BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat

Other BattleTech Games => MechWarrior and BattleTech Computer | Console Games => MegaMek Games => Topic started by: ralgith on 27 June 2016, 22:04:32

Title: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: ralgith on 27 June 2016, 22:04:32
Hey guys, it's time for another release. Quick and dirty due to final exams, but it's out here! Hammer will be back next week with another release as well!

MegaMek 0.41.20 (https://github.com/MegaMek/megamek/releases/tag/v0.41.20)
MegaMekLab 0.1.56 (https://github.com/MegaMek/megameklab/releases/tag/v0.1.56)
MekHQ 0.3.30 (https://github.com/MegaMek/mekhq/releases/tag/v0.3.30)

Enjoy! Hopefully I'll be back in the saddle during the 2nd half of the summer semester ;)
Damn Senior classes are so much more time consuming than the last "years" worth!
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 27 June 2016, 23:21:16
People who followed my live coding streams or rambling on IRC already got a small glimpse of two new features in MekHQ's interstellar map, but I think it's a good idea to introduce them and explain what they will be doing to the wider audience here - in particular because you can help filling them with content.

The first is a visual clue: You'll note a small circle in the upper right corner of a planet's detail view. This will be a placeholder graphic for almost all of them but Terra in this release.

What is it for?

It's a visual aid to identifying a planet. For now, the plans are to give each planet a random image fitting its type, climate and so on. As you can see with Terra, the planets can also have their own, custom image. In the near future, when planets will belong to systems, those icons will also help identifying them in the system overview screen.

How can it be customised?

You can put the pictures anywhere in the "data" folder. The default size of the icon is 64x64 pixels, and usually a multitude of them are packed together into one bigger picture. The ideal format is PNG, due to the ability to add "soft" transparency around the planet's border. There is one such image already provided in this release, in data/images/universe/planets.png

The second part is to tell MekHQ which icon names belong to which image. For this, open the file data/images/universe/planet_icons.txt with any text editor and look at the contents. For now, they will consist of just those two lines:

Code: [Select]
default=images/universe/planets.png(576,576-64,64)
earth=images/universe/planets.png(192,128-64,64)

The first, "default" line is mandatory. All the others are for your custom planetary icons. The format consist of a unique icon name followed by an equality sign (without any space around it!), followed by the file name relative to the "data" directory, optionally followed by parentheses containing the position and size of the part of the image which this icon represents (upper left corner of the image is at position 0,0).


The third part consists of telling MekHQ to use the specific icon for a specific planet. This is done by adding an "icon" data element to the planet data. For an example, see the file data/universe/planets/0001_terra.xml, where near the end there is one line like this:

Code: [Select]
<icon>earth</icon>

Similar can be done for any other planet. For example, if you created an image for New Avalon and defined the icon name "new_avalon" for it, you could create a new XML file which would assign that icon to this specific planet:

Code: [Select]
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>
<planets>
<planet>
<id>New Avalon</id>
<icon>new_avalon</icon>
</planet>
</planets>

Save it as an XML file in the "data/universe/planets/" folder and you're done.

-------------------------------
The second feature is a new map overlay, "HPG Network". You can access it via the light blue "hamburger icon" in the lower right corner of the interstellar map.

What is it for?

It shows all the links between A-class HPGs as thick, light blue lines and all the links from B-class HPGs to A-class HPGs as faint turquoise lines.

This is very much a work-in-progress feature. Right now, the only areas with a "proper" coverage are the clan homeworlds and some space around Terra, and even so our current data set includes an A-class HPG on New Dallas even though the planet was abandoned near the end of the 2nd Succession War.

For this reason, the HPG network doesn't have any in-game functionality yet. The plan for the future is for it to determine when you get to hear news, if you are capable of placing orders and how long it'll take for someone to fulfil them and similar communications-related game features. But we need a few passes through the data to ensure it can be actually used for that purpose. For now, using just the official data, no major worlds can communicate with each other via the HPG network.

How can it be customised?

For one thing, you can turn on GM Mode, mark a planet and right click to edit its historical events. There, you can put, change or remove an HPG at any date. This change will be saved with your campaign, but not propagated to other campaign files.

You can also create custom XML files in the "data/universe/planets" folder, as shown above, and either add a line like ...

Code: [Select]
<hpg>A</hpg>

... to the planets you want to, or if you want to be more precise, lines like the following to add or change the HPG class of a planet at any given date.

Code: [Select]
<event><date>3025-01-01</date><hpg>A</hpg></event>

------------------------------------
I realise the features are a little bare-bones right now. How you can help, if you care to, is with suggestions about how to deal with the outstanding issues: The planetary classification and images, and the HPG network connectivity. You can also provide us with nice images for the planet's icons if you wish, but please keep the copyright law in mind.

Also, feel free to visit me on my coding streams and influence the direction MekHQ is taking life and in person. ;)
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 27 June 2016, 23:35:41
And yet you don't leave a link??
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BLOODWOLF on 27 June 2016, 23:36:14
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!  But why is it that the communication network doesnt work?  It wasn't realistic in Battletech now that MM/HQ has actually applied scientific math to it for a program?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: PurpleDragon on 28 June 2016, 00:01:51
Don't know if this is wrong or not.  I have already downloaded mekhq 3.30.   building a new command for an AtB game, per my normal for a new build, I came across an icarus in the unit market during a 3029 game. 

see attached word document with screen captures. 

