Possible bug in 3.16.

I replaced 3.15 with 3.16, loaded up my existing campaign; did a cultist mission, went to the squad screen, then clicked "to manufacturing" from there. Got the following screen:

Crash image

(Note the debug text, only one factory in the list, etc.)

However, when I restarted the game, everything seems to be OK (even following the same sequence above, but aborting rather than finishing the mission). Not sure what's going on - I'll finish the mission and see what happens.

Oh one note on the Baretta - LOVE the skin/model, but the label on the item details (right side of the squad screen) still says "Desert Eagle Pistol" - is this a "to be expected" problem for any existing weapons in a savegame?

-X

I did not change the name of the Beretta in the equipment.txt file because that would badly break everyone's savegames, and might also cause problems with NPC gear lists even for new games. Thus I only changed the name in the Glossary.

Playing with weapon rebalance 3.14.
May be intentional, but the needler has a magazine of 1, so it needs to be reloaded after every shot, making it only slightly better than the blowpipe. I think the information text implies a clip of 20.

Also, I'm not entirely sure that the "acid" darts for it actually do anything.

I'll upgrade to 3.16 as soon as I get a chance.

In fact, it will cause problem with NPC gear lists (experimental data). With one effective rename of equipment.txt you'll prevent spawning of any enemy or friend who has such item. Possibly even those enemies/friends who come after unit in question in datafiles also will disappear. Besides, there is little point in renaming entires in equipment.txt - there is pack.txt for all things visible to end-user (otherwise we'd all see Snickersnee, Spirit Vision and Force of Will Collar item names in game).
Starting new game will definiely (also proven by experiment) clear this Desert Eagle/Beretta inconsistency.

The capacity value in equipment.txt for item ID 417 should be 20, not 1. Thanks for catching this error. It will be fixed in v3.17.

I've (somewhat relucantly) noticed lately that Gyrostablisers *might* still be overpowered.

My troops (with Rifle skill between Good and Heroic, granted) that carry HK33's with Gyro's and recoil compensators almost always have 99 or 100% accuracy, if they're in range at all. Moreover, the accuracy seems to even last through the full 3-shot burst.

I ran about 6-10 tactical missions last night. On *several* Cultist missions, I'd fire 30-75 shots with a cumulative accuracy of 97-100% (after the 3rd mission in a row with 100% accuracy, I knew something was up).

Now, don't get me wrong - I certainly like my troops kicking butt and taking names. But, being *that* accurate is pushing my suspension of disbelief just a tad. I'm perfectly OK with the laser weapons being like this (they are 'frickin laser beams'), since the damage is scaled accordingly; but assault rifle damage with that accuracy was...something else.

On a related note, it did produce rather comical physics effects - one cultist was hit with multiple critical shots almost simultaneously (and about six 'normal' hits as well), and was sent flying so hard he actually stuck to the "ceiling" of the map (a good 20+ feet above ground). I have the screenshots if anyone wants a laugh.

Please do a forum SEARCH on "accuracy", find this thread: 100% Accuracy Modding Bug, and read it.

FYI, the gyro is accuracy 115%, and the (modded) recoil compensator is 105% (unmodded is 85%).

I don't know if this was intentional or not, but the Durally Bayonet is still using the model of the UB Laser sight.

Just thought I'd let you know.

Thanks. An oversight which has been fixed for v3.17.

YW. I just want to ask someting. Would you be willing to increase the rate of fire for the Laser Machinegun? Currently it is much slower than the drone version, and I even use the Minimi more than the LasMG.

EDIT: I would also like to ask if you would be willing to add the different versions of the XM8, like you mentioned on page 102 of this thread. the 20'' barrel sharpshooter, etc. And to keep them from looking the same, perhaps rman (or psychophat) could lengthen/shorten the barrels of them for appropriate measure.

1. No. It is balanced as it is.

2. No. The 20" version wouldn't be that much different. There are better things that I and the gfx artists can be doing with our time.

Looks like the actual thread of interest is this one (especially the 2nd page). I'm not sure why you insist on making people search the forum when a quick link saves so much trouble.

So, if I'm understanding this correctly, even using the recoil compensator with any of (gyro/laser sight/sniper scope/motion finder/aimpoint finder/flechette ammo) constitutes an exploit, due to the unfixed bug? That sucks.

