In Razor Trail Survivors we're trying to include a lot of variety and strategy while keeping things as simple as possible. Simulating the complex behavior of different weapons in a simple timer-based combat mechanic is a challenge.
We take a lot of input such as weapon damage, accuracy, recoil, magazine size, handling, etc and convert those values into timed attacks by the player and/or enemy. Using one of the weapon base-types in the game as an example - Incision-r Lite, we'll see how each of its stats is used in combat.
As a reminder, please note that damage stats vary a lot depending on the weapon instance's level and quality. An Incision-r Lite is a base-type of level 44, which means most instances will be around that level. A level 1, quality 1 instance is possible, but very unlikely to be crafted. If you want to know a bit more on how base-types and instances work, check out this post.
Damage: 4-5
Damage is the amount of hitpoints removed from an enemy when a hit occurs with this weapon. There is a minimum and maximum value and, for each hit, a random between those two is the actual hit damage. There is no maximum value and it varies a lot depending on instance level and quality.
Handling: 8 (from 1 to 10)
Handling is a rough measure for weapon weight and ergonomics. The ligher, smaller and more ergonomic it is, the better handling value it will have. In combat, each turn except the first, your attack timer is increased by (10 - handling), which means that with this weapon you have an increase of 2 seconds per attack. It simulates the time required for you to get into position, aim and fire.
Range: 4 (from 1 to 10)
Range is the maximum distance at which you can attack with this weapon. It is relevant only in the first round of combat and does exactly the same as handling does for subsequent rounds. Melee weapons usually have 1 or 2 to range, while rifles typically go into the higher values. Incision-r Lite is a very small caliber rifle (.22) and therefore its range and damage is very small compared to others.
Attack rate: 1.5
Attack rate defines the amount of attacks taken per round, ie, how many shots are taken whenever your timer reaches zero. 1.5 translates to 50% of the times being 1 shot and 50% of the times, there will be 2 shots. It is a rough measure of a weapon's fire rate.
Accuracy: 60% (1 to 100)
Accuracy is the probability that each shot with this weapon will actually hit the target.
Accuracy drop: 2%
Accuracy drop is a rough measure for a weapon's recoil. It is the value by which accuracy drops for each shot after the first in the same round. For example, if in a round you fire 2 shots with your Incision-r Lite, the first will have a 60% chance to hit while the second one will have 58% chance to hit (60-2).
Magazine size: 10
Magazine size is the amount of shots you can fire before reloading your weapon. It does not reset after each fight.
Reload time: 3
Reload time is the number of seconds added to your attack timer when you need to reload your weapon.
That's it for weapon stats that influence combat. All of these stats (except damage) are pretty much set by the base-type (in the case the Incision-r Lite) and can only be changed by special rare mods. Other weapon base-types have very different stats regarding handling, range, attack rate, accuracy, etc. Damage, as mentioned before varies a lot with level and quality.
Weapons also vary in the type of ammo they use. Incision-r Lite uses the small and cheap .22 ammo, which will probably make it a good weapon to use without spending a lot in ammo, at the expense of a lower than average damage.
Another consideration is the materials and weaponmaking level required to craft the weapons. Incision-r Lite needs a minimum weaponmaking level of 44, so that will take a while to get there. You'll need aluminium alloy, steel, screws and mechanical parts to craft it - still a relatively cheap weapon to make, considering its level.
Next time we'll go into a (full?) list of weapon base-types in game so you can start picking your favorites - see you there!