If you need anything else just let me know. 
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 June 2016, 01:22:41
The icarus has two models with intro dates before 3029. Don't know if its really a bug, but some star league units do show up in the market from time to time. What was the exact model?
Icarus ICR-1X is from XTRO Primitives II intro 2470
Icarus II ICR-1S is from TRO 3075 intro 2518
The 3rd models intro is during the Jihad
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: PurpleDragon on 28 June 2016, 01:34:56
ok, thanks.  it was the 1S.  I had never heard of the icarus before the Jihad stuff started so I was wondering.  didn't know if it was a bug so didn't want to write one until I knew.  thank you. 
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 28 June 2016, 03:30:04
Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!  But why is it that the communication network doesnt work?  It wasn't realistic in Battletech now that MM/HQ has actually applied scientific math to it for a program?

For the most part, because it's lacking data. And barring the highly unlikely event of CGL releasing full network maps for the various eras, it will stay that way, at least officially. Unless I somehow missed them doing exactly that ...

The first step is making sure that the data in MekHQ actually is consistent with the fiction - this includes no network nodes before 2630, a good part of it going down during the Amaris Civil War and being rebuild post-2780, and finally almost all of it going down on Gray Monday, 3132-08-07. This will be the "official" part of the planetary data.

The second part will be adding HPG network nodes where there is no official data and it makes sense. This will create a kind of "alternate universe" network, which means that we'll put it into a separate XML file so that everyone can easily disable it or replace it with their own version - same as we do with the "connecting" star system for interstellar travel right now.

And only then there will be rules implemented using that network. Playing before 2630, after 3132 or deep in the Periphery will be the most impacted then, with ordering parts and units not produced locally or even getting a list of current possible contracts being very hard outside of a few specific planets like the regional capitals.

Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Downslide on 28 June 2016, 08:48:46
MKHQ turning .30? Aww, I remember when it was .2...
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Vampire_Seraphin on 28 June 2016, 09:25:56
For the most part, because it's lacking data. And barring the highly unlikely event of CGL releasing full network maps for the various eras, it will stay that way, at least officially. Unless I somehow missed them doing exactly that ...

The first step is making sure that the data in MekHQ actually is consistent with the fiction - this includes no network nodes before 2630, a good part of it going down during the Amaris Civil War and being rebuild post-2780, and finally almost all of it going down on Gray Monday, 3132-08-07. This will be the "official" part of the planetary data.

The second part will be adding HPG network nodes where there is no official data and it makes sense. This will create a kind of "alternate universe" network, which means that we'll put it into a separate XML file so that everyone can easily disable it or replace it with their own version - same as we do with the "connecting" star system for interstellar travel right now.

And only then there will be rules implemented using that network. Playing before 2630, after 3132 or deep in the Periphery will be the most impacted then, with ordering parts and units not produced locally or even getting a list of current possible contracts being very hard outside of a few specific planets like the regional capitals.

IS there a line somewhere that ties hpg class to the ABC... tech dev level of each planet?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 28 June 2016, 10:01:52
IS there a line somewhere that ties hpg class to the ABC... tech dev level of each planet?

Not exactly. It's basically "whatever the Star League ministry of communications and later ComStar decided to put there." There can be class-A HPG facilities on planets with a population of a few hundred farmers living near starvation if it's required for the network to function properly and a high-tech, high population planet can be stuck with class-B HPG if there are already some two or three class-A nearby covering the area.

Class-C and class-D HPG service is not an installation but more of a promise how often a ComStar courier will jump into the system to deliver and pick up messages, and so don't contribute to the network itself.

If you feel like doing it randomly for any single system or planet, the rules are in the "IOBeta: Solar System Generation" PDF, page 32. For MekHQ, we can't assign those classes randomly - the network as a whole has to make sense.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pfarland on 28 June 2016, 12:01:07
<snip>For MekHQ, we can't assign those classes randomly - the network as a whole has to make sense.

Can I suggest a thread where people can post where HPGs are found in Sourcebooks and Fiction?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 28 June 2016, 12:39:56
Can I suggest a thread where people can post where HPGs are found in Sourcebooks and Fiction?

No need to reinvent the wheel, we already have the data for any that come from sourcebooks. There will likely be gaps since only something like 25-30% of planets have published, canon, data.

If I recall correctly, the rest default to C.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pfarland on 28 June 2016, 14:06:53
No need to reinvent the wheel, we already have the data for any that come from sourcebooks. There will likely be gaps since only something like 25-30% of planets have published, canon, data.

If I recall correctly, the rest default to C.

Does that mean you already know all the HPGs mentioned in all the sourcebooks or you have a spot for it?  If you have a spot for it, and not HPG locations where would someone post them to contribute?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 28 June 2016, 14:27:51
It's already in planets.xml - the only problem is it was originally a static code, so it couldn't change. As a result it won't be accurate for every time frame if an HPG was improved/destroyed or going back far enough that they don't exist, however, the data for when they were created/upgraded/downgraded/destroyed, etc. is limited so it shouldn't be a big lift to change (or a big event like grey monday). And everything else is essentially a guess anyhow because there is no data.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 June 2016, 18:01:19
If I remember the lore correctly most worlds were class C with major worlds being B while highly developed worlds, regional/national capitals were class A.

