Mechwarrior 4 Free!

Yet another delay.

They're blaming this one on Microsoft and - oh surprise of all surprises - they're asking for donations. Again.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Yet another delay.

They're blaming this one on Microsoft and - oh surprise of all surprises - they're asking for donations. Again.

Geez, how are we supposed to believe that piracy is a huge problem when it is obviously so expensive to give things away for free?

article wrote:

According to the announcement, MekTek would be able to keep the servers running for an entire year if all those who downloaded the expansion were to donate $5.

So we've gone from "we'll let you download the game for free!" to "we'll let you download the game for free! but if you want to play it multiplayer on our mandatory services that will be $5/year."

A new post!! Excitement... then disappointment.

Dare we say it? Free release of Mechwarrior4 cleared for launch

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.
Burnt Toast wrote:

I want to believe.

This. I read the post in question, and it's nearly identical to the one from last year. I fully expect MS to crap all over this again.

AnimeJ wrote:
Burnt Toast wrote:

I want to believe.

This. I read the post in question, and it's nearly identical to the one from last year. I fully expect MS to crap all over this again.

I still don't think it's MS's fault, and with that in mind I'd be amazed if they actually release the stupid thing.

LobsterMobster wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:
Burnt Toast wrote:

I want to believe.

This. I read the post in question, and it's nearly identical to the one from last year. I fully expect MS to crap all over this again.

I still don't think it's MS's fault, and with that in mind I'd be amazed if they actually release the stupid thing.

I have a hard time blaming anyone BUT MS when they dumped a huge heap of additional fees and requirements on the guys at MekTek.

LobsterMobster wrote:

I still don't think it's MS's fault, and with that in mind I'd be amazed if they actually release the stupid thing.

Those absolute bastards. Sure they are working to release the game for free, but they ask for voluntary donations to defray server costs, and they are not releasing the game quickly enough. They even have the gall to blame Microsoft for their problems, since when has Microsoft ever been anything but completely helpful in situations like this?

I went and downloaded it through the MekTek thingy... and they've left the CD check on until they do another update. It's not ready yet.

AnimeJ wrote:

I have a hard time blaming anyone BUT MS when they dumped a huge heap of additional fees and requirements on the guys at MekTek.

Yeah, you're right, that would be MS's fault. Thing is, the only source we have for that information is the guys at MekTek. The guys who have repeatedly begged for donations, promising it was totally necessary and once they got what they'd needed they'd totally release MechWarrior 4. The guys who still haven't released the thing even though we're all celebrating the removal of the very last barrier (they promise).

Tannhauser wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

I still don't think it's MS's fault, and with that in mind I'd be amazed if they actually release the stupid thing.

Those absolute bastards. Sure they are working to release the game for free, but they ask for voluntary donations to defray server costs, and they are not releasing the game quickly enough. They even have the gall to blame Microsoft for their problems, since when has Microsoft ever been anything but completely helpful in situations like this?

They have repeatedly demanded donations for over a year. Each time they've delayed I've pointed out that this is a scam. Each time, someone's sarcastically pointed out that it's free, and oooh, how dare I make demands of something that's free? I honestly don't care if they release the thing. I've got my own copy. Thing is, it's not free if they never actually release it, and if they collect donations for the purpose, that's called fraud. And, in my infinite arrogance and sense of entitlement, I happen to think fraud is a bad thing and it's OK to call it a bad thing.

Well I'm excited if they do finally release it. Especially with all the fan-made patches and updates and extra downloads available now, it could end up being an awesome game yet again!

It seems to come with their MekPak 3.1 bundled in the download.

LobsterMobster wrote:

And, in my infinite arrogance and sense of entitlement...

At least you recognize it.

Tannhauser wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

And, in my infinite arrogance and sense of entitlement...

At least you recognize it.

OOOOOOHHHHHHH

Released!

Finally, the long awaited moment has arrived!

