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Features[message #321683] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:36 Go to next message
Flugente

 
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This thread describes the various new features that come with JA2 WH40K. I'll try to describe each one in detail. Some will propably change over time, changes will be notified here.

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Re: Features[message #321684] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
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Registered:April 2009
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Corruption
The core feature of this mod is a system called corruption.

In the grimdark future, gods do exist...

The Chaos gods are immensely powerful entities that exist in and control the warp, a terriyfying and incomprehensible dimension underlying physical reality. They draw their power from the raw emotions of mortals in reality, thus seek to convert all mortals to worship them. Their ultimate goal is to dominate all life - which would destroy reality.
The most powerful gods are:
  • Khorne - the God of Murder. He draws his power from every kill in anger, the more brutal, the better. It doesn't matter who dies as long as blood flows unwillingly.
  • Tzeentch - the Architect of Fate. He is the god of change, intrigue and sorcery. It is said that every action anyone undertakes is just an intricate step in his grand scheme, a scheme so complex nobody could every grasp it. He draws upon the need and desire for change, which is inherent to life itself.
  • Nurgle - the Lord of Decay. He draws his strength from pain, suffering and despair. What lives will die, and in death there is life. He constantly creates new diseases for his children to spread.
  • Slaanesh - the Prince of Pleasure. He embodies excess, decadence and hedonism. Those who seek to indulge, as well as those who seek perfection, are among his followers.
These gods not only strive against the Imperium of Man, but also against each other, as each seeks to dominate the universe. But on rare occasions, they can set aside their differences, and unite towards a common goal. The most notable instances were the Horus Heresy and the Black Crusades. It is possible for a follower of chaos to not worship one god, but the entire pantheon. It is very hard to achive, due to the jealous rivalry amongst the patrons, but a mortal can thus become a follower of Chaos Undivided, a testament of his will and devotion.

The Imperium of Man is the strongest force of Order in the galaxy, a shining beacon of hope against humanity's myriad foes. The Imperial Faith is widespread, with billions upon billions of followers believing in the God-Emperor of mankind. They believe in his immortality, for even in his death-like state he casts his light to protect humanity from the darkness.

The Cult Mechanicus is closely tied to the Adeptus Mechanicus of the Imperium of Man. They recognize the emperor as the ruler of Man, but do not follow the imperial cult. Instead they worship the deity of the Machine god or 'Omnissiah'. However, they do believe the emperor to be living embodiment of the 'Omnissiah', which is why the ecclesiarchy tolerates this deviance from their teachings.
Followers of the mechanicus are adapt with machinery, and frown upon any manipulation of their equipment. Some, however, seek knowledge more than its good for them...

What does all this mean? Your mercenaries action ingame can now lead them to different paths. Some may start worshipping a chaos god, or stay true to the imperial faith, while others amy even adopt the way of the alien. This will be determined by their actions (and by that, by you) and by the actions of those surrounding them.

Now what does that mean? Think of your mercs having separate experience counters towards those corruption paths (for simplicity I call them corruption paths, even imperial and xenos). He can gain corruption towards a path:
  • Actions your merc does can raise him in the favour of a god. If you chainaxe soldiers in frenzied melee and rip their heads from their mangled corpses, Khorne is pleased. Betray your allies to get Tzeentch to notice you. Indulge in drugs and... San Mona related activities, and Slaneesh will be pleased.
  • Your equipment can be corrupted. Using a bolter with intricate symbols you picked off a dead chaos champion that urges you to kill might have some consequences... There is also the ability to corrupt your gear, and use... unconventional trinkets. If numerous chaos warlords decorate their armour with the skulls of their enemies, they might have a point, you know.
  • There is always the possibility of worshipping your god directly. How and where that is possible varies from path to path.
  • If other members of your team are corrupted, that might influence you too...
Progressing in a path has benefits - and penalties. Each path grants you strength - and weaknesses - typical to such cults.

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Re: Features[message #321685] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
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Registered:April 2009
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Enemy cultists
Arulco has been overrun by the archenemy. Cultists of all kind are ransacking the country, terrorizing the population and ransacking its cities. Even if you turn to chaos yourself, you will have to fight them... chaos isn't exactly unified.

In /Data-WH40K/WH40K.ini are settings for most of the new features. Under Army Cultist Settings you can set settings for the enemy. You can set the chance that an enemy soldier is also a cultist of a random chaos path. This is more likely with higher progress. Their class determines what corruption level they will get, the highest level is reserved for the special Chaos Champions.

You can also set at which corruption level they change their uniform vest colour, this helps to determine what kind of scum you are facing.
  • Khornates are red,
  • Slaaneshis are purple,
  • Nurglites are green,
  • Tzeentch's lot are blue and
  • followers of chaos undivided are black.

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Re: Features[message #321686] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Khorne
Khornates, as these cultists are known, seek to spill blood in the name fo their furious master. They crave close combat, the bloodier the better. Their own survival is secondary.

There are 4 stages of Khorne's path: Khornatee Cultist, Khorne Heretic, Khorne Fanatic and Khorne Bloodspiller.
http://i40.tinypic.com/1pjac8.jpg
The first stage of a Khornate's path.

Obviously Khornates are melee specialists - even non-melee characters become deadly. They are especially hard to interrupt when very near, making defense against them harder.
Their speciality is the killstreak - when they've killed enough enemies in a short time, they become frenzied. This frenzy grants extra APs and physical resistance, the amount depends on the number of kills they've racked up. It lasts as long as they keep killing every turn. This will hopefully drive the player to go the extra mile to ensure that their Khornates are constantly killing, an thus become a frenzied madman himself Smile
Getting a killstreak might seem illusionary at first - but as you progress, you will need less kills to become frenzied, making this much easier to accomplish. And the rewards become more substantial, making this desirable.
For all their strength up close, Khorne's followers are bad at ranged combat. This is not because they are inept - they simply shun ranged combat, and get significant morale penalties if ordered to. If you've ever played with 0 morale, you'll know this is not to be trifled with.

Khorne hates Slaanesh and sorcery, making it especially hard for Slaneeshis and psykers to gain his favour.

How does one worship Khorne? Maybe the cry 'SKULLS FOR THE SKULLTHRONE' offers a small hint.

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Re: Features[message #321687] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Slaanesh
Slaaneshis, as they are called, seek pleasure an perfection in everything - no matter how sick and perverted. They are very skilled an adapt at causing pain, and don't shun from experiencing pain themselves, as its a powerful emotion.

The 4 stages of Slaanesh's path are Slaanesh Cultist, Slaanesh Heretic, Slaanesh Worshipper and Slaanesh Enthusiast.
http://i40.tinypic.com/t5hzed.jpg
First step of the path to damnation.

