Geredis

What I think he'd rather like is that he can go to the Barracks and get (with a button press) the same loadout change type screen as on the equipment/team assignment page, since it's easier to get a full view of what your team's (total) make-up is there instead of having to piece together your strength from the dropship page plus the inactive roster, plus (if you have them) the additional teams if you have several other transports available. To be honest, simply having a way to change the character's role (and have it automatically equip the loadout specified as the default for that role) there would be enough, no need for a complete outfit panel.

Once upon a time I was working on a weapon mod that never got released; primarily focusing on ballistic weapons. I love the ideas you have, and I'm thinking, if I ever do a more general weapon overhaul mod, I'll be adding in something along these lines: Ballistics - Not really sure what to do about them yet...but like the idea of giving them a high RoF designed not to suppress but to chew up enemies in a confined space (say bring up a minigun - I know rather unrealistic, but still! - and put it near a door...open it up and let the bullets fill the hallway and make breaching a little bit safer. Laser - Bulky, but incredible accuracy - very low ammo/magazine, even for assault weapons; no burst fire, merely power settings that increase the strength of a beam. Suppression/heavy weapons use a scatter effect and low-damage pulses or multiple barrels in order to properly suppress an enemy. The energy involved means that the re-fire rate is quite low (expensive in terms of TUs). Plasma - ALL weapons are incendiary. The weapons themselves are of minimal weight and of impressive power; however magazines are limited in their capacity (not as low as Laser however) but extremely bulky, both in size (2x2 and up for each magazine) and weight (2 mags will probably be average). Accuracy will be decent at combat ranges but a relatively low-velocity projectile speed means accuracy is very spotty at longer ranges making it a terrible sniping weapon (though one can certainly try using a precision plasma rifle if they wanted I suppose). MAG - Though larger and bulkier than most weapons, the fact that the propellant (the magnetic coils/rails) are integrated into teh weapon itself means that ammunition is lightweight and has minimal space requirements. A hypersonic projectile speed, like you suggested Max, means no damage-drop-off and near laser-like accuracy. Due to its speeds, I imagine that anything of assault rifle size or larger can easily cut through almost any cover with minimal collateral damage to other wall pieces on either side while still going through whatever's immediately behind the cover?

Looks good so far; my only suggestion has to do with teh formatting of the first post: any chance you can make the download link stand out a little better? I didn't notice it when I read through the first time and it took a lot of searching to find it in that intro paragraph.

Actually, looking at the image, that long nose boom isn't a cannon. It's the mating port for aerial refueling That said, I would like the idea of adding, say, a 37mm or 50mm autocannon to the helicopter to at least defend itself from interception (very unlikely to be effective, but peace of mind is sometimes more important), and it can be added as an upgrade of sorts that, upon landing, could add another roll for casualties like when a ship crashes.

I appreciate all the talk here. I've been away to take care of some things, but work on the mod has not stopped. I've gotten a lot of good ideas here from teh conversation, and have been debating some other changes and other tweaks to teh game. Now, as to the comment earlier about this mostly being an art mod, yes. At least to start, that is the primary purpose, but once those assets are in place and it's working, I do plan on making some more meaningful tactical/strategic changes.

Excellent. I'll see what can be done. As for your comments, Gauddlike - I'd agree, except for the fact that I find that rockets are bulky enough as is, in their size, that limits their use, especially if you 'properly' kit out your troops with sufficient ammunition, a couple grenades, a backpack/medical kit, things like that. By increasing the weight of the launcher, and decreasing munition weight, what I'm actually hoping to do is to help give you a more 'realistic' group-wide distribution of kit, wherein instead of having a rocket launcher dude with all teh ammo he needs, you have a guy with the launcher and maybe one rocket; then every other guy in the squad carries a rocket as well. By reducing weight of the rockets, as I'm seeing it, you give an incentive to spreading rockets out to everyone. Increasing their weight, on the other hand, while reducing the launcher's weight might make it more feasible actually to give everyone a launcher, carry no extra rockets, and use the tubes like a LAW or other disposable rocket system. Which might be an interesting idea, to use a disposable system (simulated by a 200+ TU cost to reloading the weapon) but that'd make the existing launcher redundant and also marginalise the other weapons I'm looking to add in. Perhaps later, once I've gotten everything else put in.

