I don't think so. The XR4 is more of a "pulse" style energy weapon, the TRONSKAS (what else do I call it, 1110011?) is more like an energy shotgun. And the altfire actually works on it (the XR4, the barrels spin but nothing happens.)

You must have misunderstood me. There's a prototype gun called the XR4 which fires blue plasma pulses as a primary and has the BFG's secondary fire. I was comparing the TRONSKAS's (both of them) to that.

One of the TRONSKAS's have a primary fire that is actually called "XR4 system" and has no secondary, you must have been thinking of that one. But both TRONSKAS's use the primary fire of the XR4 as far as I could see.

I like the name TRONSKAS by the way, I LOL'ed when I saw it. Before that I was just calling them the techno SKAS's

[EDIT]

Here's an image for reference. The TRONSKAS's are on the right, the XR4 is below them in the lower right corner (You have no idea how many times I had to suicide to get this)

Nice images.
Well, I think with an enhanced and different model, I'd accept the XR4 as a standalone weapon...

PS: Do you have an old prototype pack? Because your XR4 has no glove textures...

The AIMS is clearly better than the M50.
I'm still waiting for Kaboodle's pack because I can't stand the fact, the grenades explode on close range.

The only manco is, that I have to switch the firemodes very often. And ammo is wasted quickly when using 950 RPM Full-Auto.

SKAS Shotgun and few other weapons have too many different camouflages, what greatly increases the size of the weapon pack. Also every weapon in BW is unique and has only one camouflage, so I don't want to have hundreds of recolors. But I see that other people have another point of view.

Nope, I should be using an up to date version. However I am pretty sure the XR4 has not had a texture update since the first V9 beta

I'm waiting for Kab's too. I like his grenade implementation much better. Too bad his 'nades don't contribute to evolution stats until they get upgraded

I still wish Sgt.Kelly modeled his grenades after Kab's but he probably want's his pack to stay consistent with RuneStorms implementation... it would be nice tough

Dunno about you, but I reckon the AIMS fire rate should be locked at 950RPM (but given a 90 round barrel clip to compensate). The difficult-to-control firerate should stand as a drawback (unless you use semi-auto) to counter-balance the awesome damage-per-second the gun does. That gives players another reason to switch to other guns, say if they want more controllable automatic fire then they can just use the MARS or the M50.

I want the AIMS to be stupidly overpowered but not the ultimate best choice for every situation. Also because I think firemodes should be limited to just 3. I find 4 and 5 annoying to flip through

[EDIT]

If you think the SKAS has too many skins, wait till you see my image collection of all the SRAC and Hunting rifle skins!

And yes I have a difference stance on that matter because all those extra skins arent just visual. Each variation has slightly different specifications which I think is awesome in terms of bringing variety to the game

The AIMS isn't a close range weapon anyway.
You have next to no time to switch the firemodes in close rooms.

By the way, I love the camouflages.
It's like gambling! What's better than having a TRON-Skas when you've expected a average one?

Yes with UV and texturing but not amination also you might have to wait a while, I have exams coming up and have to revise and finish my school work.

Good Luck!

Mal

P.S sorry for going off topic ^^;

I for one agree with you - I don't see the need for enhanced versions of weapons at all - most of the defaults from this pack are imbalanced as it is, either under or over. Making even more powerful versions of those weapons is unnecessary. It's just to please the flashy lights and big bangs brigade rather than contribute actively to the gameplay by filling a required niche and it contributes to massive texture package downloads for clients, who don't even benefit as it only works offline in any case.

Azarael

P.S. Hey guys! I'm going to remove the camo from the texture package and let you know what the new size is.

Hmmm...

Speaking of camouflage, maybe there could be a mutator which allows you to select which camo you want - if only visual-wise. Might be useful if, say, a server uses urban maps and you want weapons to always use urban camo.

Also, I like the beta MP40; maybe someone could give it back a suppressor and make it a .45 ACP version of the XK2? Can't dual-wield it because the recoil's too heavy or something.

