1 reply to this topic

[NeoAres]

The Problem: When the only UAC in the game was the IS UAC5, there was no problem with the way it worked. However, now with the advent of different calibers of UAC on the clan side, a flaw in the way the UAC operates has come to light. As we know, the current method of short-cycling the UAC is to tap it. The weapon fires as quickly as you can tap it, regardless of caliber. This immediately neutralizes any balancing effect of reload time, as the reload time can be completely ignored. Light UACs are put at a distinct disadvantage compared to their heavy brethren are a result. Furthermore, thinking down the road to Rotary Autocannons, there will really be no way to make a RAC superior to a UAC because a UAC can already fire as quickly as a RAC possibly could. The "tap to short-cycle" method of UAC functionality is inherently flawed and needs to be replaced.

The Solution: Replace the "tap to short-cycle" functionality with a "hold to short-cycle" functionality. If tapped, the UAC will only fire once and will be unable to fire again until the full reload cycle has been completed. If held down, the UAC will fire at exactly twice its normal rate until it jams or the trigger is released. That means a short-cycled UAC20 will fire every 2 seconds until the trigger is released, while a short-cycled UAC2 will fire every 0.36 seconds until the trigger is released. Balance between the UAC calibers will be restored, as will balance between them and the other AC classes.

If/when the RAC comes along, it will have a switchable mode, able to operate identically to a UAC (2x ROF, identical jam chance), or with an even faster short-cycle (4x ROF, increased jam chance).

Disclaimer: This has NOTHING to do with overall weapons balance. If you're planning on whining that this will nerf heavy UACs in relation to laservomit, rest assured that there are other ways to boost UACs so as to keep them competitive (higher velocity, further reduction of rounds per shot, increased ammo/ton, plenty of other variables that can be tweaked). All I am concerned with in this thread is balancing the UACs to each other, and in order to accomplish that, a change in functionality is required.

Edited by NeoAres, 02 October 2015 - 07:12 AM.

[0bsidion]

Since rotary AC can fire 6 times for every trigger pull, or in other words, deliver 6x the damage a standard AC of the same caliber, I think we can safely say RACs aren't overshadowed by the current UACs implementation. So having it operate identically to the UAC would be a significant nerf. I'll give that idea a big pass, thanks, but no thanks.

If you think the UACs already fire as fast as possible you're quite mistaken. UACs work fine as is, though the jam chance might be a bit high for my tastes.

Edit: OK, I think I see what you're saying, hitting the mouse button six times before the normal cycle ends would be a bit of a challenge, but you can simply hold down the fire button and achieve the same result, though it would be harder to precisely control the number of times it fired.

Edited by 0bsidion, 02 October 2015 - 07:29 AM.