I've had my Career mode random list of mechs json files edited for some time. Basically, I set them all to the same chance of being selected and included all of the medium and light mechs in the game, but split them up among the five jsons (itemCollection_Mechs_Starting_0 to 4, five files total). With my current setup, basically 55 tonners can only show up in slot 0, only lights show up in slots 3 and 4, and slots 1 and 2 are a mix of heavy lights and light mediums.
Anywho, I noticed I've never started with a Raven or Hatchetman, even though I've included them in my lists. That could be RNG luck, so I edited one of the slots to only have those two mechs. Now when I try to start a new career it gets stuck on an infinite loading screen. I'm using the following mechdef lines for both:
mechdef_raven_RVN-1X
mechdef_raven_RVN-3X
mechdef_hatchetman_HCT-3F
mechdef_hatchetman_HCT-3X
At first I thought it might be because they're DLC mechs, but I checked what DLC mechs there were here: https://github.com/caardappel-hbs/bt-dlc-designdata
Some of those mechs work in my custom randomized lists.
For Urban Warfare: I've been able to start with all three of the Javelins.
For Heavy Metal: Both Fleas, all three Phoenix Hawks, and both Vulcans work.
For Flashpoint: All the Crabs work, even Big Steel Claw (There's two mechdefs for BSC and I've tested both, they both work).
The only ones I can't get to work are the Raven and Hatchetman variants. Any ideas why I can't get these to work in the random selection list for career mode?
Please don't tell me to use the save editor, that defeats the purpose of random selection.
Suppose I should say what I've tried as troubleshooting so far:
- I've been copy pasting the names over. In case I had a copy/paste error, I copied the name from github and pasted it to a note pad (to remove formatting), then copied that into the jsons, no dice.
- If I make a list with the Hatchetman and Raven variants, then include a single mech of any other kind, I can watch the loading screen restart a couple times then finally load up the career game with the other added mech in the bay slot every time. So it seems like the game sometimes selects the Raven or Hatchetman from the list, thinks about it, doesn't work, then goes back to reselect the mech and keeps doing that until it gets one of the mechs that works.
- I deleted my edited json, then copied back in the backup file I had of it. Edit the backup file and it still doesn't work.
Edit: Tried a couple more things:
- Noticed the mechdef files in the github have "MinAppearanceDate" : "3025-06-28T00:00:00Z", for the Hatchetman and "MinAppearanceDate" : "3027-01-01T00:00:00Z", for the Raven. None of the other light or medium mechs seem to have these lines. I found a line in "SimGameConstants.json" for career start date, changed that to 3027-01-02T00:00:00Z so the Raven qualifies, no change, game still gets stuck loading. Restored my SimGameConstants.json after that.
- I then tried creating mechdef and chassisdef files for the Raven and Hatchetman, using the info from the github, since I can't get to the actual ones for DLC mechs. I removed those MinAppearanceDate lines for all four variants. Same thing, still gets stuck loading.
Has anyone been able to get the Hatchetman or Raven to work in a modified, random start, career json file before? (ex/ itemCollection_Mechs_Starting_0)
Anywho, I noticed I've never started with a Raven or Hatchetman, even though I've included them in my lists. That could be RNG luck, so I edited one of the slots to only have those two mechs. Now when I try to start a new career it gets stuck on an infinite loading screen. I'm using the following mechdef lines for both:
mechdef_raven_RVN-1X
mechdef_raven_RVN-3X
mechdef_hatchetman_HCT-3F
mechdef_hatchetman_HCT-3X
At first I thought it might be because they're DLC mechs, but I checked what DLC mechs there were here: https://github.com/caardappel-hbs/bt-dlc-designdata
Some of those mechs work in my custom randomized lists.
For Urban Warfare: I've been able to start with all three of the Javelins.
For Heavy Metal: Both Fleas, all three Phoenix Hawks, and both Vulcans work.
For Flashpoint: All the Crabs work, even Big Steel Claw (There's two mechdefs for BSC and I've tested both, they both work).
The only ones I can't get to work are the Raven and Hatchetman variants. Any ideas why I can't get these to work in the random selection list for career mode?
Please don't tell me to use the save editor, that defeats the purpose of random selection.
Suppose I should say what I've tried as troubleshooting so far:
- I've been copy pasting the names over. In case I had a copy/paste error, I copied the name from github and pasted it to a note pad (to remove formatting), then copied that into the jsons, no dice.
- If I make a list with the Hatchetman and Raven variants, then include a single mech of any other kind, I can watch the loading screen restart a couple times then finally load up the career game with the other added mech in the bay slot every time. So it seems like the game sometimes selects the Raven or Hatchetman from the list, thinks about it, doesn't work, then goes back to reselect the mech and keeps doing that until it gets one of the mechs that works.
- I deleted my edited json, then copied back in the backup file I had of it. Edit the backup file and it still doesn't work.
Edit: Tried a couple more things:
- Noticed the mechdef files in the github have "MinAppearanceDate" : "3025-06-28T00:00:00Z", for the Hatchetman and "MinAppearanceDate" : "3027-01-01T00:00:00Z", for the Raven. None of the other light or medium mechs seem to have these lines. I found a line in "SimGameConstants.json" for career start date, changed that to 3027-01-02T00:00:00Z so the Raven qualifies, no change, game still gets stuck loading. Restored my SimGameConstants.json after that.
- I then tried creating mechdef and chassisdef files for the Raven and Hatchetman, using the info from the github, since I can't get to the actual ones for DLC mechs. I removed those MinAppearanceDate lines for all four variants. Same thing, still gets stuck loading.
Has anyone been able to get the Hatchetman or Raven to work in a modified, random start, career json file before? (ex/ itemCollection_Mechs_Starting_0)
Last edited: