[WIP] In-depth repair overhaul (input needed)

[WOLFkraut]

[quote=Dynastia]

This is excellent stuff. But there are a few things I should say... 

- For scripting (and gameplay) purposes, detachable magazines won't be part of the fieldstripping/repair, since you'll be swapping them every single time you reload. They'll be misc or ammo items and have no 'condition' value assigned to them.

- I'd really like 'simpler' weapons to have less parts than more complicated ones. Revolvers, I feel, should definitely have less parts than an autoloader. For this reason I'm adding "Recoil Spring" as a component of the autoloading pistols. I'm not 100% sure that's the best choice, as I'm not certain it isn't considered part of the "action". If you can suggest a better additional part for autoloaders, please let me know.

- I'll make sure to write the scripts so that alternate parts like heavy barrels or light bolts can be added in easily, or so parts can be mixed and matched to create recalibered guns, but I'm not going to try adding in any frankensteiny guns or any improved parts except the vanilla mods until a stable and working version is out. 

Did you have any thoughts on the breakactions or SMGs? Lock ,stock and barrel should be sufficient for the breakctions, I think, but I'm not entirely sure hat should be in a SMG or machnepistol. The same parts as a fully autatic rifle, I would guess?

[/quote]

I realize that it may just just be too much trouble, but magazine condition would actually be really cool. The more you use your mags the more worn out and damaged they become. And perhaps it could apply to Wasteland mags, as well. So for instance, the 200 year old mag used by that Raider you just killed is nearly useless, while the nearly unused one you found in the National Gaurd Amory is in perfect condition. And there could be different effects caused by their condition and ways to repair them. So if you have a bent up old mag, then with sufficient repair skill, a hammer and a workbench, you could beat it back into usable condition. Or, after being used so much, the spring could have worn out causing the mag to not feed properly and jamming your weapon. Just an idea.

Also, perhaps those "full-auto internals" should be named "Fire Controller"? I do believe that's the correct term, but I could be wrong.

[Sandloon]

[quote=WOLFkraut]

Also, perhaps those "full-auto internals" should be named "Fire Controller"? I do believe that's the correct term, but I could be wrong.

[/quote]

The Fire Control switch is just that, a switch. There are various pins and needles and springs that go into converting a Semi-auto into a Full auto. Albrecht brought up that the receiver also needs to have a machining done most times as well.

[Dynastia]

Detachable magazines definitely won't be tracked here, although I certainly understand the argument for them. The proposed magazine overhaul will use similar scripts to store the amount of rounds in each partially-full mag, but it will be completely seperate from my repair plugin, so either (or both) can be used without issues. Also, while it might be technically possible to affect how a gun performs based on the condition of certain internal parts (more jamming with a bad slide, for instance), I'm not even going to attempt it. Condition of a weapon will affect its performance in the exact same way as vanilla, and be an abstract value determined solely by the average condition of all the constituent parts.

 

A little hiccup here, I reorganised the scripts to allow for a better interface, and now the conditions from newly acquired weapons aren't randomising properly. I've gone over the code several times and can't spot my mistake, but the randomisation formula uses math functions that I don't truly understand (I got help writing those), so it's possible that the error might be there. It's also possible I might have simply made a coding error small enough that I've missed it, but if that's the case I should be able to find it sooner or later and fix it. Either way, I need to take a break from reading and re-reading the code and look at it later with fresh eyes.

In the meantime I'll be putting together a first draft of which weapons should be made up of which parts, and releasing it here as a .txt attachment rather than a gigantic wall of text. Keep in mind that Energy, Melee and Unarmed weapons will be handled by this too, so if you've got any ideas for what laser guns, thermic lances and plasma cannons should be made up of, please post them.

More ideas on how to repair the weapon parts at a workbench would also be very welcome. I'd prefer methods which don't add new miscellenia items into the game, but I'm perfectly willing to bring in new tools and scrap items before making silly repair methods like duct tape fixing gun barrels and such.

[Sandloon]

BTW, I forgot to ask. If one has a very high repair skill (90+ or so) would taking apart a weapon IMPROVE its condition? For instance, a proper mechanic might clean the barrel, the receiver, action, polish it up a bit. Just a thought/suggestion.

