So what do I do with those numbers than? I have to leave something at 0 than but also move things up...
Do I just move everything that is past 25 by +12 and leave the rest?
Or do I maybe move those up and than space the others out a bit to fill the gap?
I'd do the last one.
The G11 suffers from a bad aimed range (33 vs 200 for all other rifles) and really bad damage (22 vs 24 - 30 for other rifles). It's basically a heavy SMG more than a rifle.
G11 is not supposed to use aimed shot. If someone is more than 33 tiles away, use your snipers or machine guns. But their damage scales with Bravery, so that 22 is actually more likely 26-28, and could even be 32 once you get your agents' Bravery up. And the auto-shot is crazy, at ranges comparable to other rifles' snap shots. Just try it.
I generally go with the FAL or Galil and G36 rifles for my main troops, PKM's as my machinegun (2 per squad) and SVD's for snipers. The later because I tend to use snap shots a lot more than aimed shots for snipers and they really shine in that role.
I don't like the sprites for any of these, so not using them. :)
But the SVD's three snaps are the one big thing that rivals BO Snipers. The latter do have a much nicer armour multiplier (75% vs 90%) and long-range shots. SVD does better vs cultists in a barrel, BO Sniper vs the big threats.
Honestly, the SVD being able to shoot thrice while the PSG barely goes twice is pretty much an aberration. But the mod isn't made with an eye towards RL authenticity, so it is what it is and SVD is one of the best early sniper rifles.
And than for support weapons I go with a Glock 18 for each trooper that has a rocket or grenade launcher or such.
Why not P90s or BO SMGs, if you want to throw lots of lead?
The 9mm guns have such low damage that anything that actually looks like armour tends to make them pretty useless. I prefer BO SMGs, Matebas if I know the enemy's totally naked, or BO Pistols/Smartpistols for accuracy, speed and respectable power.
I'' have to look into it. But as said, I am unconvinced.
Smartrifles give you two aimed shots per turn that are on par with any other assault rifle accuracy-wise (unlike the woeful BO AR), snap shots that are also among the best, auto-shot that's halfway to the G11's. It's the most generally ergonomic kinetic rifle around. Does come with poorer 90% penetration and middling damage until alloy ammo.
Aside from the SMG's all of those require powered armor to really make the most of them. Especially the miniguns. And at the point you have PA you have energy weapons which are just better.
Uh, it's the Macro SMG that's excessively heavy. Light miniguns weigh 26 loaded with ammo, 2 more than a PKM. And even the big miniguns have been used by many a player long before any power armour starts even being a dream. Some people swear by them. :)
Smartweapons, sniper rifles, machine guns weigh as much as anything similar.
And I don't use SMG's other than as a sidearm for rocketeers and grenadiers. And for those I want something one handed so that disqualifies basically everything.
BO SMG. One-handed, long bursts for emergency situations, passable damage. Better than any other one-handed SMG up to that point.
Three words: Kalashnikov's machine gun
You an get it early and cheap. And it is just the perfect middle ground between the heavies (M60 / MG3) and the Minimi.
Can't argue with early and cheap.
But vs the BO ALMG it has very similar damage, can fire twice per turn without freezing in place, and throws 4 snap rounds vs 3-4, albeit at only two targets. Has a bit of extra effective snap range, too. The twice-per-turn autofire alone makes it better for me. And that's the weakest of the three BO machine guns.
I also like the sprites far better than the historical guns'.
Exactly. Like, by the time you can get a reliable supply of the good ammo there are better options out there.
Yeah, that's the big problem with alloy ammo being the great equalizer. You get UAC guns and Pulse weapons before you get a reliable supply of it, and those are just miles better. Especially now with the Tritanium Matrix change.
Actually they don't. Because the sort of people who say this are the sort that know their job and want to be paid accordingly.
That's why I work for finance.
Gaming companies like people who are young, impressionable and think video games are the coolest thing ever and are willing to work them self to the bone for the glory of working on one.
Gaming companies like people who want to make games above making money. I'd say it's their calling, wouldn't you?
