Solar Devils (PVE ERT) Changes, Alt IFF Component

[private-tristan]

About the pull request

Solar Devils ERT has gotten a large bunch of changes
from biggest to smallest:

Ports #4723's Alternative IFF component it's a component now and can be added to any gun to prevent it from shooting if there's a target with IFF in it.
Solar Devils SG now uses the alt IFF, and is unable to shoot if there is an IFF target in the way.
Solar devils SG now does 25% more damage. (20 -> 25 on AP | 30 -> 37.5 on regular)
Solar Devils SG gets a machete scabbard
All Solar Devils are now capable of using the smartgun if the smartgunner dies.
Solar Devils Platoon Leader now has enough medical skill to spawn with the three medkits that they're meant to have.
replaced 2 cells in engi kits with breaching charges
Solar Devils are properly outfitted with shielded welders, causing them to not take eye damage when used.
Solar Devils MK1 mags hold 99 bullets instead of 95
Slightly increased the chance of headgear spawning

Huge thanks to cmss13-devs/cmss13-pve#418 from Doubleumc for existing so I could copy code from it.

Explain why it's good for the game

PVE ERT... Must be accurate to PVE.
SG now has PVE IFF
SG now mimics PVE's absurdly damaging SG without actually doing 60~ damage per shot
99 round mag is sovl

Testing Photographs and Procedure

Demonstration

Shielded Welding tools

Solar.Devils.Welding.tools.demonstration.mp4

SG's special IFF component

Solar.Devils.Sg.Demonstration.mp4

Applying Alt IFF component to other guns.

Solar.Devils.IFF.Component.Demonstration.mp4

Changelog

🆑
add: Solar Devils (PVE) ERT SG now has alternative IFF, and is unable to shoot if an allied target is in the way. It also does 25% more damage.
add: Solar Devils come with shielded blowtorches, causing no eye damage when used
add: Solar Devils get 99 round MK1 mags instead of 95.
balance: All Solar Devils know how to use smartguns
balance: Solar Devils SG now gets a machete scabbard
balance: Replaced 2 cells in the Solar Devil engi kit with breaching charges
fix: The Solar Devils Platoon Leader now has the correct medical skill and will spawn with medkits.
code: Alternative IFF component can be added to any gun to prevent it from shooting past allies
/:cl:

[Kaga-404]

The Solar Devils ERT does not have to be accurate to the PVE codebase. It's a port to PVP meant to be an easter egg, that's all atm.

That note aside, I do really like the addition of the no-shooting IFF, and the damage buff is appropriate to compensate for the loss, and that's a new feature that can potentially be used in the future.

99-round mags are eh, seems like just another 2 bloat entries that are a headache to explain, with very little value on an admin-only ERT. Consider trying to get approval for a balance change to make Mk1 mags 99 by default instead.

I still need to figure out why the platoon leader refuses to spawn the medkits in backpack for some ungodly reason.

The answer is just because the SL medical skill is too low. It's set to SKILL_MEDICAL_TRAINED, but it needs to be SKILL_MEDICAL_MEDIC to put spawn the first-aid kits in their backpack correctly. Put the first-aid kits in their hands, or move the kits to the medic's preset instead. You could also try to get approval for giving the SL medic-level skill, but that would also let them do pill bottles and defibs.

[private-tristan]

Consider trying to get approval for a balance change to make Mk1 mags 99 by default instead.

I'd really rather not have adminspawn-only ERTs have balance changes for the rest of the game. Mk1 is already (practically) a direct upgrade to the Mk2, and doesn't need a buff.

Thank you for pointing out the Platoon Leader's med skill, I spent way too long staring at the code wondering why it wouldn't work. In PVE the platoon leader has corpsman level skills to treat IB and use pills/kits.

[Kaga-404]

I'd really rather not have adminspawn-only ERTs have balance changes for the rest of the game. Mk1 is already (practically) a direct upgrade to the Mk2, and doesn't need a buff.

That's understandable. Would recommend just not bothering with the random duplicate mk1 mags then, to reduce extra types and potential confusion from identically-named mags having different amounts of ammo.

Because even if they're admin-only spawns, they're going to be interacting with the PVP codebase still, which means every other mag is going to inconsistently be 95-rounds instead.

[Steelpoint]

Could make the 99-rnd M41A Mk1 mags be something that all M41A Mk1s can have, but you need to use a screwdriver to add the space for the extra 4 rounds. But if you do this there is a small chance of a jam or something when you fire a fresh magazine. Might be a lot of effort for what is basically 4 extra bullets.

Since the Solar Devils are admin only you get a lot more leeway in how you balance them, but if they are too strong, they become rare to see. I'd say on a power ranking the current iteration of Solar Devils are at the same level as a friendly UPP ERT, perhaps a stepping stone beneath the W-Y PMC ERT.

I don't believe this change will drastically change how strong the Solar Devils are.

The IFF change is great, and at the very least it could allow more in-game testing of the two different IFF systems in the future.