Slaanesh cultists are very dangerous foes. They'Ve honed their combat skills to pefection, and can utterly dominate an enemy that should be equal to them.
As the dark prince likes to play favourites, he rewards (and penalizes) his followers. In any of your squads, the Slaanesh cultist with most impressive kill tally will get his favour (an extra experience level). But those performing less than average in that regard receive the same as a penalty. So any self-respecting cultist should strive to be the best killer overall.
The drawback is obvious: Apart from any damage from all the drugs he might consume, the cultist isn't that negative towards pain... which leads him to doge attacks less effective than he could. On higher levels, he becomes a literal bullet magnet and a glass cannon. Just be quick about it, and overwhelm your foes before they can retaliate!

Slaanesh despises Khorne brutish methods, when victim's could suffer so much more.

One gains Slaanesh' favour by indulging in various guilty pleasures.

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Re: Features[message #321688] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
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Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Nurgle
Nurglites are notoriusly tough, and bathe in stuff others would die in. Their combat lacks any finesse, and relies on pure strength.

There are 4 forms of Nurgle cultists: Nurgle Cultist, Nurgle Heretic, Nurgle Infected and Nurgle Infector.
http://i44.tinypic.com/4tstfl.jpg
It might seem counterintuitive to be more suspectible to poison... but it will pay off in the long run.

Nurgle cultists have naturally damage resistance, and slowly develop poison absorption. This becomes their speciality: On th highest level, their absorption is so high that they regain life through poison damage. If you've been observant when I explained zombies a year ago (you probably haven't Smile ), you might remember that the percentage of a characters' poisoning determines the chance that damage received through bleeding will also be poisonous. In short, if you are fully poisoned, and bleeding will be poisonous - an your Nurgle champion will heal by that amount. This means that he will heal any damage as long as its not bandaged. This makes for some interesting tactics. Also note that zombies deal high poison damage...
Nurglites are hardly fast to react, they are thus slower and easier to interrupt. This leads to problems in highly dynamic combat, as they are likely to be the second to shoot - though probably the only ones left standing.

Nurgle doesn't have much love for Tzeentch's petty schemes, and joyfully tears down whatever the other plans.

In the end, everything dies, might as well speed up the process.

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Re: Features[message #321689] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Tzeentch
Tzeentch cultists are notorious for their heavy use of sorcery. The Changer of Ways often bestows them with numerous mutations.

Tzeentch's chosen come in 4 forms: Tzeentch Cultist, Tzeentch Puppet, Tzeentch Tool and Tzeentch Envoy.
http://i44.tinypic.com/2ngdjzp.jpg
Randomness is a huge thing for these guys, so I won't outline how exactly your stats will change here.

Tzeentch cultists are adapt in using other people for their complicated plots. They are better at using people - wether by talking to them, threatening, or even when interrogating them. This path is also obviously beneficial to any psyker, and unlocks quite a few powerful spells.
As form follows function, Tzeentch constantly changes the fortune of his followers... there's a lot more uncertainty involved with such cultists. They can perform substantially better or worse... all according to Tzeentch's plan. On higher levels, the general trend will be in your favour though.

Tzeentch looks down on Nurgle's followers, rubble they are.

Accessing the warp obviously pleases Tzeentch. His plans are only obvious to the Enlightened... what seems detrimental to your struggle might actually benefit your standing with the Changer of Ways.

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Re: Features[message #321690] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
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Registered:April 2009
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Chaos Undivided
Getting the favour of all chaos gods is no small feat. Champions of chaos undivided raise the spirit of all chaos followers, and are utterly deadly combatants.

There are 4 stages of this path: Cultist, Heretic, Traitor and Chaos Champion.
http://i39.tinypic.com/11qsnrm.jpg
Getting to Champion is hard, but rewarding.

At first glance, these guys have no drawback. Their attacks are utterly deadly, and the suppression they generate is enormous.
Their specialty is their existence itself, awed by their presence, every chaos follower in the sector received a small AP bonus depending on his and the cultist's level. With enough champions, this becomes and impressive boost to any chaos warband... which IS the drawback. The bonus is granted to ANY chaos followers, not just your own. So you might boost your team with this... but this will also boost the enemy, an vice versa. And keep in mind that this only works on chaos followers!

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Re: Features[message #321691] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:39 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Imperial (and a few thoughts)
The imperial ecclesiarchy is vigilant for any deviation from faith... and doesn't take heresy lightly. The faithful imperial citizens face numerous nightmares, with only their beliefs as a shield.

Imperials come in 4 stages: Faithful Imperial, Imperial Follower, Imperial Servant and Imperial Believer.
http://i40.tinypic.com/2qalbme.jpg
For a devout follower, believing in the emperor is reward enough.

Convinced that the god-emperor protects, his loyal citizens face the most terrifying opposition, and are thus very hard to shake. They also receive a bonus when other imperials are around. This takes into account civilians, who are counted as imperial (unless they follow another path, or a member of certain factions, like Kingpin or the Hicks). As a result, a platoon of imperial guardsmen defending their home hive perform quite impressive. Unflinching in sight of superior odds, they are utterly unshakable (especially if backed up by commissars).

"So why not combine multiple paths", you might think. "A combined Slaanesh and Nurgle cultist would have very few drawbacks, wouldn't he?" That is correct - but there is a hidden hook. As stated above, the dark gods loathe each other. Thus if you gain the favour of one, it will be harder to gain the favour of another. This makes it very hard to become a cultist of more than one path. The imperial is even stricter - if you've ever progressed in any chaotic path to a level of at least 1, you lose all imperial levels, and can never regain them. Nobody who turned away from the emperor can return to him (insider clarification: Mabbon might still be a traitor after all, and the Soul Drinkers don't count - there still believed to be serving the emperor (which makes them monumentally stupid, considering their mutations and everything) ). The mechanicus path does not count towards that - you can be both imperial and a mechanicus follower.

Corruption paths (and the new traits) also have an impact on team morale. Putting a faithful Battle Sister, a raging Khornate Champion and a Tzeentch psyker into one squad will make for... interesting team dynamics.

You can look at your merc's corruption status on the new Corruption page in the Laptop member screen. Your progress and the effects are listed here.

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Re: Features[message #321692] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Commissar
One of the new traits that come with this mod is the Commissar trait.

In the terrifying meatgrinder known as the Imperial Guard, special provisions are taken to... keep troop morale high. Imperial commissars are special officers outside the normal chain of command that are attached to guard regiments. Their task is to ensure troops fulfil their duty, which often includes dying heroically in the face of insidiuos foes. They can freely use any punishment they see fit to restore order, including summary executions. Not surprisingly, a suspiciously high number of commissars falls victim to friendly fire incidents in the heat of battle.

