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Builds / Re: Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade - Mobile Tin Can LMG Thematic Build

« on: December 23, 2023, 01:30:24 pm »

Sorry but i don't think this build is very good.
You need an unmodified armor suite of over 50% armor penalty to proc Juggernaut (Total health increased by 25% while wearing armor suit with (unmodified) armor penalty of 50% or higher)
You also have metal boots so thats another 15% armor penalty.

Assuming you take nimbler (reduce penalty by 15%), then you are at 50% armor penalty.
That's a 50% penalty on your stealth, so you are done from 200 to 100 stealth effective.

No PSI in build... a simple 50 points in temporal manipulation and you get Psycho-temporal Contraction (Increases target's action points by 15 and movement points by 30 for 2 turns)
50 points in temporal manipulation and you get stasis...

And lastly, you are heavily reliant on super-steel plates for armor, which in dominating difficulty are virtually impossible to get because they are so expensive.
By the time you save money for super-steel plates, you've basically finished the entire game.

I see that you've managed to synchronize the build so it somehow works well at level 30.. But by level 30 you've already finished the game and it's pointless.
Besides missing out on all PSI schools is a big con.

Overall i would probably not try this build or recommend it to others.

1. 4 plate Super Steel Metal Armor with Armor Sloping gives 64% Armor Penalty. Unmodified means just that, it will proc no matter what as long as the armor has 50% or more Armor Penalty, doesn't matter if you can reduce the final Armor Penalty score to 0%.
1.1 107 effective stealth (which is what you'll get with this build) is enough for a 52% crit chance with Ambush. That is before drugs and gear, meaning add another +30% (Focus Stim and 15% Seeker Googles) for 82% crit chance. Cloaking Device also boosts it further.
1.2 You can just swap to Stealth gear when you need to sneak by.

2. If you'd have tried to read carefully, then it's written that the build "Doesn't require knowing psi". Which means it doesn't need psi to be good. Even so, you can easily adjust it to YOUR preference as written right below 'Doesn't require psi.', something you intentionally ignored.

3. First of all, the build isn't reliant on Super Steel Armor. Out of all feats, only Juggernaut requires heavy armor. Super Steel is the mobility option that fits the theme best. You can use ANY armor you want.
Second, it's a thematic build, you can go full butt ass naked for all I care and it will still work, otherwise read the first argument.
Third, Dom is for veterans, so getting 9k for Super Steel Armor isn't hard if you know how. 20k can be acquired as soon as Level 18. 100 mercantile + Jon's Special + Hypercerebrix + Waist Pack give ~140 effective score. If you don't care about the Expedition camp, speedrun Nexus and Health Center to get access to Joint Security, bring a cheap small jet ski battery and engine (stolen from the free jets given), hijack the Reef Glider and sell it to Ray for 20k. Your biggest concern is getting soft locked in Joint Security. Selling expensive Jet Ski parts is a backup option if you don't want to do all that. You're welcome.
Fourth, getting 4 Super Steel Refining Data is more of a hassle than Reef Glider. Depending on whether you joined Protectorate or Free Drones you'd have to gain access to University of Tchort, otherwise you risk visiting Waterway Facility and/or Marshes which themselves will put the camp at risk.
Fifth, this all can be done properly during midgame and you still have content left.
Sixth, the build relies on MG3-42, which you can get immediately after Depot A, there's a reason it's called thematic and Jin-Roh.
Seventh, if I wanted to do a generic Tin-Can LMG Dom build, I'd have done that.

4. One, the build works well the moment you get Concentrated Fire at level 10, almost like any AR/LMG build. Everything after is just amplifying the damage with utility and spec, and giving it additional mobility, also almost like any AR/LMG build.
Two, you can get level 30 on Classic by farming Void Creatures at Abyssal Station Zero with the Ethereal Torch. Since ASZ is opened after Joint Security, having Super Steel armor helps tanking the Energy damage. For Oddity, read argument One.
Three, psi (and TM in particular) is not required at all to win DOM, nor in make builds. Styg gave enough skill points, items, utility and space to finish everything without psi. Deal with it.

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Builds / Jin-Roh: Wolf Brigade - Mobile Tin Can LMG Thematic Build

« on: December 03, 2023, 05:04:27 pm »

Simple build imitating the iconic Kerberos Corp. You can find associated Portraits drawn by me on the Custom Portraits thread.

