Re: [MAIN] XPiratez - N8 28-Apr-2024 Labyrinthus Noctis

[Multiheaded]

I think it'd still be pretty relevant as a year 2 tech. A lot of weak Guild and Church units still around, Humanist activists/light infantry, etc. Also bandits and ratmen, which have been very annoying wastes of time for me.

(Giving the drone 50% piercing resist but 150+% laser/plasma vulnerability would make balancing its use easier, I guess; just explain it with something like exposed circuitry. And make it a small/very small target; hard to hit for a G.O. with a revolver, or a ratman with a flintlock, but terribly vulnerable to e.g. an assault laser.)

[Stoddard]

For zero-risk missions, I'd just go with the smell of napalm in the morning. Why land if it's decided either way.

For the custom AI.. export it all to python or lua or something, load the code from the mods. Quite hard to do though, and bugs will be.

[Dreamsicle]

Makes sense to me. First thing you're gonna do in a fight is try to push someone's gun out of the way if you manage to get that close. "Melee failure = guarantee burst of gunfire to the face" is a big and common flaw of turn based shooters.

Sure, but it's really annoying when hammers and chainsaws miss because of this. And I'm putting it really nicely.

If there's no general nerf with CQB, is there at least a way to make ranged melee like hammers and saws to be exempt from that?

[ivandogovich]

Sure, but it's really annoying when hammers and chainsaws miss because of this. And I'm putting it really nicely.

If there's no general nerf with CQB, is there at least a way to make ranged melee like hammers and saws to be exempt from that?

FYI:  Dioxine is working through the laborious process of reworking accuracy values etc to help with the CQB shennanigans.   We are all doing a great job beta testing for him, and new features like this often take a bit of ironing to get to a proper balance.

[Martin]

If modders wanted the ability to "fiddle" with the AI, how should/would this ability look like? What could you configure/implement and how?

Simple conditional statements  to override its usual behavior would, I think, work for the issue of AI pointlessly shooting into melee.

[Solarius Scorch]

That dirge caster drone could be a boost to some underpowered Codex.

[Ethereal_Medic]

That dirge caster drone could be a boost to some underpowered Codex.

Maybe the red codex could need a red-colored drone.
I can't repeat enough that red codex needs some love somewhere.

[Martin]

The demonic axe and the +15 flat damage to all guns craft is not good enough for you?

[Ethereal_Medic]

The demonic axe and the +15 flat damage to all guns craft is not good enough for you?

The demonic axe still needs alot of TU and scales with strength. The force blade does the job better as long as you can find the gems.

While the Scarab is a useful addition it got nerfed @ this patch. +15 sounds okay but the vessel got no shield to negate repair-time and only 1xLw slot.
Early on you won't get enough supply to field 2xHw slots. Once crafts become too fast, the Scarap just can't compete with proper hellerium fighters.
With the same codex you get the green snake, that one has all 3 weapon types AND an inbuild shield.
Additionally it has an amazing "map" to take advantage of the roof and elevators to fight early monster hunts. The scarap isn't too hot in terms of a dropship.

The red codex is weak in comparision to other codexes, especially the green one.
You can get nearly everything the red codex offers with the green one so why bother about the nerfed scarab?

Edit: Don't get me started with the 'buffed' spike launcher the red codex offers. Spike rockets are inaccurate, have a small clipsize and are extremely expensive considering the early/midgame.
It's not worth the investment to shot your money into thin air and run into the possible situation that all 12 shots fail to connect.
I'd rather keep them in store and fuel a sentry/rocket turret with these. A long lasting investment great for crashsites and hideout-defenses.

[Dioxine]

If there's no general nerf with CQB, is there at least a way to make ranged melee like hammers and saws to be exempt from that?

One of the main reasons for CQB code was PRECISELY to stop hammers and chainsaws from auto-hitting. They're the only thing in the new balance I'm considering to be working properly already.

I don't like the idea of magical drones, but I feel that late game weapons already allow to mop up real fast... I can always add some more, ofc.

[ohartenstein23]

The Blood Axe also gives you back some energy/TUs/Morale on hit, and can do some truly massive damage, I wouldn't count it out.  Dioxine has some more stuff planned for Red (and probably all the other) Codex too.

[Ethereal_Medic]

The Blood Axe also gives you back some energy/TUs/Morale on hit, and can do some truly massive damage, I wouldn't count it out.  Dioxine has some more stuff planned for Red (and probably all the other) Codex too.

Yes, it's a devastating melee weapon and makes you a serial-killer against grouped foes that die in one hit. It's only drawback are tanks with huge backplates.
But seriously, you can't buy players into going red only for this one particular melee weapon that needs a fast and max'ed out fighter to handle the TU-costs and low-ish acc.

Try to convince me:
Why should I pick red over green?

[ohartenstein23]

If you don't like red, don't pick red.  I personally love Destructor armor, it's my favorite outfit in the game for its mix of durability, speed, and raw voodoo firepower - I love giving that gal the blood axe or tome of lightning.  The hellgun is great for infinite plasma firepower and extra morale damage, I used it to great effect taking down mercs.  (If you can't tell, my campaign really takes off after first encountering the dark ones.)  The scorpion is great for quick assaults, and Lil' Ilya is highly efficient for the ammo-requiring codex craft weapons.  It really comes down to Illusion vs. Destruction, and I find MC and Panic not so compelling with the gals' limited voodoo.  Sure ghost is good too, but I like the capabilities of destructor better as a scout.

[Dioxine]

Try to convince me:
Why should I pick red over green?

That doesn't work like this. It's like in a VN. Unless you chose what your heart dictates, with all honesty, you'll be disappointed Naturally, no game is perfect, but if you don't think blood axe is fun, you should NEVER choose the red codex.

Otoh, this input is still valuable, as it allows to gauge which codex should receive some stuff first. It'll be gray, in all likeness, but codex stuff updates aren't planned for next couple of releases.

[Ethereal_Medic]

That doesn't work like this. It's like in a VN. Unless you chose what your heart dictates, with all honesty, you'll be disappointed Naturally, no game is perfect, but if you don't think blood axe is fun, you should NEVER choose the red codex.

Otoh, this input is still valuable, as it allows to gauge which codex should receive some stuff first. It'll be gray, in all likeness, but codex stuff updates aren't planned for next couple of releases.

I'm more than willing to give you my honest feedback.
The core game is completely fine and it's a wonderful experience each time I start from scratch. Just the corner cases and specific techtree features that can make your blood boil.

If you don't like red, don't pick red.  I personally love Destructor armor, it's my favorite outfit in the game for its mix of durability, speed, and raw voodoo firepower - I love giving that gal the blood axe or tome of lightning.  The hellgun is great for infinite plasma firepower and extra morale damage, I used it to great effect taking down mercs.  (If you can't tell, my campaign really takes off after first encountering the dark ones.)  The scorpion is great for quick assaults, and Lil' Ilya is highly efficient for the ammo-requiring codex craft weapons.  It really comes down to Illusion vs. Destruction, and I find MC and Panic not so compelling with the gals' limited voodoo.  Sure ghost is good too, but I like the capabilities of destructor better as a scout.

How do make Destructor work? Do you carry mutant meat with you to nullify the HP burn for each use?
Guess you got realy lucky with cacodemon spawns, I rolled 4x Hell's Keep for my Imp. Probes so I got none. Is it realy worth spending your gems for a destructor in comparision to a Bio-Suit?