[Mod] JK_Variants 1.8.0.0 - 175+ 'Mechs and 125+ Vees, Rarity Tables, and more

[Justin Kase]

@Sykriss - Thank you - I will check that out, might be an easier way then the swap outs I'm doing.

I'm trying to figure some of that lore stuff out as well - driving me a bit nutty If I come up with something, I'll be sure to alert y'all here (and I'll PM you).

Thank you again!

 

[Justin Kase]

Looks like just adding the files into the mod works with ModTek now - I dropped the attached folder and new mod.json file into the JK_VariantsCampaign folder and the Half Ton MG ammo appeared at the very next planet I stopped at! Thanks again

 

[Eximar]

It appears that the new LanceDefs / Tags provide an additional bonus in making the Blacklisted 'Mechs vanish - as I do not provide those 'Mechs tags to be called

If you want to make a 'Mech "vanish" from being a viable choice, give it the "unit_none_(((faction)))" tag. Please note, you must enter the name of the faction you want it to vanish from. Alternatively, if you delete the file that creates the tags, that 'Mech should vanish as well, with only a minor chance of appearing in a 5 skull mission (IIRC).

I finally had time to play and use the new lance definitions and everything in the newest version of your mod. I find that the above is not working for me. I have changed the tags in the Sab_JK_Encounters mech, mech_JK, mech_BD, and mech_HotD folders to look like the attached.
I've also attached the Mod folder and Sab_JK_Encounters folder. I'm not using anything that should cause a conflict at the moment, so after a bunch of testing yesterday and today, I'm at a loss as to why the mechs with none for every entry are showing up routinely in procedural missions of a campaign.

 

[Justin Kase]

@Eximar - Sorry to hear you are having problems. Would you mind zipping the whole Mods folder and sending me a Dropbox, GoogleDrive or somesuch so I can look at it?

The changes you made are to the other mechdef files for the other mods, correct? Or did you also change some 'Mechs in the Sab_JK_Encounters to be different as well?

Thanks!

 

[Justin Kase]

Working on a folder that will include BD, Colo, HotD and VIP

 

[NickAragua]

Don't forget bloodydoves' Rifleman that just came out today!

 

[Justin Kase]

I finished up the :

• BD - Annihilator
• BD - Archer
• BD - Assassin
• HotD - Charger
• HotD - Marauder
• HotD - PhoenixHawk
• HotD - Warhammer

Running out for gaming night - but I will try to get the following done later:

• BD - Rifleman
• Colo - Wolfhound
• VIP Mod (has other vehicles)

A few of notes:
Rarity is ~3025 era
I based the rarity on the Xotl tables, along with a chance for salvage from frequent enemies (at a 2 slot higher rarity from the original).
This also means some of the 'Mechs become "unit_none_((faction))" across all factions, as they are not available at the time (such as the 3039 Charger).
If you would like to change rarity, just go to the relevant file and adjust accordingly.
If anyone sees a rarity that they think should be changed in the base mod - please let me know (and why).

Attached is a ZIP which can be dropped in the mods folder (assuming you already have the JK_Variants mod in there along with BattleTechPerformanceFix) - you will also need to still install all the relevant mods from BD / HotD (and later the Colo/VIP).

Please let me know if you see any issues.

 

[Eximar]

@Eximar - Sorry to hear you are having problems. Would you mind zipping the whole Mods folder and sending me a Dropbox, GoogleDrive or somesuch so I can look at it?

The changes you made are to the other mechdef files for the other mods, correct? Or did you also change some 'Mechs in the Sab_JK_Encounters to be different as well?

Thanks!

I have no doubt it will get sorted.

I changed a few of the mechs in the mech folder and the mech_JK folder to the "none" tags, but mechs from both folders have shown up.

It will be probably be January 2nd before I'm back to get you the mod folder, but I really appreciate that you're willing to take the time and effort to see if I've managed to foul something up.

 

[Justin Kase]

I have no doubt it will get sorted.

I changed a few of the mechs in the mech folder and the mech_JK folder to the "none" tags, but mechs from both folders have shown up.

It will be probably be January 2nd before I'm back to get you the mod folder, but I really appreciate that you're willing to take the time and effort to see if I've managed to foul something up.

Happy to look through it all when you do send it along. But, with any luck, you should be able to reinstall fresh copies of the mods, then just apply the attached folders to merge the tags onto the existing mods. Then you only ever adjust the 'Ssb_JK_Encounters & Sab_JK_Encounters-OtherMods' folders to change rarity / availability.


Having some issues with the Vehicle Improvement Project - between overlapping names with JK_VariantsCampaign vehicles and some weirdness in the names of the files compared to the names referred to in the files themselves. Also, some of the vehicles in there are not 3025-ish kosher, end result:

• 15 are Blacklisted due to being either from a later era, being extinct, or for using Star League era tech.
  • AXEL
  • AXELB
  • CARRIER_HEAVYLRM
  • IGNIS
  • IGNISSRM
  • LIGHTLRM
  • LIGHTSRM
  • MARSDENII
  • MARSDENIIA
  • MYRMIDON
  • PO
  • SABAKU
  • TIGER
  • ZEPHYR
  • ZHUKOV
• 3 should be deleted (due to name conflicts) or JK_Variants should be loaded after VIP
  • APC_Turhan
  • CARRIER_AC2
  • CARRIRER_LASER
• 5 are duplicates with different names (so I Blacklisted them as well)
  • BULLDOGAC
  • DEMOLISHERD
  • MANTICORE_dupe
  • SCHREKAC
  • SCORPIONML

Which still leaves 30 viable vehicles. I need to lookup the various rarities still, maybe this weekend. It might just be easier on me to redo the other vehicles and add them to JK_Variants as an optional module for those that want more vehicles and don't mind all the duplicate chassis.

