So I realize that anyone who has read my comments probably has a pretty good idea of what I would like to see for a weapon system in Ember, but my thoughts are spread out among several threads and mostly buried in other peoples idea's so I wanted to lump everything together in my own topic...
Base Weapon and Mods
The base weapon is a standard issue automatic (or perhaps semi-auto?) Assault Rifle with all around moderate stats. This omni-weapon will have 3 mod slots with no restriction on what can be placed in them (Though each mod should be unique). Rather than having distinct weapon types, these mods will determine all of the weapon characteristics allowing for a wide variety of play styles and features. Every base weapon mod (except the beam mod) will have a positive boost to one or two weapon stats while conversely having an equivalent negative effect to one or more of the other stats to maintain the horizontal nature of the game. Note that while no weapon mod will ever boost omniframe stats, some may have negative effects on speed and/or maneuverability due to increased mass or energy requirements.
Each non-Boolean mod will have between 3 to 5 tiers with higher tiers simply being a larger horizontal shift away from the base AR stats without imparting an inherent vertical growth component. At the launch of a new character the player may choose from a list of "Kits" that consist of a group of tier 1 mods which when put together create the effect of weapon archetypes (rocket launcher, SMG, shotgun etc). The other kits not selected can still be purchased from vendors. Players can choose whether to use the kits as is or switch the mods out for other types to customize their weapon as they see fit.
Major Weapon Stats:
Projectile Area of Effect
AoE mods are designed to explode on impact and are intended to spread damage in a sphere rather than on a particular location. As such their drawbacks are typically going to be related to raw damage (RoF/Mass etc). The non specialized AoE damage is shrapnel from the bullet casing. NOTE: The damage from a standard AoE round is shrapnel, not explosive.
Rate of Fire/Capacity
Ammo capacity and RoF weapons are closely tied together and most mods in this category will reflect that. They are usually intended for targeting minions or weak points in large boss type targets. Burst Fire as a form of RoF also falls into this general category. Typical drawbacks due to the shorter barrel required tend to be velocity and accuracy.
Projectile Mass
High mass projectiles will drastically increase the raw damage of each round fired, however their drawbacks are mostly in the RoF/Capacity area. High mass projectiles that are not AoE are a poor choice to combat large quantities of low health minions.
Projectile Firing Arc/Accuracy Drop-off
Firing arc is the overall angle departure parallel to the weapon barrel that projectiles will typically travel within. Accuracy drop-off is when the firing arc increases over time due to rapid continuing fire. Typically in games this is represented by having a reticle with a circle which gets larger as you hold down the fire button. Because these stats are closely related to barrel length they will often be opposite the RoF stat in mods.
Projectile Velocity
Velocity is one of the two key elements that determine raw damage from a projectile weapon as well as being the key factor in determining the useful range of a weapon due to bullet drop. Because high velocity requires a longer barrel or a greater energy charge, it will typically come at a drawback to RoF/Capacity or Omniframe Speed/Maneuverability (due to increased mass).
Damage Modifiers
While the base damage of any projectile would be calculated based on projectile mass and projectile velocity, various mods may have direct damage modifiers as well that have nothing to do with either stat and are used for game balancing issues. IE Beam Mod imparts a -25% damage mod.
Durability
The durability stat has no impact on damage or play style but instead determines how long your weapon lasts before it requires repairs. A mod that increases durability will typically be directly proportional to the cost per "durability point" to repair.
Multi-shot (Cone of Effect)
The multi-shot effect will fire multiple projectiles in a single shot, allowing for the potential of drastically increased weapon damage. The effect will be somewhat similiar in nature to increasing the mass of a single bullet but with the potential for part of the projectiles to miss. The larger the multi-shot the smaller the base damage per round in order to compensate for potentially massive vertical DPS climb. The other drawbacks will typically be an extremely low rate of fire as the weapon has to load multiple rounds per shot, as well as a much higher firing arc and or accuracy drop-off. Different multi-shot mods may have additional variations. Multi-shot is exclusive to and overrides burst fire.
Reload
Reload speed is a versatile stat which can be used as both a bonus or a negative in just about any mod where it makes logical sense. Reload alterations may be found in particular in mods that alter the ammo clip size without also altering the mass it takes up. Lighter clips will be easier to maneuver into place conversely with heavier clips being more cumbersome. Other mods may impart a shotgun effect where reload is per round or groups of rounds rather than as a clip.
Alternate Weapon Functions
The default alt fire button is a 2x zoom with a 25% reduced omniframe speed and visual blurring around the screen edges to somewhat limit the field of view. However there can be various mods that directly alter the alt fire from this default, including but not limited to adding multi-shot capability, auto or remote targeting capability, separate damage projectiles (grenade launcher etc), additional zoom or even RoF/Arc modes.
*Beam Weapon*
This is a special Boolean (on/off) mod that converts standard bullets into a more exotic form which negates the gravity effect on projectile weapons, the actual effect on the weapon is determined by the presence of any specialized weapon mods. With no specialized ammo mod the weapon defaults to a pulse laser weapon. This damage type partially bypasses shields on targets but will always have a negative damage mod which will make it less effective against unshielded targets. The base damage assigned to a weapon with the beam mod should be about 85% of the default Mass/Velocity calculation to account for weapon blooming/bleed-off. Beam weapons also utilize a power charge that is based on your ammo capacity modifiers and replenished by your armors excess energy production. The Beam modifier ignores the AoE stat.
