Development Snapshot - MegaMek, MegaMekLab, MekHQ: v0.43.2

[Hammer]

Hi Everyone,
It's new Development release time. As always this is the in-progress stuff but boy is there some cool in progress stuff.

Outside of releases there has been one big change. For years, we’ve had megamek.info as our site, but it was in the hands of a retired developer and we had limited controls on it.  We’ve completed the move to megamek.org and moved our forums to their as well. The forums are ugly but we are working on some skins for it. 

We are working on getting the megamek.info site taken down and traffic to be moved to the new site. But it's going to take some time to do that. Please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Also a reminder to drop into the Slack channel to meet other players and harass the devs that drop in and out.

Megamek.
Not too much in this release other than some new quirks and a couple of pesky bug kills.

MegaMekLab.
Again not much in here except a bug fix.

MekHQ.
MekHQ has had some pesky bugs killed. Including the refit that tons of people asked about. Kipsta has added another cool feature on the repair tab.  Here's the write up.

---------
This is for overhauling how missing parts are acquired in the repair tab. As it stands, if you have a large number of units under repair, the only indication that you may need to order parts is the 'Parts' column. Even then, the number only represents how many parts are needed that are not currently in stock. It does not take into account parts already on order or in transit. Additionally, if you need multiple of the same part, this is not obvious without counting how many of a given part are needed by various units.
The overhauled acquisition does the following:

• Removes the 'Acquisitions' tab
• Adds a new button under the Mass Repair buttons which launches a new dialog. This button additionally shows if parts are missing and require action.
• The new dialog groups parts by type, shows units require them and allows the following actions, as applicable:
• Order One
• Order Multiple
• Use bonus part
• Remove from omni pod
• [GM] Complete task instantly

Have a look at some screenshots.
--------

Here's the details and links:
Megamek.
MegaMek v0.43.2 (Development)

+ PR #518: Implemented quirks: Stabilized weapon, barrel fist
+ PR #518: Updated quirks for errata: Improved sensors, cooling system flaw,
   fragile fuel tank
+ Issue #526: Further image atlas packaging bugs
+ Issue #487: Carriage returns in startup.sh causing issues
+ Removed BLDG_CF & BRIDGE_CF from board validator (these aren't strictly
   required, as they have default values if not defined)
+ Issue #529: Movement Interruption with Dialog Box Ends Turn
+ Data: New Sprites, Unit Fixes and RAT Fixes.

MegaMekLab.
MegaMekLab v0.43.2 (Development)
+ Issue #61: Coolant pods don't add weight until assigned critical slots
+ Updated MegaMek.jar to 0.43.2

MekHQ:
MekHQ v0.43.2 (Development)
+ Fix #362: Omni Refits calculating additional HS incorrectly
+ Bug: Cannot begin refit when creating custom omni configuration in MekLab.
+ Fix #365: Personnel actions not refreshing with options affecting person panel.
+ Fix #364: MekHq Calculates Naval Vee Piloting skill using Ground Vee piloting skill.
+ Fix #369: Chose Refit Kit causing ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
+ Issue #356: Option to hide hide custom player refits from the purchase menu/unit cache #356
+ Fix #317: Unable to load campaign file after BattleArmor refit
+ Fix #368: Selected tech in repair tab reset after every repair
+ Fix #376:  MekHQ unselects task in repair bay/won't autoselect next patient in sickbay
+ Fix #370: Attempting to use Hire Bulk Personnel results in log error
+ Fix #377: Advance Day Dialog not showing daily reports beyond the first.
+ Fix #343: Graphics Issue: MMLab screen does not fit in its MHQ window
+ Fix #298: Medical Details Window Size
+ Fix #382: MR-Warehouse no longer works
+ Fix #385: MRMS no longer fixes units with bad hip/shoulder
+ Fix #387: Fix assertion failure when undeploying a unit from a special operation
+ Fix #389: Remove all personnel tried to remove the tech only if it didn't have a tech
+ Feature: New parts acquisition functionality to group parts together and to be able to better see what is in transit/on order and what is missing
+ Feature: Implement custom SPA "Clan Technical Knowledge", which can be
   purchased to give the bearer the same skill level with clan technology ad a
   freeborn clan tech. This required implementing 99% of the code to
   support custom SPAs that affect MHQ rather than MM. The rest will
   come in once a plugin system is implemented.
+ Updated MegaMek.jar to 0.43.2
+ Updated MegaMekLab.jar to 0.43.2

Enjoy everyone.

