Messages

1

Discussion / Re: Melee attacks -- roadmap?

« on: March 11, 2008, 05:21:53 am »

Melee weapons are practically useless in this game... if you have any thing else at your disposal, you will use it first.  The only way that a knife would be lethal is with some degree of stealth coming into play, say sneaking up behind an alien undetected...not to mention we are suggesting that alien anatomy is just like ours... most of the aliens have some kind or natural armor... or if they are wearing armor that is effective vs. bullets... do you really think a knife is going through at a much slower velocity than a bullet?   

The argument of melee weapons from history being more brutally effective than modern day firearms is absurd.  The invention of the crossbow and the longbow  brought new standards to medieval warfare, sure swords are effective, but the counter to a sword was armor, plate mail in fact... you know what really changed all that?  Firearms... bullets made armor ineffective... now with new armor being developed, the latest will stop multiple assault rifle rounds, it's weaponry's turn to evolve.

I agree with making melee weapons fast, with a low TU count, and damage being low... one stab...much like one 9mm round won't drop a person, unless you get really lucky, and I also think that long guns should have a range restriction, making them less useful in close combat... but you should also take into consideration that long weapons make great hand-to-hand weapons for blocking knives, or delivering blunt trauma, which could possibly stun an opponent. 

You could always make it so that the only effective weapons at adjoining spaces could be knives... everything else could have a minimum firing distance, else it makes little sense in using a knife when I could put a full auto assault rifle burst into them from 3 inches away.

-Burns77

2

Design / Re: Managing Mundane vs. Cutting Edge Gear and Equipment

« on: March 11, 2008, 04:13:48 am »

Basic weaponry could be free... if you are supported by every nation on the planet, military resources would be overly abundant.  Monthly allotments make no sense as these items would be readily available. More so than micro management concerns, could you really see the only force on the planet that is actively trying to fight the aliens running out of primary weaponry and fighting with pistols and knives due to budget shortage?  I think not.

What would keep someone from using sub-machine guns instead of pistols?  Well weight limits or movement restrictions might keep a player lightly loaded.  Why carry a pistol at all if ammo supply is plentiful, which it is, but it should be... an assault rifle at close range is just as effective at medium range...better actually since you now get a 95% chance to hit an alien on full auto... which is much more damaging than a pistol. 

You could make medium and longer weapons less effective within one or two squares... making a player carry a back-up weapon for close combat, but you are still left with the question of, "Why use a pistol, much less a knife, when a sub-machine gun will do even better"?  The flamethrower has a limit of 8 squares.... some weapons like the sniper rifle should be restricted like that...except they should be required to be 8 squares away to get full use of the weapon.

Cost might affect the first month, but after that you have enough money that weapon selection of the standard earthly varieties are unlimited.  you get paid a few million per month and can buy aircraft and buildings, so why would a

1) You could make a pistol cost less to unholster than a sub-machine gun. 
Technically speaking... pistol ammunition is usually of 
higher caliber than sub-machine gun ammo, although a sub-machine gun can be created that can use any pistol ammo, examples are the most commonly used sub-machine gun in use today is the H&K MP5, which uses a 9mm pistol round.  A .357 magnum has much more power per round fired, but loses out to the fact that a sub-machine gun can fire 30 rounds (H&K MP5 single magazine limit) in a fraction of a second.  The new sub-machine guns use a high velocity assault rifle round that uses less powder to fire the round than a conventional assault rifle would use... the result is a round that doesn't travel as far, but has the same armor rendering capabilities.

2) You could put in a weight limit system. 
Pistols with a full magazine weigh in anywhere from 4 to 9 pounds (ammunition limit, and construction materials, and of course size factor into this)  A sub machine gun weighs only about 12 to 15 pounds, and a 7 round shot gun coming in around 9 to 11 pounds.  Newer materials could lower these numbers drastically.  Ammunition is another matter... pistol magazines weigh a bout a pound per magazine, sub-machine gun magazines weigh more due to carrying 3x the ammunition, and shotgun rounds being very bulky.

3) There's still the argument of a one-handed weapon vs. two-handed weapons, although pistols are much more accurate fired with both
hands. 
Pistols can be fired one-handed with little loss of accuracy,  a sub-machine gun is almost impossible to fire accurately one-handedly due to its weight, full auto is difficult to keep on a target 15 yards away with both hands and the weapon shouldered, due to muzzle climb. 

4) You could make the sub-machine gun a primary weapon and limit soldiers to one primary weapon per soldier, thus making back-up weapons pistols and other smaller arms.