Base Weapon and Mods
The base weapon is a standard issue automatic (or perhaps semi-auto?) Assault Rifle with all around moderate stats. This omni-weapon will have 3 mod slots with no restriction on what can be placed in them (Though each mod should be unique). Rather than having distinct weapon types, these mods will determine all of the weapon characteristics allowing for a wide variety of play styles and features. Every base weapon mod (except the beam mod) will have a positive boost to one or two weapon stats while conversely having an equivalent negative effect to one or more of the other stats to maintain the horizontal nature of the game. Note that while no weapon mod will ever boost omniframe stats, some may have negative effects on speed and/or maneuverability due to increased mass or energy requirements.
Each non-Boolean mod will have between 3 to 5 tiers with higher tiers simply being a larger horizontal shift away from the base AR stats without imparting an inherent vertical growth component. At the launch of a new character the player may choose from a list of "Kits" that consist of a group of tier 1 mods which when put together create the effect of weapon archetypes (rocket launcher, SMG, shotgun etc). The other kits not selected can still be purchased from vendors. Players can choose whether to use the kits as is or switch the mods out for other types to customize their weapon as they see fit.
Major Weapon Stats:
Projectile Area of Effect
AoE mods are designed to explode on impact and are intended to spread damage in a sphere rather than on a particular location. As such their drawbacks are typically going to be related to raw damage (RoF/Mass etc). The non specialized AoE damage is shrapnel from the bullet casing. NOTE: The damage from a standard AoE round is shrapnel, not explosive.
Rate of Fire/Capacity
Ammo capacity and RoF weapons are closely tied together and most mods in this category will reflect that. They are usually intended for targeting minions or weak points in large boss type targets. Burst Fire as a form of RoF also falls into this general category. Typical drawbacks due to the shorter barrel required tend to be velocity and accuracy.
Projectile Mass
High mass projectiles will drastically increase the raw damage of each round fired, however their drawbacks are mostly in the RoF/Capacity area. High mass projectiles that are not AoE are a poor choice to combat large quantities of low health minions.
Projectile Firing Arc/Accuracy Drop-off
Firing arc is the overall angle departure parallel to the weapon barrel that projectiles will typically travel within. Accuracy drop-off is when the firing arc increases over time due to rapid continuing fire. Typically in games this is represented by having a reticle with a circle which gets larger as you hold down the fire button. Because these stats are closely related to barrel length they will often be opposite the RoF stat in mods.
Projectile Velocity
Velocity is one of the two key elements that determine raw damage from a projectile weapon as well as being the key factor in determining the useful range of a weapon due to bullet drop. Because high velocity requires a longer barrel or a greater energy charge, it will typically come at a drawback to RoF/Capacity or Omniframe Speed/Maneuverability (due to increased mass).
Damage Modifiers
While the base damage of any projectile would be calculated based on projectile mass and projectile velocity, various mods may have direct damage modifiers as well that have nothing to do with either stat and are used for game balancing issues. IE Beam Mod imparts a -25% damage mod.
Durability
The durability stat has no impact on damage or play style but instead determines how long your weapon lasts before it requires repairs. A mod that increases durability will typically be directly proportional to the cost per "durability point" to repair.
Multi-shot (Cone of Effect)
The multi-shot effect will fire multiple projectiles in a single shot, allowing for the potential of drastically increased weapon damage. The effect will be somewhat similiar in nature to increasing the mass of a single bullet but with the potential for part of the projectiles to miss. The larger the multi-shot the smaller the base damage per round in order to compensate for potentially massive vertical DPS climb. The other drawbacks will typically be an extremely low rate of fire as the weapon has to load multiple rounds per shot, as well as a much higher firing arc and or accuracy drop-off. Different multi-shot mods may have additional variations. Multi-shot is exclusive to and overrides burst fire.
Reload
Reload speed is a versatile stat which can be used as both a bonus or a negative in just about any mod where it makes logical sense. Reload alterations may be found in particular in mods that alter the ammo clip size without also altering the mass it takes up. Lighter clips will be easier to maneuver into place conversely with heavier clips being more cumbersome. Other mods may impart a shotgun effect where reload is per round or groups of rounds rather than as a clip.
Alternate Weapon Functions
The default alt fire button is a 2x zoom with a 25% reduced omniframe speed and visual blurring around the screen edges to somewhat limit the field of view. However there can be various mods that directly alter the alt fire from this default, including but not limited to adding multi-shot capability, auto or remote targeting capability, separate damage projectiles (grenade launcher etc), additional zoom or even RoF/Arc modes.
*Beam Weapon*
This is a special Boolean (on/off) mod that converts standard bullets into a more exotic form which negates the gravity effect on projectile weapons, the actual effect on the weapon is determined by the presence of any specialized weapon mods. With no specialized ammo mod the weapon defaults to a pulse laser weapon. This damage type partially bypasses shields on targets but will always have a negative damage mod which will make it less effective against unshielded targets. The base damage assigned to a weapon with the beam mod should be about 85% of the default Mass/Velocity calculation to account for weapon blooming/bleed-off. Beam weapons also utilize a power charge that is based on your ammo capacity modifiers and replenished by your armors excess energy production. The Beam modifier ignores the AoE stat.
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