BUG REPORT!:
The melee attack on the CLYO UAW doesn't work at all.

With camo: 141MB
Without camo: 86MB
Difference: 55MB, 40% of package size
Compressed random RGB8 and removed shine related to camo: 68MB
Difference: 73MB, 50% of package size


Some of the weapons that have camo are using 2048x2048 texture sizes, which is lunacy even for one skin. Using multiple camo skins at that size...

Yeah, it doesn't do any damage at all, does it?

Heh, that's kinda my fault. UV maps are shoddy for the huge res ones, so some highly noticeable areas look terribly low res. The only solution is to either redo the UVs (which will definitely push back release date considerably) or compensate with huge textures.

As this pack goes, it's not really your fault. The biggest size increase by far in the current texture file comes from the SRS-M2, which was made in 2048x2048 by RuneStorm, heaven knows why. Most of the superweapons they made are in that size too. The only other weapon I saw that was 2048x2048 and that your team modelled was the LS-14.

Ah, dunno what to say about that then.

But a quick question regarding your balance crusade; considering the sheer amount of weapons available for BW, how could one possibly expect to keep all those weapons balanced within each other? It seems like you're putting an awfully high expectation on other modders to make sure their weapons are balanced.

I don't see why everything has to be balanced. Some of the most fun stuff to play with is unbalanced.

Besides, really, we're going to talk about balance in a weapon mod that has this, are we.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/5303/lolnewkz.jpg

That's VCTF-Torlan. I fired it where the first blue node would be. I would be willing to bet I could kill both that node and the one on the hill if I fired this thing between them, given that it nearly reached the second node when it's centered on the first.

And actually, it goes a bit farther than that, it half-covers that little shrub there in front of the explosion. I screened it too soon at slomo .1.

In the case of these weapons, 'Fun' takes priority over 'Balance'. BFG does not stand for Balanced Friggen Gun!

On the topic of Camos:
Yep, the SRS-M2 is indeed the biggest culprit. I've made the call though, and the camo patterns will be staying in the final release along with all the extra data and sounds for use with the prototype package.

Those who dislike the system will sadly be out of luck until someone like Azarael or Kaboodles releases a modified version or something.

I'm still looking into getting the camouflage system compatible with the mutator, so we'll see how that goes. Perhaps you can set a favorite camo (gold) and spawn with that.

As of ProV54, I have few complaints with my own balance. It certainly isn't perfect, but there is no weapon that's whored, even with the G5, HAMR and PeaceMaker present in the game now. The problem is that people simply don't pay attention to balance at all, and use weak justifications for why their weapons should outpower standard ones - usually it's realism, with a few random facts about the rounds used in the weapon as if it matters at all, but when realism is ignored it shifts to personal preference, which is basically a way of saying that the author is pleasing themself. My viewpoint is that if a weapon concept is outrageously unbalanced, and a designer designed it that way knowing full well that the attributes of the weapon are going to make it very difficult or impossible to balance while maintaining a steadfast stance regarding those attributes, then that designer fully deserves the flak he'll take. Given that the host game, UT2004, is fairly balanced and has deep gameplay, it was suicidal to ignore gameplay and balance in the first place.

On the other side of the coin, the blame is not all on the modders. Apart from myself, Kaboodles and maybe a scant few others, I don't think anyone really cares one whit about general balance. Because the mod's been imbalanced and borderline unplayable for so long up until recently, the remaining playerbase is mostly composed of the players who didn't care about balance and gameplay in the first place, just about having cool weapons to play around with. There's nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but I don't like the subtle implications sometimes that a balanced game can't have powerful weapons in it, just properly balanced by something else. Balance doesn't mean that every weapon has to have a pedestrian output of damage, it just means that we can't have weapons that blow the shit out of players with almost no drawbacks whatsoever, or weapons which output an absolutely incredible amount of damage when simple negative conditions are filled - damage so high as to practically nullify the impact of the negative condition that is a prerequisitve to use the weapon or firemode in the first place.

