Change weapon powers=graphics change too! How to fix this?

[Rip-Saw]

I've been fiddling with the weapons power in game to try and make all the weapons a bit closer together in power as well as less of a huge advantage over the defenses, but when I change weapon values, the graphics change too. Like, if I bring the hand weapons to power of 2, they get the laser graphics. Is there any way to fix this?

[Darsnan]

if I bring the hand weapons to power of 2, they get the laser graphics.

Really!?! I'll have to see if I can replicate that when I get home this evening.

Question: have you tried changing a weapon value to something that doesn't already exist? Say change Missiles (weapon level 6) to a 7? This should then narrow down whether the software is hardcoded to specifically associate a specific weapon number to a specific caviar graphic.

I've been fiddling with the weapons power in game to try and make all the weapons a bit closer together in power as well as less of a huge advantage over the defenses

Now thats a pretty neat idea! Some of the rest of us who mod have tried changing other parameters to try and balance the game better (most notably changing the intrinsic base defense from 25% to 40%), however your idea definately has merit. Can you post your alpha(x).txt file so others can see what you've tried so far? Then maybe others here can give some feedback/ try out some of your changes.

D

[Darsnan]

when I change weapon values, the graphics change too. Like, if I bring the hand weapons to power of 2, they get the laser graphics. Is there any way to fix this?

I was able to duplicate this observation with several different levels of weapons, but only when I changed them to a value of another already existing weapon. Example: I changed the Shard weapon value from 13 to 16 (which already exists as the Quantum cannon) and the resulting graphic was that of the Quantum cannon. However if I changed the Shard weapon value from 13 to 14 (which has no existing weapon), the unit still maintained the Shard graphic. I could see this being a nasty little surprise in a custom scenario.....

I'm still very keen on your idea of rebalancing the weapons and armor: if you've got an alpha(x).txt you could post, I'm sure theres several people that'd be interested in reviewing what you've done.

D

[Rip-Saw]

Basically what i discovered is the weapons use the graphics for the weapon directly under their attack power, so anything over 30 is string disruptor, 24-29 is singularity, etc... I noticed SManiac has the same problem, so I'm guessing there is no solution?

I was rebalancing the weapons/armor by taking the square root of the value and multiplying by 3. This brings the small weapon values up a bit, and the large weapon values down a lot. 1 becomes 3 and 30 becomes 16, which doesn't have quite the advantage over 12, which becomes 10.

[Darsnan]

Basically what i discovered is the weapons use the graphics for the weapon directly under their attack power, so anything over 30 is string disruptor, 24-29 is singularity, etc... I noticed SManiac has the same problem, so I'm guessing there is no solution?

So Maniac was way ahead on this idea, eh? Well, kudos to him!
Its definately very good for rebalancing the combat element of the game, and I will be looking into it further. In regards to the graphics, so far I have looked in the alphax.txt at weapon values, and the icon resolution is set at "-1", meaning it is hardcoded in regards to how the game decides how the weapon is graphically represented. However Maniac may already know the answer to this, so PM'ing him might be your best bet.

I was rebalancing the weapons/armor by taking the square root of the value and multiplying by 3. This brings the small weapon values up a bit, and the large weapon values down a lot. 1 becomes 3 and 30 becomes 16, which doesn't have quite the advantage over 12, which becomes 10.

Game-wise how has that worked for you? Combat should definately be tougher, which is ideal. What other modifications have you done to the alpha(x).txt in regards to combat (i.e. what other variables may be impacting combat odds in this environment?)?

D