MechWarrior 4 Remastered 1.0

MechWarrior 4 Remastered 1.0 promotes the existing qualified installer to the current release. This is a release presentation update: the internal installer build number, immutable tag and asset filename remain 0.6.47.5. Download bytes and SHA-256 are unchanged. No new hardware qualification is claimed.

Joystick input now defaults ON for new preferences; an explicit saved OFF choice is preserved. The launcher reports the selected game's adapter errors instead of silently disabling joystick input globally. HELP & QUIRKS explains controls and limitations.

The locally modified, source-built DirectInput adapter exposes at most 31 buttons to MW4's DirectInput 7 path, consistently across capabilities, enumeration, data formats, immediate state and buffered events. Extra buttons are omitted, not automatically remapped. It also fixes a reproduced legacy buffered-PEEK memory overwrite. Some buttons within the limit can still be ignored by the original binding screen; controller software or user-configured keyboard mapping may be necessary.

Qualification:

• Actual-wrapper regressions cover ANSI/Unicode, format filtering, buffer canaries, failure recovery, concurrency, keyboard/mouse and effect preservation. Real 31/32/128-button vJoy boundary tests pass.
• All three games loaded two missions in one process, saved and consumed joystick bindings, and remained responsive while button 32 was omitted. Exact packaged launcher paths opened all three titles with joystick and original movies enabled.
• All 17 available-fixture selections were checked: 11 installed/verified/scanned/removed with saves preserved and six safely rejected for missing official patch media.
• Two complete declared-source builds are byte-identical. Exact setup upgrade, repair, clean install and uninstall/owned removal pass; setup, staged payload and installed trees pass Defender with real-time protection enabled.

Hardware limits: gameplay was tested in an isolated Windows VM with temporary software D3D11 WARP profiles, restored after testing. The shipped D3D12 profile fails in that VM with both the previous and new adapter; representative GPU/default-renderer testing remains open. Physical HOTAS, multiple-device combinations and force feedback require field testing. Release 1.0 retains these documented hardware coverage gaps; v0.6.46 remains available as a fallback. No vJoy driver or Gremlin is bundled. The available reduced Clan archival ISO lacks official Patch 3; complete patch-bearing media or qualified Inner Sphere media is required for that selection. Black Knight requires qualified pack media for its official PR1 update. Incomplete selections are rejected with an explanation.

Installer: MechWarrior-4-Remastered-Setup-0.6.47.5.exe
Bytes: 174604015
SHA-256: 2b37d94880ed3d7361df9b2f06312b92168ada5aa4173b8b76e3f7d34cce39ec

Qualified source: a92135c (joystick qualification commit 267036f plus checkout-byte correction).
Application and native regressions: https://github.com/Icehellionx/MechWarrior-4-Remastered/actions/runs/37065883683
Compatibility source build: https://github.com/Icehellionx/MechWarrior-4-Remastered/actions/runs/37065883701
For exact-byte build metadata reproduction, see BUILDING.md at the release tag; build HEAD was 8954eb4 plus the qualified source tree.

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.47.4 display scaling test release

Test release for the Windows display-scaling mouse issue reported in #8.

Download the v0.6.47.4 setup EXE

• Vengeance, Black Knight, and Mercenaries now request system DPI awareness without changing your Windows desktop scaling. Vengeance and Mercenaries receive updated game-local manifests; Black Knight receives a reproducible manifest transform for its exact supported executable revisions. Existing owned installs receive the same change when upgraded.
• The reported 100% scaling workaround resolved the mouse fault for two affected users. In a Windows 11 VM, the new Black Knight executable launched at 125% scaling with a live system-DPI-aware game window; Vengeance and Mercenaries likewise changed from DPI unaware to system aware. This is mechanism and launch evidence, not affected-PC mission confirmation.
• The movie-decoder workaround and optional joystick mode from v0.6.47.3 remain included. Original game videos remain enabled.

The exact setup was built twice with identical bytes and tested in an isolated Windows 11 VM. It upgraded and repaired an existing installation, clean-installed all three games with both Mech Paks, and opened live system-DPI-aware windows for each installed game. Setup, staged payload, and installed files passed Defender scans. The standard shell uninstall and owned game removal were also exercised. These checks do not establish mouse behavior on a PC affected by #8.

