TL:DNR version, for everybody who's new to the packs:  this is a complete overhaul of the entire balance of MW5's combat, including 'mech balance. It's fairly hard for n00bs.

Major Features
1.  Complete overhaul of the balance of every weapon in the game.
2.  New weapons like Rocket Launchers, Rotary Autocannons, and more.
3.  Every single 'mech in the game uses a new loadout system that ensures that they're broadly balanced, yet remain unique.
4.  Mechs that had specific problems with their balance, such as the Cicada, have had this addressed.
5. Jump Jets are actually useful, even on designs like the Highlander; they give you better speed and can get you to more places.
6.  Career-mode improvements, such as:

* Being able to find / buy "retro" weapons.
* Buy "lostech" weapons when they become available.
* Better randomly-rolled Pilots.
* Repairs to Armor take 0 days; Structure damage takes twice as long as Vanilla.
* Better rewards from loot crates.
* Better diplomatic results from taking missions- no more crazy-high penalties for taking a mission; you're a merc, nobody in the BT universe should hate you for doing your job well.
* No tonnage limits. No over-tonnage penalties. You drop what you want.
...and many other little things.

On Whether This is "Canon" or "Like Tabletop"

Nope!

I made it fun (for me, at least) by testing out ideas with players like you, not theorycrafting or referring to "canon sources".  This isn't a tabletop war game, and none of those ideas even translate, frankly.  The idea that some ruleset numbers from 1985 still applies to a 3D action game with ARPG elements in 2021 is laughable, and I didn't even try.

That said, I welcome polite input on what's still feeling overpowered or useless, from people who've actually played a while. Don't bother telling me some number is "wrong", though, without having played it for a few hours; a lot of the subtleties take a while to understand.

Is 3.0+ Compatible With <mod>?
Unless it's listed in the above section, is UI-only, or cosmetics, no. It changes a lot of deep features of MW5. At best, it'll work, but with missing features. At worst, expect major problems with 'mech loadouts or even crashes.

Can I install this mod into the middle of a Career or the Campaign?

Yes, but you'll need to strip / rebuild all your 'mech loadouts immediately.  I really strongly recommend setting up the mod list above and starting a new Career, to get the "shiny new car" experience.

This mod overrides AbstractMech and ProgressionFunctionLib?

Yup. These two giant pieces of code effect a lot of things, from "how far can the player's radar see" to "how often will I see Chem Lasers in stores".

This mod would be so much better if only you'd leave out /change / add <feature>

I'm always open to suggestions, and this entire series of mods was built with copious feedback, but bear in mind that building / maintaining this kind of thing is a lot of work, takes a lot of testing, and represents a take on balance. Give it a few days of play before opining; something that touches this much of PGI's balance takes a while to really understand, imo.




3.49a:  Update for DLC4. 

3.0n:  Updates for latest MW5.

3.0m:  Buffs to Large Lasers and Rifles; adds Nuclear Howitzer.

3.0l:  Changes progression systems so that that having a Reputation Level higher than 15 works correctly, and differentiates between the FLE-15 and FLE-18's loadouts.

3.0k:  Introduces the Ursus medium 'mech, fixes the Centurion bug (again!) fixes a Cantina quest that doesn't have any objective, fixes a couple of the Cantina Perks.

3.0j:  Implements a brand-new system for the game's difficulty ramp. Also a new Corsair variant to fight.

3.0i:  Makes Cantina perks more accessible early, better sound for the HMG, other little stuff.

3.0h:  Difficulty scaling with Reputation level has been smoothed out a bit, so that it doesn't go from zero to "super-duper hard" too fast.

3.0g:  C-Bill payouts for higher-level missions reflect their true difficulty.

3.0f:  Patch for the patch. Less brutal (all missions were set to 100 regardless of player rank, lol).

3.0e:  Patch for the late-game difficulty settings. Brutal.

3.0d:  Adds two Nightstar variants, the Mark 99 automatic grenade launcher, improves the Quickdraw's balance, and more.

3.0c:  Greatly improves long-range accuracy of most Ballistics. It makes getting the right firing angle against a locked target much, much easier and more consistent across weapons.


3.0b:  Adds difficulty settings via Mod Options, more-viable Fleas, and many other little tweaks.

3.0:  Updates the mod for DLC3. Many new features, 'mech variants and weapons.

2.3c:  Fixes several hardpoint bugs introduced by the MW5 update.

2.3b:  Updates mod for current build of MW5.

2.3:  Double Heat Sinks returned to vanilla MW5 stats.  All 'mechs get 5 Engine Heat Sink slots.  Many 'mech tonnage adjustments.  Rapid Burst Lasers are equipped on AI 'mechs for the first time.  New weapon, the Rotary HMG.

2.2b:  HMG balance (nerf), huge slew of changes to Cantina Upgrades, various Hero 'mechs now show up in missions and markets, several Campaign fixes.

2.1c:  Implements the new DLC's melee system, while making it actually worth using.

2.1a:  Ports the mod to latest version of MW5, fixes all DLC-specific 'mech loadouts, and a few other things.

2.09:  Improves how AI / player aims slow-moving projectile weapons.  Fixes a few small things, like the Centurion's LBX.

2.08a:  Quick fix for Gauss stats. Oops.

2.08:  Big improvements for how AI 'mechs use their Jump Jets. Rebalances Gauss Rifle. Tweaks to loadouts, fixes / tweaks to Career / Campaign core code.

2.06:  Art fixes for the Hunchback, the Griffin, and the Hatamoto-Chi.  Also reduced tonnage of RL's to make them more competitive against MRMs, and equips 'mech loadouts with MRMs.

2.05e:  Adds MRMs- 20, 30, and 40; fixes VTOL crash behaviors, improves a few other things.

2.05d:  Improves lag of all Ballistic projectiles.

2.05b:  Cosmetic fixes, SRMs lock again, new custom sound system for Rays (RBL testing).

2.05:  Improves AI efficiency when large numbers of enemies are on the map.

2.02m:  Introduces changes to the Upgrade Perks, Cantina progression, sound improvements, and better meshes for the missiles, Gauss, Rifles and Howitzers. 

2.02h:  Fixes Rare Mech display in Markets; adds custom sound for the HMG (temporary, I am just testing this out) and reduces VTOL flight heights to more realistic, ground-hugging values.

2.02f:  Fixes minor issue w/ Marauder II.

2.02e:  Fixes Rapid Burst Laser's Tech Levels / Battle Values, and corrects a number of issues w/ SRMs causing them to not lock / guide properly.

2.02:  Introduces first new weapon for 2.0+, the Rapid Burst Laser.

2.01a and 2.01b:  minor bug-fixes for loadouts.

2.0:  First release.