Ultimately, the majority of people do want weapons that aren't balanced or playable in any way so that they can blow the shit out of some bots, as evidenced by the significant number of superweapons present in the pack at the moment and the lack of a general clamor for better balance and gameplay in the 2.5 update, and most modders are naturally going to appeal to the largest playerbase. But that doesn't mean I'm particularly happy about the direction of pleasing solely them when both parties could be satisfied.

On the topic of the camo: When the final is released, I'll strip the packages down to a more appropriate size. That won't really matter to most of you though, as my version won't work unless you're using Pro as a base.

I guess my point is that the base BW has so many weapons pretty much filling all manner of roles while still having plenty of overlap, what could a modder make that isn't outrageous and potentially overpowered in nature without simply making more of the same?

BY the way, I don't mean to insult you in your modding goals, I'm not trying to start up another balance vs. whatever debate, I just wanted to state an idea.

Don't worry about insulting me or whatever, I appreciate having an open discussion about things - usually things like this go nowhere.

It's just about seeing a niche and filling it. Some of your weapons do exactly that. I'll list them below:

CYLO MK1 - An assault rifle with an underslung shotgun. A weapon with a shotgun attachment doesn't exist outside of the sidearm category, which is why the UAW is a great weapon. Or it would be if the primary fire was weaker and the shotgun is stronger, as the current balance of the UAW means that you're better off using the primary fire to own people. Another benefit of balance - more weapons are viable.

CYLO MK2 - Overheating, incendiary assault rifle. This is a weapon that can legitimately dish out the pain, because the balancing factor is the overheat. You can't fire it from the hip too much, as you may overheat before you kill your target, so you have to be accurate. You can't safely engage many targets at once, regardless of your skill level against theirs - if you do, the weapon will overheat and you look like a mug. Also gives you a reasonable excuse to use the melee on the weapon if it's overheated - an incentive which doesn't exist for the M763, A73, etc as they are usually able to kill the opponent before running out of mag. Fills a niche.

G28 - Brilliant idea. Adds the ability to heal many players at once, deployable on demand, balanced by the fact that the blue smoke makes it obvious someone is there and all the players must stand still in the radius of the grenade.

A49 - This weapon is defined by its shockwave alt fire, which allows you to propel yourself along. It covers the role of the Translocator without having to have the Translocator in the game. Another excellent idea.

NEX Plas-Edge - Melee with heat management. It's fairly obviously unique as it is, and at the moment it's actually *underpowered*.

Bulldog - A weapon which has the ability to switch between a hitscan direct attack and a quick explosive projectile, both of which have high power. I'm pretty sure there's no weapon like that yet, and the altfire has the ability to make it useful at high latency more often.

HMC - Secondary fire is pretty basic fare, but the primary fire is a charge attack - high power, but the MASSIVE disadvantage of having to fire when the weapon's charged instead of being able to time your shot. Again, it's a unique piece of functionality as far as BW goes.

LS-14 - Semi auto overheating laser rifle, single and double fire modes, scope and rocket alt fire. It's pretty unique as it is - even if it was run-of-the-mill fare, it's quite frankly a brilliant model and a novel concept.

SKAS - The only thing wrong with this weapon is that it was wasted in the superweapon slot. BW has more than enough superweapons and this thing is brimming with functionality that could be better used as a direct replacement for the M781.

XM84 - There's no flashbang at the moment, so this is unique. However, at the moment, it gives players a big headache and the effects last ages.

The weapons I haven't mention here either would obscure existing weapons were they to be balanced (AH-series), don't work correctly online (X-83 mount otherwise qualifies the X-83) or are so close to existing functionality regardless of some changes that it doesn't really bear mentioning (compare Redwood shotgun series reload time to cocking time of shotguns).

Ah, thank you! This is a weapon that's been banging around in my head for what seems like a decade or more. And I'm still not happy with the model.

Shotgun was toned down from original power due to someone making a comment on its over-powered-ness. Current values were at some point approved by whoever made that suggestion earlier. Dunno who.