Mostly it was a matter of transmission scheduling. Class C were on a weekly schedule, B was daily, and A was hourly I think. As far as using the HPG network for parts orders... Within the fluff, and to some extent the game rules, parts orders were handled by the employer and not the unit. How else would an employer trap a unit in the company store.

I like the idea of a vaguely usable HPG network but it is really beyond the scope HQ (or even BT). There are just too many missing variables.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: mchapman1970 on 28 June 2016, 21:38:17
I know this will be frustrating but I am old and tired...how do I make changes to the planets and have those changes show up in another campaign.  I think you told me but I don't remember sorry 
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 June 2016, 21:49:50
I remember seeing the answer somewhere.. probably in the PR this was introduced with. I know previously you would have to edit the planets.xml file. Now... will see if I can find it before Akjosch responds.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 June 2016, 21:57:16
Didn't take long, though I would hope Akjosch comes along for a better explanation.
Link https://github.com/MegaMek/mekhq/pull/54
4th bullet point is what you want I think, though editing the planet data in game... not sure if it is saves in the campaign or not. Giving the code a quick skim didn't provide me with an answer.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 29 June 2016, 00:10:44
I know this will be frustrating but I am old and tired...how do I make changes to the planets and have those changes show up in another campaign.  I think you told me but I don't remember sorry

Let's break it down into two parts:

How to make changes to planets?

Well, if you are "just" after planetary history (changing factions, fluff detail like population and USILR code and so on), select (left-click) the planet, make sure GM Mode is active, right click inside the interplanetary map and pick the edit option from the GM menu. Don't forget to save the campaign.

Generic editing is more complex but also can edit pretty much all of the planet's details - you can even remove a planet from the game (but don't do that if the campaign references a planet in any way). The details are described in the planets.txt file in MekHQ's "doc" folder (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MegaMek/mekhq/master/MekHQ/docs/planets.txt). Those changes "stick" automatically.

How to make changes made inside MekHQ's editor apply to all campaigns?

Open up the campaign file in a text editor. Near the end are the planetary changes - a list of <planet>...</planet> data sets with just events inside. Copy those lines into a new file, surrounded with a few lines like this:

Code: [Select]
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>
<planets>
    <planet>...</planet>
</planets>
(replace "<planet>...</planet>" with your text here)

Save the new file with an "xml" extension into your MekHQ's data/universe/planets/ folder.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 29 June 2016, 04:03:46
Speaking of adding and modifying the map, Harebraided Schemes just published an update to their setting of the BattleTech game they are developing (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/1614948). The map they are using is adding a total of 14 systems (... as well as having roughly a third of the existing systems under a wrong name or with spelling mistakes, but that's beside the point). If they will be ever confirmed by CGL to be cannon, they will be added to the released MekHQ map, but for now I created a quick-and-dirty addon for MekHQ which puts them (without any further data, since we have none) on the map. Just unpack the btg_planets.xml file into your MekHQ's data/universe/planets folder and you're good to go.

This doesn't add the new faction they are introducing (the Aurigan Coalition), since MekHQ currently doesn't have the capability to extend factions quite as easily yet.

Two planets are added to the Taurians (Mystras and Ahlat), one to the Canopians (Balawat) and the remaining eleven are independant worlds (Cassilda, Bonavista, Alloway, Bellerophon, Chadan, Mantharaka, Sacromonte, Tiverton, Tarragona, Peratallada and Gaucin).
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 29 June 2016, 04:25:50
No, but it can still be done in factions.xml Think there might be one additional file that needs to be changed as well I think
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 29 June 2016, 04:38:12
No, but it can still be done in factions.xml Think there might be one additional file that needs to be changed as well I think

Yes, but telling people to replace their factions.xml (overriding their customisations there and breaking once again as soon as they update MekHQ) with my version would defeat the purpose of it being a "copy the file(s) to install, remove the file(s) to uninstall" type of modification. So I won't do it.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 29 June 2016, 04:52:06
And those kind of bug reports have been popping up for a few years from those who do it and forget to update the files  [face palm]
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 29 June 2016, 07:16:48
If I remember the lore correctly most worlds were class C with major worlds being B while highly developed worlds, regional/national capitals were class A.

Yes, that's correct at least for the C rating. That's why MHQ defaults to C for all planets without data. However, there are quite a few with actual data in there, so any A or B is accurate. C's could be canon or not (you'd have to look in planets.xml to see if there's an HPG entry or not unfortunately).

I also think that 'in general' rule breaks down since there are some relatively insignificant planets with A/B HPGs and I think it's more based on where comstar needed them for their network / random decisions with no backing by TPT at the time of the various sourcebooks.

There are also systems with X in their HPG class, which is supposed to represent 'no hpg' but still isn't coded to work as far as I know, so those likely still show up at C.

Speaking of adding and modifying the map, Harebraided Schemes just published an update to their setting of the BattleTech game they are developing (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/1614948). The map they are using is adding a total of 14 systems (... as well as having roughly a third of the existing systems under a wrong name or with spelling mistakes, but that's beside the point). If they will be ever confirmed by CGL to be cannon, they will be added to the released MekHQ map, but for now I created a quick-and-dirty addon for MekHQ which puts them (without any further data, since we have none) on the map. Just unpack the btg_planets.xml file into your MekHQ's data/universe/planets folder and you're good to go.

