MechWarrior 4: Vengeance

Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field FASA Studio's MechWarrior IV: Vengeance is a 2000 computer game set in the BattleTech universe during the FedCom Civil War era. Smith & Tinker announced on 09 July 2009 that the MechWarrior 4 series of games and expansions will be made available for free via MekTek's endeavors. This finally happened on 30 April 2010, although only with the MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries game.

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: Vengeance is considered to be an apocryphal product.

Conflicts with official canon include:

• The attack on Duke Eric Dresari's compound is portrayed as a surprise attack that is over within minutes. The Federated Commonwealth Civil War sourcebook describes it as a three-day battle.
• The Federated Commonwealth Civil War sourcebook indicates that Ian Dresari becomes Duke, rendering the alternate ending where Joanna becomes Duchess non-canon.

Plot synopsis

Backstory

The FedCom Civil War engulfs Kentares IV after William Dresari, a nephew of famed Clan War hero Duke Eric Dresari, betrays the family, launching a surprise attack by Steiner forces on the Dresari royal palace. William seizes the throne for himself under the banner of Katherine "Katrina" Steiner-Davion's Lyran Alliance and became responsible for the annihilation of loyalists to Victor Steiner-Davion. The betrayal leaves Eric Dresari and the majority of the royal family dead.

Storyline

Upon hearing of the coup, Eric's son, Ian Dresari, returns home and meets up with his uncle, Sir Peter Dresari, on the moon orbiting Kentares to launch a guerrilla campaign to take back Kentares IV from the Steiner loyalists. Ian fights alongside with fellow Resistance MechWarriors Casey Nolan, Jen McQuarrie, and Jules Gonzales, and their commander Elise Rathburn in various missions. The Resistance abandons its base on the moon and sets up camp for the first time in Kentares' 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 his uncle and debate over whether or not to continue the fight for Kentares' freedom. They decide to push forward and manage to capture a satellite network from House Steiner. The rebel group moves 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 reached the resistance and efforts are made to locate and liberate the camp in order to enlist more personnel for 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 short reunion, Ian and Joanna are separated once more as the Resistance plans to mobilize their forces to take the fight to Steiner. While in Hadra, Ian kills James Kulin, who was tasked with suppressing the civilian population of Kentares and personally gave the orders to execute Ian and Joanna's family. They make a brief detour to save a coastal town named Vale after Steiner threatened to bomb 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 the Resistance's 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 Ian 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.

Missions

Operation 1

• Mission 1 - Destroy Communications Array - Ian Dresari joins his uncle Peter Dresari and Casey Knowles as Omega Lance in a mission to destroy the main communication relay station, located on Kentares' moon. Their destruction cuts off all Lyran Alliance communications with Kentares IV.

• Mission 2 - Destroy SCUD Launchers - Omega Lance (Ian and Jules Gonzales) locate and destroy mobile artillery vehicles, along with their escorts, clearing the way to attack Lyran facilities in the Tholis Basin.

• Mission 3 - DropShip Hunt - Peter's Omega Lance attacks the Lyrans' main DropShip hangars on the moon, in the Tholis Basin, destroying the ships on the launchpad. They monitor transmissions from a resistance movement operating on Kentares IV, giving them hope they won't be alone once they reach the planet below.

• Mission 4 - Base Defense - The raiders intercept communications between planetary Governor Lord Marcus Roland and his adjutant, Major Vanda Castro. Castro wants to check out the silence from the moon base, but Roland dismisses her suspicions and delays her access to the necessary transport assets. Ian, Casey, and Jen McQuarrie defend DropShip Two while it prepares for launch, while Peter and Gonzales take another ship to try to intercept Castro's forces. Ian's group successfully repels the Lyran forces, and their DropShip carries them from the moon to Kentares IV's arctic regions.

Operation 2

• Mission 1 - Recon Area - Ian's Omega Lance executes a hot drop to scout the landing site for the DropShip on the Elysium tundra. They destroy a Lyran recon base and its garrison.

• Mission 2 - Raid Depot - Peter reports DropShip One landed safely and that he and Gonzales are moving to rendezvous with Ian's group. Intercepted communications indicate significant discord among the Lyran commanders, hampering the effectiveness of their response. Ian's Omega Lance seizes control of a Steiner supply depot and defends it against counterattacks by it perimeter patrols.

• Mission 3 - Escort Techs - Peter reports he has rendezvoused with a technician team that will be able to disable the Steiner satellite network, and is moving to rendezvous with Ian's group. Intercepted communications indicate that Ian's cousin William (a Katrina-loyalist) is taking his personal unit into the field to join Duncan Burke's hunt for the raiders. Ian's Omega Lance goes into the field to rescue Gonzales and the satellite technicians, who are pinned down in a pass by Lyran forces. Omega Lance defeats the attackers and escorts Tech Sergeant Michaels and his convoy to safety, blowing a bridge behind them to cut off Steiner pursuit.

• Mission 4 - Capture Base - Gonzales reports he was separated from Peter while escorting the convoy northward. Duncan Burke boasts over an open transmission that he has killed Peter, hoping to goad the remaining raiders into an attack. Gonzales convinces the team to finish the mission Peter started. Omega Lance seizes the Steiner launch facilities and satellite control center and defends it against two waves of Steiner attacks. The technicians cut off the Lyrans' access to the satellite network, rendering them blind.

Featured BattleMechs

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

• Argus
• Atlas
• Awesome
• Cougar
• Raven
• Osiris
• Bushwacker
• Chimera
• Hellspawn
• Shadow Cat
• Uziel
• Catapult
• Loki
• Mad Cat
• Nova Cat
• Thanatos
• Thor
• Vulture
• Daishi
• Mad Cat Mk II
• Mauler

MechWarrior 4: Black Knight Expansion Pack

Storyline

After Ian Dresari came to power as duke of Kentares IV Steiner agents started spreading the rumor that Ian was cooperating with the Lyrans and had turned his back on House Davion. After that rumor came out the citizens started protesting and hating Ian, so Ian was forced to put martial law in place. After that Steiner hired the Black Knight Legion to break Davion power over Kentares IV and kill Ian Dresari. Mid way through the black knight's campaign their base was raided by Steiner and Steiner destroyed their dropship with the colonel inside. After that they killed Ian Dresari then went and murdered Clarissa Dapris to avenge the colonel.

Additional 'Mechs in Black Knight

• Uller
• Wolfhound
• Ryoken
• Black Knight
• Sunder

'Mech Paks

In August 2002, Microsoft released two add-ons to MechWarrior 4: Vengeance: Clan 'Mech Pak and Inner Sphere 'Mech Pak. Each pack contained four new BattleMechs and a few other bonuses, such as new weapons.

Clan

• Arctic Wolf
• Cauldron-Born
• Kodiak
• Masakari

Inner Sphere

• Dragon
• Highlander
• Hunchback
• Zeus

Featured Planets

• Kentares IV

Related Games

• MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries

Resources

• MechWarrior IV: Vengeance (Resource)

Links

• Archived copies of pre-release Gamespy Articles:
  • On the set of MechWarrior 4: Vengeance
  • MechWarrior 4: Vengeance -- Character Studies: Part I
  • MechWarrior 4 Character Studies: Part II
  • MechWarrior 4 Character Studies: Part III
  • MechWarrior 4 Character Studies: Part IV: The Good Guys

Media

• Soundtrack

Downloads

• Manual
• All Downloads
  • Demo
  • Mods
  • Patches
  • Utilities

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