patch the game to version #51.03.01.0030b
You have completed step two, now go to step three to apply hotfix #3
Hotfix #3
Right click on the file named mekpak31.0030c(0030x)-hotfix3.exe and select Run as Administrator
Next select the button titled Browse
Now navigate to your install folder for the game, it should be in this file path, 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek Mekpak'
Select the button titled OK
The program should patch the game to version #51.03.01.0030c
You have completed step three, you have now patched the game to the final version of the free release from MekTek
Next you will need to navigate to the MW4Mercs.exe file for your Mech Warrior 4 game and create a shortcut on your Desktop. You should find the “MW4Mercs.exe' file for your version of the game listed here: 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek MekpakMW4Mercs.exe'
Right click on the MW4Mercs.exe file and select Send To then Desktop to create a Desktop Shortcut.
Now go to the Desktop Shortcut File, right click on it and select Properties. Go to the Short Cut Tab and find the line titled Target. Here you will see the file path to the “MW4Mercs.exe' file, copy past the command line at the end of the file path so it looks exactly like this: 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek MekpakMW4Mercs.exe' -32 –window
Next go to the Compatibility Tab
Check the box next to the line titled Disable Display Scaling On High DPI Setting
Check the box next to the line titled Run this Program as an Administrator
Next you will need to run the Auto Configuration Tool, go to the fallowing directory
'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek Mekpakautoconfig_MERCS.exe'
Then find the “autoconfig_MERCS.exe' file for the Auto Configuration Tool. Right Click on the autoconfig_MERCS.exe file and select Run as Administrator. You can now configure the graphics setting for the game that will be loaded every time you start the game.
Click the button titled Continue
Now double click the MW4Mercs.exe – Shortcut file on your desktop and play the game
You can switch between windowed view and full screen view by pressing Alt+Enter on your keyboard
-32
This forces the game to run in 32 bit. Older games were made before 64 bit came out and will not run properly on a 64 bit system unless you force the game to run in 32 bit.
-window
Some older games will freeze or crash when starting in full screen. Running the game in windowed mode can fix this issue. Once the game starts in a window you should be able to switch to full screen by clicking the square full screen icon in the banner bar.
-f 1024x768
This will start the game in the desired screen resolution. Back in the day when this game was made, allot of people still used CRT monitors with screen resolutions that had a max resolution of 1024x768. This game may have issues with newer monitors and graphics cards that run higher resolutions by default. Other resolutions that this game was designed to run in were 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, and 1280x1024.
-gl
This forces windows to emulate OpenGL architecture when running this game. Allot of Older games used OpenGL and it is required to run. Today there are a lot of alternatives to OpenGL and windows 10 may not run OpenGL by default when running this game.
-GameTime.MaxVariableFps 60
Back when this game was made a lot of systems had a max refresh rate of 60 FPS. Most computers now will run at a minimum of 60 FPS and go much higher. This can cause weird anomalies in this game such as mechs rotating super-fast in the mech lab or the mouse cursor will leave pixel remnants of itself whenever you move it across the screen. If you are having issues with the games FPS not synchronizing with your system, you can lock the games FPS to 60 with this command.
/gosnovideo
This games start up videos use older formats that do not seem to work with newer systems, causing the game to crash at start up. Use this command to prevent the videos from running.
/gosnojoystick
There seems to be some kind of a driver conflict with the joystick when running this game on newer systems like windows 10 causing the game to crash at startup. Use this command to disable the joystick functionality in the game.
-noautoconfig
This command will prevent the Auto Configuration Utility from running when the game starts, this is helpful if the Auto Configuration Utility runs every time you start the game.
Cheats and Trainers
If you're looking for a cheat or a trainer for the Mechwarrior 4 games you can use Cheat Engine, there are premade cheat tables you can download on Fearless Cheat Engine.
Mods
If you want to add some cool MODs to Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries, like pre loaded mechs, you can get them here.
You can add a Co-Op MOD to Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries to play campaign missions with friends by hosting a game server running a campaign map. You can download the MOD here.
Online Multiplayer
If you want to play Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries online you can find hosted game servers using Game Ranger. Currently Game Ranger is the only way I know of to get this game running stable while playing multiplayer. If you don't like using Game Ranger then you're SOL.
Vengeance and Black knight currently don't work in online multiplayer or with Game Ranger.
I got my Thrustmaster T.flight HOTAS X to work with Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1 with the Pinnacle Game Profiler software. I uploaded the controller button assignment profile to the Pinnacle Game Profiler Forum where you can download it and try it out for your self. You should be able to make this profile work on other flight stick HOTAS controllers if you reassign the button control functions to the layout of your HOTAS controller. If you take some time to learn how to use this program you can even remap my button profile to work on an Xbox or PlayStation controller. You can watch some tutorial videos for the Pinnacle Game Profiler here.
If your graphics card is to advanced for the game you might get an error message stating that your hardware is incompatible. This is common with people who have newer Nvidia graphics cards. I know of a fix for Mechwarrior 4: mercenaries MekTek MP3.1. Go to the installation folder 'C:Program Files (x86)Mechwarrior Mercenaries - Mektek MekpakAssetsBinaries'. Now locate the file titled imagehlp.dll. Right click on it and select Rename. Change the file name ti this imagehlp.dll.backup. This will disable the .dll file that is causing the issue for Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries MekTek MP3.1. For Vengeance and Black Knight you can try using DXwnd, mechvm, dosbox, or dgVoodoo2 programs as instructed in HattedSandwich's tutorial here and CaptainWabbit's tutorial using DXwnd here. These are essentially a graphics emulator that launches the game in a wrapper. I have had success using dgvoodoo2 and DXwnd to get old games to work on newer windows operating systems, though it does take some time tinkering with the settings.
If your having issues with patching the games with the files from my downloads try uninstalling the game and reinstalling then instead of using the 2.0 patch file for vengeance, use the black knight install disk to patch to 2.0. If that doesn't work try downloading the patch here, then grab the cracked NoCD .exe file for your game here. drag and drop the NoCD .exe file into your install directory and replace the original .exe file when prompted. Remember that every time a patch fails you should uninstall and reinstall before trying a different patch file.
If you have fallowed my tutorial, tried my troubleshooting tips, and the games still won’t work, you will have to try installing the games on a Windows XP operating system. There are several ways you can do this…
You can install Windows XP onto an old computer.
You can download a copy of windows XP here.
You can dual boot Windows 10 and Windows XP
For a video tutorial to Dual boot Windows 10 and Windows XP click here.
You can run Windows XP on a virtual machine.
Here is a good guide to using virtual machines to run older operating systems. I use virtual box, it’s simple and easy to use and it's free. For a guide on how to setup Windows XP in Virtual Box, click here.
This tutorial is the accumulation of three years of me researching, troubleshooting, hacking, cracking, and banging my head into my keyboard over and over again. I love these games and I hope you guys can make this tutorial work on your system so you can continue to enjoy these games as much as I do.
Let me know if you had any problems with getting the games to work on Windows 10.
Mechwarrior 4 Vengeance Windows 10
Don't forget to leave a comment below.
If it did work, don't forget to up vote and praise me for my superior awesomeness.
Thanks for using my tutorial.
Mechwarrior
Volkar