Attachments

[Alicecomma]

Weapon Parts / Scuffing

Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/RimWorld/comments/p0pjwo/in_the_next_combat_extended_update_you_will_be/
PR: #971

Summary

DISCUSSION

Started with Luizi's 'exploded weapon' image:

Initial ideas:

• Having these graphics for all vanilla weapons and CE guns and saving these individual parts and creating guns in-game
• Switching out dedicated weapon parts as 'mods' - e.g Fallout 4 crafting
• Combining every individual gun part into scuffed guns we see posted in memes daily
  • Mod menu setting to ignore certain attachment limitations
  • Idea has matured to: techLevel, attachementTag and similar limitations
• Having a bodypart system but for guns, and storing gun parts' health in a similar way

Scope:

• All vanilla guns' parts
  • Possibly with some extra modifications that are common for those types of guns
• All CE Guns (because Luizi already has those files ready)

What's still left (minimum viable product)

DISCUSSION

• Simple Crafting
• • UI should display moused over attachment, but not currently selected attachment
• • 'Apply' doesn't cause the UI to be correct next time the window is opened
• • Displayed stat changes should be relative to existing gun
• • Mouseover should show stat changes as well
• • Person queues job to change attachments (looking for them in colony)
• Attachments actually affect stats
• On-floor weapon attachments visible
• In-inventory weapon attachments visible

Modifying UI

DISCUSSION

Current state

OPEN

• Ground item not updated

• Inventory icon not updated

What is an attachment item?

OPEN

Multiple options:

1. Completely individual items with/without quality (weapon-like), currently also unstackable
2. Generic attachments (scope tier 1, muzzle tier 3) -- Makes 'mixing' attachments hard
3. Generic items (components, wood log) -- Makes 'mixing' attachments hard

What is the goal?

1. Make attachments the new 'ammo system' level of micromanagement, goal to try and allow mixing between guns
2. Make attachments more similar to components, allow with less micro
3. Attachments are common and easy to change, allow minimal micro (also minimal character?)

What should the UI look like?

OPEN

A: Make sure it looks similar to RimWorld. Existing menus are those for choosing hairstyles - ideology styling tab. Showing individual gun parts perhaps like body parts.

• [1:58 AM] Andross: Fucking STALKER be lik
  

Latest:

What are UI items?

OPEN

1.: The ThingDef of the attachment.

• FOR INVISIBLE ATTACHMENTS (barrel)
• Problem: only few exist - gets boring, not descriptive especially if all scopes fit on all weapons at some point.

2.: The attachment Graphic alone.

• Problem: no idea where the graphic should be.
• Solution: could use blit cropping.

3.: The current gun with the attachment in correct position.
Current:

4.: MenuIcons, abstract representation of the attachment.

• Problem: more artist work. Not extremely consistent with RW UI style.

5.: Texts with the ThingDef of the attachment.

• Works for essentially all attachments
  Current:
  

Visual attachment points

DISCUSSION

Where do the attachments visually attach?

OPEN

Answer 1 (Alistaire): On attachments points Vector2 assigned in def (similar to Mrofa hands). Specifically use of 'attachment point' that is on the gun!

• [2:17 PM] NumberOfImposterAttempts: XML supplies pixel to be matched by attachmentTag, C# moves parts to match pixels
• [2:20 PM] /S/afairette: different attachments would draw better in front or behind the main body

BENEFITS: anything could attach anywhere; large amount of content added with only a single attachment XML; no need for aligning sprites manually.
DOWNSIDES:

• [1:35 AM] Karim: do you want to do every offset [red.: XML] in the world?

---

Answer 2 (Karim):

• [1:34 AM] Karim: the are pre aligned, as in the attachment is made for the weapon. you just export it.

BENEFITS: less work needed for XML team per image
DOWNSIDES: more work needed for graphics team; likely impossible to mix-and-match parts; Fallout 4-like approach.

---

What about guns that do not have the visuals ready for the part system?

A: Assume the whole gun is a 'part' using a Comp that has simpler settings (attachment points etc.) so a mod author could also implement the system without needing to redo graphics.