As for Lazors and Plasma I cant speak (not big into the kind of science) but a thermic lance should be pretty basic, we even have them IRL! 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_lance

http://images.machinedesign.com/images/archive/72396thermallan_00000050487.jpg

^ that one might be especially helpful

[Dynastia]

I won't do that because closing all the player-abuse loopholes would make a big clunky script even bigger and clunkier, but I'll make it so weapon components that already have a high condition can be repaired without a workbench (which will be treated as cleaning, polishing, etc.). I'll probably add items like gun oil, wood varnish and steel polish for this sort of thing.

And thanks for the links, they're the sort of thing that really help out.

[Sandloon]

If those are what you are looking for then here:

Semi-Auto Pistol: http://www.austinrfa.com/images/Glock_parts_diagram2.jpg

 

SMG/AR: http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f165/GSG5Host1/general/exploded_small.jpg

Bolt: http://world.guns.ru/userfiles/images/rifle/5/1288255256.jpg

Revolver: http://www.popguns.com/centerfire/images/classes/revparts.jpg

MINIGUN!!!!!!!!!!:http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/kpm134dw.gif

Lever-Action:http://www.atf.gov/files/graphics/firearms/importation-guidebook/terms-lever-action.jpg

Pump-Action:http://www.info4guns.com/graphics/gun_parts_shotgun.gif

Break-Action:http://www.atf.gov/files/graphics/firearms/importation-guidebook/terms-top-break-action.jpg

 

Just Google X-action diagram, or X-Action Exploded Diagram.

 

[LT Albrecht]

[quote=Dynastia]

Detachable magazines definitely won't be tracked here, although I certainly understand the argument for them. The proposed magazine overhaul will use similar scripts to store the amount of rounds in each partially-full mag, but it will be completely seperate from my repair plugin, so either (or both) can be used without issues. Also, while it might be technically possible to affect how a gun performs based on the condition of certain internal parts (more jamming with a bad slide, for instance), I'm not even going to attempt it. Condition of a weapon will affect its performance in the exact same way as vanilla, and be an abstract value determined solely by the average condition of all the constituent parts.

[/quote]

Adding the magazines themselves as parts would make things cumbersome, I'd agree. However, adding some prerequisite part to weapons in order to use extended magazines is necessary if you want to retain the vanilla mods. The easiest way to do this would be to have an add-on part named something like '[weapon] reinforced magazine well', allowing extended magazines by letting the locking mechanism handle the extra weight of the larger magazine. Not 100% true to life in all cases, but a decent solution IMO. 

[quote]In the meantime I'll be putting together a first draft of which weapons should be made up of which parts, and releasing it here as a .txt attachment rather than a gigantic wall of text. Keep in mind that Energy, Melee and Unarmed weapons will be handled by this too, so if you've got any ideas for what laser guns, thermic lances and plasma cannons should be made up of, please post them.

More ideas on how to repair the weapon parts at a workbench would also be very welcome. I'd prefer methods which don't add new miscellenia items into the game, but I'm perfectly willing to bring in new tools and scrap items before making silly repair methods like duct tape fixing gun barrels and such.

[/quote]

Lasers are pretty remarkably simple, at their most basic they consist of:

-Energy input (heat, electrical current, etc)

-Gain medium in a tube (usually a gas, something that when given energy can put out the right photons and is known to 'work'. It uses this weird quantum effect where if something's looking to put out energy as light you can influence what light and what direction by passing the desired light through it. Hence your beam 'gains' as it passes through the medium, thus the name).

-two mirrors at each end of the tube, one with a translucent 'hole' for the laser to be emitted from.

Now for a laser gun you'll want some focusing mirrors (explicitly mentioned in notes and fluff in-game), and a few other components. I'd suggest:

-Body

-Gain tube

-power terminals

-mirrors

-heatsink?

-focusing array (a composite 'unit' of whatever specific methods of focusing the weapon has).

for the automatic lasers some kind of circuitry or other electronic 'mechanism' is justifiable, for the semi-autos the circuitry can be considered to be part of the body and power terminals for simplicity's sake.

Plasma weapons are more... complicated. Firstly, there's the issue over how exactly they work. I have no idea how it actually keeps the plasma in a projectile rather than it dissipating. IT shouldn't be too hard to think reasonably about what parts the weapon would break down into though, as although complicated they're supposedly military weapons meant for the infantry, which means they have to be field-strippable. Body, heat shielding, plasma chamber, electromagnets and capacitors would do as a basic list (incredibly rough list, but it's not awful).

[Sandloon]

Anyone know if he is still working on this?

[GoreMaster]

This seems awesome!