Same. Anyways, in the meantime, things have been progressing well, and initial tests are promising. Once I finish adding those things I want for an initial test release (everything listed in Planned Changes, with the exception of the Grenade Launcher, which I am taking my time with since I'll be adding it entirely new), I'll get it out. For those wondering, the changes are as follows, taken right from the Changelog I've been keeping: A - Rebalanced weapon weights into kilograms, based upon their real-life counterparts for Ballistics, and a general belief that Laser and Plasma weapons will weigh more than their ballistic counterparts (but have lighter ammunition), and MAG weapons weigh about the same as Plasma weapons but with Ballistic magazine weights, making them the heaviest in the game. Alien weapons will be lighter but more difficult to use (at least for Xenonauts) 1) Pistol now weighs 1 (from 2) 2) Shotgun now weighs 4 (from 3) 3) Assault Rifle now weighs 6 (from 4). Also, GC sprite image now uses the AK47 sprite package to go with the wooden FAL-type image used. 30 round magazine 4) Farmer Shotgun weight to 4 (from 3) 5) Sniper Rifle unchanged 6) Machine Gun weight increased to 10, magazine capacity increased to 100 (from 8kg weight and 50 rounds/mag). Burst fire also appropriately increased to 10 rounds (remains 10 bursts/magazine); accuracy reduced to 5. Suppression Radius increased to 4, Value to 60. Makes the MG a tool primarily for suppression - cost to fire reduced to 30, from 40 to make it a slightly more mobility-friendly weapon. Heavy Penalty still applies, so staying put and using it as a base of fire during an advance is preferable to using it a point weapon. 7) Rocket Launcher weight increased to 9 (from 6), ammo will be adjusted downward slightly accordingly 8) Laser Pistol weight increased to 3 (from 2), clip to 8 (from 6) 9) Laser Carbine weight remains 6, clip to 12 (from 9); bursts now fire 6 rounds, making the weapon an effective close-quarters weapon. 10) Laser Rifle weight increased to 8 (from 6), clip to 16 (from 9), burst down to 2 bolts (from 3) 11) Laser Precision Rifle weight increased to 12 (from 8), clip to 8 (from 4) 12) Scatter Laser weight to 16 (from 8), clip to 25, from 15), accuracy reduced to 15, suppression to 50 (from 40), radius to 4 (from 3). Increased accuracy and damage is paid for by a reduction in suppressive ability and a significant increase in weight, as well as a noticeable drop in ammunition quantity. 13) As part of the first pass on LOS and armor balancing, vision penalties on Jackal armour are removed, and suit now protects only from the front and back. Lack of armoured sleeves means that resistance is equivalent from the flanks as wearing Basic Armour. From the rear, the Jackal (and all armour eventually) now has an armour rating of 15/15, from 20,20. 14) Changed Difficulty Modifiers - I noticed that except for Alien Attributes and the damage aliens did, there were no other meaningful changes. I've modified it so that there is now a difference as well in UFO progression, I hope. Easy is now set to progress at .75 he usual speed. Normal remains at the 'usual' rate, while Veteran will now progress at 1.10 the normal rate, and Impossible will ramp things up 1.25 faster (all were originally set at 1.00). Health, Attributes, and Damage were all unchanged from the original values.2 - Planned Further Changes 1) All MAG weapons had weight increased by approximately 25%, ammo weight increased by 50% 2) Ranges and LOS still need to be changed 3) Partially imeplented grenade launcher (most of the code is there in weapons_gc); still need to finsh adding it. 4) Higher level armours may recieve armour facing as well, though it is unlikely due to their full-coverage nature. Jump-capable armour however will have slightly lower rear armour, to represent the vulnerability of jump-jet/wing systems that are housed on the operator's back. Likely a reduction between 10 and 25% depending on model. 5) Depending on how weight balancing comes out, may modify the Strength coefficient to carrying capacity to ensure Xenonauts can carry a respectable combat load.3 - New weapon images, with their buttstock on the left, muzzel on the right - Will have an opaque background with the Xenonauts/Aliens logo (depending on origin) in the background and an image also showing the type of projectile shot, with images for Ballistic, Laser, Plasma, and MAG munitions in a corner.

Damn, that's disappointing, since I was planning on giving the crewed weapons a larger (probably 270) vision arc; and perhaps a new open topped Ranger/Jeep type vehicle with a full 360 view.

Oh, quick question for anyone who might know - sorry to triple post, technically...but thought it worth asking. Anyone know if it's possible to modify anywhere the vision arc of a unit?

