[HWP]Tanks, Drones, Sectopods? Oh my! Version 0.6

[XCOMFan419]

ohh i just wanted a deicated stun unit so i didnt have to sacrifise a actual soldier . allso becuse i dont know if equiping a drone with one gets eaten and its tidius to keep haveing to give then seconday wepons when i want then to

Yes I find that equipping the drones, be it the power suit drones or the Enforcer, they get eaten.

I'll see if I can get a more powerful Small Launcher instead of a stun rod. If all else fails, then a stun rod. I might switch around the rulesets so I can have other weapons with the Blue guy, since he's free now. I might do a poll later.

[XCOMFan419]

Current ideas for next update, coming in ~2 weeks.

1. Make corresponding tanks require certain craft weapons. (Gauss Tank requires Craft Gauss Cannon, Laser Tank requires Craft Laser Cannon.) Make it compatible with Moriarity's Plasma Cannon mod, so people using said mod can still use Tank/Plasma Cannons without their mods conflicting.
2. Divide rulesets so that you can take out Gauss Mod, Minigun Mod, or both, if you do not wish to use said mod.

3. Adjust manufacturing prices.

4. Adjust Plasma and Fusion tanks so that I can add Roxis's L5A3 Laser Tank, along with the Elerium Lasers mod.

5. Fix Tank/Artillery and Tank/Grenade Launcher since Hovertank/Artillery is still the grenade launcher 

6. Adjust Minigun tank - too weak now.

7. Adjust prices for tanks. Including the scout tanks.

8. Clean up code and fix powersuit drone code, with help from smexyvami

9. Tweak TU values and accuracy values, maybe damage values.

10. Screw it, I'll add the Acid Shotgun tank. With this, I might as well just make a Plasma Blaster tank as well, meaning I'll have to make another ruleset for compatible AAE. And then one with Gauss/AAE and Minigun/AAE...more work. Yay.

11. Make test ruleset for Alloy tanks, get sprites later.

12. Test ruleset where you manufacture HWP from the beginning, requiring research as you go along. EX. Mobile support research, and then most of the HWP are manufactured instead of purchased. Just an idea.

[Roxis231]

You do know that I've updated my mod for costs and research right

Changes:
- Made some slight changes to Ufopedia text.
- Replaced Ugly Ammo Clip graphics with Improved versions.
- Reduced Research costs to speed up usage.

Problems

- Still default graphics for Ship weapons.
- Still default graphics for Tanks.

Full thread is HERE

[XCOMFan419]

HOKAY SO HERE'S THE DEAL

My laptop is broken now. It refuses to charge. I didn't lose TDS, but any and all modding has ceased until I get my new laptop/PC desktop, whichever I can afford.

So now there will be no updates for TDS unless if someone wants to take the reins while I'm gone.

[smexyvami]

sad news hope you can come back to use soon

[XCOMFan419]

Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckily I have my new computer. I should have XCOM back in a few hours, and then coding of TDS will resume.

[XCOMFan419]

Wait wait wait.

HWP with two weapons? Since when?

Also, getting XCOM back tomorrow and will begin to code again once I figure out this whole two weapon HWP thing.

[smexyvami]

wellcome back i was out of commistion for a bit and still kinda am

[XCOMFan419]

Hokay so I plan to use the dual wielding tanks soon. Not yet unfortunately as I'd have to dissect and then reverse engineer someone else's code to make it work.

For now, I will reorder the Ruleset so it's organized and I will also be doing some cost/listorder organizing as well. 1000 dollars for an HMG bullet? Wtf was I thinking?

[guille1434]

Hello XComFan!

