Brought to you by Spectre General of the Syndicate
Greetings, and welcome to the wonderful world of BattleTech! As a quick
overall summary of the plot behind MechWarrior, and I wouldn't be surprised
if you didn't realize that there actually is one, your name is Gideon Braver
Vandenburg, son and heir to Duke Cameron Vanderburg of Ander's Moon under the
house of Davion. Unfortunately, your entire family was slaughtered two days
ago by a group of bandit Mechs. According to witnesses, Jarris McBrin appeared
and drove off the attackers before they could wreak more havoc. His timely
appearance was seen by the populace, since a video news team just happened to
arrive at the same time as McBrin. He explained to the camera team that he was
nearby "on maneuvers" when he picked up the raiders on his sensors, and
naturally he raced to assist. He stated that he was sorry to have been too
late to save the Duke and his family. When you returned home and sorted
through the rubble, you discovered that the Chalice of Herne, as well as the
Vandenburg's treasury, were gone. After questioning surviving servants about
the attack, you discovered each assaulting Mech was embroidered by a skull with
bat wings.
The next day, the Council of Representatives held a meeting to discuss the
events at Castle Vandenburg and elect a new Duke. To your surprise, Jarris
McBrin denounced your father as a traitor, claiming he was in league with
the pirates. According to McBrin, your father had attempted to double-cross
the bandits, and so they destroyed him. "Proof" was submitted and the Council
overwhelmingly voted to freeze all remaining Vanderburg assets. Jarris said
that he would use all of the resources at his disposal to find the missing
Chalice. By a narrow margin, Jarris's motion to elect a new Duke failed. The
Council voted to hold off the election until you reached legal adulthood on
your 23rd birthday--April 8, 3029. At that time, the council will decide
whether Jarris McBrin or Gideon Braver Vanderburg becomes the new Duke of
Ander's Moon.
Still in a daze from the whirlwind of events that had overturned your life,
you failed to notice you were being followed on your way home until a starry
explosion of pain burst inside your head. As I lay on the ground, being
subject to an expert beating, gasping for breath, I remember the leering voice
of Jarris McBrin congratulating himself.
"You'll never be the Duke," he gloated. "I've made sure of that. The Chalice
is hidden light-years from here, where you'll never find it. And if you don't
have the Chalice, you can't become the Duke, no matter what the Council
decides. But of course, I'll be there, having fortunately recovered the
Chalice from the pirates. How graciously I'll accept the Dukedom that the
cheering populace will demand I be given! Who would deny the Dukedom to Jarris
McBrin, the valiant hero who tracked down the pirates and destroyed them,
ending the Vandenburg's vicious conspiracy against Ander's Moon? I'd rather
dispose of you right now, but I might have to answer some awkward questions. A
pity you weren't at home when my friends 'dropped in' on your miserable family,
but no matter." His eyes narrowed. "You have 24 hours to get off the planet.
Pray that I never run across you again, or you too will wish that you had died
with your family." And with that, he and his goons disappeared into the dark-
ness while you struggled to get to your hands and knees.
Realizing there was nothing further you could do on Ander's Moon, and that you
needed help, you called on Jordan Rowe, leader of the Vandenburg faction in the
Council. He took you to his home where you talked late into the night as he
nursed your wounds. Jordan's belief is that Jarris couldn't be the brains
behind this operation--it's too big, too well-funded for his brand of petty
thievery. Jordan mentioned certain information he had come across, rumors of
radioactive mineral deposits in the highlands, and of Kurita's need for such
fuel for their insatiable war machine. He speculated that Kurita was behind
the whole plot, and that eventually their machinations would be exposed.
Jordan has provided you with an old Jenner Mech and a few C-bills, as well as
passage off-planet. He suggested that you travel under the abbreviated name of
Gideon Braver to avoid any "complications" that might arise because of the
Vandenburg name. Now it's up to you to find where Jarris has hidden the
Chalice, but it's going to take money, and the only way to acquire that is by
selling your war skills as a mercenary.