This doesn't add the new faction they are introducing (the Aurigan Coalition), since MekHQ currently doesn't have the capability to extend factions quite as easily yet.

Two planets are added to the Taurians (Mystras and Ahlat), one to the Canopians (Balawat) and the remaining eleven are independant worlds (Cassilda, Bonavista, Alloway, Bellerophon, Chadan, Mantharaka, Sacromonte, Tiverton, Tarragona, Peratallada and Gaucin).

According to this:

Quote
So what we’ve ended up with is a set of systems that appear in Star League sources but nowhere else, that have only minimal pre-existing history: a perfect canvas onto which you’ll paint your own tale of mercenaries, power struggles, upheavals and betrayals.

In theory, those planets are canon. We are missing a decent number of worlds in MHQ if they disappeared early in the succession wars. (Originally it was set up with major sweeping changes from 3025-3067 essentially, we've added since then but likely not caught everything from every timeframe prior to 3000) I'd have to go check some of the older sourcebooks to confirm though. However, it seems unlikely that we would have been missing any Taurian/Magistracy planets from 3025 so I'm not completely convinced (even if it's just one each.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 29 June 2016, 07:40:09
Yes, that's correct at least for the C rating. That's why MHQ defaults to C for all planets without data. However, there are quite a few with actual data in there, so any A or B is accurate. C's could be canon or not (you'd have to look in planets.xml to see if there's an HPG entry or not unfortunately).

I also think that 'in general' rule breaks down since there are some relatively insignificant planets with A/B HPGs and I think it's more based on where comstar needed them for their network / random decisions with no backing by TPT at the time of the various sourcebooks.

There are also systems with X in their HPG class, which is supposed to represent 'no hpg' but still isn't coded to work as far as I know, so those likely still show up at C.

Actually, a missing HPG class entry means literally "we don't know, but probably none" in MekHQ right now. "X" is not a valid value and is parsed down to "C", same as any other invalid value (that is, not A, B, C or D).

Not that it matters - for now, the HPG class is essentially fluff. Due to the new network overlay mode, this will change soon, and the values will be corrected to what they actually are.

Too bad nobody bothered to record the sources of the current values, which means running through all the source books again for things like when the node was established, its rating changed or when it was abandoned.

Also, most of the IS worlds have a B-rated HPG node; the further away from Sol the more C-rated services show up (it's -1 per full 100 ly from Terra on a 2d6 roll, and only on a result of 1 or less the planet ends up with something less than a B-rated HPG).

In theory, those planets are canon. We are missing a decent number of worlds in MHQ if they disappeared early in the succession wars. (Originally it was set up with major sweeping changes from 3025-3067 essentially, we've added since then but likely not caught everything from every timeframe prior to 3000) I'd have to go check some of the older sourcebooks to confirm though. However, it seems unlikely that we would have been missing any Taurian/Magistracy planets from 3025 so I'm not completely convinced (even if it's just one each.

MekHQ uses the data of 3141 planets compiled by Bad_Syntax and Volt, down to the positions of the planets they determined. None of the planets I listed are in that data, and when you look closely at the "work in progress" maps the HBS guys linked, they aren't there either.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 29 June 2016, 08:33:06
You do know I'm the map-data guy for MHQ right?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 29 June 2016, 08:59:40
You do know I'm the map-data guy for MHQ right?

Yes, I know. Did you check their work-in-progress maps? The ones where they overlaid all the available, canon maps?

Because those planets aren't on these maps either. Which means they are not canon unless CGL declares otherwise.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 29 June 2016, 10:40:34
Yes, I know. Did you check their work-in-progress maps? The ones where they overlaid all the available, canon maps?

Because those planets aren't on these maps either. Which means they are not canon unless CGL declares otherwise.

I was more referring to the rest of it where you appeared to be explaining to me where I got various information from. Otherwise, no, I did not compare what they had on the various maps. They made one claim in the explanation that the planets existed so I was going to check against actual sourcebooks and not just rely on what they showed or the maps they had in the article.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Akjosch on 29 June 2016, 10:57:54
I was more referring to the rest of it where you appeared to be explaining to me where I got various information from. Otherwise, no, I did not compare what they had on the various maps. They made one claim in the explanation that the planets existed so I was going to check against actual sourcebooks and not just rely on what they showed or the maps they had in the article.

Don't worry, the explanation was more for the other people in the thread. :)

Back to the topic at hand:

* How much *would* people care for the "HBS faction" to appear in MekHQ (as an optional "Alternate Universe" kind of deal)?

* Anybody knows what release date they aim at, so I know when we'll have finalised data on that part of the universe?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 29 June 2016, 12:46:35
I am not particularly for it but I also am not against it as an unofficial addon since your changes allow for that now. I could see it being interesting for some people curious to play through a similar campaign using MM.

As for the intended release date, I believe they said 1st or 2nd quarter of 2017. For some reason I was thinking a March-May release was likely based on the original information but I have no idea if everything is on schedule or if I was just making that timeline up and just convinced myself it was real.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Netzilla on 29 June 2016, 13:00:32
The closest I've heard to a release date is 'sometime in 2017'.  I don't think they've even gone as far as to specify a quarter.