Full build:
https://underrail.info/build/?HgsDBgcIBQY8wqAyAAAAAMKgVUYAI3hkVV9kAAAAADwAZCY7UMOdFcOeSsOgw6FFAjkkVcKzf3zDl8Ocw5nip7QK4r68A-K_mgLfvA

Please ignore the 60 points in Guns, those are for Concentrated Fire. More on Guns skill later.

Initial Base Ability:        Base Ability Increase per each 4th Lvl:
Str:10                          Str:+1 at Lvl 4.
Dex:3                           Per:+1 at Lvl 8.
Agi:3                            Agi:+3 at Lvl 12, 16, 20 respectively.
Con:6                           Con:+ 1 at Lvl 24
Per:7
Will:5
Int:6

Full Breakdown.

Pros:
At max level you have both mobility and near max resistance against the majority of enemies, including bosses.
Can tackle both single and multiple targets equally efficiently with minimal effort, quickly and within impressive range.
Being caught off guard is rarely a death sentence.
Doesn't require knowing Psi.
Build itself can be adjusted to personal taste easily.
Is efficient from the start, albeit with hiccups due to ammo scarcity.

Cons:
VERY expensive. 18k just for Super Steel Plates + getting all 4 Refined Data, all this on top of Ammo costs.
LMGs are ammo guzzlers. MG3-42 with maxed Mag Dump in particular. 7.62 is pretty common and you still will run out, unless you are very careful and group up a lot of enemies all the time.
Refurbished MG3-42 is relatively hard to get. Rare 100-ammo belts are either found in hard to reach places or from fully unlocked high-tier Merchants (e.g. Fraser).
Heavy. All the ammo, metal armor, medicine and utility leaves little room for loot during exploration. Better plan ahead until you get a full carry weight set (Rathound Regalia, Infused Pig Leather Boots, Large Waist Pack, Power Fist, Pentapus Barbeque/Outwork).
As with all tin cans, even mobile, Thought Control users are a b****. Equal to TC users are Electricity and Acid users.
Low initiative. Root Soda and Twitch help a bit.

Silver Lining: With experience and even a little prep, almost all Cons can be either avoided or downright countered.

~~~

Gear:
Regen Vest Super Steel Armor Suit and Boots. Bullet Strap Belt. Headwear and Second Hand are free slots. MG3-42 as only main weapon. Shield slot to your liking.

I use Seeker Googles and Tchortist Bioscrubber. Also I carry around CAU and Biohazard Boots to counter pesky gas and acid.

Additionally, I've crafted high quality Galvanic Infused Pig Leather Striders for use with Tesla Armor against Coil Spiders and for regular loot strolls. With Expedition DLC, the Abandoned Waterways has a reliable spot in the third region where you can get a quality Galvanic Foam Padding. It's enough for total 100% Electricity Resistance.

For Utility it's Cloaking Device, Taser, Poisoned Caltrops, Napalm Molotovs, Mk3 EMP, Chemhaze and Gas Grenades. Rarely used Mk5 nades.

For Second hand slot I tried out using GLs as backup. Milcore and Punisher are both either hit or miss. Thumper on the other hand fits right in. 40mm ammo is far better than 25mm and the 25AP cost for Thumper works very well with MG's 25AP cost. Punisher is good only for lobbing Incendiary to light up targets for Ambush.

Skills:
The only thing to say is that I've put 20 points into Guns midgame to effectively use Milcore and Punisher sooner for testing purposes. That's it. All other skills are min-maxed for crafting and skill checks, including those in DC (but not in Heavy Duty Compound), leaving only Throwing and Traps.

35 Traps is enough to use all Traps you can craft with Engineer Suit, Trap Belt and Jackknife for an effective 95. Trap Detection is decent, but not quick, so be careful in respective territory. All leftover skill points I dumped into Throwing, imo more useful.

Feats:
Excluding essential feats, I'll address the reason for picking certain ones.

Fast Metabolism + Gunner's High. At first glance 12HP heal isn't much, and that may be true on lower difficulties. On Dom however, that is equal to a bandage heal, and it adds up. With a 140Q Regen vest + Regen Mixture you get: 62+12+25=99HP heal per turn. With a 537HP at 7 Con at Max Level, that's almost 1/5th of the players HP. This heal also works outside combat and can stack with normal bandage, therefore even if you got heavily wounded, you can patch up quickly.

Ambush. At 160 Stealth with Armor Sloping + Nimble + Body Weight Training I got 107 effective Stealth, which equals to 52% crit chance, top that with Cloak Device and Seeker Goggles, pop a flare (or molotov, or 25mm Incendiary) and go brrrrt. Hoddurform helps with shadows too. Also, it helps against evasive enemies. Also, also, Ambush's icon looks way too similar to how Kerberos Corp was shown in the storm sewer, therefore it was a must have.

Sprint is a must have on any mobile tin can, better to have extra movement points than waist AP.

Juggernaut because it fits well with LMG base ability requirements and extra HP is always welcome.

And lastly Strafe to perfectly counter the move and shoot penalty of MG3-42.

Spec wise, maxing Concentrated Fire is a must, after that you have 5 extra points to spend on whatever you like. I chose Mag Dump and Bullet Trance.

