Hi, I'm new here, and New to X-Com games in general. I don't use forums too much either, heh.
However, I really like this game, and since I'm hopeless with coding, but good with game mechanics I figured I would contribute something.
I searched the forum for a bit before posting to Design, if this post would belong somewhere else I'd be glad to move it if I have the ability. These are suggestions for Weapons, a new Fire Mode, some fluff to go with them, links to any resources I used in making them, and some alternate ammo types w/ mechanics. I've put some alternate naming ideas as well. There are no real-life weapons here, but some tech that is present IRL that would make sense within a Future AU setting. Also enclosed is a suggestion on Skill Mechanics, namely hybrid Skill-up and hybrid Skill use. The articles go in order of Weapons, Alt. Ammo Types, Mechanics, Fluff, Bibliography, Suggested Skill Mechanic.
TL;DR - I'm a noob, here's my 2 cents, sorry if it s--ks, sorry if it's in the wrong place, feedback appreciated. I s-ck at coding, but game mechanics are a hobby, so I wanted to help.
\\\\\ CONTENT STARTS HERE ///// \\\\\ SECTION: SUGGESTED WEAPONS /////
Marksman's Rifle
- Alt. Names: Battle Rifle or Hawkeye Rifle or Infantry Standard Rifle [ISF-M1A1]
\\\/ Weapon Type: Primary
Range: 100
Damage per Shot: 46
Fire Modes:
\\\/ Snap Shot: 6 TUs / 1.0 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1 / Skill: Assault
\\\/ Double Tap: 12 TUs / 1.0 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 2 / Skill: Assault
\\\/ Aimed Shot: 14 TUs / 0.85 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1 / Skill: Sniper
Weight: 3.0kg
Max Ammo: 12
Ammo Types:
-Marksman's Rifle Clip [0.5kg]
- Standard Ammo
-Marksman's Rifle Tracer Rounds[0.5kg / Marksman's Rifle IC Clip]
- 10% Chance to Ignore Armor w/ Fire Resistance, 5% Chance +2 Fire Damage
- 30% Chance to Ignore Armor w/o Fire Resistance, 15% Chance +3 Fire Damage
- 30% Chance +3 Fire Damage vs Unarmored Target regardless of Resistance
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12mm Hand Carbine
- Alt. Names: 12mm Pistol or Lion's Pride Magnum or Super Eagle
\\\/ Weapon Type: Secondary
Range: 60
Damage per Shot: 80
Fire Modes:
\\\/ Snap Shot: 6 TUs / 2.4 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1 / Skill: Close Combat
\\\/ Steadied Shot: 8 TUs / 1.4 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1 / Skill: Close Combat
\\\/ Aimed Shot: 12 TUs / 0.9 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1 / Skill: Close Combat
Weight: 2.0kg
Max Ammo: 6
Ammo Types:
-12mm Clip [0.5kg]
- Standard Ammo
-12mm Hollowpoint [0.5kg]
- 2x Damage Bonus vs. Unarmored Target
- 1.5x Damage Bonus if within 1/2 Max Range
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Razorback .45
- Alt. Names: .45 Heavy SMG or .45 Auto-Carbine
\\\/ Weapon Type: Primary
Range: 100
Damage per Shot: 38
Fire Modes:
\\\/ Snap Shot: 7 TUs / 1.5 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ Double Tap: 9 TUs / 1.8 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 2/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ 3-Round Burst: 12 TUs / 2.0 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 3/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ Full-Auto: 16 TUs / 2.5 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 16/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ Aimed Shot: 8TUs / 1.2 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 1/ Skill: Assault
Weight: 2.6kg
Max Ammo: 42
Ammo Types:
- .45 ACP Clip [0.6kg]
-Standard Ammo
- .45 AP Clip [0.6kg]
- Vs. Unarmored Targets, -4 Damage per Shot
- Ignore 10 Armor vs. Lightly Armored Targets, -6 Damage per Shot
- Ignore 15 Armor vs. Medium Armored Targets, -6 Damage per Shot
- Ignore 20 Armor vs. Heavily Armored Targets, -8 Damage per Shot
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Egret SAW
- Alt. Names: Egret LMG, .50 SAW, .50 LMG
\\\/ Weapon Type: Heavy
Range: 100
Damage per Shot: 42
Fire Modes:
\\\/ 3-Round Burst: 13 TUs / 1.2 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 3/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ 5-Round Burst: 15 TUs / 1.6 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 5/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ Full Auto: 25 TUs / 2.2 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 20/ Skill: Assault
\\\/ Full-Auto Sweep: 25 TUs/ 10.6 Spread
\\\/ Ammo Used: 20/ Skill: Assault
Weight: 4.5kg
Max Ammo: 100
Ammo Types:
- Machine Gun Magazine [1.5kg]
- Standard Ammo / Used in Machine Gun
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\\\\\ SECTION: ALT. AMMO TYPES /////
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Armor Peircing Rounds:
Concept:
A technology nearly as old as bullets themselves, the conical bullet revolutionized warfare as we know it today. A piercing tip allows the round to retain more kinetic energy through an armored target, but at the cost of overall stopping power. Although much more readily available than Tracers, the martial nature of the round means few civilian consumer sources exist on the market, and as most rifles already use a form of AP round, it could be difficult to obtain a ready supply for weapons that don't typically fire these rounds.