-Burns77

3

Design / Re: Medikits

« on: February 28, 2008, 07:26:30 pm »

I know how aggravating it is in close combat with aliens, or if you leave your troops in the open, but the only 2 weapons that have ever one-shot killed me, as of the 2.2 release while my troops are wearing nanocomposite armor are the partical beam cannon and the plama cannon. 

You are right, the aliens have the distinct advantage in armor and in weaponry, but should enjoy a technological advantage for the majority of the game.  Also there will be other armor types implemented, which will greatly improve your troops survival chances.  Until then long to medium range support for close combat troops is essential... many times an alien pops out of hiding and my snipers or assault troops will drop him before he gets the chance to harm the guy up front with the sub-machine gun.  Any troop going toe-to-toe with an alien is at an extreme disadvantage... and yes I've seen an armored alien take 3 full auto blasts form a sub machine gun and kill the guy who shot him.

Your opinion for a body part system isn't a bad one, it is just very hard for a programmer to code, and even much more so to code realistically.  These guys are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts with their free time.  They even made the code open source, so if this body part system is near and dear to you, give em a hand and code it... they will at least take a look at it and then accept or reject it based on the scope they set aside for this project, which I believe both of us would say they are doing an outstanding job with.

Oh and I'm not against arguing for a valid point... but I don't think these guys will actually do the body part system coding, because it require a rewrite from a very early part of the coding process.


-Burns77

4

Design / Re: Medikits

« on: February 28, 2008, 04:30:48 am »

ok I don't think this is the place to post this, but it is already going, so here goes. 

In this game you have the option of taking all your turns before the enemy does.  Thus if one soldier sees an enemy, your entire team can take shots at him, this is unrealistic, but its game dynamics.  If you were a soldier in real life, and you encountered an enemy at a range where they could easily see you as well and reactions matter... trying to target any body part in particular is extremely difficult... even for expert marksmen, thus the rule of aiming for center mass taught to all soldiers and police units throughout the world.  This is also why armor is used to cover torsos.  Your head is a very valuable part of your anatomy... but also makes up about 10% (less actually) of your total body mass.  The only units that could conceivably deliver head shots should be the sniper, which amazingly enough have a head shot ability already.  Not to mention that it would be much more difficult to design a body part damage system.  Sounds good to players... but how would it affect you when the aliens shoot you... you want to let a measly pot shot that normally wouldn't kill you be a head shot for an instant death?  I wouldn't... I only have 8 guys out there and they are thin enough without that, and almost no aliens use reactionary fire yet...so imagine when they do have that ability.  I'd try to focus on a wound per damage taken in one shot level of penalties.

Not trying to argue or start a fight, just food for thought

-Burns77

5

Design / Re: Medikits

« on: February 27, 2008, 09:48:44 pm »

I hear you alinour, my daughter is that way too.

Also I just thought of this... might not be your area...is there a way to implement moving an unconscious soldier.... the originals allowed you to pick up fallen comrades and move them to safety.  That would be a nice implimentation with this if this is the road you want to go down.


-Burns77

6

Design / Re: Medikits

« on: February 27, 2008, 09:02:14 pm »

Sorry if this is a re-post, but I timed out last time I tried and can't find my original...

How about wound levels (say 1-5) and medikits use 1 use per injury level starting with level 2.  Multiple use of the kits cannot be used to
fully restore wounded soldiers.  One use per injury. So a soldier who sustains a level 3 wound can only be improved once, however, if the same soldier takes additional damage resulting in a level 4 wound, they can be stabilized, or if they took another level 3 wound it could be healed to reduce penalties, but the two wounds would stack for a further reduced TU count, morale, and accuracy. Rendering the soldier less effective than they were with only one wound.

Wounds:

Level 1:  Minor HP loss from damage, no wounding, no penalties - Doesn't need treatment.

Level 2: More HP loss, minor loss of movement (TUs or can make normal movement like crouched movement), no wounding damage, and
            minor morale loss. - Treatment can fix the TU penalty and boost morale.

Level 3: Significant HP loss, minor wounding damage, major loss of movement, major loss of morale, and penalty to accuracy
           (more so with 2 handed weaponry). - Treatment would remove wounding damage, restore some movement (not all),
           improve morale and lessen the accuracy penalty.

Level 4: Major HP loss, significant wounding damage, unconsciousness. - Treatment would stabilize injured soldier, barring taking further
           damage, but unconsciousness would last until hospital treatment. 

Level 5: Critical HP loss, major wound damage, unconsciousness. - Treatment would use up the medikit, and only have a chance to fully
            stabilize an injured soldier.  Preferrably the field medic should have to stay near the injured soldier, but not sure how that would
            implement, so the % chance of losing the soldier even after treatment is an ok way to go.


-Burns77