DF Retro: MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat - DOS/Win95/3DFX/PS1/Saturn
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- This week, John steps back into the Activision classic MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat. We explore how the game looks in its various forms on PC and determine the best way to play it today. We also take a look at the completely different arcade style version of the game released on consoles.
If you're looking to run the DOS version, check out this link over on dosbox.com.
www.dosbox.com...
If you're trying to run the Windows version, download MechVM here. Keep in mind that there are compatibility issues - I was unable to use this on my Windows 10 PC as the game's GUI would immediately crash every single time. Had to use a different PC, but your mileage may vary.
www.mechvm.org/
If you have a copy of the 3DFX version and want to emulate it without an actual Voodoo card you can do this;
1. Download either nGlide or dgVoodoo
2. Install MechVM
3. Use the Windows 95 compatibility option on mechvm.exe
4. Use MechVM to install your CD or image file
5. On the Mech 2 disc under the directx folder, copy dplay.dll to the folder where you installed Mech 2 using MechVM
6. Use the Windows 95 compatibility mode for Mech2.exe as well
7. Launch the game using mech2.exe and hope that it works!
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Love the DF retro videos, this one hit me right in the childhood
Nice meme.
Same here man, I took a direct hit to the childhood watching this one.
***** It's gone nuclear.
Pabla Digital This video socked me square in the childhood though
***** Like literally square in the feels / childhood?
Gamers today have no idea just how ahead of its time this game was. It was released on DOS. Fucking DOS.
So true
Nor do they know how much they should appreciate how great it is to have standardized APIs and universal video drivers. This game came from a time that was both absolutely amazing and very painful. There were a lot of growing pains as developers and hardware manufacturers had to learn how to set standards for new concepts, software and technology and it was a rough time for the gaming industry on PC as it was changing all the time. But that being said, it was one hell of ride and it came with some amazing memories and experiences.
Was?
You mean "is".
This is still one of the best games ever made.
Dynamic destruction, heat management, radar based stealth tactics, exploding ammunition.
Nothing on the market before or since has had such a deep vehicular combat system.
Uhm. It is far from the first game to run with polygons on DOS. DOS was insanely supported back in the day, before Windows 95 showed it's face.
It had really cutting edge grafics back in the days however.
I still remember the actual fire textures causing people to stare at the monitor in awe.
Leave alone that the flat shading even looks relatively good today, and is actually seeing some kind of
"revival" in some indie games theese days.
That ofc doesent yet adress the badass missions, that only could be rivaled by I-War or the X-Wing series
(i agree it had alot in common with flight/space sims), fully customizable Mech builds(dual UAC20
dakkadakka, lol), and an errm "interresting" network mode, that sure was tons of fun back on those lans,
and quite uncommon for any sort of simulation with some depth to it.
Bttomline is, this is still one of my all time favorites, and well worth a playthrough even in 2016, if you
havent had the pleasure of doing so when its been released.
Really loved this video!! This game was a classic
Thanks so much, Metal Jesus!
REACTOR ONLINE.
SENSORS ONLINE.
WEAPONS ONLINE.
ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL.
I recall this one trip to a Dave and Busters or Jillian’s with my older brother where we got to go inside cockpits and play a multiplayer version of this game or some clone of it. Never found this again. What was really neat at the time was how the game would print out a verbal description of how your battle went. It was in relatively natural language and just seemed out of this world at the time. This was around 2001-2002.
That was Virtual World, we had one here in California at Newport Beach. This was in the 90s, years before Halo 2 LAN parties, let alone XBox Live. They really leaned into the immersion, the game cabinet completely sealed around you. Lol half Disneyland and half video game. And it was not cheap for me and my high school buddies
The soundtrack is one of the best ever made.
We need a video on the first crysis. That game is legendary.
especially since PCs nowadays can actually run it at full fidelity unlike back then lol.
Agreed. After nearly a decade it still looks and plays better than many "next gen games".
It's funny how nearly everyone hated the game when it launched. Obviously it ran like crap, but pretty much everyone agreed that this was not a good game and a tech demo instead. They really really disliked the gameplay. I also wasn't really impressed at first, but as I went back every time I upgraded my PC i started to like the game more and more.
It looks very dated today.
***** You have to add the word considering if you say it looks good. If it came out today, I would be disappointed with the graphics.
Still have my original Dos version from when I got the game around 1996. This is one of the first PC games I remember playing that got me into PC gaming.