Also, some sort of actual log/tally of the various incident reports you get - so that, for instance, at the end of every month you can see that you've had 3 missing freighters, 2 Class 5 storms, and a handful of mysterious bovine-related incidents, for instance in addition to all of that data. I know that, in and of themselves, those reports are kind of useless, but if you start seeing a pattern, like a lot of ships disappearing near the Persian Gulf, it might not be a bad idea to either upgrade your radar in the Middle East or to plop down a new base in the area.

If they haven't been mentioned yet, any chance of South Korea, China, and Taiwan to the list? Additionally, Finland and Switzerland as well (yes, both are traditionally neutral, but I think they'd make an exception for extraterrestrials). Oh, and if not listed somewhere in the thread as well, Argentina and Libya would make for interesting additions. Ireland too, since I almost forgot. I know several, perhaps even all, of these have been listed already, but I do think they bear repeating all the same.

I wonder, Max, did you try setting it to a negative value by chance? Perhaps moraleDamage and loseAP don't work as we expect, and instead simply call up a change in AP/Morale, and you need a negative value to actually make the modification? I'm not familiar with where moraleDamage and loseAP are used in the game, so I can't readily check.

Alright, been making a bit more progress, as I start to delve into the actual text files and getting a feel now for the various animations. Still no ETA on anything just yet, but I have settled at least for now on making crew-served weapons a vehicle by combining two soldier sprites and the weapon in question onto the sheet. I'm also in the process, due to the wooden textures, of modifying things to use a selection of the Warsaw Pact animations, particularly the AK assault rifle sheets to stand in for the Battle Rifle I've made.

And, at least for an initial release, that was my plan - a 2-man set of sprites for the mortar and maybe even mod the (reloadable) rocket launcher into a vehicle-like system as well. As for making it work, I'm half-tempted to tie the sprite to the presence (if the weapon is anywhere in the inventory, or maybe via a new armour set) to simulate the two-man crew. This of course means that any assistant crews would be nameless and unable to gain experience, only the 'main' soldier...but at least it'd look right. Maybe. Failing that, yes, a vehicle that'd basically be a machine gun, mortar, etc on a wheeled tripod system (like this or this) is the plan. And as for your idea, Commissar Pancakes, I might go that route if I figure the new uniform ideas are too difficult and I can't dynamically change a unit's transport footprint based on what armour they wear, If I go with vehicles, they will require the full four crew slots - to represent the loader, gunner, crew commander and also of course the bulk of the weapon itself. Also, Gauddlike, I thought vehciles had a 4 person footprint, and thus replaced 4 soldiers, not just two. Admitteldy, I haven't done too much with the Hunter, preferring to run around with infantry. EDIT: Adding these two images, to show a general idea of my image plans - and yes, this is just a quick and dirty mockup to start, I'll fix up the transparency and all of that when I get the chance. The battle rifle/assault rifle The precision rifle I decided that in these cases to go with an 'advanced FN FAL' appearance for the assault rifle, keeping of course the wood furniture, though I may change that out to a plastic/composite stock. The Precision Rifle, I always imagined, was less a unique sniper rifle, and more a modified assault rifle designed for much longer engagement range - and its appearance here does reflect that, basically being the Assault Rifle with an elongated barrel, flash suppressor, and a scope. Considering a cheek-rest and small shooting rest (question for you all: monopod or bipod?) for the marksman rifle too.

