[17-9-2017] Equation Box, Router Box, New Console, and more!
From the team
Hello everyone! We've been watching closely as people experiment with lua, and have a couple changes towards the lua API.
Besides that, we also have 2 new parts to introduce, and a ton of fixes.
Lua Changes
In the previous version, creating a gadget wasn't too hard, but you had some restrictions when you were designing your gadget or mod.
Your classname had to match your filename, the line numbers wouldn't match up on errors, and some other issues, which is why we changed the lua behaviour.
What this means for you is, if you have any mods/gadgets, you'll need to add 2 lines.
The definition at the top of your file, and the return of your definition at the bottom.
local GadgetName={} --The defintion of your gadget table
function GadgetName:Awake()
print("GadgetName woke up!")
end
return GadgetName -- The return of your gadget table
This is all you'll need to do to get everything updated.
Remember, if you have any issues updating your lua files, make a thread about it, or let us know on Discord!
Controller Compatibility!
We've also included a rather big update to our input system, we've always had some issues with some controllers (some Steering Wheels, Flightsticks, and programs interfering with the inputs like vJoy/pJoy),
which prompted us to update our entire input library.
So far every controller we've tested works great now!
Binding keys and buttons in general is also more consistent, and faster, since inputs that aren't centered will no longer take priority like the previous versions did.
Equation Box
The new magic box that can solve almost any logical issue!
You simply input an equation, and it gives you the wanted inputs and outputs.
You can use it for something as simple as C = A + B, or as complex as combining all the logic of your vehicle into a single block.
There are a ton of built-in functions and variables like pi, deg2rad, sin, cos, tan, asin, acos, lerp, clamp,...
We will have more info about everything included in the Equation Box on our WIKI, including examples on how to recreate already existing logic boxes like a Memory box, shift box, etc.
Router Box
This is a very situational part, you can think of it as a reverse Selector box.
You can insert multiple values in it, and output the one you want, or sort it based on your mode.
A common use-case for this box would be having a collection of distance sensors, and finding which one is closest to a certain value, or return the lowest or highest one of the bunch.
The old way of doing this would be using a ton of Math boxes set to min/max, along with one Combine box.
Or sending large streams of data over a single wire, by using a timer and a Selector box, which wasn't possible in Homebrew previously.
These are the modes you can choose from.
Select select the input at the index of value. (Like a selector!)
Least output the lowest value in your stack, along with the index.
Greatest output the highest value in your stack, along with the index.
Closest return the value that's closest to the value you're inputting, along with the index.
Furthest return the value that's furthest from the value you're inputting, along with the index.
Here's a mux/demux example, with the new router on the left, sending data over some Radios to the selector on the right.
Courtesy of Natafish.
Console
We decided to rebuild the in-game console into one that opens as a completely seperate window.
As you can imagine, this is a super handy addition to Homebrew, especially when playing around with lua files, as you'll be able to view any error, warning, or log in real-time.
You can also start a Lua shell to test out lua code right in the console by using the "lua" command!
To exit back out of this shell, you'll need to type "exit()".
This console is entirely separate and you can start a new one from Lua if you want.
Gadget Changes
Some of the gadgets also got some updates with the help of our community!
Changes and Bug-Fixes
Fixes
Lua Garbage Collection sometimes not triggering
Lua Garbage tables sometimes not getting de-activated
Gyrometre compass fixed
Scrolling to switch gadgets sometimes not working
Quantum Cube sometimes not spawning, sometimes crashing, etc
Teleporter making you fall through the floor
Camera Gadget not taking screenshots properly
Engines not giving power sometimes
Scroll speed in video settings UI
Bullets only being visible when ocean is set to realistic
HBWheel sometimes giving giant amount of errors on old vehicles
Mortar not going back to 6 charges
HBU.Save / Load issues when value couldn't be found or file was corrupted
Builder input not working when too close to the thing you're trying to select
Lua sometimes being Garbage Collected when it's not supposed to
Not being able to enter world vehicles
Tons of "component is missing script" warnings
Detachers not detaching when killed
Memory Box RequireSetValue being ignored in AddValue behaviour
CoG Issues with Ballast
Typo fix (Custum to Custom)
Issue with tutorial Kiosk allocating a lot of memory.
