It’s No Accident

This is a much larger update than I had originally anticipated it being. There’s new questions to be answered, new downloads, some behind-the-scenes tweaks, and best of all, that goddamn Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries Walkthrough is finally completed.

I feel like I’ve written a small novel about the game at this point. There’s a guide to get through every single scripted mission in the game. Hell, not even the official strategy guide (and especially not the guides on GameFAQs) do this. It’s a big relief to finally have it done, and in celebration, I’m going to sit back and just enjoy just playing through a few games.

Next on my list? Descent: FreeSpace, Tron 2.0, and Yakuza 2.

Updates:
Interstate ’76 Links – Most (kind of) work now
News Archives – Old news archived
Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries Downloads – Game manuals added
Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries Walkthrough – Complete
Q&A – I ’76 Question answered, old pages archived

It’s No Accident

You seemed to have overlooked http://interstate76.com.

Fear not, it hasn’t been overlooked. To the contrary, I’ve been linking to your site for a few years now, albeit through the Interstate ’76 FAQ instead of on the links page.

I know there’s not many active I ’76 sites left, so if anyone out there has one and they’d like to trade links, just contact The Local Ditch and I’ll get it up on the site somewhere. The only thing that I ask is that you link back here in return.

Fresh Paint

As usual, I’m back to updating things bit by bit. So we’ll start with the biggest news first: the Mechwarrior pages have been redesigned. As with the rest of the site, it’s gotten a fresh coat of paint that is strictly html 4.0 compliant and tweaked up a little bit. The navigation scheme should make it easier to find whatever your looking for as well. The content is mostly the same at this point, but you can bet that in the near future, there will be more up there.

Also, I’ve added preview movies of Interstate ’76, Nitro Pack, and Heavy Gear in their respective sections. All were pulled from other Activision game disks.

Updates:
Heavy Gear Downloads – New preview movie
Interstate ’76 Downloads – New preview movie
Nitro Pack Downloads – New preview movie
Mechwarrior – Entire site redesign

Tweaking

For the most part, there are just a few tweaks to the site here and there, but there are a couple of big updates.

Updates:
Interstate ’76 Tips – Lots of good info on car design has been added
Nitro Pack Downloads – The XP fix for the Nitro Pack can be downloaded here.

I ’76 on Vista

Hey there. I just happened to come across a demo of Vigilante 8 on my friend’s Xbox 360 the other day. It reminded me of all the fun I had playing I’76 so I found a copy on the internet and I’m trying to install it on my Vista operating system. Have you heard of anyone succeeding it doing this? Should I just try the same fix as XP installation (trying over and over again) or is this just a futile attempt to get back to my gaming routes?

I ’76 can indeed run on Vista. The game can be installed by manually copying its data to the hard disk. For more information, please check the Interstate ’76 FAQ.

Walked Through

Last night, I finished the TRIP in I ’76 and when it was over, I couldn’t help but feel a little disheartened. Part of that may be because the journey was rather short this time around. When I first played the game back in ’97, I had to figure everything out – what worked, what didn’t, how to get through a level, etc. There was a lot of fun to be had just experimenting and playing with each weapon, wondering what the next one would do. That also led to a lot of trial and error, but at the same time, my skill was slowly increasing.

This time around, it’s like jumping back on the bicycle: just hop on and go. I can still remember most of the secrets and tricks to each level, and even the words to most of the cutscenes. Without having to figure it all out again, the game flew by. While it probably took me a good 20+ hours the first time I played it, if I hadn’t been writing a walkthrough (and dealing with persistent crashing), I probably could have made it through the game in a mere two.

But what’s really missing is online play. After finishing up the TRIP, it was time to take I ’76 online. Even though the game didn’t get the sales that Activision expected, there was still a loyal following and plenty of people on I76net and mercnet. Online, it was a different beast. Instead of being limited to just one car or just what weapons were salvaged, you could get a hold of almost whatever you wanted. And, of course, being a competitive game, people did what was effective (read: cheese) to get the most kills. At the same time though, this definitely elevated my level of playing and car design.

Now, I wouldn’t expect there to be a bustling I ’76 community ten years after it was released, but unfortunately, there’s not been a game that’s’ really filled the auto-combat hole. Activision attempted to console-ize I ’76 and spin it off into Vigilante 8, but it wasn’t nearly the same game. I ’82 was a real let down, and final nail in the series’ coffin. But even today, several games have had I ’76 mods made for them, showing that people still yearn for a good auto-combat sim.

If nothing else, it was fun while it lasted.

