another vital mod SPARKS need abilities.

Having an weird, although non critical issue after installing this mod. Should I have started a new game? Here's screenshot: https://i.imgur.com/RTMq0r8.jpg

Thanks for the mod is really nice. I just hope that you can add Bladestorm in the xcom ability pool. Since Spark already has the melee animation it would make sense to have it in the xcom ability.

There may be something iffy going on with the new Communtiy Promotion Screen and this mod, or I'm the Commander Here and this mod.
The squaddie perks are displayed all wrong and the respec option is not looking correct either, in addition to that I have no AWC perks in my promotion screen. Interestingly enough, disabling and unbinding ITCH and building a new Spark has the same results for me.

I'm also missing the Arsenal perk on the Spark, both in the promotion screen as well as in the barracks.

After a bit of digging Zelfana thought it might be caused because "it's trying to remove identical lines to vanilla config instead of doing a hard reset on the SoldierRanks array like all other mods would do modifying classes", leaving it vulnerable for other mods to accidentally jank it.

I’m assuming it’s not compatible with Mechatronic Warfare: Total SPARK Overhaul?

Sweet mod! Just wondering, is it compatible with Ammo and Vest Slots, which adds ammo slots for soldiers and SPARKs? Link: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1123704945

Also, can it be added mid-campaign (but before SPARKs are unlocked)? Will it still work? :)

Can someone recommend this for LWOTC?
I mean, are there any conflicts or bugs?

Hi, I have this mod installed together with Robots on covert actions but the latter doesn't seem to work now. Is there any known incompatibiltiy between the two mods? Thanks.

Yummy. As it is now, I delay SPARKs until I'm OP enough to curbstomp the Shen mission. With this, I might've been 'persuaded' to storm the Tower earlier.

Beautiful

Does this mod allow sparks to improve combat intelligence via covert ops?
trying to find a way to do this

Mr. Nice, the latest beta release of the XCOM2 WOTC Community Highlander appears to have "broken" the ammo pouch for the SPARKs so that you cannot equip ammunition on SPARKs any more. Just giving you a bit of a heads up.

The Mod seems not to like my existing Savegame
I have tried Check Spark via MCM and Console
I have other Mods activ
I will try it out in a new game when I start a new game
http://prntscr.com/shhll5

Hey Mr. Nice!

Was there any update to the compatibility between this and mechatronic you were working on?? :)

Hmm, well in this case it's the other way around, yes he based parts of his mod of mine, which is exactly why they interfere a bit, because they are fiddling with exactly the same stuff! Try it when I drop the update next week, it will most likely work then, just disable the "cannon breakthrough" options for this mod in MCM, and let Mechatronic handle them.

I'd like the AWC 4th ability tree. More the better i guess, but Proficiency class mod has 4 ability tree on all his classes.
just because i thought this mod was available so why not.
But by design even without it i'm pretty happy too, just wanted to share that in case others expected (Because he also mentioned your code in helping him build his mod, but he did not mention compability wise)
So i assumed Mechatronic Warfare and Trainable Spark should be able work together heh.

That they both use config to change the class progression (which handles both the ability tree and stat growth) is problematic, yes. I have an update which should come out next week, which won't change much on the surface, but will handle the progression changes via code, will stop that being so much of an issue though. However, since Mechatronic also gives SPARKs ammo, PCS, weapon breakthrough support & Ability Points, not sure what from this mod you want active as well in particular?

i'm guessing this doesnt mix well with
[WOTC] Mechatronic Warfare: Total SPARK Overhaul?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1499767042

debug it, doesn't add any xcom abilities

yeah, seems like a configuration issue, quite probably caused by another mod also attempting to modify the spark skill tree. The method of "encoding" the rank trees(which handle not just abilities, but also stat buffs on rankup etc.) is quite brittle... indeed the squaddie abilities aren't in order/position this mod alone would have them either, (I show the Bit heavy weapon ability in the first row, overdrive in the second, then the rest in branch 5+, so only visible in the training screen if you use New Promotion Screen By Default and scroll down, although if you activate this mod mid-campaign they show in the order in your screen shot for existing SPARKs)

