Electrothermal-chemical Handguns, etc

Game Talk The Lab
21

Concentrated acid, why does it exist as a comestible item instead of ammo? Now this mod changes the json for that so it can be fired from a weapon, an acidproof and barely man-portable version of the water cannon, the OCGES Biorifle (named in reference to a gun in classic Unreal 1 but this one shoots liquid instead of acidic blobs of gel). It is an exclusive, vehicle mounted acid thrower for the OmniCorp Executive profession. All such gun needs to replenish ammo besides the right character skills is a chemistry set, some power and a swamp, onions and ogres optional. Or you could just load it with water instead of crafting concentrated acid for it but where’s the fun in that?

ETC Handguns etc Version 4 Mar/2021

Also featuring besides a few other fixes:

  • G11 override minimod that adds the H&K G11 and replaces 4.6mm with 4.73mm caseless, and optionally all 8x40mm Rivtech caseless guns, mags and ammo too, which you can also install as a standalone if you want only it and not this mod, or if you prefer to set it up as a separate mod in worldgen and have no wish to directly activate it in an already existing save. Again, this is already integrated as an optional modmod zipped in the larger mod inside the modmods folder, which can be activated by just extracting it there so the standalone version is not strictly necessary if you want to install both. Link:

G11 override standalone Version 1

  • Reconfiguration of json for all new round types that uses relative or proportional values from base game conventional equivalents in dimensions, therefore they will automatically adjust to balance differences between Bright Nights and DDA. Also, some rounds with extremely high muzzle velocities had their ranges significantly increased, but such are not effective ranges, they are unlikely to hit anything at their maximum ranges.

  • Handloaded version of subsonic .223 rounds. It’s very, very weak though and has 0 AP, because its specs were balanced to be just somewhat better than 5.45x39 7U1 would if added to Cataclysm. One of those very situational things, but if the RNG gave your character only a 5.56 gun, nothing more and you want to raid a city without drawing entire hordes with gunfire, it could have a purpose.

  • Another laser that doesn’t need an UPS, this time a “pistol” version of the EMP projector, sort of. XE50 Ion Mace, vaguely inspired by a bigger gun in old Bullfrog’s(RIP) Syndicate Wars called Electron Mace, which like the other pure energy gun uses its own magazines instead of UPS, specifically medium batteries. It deals electrical damage, both stuns living targets and causes minor EMP damage too, which makes it very good against anything that isn’t a shocker zombie or immune to electricity. High DPS despite low damage per single “shot” but very poor damage/power drain ratio. The second fire mode depletes an entire medium battery and the highest fire mode needs disposable or plutonium ones to be usable.

  • SSR300 Wisp, a heavily modified rechamber of the 9mm MR9SD which is a bulky and integrally suppressed .300 BLK gun to be used as sniper rifle for covert night operations, just like the VSS Vintorez.

  • Nuclear grenades that can only be used without Yet Another Stupid Death by STR 20 or bionic throwing boosted characters also available as rocket propelled nuclear grenades for the LGW, a new 66mm 4-tube optical guided rocket launcher, which on the other hand also includes a bit more common white phosphorus rockets with their own ammo effect slightly less destructive on loot compared to incendiary grenades.

  • Custom starting vehicles for all corporate executives and the spymaster professions, added to make immediate use of the new turret mount options for several of the new guns. Went a bit crazy on this. In addition to a sports car armed with an acid cannon, the spymaster starts with one armed with a N8SD Nanogun, perhaps more over-the-top than the most over-the-top 007 film, the Aerial Labs’ has a SUV with Cerberus turrets powered by 2 gasoline engines attached to 7.5kW generators yet no conveniently installed recharging station as that would make it way too OP, Leadworks’ diesel SUV lacks turrets but has its front covered by shredders, arguably more convenient considering how time-intensive their crafting is and finally Rivtech’s SUV lacks turrets but is protected with superalloy rams instead of shredders and powered by a steam engine because I wanted to add a profession featuring a car with a steam engine. Sadly no starting monocles though.

  • Optional settings for @'s soundpack SFX in the new modmods folder. Just extract the .zip file located there if you have @'s soundpack installed and the guns in this mod will have sounds.

Hope someone will enjoy this one and/or the G11 override minimod.