Does the thermal sight (the scope add-on, not the helmet add-on or implant) affect accuracy as above? Also, you said the recoil compensator affects accuracy, but does it also do anything to recoil/refire rate as the original description implies (I was using it on machine guns for that reason)?

I'll change my weapon loadouts to avoid this.

Finally, I'm betting this has been asked before, but is there a specific reason you don't include the "actual" accessory effects in the glossary entries in-game? I keep reading effects that don't quite match those described, and I've seen various indications that the listed effects on the weapons aren't reliable (for one example, check the range on a UB shotgun mounted on a laser rifle), and the modded weapons don't show updated stats anyway. It'd be nice to flip the glossary in-game and make an intelligent choice for things like gyro vs. UBLS vs. aimpoint finder, and of course that would influence manufacturing as well.

Again, I ask thinking there IS a reason (and I just haven't searched for it long enough ). I can see you not wanting to have to fix it every time you balance an item, for example, though I haven't seen much "churn" to items once you add them.

Simple: why should I do people's searches for them? My time is at least as valuable as theirs. Sorry if that's blunt, but sometimes people need to be hit over the head to see the obvious (and to shake them out of their bad habits, to learn to do things for themselves instead of expecting others to do things for them).

While I know where this sentiment comes from, and can sympathize, there's still times where it's a nudge in the right direction, and other times where it's just being difficult. If no-one ever shared their prior experience and insight, we'd all feel pretty lonely, wouldn't we?

Given how big the impact of the accuracy bug is to the game, even with the improvements and additions to your mod, I would think the relevant discussion thread URL at least deserves a spot in the mod FAQ. Then, instead of gently nudging people to search the forum (admit it, the forum search/results are lame compared to what most of us have come to expect from web search), you can say "RTFFAQ"

-X

The FAQ has been updated for v3.17. Thanks for the suggestion.

BTW, in spite of RTFFAQ, people don't. I'm not holding my breath. The universe has an unlimited capacity for stupidity and laziness.

PS - the thermal scope just changes the imaging mode. It doesn't add bonuses. That question's been asked before, but I'm feeling particularly nice at this moment and will save you the effort of using the forum's search.

PPS - you're right, a very few folks have asked before why the exact effects of weapon accessories are not in the Glossary. It's something that I've overlooked and has been added to v3.17.

What about something that is a one shot wonder. Basically something like a small grenade launcher which can only be fitter under the barrel of a rifle. The weapon would have medium to long range with poor accuracy. It would fire a single shot that can only be realoaded between missions (this would mean that the rifle its attached to could not also have a grenade launcher attached).

It would fire lots of small explosive rounds that would carpet a relatively large area. About half would explode but the other half would not. The ones that do not would then detonate when another ordinance went off near them or when a character treads on or near them. The actual individual damage it would do would be minimum, however it would knock the character over and potentially stun them depending on that characters toughness.

It would be a double edged weapon in the fact that you wouldn't be able to control which rounds go off or even where they go. And you would not be able to see them if they don't.

I would envisage this being used either when the enemy is grouped or as a mine laying device to try and act as an early warning device or to slow the enemy's advance down.

Cheers,

Ant

I agree on the universe's capacity - but "RTFFAQ" is a lot shorter than "use the forum's search feature to find the answer to your question" Plus, as I said, the forum's search sucks, while an FAQ is quick and easy (and if it's not, it's time to go back to Minesweeper.exe).

Thanks for the thermal scope info - I read the in-game description again after I asked which made me almost sure it DID affect accuracy - good to know. I was afraid there was nothing BUT accuracy mods for the visor mount, which limits flexibility somewhat (as in, for most weapons, if you want to use all 3 slots, you have accel or silencer/suppressor for muzzle, secondary weapon for UB, and accuracy mod for the visor). Granted, it's hard to imagine what ELSE you'd put on the scope aside from things that improve vision/accuracy.

If you can use any help (even just proofreading) on the Glossary changes, just holler.

ShadoWarrior - you were asking for feedback and suggestions on the various tweaked opponents in the game so time ago. I have suggestions, if you're still interested.

I've been fighting the SG for soooo long now. They're tedious. The only SG unit that's actually dangerous is the Hover, and those go down quickly to a laser MG. The trouble is the Defenders. They can't do anything to you, but they take so long to go down. It's just dull.

