Mechwarrior 4 TL;DR guide

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Step 1 – tl;dr for Downloading
Download Mechwarrior 4 at - http://clancoyote.com/main/download/33/mw4mercs-3-1-w-maps
Download Evolve at - https://www.evolvehq.com/client

Step 2 – tl;dr for Installing and getting shit working
Extract the downloaded folder "MW 4 - Complete" somewhere suitable. Rename that to “MW4” or “Mechwarrior4”.
[!] If using AVG, be sure to put “MW4Mercs.exe” into exceptions. This is a false positive!
Find MW4Mercs.exe, go into properties and enable both “Run as Admin” and Windows XP compatibility mode. Make a shortcut for MW4Mercs.exe, go into the shortcuts properties and put in “-window” at the end of the short cuts target.
When using autoconfig_MERCS, select your graphics card and resolution. Maybe go one less than what you usually use if you play windowed mode or your usual resolution if you plan to Alt + Enter into full screen at the start and end of a mission.
Launch the game using the shortcut you made for MW4Mercs.exe and tweak your options.

Step 4 - tl;dr for Evolve
Download Evolve - https://www.evolvehq.com/client
Make and Activate account
If you’re a windows 10 user and/or if you have the message “The Party Network could not be joined. Evolve could not initialize the virtual network connection. Make sure it’s installed and enabled”
Open device manager, find evolve under network adapters, go to its properties > advanced > put in a number in mac address.
Join or host party, send invites to people by their Evolve name or by link to join the party.

Step 4 - tl;dr for GameRanger
Download GameRanger and make an account for it - https://www.gameranger.com/download/
Edit > Options and locate Mechwarrior 4’s EXE in the Location Browse section. Make sure the folder for Mechwarrior has no spaces.
Filter out the server list by clicking “All Games” > “New Group” and you can filter out the games you want.
Port Forward, open Port 16000 to 16000 UDP and 2300 to 2400 TCP, also make sure that Universal Plug and Play is enabled on your router.
Join games by pressing clicking on a server and pressing “join” at the bottom left, under the name list. Make sure your game is closed as it gets launched by pressing “Join”.

Step 3 - tl;dr for Mouse and Keyboard setup

Mouse Enabled
	Mouse X Axis – Torso

Turn Left – A
Turn Right – D
Accelerate – W / Mouse Wheel Up
Decelerate – S / Mouse Wheel Down
Set Throttle to 0% - Mouse 3 (Mouse Wheel Click)
Fire Jump Jets – Space – Not every Mech can have Jump Jets
Fire Group 1 – Mouse 1 (Left) / 1
Fire Group 2 to 5 – 2 to 5
Coolant – F – Useful for cooling down your heatbuild up in a pinch, but limited use!
Target Next Enemy – E
Toggle Zoom Window – Mouse 2 (Right)
Toggle 1st/3rd person view – V
Crouch – C – Not every mech can crouch.
Flashlight - L

Toggle Radar Range - R
Toggle Radar Active/Passive – Control R – Passive Radar drops radar range but also makes you harder to detect.
Toggle Radar/Map – Shift M – Useful to have the full map to the side if you press Shift M twice.

Shutdown Mech – X
Startup Mech – B – Useful for when you end up shutting down automatically due to overheating.

Y – General Chat
U – Team Chat
Eject – CTRL Z

Step 5- TL;DR for blowing shit up.
Blow shit up.