Hello, I guess I need your help. Not sure if this is a bug or some bad configuration or incompatibility with other mod. Initially I thought there is an additional rank for SPARKs, but then I realized it is showing the same abilities as the squadie rank. Please check this picture. https://www.dropbox.com/s/v1dwcbyps9j77ct/Spark.png?dl=0

@Mr. Nice
Would you be able to create an upgrade to this mod?
I have an idea but I don't have the skill to create the mod and you definitely do (plus I can't get the damn SDK to work)
My premise is that Sparks could have many PCS slots for upgrades (Johnny 5 needs input!)
So would it be possible to have additional PCS slots granted at different ranks to add whatever PCS you have to hand?
Do you think you could do this as an upgrade to this mod?
I'm not entirely certain if doubling up on PCSs would work, or if Focus makes any difference.
If you decide you can that would be magic. Thank you

@Warplord: That question has come up before, as far as I'm aware it works fine with the proving ground projects added by metal over flesh.

No, it's just cosmetic what two abilities are ordered to show for the "squaddie" rank of each branch. You may notice that Specialists get several abilities at squaddie, which all appear in the armoury abilities/traits list, but don't appear on the training screen at squaddie.
I simply chose the two squaddie abilities which made the most sense to head up the "Future Combat" and "War Machine" branches is all.
This aspect is what I was referring to when the description mentions "Squire base abilities won't be displayed as neatly for existing SPARKs", since the mod doesn't change the order of the abilities for existing SPARKs.

hello I have a question as war of the chosen has a built in shredder on sparks and looking at the picture you posted makes me fear it removes the shredder ability from the start

Will it work with metal over flesh mod for sparks?

This is how the squaddie abilities are defined with this mod:

; squaddie
+SoldierRanks=(AbilitySlots=((AbilityType=(AbilityName="Arsenal", ApplyToWeaponSlot=eInvSlot_Unknown)), \\
(AbilityType=(AbilityName="Overdrive", ApplyToWeaponSlot=eInvSlot_PrimaryWeapon)), \\
(), (), \\
(AbilityType=(AbilityName="Shredder", ApplyToWeaponSlot=eInvSlot_PrimaryWeapon)), \\
(AbilityType=(AbilityName="RobotImmunities", ApplyToWeaponSlot=eInvSlot_Unknown)), \\
(AbilityType=(AbilityName="IntrusionProtocol", ApplyToWeaponSlot=eInvSlot_SecondaryWeapon))), \\

The (), () in the middle are spacers, since the first 4 abilities will show in the training screen. As I said, you'll see similar spacers put in for othe base classes so that only two show in the training screen, and arranged so that the fit the "theme" of the two branches.

Then it's maybe some conflict with the other mod. will try to figure it out. my spark got burn and mind controlled after using this mod -_-'' the chassis and bit ability are completely missing from the spark. in new game

The abilities are there if you check the Armoury list. Several base classes get more than 2 abilities at squaddie, but the are structured so that only 2 show in the training screen with the two branches, to avoid confusion presumably by having a normal squaddie ability appearing to be part of the XCom random branch...
You may note that only ONE squaddie ability shows in the normal promotion screen.

It's missing base 4 skill of the spark. it's also missing in this mod screenshot

With this mod they've always gained AP as they level?

Im assuming they also gain AP each level up now too?

Also any chance of allowing them to form bonds? Saw the normalize Sparks mod had that while i was browsing for mods for my new playthrough.

Well, could probably get away with the stat progression conflict, and just accept which version of hacking progression you get. If his mod "wins" there, you'll need to use the "Recheck Sparks" MCM button or CheckSparks console command when you create a new SPARK to give it its PCS slot.

@ABF: Looking at what the mod does, would probably need a little ini editing, since we both change stat progression. Also he adds a third "real" branch, whereas this mod adds in the random cross class branch. I think that would show as 4 branches total on the Training Screen, but not 100% sure...