So now all of those messages on your News Net begin to make sense, eh?
Keyboard Controls:
ESC: Retreat or eject from Mech
1-10: Select specified weapon
TAB: Fire all weapons linked to AWS
Q: Quit from Command Screen or Damage Screen and return to cockpit
W: Automatic Weapon Selection (AWS) turned on or off
E: Damage readings for targeted Mech
R: Change radar range
T: Topographical Screen, toggles between elevation map and radar
U: Get up (when your Mech is knocked down)
O: Remove/attach particular weapon to AWS
P: Pause game
A: Auto-align torso and feet
S: Sound on/off
D: Damage reading for your Mech
H: Changes color of Hud
J: Activate jump jets (need to use "U" when landed) : Targets Mechs of bases in view
Z: Zoom (works on Command Screen also)
C: Command Screen : Fire; also, exit Command Screen and Damage Screen
N: Moves targeting cursor down
M: Moves targeting cursor up
<: Twists torso to the left
>: Twists torso to the right
-: Previous weapon
+: Next weapon : Controls your Mech
Solve:
Once you load up the game, you will begin on a random planet, controlled by
one of the five Houses. The first thing you want to do is enter the bar and
order a drink. The bartender will give you a bit of information, but nothing
all that important. Leave, and enter the Mech Complex. You'll be greeted by
an old man who, again, gives you a bit of information that's helpful, but not
imperative. Then, review your Mech and SELL it. Why? Because you won't be
needing it for a year, and it saves you 90% of your travel expenses by not
having it around. Ok, now, you want to travel to Land's End by going over to
the picture of a pod, hitting and typing in the planet's name. Once
you arrive, go into the bar and order a drink. The bartender will tell you to
come back tomorrow, so just leave and come back right away. The man you meet
will tell you where to find Grig. Once again, you must travel as before. When
you reach your destination, you will be brought before the crime boss himself,
who agrees to sell you the information you seek if you will deliver a package
to one of his agents on Dustball. Accept his offer and you're off. Once you
reach Dustball, the agent will great you and, quite ungraciously, pull a laser
pistol on you. You want to fight and then run. Once the agent realizes he has
been double-crossed by Grig, he will supply you with a bit of information.
Enter the bar, order a drink, leave, return again, order another drink (feeling
tipsy yet?) and the bartender will have put that information to good use. He
will provide you with the name of yet another planet you must travel to. So,
you're off again, not too happy with Grig, but still a bit further than you
were before. Reaching your destination, you enter the Mech complex and find
Kangaroo Jack's brother, who provides you with information to his whereabouts.
"He has a woman there," he says. As you leave the Mech Complex, you are
assaulted by one of Grig's assassins (think he wants you dead?). You want to
run from this encounter. Luckily for you, the local police show up with their
hover tanks. Ok, enough of this. Let's go kick Grig's ass. Return to where
you originally met Grig and he provided you with his empty promise. Upon your
arrival, an old man will approach you and tell you he knows how you can ice
Grig. Listen to him and accept his terms. Then, later that night, watch and
WAIT for Grig. As soon as you get the chance, STRIKE and PULL THE TRIGGER,
don't give him any second chances to get away. All right, so now you're
200,000 C-Bills richer and don't have to keep looking over your shoulder. Off
you go to find Kangaroo Jack. When you reach the planet his brother told you
he could be found on, enter the bar and order yet another drink. The bartender
won't be much help, but the guy in the corner of the room will be. He makes an
interesting story and hands you a piece of paper with an address on it, then
leaves. You follow suit and decide to meet him at the address. When you get
there, though, you discover Kangaroo Jack's dead body and an assassin with a
pistol looking for you. You want to HIDE and then FIGHT the buttlicker. Now
that he's out of the way, go back to the News Net and catch up on what's been
happening in the universe. You'll find a message for Jordan Rowe that gives
the location of the Black Widows. This is your next destination. Moving
ever-onward, you enter the bar upon your arrival and discover the Black Widows
lounging about. The leader denies your story, and you CHALLENGE it, not
believing anything anymore. This leads into a brawl in which you are saved by
a wonderful gal named Tasha. Now she REALLY has some interesting things to
say. Confused as ever, you consult your News Net and find out that Jordan
recommends you go to Albiero while Tasha has sent you some "borrowed"
documents, indicating a relationship between Jarris McBrin and Matsubishi Corp.