Commissars are recruited from the Schola Progenium, special ecclesiarchy orphanage schools that bring up orphans of imperial officers. They receive merciless mental and physical training to prepare them for the horrors they have to face later in life.

Junior Commissar/Commissar is a new major trait (new trait system only).
  • They are 15%/30% harder to corrupt to chaos - they are trained to face chaos.
  • They receive 15%/30% faster energy regeneration, as they've trained their stamina their entire life.
  • Every ally withing 10 tiles of a commissar received 20%/40% resistance to suppression (up to 3 boni stack). This works similar to the squadleader's AP bonus.
  • They can execute an ally to restore morale for all allies sector-wide. This works both with militia and your mercs (you'll propably want to sacrifice your mercs sparingly though, I expect Smile ). This does not cause militia to attack you, even if they normally attack you. Those little guardsmen know they'd be next otherwise.
  • Every 240/120 minutes, a commissar can motivate all allies around him with a short battle address. It removes suppression and restores AP and morale. The size of the effect and its range depend on te commissar'S trait level, his experience and his leadership. You can see the range when opening the commissar's skill menu, the base range is displayed in orange, the effective range in green.
  • Commissars are experts in short-ranged firefights and melee actions, and are always in the thick of a firefight with the troops they are attached too. Whenenver a guardsman within 10 tiles kills an enemy, the commissar receives a special bonus: His next hit with a one-handed melee weapon or firearm will deal double damage. This onyl works with militia, not with mercs, for obvious balancing reasons.
  • Loyal commissars absolutely loathe any signs of taint. If you plan to bring heretics into your warband, your commissar will not approve. Unless you somehow turned him too. You evil traitor scum, you Wink
http://i41.tinypic.com/bdvebn.jpgIt is pretty obvious where the commissar should be in a fight: in the thick of the fighting, where he grants much-needed suppression resistance to the bulk of your troops. This works especially well in conjunction with squadleaders, turning even a bunch of FNGs (frakking new guys) into a fearless force to be reckoned with. A commissar can keep a battled line from breaking by motivation - appeal to the men's pride with a speech. Or, if everything fails, consider shooting the first scum to flee.
The double damage bonus is obviously very powerful. while a bit illogical, it makes the commissar what he should be: a damn fine hero when fighting alongside his men. Hmm. A powerful handgun, and a powerful melee weapon, might suit him just fine. How curious. Just what a commissar would use...

The arch-enemy, having corrupted numerous guard regiments, also has a few former commissars in his ranks. These raving madmen show even less restraint regarding the lifes of their subordinates, if that is possible. They get the double damage bonus from every kill their allies do, and will use battle speech if pressed. That, coupled with their suppression resistance, should make them prime targets for you.

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Re: Features[message #321693] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Battle Sister
The Adepta Sororitas are an all-female division among the Adeptus Ministorum. Their Orders Militant of their Adepta form the armed arm of the Ecclesiarchy, who is forbidden from maintaining any men under arms. They protect shrine worlds and the church in general, as well as engaging in religious wars throughout he Imperium. :angel:
The Battle sisters are organized in dozens of orders, somewhat similar to Space Marine Chapters. Every battle sister uses power armour, similar to those worn by Astartes. They are not genetically modified however - they stem from the most promising members of the Schola Progenium, and are legendary in both tenacity and undying zeal.

Constantia Advance/Battle sister is a new major trait (new trait system only).
  • They are 20%/40% harder to corrupt to chaos - they are trained to resist chaos in all forms.
  • The Sororitas prefer Bolters, Meltas and Flamers. Thus they receive
    • 10%/20% lower heat generation with melta weapons (which currently don't exist ingame, due to code and item picture issues)
    • 10%/20% lower AP cost on flamers :welder:
    • 10%/20% better cth with bolt weapons
  • Every 120/60 minutes, they can perform a prayer that will grant them one specific bonus for 10 turns. :saint: Prayers are:
    • Catechism of Hate - damage with melee weapons/firearms is increased by 30%.
    • Litanies of War - cth is increased by 30%.
    • Declaration of Faith - suppression resistance is increased by 80%.
    • Song of the Martyrs - breath regeneration is increased by 50%.
    • Refuge in Zeal - damage taken is lowered by 2.
  • They are the only ones who can use power armour. Which can be a big deal.
Only women can be battle sisters, for obvious reasons. You could hack that by giving the trait to males via profile editing... but then you still wouldn't be able to use power armour, because I won't have any of that nonsense. :armsfolded:
http://i41.tinypic.com/34o2fc1.jpg
The chalice indicates that this sister has performed a prayer.

You can significantly give your Battle Sisters a boost by praying. Use prayers wisely and fitting to the situation. Once you outfit them with power armour and advanced weaponry, they become terrifying opponents, fitting to be where the battle is most intense. Power armour brings them into downright unbalanced territory... which is why they don't receive any initially. The only armour you'll find in your campaign is that worn by former Battle Sisters that were wholly corrupted by the Ruinous Powers. The few sisters of Arulco's small convent that threw their lot in with the archenemy now serve as champions of chaos. Yep. In order to wear power armour, you must first find these former Sororitas and vanquish them (and their warbands) in combat. And, if you want to preserve your sanity, it would be wise to sanctify the armour, for it might be tainted...

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Re: Features[message #321694] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
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Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Radio Operator (previously called Vox Operator)
Any modern army needs internal communication. Most troopers in advanced guard units have some sort of helmet link, though it only allows short-range, intersquad communication. In order to communicate with other units, some troopers are designated radio operators. They carry their radio set, usually mounted on their backs. This allows for a more fluid command order, where command can relay new orders to the troops on the ground instantly.

Radio Operator is a new minor trait (new trait system only). Radio sets are used like LBE backpacks. They need special batteries to function, and can only be used by soldiers with sufficient training. They provide vital tactical possibilities, such as
  • If allied troops are in adjacent sectors, a radio operator can call in artillery strikes. These can be called in both from guard units (the number of shells will depend on the number an quality of troopers) or your mercs (in which case they need to have mortars and shells in their inventory). To call in artillery, first hover with your mouse over the position you want shelled. Then open the skill menu ($) and select Artillery Strike from the Radio Operator menu. You can then select from which sector you want assistance. A signal shell will immediately fired upon this location, illuminating and marking this region for shelling. One turn later, a massive artillery bombardment will flatten the area around that signal. If you use your mercenary artillery, you can mix all kinds of shells into this. There is a cooldown per sector called from if you call in from guard units (or if the enemy calls their allies).