As to including the map changes in MHQ, my understanding is that CGL is planning on treating the HBS game as cannon.  So, once the campaign map is finalized, it will likely be cannon (at least for late SW3/early SW4).
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 29 June 2016, 14:44:31
The closest I've heard to a release date is 'sometime in 2017'.  I don't think they've even gone as far as to specify a quarter.

For some reason I was thinking they said 'early' or 'the first half' of 2017 but it's been a good 8 months since the kickstarter so I could be misremembering.

Quote
As to including the map changes in MHQ, my understanding is that CGL is planning on treating the HBS game as cannon.  So, once the campaign map is finalized, it will likely be cannon (at least for late SW3/early SW4).

At which point, I assume they plan for the new proto-realm to disappear eventually since the Fronc Reaches do appear in that area eventually and a decent bit of other changes after the 3025 time-frame. I suppose those planets will either be wiped out or have to be included into things going forward.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Netzilla on 29 June 2016, 16:07:38
At which point, I assume they plan for the new proto-realm to disappear eventually since the Fronc Reaches do appear in that area eventually and a decent bit of other changes after the 3025 time-frame. I suppose those planets will either be wiped out or have to be included into things going forward.

Yeah, the new realm collapsing and its planets changing hands is to be expected.  It's not like that hasn't happened (many) times throughout BT's fictional history.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: mchapman1970 on 29 June 2016, 20:34:48
How to make changes made inside MekHQ's editor apply to all campaigns?

Open up the campaign file in a text editor. Near the end are the planetary changes - a list of <planet>...</planet> data sets with just events inside. Copy those lines into a new file, surrounded with a few lines like this:

Code: [Select]
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>
<planets>
    <planet>...</planet>
</planets>
(replace "<planet>...</planet>" with your text here)

Save the new file with an "xml" extension into your MekHQ's data/universe/planets/ folder.

so for the 200+ campaigns and counting I will have to do this
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BLOODWOLF on 29 June 2016, 21:45:19
I understand now how the HPG network does not work going off canon data.

(http://i.imgur.com/zYXi6x9.png)

Maybe this project can do better than canon?  Why limit ourselves lol.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Wrangler on 29 June 2016, 21:50:35
Fantastic. I cant wait to try these new features.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: monbvol on 29 June 2016, 22:06:41
Looks like I may have a lot of work ahead of me to adapt my total conversion AU that I've been not keeping up on since I wanted to wait for the next MekHQ stable to do my next update.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: MoleMan on 08 July 2016, 02:58:54
Hey guys, it's time for another release. Quick and dirty due to final exams, but it's out here! Hammer will be back next week with another release as well!

MegaMek 0.41.20 (https://github.com/MegaMek/megamek/releases/tag/v0.41.20)
MegaMekLab 0.1.56 (https://github.com/MegaMek/megameklab/releases/tag/v0.1.56)
MekHQ 0.3.30 (https://github.com/MegaMek/mekhq/releases/tag/v0.3.30)

Enjoy! Hopefully I'll be back in the saddle during the 2nd half of the summer semester ;)
Damn Senior classes are so much more time consuming than the last "years" worth!

Thanks for all your hard work! It is very much appreciated!
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Twin_81 on 09 July 2016, 15:33:56
Same as Megamek 0.41.19, in 0.41.20 Princess greets me in Russian when the client language is set to English, other than that it's not bad, didn't playtest it too much though. Could it be because of my Russian Windows system?

UPD: A little bit of clarity: I've tested several builds right now, I just like to know why do some things happen, latest stable megamek (0.40.1) has the same issue. Earlier versions do not.

  This has something to do with Russian translation (I've done a part of it) - the changelog for 0.40.0 is as follows:
  Bug: build.xml not up to date with l10n -> i18n change
  In that i18n folder, its client/bot subfolder contains messages.properties file - these are English bot messages and messages_ru properties - these are Russian. There are more language specific files, perhaps. Probably, the language file should depend on client language settings.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: ralgith on 10 July 2016, 19:28:54
My guess is that Princess (maybe both bots?) aren't written to pay attention to the client settings.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: arlith on 11 July 2016, 08:19:12
I would guess that the reason that you see it work in previous versions and not in current versions is that those old versions didn't have Russian translations for the bot messages in question, and now they do (Xenon had done a pass on the Russian translations a while back).  Then, there's probably a bug somewhere that is causing MM to use your OS settings instead of the MM client settings.  Probably there should be an issue created on GitHub so we can keep track of this.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: daskindt on 11 July 2016, 13:14:26
I am not particularly for it but I also am not against it as an unofficial addon since your changes allow for that now. I could see it being interesting for some people curious to play through a similar campaign using MM.

As for the intended release date, I believe they said 1st or 2nd quarter of 2017. For some reason I was thinking a March-May release was likely based on the original information but I have no idea if everything is on schedule or if I was just making that timeline up and just convinced myself it was real.

I'm a brand new user of MegaMek, but personally I would love to have the option to use the Aurigan Reach from HBS' BATTLETECH.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Twin_81 on 11 July 2016, 14:01:10
I would guess that the reason that you see it work in previous versions and not in current versions is that those old versions didn't have Russian translations for the bot messages in question, and now they do (Xenon had done a pass on the Russian translations a while back).  Then, there's probably a bug somewhere that is causing MM to use your OS settings instead of the MM client settings.  Probably there should be an issue created on GitHub so we can keep track of this.

