After playing the mod for about two weeks now, I have a few questions/ideas/suggestions. Please note that I have enjoyed your mods a lot so far and the following are simply my random thoughts that have come up while playing. I can't even be sure if they are all modable within the game engine, so please consider it more a source of inspiration and feedback than anything else. If it gives you some ideas, great. If not, no problem.

1. Why are most later-game marksman rifles cumbersome? It makes sense for something like the Barrett, which you probably shouldn't even be able to fire unless prone, but the M-40 or the PSG-1 don't seem all that cumbersome to me, at least not compared to something like the SVT-40. Based on the wiki, the PSG wasn't cumbersome in vanilla, so I assume you changed it for a reason? From a balancing point of view, I think the high AP cost already makes it so that they can only fire once per turn but with cumbersome now my snipers can't take cover after the shot.

2. On the topic of the PSG, I was confused by it receiving an improved 80% suppressor because it seems like the completely wrong gun for it. Seeing how it is a long-range rifle with high AP cost (and cumbersome), you would want to set up on a roof somewhere and shoot at fools half a map away. The extra noise suppression is not needed in this scenario where you shoot from so far, probably even the improvised suppressor would work just as well.
On the other hand, I would love the option for a better suppressor on (some) mid/short-range guns, the kind you would use inside a building when you're shooting a goon in one room and don't want the guy in the next room to hear it. Keep in mind, maybe these guns exist but I just haven't found them yet, as I am still a fair bit removed from the endgame.

3. I very much appreciate all the work that goes into adding new guns and items to the game but I also feel like some gun categories are already a bit crowded. For example, I have amassed a plethora of 7.62 WP assault rifles that all do more or less the same thing. I would hope that, when deciding what new guns to add, you choose designs that bring something new or unique to the arsenal.

4. Talking about the topic of unique things, I would love to see more unique guns (and/or armors) added to the game, such as unique variants of regular guns with some special traits, for example:
- a non-cumbersome variant of a cumbersome weapon
- a lower AP cost variant
- a variant that increases the penetration of its ammo by one level
- an extremely quiet weapon variant
- or maybe even something gamey like a variant that makes its user more stealthy
Obviously, these weapons should not be easy to acquire and/or come with some drawbacks or tradeoffs, but not so bad as to make them useless like a certain golden sniper rifle.

5. Alternatively, how about adding some spice to the weapon attachments by making them have bigger impacts but also opportunity costs. I could imagine something like a sniper rifle that comes with a scope by default having its AP cost lowered by replacing that scope with iron sights. Now you have a choice between accuracy and how often you can shoot. Another option might be a light frame for a cumbersome weapon. This makes it not cumbersome anymore but it uses the bipod slot (or some other slot valuable to that weapon type) and maybe also reduces reliability.

6. Finally, I wish the enemy would at least occasionally use .45 and 7.62x54 weapons. Maybe I'm still too early in the game but I don't think I have seen a single enemy drop .45 ammo and only maybe once or twice looted 7.62x54 from enemies using the Dragunov.

Hi, first of all thanks for the extensive report and suggestions. This is well appreciated.

I will answer it step by step.


Concerning 1)

In fact BCE got a lot of marksman rifles. Only a very few of them are cumbersome.

Out of the early and midgame rifles, there is only the M40, out of like 10 rifles (such as SVD, M21, HK41, M76, VSS Vintorez, Galatz, G98 ZF, Mosin, etc.) which is cumbersome. It got some advantages over the other rifles, which makes it worth a consideration despite of the cumbersome tag.

The lategame marksman rifles have gotten a rebalance and repositioning. In vanilla game the M24 is cumbersome while the PSG-1 is not. But in reality the PSG-1 is a heavy rifle not meant for mobile but stationary use. It was built for police swat teams, who drive by car to the operation, unpack the gun, use it and then drive back home with vehicle. The PSG-1 in real life is too heavy and clunky to use in military operation. Hence it got the cumbersome tag. The M24, however, is a light weight, non-clunky military operation marksman rifle, hence it got the non-cumbersome role.