Some materials that didn't have instancing enabled will instance now
Guns being able to fire without being 'dropped'
Changes
Updated QuantumCube Gadget with some new behaviour
Updated Teleporter Gadget with tons of fixes
Updated Teleporter Gadget Icon
Updated Pontoon behaviour to be more realistic
Updated Empty Enviornment vehicles
Updated Post Processing Stack with a newer version
Updated Mortar weight to 19KG from 52KG
Updated Waves intensity
Updated Bloom Intensity
Updated Vignette intensity
Updated default health to be higher
Updated Max Bullets calculated for performance reasons
Added Remainder to Math Box
Added Version number which auto updates on upload
Added chat shortcuts for clearvehicles and spawn (/cv & /tp respectfully)
Added Min/Max on Memory Boxes
Added Round Type to 50-cal (AP and Sabot)
Added RGB inputs to Strobe Light
Added cooldown on Gun behaviour
Added "HealthMultiplier" server setting
Added "ArmorMultiplier" server setting
Disabled lua automatically reloading, you can now trigger a reload by typing "reloadlua" in console
Disabled Countdown command in General Chat
API-Changes
OnDamageSent callback added, return values are damage (float) and point (vector3)
You can start by reading up on our Tutorial and API pages. These will be updated when-ever there's a change, as well as a beta-specific branch.
We would also suggest joining our Discord, as we have a channel specifically for Lua, and API help.
What if I have a problem?
To ensure that no issue is overseen we'll be monitoring steam, Discord and our other channels even more over the course of the following days.
In the unfortunate event that you encounter a bug please follow these steps so that we can release a patch asap:
See if you can replicate the bug
Be as specific as possible about the issue, the more information the better. Preferably attach your output_log.txt file which can be located in the HB146_Data folder (right click on Homebrew in your game library, select properties and then browse local files)
Notify us on Steam or Discord (faster response time)
DREAM - BUILD - ENJOY Copybugpaste Team
[2-8-2017] Hotfix!
From the team With the release of the Lua patch, we've been keeping a keen eye on discord and steam, to make sure the update gets received smoothly.
So far there hasn't been too many issues, apart from some surprise crashes, and some request.
So we've issued a hotfix to adress these
Crash after using Camera gadget on some rare occasions
Because of these changes, we've also modified the in-game gadgets to use these functions accordingly.
You can now use your scrollwheel to switch gadgets again!
We'll continue monitoring Steam, DISCORD and our other channels as usual!
EDIT We've found some small bugs with the quantum cube, those should now be fixed.
Edit 2!: We've done some more fixes with the quantum gadget, and an issue where you couldn't enter world vehicles anymore!
If you encounter a bug please follow these steps so that we can solve it even faster:
See if you can replicate the bug
Be as specific as possible about the issue, the more information the better. Preferably attach your output_log.txt file which can be located in: installed directory / HB146_Data folder (right click on Homebrew in your game library, select properties and then browse local files)
A lot of progress has been made over the last couple of weeks and we're extremely happy to announce that we've got a new update ready. In this update we'll introduce some changes that will open up even more possibilities in Homebrew and improve the overall experience.
So let's get right to it and look at what we're talking about!
Lua implementation & gadget rework
Undoubtedly the biggest change that this update brings along is the implementation of Lua.
This is something that we've been working on for quite a long time.
Although there are still a lot of improvements to be made, it's pretty stable and we don't want to keep it for ourselves any longer.
Right now the Lua is mostly focused around the gadgets and therefore the entire gadgets system has been overhauled, as you can see below
Teleporter Gadget Quantum Cube
If you're interested in the code for these gadgets, you can find them in "hb146_data/SteamingAssets/Lua/GadgetLua".
This also means you can copy, edit, and use them in-game when-ever you feel like it.
