CUSTOM UNITS
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All units (mechs, vehicles, infantry, etc.) are located in the
data/mechfiles directory. They may be individual files or zipped up
into archives (".zip"), and you may also create subdirectories if you
like. There is also a special directory, named "unsupported" that
contains units that you would like MegaMek to ignore. Mechs can be
loaded from any of several formats:
MegaMek Native - files with the extension ".mtf"
A simple format that is very whitespace sensitive. All of the
meks distributed with MegaMek are in this format, so just look
inside the zips for examples of the format. Also created by the
HMPRead program.
Heavy Metal - files with the extensions ".hmp" and ".hmv"
This is a commercial mech design program officially sanctioned by
FanPro. MegaMek can read most ".hmp or ".hmv" files directly, but
there are still some known problems. Please note that neither
Heavy Metal Pro nor Heavy Metal Vee is associated with MegaMek, so
please do not email its authors about MegaMek.
The Drawing Board - files with the extension ".xml"
The Drawing Board is a very slick freeware editor written by
Blackstone Interactive (Cord Awtry). In order to use it with MegaMek,
you must install the program and then use the patch to update to
version 2.0.23. Once you have created your mech, use the "File"->"Save
as XML file" command to create the ".xml" file.
MekMaker - files with the extension ".blk"
Mech files with the extension ".blk" are created by MekMaker, a Java
mech design program specifically created to work with MegaMek.
MekMaker was the offical mech design program, but it has since been
abandoned and is therefore not up to date with the current ruleset.
It's homepage is at:
http://mekmaker.sourceforge.net/ Mech Engineer Pro - files with the extension ".mep"
This is an older freeware program not made by the makers of
MegaMek. You can find this program on many Battletech web sites.
It is not up to date with the current ruleset.
Note on mixed tech units:
Units that contain both Inner Sphere and Clan technology are allowed
with certain restrictions. Only ".mtf", ".xml", and ".blk" files may
contain mixed tech units. In addition, some equipment cannot differ
in technology type from the base chassis. Units with an Inner Sphere
chassis must mount Inner Sphere engines, internal structure, armor,
and CASE. Clan units have the same restricted equipment list.