Mechanics:
AP rounds should ignore a certain level of armor for the trade-off of reduced damage per shot. This produces a much more consistant hit to damage ratio against a wider breadth of targets than Tracer Rounds, but at the cost of overall damage. No bonus should be given to spread or range, despite the improved ballistics of AP rounds. Again, this gives standard early-game weapons more relevance in mid to late game. As well as giving recruits more relevance overall. Since the cannon fodder can take more enemies out without having to risk high-end weapons or weapons that need to be recovered such as Plasma Pistols or Needlers. This means experienced soldiers have more options to stay alive and be effective with high-end weapons or Alien Tech, and Greenies have more chance to survive to higher levels.
This ammo type would have to be produced, as it would not be readily available to anything that didn't already shoot a rifle round or similar. [i.e. Sniper Rifle, Machine Gun, Assault Rifle] Thus, it would not be on the market and would give production more relevanced in the early and mid game, and balance out the relevance of late game high-end weapons. In practice this would like a modifier applied to the final damage output by factoring in a static Ignore Armor Bonus and static Damage Penalty. As a rule of thumb, the Ignore Armor Value of the ammo should be higher than Damage Penalty Applied, so as to create a slight damage boost over standard ammo vs. an armored target. However if the target is unarmored only a minor damage penalty is applied. The bonuses and penalties should scale with the base damage of the weapon firing them. The incentive to use this ammo over Tracer Rounds is a more consistant bonus against a wider variety of targets. All weapons benefit equally from this ammo type, however the versatility is offset by the damage reduction against unarmored targets. Secondary weapons benefit the most from this ammo. Shotguns cannot use it. [for obvious reasons] This ammo has identical weight to the Standard Ammo of it's respective weapon.
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So damage calculations for this type of ammo would something like this:
On hit, check for armor, if armor is false then:
Damage= Base Damage - Minimum AP Round Penalty
On hit, check for armor, if armor is true then check armor flag, if armor flag light is true then:
Damage = Base Damage + Minimum Ignore Armor Value - Standard AP Round Damage Penalty.
On hit, check for armor, if armor is true then check armor flag, if armor flag medium is true then:
Damage = Base Damage + Standard Ignore Armor Value - Standard AP Round Damage Penalty.
On hit, check for armor, if armor is true then check armor flag, if armor flag medium is true then:
Damage = Base Damage + Maximum Ignore Armor Value - Maximum AP Round Damage Penalty.
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Tracer Rounds:
Concept:
High-Heat Magnesium Rounds that penetrate armor and hide. These exist in real life, but are not readily available rounds. Their advantage over Armor-Piercing rounds is that they use very high heat to penetrate an armored target. The trade-off is in the material most often used, magnesium, which reacts to air and becomes super-heated. Magnesium is a very light material, reducing overall stopping power, penetrating power, range, and mass. The added bonus over standard AP however, is the incendiary nature of the round, causing burns and other secondary damage.
Mechanics:
Gives more consistant damage than regular rounds against a wider range of enemies than Armor Piercing. Gives early-game human weapons some use in mid and late game, makes production more relevant throughout all stages of the game. Makes recruits more relevant overall by increasing the pool of viable weapons for them, reducing the production strain on high-end late game weapons. Keeps ballistics relevant, because hot, heavy objects propelled at high-velocity should still be moderately effective even in the late game. Not available on the market, production only. For balancing purposes, the rounds should not reduce range, damage, spread, or anything else over a standard round.