We've also added the ability to load lua files from userData/Homebrew14/Lua folder, so your code doesn't get lost or overwritten on updates, and integrated hot-reload so that you are able to edit your lua files, without the need to reboot Homebrew.
This means that you can run lua code for non-gadgets as well, but keep in mind that we still have to release detailed documentation and expose more functions/features.
In the meantime you're more than welcome to join us on our DISCORD for information on how to do certain things.
Part changes
In addition to lua implementation and reworking the gadgets we've also made further improvements to the parts by tweaking some of their values. Here's a short summary of what's been altered.
M14P Radial engine
Heap end @ peak has been changed from 2700 to 2340
Max torque @ peak has been changed from 732 to 1734
RPM @ redline has been changed from 3000 to 2700
Torque @ redline has been changed from 651 to 1640
Ramjet
maxForce property has been decreased from 200000 to 92000
consumerRate property has been increased from 1 to 14.76
Lorin ramjet
maxForce property has been decreased from 150000 to 110000
consumerRate property has been increased from 1 to 14.76
Other changes
HBchat now stops connection attempt after three times
Jet engines now turn on above 0.05 instead of 0.1
Lowered default video settings (most on Medium/High instead of ultra/max)
Note Block doesn't cause errors on spawn any longer (bug occurred after weapons update)
Ammo Box doesn't cause errors on spawn any longer
Default FoV gets properly applied on initial bootup
Removed the ability to get in a vehicle before it's dropped (along with a new Quantum Cube Gadget)
Tutorial images have been updated
Fixed a bug where you couldn't see browser-actions (delete, upload to workshop, ...) in the inventory
Fixed hidden image bug that was blocking user input while in builder
Disabled rename function in the builder inventory due to a bug, you can still rename the assemblies by using the save-as function
The angle multiplier property on the 360° rotator & hinge has been renamed to max angle
Fixed floating roads on hero mountain
Max blade and nozzle scale on the propeller has been upped from 10 to 30
Fixed issue where tutorial screen didn't pause/play upon clicking the screen
Multiplayer & LAN changes
Prior to this update bullets depended on the player's team which meant that a player could spawn a vehicle while being a spectator and kill everyone in the server without being able to take any damage. We're glad to announce that this has been resolved.
At the same time we've also added UnlimitedFuel and UnlimitedElec to the server settings.
When it comes to LAN there was an issue with vehicle transfer; if a player hosted a local server and connected to it, its IP was 'localhost'. When this player spawned a vehicle it got uploaded to the webserver (locally) and an url got passed to the other players. The URL here would be like this: localhost:port+1/data/vehicles/vehicle_md5.hbv. This was obviously an issue, as the IP should be the IP that the other player connects from rather than the IP of the client that is sending this.
With this update we've made sure that this gets sent over the local data folder, a.k.a. "data/vehicles/vehicle_md5.hbv" and resolves the IP & Port on the client receiving end.
What if I have a problem?
To ensure that no issue is overseen we'll be monitoring steam, DISCORD and our other channels even more over the course of the following days. In the unfortunate event that you encounter a bug please follow these steps so that we can release a patch asap:
See if you can replicate the bug
Be as specific as possible about the issue, the more information the better. Preferably attach your output_log.txt file which can be located in: installed directory / HB146_Data folder (right click on Homebrew in your game library, select properties and then browse local files)
Notify us on Steam or DISCORD (faster response time)
DREAM - BUILD - ENJOY
Copybugpaste Team
PSA - Rename bug
Hey guys, just a friendly public service announcement. As some people may already know, the Rename feature has been bugged for quite some time, and is still very badly bugged.
If you've run into this bug, where renaming a vehicle project causes it to open up a blank project, don't panic! Try to get in touch with one of the moderators and we'll get it fixed up. It's a very quick and easy fix.
For those that haven't had this issue, just continue not using the Rename feature. If you need to rename something, use the Save As button and save under a different name. This will make a copy with the name you want. Though it is highly recommended that you save the vehicle before using Save As as well.
