That's OK, I've already heard a couple of "no point using anything else" comments... About various different items of course. Dioxine hears it all the time, because Piratez is such a huge mod.
I don't care about what Dioxine hears about
Piratez. You are not Dioxine and this is not
Piratez. This tech tree is a sprawling maze with no real way to be sure you are progressing or heading into a blind alley. I can say there is no point in using anything else because I've yet to run across anything that matches any category of accuracy or damage....for 18 months in game. I've got over 1000 kills with it, If I had access to something better I would use it.
Most of these you can't research yet because you don't meet the prerequisites. It's not about regulations, it's because your scientists need to understand more first.
I figured. Honesty, I was being an ass. However, even after I got alien engineering I was unable to research alien technology at all without rubber hosing another half dozen more aliens and even now I have literally only been able to crack one alien weapon...whose ufopedia entry is bugged. le sigh. This is epecially annoying because MIBs which have been stated as being human using human gear and if it can be made by man, it can be unmade by man...I am making a big assumption there though.
With the next edition I expect the path to the Alien Engineering be a bit shorter.
Cool... replication of alien tech is one thing,that is mastery. However, you should be able to research EVERY item immediately... I didn't say "be able to use it" but study it. And in some instances like alien alloys you can say " yeah it's really cool, but unworkable to us right now" and then later get the ability to use, manufacture, etc.
Of course, so I'll explain better. I never received another complaint that the weapon access blockade is unrealistic. I've heard many complaints from a few people, but not this one. So maybe they were too polite, or maybe, I don't know, stupid, but I think it's a safe bet that it's at least not too bad.
Of course I listen to your opinions too. But I can't/don't want to just throw everything out of the window because of something I'm not even sure is bad.
I want to be clear. I am not right, and you are not wrong.
I don't expect you to toss the idea, because everyone has limits. You are attempting to progress a story where an organization moves from 2poopy police to an elite fighting force. You should use every tool at your disposal, but expect I you not to hand wave "regulations" or "illegal". That is weak storytelling and does not have a foundation in reality...to a point. I expect you make the limits strong and be sensical and use them and break them to further the story and keep the difficulty right where it needs to be and use limits as both as a carrot and a stick to encourage your players to be uncomfortable, but not overwhelmed by the difficulty.
You have it broken up into huge bites. Why not make a few small bites, and a few big bites for a steadier progression with breakthroughs that are still rewarding?
Now, why does no one else complain?
Well, a few possibilities ...
1.Demonstrated thoughtless ignorance that is typical of most Europeans in regards to firearms and their availabilty; Couple that with stereotyping by Europeans of Americans and suddenly facts are irrelevant and opinions unconsidered based simply on the preconceived notions that some attempt to belittle others with... Including by the very person you qoute as being an authority on weapons.
So it does something like this....
"YOU ARE QUESTIONING ME!?!?!?! HAHAHAHAHAHA! SILLY AMERICAN!"
No one likes that....But, seeing as I'm from planet USA none of that matters.
Ok, I'll get off my cross....
2. Others
are more polite than I am.
3. I am willing to ask questions, look stupid, or otherwise annoy the shit out of ANYONE in search of what I like.
4. They can't or won't analyze their situation and resources.
5. They can't use logic, or at least won't out loud.
6. I'm a pedantic fuckwit.
An example...
An oversight of no Kevlar vests is silly. Joke flavor text, whatever you try to use to justify it... It is ridiculous. There were very few regulations on purchasing body armor in very few countries at the time period of this mod (and today). If cops in the third world can get a vest a UN taskforce should too. It doesn't have to be a
good vest, just something that gives a reasonable chance of surviving being shot with a pistol. You can always add a few steps to the armor tree.
Not having AK 47s initially is reasonable because X-Com is an investigational unit, right? So pistols, shotguns, smoke grenades, tasers are all legit.... like regular police in most of the world. But, research into the most common rifles, grenades exsplosives etc should be available piecemeal and as a promotion chunk. So we can simulate our dudes fighting to get decent gear as an underfunded and misunderstood bastard child locked under the stairs to allow the players to scale as needed to defeat the threats placed in front of them.
It becomes obvious that the cultists are up to no good and heavily armed and so getting comparable gear like AKs,MP5s M16s and plate carriers would be a priority.Bubbas hunting rifle should not be considered a primo piece of equipment to an international interdiction unit taking on Rothschild/ Rockafeller backed drug dealing artistocrat super terrorists.
When hyper advanced weaponry and tanks are coming on to the field to directly hinder you... all the stops must go. RPGs, LMGs, Demo packs. Single shot rocket launchers etc.
Maybe, I've never been at /k/ lol 
Actually I can't remember reading real life weapon descriptions at all, so whatever you have seen there, it must've come from my own, black soul.
No... it must be the pure psychic stink of the place exuding into reality. I have to buy a flamethrower now....
No, it was a stupid joke.
I'm not saying it was a good one. But to be honest, I plan to add way more. Otherwise it'll be way too grimdark far what it is: a pastiche of the 90's.
My bad.
Yeah, it's a bit gamey. I've decided it's not so bad in this case... But not perfect either. It's just a concept, like Electro-Flares or Medikits. Not even trying to be realistic.
Well... it is a game. However, maybe more arms dealers?Maybe more topics that feel like we are slowly eking out an advantage against the cultists until the paradigm shift of the MIB and the first wave aliens.
I hate to dump the responsibility onto other people, but the truth is I've taken the stats from Dioxine. Because 1) he knows way more about weapons than me and 2) his choices were carefully balanced and tested. So... I have nothing else to say.
Your mod, your responsibility.
Accurate refection of relative weapon power is important, but not penultimate.... that's all I'm saying. It doesn't have to be a super realistic in correllation as in 3x more powerful etc. This is isn't
Piratez.
Examples? I'm really willing to change it if necessary.
I'll make you a list... I didn't want to have to deal with how the sausage was made, but no help for that now.
There will be more in the next version. 
For now, just... spam scientists, I guess?
Cool