~~~

Test Results, Theories and Thoughts:

During tests I was thinking about making a version using Stoicism and Conditioning, but after testing out the current build in action on DOM, albeit in New Game+(Imported Character), the results surprised me. I easily survived all my encounters. And good thing too, as Stoicism's 7 Will requirement would've messed with the whole mobile tin can part, forcing me to ditch Strafe and Sprint. That being said, you can dump Dex and Agi, get rid of Sprint and Strafe and pump all of it into Per up to 11(with Veteran feat), add to that Brute Aim for a 307% damage, but you will be essentially immobile, which goes against the whole theme. To me, it's not worth it, I didn't need the extra damage either, your mileage may vary.

So, main test results (Note, this is the exported max level on DOM, didn't use SSD):

Carnifex: Easily survived attacks from him, as long as I didn't get broken ribs. Bullhead is a must. Taser failed. Fire did the trick (making him panic and run away). Used normal 7.62. Should've brought throwing nets, but my skill is low, didn't want to risk it. Yell reduced hit chance to 10%, survived until it's removed and attempted to kite. Forgot crawler caltrops, would've done the trick. Twitch is useless, so is Root Soda, but only this once. If ideal conditions are met, then it takes about 2-3 bursts to take him down. Worst case is risking 10% hit chance while running away and using drugs.

Arena Masters: After doing a little bit of recon and wasting caltrops (didn't knew they had metal boots) on them, I baited with GL and Gas. Used the building at the south for cover. Went down easy. Should've brought bear traps.

Native Assault: Peppered the beach with bear traps and caltrops, focused on the East side, using the rock near the Plasma Turrets as cover, they barely made a scratch.

Native Genocide: Brought about 3k ammo. 2k normal 7.62, ~800 Micro-Shrapnel, and 300 W2C, also Chemhaze and Gas grenades, 25mm Concussive & Incendiary + Bear traps for Bone Boss. With pre-med of Jumping Bean, Irongut, Focus Stim and Aegis before entering instant combat moments on zone transition I managed to clear three regions. Died once because of my stupidity post combat (forgot to switch to CAU when under Acid Entanglement). Restarted once on Blindfold Boss because of BS angle abuse where Natives can throw a net over you and attack, but you can't in return, which results in everyone pilling on you in one turn (in this case it's better to just stand in the open). That and Acid Entanglement were the biggest threats. All three bosses were respectively easy. Blindfold Boss died from 1-2 bursts. Bone Boss died from W2C and me abusing blue zone transition with bear traps. Lizard Wizard and the gang got baited with C4 before getting mowed down, while the Sea Wyrms were finished off in CAU and Biohazard Boots. By the end of clearing out Lizard Wizard I was out of ammo, aside for ~200 W2C left behind and literally 1 Micro-Shrapnel in chamber. Used up all 10 Advanced Mech Repair Kit and 15 normal ones.

4 Nagas: Swiss cheese. Plopped 3 Mk3 EMP Mines, pre-med, triggered combat start, threw one MK3 EMP nade into 4th Naga and a molotov into middle to activate the mines. Went up close, one-two burst killed one after another. Tested several time to see how well does my Super Steel Armor holds up without shields. A lot less damage. Was very satisfied.

All in all, I love this build. Will do a full pure Dom run with it.

3

Development Log / Re: Dev Log #7: New Armor Mechanics

« on: November 22, 2023, 05:28:26 pm »

Finally found the time to finish this.

Okay, first things first, the UI readability. Shown in attached file "Example 1" I've edited the icons and moved around the position of text for better, easier reading. Also added a little bit of my own. To clarify, this is my personal take on the UI tooltip from the experience and knowledge I have, and in no way is the objectively correct way, merely an alternative example.

