Hello, I've recently gotten back into this game after waiting for a good version of MDF to come out for the latest version of the base game.
This complaint I have does not relate to any bug or programming defect. It is simply my observation in the game that Javelin Throwers and Javelin based weapons (Atlatl, Amentum) cannot be deployed effectively as a staple military weapon. This is due to the mechanics behind making ammo for them, which is a two-tiered problem that makes them, from a logistics standpoint, a complete liability instead of an asset.
1) Ammo for them can only be made from steel. I (and I assume most other players) make my ammo from 'junk' metal that I don't want to use for anything else, namely weapons & armor and furniture, as those aren't effectively destroyed when used. Things like Cobalt, Bronze, Ebonglass, Ashland Glass, silver, bonemold (ironbone in ye olde MDF), and rose gold and lead in older versions of the mod. Since steel is complex to make and as valuable as gold, I never use it for ammo when the above junk metals (or iron, if the above are scarce) do almost as fine a job. This issue of being restricted to steel ammo only wouldn't be nearly as bad if weren't also for...
2) Not being able to make training ammo. I.e., there is no reaction to make javelins out of ANYTHING BUT steel. Which means no bone/wooden javelins to train with. This not only means I will have to make much steel ammo to train javelin users, I'll also have to carefully monitor them in real time to ensure that they don't use all that steel ammo for training. Otherwise I could just let them train in combat, and maybe that's the idea, but as it stands if I want a BFG-equivalent in MDF 2016 I turn to Stal's Siege Crossbow with its Quarrel ammo.
I remember that Meph has stated that he doesn't play this game extensively, and that his joy is in crafting it (into a Masterwork), so I hope this helps him improve the game for his player base.
Author
Topic: Javelin-Based Weapons Not Usable in Dwarf Mode (Read 1788 times)