I hope this issue isn't a major inconvenience to anyone.
As always: Dream - Build - Enjoy
[28-6-2017] Hotifxes
From the team
With the release of the weapons patch, we've been keeping a keen eye on discord and steam, to make sure everyone is receiving the update smoothly, so far there hasn't been too many issues it seems, apart from a couple of bugs brought up by a couple of community members.
So we've issued a hotfix to address some of these issues
Crashes on machines running non-DX11 hardware right after loading screen
Not seeing bullets unless Ocean was set to "realistic"
Binoculars/Camera tool not taking pictures
Physics acting weird on wings for some vehicles, specifically ones with a lot of rotators / joints
Global chat not registering connections
We'll continue monitoring Steam, DISCORD and our other channels as usual!
If you encounter a bug please follow these steps so that we can solve it even faster:
See if you can replicate the bug
Be as specific as possible about the issue, the more information the better. Preferably attach your output_log.txt file which can be located in: installed directory / HB146_Data folder (right click on Homebrew in your game library, select properties and then browse local files)
Hello fellow Homebrewers, clear your schedule for the coming days, put your phone on silent, call in sick, ... because today is the day! All of us have been looking forward to this moment for a long time and we're extremely excited that the initial weapons update has been set public. Prepare your cars, boats, planes, ... because it's time for action!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGUJxfimwCU&feature=youtu.be
Now that you've seen some of the possibilities, let's have a quick recap at what we've discussed in our previous posts:
So that's a whole lot of information that has been provided in our previous posts. Now let's have a look at some additional things that we'd like to mention:
Teams
When you play in multiplayer, we have the following options for you:
Free for all: basically the standard deathmatch; every man for himself
Teams: you can switch teams in the server menu
Spectator: if you prefer to be peaceful and stay out of the fight you should chose this option
Although weapons are already extremely fun and quite stable, there's a chance that you"ll run into a bug. If your vehicle behaves weird, don't panic, we are constantly fixing bugs and will be releasing patches as fast as possibly.
At the same time we are monitoring steam, DISCORD and our other channels even more over the course of the following days. In the unfortunate event that you encounter a bug please follow these steps so that we can solve it even faster:
See if you can replicate the bug
Be as specific as possible about the issue, the more information the better. Preferably attach your output_log.txt file which can be located in: installed directory / HB146_Data folder (right click on Homebrew in your game library, select properties and then browse local files)
We’d like to thank Mr. Medic for helping us with the math and the systems behind the physics and improved weapon behaviour. His feedback and insight has helped us to change things for the better and this update wouldn’t be possible without his contributions!
In addition we want to thank our awesome moderators, wiki contributors, the beta testers and the entire community in general. Without you Homebrew as we know it wouldn't exist, so thanks a ton for being part of our adventure.
DREAM - BUILD - ENJOY
Copybugpaste Team
Upcoming Homebrew Features: Weapons Part 3
From the team
Hello everyone! This will be our last post before the much anticipated weapons update for Homebrew. This initial weapons update is set to be released TOMORROW and since we've already showed you the guns let's look at how we model the weapons, calculate a vehicle’s hitpoints and how to figure how much armor you vehicle has.
How we model weapons
We started by coming up with a list of weapons that we felt represented the most common types of weapons that are mounted on vehicles. After narrowing that list down we started looking up as much information about the penetration, muzzle velocity, drag characteristics and mass of the individual shells. We took that information and built a “bullet maker” that allowed us to model weapons quickly, easily, and realistically with just a handful of variables.
At some point we might release this as a built in tool in the game to let players design their own ammunition and weapons. We took the bullet data, calculated the accuracy of the weapon based on the effective range of the weapon and then built a ballistic model with drag for each weapon. Below you can see all the guns that this update brings lined up:
How we calculate vehicle health
After we worked out the particulars of the individual weapon, we developed a relative damage system that we could use that would give us some level of realism without requiring an excessive development time. Keep in mind that this system will be modified in the future to be more robust and allow far more player customization, especially when it comes to the placement of armor.