Theoretically, a unit that gets in the way of your lines of fire, and is hard to kill, is a good idea. It forces you to adapt your tactics. But not if
( A ) It doesn't have sufficient AI to block your lines of fire, and
( B ) You can't win until you kill it anyway.
Then it's just a waste of your time.

Can we change the Defender to a straightforward attack unit?

It would add some punch to the SG, which otherwise have precious little, and make them, if not an enemy to be feared, at least one to be respected.
I recommend a relatively low-damage rapid-fire short range laser, something like the laser MG. They need to use a short-range weapon, in keeping with their habit of trying to get close. They also need their resistances tweaked - I'd recommend reducing their Psi resistance, and making them vulnerable (40-50% resist) to maybe Plasma and Sonic. That way you still need to keep a diverse team, and it gives your close-combat specialists something to do.

The description for the HUD helmet add-on says it improves ability to detect and aim at enemies. Does that mean it affects accuracy and (therefore) has a buggy effect when combined with other accuracy modifiers? Or is that just a more elaborate way of saying it improves detection range?

-X
(I did search the forum first - kinda tough to do a meaningful search for HUD though; I tried "hud helmet", "hud AND helmet", etc.)

Affects accuracy.

interesting... i noticed the same problems with accuracy before, but after i increased the difference between the 'range' values from 'accuracy' values(in most weapons), i had not seen my soldiers suffering from the accuracy bug anymore.

i have one minor suggestion... how bout replacing the use particle group for machineguns with the pdw group.

the smoke kinda looks good with MGs during auto fire.

Hey Mr Shadow Warrior! I´m a new member, and a new fan of you mod.

First, I´m reading all you past posts and answers, before asking doubts or requesting something. I´m on the 84 page, and came to say that you work is very good and changed my experience on the game. And I know your answers to stupid and repetitive questions... I will try to not be a victim... But I like when you answer someone who asked something stupid... very funny...

I installed your mod on my game, some days after w###### (don´t wanna leave spoilers everywhere...) event, so I could see the diference with the W###### before and after your mod... And I´m using the advanced assault... It´s really a chalenge... they gave me problems before, but know, with double guys on a mission, the PAs are eating my ammo as candy...

Due financial problems and poor base management (rush for bases, and not territories), I´m begining to see the energy weapons and most advanced weapons... I just got into plasma.

By far, I must say that I hated shotguns, because of their speed and damage. But now, they are for surea must have as a second weapon, and lasers, even the pistols as a 3rd...

I can understand you don´t like rangers, and don´t wanna spend more of you time and pacience discussing. The mod is yours and it´s very good, and everyone has it´s style of playing.

But, in my personal opinion, I like to use dual wielding rangers with fast subs to kill indoor enemies. Because they are fast, and with a good damage, good for saving himself and the others from ambushes in small rooms. But´s it´s my style to play, and I will probably use shotguns with the w#####

I didn´t know if you played x-com, or Ufo Aftermath, but because of them, I´m a fan of gatling guns and auto cannons (early x-com misions, autocannons with explosive shots... shooting 2 squares on the side of aliens, it killed them... nice for the blind guys you got for you squad on the the begining of the game...) I know that somewhere in my future using you mod, I may be seeing some of them... And I know you like realistic things, and you aren´t a fan of "Governator" absurd use of gunnery... So, for now, i will research more before asking for weapons. What I would want would be heavy, with lots of shots, fast guns, but they are not real or pratical.

Anyway, this all was for saying thanks for your hard work. And I´m a fan of your answers!
Casper

I very much appreciate your kind words!


PS - I use heavy weapons guys wielding machineguns for the same purpose that you use Rangers. Not quite as quick as the Rangers, but machineguns inflict more damage and my guys can wear heavy armor.

You answer make me remember a doubt about English language, envolving machine guns....

Because, as I see, there is machine guns, rifles, sniper rifles... so, before I ask something stupid...

Rifles are like the AK-47
Sniper Rifles are the Sniper weapons (duh, just to complete the list)
Machine guns are m-60 like
submachines are the small
and the auto cannon are like a gatling gun? (yes, I know someone carring one is hollywood movies only, but I can dream... I´m not asking for anything...)

So, here are my questions...

1)you use someone with a machine gun to clear rooms? Good idea, but I think the first shoot is slow, and my soldier might get hit

2)I remembering reading about a laser machinegun/submachine gun... Is there one of those? I didn´t got it well, as the post was in the middle of a can/can´t and won´t do/will do series of posts....