Starting from the icons. First thing that caught my eye was the design of the vest. The part where it shows the lack of coverage is blurred with the gap the outer border creates between it and the vest, involuntarily making me squint to properly understand what I am looking at. The same principle goes for the shoulder pads and groin guard (I only edited two for time saving). I made a simple edit by making the covered and uncovered part more pronounced, so it was easier to understand at first glance. To the right I made an additional example of coverage just in case for comparison. I had the initial thought there might be several icons for different coverage percentages, after examining the icons closer, the thought faded away. But this ties to the issue I described above. As icons get smaller and smaller the main principle of "convey information with as little shown possible" holds ever stronger, especially with their importance in coverage floating numbers (0.0-1.0). This is further pronounced in combination with the text.

I've shifted the position of both the coverage percentage and material to the icon by grouping up more closely related information, in such, giving a smoother information flow and room for higher Resistance and Soak numbers, and removing unnecessary eye movement. In addition to this I've added "Cvr." abbreviation for "Coverage" on top (the alternative can be "Cover."or even "(Cover.%)"), also semi-colons to separate all of it further.

That's the nitpick on icons.

Second is something I've thought of when examining the screenshots and formulas.

I've added a small icon as seen in "Example 2". Since there will be mechanics for layered armor, and is more complex than before, having access to quick, accurate info is important, hence the icon. In short, it's like the "Defenses" tab from Combat Stats window in Underrail, only shifted to the gear screen.

You click on it and get something like "Example 3" in place of the 3D model. It's a very rough example, but the core idea is there. You get a readout on how much a body region is covered overall and the aggregated amount of armor stats per region. Simple, sure, however, this can be further expanded upon. Like Press-Holding Alt will give you an expanded version, which shows the full specter of information on all armor for a specific region that affects it, all neatly bundled up together.

That about covers it all. Now to revisit the part about hit chance and CP2020 (can't share 82MB here ) etc..

Reading up in CP2020 the hit location system, I've noticed some similarities. It works like this: any attack that hits, unless it was aimed with a -4 penalty, uses a 1D10 to randomly decided which part of the body was hit. The Body Locations are split among the 1D10 as such: 1 - Head, 2-4 - Torso, 5 - R.Arm, 6 - L.Arm, 7-8 - R.Leg, 9-0 - L.Leg; making it a 10%hit Headshot, 30% Torso, 10% R. or L. Arm, 20% R. or L. Leg. Compare that to given example: Head - 5%, Torso - 55%, Arms - 10%, Legs and pelvis - 25%, Feet 5%. Of course CP2020 is limited by a 1 to 10 die, where as Underrail is limited to math. That being said, in CP2020 there is a clause that if an enemy is partially behind cover (in the example given a chest high wall), then a die that fell on "in-cover" part gets rerolled, all because the location hit is decided AFTER a hit is counted. Seeing how coverage and specific body part targeting is still in dev, this could be an inspiration for a solution.

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Development Log / Re: Dev Log #7: New Armor Mechanics

« on: November 18, 2023, 10:35:01 am »

Loving the new mechanics way more than I thought, and with Heavy Duty it's getting me more hyped for Infusion!

No more illogical armor with mechanical resistances with 95% hard caps. No more useless DT against micro damage. No more tanking 12.7 tungsten carbide to the face. Now all snipers are an actual threat against heavy armor. Now choosing an armor is an even more important tactical choice. Now knowing your enemies resistance is necessary to deal with them effectively.

Run down on first impressions from what I've read.

New formula is great. In short, if I am not mistake, it combines DR and DT concepts in a new twist. Hypothetical simplified example depicting my understanding: A flat 100 Damage attack get's resisted by armor equivalent to 50% DR(i'm too lazy to find the accurate flat number), turning it into 50, which is then lowered by -40 (soak, absorb), making the final damage equal to 10. This damage is done if you are hit in the X% coverage zone. And this is further calculated for each separate follow-up armor piece where the X% coverage zone was hit. Which means the 10 can further be reduced to 0. Basically, a layered cake of armor with every armor being unique. This is AMAZING!

The additional amount of armor slots and potential multitude of new armor clothing, and types, it's just perfect, only missing a toolbelt slot, judging by the inventory screenshot.

***

For now, I have no intention to allow the player to choose which part of the target's body they're attacking (Fallout style), but there will be different special attacks / stances that will influence this (e.g. decapitate). Also, elevation and size of attacker and the target will also play a role here. So, for example, attacking someone from an elevated position will give you a better chance to hit them in the head and worse (if any) chance to hit their feet.

