# Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries for free



## BarbaricSoul (Apr 22, 2010)

Well, even though I had lost hope for this happening, Microsoft has finally cleared MekTek to release MW4 Mercenaries to the public for free download.



> Dare we say it? Free release of Mechwarrior4 cleared for launch
> 
> Posted by Vam, Wednesday, 21 April 2010 15:48 Comments(0), Read all
> If you've been following the drama surrounding the free release of Mechwarrior4, than you would be aware that the initial announcement, made last summer, was a bit premature. After nearly a year since the announcement came, MekTek Studios is pleased to announce, that Microsoft Legal has given the all clear for the free release of Mechwarrior4. This hallmark movement by Microsoft Games couldn't come at a better time, as the Mechwarrior community is attempting a rebirth, amidst announcement of a Mechwarrior Reboot. Thank you Microsoft.
> ...



http://mektek.net/


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## shevanel (Apr 22, 2010)

will it suck? thats the question.


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## Mussels (Apr 22, 2010)

i cant see any links to actually download it


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## BarbaricSoul (Apr 22, 2010)

shevanel said:


> will it suck? thats the question.




The game is old, originally released in 2000. IMHO, it is the best online multiplayer thier is.




Mussels said:


> i cant see any links to actually download it




It's being released this weekend


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## brandonwh64 (Apr 22, 2010)

im downloading mechwarrior 2 for some nostalgic play!


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## LifeOnMars (Apr 22, 2010)

Anyone who loves Mechwarrior and has crysis should try the mod at this site http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/
It has joystick compatibility and a good amount of keyboard commands. All you need for it to be truely authentic is a card overlay to sit on your keys and you are good to go


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## Tatty_One (Apr 22, 2010)

Was the last official release way back when called Vengence?  (I thought that was 4?)..... anyways I still have it and loved it, although I havent played it for years.


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## TVman (Apr 22, 2010)

this should of been posted in the free games thread


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 22, 2010)

Vengeance was the original MechWarrior 4.  Mercenaries is a stand-alone expansion to MechWarrior 4: Vengeance.  IMO, Mercenaries was much better than Vengeance just because it had the Daishi (I  Daishi).  There's also that bonus of taking other mechs with you for those rare occassions one Daishi ain't enough.


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## RejZoR (Apr 22, 2010)

SO TRUE!!!!!11111

I just love the BattleTech universe ever since i come in contact with it back in the 90's when i bought Mechwarrior 2: Pentium Edition.
Nothing beats the voice feedback from a mech, heavy thumping explosions and skin crawling tribal music. Just awesome!


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 22, 2010)

Too bad that picture didn't have an Awesome:





That pic has a Mad Cat.


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## RejZoR (Apr 22, 2010)

Mad Cat and Mad Dog are my favorite mech's. Mostly because of the design. Especially Mad Dog.
Otherwise i like small and agile mech's like Jenner. Armed with the most powerful engine you can mount on it and two medium sized lasers. Preferably pulse based (like in MW3) so you can target easily at higher speeds. It goes so fast you can dodge missiles at long range by running at 90° away from them. You don't even need to mount AMS  Then you just run around like crazy and chew slow and clunky mechs that take half an hour just to rotate  Works well on rough terrain and doesn't all that much on open wide terrain.


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## keling (Apr 22, 2010)

Vengeance was too easy even on the Elite difficulty. Mercenaries is a whole new playing field with the Free Market system and tournament. I took me several retries for each level compared to a single playthrough for most of Vengeance campaigns.

It's great to see an classic to be treated this way. Kept alive by fans and modders all these years, updated and to be given free! 

Ive wanted to feel like piloting a real Mech so I'm playing Mercenaries with a combo of a Logitech flight stick controller, a Logitech MOMO steering wheel and a mouse. I'm a lefty but I use the mouse with my right hand and I've been using the flight stick with my left since the beginning.

I'm a Vulture pilot. It's not that powerful compared to a Mad cat or Daishi but I love the feel and look of it.


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## KainXS (Apr 22, 2010)

one reason I love the MW team is that, after about 10 years they still support their product and do updates for it, thats just . . . . .  . i don't even know what to say


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## cadaveca (Apr 22, 2010)

BarbaricSoul said:


> It's being released this weekend



Reading skills, boys..currently downloading via thier MTX client, as the directions on the landing page say...




> *We also released our MekPak 3.1, through our distribution and patching system MTX, *


:shadedshu


I got all my disks still anyway, but nice to have the HD res support already added in....


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## kg4icg (Apr 22, 2010)

MechWarrior Living Legends makes MechWarrior 4 seem like a Atari 2600 game. Oh by the way I've been playing MechWarrior since MechWarrior 2 days.  In all the releases, you couldn't do what you can currently do in MWLL, which is drive armor and fly aircraft.