3)Vindicator and gatling like weapons as nail gatlings fits in you unreal category... so none of them? As they are heavy, unpratical and almost unreal... but a gatling laser wouldn´t have so much recoil, would still be heavy, and with the autocannon model, would look very good! And gauss are, in my nerd culture, lighter and more usefull for auto-cannons/gatlings...

And I read all the 119 pages of the forum... And they answered most of my doubts (as the minimi) and I laught a lot ("Will you do that weapon" "no, and if you keep asking me, I will ignore you")... They were 2 loooooooong reading days...

Again, what an amazing work!
Casper

Fully-automatic weapons smaller than 15mm in calibre are considered "machineguns". Technically, an "autocannon" is any weapon with a calibre of 20mm or larger that has a fully-automated feeding mechanism. An example of an autocannon is the 25mm Bushmaster cannon on the M2 Bradley. So-called "chainguns", such as the 30mm on the Apache 'copter are also autocannons, as is the 20mm Vulcan cannon (which is also gatling gun).

Bit of trivia: the Germans were the first to develop automatic cannons, during World War 2, for use on fighter aircraft, and soon thereafter employed on tactical bombers (close-support aircraft). Autocannon were not adapted for use on AFVs/APCs until the 1970s.

In my mod, the 5mm gauss "autocannon" is actually a gatling machinegun. It's called an "autocannon" because it hits as hard as non-gauss 25mm cannon.

With regards to your question #2 concerning what weapons have been added by the mod, I suggest you carefully (re)read the mod's history.txt file.

Your definition of autocannon fits what I've always read - I also thought that "autocannon" tended to have non-conventional munitions (e.g. exploding vs. inert shells) while the reverse is true for machine guns; but maybe that's just the nature of their intended purposes? Also, is there a 'true' difference between a machine gun and an assault rifle (that is, a fully automatic assault rifle)?

In regards to the Germans, is there any modern firearm that *doesn't* trace its ancestry through the German military? I mean, virtually every assault rifle action descends from the StG 44, and machine guns from the MG42; now you mention autocannon have a similar ancestry...

Is there? Not really. Technically, assault rifles are machineguns. However, for purposes of defining the term "machinegun" in common usage, a MG fires only in full-auto while an assault rifle has a selective-fire switch.


Most modern pistols trace from American inventors. The Germans had really crappy pistols.

If you consider the AK-47 to be a "modern" firearm, it doesn't trace to the StG 44. And the venerable Browning .50cal MG predates the MG42.

However, if you consider as "modern" any long-barrelled weapon developed after the beginning of the war in Vietnam, then your supposition is fairly accurate.

Hi again!

Because I´ve installed your mod in the middle of my first campaign, things got difficult... Many technologies from basic labs and advanced labs got accumulated... It was a mess to re-schedule the things.... And I got the alien assault mod with your mod... so, almost 20 big bad wargots from mission... And I was facing them with Accelerated AKs...

Anyway, with tactics and playing on Newbie mode, I´m recovering, and beginning to enjoy the new weapons and the game got easier

1)You were right about the lasers... Nothing kicks wargots better them a laser machinegun...

2)With what you said about my rangers and your machine gunneres, I remembered what I did in the end of aftermath and the beggining of Ufo Defence... Everyone with machineguns! It´s a freaking hollywood movie... And I like it a lot... 5 guys with laser machine guns, a sniper with a laser riffle and a doc, with nothing shootable... I´m using them for 10 missons, and they were a hell of fun...

Thanks again, I can´t wait to research the Gauss Autocannon...

Casper

Gauss weapons are by far more effective than lasers versus Wargots. If you think you're happy now, just wait until you get your first gauss weapons ...

Do I have to hang on for Meson weapons to have something "effective" against StarGhosts? Lasers and even plasma weapons don't seem to be doing much to them.

I had a situation the other night that worked out only because the building I was defending had that 'machine in a well' tile - I put everyone on that, put tough guys on the walkways, and then had the whole squad opening up on the defenders as they came in (sometimes having to send someone out to lure more back). This let me win with only one person slightly hurt, but it still took more than *700* shots to finish (and that was with many many enemies only being knocked out and bleeding out, not killed outright).

I had turned off the heroic assault mod for this, too (at least, assuming renaming the .vfs file to .vfs.bak is sufficient). Ouch.