For now the only gripe I have in the post. Without the ability to target specific spots, the randomness of shots, while realistic, will feel constricting, that is the opposite of what hardcore tactical combat should be, i.e. give a plethora of choice and put the proper decision making onto the player amidst hardship.

Elevation is a good example. Not accounting for cover, a sharpshooter sitting on top of a tower won't have a higher chance to hit the upper body vs legs unless the target is right underneath the tower, it's all about direct line of sight to a specific body part and distance + ballistics. At 100m the chance to hit any part of the body is proportionally equal, because the angle of attack allows to see and target the whole body. At longer distances (500m+) it only makes sense to only aim center mass because of ballistics and ammo accuracy.

The same thing can be applied to automatic weapons. Take D-Day and Omaha Beach invasion from Saving Private Ryan. The reason why legs weren't aimed for is because at those distances, center mass aim accounts for bullet spread and allowed for higher overall hit chance all the way till the defilade in front of the elevated bunker nests, where the aiming deadzone didn't allow to get hit, ignoring legs completely. And the same thing happened in reverse, because the MG nests and sandbags covered the lower torso, only the upper body parts were exposed.

Why say this? The principle behind elevation is to have better overview of the battlefield and longer targeting range (e.g. 300m attack instead of 100m). The hit chance idea described would work if the elevation was made of grated steel, which can act like very, very, VERY slim cover, mostly against slower and thick projectiles like crossbow bolts and acid blobs, where as bullets would most likely fracture and act like shrapnel AND the attacks were under 70-80 degree angles. In other words, it's very cool, but a poor substitute for actual selective body part aiming, especially considering the following...

There already exists feats like Aimed Shot and Kneecap Shot (which is probably the special attacks mentioned).

Aimed Shot, taking from it's icon is literally a "headshot". In Underrail it acts as a 100% crit hit. Of course, different creatures have different critical spots which aren't a head, but the principle behind Aimed Shot is right in the name. It's an Aimed. Shot. Only with this new armor system it just needs an Infusion rework.

For example: Aimed Shot increases the chance to hit a specific body part(s), doesn't crit, has no cooldown, has increased AP cost (+25-50%), can't be used if under Suppressive Fire. Kneecap Shot on the other hand can work in tandem with Aimed Shot, while staying effectively the same, only reducing the bonus hit chance from Aimed Shot by 50%. Problem is obviously the implementation, to which I may suggest having an upper and lower body Aimed Shot.

On the other hand, the body part chance to hit is reminiscent of Cyberpunk 2020 and RED TTRPG, both of which I luckily have, an english .pdf for CP2020, for being a sucker for preordering CP2077 and Jumpstart Kit for RED (arguably the better version), which I have to translate to English, but... Reading the rulebooks they both accounted for body part hits differently, in RED it was simplified for easier table gameplay, which isn't a problem for computers. So while I can share the pdf, I can't do that for RED, yet. That will be for a new post on Armor, given the new juicy details here.

***

One of the mechanics that are in place right now is that there is such a thing as grazing shots, which are basically hits that deal about half as much damage. They occur when the attack roll is within the graze part of the hit chance, the size of which is determined by attack-to-defense ratio... What is relevant for the example above is that the farther you are into the graze area of the roll, the farther the hit lands from the center of the body part.

*Salivates like Homer Simpson* Oh yes! Grazing shot is a perfect compromise for those "95% misses" several times in a row. There is almost nothing to add to it (the math) other than I would tie ammo type and caliber as an additional calculation. Like shotgun shells have a much bigger graze hit chance, but the damage is lower. While 12.7 has a lower graze hit chance, but the damage is much higher. Combined with the new armor system and even possible new armor types. Just *chef's kiss*.

***

About UI, I hope it has better readability. If I didn't read what they represented, I'd only have a half understanding. I'll draw some examples later to save on writing.

***

Overall I am very excited and like what I see. Sure, polish and ironing out the balance is part for the course, although I am curious if this system will keep the old quality range of 1-180? Or will there be a new one for easier balancing? There is also the question of how critical hits will behave, will it stay the same, or will critical hits also have an overhaul?

5

Bugs / Re: [Heavy Duty] Broken Strength Check

« on: November 17, 2023, 12:32:00 am »

Can confirm this happened to me too. Unfortunately I finished Compound long ago.

6

General / Re: LMG gameplay feels unsatisfying

« on: November 15, 2023, 12:13:58 am »

the max armor penalty you can get is 173, so you get a ~130% damage increase for your heavy guns.

