StratCon Reference and FAQ

StratCon Reference and FAQ

This version is effective: v2.6 - September 1, 2024.

BASICS AND SETUP

• Double check your Java version! You need Java 11 or 17 to play MHQ! For versions after 50.00, you must have Java 17. This is a common source of issues. Check the discord for detailed Java install instructions and general questions about the suite.

• If you don't have them, buy at least the BattleMech Manual, Total Warfare, and Campaign Operations. PDF versions are available online if you don't have the physical books.

• Before starting StratCon, read the Official AtB TT Rules Excel spreadsheet ("Campaign System" Tab) and CampaignAnon's Against the Bot Starter Guide PDF. These are located in the docs folder. StratCon adds an extra layer on top of the AtB rules, and learning those will help you understand the foundations of StratCon.

Summary: StratCon simulates different theaters of operation on a planetary scale, broken down into "tracks" with various sizes, biomes, temperatures, and allied or enemy facilities. This generates more random and less predictable circumstances, leading to a more dynamic and replayable experience.

Different contract types and clauses have different scenario types, command rights, and greatly influence how allies and enemies are generated. Allies and enemies can have different skill and equipment quality levels. Allied and enemy facilities can provide certain modifiers to each battle, and random modifiers can also be rolled. Most difficulty settings, including BV percentage and number of modifiers, are customizable on the AtB tab in Campaign Options.

Note: These StratCon rules are often enforced by MHQ, but there's a GM mode (top right of the main screen) that allows you to cheat. You're your own GM, so feel free to make edits to aspects you don't like, especially while learning.

• To activate StratCon, go to the AtB tab in Campaign Options and check "Use StratCon" at the very bottom. You may have to scroll down.
• Change the battle intensity on the same tab. The StratCon version of MekHQ is designed for a battle intensity of 0. Go to the Against the Bot tab in Campaign Options to change this. Leaving it as is will spawn regular AtB random battles alongside StratCon ones.
• Customize BV percentage and number of modifiers here, influencing difficulty.
• Most AtB scenario options in Campaign Options have no effect when StratCon is enabled (e.g., Chance of battle by role, double enemy vehicles, allow enemy VTOL/aeros/turrets, attached allied units control, DropShip use). You may ignore them.

DIFFICULTY

StratCon can be challenging, especially when learning. You can adjust BV% difficulty and the number of modifiers allowed. To adjust difficulty:

Skill Level:

• Ultra-Green: 80%
• Green: 90%
• Regular (Classic): 100%
• Veteran: 110%
• Elite: 120%
• Heroic: 130%
• Legendary: 140%

Modifiers:

• Default modifier number is 3, meaning up to 3 modifiers can be rolled per battle, adding variety but potential difficulty. You can set the maximum number between 1-10. Fewer modifiers reduce variety and should make battles easier.

QUICKSTART STEPS

1. Start a New Campaign
2. Select a Preset (choose one of the StratCon presets)
3. Select a Date
4. Generate a Company (Manage Campaign, Company Generator, Generate)
5. Find a Contract and accept it (Marketplace, Contract Market)
6. Travel to Contract (Briefing Tab, click on Contract Planet, jump to Star Map, calculate jump path, begin transit)
7. Advance days while traveling; hire spare personnel and buy spare parts.
8. Upon landing, go to the briefing tab, assign roles to your lances.
9. Advance days, scout the StratCon map on the AtB Campaign State tab, complete objectives, and fight.
10. Avoid embarrassment!

CONTRACT COMMAND RIGHTS & NOTES

Note: Despite the notes below, Relief Duty, Garrison, and Cadre Duty contracts must last their entire duration.

• Integrated: Keep VP count positive. Win scenario = +1 VP, lose scenario = -1 VP. Your employer chooses and deploys your lance. No map scouting. Complete the full contract duration. Allied officers accompany in scenarios—try to keep them alive.

• House: Keep VP count positive. Win non-initiated scenario = +1 VP, lose non-initiated scenario = -1 VP. You choose which lance to deploy. Complete the full contract duration. House officer accompanies in scenarios—try to keep them alive.

• Liaison: Keep VP positive and complete strategic objectives. VP only affected by scenarios involving liaison. Choose which lance to deploy and scout the map to find objectives. Early contract termination possible once objectives are complete. Liaison officer may accompany some scenarios—try to keep them alive.

• Independent: Complete strategic objectives. VP count irrelevant. Scout the map to find objectives. Early contract termination possible once objectives are complete.