The way we decided to handle vehicle health is by taking the total mass of a vehicle and then multiplying it by a simple constant. This way vehicles that are naturally larger and heavier will have more health. A 747 model weighing the same as a real 747 will have dramatically more HP than a family sedan as would be expected.
How we calculate armor
Armor is calculated a little differently and this was a result of a lot of compromise to keep the system simple and easy to develop. Currently we take the total mass of the vehicle, divide it by the volume and then multiply the resulting density by a constant.
This means that small and heavy vehicles will naturally be more armored than light and distributed model. This also means that 60 T tanks having considerably more protection than a small airplane of the same size. After calculating the density and multiplying by the constant, we get a value in mm of rolled homogeneous armor. We balanced this against our weapons so that the weapon would penetrate the expected amount of armor in a real world scenario.
How damage works
So now that you have your armor and health value, we can do some damage. When a bullet strikes your vehicle we calculate the kinetic energy of the collision as well as the expected penetration based on a number of projectile properties.
If the penetration of the armor exceeds the armor value, the bullet penetrates and does damage. Damage is calculated by determining how much energy was lost in penetrating the armor and subtracting that from the energy of the projectile.
If the damage exceeds the health of the vehicle, the vehicle is destroyed and the bullet could potentially pass through the remainder of the broken vehicle and out the other side albeit with reduced speed.
If the penetration of the bullet does not exceed the armor value, no damage is done. Regardless of penetration or not, the vehicle struck by a projectile will still be affected by the force on the shot hitting it.
Ammunition types
Each weapon has different ammunition types based on its real world equivalent. Although there are a wide variety of possible ammunition types, we narrowed it down based on the balance we needed as well as providing players with an interesting set to play with.
The first ammo type is the standard/ball/armor piercing round. This round is just a slug of metal that does damage to a target it collides with. It is available to most of the weapons and is a good balanced choice for doing direct damage.
Next is the SABOT (say-bow) round. This round is a super narrow round that travels at tremendous speeds to penetrate armor. It has incredible ballistic performance and can penetrate virtually anything. Since it is a lighter round however, it does considerably less damage to the target it penetrates.
Another one is the HEAT round. This round uses a shaped charge to blast a jet of molten steel into the target it strikes rather than using kinetic energy like the AP or SABOT round does. It tends to be a slower and less accurate round than some of the other options, but it penetrates very well and causes serious damage.
And finally we have the high explosive/fragmentation round. This round explodes on contact and spawns smaller pieces of shrapnel that spread in every direction capable of doing some serious damage. As in the real world, a HE round explodes in a sphere causing the energy of the round to drop off very rapidly making direct hits a must to do real damage to an armored target.
Selection of the ammo type is as simple as sending a number into the weapon in question. 0 or blank = AP/Standard/Default. 1 = HIGH EXPLOSIVE, 2 = HEAT, 3 = SABOT. The table below shows what weapon has what type of shot:
Ammo logistics
Now some of you may be wondering about logistics and ammunition. Modeling ammunition was easy since we know how much space each round takes up because of how we modeled the bullets and therefore we knew how many rounds could theoretically fit in a given volume of box.
Originally each weapon and type of ammo had its own box. That was realistic but it led to major part creep so we decided to go a bit gamey and make it so any weapon can be fed from a single ammo box.
When a weapon is fired, it subtracts the volume of the round from the volume of ‘ammo’ left in the box. If there isn't enough ammo the weapon doesn't fire, but it is possible to fire a weapon that shoots a smaller round assuming there is ammo available for it as well. For example if I fire 10 125mm rounds I could still fire a couple 20mm rounds before emptying the box totally. As the ammo box gets emptied, it also starts to weigh less.
Ammunition by its very nature is very heavy and you will have to take this into account in your designs. Here is a handy chart for an idea how much ammo you can hold in the default sized ammo box by weapon:
What does this mean for design?