Wait, what? I always thought armor penalty capped at 95% making heavy metal a 47.5% boost. I mean, that is still a lot, but still, if this is true, then Heavy Metal is way more powerful than I thought, shame we can't reliably get Tungsten 180Q plates for a Juggernaut build I had in mind.

Also, in response to OP topic, LMGs don't need extra uniqueness, they are almost perfect where they are. The two limitations of ammo guzzling and burst fire only is more than enough. 9mm and 7.62 may not be a problem to get even on DOM, but 12.7 and 44, especially their unique versions, that's a money and time sink right there. Not to mention the repair kits necessary for maintenance.

In one of my posts for Infusion, one suggestion for LMGs was to have the option to immobilize yourself and fire at any enemy that crosses your line of fire at a set fire angle (something like an MG nest), making it an area denial feature (this is something the enemy can use too), but that was way before Heavy Duty was announced and I honestly wasn't expecting another DLC. Now, seeing LMGs in action, I think this idea would make them OP beyond reason, even with balance to AP costs, ammo count etc.

The idea was to make a risk reward choice, you sacrifice a good portion of your AP, ammo and make yourself vulnerable to ranged attacks, but you get to attack approaching enemies on their turn in a specific area and have spare AP to use meds, and combat utility.

I am running a mobile tin can build without heavy metal and the damage with Standard Ammo is more than enough for 90% of enemies. Nagas get one-two burst killed with W2C. With that kind of damage the idea above is way too OP to be a feature, unless countermeasures or similar features are added to other weapons, which means more work. But being able to attack on an enemies turn in turned base combat is OP in of itself, hence it's always weaker than normal attacks in terms of either alpha damage or DPS. Other than that, there ain't much an LMG can do more to differentiate itself from ARs/SMGs.

Also, also, sorry for topic jumping, I just don't want to spam posts, Shoggoth, thx for the reply and confirmation on the build thread about the secret encounter.

7

Builds / Re: General Build Guide for Heavy Duty DLC (Minor Spoilers)

« on: November 14, 2023, 10:07:01 am »

I've recently finished the DLC story and now am curious, what is the new encounter which is harder than 4 Naga and unbeatable with it's secret version?

Is it tied to a difficulty? So far I haven't found it, maybe I've missed it. Judging from what I've seen, it doesn't look like part of the ending to the DLC (both versions). Same for the return journey. Nor is it the new roaming gang.

In the Compound, only one place resembles a training killhouse arena, which may fit the description, as there is zero cover and it's the only place Stasis makes sense. It's where you can call in a certain amount of enemies, but I've killed Cognator before I got to it, so when I activated the console, zero enemies appeared. I did play on Easy and speedran the DLC, so that may be a factor also.

I don't mind the spoilers if it's sent into PMs.

As for builds, I am testing a Jin-Roh build. Refurbished MG3-42 with 15 bullet burst, Super Steel + Seeker NVG, Strafe to compensate for move and shoot penalty, armor slope + nimble + body training for a 49% armor penalty (can add a heavy helmet for 69% ) and 7 Con for Juggernaut, Fast Metabolism + Gunner's High, topped it off with Ambush (the icon is very similar to a scene in the movie) and the synergy with mobile tincan works well.

Specialization: Maxed out Concentrated Fire, Mag Dump and last 3 points into Full Auto.

So far, the most fun I've had, chews through 7.62 like a kid through candy, but it's totally worth it. When I finish it, will export for a DOM test run, if I like the results, might further optimize it for square one DOM, like swapping out Strafe + Fast Metabolism + Gunner's High for Conditioning + Stoicism by dumping 5 Dex for 7 Will with Veteran Feat, for extra tankiness. Although Gunner's High is actually good on DOM, since it heals more than a bandage, does so during and after combat and can stack with Regen Mixture and Regen Vest.

The biggest downsides I was able to find were Coil Spiders, Acid, GL, W2C, 6p Shell Shotgun and surprisingly Native's sword users with Onslaught. Even on easy with 1000 hp I got one-two turn killed. Of course TC users are the archenemies and first to die, luckily 15 bullet bursts don't give a **** about their projections. Second weapon are the new unique GLs, all of them are amazing, although Punisher least of all. Of course I also dipped into traps for detection and having the bare minimum for MK3 and MK5 mines, didn't need on Easy, but most certainly will on other difficulties.

