[tomojira]

Verifying MechWarrior 2 - Mercenaries (1996) (Activision)

Checklist

Have adequate installation instructions been provided to match any config files in the DOSZ?
The sound config file isn't needed in the DOSZ. It 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 these games were 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.

Have any official patches been applied, if necessary?
Yes, it's already patched to the latest DOS version, v1.06. There's also an unofficial bug fix BPS patch in the DOSC: https://gist.github.com/Najip/1812ec80cef70207c2fb5f2694ace619

Is the game data in the root of the ZIP (unless game does not work that way)?
No, I moved it to the root.

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?
No.

Can DoDAT build the game from the install media?
No, the patch needs to be installed.

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?
Yes, I removed MERCSWIN.EXE.

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 left it unlimited to maximize the FPS with the improved graphics settings. It gets 70 FPS this way, while cpu_max_year: 1998 gave around 30 FPS.

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?
No.

Is the game set up to run with the best quality graphics options by default?
I enabled 640x480 and several other improved graphics settings. These are more intensive than the settings for the other MechWarrior 2 games.

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:

• Moved files to root
• Removed Windows file
• Added run_input and WAITMODECHANGE
• 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 after starting mission), 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 an unknown file in the DOSZ that I never saw reproduced, MW2586.CFG.