MechWarrior 4: Vengeance

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MechWarrior 4: Vengeance

Developer(s)	FASA Interactive
Publisher(s)	Microsoft
Platform(s)	Windows PC
Release date	November 24, 2000
Genre(s)	Action / Simulation
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Media	CD-ROM
System requirements	300 MHz CPU, 64 MB RAM, 8 MB video card, 650 MB HDD space

MechWarrior 4: Vengeance is a computer game developed by FASA Interactive and published by Microsoft. Released on November 24, 2000, this game is the fourth in the MechWarrior series. It takes place in the BattleTech universe where the pinnacle of all war machines are huge, heavily armed robots called Battlemechs. The player pilots one of these 'Mechs and uses a variety of weapons (autocannons, lasers, missiles, ...) to battle enemy 'Mechs, tanks, and other vehicles. An expansion pack, MechWarrior 4: Black Knight, was released in October 31, 2001, and a subsequent stand-alone expansion, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries was released in November 7, 2002.

[edit] Plot

The game takes place on the Inner Sphere planet Kentares IV and its moon. Players takes control of Ian Dresari, son of famed Clan War hero Duke Eric Dresari and heir to the throne of Kentares.

A civil war erupts on the planet after William Dresari, a cousin of Ian, betrays the family and seizes the throne for himself under the banner of Katherine "Katrina" Steiner, ruler of the Lyran Alliance and responsible for annihilation of loyalists to Victor Steiner-Davion, brother of Katrina. After a surprise attack by Steiner forces on the Dresari royal palace, leaving Eric Dresari, and the majority of the royal family dead, Ian meets up with his uncle, Sir Peter Dresari on the moon orbiting Kentares' to launch a guerrilla campaign to take back Kentares IV from Steiner. Ian fights alongside with fellow Resistance MechWarriors, Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, and Jules Gonzales, and their commander Elise Rathburn in various missions. The Resistance eventually abandons its base on the moon and sets up camp for the first time on Kentares', located in the planet's arctic regions. At one point during this campaign, Ian's uncle Peter is murdered by Duncan Burke, a high-ranking officer in Katrina's forces. Ian and the rest of the Resistance are devastated by the loss of their leader and debate over whether or not to continue the fight for Kentares' freedom. They decide to push forward, capturing a satellite network from Steiner before leaving the region. The rebel group moves toward warmer regions; into the mountains.

After destroying a disabled, but heavily guarded Steiner dropship, Ian and the Resistance move to the Hadra Peninsula, a remote desert region. Rumors of an abandoned prison camp surface and efforts are made to locate and liberate the camp in order to enlist more personnel to the Resistance cause. Along the way, Ian is shocked to find that one member of his family survived Steiner's siege of the Dresari palace: his sister Joanna. After a brief reunion, Ian and Joanna are separated once more as the Resistance plans to mobilize their forces to take the fight to Steiner. They make a detour to save a coastal town named Vale after Steiner threatens to annihilate the town due to allegations of links to the Resistance. Not only does the Resistance save the population, but Ian manages to personally defeat his uncle's murderer, Duncan Burke, in a heated duel.

Pushing forward into urban environments, the fighting heats up and Resistance casualties mount. Joanna informs Ian of an old armory cache hidden somewhere in the city, full of equipment enough to outfit four heavy Lances of 'Mechs, valuable for assaulting the Dresari palace, now the headquarters for the Steiner occupation. Before the search for the cache could be conducted however, Joanna and her Lance are ambushed by Steiner forces, leaving her badly injured and in mortal danger. Ian has to make a choice, between rescuing his sister from certain death or securing the weapons cache for an assault on the Dresari palace. Whatever the player chooses, Ian and the Resistance fight one last battle against House Steiner, finally putting an end to the war. However, the fight is not yet over for Ian, as William shows up in a modified Daishi, challenging him to a duel. Ian defeats William and finally frees the planet from Steiner's grasp.

Depending what choice the player makes during the second-to-last mission, either Joanna or Ian will ascend the throne as Duchess or Duke, respectively.

[edit] Gameplay modes

[edit] Campaign

This tells the story of the game. It contains 26 missions divided into 7 "ops", each with different environments. Each ops contains about 3-6 missions, with exception to Op 7. In the first few missions, only a few smaller 'Mechs are available. As the game progresses, more 'Mechs and weapons are at the player's disposal. These come in the form of salvage from previous missions. Between missions, the player can outfit 'Mechs with different weapons and can also assign 'Mechs to one of their three Lancemate slots.

