[Suggestions] Broader Array of Combat Equipment

[kabill]

Something that's come up a few times in the past is the possibility of adding in 'utility' items for use in ground combat. I like the idea of having some things that aren't just guns and 'nades, so with some prompting from Skitso here's some ideas which would require code support:

1) Vision enhancers: This includes a variety of items which improve a soldier's vision if they're held in hand. For example:

- Binoculars: Increase the sight range of the soldier

- Flashlight: Increases the light cone produced by soldiers during night missions.

- Motion sensor/infra-red scanner/whatever: Allows units to see through walls/detect units through walls/widens vision cone/some combination of these.

I'm particularly fond of things like this because they will make pistols more viable weapons in their own right rather than only being useful for shield-users.

2) Combat Stims: Items which can be used to gain a temporary buff to stats. This would work in at least two ways:

- Use stims, get buff for X turns.

- Use stims, gain buff for rest of mission but take X damage (proportional will the buff gained).

Personally, I like the second mechanism more because I think it will produce more balance (losing HPs for stats is fair as it is, and it has the added effect of requiring soldiers to recover after the mission as well). But either would work.

3) Emergency Medicine: Items which allow you to help soldiers survive if they're 'killed' during combat. E.g. an item which must be used on the turn following death which auto-stabilises the soldier, or indeed one which recovers them during the mission.

4) Psionic 'Cure': Since in XCE mind control takes a turn to kick in, this opens the possibility of an item which could be used to remove the mind control before it comes into effect.

I think together this kind of stuff could make for some more interesting loadout selections and create some purpose to having masses of inventory space other than for carrying sack-fulls of 'nades. Thoughts?

[LordJulian]

1) Good idea, but the impact has to be marginally advantageous. The issue would be coding, and the motion sensor is definitely needs a huge breakthrough to get something out of it.

2) Not very fond of that idea. While 1) is a "now a pistoleer is more useful!" balance kind, the stim felt like it's something tacked on to add a different combat approach, but I could only think of a use-and-dispose method before charging in and everyone will be always using it rather than thinking strategically whether they need it or not?

3) I'd like that, but isn't the idea of punishing death an atmospheric tension that makes Xenonauts compelling in the first place? On the other hand, rescuing a dead soldier you hold alot of emotion to is something that everyone wants. So the idea is to make the revival item a chance based item. Not too much to make deaths mundane, but not too little to make it redundant most of the time.

4) Seems feasible. Another form of psi defense from them pesky leaders.

Remember, give me a poke if you need some nice art.

[Skitso]

Thanks for the thoughts. We'll of course try to balance everything as well as possible and leave out all the stuff that just doesn't work. I'll be handling the art side of this mod. (If we get the code we need in the X:CE)

[Solver]

4) Psionic 'Cure': Since in XCE mind control takes a turn to kick in, this opens the possibility of an item which could be used to remove the mind control before it comes into effect.

A stun rod gently applied to a soldier's posterior cures that just fine.

[ViewThePhenom]

Xenonauts already has a chance to revive fallen soldiers. I don't like the idea of players being able to apply Phoenix Downs during combat, that would pretty much kill the tension.

[Skitso]

Xenonauts already has a chance to revive fallen soldiers. I don't like the idea of players being able to apply Phoenix Downs during combat, that would pretty much kill the tension.

...but what if even having that slim chance of survival depended on a medic applying defribrillator within few turns of the death? You feel that wouldn't increase tension?

[kabill]

Perhaps it would be better, actually, to construct a list of code related things that would be useful to have. The above examples of actual items were meant as solid examples of what these things might look like in practice, but the suggestion here is more related to the implementation of the mechanics rather than the specific items that will carry them.

So, some things:

- Vision range modification for holding an item in hand.

- Vision radius modification for holding an item in hand.

- Light-source modification for holding an item in hand.

- Light-radius modification for holding an item in hand.

- Ability to detect units with item in hand (with specifications for range and radius of effect)

- Ability to grant temporary stat buffs with an item (stat type; duration (with option for "rest of battle"); damage dealt to user)

- Mind control-remover.