I've helped Xenon with that translation, so I know the structure of those files and messages. I think it's true that Princess may ignore client language settings, MM itself is fine, it's English when it's set to English. Only the bot messages are bugged, the matter could be in the wrong message file to use or just the general bot code.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: ralgith on 11 July 2016, 18:27:06
Chiming in on the HBS extra planets and such being "canon", wasn't it mentioned in the blog somewhere that this are of space as defined by them was going to be canonized?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: daskindt on 11 July 2016, 22:29:22
Chiming in on the HBS extra planets and such being "canon", wasn't it mentioned in the blog somewhere that this are of space as defined by them was going to be canonized?

Pretty sure the intent is to adhere to canon and treat the game's lore as new additions to canon. Thought I read that Randall reviewed and edited the post on the Aurigan Reach, but I don't see that stated in the post. Just that Randall was part of discussions.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 12 July 2016, 00:47:11
Until there is something from an official source on this forum I highly doubt they will get added directly to MM and will remain as a separate download
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: jedidino on 16 July 2016, 01:54:32
I ran into an issue trying to load a mission from MekHQ.  I have no issues loading the campaign up in the new MekHQ 0.3.30 - everything seems to work just fine.  However, when I try to play the mission in MegaMek 0.41.20, it will not load.  I get a message saying waiting on server.  I started a new game under MekHQ 0.3.30 and I am having no issues playing it.  I went back and loaded another campaign that was working just find in MekHQ 0.3.29 with the same results. I have attached my game file and my custom unit. Thanks for the help!
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Wrangler on 16 July 2016, 15:11:27
Does the release Campaign Operations, will it be while until it's added to MekHQ?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 17 July 2016, 15:06:43
I started work on the CO stuff from the IO beta before I went on vacation (and before CO came out). CO didn't change much but there was a lot of unexpected things in it such as a change in the cost for pare parts for mechs with certain quirks that will need to be accounted for. I was hoping read over CO while on vacation but we were always getting back around midnight and I never had the energy to get any work done on this... Now that I am back home I am hoping to get a lot done this week before my b-day rolls around this weekend. Busy busy weekend...

As for other bugs.. If I find any I can deal with I will try to find them as well and post a PR for arlith or on of the others devs to review. Still trying to recover from a week of roller coasters though  #P
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pfarland on 18 July 2016, 00:43:57
Ok, so why would you keep coming up "Short on Astechs" even if you not only brought up all teams to full strength the day before, but even (as a test measure after the first time) hiring extra ones (20 then 100)?  I've been doing a lot of repairs, and upped the skills of a few Astechs and turned them into Mech Techs.  The next day, my Mothballing fails and I have a +4 to repairs for being short handed.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: MoleMan on 19 July 2016, 03:26:20
Hi, are you guys aware that http://megamek.info/downloads still only has Version 0.3.29? If I have a career going in that version, can I d/l the newer version and carry on with it? If I extract it to the same location as it my .29 version, will it just overwrite all the old stuff in an acceptable way?

Cheers for all your hard work!
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pfarland on 19 July 2016, 05:55:54
Hi, are you guys aware that http://megamek.info/downloads still only has Version 0.3.29? If I have a career going in that version, can I d/l the newer version and carry on with it? If I extract it to the same location as it my .29 version, will it just overwrite all the old stuff in an acceptable way?

Cheers for all your hard work!

https://github.com/MegaMek/mekhq/releases/tag/v0.3.30  That's the link you want.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Jayof9s on 19 July 2016, 07:40:39
Hi, are you guys aware that http://megamek.info/downloads still only has Version 0.3.29? If I have a career going in that version, can I d/l the newer version and carry on with it? If I extract it to the same location as it my .29 version, will it just overwrite all the old stuff in an acceptable way?

Cheers for all your hard work!

Don't extract over the old version. That is very likely to cause issues. You'll have to create it in a new folder and carry over any custom units / camo / portraits / etc. as necessary
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: jedidino on 25 July 2016, 22:54:17
I ran into an issue trying to load a mission from MekHQ.  I have no issues loading the campaign up in the new MekHQ 0.3.30 - everything seems to work just fine.  However, when I try to play the mission in MegaMek 0.41.20, it will not load.  I get a message saying waiting on server.  I started a new game under MekHQ 0.3.30 and I am having no issues playing it.  I went back and loaded another campaign that was working just find in MekHQ 0.3.29 with the same results. I have attached my game file and my custom unit. Thanks for the help!

I think my post got buried.  Any help with this would be great!  I am hoping to run the next real life game this coming weekend and want to be able to keep MeKHQ updated.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 25 July 2016, 23:37:52
The post is on this page so its not like its buried... But you do need to post the log file. It your aren't able to load a game from HQ into MM there should be something in the log file.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pfarland on 26 July 2016, 09:58:25
The post is on this page so its not like its buried... But you do need to post the log file. It your aren't able to load a game from HQ into MM there should be something in the log file.