I've heard a couple people say explosive ammo works on SGs...anyone have a good feeling for how well it works vs. laser or plasma weapons?

I even used flamethrowers some once the defenders were content to sit still and try to dink a drone to death - that didn't seem to hurt them much, either...

Unlike enemies earlier in the game, there is no single weapon that is best against all types of SGs. I deliberately made the SGs have complementary defenses. What one type is weak against another may be almost or completely immune to. You will need to carry and use a variety of weapons.

Explosives and fire work best against SG Defenders. Use lasers and plasma versus SG Hovers. And use warp vs. Clouds and Spiders. Lasers are best against the Stars, while warp & explosives are about half as effective as lasers against Stars. The one thing you cannot use, at all, are conventional (regular or AP) bullets or any sort of blade -- even Duralloy. Such kinetic-based attacks literally bounce off. Which means that all those kick-ass gauss weapons you have are useless against the SGs. Have fun!

I definitely like that you made the damage types this way; given that each soldier and type of weapon has a different set of effective ranges, it's even more fun to apply during a mission. I may have to start breaking out more underbarrel weapons again

I have to say that, when I can bring my full squad into action, *only* the defenders really seem to need something other than lasers - while not ideal for some of the others (clouds, spiders), they haven't been threatening enough to warrant specializing against - I get enough criticals on spiders to keep them out of melee range with 0-2 "back up, back up!" moments. Of course, that may change when I put the HA mod back on.

Which damage type does Meson count as (or will it be obvious when I have one built)?

Hmm...did I miss something in my research tree, to not have Warp weapons yet? Or does Exotic Particle Theory unlock it (that's one of the few researches currently available+in progress).

I also haven't got any SG research topics yet, but I assume that's because I'm still researching the 'new alien race' topic...

warp


Reticulan warp weapon -> Reticulan warp weapons handling -> Warp principles -> Warp weapons blueprints

ShadoWarrior: The interface link is at the other forum topic . . . I'm too tired just got back from the province.

Updated the mod to version 3.17!
(please see first post in thread for download link and changes)

A VERY special thanks to psychophat for the beautiful new menu artwork I've added in this release.

Hurrah! I always look forward to the next release of your mod. Thank you and all the people helping you .

If it's not too hard, could you update the SG "autopsy" research entries with this information? I can write up descriptions that combine the existnig physical descriptions with the revised defenses/vulnerabilities, if you like...

Perhaps you should check those entries again -- after you verify that you have properly followed the mod's install procedure and have updated your Localization file. I added the info 5 versions ago (v3.12) when I changed the SGs.

Urgh, I misspoke. The actual glossary is indeed up to date - what I had kept flipping to was the research summary on the medical lab itself - it didn't really hit me until I went back and checked that these two are not, in fact, the same text. The research summaries are still out of date, but that's not that big a deal.

Sorry. Now that I know where the full (and accurate) data is, that's more than adequate.

Bug:
the HUD is not working, I made several test with soldier using no add on and soldier using a HUD, and there is no difference in their chance to hit a target, not even 1% more for the HUD.There is no helmet add on in the original game that increase accuracy, so maybe the game just won't allow it?

I also made some test with a gyrostabilizer and a aim point finder, and the gyro increase accuracy a lot more than the aimpoint finder does, so maybe you need to look into that, not sure if it's supose to work that way.

You minigun his somewhat broken, the one that use 5.56 ammo, the glossary says it has great range and accuracy, but actualy the range is 17, half the range of an M60 and accuracy is of course horrible with such a short range, don't think it'supose to be that way.

Balance Issue:

Star ghost resistance needs to be reduced, you mod is supose to increase the fun, not destroy it, constant starghost attacks were already a major pain in the a** in the original game, but now, it's just torture, shoting something 100 times before it dies is not my idea of challenge, or fun. Giving Defender 90% resist instead of 95% would be a huge improvment.

Secondly your choice of weakness for the defender, is well, surprising to say the least, the only difference betwen Fire and plasma is that plasma burn at least 10 000°C while normal fire is around 1000 or 1500°C, so I don't want to be rude but giving them more resistance to plasma than normal fire is just dumb, honestly. It would be like giving a mob 95% resist against Hard and 70% resist versus soft, not logical at all.

It is NOT bropken. Have you tried it in the actual tactical game? I'm certain you haven't. The displayed range factors recoil, something you'd know if you had read this entire thread, or done some research on these forums before posting.