SCENARIOS IN STRATCON MODE

• StratCon generates a variety of terrains:

  • Tracks have average temperatures (planetary temperature +/- 35).
  • Temperature affects available biomes.
  • Biomes determine map presets.
  • Map themes give distinct visual looks (jungles, deserts, frozen wastelands, etc.).
  • Facilities may spawn with reinforced buildings, requiring heavier firepower.

• Scenarios are based on contracts and appear in the Briefing Room and "AtB Campaign State" tab.

• Some legacy scenarios (optional) don't appear on the StratCon map (e.g., Star League Cache, Civilian Help, Officer Duel, Big Battle).

• Use the Briefing tab to ignore non-essential scenarios.

• StratCon uses "Tracks," essentially map pages. Contracts may involve multiple tracks, switchable via the track dropdown on the right side of the StratCon map.

• Scenarios and objectives may spread across different tracks—ensure all are scouted as necessary.

• Scouting can trigger scenarios. Expect Mechs, vehicles, VTOLs, infantry, battle armor, fighters, DropShips, artillery, and navy units. Prepare accordingly.

• Aerospace units in your TO&E spawn Aerospace or DropShip scenarios.

• Random VP-giving scenarios may pop up, providing chances to make up for lost points.

• Some scenarios, like Chase/Pursuit, may have incorrect deployment edges or withdrawal settings, adjustable in the MegaMek lobby.

• "My non-combat lance got dragged into battle!!" Avoid using the non-combat flag in StratCon, as it causes issues.

• "The Enemy has 80 units and I have 4!!" Ensure units under the TO&E are in subforces to avoid misbalanced encounters. Dropships and Jumpships are common offenders—consider removing them.

• Overwhelmed? Assign forces to scenarios, right-click, edit, and regenerate bot forces to balance encounters.

• Evacuate Scenario (Garrison contract): Losing a facility results in enemy control. Recapture attempts are possible. Bug issues? Use GM mode to restore facilities.

• Skipping scenarios: Integrated or House command, or liaisons may result in VP loss. Scenarios may move towards allied facilities—defending them can be crucial.

• Don't delete scenarios with deployed forces—use VP loss and GM mode adjustments for workarounds.

YOUR MISSION AND GOALS IN STRATCON MODE

Contract score isn't the only success metric:

• Integrated and House command: Maintain positive VP count. Win non-initiated scenarios = +1 VP; lose non-initiated scenarios = -1 VP.

• Liaison command: Maintain positive VP count and complete strategic objectives. Defend allied facilities on defense contracts, capture/destroy facilities on offense. VP affected only by liaison-participated scenarios.

• Independent command: Focus solely on completing strategic objectives.

• StratCon contract VPs are tied to employer-required scenarios, shown as "deployment required by contract / -1 VP if lost/ignored; +1 VP if won." Contract Objectives differ from these.

• Scenario VP details appear in red on the StratCon tab. Only VP on the campaign tab counts towards final contract scores.

• Orange objectives indicate ongoing, completed objectives; green indicates fully completed.

THE STRATCON HEX GRID

• The hex grid represents the planet, with each 8x8 section as a "Track."

• Your "base" is abstracted, although allied Strategic Objectives might appear.

• Unscouted hexes are shaded grey; scouted ones are light grey. Click a hex to see scouting status.

• Allied facilities (cyan icons) and hostile ones (red icons) provide various modifiers. Scouts and destroy hostile bases promptly.

• Cyan icons represent your forces; red icons are pending scenarios against hostiles.

HOW TO SCOUT

• Right-click an unscouted hex (dark gray), select Manage, and choose a lance to scout. Scout-role lances scout surrounding hexes.

• GM Mode allows right-clicking to reveal all.

• Scouting can trigger immediate scenarios, with possible delayed encounters.

• Lances on scouting or scenario duty are unavailable for repairs until their "Deployment Period" ends. Click a hex to see return dates.

• Wounded warriors and salvaged units theoretically stay on the field, but currently, they teleport back to base immediately.

Tip: Scouts often trigger scenarios; have fast, robust lances or Aerospace units ready to reinforce when scouts get in over their heads.

DEPLOYMENT IN STRATCON MODE

• As of version 49.0, "Deployment Requirements" in the Briefing tab aren't implemented in StratCon. Lance count still matters, and role assignments are crucial.

• Deploy by right-clicking relevant Track hexes with red squares and managing lances. Multi-select and ctrl-click for unselection. Use the Campaign tab for main deployments.

