Ok so a lot has been said about OT and there’s no fixing it without major changes in how chems work. In short it’s unfixable and needs an overhaul. Thankfully I have an idea as to how we could change OT into something that makes more sense than having an ordnance factory on board and is more balanced than the current version. Behold! The new OT!
Concept: The new OT is a veteran demolitions/EOD expert with high experience in explosives and IEDs. Considering the Almayer is pretty much depleted of equipment from operation Tachyon Tackle this OT will take initiative with the blessing of his commanding officers to work on a solution. That being making of improvised explosive devices.
OT workshop: As we rework OT in its essence the old lab will need to go. All the regent tanks are removed and so are the chem machines and casing printers. Autolathe stays as is. Add more wire and metal and glass in the reserves.
Components: The components and their system will be more or less unchanged in their use to define the utility of the device while allowing the OT to customize it at his discretion. However what will change is the casing and the explosive itself.
Explosive matter: Instead of using casings and explosive mixtures we will use existing standard issue explosives that are connected to the detonator. This is better balance wise since it uses already tested and balanced explosives. Specifically that being:
Mortar shell warheads: Mortar shell standard issue warheads that have no propellant charge and are thus unusable in any other way.
C4 clay (no detonator and unshaped): C4 clay that has yet to be shaped into a proper standard issue C4 charge. Essentially the same system as any other material like metal and wood. By pressing z you can shape the clay into a block of any size, each containing a different C4 quantity.
Reinforced regent tanks (welding fuel or any other): Regent tanks, common all aboard the Almayer make perfect explosive devices that can be detonated remotely. Reinforced ones can withstand gunfire and not explode immediately when shot making for perfect improvised demolition charges.
Gun propellant powder: Powder used in bullet casings to create a functioning bullet.
Any flammable liquid.
Assemblies:
Mortar shell IEDs:
Acquire mortar warheads crate from deep storage.
Create a igniter/signaller assembly for remotely detonated charges.
Attach assembly to the warhead and secure it with a screwdriver. This will have a windup.
Meddle with the fuse from the mortar shell with a screwdriver. This will have a windup. If done by someone with insufficient skill the IED blows up.
Wire the assembly. This will have a windup.
Carefully connect the assembly wiring with the fuse. If done by someone with insufficient skill the IED blows up.
(you cannot throw the charge far, just leave it near where you want to blow shit up)
Dual Mortar shell IED: Same thing except you need to connect two mortar shells together with a screwdriver at the start.
(you can put the IED on dirt and if you click the tile with a shovel/etool you can burry the IED and only have it be slightly protruding from the ground to hide it better)
C4:
Acquire C4 clay crate from deep storage.
Shape the clay into small or large block(One block (sheet) of C4 is the small and is as strong as a proper C4 charge. Two is large with double power.). This will have windup.
Make igniter/signaler assembly for remote detonation, igniter/timer for grenades (you can only use the small block) and igniter/sensor for area denial.
Add two metal rods or broken glass in the block to create shrapnel(optional). This will have windup.
Connect the assembly to the block(no screwdriver needed).
Wire the assembly.
Carefully connect the wiring with the C4 Block. Insufficient skill will cause the IED to blow up. This will have windup.
Pipebombs/boom-buckets:
Acquire propellant powder crate from deep storage.
Have the autolathe print small pipes or small water buckets (pipes make pipebombs and buckets make larger charges, let’s call em satchels/boom-buckets).
Create a timer/igniter assembly.
Connect the assembly with the pipe or bucket with a screwdriver. This will have windup.
Fill the containers with propellant powder. Pipes will take 4 powder which will be the equivalent of an M40 HEDP and buckets 8 (double of that of HEDP). You can fill it with thermite, max 20u for the pipe and 40 for the bucket to make a thermite grenade/charge or napalm/any other flammable liquid to make incend. Same with phosphorus to make a CCDP. This will have windup.
Add 2 metal rods or broken glass if you want shrapnel (optional, will not work for incend, CCDP).
Seal the containers with a single steel sheet and a screwdriver. This will have windup.
Wire the assembly. This will have a windup.
Connect the wires to the pipe/bucket. Insufficient skill will cause this IED to blow up. This will have a windup.
(this can be thrown far)
Molotov cocktails:
Acquire flammable liquid.
Print glass bottles from the autolathe.
Fill bottles with flammable liquid.
Add paper for a fuse.
(this should change mollies in total, like making booze mollies have ethanol in em)
Reinforced regent tank bomb (heavy demolitions):
Acquire regent tank filled with flammable liquid.
Reinforce the regent tank with metal.
Create igniter/signaller assembly.
Attach assembly on the regent tank with screwdriver. This has windup.
Wire assembly. This has windup.
Carefully connect the wire with the regent tank. Insufficient skill will cause this IED to blow up. This has windup.
Conclusion: So yeah, that’s my idea of what OT could be like. All explosives use in this OT version are field tested and balanced while the assemblies make them more powerful than their standard issue versions. At the same time, there’s a taste of the old OT left with the regent tank bomb that is much more potent than the rest but much harder to use (hard to not get it destroyed right away or to not blow up marines). Overall with some optimization I think this concept will work pretty well for the game while adding to it in terms of realism, since why the fuck does a combat ship have an ordnance factory on it???