22

Hi, this looks like an awesome addon, but it wouldn’t load when I tried it on the latest experimental versions of vanilla cataclysm

23

This mod was not really designed for the new pockets system, thus it has been Bright Nights exclusive for a long time. Not anymore. I had to make a wholly different version for DDA which is more in line with the balance and design differences while still more Science Fiction-ish than vanilla. Well, here it is a very postponed update that should fix any errors, just tested on the still very fresh experimental build of DDA number 2022-01-02-1804 and also on the last build of Bright Nights from last year. There isn’t really more content, this is just a long overdue compatibility update with also some balance changes to align with the differences in DDA for its version of this mod.

Also, here a little teaser of the ultra-rare spawn of mass destruction featured in this mod, here is a slightly resized screenshot of the testing of a LGW 4-tube guided rocket launcher after firing four atomic rocket propelled grenades with all their full sub-kiloton 94.8 tons glory. With an infected character created just testing this mod on DDA who will not die in a whimper for sure, but in a huge bang:

cdda_etcmod_nuclear_grenade

“I am become death, the destroyer of Worlds” t. Bhagavad Gita

PS: Whether the displayed devastation is close enough to what a real 94.8 tons nuclear device would do in reality or not, I’m unsure. Trying to use this thing as a thrown hand grenade is at best almost impossible. throwing it at least 30 tiles away to not get caught in the blast radius. Could that be done? I dunno.

DDA Versions:

ETC Handguns etc Jan/2022 for DDA

G11 override standalone Jan/2022 for DDA

Bright Nights Versions:

ETC Handguns etc Jan/2022 for BN

G11 override standalone Jan/2022 for BN

This time there are separate change logs for the DDA and BN versions of the main mod and also of some stuff changed in the G11 minimod because of some differences. The G11 prototype in reality supported attaching two spare magazines to its frame in addition to the one in its magazine well. This is how it works now in the DDA version through the pockets system.

First here are the shared changes between both. Some of the mentioned fixes might make no difference in DDA but they ensure both versions work closer to how they should. What doesn’t matter for the player is omitted. Minor fluff besides what is listed below was also made, specifically renaming the plutonium fuel cell to plutonium cell and shortening the names of some fire modes for guns to improve UI visibility.

Fixes:

  • Fixed lost “looks_like” tileset settings from multiple instances of “copy_from” over the same items and added a few forgotten ones.
  • Fixed small error in the redefinition of sulfuric acid (concentrated acid in Bright Nights) to ammo for the OCGES Biorifle.
  • Fixed recipe for hand-loaded 7.62 EC HV not requiring a spare plutonium micro cell.
  • Removed barrel and muzzle accessory slots for all multi-barrel weapons that still had one available.
  • Removed wrongly inherited armor penetration capability in 9mm or higher caliber “miniguns” from the .22 ETC nanogun.
  • Made LGW secondary fire control mode irremovable as it should be.

Balance changes and additions:

  • Reduced bashing damage of the CQB and SMG versions of the ER and QR555 by 3 and increased the piercing damage of their integrated bayonet by 3 to make them more useful as guns better optimized for melee combat than most. Before this change they were mostly behaving like blunt weapons instead of firearms moonlighting as spears.
  • Merged 9mm ETC Desert Eel and conventional 9mm Baby Eel magazines. Both pistols share the same magazine type. Also made the “default” 9mm ETC mags support conventional 9mm rounds, those are now compatible with the 923 machine pistol and its derivatives. The latter despite being directly inspired by the Beretta 93R still remains incompatible with Beretta mags.
  • Reduced the mass of some pocket pistols to make them more convenient for ankle holsters. Some of the professions were throwing errors due to that. The margins are designed to support a limited weight of accessories in some pocket pistols while still fitting inside such holsters.
  • Changed base durability of the OFG16k to 10 and gave the hydrogen filled barrel gunmod a 5% damage chance for every shot, because “durability_modifier” no longer exists. Added “blank” gun_data so this gunmod can be fixed with a firearm repair kit. An interesting choice should this gun ever be found. I might change that damage chance and the 10 divider to damage inflicted on the gunmod based upon feedback. However this specific gun is an ultra-rare spawn that personally, despite playing my own mod for quite a while, the RNG has refused to give me so my only experience using it is during tests with the debug menu, so I’m not really expecting much feedback on this one. I think it is a fair trade-off but I could be wrong. For comparison the soda bottle “silencer” has full damage applied and always get damaged after a shot.
  • Made the tube loader for the .308 SMC craftable with the same requirements as the base game Marlin tube loader recipe.

