[MOD TC/AP] Combat Mod 4 - v4.16 17/06/13 - AP 3.0 Compatibility

[Goncyn]

I just started playing again after two months and skipped a few versions up to 4.8. I really like where the ISR is now in terms of balance. It is still a good anti-fighter weapon, but it isn't the instant laser ray of death to anything within range. PBEs seem slightly nerfed, and PRGs are noticeably better. I'll have to give some of the other fighter weapons a try (e.g. HEPT) to see how they compare now. The new missile rebalance pack is great, too.

Overall, the mod's balance seems pretty solid now. Good work!

[Inras]

Don't know why but:
I can't load the Savegames.....

[paulwheeler]

Don't know why but:
I can't load the Savegames.....

It won't be the Cmod causing this.


It will be a mod that alters models and/or weapon nodes on ships.

Have you updated another mod that alters these things such as the SRM or the Xtra mod? If so I suggest putting the old version back in, flying to a different sector and trying again. I try to put a list in the SRM thread with each release of all the ships that will cause a crash if they are in-sector when you upgrade.

[Creyn]

I have to admit that I'm starting to get REALLY confused by the vast amount of different heavy weapons now. Not to mention that every time I update something this seems to overhaul many weapons right the moment I think I finally got it.

Some ships like Xenon or Pirates can mount quite a variety of them so I'm a bit lost on what to mount when.

If possible, could someone write some little comparison about the pros and cons of the heavy weapons, especially the various beams?

I don't have such a problem with light or medium weapons as it's far easier to observe them directly.

Thanks in advance

[builder680]

I have to admit that I'm starting to get REALLY confused by the vast amount of different heavy weapons now. Not to mention that every time I update something this seems to overhaul many weapons right the moment I think I finally got it.

Some ships like Xenon or Pirates can mount quite a variety of them so I'm a bit lost on what to mount when.

If possible, could someone write some little comparison about the pros and cons of the heavy weapons, especially the various beams?

I don't have such a problem with light or medium weapons as it's far easier to observe them directly.

Thanks in advance

I'm starting on a spreadsheet (similar to the SRM stats) for CMOD weapons. In my new game I haven't discovered all weapons yet, so it's going to be a while. When it's done, I'll probably see if paulwheeler wants it so he can make it available for download. It should make weapon comparisons much easier than using the in-game Encyclopedia.

[paulwheeler]

I can give you a rough overview of heavy weapons... its off the top of my head so may not be 100% accurate.

PPC - General purpose heavy weapon. If in doubt use this.

Ion Cannon - Will strip shields really quickly, also affects ships speed and laser energy. Little effect on hulls.

Gauss Cannon - very fast bullet speed and large range. Does moderate damage. Think of it as a sniper rifle. Requires ammo.

PSP - same as PPC really. A bit more powerful, but fires slower. Can be charged up.

IBL - Medium/Heavy pirate weapon. Faster than the PPC but does less damage.

Plasma Beam Cannon - Average range. Good damage - not quite as much as PPC. Instant hit of beam weapons. Average/slow fire rate. The shorter beam duration means it can hurt fighters and corvettes.

Fusion Beam Cannon - Large range. Good damage - again not as much as PSP but with instant hit. Very slow fire rate. Good against capitals.

Tribeam - medium range and damage. Instant hit. Medium fire rate and duration. Can be effective against all ships.

Phased Array Laser Cannon - Short range. Instant hit. Medium damage. Fast fire rate. Good against fighters and corvettes. Not enough damage to take on big ships.

CIG - the medium version of the PPC. Faster bullet speed and fire rate, but less damage.

IPG - Mainly affects shields. Does some hull damage and affects speed and laser energy.

ISR - Medium damage. Fast bullet speed, but inaccurate.

PSG - Area of effect weapon. Good against fighters and corvettes. Short range.

Fusion Pulse Disruptor - Terran version of the CIG. Also affects targets speed.

FAA - standard flak. Good against fighters and corvettes.

CFA - more powerful than flak. Slower fire rate and bullet speed. Bigger hit box.

MAML - Standard medium weapon. More speed, and faster fire rate than FPD. Requires ammo.



I think thats all the medium/heavy weapons. Let me know if I've missed one out.

As I said its off the top of my head (I'm at work) so don't quote me on any of it.

[Creyn]

Thanks, that helps a lot!

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

NOTE RE: Gamma Kyon cargo size.

I have changed it to ST to mask it from Cadius' new Kha'ak frigate. It was very unbalanced that the frigate could mount so many Gamma Kyon's - far more than the Destroyer. Now it will only be able to mount Beta Kyons.

MODDERS - I highly recommend that you change the cargo compatibility of the Kha'ak Guardian to ST so it can use the Gamma Kyon. The Destroyer and Carrier are ST in vanilla already.

It is probably worth mentioning that the apparent imbalance between the new Kha'ak M7 and the Vanilla Kha'ak M1/M2 is not intended to last (or so I gather). I believe that Cadius is intending to replace the vanilla Kha'ak M1/M2 in a future update.

[builder680]

Offhand, does anyone know all of the two letter 'missile type' abbreviations used in game?

