Requested nerf: loss percentage on ranged projectiles

Lemuel · Post by **Lemuel** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 12:42 pm

I'm not a big fan of requesting nerfs, but the game woulld be more true to life if not all spent projectiles could be picked up as if they always lay at the shooter's feet.

Request 1: while combat ensues, most if not all projectiles shot in that combat can not simply be picked up and re-fired

Request 2: After the combat, the survivor(s) can attempt to salvage spent missiles that did not strike an opponent, with a recovery rate something along the lines of:

- hurled weapons: 25% broken beyond repair and/or hurled off into oblivion and unfindable

- arrows : 45% broken beyond repair and/or shot off into oblivion and unfindable

- lead shot : 65% broken beyond repair and/or shot off into oblivion and unfindable

- copper bullets : 80% broken beyond repair and/or shot off into oblivion and unfindable

[Note for the copper bullet, this is actually a boost as their loss rate is currently 100%, but I believe 80% is warranted.]

As for projectiles that did indeed strike an opponent (or his shield), I think realistically the loss rate should be higher.

Something to the tune of: hurled knives: 30% loss due to breakage, arrows 60%, shot and bullets perhaps 90% due to small size and high speed at impact.

Request 3 - Of the projectiles that survive this loss percentage, a chance should be implemented that they are hidden to a random degree, and have to be searched before recovery. The two percentages (hidden:yes/no?, then if hidden: how much?) should be based on the projectile's relative speed and size, for example, a hurled frying pan should be unlikely to be hidden/easy to find if hidden, a hurled knife harder, a shot arrow harder again, and lead shot likeliest to be hidden and the the hardest to locate if hidden.

To make the request more complex, a 'recovered but damaged' possibility could be brought in at a future date too, but I realize this is too much to ask for all at once.

Note that my suggested percentages above could no doubt be fine-tuned to reflect greater realism, I put them in as rough numbers only to get the ball rolling. Overall, I'm trying to say that recovery of spent missiles requires effort and is time consuming; this is not reflected in the instagather system currently in place. It should be more like foraging for herbs, not like taking riln out of an oak box.

hadesfire · Post by **hadesfire** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:11 pm

I would think that arrows would have a low percent that steadily increases. I did a bit of archery and if the shot hit, it was often reusable for about 10 more times but if you missed, it was pretty much undamaged (unless you hit a rock/tree). Also, painting an arrowshaft neon purple made it fairly easy to find.

Lemuel · Post by **Lemuel** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:25 pm

[quote=hadesfire]I would think that arrows would have a low percent that steadily increases. I did a bit of archery and if the shot hit, it was often reusable for about 10 more times[/quote]

Yes, but a medieval arrow in combat is not equal to a modern-age arrow shot into a hay-filled bullseye, especially if, in the former case, the foe is armoured.

Also, my "miss" percentage includes arrows that missed and flew a mile off and beyond reasonable hope of recovery. Nightime arrows would be especially tough to find.

hadesfire · Post by **hadesfire** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:04 pm

I shoot at 2" targets of softer-ish wood, my arrow is homemade. With those I can get about 10 shots, though by the tenth shot it is horribly, horribly disfigured. in game arrows would be ( I imagine) would hit flesh (armor would ruin it in one shot, always) and be usable -if- you could extract it without breaking it, breaking it would be like tearing off the arrowhead (I use sharpened arrows so that factors in, since headed arrows are much better at withstand impacts)

hadesfire · Post by **hadesfire** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 4:04 pm

I shoot at 2" targets of softer-ish wood, my arrow is homemade. With those I can get about 10 shots, though by the tenth shot it is horribly, horribly disfigured. in game arrows would be ( I imagine) would hit flesh (armor would ruin it in one shot, always) and be usable -if- you could extract it without breaking it, breaking it would be like tearing off the arrowhead (I use sharpened arrows so that factors in, since headed arrows are much better at withstand impacts)

Lemuel · Post by **Lemuel** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 6:07 pm

[quote=hadesfire] in game arrows would ( I imagine) hit flesh (armor would ruin it in one shot, always) [/quote]

I would guess more than half of war arrows would strike bone. If an arrow penetrates one of the bodies' larger bones, that's it - the arrow is finished.

hadesfire · Post by **hadesfire** » Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:51 pm

well, it's gunna be all or nothing. Broadheads would hit bone and chip, sharpened arrows would hit flesh and break on removal after 1 or 2 hits.