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4EmHPTj1xU&feature=youtu.be[/video]
  • You can call in reinforcements from neighbouring sectors, provided there are any. They work like normal reinforcements. This allows for better strategies, such as calling your reinforcements once you've secured their immediate staging area. This also works outside of towns, and will thus enrage people to no end once they realise the tactical implications Smile
    You can finetune (within boundaries) how many reinforcements you want to call.
  • Radio operators can perform the scan assignment. They use their equipment to drop in on enemy frequencies, possible revealing enemy positions and numbers in neighbouring sectors. The higher troop concentration, the higher the chance of detection. The sector modifier in TableData/Map/SectorNames.xml increases the possible scanning range in a sector (so that mountains are rewarding positions for this task). It is even possible to deduct enemy movements from this.
  • In order to disallow the opposition making use of its artillery, a radio operator can jam sector-wide radio communication. His radio set will send out powerful white noise, making any calls to supporting units an artillery impossible. Of course this works on both sides, so you can't call your own units as well. However...
  • ... jamming communications makes you detectable for radio operators scanning for exactly that. They are able to approximate the coordinates of the jamming equipment on the sector map - the area containing the jammer will be marked. This includes your own jammers - if you find frequencies jammed, first make sure it isn't your fault.
  • One can use the radio set to eavesdrop on the enemy. This greatly raises your hearing, but as the operator has one ear on the unit, his attention wavers, and his interrupt level is drastically lowered.
All radio actions cost battery power. The batteries charge level is indicated by its green bar on the item picture. If not needed, make sure you turn off your equipment via switch of radio set. Only radio sets currently worn 'work', so moving around the gear in your inventory also saves batteries.

This traits strengthens your squad indirectly. If allies are in neighbouring sectors, this allows for devastating artillery attacks that can wipe out entire squads. The enemy will, however, try to move out of any area marked by signal shells, so a bit of planning is advised. This can be used to your advantage - even if the enemy evades the attack, he has to leave positions he has dug in. The enemy also fields radio operators. Especially when attacking multi-sector towns, the artillery strike is a constant threat. It can thus be advisable to take along a radio operator and let him jam communications, thereby robbing the enemy of a devastating weapon. Outside of combat, scanning can give you an early warning on enemy movements and give you precious hours to prepare your positions.

[Updated on: Tue, 01 October 2013 23:18] by Moderator

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Re: Features[message #321695] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:40 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Psyker
Psykers are individuals that posess rare psychic powers. These vary strongly between each individual. As humans are far less disciplined than Eldar, humans psykers are in constant risk of posession by the demonic powers. Particular strong psykers can kill other people with a glance... but can also fall victim to the warp's denizens, their body transforming into a gateway to the warp. The Imperium does not hesitate to cull psykers with extreme prejudice. Still the Imperium would not function without them, as they are vital in their roles as navigators and astropaths.

Psyker/Sanctioned psyker is a new major trait (new trait system only).
  • Regular psykers are 20% easier to corrupt to chaos, sanctioned psykers are trained sufficiently to avoid that.
  • Psykers have access to a wide array of spells. These are casted by pointing onto your target location, then calling the skill menu ($) and then selecting the skill. If you cannot use a skill currently, hovering over it will tell you why. Some spells are on a specific person, and you can select it then.
    Standard psyker spells:
    • Heightened senses - nearby living beings are displayed on the sector map.
    • Telekinesis - the psyker can steal items from other persons, handle doors or pick up items - all from afar. He must see his target though.
    • Warp Tear - ignite matter at the target location, causing a small explosion.
    • Lightning - the psyker casts a powerful lightning that jumps from person to person. It is as devastating as unpredictable. It is best to not use it near allies, as they are just as possible to be caught up in it. Chaos corruption can also modify its effects, see Skills_Settings.ini for that.
  • Expert spells (needs expert trait):
    • Shockwave - the caster sends a powerful shockwave to the ground, pushing aside anyone caught in the blast.
    • Teleport - the psyker travels a short distance through the warp.
    • Identify blank - we can identify wether someone is a blank.
    • Decoy - the psyker casts a copy of himself. The copy will get his physical attributes, look the same, an have the same equipment. It will be AI-controlled. However it cannot do any damage to anyone (bullets it fires do no harm), as its merely an illusion. If it is damaged, it (and its items) ceases to exist.
    • Warp rift - a static explosion occurs at the targeted location.
  • Several spells require you to avance in a certain corruption path:
    • Pain - requires sanctioned psyker and Slaanesh Worshipper. An area effect spell that causes immense pain to anyone caught, causing them to collapse and lose their breath.
    • Raise zombies - requires sanctioned psyker and Slaanesh Worshipper.
    • Weaken - requires Tzeentch Cultist. Affected persons have their strength, dexterity, agility and wisdom lowered by 50 and their level lowered by 1 for 7 turns.
    • Horror - requires Tzeentch Cultist. Affected soldiers panic.
    • Unholy Fervour - requires sanctioned psyker and Tzeentch Puppet. Affected allied soldiers are 50% less, enemy soldiers 50% more likely to be hit.
    • Slow time - requires sanctioned psyker and Tzeentch Puppet. A temporal time distortion opens. Movement in that region is slower, and anyone inside has only half their normal APs.
    • Veil of shadows - requires sanctioned psyker and Tzeentch Tool. The caster summons a mysterious mist around his position. Those outside of it can't look inside - but those inside can easily look out, making this a very useful tactical tool.
    • Summon warp gate - requires sanctioned psyker and Tzeentch Tool. Your psyker will channel his energy in preparation of opening a warpgate. The preparation takes multiple turns. Every turn, unused APs will go into channeling (it takes about 300 APs).
    • Open warp gate - requires sanctioned psyker and Tzeentch Tool. Once your preparation for a warp gate is finished, you will receive a notification, and your psyker will have a small icon of a warp gate on his face. You can now open a warp gate on the map. A warp gate is a portal to the immaterium, for a short time, lesser demons can enter this world. They are terrifying nightmares, and will attack anyone on sight, including your psyker. Use wisely, this can turn the tide of the battle by opening a second front in the enemies' back - but it can also backfire tremendously, if the chaotic spawn is more numerous than you thought it would be.

