Make a simple way to script reach to melee weapons.

[ProFF7]

Mostly for modding, since some of us want to make melee weapons with longer reach (Mainly spears with 2 tile range, and pikes with 3 or more range) to use in melee formations and add some variety to melee types. Maybe add it to the core game?

Ideal would be to just be able to modify the range verb to add reach.

[Keychan]

I was gonna make a suggestion to add pikes and halberds in vanilla just now, then viola, there's this post.  Melee needs a quality of life.  Right now melee is just a place holder for damage, damage type, hit time, and hit chance.  Unlike ranged weapons where they can have properties like range differences, more damage properties (explosive and burning), fire burst, and even AOE, melee weapons all feel the same.

For vanilla

Pros of reach weapons:
- Can hit over friendly pawns to help reduce melee crowding (since pawn melee stacking was removed, for good reason).
- Can hit over certain terrain. (Through trees, over sandbags, chunks, etc.)
- Makes the first hit to a target and makes them have to decide to get closer to fight, or run.

Cons of reach weapons:
- Should be slow in hit speed.
- Being too close to the target should bring disadvantages.

[ProFF7]

I was gonna make a suggestion to add pikes and halberds in vanilla just now, then viola, there's this post.  Melee needs a quality of life.  Right now melee is just a place holder for damage, damage type, hit time, and hit chance.  Unlike ranged weapons where they can have properties like range differences, more damage properties (explosive and burning), fire burst, and even AOE, melee weapons all feel the same.

For vanilla

Pros of reach weapons:
- Can hit over friendly pawns to help reduce melee crowding (since pawn melee stacking was removed, for good reason).
- Can hit over certain terrain. (Through trees, over sandbags, chunks, etc.)
- Makes the first hit to a target and makes them have to decide to get closer to fight, or run.

Cons of reach weapons:
- Should be slow in hit speed.
- Being too close to the target should bring disadvantages.

Yeah thats pretty much what I thought. The more reach they have the slower they should be to attack. Damage shouldnt be affected too much, just speed, pikes and spears can be very nasty weapons. In fact a short or regular spear is still a very agile weapon in short range and the pole itself can break a skull if used like a mace against approaching opponent.
maybe a slight hit chance penalty at closer tiles would be appropiate too.

Would mostly be weapons for group fighting, specially pikes, which could be unwieldy on 1v1 situations (A normal spear can still be a superb 1v1 weapon). The tactics could be interesting, maybe highly armored longswords/gladius in the front backed by spears and pikes in the rear, a suitable strategy to defend a corridor.