[*]install ja2 and Arulco Revisited
[*]update the game files at least to gamedir r1842 with SVN or SCI
[*]download and extract AR_Compatibility (fitting exe is already included) in the game directory
[*]download and extract AR_RndItem_Maps in the game directory

There are plenty of files in your download folder - some of us may get confused. Which is which?

I have latest SCI_GAMEDIR.

I have I.M.P run out of energy at first drop off. Then after battle I made him rest, regains energy...then sudden lost of energy again...he was there...lying all the time. crazy

Eyerange of 400 meters (20) is unrealistic; original 260 meters, 13. (!)

And was detected by an enemy through the window at 18 tiles range(!)

Shot the guy in prone and missed (!), the other guy went running from the side house and kicked him into the guts putting it to the end(!)

He landed a 9x39 into enemy torso, but only injured him(!!).

[...]Vitya ran to and climbed the roof of next building, fully camoed (but still somehow at 31%(!) even though his helmet,vest and leggings were camoed)[...]

But to no avail, as "snapperheads" immediately fired a pistol round causing a veteran to piss his pants (!!), three times (!!!)

Regarding the item balance on maps, I did a small debug run to H6 and discovered an enemy carrying a MG43 with iron sights of a type "you shouldn't be able to read this." aka empty.

I noticed I can't combine guile suit with helmet/armor. Why? Has it stopped being just a bunch of bushes/synthbushes on a flexible wire?

I found that SVD/SVUs migrated into rifles[...]

[...]SVU not accepting PSO-3 and true sniper optics(same dovetail mount as SVD)[...]

[...]Pecheneg is supposed to be lighter, faster firing and having an integrated barrel air-cooling that results in improved accuracy, much lower heating and reliability (.. not in this game ) compared to PKM[...]

[...]both also don't have optional folding stocks..?[...]

Also 762x54 AP/Match? There were lower quality 762x54R with some intended spread for machineguns
and sniper 7N14 (steel core/match powder) - which increase both penetration, range and accuracy; but the mentioned spread is pretty harming for them. This is quite different from 762x51 AP/Match uptake, don't you think?

Is firing CAWS really faster than AK-12 12/76?

Automag IV weights same as Automag V?

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Automag IV weights same as Automag V?

I don't know, they are imported straight from Stock 1.13 without any weight changes. Do you have proposals for different weights?

Please elaborate, were is the context of realism between former and current sight range?

Detection range for complete ghillie suit is 16 tiles, if you are lying completly in the open. So it sounds like the bush wasn't between you and the enemy and/or you weren't on a tile that provides 100% woodland camouflage.

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Shot the guy in prone and missed (!), the other guy went running from the side house and kicked him into the guts putting it to the end(!)

What's the point, that you didn't have a guaranteed hit?
I didn't touch stamina damage, so not related to this mod.

Damage always was somewhat randomized. Nominal damage of the vintorez is 5 points higher, damage to flesh has a 0.8 multiplier now (compared to stock 1.13), so no drastical difference.

Who is Vitya, an IMP? 31% in SDO match 62% in Stock 1.13. The roofs in A9 mainly provide urban- and sometimes limited desert camouflage, did his armour have the matching camo types?

Which experience level had he? Was he completly alone, were a deputy or squadleader in vicinity?

Fixed, the enemies had no random item inventory in that sector.

Balancing reasons. You shouldn't be able to combine highest protection with highest camouflage, you now have to choose somewhat.

I found that SVD/SVUs migrated into rifles[...]Intended.

Source on the weight differences? I read the pecheneg is heavier, the barrel already alone (well, not exactly 0.2 kg, changed to 8.7, pkm to 7.5 kg).

Nominal firing rate seem to be 650/600 shots per minute, that doesn't justify a jump from 3 to 4 Autofireshots/5AP. Or have you other sources?
The Pecheneg has a sligthly higher cooldown factor (420 vs.400), is 4% more accurate, has lower recoil (3>9,5^/3>11,5^ vs. 3>10^/3>13,5^), but no barrel swap option.

In a quick internet search i found commercial offerings for folding stocks for the PK, seems not to far fetched.

There is no AP/Match ammo type for 7.62x54R or 7.62x51mm in SDO. Or do you want that i add one? Isn't that overkill? PKM and co. should already cut through everything with 47 damage/ 0.65 armour multiplier. As for the real life difference, i have no knowledge on the subject.

I don't know, the first was only a prototype and the last only exists as a concept as far as i know.

I don't know, they are imported straight from Stock 1.13 without any weight changes. Do you have proposals for different weights?

