How do I keep my Custom Ranks saved in my MekHQ settings?

[Heretic]

TL;DR: Starting to get tired of having to manually reenter custom rank titles whenever I start up a new AtB campaign. Is there any way to make sure I don't have to do so?

I can't be the only one who has this problem/bone to pick. Whenever I go to start a new AtB campaign in MekHQ, the custom ranks I've so meticulously input for my prior run-throughs have ~magically~ disappeared, forcing me to spend 5-10 minutes rentering the ranks and double-checking to make sure I have the titles right before saving my presets, only to have them disappear again when I start an entirely new AtB campaign.

Is there any way, at all, to save this information or is this just a wash from the start?

[Dr. Banzai]

You *could* go to data/universe and open the ranks.xml and code the custom ranks directly into there. But make sure you understand how the XML works before you do it.

[Heretic]

You *could* go to data/universe and open the ranks.xml and code the custom ranks directly into there. But make sure you understand how the XML works before you do it.

I don't, unfortunately.

[Southernskies]

copy your campaign, enter GM mode and wipe everything?  Then rename and reset the date.

[elf25s]

when i do set up for new campaign i usually just set up the "bones" for both megamek and atb then i save the set up under ruleset 1 2 3 etc
then when i a ready i add the meat such as mks pilots personel etc and save it under different name.
so whenever i want to restart the campaign i start off from ruleset1 file and add the meat so to speak.
also you can transfer most times the ruleset save between mekhq versions

[Padraig Tseng]

Wouldn't the save as preset option retain custom ranks? 

[Heretic]

Wouldn't the save as preset option retain custom ranks?

Thing is, it doesn't, at least not from my run-throughs. Every time I've checked the custom rank table on a new campaign, it's blank.

copy your campaign, enter GM mode and wipe everything?  Then rename and reset the date.

That...that seems like a lotta work for very little gain. Plus, I'd have to do it every time I wanna have my custom ranks, so that'd add even more time for me to waste.

[PuppyLikesLaserPointers]

If you have any randon free XML editor(such as Notepad++), you can do it freely.

Open your MekHQ save file that doesn't have any custom rank with a XML editor, and on line 7 to 10 you can see this.

Code: [Select]

<rankSystem>
<!-- Star League -->
<system>0</system>
</rankSystem>
That is the default, for the default rank is Star League rank.

And also open your MekHQ save file THAT have the custom rank what you have set. and copy all the area that <rankSystem> to </rankSystem>, paste it to your new MekHQ save file, then save it. if you did that, it's done. Even if your force have some personnel with ranks, if they have correspond rank already then they will get the new rank because it replaces the former one.

Still, I do want that save/load custom rank and some quality of life changes. It was always a headache for me. Especially for keep typing --MW part.... If I knew I can do it by XML I was already did that.

Besides, I know the way to do just now. I didn't aware that it saves the rank top of the file.

[Dr. Banzai]

If you have any randon free XML editor(such as Notepad++), you can do it freely.

Open your MekHQ save file that doesn't have any custom rank with a XML editor, and on line 7 to 10 you can see this.

Code: [Select]

<rankSystem>
<!-- Star League -->
<system>0</system>
</rankSystem>
That is the default, for the default rank is Star League rank.

And also open your MekHQ save file THAT have the custom rank what you have set. and copy all the area that <rankSystem> to </rankSystem>, paste it to your new MekHQ save file, then save it. if you did that, it's done. Even if your force have some personnel with ranks, if they have correspond rank already then they will get the new rank because it replaces the former one.

Still, I do want that save/load custom rank and some quality of life changes. It was always a headache for me. Especially for keep typing --MW part.... If I knew I can do it by XML I was already did that.

Besides, I know the way to do just now. I didn't aware that it saves the rank top of the file.

You can follow these steps to copy it into the ranks.xml I was talking about before. Just remember, when you update versions, you'll have to make sure to back this up and re-copy it.

[dgorsman]

I don't, unfortunately.

Pick up the basics, it's a pretty useful skill as its very prevalent as a small-scale data format.  Take a look at w3schools.com.

[monbvol]

A far simpler way to handle this is to create a base campaign to work from where you setup your custom ranks once.  Save it before you hire any personnel, buy any units/parts/ammo, setup starting funds, or anything else.

Just do the bare minimum of things you know you're going to want in all future campaigns.  Save it in that state.

When you want to start up a new campaign you load the framework campaign then change the name of the campaign, alter any settings you want to that will be specific to the campaign you are about to start on, hire people, buy stuff, and then use save as to make sure you keep your base framework campaign intact.

This is what I do.

[Heretic]

A far simpler way to handle this is to create a base campaign to work from where you setup your custom ranks once.  Save it before you hire any personnel, buy any units/parts/ammo, setup starting funds, or anything else.

Just do the bare minimum of things you know you're going to want in all future campaigns.  Save it in that state.

When you want to start up a new campaign you load the framework campaign then change the name of the campaign, alter any settings you want to that will be specific to the campaign you are about to start on, hire people, buy stuff, and then use save as to make sure you keep your base framework campaign intact.

This is what I do.

Gonna try to see if this works.

If you have any randon free XML editor(such as Notepad++), you can do it freely.

Open your MekHQ save file that doesn't have any custom rank with a XML editor, and on line 7 to 10 you can see this.

Code: [Select]

<rankSystem>
<!-- Star League -->
<system>0</system>
</rankSystem>
That is the default, for the default rank is Star League rank.

And also open your MekHQ save file THAT have the custom rank what you have set. and copy all the area that <rankSystem> to </rankSystem>, paste it to your new MekHQ save file, then save it. if you did that, it's done. Even if your force have some personnel with ranks, if they have correspond rank already then they will get the new rank because it replaces the former one.

Still, I do want that save/load custom rank and some quality of life changes. It was always a headache for me. Especially for keep typing --MW part.... If I knew I can do it by XML I was already did that.

Besides, I know the way to do just now. I didn't aware that it saves the rank top of the file.

Interesting. When I feel more confident about messing with the xml stuff, I'll see if that works.

[monbvol]

Gonna try to see if this works.

It has never failed me.

Should also mention turning on GM mode to relocate to alternate starting worlds is highly recommended.

Likewise I should mention there is potential weirdness if you hire people then change campaign start dates.  How big of a deal this is depends on the campaign settings and exactly how much of a time jump is being made.

There are some equipment availability rules that also can get a bit weird too with time jumps.

So best practice is to make any alterations to the campaign options you want before you hire anyone or buy anything.

[Battleclad]

I've always wondered why there's no save ranks button, like witb the rules options. Just the ranks could be stored in just a few lines of csv.

[Windchild]

Please open a RFE for this using the MekHQ link in my signature

[Heretic]

Please open a RFE for this using the MekHQ link in my signature

Done. Issue number 1924 is the one you're looking for.