And any custom units.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 26 July 2016, 15:37:59
Customs and campaign were attached but not the log, unless it was packaged with the campaign but I haven't checked.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: MoleMan on 28 July 2016, 05:14:58
Hey, can I make a suggestion? Would it be possible to add onto the marketplace screen the production year of the particular unit variant design? I.e. Raven 3L 3024, 4L 3060 etc.

I think this might help complete newbies like me to identify which mechs are newer tech and which are star league era without having to pull up sarna every 5 minutes! You could even go a step further and create a 'born on' date for that specific mech, just for added fluff purposes, this one is fresh off the factory line, this one has trace amounts of brain matter from a splattering back in 2501! I understand that would take a fair bit of work equivalent to the RAT tables though.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 July 2016, 06:25:31
The normal unit market already has this so I guess you are talking about the AtB unit market?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: MoleMan on 28 July 2016, 08:13:54
Ah yes, I was :D
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 July 2016, 08:59:24
Well at least you know you can look it up in HQ rather than sarna all the time.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: neoancient on 28 July 2016, 10:17:03
Hey, can I make a suggestion? Would it be possible to add onto the marketplace screen the production year of the particular unit variant design? I.e. Raven 3L 3024, 4L 3060 etc.

I think this might help complete newbies like me to identify which mechs are newer tech and which are star league era without having to pull up sarna every 5 minutes! You could even go a step further and create a 'born on' date for that specific mech, just for added fluff purposes, this one is fresh off the factory line, this one has trace amounts of brain matter from a splattering back in 2501! I understand that would take a fair bit of work equivalent to the RAT tables though.
The year a model is introduced is not a good indicator of tech level. While you know anything produced during the Succession Wars will not have advanced tech, most of what was produced during the Star League era doesn't either. Instead of relying on intro date, you can just click on the row of the unit in question and look at the summary in the other pane to see what equipment it actually has.

Adding a production year for the specific unit would require far more work than it's worth. Some models are in production for centuries, and some have production runs that last a few years but due to the number produced or the way it's used, there are still significant numbers around decades or centuries later. For most units this information is not given.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BlueThing on 28 July 2016, 17:53:31
I started a new campaign with 0.3.30 last night.

So far I haven't seen Princess hang, so that issue is hopefully fixed. :)

-----

I'm finding the Personnel Market a bit annoying to use, as it requires several clicks to look at it daily (when it yields one candidate a day, most of which I don't care about).

Could that get changed (perhaps an option?) to aggregate a week or a month of people and update weekly or monthly? Or perhaps to have people stay in the list for a week or a month after becoming available?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 28 July 2016, 18:34:12
Just change the personnel market used in the campaign options to FM:Mercs

Each market option has its own way of populating the market.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: PurpleDragon on 29 July 2016, 02:52:16
I started a new campaign with 0.3.30 last night.

So far I haven't seen Princess hang, so that issue is hopefully fixed. :)

-----

I'm finding the Personnel Market a bit annoying to use, as it requires several clicks to look at it daily (when it yields one candidate a day, most of which I don't care about).

Could that get changed (perhaps an option?) to aggregate a week or a month of people and update weekly or monthly? Or perhaps to have people stay in the list for a week or a month after becoming available?

I don't know what I do differently, but I don't seem to have this problem.  On my computer it seems to keep a running "tally" of who is available and changes daily with some new showing up some being removed from the list and some staying for weeks at a time.   I would really like to see this done with the contract generator and the unit markets as well. 
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: neoancient on 29 July 2016, 08:15:45
I don't know what I do differently, but I don't seem to have this problem.  On my computer it seems to keep a running "tally" of who is available and changes daily with some new showing up some being removed from the list and some staying for weeks at a time.   I would really like to see this done with the contract generator and the unit markets as well.
I actually wrote the contract generator and unit maket code to make it easier to implement something like this, but I never took the time to work out a system that would keep the offerings equivalent to the monthly system, and I haven't though about it for a while.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BLOODWOLF on 29 July 2016, 23:15:45
I ran into an issue trying to load a mission from MekHQ.  I have no issues loading the campaign up in the new MekHQ 0.3.30 - everything seems to work just fine.  However, when I try to play the mission in MegaMek 0.41.20, it will not load.  I get a message saying waiting on server.  I started a new game under MekHQ 0.3.30 and I am having no issues playing it.  I went back and loaded another campaign that was working just find in MekHQ 0.3.29 with the same results. I have attached my game file and my custom unit. Thanks for the help!

I will try to duplicate your concern tomorrow night if nobody else has yet?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BlueThing on 29 July 2016, 23:24:56
Just change the personnel market used in the campaign options to FM:Mercs

Each market option has its own way of populating the market.
Thanks.  This setting is so much better. :)
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 30 July 2016, 05:32:32
BloodWolf if you can duplicate it post the log file. That particular poster still hasn't after I mentioned it..

Thanks.  This setting is so much better. :)

The FM:Mercs market generation is a bit off though as if I remember correctly it shouldn't be generating so many people each month. But, it is better than the other market types  O0
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BlueThing on 30 July 2016, 08:35:37
The FM:Mercs market generation is a bit off though as if I remember correctly it shouldn't be generating so many people each month. But, it is better than the other market types  O0
I've always thought the BT recruitment rates were insanely low. You can be on a major planet with a population in the hundreds of millions or billions, and there is only 1 job applicant for a mechanic position. That seems odd. :)
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 30 July 2016, 09:32:56
True for the civilian market maybe but out of those billions how many do you really want to risk life and limb in a merc unit, plus leave behind your family??
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Mukaikubo on 30 July 2016, 09:43:36
True for the civilian market maybe but out of those billions how many do you really want to risk life and limb in a merc unit, plus leave behind your family??

