Dear Phobos:
I have been playing with your mod, and I have to say, it is quite good. The new types of ammo really liven things up, and the new damage formula helps a lot with making AP and JHP ammo useful.
Your changes to the effects of drugs have also been wonderful, and things like Psycho and Mentats are actually useful in battle.
Removal of Bonus Rate of Fire was puzzling at first, but it really prevents the player from becoming OP (Which i liked). I have had to rely on party members more (mind you, I use the setting that allows me to control them).
I made a few changes of my own, as I think there were still some issues with balance. I have done the following:
Burst size of most weapons reduced - Small Guns that used to burst for 10, now only fire 6 bullets per burst. Miniguns fire 20 (because 40 is just silly), while the HP 90k fires 8 (instead of 12). M60 unchanged.
Reason: I think burst is OP in Fallout. Big guns can have large bursts, since that is supposed to be the point. But mid-tier small guns (like Assault Rifle) shouldn't be able to one-shot most enemies in the game just by bursting. With 6 bullets, it is a lot more fair.
Shotgun Slugs damage modifier changed from 4/5 to 1/1 - At 4/5, slugs were totally useless, since Buckshot was +50% extra base damage, with only 4 less ammo penetration. This meant that buckshot was better even against heavier armor, when it is not supposed to be.
Value of most weapons significantly reduced - While I like what you did with barter, purchasing weapons was almost a non-starter, due to their insane price. I would recommend making them all worth less, which means a lot less loot of the player, but also be able to actually buy a new gun without spending 10K+ cash for something like FN FAL, which is absurd. On a side note, the Barter is skewed a little too much, as even with CAssidy at 80 Barter, I was getting gouged like crazy. I think reducing the prices of guns, combined with a slight increase in modifiers of prices (so your stuff isn't as worthless) should keep things balanced.
With this, I would also make weapons never explode, since I don't think this mechanic is necessary when guns are not worth as much.
Otherwise, fantastic work. Really breathed some life into Fallout 2. I hope that any future mods that are made (like the upcoming Sonora) use your sort of reasoning when it comes to balance.
Cheers.
