Previous threads on the same topic (for reference) :
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=18755.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=22125.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=5519.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=21726.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=6311.15
Jagged Alliance 2 (+mod113) is my favorite game ever.
As I understand it, the combat system in Rimworld takes from JA2. Friendly fire exists in (modded) JA2, and it's a fun and essential feature to have. Without it, tactics and clever positioning wouldn't matter as much, and a victory against difficult odds wouldn't feel so rewarding. In Rimworld however, friendly fire is nothing like it, and is slowly becoming a chore to me.
Hunting - when my colonists go hunting, I need to micro-manage them all the time to avoid them shooting their comrades. This is very frustrating, but there seems no way around it, since the pathing AI gladly and frequently puts tamed pets or idle colonists ("going for a walk") in the middle of a firing solution, as if to troll me.
Now I've gone hunting wild life in RL quite a few times. While I don't pretend to be the most experimented, I can vouch for everything to be done to avoid accidents. These remain extremely rare, and I have yet to see one serious over a couple of years.
While it is true that they can happen, none of these accidents are lethal if proper coordination is set up before. This is why large groups are officered by experimented hunters, and avoid densely populated areas, or with known paths for joggers, for example. In smaller groups it's even easier since hunters tend advance together, side by side, and never fire more shots than necessary, sometimes only one after another.
Fighting - when my colonists fight raiders or other nasty stuff (mad animals, aliens, etc.), I welcome the additional risk of friendly fire. As I said above, winning a battle comes with learning how to properly position and use your troops. It's only fair, since it appears to happen on both sides.
However, here too I have to ask that stuff gets tweaked, since wild life or unengaged pets in game are more than eager to wander around on the battle field once fire is initiated. Real beasts, as massive as kodiaks, flee from explosions and gunfire, not to mention distracted human pedestrians. Tamed pets, like hunting dogs, don't move around their masters when they are shooting, in some kind of dance to fetch extra bullets.
Conclusion - I don't mind being challenged by clever mechanics (and more often than not keep playing without reloading if I am bested, to acknowledge them and learn), but not by game mechanics which make no sense to me, or on which I have no leverage despite my attention and efforts.
Therefore, I would favor removing the "friendly fire" feature plain and simple outside "fights against red targets", and tweak it during these, so that tamed animals stay put behind colonists, till they are told to attack (and "released"). At that point they become fair game to bullets (and melee damage), like enemies. If that's not technically possible, they should not be considered as valid targets for "friendly fire", since unlike colonists we cannot control them directly.
I would appreciate if someone could create a mod to do so, or point me to one already existing. Thank you very much for reading.
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=18755.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=22125.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=5519.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=21726.0
https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=6311.15
Jagged Alliance 2 (+mod113) is my favorite game ever.
As I understand it, the combat system in Rimworld takes from JA2. Friendly fire exists in (modded) JA2, and it's a fun and essential feature to have. Without it, tactics and clever positioning wouldn't matter as much, and a victory against difficult odds wouldn't feel so rewarding. In Rimworld however, friendly fire is nothing like it, and is slowly becoming a chore to me.
Hunting - when my colonists go hunting, I need to micro-manage them all the time to avoid them shooting their comrades. This is very frustrating, but there seems no way around it, since the pathing AI gladly and frequently puts tamed pets or idle colonists ("going for a walk") in the middle of a firing solution, as if to troll me.
Now I've gone hunting wild life in RL quite a few times. While I don't pretend to be the most experimented, I can vouch for everything to be done to avoid accidents. These remain extremely rare, and I have yet to see one serious over a couple of years.
While it is true that they can happen, none of these accidents are lethal if proper coordination is set up before. This is why large groups are officered by experimented hunters, and avoid densely populated areas, or with known paths for joggers, for example. In smaller groups it's even easier since hunters tend advance together, side by side, and never fire more shots than necessary, sometimes only one after another.
Fighting - when my colonists fight raiders or other nasty stuff (mad animals, aliens, etc.), I welcome the additional risk of friendly fire. As I said above, winning a battle comes with learning how to properly position and use your troops. It's only fair, since it appears to happen on both sides.
However, here too I have to ask that stuff gets tweaked, since wild life or unengaged pets in game are more than eager to wander around on the battle field once fire is initiated. Real beasts, as massive as kodiaks, flee from explosions and gunfire, not to mention distracted human pedestrians. Tamed pets, like hunting dogs, don't move around their masters when they are shooting, in some kind of dance to fetch extra bullets.
Conclusion - I don't mind being challenged by clever mechanics (and more often than not keep playing without reloading if I am bested, to acknowledge them and learn), but not by game mechanics which make no sense to me, or on which I have no leverage despite my attention and efforts.
Therefore, I would favor removing the "friendly fire" feature plain and simple outside "fights against red targets", and tweak it during these, so that tamed animals stay put behind colonists, till they are told to attack (and "released"). At that point they become fair game to bullets (and melee damage), like enemies. If that's not technically possible, they should not be considered as valid targets for "friendly fire", since unlike colonists we cannot control them directly.
I would appreciate if someone could create a mod to do so, or point me to one already existing. Thank you very much for reading.