ThloatereGearMod

A word on designing brand new weapons for GTFO

The goal of weapon additions to Thloatere is to explore meaningful and fresh design space that hasn't been filled yet. So, of course, it becomes increasingly difficult to design new balanced weapons that don't tread old ground, as fun as it is.

GTFO weapons only have so much design space to explore while remaining adjacent to vanilla.

Especially when some gimmicks just end up not working out in practice...

Though on that note, since making this message in v2.x announcing that there probably wouldn't be new weapons, I came up with a few more, and even got one melee and two tools in to send it all off.

Though, now I've really run out of space. Ever since the 1.0 release I prototyped a lot of weapons and what you see currently in the mod is all that survived.

As a bonus, let me tell you about the ideas that didn't make it in.

• Short Rifle v1: A testing iteration of the Short Rifle. An attempt to keep the original idea of the Short Rifle alive, but as an autogun instead of some weird hybrid of an autogun and specialist. It was actually really fun to play the precision semi-auto autogun style into Strikers and Shooters, but Chargers proved too big of a roadblock for the gun to remain fun. There's a difference between "suboptimal into Chargers" and "completely unworkable into Chargers"... I guess you could consider the Boltthrower a spiritual successor to this, of all things??? Nowadays, the Short Rifle draws more from the Pistol and is actually workable into Chargers.
• Unnamed ultralight melee: Scrapped very quickly because the Knife is basically the limits of how light you can make a melee before it becomes pointless. At least I tried it.
• High Caliber Shotgun: A testing iteration of the High Caliber Rifle. The High Caliber Rifle was inspired by Fortnite's Hunting Rifle and Ranger Shotgun and takes from both equally. But at some point while testing it, I wasn't sure of how powerful it would be, so I decided to try turning it into the Ranger Shotgun... one shot, seven pellets... yeah, so this was far too strong... at least it was fun?
• Rapid Fire Shotgun: An attempt to introduce a shotgun in between the Shotgun and Combat Shotgun. This thing had a cadence in between both and did damage in between both. The problem is that the High Caliber Pistol ended up feeling really similar to shoot to this thing because of the rates of fire and mag sizes. I think years later (this mod has been in the works since early 2023...) this turned into the Double-Tap Shotgun?
• High Caliber SMG: Inspired by Helldivers 2's Reprimand, this was a really slow firing SMG that hit really hard with unworkable amounts of random spread and damage dropoff. It felt really good to fire and actually did well, but this just ended up basically being "Machine Pistol (Low RPM)" so I scrapped it.
• SemiBurst Machinegun: A testing iteration of the Accelerator Rifle. Did you know GTFO has an unused firemode? "SemiBurst x" firemode is where you can shoot x shots, then incur a long cooldown before you can shoot again. So, a burst-fire weapon but the burst itself is semi-auto. This is actually really impractical for combat and ends up feeling too much like either burst or semi...
• SemiBurst Rifle: An attempt to make something less Accelerator Rifle more DMR with the SemiBurst firemode... it still had the same problem of not being able to properly settle down into SemiBurst and feeling too much like either of the above...
• Anti-Air Cannon: More Helldivers 2. The Autocannon in that game had selectable firemodes between APHET (works like the GTFO Autocannon) and Flak (low-armour-penetrating explosive), so I decided to try and work in a shrapnel-firing version of the Autocannon. This was, once again, too good... or too bad! And it ended up feeling like a rehash of the Choke Mod Shotgun but just with the Autocannon's mag size and reload... oops...
• Chain Gun: This was, more or less, a minigun. It was completely uncontrollable and made the Heavy SMG look tame by comparison... it basically ended up just being an even bigger Heavy SMG, so I decided to leave being the Machinegun to the Machinegun and being the Heavy SMG to the Heavy SMG instead of trying to forcefully marry them...
• Autocannon Sentry: A scaled up 3-burst sentry gun that killed one Striker per shot. Ultimately just ended up basically being a weird Sniper Sentry??? Might revisit it... I don't know...
• Unnamed SemiBurst auto rifle: Another attempt to make the SemiBurst firemode work. This was the idea that SemiBurst could be used to make an autogun that rewards fast precision shots... which is basically reinventing the Short Rifle v1. Oops.
• Revolving Rifle: Another attempt to make SemiBurst work. It's basically a 6x-shot rifle with a revolver cylinder, where x wasn't defined. The problem now is that the Revolver is so good it boxed this out.
• Volley Gun: Yet another attempt to make SemiBurst work, this time inspired by the Variable from Helldivers 2. The problem with SemiBurst is it's really only made for precision shots; if you wanted to just spam all your ammo into an enemy you'd just use an auto weapon or something like the Revolver that does that with really quick reload time. Really, the Revolver is half the reason why this firemode doesn't work...
• Unnamed belt-fed SemiBurst gun: Another one of these... you know, if it were possible to belt-feed weapons, this would be an entirely reasonable concept, using the semiburst delay as the weapon's "reload" time to get around it being belt-fed. But... you can't do that. All GTFO guns need a magazine size and reserve ammo supply or the game has an existential crisis. And I want to stick as close to vanilla as possible; the only mods I'm messing around with are things like "mod that lets you make new sentries" which I really shouldn't be needing a mod for.
• Dual Tube Shotgun: You know those shotguns that feed from multiple tubes? Basically an attempt to use SemiBurst to do that. ...but then this is boxed out by either of the Double-Tap, Sawed-Off, or Choke Mod Shotguns... If only we had programmable ammo in this game...
• Unnamed SemiBurst charge-up weapon: catasstrophy's suggestion. The rationale behind this was that charging up and then getting n shots before having to charge again would be a really cool gimmick. In fairness, it would be, and would be a badass way to implement one of those revolving rifles. ...but SemiBurst with charge time just turns into Semi. Which is super lame.
• High Caliber Sentry: This was going to be a 4-round-semiburst sentry that instantly killed any mini it shot, shot 4 in quick succession, then went dormant for 8 seconds or so. Unfortunately, sentries just... can't use SemiBurst???
• Saturation Sentry: This was going to be a 13-round-burst sentry that did basically no damage but staggered everything in a 5-fixed 4-random shotgun spread radius while it was firing, which took about 3 or so seconds to end the burst. So in practice, a sort of temporary stun/EMP field emitter or something. Unfortunately, only Semi sentries can use shotgun stats, so this one was right out. A shame, because it would have been cool to see how it played in practice.

