[WIP][BETA] MRF Liquid Armor

[gaffer]

First mod attempt.
Be advised with that said, while to the best of my knowledge, this is working without issue for all intensive purposes, there may be issues with grammar, questionable syntax, ruleset conflicts with other mods, graphical anomalies etc. I know I borrowed values for things like listOrder from other mods as I went along (stealth armor)which will need correcting.
Please consider before using/commenting. Criticism/corrective suggestions/any feedback welcome as I am new to this and have plenty to learn.

MOD: Adds new research and armor to early UFO Defense game. MRF ( Magnetorheological Fluid ) Liquid Armor - based on real developmental tech. ( See Here: https://science.howstuffworks.com/liquid-body-armor2.htm )
Intent: Offer alternative for personal armor at game start ( requires research and manufacturing). Base armor stats mostly lower than Personal Armor but is cheap to produce and available to research at game start. Work is complete with Spritesheets, inventory (paperdolls), research, manufacturing components. Items, bigoob, flooroob. Correct pallet (hopefully).

Screenshots in next post. Included Alternate ruleset in zip file that omits research and manufacturing, making the armor available on market at game start for personal preference. Simply extract and overwrite existing .rul file. As with other mods, extract to Mod folder and activate in OpenXcom.

Please let me know what you think and if it works! Thanks, gaffer

[EDIT:  Will add screenshots when able - Currently unable due to maintenance].

[Solarius Scorch]

Haven't checked it in game yet, but it looks very pretty. Kudos for making small icons too!

[HT]

That looks cool, and works with XCFiles (with a few modifications)! I'll give it a try to see how it works and compares with other armors and so on, once I begin my next playthrough.

[gaffer]

Haven't checked it in game yet, but it looks very pretty. Kudos for making small icons too!

Thanks, definitely worth the bit of extra time for the Craft Info section.

That looks cool, and works with XCFiles (with a few modifications)! I'll give it a try to see how it works and compares with other armors and so on, once I begin my next playthrough.

It has slight differences in damage types than personal armor.  Originally i included 2psi vision as a counterpoint to the weaker overall armor but removed it for the beta release.
Looking forward to hearing how it works out.  Curiously , what changes were needed to configure it for XCFiles ?
Thanks,

Screenshots in next post.

Aaand here they are.

[HT]

Looking forward to hearing how it works out.  Curiously , what changes were needed to configure it for XCFiles ?

Note that I haven't tested it fully yet, as I'm waiting for the next release that will include something I was waiting for a while (and I'm not in the mood for another play-trough of XCF yet). Nevertheless, making it compatible with XCF was simple: I cheated and I removed the "Master" status for XCF, so that it was considered a "normal" mod like the others. As for the armor, if it was to be integrated in the game fully, it would require Promotion 1 or 2 at least rather than being available in the start. Nevertheless, its expensive price is quite a deterrent enough.
It's also slightly better AND worse than the Armored Vest, as it weights nothing, it's expensive, has full available inventory space (that skin-tight suit must have many pockets) and has neither penalties or bonuses to stats. I don't know if it gives you a bonus to avoiding melee attacks, or even allow the wearer to dodge them to begin with (I suppose not). After unlocking better armors than the Armored Vest (ie: Tritanium Vest), the MRF loses relevance, but it's excellent for a starting armor.
I did notice that the version of the armor that you can buy does include Psi Vision 2, even though you said it shouldn't have it. A bug?

[gaffer]

I cheated and I removed the "Master" status for XCF, so that it was considered a "normal" mod like the others. As for the armor, if it was to be integrated in the game fully, it would require Promotion 1 or 2 at least rather than being available in the start. Nevertheless, its expensive price is quite a deterrent enough.
It's also slightly better AND worse than the Armored Vest, as it weights nothing, it's expensive, has full available inventory space (that skin-tight suit must have many pockets) and has neither penalties or bonuses to stats. I don't know if it gives you a bonus to avoiding melee attacks, or even allow the wearer to dodge them to begin with (I suppose not). After unlocking better armors than the Armored Vest (ie: Tritanium Vest), the MRF loses relevance, but it's excellent for a starting armor.

I did some playing of XCF but didn't pay much attention to how it is structured with that regard.  I didn't delve into any special weight bonus/penalties but based on the information available, the armor is supposed to be light compared to heavier body armor.  As far as the price, again considering a 'vanilla minded' approach, wanted something that wouldn't be spammed day 1 removing the risk to rookies so early without a price (literally).  Of coarse this can all be set to users desire in the ruleset.  Might revisit if I have more time to test it myself.   However I lack a good spectrum of understanding overall of what would be justified or 'fair'.  Especially depending on mod usage.