In practice this would look like a percentage chance to ignore armor dependant on the Fire Resistance value of the armor in question. This creates a chance for the round to ignore some of the standard damage values associated with it, while retaining it's typical damage per shot. A secondary effect would be a chance to inflict bonus fire damage, but only if the ignore armor effect was successful. This effect would be scaled by factoring in whether or not the target is armored, and if so whether or not that armor contains any fire resistance value. The incentive to use this ammo over Armor Piercing is that there are no damage penalties regardless of the weapon, but this is offset by having a precentage chance. This ammo is more useful in automatic weapons or shotguns, where a spread is applied or multiple rounds are fired consecutively. The SMG, Machine Pistol, Riot Shotgun, and Grenade Launcher [25mm Fletchette] would benefit from this ammo the most of all weapons. Chances to inflict Ignore Armor and Bonus Fire Damage should be applied on a per Shot basis, meaning more shots equates to more chances. This ammo is identical in weight to the Standard Ammo of it's respective weapon.
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So hit calculations for this type of ammo would look something like this:
On connection with targets hit box, check for armor, if true then check for fire resistance, if also true then apply Minimum Bonus Chance.
If armor is true, but fire resistance is false, then apply Standard Bonus Chance. If armor is false, then apply Maximum Bonus Chance.
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So damage calculations on it would look something like this:
On Hit, check against Ignore Armor Array, if true then:
Damage = Base Damage + Ignore Armor Value.
If Ingore Armor Value is True, check Bonus Fire Damage Array, if true then:
Damage = Base Damage + Ignore Armor Value + Bonus Fire Damage.
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Hollowpoint Rounds:
Concept:
Another real-life ballistics technology that has been around for quite awhile, Hollowpoint rounds are functionally opposite to Armor Piercing rounds. Against an unarmored target, or even a lightly armored one at very close range, their stopping power is greatly magnified beyond the norm of the standard counter-part. However, due to scant military applications and general disdain by police forces worldwide, these rounds are not in common circulation. On the upside, against the alien threat, these rounds could be of paramount use. Sheevars, and Tamans in particular due to the former using a bone for "armor" and the latter having skin which is particulary vulnerable to blunt force trama, both of which are qualities exasberated by the Hollowpoint's broad, scoop-like geometry. A valuable asset to scouts, snipers, base gaurds or anyone else looking for a little more bang in their back-up or CQC outfit. This rounds impact also makes it great against limbs, even if armored the force of impact and flattened bullet geometry will mean broken bones, joints and other painful unpleasantness.
Mechanics:
In a sense the practical application of this ammo type would mirror the Armor Piercing round, but with notable exceptions. First, although the capacity for damage in-game is potentially higher, these returns are situational. The round performs best at close quarters, making it a shoe-in for Assault Rifles, SMGs, and Secondary Weapons like the 7.62mm Pistol and Machine Pistol. The damage is also amplified by limb shots. However, this is balanced out by the fact that torso shots are much more common up close and at range and that the base damage is only 3/4 against any armored target. Since this round is production only, and not on the market, it again changes the relevance of production in the early, mid, and end game. As well as the relevance of Greenhorns in particular. While not a exceptional choice of ammo, it stands out as having the most stable performance regardless of what point in the game it is employed, while being extremely good early on. In particular Sheevars and Unarmored Tamans would be vulnerable, assuming Sheevars don't have "armor" in the game mechanics. Regardless, the majority of this rounds usefulness comes in limb shots, and CQC, providing a better chance to stun without carrying a stun rod... or moving into melee for that matter. All at the cost of being awful against armored, and thus more dangerous enemies.
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So damage calculations for this ammo type would look something like this:
On connection with target's hit box, apply armor factor, then apply Hit Location Modifier to Modified Damage, then apply Range Modifier to Modified Damage. Final Damage is Modified Damage after Hit Location and Range Modifiers are applied.
Thus maximum theoretical damage would be the Weapons Base Damage *2.75 and minimum theoretical damage would be the Weapons Base Damage *0.75 All possible damage factors would be: *0.75 / *1 / *1.5 / *2 / *2.25 / *2.5 / *2.75
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Armor Factor
On hit, if armor is false then:
Modified Damage = Base Damage *2
On hit, check for armor, if armor is true then:
Modified Damage = Base Damage *0.75
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Hit Location Modifier:
On it, check for hit location, if hit location is torso then:
Final Damage = Modified Damage + 0
On hit, check for hit location, if hit location is not torso then:
Final Damage = Modified Damage + 0.25
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Range Modifier:
On hit, check for range, if range is greater than or equal to 1/2 of weapons range value then:
Final Damage = Modified Damage + 0
On hit, check for range, if range is less tan 1/2 weapons range value then:
Final Damage = Modified Damage + 0.50