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## KainXS (Apr 22, 2010)

yup, the game is available free right now I think, download it peoples

http://www.mektek.net/mtx/beta/SetupMTX1.0.1.7.exe


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## RejZoR (Apr 22, 2010)

Just for the record, their distribution system is just horrible. Why can't they just use good old torrent system so i could DL it with nice and small uTorrent!? Not this fat skinned load of bugs.


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## cadaveca (Apr 22, 2010)

working fine here, but update is not properly seeded ATM.


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## Wrigleyvillain (Apr 22, 2010)

LifeOnMars said:


> Anyone who loves Mechwarrior and has crysis should try the mod at this site http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/
> It has joystick compatibility and a good amount of keyboard commands. All you need for it to be truely authentic is a card overlay to sit on your keys and you are good to go



2009 Mod Of The Year  Yeah we had a very active thread about it going here around release time but I can't find it anymore. I happened to try it again for the first time in months just the other day as I just got a 5850. Played Beta 2 for the first time; some nice fixes and changes. Looks and runs great on the new card too.


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## Trigger911 (Apr 22, 2010)

MW has always played well and the original xbox port was pretty awesome too


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## Tatty_One (Apr 22, 2010)

Wrigleyvillain said:


> 2009 Mod Of The Year  Yeah we had a very active thread about it going here around release time but I can't find it anymore. I happened to try it again for the first time in months just the other day as I just got a 5850. Played Beta 2 for the first time; some nice fixes and changes. Looks and runs great on the new card too.



Might this be it.........

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=76155&highlight=living+legends


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## Wrigleyvillain (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks but no this was one that was begun to advertise and discuss the actual release...


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## El Fiendo (Apr 22, 2010)

Wrigley: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=111315&highlight=MWLL (Also, have I shot at you in the Reddit BC2 servers yet? I piss around on a couple of them but I'm not sure if I've seen your name)


I'll be downloading Mercs this weekend. Thanks!


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 22, 2010)

RejZoR said:


> Mad Cat and Mad Dog are my favorite mech's. Mostly because of the design. Especially Mad Dog.
> Otherwise i like small and agile mech's like Jenner. Armed with the most powerful engine you can mount on it and two medium sized lasers. Preferably pulse based (like in MW3) so you can target easily at higher speeds. It goes so fast you can dodge missiles at long range by running at 90° away from them. You don't even need to mount AMS  Then you just run around like crazy and chew slow and clunky mechs that take half an hour just to rotate  Works well on rough terrain and doesn't all that much on open wide terrain.


Problem is, an assault mech can slaughter anything medium sized and down in one salvo.  The only way a little one could chew down a big one is if the big one is piloted by someone with very bad aim.


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## Wrigleyvillain (Apr 22, 2010)

El Fiendo said:


> Wrigley: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=111315&highlight=MWLL (Also, have I shot at you in the Reddit BC2 servers yet? I piss around on a couple of them but I'm not sure if I've seen your name)



No I've been pub-hopping lately...add me in game, same nick...


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## Millennium (Apr 23, 2010)

Anyone else downloading this with MTX? Looks like mine will take 3-5 days! :/


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## ZenZimZaliben (Apr 23, 2010)

I will be getting this tonight. I have played every mechwarrior released and even used to GM the pen & paper. BattleTech.

My absolute favorite mechs are:
Uziel
wolfhound
Thor
Black Knight
WarHammer
BattleMaster
MadCat
MadCat Mk II
Sunder
Gladiator
Atlas


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## Millennium (Apr 24, 2010)

does this install any mods or 3rd party updates? I love MW4 but it's old now. And i don't have crysis


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## BarbaricSoul (Apr 24, 2010)

this is a full install of MW4 mercenaries, with all of mektek's updates included. There is alot more to this than just what microsoft released with mw4 mercs back in the day.


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## RejZoR (Apr 27, 2010)

This thing doesn't work at all. When i try to play it, it nags about missing CD in the drive. And yes, i've fixed the REG thingie, but from the looks of it, this is just patched and updated game, where you still need to have original MW4 mercenaries disc in the optical drive. So this game isn't actually free... unless i'm missing something here, but the thing is, i can't play it.


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## RejZoR (Apr 27, 2010)

C'mon, so much fuss about it and now when we can get some (and it doesn't work), no one replies here.


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## Millennium (Apr 27, 2010)

If you do a bit of snooping around their forums you will find the free release is not out yet. The release that was available via MTX this weekend has the original copy protection and that's why it's asking for disc 2. I was also surprised.

Apparently the 51.03.01.0019 version will be free and include the updates and content packs. So that's what im waiting for; at the moment the latest version is 51.03.01.0018. Hope it doesn't take long! By the way they say it will be a small patch so your large download wasn't in vain.