Now isn't that interesting? So, it's off to Albiero, which just happens to be
the headquarters for Matsubishi. Upon your arrival, you get caught up in an
assault against the monster corporation. Acting on hormones, you decide to
follow a delectable piece of flesh that runs by. Even though you're happy to
discover the girl is Tasha, you're somewhat upset to see Kerney holding a gun
to her pretty scalp and directing her to say her last prayer. They're both
surprised to see you and both claim the other is lying? What to do, what to
do? Well, you decide Tasha would probably be better in zero gravity and let
her down Kerney in one move. Being the thankful lass she is, she gives you
5,000,000 C-bills and a computer disk that not only gives the location of the
Chalice, but also indicates that a certain J. Rowe is being paid off by the
Matsubishi corporation, which means he's been a part of this scheme since the
beginning. Well, you decide, that's just another rat I have to kill. All of
this should be over by or before May of 3025, or else you'll not have enough
time to accumulate enough money in the remaining three-and-a-half years to buy
the Mechs and crew required to make it past the Darkwing and recover the
Chalice. At this point, I recommend you check to see what Mechs are for sale
on Albiero. Get a Warhammer, Marauder or Battlemaster, the latter being the
most preferable. If you can't, just hop on the next jumpship and head towards
New Avalon. Check the Mechs there. If you can't get one of the heavy Mechs,
settle for a Rifleman or Shadowhawk (medium Mechs) or a Phoenix Hawk (the last
of the light Mechs). If all else fails, get a Jenner, but I'd just restart
from scratch at that point. House Davion is really a good cash source. Once
they're confident of your ability, they'll allow you to request 8%-12% of the
salvage and to be paid twice as much as they initially offer (sometimes, even
more). Just make sure you put down 0% to be paid in advance. The battles are
up to you, and I'd recommend you save before and after every one. Don't let a
battle take more than 2-3 months, no matter how much you get paid...you just
won't have enough cash at the end of the game to buy the Mechs you need, which
are AT LEAST three heavy and one medium. Personally, I'd recommend three
Battlemasters and a Warhammer, since that's what you'll be going up against,
but I've made it with only two Warhammers and a Marauder. You have to fight
the Darkwing TWICE. The first time, you have to destroy all four of them, the
second all you have to do is make it to the base and retrieve the Chalice,
although doing that without destroying the Darkwing first is nigh impossible.
If you do not recover the Chalice by March 3029, Jarris will be elected the
new Duke of Ander's Moon and all else will be for naught. You may still live
as a mercenary, but the point of the game will be lost, so make sure you are
ready to travel to the Darkwing's base by December of 3028 or January of 3029.
Remember, SAVE YOUR GAME OFTEN! This way, if you make a blunder in time, you
can just go back (if only real life was the same), or if the mission is not
worth the damage caused. Which reminds me, the best missions to take are the
ones where you're defending something. This way, the enemy Mechs aren't really
looking to attack you, but the base (or whatever) you're defending. In this
manner, if you travel at an angle and come up behind them, you can blow up to
three heavies away (if you have a Battlemaster yourself) without even taking a
scratch. Of course, if you screw up, you're dead.
You're welcome for the time it took to put this together AND type it.
Activision has stated that if MechWarrior does well in sales, a sequel will be
released with more Mechs to choose from and even more weapons, so, if you are
the kind of person who would like to see a sequel, shell out $35 and buy a copy
of this game. It's definitely worth it, and the Mercenary's Handbook that
comes with it will tell you a little bit more than I do here, plus the pictures
are really neat.