Map Items

DISCUSSION

What would the gun part items look like when they're not on a gun?

A: Boxes similar to bodyparts, possibly with the right type of gun part icon on it

What truly is a scuffed weapon?

A: Make it like the ThingDef for crafted items in progress.

XML

DISCUSSION

What is the XML structure?

• [8:45 AM] Andross: Then maybe the gun could have something like

<attachmentPoints>
  <li>Stock<li>
  <li>Optic</l>
  <li>Underbarrel</li>
  <li>Magazine</li>
</attachmentPoints>

• [8:39 AM] Andross: XML concept
  

• [7:53 AM] Andross: How do i define the offsets for that gun
  

Crafting/Adding Attachments

DISCUSSION

How is the UI accessed?

Option 1: Dedicated crafting table.

• Open UI much like ammo crafting table
• Problem: How would you select each weapon? Show all on the map? Show all pawns? Only allow opening UI with pawn there - like hairdresser?

Option 2: Can add anywhere from inventory.

• Open UI right-click 'Change attachments' or so.
• Starting job, takes X seconds exactly like reloading does.

Escapen't From Tarkov

DISCUSSION

How To Acquire

OPEN

TRADERS

Combat Suppliers - Carry a small assortment of attachments (Low - Normal quality [Maybe very rare high quality]).

Orbital Combat Suppliers - Carrying large quantities of attachments (Normal+ quality)

LOOTING

Guns taken from raiders can be looted for attachments, these usually have taken damage during the fight reducing their bonuses.

RESEARCH

Attachments must be unlocked through research, machining being a prerequisite.

Model A - Separate attachments into three tiers:

• Tier 1 - Basic Attachments
  Simple foregrips, shoddy scopes, basic shotgun / grenade launcer, magazines and some muzzle stuff.
• Tier 2 - Advanced Attachments
  Red Dots / Holographic sights, improved muzzle stuff, shotgun / grenade launcher, better scopes, flashlights and lasers.
• Tier 3 - Spacertech Attachments
  Night vision scopes, plasma(?) launchers, etc.

Model B - Separate each attachment type into it's own tier / tiers:

• Tier 1 Attachments:
  Unlocks shoddy scopes and foregrips.
  Prerequisites: Machining / Gunsmithing.
• Tier 2 Attachments:
  Unlocks x2/3 augment scopes and red dots.
  Prerequisites: Machining / Gunsmithing / T1 Optics.
• Tier 3 Attachments:
  Unlocks x4+ augment scopes and holos.
  Prerequisites: Machining / Gunsmithing / T2 Optics / Microelectronics.
• Tier 4 Attachments:
  Unlocks night vision scopes and spacer optics.
  Prerequisites: Machining / Gunsmithing / T3 Optics / Microelectronics / Multi-analyzer.

Then after finishing the desired research, these can be crafted in the Gunsmithing Bench unlocked after researching Machining.

Note: Add a new research tab explicitly for attachments.

Attachment Types

OPEN

SIGHTS

• Red Dot
• Holographic
• Scopes

STOCKS

• Stocks reduce recoil in general, can also increase aim time depending on the recoil reduction.

MAGAZINES

• Extended Magazines
  • Around 10 / 15 extra rounds
• Drum Magazines
  • 50 / 100 rounds, increase bulk and weight.
• Stacked Magazines
  • Faster reloads.

Underbarrel

• Foregrips
• Bipods
• Launchers

Muzzle

• Compensators
  • Reduces Sway or Recoil
• Flash Hiders
  • Reduces muzzle flash
  • Reduces Sway or Recoil
• Suppressors
  • Reduces muzzle flash
  • Slight bulk increase
  • Hunting stealth bonus
• Chokes
  • Reduces shotgun spread

Accessory

• Flashlight
  • Night Vision bonus
• Laser
  • Sights Efficiency bonus
  • Reduces warm up time

[Alicecomma]

