Starting gear (NSGI)¶

The New Starting Gear Interface (NSGI) changes how merc starting equipment works in 1.13:

The A.I.M. website shows a merc's complete starting inventory — a 21-slot view covering armor, weapon, all pockets and LBE gear — instead of the handful of items the vanilla page could display.
A merc can offer up to five selectable gear kits. When you view a merc on the A.I.M. page, buttons let you flip between kits before you hire, and the gear price updates accordingly. Barry Unger, for example, ships with Standard, Mechanic, Combat, Sapper and Premium loadouts. The M.E.R.C. website supports kit selection too (added after the original NSGI release — see Selecting kits in game).

All of this is driven by one data file: MercStartingGear.xml. This page explains how that file works and how to edit or add kits in your own mod.

NSGI was introduced as a beta by the modder tais (with help from Warmsteel, Headrock and smeagol) and is now part of standard 1.13: current releases ship a kit-based MercStartingGear.xml for every character in the game.

Prerequisites

Kit selection only works when the New Inventory System is active — the LBE slots in a gear kit (lVest, lBPack, …) only exist under NIS. General XML editing basics and the safe-editing workflow are covered in XML files and XML modding.

Turning NSGI on and off¶

NSGI is toggled in Ja2_Options.INI, in the [Graphics Settings] section:

;New Starting Gear Interface
;This will enable the 21 item view in the AIM page and the possibility to select gearkits
;If set to FALSE, the game will use the original AIM page and 21 item view and gearkit selection are disabled (1st kit is used)
;If set to TRUE, the game will use the new starting gear interface, this will enable 21 item view and gearkit selection
USE_NEW_STARTING_GEAR_INTERFACE = TRUE

The toggle governs the A.I.M. page only. With it disabled the game still reads the same XML — the A.I.M. site reverts to the vanilla-style page and always sells each merc's first gear kit. Kit selection on the M.E.R.C. website does not check this setting at all; it only requires the New Inventory System.

Two related settings live in [Recruitment Settings] of the same file:

Setting	Effect
`GEARKITS_ALWAYS_AVAILABLE`	If `TRUE`, a merc's gear kits stay available on the A.I.M./M.E.R.C. sites on re-hire, even if their gear was already bought once. Default `FALSE`.
`MERCS_RANDOM_GEAR_KITS`	Only takes effect with `MERCS_RANDOM_STATS = 4` (full merc randomization, which generates brand-new random kits): A.I.M. and M.E.R.C. mercs get a random kit instead of their original one.

See the Ja2_Options.INI tour for how to edit this file safely.

MercStartingGear.xml¶

The file lives at Data-1.13\TableData\Inventory\MercStartingGear.xml. It contains one <MERCGEAR> entry for every character profile in the game — 255 entries, indexed 0–254. That includes the A.I.M. and M.E.R.C. mercs, the player-created IMP slots (the classic six are named PGmale1–PGmale3 and PGLady1–PGLady3, indexes 51–56), and all RPCs, NPCs and enemies with a profile.

The overall structure:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<MERCGEARLIST>
    <MERCGEAR>
        <mIndex>0</mIndex>
        <mName>Barry</mName>
        <GEARKIT>
            ... kit 1 (the default) ...
        </GEARKIT>
        <GEARKIT>
            ... kit 2 ...
        </GEARKIT>
        ... up to 5 kits ...
    </MERCGEAR>
    ... one MERCGEAR per profile ...
</MERCGEARLIST>

Key rules, from the game's XML reader:

Only <mIndex> and <mName> sit directly inside <MERCGEAR>; everything else goes inside a <GEARKIT>. The game finds entries by mIndex (the character's profile ID); mName is there for human readers.
Up to 5 GEARKIT blocks per merc (NUM_MERCSTARTINGGEAR_KITS in the source is 5); extra kits are ignored. The number of kits can vary per merc.
The first kit is the default: it is what the character actually carries when profiles are loaded from XML. Characters that cannot be hired from A.I.M. or M.E.R.C. always use it.
Each kit is self-contained. The reader clears all values between kits, so a kit does not inherit anything from the previous one — any tag you leave out is simply empty in that kit.
An unused kit can be a minimal stub. The shipped file pads every character to five GEARKIT blocks, writing unused ones as <GEARKIT><mAbsolutePrice>-1</mAbsolutePrice></GEARKIT> — harmless, and not required in your own edits.

Old flat format no longer works

Before NSGI, item tags sat directly inside <MERCGEAR> with no GEARKIT wrapper. The current game only reads item tags inside a <GEARKIT> block; items in the old flat layout are ignored. If you are porting an old mod's MercStartingGear.xml, wrap each merc's items in a single <GEARKIT> element. The original NSGI beta readme also warned that the kit-based file is not compatible with the vanilla executable or the XML Editor of that era.