Pardon my rambling, and on to the point: More updates:

Updates:
Heavy Gear Downloads – The 1.2 beta patch is up
Interstate ’76 Characters – All TRIP characters included
Interstate ’76 Downloads – SMK Player to view movies added
Interstate ’76 Walkthrough – Finished
Nitro Pack Downloads – Nitro beta patches added

Promises

I know there were a lot of keyboard players back in the day, but I couldn’t get into I ’76 without a joystick. I had already broken in my trusty Sidewinder 3D Pro in Mechwarrior 2 and Multiplayer Battletech: Solaris, and Interstate ’76 used a very similar control setup, so it seemed like a perfect match.

For me, it was.

So, I tried to find the closest thing to that Sidewinder that I could – the Logitech Extreme 3D Pro. It’s even close in name. Despite some mixed reviews on Amazon, I have nothing but good things to say about the controller. I didn’t bother installing any of its software, instead just plugging it in and watching it go. Works fine for I ’76. I’ll probably test it out in Mechwarrior 2 soon enough.

But, on to the point, I promised that I’d begin working on the I ’76 TRIP walkthrough as soon as I picked up the joystick. I’m keeping my promise. Along with a slew of random updates on the site, the I ’76 walkthrough is up through Scene 11. I plan to have the rest of it done fairly soon. So y’all come back, ya here?

Updates:
Club Sega – Fighting Vipers Review
Interstate ’76 – Index
Interstate ’76 – Characters
Interstate ’76 – Trivia
Interstate ’76 – Walkthrough

Legends Never Die

Lately, I’ve been on an I ’76 kick. Nostalgia-fueled as it is, the game is still awesome after all of these years. The style, the attitude – no other game really comes quite close to it.

So, off to the good news: I’m finally writing the rest of the Interstate ’76 walkthrough. And to prove my good faith, I’ve added up the walkthrough for all of the Scenario missions today. They still need some finishing touches, but all of the mian info is there.

Who would’ve thought that almost 5 years later, I’d set out to finish the thing? It’s not done yet, but hopefully, I’ll get to it by the end of the year. I’ve been playing through with just the keyboard, and regardless, without my good ol’ Sidewinder 3D Pro, I’m not so hot. Of course the Sidewinder is long gone (and I was only able to get it to partially function in XP anyway), so I’m off to find a cheap joystick with a hat switch. Once I do that, it’s game on.

Ok, I just realized my link to the old Disco Vigilante’s Message Board no longer works. Instead, it links to to “Mistress Destiny’s Forums,” which means I’ve taken the link down. Bell Bottom Blasters is there instead.

Old news has been archived and as usual, there’s a few miscellaneous updates behind the scenes.

Updates:
I ’76 Downloads – XP fix is available as a download
I ’76 FAQ – More tweaking
I ’76 Message Boards – Changed links
I ’76 – Scenario Walkthrough is up
Sega – Sonic 2 stuff is started

Cornucopia

Another set of updates has been added to the site. With the turkey-fuel provided over the weekend, I’ve been given the energy for a rather large update.

As promised, for Interstate ’76, I’ve added in a scanned version of its quick reference card. If you need it, at least there’s a place out there on the web that has it. While I was at it, I figured I’d add up the key card for Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries as well.

The Battle Zone site gets a quick update. At the bottom of each page is a link to the other pages. In case you find your way here through a search engine, you can still navigate around without the frame on the left hand side.

One of the links in the Mech 2 FAQ was old, so it’s been pointed to the right spot.

Speaking of FAQs, the I ’76 FAQ is updated with some new and refined info. In case you’re tired of setting down the hardware acceleration on your computer just for a game of I ’76, there’s a fix for that.

The Q&A has been brought up to date, so the three e-mails I’ve received in the last two years are up.

On the Sega side, the Rez section has some more info/screenshots about its pre-release versions and I’ve got some pictures up of the real-world Shenmue locations.

Behind the scenes, I’ve installed Google Analytics. The stats about the site are fascinating – where traffic comes from, how long people browse the site, what pages are looked at, which aren’t. In case you’re wondering, this site is most popular in Germany (I have no idea why) and the least visited portions are BZII and Deus Ex. Most popular? You guessed it, Interstate ’76, Battle Zone, and Mechwarrior.

It seems like I’m leaving some things off, so look around.

Updates:
Battle Zone – Navigation all around
I ’76 Downloads – Key Card
Interstate ’76 FAQ – New info
Mechwarrior 2 FAQ – Link is corrected
Mercenaries Downloads – Key Card
Q&A – Three new questions almost answered
Rez – K-Project and Vibes Info
Shenmue – Real-world Locations

I ’82 Pre-release Pictures

Hi I was scrolling through the internet when i came across a load of I’82 PRE-RELEASE picture’s on ING.com I will send the 2 most interesting one’s if you want them thanks i just need to know your email address.:) Interstate 76/82 rocks!!!!

Yeah, send them my way. I tried to e-mail you back, but the address was invalid. I’m guessing you mean IGN, so they shouldn’t be too hard to find.

(2010 Update: I never did hear back from this person.)