Example: IR = Image Recognition...

I need the ones that show up in your lower left when you load a missile. Abbreviations for the following:

Swarm
Proximity Detonation
Dumbfire
Manual Trigger
Requires a target

etc... I'm sure there's more. I need them all, if possible.

[paulwheeler]

Offhand, does anyone know all of the two letter 'missile type' abbreviations used in game?

Example: IR = Image Recognition...

I need the ones that show up in your lower left when you load a missile. Abbreviations for the following:

Swarm
Proximity Detonation
Dumbfire
Manual Trigger
Requires a target

etc... I'm sure there's more. I need them all, if possible.

I take it you're not using my missile rebalance addon then as I've altered these acronyms...

In vanilla and base CMOD you have:

IR, AREA, FF, DB and HEAT.

Area is for proximity detonation, DB is dumbfire... Your guess is as good as mine for what FF stands for. Manual trigger doesn't have an acronym.

IMO these are pretty obscure so for the rebalance I have changed them to:

PROX, SWARM, RETARGET, HEAT, REMOTE

Which I hope are self-explanatory!

[builder680]

I meant to delete that post and forgot. I just made my own titles for the columns I'm using.

Sorry!

[mim525]

This doesnt edit the jobs files in any way does it?

[Mizuchi]

This doesnt edit the jobs files in any way does it?

No. The majority of the changes are in Tlasers and Tbullets. Jobs aren't touched.

[builder680]

Do Plasma Beam Cannons drain weapon energy from their target? I'm in a fight with a C who has 16 PBC's mounted (and 8 FAA's). It seems my weapons drain much faster than normal. I can see my Weapon Energy go down sometimes when none of my turrets are shooting at him. But the encyclopedia says nothing about PBC's draining energy.

Actually, the Agamemnon's (my ship) weapons seem to drain pretty fast anyway. Seems like I can only make one pass at a time against this C and my weapons are at 0%.

SRM ships btw.

Strangely, when I try to FRAPS it, my frame rate goes down and it stops draining my lasers. When I turn off FRAPS, my frame rate goes back up and it starts draining my lasers again. It's the damnedest thing...

[Mizuchi]

Do Plasma Beam Cannons drain weapon energy from their target?

Yes they do - with a value of 60, no less.

(Although I'm not entirely sure what "60" translates to in practical in-game terms.)

[builder680]

Do Plasma Beam Cannons drain weapon energy from their target?

Yes they do - with a value of 60, no less.

(Although I'm not entirely sure what "60" translates to in practical in-game terms.)

Well son of a gun! Where can I find that information? I imagine it's in some arcane cryptogram of a file named tlasers or something. I.e., beyond my reach! It should be in the Encyclopedia.

Whatever 60 means, it works out to be pretty quick. I had to run away! It was actually pretty cool to not be able to take another ship one-on-one because of its loadout. Adds depth.

[Mizuchi]

Well, if you fire up DoubleShadow's X3 Editor (which I'm certain you have because I think I've accidentally suggested it to you in about three different topics now ) here's how you find the values:

If you have CMOD already installed:

1. "Open from VFS"
2. Navigate to: Types
3. Open up Tbullets with File Editor.
4. Select the "Bullet Data" tab in the right-hand information pane.

It's all there.

The tick-boxes at the bottom handle the attributes for the various lasers (Drain Energy; Beam; Disable Shields; etc), while all the other information is listed in the pane itself.

They all show as "Unknown Object" in the editor for me, so if that's the case on your machine then DON'T PANIC! You just need to pay attention to the "ID" value in the "General" tab, and it's pretty easy to work out which is which.

[builder680]

You're right, I do have it! You have been quite the salesman for DoubleShadow lol...

But I've been loathe to actually use it. It's very complicated looking and I don't want to mess up any files. You have no idea how many days and hours it took of research, backups, planning (!), personal documentation, and finally COMPLETE reinstallation, before I finally found out how to install the 85 bazillion mods that go into making SRM and CMOD work the way I wanted them! The instructions are clear for everything, but when you're reading them for all those different addon packs and mods and cat/dats... things just blur together eventually... Don't wanna mess 'em up!

I guess I could make copies though, and mess with those... dunno why that didn't occur to me, I do it all the time. Heh.

Thanks for the step by step. Next time I have 16 giant green lasers shooting at me and I have a question about them, I will alt-tab and go file hunting!

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

They all show as "Unknown Object" in the editor for me, so if that's the case on your machine then DON'T PANIC! You just need to pay attention to the "ID" value in the "General" tab, and it's pretty easy to work out which is which.

Nominal "name" for all bullets is Unknown Object but this name is a technicality (has no impact in the game). You should notice a pair of radio buttons at the top of the left hand pane, just ensure that the radio button with the label "ID" is selected and you should see a bunch of SS_BULLET_... strings instead of "Unknown Object". Just look for the bullet SS_BULLET_PBC.

[Mizuchi]

But I've been loathe to actually use it. It's very complicated looking and I don't want to mess up any files.

You won't mess anything up unless you manually and intentionally change the values and then save it, so don't worry.

And thanks for explaining that, Roger. I always did wonder why it showed up like that.