As far as regular real-life firearms are concerned, the material of the bullet affects penetration and fragmentation (here: armor penetration and 'health damage'), while the impact power (damage) is a property of the cartridge itself, for the most part. So a .44 magnum revolver round will (in almost all cases) have more raw 'damage' (due to high kinetic energy)
Im VERY GLAD x-piratez is still around. I haven't been here in awhile because my computer died, though due to boredom ill be rigging up android oxce just to have something to do.
About the Damage/Penetration question I think it overly complicates things, and since you have 2 factors already the adjustments to ToHealth effects would be the exception not the rule. I believe the fine tune adjustments (eg Fatal Wounds) are usually there to bypass the hardcoded mechanics, eg the way x-com does it.
You principally have Terminal Effects on targets and Armor Penetration to account for.
It all depends on what your focus is in a game. For example in DOOM its all anout Terminal Effects, how much hurt it puts on the enemy. But in that game Armor is a sidenote, so its understandable to do that. In that game a Shotgun is 7 times deadlier than a pistol. And none of the monsters or even the player has enough armor to no-sell even a single shotgun pellet.
"
Power" can represent Armor Penetration foremost and let terminal effect be a biproduct of it. Or it can represent Terminal Effect and let Penetration be a biproduct of the harm it causes. It all depends, as a designer, on where your emphasis is.
In X-Com and X-Piratez the emphasis is pretty much on Armor Penetration but ive noticed some items may only have 1 or 2 ammo types and they still get an armor multiplier. I think it would be more convenient to just make it overall stick to one or the other as a priority, but the bootypedia DOES list the factors that are applied to it.
Yeah you can do that, its all up to style, but I think it overly complicates things. If you can make one factor do the work of two thats more preferable IMO.
My way would've been to focus on Terminal Effect/Harm for what the
Power of the weapon represents, and then just apply armor penetration modifiers to everything. The one thing that is universal is being naked and bleeding, Armor comes and goes.
TLDR - I agree with the numbers.
RE: Battle Tank Prices
I agree on the balancing, it doesn't make the game easier but X-Piratez isnt supposed to be easy, and you get hit with that flyswatter right from the start of the game. It's not X-Com and making money by manufacturing is a sweat shop activity. Its an option for making money but it shouldn't be the only option. You really do need to be encouraged to get out there and rob civvies/factions.
RE: Megapol/Marsec/Factions
I definitely agree about the dog cops being given crap, but good armor. Still I DO think they should be given their own sort of weapons that have Biometric Locks so that they use standard ammunition... but you Cannot use their guns until you crack them with research. That would make more sense realistically and it works slightly against you as a player (these items could also have a particularly low sales value, at least non-cracked models, because they aren't useful on the black market). It would be an opportunity for Dioxine to give them retro-futuristic plasticy Blue+White looking guns too.
If I understand it correctly Megapol
isnt supposed to be good for you, except for experience and reputation, because you're bad guys and they're the (regular) cops.