      http://i42.tinypic.com/mwpflt.jpg
      Icon on summoning - prepared for opening - an open gate with a few lesser demons coming through the gate.
    • Mind Blast - requires Imperial Follower. Appease someone, making him neutral and effectively stopping him to attack for 2 turns. Mindblasted soldiers do not refuse capture: handcuffing them is always sucessful, and they have no surrender strength. A great spell if you want to take them alive...
    • Blood binding - requires and Khorne Cultist, Tzeentch Cultist or Cultist. The caster connects with the target individual. Both now share a link. If one of them receives damage, it is shared equally between the two. It is broken only if
      • more than 100 damage have been shared. Be careful, causing 200 damage with one hit will cause each one to receive 100 damage, the link is deleted afterwards.
      • one of them dies
      • a new blood binding is cast and involves one of them
      • one of them ceases to exist (that happens when you have a binding with a non-player person and unload the sector. Or when he becomes a prisoner and is removed after battle).
    • Overheat - requires sanctioned psyker or technician. In the target area, everyone's weapons overheat. Not that useful to the player, as the AI's weapons never jam, but the enemy happily uses this.
  • Sanctioned psykers have 25% lowered spell cast costs.
  • Khorne loathes psykers, while Tzeentch uses them extensively. Gaining Khorne's favour is 10%/20% harder, while Tzeentch's attention is won 10%/20% easier.
Now you might wonder... what does it cost you to cast a spell? Not many APs... but something much more important... accessing the powers of the immaterium causes the casters stamina, his sanity and, likely, his life. Each spell has a certain cost (set in Skills_Settings.ini). That cost is directly deducted from your current energy. So casting a lot of spells will collapse your character. But much more important is additionally, that half of the cost is deducted from your maximum breath (the one that is lowered hourly, and can be restored by sleeping). This works down to 10 energy. If there isn't enough energy or maximum energy left, the cost is directly deducted from your life. So if you are not careful and cast too much, your powerful sorceror will collapse, bleed and eventually die of exhaustion. Psykers aren't meant to use the warp as their main form a attack. They support your forces, and are best used to give you an edge, like blunting a sudden enemy attack with a shockwave, or breaking the enemy lines by making him deal with undead suddenly rising from his dead. You can trick the enemy concentrate into firing on a worthless decoy, or sow terror even among the most battle-hardened renegades.

Blood binding, for example, can be used both offensively and defensively. If an enemy proves to be very hard to take down, you can bind with him... and then shoot your own psyker. Be careful not to overdo it here. You can also cast this onto allies, to lower the damage one of them takes. It is thinkable to even have one expandable merc safely tucked away in your HQ and serve as a blood slave for your psyker while he's in combat, drastically increasing his chance of survival.

http://i40.tinypic.com/4ibkt0.jpg
The skill menu.
http://i41.tinypic.com/29xf3f7.jpg
Weakened soldiers.
http://i44.tinypic.com/99qtna.jpg
A psyker and a blood-bound elite.

The enemy does not hold back with his psykers (though they make sure not to kill themself with spells). Psykers should be your high priority targets. A well placed chain lightning can affect an entire squad.

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Re: Features[message #321696] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Chaos Champions
The archenemy has a strong presence on Arulco. His chaotic troops consist of every type of renegade, cultist, criminal and other scum of every type and variety. Foremost among them are powerful chaos champions that lead their warbands. They are the elite of the elite, each champion having mastered one form of chaos. Their training an devotion to the ruinous powers makes them more dangerous than 'normal' elite troops, and they can clearly be identified on the battlefield by their unique properties.

Champions...
  • possess a 25% damage resistance.
  • receive extra 10 AP.
  • have a 1 tile increased sight range.
  • have each reached the highest possible curruption level of their path, making them dangerous adversaries.
  • can be defined in EnemyChampions.xml. One can define
    • their name, hair, skin and bodytype
    • their traits
    • the chaos path they represent
    • a few special properties - allows them to spawn with the commisar double damage property (if they have the commissar trait), lets them be blanks, and doubles their rate of fire
    • their entire gear can be defined. This will replace any gear they'd get by the normal random generation. This works for weapons, attachments, armour, facegear, lbe and up to 8 additional items. It is thus possible to create special items that only this champion fields.
    The enemy profiles feature is essentially a much simplified version of this.
  • normal enemy troops cannot become battle sisters. Only female chaos champions can, making them the rarest enemy subtype you will face. As they can ear power armour, you can be grateful for that.
  • the minimum progress for them to show up can be specified. This is for balance, while a autoweapons expert obliterator champion wielding cmag-MP5 with AET is fun, it is unfair in Omerta Smile - and would ruin balance after you've taken his gear.
  • normally only elites can become champions. As this renders much of the north of Arulco 'champion-less', as there are no elites in initial garrisons, regular troops can become champions too, but that is very rare (ini-settable).
As I needed a sufficiently big 'pool' to randomly draw champions from, I've taken the liberty to immortalize notable members of the community. Most names have been spoofed in some way, or I tried to somehow correlate them to that members properties. As I am relatively new to this community, I am sure to have forgotten notable members. It is not my intent to slight anyone with this, if you should feel so, I am sorry, let me know and I will remove 'your' champion. I am open to new suggestions - it should be members who have been around for a while though (personal preference). If in doubt, names should be funny in some way (calling yourself 'The Destroyer' is lame). Anyway, here are a few notable champions (there are over 60, not going to list them all):

http://i41.tinypic.com/2e4kxgx.jpgLeft: A known slaanesh champion that serves as an enemy enforcer.

lockie, Lord of Banishment, posesses a fearsome reputation even among his own troops. This merciless whip is known for summary executions of elements that dont fulfil his set of standards, and has slashed the threads of more than one life. Never seen without his trademark power fist.

The good old greek is known for his erratic behaviour, appearing and disappearing from battle without any reasonable explanation. It is suspected this might be linked to a rare artifact he might posess, this Khornate has plundered dozens of age-old tombs in search for plunder.
Toggle Spoiler


Headstone is a legend even among his fellow champions. His feats with firearms are unmatched, it is rumoured he developed his own style of firearm combat that relies upon firearm salvoes so massive that they rendered the enemy helpless. It has been long since he was last seen on the battlefield, but it is only a matter of time until he shows up again.

Unusual for a follower of Khorne, Smeagol the Host is known to transform entire battlefields, which allows him to create more malicious killzones. He commands one of the most feared warbands, whose reputation was terrifying to behold. He also managed to unite several illustrious warbands for an impressive day-long crusade. It is hoped he'll do so again, cause it was loads of fun, said several unnamed chaos champions.

The depressed bread is known as an outstanding firearm expert. More than one sector fell due to his extensive knowledge of the terrain, and his tireless preparation of new wargear for the chaotic hordes. He also doesn't wear a leather jacket, which was a total downer if you ask me.

The infamous Dark Judge Tais is known for his outstanding abilities with such terrible devices as the 'Es-Ci-Aih' and the 'Khom-Py-Lar', and his tendency to collapse entire skyscrapers onto those that draw his ire.

The scorpion lord has a sinister reputation. Even his enemies don't negate the impressive feats he achived in his numerous campaigns. At some point, he fell out with his erstwhile allies. The exact reasons are unclear nowadays, as the old scriptures containing his deeds are lost. Newer chaos brethren are awed to this day by the controversy that surrounds him.

http://i42.tinypic.com/a3pj7l.jpgLeft: You propably don't want to get into a brawl with this guy.

kermi the arch-archivist is known as a collector of rare artifacts. On more than one raid, his warband was on the forefront of the plunder, and it is said that he holds rare archeotech otherwise lost.

