Good Afternoon All,
I'm looking for some advice on a pet modding project. I've been lurking here and on...ahem...a certain mod site (name withheld to avoid Moderator slapdown for using names & links to other sites) for months trying to find the "perfect" mods to make my BT experience complete, as I'm sure many of you have also done. I was incredibly stoked when SolahmaJoe released his 'Hangar of the Dispossessed' mod, since it added the Warhammer and Marauder. Then he added the Phoenix Hawk, and the gears in my brain went into overdrive.
Thanks in advance for reading through my post, and I look forward to any/all advice.
CONCEPT: Using HotD and joelmeador's Mech and Vehicle Resizer, it would theoretically be possible to introduce the Stinger, Wasp, Valkyrie, and Crusader.
ISSUE: Possible JSON errors most likely related to the hardpoint definitions vs the assetbundles
METHODOLOGY:
- Examined the mod format for HotD & JK_Variants in Notepad ++.
- Attempted to use BMIT, but found it to be less than intuitive (what is the difference between using BMIT and the 'mod' JSON to write to the VersionManifest?). The more I think about it, given that SolhamaJoe & JustinKaseToo both use BMIT, I should probably play around with it some more.
- Decided to focus on manually editing the JSONs
Effort #1: I attempted to create individual Mods for each mech using the same format SolahmaJoe used for HotD. I created all the JSONs using his file format, edited all the values, etc.
Effort #1 Result: abject failure. Endless load cycle, and the output log showed numerous conflicts. I deleted all my custom mech mods and restored functionality to the game.
Silver Lining: a tabletop variant I'd made of the Phoenix Hawk back in the day successfully appeared in-game. All I'd done was add it's mechdef/chassisdef to the existing HotD folders.
Effort #2: following my successful load of my tabletop Phoenix Hawk, I edited my Stinger/Wasp/Valkyrie/Crusader JSONs and parked them in the HotD Phoenix Hawk folders. I pointed them all to the HoTD Phoenix Hawk hardpointdatadef, and edited it to reflect the added missile hardpoints.
Effort #2 Result: partial success. The game loaded, but when launching into a mission it went into the endless loading cycle, again. Output log indicated that there were conflicts with the 'assetbundles', which I took to mean the actual definitions of the hardpoints alluded to in the hardpointdatadef and the physical locations & graphical depiction of the 3D model itself. In short, I'm assuming that all the work SolhamaJoe did in configuring the models for BT meant that the missile hardpoints I introduced for the Wasp, Valkyrie, and Crusader created conflicts.
Silver Lining: The Stinger mod worked, which is probably because the hardpoints are so similar to the Phoenix Hawk. Haven't seen it in-game yet, but I also didn't see any errors in the output log. I re-accomplished Effort #2 with only the Stinger mod, and I haven't had any conflicts (yet).
Possible Conflict: I attempted to create missile hardpoints in the legs of the Wasp & Crusader, IAW the lore. I knew it would probably cause a conflict, and I assumed that it would appear in the output log. I may attempt to simply move the hardpoints into the L/R torsos instead. However, the missile hardpoints in the torsos for my Crusader variant already showed a conflict in the output log.
Bottom Line: So now I'm getting ready for Effort #3. My questions are:
- how do I create the missile hardpoints in the arms/torsos so that it won't cause a conflict with the assetbundles? I know the MWO Phoenix Hawk has one variant with missile hardpoints (e.g., the Roc, with both in the left arm), but that doesn't necessarily translate to the torsos. I don't need an accurate weapons fire animation; I just want to have the mech variant available.
- am I correct in assuming that the 'mods' JSON is writing to the Manifest, or am I skipping a step in not manually editing the csv values? (I wanted to avoid this, since I gather you have to re-accomplish your edits every time there's an update)
- am I over-complicating the process, and is there an easier way to accomplish this? (i.e., BMIT)
Bonus Question: does anyone know if SolhamaJoe will add the Rifleman/Archer? (fingers crossed)
Thanks again for taking the time to read.
