Flashpoint: Double Agent... A Major Reward

[MeiSooHaityu]

I just finished the 2.5 Skull Flashpoint Double Agent and one of my rewarded items at the end was a Star League Highlander lol. Not a part, the whole mech.

Everything else (including the top item) was so average. Then at the bottom...whole SLDF Highlander. I must have done a triple take. I was like...it has to be a part, it can't be a whole Highlander...nope, the whole mech. Crazy.

 

[Timaeus]

well congratulations on that sir.

 

[Hopalong]

itemCollection_Mechs_rare,,,
mechdef_cicada_CDA-2A,Mech,1,4
mechdef_cicada_CDA-3C,Mech,1,4
mechdef_kintaro_KTO-18,Mech,1,8
mechdef_blackknight_BL-6-KNT,Mech,1,6
mechdef_zeus_ZEU-6S,Mech,1,4
mechdef_highlander_HGN-732b,Mech,1,4
mechdef_kingcrab_KGC-0000,Mech,1,4

You had a good chance to get a Cicada, better luck next time

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I was just surprised it was even a possibility on a 2.5 skull contract. The King Crab or Black Knight would have been nice too.

 

[Corraidhin]

I was just surprised it was even a possibility on a 2.5 skull contract. The King Crab or Black Knight would have been nice too.

I remember getting that too after my first campaign run. Naturally this was after I'd scoured every mission and store to get a full mech bay of highlanders...

 

[Panzer-Killer]

itemCollection_Mechs_rare,,,
mechdef_cicada_CDA-2A,Mech,1,4
mechdef_cicada_CDA-3C,Mech,1,4
mechdef_kintaro_KTO-18,Mech,1,8
mechdef_blackknight_BL-6-KNT,Mech,1,6
mechdef_zeus_ZEU-6S,Mech,1,4
mechdef_highlander_HGN-732b,Mech,1,4
mechdef_kingcrab_KGC-0000,Mech,1,4

You had a good chance to get a Cicada, better luck next time

How do those numbers read?
I.e., does "mechdef_highlander_HGN-732b,Mech,1,4" mean that:

1. there is a chance out of four to get a complete Royal Highlander HGN-732B?
2. you can get up to four Salvage Parts of such a 'Mech?
3. other (please elaborate)?

 

[Hopalong]

I'll do my best to explain,, if you have any follow up questions feel free to start a new post ("How do
itemCollections work" or do a search of the forum "itemCollections"), as we don't want to take away from MeiSooHaityu excitement over a pitiful Highlander..

So this post used to explain how it works but there was alot of info contained in the pictures.. which are now broken..

Developer Diaries #3: Shop Revisions and Flashpoint Rewards

Shop Revisions Hi! For those of you just joining us, I’m Kiva, the Lead Designer on BATTLETECH. In our third dev diary, we’re diving into a big revision to Stores that’s going to appear in our next big free Update, 1.3. I’ll also talk about...

forum.paradoxplaza.com

So there are a lot of "layers" to how you get a reward, made up of multiple itemCollection lists:
You launch Flashpoint X
You fight Enemy Y
You get reward Z from a itemCollection list.

Rewards are usually a itemCollections list containing a Factions:
itemCollection Mechs
itemCollection Mechparts
itemCollection Weapons
itemCollection Ammos
itemCollection Upgrades
You can combine these in a single itemCollection list, for example if you want to reward a player with both a AC and its matching Ammo, rather than it being random.

Flashpoint X has a itemCollection list that says give the player:
1 Mech
2 Mechparts
3 Weapons
So there is a another layer of itemCollection list saying that:
itemCollection Mechs, reward player 1 Mech, pick 1 from this Factions list of Mechs
itemCollection Mechparts, reward player 2 Mechparts, pick 2 from this Factions list of Mechs, parts only
itemCollection Weapons, reward player 3 weapons, pick 3 from this Factions list of weapons.

Which brings us to the specific list that I noted above, it is for Mechs only and contains whatever HBS decided should be on the "rare" list.
The last two numbers are usually from 0 to 10.
0 = Unlimited (think of going to a store and seeing unlimited ammo)

The first number is the amount that you get. If you wanted to reward a player with a shiny lance of four Cicadas you change the first number:
mechdef_cicada_CDA-2A,Mech,4,1

The second number is the chance that you get. If you truly understand the sexyness of a Cicada and want the player to have a good chance to get one, change the second number:
mechdef_cicada_CDA-2A,Mech,1,10

So here the player has a 2/7 chance of getting a lance of four shiny sexy Cicadas:
mechdef_cicada_CDA-2A,Mech,4,1
mechdef_cicada_CDA-3C,Mech,4,1
mechdef_kintaro_KTO-18,Mech,1,1
mechdef_blackknight_BL-6-KNT,Mech,1,1
mechdef_zeus_ZEU-6S,Mech,1,1
mechdef_highlander_HGN-732b,Mech,1,1
mechdef_kingcrab_KGC-0000,Mech,1,1

 

[Panzer-Killer]

Thank you so much for your textbook explanation, @Hopalong, I appreciate it very much!

 

[Wayward Son 5]

Huh. I thought I was pretty lucky getting the same for the same flashppoint yesterday. They seem to be handing them out like candy!