[tomojira]

Verifying MechWarrior 2 - 31st Century Combat (1995) (Activision)

Checklist

Have adequate installation instructions been provided to match any config files in the DOSZ?
The sound config files aren't needed in the DOSZ. They can be created by SETSOUND.EXE.
There are several others included, but they mostly seem to be defaults copied from the disc during installation. To be honest I gave up on investigating them further and guessing if they can be left out without breaking things because the game was already time-consuming to deal with, they're all binary files with lots of unknown data in them, and DoDAT can get all of them from the disc anyway except MW2SND.CFG.

Have any official patches been applied, if necessary?
This seems to be the latest version, v1.1. There was also an unofficial bug fix IPS patch in the DOSC - however, I found that it caused DOS to crash after starting a mission, so I had to remove it. EDIT: Ghost Bear's Legacy didn't seem to have this problem, so I added the patch back there.
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/MechWarrior_2:_31st_Century_Combat#Jump_Jet_Fuel_Fix_Patch

Is the game data in the root of the ZIP (unless game does not work that way)?
No, I moved it to the root. It was in a subfolder before because 31st Century Combat and Ghost Bear's Legacy were combined into one DOSZ. The latter requires you to insert the former's CD during installation, but afterwards, it's actually a standalone game, so I split it into a separate entry.

Is the entry in the right variant file (i.e. Freeware)?
Yes.

Have digital versions (Steam, GOG) been checked for matching?
It isn't on GOG/Steam.

Can the game benefit from using embedded data or embedded patches in the datfile?
Yes, I added it to MW2SND.CFG because DoDAT could not find this small file on the disc.

Can DoDAT build the game from the install media?
Yes, with the embedded data.

If the game requires a yml in the DOSZ, has it been added to the yml folder in the repo?
Not applicable.

Are there .PIF or .ICO or Win32 .EXE files that could be excluded?
No.

Do the file timestamps match the installation media?
Yes.

Does the DOSZ run standalone?
Yes.

For CD games, can the game be set up to run without a CD mounted?
No, it gives an error.

For games which include CD images, is there a smaller installation variant that offers the same features but needs less files?
Yes, it already uses the minimal size.

Can the game benefit from using CHDtoOGG?
Yes, it already does.

Is the game creating a swap file in the .pure.zip that could be avoided by increasing memory size? Or is it creating other bloated files that could be prevented by adding them in the DOSZ?
No.

Does the DOSC contain problematic data (i.e. copyright issue)?
No.

Does the DOSC have copy protection removed, if possible?
Not applicable.

Is the game running at the correct speed? Is CPU year specified?
No CPU setting was specified. I added cpu_max_year: 1998.

Is the DOSC auto-running and skipping past any obstructions? Does it use WAITMODECHANGE if possible?
No, I added run_input and WAITMODECHANGE.

Does the game have MT-32 support? If so, is it correctly using MT-32 (old) or CM-32L (new), going by the Vogons Wiki?
No.

Does the game have General MIDI support?
Yes, but it was set as the default option. I changed the default to Sound Blaster with General MIDI as a launch config.

Is the game set up to run with the best quality graphics options by default?
I enabled 640x480 and a few other improved graphics settings.

For certain old games only - are the graphics/audio improved by specifying video_card: pcjr, tandy, or generic_cga?
Not applicable.

Does the game have a mouse cursor that benefits from enabling input_directmouse?
Not sure if it should be enabled with this game's mouse controls.

Does a game with separate episodes/executables have the options named and ordered properly in the DOSZ? Do they use the run_utility feature?
Not applicable.

Does the game share saves with a sequel, expansion, etc? If so, is it updated to use the .savename feature?
Not applicable.

Comment

Summary of changes:

• Removed unofficial bug fix patch from DOSC that caused DOS to crash
• Split 31st Century Combat and Ghost Bear's Legacy into separate games
• Moved files to root
• Added embedded data to MW2SND.CFG for DoDAT
• Added cpu_max_year: 1998
• Added run_input and WAITMODECHANGE
• Changed default setting to Sound Blaster, and changed General MIDI to a launch config
• Enabled 640x480 and other improved graphics settings
• Edited comments and links

Later update:

• After coming back refreshed and spending more time on it, I think MW2DIF.CFG (difficulty, consistently gets reproduced when it doesn't exist), MW2PRM.CFG (unknown, but consistently gets reproduced immediately), MW2REG.CFG (player data, consistently reproduced), and MW2SND.CFG (graphics settings, consistently reproduced) can be safely removed from the DOSZ. But some unknown bytes can still be different in the reproduced versions, so I put the defaults in the DOSC just in case. There is still a much larger and unknown file in the DOSZ, MW2MSN.CFG.
• Another update, I found MW2MSN.CFG reproduced after starting a mission, though in a different form. I removed it from the DOSZ and again put the default in the DOSC just in case.

[PureDOS]

I ended up moving MW2MSN.CFG, MW2PRM.CFG and MW2REG.CFG to the DOSZ as they exist equally on the CD and on the hard drive after the installation (before the first launch) as you had them in the DOSC. The remaining MW2SND.CFG I left in the DOSC because it gets changed from what is on the CD during the installation and as you wrote the game creates it if it is missing.

I also enabled input_directmouse because I think the game only queries the absolute position while in the menu and it uses the relative mouse movement for mech controls so it should be fine.