MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries Editor Hot-Fix Patch Notes

Greetings Mercenaries,

With the recent release of the v2 Mod Editor on the 23rd, a few critical issues and areas of improvement were identified as the Modding Community dug into the new changes. As a result, we are planning to release a hot-fix to cover the lion's share of these items on Monday, March 30th. Please note that this release could be subject to delay, as we are continuing to test the changes outlined in the notes below and may defer this release if any critical issues are identified.

This hot-fix applies only to the Mod Editor, and will not require an update to the game itself.

As before, if you are sitting on any modified versions of source game assets (that is, you've modified game assets directly that were not 'Saved To Mod' using the v2 framework), prior to the release of this update we strongly recommend that all Mod makers disable the Epic Games Launcher auto-update feature for the MechWarrior 5 Mod Editor and back-up any source assets that have been modified (in their pre-cooked form!). We cannot stress enough how important this is, as any modifications you’ve made to existing game content is likely to be overwritten by this update.

Along with this update we have also added three new entries to the Mod Editor Guide. The updated version of that guide can be found here.

Mod Editor Updates

• Mod assets are now immediately 'hotloaded' by the Editor, rather than only being applied on Play. This change will add additional support for referencing modded assets in the Editor and resolve two critical issues in particular that have been reported by the Modding Community since the release of v2 on March 23rd.
  • Fixes issue where some modded assets couldn't be referenced by other modded asset (such as modded 'Mech Hardpoint assets not being seen by modded MDLs).
  • Fixes issue where making Override versions of certain Blueprints and almost all UMG Widgets would cause pin and node errors.
    • Note: In some cases, node errors can still be reported by an Override asset when it is first opened. If this occurs, hit Compile and the errors should go away.
    • Note: While this fix addresses the pin and node errors being encountered, there is still a known issue with Widgets modded in the v2 framework being functional in-editor, but not in-game (outlined in the Known Issues section of this post). This is a critical issue that we are working hard to address in the near future.
  • Additional Info: In the case of ModOverride assets, this change results in ModOverride assets always being treated as the primary version of the asset. As a result of this change, the act of creating/removing a ModOverride asset or changing your Active Mod will automatically refresh any other linked assets that need to be aware of any changes made to the modded asset. As ModOverride assets are now always treated by the Editor as the primary version of that asset, once a ModOverride version of a game asset has been created, opening the original game asset in the main Content browser will instead open your ModOverride version, not the original. We have therefore also removed the 'Open Game Asset' button that was previously available when viewing a ModOverride asset.
• The SelectedAmmoType of a WeaponComponent can now be modified in Blueprints. This can be used to change the ammo consumed by a weapon at runtime.
• The Manage Mod packaging system now supports the packaging of external WwiseAudio and Gameplay Tag files.
• Support has been added for reading custom Gameplay Tag files.
• DataTables used in 'Mech and Weapon Data Assets can now be directly replaced with other DataTables, enabling Modders to create and use their own unique tables. When coupled with the use of custom Gameplay Tag files, this will empower Modders to create and distribute new 'Mechs and Weapons without touching the default Tag or DataTable files, minimizing conflicts with other Mods also focused on introducing new 'Mechs or Weapons.

Misc

• The Mod Editor Guide has been updated to v2.1 with the following sections:
  • ‘Using Custom Data Tables’ section covering how mods can now reference and use custom DataTables for Weapon and ‘Mech Data Assets.
  • ‘Using Custom Tag Containers’ section covering how mods can now use custom Tag containers.
  • ‘Including External assets with your Mod’ section covering how key external assets should be organized prior to the packaging process.

See the updated v2.1 Mod Editor Guide for more details on these changes!

Mod Editor Known Issues

• Copying an existing game asset directly into your Mod Content folder (rather than Overriding it) may cause issues with the asset registry and prevent your Mod from packaging. An example use case would be if you wanted to build a new MechStats DataTable, but you wanted to base it on the existing MechStats Table rather than building one from scratch. If you wish to copy an existing game asset into your Mod Content folder (to be treated as an entirely new asset) you must do so according to the steps below.
  1. Locate the source asset you want to duplicate (not override).
  2. Click and drag it into its existing folder and select the Copy Here option. This will create a duplicate of the asset.
     • Do not copy the original asset directly into your Mod Content folder, as this may cause issues with the asset registry.
  3. Rename the duplicate asset with something more appropriate, such as NewMechStats.
  4. Click and drag the new asset to your Mod Content folder and select the Move Here option. You can now safely modify, reference, and package that new asset. 
• Assets that are present in Mods other than your currently Active Mod may appear in reference and selection dropdowns or searches. 
• The functional packaging of Editor config files - such as a DefaultInput file containing the list of input actions in the game - is not yet supported.
• The Editor may sometimes hang when deleting ModOverride assets. If you're encountering this issue, ModOverride assets can be safely deleted directly from the Mod through Windows Explorer while the Editor is closed.
• The addition of entirely new Wwise Events is not yet supported in-game.
• ProgressionFunctionLib cannot be saved to a Mod as a ModOverride asset.
• Widget/UI Mods that rely on additional child or parent Widgets are not currently functional in-game using the new modding framework (though do function correctly in-editor).

Tagged: Hot-Fix, Modding