This is an announcement of plans for a mod to help expand and replace the current armoury used by the Xenonauts in order to make for a more immersive game. It'll also make some game balance changes that I'll attest to later in this post. The idea came to me when I relaised, as many seem to have, that NATO equipment was pretty much the default of the Xenonauts, despite their multinational nature and their willingness to bring in not just NATO countries but also numerous other nations, unaligned, Warsaw Pact, and just Communist in general. At first, I considered creating a mirrored set of Ballistic weapons for the Warsaw Pact, and then simply go with that to equip my Russians, Ukrainians, Czechs, Hungarians, and others from the East. Upon that realisation, I figured that it'd probably make sense that instead of repurposing existing tech, that the Xenonauts would probably use their own series of kit, so I decided to get to work on that. I plan on starting with the gear and weapon mods to start, then adding more changes from there. Currently, my gear plans include the following, all with new weapon art, at least on the equipment screen. Animations will...be figured out later on, if possible, depending on what is needed: Sniper Rifle Battle Rifle Carbine PDW (9mm Variant) Flamethrower Grenade Launcher Flare Gun Mortar Load Bearing Vest Currently, for existing weapons (the sniper rifle and battle rifle in particular), there won't be any status changes, mostly just an art swap to bring the weapons in line, with the battle rifle replacing the assault rifle. I'm considering the same for the MG and shotgun as well, but all the other weapons are going to be 'new'. The carbine will be a light battle rifle, with an increased rate of fire, small caliber (less damage), and greatly decreased weight, allowing them to be a more practical weapon for assault and other CQB forces. Additionally, the light weight makes them a possible secondary weapon for heavy weapons carriers who are dragging around a rocket launcher or the new grenade launcher as their main weapon. The PDW is basically your standard SMG, a very light, short-ranged weapon for snipers and the assistants for a crew-served weapon (should there be an easy way to implement them). Provided there's also a way to require an actual crew for the Hunter, or add actual crew to the transport chopper, it'd also be their primary weapon...though of course that's a long ways off. Now, while snipers can fire their scoped weapons at close-ish range without any penalty that I've seen, I'm considering doing an XCom2012 style bell curve for the sniper rifle, so that the SMG is a practical weapon for anything within, say, 5 tiles. The flamethrower will be self-explanatory, an incendiary heavy weapon that carries dangers of its own. It is an excellent area denial weapon, and can easily suppress those enemies that it doesn't outright kill with the wall of flames, trapping them in their positions. However (and I'm still working out how this will occur), should the operator be hit, there is a moderate chance (greater if shot from behind or the flanks) for him to be killed instantly as his fuel tank is detonated, frying the operator in a massive ball of flame. Very dangerous to operate, just as lethal to the user as it is to the enemy, but invaluable at times for urban combat. The grenade launcher is pretty self explanatory, an M79-type weapon that can fire a variety of grenades. It'd be less accurate, and have far less range than the rocket launcher, but it's much lighter, allowing for a scout team to carry one with them in order to create their own entrances into buildings or engage the enemy with some higher-powered weaponry. It'd come with a full range of grenades, including tear gas (designed to suppress civilians to keep them from running around into the line of fire), smoke, incendiaries, frags, as well as chemical weapons of various types. Advanced grenades are avialable through research, things such as 'sticky' grenades that deploy a sticky substance via air-burst to slow down the enemy, or plasma grenades. Rounds will be the usual size, but incompatible with regular grenades, so they can't be thrown, or regular grenades shot from the launcher. Like it's big-brother, the flare gun fires projectiles in a wide arc, however, it can only fire illumination rounds and is no larger or heavier than a pistol. Though planned right now, in all likelihood, I'm going to remove this eventually and make it one with the grenade launcher, adding illumination rounds to it. Due to the addition of the grenade launcher, the rocket launcher will be gaining a significant range boost likely, as well as an expansion in its explosion radius in order to make its niche as a long-range direct-fire weapon a little more noticeable. The mortar is a weapon that I'd like to add, to fill in the heavy weapons niche that the rocket launcher simply can't, namely that of being able to fire a wider variety of munitions than what the rocket launcher is capable of mounting in its warheads. It'd require a proper crew due to its weight (easily 20-25 kilos for the weapon itself, never mind ammo), and it'd be costly enough in TUs that almost no one will be able to fire it after moving, even the slightest amount. Snap shot will be its only fire mode, to represent the necessary rapidity in firing the weapon, and also the fact that the weapon, even if sighted properly, will still be quite inaccurate due to the vagaries of wind and weather. It's much more of an indirect area-denial weapon than any of the others. Due to their minimum range and accuracy issues, using them as close-support weapons within a 'useful' distance of your own soldiers to push back a force already in contact with your men would be dangerous at best. Aside from the weight, the ammo would be large, perhaps a bit more than the rocket. To compare the three explosive weapon systems: grenade launchers are the new assault launchers, used for breaching and assaulting fortified positions, rocket launchers are useful for softening up the enemy prior to an assault, and mortars are primarily designed for area suppression and flushing out the enemy. Oh, and regarding load-bearing vests and similar: if possible I'll likely have it produce a minor but noticeable negative weight to represent the more even distribution of gear across the wearer's body, at the expense of a significant number of backpack slots. Which brings me to a question - is it possible to have a negative encumbrance value, and if so...does it actually reduce the encumbrance? I've got a few other ideas that'll be elaborated on in time as the mod progresses. Anyone interested in something along these lines? By the by, the mod will likely be balanced around a sight mod of some sort, to help make the range differences in some of the new weapons a little more noticeable. == Pardon the rambling here by the way, I hadn't expected the post to come out nearly as long as it did, but it is what it is. Watch this post for future updates/news.