Instant classic, so much influencing other. The intro is simply unbeatable. Great job Digital Domain. Best mechwarrior game in my opinion.
Hey, this was great. I still got the same feeling of awe and amazement when I saw your footage of MW2 original. Still looks stunning. What a beautiful time in gaming that was, strange, foreign, wonderful, just like the game. Looking forward to more episodes. As a side note, I was in the Rendition Verite camp of video cards, they had the best image quality but not the most horsepower.
The mechwarrior tabletop game "Battletech a game of armored combat" is where it all began in 1984. There was a revamped and improved edition of that game in 2018. Mech miniatures are top notch.
Gotta love that shout-out to the S3 Virge 3D decelerator!
Great episode, again. Roll on next Sunday! MDK, what a classic.
All of your videos are put together so sharply. Thank you for doing the retro side of things as well!
MechWarrior 2 was the first 3D game I ever played. I remember it fondly. The game was first introduced to me via a demo disk that came with a Windows 95 PC my dad got. The demo disk was loaded with about ~15 games, but the demo for MechWarrior 2 is the only one I remember. After playing it almost constantly after school I begged my parents to get me the game. They relented and the rest is wonderful history. Later on I got MW2: Mercenaries and found it was everything I loved in 2 taken to the next level. I still have the disks for both games (I'm literally staring at them as I type this) but haven't played them in more than a decade. This video was a welcome trip down memory lane. Thank you.
Mechwarrior mercenaries was such a masterpiece. In some ways the technological limitations help immerse me more. I personally like the old fashioned text diary over the flashing videos that the later iterations of mechwarrior had. And the I loved the branching mission structure, and the ability to salvage mechs from your mission by strategically blowing up their legs and leaving them crippled.
I haven't played this game in over 10 years and the fact that I still remember it so vividly really speaks to it's quality. Oh and the soundtrack was and is amazing. I still listen to it every once in a while.
@@efarrell If you loved MW2 Mercs you will love the tabletop game with Inner Sphere miniatures. It has 8 plastic miniatures. You will recognize the Commando, Catapult, and Awesome. The game name is "Battletech a game of arnored combat". If you play with the rulebooks from Catalyst Game Labs store you will find more than the game had. Activision development was rushed and it did not have many features the tabletop game has.
The tabletop game has different types of terrain with advanced rules. Weather can destroy mechs and you can even use your jump jets as weapons under some circumstances. With nornal rules there are physical attacks like kicking, pushing, punching, clubbing, ramming, etc.
There is advanced equipment and weapons. You can even have 2 pilots in one mech. If one gets hurt the other may take the seat.
Pilots can lose consciousness. Mechs can fall....
What a way to start.
Mechwarrior started as a tabletop game, but at first it had cardboard standees, then skinny miniatures, but now miniatures were resculpted to look similar to Mechwarrior 5.
There are 3 boxes:
Beginner box. Starter pack with simplified rules. The full game is just very complex.
A game of armored combat. Core box.
Clan Invasion (expansion.)
Then you can buy Battlemech Manual and any of the forcepacks. A video with a battletech catalog is here in TH-cam. It shows the content of 2020 force packs.
Big fan of these retro video series.... Used to build PC's for clients and family. Got into the gaming side after my freelance design work took off before I got injured.... I'm disabled now, but I still have a fire in me for all things technical and gaming... I always look forward to watching them with my kids...Can inspire them as artists if they how some of their favorite old games work... Keep doing what your doing...
Mechwarrior 2-4 absolutely need remasters. I can only imagine the amazing combo of MW2 graphics and textures, taking the best of all
These Retro videos are awesome! I grew up playing these games and in my first computer(dads really) was Matrox Mystique and in bundle was MechWarrior 2.
Every aspect of this game it's fantastic, an instant classic
Love these episodes!
df retro is the best! I look forward to it in more than anything else on TH-cam. keep up the good work!!
i was 10 years old playing this on a Radioshack Tandy computer lol. I STILL listen to the soundtrack to this game
Play the 1984 tabletop mechwarrior game "Battletech a game of armored combat"
The music and atmosphere aswell as the weapon feel was extremely captivating!
The reincarnations completely missed the ticket of what made the game sooo good!
as well*
Wipeout 2097 for a future DFR?? (PSX, Saturn, PC, N64)
Oh, nostalgia! This takes me back to the fall of 1999, a few months after getting my 2nd Mac, the Blue and White G3 350 MHz. I picked this out of a Mac game bundle for under $10. I also got a Thrustmaster Top Gun flight stick to play it with. It was a similar design to the flight sticks used in Virtual World Entertainment's Battletech Tesla cockpit simulators. So MW2 filled my appetite to play Battletech while I wasn't at the site dropping $8 per round. Good times!
