2023/09/15 - Patch v16.5

v16.5 (aka the "C3 Adjustments and Sanctuary Expansions" patch) has been released to the installer. This is a fairly important patch, so be sure to read closely!

NEW MECH: The Menoetes, a 100 ton Atlas-type Sanctuary BattleMech, has arrived! This mech is the Sanctuary Alliance's response to the Atlas's they encountered in the Taurian war. Notably, this mech *only* spawns after you see the timeline event on 11/14/3062. After that event triggers, all four Sanctuary factions will spawn the Menoetes. Note: if you are past that date in your save, you *cannot* acquire the Menoetes via combat on that save. Notably, the Mallard Republic's faction store does sell the Menoetes regardless of the event.

NEW MECH: The Peregrine, a 30 ton Sanctuary BattleMech, has flown into battle. The Peregrine is equipped with a Light BattleMech Wing, giving it unparalleled mobility. You can find it with all the Sanctuary factions as well as the Dane Sacellum faction store.

NEW MECH: The Erinyes, a 50 ton medium Sanctuary skirmisher, has sped into the fray. So, the Erinyes is actually a little complicated. In combat, you'll never encounter a mech name the Erinyes. Instead, you'll encounter mechs named the Alecto, the Megaera, and the Tisiphone (these are the three Erinyes from mythology). These mechs are all compatible with each other in terms of mech assembly. Notably, they do *not* share a model. The Alecto and Megaera share a model and the Tisiphone has a very similar but notably different model that includes a wing. This is because the Tisiphone has a Medium BattleMech Wing. You can find these mechs with all Sanctuary factions and they are scattered between the faction stores (Dane sells the Tisiphone, Mallard sells the Megaera, and Jacobson sells the Alecto).

NEW MECH: The Uranus, a 65 ton heavy Sanctuary brawler, has lumbered into combat. The Uranus isn't super unique but it *is* very cool looking. Go check it out! Every Sanctuary faction fields it and the Jacobson Haven sells it in their faction store.

C3 ADJUSTMENTS: C3 now requires a C3 Master to form a functional C3 network, you can no longer use *just* C3 slaves for a functional network. Without a C3 Master, the network will not function (this means if your master is killed in combat, the network collapses; also if the master is subject to ECM interference the network also collapses). Notably, *friendly* ECM also no longer breaks friendly C3 networks (enemy ECM still breaks C3 networks). As a note, C3i is unadjusted from its current functionality.

ROOKIES AUTO-HEAL YOU: The B-Team and Training Day missions now auto-repair any units you send as a thanks for being willing to take out the rookies. Thanks, employer!

CAREER LENGTH EXTENDED: BTA Careers now go almost exactly as long as we have timeline events for, it's pretty cool! Now, you have much more time to proceed with your careers before the end-of-career score. Enjoy!

MML ATTACHMENTS: MMLs can now accept LRM/SRM FCS attachments *but* they only apply to that specific mode of the MML (i.e. the LRM FCS only buffs the LRM fire mode of the MML, not the SRM fire mode). People have asked for a way to use attachments on MMLs and this made a lot of sense for them. The FCS's are tuned for their specific weapon type, after all. Now, a proper MML attachment may arrive one day but I haven't gotten to it yet so it hasn't been a thing just yet. Note that the iMML's LRM and ATM modes are both buffed by the LRM FCS.

IMPROVED LRM NERF: This gets its own category because it's a bit of a hot button issue. The Improved LRMs are arguably too powerful, so to adjust their battlefield role and use, they've received a damage nerf. This may be further adjusted over time if the Improved LRM still proves too powerful.

NEW SANCTUARY EVENT: In November 3063, the Sanctuary Alliance will push up into the Tortuga Dominions. With the Treaty of Micros in effect at this point and the Taurian war over, the Alliance is looking for something to do and decides to smash some pirates and take their worlds. If you feel like helping, the pirates will absolutely take the help!

AMS ADJUSTED: This patch is testing some AMS adjustments. The goal is to make Laser AMS less obviously the best option and to see if standard AMS options can be set to be a little more impactful. These changes are still in testing and are not necessarily final. Just play with AMS normally and report back on how it feels to play with now.

TEPPO AND PALADIN PRICE INCREASED: Both the Teppo and the Paladin have historically been too cheap and now they're more expensive. Notably, the third member of the superheavy arty tank trio, the Kalki, did *not* get a price increase due to its various downsides.

START SCREEN LOGO UPDATED: Just what it says on the tin, the start screen BTA logo has been slightly updated. Looks nice! Thanks, Wulf!

COMMUNITY CONTENT: There's some new CC in this patch, including a fixed Enfield-6Z, a new Grand Dragon, a new Jenner, and a new Panther, a mew Twin MagShot weapon; a new planet, Port Rime, and its Experimental Jump Jet and JJ-focused store.

• VTOLs should be slightly more resistant to AoE damage, due to now being considered a little higher up for AoE purposes.
• Adjusted some Bellerophon hardpoints (several gained support hardpoints, one lost a bunch of random missile hardpoints it had for some reason).
• Bomb weapons now cost a sane amount for ammo costs.
• Tank BV costs are corrected for SPAM bribe calculations (no free bribes anymore!).
• Heavy Plating Armor has been adjusted to be a little better.
• Clarified that Sanctuary ECM doesn't stack infinitely with itself and that it stacks with non-Sanc ECMs for defensive purposes.
• Properly set BA Shield to be BA only.
• Fixed the PPC Capacitor's interactions with the Snub-Nose PPC.
• Some items with location restrictions have had that clarified.
• LAMs/VTOLs are now properly unable to be swarmed by BA.
• There are some new timeline events to reach out towards the end of 3067. Thanks, Scholo!
• VTOLs have now been properly prohibited from Martian/Lunar maps.
• SAR contract salvage has been nerfed to counter-act a possible exploit involving SAR missions.
• The Hunchback IIC variants have all received some support hardpoints.
• Corrected the ammo explosion values on some of the inferno artillery ammo boxes.

IMPORTANT: v16.5 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: v16.5 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 available if you're interested. If you'd like to get your own community content added to BTA DM me, bloodydoves, and we can work something out.

BTA LIGHT: BTA Light patch v16.4.1.lite has also been released. This is almost entirely a bug-fixing patch and has no new content. Fixes a variety of bugs, such as: added a Centurion to the Axylus loot crate; fixed the Debilitated events; updated RTS for some performance enhancements. Also, updated the main menu logo to indicate that the player is using BTA Light.