8

General / Re: Underrail character builder - new one provided by Stygiansoftware?

« on: November 08, 2023, 08:08:34 pm »

Understandable, even if it's sad there won't be an official builder, but the reasoning, in my opinion, is subjective.

Personally to me, after 800+ hours, I never felt that it ruined the perception of the game. Although I might be in the minority, after all, in those 800+ hours I've yet to use a psi build, prefer Trap Expert over Quick Tinkerer, and I love Cut-Throat for it's niche use. In Char Builder I've made 12 builds out of which only 2 are psi users (one TC and one MT). None of these 12 builds are super optimized aside from crafting skills, hacking, lockpicking, persuasion and mercantile, basically exploration skills to open up as much content as possible. For these reasons, character builder is very useful to me, min/maxing exploration skills without wasting any points. As for Feats, the progression map is also useful, as it takes your mind off the core feats you need for your build at certain level ups and allows you to chose what I call auxiliary feats, such as the aforementioned Trap Expert or Sprint. Even though Underrail has minor roleplay elements (i.e. be a good guy/bad guy), it shines in it's huge combat build diversity, allowing to recreate different characters from a variety of media and/or based solely on items existing in the game, hence why I prefer to call them thematic builds.

Case in point, long ago I, using Character Builder, managed to finish my first and only DOM run on a female Sam Fisher build (Psi-less, Gun-Fu, Unique Pistols Only, Cut-Throat and Ambush). It was right after the Unique buff update, the build was sub optimal and even though I struggled with a lot of reloads, I did manage to beat the game. But I still used Character Builder throughout the whole playthrough, truth be told, I made several per level up builds with exact skill point distribution at specific levels. This is probably where the crux of the problem comes from. Because DOM is so unforgiving (hell, it's in the description), but also has juicy extra content, it forces players to make optimized builds (can't blame them, it says you aren't guaranteed to win), otherwise you need a super detailed build map for sub optimal builds, else you risk having a bad time. And not the "oops I made a mistake here, lets restart and fix that", more like "I ran into a wall headfirst and it fought back".

Even though I managed through excessive trial and error kill big T, by using Hawk+W2C+Ambush+Hoddurform+Flares and finding a specific spot, and getting lucky with the tentacles, I still had this nagging feeling I was way too weak. So while finding the solution during the fight was fun, it wasn't strong enough, and abusing the most powerful TM skill of F5+F9 is interesting to a certain point, hence after that I decided to remake it. It was before I figured out how Export/Import Character works.

Now I speedrun builds on Easy before Exporting them for DOM runs. Still to this day I use Char Builder and my female Sam Fisher build is way more polished from previous experience and knowledge. But lo and behold, it's not super optimized, and it shouldn't be, because in the end it's thematically fun, because in the end Character Builder is just a quality of life tool.

9

General / Re: Custom Portraits

« on: November 07, 2023, 09:33:19 pm »

With the new Heavy Duty DLC we all can now roleplay as the Jin Roh brigade. So here is a full size range portrait pack made by me for personal and public use under creative common non-commercial license.

10

General / Re: Underrail Infusion Fan Suggestions/Ideas Megatopic.

« on: May 01, 2023, 02:42:31 pm »

Hybrid XP System.

I've given this some thought and seeing how the XP system is still discussed, I'd like to tackle it with one possible solution and explain why.

In short, from a game design perspective, Oddity is used to promote non-combat exploration, including bypassing combat encounters entirely.
However at the same time a good amount of oddities are locked behind enemy encounters, and, worst of all, are random, which is counter intuitive to the intentions of Oddity. The other downside is that Underrail is very combat heavy, which limits Oddity XP gameplay progression. Even if through perseverance your character managed to survive, the experience gained through Oddities representing your character growth in that timespan is unproportionate to the amount you'd get if you went with Classic.

The simple solution on paper is to promote both non-combat and combat oriented gameplay, without slowing down or limiting character progress to an absurd degree. But nothing is simple, so...

I suggest using a Hybrid XP System, and I'll take Black Desert Online MMORPG as an exa- Hold it, keep those rotten tomatoes to yourself for now, I know what I am saying, so please listen.

The XP system that BDO has is based on how many enemies you've killed, with consecutive kills after a certain milestone giving bonuses. So, while it's a classic  "Kill -> Gain XP", it has an additional layer to it. This can be used in a modified way, and, logically, it makes sense. The more you kill a certain type of enemy, the more you know about killing that type, therefore you get more bonus damage against it. Kill enough Rathounds in your lifetime and you don't need to spend half the effort to get rid of them. And these bonuses can be obtained in different ways too. Actually, it doesn't have to be just a damage bonus.

