LootMagnet

Loot Magnet

This mod for the HBS BattleTech game strives to build a better salvage experience. In the vanilla game, you can only select so many pieces of salvage, regardless of their value. The same weight is given to a Box of SRM Ammo as to a piece of a BattleMech. Only a completely inept negotiator would agree to such terms, but I suppose we have Darius to thank so perhaps this makes sense!

Employer: Excellent work commander. You've exceeded my admittedly low expectations for mercenaries, and completed the contract as requested. Let's discuss the matter of battlefield salvage, shall we?

Commander: What's there to discuss? We've already hauled away that Hunchback we put down and we're rounding up some of the armor plates.

Employer: Unfortunately that's not your contract terms. We'll need you to choose which pieces of that unfortunate pirate you want to retain, and turn the rest over to our salvage units. Your contract only grants you the right to pick three items, after all.

Commander: Three items of equivalent value, correct? So we took two mech parts and a bundle of medium lasers. What's the problem?

Employer: Your contract doesn't stipulate equivalent value, only 'individual parts'. Your negotiator was quite insistent on that point. Given the terms of the contract each of those medium lasers counts as a single item.

Commander: .... DARIUS!

In the BattleTech lore salvage was a hotly negotiated topic for mercenaries. Most employers want to retain as much of the salvage as possible, and only the shrewdest, most respected companies could negotiate on anything like even terms. Young companies have to deal with like-in-kind equipment trades, or cash-equivalents, or outright theft from the employer.

To simulate that negotiation process, this mod modifies your salvage choices based upon your MSRB rating and your faction allegiance. The vanilla experience becomes the default for low MSRB and faction contracts. As your MSRB or faction allegiance increases, your employer will be more willing to negotiate bundles of equipment of equivalent value. At the highest levels, you'll find all similar equipment bundled together as a single salvage pick.

NOTE

This version of the mod no longer requires the CustomComponents mod library, and is intended to be used standalone. Modpack authors can find a CustomComponents enabled version on my Github. This version does not support blacklisting items by the 'LootMagnetComp' custom component, but is otherwise functionally equivalent.

Salvage Rollup

If a faction trusts you and wants to continue working with you, they will negotiate more favorable terms. One of the most common 'little favors' is to allow salvage to be driven by equivalent cash amounts, instead of a strict item by item accounting. We refer to this as Salvage Rollup.