• Keep lances in place by checking boxes on the hex they occupy. Maintaining spare lances is now strategic.

• Deployed lances or those returning from battle can't be repaired/resupplied. Absent mechs in the repair bay or non-deployable units still returning are indicators.

• Integrated command removes choice in deployment; commands select forces for you. For non-integrated roles, lance selections are possible post-scenario generation.

• Reinforcement options:

  • Spend a Support Point per Lance (or a VP if necessary). SPs come from scenarios, supply depot objectives, or leftover negotiation.
  • Deploy lances for free if already on the scenario hex.
  • Fight-role lances can deploy for free but risk negative modifiers (2d6 roll: 2-5 fails, 6-8 adds modifier, 9+ succeeds).

• Leadership and auxiliary units: Primary lance leaders with leadership skills can bring auxiliary units of different types than the primary force, limited by BV constraints.

A NOTE ON OPFOR GENERATION

• OpFor typically uses "scaled BV" methods, considering your unit rating and difficulty settings. Lower BV units get breaks; high BV units face tougher opposition.

• Difficulty level impacts the BV ceiling, ranging from 80-120% of your primary force's BV.

• OpFor generation steps:

  • A lance is chosen from RAT and repeated if under BV floor.
  • If BV fits between floor and ceiling, a roll determines if generation stops.
  • Additional lances generate based on failed rolls.

• Unfair scenarios for low BV forces aren't balanced expectations. For high BV forces, expect more hostiles. Timeline limitations or unit type restrictions affect difficulty.

• Modifiers add variety and can be rolled randomly or linked to facilities. Negative modifiers (e.g., Pirate Aircraft) increase challenge levels. Strategize accordingly.

• OpFor too large or imbalanced? Right-click in the Briefing Tab, edit, and regenerate bot forces to balance battles. Repeat if necessary.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN SCENARIOS

• Use the Scenario Template Editor for scenario creation. Test templates via the Briefing Room -> Add Scenario -> Generate From Template.

• Create or modify UserScenarioManifest.xml in the data\scenariotemplates directory to integrate your scenarios. Avoid ID overlaps to prevent unpredictable behavior.

• Deleting disliked scenarios from scenariomanifest removes them from spawning. Backup scenariomanifest before changes.

DESIGNING YOUR OWN MODIFIERS

• Modify UserModifierManifest.xml in the data\scenariomodifiers directory to customize modifiers. Follow the modifiermanifest.xml format.

• Beware of increasing difficulty with new modifiers, especially those matching Pirate Aircraft or Overwhelming Reinforcements.

• Remove unwanted modifiers from modifiermanifest cautiously. Required modifiers for scenarios may cause issues if deleted. Backup modifiermanifest before changes.

SPECIFIC STRATCON SCENARIO NOTES AND TRICKS

• Scenario Objectives: Usually require completing one of several listed objectives. Outcomes vary. Scenario resolution bugs may affect results; use GM mode for adjustments.

• Leadership: Allows extra auxiliary units—keep lance leaders skilled and auxiliary units handy for free deployment.

• Roles and SP/VP: Keep lances in fight roles or have SP/VP available for scenario adjustments. Use GM mode to tweak SP/VP usage if necessary.

• Command Expectations: Independent and Liaison roles focus on strategic objectives. Liaison+ roles must maintain positive VP.

• Defend Role: Use infantry/battle armor for free deployments based on lance leader tactics. Resolve bugs with bonus unit deployment via save/reload MHQ.

• Facility Control: Capture hostile facilities to prevent enemy reinforcements. Allied facilities aid your forces.

• Objective Strategy: Pursuit or breakthrough scenarios benefit from fast, jump-capable units. Target turrets, then withdraw if necessary.

• Reinforcements: Excessive reinforcements may indicate hostile facilities. Scout and neutralize them to reduce opposition.

• Ground Control: Maintain control by routing ground forces. Fleeing scenarios lose terrain control unless significant enemy forces are destroyed.

• Turret Disabling: Disable turrets via building damage or enemy routing. Reinforced buildings require heavy firepower.

• Base Capture: Leave turrets intact and rout ground forces for base capture. Destroy or disable all turrets to destroy bases.

• Recon Missions: Scan all turrets for recon objectives; use jump jets and tweak allied bot behaviors.

• Enemy Units: Monitor units fleeing or destroying objectives; ensure mission requirements are met.

LEGACY GLOSSARY & DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS

• This document is the most current. Refer to Legacy_Stratcon.pdf for original StratCon mechanics. This document overrides conflicting information.