What does the patch do?

This patch upgrades all retail versions of Mercenaries™ to version 1.1.
The new version 1.1 has the option to use Direct3D enhancements and contains the following changes:

Dynamic Salvage

Salvage is no longer "scripted."

1. The user must win a scenario in order to gain salvage. No salvage is gained without victory on the battlefield. If a scenario is not a "victory on the battlefield" kind of scenario (i.e., a rescue mission or retreat mission), then a message saying "No opportunity for salvage was available" will appear on the Debriefing screen.
   
   
2. If a user wins, then salvage can be gained from any/all targets that were disabled or destroyed ('Legged' 'Mechs© are assumed to have escaped or be recovered by the enemy).
   
   
3. "Disabled" mechs are those who were killed by head shot. These mechs are often recovered intact, but all damaged systems/parts/weaponry must be repaired in order to use them. The less damaged a mech is when disabled, the higher number of salvaged pieces will be yielded (and the more INTACT they will be). Some mechs may be recovered if the center torso and two other body sections are intact but this will be uncommon.
   
   
4. "Destroyed" mechs are any that explode on the battlefield. These mechs will only yield damaged or, occasionally, intact mechanisms. (No destroyed mech may be recovered with an intact chassis.)
   
   
5. At the end of each successful mission, the user will see the "debriefing" screen, as usual. However, the "Next Mission" button has a "SALVAGE" button positioned to the left of it. Pushing this button will move the user to the Salvage Review screen.
   
   
6. The Salvage Review screen displays all chassis, mechanisms, and parts recovered from the battlefield. Salvage can be transferred from the field to the player's inventory by double clicking on it. However, a player may only place a certain maximum tonnage of equipment in his dropship, so select your salvage carefully. Each dropship also has a maximum capacity of mechs that can be contained. NOTE: The player mech and his starmates' mechs, count against the dropship capacity, so the player must weigh starmate assistance against salvage potential.
   
   
7. The status of each item is also shown on the Salvage Review screen. Each item is either "DAMAGED" or "INTACT". Repairs made (in the REPAIR area) may utilize INTACT salvaged items from inventory. Salvaged mechs may be repaired (in the REPAIR area) and used immediately, if desired. "DAMAGED" mechanisms may not be used until repaired at the STARPORT. Certain mechanisms such as life support, sensors and actuators cannot be salvaged.
   
   
8. "DAMAGED" systems may only be repaired in STARPORT. A player may click on damaged items while on the INVENTORY screen to indicate they should be repaired. Items tagged for repair are repaired immediately. REPAIRING ITEMS COSTS 1/4 (25%) OF THEIR PURCHASE PRICE.
   
   
9. On the INVENTORY screen (dropship and starport), a cash value total for each of the areas is displayed.
   
   
10. On the FINANCES screen, a line is displayed below TOTAL FUNDS that shows CASH VALUE OF INVENTORY. This total is the saleable sum cash value of all items held in inventory (at current damaged/intact values).
    
    

Continuing Missions

When a player finishes the final LUTHIEN contract, they may now choose to continue their career.

1. Then the player is given a "You done good" dialog box and is given the choice to "Continue the Mercenary's career or Retire". If RETIRE is chosen, than that Mercenary is retired and a new one can be created.
   
   
2. If CONTINUE is chosen, then the player returns to STARPORT and may select a new CONTRACT. New contracts are chosen from the missions that the player DID NOT play in the path he chose to the last LUTHIEN battle.
   
   
3. After all unplayed regular missions have been completed, then the player may continue to play in RMG missions.
   
   
4. Whenever the player wants to end the current mercenary's career, he may choose RETIRE from the pull down menu (a new option in the MERCENARY pull down menu).
   
   

Shell Changes

1. Fixed heat sinks.
   • If Inner Sphere mechs have double-heat sinks destroyed, the number of heat sinks is now reported correctly.
     
     
2. Fixed REPAIR/REARM bugs:
   
   • If vital components (leg actuators, arm actuators, etc.) are destroyed, but are NOT repaired, they now do not show up in CUSTOMIZATION as empty slots.
     
     
3. Fixed CUSTOMIZATION bugs:
   
   • If ammo of the same type is added to a mech section in reverse order (where the LAST ton is actually higher on the list than the first ton), the first and last ton of ammo no longer "stick" together when they are removed - and only reduce the current weight of the mech by ONE ton instead of TWO. This bug is also fixed when using REPAIR ALL.
     
     
   • Armor factor and allocated armor now read correctly when first accessed in ARMOR ALLOCATION.
     
     
4. The fall-through bug.
   • The mech will no longer fall through terrain when the frame rate slows at the beginning of a scenario.
     
     
5. Engine type can now be modified in the Mercenaries Commander and Mercenaries games.
   
   
6. The location of the Grim Reaper (55 tons) is now correctly between the 50 and 60 ton mechs.
   
   
7. In Instant Action, when a custom variant is deleted, the user is no longer kicked back to the top of the mech order (Elemental). The user now stays at the same mech chassis that was deleted.
   
   
8. There is a limit to how much ammo of any one specific type can be carried by a mech. When you hit that maximum the dialog box no longer says "Not enough criticals for item placement" the dialog box now reads "No more ammo for this weapon can be placed."
   
   
9. Ferro-Fibrous armor now increases maximum armor allocation points available by x1.12 (for I.S. mechs) and x1.2 (for Clan mechs).
   
   
10. All SHELL windows are displayed at full-screen size (no floating windows).
    
    
11. Scroll bars are implemented in all windows where text flows off the bottom of the screen.
    
    
12. Created a "FACILITIES" pull-down menu the user can access from the Windows bar. This lists all rooms the user can access via hotkeys. The hotkey listings are next to each room name so the user can learn them over time. In addition, the user is now able to access the DROPSHIP through this menu (bypassing the door and launch animations).

Sim Changes

1. Corrected "0" damage weapons so they do no physical damage.
   
   
2. Missile changes:
   
   • Missile turning radii is increased (turns made larger). Generally radii are about 8:5:2 (Arrow IV: LRM: SRM).
   • Fixed the Inferno weapon so it does no damage, but increases heat on the target mech as per the Battletech rules.
     
     
3. Corrected shot checking. Fast projectiles do not miss their target due to changes in frame rate.
   
   
4. Optimized D3D frame rate so it is twice as fast as 3Dfx Edition code.
   
   
5. Fixed many scenario errors and text bugs.