P.S: None of these explosives can be used as ammo for GLs. SADAR mains out there I know how you feel but this has gone on for too long.
Top Row: Duct Tape, Steel Wire Roll, Pilot Light/Fuse, Box of Screws
Second Row: Steel Pipe, Rope, Industrial Lubricant, Some chemical thing i forgor
Third Row; Hydrogen Peroxide or something, A Oxygen Tank IED, an “improved” molotov, throwable IED
Last Row: A runners tail wrapped around a fishing rod connected to a car battery, a boobytrap shotgun, and a springmine
I mean sure we could add shit like tape. My initial intention was to work with what we got for coding convenience. Although this too is dope. Mods what do yall think.
I still think that reducing the maximum yield, falloff, radius, and so on to be consistent with the default shells/rockets is a decent solution. By narrowing the range that the yield could be xeno players can be more confident that they aren’t going to be surprise-gibbed.
For me, the fun as an OT is making weird, possibly effective weapons. I think we should encourage more of that. Rockets that spew hivemind disruption gas instead of gibbing. Mortar rounds that melt walls and kill weeds rather than popping a ravager like a pimple. Push custom ordnance to either something consistent with default ordnance or something truely custom.
No matter what you do, custom made gear is going to be hammered down until a clear meta forms. If the final result is a explosive that is even slightly stronger or on par with regular explosives is the end result, that is what will be in written forum guides and discord meta sheets.
Anyone making a new OT system needs to think about what is the most powerful explosive that can be made in their system, and imagine that as being what is going to be mass produced.
In this system I’d say it’s either the dual mortar IED or the large C4 block, however their use is limited to that of a standard C4. The entire point of this rework is to limit the efficiency of OT. Adding long windups was my original idea. Mass producing with this system is entirely different. Besides, having an explosive twice as strong as a mortar or a C4 is I think a big stepdown from what OT currently is. That was the whole point either way. Now specifically and practically this could definitely use tweaking but I think it’s a good basis to start off since no one has had any better ideas thus far.
edit: also costume rockets and mortar shells are removed and the use of each type of IED is based of how powerful it can be. I think if we check the analogies on explosive matter this will work perfectly.
I made sure to include variety in this system as well. The mortar shell IEDs can be made by any explosive mortar round be it HE, incend or shrap and they can be combined in the dual mortar IED. You can add broken glass or metal rods into most of the other IEDs for shrap and you can make all sorts of nades with the pipebombs and boom-buckets, be it phosphorus, therimite etc. It also nerfs the standard alcohol moly which xeno mains seem to hate so much. And again, all of these bombs have stats that have been tested and been balanced already needing only minor adjustments.
edit: When I said boom-bucket this is what I meant
A mortar shell is balanced.
A mortar shell IED is not. As bad if not worse as current OT.
Explosive reagent tanks are just griefing. Why and how would you even use them, drag one to xenos?
The entire system seems less modular and just worse than current OT implementation-wise.
These improvised explosives sound more like what CLF would use, it doesn’t fit in with marines at all. its just a bad idea for main CM - might work as a simple OT equivalent for CLF HvH or as something CLF can spawn with as ERT.
I agree it can definitely use refining. In terms of actual explosive power we can adjust that too. The mortar shell IED is just a more powerful C4 that takes time to make and will not oneshot a rav from 5 tiles away. As it stands OT can make a nuke rocket that obliterates half the T3s in one shot with 0 counterplay. There is no way that a more powerful C4 is gonna be half as bad as that. Regent tanks are meant to be a defensive weapon. Like place it in a good spot to make an ambush and detonate when the enemy is close. You can pretty much make every type of explosive here except you get more restricted on firepower for the sake of balance (unlike the current OT). I too agree that CLF could use these more than the marines. However they don’t have much more standard issue ones so the OT gets to work to make up for it. In need the marines will use whatever they can get their hands on, especially now after operation tachyon tackle that got half the marines on board killed. And in the end nobody else has come up with any other ideas. Yet I still see people complain about it, hence I took the time to make this post.
Edit: I don’t see why you should immediately dismiss this anything can turn good with propper adjustments.
Cheesing with hidden reagent tanks around a corner or IEDs has less warning than current OT.
Current OT can since its a number matter.
This has issues adjustments can’t fix - identity is off here, the described system allows less freedom and the features are plain bad beyond something numbers can fix. I.e
Traps are extremely problematic to balance, they’re either useless or overpowered because you need an obvious “tell” that there might be traps somewhere - like weeds, which would be minefield areas/tiles for marines if ever implemented.
FF potential is just frustrating, no one wants to die to PVT playing with a faulty grenade, the makeshift identity is impossible.
At the end of the day it’s literally OT but you reduced the numbers and threw the old system away. It’s pointless.
There’s 3 PRs up currently and it’s an extremely simple and obvious solution - reduce the numbers until the problem disappears. I don’t think there’s any better alternative to the current OT mechanics so any talk of reworking it is likely pointless. Besides throwing all of it away in favor of another unbalanced system no one would work on would be insane.
Time would be better spent coming up with unique features/chems/casings for research and OT that ain’t gigabroken.
