MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries
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 | Apocryphal Product Although the subject of this article is an official BattleTech product, it does not meet the current criteria for Canon. Its content may or may not be canonical for the BattleTech universe, and for the purpose of the Sarna.net BattleTechWiki is considered apocryphal. |
FASA Studio's MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries is a 2002 computer game set in the BattleTech universe. Smith and Tinker announced on 09 July 2009 that the MechWarrior 4 series of games and expansions will be made available for free via MekTek, this finally happened on 30 April 2010. However, with development stalling, Smith and Tinker going out of business, and the introduction of MechWarrior Online, MakTek ultimately dropped their license for MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. Download of the Free Release is now considered illegal.[1]
Contents
Canonicity
Computer games are explicitly excluded from the list of products that contribute straight Canon to the BattleTech universe while at the same time it was stated that the IP owners are "not in total denial about these sources either"; it has also been stated that fluff from certain official, licensed products (namely certain computer games including those produced by FASA) can be assumed to be part of the shared universe as long as it is not directly contradicted, and makes sense. On this premise, MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries is considered to be an apocryphal product.
Plot synopsis
Backstory
Backstory
The player takes the role of Spectre, a male commander of a small mercenary company. Trained under a pilot program on Outreach where smaller mercenary companies are "sponsored" by larger ones (such as the Kell Hounds, Wolf's Dragoons, Grey Death Legion, or Northwind Highlanders), Spectre travels inside the fictional interstellar region of the Chaos March during the FedCom Civil War (specifically during the time period from January 1, 3066 to late July 3067). The player makes a living earning cash and useful salvage from completing mission contracts for various factions. With these resources, the player can purchase new weapons and BattleMechs, pay for 'Mech repairs, and hire additional MechWarriors for his or her company.
Halloran V Campaign
Eaton Campaign
Styk Campaign
Solaris VII Championship
New Exford Campaign
Wernke Campaign
Hesperus II Campaign
New Avalon Campaign
Tharkad Campaign
Carse Campaign
New Canton Campaign
Featured BattleMechs
Light 'Mechs
Medium 'Mechs
Heavy'Mechs
- Argus
- Black Knight
- Catapult
- Hellbringer (Loki)
- Mad Dog (Vulture)
- Nova Cat
- Summoner (Thor)
- Thanatos
- Timber Wolf (Mad Cat)
Assault 'Mechs
- Atlas
- Awesome
- Dire Wolf (Daishi)
- Executioner (Gladiator)
- Fafnir
- Hauptmann
- Longbow
- Mad Cat Mk II
- Mauler
- Sunder
- Templar
- Victor
Featured Planetary data
- Outreach
- Eaton
- Halloran V
- Solaris VII
- New Exford
- Styk
- Wernke
- Hesperus II
- Tharkad
- New Avalon
- New Canton
- Carse
Modifications
In 2010, Studio MekTek, Inc. released a free version of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, with Microsoft's approval along with Mektek's Mekpaks (Mekpaks 1, 2 and 3, with 4 slowly progressing). These MekPaks improve upon many things in the game, including multiplayer. They also add many new 'Mechs (over 120 different 'Mechs and other units in total are used in-game, when those in the MekPaks are added to the default number of units included in MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries and the Inner Sphere and Clan 'MechPacks) and weapons to choose from, as well as many new maps for multiplayer and some for singleplayer. One interesting feature in the free release is the ability to play as battle armor or infantry.
Below is a list, organized by MekPak number, that shows the various units introduced by Studio MekTek, Inc. Units marked with an asterisk (*) are non-canon designs by MekTek.
MekPak 1 New 'Mechs
Light 'Mechs
Medium 'Mechs
Heavy 'Mechs
Assault 'Mechs
MekPak 2 New 'Mechs
Light 'Mechs
Medium 'Mechs
Heavy 'Mechs
Assault 'Mechs
MekPak 3 New 'Mechs
Battle Armor and Infantry
Infantry:
- Players can choose to play as Inner Sphere or Clan infantry with either a single ballistic, energy, or missile hardpoint.
Battle Armor:
- Elemental
- Gnome
- Golem
- Gray Death Standard
- Infiltrator Mk. I
- Inner Sphere Standard
- Kanazuchi
- Longinus
- Salamander
Light 'Mechs
Medium 'Mechs
- Assassin II *
- Blackjack (Note: The Blackjack featured in-game is known as Blackjack II)
- Centurion
- Crab
- Hunchback IIC
- Ice Ferret (Fenris)
- Privateer *
- Rabid Coyote
- Reaver *
- Shadow Hawk
- Trebuchet
- Ursus
Heavy 'Mechs
- Archer
- Black Heart *
- Bowman
- Catapult K2 (Note: This is a modified version of the default Catapult, sporting PPC cannons instead of LRM racks)
- Orion IIC
- Pitbull *
- Tenchi *
- Vulture Mk. II *
- Vulture C (Note: This is a modified version of the default Vulture, removing most of the weaponry for two Gauss Rifles in the arms)
- Wildcat *
- Yeoman
Assault 'Mechs
- Battlemaster
- Battlemaster IIC *
- Marauder II
- Stone Rhino (Behemoth)
- Stone Rhino (Behemoth) II *
- Supernova
- Talos *
- Thug
- Warlord *
MekPak 3.1 New Content
This new MekPak was released as the free, stand-alone version of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries mentioned above (including MekTek's previous modifications), and added another two 'Mechs as development progressed. There were plans to include several more 'Mechs, but development began to slow and eventually ended completely towards the end of 2012. The goal of this development was to transition to a final MekPak 4, featuring not only more new 'Mechs, but also a large array of new equipment and many more options and enhancements. Some of the planned features for MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries that were released before development halted include Advanced Radar and Long Tom Range Indicator.
Medium 'Mechs
Heavy 'Mechs
Planned New Content
Planned 'Mechs
Light 'Mechs
Medium 'Mechs
Heavy 'Mechs
Assault 'Mechs
Planned Equipment
- Blue Shield Particle Field Damper
- MASC
- Directional Jump Jets
Resources
Media
- Advanced Radar Overview
- MekTek's MekPak 4 Overview
- Radar Ranges Table (as of the last release of MekPak 3.1)
Downloads
- The MTX Download client, and other pertinent files. [1]