Karim's vision

Elitism, Passive vanilla-like/Opt-in upgrade & General comments

Elitism

Raiders use attachments given their wealth

Attachments shouldn't be required unless you want an elite force

• Have to invest in small teams of deadly combat pawns
• Require almost a factory supporting them

Make crafting a weapon require things appropriate for it

• It will not be a rewarding if it requires only 50 steel to get the best attachments
• Shit tier weapons don't really need comps [components, attachment boxes, resources], just time [crafting time]

'Barrel component'

• Make the gunsmithing bench the place you make guns

Passive-auto fix / Opt-in upgrade

Attachments allow more things

• Tungsten AP ammo only used by an attachment barrel
• • Caulaflower: Sounds kinda weird, idk if restricting some ammo to these barrels makes sense. Like I feel some players will consider this just an annoyance rather that a variety option.
• • Andross: Restricting ammo types to barrels is a big no
• Barrel swapping should allow for extreme ammo like AP++

Passive systems and QoL systems

• Weapons quality effects malfunctioning: just not firing after a warmup, weapon being damaged by 1 or 4 damage points
• • Caulaflower: Making malfunctions is adding reliability stat and adding one bool verb shoot
• • /S/afairette: Malfunctions are also something that I feel most CE players won't really enjoy
• Normal: malfunction every 500 bullets or more; Awful: every 50 or less

Gunsmithing table jobs

• Upgrade weapon quality level at the gunsmithing table
• • Cheap but require a very skilled pawn
• Automatic repair of weapons
• • Make pawns go fix if they are free
• Automatic attachment management
• Vanilla strategy won't be affected
• Invest you will be awarded

General comments

/S/afairette: I don't understand the reason why the attachments suddenly are:

1. a massive investment comparable to supplying multiple pawns (lmao realism)
2. a significant boost to combat effectiveness compared to other gear choices (lmao realism x2)

Andross: That sounds pretty fuckign excessive because i never go above 10 colonists, and if i need 8 of them printing shit out for 2 to use that's no fun

Caulaflower: Well the second one is sights I guess, since difference between let’s say a holosun and iron sights is abysmal.

Attaching

Technicalities: Resource = ?, Where do pawns craft?

Resources to be used for attaching

Question: What are these?

Options are mainly individual resources or tiered boxes per category:

The current consensus is that the used resource differs between attachments:

1. End-game rare drops: Gate all attachments behind having the exact attachment box for that attachment (MechanoidFlamethrowerUnderbarrel, RaiderGrenadeLauncher)
2. Mid-game rare drops: Gate attachment categories behind having the exact attachment box for that category (RaiderScope)
3. Mid-game mid-tier: Gate attachment behind research to be able to craft this kind of attachment box (IndustrialBarrel, SpacerBarrel)
4. Early-game low-tier: Gate attachment behind having resources to attach it (Steel, IndustrialComponents)

On barrel/internals swap

Idea is to make caliber changeable. Why would people want this?

• Make low-powered gun stronger
• Change caliber to common one for colony

How do we want to limit it?

• XML-defined limitations, OR even easier:
• With Feature Suggestion #791 : Simple ammo, you could say if the ammo type is a simpler version of another ammo type, you can swap to that version

Early-game players interact with attachments

• Alistaire: Taking off the scope from the vanilla sniper rifle feels 'wrong' and it's really cool to have that feeling the first time
• Andross: Raider only attachments that you can grab from their guns and use
• • Empire soldier comes with a gun with attachments that are derived from EmpireScope - kill soldier - take gun - detach EmpireScope - use the 'box' on your own weapons
• • Some talk about unlocking research / recipes, but feels too gamified
• Alistaire: Raider with charge rifle - kill - SpacerScope was randomly destroyed on death - craft NeolithicScope - Attach NeolithicScope to have severely nerfed but maintainable weapon
• Alistaire: Raider with AR - kill - very little 5.56 and no ammo bench - craft NeolithicScope - attach - now the gun is a low-tier sniper rifle