Studio MekTek, in association with Smith and Tinker, INC., Virtual World Entertainment, LLC, Catalyst Game Labs, and Microsoft Games, is happy to announce the release of Mechwarrior4 Free.

Getting started is easy. Just download and install MTX, MekTek's free content delivery and updating system. Once installed, simply click the Games Available tab, select Mechwarrior4: Mercenaries and click install. The game will download and install, all within MTX, and as updates become available, MTX will help you keep your game up to date.

For more information, F.A.Q.'s, technical support, reference materials, and a list of changes and new features in the current version, head to MekTek.net

Once again, a big thanks to Microsoft Games and all of our partners for making this free release possible, and a special thanks to all of you in the community. Without our community, MekTek wouldn't be what it is today. Your continued support and financial contributions have made all of this possible.

Hooray! Downloading now from those big jerk assholes who dare to give me free stuff!

Nice. Guess I was wrong.

Well, I will contribute if I can download it when I get home. Got to encourage this kind of behaviour.

I was not prepared to be an investor (paying up front for promises), but am happy to donate in support.

(I sure hope it works!)

Another reason to buy a new joystick. First to replay Freespace2, and now this (I can't imagine it any other way).

Sadly, my new motherboard does not have a gameport connector on it (so I can't even cannibalize the one from my old system) and my old reliable MS Sidewinder 3d-Pro is just not USB compatible

I don't have anything listed in "available games".

Think I need to visit the *Donate* tab first?

I finally got it working. I hate to spew bile on software, and free software too, but I find the MTX installer/patcher to be really crap. It does the job, but it's a pain to use and seems to be a clunky merging of .net/gecko/torrent client/custom theming.

The saving grace is that you don't need it to launch MW4

Download in progress. Mechwarrior 3 was one of my first gaming purchases. It was in the $10 bin and had an amazing box, so obviously the game was amazing as well.

IMAGE(http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/07/MechWarrior_3_cover.jpg)

Shiny things are great.

Not really thrilled at putting another installer on my rig but I think I'll make and exception here.

Toast I upgraded from a sidewinder to a saitek x52. If you can take the hit in the wallet it's worth it.

This MTX software is a huge steaming pile of crap. I'm rapidly beginning to wonder if a free game is worth having this installed on my system. Folks should be aware that even after you manage to get this thing to install Mechwarrior, it will keep a separate copy of the 1.8 Gig install file on your HD in the MTX directory for seeding.

Yeah. I've uploaded 4x more than I've downloaded so far. I'm not impressed at all. Still, free is free, I guess. And I'm assuming I can remove the extra crap after?

An update: Once you finally manage to get it downloaded and installed, it will automatically check for updates and download them. Sadly, there will be more updates after that, and it won't do them automatically. You have to keep sitting there manually checking for updates until it finally gets through them all. If you're not fully updated, it will ask for a CD and refuse to run without it.

I don't know what's going on but I appear to just be a seed machine. I tried to limit my upload to 10kb/s and all I got in return is an entirely unresponsive download client that crashes on restart. Why can't I just torrent it like normal people!?

LobsterMobster wrote:

Nice. Guess I was wrong.

The problem with your position (which was not an entirely unreasonable one) was that if they EVER released it for free, then you were wrong. So long as they could spin a remotely plausible tale as to why the release was delayed and continue to maintain that it was coming out, we had no proof that they were lying (and therefore defrauding).

This has not been the best situation in gaming history, but I'm glad it's finally concluded with the free full release.

Stylez wrote:

I don't know what's going on but I appear to just be a seed machine. I tried to limit my upload to 10kb/s and all I got in return is an entirely unresponsive download client that crashes on restart. Why can't I just torrent it like normal people!?

If you look in your "Program Files/Mektek.net/MTX/temp/games/torrents" directory you'll find the .torrent files for the install. You can then open it with a real client and download it that way. The MTX software is garbage.

Can someone maybe post the .torrent files somewhere? I can't even get their MTX setup file to *start* downloading, let alone start the MW4 download..