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## jagd (Apr 28, 2010)

http://mektek.net/

" I also wanted to clear up some information on what the Free Release is and how the process will work. The Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries free release will be a patch that applies to the current MekPak 3.1 release. You will need to use MTX to download and install the 3.1 release. Remember, the 3.1 release is a complete version of the game; you do not need to install the game from the CD (though they are currently required to play) and it will not update previously installed versions of the game.

Once you have 3.1 installed, the Free Release will be a small patch that removes the requirement to have the CD in your drive to play.

Once the free release is out, be sure to click UPDATE to patch-up to the latest version. "




RejZoR said:


> This thing doesn't work at all. When i try to play it, it nags about missing CD in the drive.


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## Mussels (Apr 29, 2010)

so basically, they're just giving out a noCD crack soon? how awesome.


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## TechnicalFreak (Apr 30, 2010)

I love Mechwarrior Series, I have them all:
Mw2 Mercenaries
Mw3 + Pirates moon
Mw4 'Mercs
Mw4 Vengeance
Mw4 Black Knight expansion

Oh, here is a cool tip: Take a mech capable of mounting jumpjets, mount 2-3 Clan PPC's and jumjets, give it a lot of armor and a lot of engine.. Now you can hover above everyone else and "snipe" from a distance..
Another cool tip, if you have rudders is to walk in a "circle" around your oponent, works best with a fast 'mech, have some lasers (Xpulse to prefer) and Ultra AC's and just fire them away... at the legs.


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## TechnicalFreak (May 1, 2010)

MTX just dissapeared? Started MTX just 5 min. ago and it say I need an internet connection (don't I have one?), and in main window - can't find MTX, and when I put in the webadress - nada.
Can't find it...


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## Millennium (May 1, 2010)

It's working for me, albeit very slowly. Maybe they are having server problems. I hope they hurry up and get the patch out...

EDIT: I take that back, same error as you. Must be their servers.


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## John Phoenix (May 1, 2010)

I have been following this for about 8 months.. an checking the site daily.. LOL I don't play online games so I hope there is a single player campaign. 

The Crysis mod.. is that only online.. not a single player game?

Just a pet peeve of mine is people today talk about fps games without specifying single player or multiplayer. .. the rule of thumb for me is if you don't specify you must only speak of single player..because that is the default game type.. we had single player for years only before any multiplayer came along.

Perhaps today's kids don't see it that way but I have been playing fps games since Wolfenstein and Rise of the Triad. Just makes sense to me.


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## Mussels (May 1, 2010)

John Phoenix said:


> I have been following this for about 8 months.. an checking the site daily.. LOL I don't play online games so I hope there is a single player campaign.
> 
> The Crysis mod.. is that only online.. not a single player game?
> 
> ...



i've been playing since wolfenstein as well, and FPS is just that, FPS. first person shooter. it doesnt matter if its singleplayer, multiplayer or MMO... if you shoot guns, and its from a first person perspective, then its a first person shooter.


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## John Phoenix (May 1, 2010)

Mussels,

 Your right but I think people should still specify out of common decency.  I will give you an example. On Google if you search for " free FPS games" you will find tons of web pages talking about free fps games and every game listed is a multiplayer game. There is not one hint of text saying these games are online only games. To my thinking, that's just rude and annoying.

Sorry didn't mean to hijack the thread.. just commenting.. Back to Mechwarrior.


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## mrsemi (May 1, 2010)

Their website seems to be down.


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## MT Alex (May 1, 2010)

Yah, it's too bad.  I was looking forward to getting the CD key today


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## RejZoR (May 1, 2010)

This is just poor. Sure it's free and all, but if you're going to release anything, you have to prepare first with mirrors and working webpage for starters...


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## Nick89 (May 2, 2010)

There website is still down.....


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## RejZoR (May 2, 2010)

This sucks. I was hoping for a Mech weekend and all i got was page not found 404. Yey.
I guess i'll have to fire up VirtualPC and play good old trusty Mechwarrior 2 instead...

EDIT:
At least they have added UPNP support in the latest version of MTX so i can connect directly without fiddling with my router internaly.
Download is not fast but it's going pretty well.

You know the drill, all you need is a new MTX client which you can get here:
http://mektekdev.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=96


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## John Phoenix (May 2, 2010)

Yeah it's still down.. 

I know they have said a few times on their forums they are a company struggling to survive. I don't think they have the cash for better servers. They should have anticipated these problems though and found many other servers to host thier files on. I am sure they could have gotten GamersHell or FilePlanet to help with the downloads.

