Overview and special considerations


Overview:

In the last post we presented the general factors influencing the weapon balancing – however we’d like to present them again, this time going into more detail:

Influence Factors for Weapon Balancing:
-Damage-Output (per shot)
-Aim precision (size of the reticule)
-Aim speed
-Firing frequency
-Range
-Capacity (clip size)
-Ammo usage per shot (ammo, stamina, PSI)

When calculating the damage per shot, time is being factored in, meaning the duration of a shot or the duration of the reloading process.

We have also weighed the weapon types by these factors – the first item in a list always represents 100%.

Damage-Output (per shot):
-APU Weapons (100%)
-Cannons (90%)
-Rifle (80%)
-Pistol (75%)
-Melee Weapons (65%)

Damage-Output (per time unit):
-APU Weapons
-Melee Weapons
-Cannons
-Pistols
-Rifles

There is a bonus system that mainly applies to damage output (but also to some other factors), which applies to all weapon types:
-Bonus: HighTech (+ 7.5%)
-Bonus: Rare (+ 10.0 %)
-Bonus: Epic (+ 12.5 %)
-Bonus: WoC (+ 15.0 %)

The bonus for high-tech is additive – for the other statuses only one applies.

Aim precision (size of the reticule – Min | Max):
-APU Weapons (1.50 | 3.00)
-Pistols (1.75 | 4.00)
-Rifles (2.00 | 5.00)
-Cannons (3.00 | 8.00)

Please note: higher values are worse.

This is based on the following reticule sizes:
-Minimal: ~ 1.50 * size
-Maximal: ~ 8.00 * size

Aim speed (Seconds - Min | Max):
-Melee Weapons (deactivated)
-PPU Weapons (deactivated)
-APU Weapons (0.25 | 1.00)
-Pistols (0.50 | 2.00)
-Rifles (1.00 | 3.50)
-Cannons (2.00 | 5.00)

Please note: higher values are worse.

We are assuming the following time periods to zero in the reticule:
-Minimal: ~ 0.25 seconds
-Maximal: ~ 5 seconds

Firing frequency (in shot/strike/cast per minute – Min | Max):
-Pistol (30 | 120)
-Rifle (30 | 90)
-APU (30 | 60)
-Melee (20 | 60)
-Cannon (15 | 30)

Range (visual range – Min | Max):
-Rifle (50% Visual range | 100% Visual range)
-Cannon (40% Visual range | 80% Visual range)
-APU Weapons (30% Visual range | 60% Visual range)
-Pistols (25% Visual range | 50% Visual range)
-Melee Weapons (striking distance)

Capacity (Bullets per clip):
-Cannons (up to 40)
-Rifles (up to 30)
-Pistols (up to 25)

Ammo consumption (per shot):
For some guns, the ammo consumption is more or less dictated by their design – which can influence their damage-output, clip size and firing frequency. The consumption of PSI energy or stamina has to be determined on a case by case basis – a general rule is difficult.

Closing remark:
All these values are to be considered as guidelines! It may very well be that some weapons go above or below these guidelines. It is our goal to have a value system that allows us to properly evaluate weapons – during the testserver phase we will then be able to fine tune weapons (or whole weapon groups) based on those values.

Balancing of the weapon type: Pistols

Test results:
These tests were performed with a DEV-character on an unprotected NPC – the results aren’t very realistic, but they provide a good basis for the relations between the weapons!

Code:
   
  Weapon:		TechLevel:	Damage (shot):		Damage (1 Min.):
  Beggar Nailgun		1		13			1040
  Colt Budget			9		32			2560
  Laser Pistol			18		47			11280
  Freezer Pistol		40		53			4770
  Automatic Pistol		41		57			13680
  Gatlin Pistol			59		67			16080
  Plasma Pistol			68		114			18240
  Fusion Pistol			71		97			17460
  RayGun Pistol			74		289			26010
  Crossbow Pistol		100		721			64890
It is very easy to see that the freezer pistol is very underpowered – the raygun pistol and the crossbow are too strong. The re-calculations of the weapon properties in their current state look like this (please read the comment at the end):

Freezer Pistol (TechLevel 40, HighTech)
Damage-Output: 41.292 (3716.280 Damage per minute)
Aiming-Speed: 1.83 Seconds
Target-Size: 3.74 * size of crosshair
Frequency: 90 Shots per minute
Range: 39 % Viewsize
Clip-Size: 30/1 (Singleshot)

Gatlin Pistol (TechLevel 59)
Damage-Output: 20.683 (6403.86 Damage per minute)
Aiming-Speed: 1.61 Seconds
Target-Size: 3.41 * size of crosshair
Frequency: 240 Shots per minute
Range: 43 % Viewsize
Clip-Size: 40/4 (Burst)

Fusion Pistol (TechLevel 71, HighTech)
Damage-Output: 40.361 (7264.99 Damage per minute)
Aiming-Speed: 1.46 Seconds
Target-Size: 3.2 * size of crosshair
Frequency: 180 Shots per minute
Range: 45 % Viewsize
Clip-Size: 30/2 (Burst)

Juggernaut Crossbow Pistol (TechLevel 100, HighTech, WoC)
Damage-Output: 101.52 (9136.8 Damage per minute)
Aiming-Speed: 1.13 Seconds
Target-Size: 2.69 * size of crosshair
Frequency: 90 Shots per minute
Range: 51 % Viewsize
Clip-Size: 30/1 (Singleshot)

Explanation:
These values are the min/max values, meaning that any influence from the player is not considered. The firing frequency and clip sizes are still unchanged – these values are still being checked and will be adjusted if need be. We wanted to demonstrate the calculation of the weapon behavior first.

Clip size and single shot frequency are determined according to the weapon type. Aim speed, target size and range are determined by the weapon group and TechLevel (with some specific adjustments). Lastly, the damage-output is calculated – this is also determined by weapon type and TechLevel (plus the specific bonuses). In addition to this, the frequency is used as correcting factor, allowing the definition of the damage-output over time.