Scrappy mech game BattleTech (opens in new tab) is one of the best PC games you can play right now (opens in new tab), but some players might feel its star map—which opens up gradually throughout the campaign—is too restrictive. A mod (opens in new tab) released this week changes that, opening up the entire map early in the campaign.
You'll still need to play a few hours to unlock it, completing the tense Liberation of Weldry campaign mission. But after that, you'll be free to roam around every star system, taking on contracts wherever you fancy.
The game's campaign is fun, but I prefer the feeling of being a freelance mercenary, earning money through contracts to balance the books and pay wages while building up my fleet of mechs. This mod should play into that fantasy by giving you more freedom to play the way you want.
You can download the mod, and find instructions for installing it, on its Nexus page (opens in new tab). For it to work, you'll also need to grab the BattleTech mod loader (opens in new tab) and ModTek (opens in new tab).