[elf25s]

doing a happy dance now

[Battleclad]

Decided to log in for the first time in forever to find a new build waiting, the odds are definitely in my favour.

[JenniferinaMAD]

I love MekHQ! Thank you guys so much!

[Random]

Once again thanks to the team for all their hard work.   O0

I'm a few versions out of date, so far I only have one question.

Where are the Special Abilities displayed these days?  I checked and all of my mech warriors still have all of their SA's but they are not displayed on the Personnel tab or the TO&E tab.

[Battleclad]

Is it just me or is the bot struggling to make choices more during matches?

[BlueThing]

Is it just me or is the bot struggling to make choices more during matches?

I haven't played this version, but the bot definitely is slow for certain missions.  My impression is the following slow it down:

• Large deployment zones
• Many units to deploy
• Fast units looking for moves
• Many units that could move

If you have more than one of those factors, it may take a while.

[Hammer]

Is it just me or is the bot struggling to make choices more during matches?

I haven't played this version, but the bot definitely is slow for certain missions.  My impression is the following slow it down:

• Large deployment zones
• Many units to deploy
• Fast units looking for moves
• Many units that could move

If you have more than one of those factors, it may take a while.

Neither bot has had any really stuff done to it in a few months.  The last fixes around them shouldn't have impacted them.

Code: [Select]

Issue #494 - Updated Princess Behaviors (Thanks pfarland and xStormforgex)
Issue #490: Fixed princess documentation.
Feature: Princess will now respond with "You are not my boss." if a player
attempts to issue a command to an enemy Princess instance.

[elf25s]

I haven't played this version, but the bot definitely is slow for certain missions.  My impression is the following slow it down:

• Large deployment zones
• Many units to deploy
• Fast units looking for moves
• Many units that could move

If you have more than one of those factors, it may take a while.

i agree it does seem slower now....it has nothing to do with board size or unit size i run at least 3 versions of mekhq and the current build does seem to be slower than previous versions.

[Hammer]

i agree it does seem slower now....it has nothing to do with board size or unit size i run at least 3 versions of mekhq and the current build does seem to be slower than previous versions.

Then we would need a save game to trouble shoot it.

[Battleclad]

I kind of deleted and moved on but I'll grab a save next time it pops up, it'll be a campaign one though (it's also probably princess disliking the advanced rules still and other factors).

[JenniferinaMAD]

One thing I've personally noticed is that Princessbot is slowed in particular by units with large jumping moves (7+) and risky opportunities for back shots (or possibly a combination of the two, as the first easily leads to the second).

I don't know exactly what's under the hood, but I'm guessing the bot gets down to an extra layer of gritty risk vs reward calculations if the numbers end too close to each other?

I've never found it an issue, just an interesting observation.

[Random]

I'll just re-post this question before it gets lost in Princess talk

Where are the Special Abilities displayed these days?  I checked and all of my mech warriors still have all of their SA's but they are not displayed on the Personnel tab or the TO&E tab.

[scJazz]

File>Campaign Options>Special Abilities tab

[Random]

Thanks but that's not exactly what I'm talking about.

The SA's that any particular pilot use'd to be displayed underneath the portrait and skills when your clicked on their name.  They are not there anymore.  The only way I can check what SA's my pilots have at the moment is to go into GM Mode>Edit or wait until I start combat in MegaMek.

[Battleclad]

The issue Random means is that sometimes the display doesn't update when you add SA's to people or load a save with them. They still have them, their character sheet just doesn't show it all the time and removing and adding them back doesn't work as a fix.

[Vampire_Seraphin]

Has anyone turned up any game breaking bugs this time around?

[Random]

I've gone through 3 fights so far and it's all been smooth.
The thing I mentioned above is an inconvenience at worst.

[Wrangler]

Has there been some thoughts of trying to impliment some aspect of Strategic Battleforce or Abstract Combat System?  It would help cut down on the sheer amount of data needed for large formations and Princess having not a issue handling things.  I know it's different animal, but it would help for those large formations.  MegaForce or Strategic MegaMek?