Has anyone seen the video of their next game? It looks awesome. Read about it here with video.

http://www.neoseeker.com/news/11232-mechwarrior-reboot-announced/


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## MT Alex (May 2, 2010)

I thought the same thing.  FileFront/FilePlanet would have been a great idea.  I'm pretty sure there is a Mechwarrior site at FileFront.  I usually get all of my CoH and Sup Com maps there.  It's not what it used to be, but still a good resource.


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## Millennium (May 2, 2010)

Looks like this is out now via mtx!!! Downloading...


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## PP Mguire (May 2, 2010)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Vengeance was the original MechWarrior 4.  Mercenaries is a stand-alone expansion to MechWarrior 4: Vengeance.  IMO, Mercenaries was much better than Vengeance just because it had the Daishi (I  Daishi).  There's also that bonus of taking other mechs with you for those rare occassions one Daishi ain't enough.



You blind ford ol buddy? Vengeance has the Daishi 

I have all the original games and whatnot (Yes, the CDs) but i might try this out cause the mektek packs where a pain to get them ALL.

Ive been playing since Battletech on the Comodore64


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## TechnicalFreak (May 2, 2010)

Sorry for this short post.. But I now have the latest MW4:Mercs' from Mektek, also the .0020 update is installed..

I just hope and beg for one thing: *Please work under Windows 7!!*


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## PP Mguire (May 3, 2010)

TechnicalFreak said:


> Sorry for this short post.. But I now have the latest MW4:Mercs' from Mektek, also the .0020 update is installed..
> 
> I just hope and beg for one thing: *Please work under Windows 7!!*



Works fine on 7 for me.


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## MT Alex (May 3, 2010)

Win 7 works fine for me, as well.


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## John Phoenix (May 3, 2010)

Folks may want to wait a few days before trying this download. On the Mektek forum you see tons of people having download issues not just related to slow or bogged down servers but with the MTX client itself. Many people are finding bugs in the game or just cannot get it working.

If you have the game and it runs fine, count yourself one of the lucky ones.

It seems Mektek was really not ready for this release like they thought. They should have spent a little more time making sure everything went more smoothly before release. It would have made lots of people much happier.


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## PP Mguire (May 3, 2010)

All of my friends had no problems whatsoever.


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## John Phoenix (May 3, 2010)

PP Mguire said:


> All of my friends had no problems whatsoever.



Yeah.. your the lucky ones. See all the threads here with the folks having problems:
http://www.mektek.net/forums/index.php?showforum=116

Perhaps you guys can help me out with my problem with the MTX client.

(Copied from my thread at Mektek - http://www.mektek.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=156291)

" Title:  Can't get MTX Working: Instruction conflicts

 It seems some of the info on this forum is conflicting with what MTX says. Follow me here.

I don't use torrents at all but I tried some years ago. I didn't like them at all too slow. I downloaded MTX and it told me it timed out trying to connect to the server. Nothing showed under the Games to install window, so I could not select the MW4 game for download. At first I thought it was just having connection problems because so many people are trying to download the game.

I thought I would try HTML mode, and saved and restarted.. still nothing.. so I thought I would make sure my ports were forwarded so I could use the torrrent download. I followed the instructions in this thread: Information For People With Port Forwarding Issues http://www.mektek.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=139334

It had me set up 6 different applications with port ranges for the router to open. I rebooted. Opened MTX and I got the same results. Then I noticed there is a port checker built into MTX that wants to check port 57030. The instructions in the port forwarding post above and the port forwardin web site it refers you to never mention this port number to make openable. <-- That is the problem with the instructions here in the forum.

If that post above, "Information For People With Port Forwarding Issues" is not the correct post for the help on how to set up MTX then I cannot find any other.

Perhaps someone should write a more clear instruction post for us newbies.

Clicking on Online Help in the MTX program just gives me a blank page.

I still do not seem to have a working MTX in either HTML or Torrent mode.. nothing shows in the download list even if I do not get a timed out error message.

Someone please write a better help post for getting MTX working. Thanks BTW I am using 1.0.3.5 version, windows 7. I DID set the port 57030 to open in my router. I added the range with a new name from 57030 to 57030. Still nothing. "

Anyone wanna take a crack at it?


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## TVman (May 3, 2010)

that shit is broken man :shadedshu didnt they like test it before releasing it


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## INSTG8R (May 4, 2010)

Big MW fan, after reading this I went and found my MW Vengence discs just to be sure they were still around(even found my quick reference card right close too)

So of course I went to Mektek right away and installed MTX...YAY how many hoops a guy gotta jump thru to get it working??
I am d/l the base file thru utorrent anyway and will try to actually use MTX to install it tomorrow.

I am really hoping the legal BS gets sorted out with MW 5 because that trailer was just so drool worthy and just such a tease....


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