It needed a little more work than expected, but finally, there is a widely extended Solaris 7 mod download available for you. It is also a moment of celebration, too, with now all team leagues included, this marks vonMissions Version 1.0. Hurray!
Downloads:
Join up on Patreon!
https://www.patreon.com/vonSeiten
Besides crucial fixes like making the audio of the crowd stop after arena battles and actually having Solaris 7 being compatible with DLC5, there is much more in this brand-new version…
New Team Leagues!
There are 20 new arena battles in the Mod now for lance play. The Light, Medium, Heavy, and Assault classes have all now “Alliances Leagues”, in which you can fight with a full lance against teams of four in the Arenas. With these added team leagues, Solaris 7 is also ready now for coop play and there are new rewards and new hero mechs to earn, too!
Overhaul Steiner Coliseum!
The Coliseum Arena has been vastly extended. Firstly, there are now animated crowds watching your fight. Holographic displays show more (and some new) billboards, and there is a new kind of trap in the Arena: the infamous Steiner Fire Pit™. When a mech gets close, these traps spit out a hot stream of fire that adds also heat. Use them to your advantage, or just enjoy the show!;)
New artworks for all leagues/arenas!
Each Arena and weight class has now special artworks for the mission screen, and the ones after you successfully have finished an arena. I have built up an optimized Photoshop workflow for turning screenshots into art – which will also come handy for potential future missions in the Mod across the inner sphere!
Sidenote: if you would like to have a custom-made MW5 wallpaper for your computer in the new vonMissions art style, just send me an HD or 4K screenshot via email (
This all together is a large update and a milestone, with all the S7 leagues now in Early Access, and new assets & blueprints for the Arenas. Solaris 7 is now bigger than ever before in any Mechwarrior title:)
I have tested all the leagues, and I hope that there are no major issues emerging. If you encounter anything, please let me know! With a complex extension, there is always the chance for some hick-ups, but it should run well. I keep my fingers crossed!
If you have started a new campaign or career in DLC5, the Solaris 7 leagues should appear right under “Transmissions” to accept and activate. You can also access all area battles under Instant Action under “Scenarios”, after you have completed them in campaign or career.
So… can you make it on Solaris 7, Mechwarrior?
Bring your lance or coop buddies and fight through the team leagues.
I hope you have tons of fun (and big explosions) with the new update!
What is next:
There is one more under-construction area: vonHUD
In my tests and streams on YouTube, I noticed that in the RTS style vonCommander sometimes clicks don't get registered. With my increased know-how of the MW5 Editor (thanks to your support!), I suggest opening up this topic once more and trying to fix and extend vonCommander. I hope I can achieve this, it is still quite challenging. But hey, challenges are made for at least trying to overcome them, right?;)
For vonBiomes
The Red Moon biome needs more work – this is next on my list to finish, and then get a new content update out for you. There is also the troublesome cave biome lingering… I would love to give it at least one more attempt to find a solution for making big undergrounds possible in Mechwarrior. Or if it still makes more issues than improvements to the game, to re-use the 3d models and assets I have already created for it in the past.
For vonMissions
One of my most fondly remembered missions in Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries was the Comet Run, in which an ice comet had to be defended to bring water to a colony. This would be a good testing ground for doing something, which does not fit in a general biome, and to add a new short story to Mechwarrior 5.
What do you think? Do you have any wishes, ideas, or missions from the BattleTech universe, you would love to see in MW5? Please let me know on Discord here: https://discord.gg/mVc9V3YwjE - or in the Comments!
Besides, in the coming days, I will update the public version of vonBiomes on Steam and Nexus with two of the new biomes from the last Patreon version, and the vonMissions mod with the single player heavy and assault league.
Welcome also to our new members here on Patreon!
Thank you for joining up and supporting the mod work! If you want to have your own handcrafted Pilot Portrait from a selfie, or holographic billboard with your wording and graphic on Solaris 7, please let me know. You should have received an email with all the information in your mailbox.
There is also a special VIP section on the Discord: https://discord.gg/mVc9V3YwjE - be invited to join up and let me know you are coming from Patreon, so I can set your permanent role.
Thank you all for your outstanding support and making building Solaris 7, all the new biomes and worlds possible! Thanks to your support, I have ordered a little hardware upgrade, so there is more RAM and power ready for building even more Mechwarrior extensions.
Cheers, all the best, and have a wonderful upcoming weekend! :)
- Jonathan