OMG i wanted this mod so much ssooo much i just didnt knew it befor ..... iii haaaattttttteeeeeeeee the blowout hair dude at the start ssooooo much

I literally searched the workshop for "blowout" just to find a way to disable that haricut I get nightmares from. Thank you for this!

Minor bugfix related to character pool veterans & new optional whitelist feature for customizing what headgear cosmetics can spawn on randomly-generated veterans.

The whitelist entries can be found in XComBetterVeterans.ini. You can add your own entries, including cosmetics from other mods. You can also remove unwanted cosmetics by simply commenting out (or deleting) the +ValidGear entries you don't like. Super easy.

Enjoy!

@Valvatorez (Spectrum=worst ISP)
It's totally possible . The quick, dirty, easy way would be to simply duplicate the TLE plate armor cosmetic entries, give the duplicates unique template names, and then set them to be available at the Conventional tech level. You could edit the XComContent.ini file included in this mod yourself to do just that if all you want is access to those cosmetics from the start of the campaign. But doing it the right way would take considerably more work because I'd have to code it as an optional feature that could be enabled/disabled.

I'm not against the idea, mind you. But the new features I already have planned are my priority. So no promises, but I'll keep in it mind.

@EvilPolygons
Is it possible to have the Vet start off with TLP plated cosmetics or have him spawn as a RookieSoldierM2?(Rookie M2 and M3 are used by the Volunteer Army order and default militia) As players should be able to reach Carapace Armor before the base attack in Enemy Within. I'd prefer the former over the latter.

Update:
Non-random toons pulled from the player's character pool will now have their cosmetic customizations fully respected.
Custom background text will no longer be overwritten by the generic Old World Hero description.
Custom character pool toons will default to the normal Kevlar Armor set. Of course, you can still switch to the DLC armor if you so choose.

Randomly generated veterans remain more or less unchanged since the last update, aside from minor code improvements.

@DOX
Basically this mod tries to restrict customization in order to get rid of Blowout hair. If you're using any mod similar to Unrestricted Customization, then it would probably nullify what this mod does.

heh actually im still seeing blowout hairstyles on vets, dunno if some other mod is interfering with it. (altho the actual name in the menu was blank)

I'm considering a small cosmetic change to the mod.

Currently, when headgear is normalized between DLC_Day_0 armor and vanilla kevlar armor, both armor types have their headgear changed to match the typical veteran appearance of aviator sunglasses + compatible helmets ( sans Blowout!). Now, that's fine on randomly generated vets, but I suspect players would rather I didn't mess with their custom toons from the Character Pool. Totally understandable.

So my plan is to keep the current behavior for randos, but to normalize Character Pool toons in favor of their original headgear customizations.

Not everyone cares about such things, but many players (including myself) do, and I don't want to stomp on the time people put into customizing their Character Pool.

I cannot tell you how much the blowout hairstyle makes me seethe with rage. You are a good man, thank you.

Veteran rookie minimum average stats and stat bonus features can now be disabled via ini.

Cleaned up the code quite a bit, added some sanity checks and other improvements.

If you notice any issues, let me know! Enjoy!

Yeh its originally a homage to the stylized pixel art/intro from the original 1994 X-Com. While it was tolerable in the big chunky gi-joe like EU/EW soldiers, just looks extra cringe in the more serious looking tone of xcom2.
Thanks btw that random vet with blowout has always aggravated me also.

Thanks for making the Veteran Rookie an actual veteran, as opposed to just another n00b with a cool backstory and aged clamshell armor. I dunno about that Blowout hairstyle, someone on the Firaxis team must have been a BIG fan of it back in the EU/EW days. (Or maybe Guyle is their bestest street fighter EVAR!! ) Thanks anyway for the choice, cause soldier modding is about the choice.

@ContagiousStorm
I totally agree! That said, I do want to make the stat changes optional for anyone who doesn't like them.

Cool! Cheers!

@Green Raven
I plan to add a tweakable config that will allow you to disable the minimum base stats and/or the stat bonus for veteran rookies, while keeping all the cosmetic corrections (including Blowout removal).

Loading values from a config file into uscript probably isn't hard, I just haven't looked up how to do it yet. Hopefully I'll have the mod updated with that feature in a few days.

Thank you so much for fixing this, I'm sick of always having to see that hideous hairstyle forced onto my characters! Also, the buff is good, it's dumb that rookies that are supposed to be a "veteran" would be weaker/equal to normal rookies, especially considering those rookies are XCOM rookies...

Yes, a mod that removes that annoying blowout!

You said this started as a mod to destroy Blowout hairstyle and everything associated with it. God bless you. Can you release that version of the mod, the one that leaves the vet rookie stats alone but removes blowout from ever plauging my barracks again?

@Damn Feraligatr & Salazzle
I may add a tweakable config at some point. But the buff is not at all unbalanced since only a single stat gets a boost - not all of them. So a veteran with 4HP, 12move, 69aim, 0hack ends up having 4HP, 13move, 69aim, 0hack. Those stats are still lower than a regular rookie can potentially start with when running SWR Not Created Equal.

@Valvatorez
Okay, I'm about 98% sure that the birthdate problem you're describing is already fixed by Birthdates [WOTC] mod https://psteamcommunity.yuanyoumao.com/workshop/filedetails/?id=1144073441 . To be honest, I've been using the Birthdates mod for so long that I'd forgotten all about that particular issue.

I'd strongly advise that you install Birthdates [WOTC], as it's pretty much an essential mod, and works perfectly fine with Better Veterans.

I like the idea of having minimum stats for veterans but the buff I'm a little iffy on - any word on being able to change either of them via configs?

I haven't had that issue. Better Veterans doesn't alter the birthdates set by DLC_Day_0, which for me personally are generated correctly (1980's or 1990's).

It's possible some other mod I'm running fixes veteran rookie birthdates, but I'd have to look into that.

Did you also change their birthdate from 2003 to about as far back as the early 90s ?(Where they would be at least 20 instead of 10 if set circa 93) Because I find myself always having to fix that. Just doesn't make sense.