Reaction Fire change and making Pistols / shotguns / carbines actually mater

[lightgemini]

You select a soldier, aim at a target and press fire button, soldier fires alien reaction fires .

What if reaction fire occurs BEFORE your soldier fires after receiving your order?

Think of an alien with a pistol ready to reaction fire on a soldier in front at close range. Soldier takes all his time to make an aimed shot with his sniper rifle at max zoom. The soldier deserves a reaction fire snapshot to the face because the alien wont wait for ages to get shot.

If TU usage on firing triggers reaction fire (I dont know if it Works this way, just proposing) then the more TU used the more chances to trigger the reaction. This would give low TU weapons like pistols a clear role and usefulness, and balance the usage of more clumsy/powerful weapons. It will give more of a reason to use snapshot instead of aimed, cause the later can get you a shot to the face more easily as IRL. Being outnumbered would be more dangerous and would pin you down a lot more,not willing to expose you too much. I think it would be pretty fun, tactical and intuitive although maybe a bit more "hardcore" for some (not calling anyone dumb, just not everybody loves harder complexity).

What you think?

Edited May 30, 2013 by lightgemini

[Commissar Pancakes]

With a weapon such as a pistol, this can make sense. However, with much bulkier weapons like shotguns and carbines and the like, it is pretty much bound to work as it is now, as all of these engagements can have each turn take the span of seconds.

Think "Frozen Synapse" if you will.

[Sathra]

Odd, I though it already did this. Reaction fire seems to be based on remaining TU's. In 18.51 I had troops with shields empty half a clip of pistol fire into an alien without reaction fire until the last shot.

[lightgemini]

Seems reaction fire takes place after the action that was successful at triggering it. I dont know if its TU based or action based, were any action regardless of TU cost is processed for reaction fire dice roll.

I agree shotguns /carbines handle more like rifles etc. but for game balance and flavour it could be "magically" treated as lighter than rifles and heavier than pistols. That is if reaction fire uses TUs as triggering factor, wich will naturaly make the more TU spent on a shot the more likely it will get "reaction fire interrupted".

[Sathra]

I have had situations where reaction fire triggered during a burst. Which was weird, since the alien died to the burst so I had the "reaction fire' pop-up and screen lock over a corpse.

Pretty funny though.

[Gauddlike]

You could link the reaction shot to the actual roll to determine which happens first in that system.

Lighter weapons have a larger bonus to reactions so would likely fire before the more cumbersome weapons.

That depends on if both sides reactions are compared or if it is a flat roll.

I think I remember Chris saying higher reactions would get you fired on less often so I am assuming an opposed roll of some kind.

Could be wrong though.