cwolfs/missioncontrol

A HBS BattleTech mod that provides a framework for runtime modifications of the contracts and encounters.

👋 Hey there 👋

I'm Richard. I design and develop 'cool things'.

I've been developing for over 16 years so I've worked as a backend, frontend, fullstack and games developer. You'll often see me making new business ideas, open source tooling or game mods. I'm a problem solver.

🌐 Portfolio 🌐

Check out my portfolio to see some pictures and write ups of some of the freelance contract work and projects I've done.

👉 More About Me 👈

🔭 I’m currently working on various business ideas, open source tools and BattleTech game mods

📫 Find me: Email | Website | Youtube | Twitter | Mastodon | LinkedIn

⚡ Interesting Things ⚡

See my portfolio for many more interesting projects but here are some that are hosted on GitHub.

• ConverseTek - Reverse engineered binary conversation files for BattleTech and created a nice-to-use tool for creating/editing them. The only way for modders to be able to create any conversation of this type.

• Mission Control - A large BattleTech mod that expands on many aspects of the game. A core mod in the community. Used by all the major modpacks (RogueTech, BattleTech: Advanced, BEX and others).

• Mission Control Designer - Built a mission editor for BattleTech as an in-game mod. This involved years of work to slowly piece together the mission format and inject extensive user interface into the game to allow for an editor flow with validation.

• React-Native-Keychain Contributions - Contributed to React-Native-Keychain to add support for a new form of RSA padding (OAEP) & fix Android KeyStore unlock timeout issues related to biometrics

💻 Languages 💻

I don't limit myself to specific languages or frameworks so I tend to pick up a lot as I go. Below are some of the languages and frameworks I've used for at least one sizable project within a recent timeframe.

Languages: Typescript, Javascript, C#, C++, Lua, C++

Frameworks: React, React Native, NextJS, Node, Laravel

Visit my portfolio and CV for a full breakdown. Enjoy looking through my projects! 👋

missioncontrol's Issues

Debug Skirmish 'Quick Skirmish' Main Menu Button

Add a main menu button when in Debug Skirmish mode. The button would use the last lance configuration and a random map on unlimited configuration to quickly load into a skirmish.

Additional Lances: Spawn lances with battle damage

The base game spawns lances that are at 25, 50 or 75% armor, but the lances spawned by Mission Control are always at full health. Combined with the treatment of the spawned lances as primary objectives in battle missions, it makes those missions basically impossible.

So, is it possible to emulate the base game's mechanism of deploying enemy forces with limited armor?

Maps: Extend boundary to maximum size available

A lot of the maps are restricted to a tiny section of the available map size. The maximum playable map size is 2k by 2k.

Allow for extending the contract encounter to the maximum size available.

Additional Lances: Allow for lance defs to be used

In the settings.json, allow lance defs to be used in the LancePool section.

Encounter Logic: Ability to add a randomised extraction zone

Add the ability for Encounter Rules to specify a randomised extraction zone.

Contract JSON Override: Allow for contract tags to be passed into encounter rules

Allow for a system that will take tags from the contract json, maybe from a custom field like contractTags, and allow MC to use them to influence the encounter rulesets.

For example, allowing the json modders to specify more or less additional lances per contract specifically.

Additional Lances: Granular FP restrictions

As asked for in #80 by @NickAragua.

Additional Lances can be disabled for Flashpoints as of v0.2.0. An upgrade to this would allow for more granular control over when to disable this feature. Things like if the contract restricts you to only 1 lance, or if the story really seems incompatible with having a bunch of extra lances appearing.

Random Spawns: Buildings

Add the ability for Encounter Rules to specify changing plot and building spawns.

Contract Loading: Sometimes contract load screen freezes

This is a path finding issue still found in RC2. Reimplement the loop killing in SpawnLogic:PathfindFromPointToPlayerSpawn if needed.

Random Spawns: Optional unit auto-guard on drop

There are situations when the randomiser spawns you very close to enemies. This is fine in itself but if the enemies get the first initiative it can end very badly, very quickly for the player.

Have an optional settings.json option (maybe on by default) that auto-enables guarded status for all allied units when they initially drop.

An alternative is to start with X amount of evasion on drop to achieve a similar level of drop protection.