A dangerous psyker, 'Puppetmaster' Hancock has taken a disturbing interest in animating the dead, as if his spell arsenal wasn't terrifying enough.

War Stalker holds the honour of having a wickedly cool spoof name I think. Then again, I'm a bird, so what do I know.

Shanga the Ancient, one of the very first cultists in the entire arulcan campaign, recently rose to fame again during the San Christobal cult uprisings.

Subjugator Jen is best known from colourful descriptions by tais, from which we can infer she must be one of the most brutal, violent battle sisters ever to take battle to Arulco. We thus modeled her so, any potential anger she feels over this should totally be directed at tais, as is custom.

The Nullwolf is among the most greedy of them all. He is always in search for new firearms, and lives only for the joy of obtaining a particular rare piece of technology. If he isn't stopped, he will propably continue so for all eternity.

One of the most calculating warlords out there, William Numbers embodies Tzeentch ideals. He is constantly planning, his troops moving according to his detailed plans he made weeks ago. He is currently involved in multiple campaigns, following an age-old plan only he knows.

Rumoured by some to be one of the overall chaos commanders of the campaign, Lord Rowa the Overseer personally oversees indoctrination of elite cadres, but often also enters the fray himself, if it benefits overall chaos.

Almost nothing is known about Xtra Alien, but it is rumoured he has access to (or even, as some suggest, direct control of) the archenemies' most revered relics. If he is seen on the battlefield, this must be a sure sign of impending doom.

It is said that Kaerbaer was a member of the long-ago 'Cult of the white hat', whose incursion laid the fundaments for the current conflict. If that turns out to be true, it would make him immeasurable old, and a force not to be trifled with.

Senior bovine defiler Iop once said: Raping cows should be harder. And who would disagree with that?

We don't know how Fleshsmith anv creates new troops so fast, but he should totally continue.

This forum lacks obvious females. Especially those that can be contributed to puss, rot and decay. Thus Infested Sister is the only champion without a forum counterpart. She is also the toughest champion out there... Nurgle champion + bodybuilding + power armour make her shrug of bullets like a tank.

More often than not nobody knows what exactly Green Gore wants, but as he is armed with a powerful close-combat weapon, not many dare to ask.

Constantly stimmed, Sock Doll wields a heavy bolter, making face-on confrontation unwise to say the least.

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Re: Features[message #321697] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Backgrounds
This has been integrated into the trunk, see there for reference. For now, this mod simply adds a few more WH40K-specific backgrounds.

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Re: Features[message #321698] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Daemonic possession
It has been said that in the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40K, Chaos is the true equal opportunity employer. To the ruinous powers, it is not your ancestry or heritage that matters, but your actions. Granted, these most consist of murder and perversion, but there's never a shortage of new recruits. So you might wonder... once one of your mercenaries has become a true chaos champion... what now? He might have become a terrible melee specialist, or a dangerous sorceress... is that it?

Nope.

The dark gods might grant their most loyal followers the ultimate 'gift': they may be possessed by en entity of the warp, a powerful daemon. A daemon is a denizen of the warp that needs a viable host in order do sustain in physical reality. These demons won't enter our world directly, but grant some of their specific strenghts and weaknesses to those they possess. This gives those special mercenaries access to powers that can be downright unbalancing - but beware. They also have weaknesses, that can range from a nuisance to a deadly threat.

http://i40.tinypic.com/8yca6x.jpg
Once you have reached the final level of any chaotic corruption path, you will be asked wether you want to be possessed by a demon. Which ones are available depends on the path - some demons are only available for certain paths. You can also refuse, but that is a final selection, you can then never be possessed again. You do not know the specific powers a demon grants beforehand (unless you read the xml, you little cheater Wink ). The following abilities are currently known:
  • Unstoppable - nobody seeing you can interrupt you. This means you can run right to a guy and smash his face, if that is your thing.
  • Implausible Accuracy - the minimum cth on any shot is increased. This means that you are more likely to score impossible shots, but won't help you at all on safe shots.
  • Forever awake - you do not need to sleep anymore. your energy meter will not go down hourly (but can still be raised by sleeping if it was lowered by wounds).
  • Right of the first - if current teamsize in the sector is > 3, this merc will not be the first one to be wounded. This effectively protects you from any damage - as long as nobody else in your team takes damage. After that, you bleed like everyone else.
  • Shattering - damage causes enemies to drop their hand items.
  • Preysight - your merc detects living beings, just like the xray detector. Never was hunting the last enemy so easy.
  • Fisheye - your new eyes grant you a better overview, as you get negative tunnel vision.
  • Victorious - damage you deal to others returns APs to you (its limited though).
  • Fearsome - damage dealt also damages morale, leaving your enemy bleeding and crying.
  • Bulletstorm - Increased rate of fire. Wonder how being posessed by a demon causes your firearm to fire faster? No cookie for you then.
  • Silvertongue - Listening to your voice appeases anyone. Anyone you talk to gets the mind blast effect (see pskyer spell MindBlast), leaving him neutral for a while. This also works on allied militia, so be careful with whom you relay orders in battle Smile
  • Scarred - your damage resistance is altered by your wounds / battles ratio. This rewards you for being wounded often in battle, and not being a save-scummer.
  • Back from hell - once per day, you can cheat death. Instead of dying, you will be fully healed and regenerated. Note: It might be wise to take of note of when that happened, as it only works once per day. This can be used for unconventional and devastating attacks... like suicide mercs, or when coupled properly withblood binding (see psyker spell Blood Binding). Also great for extremely quick doctoring.
  • Hard to kill - the maximum amount of damage you take at once is capped at 20. This applies to each damage source only, so a MG salvo can still kill you, but this is very useful against high-caliber snipers, mortars etc..
  • Sever the threads of life - once per day, you can instantly kill someone (not NPCs or champions). You get a new skill that can be accessed via skill menu. Once per day, you can kill anyone with this, but not special persons.
  • Phasing - there is a chance that a projectile might pass through you harmlessly. It will continue to fly, and can hit those behind you.
  • Tentacles - your body is warped, your arms are transformed into tentacles (no animations). The items in your hands cannot be stolen from you, they wont drop when you are damaged, and you will always get a foregrip bonus, even if your weapon has none attached.
  • Linked bullets - If the 1st bullet hits, so does the 2nd. Only applies to dualwielded weapons, this makes it reasonable to customize your handguns.
  • Lifeleech - melee damage you deal returns life to you.
  • Nausea - This is an 'aura' effect. Everyone who is not demon-possessed, a psyker or a chaos cultist of at least level 3 has lowered max breath when near you. Size of effects depends on distance to you. Wether this is good or bad heavily depends on the rest of your team.
  • Beneficial - Penalties of your chaos paths are drastically lowered or non-existant.
  • Twitching - changing stance / starting to run does not cost APs.
  • Eagleeye - higher sight range
  • Photodermative - you take damage from sunlight. That happens when it is day, you are not underground, not in a vehicle and not in a building. You should specialise in night combat.
  • Arrogant - when you kill someone, your merc loses all remaining APs, effectively ending his turn.
  • Inflexible - upon changing stance, we receive a damage malus for the rest of the turn. This makes it reasonable to better plan your movements.
  • Overconfident - Max. CTH is capped at 80%. Even at point blank.
  • Hemophile - damage you take always causes full bleeding, even stuff like mustard gas.
  • Gluttonous - you need much more food and water. How do you not explode? Nobody knows.
  • Withering - if one of the items in your inventory gets damaged, its repair threshold gets lowered as well. Perko and Arnie should expand their business...
  • Nocturnal - lowered APs and effective exp level during the day.
  • Hydrophobic - You don't need water anymore. As it kills you now. Swimming makes you bleed, rain is terrifying, as you take constant damage in water. Does no go well with amphibious assaults.
  • Diurnal - lowered APs and effective exp level during the night.
  • Merciless - 'aura' effect. Everyone around you in 'critical' or 'dying' state receives damage. This might be counterproductive on a doctor.
  • Retropassive - the CTH on the first shot this merc takes after loading a savegame is drastically lowered. Take that, savescummers! The effect is also removed after a few minutes, so if you load a campaign and fast forward time, this does not become an issue.
  • Vibrant - the base values of strength, agility and dexterity use their median value. A merc with STR 80, AGI 82 and DEX 45 will have 80 in all those stats. This comes before drugs/power armour/tzeentch stat changes. If this is good or bad to your character depends on his stats obviously.
Yes, some of these powers are as awesome/overpowered as they sound. Before you cry, keep in mind that it will take a long time to get these powers. This is meant to be endgame content (or midgame, of you powerplay). With huge powers also come annoying drawbacks, as I will soon explain...

