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Arx Ardashir
Imperium Aeternum
688
   |
Posted - 2014.03.22 18:33:00 -
[1] - Quote
PDF
===The DUST 514 Weapon Manifesto===
What follows is an investigation into the five main weapon types, the four main weapon variations, and the their states within the current game and mechanics. As it is a rather detailed look into it and you were warned by the word GÇ£ManifestoGÇ¥ in the title, there is no TL;DR. Consider yourself warned again.
===Glossary===
Category: A grouping of weapons by either class, type, or variant.
Class: A grouping of weapons that directly and comparatively compete with one another to fill a role. Ex: Main Rifle, Pistol.
Type: A group of weapons that share the same damage profile. Ex: Lasers, Explosve.
Variant: The specific variant of a weapon that has an effect on how it operates. Ex: Assault, Breach, Burst, Tactical.
Variant Class: The group of weapons of a certain class (ex: Main Rifles) that share a variant. Ex: Breach Main Rifles, Tactical Main Rifles)
The weapon categories of class, type, and variant (as defined above for the purpose of this document) are important GÇ£tagsGÇ¥ or GÇ£labelsGÇ¥ that give the user an idea of what to expect from a weapon. Knowing that the Breach Submachine Gun is projectile weapon lets the user know that it will be fairly effective against shields and more effective against armor. GÇ£BreachGÇ¥ in the name lets us know that it will do more damage per shot and fire slower than the standard SMG (not to be confused with capitalized Standard, or STD, the tier). GÇ£Submachine GunGÇ¥ lets us know that it will spray bullets in the direction that you point it, and that it will be fully automatic. Therefore, right away we can tell that the Breach SMG will be a slower-firing, higher damage bullet hose. It is important that these categories stay consistent, or else the meaning of each name will be lost. With that example, letGÇÖs begin defining the class, types, and variants found in DUST 514.
===Weapon Classes===
Main Rifles (also known as Fine Rifles)
These are the bread and butter weapons of the common infantry. They are made to operate as a generalist anti-infantry weapon. The weapons in this class are the AR, CR, RR, and ScR.
Pistols
These are basic short-ranged (as far as weapon type is concerned) side arms. Generally semi-automatic with one exception (Bolt Pistol). Higher single damage with low clip sizes. The weapons in this class are the ScP, BP, IP, and FP.
SMGs
Automatic side arms made for spray-and-pray CQB or multiple-target engagement. Higher rates of fire with large clips in exchange for lower per-shot damage. The weapons in this class are the SMG and MSMG.
Light AV Launchers
Light weapons made to take out vehicles with high damage per trigger pull. The weapons in this class are the Swarm Launcher and the Plasma Cannon.
Note on Classes: ItGÇÖs important to note that these are general guidelines and many weapons either donGÇÖtGÇÖ fall into a certain category or are by themselves in a category all their own (such as the shotgun). Some weapons which are classified together (Sniper Rifle and Laser both being GÇ£precisionGÇ¥ weapons) donGÇÖt directly compete with each other and thus have a bit more freedom within the guidelines.
===Weapon Type Categories===
Blaster Weapons (+10/-10)
Blaster weapons are all about in-your-face damage. Short-ranged, blasters spit out hot globs of plasma, trading range for higher DPS. As such, all blaster weapons should be the highest-DPS yet shortest-ranged weapon in their variant classes.
Projectile Weapons (-5/+10)
Projectile weapons are about adaptability. Along with the best damage profile in the game, projectile weapons use high rates of fire at close range to compensate for quick movement but also use high-alpha damage at long range to maximize hit-and-run capabilities. Short-ranged projectile weapons should have the highest RoF rating of their variant classes, and an assault projectile weapon should have the highest RoF in the game. They have the second-shortest range in the game.
Laser Weapons (+20/-20)
Laser weapons currently donGÇÖt have much of a defined role in the game aside from their damage profile making them the GÇ£shield killers.GÇ¥ Lasers have the second-longest range in the game, but aside from that, there arenGÇÖt any other traits unifying their weapons aside from a heat-mechanic that hinders more than enhances. A possible solution, in the case of bullet travel time ever being introduced, would be to make lasers always have instant damage application.
Rail Weapons (-10/+10)
Rail weapons are the longest-ranged weapons in the game. Nothing shoots farther than a rail weapon, but in exchange they have the lowest DPS, making them the opposite of their hybrid cousin the blaster. Rail weapons should be the furthest-firing yet lowest-DPS weapon in their variant classes.