DDA only changes

Fixes:

  • Removed G11 turret mount option because it’s either that or removing the extra “pockets” to attach spare magazines in the gun itself. With both features defined in the JSON files, the loading of the mod will throw errors. For now I decided the unique feature of using extra “pockets” for spare mags in the G11, while a bit wonky in the current experimental because you have to drop them or transfer them to a worn ammo pouch/etc before reloading, was worth more than being able to set this gun which ammo is quite rare as a vehicle turret.
  • Changes to bionic professions starting gear are gated inside a zipped JSON file, bionic_professions.zip, to avoid an unnecessary hard dependency upon the Bionic Profession mod.
  • Considering the addition of the new damage type “bullet” in DDA, the Shoggoth also got 48 damage resistance to it in line with the other resistance buffs, twice as much as the vanilla resistance. Ia Dagon! Ia Hydra!

Balance changes and additions:

  • Changed skills in professions and also in crafting recipes to adapt them to DDA skills. Applied Science level 3 is required to craft plasma cartridges for hand-loaded ETC ammo. Barter skill removed from Corporate executives, Applied Science level 3 added to Gunslinger of the Future and Corporate Spymaster now starts with Traps skill instead of Mechanics to pick locks better.
  • Set nuclear grenade to have exact 94.8 tons explosive power. Recommended minimum safe distance is 30 tiles, it is likely impossible to be thrown that far thus throwing it like a grenade equals YASD. Same thing done to the nuclear 66mm rocket. As seen on screenshot.
  • Added longest side values for items where it is relevant for the pockets system, sometimes set at deliberate points to fit with specific types of holsters, or just for fluff in some cases, like the real length of the H&K G11.
  • Changed some volumes to the same measurement of real weapons volume used by DDA to avoid balance discrepancy. May break intended aim speed for some of them unless longest_side has a greater influence than volume in DDA for aim speed. The reference point for most of these changes was the difference between the gameplay first volume of the AR-15 in BN compared to it in DDA. Also reduced volumes for the 5.56 ETC magazines to match volume changes to the STANAG mags they are based upon in DDA.
  • Changed Rivtech Executive profession sidearm from RM216 SPIW to RM232 IDW with folding wire stock because the former is too long for a XL holster.

Making this into a full content pack is under consideration, with a somewhat Robocop-inspired theme as OmniCorp is an obvious allusion to Omni Consumer Products. Including mapgen stuff, new monsters, NPCs and enough variety that this might in the future be considered for being maintained as “official” in both BN and DDA, but fixing old bugs and adjusting it for compatibility with the not latest anymore DDA pre-release was more important than adding more stuff.

Hope you will enjoy this mod.

24

Up to this week I’ve been playing occasionally DDA build # 2022-01-02-1804 . Then I risked an update to DDA build # 2022-03-22-0540 and there are some changes that require updates to get this mod working again. So that’s it and to make this a bit more than a compatibility update a Quad barrel shotgun was also included.

And all that useless paper currency was bothering me so it got replaced to “z-dollar” bills too in a way that won’t make this incompatible with paper money exclusion mods. If that’s not enough I’m not going to bother reinventing the wheel when this was done already and provided for free, just use the following mod as well then:

Abrahms No Paper Cash

Updating the Bright Nights version of the G11 override standalone mod was not necessary which is why there is no update for it this time.

DDA Versions:

ETC Handguns etc Mar/2022 for DDA

G11 override standalone Mar/2022 for DDA

Bright Nights Versions:

ETC Handguns etc Mar/2022 for BN

With most stuff done for the sake of compatibility with the last and still quite fresh DDA version I tried, the list of changes that apply to both versions is quite small this time:

General Changelog:

  • Added suppressor to Corporate Spymaster’s starting YM14 carbine, which makes a lot of sense for a spymaster.