So what does this mean for designs? Depends on what you are designing. If you want to make a tank, expect it to have the weight of a real one along with all the consequences that brings in design. If you are designing a combat plane you will have to make some serious armor sacrifices to keep weight down. Generally if you design something the size and weight of the real world version you will get the performance you would expect.
To close this post we'd like to show you one of the crazy creations that have been made in the weapons build.
Upcoming Homebrew Features: Home sweet home part 1
From the team
With the transition from v13 to v14 we wanted to make Homebrew’s core more solid and open up new possibilities. This meant that we had to rework almost every aspect of the game including the world and that our beloved valley had to make place for a new one. But ... this was just a temporary thing and we’ve got some exciting news that you can read below.
Coming home
Some of you haven’t played v13, but everyone who has will remember the valley as a place of joy. Sure it wasn't perfect, but for most of us it was our home and we loved it. Therefore we’re extremely excited to announce that we’re currently restoring the valley to its full glory while preserving its original design. So prepare, because soon you'll be able to roam these lands once again!
That’s right! In addition to the weapons update we've been working on the valley for a couple weeks now. This is an important part of Homebrew’s past and future and before showing it to you we wanted to take the time to combine our new systems, level solutions with the possibilities that Unity has to offer to ensure that it’ll be both better looking and more optimized. We can't keep it to ourselves any longer however and therefore we'd like to give you a preview of what to expect, keep in mind though that this is a work in progress.
Changes to the environment
One of the things that you’ll notice right away is a huge improvement when it comes to vegetation and terrain textures. In addition all old trees have been replaced by new ones, the terrain has been slightly improved and we’ve added grass for a more natural look.
We’ve taken images in both versions for a comparison between v13 and v14. In case of doubt: the second image always represents the reworked version ;).
As you've probably noticed above we've also reworked the outer valley wall. Below you can see what we mean by this:
Central dome
Whether you used it for racing in its tunnels, testing fast cars or as a gathering point, the central dome was the place to be in v13. In the reworked version this area has received a major overhaul and therefore it deserves a separate post where we'll go into detail and shed light on what you can expect.
What's next?
Although a lot of work has been done we still need more time before we can re-add the valley. In the meantime there's a lot of awesome content coming up like the weapons update, the audio rework and quick updates that we want to release. To stay informed make sure to keep an eye out on Steam and join us on our DISCORD.
As always we'd like to thank you guys for supporting our team, we've come a long way since the game was launched into Early Access and this wouldn't be possible without you. Last but not least, welcome home:
Upcoming Homebrew Features: Audio rework part 1
From the team
Hey guys, our team is working around the clock to make Homebrew as polished as possible and during our quest we're revisiting all the aspects of the game. While we've already made a lot of improvements so far there's still one area that hasn't been touched for a long time...
Audio rework
This aspect of the game didn't receive an update for a while, but that doesn't mean that we forgot about it. During the last couple of months we've been researching a lot and while looking for a solution to optimize our audio workflow and make the overall experience better we fell in love with Wwise!
Wwise?
That's right, in essence this is a high-quality sound engine that's been used by some of the biggest names in the industry and thanks to everyone who has supported us so far we've been able to sort out the licensing a couple weeks ago.
Why it's great and what to expect
Not only does Wwise allow us to clean up a lot of code while maintaining complex audio behavior. It also reduces the time that is required to achieve better results by giving us the necessary tools for rapid prototyping before any audio is integrated into the game. Below you can see a small example to get an idea of what we're talking about:
The first part audio that will be handled entirely by Wwise are the weapons. Once this is out there, we'll keep pushing updates until all audio is replaced. Since audio isn't the only thing that we're be working on you can expect this content to roll out in steps and most of the time it'll be included in our quick updates.
In addition to Wwise your support also means that we've been able to acquire proper licensing for the REV plugin which is specialized in making engines sound greater than ever. Therefore we're excited to announce that we'll be implementing it asap!
Another thing that will help us a lot is the fact that we can connect remotely to another pc and tweak the sounds while someone's playing in real-time. In general this means more balanced sounds, less audio glitches and faster results. When combined with the profiler tool we can improve our workflow even more and do real-time performance debugging in order to optimize the game even more. Below you can get a better idea of what we're talking about:
What's next?
