LIVE - BATTLETECH Update 1.8 and Heavy Metal Paid Expansion Release Notes

Thank you for playing BATTLETECH! Release 1.8 is now available! This release contains a number of content additions, cool new features, official mod support, as well as bug fixes and optimizations. We have also released the Heavy Metal paid expansion. Both 1.8 and Heavy Metal have French, German, and Russian localizations.

Release 1.8 Notes, 11/21/2019

1.8 HIGHLIGHTS: 2 free classic BattleMechs: Marauder and Warhammer, mod support, over 40 new contracts, 2 new maps, new events, performance optimizations, and more… See details in the “New Free Features & Content” section below.

BATTLETECH: Heavy Metal expansion now available: Heavy Metal contains 7 classic BattleMechs, 1 brand new “HBS Original” BattleMech, 8 new weapon systems, and a new linked Flashpoint campaign that brings you face-to-face with two legendary characters from BattleTech lore!

Purchase the Season Pass to get a deal on all three BATTLETECH expansions (Flashpoint, Urban Warfare, and Heavy Metal)!

BATTLETECH update 1.8 and the Heavy Metal paid expansion are available now for Steam, GOG, and Paradox Plaza on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. Note for Paradox Plaza users: After purchase of the Heavy Metal expansion, you will need to be logged in within the game in order to see Heavy Metal content.

Where to find your new Heavy Metal paid expansion content: All new ‘Mechs have been added to the general pool for spawning enemy lances, and all of them can be found in the stores of planets controlled by different factions. New weapon systems can be reliably found in various stores using our new star map filters (see below). Please note: new weapons systems are not available in skirmish mode (including multiplayer). As an added bonus, starting a new Career Mode will prompt you with an offer from your MechTech Yang to give you a new Heavy Metal ‘Mech and some weapons that “fell off the back of a freighter.” A different batch of items will be available every time you start a new career.

We hope you enjoy our latest BATTLETECH releases!

-- HBS

IMPORTANT: Additional note for players who mod various game files… Guess what? Modding is now officially supported! What does that mean (other than this repeated release note warning can finally go away)? See details in the “New Free Features & Content” section below.

New Free Features & Content

• Classic BattleMechs
  • MARAUDER (75 Tons) - perhaps the most iconic 'Mech in BattleTech, known for its ability to hang back and snipe from a distance. Its Lance Command Module decreases the damage taken by it and its allies and gives a boost to Called Shots.
  • WARHAMMER (70 Tons) - known for dealing devastating particle cannon strikes, it exists to destroy other 'Mechs quickly and efficiently. Its Optimized Capacitor Feeds increase the damage of all equipped Energy weapons.

• Official Mod Support - With this release of BATTLETECH, we are introducing official mod support to the game and now support the ModTek format that the modding community is currently using. Mod locations are now external to the game, making them more portable and less prone to Steam interference and breakage. We’ve also added new mod management UI to the main menu to streamline mod use. As usual, use mods at your own risk. Some mods may not work at launch. In-game modding tools are not included.
  • Formalized mod installation location and process
    • We have included documentation on where to find mods, how to add/delete mods, and links to the BATTLETECH modding community.

  • Simpler mod injection process
    • The current approach effectively requires a mod for mod support to be enabled. Our version will integrate the mod loading process into BATTLETECH, allowing modders to focus more on mod generation rather than mod loading.

  • Support for most existing mods with minimal changes to their existing data format
  • Save game mod awareness. Save games that include active mods become unavailable if those mods are uninstalled or disabled.
  