Finished up on the BD / HotD / Colo mods

• BD - Annihilator
• BD - Archer
• BD - Assassin
• BD - Rifleman
• Colo - Wolfhound
• HotD - Charger
• HotD - Marauder
• HotD - PhoenixHawk
• HotD - Warhammer

Please note - if you are not using one of these mods, you can go in and delete the mechdef files or disable loading the group folders.

I have also included the VIP rarity tags - but they are all either Common or Blacklisted and there isn't any line in the Mod.json telling them to load (that would need to be added). You will need to either load JK_VariantsCampaign after VIP, or you should delete the (3) files noted above from the vehicle and vehicledef folders in that mod.

The attached mods folder needs to be added to the standard JK_Variants mod. Please make sure that you have BattletechPerformanceFix loaded as well - without that mod, the faction tags will not work.

Please let me know if anyone has any questions or request - or rarity corrections. Thanks

 

[Justin Kase]

With the incredible output by @bloodydoves - we now also have the Flea!! Please go see the post and his Nexus mod - and support him

Attached is a new mod zip with the Flea files added in - please note, the Flea will not be a very common site with the Rarity / Encounter tables at this time period, unless facing House Marik / FWL forces. Also, the Flea-16 is listed as "none", as it is a Dragoons only model at this time - though there is still a slight chance it might appear during some missions (very slight).

As always, the rarity for the various factions can be set to your desired levels by editing the relevant mechdef files in the folders. This only impacts their tags, and not any other stats.

Please let me know how testing is going

 

[unclecid]

hey just wanna let ya know that i have been having those blacklisted vees still showing up.

i have had the zhukov, heavy lrm, po, shrek ac, and tiger show up.

and i have jk campaign loading after vip

 

[Justin Kase]

hey just wanna let ya know that i have been having those blacklisted vees still showing up.

i have had the zhukov, heavy lrm, po, shrek ac, and tiger show up.

and i have jk campaign loading after vip

The VIP stuff isn't activated in the mod.json file - you would need to add the line :
{ "Type": "VehicleDef", "Path": "vehicle_VIP", "ShouldMergeJSON": true, "AddToDB": false }

attached is a copy that you can drop in the Z_Sab_JK_Encounters-OtherMods folder - let me know if that works for you!

 

[unclecid]

@Justin Kase ok will after I get home from work.
Thanks.

 

[Justin Kase]

I must say - thank you for encouraging me to do this. The added 'Mechs are helping to round out the faction forces. Now we just need the Stinger, Wasp and Valkyrie to really help with the lower end

 

[unclecid]

Don't forget the crusader.
We only got one jumpy fire support in the cplt.
We NEED another.

 

[Pode]

Someone has done a Phoenix Hawk Extended mod on Nexus that uses Joe's Phoenix Hawk as the art for Wasps, Stingers, Valkyries, and Crusaders. May not be worth bothering with since Joe is currently working on custom models for them, but with Resizer it works pretty well.

The rarity tables are a godsend. I can set the Hatchetman to none and never see one before the Flashpoint, which is huge for me.

 

[Justin Kase]

Glad to hear they are working out for you Now, if we could tie the date to the Mech tags, we could make it so the various Rarity tags won't even matter until a particular date has passed

I've been toying with the same idea about using the resizer for the PHawk to make the other bugs. But I am also happy to wait on SJ.

I'm also going back over all the rarity values in comparison to the XOTL tables and cross checking against salvage possibilities.

My ultimate goal is to have 3 folders - 3025, 3039 & 3050 with different rarity values in each for the various mechs/vees in the mods. Then a player can pick the era and adjust as they wish

 

[Pode]

I would suggest a folder with the Mechs for each year and a line in the mod file to enable that folder. Then with the calendar date mod, we can toggle on the mechs for that year when our save game hits that date. The Master Unit List gives availability (but not rarity) data ending in 3019, I'd make that the baseline. Hatchetman debuts in 3023 IIRC, 3024 would have the Raven in it, 3028 the Wolfhound, etc.

 

[Justin Kase]

@Pode - Yes, that is pretty much the way I am envisioning it. Just toggle the era you want to play with. This would - in effect - turn all the era inappropriate stuff off.

If we get year tags, then we can pre-stack those into the relevant era folder - so the Cataphract 4X would appear after 3029. This means that a 3025 table can dip its toe into the 3039-ish stuff. But to really get the proper Rarity, you would need to choose which folder is being used (like you said).

It may be possible to even have all of the folders on at the same time and have the Rarity tables differ for various eras, this would allow things to become more common, or shift faction availability in different years. But, I would need to figure out how to make the Rarity go down on 'Mechs that are phasing out. It will need some testing.

 

[Pode]

Question re the faction tagging. What happens if I tag a mech with the same faction twice? Does it become twice as common for that faction? I'm working on a Dervish, which is literally EVERYWHERE according to the fluff, but also only manufactured in Davion space. So I kinda want to make it common for everyone and common twice for Davion. Will that have any effect?