  • OCG12Q Quad, a four barrel break action shotgun with a fire selector lever. Interesting alternative to the Excidia automatic shotgun which trades off ammo capacity for the ability to control exactly how many shots will be fired from it at a time. DDA version also features four integrated chokes. More common spawn than the .410 shot triple barrel shotgun but still quite rare.

  • Standardized naming for all reloaded rounds to match base game where it is “-insert roundname here-, reloaded” instead of previous “reloaded -insert round name here-” that were previously forgotten in older JSON files of the mod.

DDA only changes

Fixes:

  • Fixed “(itype) has two definitions from the same source” errors. The solution wasn’t pretty for now but it works and that’s what matter.

  • Separated suppressor from some pocket pistols in certain professions starting gear due to changes in the length of the base game compact suppressor. This will increase encumbrance from wearing more than two ankle holsters at once but nothing too bad.

  • Suppressors for integrally suppressed guns had integral_longest_side changed to 0 for their length already is included in the gun JSON file.

  • Fixed folding stock in guns for professions and set them to folded by default when they start holstered. Also folded all integral folding wire stocks. Integral telescopic stock was updated to this new system for folding stocks.

Balance changes and additions:

  • Gave firewood flag to all paper money, including what is still used as post-apocalyptic currency and all stacks of bills. For iconic post-apocalyptic and/or downfall of the godfather scenes of millions of dollars then made worthless being burned to keep a fireplace or stove lit.

  • Changed all bills with zero post-apocalyptic price to “z-dollar” bills through migration (internally they use the same id of the one dollar bills and stacks) , ensuring compatibility with existing old currency exclusion mods.

  • Changed new shotgun shells and also .22 ETC micro-flechette stats to use the new “shot_damage”.

  • Changed length of the Slam Dunk shotgun to more believable 65.1 cm now that folding stocks reduce length. The Spymaster shotgun fits in a XL holster when folded. The stock of such unique shotgun for such profession was changed to a high tier modular folding stock, which obviously starts folded.

Hope you will enjoy.

25

Just as I downloaded a fresh version of Arcana I found out about this:

https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/pull/56469

So here is a compatibility update considering that change, only for DDA this time. A fix for the quad shotgun not retaining empty shotgun hulls inside it is available too for BN, but you may want to skip downloading it over that if such small oversight doesn’t bother you. Just overwrote the previous Mar/2022 zip file with this hotfix due to how relatively insignificant it is, but down here is a link for it too.

DDA Versions

ETC Handguns etc Apr/2022 for DDA

G11 override standalone Apr/2022 for DDA

Bright Nights Versions

ETC Handguns etc Apr/2022 for BN

Changelog:

  • Adjusted item groups JSON files as required by changes in the way the game interprets such.

  • Completed all missed fixes for the professions related to the pockets system among other things, hopefully.

  • Fixed OCG12Q Quad ejecting shotgun shells, which it, as a break action shotgun, shouldn’t.

  • Removed excessive requirements in tools to hand load micro-flechette shotgun shells.

  • Minor adjustment to the UCP hand cannon from the G11 minimod to match base sight dispersion for pistols.

  • Added slots for the new “stock accessory” gunmod to the guns and replaced previous stock slots with it when relevant.

Not much this time, updated primarily to keep compatibility with DDA and fix a few things previously missed.

Hope you enjoy this mod.

26

Now for a more substantial update, mostly needed because Bright Nights adopted the “bullet” damage type like DDA, this time there is some new content, a new profession and even more guns.

DDA Versions

ETC Handguns etc May/2022 for DDA

G11 override standalone May/2022 for DDA

Bright Nights Versions

ETC Handguns etc May/2022 for BN

G11 override standalone May/2022 for BN

The reason for adding even more guns was pretty simple: it was based upon the most abundant rounds for which this mod still had no guns available after clearing up an entire town and all its gun stores in the current game. Those were respectively 40x53mm grenade due to armored vehicles with mounted Mark 19, .45 and .380 ACP rounds.

This update adds among other things the OISW that also is a machinegun in addition to 40x53mm grenade launcher , a .460 /.45 SMG and a .380 machine pistol that is useful for more than “combat in a phone booth”.