SVDM, MSG90, M14 DMR, Dragunov Custom Special, M24A2, M24A3 are non cumbersome endgame and lategame marksman rifles. These are joined by heavier rifles, such as PSG variants and .50 BMG rifles, to make it round.

Concerning 2)

a)
I have watched and listened to a lot of shots from both M24 and PSG-1 while balancing this, and the PSG-1 is defenitely less noisy from what I could identify from the records. The reason probably is, that it is the heavier built rifle, which can compensate noise better with the own body.

b)
The reason why the PSG-1 receives the 80% suppressor is, in this case, to reward a), and in addition to that, that it fits well with the heavy, cumbersome rifle, as this suppressor already is visually very heavy and would make look a light rifle to be heavy instead.

I wanna point out, that there is not yet a distinct rule, which rifles get the 80% suppressor. It is a mix of reasons, e. g. when it fits the weapon style, or in general high tier weapons come in line for that.

BCE doesn't want to support overtuned stealth gameplay, as the game was not made for that. Clearing out sectors fully suppressed and guy by guy doesn't add much to the game long term.

The 80% suppressor cannot be provided to low tier guns, for the reason that it would destroy inner balance of the mod, and cheap guns allowed to have access to this advantage would invalidate too many other guns, whcih might not have that suppressor, in that certain playstyle, which then would become the playtyle to be supported by the mod, what I do not believe to be a good idea.

If you have any suggestion for a gun to get the 80% suppressor, please let me know and it can be considered. Typically it would be a gun in the range of $100k+ or a very good reason for anything less than that.

This kind of suppressor is meant to be an elitist item in the game, not an ubiquity. The VSS Vintorez and OTs-14 Groza can now serve to be cheaper alternatives for more noise reduction below the $100K weapon range to be accessed earlier in the game, as it has subsonic ammo provided to it from the get go. You can still consider using the 9mm or .45 ACP SMGs: MP5 Custom, HK-94, AUG SMG, UMP. They should give you a good run when being less noisy is what you want to achieve with a unit that runs deeper into the enemy lines. Later on, when more wealthy, you can afford to get this unit a SOCOM 16 or anything similar, which is provided with the 80% suppressor.

Concerning 3)

Please consider the 7.62 x 39 rifles, such as the AK-47, AKMS, AK-103 and several more the backbone of the weapon drops of the enemies. The different variants should provide different advantages and disadvantages at different points of time. CS/LR11 & AKMC are viable for lategame. AKMC provides better critical strike chance, while CS/LR11 has better both base range and damage.

Concerning 4)
Some of the things you talk about are already planned, others not. Unique weapons is probably not amongst the things that come to question. For the following reasons:
i) The customisation of guns allows you to create a kind of unique gun and setup for your team.
ii) Real unique guns that outclass their regular counterparts would invalidate most other guns straight off the bat and destroy the carefully created balance of BCE Guns, which hopefully still can be improved instead of being destroyed. And remember, you don't have so many mercs to equip in any way: If you use unique shotgun, unique sniper, 2x unique AR, unique LMG & unique SMG, then you got your full team of 6 equipped, rendering most other guns useless choices. This is not the route BCE is going to go.

Unique armors are already planned. But there is no rush, as I have been working on other things recently, as you might have seen.

Concerning 5)

BCE attachments are already the way you describe. They offer large advantages and large trade-offs. I like the idea of an ironsight as you descrbe it and going to see if that makes sense in the end. But please consider, that an iron sight would be on the lowest end of pricing and status in the range of available scopes: It cannot actually give high tier ability, such as -2 AP (reducing sniper from 7 to 5 AP), for just a few parts, just because it seems to suit well. As well you cannot make the ironsight cost chips and lenses, which exclusively could represent the value of such an attachment. This again would destroy the balance of scopes and make this one scope attachment possibly more rewarding to get than others by a larger than necessary or wanted margin.

Concerning 6)

Do you use C-UAE mod? It provides guns to enemies. If no, then using this mod might fix it for you. If you are already using it, then we have to figure out, why it does not make use of these guns.