Tags inside a GEARKIT¶

Three optional kit-level tags come first:

Tag	Meaning
`mGearKitName`	Label shown on the kit's selection button. If empty, the built-in labels Kit 1–Kit 5 are used.
`mPriceMod`	Percentage price adjustment for the whole kit. Valid range −100 to 200; the computed gear price is multiplied by `(mPriceMod + 100) / 100`, so `-100` makes the kit free, `50` charges 150%, `200` charges triple. A value of `0` or anything outside the range leaves the price unmodified.
`mAbsolutePrice`	Fixed price for the kit, overriding both the item-value calculation and `mPriceMod`, if set between 0 and 32000. Use `-1` (or omit the tag) to disable it.

Then the 21 inventory slots. Item numbers are the item IDs from Items.xml (see XML modding); ...Status is the item's condition; ...Quantity is the stack size for pocket slots:

Tag(s)	Slot	Extra tags
`mHelmet`	Helmet	`mHelmetStatus`, `mHelmetDrop`
`mVest`	Body armor	`mVestStatus`, `mVestDrop`
`mLeg`	Leg armor	`mLegStatus`, `mLegDrop`
`mWeapon`	Main hand	`mWeaponStatus`, `mWeaponDrop`
`mBig0` … `mBig3`	Big pockets 1–4	`mBig#Status`, `mBig#Quantity`, `mBig#Drop`
`mSmall0` … `mSmall7`	Small pockets 1–8	`mSmall#Status`, `mSmall#Quantity`
`lVest`	LBE load-bearing vest	`lVestStatus`
`lLeftThigh`, `lRightThigh`	LBE thigh rigs	`lLeftThighStatus`, `lRightThighStatus`
`lCPack`	LBE combat pack	`lCPackStatus`
`lBPack`	LBE backpack	`lBPackStatus`

A value of 0 means "empty slot". Small pockets have no Drop tag — only the four equipment slots and the big pockets do. LBE slots have neither Drop nor Quantity.

What the Drop tags do

The ...Drop values are only evaluated for profiles above index 56 — that is, NPCs, RPCs and enemies, not A.I.M. mercs or IMPs — and only from the first kit. A value of 0 flags the item as undroppable, so it does not appear as loot; 1 leaves normal loot rules in effect. The shipped file uses both: most starting gear is marked 0, but many RPC/NPC items (Miguel's rifle, for instance) are set to 1.

A real example¶

This is Barry Unger's Mechanic kit exactly as shipped in the current game data (mIndex 0, second GEARKIT):

<GEARKIT>
    <mGearKitName>Mechanic</mGearKitName>
    <mAbsolutePrice>-1</mAbsolutePrice>
    <mHelmet>176</mHelmet>
    <mHelmetStatus>97</mHelmetStatus>
    <mVest>161</mVest>
    <mVestStatus>98</mVestStatus>
    <mWeapon>5</mWeapon>
    <mWeaponStatus>91</mWeaponStatus>
    <mBig0>77</mBig0>
    <mBig0Status>100</mBig0Status>
    <mBig0Quantity>3</mBig0Quantity>
    <mBig1>203</mBig1>
    <mBig1Status>100</mBig1Status>
    <mBig1Quantity>1</mBig1Quantity>
    <mSmall0>1576</mSmall0>
    <mSmall0Status>94</mSmall0Status>
    <lVest>1090</lVest>
    <lVestStatus>97</lVestStatus>
    <lRightThigh>1200</lRightThigh>
    <lRightThighStatus>97</lRightThighStatus>
    <lCPack>1098</lCPack>
    <lCPackStatus>97</lCPackStatus>
</GEARKIT>

Note how sparse it is: only the filled slots are listed. Empty slots and unused Drop tags can simply be omitted.

Selecting kits in game¶

On the A.I.M. website, each kit that contains at least one item gets its own selection button under the inventory view (labeled with its mGearKitName, or Kit 1–Kit 5 if unnamed). Clicking a button swaps the displayed loadout and recalculates the gear price.

On the M.E.R.C. website, open a merc's file and press T (or the on-page button) to flip from the biography to the inventory page. Selection buttons appear there only when the merc has at least two kits with items; the number keys 1 – 5 also switch kits directly.

On both sites the kits disappear once the merc's gear has been bought before, unless GEARKITS_ALWAYS_AVAILABLE = TRUE.

