CR: Initial Earthification of Exosuits

[Drew4484]

Summary

Content "Move Aftershock Exosuits to core game."

Purpose of change

Per @John-Candlebury's suggestion, I've started the process of moving the Exosuits to the core game as an Old Guard alternative to the Hub's power armor.

Describe the solution

To-Do

• Convert frames to steel, increase weight and bulk.
• Give appropriate scrap
• Make VCC plating Aftershock only
• Add Military Composite plating
• Make most weapons/tools/modules/PSUs Aftershock only
• Update item descriptions to reflect DDA origins.
• Split plating by limb.

Couple others that might be added:

• More Earth-tech modules?
• Trade/spawn options?
• Mounted conversion options for conventional heavy weapons to install on back (Mk. 19, M3E1?)?
• Mounted conversion options Exodii heavy weapons (Sapra?)?
• Add ammo storage for large rounds?

Describe alternatives you've considered

Not doing this, as I originally based the Exosuit on "What would the design decedents of CDDA's powered exoskeletons look like in the future?"
Making exosuits a standalone mod.

Testing

WIP

Additional context

Please add any suggestions.

[github-actions]

Spell checker encountered unrecognized words in the in-game text added in this pull request. See below for details.

Click to expand

• "Part Two: The Frame. The exosuit frame meets DOD Interoperability Standard US-9438, standard Exosuit modules. Third-party modules should not be used unless also US-9438 compliant. Designed to be worn over an underlayer or conventional clothes, the frame is adjustable to fit a range of pilots, and will adjust automatically when powered on."

This alert is automatically generated. You can simply disregard if this is inaccurate, or (optionally) you can also add the new words to tools/spell_checker/dictionary.txt so they will not trigger an alert next time.

Hints for adding a new word to the dictionary

• If the word is normally in all lowercase, such as the noun word or the verb does, add it in its lower-case form; if the word is a proper noun, such as the surname George, add it in its initial-caps form; if the word is an acronym or has special letter case, such as the acronym CDDA or the unit mW, add it by preserving the case of all the letters. A word in the dictionary will also match its initial-caps form (if the word is in all lowercase) and all-uppercase form, so a word should be added to the dictionary in its normal letter case even if used in a different letter case in a sentence.
• For a word to be added to the dictionary, it should either be a real, properly-spelled modern American English word, a foreign loan word (including romanized foreign names), or a foreign or made-up word that is used consistently and commonly enough in the game. Intentional misspelling (including eye dialect) of a word should not be added unless it has become a common terminology in the game, because while someone may have a legitimate use for it, another person may spell it that way accidentally.

[John-Candlebury]

For some reason I thought you had already done this.
In any case I think this is a much better replacement system for the current PA suits in vanilla.

[Kantonine]

So does this replaces the already existing exoskeletons, or just adds them alongside, as exoskeleton(But even better)?

[Drew4484]

So does this replaces the already existing exoskeletons, or just adds them alongside, as exoskeleton(But even better)?

In-game? Divergent evolution. In reality? I implemented these in Aftershock to take advantage of the setting's higher technological base (instead of the core game's year+1 technology) to make them a universal tool that could serve multiple roles, from forklift to combat. I intended to migrate some of that modularity to the core game's powered exoskeletons, but got sidetracked by a new job and a new kid. @BalthazarArgall did a truly heroic rework of the core suits in #68758 incorporating some of the ideas I had and I don't want to erase that.

So the initial seed for this idea is that the exosuits are an Old Guard limited production suit with some of the multirole versatility, whereas the existing combat exoskeletons are streamlined for their one specific role. Exosuits were easier to manufacture pre-Cataclysm (assembled from components vs. combat exoskeleton's nanofabrication), so makeshift components are an option for construction/repairs.

That being said, this is a big swing at lore for the Old Guard, and that will have to be finalized after discussions like this.

[IdleSol]

It's not a remark.

1. It's just an opportunity to cheat a bit. For a module with a flashlight, you can use an additional use_action:

    "use_action": [
      {
      "ammo_scale": 0,
      "menu_text": "Turn to high",
      "type": "transform",
      "msg": "You turn the lamp on high.",
      "target": "exo_flashlight_high"
      },
      {
      "type": "delayed_transform",
      "transform_age": 0,
      "not_ready_msg": "debug msg",
      "ammo_scale": 0,
      "menu_text": "Turn off",
      "msg": "You turn the flashlight off.",
      "target": "exo_flashlight"
      }
    ],

The delay time is counted from the moment the item is created/appears. And it is not reset when transforming.

2. The flags FRAGILE, CANT_WEAR are not passed to the frame via inherits_flags?
3. For the disabled frame, you set the eye encumbrance to 100. Perhaps the BLIND flag would work better?
4. For protection plate, if they break, you reduce the thickness of the layer.

Alternatively, you reduce the coverage by 5-10%. And then the broken plate breaks again, resulting in a new plate with an even lower coverage value. And so on until you get tired of copying. Then the broken plate is replaced with air or something with no protective properties.

Additionally the encumbrance can be increased. Or not immediately, but after 2-3 damages.