http://i44.tinypic.com/4vofms.jpg
Shred has become a champion of chaos undivided, and chose to be posessed by the demon Kuazineh. Ingame she is now known as 'Shred Kuazineh' (those familiar with the Word Bearer's trilogy will recognize this from Burias Drak'Shal).

http://i44.tinypic.com/2visggw.jpg
With a little paint, a merc seems to be properly possessed.

http://i39.tinypic.com/fko3dh.jpg
An especially proud demon, Faescalor revels in his own superiority, and sneers at tactics he deems to be below his standards.

http://i42.tinypic.com/9ixn2d.jpg
Now what could this demon be?

http://i39.tinypic.com/2vikqp3.jpg
Shaelzodgul makes any ambidextreous character terrifying.

These are just a few demons, more exist in TableData/Demons.xml. You can add your own demons, but make sure to also give them penalties, otherwise it becomes to simple. In the xml you can also set wether this demon is restricted to one specific path.

I originally planned to alter a merc's voice once he is possessed, but those code regions proved to be... unwilling. Perhaps another time.

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Re: Features[message #321699] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
New items
There are a few new items with new capabilities. Keep in mind that this mod focuses on new character abilities, not tons of guns. My pics look crappy, thus I rely on others to drop me item pics. I also hate xml work an don't see the point of adding hundreds of guns that basically all do the same. Nevertheless, a few new items were added.

All of the good item pics in here were done by Dieter, Kaerar, Genesis X and Soto. Hopefully this little mod will motivate them and others to do more pics (for example, we currently have no Melta Wink )

http://i39.tinypic.com/2b14ig.jpg
Power armor represents the pinnacle of personal armour. Not only does this armour have superior protective properties (wearing power armour would allow you to clean early sectors with melee, as pistols can hardly damage you), it also greatly enhances the strength of the soldier. This makes any power-armoured soldier immensely strong, he can thus carry the heaviest guns, and become a terrifying enemy in close combat. Unlike normal ballistic body armour, it also protects against melee attacks, making you close to invincible.
Only specially trained personnel, like the iconic Space Marines, the Sisters of Battle or influential Inquisitors, have access to power armour. It takes years of training to use it properly.
http://i42.tinypic.com/k4jo15.jpg
Power armour needs an attached power pack, which provides the necessary energy. Power armour is 'on' when both the torso and leg armour is worn, the helmet is optional. The armour slowly consumes energy depending on how active the wearer currently is. In combat, much more energy is used than on standby. Without power, the armour becomes very unwieldy, and as it no longer grants additional strength, the wearer will soon collapse. Be warned, only personnel familiar with electronics can properly repair the armour, and only they can replace the power source. Do not try this without Adeptus Mechanicum blessing, you'll upset the machine spirit!
A battle sister can attach a crate of bolt ammo to her armour, which can then be directly fed to her heavy bolter (should you ever come along this terrifying weapon).
http://i39.tinypic.com/bjbdoi.jpg
The helmet is also very advanced, it has an inbuilt NVG and gasmask. It also posesses thermal imaging, which can be manually turned on. Thermal imaging grants the user heat vision, with which she can look through walls, but is very demanding on the power source.

As of r6224, power armour allows your mercs to smash walls. You don't strictly need power armour for that, but an effective strength value > 200, which is hard to reach without it.
In order for this to work, stand in front of a wall and press 'Ctrl' + 'Alt' + 'j'. Your merc will kick the wall. If it is weak enough, it will eventually come down. The damage you do depends on your strength value. If you have a power fist in your hands, this greatly increases damage. You will need one for concrete walls.

Your battle sisters will not start with power armour... you will have to find some in Arulco itself.

http://i41.tinypic.com/28jfxi.jpg
In this picture, Shred has fired her plasma gun. A plasma gun is a very powerful rifle that shoots super-heated plasma. It's effects are truly devastating, as it can kill even heavy-armoured enemies with one shot. But be careful! It very quickly overheats, and if not maintained correctly, devastating malfunction can occur, which can rip the weapon - an its unfortunate user - apart. Smaller plasma pistols also exist. Note that plasma weapons have a second firing mode. Press 'b' like you would normally toggle firing modes. The plasma weapon will still be in single-fire mode, but the ammo indicator will chance colour. It now fires charged shots that can damage an entire area. A charged shot consumes up to 4 ammo units and causes massive heat on your weapon, so use reasonably.