[BlueThing]

i agree it does seem slower now....it has nothing to do with board size or unit size i run at least 3 versions of mekhq and the current build does seem to be slower than previous versions.

I haven't seen it as faster or slower, as I'm still on 42.0. I'm just making the point that Princess can take a while in specific circumstances. Having a few battles where she takes a while in a row could make it feel slower even if Princess is unchanged. :)

[scJazz]

I've gone through 3 fights so far and it's all been smooth.
The thing I mentioned above is an inconvenience at worst.

Did you bug report it?

[Random]

I was actually trying to verify that it wasn't just something that had changed first.  The last version of MMHQ I put any time into was 0.41.26.  Things have changed a bit since then.  Bug report was going to be the next step when I got up this morning but somebody's already taken care of it for me  :)   

[Hammer]

Has there been some thoughts of trying to impliment some aspect of Strategic Battleforce or Abstract Combat System?  It would help cut down on the sheer amount of data needed for large formations and Princess having not a issue handling things.  I know it's different animal, but it would help for those large formations.  MegaForce or Strategic MegaMek?

Their have been conversations about MegaStrike (Alpha Strike or Battleforce) for MegaMek.  About 5-6 years ago somebody started to code it then stopped. Recently Neo modernized that code for the Formation Builder.

But as for playable, well not even on the radar right now. 

[arlith]

Their have been conversations about MegaStrike (Alpha Strike or Battleforce) for MegaMek.  About 5-6 years ago somebody started to code it then stopped. Recently Neo modernized that code for the Formation Builder.

But as for playable, well not even on the radar right now.

Implementing rules for AS of BF and making Princess work with those rules are  two incredibly large tasks by themselves.  If those rules ever got implemented, it would likely be a long time after until the bot fell in line with those rules as well.  One issue with AS rules is that, it's a more abstract system in order to speed the game up.  MM already helps to speed up TW play, so is implementing AS really adding a lot of value?

[imperator]

Great job so far.  I love everything you've done.  Do you think some of IO will be added within the year? Say( with innocent voice toggled and cute eye batting) LAMS or custom Nukes.........? O:-)

[Hammer]

Great job so far.  I love everything you've done.  Do you think some of IO will be added within the year? Say( with innocent voice toggled and cute eye batting) LAMS or custom Nukes.........? O:-)

There is an IO branch and even as a type this I'm working on Tech rating stuff from IO into MM.
Which will lead to this information eventually.


As for LAMs....




But their is some cool stuff in progress..but no eta.
https://github.com/MegaMek/megamek/tree/tripod_crew

[JenniferinaMAD]

I don't know if this is intentional or not, but the Merc Rating tab (when set to WD rating) seems to calculate bay usage differently than the Dropship capacity tab.

I have 8 infantry platoons (4*28, 2*24 and 2*21 men). I have 4 infantry bays on dropships and 4 more on small craft.

The dropship capacity tab says '8 infantry bays needed/ 8 available'. The merc rating tab says '7 needed/ 4 available'.
The latter number went up when I added another dropship with infantry bays.

So my theory is that the merc rating tab does not count small craft mounted bays, and that it calculates bays needed based on soldier number rather than platoons (as I have 202 soldiers, i.e. just under 7 * 30 men).

Is this theory close? Is this behaviour intentional? If so, I find it a bit confusing that it seems to calculate infantry bay usage in two different ways.

[Hammer]

There is an IO branch and even as a type this I'm working on Tech rating stuff from IO into MM.
Which will lead to this information eventually.


As for LAMs....

Gonna leave this here.

[mighty midget]

I’ve run across something that I could use some help figuring out, occasionally I’ll have scenarios that I am unable to launch (the Start Game button stays grayed out).  This remains even on the scheduled date but I do get a pop up notification if I try to advance past the scenario’s date.  I haven’t been able to determine a pattern in the scenarios that gray out unfortunately.  In the past I’ve just used the GM option to remove the scenario.  If anyone has some ideas for causes or ways to correct I’d appreciate the help.  I’ve attached a screenshot to show what I’m seeing, please let me if more details are needed.

Thanks,
MM

[BLOODWOLF]

Says you have 0 units deployed to those pending scenarios.  Try going into your TO&E right click and deploy your unit to that scenario then should be able to start the game.