[edit] Instant Action

This mode lets you play with any of the 21 'Mechs in the game. You can play either one of the campaign missions (even those which you cannot access in campaign yet) or wave missions in which you can select up to four other mechs and fight them in deathmatch style. There is also a master trial mode in which the computer randomly picks a stock 'Mech for you. It also randomly picks one map to play on and three stock 'Mechs as enemies. You have to successively destroy two of the randomly selected 'Mechs in a one-on-one battle and destroy or survive (for a total mission time of ten minutes) the third.

[edit] Multiplayer

Microsoft has stopped hosting for Mech's Zone, and MSN Zone does not host for CD games any longer. To play Vengeance multiplayer, you must search for servers via direct-IP, or use the third-party GameSpy Arcade.

Known Servers

WPPC -server: wppc.servegame.org

OTC - server: otchla3.servegame.org

CLS - server: mech.es

TR - server: 68.98.212.251

ICM - server: 10.0.0.3 or 69.247.182.40

[edit] Weapons and Equipment

A 'Mech has slots which can usually mount only a specific kind of weapon. A weapon can be mounted if there are enough free slots and free weight. Weapons are generally very heavy and make up more than half of 'Mech's weight. Most weapons have Clan variants which have some advantages over regular ones.

[edit] Energy weapons

This type of weapons generate heat, but requires no ammunition. Larger types of energy weapons do more damage and have longer range. They include:

Lasers - fire a beam that takes several seconds to recharge. Heat buildup is minimal.
Bombast Laser - similar to standard lasers, but they are charged up before they are fired.
Pulse lasers - fire series of pulses in rapid sequence and take few seconds to recharge. Heat is accumulated with constant use.
PPCs - fire accelerated particles. Causes a high amount of heat and shorts out the electronics and sensors of a hit mech for a short time.
Flamer - somewhat like flamethrowers. Heat buildup is minimal, but if this weapon successfully hits an enemy mech, it causes heat also to that mech. Flamers can cause opponents to shut down.

[edit] Missiles

This type of weapons requires ammunition and generate small amount of heat. Larger types of missile launchers fire more missiles per salvo. They include:

LRMs - long range guided missiles.
MRMs - guided missiles which do more damage than LRMs, but have significantly shorter range, and are unguided unless equipped with a Clan STREAK system.
SRMs - short range missiles which do large amounts of damage, but are not guided (unless equipped with a STREAK system).
Thunderbolt Missile - a long range, unguided missile. It deals significant damage.
Artillery Radio - although this technically is not a missile it is considered a missile weapon. When activated it targets an area for friendly artillery to fire. After 7 seconds the area is bombarded by artillery shells. NOTE: This weapon causes massive splash damage and is only available in the Instant Action MechLab and on special campaign missions.

[edit] Ballistic weapons

This type of weapons requires ammunition and generate almost no heat. Larger types of ballistic weapons do more damage, but have shorter range. They include:

Autocannons - Ordinary cannons.
LBX autocannons - Cannons similar to shotguns which do more damage, but shots are weak at distance, and range is quite limited.
Ultra autocannons - Cannons shooting two autocannon rounds at once.
Gauss rifles - Cannons shooting magnetically accelerated KE-penetrators. There are standard versions, a light one (inner sphere, no clan version) and the heavy version, which deals significantly more damage at a lower range than the other Gauss Rifles (it is only inner sphere, no clan version)
Machineguns - Small bore guns that fire at a high rate. Deals a small amount of damage by itself, so they are meant for use in groups or as a support weapon.
Long Tom Artillery - Massive weapons, similar to off-map artillery. It deals a lot of damage, but rather hard to aim and generates high heat.

[edit] Equipment

A 'Mech can be equipped with various devices to increase its effectiveness in a battle. They include:

Jump jets - Some 'Mechs can mount these rocket boosters which greatly increase mobility, especially over rough terrain
ECM - Jammer decreasing distance at which your 'Mech can be detected, although if you are detected, missile lock-on time is reduced
LAMS - Laser Anti-missile system which shoots down some incoming missiles
Beagle Active Probe - Device increasing your radar range
Light amplification - All 'Mechs can equip this device making the pilot able to see in darkness. When using light amplification a mech cannot use its zoom function.
IFF Jammer (from the Inner Sphere mech pak') Mechs that use this are usually detected as neutral or friendly by other mechs until the mech equipped with this fires at a target.
AMS - Anti-missile system. Similar to the LAMS, but has limited ammunition and generates less heat.

