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The Laser Rifle is just a little bit too good

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Coconut Jonlan:

Well the title says it all really - due to its relatively high damage rating, rate of fire (i.e. the relatively low number of TUs it needs to fire)  and number of shots per shot (if you get my meaning), it's loads better than the plasma or PA weapons, even the heavy weapons.

Tactically its better too, as the reaction fire button allows you to save exactly enough TUs for a kneel and fire with the LR, and again the high rate of fire makes your troops more mobile.

It's just a little bit too good to be the very first new weapon a player is likely to research and develop - in fact at the current stage of development for the game, there's no need for any other weapon right through until the end.

I'm probably jumping gun (pardon the pun  ::) ) and there will be more balancing of the weapons and bigger, tougher, and  meaner aliens that'll make the other weapons more useful in future revisions, but just in case the programmers have spent too much time coding and not enough time playing to see how unbalanced the weapon research tree is then I thought I'd mention it

BTAxis:
Yeah, balancing is something that will happen in the future, and in large amounts, too. Note, however, that laser weaponry will be rendered largely ineffective with the introduction of heavier armours. Not all of them are in the game yet, so that's something we can't asses yet.

Note also that the more shots, the more armour affects the net result. 3 shots of 30 damage each do less damage than 1 shot of 90 damage, because each shot gets the armour reduction. Of course, with 3 shots it's more likely to hit your target at least once (given equal accuracy).

Duke:

--- Quote from: Coconut Jonlan on February 17, 2009, 12:22:13 am ---.... but just in case the programmers have spent too much time coding and not enough time playing to see how unbalanced the weapon research tree is ....

--- End quote ---

True. In OpenSource games, programmers usually spend ALL their time programming and rarely get a chance to actually play the game.
*Balancing* the game is usually up to the scripters; that is, everybody who knows the game and can handle an editor. Look for the appropiate .ufo file that holds the values for the laser rifle and *suggest new values*. THAT would be something we could discuss. And THAT's what OpenSource is all about.

btw I agree that the laser rifle is a very nice weapon. Maybe a bit too nice...

Coconut Jonlan:

--- Quote from: Duke on February 17, 2009, 12:45:52 am ---True. In OpenSource games, programmers usually spend ALL their time programming and rarely get a chance to actually play the game.
*Balancing* the game is usually up to the scripters; that is, everybody who knows the game and can handle an editor. Look for the appropiate .ufo file that holds the values for the laser rifle and *suggest new values*. THAT would be something we could discuss. And THAT's what OpenSource is all about.

btw I agree that the laser rifle is a very nice weapon. Maybe a bit too nice...

--- End quote ---

if it's just a case of twiddling a few numbers to get better balance then that's something I might be able to handle - of course I'm supposed to be writing up my Phd thesis.....

BTAxis:
You can edit the script files in any text editor. They're in the base/ufos directory. You can change most weapon parameters, but you can't change the actual game rules that way.

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