Outside such new guns made after what seemed the most commonly found ammo types not yet covered by this mod were the AR57 like guns which were included merely on a whim. Plus the pseudo-historical flintlocks for the new profession, the Anachronistic Reenactor/Pirate which is all about missing the point of being a historical reenactor and doing Lucerne Hammer Fantasy Battles cosplay instead in yet another Warhammer reference.

Mentioning references, more fluff included: lots of unique random variants of the descriptions were added to the American Bear/Eagle and 12C storm bolter through snippets, from having painted American flags in the frames of some the first two to not-Warhammer 40k quotes in the latter.

Now for a more detailed changelog, starting with shared content in both BN and DDA versions.

Fixes:

  • Included previously missing SFX configuration of new guns for @'s soundpack in addition to updating the modmod.

Balance changes and additions:

  • Added recipe for 22XLR 20-round tube loader.

  • Added integrated mechanism mods for the O2020, 555 series, DWOM and MAR9k guns to reduce recoil, with the DMR and sniper rifles among them having the most powerful ones. Done after seeing it implemented on the KORD and realizing the “SIMULTANEOUS” flag on a fire mode does nothing yet. It may make some of these guns too OP, if so it might be removed in future versions from most of these depending upon the feedback.

  • Increased by just one point the cutting damage of the integrated RM42I bayonet in exchange for no more bonus to bashing damage in the rifles that feature it and gave them a 0 to hit modifier instead of -1.

  • Changed American Eagle and Bear to combination guns using separate barrels, one for .357 magnum and .38 and the other for .357 SIG, one magazine well for each, with the latter also compatible with P226 mags. Two triggers and one guard like “That Gun”.

New Content:

  • Grenadier-53, a man-portable, double barrel 40x53mm grenade launcher. Heavy but more practical to carry around than a Mark 19.

  • OISW, absolutely overkill OICW that combines a multi-shot 40x53mm grenade launcher with a 7.62 NATO machinegun.

  • 5.7x28mm variants of the XLR, Mini-Rifle, MR9 and MR9SD with varying barrel lengths from 22 to 7.4 inches. Besides the XLR the others are loosely based upon M4s with FN’s AR57 conversion kits, except with their own, bigger capacity magazines.

  • CMP, a .380 ACP variant of the Stealth Machine Pistol, minus integrated suppressor. Added to provide a more stable firing platform for the relatively common .380 ACP rounds than the MAC-11 which fits inside a holster.

  • Three new .460 Rowland weapons. OCG-Leadworks CAR-460, a bullpup carbine with 2-round burst plus a semi auto only variant and the OCG USMG-460, a heavyweight cousin of the UMP45 with complex recoil mitigation mechanisms.

  • Two profession exclusive anachronisms, the July Flintlock Sniper AKA Scoped Hochland Long Rifle and the Fourth Salvo Flintlock, featured in the new “Anachronistic Reenactor” profession.

Bright Nights Only

  • Migrated damage type for firearms from “stab” to “bullet”.

  • Changed gun mod slots for some of the 555 series guns to allow some of them to have both ported barrels and suppressors installed.

  • Minor changes to item groups settings.

DDA Only

  • Fixed gun mod slots for the 555 rifles platform given the migration of ported barrel from a “muzzle” to a “barrel” slot.

  • Improved item group spawn settings for the guns to make ammunition and spare magazines more likely to be found together with the guns in line with DDA JSON changes with “nested items” .

  • Added thematically appropriate proficiencies to Gunslinger of the Future and Corporate Spymaster professions.

Hope you enjoy this mod.

27

Just a heads up for when you get to it: this mod breaks tool battery mods. It’s either clashing with the base game or Aftershock but I haven’t fully tested it. Not game breaking as it’s not detrimental but it’s nice to have more than 3 charges in a firearm repair kit. I modded a firearm repair kit to take medium batteries. It gave no errors but it still takes light batteries.
Otherwise I’ve encounter no issues. But I tend to hoard more guns than i shoot …

28

This mod is so well made and well thought out. i can’t get enough of it.

29

Here is a long overdue update to make this mod compatible with the latest releases of both Bright Nights and DDA. Other than a handful of fixes and compatibility with the latest experimentals from both at the time, it doesn’t add anything new. The G11 minimod doesn’t need any updates to run on Bright Nights so it’s been kept as it is for it.