[CDAT]

I have I think the last version (42?) on a different computer than I am right not (so can not check for sure). And could not modify or print units, I saw that others had already reported this issue, has this been fixed with this one?

[Hammer]

I have I think the last version (42?) on a different computer than I am right not (so can not check for sure). And could not modify or print units, I saw that others had already reported this issue, has this been fixed with this one?

Which units are you trying print? I assume you mean modify units within MekHQ?

The modifying bug has been fixed in this Dev release.

[MoleMan]

I often get this for a number of reasons, one being I have a new mech with no tech attached, it seems like MMHQ wants to tell me to do that before I fight. Or, there's something weird with one of the mechs in the lance that's supposed to be fighting (it was headcapped in the last fight).

Or the above thing if it's a 'special mission'.

What I usually do is check my techs, check my mechs, check my pilots, undeploy them all, save it, reload MMHQ then you should be good to go. Has only happened in one in 50 or so fights for me, not a big problem.

[pheonixstorm]

Any oddities that require a save/reload do post them with the last MM save (preferably after the ____ happens) so that that little bug can get fixed. More often than not it is something that needs to be cleared between missions.

Don't forget, not all AtB missions will auto deploy for you. Usually special missions or those with odd unit requirements will not. Or those that only require a single unit.

[mighty midget]

Says you have 0 units deployed to those pending scenarios.  Try going into your TO&E right click and deploy your unit to that scenario then should be able to start the game.

That got it fixed, it's so much easier when the problem is me.  Thanks.

[Flame_Draken]

I know that there was an attempt four years ago to create a java game with ISiF rules.  It ended on version three and has been dead since.

It had some basics down.  There was a basic economy, resources were generated each turn that you could spend on various things (factories, depots, fortifications, garrisons, units).  Air and ground formations could be created and ordered about.  There would be combat if more than one opposed faction was on a planet.  Forces would retreat if they were loosing.  Formations became fatigued and used supplies.

There are some issues with it though.  The program is far from complete.  Leadership is not really in the game, only the nation heads have been added.  Reliability does not seem to be added as more than a side note for formation.  Fatigue is not tracked in saved games, only during the current game session.  The same with any reinforcement equipment.  There is no bot or direct connect multiplayer.  You can hotseat the game but there is no way preventing any other players from not seeing what you have and changing it at will.

I'll provide the link so that people can check it out anyways.

https://github.com/Alain10/ISIF

[Sartris]

This thing here. I like this thing.

[Ironboot]

Hello,

On the Personnel tab/Personnel Type:Active Peronnel/View: General - When I look at my MechWarrior I don't see Abilities when I edit my MechWarrior.  When I purchase a MechWarrior it will show up.  If a MechWarrior has a skill and I edit it out it will be removed.

Does any one else have this problem?

Thanks,
Ironboot

EDIT: I just read Random post on the page before... Will this be fix for the next patch?

EDIT2: Went to GitHub... I see that it has been reported.. :)

EDIT3: Downloaded older version of MekHQ... the first one I got it to work was 41.28 I hope that helps.  It did not work for 42 stable.

[Ragnoff]

I posted this message and its own thread but then realized it probably belongs here as it involves the newest version of MekHQ

This is probably not as much of a problem for those of you who are more familiar, but for a new be added to the confusion as I attempted to understand everything. The version of the 2.31 rule set that I can download has someone's notes in it. Apparently, somebody went to the process and was making notes about things like the area of origin in the dev tab. Because they use the spreadsheet tabs to include these and because they are not labeled it and that been a lot of extra letters and numbers that a newbie like myself is trying to read as part of the rules.  It is only now, after some guidance from somebody in the slack program and going through them numerous times that I finally puzzled out these were someone's notes.

Is there a clean version of the 2.3 full somewhere? The one in the docs file in the dev version of the latest MekHQ is the one I am using, and when I searched individual downloads I came to the same spreadsheet with the same notes...

Ragnoff

[CDAT]

Which units are you trying print? I assume you mean modify units within MekHQ?

The modifying bug has been fixed in this Dev release.

I am trying to print out the sheets to play the games on the table top. Every time I tell it to print the units that will be in the battle it prints blank pages. I am guessing that I am doing something wrong but can not figure it out.