Happy 25th Anniversary to Mechwarrior 2
I'm loving the technical aspect of DF retro. In fact, I need more of these videos in my life - really awesome!
I hope GOG releases this game (and all the other versions) in the future.
They are abondonware now
+El Diablo - I think he meant that Mechwarrior 2 is abandonware. Not GOG :)
Simon Christensen Yeah... :|
Yeah let's just pay the void for a free game
Lassi Kinnunen Abandonware is a real thing don't be dumb.
I still have my Voodoo 2 :)
And my original Mechwarrior 2 cd, box and manual.
I remember back then when I was 12 I wanted so bad to play it with a joystick and VR googles.
nGlide from Zeus software emulates 3DFX for Windows 10
Spent many hours playing Mechwarrior. Gonna spend a couple more tonight cause of this video! Absolutely loved these games.
This game started as a tabletop game. It called Battletech. Reddit has a community. Tabletop has advanced rules for terrain, weather, and you can do many things the videogame cannot. It has an RPG rulebook, and advanced rules allows the mechs to skid, there are rules for forest, lava, water, etc.... Your pilot can take wounds. And some mechs even have rear weapons.
Just be advised that it has lots of dice rolling and games take very long, veery long. That is the type of board games from the 1980s.
I was going to suggest MDK for a future video, until I saw its up next week :) I loved that game back in the day.
one of the first game i run after installing my shiny 3DFX voodoo graphics ! (then i became a 3DFX fanboy for the 4 next models). and with my Soundblaster AWE-32 with the 8Mb module, the music was wonderfull !
My version of MW2 came with the sidewinder pro joystick which I absolutely loved. I had so much fun playing this game.
MW2 had so deep atmosphere. I was a BattleTech universe fan, read a lot of books, played every game, but only MW2 gave me what I wanted from BattleTech game.
It was better than books, it was like to participate in movie about Mechs (that what I was thinking when I was 13 in 1996). And It was so smooth with high FPS on my Pentium-100 in high resolution. If I not mistaken, you could turn textures off in win95 version to make everything look flat-shaded (I prefered this variant too).
*While I prefer the Clans and are a Clanner, Mechwarrior 3 actually had the best graphics and was probably the most fun.*
MW2 rocks!
Loving DF Retro, keep up with this awesome videos!
Mechwarrior 3 was my favorite. I played the crap out of it in 1999 and even bought a copy for one of my friends so we could do modem-to-modem games.
Did you play the 1984 mechwarrior tabletop game? Battletech a game of armored combat. Rules are intimidating so "Battletech fan" youtube channel made a visual guide to watch while reading the rules. It is very simulationist.
You are entering the DigitalFoundry comment section
Please turn back you won't survive out there
"PC MASTER, LOL BAD CONSOLES, I HATE EUROPE"
Now no one has to go down any further!
The DF Retro comments seem to be quite civil compared to all the other non-retro ones.
I had the Matrox M 3D Power VR card. Some games looked great with it (Nightmare Creatures in particular looked excellent). As for the next episode, MDK came bundled with my P166 MMX PC back in 1997. Great game. It sounded like the enemies constantly shouted "RUGBY RUGBY BALL"
This is one of my all time favorite games.
To this day the gameplay of Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries has not been matched.
Being able to headshot and salvage any mech you see is an amazing feature.
I'm also still kind of ticked off that all Battletech games afterward restrict your loadouts so much.
Salvage headshot mechs works onlt for Windows version. For DOS it seems houses just dumped their trash on you. It is a way to do things though.
There is a Battletech tabletop game. Rules are intimidating so "Nattletech fan" made a youtube visual guidevto watch when reading the rules.
Dynamix were the masters of pushing the bounderies of gaming. I still fondly remember Tribes 1 and 2, I hope DF Retro cover these landmark multiplayer games someday.
Dynamix -Red Baron
"Starsiege complete" and "nGlide" by zeus software. For Windows 10. Try this combo.
Great vid as usual. Even if I'm going to be driven mad by having Billy Ze Kick's version of "Non Non Rien Na Changé" stuck in my head until the next episode comes out.
Wonderful video! My first MW game and introduction to Battletech as a whole. Still a clanner!