Take aforementioned Rathounds for example. Initially you have 0 Oddities collected from them, and 0 kills, which means after your first kill you gain a simple hypothetical 100XP points. Using a modified Classic XP system, you gain those 100XP up till a certain point, after which you get 0XP, because you killed enough of them, there is no new knowledge to gain, but only because there is no new insight into the creature. This is where Oddities come into the Hybrid XP System. By looting the Oddities off the Rathound, you increase this limit of knowledge. Which means if there are 5 Rathound Oddities you can collect, it means you can increase the limit 5 times, and at these 5 limits, which IF you reach, you get bonuses against the said creature, alongside the additional XP. The bonuses can range from the aforementioned Bonus Damage, to Crit Damage, to Accuracy Buff, to opening up Special Debuffs.

This way, even if you don't collect Oddities from combat initially, you still get a limited amount of XP, maybe it will be enough to bump up to that next level. And while it does promote combat, at least you aren't being limited too much if you chose not to fight. That being said these Oddities won't give XP themselves. Due to this unique way of using Oddities, I suggest separating them into Exploration Oddities and Creature Oddities, a simple and neat way to classify combat and non-combat Oddities. Exploration is self explanatory and give the usual XP, while Creatures don't, only the potential for more of it. Also, unlike Exploration Oddities, Creature Oddities can possibly be obtained through other means, aside from (if not entirely excluding) looting them off the bodies, such as examining the dead bodies by collecting the creatures material, in a way slowing down the amount of XP you can gain and prevent blitzing through with the bonuses. Exploration Oddities on the other hand can give bonuses depending on where they were found and if all were collected, such as giving Additional Movement Points in a specific location, a Bonus Perk/Trait Point or a Small Permanent Buff like +5 Carry Weight.

The pros of using such a system is that it's easier to calculate what rewards and encounters the player can have at any given point and place, while having a map of potential XP gain when certain plot points are reached and locations get opened, all the while rewarding both non-combat and combat playthroughs, which may take into account the different potential builds and how each can utilize their effectiveness in their own unique way.

11

Bugs / Re: Commando Feat

« on: April 28, 2023, 07:56:31 pm »

*hearty laugh*

12

Suggestions / Allow Dude to stay at our house after maxing it out.

« on: February 12, 2023, 07:06:13 am »

Honestly, this is the best motivation to buy everything there is, so that Dude can finally have a proper home, and to put a cherry on top. Add a small buff after achieving it, like an additional 5% to crafting or maybe a new item crafting/buying added, or allow dude to auto-leave a cold Juice in the fridge in exchange for Brew every so often.

I wouldn't mind other characters to join in, but for now Dude is the best candidate.

13

General / Re: How to handle beach invasions

« on: January 24, 2023, 02:16:34 pm »

*see attachments*

This is me just sharing the precise location where the ramp exits are. Unless they change positions (both the boats and ramps), which I haven't seen before, this is as accurate as it will get.

14

Development Log / Re: Dev Log #6: New Environment Renderer

« on: December 11, 2022, 10:14:01 pm »

I like it. My only critique is of the two things: models & lighting, and characters. If any of it can be attributed to it being a "quick demo", i.e. quickly done without the super polish and attention to details, then ignore what I wrote.

The models & lighting, such as crates and cement(?) goop on the floor look like models put into the world, instead of having a natural feel. Maybe it's because they don't have a cast shadow coming from and onto them in the environment? For example in the Metal Armor screenshot, behind the man's back, the cement should have a shadow being cast onto it coming from the wall, same thing actually for the floor nearby.

As for the characters, will there be Anti-Aliasing? While it's obvious all characters will have improved lighting, I can't say the same about the jitterness of the models, with how smooth the environment looks, they stick out by sheer quality difference alone. When they were previously shown, they were against a black background, so it was hard to judge how well they would look in-game.

That all being said, considering how drastic Underrail looks between it's beta and final versions, and the noticeable increase in quality between the base game and DLC, I can safely assume the final product would look way better.

15

Suggestions / Re: New special crossbow bolt - Cryo Bolt

« on: August 18, 2022, 06:37:57 am »

I like the idea. Would work better if it was an AOE, like shocks.

I'd like to add explosive bolts into the mix too, with a downside that they are heavier and therefore have a reduced range.