I'm all too aware of the culture gap between srsface software engineering, even financial, and what goes on in game companies. Most programmers are aware of their worth, and act accordingly. Gaming is like a friggin Wild West compared to that.
Also, you don't need to be young for this bullshit to work. Wasn't it Chris Avellone who essentially got kicked from being a founder and cried to the world about how hard his life was afterwards, despite being a minor celebrity (and other, less pleasant things besides). There's also no shortage of indies working on weekends and in spare hours, or for peanuts, trying to make their dream game a reality along with some money to show for it instead of sinking their savings into it.
OTAN
Hmm, this is exactly backwards. Did the French do that on purpose? :o
Edit:
The PKM needs just 25% TU for a snap shot vs the BOALMG's 35%. So that's 4 vs 2. Or more realistically 3 vs 2 if you are moving. But MG's are supposed to be full auto anyway. And for that it's just 45% vs 50% for the PKM so I guess you could get an extra shot out of it. But like it just isn't a strait massive upgrade.
That BOALMG 'snap' shot fires twice, though. And doubling your fire rate is a pretty massive upgrade in my book.
In fact, that's my view on most BlackOps gear. It's better but not better enough to justify rebuying my inventory.
That is indeed true. But I'm a pack rat, so I do it anyway. :D
The PKM is more accurate though. Like far more if the stats are to be believed.
Yes, the PKM and other machine guns (especially the two GPMGs) are better for long range. Miniguns are not universal weapons. But at up to 20, maybe 25 tiles, miniguns put out an enormous amount of shots with only moderate accuracy loss. If you're kneeling, that is. Miniguns have a giant kneeling bonus.
You can fire 24 shots and maneuver quite comfortably, instead of 6 and maneuver or 12 and freeze for the PKM. Or even 30 with less moving around for the heavy minigun. And if someone comes close, it's basically a shotgun. Finally, it also shreds armour like no tomorrow. You can kill Sectopods by minigunning them several times.
I wouldn't replace every machine gun with miniguns. But I definitely like taking one or two along.
Except for the UAC rifle. That thing is bad. Like three round bursts instead of snap fire and inaccurate.
These three round snaps are more accurate than most autofire. Long-range accuracy isn't very good, but ~75% at the edge of vision range for 100 FA agents is passable. You also also get three-round aimed shots. All in all, this thing has a niche, albeit one that already has lots of other weapons in it.
I actually like the real world stuff more. It just gives me that feeling of playing as the plucky humans taking the fight to the aliens one angry ball of lead at a time.
I like the BO weapons because I'm kinda stuck with my headcanon of these being custom-made X-Com weapons instead of shadow ops standard issue. I think back when I did a minor overhaul, I actually named them X-Com Rifle, etc.
It's just that I tend to play very defensively and use a lot of smoke and ambushes. So when someone does pop out of a corner I typically have 3-4 and up to 16 guys and at least one heavy weapon waiting.
I prefer to use smoke to make sure people can't see me half a screen away.
The sniper rifle works from the front, from the back, can shoot more rounds, holds more ammo, and can be used for sniping as well. It's a more generalist weapon.
It's not as if sniper rifles are exclusive with smoke. Sit your agents in a smoke cloud, send some out to scout, cover them in more smoke, have the snipers delete whatever they find. They're out of vision range anyway, smoke won't hinder them any further. Classic X-Com scout-sniper tactics. The only problem is accidentally biting off more than your snipers can chew.
I mean, yeah, rocket launchers and similar are also good to have. I also tend to carry at least one heavy weapon, but I find sniper rifles more convenient and useful in more situations. YMMV.
And the PKM is doing gods work.
Well, to be honest, I play with BO machine guns that all have 3-round snaps and 6-round full auto fire. PKM just doesn't compare. None of the other light machine guns do, only the GPMGs for long-range autofire.
Still, maybe there is something that I don't see here because stat vise it just isn't that great without the special ammo.
I mean, look at it compared to the Glock 18.
...
So while the Glock 18 does a tiny bit less damage it is more accurate AND gets twice as many shots per turn.
What's missing in this table is that each of these 'snap' shots fires off three rounds, and the auto does six. So the actual number of shots is thrice that, 50% more than the Glock. Less targets, but I doubt your 2-round bursts are instant kills the vast majority of the time.