The installer requires user-supplied original game media and does not contain the games. This is a prerelease while affected users test mouse movement in actual missions on their hardware. Keep v0.6.46 as the stable fallback.

SHA-256: 6dd3f531f1f0e23b9502602b0580dfbe6baa6f376ad6bf696d95a6eb8faa33a2

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.47.3 movie and joystick test release

Test release for movie playback crashes and optional joystick input.

• Vengeance and Mercenaries include a game-local workaround for the DirectShow decoder implicated by issue #10. Original startup, roster, menu, and briefing videos remain enabled. Black Knight's movie path is unchanged.
• The installer places the pinned x86 DirectInput adapter beside each installed game. In the launcher, click JOYSTICK OFF to turn joystick mode on. No virtual joystick driver is installed.
• A Windows 11 VM completed an exact five-media fresh install, in-place upgrade, and repair. vJoy appeared in all three games' Controls screens; a bounded X-axis pulse turned the view during the first Vengeance and Black Knight missions. An earlier VM run with the same adapter consumed X-axis in Mercenaries. Two builds of this setup were byte identical. Setup, staged payload, and installed trees produced no target Defender detections.

The issue #10 reporter's failing decoder and physical joystick hardware were unavailable for this release test. Mercenaries' current VM menu input did not enter a mission, so its new packaged-build gameplay remains unconfirmed. Second missions, 31/32-button devices, force feedback, and other GPUs remain open. A machine with no alternate usable movie audio decoder may play the affected video without its audio.

This is a prerelease. Keep v0.6.46 as the stable fallback. The setup still requires user-supplied original game media and contains no game discs or extracted game tree.

SHA-256: 98169cc3bccb4d1fe12cec266b1a5df5524af8153db88208f75d80d973490006

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.47 movie decoder candidate

Issue #10 movie crash candidate

For Vengeance and Mercenaries, the installer places a source-built, game-local registration-free COM redirect for the Microsoft AC3 decoder implicated by the issue #10 reporter's controlled decoder-path test. This lets DirectShow select another available decoder without editing the Windows registry, replacing system DLLs, or suppressing the original videos. Black Knight is unchanged. The package does not include LAV or any other replacement codec.

Two independent source builds produced the same 174,516,365-byte installer (SHA-256 4808e3c353baf8736b7596934471a309dcefd592a73b2fdb21747cfadcc659bc). The exact package completed a five-media in-place install; the worker verified all three games and both Mech Paks. The installed decoder files matched their source pins, and Defender found no threats in the setup directory, staged payload, or installed tree (engine 1.1.26080.3, intelligence 1.459.421.0). Local decoder activation and bounded Vengeance/Mercenaries startup checks passed.

This is a prerelease candidate because issue #10's Windows 11/RTX 5070 hardware, in-game Roster/briefing playback, and movie audio have not been independently confirmed with this package. Issue #11's separate Vengeance EnterWindowMode exception is not claimed fixed. Joystick remains disabled by default; the input adapter is still under investigation and is not packaged. Original media are required for installation.

Rollback: close the games, remove Issue10DecoderBlock.dll and MW4.exe.manifest from the installed vengeance folder, and remove Issue10DecoderBlock.dll and MW4Mercs.exe.manifest from the installed mercenaries folder. These four files are owned by this candidate. Then reinstall stable v0.6.46 if you also want the earlier launcher and installer. The stable download remains available.

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.46

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.46

This update targets the reported ultrawide edge crop and Mercenaries mouse capture conflict. It still builds the games from media you provide; no game discs or extracted game assets are included.

• The launcher fits the game's client area to the current monitor. Some framed game windows have an outer frame larger than the display; fitting that outer frame had reduced the playable client area and could clip its edges.
• The launcher now leaves a game or dgVoodoo cursor clip alone. It no longer reapplies its own clip every 25 ms over the game's capture and releases only a clip it actually owns.
• The gameplay-only top/left seam trim is reduced from five to two source pixels. Menus and cinematics use the unchanged 4:3 path.
• Display Settings includes layout previews for standard 16:9 screens (1600×900, 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3840×2160), 16:10 screens (1920×1200, 2560×1600), and ultrawide screens (2560×1080, 3440×1440, 5120×2160). Each shows the centered 4:3 picture without technical pillarbox measurements. The game uses your current Windows monitor mode and automatically picks a game-safe 4:3 render size at launch. Preview choices do not switch resolution. This release does not extend the 3D world into the pillarboxes.

