Weapon Changes

[Cavalier302]

Okay - I know i'm continuing a thread from 2004, but i've only just joined the forum and some things just need to be said.

 

Firstly, where grenades are one of the most useful tools in the game, smoke grenades are doubly so. Their only flaw is that the smoke / blast radius expands horizontally only, and no smoke, fragmentation, or blast is extended vertically. This definitely needs to be corrected in Xenocide.

 

Another issue with blast and blast radius is that the damage done to buildings, trees and streetlights, etc. can be catastrophic at a ground level yet the structure continues to stand. I understand that programming buildings collapsing or streetlamps falling over and the resulting damage to other terrain or agents / aliens would be extremely difficult but it would make the game fantastically unique. In fact, I can't think of any games currently on the market which allow for this level of destruction!

 

Time unit use is reasonable for grenades in the existing X-Com games. Keep in mind the main part of the TU cost is setting the timer, NOT simply pulling out the pin. In fact, pulling out the pin is incorporated in throwing / placing the grenade otherwise it would explode in the soldiers hand or belt after priming. The sophistication of the priming process allows for timer to be set at approximately 10 - 15 second intervals (about the length of one turn) for up to about 15 or 20 turns. Expending half a soldier's TU's on this process (about 7 real life seconds) is perfectly reasonable, and the UFOpaedia does make a note on the timer's sophistication.

 

That's all for now, except a question. The power of each type of grenade or explosive ammo is denoted by a number in the UFOpaedia. Does this represent the explosive power (indicating that a smoke grenade does more damage than a standard grenade, which seems ridiculous), or the blast radius? If it does indicate the blast radius, does anyone know the damage caused by a direct hit with each weapon?

 

Thanks - Cavalier