Man this was my childhood. I had the DOS version running on win 95. I ran the "Rifleman" mech with those four huge barrels set to PPCs. Overheated like hell but I dominated. :D I requested MW2 during the Half Life 2 DF Retro vid. Woo!
Try the mechwarrior tabletop game "Battletech a game of armored combat". "Battletech fan" made a youtube visual guide because tabletop rules are very complex.
OMG the memories.... Still has an awesome soundtrack!
On the next episode of DF Retro: I think I've seen that game, it was 15 years ago, on an imac. If it really is that game, I'm pretty excited to finally figure out what that crazy game was all about.
Back in the day, I played MW2 on a fast DOS Pentium2-200 with a full HOTAS setup. People would come over just to use my setup, was in heavy rotation at parties. Eventually a friend broke my rudder pedals by bashing them so hard. I remember being really conflicted at times whether to play the colorful but low res 3dfx version, or the original in 1024 which ran great on that computer and was the sharpest looking game I'd ever seen. 1024*768 on a 14inch monitor at such a high frame rate was just really impressive at the time.
I only came into the Mechwarrior scene around Mechwarrior 3. I was playing the free Mektek version of MW4 up until it shut down too - love these games.
Great video as usual, this is sla milestone of pc gaming. Can't wait for MDK next week, and since you are checking Shiny games, Earthworm Jim is a classic that might make for a great episode in the future
Didn't mention the Macintosh version which came optimized for the ATi Rage Pro cards popular with the second generation of PowerPC Macs of the time. It was basically a port of the DOS version without textures but with the excellent color gradients at 1024x768. It ran smooth and had the excellent Red Book CD-ROM soundtrack. Still own my copy. Great Retro retrospective.
The mechwarrior stuff was incredible! I'd love to see another two vids, give us Mech: Mercenaries, Mechwarrior 3, and Mechwarrior 4! :)
I remember losing my life to Mech2 and Ghost Bear's Legacy on my first PC.
Love this series, keep up the good work!
Do Painkiller! It had a decent Xbox port and the PC version looked good at the time it was released.
So fascinating. Early PC gaming history is very interesting.
I didn't even know about all those versions. Pretty fascinating.
The DOS version is my favourite. It does look like a otherworldly simulation. Still love the intro FMV, makes the Summoner mech look so intimidating.
Try the tabletop mechwarrior game "Battletech a game of armored combat". Read the rulebook while watching "Battletech fan" youtube visual guide. Rules are very intimidating so visual guide make things very easy.
It's funny when you watch DF Retro from playlist and "On the next episode of DF Retro" tells you about episode you've watched right before this one.
This game made me fall in love with PC Gaming...!!!!
Love it and Ghost Legacy the mechs and weapons' wow...!!!
Loved those locked missles!
Oooo! Looking forward to the MDK video already. Despite owning all of the Mech Warrior PC games I never really got into them. I was at the phase where I would buy a tonne of games and never play them.
Wait a second! I'm still doing that only now Steam is my video game store.
Flat shaded is definitely my favorite. Played so damn much back in the day. Used to love the internal Mech's system voice.
"All systems... nominal. Autopilot... engaged."
Thank you. One of the best games OF ALL TIME by far.
DOS was definitely better
Lower level but that brought it's own problems. Assembly is really hard. It can do amazing things but it's very easy to introduce game crashing bugs.
C++ compilers have now caught up with assembly so unless you're doing something new? You won't be. C++ is faster and safer.
Soon The VM will be good enough for the C# version to be as good.
No-one does array arithmetic anymore.
C# has it all optimised.
The big movement over the next years will be F or maybe Python.
Functional programming is the next big thing.
Maybe the last big thing.
Learn Quantum programming.
Luv and Peace.
I had the old DOS version, and I didn't even know others existed. The more textured versions reminds me of MW2: Mercenaries especially with the clockwise shaped heat tracking and the generic wireframe instead of the custom mech chasis wireframe.
OMG fuck yes! This is a game of legend right here!
this game was so ahead of its time. MW4 was amazing too
Wow I can't wait for the next episode! I love MDK 1 and 2 (and Giants: Citizen Kabuto. I hope at some point there'll be a video on that game aswell :) )
The gameplay rocked, music also. Had 3d sound. Still fun!
One of my first PC games.. bought it at a Wal-Mart years ago.
Love the Original colors and version Not new 3DFX version...
Great Video man exactly what I had while watching your video I was type.
Another great video John,thank you.
