Smokepop belts seem pretty useless

[MoronicCinamun]

In stable branch of the game, smoke pop belts have one and only one "advantage" over the shield, the fact they're easier to produce + "cheaper" (but the cheaper is arguably false if you're buying them, because they'll be gone forever once used and thus cost more in the long run).

In 0.19, it's even worse: since shield belts can be made earlier and cheaper (no more uranium, just  steel, plasteel, and components), smoke pop belts are even more useless.

I have some ideas on how to maybe make the smokes more use-full, but I'm not sure how good they are:
- remove the component cost. This is pretty much the biggest problem as components aren't as common as steel. Steel is pretty commonplace and chemfuel is 100% renewable even with tribal "tech" (farming!)
-remove the research: if you could just straight up make them with machining straight out the box, that'll remove a lot of the opportunity cost. Besides, if you can make hand grenades, including emps, without issue then surely a smoke is easy.

-(the more complex solution): make the belts "reusable" somehow... Not sure how practical this is (I don't know jack about coding), but if a spent smokepop belt somehow became a "broken smokepop belt" or some such that can be combined with x amount of steel and/or chemfuel at the machining bench for a new belt, thus removing the long-term component cost.

I guess it's time for some disclaimers: I guess the smokes are supposed to be more for tribals; since it it'll take them much longer to reach shield tech, smokes can be a possible hold over until then, but still the cost seems high to build them yourself. Of course, I recognize components can be made but come on, by the time you can do that your smokes will be obsolete.

[5thHorseman]

I can't speak from experience using them, because every time one goes off on a raider I laugh and eviscerate him with gunfire anyway.

[zizard]

Only real use I thought of is for people using rocket launchers. Then your accuracy is irrelevant and it provides a multiplicative 3x ehp boost making it relatively safe to launch and cool down behind cover even against many enemies.

[Kirby23590]

I can't speak from experience using them, because every time one goes off on a raider I laugh and eviscerate him with gunfire anyway.

Or with masses of melee fighters w/shields or with tons of released trained dogs on them.

If only smoke belts could have a button to activate smoke belts or have smoke grenades. *sigh*

[Koek]

Use them on pawns that go outside your walls, like hunters and haulers, to have a safeguard in case a raid starts.
This will increase the chance to get them behind your walls instead of them going down and perhaps bleed out while you deal with the raid.

edit: You can also use them on your medics, to keep them from getting hit more than once during battle. You need them to patch the rest up after the raid. When the smoke pops you just get them behind the walls. This way you can use them to get some shots in but not get wrecked, resulting in having a less functional, or even dead, medic after the raid.

[khun_poo]

It said that it is unable to target lock-on by turret. Well, It would be great if it applied to pawn gun shot to lock on too.

But again, That's too OP.

[Snafu_RW]

In stable branch of the game, smoke pop belts have one and only one "advantage" over the shield, the fact they're easier to produce + "cheaper" (but the cheaper is arguably false if you're buying them, because they'll be gone forever once used and thus cost more in the long run).

Smoke belts are extremely useful in several ways:

• They can be used by ranged pawns
• They can be used by 'sacrificial' pawns to lay down smoke barrages, decreasing incoming fire accuracy (particularly useful vs lancers/snipers, allowing melee units into the fray)
• As noted, they're easy & cheap to produce relatively early
• Their ranged fire debuff applies to hostile pawns too, so an incoming hostile close group will suffer accuracy problems if an SPB-equipped member is hit

Other ideas occur, but that'll do for starters..

-(the more complex solution): make the belts "reusable" somehow... Not sure how practical this is (I don't know jack about coding), but if a spent smokepop belt somehow became a "broken smokepop belt" or some such that can be combined with x amount of steel and/or chemfuel at the machining bench for a new belt, thus removing the long-term component cost.

I would like to make them rechargeable items, using (say) 1 chemfuel & 2 wood/veg, however IDK how practical or (un)balancing that would make them IG, or to code..