Also, 25 vs 22 damage is in one of the most armour-sensitive ranges of the game. Hitting something for +3-6 damage can be quite significant.
Accuracy is really not much different except for aimed shots. And if you want to kill something with aimed pistol shots, a Glock isn't going to cut it. That would need one of the big handguns. Me, I get a rifleman to do that instead.
As for zombies I tend to clear them out using the good old firing line.
That's fine when you actually have enough men for it, but four guys in a van isn't it. They should stack everything on them to avoid reloading while a Zombie is gnawing off their face. I found that to be the only instance where the pocket shotguns actually worked for me.
There is nothing foolish about following your dreams. But only a fool allows them to be co opted by corporate greed.
Happens to game devs even without any corporates being involved. Hobby projects turned into failed jobs, chasing after ephemeral Patreon success, even successful medium-sized indie companies that began as half-passion projects are frequently one botched project away from bankruptcy.
I don't know what it is that makes game dev such a ripe field for chasing the moon and falling flat.
It's just how the language works.
I bet that's exactly what the French envoys said upon signing. ;D
Edit:That BOALMG 'snap' shot fires twice, though. And doubling your fire rate is a pretty massive upgrade in my book.
Didn't know that. That actually makes it good. Not sure about massive upgrade but good enough that I'll give it a try.
Yes, the PKM and other machine guns (especially the two GPMGs) are better for long range. Miniguns are not universal weapons. But at up to 20, maybe 25 tiles, miniguns put out an enormous amount of shots with only moderate accuracy loss. If you're kneeling, that is. Miniguns have a giant kneeling bonus.
I just tried them on my first mansion mission and I must say that they ain't half bad. Like, I am not sure I'd take one over a PKM but like... they do good work as a ultra heavy SMG of sorts.
So I will definitively have to experiment more with them.
I will probably convert two of my rifleman into minigunners and have them as a secondary to my machineguns to see how it works out.
These three round snaps are more accurate than most autofire. Long-range accuracy isn't very good, but ~75% at the edge of vision range for 100 FA agents is passable. You also also get three-round aimed shots. All in all, this thing has a niche, albeit one that already has lots of other weapons in it.
Honestly I've only ever had terrible luck with them. Like, anything past shotgun range just misses all the time. And I am really used to my riflemen putting out snap shot after snap shot of reasonably accurate fire.
It's not as if sniper rifles are exclusive with smoke. Sit your agents in a smoke cloud, send some out to scout, cover them in more smoke, have the snipers delete whatever they find. They're out of vision range anyway, smoke won't hinder them any further. Classic X-Com scout-sniper tactics. The only problem is accidentally biting off more than your snipers can chew.
Or just advance under cover of smoke, close in, capture and detain. And murderize anything you can't take.
That's why I love the grenade launchers. Stun grenades FTW.
What's missing in this table is that each of these 'snap' shots fires off three rounds, and the auto does six. So the actual number of shots is thrice that, 50% more than the Glock. Less targets, but I doubt your 2-round bursts are instant kills the vast majority of the time.
I see. I did not know that. That actually makes them really good against heavier targets. I think I shall transition to them than since the time of low armor is running to an end.
Also, 25 vs 22 damage is in one of the most armour-sensitive ranges of the game. Hitting something for +3-6 damage can be quite significant.
Really?
Accuracy is really not much different except for aimed shots. And if you want to kill something with aimed pistol shots, a Glock isn't going to cut it. That would need one of the big handguns. Me, I get a rifleman to do that instead.
I generally find the auto fire to be good enough to clear almost anything. Though again, I am mostly dealing with cultists since I find the early game before the aliens to be the most fun part and keep restarting to that.
That's fine when you actually have enough men for it, but four guys in a van isn't it. They should stack everything on them to avoid reloading while a Zombie is gnawing off their face. I found that to be the only instance where the pocket shotguns actually worked for me.
I only use the vans for covert missions. Otherwise it's all 16 guys all the time. And I always rush for the osprey as soon as possible.
Also, I may or may not have modded it to have the same range as the helicopter.
