[Suggestion] Smart (safe) explosive ammo

[Eddie]

Idea: A round that explodes at/close to the target tile only.

The distance to the target coursor is measured and the round explodes after it travelled that distance. The safe part is that it does not explode if it hits anything before it traveled that distance. For better functionality, explode-on-impact could activate 2-3 tiles before the target tile.

Use: New interesting ammo that also the AI can use without trouble.

Would be enabled on blaster bomb / DPL ammo. Mostly benefits the aliens, as they can't blow themselves up anymore. The player is (mostly) intelligent enough to savely use blaster bombs. Also, the player usually sets the waypoints so that you hit the ground at the target, guaranteeing an explosion. This way, the AI gets the same effect.

[Meridian]

AI can also be programmed to use blasters safely, no need for extra ammo workaround (or any other workaround).

It was however (intentionally) made stupid... so that beginners don't rage-quit, veterans can laugh when it happens and experts can abuse it if they wanted to.

[Eddie]

The prime use would probably be to have explosives that are better than standard without using the op waypoints. A close miss is still a hit because the ammo will explode close enough to the target. Also, you can bombard stuff behind cover by shooting above/next to the cover. The safety is a way to have more useful ammo without increasing any other stat.

It's not a high priority though. Just wanted to throw the idea out in case anyone wanted to implement it.

[Nord]

Smart ammo can be easily simulated by giving them low damage and high chances to hit, like 120-130 aim.

[Solarius Scorch]

Smart ammo can be easily simulated by giving them low damage and high chances to hit, like 120-130 aim.

Ammo cannot have accuracy though. You'd need a special gun.

[Nord]

Ammo cannot have accuracy though. You'd need a special gun.

And this is the point. It will be great to have different ammo with own accuracy. Ufopedia will look bad with it, though.

[mumble]

this also makes me wonder, could you have grenade rounds for a grenade launcher which only detonate  on impacting more than say, 5 tiles away from the user, and otherwise do 30 stun damage?

Typically some grenades have a safety mechanism to do just this

Also, higher accuracy rounds would be interesting, if possible...

[BTAxis]

I'm sure accuracy modifiers on ammo would be easy enough to do in code, the issue becomes presenting said modifiers to the player. You might need to divorce ammo from weapons in the UFOpaedia, and that's a pretty drastic step away from vanilla behavior.

[Meridian]

I'm sure accuracy modifiers on ammo would be easy enough to do in code...

 

[BTAxis]

What? It really can't be hard to add one more variable to the accuracy formula that you derive from the currently loaded ammunition.

[yrizoud]

Meridian makes it *look easy* by putting much time, effort and skill into coding, for many months in a row. Please, don't be insulting by insisting that something "has to be easy" when he specifically answers that it's not.

[BTAxis]

It was not my intention to insult anybody.

[Meridian]

No worries, nobody got insulted.
The change in formula is indeed relatively easy... however it's never just one place... you need to change ufopedia articles, various HUD stuff and so on... and if they were not designed to support such things... I can be almost impossible to update them.