Installation procedure

From MegaMekNET

This short guide will explain how to install the game.

Contents 1 Requirements 1.1 Hardware 1.1.1 Less than 512mb 1.2 Operating system 1.3 Java Virtual Machine (JVM) 1.3.1 Other Java Runtime Environments (JRE) 1.3.2 Java 6.0 2 MegaMekNET installation 3 Camouflage package

Requirements

Hardware

Hardware requirements to run MekWars are low to moderate: you'll only need a working computer with at least 256MB memory. It is however recommended to have 512MB memory.

Less than 512mb

MegaMekNET by default is set to run at 512 Mb. So if you only have this exact memory amount or less, you will experiment poor performance as your hard disk starts to enter an endless cycle of disk swapping.

On windows, you'll need to edit megameknet.bat with a simple text editor and define the java memory usage. On 512Mb system, you'd better assign 256Mb to MegaMekNet. On lower configuration, you'd better adjust it to a smaller value. Linux and Macintosh users should edit megameknet.sh .

 start javaw -client -Xmx512m -jar MekWarsClient.jar
 start javaw -client -Xmx256m -jar MekWarsClient.jar

It is also suggested that you launch MegaMekNET directly from MekWarsClient.jar, as java default memory usage is 256Mb, by double clicking the jar archive or from command line:

 java -jar MekWarsClient.jar

Operating system

MekWars and MegaMek are reported to work on common personal computer platforms:

• Macintosh OS X
• Unix (Linux, BSD, Solaris...)
• Windows (98 and above)

The operating system must be capable to run a Java 5.0 virtual machine, in order for the software to work. That's the only strict requirement.

Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

MekWars is a Java program that needs a java virtual machine in order to run. The suggested JVM is provided by Sun Microsystem. You can find it at the Sun download site. Please follow Sun's documentation to properly install Java on your system.

Other Java Runtime Environments (JRE)

MekWars and MegaMek compatibility with Blackdown JRE or Microsoft JRE is unknown. You can give a try, but at your own risk.

Java 6.0

Java 6.0 is reported to work, and it's the actual base VM on which the game is built.

MegaMekNET installation

1. Go to MegaMekNET homepage: http://www.mekwars.org
2. Click on the link "MegaMekNET game package". It will download a file called "MMNET.zip". If it tries to open it instead of downloading it, right click on it, and select "Save target as..." (or the browser command most likely resembling that).
3. Once you have your game package copy on your computer, unzip it. It will create the game folder ("MegaMekNET").
4. Depending on your operating system, use "MegaMekNET.bat" (Windows), "MegaMekNET.jar" (Mac) or "MegaMekNET.sh" (Linux/Unix) to start the client.
5. Connect, login with your account name and password, register your name, etc. as usual. Remember that ingame account name and forum account name must match. Forum account is required to be allowed to play.
6. Have fun.

Next, read the Getting started guide in order to explore the software and arrange your first games.

Camouflage package

The Camouflage Package is an optional package with lots of camouflage patterns to visually enhance your game units. Copy it into your MegaMekNET folder and simply unzip it there.