The real lifecycle guard passed framed and borderless window component tests and cursor-clip ownership tests. Standard 1080p and ultrawide 1440p Settings previews were rendered and checked locally. Two declared-source setup builds were byte-identical. The exact setup, staged payload, and installed tree passed Defender scans; an in-place C: install from all five supplied ZIPs verified all three games and both Mech Paks, and the installed launcher displayed them as Ready. The user reports no drift in a local mission test of the corrected launcher. The affected 5120×2160 display and Windows 10/RX 6750 XT mouse configuration are unavailable locally, so ultrawide issue #7 and mouse issue #8 remain open for those configurations.

If a reinstall has trouble in a previously used folder, first back up saves/settings you want to keep, uninstall the old copy, delete the leftover installation folder, and retry. Please report new-version trouble in Issues and use the legacy v0.6.45.9012 installer meanwhile. If a particular ISO/ZIP/BIN revision fails, please reach out directly so I can work with you to obtain that revision for testing. Do not post game media, serial keys, or personal paths in a public issue.

Integrity

• File: MechWarrior-4-Remastered-Setup-0.6.46.exe
• Size: 174,480,354 bytes
• SHA-256: 469d3b7e0c451f81697f692484a075906141efbc602c45625ed33f93d77d2e02

The installer is unsigned, so Windows may show an Unknown publisher or SmartScreen reputation warning. Verify the checksum; do not disable antivirus or SmartScreen globally.

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.45.9012

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.45.9012

This update improves original-media intake, makes display options available in the AIO launcher, and prepares exact game-specific Windows Firewall decisions during installation. It remains a preservation-oriented build from user-supplied media; no game discs or extracted game assets are included.

• Settings now opens promptly as one dialog and offers game render size, resampling, anisotropic filtering, and antialiasing for all installed titles. Automatic chooses the largest listed game-safe 4:3 render size that fits the monitor. The game image remains centered at its original aspect ratio. Experimental 900p/1080p/4K-equivalent modes were withdrawn after Vengeance crashed on entering Training; they are not represented as supported.
• Setup accepts structurally validated single-track MODE1/2352 CUE/BIN pairs alongside supported ISOs and ZIPs. Different archival revisions still require exact game-file and official-patch qualification and may be rejected safely.
• Setup creates exact-executable inbound firewall rules before first launch: optional Private-network multiplayer access and a Public-network block. The launcher remains a standard, unelevated application.
• Installation diagnostics and media errors are clearer, and repeated launcher status refreshes no longer re-hash the shared Vengeance/Black Knight/Mech Pak tree four times.

The exact installer installed Vengeance, Black Knight, Mercenaries, and both Mech Paks from the five locally available ZIPs at F:\Mechwarrior Test. Each game reached its first menu without a Windows Security firewall prompt. The installer and installed F: tree passed Microsoft Defender custom scans with engine 1.1.26080.3 and intelligence 1.459.366.0. Full mission testing of all new display choices, first-launch mouse placement across monitor setups, alternate physical disc revisions, private-access-declined firewall behavior, and uninstall remain open. Widescreen extension during gameplay is not included.

If you are reinstalling in a folder used by an earlier copy and have trouble, first back up any saves or settings you want to keep, uninstall the old copy, delete the leftover installation folder, and retry. If the new version still gives you trouble, please log the problem in Issues and use the legacy v0.6.44 installer for now. If the issue is specific to your ISO/ZIP/BIN revision, please reach out to me directly so I can work with you to obtain your version for testing. Do not post game media, serial keys, or personal paths in a public issue.

Integrity

• File: MechWarrior-4-Remastered-Setup-0.6.45.9012.exe
• Size: 174,497,579 bytes
• SHA-256: 99308010a9f824c6c2642be1188ef62fd2e72a60f18b483d459945488b8ebdcd

The installer is unsigned, so Windows may show an Unknown publisher or SmartScreen reputation warning. Verify the checksum; do not disable antivirus or SmartScreen globally.

