Modular Laser Rework (And Fix)

[Fenodyree]

Modular Lasers are cool!

Unfortunately, since a change 6 years ago (they were added 8 years ago), they've also been bugged.

Double unfortunately, they were bugged in a way that made them nearly infinitely stronger. So for basically their entire lifespan on the server the perception of them has been that they are completely overpowered, and I've heard some real horror stories about how they were used.

The concept however is really good and I think will fit really well with the more scrappy future envisioned in NBT 2. (Special components could be found/scavenged as an actual reward for xenoarch that isn't anomalies, but that's out of scope for now.)

 

First the bug, I'll fix this regardless of the feedback I get here.

Energy weapons were changed to pass the User that fired them along to the projectile, which overwrote a the bypass_degrade flag.

Second, firedelay changed at some point and they were left with 0 firedelay, meaning you could shoot them as fast as you could click.

This means that for the last 6 years, the balance mechanism for these guns was just turned off. They should have been taking damage proportional to how OP they were, with high chances to just explode if you built say, a 10 shot, 60 damage incendiary shotgun, that shoots faster than a machine gun.

However, with these bugs fixed, the numbers do not match up to current normal weapons. The very best reliable gun you could build after this fix, will be less than half as good as a laser rifle.

 

My proposals:
1: Simplest & Weak

• I leave all numbers as they are.
• It will be possible to make guns better than armoury spawns, but they will break very quickly. Usually in less than one full charge. (5-10 shots, there's a 100% chance for a fully modded gun to take damage) 
• It will be nearly certain that powerful guns will injure the user.
• Damage to the gun isn't sensible, adding a stock gives the gun a 60% chance of the capacitor exploding. Adding heat vents (A mod intended to improve reliability), makes the reliability of other mods worse.

2: Simple-ish & Strong

• I will adjust the numbers to make the very best modular guns as close to the old Laser Cannon and Advanced Egun as I can. (Still requiring minerals, gold, diamond, uranium, high tech levels, etc)
• It will be possible to make guns more powerful than the Laser Cannon and the Egun, but they will break rapidly. (The damage they take proportional to their damage, firerate, etc)
• Only the most unstable and lethal of weapons have a chance of seriously injuring the user.
  • High damage weapons will degrade the lens, high fire rate will degrade the emitter, unique & powerful mods will degrade the capacitor. (This is the bit that damages the user if it goes wrong).
• A mid-range 99%-ish reliable weapon will be a slight improvement on armoury spawns.
• These improvements will be tradeoffs, (higher capacity traded for damage, burst rate traded for accuracy, etc.)

3: Full Overhaul & Complicated but Strongest (With lots of effort)

• I will wait for the implementation of the skill system.
• I will set similar numbers to proposal 2, making freshly printed weapons close to the Laser Cannon and Advanced Egun. 
• Damaged components, repaired by a skilled technician will become MORE reliable.  (High science, guns, electronics? Need to wait for details and playtest of the skills)
• Components repaired by unskilled or average technicians will get randomly more or less reliable, trending to less.
• As the gun gets passed what it's fired at, the amount of improvement possible will scale with what it's used for. Field tests on real targets allow big improvements. Monkeys on the range small improvements.
  • This will mean that its not likely R&D will have more than one tested and reliable prototype at a time. Each new print will require new tests and repairs. (With risks of getting irradiated, etc for more powerful guns)
  • The ceiling of power will actually be put much higher, but will require cooperating between security, mining (mining should be given guns too, they dug up the diamonds) and R&D.
  • Without cooperation and use in round, it would take repeated range tests and repairs, and lots of materials. This is noticeable (if you're an antag and sec is suspicious) and means that unless you're very good or very lucky, you cant equip security with these before the mercs show up. (Please let it be a skill gate and not an admin enforced rule not to give them out, please.)

 

I obviously like number 3 best, but it's by far the most work and I am hesitant to begin it if the system isn't going to be used.

There is a lot of stigma behind these guns, and R&D equipment being used in general. As far as I know scientists need signed RD approval to hand out ANYTHING at the moment.

If I do this I hope heads of staff will give them a second chance and not just throw them in the evidence lockers.

I'd like some rules clarification on if R&D would even be allowed to hand these out for field testing.

 

I also would really appreciate feedback and some actual hard numbers to try and aim for. It's all very well code diving for the damage and I'm pretty robust, but I haven't been playing here long.

Also some advice from better devs

 

Edited March 16 by Fenodyree

[Bolbos]

RnD guns being powerful double-edged swords sounds like an awesome idea.

[Arbiter_Ambrose]

I like the prospect of three, it seems a good balance, xenobiology takes too long which is what I was worried this might be akin to.