I went further and hired Scope on Easy with M82; Z, C on drop, immediately went west behind fence and climbed the roof. Now she and the guy behind sandbags (with some pistol?) have been exchanging about 15 shots for quite some time. He was standing, when being fired on; she targeted head, a few tiles range - a head above sandbags vs SAS with M82:
http://i.imgur.com/zxL07pj.jpg

I don't understand - either I am not in sync with NCTH or NCTH is not in sync with logic..

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Damage always was somewhat randomized. Nominal damage of the vintorez is 5 points higher, damage to flesh has a 0.8 multiplier now (compared to stock 1.13), so no drastical difference.

Sir, one cant get *that* bullet into a stomach and live...

On that pic, you're way too close for such a high magnification optic, use iron sights.

The human body can be remarkably resistant.

Its spec-ops ammo, just saying...

Both sniper and regular 9x39 variants include either core (tumbling) or a shim made of [color:#33CCFF]lead[/color] (cyan color on the picture) that are designed especially for huge wounds, should bullet land in organics. :/

I suggest, vanilla setting does not let AI see every merc on the map. For example, 160/40(+)40=>1/2 vs 160/26(+)26.=>1/4 of map in each direction.

The vanilla situation was that every(?) scope gave you a vision range bonus. So at some point in the game it came to "scope wars" during day; you were often just sitting and waiting for the enemy to charge into your increased field of view. Also i didn't like, that most (unscoped) weapons could immediately fire at targets, that just stepped into the default sight range; also the ratio possible distance traveled per turn to sight range.
The situation is now: spotting doesn't mean immediate engagement, at least in early phases of the game. Scopes with magnification lower than ~5.0 don't give vison range bonuses, so you are at equal footing with the ai most of the time. And you can't run as far you can see in one turn (unless ubermerc). I know the old maps are reaching their limits, but i can't do something about that.

From location where one is inserted, few tiles north-east, a bush and green grass.[...]Also, I tried following tactic several times: point insertion, immediate Z, immediate P.

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After just few turns an enemy comes. Perhaps its helicopter triggered?

Spooky is holding an M4 carabine and shoots a guy 17 tiles away, aimed, and misses.

BTW, Spooky has a macchete in his pocket. Refuses to put it back [Kit "High Cost"], says it doesn't fit anymore. Learned a trick from Magic. Jokes aside - definitely a small inventory bug.

I also hired Lynx with G3 and scope, and he misses dearly everywhere, whilst being easily hit by enemy (I do switch magnification). One time an enemy shot full auto nearly across the screen (1024x768) in a pretty tight volley, whilst I had difficulty to hit anyone over 15 tiles (with G3).

I went further and hired Scope on Easy with M82; [...] immediately [...] climbed the roof. Now she and the guy behind sandbags (with some pistol?) have been exchanging about 15 shots for quite some time. He was standing, when being fired on; she targeted head, a few tiles range - a head above sandbags vs SAS with M82:

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I don't understand - either I am not in sync with NCTH or NCTH is not in sync with logic [...] If I am doing something wrong, please advise...

Unfortunately, I can't remove battlescope in battle. Even with 100AP it says "Not enough action points". Switching to iron sights ( "." key) does not work with this gun.

Sir, one cant get *that* bullet into a stomach and live...Both sniper and regular 9x39 variants include either core (tumbling) or a shim made of lead (cyan color on the picture) that are designed especially for huge wounds, should bullet land in organics.[...] Its spec-ops ammo, just saying...

The subject that I meaned was - with fully camoed armor and face, value 31% is pretty low, because practically from many previous games, anything below ~95% is not working as a camo at all. Please correct me, if I am wrong.

Can you please explan a bit or point here? Those are DMR, but semiloading snipers.
I would actually move all bolt-actions to sniper and all semi to rifles, but as it is I don't understand the layout.

"an upgraded PKM, Pecheneg is slightly lighter.." So, I am not claiming Pecheneg should be lighter, its about description in Bobby Rays that its lighter.

Judging by overall strain, amount of casing/sec, size of boxes(100vs200), I'd claim about 1.4 faster, but the sense is that in RPM and barrel cooling Pecheneg > PKM by a lot, it was main reason for gun redesign.

I just compared their sizes visually and CAWS looks much heaver at least to aim (AP)...

I meant, that for 7.62x54 there is: [...] 7H14/older 7H1, which is primary sniper ammo - hardened steel bullet with sharp tip, giving more penetration and less deviation [...] there is no "match grade", compared to 7.62x51 afaik.

• mod folder structure changed for more modularity
• WF 6.07 maps adapted for the purposes of this mod (fortification placement in any sector, map loot scaling with SDO-specific random items, helicopter landing zones etc.)
• dozens of smaller item adjustments, some more item modularity options with receiver or barrel swap
• AR/WF: delivery locations modified and/or added

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SMGs are really deadly at short to med range. A non-prone guy will be lucky to survive two bursts.

