Black powder usefulness & other misc things for consideration

[clementine]

Black powder ammo/weapons are super cool. Chances are that the antique flintlock pistol will be the 1st firearm that you get and that when you get to tier 2 research, the percussion pistol, black powder ammo, (and maybe the triple-barreled pistol) will be the 1st things you research. What I'm saying is that black powder will be the 1st thing you get, and unfortunately, those weapons suck. They have good damage, but low range. They have abundant ammo, but are practically useless. You don't want to shoot an enemy in the chest with a pistol, you want to hit him from some ways away. They are only good for close-range engagements atm, so chances are you will be relying on the crossbow/bow and arrows for long-range fights. So...here is what I am proposing for consideration.

Black powder weapons - increased range efficiency and decreased bullet drop (The weapon damage is good, so no changes need to be made there)

Add a black powder rifle, like a musket - Long range weapon with good damage, but a slow reload (Should realistically be found in tier 2 research like the percussion pistol)

Add a black powder shotgun stand-in, like a blunderbuss, or a duck foot 6 barrel pistol - a short-range weapon with high damage, but a slow reload (Should realistically be found in tier 2 research like the percussion pistol or even bought from the trader or scavenged from loot underwater)

Make the Marauders have black powder weapons - They are the game equivalents of pirates in the Sunkenland and they only have crossbows?? They are armored enemies that consist in larger numbers than the Mutants yet they carry similar weapons. That isn't right...They should have crossbows, sure, but also primitive firearms or even cobbled-together scrap black powder weapons to arm the player with ammo for their black powder weapons. They are an organized group and should be armed as such.

Scrap scope - A craftable scope for rifles that takes the same place as the Red-dot scope. Gives the player more zoom while aiming down sights to engage enemies effectively at long distances. Could even have a unique crafting recipe in Tier 2 research, taking a water bottle to craft, along with rope and scrap metal.

Advanced scope - A craftable scope for rifles that takes the same place as the Red-dot scope. Gives the player more zoom while aiming down sights to engage enemies effectively at long distances. Could even have a unique crafting recipe in Tier 3 or 4 research, taking a binocular to craft, along with rope and Iron.

Enemy boats - It just doesn't feel right to have enemies invade your island by swimming onto it. They should arrive in boats that they beach onto your island. When you kill all the invaders, some boats are destroyed, but any that are left behind can be salvaged for parts, giving the player cloth, wood, scrap metal, and small iron ingot drops. The boats would also be good for base invasions that happen on the water, allowing enemies to invade your base anywhere. (This topic may have been already discussed here, so if so please disregard it)

Pirate-themed clothing - Peg leg boots, eye patch goggles, Pirate hat helmet

Pirate flag wall decoration

Stuffed parrot decoration

ETC - more pirate stuff :p

And those are my ideas @Devteam @Sunkenlands and the general audience. If black powder pistols are just for close-range engagements, then that will be okay in my book. I just want more usage out of them for my early games. Thanks for reading my Ted Talk