The file edit actually works very well and with a minimum of fiddling. It’s one minor edit to a single file to start at the mining company betrayal mission or skip even that and go straight to the Leapord and try to pay down your creditors before being contacted for the main story arc.
Doing the file edit also allows you to restart or do deeper edits like changing up starting mechs/pilots and whatnot and then jumping right into things with minimal impact on the early game (other than whatever edits you made, that is).