There's still a lot of stuff that we'd like to show you and now that we've announced the audio rework keep an eye out for the upcoming weapons update where you'll be able to see some of the first results. More information on this update will be posted in the following days.
In the mean-time thanks again for helping us out and we're looking forward to hearing from you on Steam or on our DISCORD CHANNEL.
Upcoming Homebrew Features: Weapons Part 2
From the team
Hey guys, in this news post we thought we’d show you the rest of the weapons that will be in the initial weapons update. Though these weapons may seem a bit overspecialized, we’re confident they will all find a place in your future creations.
First up is the lovely 9mm pistol:
Safety, reliability and ergonomics is the first thing that comes to mind when handling this weapon. This weapon was first introduced in the 1980s as a high reliability firearm with good accuracy and easy handling. It features the use of composite materials throughout and has a moderate sized magazine and easy trigger pull. In Homebrew it represents the smallest firearm available both in terms of scale, but also in terms of weight and recoil. Players will find this weapon right at home mounted on small remote control vehicles or even mounted in an array on a kart.
For those of us who want a little more power without delving into autocannons, consider the 50 Caliber Machinegun:
With the memories of World War I still in the minds of many weapon designers, the need to develop the next generation of weapons took high priority. The appearance of lightly armored tanks, the adoption of airplanes, and the increase in ranges required to engage infantry formations required a new generation of machine guns. One solution to this was using a 50 caliber cartridge coupled with a water cooled barrel. While the round was effective (and with a high muzzle velocity for the day), the weapon system proved very heavy and awkward. It was realized that by attaching a heavy barrel to the weapon instead of the water jacket it would be possible to have good heat mitigation without a compromise in performance or durability. In Homebrew this weapon is meant to provide a little bit firepower without the bulk and recoil of some of the heavier weapons. It can also utilize a special high-velocity sabot ammunition for defeating light armor.
Speaking of versatile weapons, the 30mm Autocannon definitely fits the bill:
This weapon was developed in the late 1970s and was put into use in personnel carriers in the early 1980s. It fires a good sized cartridge with a wide variety of different payloads from high explosive to sabot and conventional armor piercing through a relatively short barrel. It is designed to engage all manners of infantry, aircraft and light armored vehicles at moderate ranges. Unlike the twin version of this weapon, the rate of fire is much more subdued and thanks to a longer and heavier barrel, it is able to more easily engage distant targets without chewing through ammunition. In Homebrew this represents a solid mix between the heavier anti-vehicle weapons and the high rate of fire needed in close range engagements. It is easier to use than the twin version of it although it still lacks the punch to successfully engage medium and heavy armored vehicles.
All of our weapons featured so far have been typically vehicle mounted direct fire weapons, that’s why we also included an 82mm mortar for all your indirect fire needs:
This mortar was patterned off a French design and features a simple tube that would normally be mounted on a simple base plate with a bipod for aiming. Operation of the mortar is quite simple, after setting the desired elevation (mortars are designed to fire at angles greater than 45 degrees) for a given range, the mortar shell is armed and a set number of charges is attached to it. The shell is then dropped down the tube where a firing pin hits it and sends it back out the top. Mortars have limited range and muzzle velocity compared to other indirect fire weapons but they do carry a significant payload. In homebrew we modeled the tube section of the mortar as well as giving users the ability to choose how many (1-6) charges to fire the shell with. The greater the number of charges, the longer the shot will travel. When testing this weapon we dug up an actual manual (dated in 1937!) for the operation of the mortar and were able to get the real world ranges to match up with our model.
What's next?
This concludes the weapons that are going to be featured in our first weapons update. We will have some more weapons to show you including a howitzer and a cannon from the age of sail in future updates along with some really special weapons that may or may not begin with rail and end with gun or an energy weapon that rhymes with maser. In our next post we’ll go over how we calculate gun performance as well as how we model armor penetration and damage. Stay tuned!