Hello, great mod you have created :)

I have one question, does this mod conflict with Richard's spark rework? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1374683550

Just a quick update for TLP. You can have SPARKs on randomly generated Legacy Ops, so inline with the mod changes they now get ammo & pcs upgrades if chosen between missions.

Hah, I had more but it made my post too long. I accidentally left out the important bit at the end where I thank you for your prompt response, and clarify that I was just responding to make it clear that your update was working as intended on my machine.

So, y'know... everything is working just fine! Thanks for your help!

@sines yes, the code is nominally "first install" code, so doesn't account for existing or spent AP. It just checks for PCS or XCOM abilities. I know more about Xcom modding now than a year ago, and the initial check really shouldn't fail sometimes anymore...

So, tried checking back with it. My PCS slot was enabled, and I got some weird AP. One SPARK (who had no personal AP) gained 15 points, which at standard intelligence and 5 ranks above base was what you'd expect, although it didn't account for the AP I had recieved and spent when I installed the mod a few ranks back, which meant I got extra AP.

My max rank SPARK with above average intelligence got 20 points... he has 6 ranks and gains 4 points per level. However, he had 4 personal AP before I rechecked my SPARKs. It looks like the game simply assigns the SPARKs the AP they should have if they had never spent any personal AP.

Overall though, this is only really a 'problem' for someone like me who got this change at this particular moment, or for someone who doesn't read the whole mod description and misses the Recheck SPARKs button at first.

The update also means that existing SPARKs will benefit in all ways by receiving Ability Points and Hack Progression due to their rank. This will also be applied by the recheck option outlined below, but only if the SPARKs have not had PCS and/or XCOM abilities activated, since this is the only "fool proof" check to avoid duplication.

@Sines: OK, existing SPARK checks should be more robust now. For a campaign where the mod has already been activated, if you have Mod Config Menu installed, there is now a button to recheck existing SPARKs, this can also be done via the console with 'CheckSparks' if you prefer. A third, somewhat long winded way, is to disable the mod, then unregister the mod from the campaign with "Remove Missing Mods". Then if the mod is enabled again, it will see itself as activated for the first time in the campaign and check existing SPARKs automatically.

Yeah, xcom abilities are rolled for on level up, if a unit should have them and they aren't filled in. Should have been rolled for when the mod was activated though, along with PCS.

Just came back from a mission wherein one of the SPARKs leveled up, and they now both have their XCOM abilities (and the one I wanted to make into a tank got Blast Padding. Yay!) PCS are still absent, however.

Oh, and while it might be complicated to give a specific soldier more ability points, you can just use 'giveresource AbilityPoint #' to add them to the generic XCOM pool. Buy the SPARK that will use up those points and you're all set.

I think you can increase a soldiers hacking stat, but that gets weird, and it's only going to give me a small chance for a small reward on very specific missions, so it's not worth dealing with.

Thanks. Also, do you know a console command to let me manually edit their Ability Points and Hacking stat?

I'll have a look tomorrow...

Turned this on halfway through a playthrough after giving Vanilla SPARKs one more shot (I felt they failed, so here we are). However, both PCS and XCOM Abilities are not working for my already built SPARKs.

will the mod cause any trouble if i use the richard's spark rework? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1374683550

I've had the same problem with all rocket launchers. Heavy armor, SPARK, whatever the source didn't matter. I just assumed it was a flaw in the game.

No, it's not just Sparks, it's inherent in targeting the Rocket Launcher generally. In testing just now, you could get some quite bizzaire effects from where the target tile transitioned from behind the units cover (so no leaning out option) to infront! Only problem with fixing, is to make sure nothing very silly happens (like firing through high cover, god knows people bitch about that enough already, even though it's damn rare nowadays)

I too change the rocket at the first opportunity :) I'm not sure, maybe this bug is not just sparks, maybe all who use rockets have this problem. You can fix it, it would be great !?

lol, I wondered how I hadn't noticed that before, since I generally only replace rocket launchers with a blaster launcher or shredstorm, and you can fire over low cover if you are leaning out! On a plain reading of the code, it seems more that it's a glitch in checking when leaningout though, ie the none leaning behavious is what the original dev meant to happen.