DDA Versions

ETC Handguns etc Jul/2023 for DDA

G11 override standalone Jul/2023 for DDA

Bright Nights Versions

ETC Handguns etc Jul/2023 for BN

Hope you enjoy this mod.

Edit: Updated links with a hotfix for lack of USE_UPS flag on UPS-powered weapons.

Edit 2: Sometimes you might miss something big, like writing cm instead of mm in a gun’s JSON to define its length. Updated again so the CAR-460 is no longer impossible to fit in a survivor harness.

Edit 3: Another hotfix done for the sake of UPS using guns working as they should. This should fix up everything now, or almost everything.

1 Like
30

Then, there was a change for whatever reason and old mods with explosives stopped working in DDA, and so here is another compatibility update without many changes, except for more modularity to the R555 platform, not as much as the new modular AR-15 in DDA experimentals, as that would prevent installing them on turrets for now, but that is the intention later, detachable upper assemblies, both conventional and ETC, as soon as the experimentals support gun turrets with mods that change their calibers so they will work in vehicles.

DDA Versions

ETC handguns etc Jul/2023-2 for DDA

G11 override standalone Jul/2023-2 for DDA

Bright Nights versions

ETC handguns etc Jul/2023-2 for BN

G11 override standalone Jul/2023-2 for BN

Balance changes and additions:

  • A few stat changes for the G11 and R555 guns on both versions.

  • ER555 and QR555 guns now can have electrothermal assemblies detached and reattached as a temporary stopgap until something like the AR-15 styled modularity can be implemented without making their installation as vehicle turrets impossible, making switching them between .223 and 5.56 ETC much easier than before provided a minimum of electronics skills, except for the ER555-ADS and UDD variants where it’s not modular.

DDA Only

  • Updated JSON file for nuclear grenade for the new syntax to keep compatibility.

  • Defined barrel_length in the JSON of many guns as a replacement for damage modifiers and remade the modifiers for calibers that lack specific damage values for several barrel lengths in their ammo JSON data after the new, logarithmic formula with diminishing returns for firing rounds in ever longer barrels in GAME_BALANCE.md

Hope you enjoy this mod.

31

Another minor update for full compatibility with latest experimentals in both DDA and Bright Nights. The G11 minimod for DDA didn’t need any changes. Also, nested item groups were extended further and all professions got the new driving proficiency for land vehicles. The DDA version tested on build 56996f4 2023-08-30-1718 . BN version was tested on version f05ba5c, also dated from 08/30.

DDA Versions

ETC handguns etc Sep/2023 for DDA

Bright Night Versions

ETC handguns etc Sep/2023 for BN

G11 override standalone Sep/2023 for BN

BN Fixes:

  • Changed G11 minimod files to stop error messages when using the “replace 8x40 with 4.73mm caseless” option due to internal name change of 8x40mm reloaded ammo.

Balance changes:

  • Expanded item group spawn definitions in both BN and DDA versions.

DDA Only

  • Added driving proficiency to all new professions.

Enjoy!

1 Like
32

There were a few changes that required updates from some mods in both Bright Nights and Dark Days Ahead, here they are. I’d try to add just a bit more in the form of more modular firearms, but as in the base game’s JSON for the Modular AR shows, and I don’t think Bright Nights latest experimental is any different yet:

"flags": [ "NO_TURRET" ],
"//3": "This should be removed once vehicle turrets are capable of mounting 
guns with mods attached. As it stands, trying to mount this style of weapon
would require the player to remove the conversion kit, thus rendering it
unusable anyhow.",

Anyway, here are the new quick compatibility updates:

DDA

ETC handguns etc Nov/2023 for DDA

Bright Nights

ETC handguns etc Nov/2023 for BN

Compatibility Fixes:

  • DDA - Changed NON-FOULING to NON_FOULING in item flags.

  • BN - Fixed barette and tie clip lockpicks and also an issue with using delete: on the magazines field for one of the .410 shotguns.

Maybe I might do a proper replacement mapgen for the Necropolis, better than that slaughter fest of irradiated wanderers ever was and with more options than “get out of here while you can!” and if so it would of course be added as an extra challenge scenario for the Bright Nights version. Maybe, for I’m not promising anything.