Happens to game devs even without any corporates being involved. Hobby projects turned into failed jobs, chasing after ephemeral Patreon success, even successful medium-sized indie companies that began as half-passion projects are frequently one botched project away from bankruptcy.
I don't know what it is that makes game dev such a ripe field for chasing the moon and falling flat.[/quote]
There is a huge difference between falling flat and having a horrible job. One is something you can learn from and grow and ultimately just another life experience. The other is just a horrible job.
Honestly I've only ever had terrible luck with them. Like, anything past shotgun range just misses all the time.
Well, they're kinda high-risk, high-reward. If 2-3 shots hit, that's a tough enemy down with very few TUs spent. But, yeah, they're too much like shotguns to work in a general rifle role.
Or just advance under cover of smoke, close in, capture and detain. And murderize anything you can't take.
...
That's why I love the grenade launchers. Stun grenades FTW.
Well, that works, too. Probably more effort than just shooting heads off people and assorted critters, but better payoff.
And, yeah, the grenade launchers have a lot of neat ammo.
Really?
Well, maybe I exaggerate a little. :) But when your average damage is 0, like against EXALT goons, +2-3 x6 is something. Might be the difference between getting a bleed on a good roll and not.
I only use the vans for covert missions. Otherwise it's all 16 guys all the time. And I always rush for the osprey as soon as possible.
I was alluding to a time when the van or maybe a small helicopter is all you have. There's a sizeable period of that, and buckshot revolvers aren't too hard to get.
Also, I may or may not have modded it to have the same range as the helicopter.
:o :D
There is a huge difference between falling flat and having a horrible job. One is something you can learn from and grow and ultimately just another life experience. The other is just a horrible job.
Falling flat in game dev tends to come with hellish crunch time before it all unravels, though. :( And the job can occasionally be quite horrible, even with the biggest players, as the Activision-Blizzard conundrum shows.
Well, maybe I exaggerate a little. :) But when your average damage is 0, like against EXALT goons, +2-3 x6 is something. Might be the difference between getting a bleed on a good roll and not.
I'll have to try them. As said, I had no idea they had double and triple shot per trigger press.
I was alluding to a time when the van or maybe a small helicopter is all you have. There's a sizeable period of that, and buckshot revolvers aren't too hard to get.
:o :D
So the very, very early game? Like I can rush for the osprey within year 1. It's the one thing I rush for more than anything.
Falling flat in game dev tends to come with hellish crunch time before it all unravels, though. :( And the job can occasionally be quite horrible, even with the biggest players, as the Activision-Blizzard conundrum shows.
Not "even" but "especially". Big corporations always suck to work for no matter what field you are in. You want to work for medium sized ones (less than 1000 people). They are big enough to pay good wages but small enough not to have become infested by the plague of middle management and the plague which are expert beginners (https://daedtech.com/how-developers-stop-learning-rise-of-the-expert-beginner/).
So the very, very early game? Like I can rush for the osprey within year 1. It's the one thing I rush for more than anything.
Yeah. I don't tent to rush for it, because generally my goal is to explore the mod. So last time I got it in May '98. I did have fiddled-with global-range improved Mudrangers to make up for those in the meanwhile, though. These aren't actually half bad as far as cover goes. I wish we had some for the mansion assaults.
Not "even" but "especially". Big corporations always suck to work for no matter what field you are in.
Well, the problem with Bliz was more that it was a big company run like a bunch of 'bros' in a basement. Not sure it was actually caused by it being big, more due to the abuse people were willing to take to participate in the fame. And then it all burst. Conversely, EA - the biggest, most reviled gaming conglomerate there is - is reputed to be above average when it comes to treating its developers. Game dev is just such a strange topsy-turvy world.
You want to work for medium sized ones (less than 1000 people).
I generally agree, but not much of these in game dev, and what's still there tends to get eaten by the big players.
Myself, I'm out of the rat race altogether. Has its own perks and downsides.
expert beginners
That's explicitly a failure of training, i.e. management. Can happen anywhere that doesn't care about that, although I suppose it's harder to carry around dead weight in smaller enterprises.