Greets

Thanks for the very detailed reply and explanation. I suppose some of my issues stem from the fact that there are still a lot of weapons in the mod I have yet to come across. In vanilla the PSG is treated as the ultimate sniper rifle, so I was rather underwhelmed when I got it in Landsbach and it didn't seem all that useful to me. I try to play as a scavenger, only using equipment that I find as loot or rewards, so I can't really tell what weapons are meant to be top tier and which are just normal. I will buy a new gun from the in-game stalls once to take a look at its stats and attachment options but then I will usually just reload the game afterwards. However, the PSG was the first weapon I've seen offering the 80% suppressor, and I felt that it was completely wasted on it, for reasons stated above. Now that I know that there are other guns with that option, I will keep an eye out. I also fully agree that top-tier attachments should be limited to high-end weapons, so I guess I need to find more high-end weapons first.

I somewhat disagree with your philosophy on stealth and unique weapons but I understand your arguments and respect that it's your mod, so you get to decide the route you want to go. I do prefer stealth wherever possible, since I found that shootouts against 30+ enemies tend to end poorly for my team, unless I cheese the AI or throw grenades everywhere. Arguably stealth is also a way of cheesing the AI, but it feels a bit more immersive than outright exploiting bad pathfinding, nonetheless. Also, I actually found a Groza yesterday but haven't had a chance to use it yet.

As for the attachments, you have pointed out a considerable flaw in my example but I think the idea I wanted to convey is that it would be nice to see more attachments on some (not all) guns that offer particularly strong benefits but come with a significant downside, either by having a negative side effect or by preventing you from installing an attachment that would offer a different very useful buff. As it is right now, as long as I have the resources, I will just add the most expensive attachment in each category because they are all pretty much straight upgrades. I know that some options like that already exist, like some guns have short barrels that sacrifice range for AP reduction but I would like to see more of this on more guns, as long as it makes some sense. And yes, these upgrades should definitely be expensive.

One different example that just came to me was something like an aluminium bolt carrier for a rifle. It's lighter than a regular bolt carrier, so it reduces AP cost but since it can't handle the same pressure as the steel version, weapon damage is reduced or maybe penetration, or both. It that realistic? Probably not but it's plausible enough for a video game and sometimes game balance and fun should not be overly beholden to realism.

Regarding the C-UAE mod, I have been using it but only for the last two days. Prior to using it, I was drowning in MG42s, AK47s and M40s. Loot has definitely been a bit more diverse since I installed it and it gave me my first drop ever of 7.62x54 rifles but I still haven't seen anyone drop a .45. I only ever found those weapons during "Loot Mine/Town/Dock" operations, and they usually drop the gun without ammo. I will keep testing for a few more days. It's possible that I was unlucky or the loot tables haven't fully updated yet.
However, one thing I have always found odd, is how much .44 ammo the enemies drop, sometimes even without any weapons that use it.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to listen to my ramblings and don't feel the need to reply in that great detail. Just take whatever inspiration you can get, ignore the rest and know that I am looking forward to whatever new ideas you come up with next.

.338 sniper rifles M24A3 & PSG-1 Custom will receive a buff with the next update. I am going to have a look if .45 ACP is in loot sector operations already, and add it if not.

Did you think of just crafting 3-4 packs of .45 ACP ammo? It might be a quick way to fix your shortage. Or is that not allowed in your gameplay too?

If you are planning to not buy or craft weapons, then you will only get a few high tier weapons handed to you from the game. Depending on RNG that would be like 3-5 guns (non-pistol) in high level tier. However, some specific high tier weapons can never drop from enemies or loot crates and must be invested in with either cash or crafting materials.

The reason you do not get .45 ACP enemies, is, that C-UAE already provides higher tier weapons to the enemy. Those .45 guns typically are amongst the lower tier weapons in BCE and C-UAE will most likely make use of them early in your playthrough, when your mercs are of low levels. Higher tier .45 ACP guns cannot be provided to enemies due to exclusion lists of BCE, which protect several of the more valueable items from being supplied to the enemy. This example means the P250 (high tier .45 ACP) cannot be used from enemy forces and it will never drop from them. If you want to get the gun, you need to rely on RNG from opening loot crates in sectors or gun shipments as well as sometimes quest rewards.

