the original xcom apparently featured melee stats for
all weapons, but they were never implemented. I don't have a list of those stats, but maybe that's just as well:
I call for suggestions for those stats. or maybe some general mechanic for it?
my 2 cents: I'm not sure if we should allow melee attacks with all weapons, or even all items. you might argue that you can hit somebody with anything, but some things might just be a little too unwieldy to allow an attack. corpses come to mind.
1) since melee damage is not only influenced by object weight, but also by its density and possible sharp edges, it shouldn't be a simple weight*X formula.
2) I think melee attacks should be influenced by attacker stats, too (more strength -> more damage; more encumbrance -> less accuracy).
3) melee attacks should probably impart damage on the object used, too. if a high-strength soldier clubbed an alien with his rifle, the rifle might just break. all objects have armor values, so perhaps a simple "damage to enemy is also dealt to item" would suffice.
I guess some weapons are more suitable for hand-to-hand combat than others:
I know
rifles are quite good - melee combat using rifles is part of soldier training.
Hitting somebody with a
pistol is like using a small club - it doesn't do much damage, but is simple enough, so that would mean low damage, high accuracy.
Using
heavy weapons is probably quite devastating - if you manage to hit at all, so that would mean high damage, low accuracy
I don't know about hitting somebody or something with
explosives (ammo, grenades, rockets...). I guess if we allow it, it's the same as with a pistol.
Melee attacks using empty hands should probably be low damage, high accuracy, with damage being applied to the respective arm, right? (or perhaps a randomly selected limb?) So a heavily armored soldier (power suit) could get away with bashing fences or hedges or walls or even small trees in an orchard without problems, but the starting soldier should think twice about doing so.
