2023/04/14 - Patch v16.0

v16.0 (aka the "It's A Whole New MechLab!" patch) has been released to the installer. This is a very dense patch with a lot of changes, so read carefully!

THE BIG HEADLINE NEWS: Patch v16.0 has taken a long time to get out into player hands because BTA has updated *most* of its core frameworks to the most recent mods available. This includes the entire Custom Bundle family of mods as well as the CustomComponents/MechEngineer family of mods. The end result is a massively overhauled MechLab, including a *lot* of new features such as new hardpoint types (such as artillery and bomb bays), updates to how quads work, updated actuators for OmniMechs, changes to Artemis IV, Apollo, and the PPC Capacitor, the replacement of TTSs with a new item type (Weapon Attachments), new MechLab filters, and more besides. There is so much here that I cannot possibly begin to detail it all in simple patch notes. To that end, I've made a 20 minute video about the new MechLab changes, including what you'll need to do to get your 'Mechs updated for the new patch. Contrary to your fears, this patch is *not* a save-breaking patch but there *will* be some changes necessary on your end to get your units updated, which the video also covers. There's some bullet points over in the FAQ about the new patch, so keep an eye out for that.

WATCH THIS VIDEO BEFORE READING THE FAQ BULLET POINTS: https://youtu.be/MVT4Xi8N0Jk

NEW FACTION: People occasionally ask me, "BD, when are we going to see the other Clans? I want more Clans!" and I've usually said something along the lines of "more Clans will appear when I figure out how to make them interesting and distinct". Well, today, we welcome another Clan to the BTA Family, Clan Snow Raven. Long famous as the Clan that ruined the Outworlds Alliance in BattleTech canon, Clan Snow Raven has come to BTA in a somewhat altered form compared to canon. In BTA-land, the Snow Ravens will appear in 3065 when they solidify an alliance with the Outworlds Alliance (not a merger, just friendship) and are granted dominion over some planets in the Outworlds Wastes. They'll also get frisky and attack the Draconis Combine and Federated Suns in several brush wars in 3065/3066. Players *can* work for and even ally with the Snow Ravens (they sell the same list of general goods as the Nova Cats but sell a different selection of 'Mechs in their faction store).

UPDATED FACTION STORES: This patch introduces a number of shake-ups to faction stores. The Free Rasalhague Republic faction store has been nerfed (see below for details) and the Great Houses (plus a lot of others) have been buffed. The changes mostly move around LAMs (details below), add bombs anywhere there is a LAM, and distribute the new FCS attachments through the faction stores. Every FCS is purchasable in at least 1 faction store, guaranteed. Artemis IV specifically is also in every Great House store as well as the Lothian faction store, so ArtIV is quite available.

NEW MECH: The Cossack, a 20 ton St. Ives light trooper, has walked into combat. Find it with St. Ives, ComStar, and the Capellans as well as in the factory at Warlock.

NEW MECH: The Spector, a 35 ton SLDF stealth mech, has snuck into play. Find it with the Lyrans/Capellans/ComStar/WoB as well as in the factory at Loxley.

NEW MECH: The Exterminator, a 65 ton SLDF stealth assassination mech, has blinked into existence! Find it with ComStar/WoB almost exclusively as well as finding one variant in the ComStar faction store and two variants in the factory at Thermopolis.

NEW MECH: The Wawkalak, a 50 ton non-canon pseudo-omni QuadMech, has rolled onto the battlefield. This failed experimental design is fielded by House Marik (and sold in the factory at Oliver) and has a bit of a funny story involving transforming into a tank.

NEW MECH: The Pillager, a 100 ton dual gauss SLDF death machine, has lept into combat. Fielded mostly by the Capellans today, the Pillager's battle claws are here to rip its opponents apart. The Pillager is also for sale at Sian, St. Ives, and Kathil.

NEW MECH: The Kiso, a 100 ton Quad-IndustrialMech, has lumbered into battle. This mech is a Draconis Combine construction mech meant to oversee mega-engineering projects. There are many variants of the Kiso, most fielded by the garrison Combine regiment and/or shit-tier Mercs and the Outworlds Alliance's garrison and regular regiments. It's also for sale in several factories, including Dieron, New Samarkand, and a brand new factory at Togura.