Purge uses a bolt pistol. Bolt weapons fire small-caliber rockets, which have truly devastating effects. They are hard to maintain and are slow to fire, but their damage makes more than up for that. There are bolt pistols, bolters (SMG-sized automatic bolt weapons that take the role of ARs) and Heavy bolters, seen on Alicia. The Heavy bolter works like a very heavy MG and can mow down dozens of enemies quickly. But it is heavy in every aspect, only very strong or augmented mercenaries will be able to wield it.
Purge also uses a chainsword, a mixture of a sword and a chainsaw. It can easily cut a man in half and is the melee weapon of choice for many officers in the Imperium.

http://i41.tinypic.com/33mtv8y.jpg
A powerfist is another close combat weapon. It emits a powerful force field that multiplies the force of the impact, and is used against heavily armoured targets. Very useful against power armour.

As of r6224, power fists can be used to smash in walls, see under power armour.

http://i42.tinypic.com/axobs.jpg
Flamer is another name for a flamethrower, which is very useful against tightly packed enemies. It can shortly deny the area to the enemy, and at night, the flames will even illuminate the area.
http://i43.tinypic.com/35lgnxf.jpg
You can attach a few trinkets to your armour and weapons. Some of them offer small boni (like a 10% bonus to weapon cooldown, or +1 repair ease). But most of them offer taint to one or more paths. What is taint you ask? Taint represents influence of chaos god (or the imperial creed) on an item. If you carry items that are tainted, you will slowly be moved into that path - wether you like it or not. If you want to avoid chaos, you should be careful when picking up gear of fallen heretics, as it might be tainted. Taint is inherent to the object, not the item type itself - two knifes might be identical, but one may be haunted by evil spirits, the other not. Trinkets can add extra taint to your items. You can even balance them by this - imperial taint works negates other taint. If you have a corrupted item, but want to stay loyal to mankind, you can attach purity seals to it, to lessen the effect.
If you tend to chaos however, what then? Easy.

Collect the skulls of your enemies.

No, really. Skulls of cultists are often tainted, especially those of powerful foes. You can attach them to your armour, or just keep them in your inventory. See? There's a good reason Khorne's urges his followers to collect Skulls. Smart fella, that one.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2vxr969.jpg
As clicking on every single item to look for tainted ones is tedious, you can simply see that in the strategic view. This can be toggled by clicking on the little Aquila on top of the inventory. Tainted items show which taint they have. Item stacks show the sum of their taint. If multiple taints are on an item (like on heads an skulls), only the highest one is shown.

http://i42.tinypic.com/531ahy.jpg
Ultimately, you may want to have equipment fitting to your path, maximising your path and thereby increasing your corruption. You can do that by sanctifying your items. For each path, there is some ort of priest in Arulco. This priest can (for a hefty price) cleanse your items of taint, and increase the taint of his path. Each priest is a known NPC. The imperial path's priest is in Drassen. Can you find the other ones?

If you happen to stroll around the xmls, you may notice a few items that say INTERNAL ITEM, DO NOT USE!!!. That is meant that way, changing those will have odd effects. Let them be.

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Re: Features[message #321700] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Blanks
While the warp's denizens may seem awfully powerful, and psykers can cast the most powerful spells, they have one particular weakness: Blanks. Blanks are people that have the rare pariah gene. They have no reflection in the warp, and dealing with them, even being near them, causes immense pain in psykers, let alone demons. To normal people, blanks just seem unsympathetic, as if something was... wrong with them somehow. Psykers and demons actually suffer.

When coming near a psyker, psykers and those posesses by a demon will gradually have lower morale and lower breath. When very near, they will collapse, and even start to bleed. They will get a headache just from being in the same sector!

This makes blanks extremely useful when dealing with enemy psykers or summoned warp spawn. However your own psykers and demon-possessed champions will suffer as well, so plan accordingly.

Anybody - mercs, enemies, militia, civilians, NPCs - has a very small chance to be a blank. You won't know wether someone is, this is determined at game start for actors with a profile, an at creation for randomly generated personnel. However psykers can never be blanks, as this would kill them quickly. Blanks can also never be possessed by demons, as that option never turns up for them. There are two ways of testing someone on being a blank: You can either move close to him with a psyker and see what happens... or you can use the Identify blank spell of sanctioned psykers.

While your chaotic warband might be wary of blanks, there is one special use for them: you can use them as makeshift excorcists. When a demon-possessed merc is close to a blank, he will suffer a lot physically. Once he drops into a coma, the demon will leave him. At that point, your merc will be near death, but free of the demon. If you save and heal him, you can then later join with this or another demon again (you must first raise the dark gods attention again). This is the only way to get rid of a demon.

As I have no proper 'demon' animations, I use the creatures as demons. You can normally only see them when opening a warpgate via psyker skill. However, if you play in 'scifi' mode and have the crepitus quest activated, they will also be demons as far a blanks are concerned - which means that you should definetly take your blanks onto that quest. In the confined tunnels of the mines, he will deal a lot of damage to them. See it as a quest to slay a powerful demon that lurks in a hive's sublevel.

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Re: Features[message #321701] Tue, 18 June 2013 20:42 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Torture
When I added prisoners I said I don't want to add torture to that feature in the trunk. Well, this isn't the trunk, and cruelty fits to Warhammer like dishonesty to the church. You cann now torture prisoners via the Torture assignment. Torture will grant you a lot of chaotic corruption... but your prisoners won't hold out long, as they get... used up in the process. It's a quick way to speed up your corruption, but you'll need a steady supply of slaves.
Certain warbands may even seek battle just to get new slaves to torture. Sheesh. What kind of monster are you?
There are path-specific modifiers to torture under Torture Settings in WH40k.ini. Slaanesh cultists are especially adapt at torture.

This feature might become much more important in the future. Wait and see.

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Re: Features[message #322717] Sun, 14 July 2013 20:17 Go to previous message
Flugente

 
Messages:3507
Registered:April 2009
Location: Germany
Mechanicus
Mechanicus followers believe in the Machine god. They are fascinated by technology, and seek knowledge - hoepfully not forbidden knowledge...

There are 4 stages of this path: Mechanicus Cultist, Mechanicus Servant, Mechanicus Disciple and Mechanicus Preacher.
http://i44.tinypic.com/2lk7doh.jpg
So much to learn, so little time.

Corruption points are earned for reparing items, unjamming guns, an using vox equipment. The bonis are very useful if you find yourself having trouble with unreliable guns. As your fascination with technology increases, you become more and more secluded - your efficiency indealing with people lowers. You also get a huge bonus for controlling the robot.

The Mechanicus is closely related to the imperial path. Both can coexist peacefully. However, the mechanicus cult can also get along with chaotic teachings, transforming the user into 'hereteks'. If you gain a chaos level, you will not lose mechanicus levels, as is the case with imperial creed.

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