I see 2 problems with this jamming stuff, I just want to mention them before work is started
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Hi kracken
Here's the thing, though:
(1) While this is true, we could also apply the same argument to other aspects of the game:
- Mis-threw your grenade and blew yourself up? Use a soldier more skilled in throwing next time.
- Didn't get your RF shot like you hoped you would, and the aliens have cut your team to pieces? Put more Speedy soldiers in RF positions.
- Got a weapons jam and your super-soldier got killed? Use more reliable weapons or carry a spare
The risk is manageable, and thus it is in the player's control.
(2) That is a very good point, but it has a very simple solution: don't put jam stats into UFO:AI weapons*.ufo files! All is then as it has always been
But someone who wants to create a slightly different campaign with different weapons stats, a mod if you will, has the option.
I really like UFO:AI, but I would like to take it that little bit further. I appreciate that not everyone agrees, so I am proposing a way of doing this that will please everyone -- those who want to use the options do, those who don't, don't have to.
@ Doctor J -- 3% seems good to me. Won't happen every game, but enough IMO for the cautious to carry their spare shooters
The chance would indeed depend on the fire mode, so that semi-auto weapons would be more reliable.
As to the way this would work, I was thinking the weapon would jam
after the shot is fired, not before. Also, I was thinking an "Un-jam" firemode would replace all others which use ammo (thus any hand-to-hand firemodes would remain active). This firemode would give a chance based on the original malfunction number, modified by the soldier's Mind stat maybe, and take something like 25TUs. So, weapons that are more jam-prone are harder to unjam, and it is not guaranteed that a jammed weapon would get unjammed on the first attempt.
@ jeric -- well, I disagree with you there
I agree that fixing bugs is more important than new features, but I think you are overly optimistic about there ever being "full release version". Do you think there will ever be a "final" versoin of Linux? Or Apache? Or any other Open Source project?
This is the beauty of it -- OS is a constant work in progress. It will be ready when it is ready, and it will be forever improved upon
As a user OR developer, you should enjoy it!