LAM PROLIFERATION: LAMs have mostly been taken away from the Free Rasalhague Republic faction store (because they essentially don't field them) and have been instead spread around to the Great House faction stores that use them still, as well as ComStar/WoB. Additionally, anywhere you can buy a LAM you can also buy Bombs for use on your LAMs. Every single LAM in BTA now has at least 2 Bomb Bay hardpoints for using bombs, so go nuts and absolutely bomb your enemies into submission.

NEW(ISH) WEAPONRY: To make the Artillery hardpoint (see the FAQ for details) more flexible, the Thumper/Sniper/Long Tom Cannons have been introduced to the wider BTA ecosystem. The first two have been in BTA for awhile but as unique fixed weapons on the Schwerer Gustav and the Boomstick Helepolis hero respectively (the LT Cannon is new). These are sawn-off snubnose versions of the full arty pieces with very short ranges and *very* high damage values with high damage variance on each shot (the Sniper Cannon with Shaped Charge ammo can easily reach 150 damage or even more!). These are in general stores and use their appropriate ammos.

UPDATED WEAPON: The Support SRM was from an older era of BTA and no longer had relevance. It has been changed to the Precision SRM. It does half damage (4 per missile), is a Missile hardpoint weapon, and has a high clustering modifier so it groups VERY tightly on attacks. It's available in shops, rarely, and uses standard SRM ammo.

ADJUSTED EVENTS: The Marian-Lothian and Marian-Illyrian Wars have been adjusted. The Lothians are much less likely to take their worlds back and the Illyrians are much more likely to lose theirs to begin with. Additionally, in late 3063 both factions will surrender and flip completely to the Marians, as happens in the fluff. Sorry Lothian/Illyrian fans, but the Marian Hegemony is too strong! The Marians also have a bit of a war in 3066 with the Circinus Federation, which is pretty fun. Go enjoy that too!

SPECIAL NOTE FOR COMMUNITY CONTENT: If you have commissioned me in the past for any mech that uses Artemis IV or an old-style TTS, you will need to contact me so that we can rebuild your mech appropriately for the new weapon attachment systems.

COMMUNITY CONTENT: A few things that slipped in before I closed CC have made it into this patch: a new Stormcrow, a new Catapult, a new Sirocco, a new Tarantula.

• Evacuation zones have been adjusted somewhat, they should spawn a little closer to the player now.
• The LAC/5 has been nerfed slightly, the weapon ranges were wrong and have been corrected (it now is 150/300/450/600 instead of 250/300/450/600).
• APM Inferno ammo has been fixed to proper values.
• The tube artillery pieces (Thumper/Sniper/Long Tom) now only have the indirect fire mode. The Direct Fire weapon mode was largely pointless so has been removed.
• Several mechs have had their affinities shuffled around (Griffin, Hellhound, Kintaro).
• The duels that have drop weight limits now tell you their limits before you take the contract.
• Mech resizing has been fixed! The Pallas is no longer gigantic! Hurrah!
• There are a few new mech variants in this patch, such as a pair of new Ostsols.
• SPAM works in duels and blackouts, it has no reason not to. Special contracts like gameworld duels and such are still exempted.
• The Binary PPC was nerfed a little, it was... way too good.
• A number of mech variants have been receiving support hardpoints. This is an on-going process but will be a regular occurance for awhile.
• Call-down Beacons and their Contracts have had their wordings clarified somewhat to make it a little clearer on how you call down different options.

IMPORTANT: v16.0 is an "update" update. In this case, clear your Mods folder manually and then run the installer, it'll do the work for you.

IMPORTANT: v16.0 is not a save breaking update, your saves are compatible and will work fine.

REMINDER: This update, and others like it, are made possible by my Patreon and Ko-Fi supporters. Without their support, updates would come slower and be less impactful. If you feel like being a part of the support for BTA, you can find me on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/bloodydoves) and on Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/bloodydoves)

REMINDER: Custom mod commissions are still **CLOSED** for the time being, the reason being that v16.0 is probably gonna contain some bugs and I want a week or so to bug fix without worrying about getting folks their commissions on time. Don't worry, they'll be back soon!