v5.1.0

Balance changes:

• Charged SMG
  • This gun is cursed. It's too weak but I have no idea what to do with it so here's a general buff to get it into better shape. It should now have a nice clean 2x2 on Strikers. If the 60-round burst is still unworkable I guess I'll try 30?
    • Damage: 1.99 -> 2.49
    • Precision multiplier: 0.82x -> 1.03x
    • Recoilgroup changed: 2 -> 31 (in practice this is a recoil decrease)
    • Reload time: 1.65 -> 1.22
    • Rounds per second: 35 -> 37
    • Charge-up time: 0.9 -> 0.77

v5.0.0

New weapon!

• Charged SMG
  • Special weapon with an agonizingly long charge-up time that then burst-fires its entire magazine. Fire into massive crowds, or don't fire it at all!

Other:

• Redesigned High Capacity SMG to look more distinct from the Heavy SMG

v4.1.3

Bug fixes:

• ACTUALLY correctly applied Sledgehammer melee damage
• Tried some sorcery to reattach the HEL Revolver flashlight

v4.1.2

Bug fixes:

• Railgun now mentions that it deploys quickly

Other:

• Cleaned up the descriptions on the anti-tank primary weapons
• Added "very" to quick reload on High Caliber Rifle and Railgun statblocks to emphasise intended use case

v4.1.1

Bug fixes:

• Fixed Boltthrower Sentry ammo counts on the website

Other:

• Added launch instructions

v4.1.0

Balance changes:

• Charged Shotgun

  • Man, this gun really is a problem child, isn't it? Anyway, comparing its effectiveness to that of the other Primary shotguns and its anti-tank competitor the Slug Shotgun, it didn't kill enough Bigs to justify bringing it over its competitors. So, now it can kill one more. The Slug will remain dominant into Big Strikers and Shooters with good aim, but the Charged's advantage into Big Chargers is honed.
    • Ammo reserves: 12 -> 14

• Tactical & Sawed-Off Shotguns

  • These guns aren't actually specialised anti-tank Primary weapons, so it was weird that they could keep up with the AT choices in terms of Big Chargers killed. Now, they can't, but lose none of their effectiveness into minis or Big Strikers.
    • Total damage: 25.01 -> 24.01

• Boltthrower Sentry

  • It's performing as intended; niche, but rewarding if its strengths are played into. It's getting a slight boost to help its consistency just a tiny bit when the niche doesn't quite work out as well as it probably should.
    • Ammo reserves: 64 -> 70

