Mind Shield

[moriarty]

there was a mind shield in Apoc... would it be possible to add one in OpenXcom? (Or any kind of stat-boosting item, for that matter?)

it would be nice to have a mechanic that allows for an item to have a property "ModifyXY: <integer value>". yes, negative numbers, too: perhaps the mind shield would increase Psi Power, but decrease Psi Skill while equipped? would make sense to me.

maybe there could even be two "modify" properties: "ModifyWhileInInventory" and "ModifyWhileEquipped" - a mind shield in the backpack might still help, but a sniper scope would only work if held in the other hand (or something like that)

This would also open the door for a whole lot of RPG-like stuff, which might be interesting for total conversion mods... Sword of +5 Strength, anyone?

@WarBoy, what do you think?


As for the Mind Shield intself, I would suggest the following:

research on mind shield can start after having researched Mind Probe. It would be an early-to-mid-game item that helps you fend off Psi attacks when you have not yet discovered a way to even screen for psi ability in your soldiers.

construction requires 1 Mind Probe per Mind Shield. you don't have complete understanding of the technology involved, but you are able to modify the circuitry of the Mind Probe to create some kind of "Psionic Static Noise". Maybe the fluff text could even mention that using the Mind Shield appears to give some soldiers a headache, while others are unaffected, hinting at latent psionic abilities.

the graphics would be very similar to the Mind Probe: perhaps the silvery orb with a part cut away, and some little LCD displays and LEDs added?

[luke83]

This would also open the door for a whole lot of RPG-like stuff, which might be interesting for total conversion mods... Sword of +5 Strength, anyone?

Good to know someone else is thinking about the same things i am, i started working on a Shield yesterday

[luke83]

OFFTOPIC:

You made the handy Layerd sprite GIMP models, IS there any trick to placing Weapons i need to know or do i just position where i want them in each sprite and hope they render ok?

[moriarty]

AFAIK the weapon sprites are more or less just superimposed on the unit sprite, but they have an offset modifier that changes with the movement cycle (or rather, each "type" of unit has its own weapon offset modifier set which is applied to the "torso" sprite and the "weapon" or "item" sprite to account for the up-and-down motion of the body during the movement cycle).

I guess you should just position the weapon sprite where you think it should be and then check in-game if it behaves weirdly... I don't have a real recipe for doing it any other way.

although... maybe take the "item" sprite (because it is very small and indicates roughly where the hand of the soldier is), and work your way from there, positioning your shield so that the center of the shield (where the handle would be) is a little bit lower than the "item" (which tends to sit on top of the hand of your soldier).

[tyran_nick]

Have you figured of a way to make the shield work in openxcom? I presume the extra protection would be on top of normal armor.
I would really like something like that to give you a chance against chryssalids.
Regarding your question what I do is to load an already existing handobj and just paint on top of it... doesn't always work, but saves me a bit of experimentation.

[Warboy1982]

for something like that i'd probably want a scripting language of some sort, to add "onEvent" triggers, like "onEquip", "onDequip", "onPickup" and "onDrop" so you could do something like this:

Code: [Select]

  - type: STR_CURSED_LONGSWORD_PLUS_3
    onPickup:
      - setStat bravery 10
        destroyItem
        addItem STR_CURSED_LONGSWORD_PLUS_3 1 STR_RIGHT_HAND
    onDrop:
      - destroyItem
        addItem STR_CURSED_LONGSWORD_PLUS_3 1 STR_RIGHT_HAND
    onEquip:
      - addStat melee 30
    onDequip
      - addStat melee -30

the classic double-edged sword.

did i mention i moonlight as a DM?

[tyran_nick]

I there a list somewhere with the available properties/commands we can use already in rulesets?
It would be great to have such scripting flexibility. That would help for the initial question as well, a mind shield.

I still DM from time to time, but on rather old game systems..!