R45 - Plays Nicely With Others​

R45 adds HUD Plus and custom stratagem compatibility, fixes exhausted single-use entries, and resolves the Foliage Pass-Through conflict that stopped some custom barrages and launchers.

Changes​

• HUD Plus 0.2.8: its competing stratagem list and picker yield while ASS controls selection. Other HUD Plus features remain active. Its list resumes when ASS is disabled or recovering.
• Custom Stratagem Compendium 0.4.1 / HD2Runtime 0.40.0: Confirm and Select on Release accept custom call-in codes from recognized Runtime-owned arrays. Ownership and code contents remain checked during input.
• Single-use availability: exhausted entries such as Shredder dim on both wheels and cannot Confirm or arm Select on Release. Becoming unavailable after arming cancels release selection.
• Foliage Pass-Through 1.0: recognize its exact owned projectile-template change so Runtime can validate gas-barrage and cluster-launcher donors. Every other donor byte remains checked; unrelated changes are refused.
• Includes R42 UI recovery: recognized temporary HUD errors cancel pending input and restore UI/camera control. Close and reopen the stratagem menu to recover. Held inputs are not replayed.

These compatibility mods are optional. ASS works without them, and foliage can be on or off. Restart after changing foliage so projectile data starts clean.

BSL, MDL and LLL​

Download R45 on GitHub: all three packages, detailed notes and SHA-256 checksums.

• BSL: import DiversBestFriend-R45-BSL.zip into Arsenal and deploy.
• MDL API 2: extract divers_best_friend into %LOCALAPPDATA%/MDL/Helldivers2/Mods.
• LLL R30+: extract divers_best_friend into %LOCALAPPDATA%/LLL/Helldivers2/Mods.

Install one ASS revision and one loader variant. Close the game before updating, remove the old ASS archive provider when switching to loose MDL/LLL files, and restart. ASS remains restart-only. Begin a fresh mission for custom stratagems; Runtime does not retry slots it already refused.

Mod Bindings Menu v2+ / API 1 and Mod Options Menu remain required through your chosen loader. Dependencies are not bundled. MCM remains optional. Existing settings and binding IDs are retained.

Validation​

The LLL compatibility predecessor was tested in-game and reported working after restart, including Shredder. All eleven custom-code fixtures, real HUD Plus owner tests and ASS regressions pass. Original Runtime gas/cluster guards pass with the recognized foliage variant and still reject unrelated byte changes.

BSL packaging and MDL startup/lifecycle tests pass offline. The MDL adapter has not been gameplay-tested, and every custom family has not been individually recorded. Full validation details are in the GitHub notes.

R42 — UI Recovery (Test Build)
A recovery path for temporary HUD failures:

• Close the stratagem menu, then reopen it to resume after a recognized temporary HUD error.
• Pending Confirm and Select on Release input is cancelled, the original UI is restored, and camera control is released before recovery.
• Settings stay responsive, held inputs are not replayed, and the last runtime error stays in the log.
• Fatal safety checks remain in place, with at most three consecutive unsuccessful recoveries.

This is a candidate fix for reports of the radial disappearing after leaving jammer range. The original trigger is unconfirmed. Automated tests cover simulated HUD failures; an affected-session log and an in-game jammer test are still needed.

Download R42 on GitHub | R41 stable

Close the game, import DiversBestFriend-R42-UIRecovery.zip through Arsenal, and enable only one revision. If the problem persists, save DiversBestFriend.log before restarting and include your mode/layout and Select on Release setting. Dependencies are unchanged.

The one where I forgot about other people

I forgot that not everyone has MCM yet. I'd crammed too many settings into the Bingus Mod Options Menu, so I've drastically trimmed it down.

Enable Mod, Mode, Sound feedback, Experimental layout, Preset, Controller Select on Release and Input interval are still there.