• Portable Railcannon

  • This item has a playstyle that doesn't compare to anything else that's in the game, which makes it hard to gauge how it's doing, but it's also such a demanding item that it really needs to make each shot worth it and will almost never be used at its peak performance. So, I thought it needed a bit of help; to contrast the Sentries' and Mine Deployer's natures as repeatable reliable tools, I've gone all in on its nature as an unreliable and super committal tool of very periodic mass destruction that now instantly kills every enemy up to the Big Charger.
    • Damage: 125.01 -> 150.01

• Bug fixes:

  • Hopefully un-detached the HEL Revolver's flashlight
  • Fixed the HEL Shotgun's position being wrong on the website
  • Fixed a few inconsistencies in the weapon statblocks on the loadout select screen and updated a few loadout select statblocks to actually tell you what the gun does
    • Stagger, charge-up time, and overpenetration now always come last
    • Controllability now always comes before reload
    • Added "Quick reload" to Burst Pistol
    • Added "Quick to deploy" to Slug Shotgun and High Caliber Rifle
    • Added "Very strong staggering effect" to Railgun
    • Added "Ultra rapid fire" to HEL Auto Sentry
    • Changed Portable Railcannon range to "Exceedingly long range"
    • HEL Auto, Shotgun, and Boltthrower Sentries now mention that they fire at center mass
    • Portable Railcannon now mentions that it fires at center mass
    • Clarify that 4.0.0 updated the Charged Shotgun's audiogroup and the Charged Shotgun, Double-Tap Shotgun, and Chain Boltthrower models

• Other

  • Renamed "Portable Railgun" to "Portable Railcannon" for flavour reasons
  • Moved Shotgun Sentry's firing targeting change to the top of its section on the website
  • Reordered the Special shotgun category based on feeling and to make it more clear that the High Caliber Pistol is actually a slug shotgun
  • Added rationale behind not changing the Bio Tracker and Mine Deployer

v4.0.2

• "Bug fixes":
  • Implements a snap decision to place the Boltthrower Sentry in between the Shotgun and Sniper Sentries in the loadout select menu to better reflect its effective range

v4.0.1

again </3

• Bug fixes:
  • Fixed the Portable Railgun's manufacturer/model name
  • Addressed the Charged Shotgun's manufacturer/model name change in the changelog (it changed in v4.0.0 when the gun stopped being a Doom shoutout)

v4.0.0

New... tools?!

• Boltthrower Sentry
  • Medium-range sentry that is ineffective on bodyshot but can pierce up to two enemies and will instantly kill minis on a headshot; ensure to take advantage of the fact that sentries shoot at upward angles.
• Portable Railgun
  • Disintegrates a line of enemies once per deployment when it sees a marked target, so get ready to be constantly packing it up and make sure you're running with your Bio Tracker buddy. Use it either in reaction to a wave going south or place it as a surprise tool that will help you later then mark an enemy to spring the trap!

Balance changes:

• Charged Shotgun

  • So shortly after releasing this I realised its 3-burst is also basically just the Accelerator Rifle into minis, but on a Primary weapon... and also that it's really, really, really good against Scouts for a Primary weapon. So, this honestly made it way too versatile for what is supposed to be a Primary anti-tank option. It's a single fire monstrosity now; it still removes Scouts and Big Chargers from this plane of existence but this little maneuver will require a lot more risk going forward, both because it lands its pellets a lot less consistently and its damage dropoff is super aggressive now. Its matchup against bosses has been worsened; it can still kill an entire Tank by itself, it just won't overkill an extra tumor's worth of health into boss main healthbars. Incidentally, this is also a way less problematic resurrection of the old Scattergun and I kind of like that.
    • Firemode changed: Burst -> Semi
    • Total damage remains unchanged but is delivered over a single shot rather than three
    • Precision multiplier: 0.9x -> 0.62x
    • Clip size: 6 -> 2
    • Ammo reserves: 36 -> 12
      • Total amount of firing actions should remain unchanged
    • Random spread increased: 1 -> 2
    • Damage dropoff changed: 6 ~ 33 -> 3 ~ 24
    • Pellets damage is delivered over: 10x3 -> 15x1
      • This is to reduce its consistency at any ranges other than point blank
    • Updated audiogroup

• Other:

  • Added ExtraToolCustomization as a dependency
  • Changed the Charged Shotgun's manufacturer and model name to no longer be a Doom reference, since the gun itself isn't anymore
  • Updated visuals for Charged Shotgun, Double-Tap Shotgun, and Chain Boltthrower, mainly the scopes

v3.0.0

New weapons!