Withdraw: Dynamic extraction zone

When selecting 'Withdraw', instead of the contract ending straight away - set a dynamic extraction zone and allow the player to fight their way back to the dropship.

This could be an optional feature turned on/off in the settings.json.

Random Spawns: Fallbacks don't work all the time

Fallbacks don't seem to work for all the spawners properly. Ensure the fallbacks work and in a worst case try to limit the spawners attempts to no longer than a minute.

Random Spawns: When using fallbacks, lance orientation is wrong

When a spawner fallback is used and the vanilla positions are accepted, the last tested random spawn location orientation is kept. This causes the lance to be facing the wrong direction in a lot of cases.

Additional Lances: Allow for faction and reputation to affect lance selection

It would be a good feature to extend the LancePool section to allow for specifying factions and reputation min/max thresholds to provide lance definitions.

A possible example:

      "LancePool": {
        "ALL": [
          "GENERIC_BATTLE_LANCE"
        ],
        "CONTRACT_TYPE:DestroyBase": [
          "BRAWLER_LANCE", "DEFENDING_LANCE"
        ],
        "BIOME:DesertParched": [
          "BBQ_MASTERS"
        ],
        "FACTION:MercenaryReviewBoard": {
          "Reputation": {
            "Min": 50,
            "Max": 100
          },
          "Lances": ["HEAVY_BATTLEMECH_LANCE"]
        }
      }

Quick Skirmish: UI breaks on leaving normal skirmish lobby

When leaving normal skirmish lobby, the UI on the main menu breaks when running Quick Skirmish functionality.

AI: Add a 'Follow Lance' and/or 'Guard Lance' AI behaviour

When allies spawn using Additional Lances they sometimes do not move. AI: Add a 'Follow Lance' and/or 'Guard Lance' AI behaviour to solve this situation.

Encounter Logic: On unit destroyed, spawn lance

Watch a unit with a tag, if one exists. When it is destroyed then spawn a lance.

E.g. for when a transport is destroyed to spawn armoured soldiers / elementals.

Contract Loading: Second contract freezes in load

When used with RT.

In some situation for a player they can load a first contract fine but the second contract on that save freezes in the load screen. When they load the save after the first contract has ended, they can successfully play the second contract that failed before. This can be repeated again and again for them.

This needs investigating.

Additional Lances: Unlimited waves of different lances

Provide an option for Additional Lances to spawn unlimited waves of different lances.

Additional Lances: Units sometimes spawn within each other

Create an encounter level spawn tracker to prevent units from spawning in the same place.

Units can still move away from the location if spawned on top of each other.

Additional Lances: Consider skull value for types of lance and spawn chance

Skull value is a very important value for contracts. At the moment Additional Lance functionality isn't influenced by this. Consider how skull value could influence the spawning (types of lances, spawn chance maybe).

Skirmish: Main skirmish `Play` button does nothing

Main skirmish lobby Play button is broken. Does nothing when selecting it.

Encounter Objective: Defend 'x' units

Add the ability for Encounter Rules to specify adding a Defend X Units of a lance as an objective.

Additional Lances: Optional 'match' ally lances with enemies

A requested feature that will be default turned off but will be available in the settings.json.

When spawning additional enemies and allies - match the number of spawned ally lances with the number of enemy lances rolled.

Lance Limits: Allow for additional lance units in the Additional Lances spawns

The Additional Lance spawns only support a maximum of four units. Allow for more than four being specified and to add more spawn points.

Need to consider how best to handle this. Possibly in the setting.json, or the lances folder, or even allow for it to be defined in the vanilla lances folder (LanceDef).

Encounter Logic: Lance faction change

Add the ability for Encounter Rules to specify changing the faction on a lance.

Lance Limits: Allow for additional lance units in the inbuilt map lance spawns

The inbuilt lance spawns only support a maximum of four units. Allow for more than four being specified in the contract.json and dynamically add spawn points to the inbuilt lance spawns.

Additional Lances: Direct lance def references don't work

MC attempts to get the lance def from the Data Manager but sometimes the requested lance def isn't available.

Add a step to request the lance def resource to the loaded so it will be available when the contract loads.

There is another method to achieve the same functionality so this is a minor issue.

Contract did not end when all enemies and objectives were completed.