If you feel like, here I attach a ruleset which includes a fully working Sectopod / Fusion Launcher unit. It comes equipped with a Fusion Launcher with "waypoints" guidance system and a Heavy Machine Gun, which uses the same ammo as the Infantry HMG as modded in the Final Mod pack. This secondary weapon can only fire in auto mode (four shots). I hope you can use the code! I think there is a little bug with dual weapons HWP, and that is the HMG gets its ammo replenished, but the stock of ammo boxes that are stored in the base never gets depleted, so I think the program should reload the HWP with ammo, but it don't substract the ammo it loads in the unit from the base stores...

[Solarius Scorch]

Isn't Fusion Balls + HMG a bit schizotech?

[guille1434]

Well, my thinking about this unit design was for a rear line support unit (not front line scouting), because of that, it is not as very well protected as the Sectopod/laser and Sectopod/Plasma, so its main weapon is the Blaster launcher which should provide heavy fire support to the front troops, while this unit is being kept safely at the rearguard, the Heavy machine Gun is added as a self-protection weapon just to have something to fire at that enemy which appears "out of the blue". Besides, the ammo fired by this weapon is made from Alien Alloys! (Damage = 70 AP). I think that even in a alien invaded world, full of very high tech weapons, a good old .50 Cal machine gun will still be one of a hell of a "man stopper" or, in this case "alien stopper" with the plus that you will never need fancy, hard to find Elerium-115 to manufacture the ammunition for it! . Indeed I first thought about installing a Smoke launcher as a secondary weapon, but then I decided to change it for something with more offensive punch.

Now that I think about it, the "rich man" equivalent unit to this one would be a combo of a fast firing gattling laser + fusion launcher... I would like to be able to find/make a distinct unit sprite to be able to visually identfy each one of the variants.

[XCOMFan419]

Well, thanks nonetheless. I will incorporate it ASAP. Afterall, this is a pack of *most* of the HWP in the OXC community.

As for dual weapons, I will dissect some code and figure out how to add another weapon. For example, the purchaseable tanks will have a HWG coaxial, except for the HMG tank, which I may even remove due to the new dual weapon feature. Tier II, or the researched tracked tanks, will likely have a light laser LMG or a gauss LMG. Depending on how I feel about it. The hovertanks will receive light plasma weapons as a coaxial and the sectopods are iffy, but I will do something. Cyberdiscs remain untouched for now.

I will also do some scouring of the FMP code, the Equal Terms (when it reaches 2.0) code and the Piratez code to look for potential additions to the Tanks, Drones, Sectopods roster. That's if school isn't too heavy in the next month or so. If it is, all I can do is rebalance/add pseudo!new tanks. I will also continue work on the Alloy Tank ruleset since I've put that off for too long.

In other news, a new version will be up soon for download, as I have to reorder some things and chance prices. Some things were just ridiculous.   

[guille1434]

And then, I plan to develop the ultimate anti-alien HWP: The Hoverpod! I want to test if it is possible to mod a "jumping" Sectopod, which would give that unit much better mobility on the battlefield, that would be the "High End" HWP units. It will have less armor because it needs to be lighter that the walking-only siblings.

By the way, it would be excellent if the developers add a new movement type: something "jump capable" --> with the ability to hover just like a hovertank, but it has to land again on the floor in the same turn, it cannot stay hovering till the following turn... Useful to hop over walls and fences, but you can't fly over all the map. It would be great also for some new "xenomorph" type alien with very high TU and the ability to sneak to and from everywhere!

[harry]

Well, my thinking about this unit design was for a rear line support unit [...] Indeed I first thought about installing a Smoke launcher as a secondary weapon

I actually did just that with my sectopod mod.
https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?topic=1627.15

The blue sectopod provide artillery support by shooting in arc avoiding the terrain and the smoke grenades disrupt the enemies line of sight.

As for dual weapons, I will dissect some code and figure out how to add another weapon.

I think tracked HWP could use a MG as a secondary weapon.
But hovertanks can detect aliens from far away so I'm not sure such a weapon would be really useful for them.
Right now, I'm wondering if using smoke grenades for the sectopods is sound.

Instead I'll check if I can make them kick/stomp the aliens getting too close.