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.44

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.44

This release fixes installation from a normal double-click. Users no longer need to know that Setup must be manually started with Run as administrator.

Installation fix

• Setup explicitly requests Windows elevation for its hidden original-media installation worker.
• Windows automatically presents the normal User Account Control prompt when required.
• The worker independently verifies its administrator token and fails immediately with a clear diagnostic if elevation is ever bypassed.
• The launcher and all three games continue to run normally without administrator privileges.

The exact installer uploaded with this release was launched normally—without manually selecting Run as administrator—and completed Vengeance, Black Knight, and both Mech Paks through final verification. The user also installed and confirmed this exact local artifact before publication.

Integrity

• File: MechWarrior-4-Remastered-Setup-0.6.44.exe
• Size: 174,471,026 bytes
• SHA-256: a3fdde1fbe6265c51c9a15258ea8ec79272a8e6430b9585bb6257275f5fed786
• Defender: no threat detected with engine 1.1.26080.3, intelligence 1.459.273.0

The installer is unsigned, so Windows may show an Unknown publisher or SmartScreen reputation warning. Verify the checksum; do not disable antivirus or SmartScreen globally.

The installer does not include the games. You must provide supported original ISO files or archival ZIPs for the games and optional Mech Paks you own. Manuals are included in the installed launcher.

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.43

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.43

This release carries forward the field-confirmed installer, launcher, presentation, Alt-Tab, gameplay-seam, and Mech Pak fixes, and corrects the final high-resolution graphics configuration found during local release testing.

Graphics and presentation

• Keeps the known physics-safe 30 FPS cap in both the wrapper and game launch configuration.
• Explicitly enables 4x MSAA and 16x anisotropic filtering.
• Uses Lanczos-3 final-image resampling.
• Chooses the largest fitting 4:3 render mode for the user's monitor and now advertises explicit high-resolution 4:3 fallbacks, including 1920x1440, so the requested mode is available to the original game.
• Preserves aspect-correct borderless presentation, black bars where required, cursor capture, Alt-Tab behavior, and the gameplay-only top/left seam correction.

The exact installer uploaded with this release was installed and confirmed running correctly from a local copy before publication. A wider range of GPUs, monitor layouts, and archival media variants remains welcome test coverage.

Integrity

• File: MechWarrior-4-Remastered-Setup-0.6.43.exe
• Size: 174,462,561 bytes
• SHA-256: 860abdfae1281e99209f0a515838eed19fe220dcf4e1a38c4122ce37056edf87
• Defender: no threat detected with engine 1.1.26080.3, intelligence 1.459.273.0

The installer is unsigned, so Windows may show an Unknown publisher or SmartScreen reputation warning. Verify the checksum; do not disable antivirus or SmartScreen globally.

The installer does not include the games. You must provide supported original ISO files or archival ZIPs for the games and optional Mech Paks you own. Manuals are included in the installed launcher.

MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.42

Fixes the intermittent Black Knight PR1 installation failure seen in v0.6.41 by retrying capture in fresh, bounded environments. The installer still requires user-supplied original ISOs or supported ZIP archives; it does not include the games. SHA-256: d5fab3fa2a47d679d9ad8c340749b02861703cfb0d808b571ff1124a2cc8f00e

Superseded — MechWarrior 4 Remastered v0.6.41

Fixes the intermittent Black Knight PR1 installation failure present in v0.6.39 and v0.6.40. The protected launcher is now created suspended, placed in Setup's owned process job, and only then resumed, eliminating the child-process containment race.\n\nQualification: exact five-ZIP packaged installation completed with Vengeance, Black Knight, Mercenaries, Inner Sphere Mech Pak, and Clan Mech Pak; all project contract suites passed; two clean builds were byte-identical; the installer and complete installed tree passed Microsoft Defender with no detections.\n\nSHA-256: 78b60d5c0dcca87dfa2c484e3c5a469d0d523ee55a5796414fc78f2495ab6436\n\nThis installer does not include game media. Supply your own supported original ISO or ZIP files during Setup.