• Charged Shotgun
  • New Primary anti-tank option to keep the Slug Shotgun company. Short-range monster with clunky charge-up time, a long reload, and low ammo reserves that absolutely demolishes all manner of large targets.
• Double-Tap Shotgun
  • New Special shotgun that lives sort of halfway in between the regular pump-action and the Combat Shotgun in performance. Takes a bit of getting used to.

Balance changes:

• HEL Auto Sentry

  • I was surprised to learn that this thing is, like, comically powerful now, but apparently it just never ran out of ammo. So, its ammo reserves have been dramatically decreased, its damage output has tanked to account for its stat of Piercing 2 just to make it require that much more commitment to use in the player-facing ammo department, and its rate of fire outside of Symbiosis has been decreased to make it feel just that much more different from its accelerated output in Symbiosis.
    • Shots per second: 10 -> 9
    • Ammo reserves: 1325 -> 920
    • Damage per round: 0.66 -> 0.36
    • Biotracker Symbiosis bullet cost multiplier: 56.9% -> 51.21% of base value
      • Biotracker Symbiosis shots per second is still 15.15
      • Overall rounds fired and expended per second during Symbiosis should stay the same

• Bug fixes:

  • Fixed a bug where the website incorrectly displayed a piercing stat instead of a charge-up time for the Chain Boltthrower

• Other:

  • Updated website to acknowledge inspiration for every weapon in the mod, for people who care about that

v2.0.1

i can never get these right </3

Bug fixes:

• Removed even more unused shotgun stats from the High Caliber Rifle to placate the WeaponStatShower gods
• Made the description for the Chain Boltthrower on the website not suck

v2.0.0

New weapons!

• Boltthrower
  • New Wild West rifle-style Primary weapon that slings armour-piercing stakes, staggering up to two enemies per shot and instantly killing Strikers with a single headshot. Requires careful maintenance, as its reload and rate of fire are slow, and its damage and ammo reserves low.
• Chain Boltthrower
  • Machinegun-type Special weapon with an agonizingly long charge-up. Launches stakes that deal incredibly high damage to one enemy, but can't hold many and takes a while to reload.

Bug fixes:

• Removed space from manufacturer name of High Capacity Pistol
• Correctly beefed up muzzle flash and shell casing of High Caliber Rifle, Autocannon, and HEL Rifle

v1.1.0

Balance changes:

• High Caliber Rifle
  • The High Caliber Rifle's quick draw, single shot, and quick reload cancel encourage firing the weapon the moment the prisoner finishes changing to it, which conflicted with the rather heavy hipfire spread by single-shot-reload standards.
    • Hipfire spread: 1.0 -> 0.5

Bug fixes:

• Correctly applied the following changes:
  • Bat
    • Light attack damage: 3.0 -> 4.0
    • Attack stamina costs all reduced to 0%
  • Sledgehammer
    • Charge time: 1.8 -> 1.75
    • Charged attack stamina cost: 5%/5% -> 2.5%/2.5%
    • Light attack stamina cost: 0%/0% -> 2.5%/1.25%
    • Push attack stamina cost: 5%/5% -> 2.5%/2.5%
  • Spear
    • Light attack damage: 2.0 -> 2.5
    • Charged attack stamina cost: 5%/5% -> 2.5%/2.5%
    • Light attack stamina cost: 0%/0% -> 2.5%/1.25%
    • Push attack stamina cost: 5%/5% -> 2.5%/2.5%
• Fixed a bug where the Shotgun Sentry had 1/12 the intended ammo reserves
• Removed unused shotgun stats (holdover from testing) in the High Caliber Rifle and Autocannon statblocks to prevent WeaponStatShower from having an existential crisis
• Website now displays the correct Precision Rifle firemode change
• Website no longer displays redundant bursts/second information about the HEL Scattergun
• Credit to CatAssTrophy & co. for finding and helping fix these bugs

v1.0.2

Fixes a bug where Thunderstore didn't go to v1.0.1???

v1.0.1

Apparently I'm not immune to the day zero patch curse </3

• Fixes a really cursed looping audio bug with the Autocannon
• Updates the README with audiogroup changes I accidentally forgot

v1.0.0

Release at last :D