- Ability to target 'dead' soldiers

- Stabilise effect (% chance of recovering at the end of the mission)

- Revive effect (% chance of immediate recovery? Number of HM below 0 that can be healed using it? not quite sure about this).

[Skitso]

Yeah, funny thing people are so ready to condemn this before even first draft or solid effort at balancing.

Edit: have a little faith. It's kabill and Skitso. How many bad mods have we made thusfar?

Edited August 24, 2014 by Skitso

[Steelpoint]

A defibrillator system could be an interesting way to try and keep dead soldiers alive.

There should be multiple factors to it, but the summery of it would be that there is a chance, depending on a Soldiers Rank, amount of damage dealt (Someone who took 80 damage versus someone who took 20 when killed) and RNG, that you can "stabilize" a soldier.

If you apply a defibrillator within two or three turns of that soldier biting the dust, they will stabilize and will survive.

The defibrillator kit itself should be very hefty to carry. Technological advances could help create superior defib units that weigh less and look more slim and advance.

Either way, all the ideas presented seem pretty neat one way or another.

[ViewThePhenom]

...but what if even having that slim chance of survival depended on a medic applying defribrillator within few turns of the death? You feel that wouldn't increase tension?

Oh, so it's not a guaranteed revival then? Based on the wording, I thought the suggestion was for an item that guarantees the survival of a downed unit, hence the "Phoenix Down" reference. As long as it's not 100% revival, I'm not against a trial run.

Edit: Also didn't realize they were just examples of what could be done if the CE source code allowed it. My bad. >.<

Edited August 24, 2014 by ViewThePhenom

[Skitso]

Well, I envisioned it so that without stabilising, it would be a guaranteed death every time. If you manage to stabilise the fallen unit, he/she would have like 25-75% chance to survive depending on amount of negative health and how fast he gets the treatment.

[ViewThePhenom]

Hmm, that's a pretty interesting way to re-implement the current survival chance. It sounds like a function the vanilla med-kit should be given, though. I'm sure it will be interesting either way, looking forward to it.

[szyzyg]

On the 'enhanced vision' front I'd like to see some sort of scoped mode available with the rifles.

i.e. If equiped with a sniper rifle you'd get access to a scoped mode which cuts down the FOV, but gives a boost to visibility range and removes the reaction fire penalty normally associated with the rifle.

[GerbilSchooler]

You could have the Defib chance based on a soldiers reflexes, possibly. Higher reflexes=higher chance of stabilizing. Reflexes equating to how quickly the medic can work under pressure to stabilize the soldier. Also, it'd be dependent on one of the harder stats to raise

[Morbo513]

I haven't read the rest of the thread, but in regards to OP, 1 and 3 are a must imo. Maybe not thermal-imaging stuff (And if it does get added, it'd have to be late game). Binoculars would make dedicated scouts so much more viable. Ideally you'd be able to have them equipped with a pistol or grenade in the other hand. They'd have to be "fired" to extend the vision range, taking slightly less TU than throwing a flare does. Maybe some form of night/thermal vision would be derived from Harridan analysis and incorporated into a particular suit, or they'd just be their own inventory items

On the 'enhanced vision' front I'd like to see some sort of scoped mode available with the rifles.

i.e. If equiped with a sniper rifle you'd get access to a scoped mode which cuts down the FOV, but gives a boost to visibility range and removes the reaction fire penalty normally associated with the rifle.

I agree with this except for narrowing the FOV. Since there's only 8 directions a soldier can be looking there'd be dead-zones between each of them.

You could have the Defib chance based on a soldiers reflexes, possibly. Higher reflexes=higher chance of stabilizing. Reflexes equating to how quickly the medic can work under pressure to stabilize the soldier. Also, it'd be dependent on one of the harder stats to raise

I'd prefer for it to just be a high-TU cost item, the chances of stabilising would be dependent on how much damage the patient took below 0 and the number of turns it took between their incapacitation and using the defib on them.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Morbo513

[Xeryx]

Currently, it looks like using these kind of attributes for armors is the best bet. I think I saw somewhere kabill was making different versions of armor suits.