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Quick Notes:
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Don't forget to endorse the mod so others can see it! That really does help! If you want to be on the list, please considering helping with the mod!
Check out the Discussion tab for a post with a full listing of credits and thanks!
If you are missing from the list, or your link is broken, please drop me a line so I can get it updated.
Welcome to 330's Pilot Overhaul
In vanilla, pilots feel.... trivial.Not any more!
What this mod does:
This mod adds numerous Pilot oriented features/systems into the game.
Additionally, it expands on some existing features, adds variety and customization options and new content so you can tailor your experience.
Of course with all of these feature additions then required some balance tweaks to make sure things still scale well with the normal game.
Mod Features:Pilot Customization:
You can completely customize your pilots.
Changing the pilots Name, Call sign, Backstory, voice, gender and Portrait can be done by clicking on the pilot's image in the barracks.
The name shows everywhere except on the battlefield and in a human player's slot on deployment screen. In those locations the callsign is displayed.
Thanks to
HBS' Battletechand Mech Commander 1&2(with AI upscaling) and @Sankarasamsaraand@Gaultesian and @Moff there are now over 300 high quality, lore friendly portraits to chose from!
Thanks to the teams who made MechCommander Gold and MechCommander 2 we have an additional 56 Completely voiced pilots in-game.
Thanks to the Community we have also created 9 new complete pilots to be found on the battlefield, including their custom voices!
That means you now have 322 new pilot images, and 65 new pilot voices to choose from when creating your pilots!
Pilot Stats and Pilot Stats per Mech Chassis:
With the new Pilot stats tracking systems you can see how well your pilots perform overall as well as in a given Mech Chassis. Now it is easier than ever to see the true strengths of your pilots. Even more stats are being tracked and will be provided in future updates!
Mech Affinity system:
Pilots who have never piloted a Mech chassis will perform sub-optimally. The more experience they have under their belt, the better they perform. Eventually, they can even master a given Chassis and perform beyond expectations. Mech affinity is tracked by class, type, and variant so that pilots can specialize, and yet some of their skills transfer over to other mechs.
Pilot Ranking system:
The Quality/Ranking of a pilot determines the maximum potential they have, the rates of injury, rates of recovery, etc.. Now Pilots can increase in their Rank as they achieve higher levels of skill.
Pilot Wages system:
Pilots are paid based on their skills and rank. Ranks modify base pay by multipliers defined in the Operations Manual. As pilots increase in their skills they will increase their base pay. Together, you may find pilots more expensive to maintain, though still reasonable.
Quirk System and Training system:
All pilots have some degree of potential for positive and negative quirks. Some more, Some less.
Pilots will gain positive quirks as they gain experience from battle, and negative quirks as they take injuries.
All pilots can be sent out for training if there are specific skills you want them to know. Sometimes skills they wouldn't get naturally.
Though, you will have to venture into hub worlds to find them.
Pilots with bad quirks can go through rehabilitation training to break them of these bad habits.
If you are willing to really invest in your pilots, they can be encouraged through motivational seminars to reach beyond their natural potential making them Heroes in their own right, and viable even late into your mercenary career.
Fatigue & Injury System:
Pilots get Fatigued after battles. Even though they are tired, they can still be deployed on missions.
Sending pilots out on missions before fully rested and recovered increases the likelihood they will take injuries or die from combat, and it will impact their performance on the battle field.
Pilots are in general more likely to take injuries or die, and the time to recover has been balanced to work with the new systems.
While not required, it is recommended to have more pilots in your lance to meet specific needs. i.e. pilot for missile boats, or for brawlers, etc...
Pilots can also go missing when ejecting. This can spawn missions to get them back.
Commander Unchained:
You can now play as any pilot in your lance. Help those lagging learn their skills faster.
No need to leave your Commander behind because He (or she) can now be deployed into combat as a lance mate.
Be careful though, the commander can be killed!
If your planning a mutiny though, you should know, firing the commander isn't an option. There is only one way to usurp power!
Missing In Action Missions:
Now Pilots can go missing when they eject. Sometimes they come home on their own, some times they get captured behind enemy lines, and need a rescue. Most of the time, they just catch a ride back with you.
Visual Updates:
Gather the Elite Campaign Arc:
All of the community voiced actors are now rewards as part of their own campaign arc. each has their own mini story which was also created by the community! Get out there and find those baddies!
Too keep you informed of your pilots new information ( i.e. positive quirks, negative quirks, penalty amount, health and training status, etc..) numerous modifications to game play screens have been made. There are new tool tips and color coded items all over the various UI systems. try waving the mouse around on anything that looks new for extra details.
Balance modifications:
Lastly, various tweaks and balance changes have been made relating to pilots, helping to ensure a game that scales with you as you expect it too.
One example is increased EXP gain of pilots from my other mod330's Pilot XP Plus
*Please be sure to stop by the forums and leave me any feed back, love it or hate it. especially if you have ideas about what else you would like to see in the mod. If you really like the mod, please endorse it at the top of the screen, it helps others see the mod giving them a chance to experience it for themselves.
INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS:
MW5 Compatibility Pak is required for Pilot Overhaul to work properly.
Extract the Mod into the Mods folder in your game installation.
Extract the MW5 compatibility pack into your mods folder for the game installation.
Open the Mod.json file of each and ensure that MW5 Compat Pack Load order is at zero and Pilot Overhaul's load order is highest of your mods (unless you have some portrait overrides.)
Launch the game and make sure that both mods are enabled in the MOD MENU.
Restart the game if needed to ensure the mods are active.
Optional: change the Pilot Overhaul settings on the bottom of the first tab in the options to make the game experience the way you want.