How kit prices work¶

When you select a kit, the game recalculates the merc's optional gear cost:

If the kit has an mAbsolutePrice between 0 and 32000, that is the price. Done.
Otherwise the game sums the base price of every item in the kit (from Items.xml), multiplied by its quantity.
If the kit has an mPriceMod between −100 and 200 (other than 0), the sum is scaled by (mPriceMod + 100) / 100.

So a "budget" kit can literally be free (mPriceMod of -100, or mAbsolutePrice of 0), and a premium kit can cost far more than its parts. The same calculation, applied to the first kit, sets each merc's default gear cost when profiles are loaded.

Editing and adding kits¶

Never edit the installed file directly. Copy Data-1.13\TableData\Inventory\MercStartingGear.xml into your own mod folder and let the VFS layer it over the original — see How 1.13 modding works.
Find the merc by mIndex/mName.
Edit an existing <GEARKIT> or add new ones (up to 5 per merc). Give each selectable kit an mGearKitName so the buttons are readable.
Fill the slots with item IDs from Items.xml, set ...Status for condition and ...Quantity for stacks. Remember each kit stands alone — repeat every item you want in every kit.
Optionally price the kit with mPriceMod or mAbsolutePrice.
Test in game: check the merc's page on the A.I.M. or M.E.R.C. website. A kit only gets a selection button if it contains at least one item in the personal slots, and kit selection only works when the New Inventory System is on. If a hired merc's kits vanish on re-hire while testing, set GEARKITS_ALWAYS_AVAILABLE = TRUE.

Starting gear for a brand-new character is set up the same way — see custom mercenaries. Lua scripts can also write gear-kit slots programmatically at campaign initialization.

Changing what an NPC or enemy carries

Because every profile has an entry, the same file also defines the loadout of RPCs, NPCs and profiled enemies — edit their first kit. The game applies these XML loadouts when READ_PROFILE_DATA_FROM_XML = TRUE in Ja2_Options.INI (the default; profile data then comes from MercProfiles.xml instead of the legacy Prof.dat), and regardless of that setting whenever the New Inventory System is on — and always for profiles 170 and above, the characters 1.13 added, which have no Prof.dat entries at all.

IMPs do not use gear kits

The IMP profile slots (29 of them in current MercProfiles.xml, including the classic six at indexes 51–56) have entries in MercStartingGear.xml, but they ship empty and the IMP creation process never reads them. An IMP's starting gear is rolled from TableData\Inventory\IMPItemChoices.xml based on its traits, or picked by hand on the gear-selection screen at the end of creation — see Creating IMPs.

Other changes from the NSGI release¶

The original NSGI package also introduced two things that are still present in current 1.13 but are not gear-kit specific:

The strategic-map inventory hotkey Shift+W — drop all items of the selected merc, including armor, LBE and hands — complementing Shift+E, which drops only carried items. See the hotkey reference.
The MERCS_CAN_BE_ON_ASSIGNMENT setting in [Recruitment Settings] of Ja2_Options.INI (0 = vanilla behavior, 1 = everyone available at game start, 2 = mercs never go on other assignments during the campaign).

One design-doc claim did not survive: the beta readme stated that multiple gear kits "will only work for AIM Mercs". That was true in 2010, but the M.E.R.C. website gained its own kit selection later, and current builds support it on both sites.

Sources¶

"New Starting Gear Interface Beta 0.4" readme by tais (credits: Warmsteel, Headrock, smeagol), from the 1.13 SVN documentation collection — design intent and history.
Data-1.13/TableData/Inventory/MercStartingGear.xml from the current 1dot13/gamedir repository (structure, Barry's kits, entry count, Drop values, empty-kit stubs).
Data-1.13/Ja2_Options.INI and Data-1.13/TableData/MercProfiles.xml from the same repository (setting names, sections and comments; IMP profile slots).
1.13 source code from 1dot13/source: Tactical/XML_MercStartingGear.cpp (accepted tags, 5-kit limit, kit reset behavior), Laptop/AimMembers.cpp (A.I.M. kit buttons, price calculation), Laptop/mercs Files.cpp (M.E.R.C. kit selection buttons and key handling), Tactical/Soldier Profile.cpp (default-kit loading conditions, Drop flag handling), Tactical/soldier profile type.h (NUM_MERCSTARTINGGEAR_KITS = 5, NUM_PROFILES = 255), Tactical/RandomMerc.cpp (random kit generation with MERCS_RANDOM_STATS = 4), Strategic/LuaInitNPCs.cpp (Lua gear setters), i18n/_EnglishText.cpp (default Kit 1–Kit 5 button labels).
JA2 1.13 hotkey reference r9389 (Shift+W / Shift+E behavior).