Doc_Brown on 10/11/2007 at 22:44

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Hey gang, been awhile since I've visited this neck of the boards. Understandably, my sentimentally was prompted by a recent re-playing of System Shock 2, where I finally got around to trying out some of the other mods out there (aside from the now standard ShTUP and Rebirth). Particular props to Zygoptera for his Randomiser mod. :thumb:

As is only natural, this all got the gears turning and I started thinking about how I would tweak the game. I toyed around with ideas about everything from revamping the security and hacking to implementing Hunter/Killer Hybrids and Black Egg Annelids--even the inevitable ideas for a System Shock 3--but the one that's stuck with me the most regards weapon degradation.

As it stands, our options are limited to having degradation (at various degrees) or not at all, but I believe I've come up with a promising alternative. Keep in mind, though, that I do not have the time to undertake this myself, nor would I stoop so low as to beg one of you to do it for me. I simply wish to see whether or not the idea is doable and/or desirable.

Weapon Degradation Alternative* Weapons no longer degrade with use, but can still malfunction (note that the term is distinct from “jam”).
* Malfunction potential is determined by weapon quality. A terrible quality weapon will malfunction 25% of the time. A poor quality weapon will malfunction 22% of the time, and so on in 3% increments. Therefore, an excellent quality weapon will only malfunction 1% of the time, while a perfect quality weapon will never malfunction.
* When a weapon malfunctions, there is a 66% chance it will simply misfire. There is a 33% chance that the weapon will jam. There is a 1% chance that the weapon will blow up in the player’s face, not only hurting them but also destroying both the weapon and the ammo in it.
* When the player takes damage from enemy attacks, there is a 10% chance that the weapon they are holding will itself take damage, reducing its quality level according to the amount of damage. There is a 5% chance that the weapon will break (a broken weapon and a jammed weapon are functionally identical). There is a 1% chance that the weapon will be knocked out of their hands.
* A jammed or broken weapon, when repaired, will return to the quality level it had before it became inoperable.


Well, there you have it. Your thoughts are both welcomed and appreciated.

Mercurius on 11/11/2007 at 02:46

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Interesting ideas. I particularly like the idea that weapons degrade by receiving damage and getting disarmed would be neat if implemented right. By right I mean getting grazed by a plasma bolt shouldn't send your +2 AR of Whoring spinning out of your grasp. In fact, I think it should only happen when you receive catastrophic damage or at a good rate when you are melee'd while holding a firearm.

Also giving the weapons different health, resistances, and in the case of biological weapons, healing rates would be neat as well. And maybe a maintenance minigame that knocks off um...tetris or something :p

As long as we're talking about mod ideas that we're unable to make ourselves, I've always thought that when you die and end up at a QBRM, you shouldn't have any of your material items on you and will be forced to do a corpse run. For those of you unfamiliar with MMORPGs, this requires that you return back to the scene of your demise and loot your own cold cadaver for your precious items.
This would add a significant penalty to dying aside from a measly bit of nanites and require players to stock weapons at their QBRM just so they have a fighting chance against whatever killed them. Of course events that leave your corpse unrecoverable would have to be worked out, like that stupid jumping part on the Rick.

Mercurius on 11/11/2007 at 10:54

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That'd be a lot of psi amping assuming the player even had psi pull to begin with.

Also assuming that Goggles would burst like a pinata when he hit that shield barrier.

charlestheoaf on 12/11/2007 at 06:09

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Just shoot the gun, then use your psi powers to pull the bullets back to you. It would be a double attack, just like a boomerang.

Doc_Brown on 12/11/2007 at 19:23

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Aye, but you're talking about modifying the .mis files in question, as opposed to just tweaking the .gam. It'd involve a great deal more work that way, and I'm not sure the problem justifies that much effort.