Accuracy of pistols

[C14_rad]

Hello,

first of all, thx for this great game!

I have a question about the weapon stats:
Having played some battles now, I wonder why pistols are so accurate?
They seem to have even lower spread values than assault rifles.
What is the logic behind this?
Also, does kneeling affect pistol accuracy in the same way as it does for rifle accuracy?

[H-Hour]

What version of the game are you using? Many of the weapons were re-balanced after 2.4 so the values are different.

In 2.5, the pistol vs. rifle accuracy difference is not as huge as it might be in real life. This is partly because the battlescape occurs across a shorter range than real life. The other reason is that pistols already have major drawbacks in terms of weapon power, so I have made sure their ranges are not too prohibitive for them to be used. That, combined with their excellent TU cost, allows them to fill a role as a secondary weapon: good for firing off a quick finishing shot if kept in a holster, or switching to benefit from quicker reaction fire.

[C14_rad]

What version of the game are you using? Many of the weapons were re-balanced after 2.4 so the values are different.

Ok, I was playing 2.4.

In 2.5, the pistol vs. rifle accuracy difference is not as huge as it might be in real life. This is partly because the battlescape occurs across a shorter range than real life. The other reason is that pistols already have major drawbacks in terms of weapon power, so I have made sure their ranges are not too prohibitive for them to be used.

I was mainly addressing the angular spread value. (so independent of battlescape range)
This should be much lower than for assault rifles to make things a bit more realistic.
Maybe the drawbacks in terms of weapon power are too big? (without armor, pistols have an even greater stopping power than rifles)
On the other hand, in reality, military units don't use pistols too often, except perhaps in houses.
I think you should not add unrealistic stats just that people use a weapon more often.
With the excellent TU cost the pistol could still be useful in houses for reaction fire, as you said,
but it feels strange to get killed by plasma-pistols with the first shot over half of the map,
whereas I cannot hit properly with an assault rifle.

[Nutter]

I feel that's partially due to the peculiar naming conventions for alien equipment in the game.
At least in 3 and 4, plasma pistols feel like some sort of plasma carbine than an actual pistol. Especially due to the range.
I tend to replace shotguns with them though that sprouts a few other problems with damage types.

[H-Hour]

Sorry, I was using the range to mean accuracy (ie - effective range). I can't speak to how pistols are in 2.4, but in 2.5 they are not more accurate than their rifle counterparts.

However, you should not mix up killing power between weapon types. A single shot from a plasma pistol is more deadly than a single shot from an assault rifle, because plasma is a more deadly round. This is how the weapon systems work in the game -- in general, aliens introduce newer, more deadly weaponry which PHALANX must acquire, research and turn back against the aliens to keep up.

[C14_rad]

I have no problem with plasma pistols doing more damage than assault rifles, it's the accuracy that bothers me.
Can you tell me where I can find the weapon definitions in the source?

[H-Hour]

All of our weapons are defined in scripts that you can change without recompiling the source code:

/base/ufos/weapon_*.ufo

Our wiki explains some of the parameters.

[Triaxx2]

It occurs to me that pistols should be more useful at short ranges, than rifles. After all, unless you don't have the option, when entering a room, a pistol or SMG is usually a better option than a long rifle. (Shotgun beats both, but that's another story.)

Of course that's probably not possible in the engine.

[Jon_dArc]

It occurs to me that pistols should be more useful at short ranges, than rifles. After all, unless you don't have the option, when entering a room, a pistol or SMG is usually a better option than a long rifle. […]

Of course that's probably not possible in the engine.

It varies based on damageweight/resistance interaction, but the low TU use of sidearms often makes this the case as it stands.

~J