Plasma is ionized matter. Ionized matter has magnetic properties. SGs have excellent EM defenses. Period.

PS - plasmas do not 'burn'. Burning is combustion, a chemical reaction. The 'temperature' of a plasma (which has no upper limit) is a measure of the kinetic energy of the plasma's atoms. If the plasma is diffuse, as some are in space, you'd actually not notice anything unusual (except, perhaps freezing or vacuum effects). The weaponized plasma stream is concentrated, but that's besides the point, since it's also magnetic.

PPS - before you call something 'dumb' you might want to educate yourself first on the subject. (My original university studies were in astrophysics.)

I think I found one... On my glossary, there are 2 heavy armors, but no duraloy heavy armor...

No starghosts yet, I´m leveling up my squad, before entering the cultists hideout... and gauss rocks! I use gauss, when I need a captured I use the ultra sonic rifle, but I´m storing minimis and AP ammos for the Star Ghosts (as you said they all are a little bit vulnerable to this)...

Anyway, your mod is amazing!

AP ammo is useless versus SGs. AP ammo is NOT the same as explosive (XP) ammo.

As for Duralloy armor not being listed in the Glossary, I don't know (or remember, if I once did know) how to fix that. Sorry.

Jeez, of course plasma is ionized matter, it's not a plasma if it's not ionized. So what? because it's ionized then it's dangerous because of it's magnetic properties, my god that's just pathetic really. Plasma is dangerous because it's exceedingly hot, the ionization is a an inevitable consequence of the high temperature of the plasma, it's not the point of creating a bubble of plasma, not for weapons anyway.

Actually you don't even design plasma weapon because you want to shot plasma balls, you design plasma weapons because you want to shower your enemies with something so hot it will melt their armor instantly and incerate any living tissue, and plasma is one of the way to accomplish that .

The easiest way to produce plasma is to heat up gas so much that the electron and the nucleus become dissociated, that's where the ionization and subsequent electromagnetic properties comes from. The only use of the plasma high susceptibility to electromagnetic field (in weapons design at leas) is that you can easily contain it with a magnetic field, otherwise, the plasma would destroy whatever device produced it.

Today technology can already produced very high density plasma with a temperature of several million Kelvin ( but not sustain them for very long, that's the job of the project ITER) and all you're a afraid about is it's magnetic properties? Oh Lord......

One of the weapon grade type of plasma that exist naturally in the universe is found in our sun .It's core is actually made of plasma , very dense, very hot plasma , about 10 million Kelvin and a density of 10e30 particules per cubic metre . If you ever come into contact with a plasma stream, the tesla charge will be the least of your worries. Basing plasma damage on it's electromagnetic properties is like judging the damage of a Vulcan auto canon based only on the radiation poisoning of the depleted uranium munition......

About the burn comment, good job showing your understanding of the matter, my usage of the word burn has nothing to do with how the weapon work, it describe how the target react to the weapon, so yes, sorry for you but Plasma does burn, and laser does burn as well.

Actually only cold plasma really burn in the typical sense of the word, flames being a type of cold plasma, right I almost forgot you don't know that good old candle flames are also a type of plasma, just low temperature one, lightings too are a type of plasma, around 30000 Kelvin.
Maybe you haven't noticed but there is only 2 big type of lethal damage in the game, mechanical (soft bullet, AP bullet, blades, concussion , warp) and burn, or I should say to be more professional, thermal damage (plasma, laser and napalm or whatever is the alien equivalent is ).That's why I said plasma burns the target, it got nothing to do with plasma physics and properties.

Real hyper energy plasma (if we can ever makes weapons with them, unlikely honestly, creating the plasma is easy, maintaining it for a few second is a lot harder, and delivering it to the target, well no one has an idea on how we could do it as of now) would not just burn, it would vaporize everything in the truest sense of the word, organic matter, composite, metal, everything, yes even titanium will turn into gas if heated above 4000 Kelvin. The same result could be achieved by a very powerful laser . Actually particle beam weapon would also do about the same thing.

Just about every energy weapon is about increasing the kinetic energy of the targeted atoms and molecule until the point where they no longer retain there original shape/phase/ properties and the target cease to function properly.

Anyway I don't care much about aftershock anymore, only waiting for afterlight.

PS you would looks much more competent in physics if you hadn't completely forget about the conservation of momentum when designing rail gun weapons, it really put a hit in your credibility.