Ah, another of mine. Kaboodles was a great help here in the early prototype stages.
Haven't tried it since Sgt. Kelly reintroduced it though.

Thanks!



Heh heh, that alt fire was an afterthought.

I designed it as another skrith weapon, with the idea of an SMG role in mind. I pretty much just figured the alt fire oughta be some sorta defensive utility, and Sgt. Kelly took it from there.



Yeah, originally, my thinking was that some sort of force field retained the plasma stream pumped through the channel that serves as the cutting edge, and physical contact would break the field, releasing plasma on the target. Continual contacts would not give the field time to restabilize, so eventually the plasma would all be vented in a manner most harmful to the user. At the moment, that's not quite how it works.

Its supposed to be high damage with a bit of skill needed to keep from being killed by it, but considering the other easier to use melee weapons with 0 risk, its hard to get that to work.



Woo! Approval makes me happy!



Hah, I took this idea straight out of Halo, my two most favorite weapons in the series (well, favorite in idea at least), the Sentinel Beam and the Spartan laser, and combined them into this thingy (HMC + Halo Master Chief, 117 being his number thingy). Plus, BW could always use more energy weapons.

Was I responsible for the CYLO SG nerf? God, how little I must have understood then if so. At the moment it's very unpredictable. My bad if that was me.

Actually, I wanna say it was Baklajan, but I might be wrong. Can't remember.

Not only does it do no damage, but it doesn't even have an animation. It's like Kelly took the code out - which could make sense, if you think about it: you've already got a shotgun on this thing. No need to have a melee swipe, really.

I still say someone should polish the MP40, re-enable the suppressor, and just call it the XK2/45 or something. Could probably fill the nich of a close-quarters suppressed weapon with high firepower (maybe limit magazine size to 30 rounds).

What are the technical aspects of the REX-M2 prototype? (the CAWS) Like how much damage does it do versus the other shotguns, etc. Because right now, it just seems like a shotgun with the G5 model...

edit: I just tried the "player's test" (in which I have no access to the code/technical side of it, but I can fire it at a vehicle and see how much it takes to kill it.)

12 shots to kill a Hellbender. (edit: What the hell did I write hellbender? I meant Goliath... O_o)

Um... yeah. Might need a bit of a buff, especially given the writeup talks about how super dangerous it is. I'll try it on some bots, see what happens.

edit 2: Okay yeah, this is definitely better against bots. I shredded Gorge with full health and shield in one shot. Mind you I was practically groping him I was so close, but he still died in one shot. Clearly this is an anti-infantry weapon. VERY ANTI INFANTRY.

the CAWS is anti-invasion monster. It turns warlords into red confetti in one shot. Brings down titans in two

You really should use Monster Manager to beef up the monsters for BW, and especially Sarge's weapons of mass destruction. . .

If you downloaded Satore's Monster Pack, you'll get a stats editor for free:)



The animation works for me. Maybe it's a 2 hit melee weapon? I'll try.

I use monster manager, I just left the original monsters alone and beefed up the custom ones. I also have 25 waves that tend to fill up with over 40 monsters at once, so I have a bit of a quantity over quality thing going on here

I have custom monsters from wethaminvasion and Ace's special Skaarj pack so out of the warlords I have to shoot here I have Icelords, Doomlords, Magisters, Gedons, Darklords and Gaylords.

Darklords and Magisters have twice the strength and can take several M50 clips to take down. They still cant survive a point blank CAWS though. Gaylords on the other have 5 times times the normal strength so they can take about 3 point blank CAWS shots (or an entire XMB500 barrel). Fortunately Gaylord rockets are not as lethal as Darklord or Magister rockets which will tear you to pieces

And then there's the Golem; I boosted that titans health so high hes tougher than an onslaught power core. You need the golden gun to kill it.

of course the CAWS isn't something you can pick up right away. It has relatively high ballistic evolution stats in my settings. That's how I tend to compensate for the overpowerfulness.

The Special Skaarjpack doesn't work for me... I'll try to reinstall it.