Explosive Weapons (-20/+20)
Explosive weapons are somewhat in the same boat as laser weapons in that theyGÇÖre mainly defined by their damage profile. However, explosive weapons have the unifying trait of splash damage. Near misses are allowed with all explosive weapons, some just requiring a nearer miss than others.
Now is the winter of our non-content.
Ghosts Chance's hero for 3/1/14.
A manu dei et tet rimon.
|
Arx Ardashir
Imperium Aeternum
688
|
Posted - 2014.03.22 18:33:00 -
[2] - Quote
===Weapon Variant Categories===
Assault Weapons
The assault variants are all about engaging multiple targets and delivering damage on a wide scale. This is usually achieved through a higher rate of fire (aScR, aRR, aCR, AR, aFG, aMD, aScP), though it can manifest in other ways such as increased splash radius (aMD) or the double-target lock-on of the aSL. However, it manifests in the opposite direction with weapons already geared towards high RoFs and short range, instead allowing the weapon to reach out further in exchange for DPS (aHMG, aSMG). It remains to be seen if this last trait is more of an intended outlier rather than a mislabeling.
Breach Weapons
Breach variants are the antithesis of the assault variants; they are all about focusing all damage on a single target, essentially breaching a line of defense instead of assaulting the whole of it. This is done usually through an increased damage per shot and lower rate of fire (brFG, brSMG, brScP, brAR, RR, brMD, brFP, brSG).
Tactical Weapons
There are only three tactical weapons in the game at the moment and they all are increased ranged, semi-automatic weapons (IA-5 Tactical ScP, ScR, tAR), so it is safe to assume that tactical weapons are about discretionary engagement at range, picking off the weak or wounded and singling out high-priority targets.
Burst
All burst variants fire in three round bursts and are about delivering higher damage with a single press of the trigger at the cost of ammunition (bScP, bAR, CR, bHMG). Judicious use of burst variants allow for greater overall ammo conservation at the cost of increased ammo per trigger pull, as well as allowing in increase in overall accuracy.
===Application of the Categories===
With these 9 categories there are 20 possible combinations. This does not mean that there are only 20 possible weapons, however, as the one combination, GÇ£Assault + ProjectileGÇ¥ has three different weapons currently classified as such (aHMG, aSMG, aCR), yet each is clearly its own weapon system.
However, using the parameters set, we could rather accurately predict how a weapon should function. Also, while some weapons could easily have an additional functional variant (a tactical CR or a burst ScR), some others preclude variants based on their starting weapon operation (a tactical HMG GÇô GÇ£semi-autoGÇ¥ and GÇ£machine gunGÇ¥ donGÇÖt go well together).
With these parameters, however, we can also see that there are some weapons that are not measuring up. Blaster weapons, for example, do not have the highest DPS in any of their variant classes in the GÇ£main riflesGÇ¥ class, despite GÇ£highest DPSGÇ¥ being the entire point of blasters. They do have the downside, the shortest range, however, making them underperform. On the opposite end, Rail Rifles have the longest range without having the downside of the lowest DPS. The laser weapons are ill-defined and Scrambler Rifles only have one other Tactical Rifle to be compared to, and that is one of the underperforming blaster weapons. ItGÇÖs also important to note that these parameter incongruities only become a problem in a class of weapons that operates in the same role (ex: Main Rifles). Both the Assault Mass Driver and the Assault Swarm Launcher are classified as GÇ£Assault + Explosive + LauncherGÇ¥ but operate in such different roles and functions that there is no competition between the two.
GÇ£Power CreepGÇ¥ is a very real thing, and thusly the solution to these issues shouldnGÇÖt just be a blanket raising of values on underperforming weapons or a blanket lowering of values on overperforming weapons, but a balanced approached of tweaks in both the up and down directions until weapons fit into both categories that they are placed in.
Now is the winter of our non-content.
Ghosts Chance's hero for 3/1/14.
A manu dei et tet rimon.
|
Arx Ardashir
Imperium Aeternum
688
|
Posted - 2014.03.22 18:37:00 -
[3] - Quote
This isn't in the PDF, but I should also note that Vehicle turrets should also adhere to the weapon type category guidelines. However, I do not think there are any vehicle turrets that directly compete with one another, and thus don't run into as many of the same issues as the infantry weapons.
Now is the winter of our non-content.
Ghosts Chance's hero for 3/1/14.
A manu dei et tet rimon.
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