FlyingHigh10000000 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 (edited) Many thanks to PeppermintButler for mentioning this. In a topic regarding rocket launcher/blaster launcher modifications, "eAbility_ShotDamageCover" was mentioned, and upon adding it to Assault rifles, it seems the following is true: eAbility_ShotDamageCover works the same as the Sectopod's "eAbility_DestroyTerrain" except for the following MAJOR difference: DestroyTerrain force-destroys any bit of terrain it's used on, because it's a Sectopod ability. ShotDamageCover seems to apply a weapon's iEnvironmentDamage value. I sat in a level using the ability with the assault rifles, and sure enough, my shots were not destroying "solid" terrain like crates, or cinderblocks, but when I used it on a door with a glass window...boom. Door fell to pieces. What I need from you guys right now is to get this tested on everything we can, with as many different weapons as possible. Ballistics, Lasers, Plasma, anything that can be fired normally. The ability seems to take the icon of an ability near it, or just displays as a question mark. To test, add the following to any line on a weapon that says "eAbility_NONE" "eAbility_ShotDamageCover" If this works, I may have stumbled right into true free aiming. :D Edited October 30, 2012 by FlyingHigh10000000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miked79 Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Awesome stuff!Its strange tho cuz ive been using destroy terrain, and my assault rifles dont destroy strong cover. Only when Im using laser guns and plasma guns does destroyterrain blow up what I want. But I shall test out your method tho! and see what happens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHigh10000000 Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 (edited) Awesome stuff!Its strange tho cuz ive been using destroy terrain, and my assault rifles dont destroy strong cover. Only when Im using laser guns and plasma guns does destroyterrain blow up what I want. But I shall test out your method tho! and see what happens! Ah, if they both use the value, then I'm mistaken, and should have just been using DestroyTerrain. XD I just remember seeing a few people note that DestroyTerrain was letting ballistic weapons destroy all terrain, and not just stuff that a rifle should be able to bust apart. Edit: In addition, it seems that nearby aliens react to the sound shooting at cover makes, at least on Classic and above(where the AI isn't shackled like it is on Normal.) I sat right next to the dropzone, shooting at random stuff lying around in the first mission, and while I couldn't destroy much because I had assault rifles, the turn after I started shooting things, one of my troops heard some Sectoids moving around, and they ran into view not long after, then hid nearby. Edited October 30, 2012 by FlyingHigh10000000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreenLoki Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 all the weapons have an "ienvironmentdamage" score. and if it exceeds a specific amount (which is about 125 on lasers and anything above) then it destroys anything. and if it's regular rifles, then it only does a specific amount of terrain damage. you can always edit that to make all guns destroy stuff the same OR change the values so that maybe laser weapons don't do as much terrain damage as plasma or something. or make all of them weaker i guess. that way it's not some OP ability if only grenades and rockets can truly destroy most covers while all rifles and guns can only destroy some weaker one's. it would be a nice rebalance of the game imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHigh10000000 Posted October 31, 2012 Author Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) <br>all the weapons have an "ienvironmentdamage" score. and if it exceeds a specific amount (which is about 125 on lasers and anything above) then it destroys anything. and if it's regular rifles, then it only does a specific amount of terrain damage. you can always edit that to make all guns destroy stuff the same OR change the values so that maybe laser weapons don't do as much terrain damage as plasma or something. or make all of them weaker i guess. that way it's not some OP ability if only grenades and rockets can truly destroy most covers while all rifles and guns can only destroy some weaker one's. it would be a nice rebalance of the game imo.<br><br><br>Most of the values are pretty well-balanced, actually. The assault rifle, pistol, and LMG don't do enough damage to really bust apart anything, but the shotgun can take out rock, usually. Lasers and plasma, as in the original game, blow up everything, for the most part. I honestly haven't had much use for the ability so far, apart from testing it a bit. Generally, if I need terrain destroyed, I use a grenade, because it usually damages the stuff behind the cover, as well.<br><br>Also, don't use the DamageCover ability on an enemy. It just makes your guy try to shoot the ground they're on, and does no damage. <img src="http://forums.nexusmods.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/tongue.gif" class="bbc_emoticon" alt=":P"> I suspect the devs removed free aim for a bit more than just to not have players shooting up the entire map. With even the limited explosives you have, it's actually better to just give all of the armor two pockets(This creates a small GUI bug where heavies with deep pockets have a third slot that you can only see by using WASD or the arrow keys to move down the list and select it manually, but that's easy enough to remember to do.) <div><br></div><div>Update: Also, don't give the damage-cover ability to the weapons the aliens use, or the alien units themselves. They don't know how to use it properly. I have personally witnessed enemies repeatedly shooting walls nowhere near my troops, and even heard one shooting stuff up when they were across the map, still hidden.(No, it wasn't a terror mission.) At one point I thought I was going to see something intelligent, when I saw a thin man shoot at a wall opposite my troops,(as if he intended to break the wall and hide beyond it) but then I remembered that without a TU mechanic, the AI had just made him waste his attack on a wall instead of my soldiers. Easy kill, and I felt like I had cheated the system. :\</div> Edited October 31, 2012 by FlyingHigh10000000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fys Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 Sounds funny how the AI plays with such ability like a child. Impressive that it actually does something with it at all. I’m curious where all this behavior is hidden and how we can manipulate it for the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PepprmintButler Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 (edited) I too was under the impression that the sectopod ability did correct environment damage. Didn't test much, but basic rifles did not destroy much of anything iirc.Regarding aliens free aiming, I suspect the AI treats environment like shootable targets and does not make the difference with soldiers, therefore shooting at it randomly.Not sure aliens are attracted by the shot noises, they do patrol around and can bump into your squad even if you're not moving. Regarding the environmental damage values, they do make sense relatively to weapons but still could do with some rebalancing, seeing how plasma burns through anything. even aliens ship walls which should be much stronger than that. Edited October 31, 2012 by PepprmintButler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miked79 Posted October 31, 2012 Share Posted October 31, 2012 I do however, after trying this ability vs the Destroyterrain ability feel that this is a better way to do it. I feel like im able to destroy the terrain that I want to more realibly. The destroyterrain sometimes dint hit or destroy, or sometimes it would even pass right through the cover that i wished to destroy. This eAbility_ShotDamageCover seems a lot better for me. Thanks TC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimnebulin42 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 I've got it working, but after using the free aim ability to fire, the game crashes. Anyone else experienced this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingHigh10000000 Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 I've got it working, but after using the free aim ability to fire, the game crashes. Anyone else experienced this? What weapon were you using, and what did you fire at? (Also, try doing it without third-person or action cam on, that's how I've been doing it.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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