[edit] Armor

A 'Mech is covered by armor protecting it from enemy fire. Armor can be added to offer more protection at the expense of additional weight. There are three types of armor:

Ferro Fibrous - Standard armor which protects equally against all kinds of weapons. It weighs less than the other types of armor, yet takes up more space in a mech's chassis.
Reactive - This type of armor protects more against ballistic and missile and less against energy weapons. It weighs more than Ferro Fibrous armor, yet takes up less space in a mech's chassis, thus increasing the amount/points of armor that can be equipped on a mech.
Reflective - This type of armor protects more against energy weapons and less against ballistic weapons. It weighs more than Ferro Fibrous armor, yet takes up less space in a mech's chassis, thus increasing the amount/points of armor that can be equipped on a mech.

[edit] 'Mechs

'Mechs are classified into four weight categories. They are also either from Clans or Inner Sphere. Clan 'Mechs are generally superior to Inner Sphere 'Mechs of same weight.

[edit] Light 'Mechs

Cougar - 35 tons, Clan
Raven - 35 tons, Inner Sphere
Osiris - 30 tons, Inner Sphere

[edit] Medium 'Mechs

Bushwhacker - 55 tons, Inner Sphere
Chimera - 40 tons, Inner Sphere
Hellspawn - 45 tons, Inner Sphere
Shadow Cat - 45 tons, Clan
Uziel - 50 tons, Inner Sphere

[edit] Heavy 'Mechs

Argus - 60 tons, Inner Sphere
Catapult - 65 tons, Inner Sphere
Loki - 65 tons, Clan
Mad Cat - 75 tons, Clan
Nova Cat - 70 tons, Clan
Thanatos - 75 tons, Inner Sphere
Thor - 70 tons, Clan
Vulture - 60 tons, Clan

[edit] Assault 'Mechs

Atlas - 100 tons, Inner Sphere
Awesome - 80 tons, Inner Sphere
Daishi - 100 tons, Clan
Mad Cat Mark II - 90 tons, Clan
Mauler - 90 tons, Inner Sphere

[edit] Later developments

In August of 2002 Microsoft released two add-ons to MechWarrior 4: Vengeance. Clan 'Mech Pak and Inner Sphere 'Mech Pak. Each pack contains four new 'Mechs and a few other bonuses. Many players were disappointed by the fact that new 'Mechs can be used only in instant action or multiplayer, and not in campaign.

'Mechs from Clan 'Mech Pak

Arctic Wolf - 40 tons, Clan
Cauldron-Born - 65 tons, Clan
Kodiak - 100 tons, Clan
Masakari - 85 tons, Clan

'Mechs from Inner Sphere 'Mech Pak

Dragon - 60 tons, Inner Sphere
Highlander - 90 tons, Inner Sphere
Hunchback - 50 tons, Inner Sphere
Zeus - 80 tons, Inner Sphere

[edit] Awards

E3 2000 Game Critics Awards: Best Simulation Game

[edit] Changes from previous games

Modified weapon ranges: Some weapons have had their ranges adjusted. For example, the ER Large Laser's range has been decreased from 1000m to 800m, reducing its effectiveness.
Modified heat values: Some energy weapons generate more heat than in previous games, and heat dissipates slower.
Reactor explosions: Unlike in previous games, an enemy 'Mech's reactor always blows when it is destroyed, dealing significant damage to nearby 'Mechs.
Leg damage: Instead of being blown off and disabling the 'Mech, when a leg has been "destroyed", it remains present and partially functional, allowing the 'Mech to continue movement but more slowly and with a limp.
Vastly simplified 'Mech bay: Players can no longer adjust many aspects of their 'Mech, such as what type of internal structure is used or where ammunition is placed. Weapons are mounted in locations, which range in size from one to four slots. Each weapon takes up a certain number of slots, and multiple weapons can be mounted in one location. Most locations are fixed and only take weapons of a certain type (ballistic, missile, or energy), though omni-points also exist which will take all weapons. Furthermore, certain equipment was only able to be loaded on certain mechs, taking away a great deal of battle customization.
No deformable terrain - terrain in MW3 would deform from explosions.
Realism - cockpit graphics and 'Mech and terrain textures have been significantly decreased taking away from the realistic look of MW3

[edit] External links

v • d • e MechWarrior video games

MechWarrior series	MechWarrior · 2: 31st Century Combat · 3 · 4: Vengeance · 4: Mercenaries

MechCommander series	MechCommander · 2

MechAssault series	MechAssault · 2: Lone Wolf · Phantom War