-DutchRits
I'm looking for some advice on a pet modding project. I've been lurking here and on...ahem...a certain mod site (name withheld to avoid Moderator slapdown for using names & links to other sites) for months trying to find the "perfect" mods to make my BT experience complete, as I'm sure many of you have also done. I was incredibly stoked when SolahmaJoe released his 'Hangar of the Dispossessed' mod, since it added the Warhammer and Marauder. Then he added the Phoenix Hawk, and the gears in my brain went into overdrive.
Thanks in advance for reading through my post, and I look forward to any/all advice.
CONCEPT: Using HotD and joelmeador's Mech and Vehicle Resizer, it would theoretically be possible to introduce the Stinger, Wasp, Valkyrie, and Crusader.
ISSUE: Possible JSON errors most likely related to the hardpoint definitions vs the assetbundles
METHODOLOGY:
- Examined the mod format for HotD & JK_Variants in Notepad ++.
- Attempted to use BMIT, but found it to be less than intuitive (what is the difference between using BMIT and the 'mod' JSON to write to the VersionManifest?). The more I think about it, given that SolhamaJoe & JustinKaseToo both use BMIT, I should probably play around with it some more.
- Decided to focus on manually editing the JSONs
Effort #1: I attempted to create individual Mods for each mech using the same format SolahmaJoe used for HotD. I created all the JSONs using his file format, edited all the values, etc.
Effort #1 Result: abject failure. Endless load cycle, and the output log showed numerous conflicts. I deleted all my custom mech mods and restored functionality to the game.
Silver Lining: a tabletop variant I'd made of the Phoenix Hawk back in the day successfully appeared in-game. All I'd done was add it's mechdef/chassisdef to the existing HotD folders.
Effort #2: following my successful load of my tabletop Phoenix Hawk, I edited my Stinger/Wasp/Valkyrie/Crusader JSONs and parked them in the HotD Phoenix Hawk folders. I pointed them all to the HoTD Phoenix Hawk hardpointdatadef, and edited it to reflect the added missile hardpoints.
Effort #2 Result: partial success. The game loaded, but when launching into a mission it went into the endless loading cycle, again. Output log indicated that there were conflicts with the 'assetbundles', which I took to mean the actual definitions of the hardpoints alluded to in the hardpointdatadef and the physical locations & graphical depiction of the 3D model itself. In short, I'm assuming that all the work SolhamaJoe did in configuring the models for BT meant that the missile hardpoints I introduced for the Wasp, Valkyrie, and Crusader created conflicts.
Silver Lining: The Stinger mod worked, which is probably because the hardpoints are so similar to the Phoenix Hawk. Haven't seen it in-game yet, but I also didn't see any errors in the output log. I re-accomplished Effort #2 with only the Stinger mod, and I haven't had any conflicts (yet).
Possible Conflict: I attempted to create missile hardpoints in the legs of the Wasp & Crusader, IAW the lore. I knew it would probably cause a conflict, and I assumed that it would appear in the output log. I may attempt to simply move the hardpoints into the L/R torsos instead. However, the missile hardpoints in the torsos for my Crusader variant already showed a conflict in the output log.
Bottom Line: So now I'm getting ready for Effort #3. My questions are:
- how do I create the missile hardpoints in the arms/torsos so that it won't cause a conflict with the assetbundles? I know the MWO Phoenix Hawk has one variant with missile hardpoints (e.g., the Roc, with both in the left arm), but that doesn't necessarily translate to the torsos. I don't need an accurate weapons fire animation; I just want to have the mech variant available.
- am I correct in assuming that the 'mods' JSON is writing to the Manifest, or am I skipping a step in not manually editing the csv values? (I wanted to avoid this, since I gather you have to re-accomplish your edits every time there's an update)
- am I over-complicating the process, and is there an easier way to accomplish this? (i.e., BMIT)
Bonus Question: does anyone know if SolhamaJoe will add the Rifleman/Archer? (fingers crossed)
Thanks again for taking the time to read.
-DutchRits
In case you didn't see, I also did the Assassin awhile back. It's on the Nexus, if you're into that sort of mech.