I think you and I share a similar philosophy about MechWarrior 2! You seemed to hit on all the points that were relevant, the missing/truncated tracks, the various differences in game engines and the types of texture mapping used. I also prefer the cleaner version of MechWarrior 2 in DOS. Perhaps you might be interested in my Let's Plays of MechWarrior 2?
Hey look It's No Man's Sky.
MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries is one of favorite games of all time. 31st Century Combat was great as well though.
Did you try Ghost bear legacy
Mechwarrior 2 was always one of my favorite old school games and I've been upset that it never got on Steam or even used as an inspection for other games to have as much customizable and distractibility as this had. It's been the standard I've held all other Mech Sims to.
But you can buy the mechwarrior tabletop game "Battletech a game of armored combat". Mechwarrior belongs to Battletech franchise. You can check "Renegade HPG" youtube channel for a digital remaster of the Battletech TV cartoon. And "Battletech fan" youtube channel for a visual guide intended to be watched when you read the rulebook of the tabletop game.
Very informative video. I didn't know about all these versions. Always I was convinced that is the same game. :O
The original flat texture version holds up the best. I love the striking colour skybox. Not sure why, but this slipped by me back in 95. A suggestion for DF Retro - X-Wing series of games.
God I loved the X-Wing games back in the day. Me piloting while my brother managed shield, engine and weapons power. Good times.
Tbh those default visuals are stunning, almost timeless and many games nowadays are adopting that style like Albion online. Looks a lot like OSRS too.
hyped af for MDK. hope to see the mac version included
A suggestion for the next DF Retro - Soul Reaver for PS1/DC/PC. This game still plays great and offers an interesting world with uncommon mood.
Love these videos keep them coming.
The original DOS version looks much better than the rest, cause it's the most creative work with limitations. It looks like some cyberpunk cyberspace thing now, which is ultra awesome. The other versions tried to be "realistic" for the day, and that makes them look super-dated now.
Man I loved these games.
I get so hyped for df retro :D
Best series on this whole channel
I prefer the flat colors too. Better colors. But also the flat version had gradients that gave the impression of a hazy horizon that gives a feeling of mystery. The color schemes of accelerated version made it look like a diorama for toys. Bright diorama colors removed the dramatic effect of the flat version.
the MSDOS looks the best to me. Clean and simple art style.
"The game takes on a new sense of solidarity". Hell yeah. I'm also good friends with my games and they always have my back! =D
It would be awesome to see a video about the different versions of Rayman 2.
Solidity. Solidarity is something else entirely.
DAMMMMMMMMn not seen this in years! Loved that intro! had this on my first PC!...which was almost 20 years ago!>?!?!?! 0_o
having never been into PC gaming or mechs this game passed me buy but gave it a watch and enjoyed it.
Looking forward to MDK video.
I had it on ps1. it was quite difficult. PC version obviously looked far better
play star seige or interstate 82
The DOS game... holy cow thats impressive!
Be even more impressed by the 1984 mechwarrior tabletop game "Battletech a game of armored combat". You can buy it and it has improved miniatures. Rules are very complex and look like a simulation but "Battletech fan" made a youtube visual guide to watch when you read the rulebook. Buy the tabletop game and be impressed. The most amazing thing is that rules have not changed a lot since 1984.
DOS version by far looks the best. Keep up the hard work John.
I started on the Win95 version.... but now I wished I'd started on DOS!
MechWarrior, Heavy Gear and Shogo are the best Mecha games I've played to this date.
Try "Starsiege complete" a port to Windows 10 of Starsiege, the sequel of Earthsiege 2. You will need nGlude from Zeus software to emulate 3DFX on Windows 10.
the intro cinematic was so fucking good. loved this game. The other ones never reached the same peak.
"critical hit: lrm
critical hit: gyro"
You know you're fucked
the lack of textures makes the dos version age better than all the low res assets
I was that rare kid who preferred Interplay/Bioware's Shattered Steel to the MechWarrior titles.
I remember playing this on PC.
Best Game Soundtrack EVER
What gets me with earlier Playstation titles like Mechwarrior 2 in early 1997 shown here is that titles just 2 or 3 years later look insanely better, but obviously it's the same hardware. Optimisation and 3D techniques were in their infancy at most developers when the machine first launched only to make such huge strides later. The games barely look like they are running on the same generation hardware.
Regarding the higher resolutions: My lowly Cyrix P-120 (what I had at the time) could run Mech2 acceptably at 640x480 and even 1024x768 was within the realm of playability. Not hardware out of reach of most at the time.