Hey Marines!
Time to do some math! We’re going to break down the weapon prototype system. You can improve your gear with prototypes. When you successfully complete a Single Mission within the given bonus deadline, you receive 1 or 2 randomized Prototype Weapons. These are enhanced versions of a weapon already available to you in Squad Assembly, with some additional and/or modified properties.
The number of Prototypes you get depends on the mission Difficulty AND your Performance Score. To know your exact chance of getting a second Prototype (one is guaranteed under the conditions stated above), multiply the Difficulty level (0–6; 0 for Beginner, 6 for Ultimate) with your Performance Score (0–100). If this value is less than 250, you will only get 1 Prototype. If the value is between 250 and 449, you have a chance for a second one, proportional to how close you are to 449. If the value is 450 or above, you are guaranteed to get 2 Prototypes.
Each Prototype you get is first assigned a Mark (I–IX) and an overall Quality Level (1–100). The Mark of a Prototype determines what kind of properties it can potentially have. The Quality Level determines the quality range of each of its properties and also factors into how many properties the weapon will ultimately have.
Mark is a random value between Difficulty + 1 and Difficulty + 3. On Beginner, you can only get a Prototype up to Mark III. On Ultimate, you will get a Mark VI in the worst case.
Quality (Q) is calculated by the following formula:
- Q = 15 + Difficulty × (Performance Score / 10) + [a random integer between -25 and (Performance Score / 2)], clamped between 1 and 100
The number of enhancements (properties) is a random value between (Mark / 3) × (Q / 100f) and (Mark / 2) × (Q / 100f), plus 1. The maximum number of properties is 5. (The “f” after 100 here denotes that we’re keeping the fragments in the result for that operation; otherwise, we’re always flooring the results.)
Then, for each enhancement the weapon will have, its exact type and individual quality are determined. This individual quality (q) is a random value between Q / 2 and Q (the weapon’s Quality Level).
Below you find a table of all the possible enhancements (properties). In this table, Mark refers to the minimum Mark a weapon must have for the chance to get the corresponding enhancement. Min. and Max. show the minimum and maximum values between which the enhancement’s effect will get its actual strength, based on its quality (q = 1: minimum; q = 100: maximum; 1 < q < 100: linearly proportional value). Values are generally added to the weapon’s respective property value.
The crafting cost of a Prototype depends both on its Mark and its overall Quality Level. The common four materials are always required, but Portable batteries are only needed for Mark IV and above, Electrical components for Mark V and above, Asura-49 for Mark VI and above, and Deothonit for Mark VII and above only.
Note: Don't worry! The game will handle the math behind the prototype system. Your task is to acquire these prototype weapons and eliminate the enemy.
Example:
You complete a mission on Intense difficulty (3) and gets a Performance Score of 80. 3 × 80 = 240, which is less than 250, so they will only get a single Prototype. They have the chance for a Prototype between Mark IV and Mark VI – let’s say they get a Mark V. The Quality Level (Q) is 15 + 3 × (80 / 10) + [a random integer between -25 and (80 / 2)]. Let’s say this random roll is 11; so, Q is 15 + 24 + 11 = 50. Oh, and they get an Assault rifle—this was also determined randomly.
The next part, to get the number of enhancements is a bit trickier. We’re going to floor the results of the Mark divisions, but use fragments for the Quality divisions (that’s what the “f” after 100 denotes): random between (5 / 3) × (50 / 100f) and (5 / 2) × (50 / 100f), plus 1 thus becomes random between 1 × 0.5 and 2 × 0.5, plus 1. So, the random part is between (we’re flooring again for the final result) 0 and 1 – and we’re then also adding 1. Thus, if we’re lucky (50% chance in this instance), this Prototype can have 2 properties. Let’s say we are!
It’s a Mark V, so we can get any of the properties up to Impact force. Let’s say we get that, and Ammo capacity for the second one. For each property we get a random quality (q) between 25 and 50: say we got 33 and 40. The range for Impact force is between 10 and 20; q = 33 means it will have a final value of 13. Ammo capacity is between 1.1 and 2.0; with q = 40, it will be ((2.0 – 1.1) / 100f) × 40 + 1.1 = 0.009 × 40 + 1.1 = 0.36 + 1.1 = 1.46. (We calculated the value that is 40% “halfway” between 1.1 and 2.) The default ammo capacity of the Assault rifle is 40, so this will have a capacity of 40 * 1.46 = 58.4, floored to 58. And each attack with it will have +13 Armor Penetration compared to whatever it would otherwise be.
Summary: The higher the completed mission's difficulty results in a higher Mark rank Prototype blueprint that can be crafted of the looted materials. Using these weapons means extra abilities are applied during combat! So, you can assemble a more effective Squad, and thus, you can complete higher difficulty levels.
Now you're all set! Stay tuned for more updates on the game development. We're not done sharing sneak peeks at what we're working on and what's waiting for you!
We read all your comments and feedback, so feel free to share your thoughts and help us in making USC: Counterforce the best game possible!
There's no more time to waste, Commander! A lot of bugs are waiting for you. Dismissed.
The USC: Counterforce team