The blacklist now has two simple on/off options:

• Blacklist SOS Beacon
• Blacklist Eagle Rearm

Both are available on the ship. You don't need an Eagle equipped to choose the setting. Additional blacklist entries require the optional MCM blacklist page, where changes apply when you confirm.

The appearance sliders are hidden from Bingus, but your saved appearance settings are preserved and presets still work. Vertical offset is disabled at zero.

Blacklist settings are saved. Filtering takes effect when the stratagem is present in your mission, and equipped stratagems remain protected.

Thank you to everyone using the mod and saying such nice things. I really appreciate it.

As always, please use GitHub Issues to request new features or report problems so I can get them fixed.

Download R41

Diver's Best Friend / Automated Stratagem System — Revision 40

Thanks to everyone using the mod, and for all the nice things you've said about it. I really appreciate it.

R40 brings the changes since R35 into the main build, with a simpler mission stratagem blacklist.

Stratagem blacklisting

• Three named dropdowns in Bingus Mod Options Menu let you exclude mission-provided stratagems from all four DBF layouts.
• SOS Beacon is selectable when it appears in your mission. Choose it to hide it from DBF selection; choose None to clear that slot. R40 replaces the earlier canary SOS toggle and eight numeric ID slots.
• Equipped stratagems are protected and cannot be blacklisted.
• Apply saves native stratagem IDs, so saved exclusions do not depend on dropdown positions.
• Nothing is excluded by default. Blacklisting only affects DBF selection; vanilla availability and manual input remain unchanged.

Fixes since R35

• List mode closes the gaps left by blacklisted entries and restores the native positions and animation endpoints when clearing exclusions, closing DBF or switching layouts.
• Fixed the animation-card validation regression introduced during list compaction. Original cards and DBF-owned copies are validated separately, with range, alignment and parent checks retained.
• Cached native input, sound and icon function pointers to address repeated LuaJIT allocation and table overflow.
• Applying blacklist changes cancels pending Confirm and Select on Release sequences.

Menu compatibility

R40 uses the current Bingus Mod Options Menu API 1. Open the native stratagem menu once during a mission, then go to MODS > Diver's Best Friend > Blacklist.

Bingus cannot refresh registered dropdown choices during the session. The choices come from the first successfully read mission payload; restart the game to refresh them for another mission.

MCM compatibility is planned for a future update. It is not included in R40.

Existing layouts, appearance settings, sound feedback, scrambled-code recovery and optional Select on Release are retained from R35.

Validation

Package checks and isolated LuaJIT verification are documented. Fresh-session in-game validation of R40 is still pending.

As always, please use GitHub Issues to request new features or report problems so I can get them fixed.

R35 - Bindings Compatibility​

• Fix wheel input and missing cursor compatibility with the updated Vanilla Plus Megapack: accept numeric Mod Bindings Menu interface versions 2 and above while retaining API 1. Invalid or missing versions are safely rejected; saved binding IDs remain unchanged.
• Include R33/R34 native selection, confirmation and page-change sound cues, size presets, independent icon/label sizing, background opacity, grouped settings and the illustrated setup guide. Preserve the restored wheel caption and countdown presentation.
• Retain R31 scrambled-code recovery, all selection layouts and optional Select on Release (off by default). Confirm and release selection share interval validation; pacing is unchanged.

Install DiversBestFriend-R35-BindingsCompatibility.zip through Arsenal with the game closed, enable only one revision, deploy and restart. Requires Bingus Shared Loader API 1, Mod Bindings Menu v2.0 or newer with API 1, Mod Options Menu API 1 and supported Steam build 25480438. Existing addon identity, settings and binding IDs are retained.

Package checks and the full isolated LuaJIT regression suite pass, including minimum/current/future bindings versions, invalid versions, API rejection and recovery. This build has been verified in-game. Check pointer movement, Confirm, optional Select on Release, sound cues, cursor alignment and mode switching. The confirmation sound marks an accepted sequence; normal game feedback confirms beacon equip.