  For more information, see the Readme document located within the Battletech files on your computer at the following locations:
  • Forums: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/mod-support-readme-documentation.1285684/
  • WIN: C:\Users\user_name\MyDocuments\MyGames\BattleTech\mods
  • LIN: /home/user_name/MyGames/BattleTech/mods
  • OSX: /Users/user_name/MyGames/BattleTech/mods

• New Maps - Two new maps bring even more variety to your contracts: Jumbled Karst (an iconic rock formation set between two valleys), and Boulder Field (rolling hills and rocks dot this battle scarred landscape)
• New contracts - Over 40 new contracts, including new recurring allied and enemy NPCs, and new contract variants that mix up the missions you’ve seen in new and unexpected ways. Battle a dangerous solo mercenary, train a group of overly enthusiastic rookies, and serve as the personal bodyguard of an arrogant noble.
• New Events - We’ve added a slew of new mercenary travel Events to “enhance” your mercenary life.
• New Star Map Weapon Store Filters - We’ve added a new filter dropdown to the star map that lets you view planetary industry by type and a tooltip that tells you what you can find in each star system.
• Rebalanced Stores & LosTech - We’ve completely overhauled how weapons and equipment appear in our stores. Finding items is now more straightforward. We’ve also given LosTech items a boost in power to fit their legendary status.
• New Mech Viewer - Get a close-up, rotatable view of your ‘Mech and customize its paint pattern directly in the Mech Lab!
• New Merc Company Crests - Scads of new emblems to choose from for your mercenary company, drawn from notable factions throughout the Inner Sphere. Roleplay your heart out!
• New Mech Variants
  • Locust LCT-1E - The 1E Locust packs only Lasers for its armament, for better overall damage without the risk of ammo explosions. It runs quite a bit hotter than other variants, though, so it works best with hit-and-run attacks.
  • Spider SDR-5K - The 5K Spider variant keeps the extreme maneuverability of its more common 5V cousin but adds some Machine Gun weaponry for close-in work. It's still got very little armor, so it works best as a scout and spotter.

• Additional Tutorial Slides - For new players, we’ve added some tutorial slides to an early story campaign mission to help smooth the on-ramp to BATTLETECH’s many options and tactical readouts.

Bug Fixes & Improvements

Combat Improvements

• UI performance cost reduction
• Fixed an issue where the game did not enter turn-based mode as expected when hostiles dropped in during Battle+ contracts
• “Target Acquisition” contract type balanced to be a less punishing and more dynamic experience

Map Graphics

• Many small map polish fixes - floating props, disappearing signs, assets clipping into each other, etc.
• Fixed an issue which caused windmills to stop spinning when any one of them was destroyed

UI

• Fixed and clarified invert mouse axis options
• New targeting treatments for area of effect weapons
• Evasion Pip coloring for COIL beam charging
• New flashing elements to highlight the Assassin’s ability to ignore evasion
• New combat 'Mark' to show targets hit by NARC, TAG, and other abilities
• Mini-Campaign Flashpoint elements have a unique look and color to distinguish them
• Improved Combat UI performance

Other

• Memory use optimizations
• Fixed an issue where Gauss Cannon was displayed as AC/10 on both Blackjack's arms
• Fixed an issue which caused weapon VFX to stop/impact before hitting the target

Known Issues

• Small amounts of text remain untranslated
• Rubble effects on Urban Maps may disappear, restarting the game resolves the issue
• Entering bankruptcy causes problems with starting a new career or campaign in the same session, restarting the game resolves the issue
• Thumper heat is not correctly previewed
• Coil Beam heat and damage does not update in the weapon panel from the previous turn until you move your ‘Mech

Known Mod Support Issues

• When mods have been enabled and then disabled or deleted, the overlay for save states is missing
• Depending on the mod, a debug string may appear in the mod status window
• Players using mods can run a skirmish match against players without mods installed
• The revert button works on its first use; after that you may need to relaunch to revert mods
• ‘Boulder’ and ‘Jumbled Karst’ moods display the wrong names in skirmish when mods are installed
• Mods that contain other mods do not show up as bundled with their dependencies

Roll Back
It is possible to revert to past versions of our game in case you have trouble with this update. For more platform specific information go to our forums at: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-rollback-to-a-previous-patch-version.1112335/

As always, if you experience further issues please contact Customer Support at: https://support.paradoxplaza.com