Plus there are probably lots of other outfits on those huge worlds hoovering up your job pool!
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: Sir Chaos on 30 July 2016, 13:17:27
True for the civilian market maybe but out of those billions how many do you really want to risk life and limb in a merc unit, plus leave behind your family??

And how many applicants from the civilian job market have experience in repairing battle damage?
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: jedidino on 30 July 2016, 17:29:53
The post is on this page so its not like its buried... But you do need to post the log file. It your aren't able to load a game from HQ into MM there should be something in the log file.

I knew I had forgotten to attached something!  However, my hard drive failed so I do not have access to any of the files now.  Thanks for following up though!   O0
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BLOODWOLF on 30 July 2016, 23:35:50
*Ok the first issue I see is that your scenario doesn't list a date for when it occurs......did AtB generate this or did you create this scenario?  And in your HQ log file you've got:

Loading GameOption Nodes from XML...

Invalid option 'allow_advanced_units' when trying to load options file.

Invalid option 'allow_advanced_ammo' when trying to load options file.

Invalid option 'allow_experimental_ammo' when trying to load options file.

Invalid option 'is_eq_limits' when trying to load options file.

Load Game Option Nodes Complete!

*And the MM portion of the HQ log I get a camo file that doesnt exist(on my machine):

Tried to load camo that doesn't exist: ALL-camos/Camolicious/CL161.jpg

Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-0" java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Row index out of range

Exception in thread "AWT-EventQueue-0" java.lang.NullPointerException

   at megamek.client.ui.swing.ChatLounge.refreshEntities(ChatLounge.java:1281)

   at megamek.client.ui.swing.ChatLounge.gameEntityNew(ChatLounge.java:2607)

   at megamek.common.event.GameEntityNewEvent.fireEvent(GameEntityNewEvent.java:62)

   at megamek.common.Game.processGameEvent(Game.java:3114)

   at megamek.common.Game.setEntitiesVector(Game.java:953)

   at megamek.client.Client.receiveEntities(Client.java:975)

   at megamek.client.Client.handlePacket(Client.java:1327)

   at megamek.client.Client$1$2.run(Client.java:219)

*And it's just those two errors repeated over and over again.

(http://i.imgur.com/urj5ZuU.png)
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: pheonixstorm on 30 July 2016, 23:59:19
That is not an AtB generated scenario. Not even an AtB contract fro that matter. If AtB is on then the contract and mission where made prior to it being turned on.

No clue about the NPE though, arlith might have an answer but it is not an error I have ever seen.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BlueThing on 31 July 2016, 01:38:24
True for the civilian market maybe but out of those billions how many do you really want to risk life and limb in a merc unit, plus leave behind your family??
Even if that person were literally one in a million, that would yield 1000 candidates on a planet with 1 billion population.

To put it another way, I know people who work in Afghanistan for a US based company doing engineering work. They are willing to do a risky job because it pays and they enjoy it. It isn't my thing, but a lot of people do jobs like that.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: scJazz on 31 July 2016, 12:23:45
Even if that person were literally one in a million, that would yield 1000 candidates on a planet with 1 billion population.

To put it another way, I know people who work in Afghanistan for a US based company doing engineering work. They are willing to do a risky job because it pays and they enjoy it. It isn't my thing, but a lot of people do jobs like that.

stop comparing IRL... this isn't RL... it might take literal years to go from Merc last contract location to back home.

And while you might have the skills to fix that wind evaporator... fixing a Mech is far different and much more rare.
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: BlueThing on 31 July 2016, 15:33:23
stop comparing IRL... this isn't RL... it might take literal years to go from Merc last contract location to back home.

And while you might have the skills to fix that wind evaporator... fixing a Mech is far different and much more rare.
Sorry, but IRL is the frame of reference we all have.  It is impossible to not compare to it on some level.

In many cases, BT lore contradicts itself and doesn't work when you look at it.  The HPG discussion earlier in this thread is a great example. 

The recruitment similarly falls apart for me when I look at it in detail.  For example, vehicle crews and technicians are only slightly more common than mechwarriors and mech techs.  Canonically, there are several times as many vehicles as mechs.  Each vehicle has multiple crew members (driver and one or more gunners).  Yet, the difference on average is around one more vehicle crew member than mechwarrior per month when you use the FM:Mercs method.

I could go through and pick apart other parts of the recruitment rules, but I think that makes the point. 

The rules don't make sense for me, either with by IRL intuition or by the canonical description of the universe.

-----

All of that said, MekHQ seems to be more or less implementing the rules in the book.  These rules work well enough for me to generally just use the Personnel Market despite the fact that I don't think that the rules really make sense when I examine them. :)
Title: Re: New releases MegaMek 0.41.20, MegaMekLab 0.1.56, MekHQ 0.3.30
Post by: mchapman1970 on 31 July 2016, 16:55:26
that is why all the great merc units have training back at the home base of operations and why the great house have training bases....