Based on the way the armor works in principle, it's more resilient to AP (and explosives ie shrapnel) as stated but I countered with plasma weakness.  Believe I made it take less melee damage but as far as special formula for dodge, not so.  The rear armor is higher due to the 'camel back' raised protection behind the head.

I did notice that the version of the armor that you can buy does include Psi Vision 2, even though you said it shouldn't have it. A bug?

An oversight!  I must have packaged that zip before I decided against the psi vision.  Again as an alternative to personal being significantly weaker I gave it limited psi vision as another counter.  Suppose that's a bit OP for early game but was the result of personal testing and desire.


Thanks for sharing!

[HT]

So, I've been trying this mod with my ongoing XCF campaign, and here are my thoughts:
This armor rocks! It works wonders against human enemies, making the starting cults less of a threat and let your veteran agents not die to a random stray shot from a pistol. Bigger weapons and explosives are still dangerous, but at least it's not a deadly gamble against the RNG until you unlock the Armored Vest. The MRF is still slightly better than former, due not weighting the unit, but from the Tritanium Vest forwards the MRF falls behind.
Still, it's a solid-if-expensive solution for those who want to quickly get through the starting phases of the mod. It doesn't work well against monsters though due having no melee evasion as far as I checked, nor ability to use unarmed attacks. Still, it's an acceptable trade.

It's too bad the armor is not compatible with XCF's more faces, so it makes your agents temporarily adopt a different paperdoll whenever using the armor.

[gaffer]

So, I've been trying this mod with my ongoing XCF campaign, and here are my thoughts:
This armor rocks! It works wonders against human enemies, making the starting cults less of a threat and let your veteran agents not die to a random stray shot from a pistol. Bigger weapons and explosives are still dangerous, but at least it's not a deadly gamble against the RNG until you unlock the Armored Vest. The MRF is still slightly better than former, due not weighting the unit, but from the Tritanium Vest forwards the MRF falls behind.
Still, it's a solid-if-expensive solution for those who want to quickly get through the starting phases of the mod. It doesn't work well against monsters though due having no melee evasion as far as I checked, nor ability to use unarmed attacks. Still, it's an acceptable trade.

It's too bad the armor is not compatible with XCF's more faces, so it makes your agents temporarily adopt a different paperdoll whenever using the armor.

HT,
Appreciate you sharing.  Glad you are enjoying it!  This armor was vanilla OXCE intended and I never configured it for features in XCom Files or other mods.  I wouldn't mind doing it, don't think it would be too complicated once I familiarized myself with what features are available to armor sets. 

I would have to adapt the paperdoll art to utilize XCom Files faces and structure  in order for agents to retain their original face, again, something I wouldn't mind given the time and interest, I may do this at some point.

Thanks again for the feedback.  Sounds awesome!

[Solarius Scorch]

Hey, if you're actually interested in adapting it for XCF, I'll be happy to help. but we'd have to briefly discuss its role first. I understand it's a variant of the Personal Armour with some psi functions?

[gaffer]

Hey, if you're actually interested in adapting it for XCF, I'll be happy to help. but we'd have to briefly discuss its role first. I understand it's a variant of the Personal Armour with some psi functions?

Practically speaking, It was my first attempt at a working armor.  With that. I was playing around with settings just for whimsy/trial purposes.  It's based on a real technology concept which I found interesting.

I couldn't speak as to role beyond what HT discussed, being a good stepping stone to better armors for early agents, mostly bc I've not gotten far enough into the mod to speak to how it might fit.  It could serve in it's current form as an early AP deterrent. In playing around, I toyed with the idea of it having a sensor suit that could detect nearby enemies (psi function).  Perhaps you might have some suggestions where it would serve a good place in the mod?

Certainly interested in your thoughts and making it work for the mod.

[Solarius Scorch]

OK, I'll give it some thought.

[HT]

HT,
Appreciate you sharing.  Glad you are enjoying it!  This armor was vanilla OXCE intended and I never configured it for features in XCom Files or other mods.  I wouldn't mind doing it, don't think it would be too complicated once I familiarized myself with what features are available to armor sets. 

It's fine, I mostly used it because it had good kinetic resistance and I was fed up with the mod's starting phase, which is all about fighting human enemies and monsters, which means this mod made the first one easier. As soon as I unlock "legit" armor, I discard the Liquid Armor.