Contract type: Battle
Additional Ally Lances: 1 (2 mech lance)
Additional Enemy Lances: 2

Pathfinder causes ghost blip

It is suspected that the pathfinder causes a ghost blip that persists in combat. This shouldn't happen.

Encounter Logic: Spawn lance

Add the ability to use a 'Spawn Lance' trigger that runs a 'Spawn Lance' result on a successful condition.

This would be useful for triggering lance spawns mid-way through a contract (e.g. enemy lances that show up after a successful objective has been completed).

Additional Lances: Add contract objectives for rewards

When completed an Additional Lance destroy lance objective you currently get no reward. Add a contract objective to reward the player for destroying the lance.

C-bills and/or rep.

Maps: Reuse story maps as generic contract maps

Reuse the story maps for generic contract maps.

This involves making a system to strip the story maps entirely of story specific map logic, chunks and objectives. Then reconstructing a generic contract type structure is required.

Additional Lances: Restrict extra lance spawns on flashpoint missions

Some flashpoint missions have tonnage restrictions, or it doesn't really make narrative sense for extra allied lances to spawn in them, or (in one case) limit you to dropping a single mech. As it turns out my one guy in a Centurion couldn't go 1 on 9 with enemy mechs (although he did take down two and nearly cored a third.)

Is it possible to prevent extra lances from spawning on flashpoints missions or some subset of them?

Random Spawns: Long loads

There are reports of long loads still. Investigate.

Plot Getter Method Null References On Maps Using It

Some maps have a different set up for the plot game objects. The current game code doesn't handle this well enough and causes null references.

Saves: In-combat save games don't work

When saving a contract mid-combat, chances are when trying to load the save it will probably fail. This is probably due to some aspects not serialising in the save correctly and/or some logic re-executing that shouldn't.

Encounter Logic: Artillery mechanics

Add the ability for Encounter Rules to specify artillery mechanics for an encounter.

Additional Lances: Player lances

Add the ability for players to take in extra lances of their own mechs.

Encounter Logic: Combat dialogue

Add the ability for Encounter Rules to specify dialogue to appear.

Encounter Logic: Enemy extraction zones

Add the ability to insert an extraction zone for an enemy lance. This would work together with the 'retreat' AI so the enemy lances retreat to the extraction zone on a certain condition.

Random Spawns: Unable to move away from some spawns

There are reports that some spawns still spawn you in bad locations. Investigate.

AI: Retreat willingness

Based retreat willingness on the faction, lance and pilot personality. Allow for customisation in JSON.

This could lead on to a 'ransom' / 'pay to let me retreat' option.

Additional Lances: Some contract type lances should primary objectives

All the Destroy Lance objectives with Additional Lances are secondary objectives. This is fine for contract types except for Battle, DestroyBase, CaptureBase where the whole point is to destroy the forces.

Make Battle, DestroyBase, CaptureBase contract types Destroy Lance objectives as primary for Additional Lances.

Random Spawns: SpawnLanceMembersAroundTarget profile spawns units out of the boundary at times

When using the SpawnLanceMembersAroundTarget profile, if the target is near the encounter boundary then sometimes units will spawn outside the boundary. This is wrong and should be fixed.

Random Spawns: Units sometimes spawn in positions with no movement nodes

Sometimes units spawn in deep water and there are no movement nodes available. This should never happen as the path finder should find at least a 3 node path towards the main objective or target.

Random Spawns: Units spawn in areas that require jump jets to get out

Units sometimes spawn in areas they can move in but only in a limit way. They require jump jets to get out of the situation.

Possibly solution for this is to increase the minimum valid path for a valid spawn from 3 nodes to 5.

Extended Lances: Error when encountering contract json lance with 0 units

When using Extended Lances feature (on by default in v0.2.0), if a lance is encountered with 0 units in it (sometimes for RT turret lances are set to manual but have no units in them) then this causes an error in Mission Control.

This should be a valid usecase and Mission Control should ignore those usecases though and not try to autofill.

AI: Dynamic patrol behaviour

Add an AI behaviour that makes the lance patrol the map in various ways without waypoints.

AI: Retreat behaviour

Add a 'retreat' behaviour that makes a lance go into full blown retreat mode (to the edge of the map or to an extraction point).