If you don't like the current values in SW's mod, you could of course just change them yourself using notepad and vfstool. When you find the values that you like, let us know what they are. All the instructions are at the top of the modding forum (and if I can manage it, I'm sure that anyone else would find it quite easy).

No, it's dangerous because it's ionized matter. You should do some study into the effects of bombarding normal matter with ions. Even a "cold" plasma is unhealthy. The higher the concentration, the more dangerous it is.


Actually, that's not how the weapons of the future are designed. The best weapons are those that bypass armor. A gamma-ray laser would kill the occupants of a tank before the ionization effects of the beam melted any armor. A so-called "neutron" bomb works on the same principle. Particle beam weapons aren't "hot". But the ionization effects when the beam hits armor will disintegrate matter. Just because something looks like it's burning or melting doesn't mean it actually is at the atomic level. Burning/melting is a secondary effect (ie: by-product) of what is really happening.


Incorrect. The easiest way is to run a very high electric current through a gas. You still seem to have a problem understanding that "heat" has very little to do with plasmas. It's all about ionization. You do NOT create a plasma by heating gas (which would be grossly inefficient, and more importantly, impossible since no known chemical reaction burns hot enough to ionize atoms). You create plasmas by stripping atoms of their electrons.


Do the math first, before you speak. A few grams of Duralloy flechette even moving at Mach 15-25 generates insignificant recoil compared to conventional rifle bullets (Mach 3). The damage my gauss weapons inflict is not based on kinetic energy. It's based on penetration and subsequent hydrostatic shock trauma (or torn up circuitry in the case of WG scouts). Just because the AS game engine likes to knock people flying dozens of meters doesn't mean it's the way the weapon would actually work in reality.

SW, I agree with your comments on the railgun, but it still would generate SOME recoil, correct? I'm not sure exactly how to calculate it (from what I've read, you can't talk purely in terms of momentum or kinetic energy).

Plus, of course, the fact that they penetrate is because duralloy is a hypothetical material that resists fragmentation even when such a small mass strikes a hard target at mach 25. I think you'd agree that no known existing material has this property, or am I putting words in your mouth?

(Along similar lines, did you see the episode of Mythbusters where they fired high-powered rifles into water and measured their penetration?)

Xentax, yes, the firing of a railgun would, of course, generate some recoil (due to Newton's Third Law). However, since the force applied to accelerate the flechette takes place along the entire length of the barrel (rather than instantaneously from an explosion as in a regular firearm), that incrementally-applied force results in a smaller recoil as felt by the weapon. The firer, however, does feel the (normal) full force of the recoil, because even though the recoil is spread out over a few milliseconds, the human time perception won't notice the difference.

And yes, Duralloy is a "magic" material. Though carbon, in the forms of fullerenes and diamonds do have some of the properties I'm ascribing to Duralloy.

Finally, I did see that (and all other) Mythbusters episodes. It could have been calculated if the show was more math-inclined. An object with a given amount of kinetic energy fired into a substance with a given amount of resistance (friction) per centimeter (air, then water). Also factoring in the aero/hydrodynamic shape of the bullets on the drag, surface tension effects of the air/water interface, and (of course) the pull of gravity. Anyone who also watches one of the various CSI shows (such as CSI:Miami) where they use a water-filled tank for ballistics testing knows that bullets only travel (at most) a couple of feet in water. One of the few things Hollywood ever gets right is when a "good guy" dives into water and bad guys spray that spot with submachinegun fire the good guy almost never gets hit. heh

I remembered you, Shadow Warrior saying that you wanted more itens suggestions, and less new weapons and armors suggestions on the game. And that new itens were hard to be created, so we would have to find new ways to use old effects. So, I would like to help the mod with some ideas. But, could you say somthing about what you tried that didn´t work or that apparently don´t work, that drawed your attention? in effects, mechanics, maybe we could have some ideas, from yours!

One that I liked, was the idea of the "sound making dispositive", thatyou could leave on a place and atract monsters... but it would stop making sounds if there wasn´t any one by there... I thought about a kind of "sound grenade". You throw, and it would keep making sounds, atracting the monsters...

And I talked about the armor, because I think I saw a duraloy armor there, and could be a little detail forgot by you.

And off topic, you said that the AP bullets won´t work, but the Explosive ones would be a little effective against all, or did I misunderstand?