Scopes add a small, noticeable bonus, without being crazy effective. Until now, I ve only tried 2x and 3x, and i feel the bonus they give could be slightly better (a tiny little bit). Let's say that though i can see the improvement in aperture (with the . key), it doesn't make a significant difference in combat (for the 2x scope). I haven't used unscoped rifles to be able to comment.

One thing that i've noticed (though i haven't thoroughly tested) is that weapons seem much more important than merc stats, at least at medium rang (10-20 tiles). A merc with really low stats (hector) didn't really have a worse aperture than Grunty, with similar 9mm weapons. That might because Hector lacks the experience to estimate his CTH properly, but in practice, he did hit quite often. I suspect that it comes from this 'iron sight bonus' that gets flat applied to anyone.

Combat outcome is at the same time much more tactical, and much more reliant on sheer numbers than before. At equal numbers it is quite easy to win without taking damage. When the ai has 50% more men, it s still easy to win, but taking no damage becomes hard. I just did a battle against 15 enemies (with 8 mercs) in a forest (much harder to find good cover compared to urban fighting !) and i won with 2 heavily wounded mercs (and would have had at least 2 deads without save scumming). This is still the early game, so my equipment isnt really better than the opposition, and my mercs themselves are not that good.

I have very little experience with AR (never went further than chitzena with AR) but does SDO change any difficulty settings (i was under the impression than not)? Because i ve never seen such a big counter attack on chitzena (normally it s about 20 guys). The reaction was very fast too. Normally i have time to do one or two rounds of training, this time i couldn't complete one.

So regarding this experience, i have several questions :
[...] how can i handle this Chitzena issue? As long as they stay grouped, this 30 soldier group isn't beatable with my current weaponry. The map is B1, there're many houses, it's quite hard to cover everything and stay mobile.
The only viable strategy i can imagine is disappear in the countryside, pay my mercs off sold weapons, and get better weapons by raiding sams sites / military bases. Anything smarter ?

• before attacking plunder the surrounding depots/sam sites for better gear and sandsacks/concertinas/mines
• (defeat the patrols around the city, so that they aren't the first ones that get called for the counter attacks. Heavily depends on your group (size) and gear, if you can't manage skip this.)
• marching time is dependent on the time of the day, militia training is not. So time your attack so, that you fight just a few minutes before/after nightfall. While the enemy forces are slowed you should have enough time to recruit militia
• B1 seems to be quite easy to defend. Before the battle miltia gets called manually at the other end of the map, so that they aren't that spread out and join the fight later together. Your most agile mercs wait in the southern stone house and try to kill some enemies, then retreat to the central stone house when the pressure gets too great, where the rest of the team waits. Merc with anti-tank weapon waits at the backside of the southern stone house, ready to run in a postion to destroy the tank shortly after the battle begins, or otherwise it will flatten your protecting house walls. The rest should become routine: militia acts as spotter and bullet sponge, mercs lie behind the windows, get up, pop a mole and dive down again, rinse and repeat. If you're still loosing you can run away through the third central stone house and then northward, and retake the sector later

[...] considering how much more important are numbers in battle outcome, i guess the drassen counter attack must become really hard. Before it was "get scopes for everyone, and keep moving". But somehow i feel this isnt going to be enough anyome. Have you (or someone else) managed to beat it with AR+SDO? With what kind of tactics?

@knightofkni: did you manage to take and defend B1 in the meanwhile?

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SMGs are really deadly at short to med range. A non-prone guy will be lucky to survive two bursts.

Intended, you aren't supposed to stand there, trade shots with the enemy and soak up damage. Armor should protect from most instantkills, better not to get hit at all.

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One thing that i've noticed (though i haven't thoroughly tested) is that weapons seem much more important than merc stats, at least at medium rang (10-20 tiles). A merc with really low stats (hector) didn't really have a worse aperture than Grunty, with similar 9mm weapons. That might because Hector lacks the experience to estimate his CTH properly, but in practice, he did hit quite often. I suspect that it comes from this 'iron sight bonus' that gets flat applied to anyone.

With default stat weighting:
Hector dex 88/wis 72/mrks 61/lvl 1 -> 13,94 base cth, 61,57 aiming cth cap
Grunty dex 76/wis 72/mrks 78/lvl 3 -> 17,56 base cth, 69,71 aiming cth cap

Not that drastically different. The default IRON_SIGHT_PERFORMANCE_BONUS= 35.0 is applied as a percentage to the aperture and is very high, too high in my opinion. This was done so iron sights retain a sufficient aperture size at extended ranges. With the introduction of the discussed scaling factor it will likely be lowered again.