[Explanation] Accuracy Rating, Recoil, Damage in Item Description

[eezstreet]

In the next patch, we will be doing away with the examine menu in favor of having the information readily available on the inventory menu. For developers, this means that we're getting rid of the .xml files that ship with the game. So why the change? Three reasons...

1. The examine menu uses a different set of files (those .xml things), and if you changed stuff in the .wpn file, it wouldn't be reflected unless you changed it also in the examine menu file. I still like the .xml files though and I may incorporate those as a replacement for the UI .menu at some point. The information on the inventory menu is pulled directly from the .itm and .wpn files, which means that any changes to balance will be directly and immediately shown in the UI. Nice stuff!
2. It was just a clunky design. Having the information readily available is more convenient for the user and saves having to press a button needlessly.
3. It was bugged and not always guaranteed to work correctly. Some information was aligned incorrectly and didn't always show up correctly. The data wasn't able to be translated to other languages.

 

Accuracy Rating

Starting with the next patch, you will be able to see raw numbers that the game uses. One of these is the weapon's Accuracy Rating. Weapons will display two numbers here: the minimum, and the maximum. But just what is accuracy rating? Simply put, it is the maximum distance between shots at 100 map units ingame. Generally speaking, you want a lower accuracy rating. This can change based on a number of factors, including:

• Using the weapon for an extended period of time will increase accuracy rating.
• Crouching can decrease accuracy rating.
• Running can increase accuracy rating.
• Walking increases accuracy rating by a smaller amount than running.

 

Damage

On your item, you will be able to see damage. On most weapons, this is fairly straightforward, they just list damage and the type (blaster, acp, slug, etc) that they do. Note that this is before any type of armor or shield resistance. So for instance: "Damage: 20 (blaster)" means that the weapon does 20 blaster damage.

For explosives there are three other types of damage:

• Direct damage: This is the damage that gets inflicted, should someone be hit directly by the grenade without it exploding. This damage is affected by armor, but not by shields (it pierces shields). Did somebody just smack you in the face with a grenade? That's direct damage.
• Blast damage: This is the damage that occurs in the blast. Note that this damage occurs per tick in some instances (like thermal detonators). Did you get frozen solid by a Cryoban or blasted by a Plasma grenade? That's blast damage.
• Fallout damage: This is the damage that occurs after the blast. Thermal detonators for instance light the ground on fire. This would be that damage. Did you get slowed by the effects of a Cryoban or ignited by a pyro grenade? That's most likely fallout damage.

Recoil

Weapons don't display their raw recoil, because it would be hard to quantify. This might change in a future patch with a cvar. Note that this is per-shot recoil. A sniper with heavy recoil isn't as bad as a carbine with it, for instance. Weapons show one of five different recoil values:

• Non-existent: No recoil. Things like lightsabers, grenades, etc.
• Light: Between 0 and 0.9 in the .wpn file. Most pistols and some carbines have this.
• Medium: Between 0.9 and 1.5 in the .wpn file. Most carbines and repeaters are here.
• Heavy: Between 1.5 and 3.0 in the .wpn file. Quite rare on anything other than rifles and some launchers.
• Intense: Anything above 3.0. Almost exclusively seen on concussion rifles and launchers.