Mid-game players interact with attachments

• Alistaire: Research for attachments onto various guns

Late-game players interact with attachments

• Andross: The more stable a gun is the lower its warmup should be
• Andross: What if the player befriends the empire
• Alistaire: Even if some combinations are bad, it's just gonna mean people gravitate towards idk Revolver+AK47 Stock+AWP Scope+200-round Mag+Full-auto Triggergroup+Underslung GrenadeLauncher
• Alistaire: Getting to the end-game have caliber swaps and guns crafting open up more to the player until they can craft whatever they want

End-game characteristics:

• Spaceship
• Glittertech stuff -- Glittertech attachments from Empire raids and from Empire quests/favors
• Very high colony wealth -- Attachments might modulate it a bit if you could spend a lot of money on one attachment, or you could make very expensive attachments
• Massive raids
• Large colonist populations
• Large expeditions to get end-game loot -- (Ideology?) for attachments - Quest rewards similar to Fallout 4 perhaps, 'ultralight' versions of attachments
• Mechanoids drop everywhere -- Mechanoids have to drop attachments! Low chance of attachments? High chance of attachment breaking?
• • Scyther drops bayonets ('MechBayonet' - underslung blade adds strong melee tools)
• • Lancer drops scopes ('MechScope' - pretty low SightEfficiency ceiling so not too OP)
• • MortarDude drops GL ('MechGL' underslung)
• • Centipede drops all the good stuff - 'MechFlamethrower' underslung flamethrower, 'MechLaser' underslung laser rifle, ...
• Trade caravans/Space traders
• Rare animals -- Might drop ingredients needed for certain attachments? Perhaps some attachments are stuffified with leather, so rare animals are the best source to craft the attachment.
• Ancients

Attachments damaging/breaking on death

To limit the influx of attachments and to increase the impact of a colonist death.

• When the pawn holding the gun dies - similar to deadman's apparel -- the attachments are damaged
• Damage scales with techLevel. Specifically, Neolithic attachments (wood stuff) breaks much more quickly than Spacer stuff and upward
• Although Spacer stuff could break more for raiders, actually having consistency makes logical sense (although bad for balancing of course)

[Alicecomma]

Community feedback

Reddit post

• Attachment types: pistol grip, stock, handguard, rails, barrel, muzzle device, front tactical grip, combo scope, flashlights, lasers, belt feeding, belt-fed revolver, auto-loader, double-barrel, bipod, calibre change, bayonets, no stock, dust cover,
• Escape from Tarkov: recreate cursed guns
• Fallout 4: Turn laser pistol into machinegun
• Considerations: high-caliber hurting wrists,
• 'Colts your kalashnikov' and other Brandon Herrera-type shit
• Combat Ideology for your colony where you can pick and choose different memes - "Big Ass Scopes: Increased accuracy at range, but less accuracy close up", "Small calibre ammo: Less damage but more accurate bursts"
• They are apparel for guns thus you we disassemble the gun (stripping for weapons) it will drop them other than that it's an automatic system
• Disable weapon modifications in the mod settings
• Just wish loadouts were saved between saves. It's a pain in the arse to make them each time
• I always try to run tidy colonies with standardized setups and loadouts and minimal micromanagement and while I can't image playing without CE any more it does introduce additional clutter.
• Not sure how all this will work with stuff like smelting, disassembling, quality and the like.
• Dealing with unwanted ammo is already a bit cumbersome, if some weapons now start to disassemble into parts that will need further processing... ah the pain. Would be great to introduce some CE specific QoL recipes for smelting/destroying, etc. Like smelting the whole gun without extracting ammo/attachments, bulk ammo smelt/destroy
• making it so colonists can fire over one another's shoulder if they're directly behind each other like in Vanilla
• I hope its all workstation based, my storage cant handle 100 different attachments
• This is really cool but how do you stop from getting overwhelmed? I always struggle in games where you are controlling lots of people and they all have detailed inventories and weapons
• I still think Jagged Alliance 2 with 1.13 mod has the best weapon customization in any game. You can add silencers, grips, scopes, laserpointers and much more to the weapons. Sadly you dont really see all the attachments as the game and graphics are very old
• going to make melee EVEN MORE irrelevant in CE