Got some more progress images from some work down another line. Right now, there's a bunch of work happening to add some more depth to the mod, including adding in UFOPaedia entries for Frequency Modulation technology (Similar to Particle Physics for the Particle weapon line) and adding in some special stuff.
As of right now, there are two main branches I am working on especially:
Sonic and Particle.
Sonic is getting split up into 2 trees, Sonic and Transonic. Transonic requires Zrbite to be researched, with human-based Sonic Weapons being around 75% of the same effectiveness as Alien weapons, but are made from human-based materials (Unlocked via the new Tempered Materials research which allows production of Weapon Assemblies, the basic material for the low-grade versions of weapons. The attached images are the basic Sonic line, while the Transonic weaponry, which evolves later into Resonator weaponry, is still being sprited out. Everything else is good for it.
Particle is getting split into two as well. Due to the fact that the regular Particle Rifles require a significant amount of Aqua Plastics to create an Energy Cell (The base material outside of AP that is required for Particle Weapon Cells), I've decided to split up the Low-Power and Hi-Power trees so that there's a little more variety. Yes, this bloats it a little bit, but it should feel more like progression through tech-trees. Particle, after the Hi-Power tree once you research Aqua Plastics, leads into the Ion tree.
Gauss is getting a bit of a rework, as well. The main thing for the Gauss tree was that while the weapon was a good starter, it never felt like it could ever compete outside of the first couple of missions, while Laser weapons, their equivalent from UFO Defense/Enemy Unknown, seemed to still be fairly viable for a long period of time. So, the main rework is about high-velocity projectiles. Also, with the original style of the Gauss being superceded by the Particle Tree, Gauss weaponry is being shifted over to more real-world-style equivalents, mainly coil-guns. This means that while the weapon availability won't change (There will be a new material down that tree called Coil Assemblies), how they function will be a little closer to semi-auto Gauss weaponry. This means faster projectiles, as well as a higher AP value for basic rounds. Along with this is the setup for two other round types, HVAP and Pulser. HVAP is after Aqua Plastics research completes, which will double the power of the normal Gauss rounds, with Pulser taking that one step further and taking a miniature Sonic Pulser grenade and sticking it onto the tip of a round, thereby creating a small explosion on hit. This tech will evolve into the Magneto-Rail tree.
In essence, as it stands, Phase 1 - Particle Weapons and base framework - is done, meaning I can easily expand upon it.
Phase 2 is 'Sonic Technology, Researches and Tech Line Splits,' where the two lines will emerge for Particle and Sonic. The Tempered Materials setup (Which will be simply Carbon Alloy in manufacture) will help with adding more such items in the future.
Phase 3 is the Gauss Rework, which will have more updated sprites. I attached WIP versions of the new Gauss weaponry. Likely is that I am going to change a bit more, but keep the basic shape for now.
Phase 4 is the 'Advanced Labs Design' phase, where the 3 weapon trees get their specific labs (Cheaper than a regular Lab, but can only fit a few scientists), which will be how you unlock further research in those trees afterwards. Those labs will also be the requirement for building some of the fancy materials used in the construction of the more advanced weapons. Raw materials ain't cheap, mate.
Phase 5 should be the final phase, for now, and is the Advanced Weapons phase, where the Ion, Resonator and Magneto-Rail techs get finished. Ion is unlocked after Ion-Beam Accelerators, Resonator after Transmission Resolver, and Magneto-Rail after Magnetic Navigation. Advanced technologies that require a lot of resources, but are significant improvements over the older weapons. Be warned that the aliens might also find that they can wield their own devastating versions. Just because you've tech'd up like this does not mean they have not now.
Once I hit Phase 5, you all should be seeing the mod up on the mod site hopefully. Fingers crossed that I can get to where I need to be when it happens.
