MW buildtables

Build tables are weighted lists of units referenced by MekWars when a unit is produced randomly. There are 3 separate sets of build tables:

• Standard - referenced when a unit is pulled from a factory
• Reward - referenced Reward Points are spent to produce a unit
• Rare - referenced when the Black Market produces a random unit

Build tables are text files, located in the data/buildtables/[standard | rare | reward] folder.

NAMING

Each standard and reward table needs to be named as follows: [faction name]_[unit weight][unit type, unless mech].txt

For instance:

• Davion_Light.txt
• Free Worlds League_HeavyVehicle.txt
• Comstar_AssaultAero.txt

Rare tables have a different format, being simply Rare_Light.txt, Rare_Medium.txt, Rare_Heavy.txt, and Rare_Assault.txt. Unlike the standard and reward tables, unit types are mixed on the rare tables, and you cannot have more than these 4.

FORMAT

Each unit or table entry is on a separate line, in the following format:

[numeric chance] [entry]

These entries can be either units, in the following format:

[file name, including extension, case-sensitive]

or tables, in the following format:

Table name, no extension, and no weight/class specification

So, for instance:15 Javelin JVN-10F.mtf would indicate a unit entry. 25 Common would be a table entry.

A complete build table might look something like:

695 Common
20 Commando COM-1D.mtf
60 Commando COM-2D.mtf
10 Hermes HER-1A.mtf
10 Hermes HER-1B.mtf
1 Hussar HSR-200-D.mtf
5 Jackrabbit JKR-8T.mtf
5 Jackrabbit JKR-9R.mtf
1 Mercury MCY-99.mtf
1 Mongoose MON-66.mtf
20 Mongoose MON-67.mtf
1 Night Hawk NTK-2Q.mtf
10 Ostscout OTT-7J.mtf
50 Panther PNT-8Z.mtf
10 Talon TLN-5V.mtf
6 Thorn THE-N.mtf
55 Toro TR-A-6.mtf
40 UrbanMech UM-R60.mtf
10 Lyran Commonwealth
10 Draconis Combine
10 Federated Suns
10 Capellan Confederation
10 Free Worlds League

When it comes time for a unit to be pulled from the table, the weights will be added up and a random number generated. If the selection is a table, MekWars will start the process over on the new table until a unit is selected.

COMMON PROBLEMS

There are a few common issues with build tables, resulting in errors or unexpected behavior:

• Wrong file name - this will result in the file never being consulted, and errors when the properly named table is not found
• Misspelled unit name - this will result in OMG units being produced
• Wrong capitalization in a unit entry - this will also result in OMGs
• .txt being left on a table name - the server will assume it is a file entry, as it has a file extension, resulting in an OMG