Gun balancing questionsLooking at item_weapons_guns.txt, I've noticed that both muskets and pistols are equally effective as projectile weapons; they uniformly have both a SHOOT_FORCE and a SHOOT_MAXVEL of 25k. However
bayonetted flint-lock pistols only have a MAXVEL of 20k. Unless bayonettes are supposed to slow down bullets, this would imply that pistols are supposed to have a lower MAXVEL (making them inferior to muskets), or that this is a typo and bayonetted pistols should have a MAXVEL of 25k.
In item_z_orcfort_weapon.txt:
* The orcish arms kits which include a pistol have a MAXVEL of 20k.
* The orcish arms kits which include a musket have a MAXVEL of 50k(!).
Unless the orcs are souping up the muskets something crazy, that doesn't seem right either. However these lead credence to pistols having an intended MAXVEL of 20k.
I would propose any of the following so that muskets are worth using over pistols:
* Make muskets have a higher MAXVEL than pistols across the board.
* Remove bayonetted pistols entirely. Bayonettes are now only available for muskets, making them better for close-combat.
In any case, I'd recommend bringing the orcish arm-kits to be in-line with existing guns, either by nerfing the lifeguard arms, or boosting musket MAXVEL.
I don't know if Dwarf Fortress has a 'light speed' at which object velocities are capped. It may be that guns are already hitting this, and any changes to MAXVELs above this value will have no effect.
I'm very happy to make all these changes, but I'm not quite sure in which direction things should be changed.
~ T