I have to make a slight correction. I just realized that the enemy does occasionally drop the M1911 which uses .45 ammo but it only comes with 7 rounds and I have never seen them drop .45 ammo, unlike .44 ammo which they drop in copious amounts. To give you an idea, after about 3 months of campaign, clearing everything west of the big river (i.e. Landsbach, Fleatown, Pentagruel and the mines) I have a total inventory of 130 .45 ACP bullets. Most of this is probably from mercs who came equipped with the M1911 by default. Mind you, outside of the first few fights on Ernie, I have not used any .45 guns, do to the ammo being so rare. Meanwhile, I have a total of 1300+ .44 bullets of different variants and I am actively using the ammo with one character whose primary gun is the M94 Winchester.

The reason you still get M1911 drops is, that it is a secondary weapon, and the loot supply mechanic I described above is in place for the primary weapons. Hence you probably don't get a mac-10 or UMP, which would hold more ammo, as they are primary weapon SMGs and not a secondary weapon pistol.

This means when your mercs are still level 1-4 or maybe 5, you would probably get enemies which have .45 SMGs equipped. If your mercs are lvl6+, then you cannot get this type of enemy weapon from C-UAE anymore.

What I can do to fix the issue with .45 ACP a bit, is to add more to Earnie Island.

Originally posted by whahappen:

Did you think of just crafting 3-4 packs of .45 ACP ammo? It might be a quick way to fix your shortage. Or is that not allowed in your gameplay too?

If you are planning to not buy or craft weapons, then you will only get a few high tier weapons handed to you from the game. Depending on RNG that would be like 3-5 guns (non-pistol) in high level tier. However, some specific high tier weapons can never drop from enemies or loot crates and must be invested in with either cash or crafting materials.

The reason you do not get .45 ACP enemies, is, that C-UAE already provides higher tier weapons to the enemy. Those .45 guns typically are amongst the lower tier weapons in BCE and C-UAE will most likely make use of them early in your playthrough, when your mercs are of low levels. Higher tier .45 ACP guns cannot be provided to enemies due to exclusion lists of BCE, which protect several of the more valueable items from being supplied to the enemy. This example means the P250 (high tier .45 ACP) cannot be used from enemy forces and it will never drop from them. If you want to get the gun, you need to rely on RNG from opening loot crates in sectors or gun shipments as well as several quest rewards.

I know that I can just craft the ammo, and I will eventually, once I find a second USP, since it looks like a really good sidearm. My issue is more the fact that .45 should be a common caliber and I think it odd that it never drops from enemies, while .44 is seemingly everywhere. But maybe it's my fault for not using C-UAE earlier.

I would suggest, if you just want to make it harder, only stop buying them and use loot + craft instead of only loot. However, BCE series is meant to be played and balanced around using all channels of getting guns at the same time: Buy, craft, loot & quest rewards. You decide when to do what and in which combination. Buying guns will not make the game much easier for you, as you will lack the money in paying always upleveling mercs and building finacial backup and anyway guns are decently priced to stop you from buying the whole store at once.

indeed, if you didn't use C-UAE in early game, then you have missed the .45 ACP drops from enemies, which would have supplied you with enough .45 ammo. You could hire a level 3 merc team and let them do sectors, if that makes any sense to you above just crafting a few packages.

Also, thanks for letting me know that I need to buy or craft top-tier weapons. I assumed that once I fight the army after the worldflip, they would be dropping the good stuff, but if that's not the case, I will have to find some roleplay reason for my mercs to go gun shopping at some point in the future.

Mind if I ask, what's the indicator of a really good gun? A price of 100k+, 200k+ or more than that?

The prices in bobby rays and in-world markets reflect the value and ability of the gun.

You will get dropped some good stuff, but you will not swim in it, everything will stay rare and valueable to you. You probably got a high tier gun in refugee camp already, if the world flip has taken place.