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Interception Tweaks

Tweaks the way obstacles intercept shots, while providing options to configure previously un-editable settings.

Requires Harmony.

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This mod exists for two main reasons:

• Providing protection - In base Rimworld, a pawn who gets shot at outside of cover has no protection, regardless of how many obstacles might be in the way. The game already has a system for obstacles intercepting shots when they miss, and this mod simply alters that system to apply even when a shot is on target. No more (or at least, less) colonists getting hit because they happened to be one step away from a giant wall of barricades.
  
• Open up Configuration - A lot of aspects of the game's interception system are hardcoded with no way to easily change them. Since this mod is already in there changing things, it's opened up most of those hidden away options while also adding several of its own for users to play around with. So in addition to being able to change the chances obstacles of different kinds and sizes intercept a shot, you can also configure how early interceptions can happen (separately from how early friendly fire can happen!), as well as make individual weapons handle differently, like making minigun shots pierce through walls for maximum chaos.

There's a lot of possible changes to make with configuration in the mod settings menu, but here's a quick rundown of the changes you'll see from the base game using the mod at its default settings:

• Obstacles can intercept shots even if those shots were on target. This means that targets outside of cover can still benefit from some protection if there's something in the way of the shot.
  
• Interceptions can happen from a shorter distance and ramp up to full effectiveness earlier too. To offset the shorter distance, friendly fire will still only occur after the same distance as the base game (5 spaces), though you can edit that in the mod settings.
  
• Any obstacle no matter the size has a chance of intercepting shots, rather than only ones that fill more than 20% of a space. Small objects will still only have a low chance to intercept due to their size, however.
  
• There's a slightly increased chance that interceptions will occur when the victim is outside of cover, as a sort of mercy rule.
  
• Non-pawn obstacles are slightly more likely to intercept shots. Normally their base block chance is 15% their size (so 15% their cover value*), but the default configuration ups this to 25%

Because it plays with the chances of shots being intercepted, this mod will ultimately lead to shots hitting their targets less often, if only slightly. If you're playing with mods that limit ammo, or just don't like clearing out areas to prevent raiders from having some extra protection, the occasional missed shots due to the changes might be mildly annoying.

A lot of this can be mitigated through configuration, though - for example if you don't like that on target shots still get the full protection of obstacles, you can tone those odds down individually, or if you find that your hunters are struggling with all that nature in the way, there's an option to completely disable shot interceptions when shooting at wild animals.

This mod had always been intended to be an alternative version of my similar mod Passive Cover, though I never got around to finishing it before moving on to other projects.

This implementation has no noticeable effect on performance (especially compared to Passive Cover's chugging), a similar or greater level of configuration options, and roughly the same gameplay impact. One minor thing I'd say Passive Cover has over this is feedback - the effect of passive cover gets displayed in the hit chance readouts, whereas interceptions happen invisibly in the background. To be fair that's more of a problem with the game's interception system in general, rather than this mod exclusively.

If you are choosing between the two, I strongly suggest using this one. In fact, I might unlist Passive Cover... I never realised my janky mod would prove so popular, and knowing so many people are putting up with the performance mess of the original hasn't been good for my anxiety :S.

Full details about everything that can be edited are provided in the Mod Settings menu, but here's a brief rundown:

• Shot Effectiveness - Change the effectiveness of interceptions depending on whether the shot was on target, or missed. Note that certain weapons have forced misses, and so are far likely to count as having missed than being on target.
  
• Obstacle Categories - Make certain common sorts of obstructions more or less likely to intercept shots.
  
• Distance Modifiers - Set how early interceptions can occur, and how far a shot has to travel before interceptions are at their full effectiveness. The default configuration values are somewhat closer than the base game's values.
  
• Size - Set the % chance a non-pawn obstacle intercepts a shot based on its size. The default configuration boosts the chances higher than the base game's.
  
• Pawn Options - Adjust how likely pawns are to get hit, what adjustments are made when they're prone, and whether any special adjustments are made when they're outside cover. The default configuration gives pawns outside of cover a slight adjustment in their favour.
  
• Friendly Fire - Set how far a shot has to travel before friendly fire interceptions can occur, as well as set a modifier to make friendly fire interceptions more/less likely.
  
• Hunting - An option is provided to disable interceptions on successful shots against wild animals. This'll help hunting be unaffected by the changes that allow interceptions to happen even on on target shots, which might be a nuisance given all the nature out there in the wilds to get in the way.

Included as part of the mod is a Mod Extension that can be used to configure how individual weapon's bullets interact with the interception system. See the file "Example Patch.txt" inside the mod's folder for a commented example of what the extension can do and how to make one.

All I know is this mod could be incompatible with anything that touches on the interception system or has sweeping changes to how projectiles should hit - though it's likely that any mod touching those systems are already implementing their own version of this so there's little point in having both installed.

I don't use many other mods, and even if there were incompatibilities I'm not sure I have the experience to fix them. Feel free to post about compatibility problems in the comments to inform other users, but don't expect anything to be done about them.

The second release of this mod now includes a value in the Mod Extension (doNotManage) that allows patches to prevent particular projectiles from being managed by this mod. See 1.4/Patches/LaserEyePatch.xml for an example that's included with the mod. Do note that because of how things are set up, modifications to interception distances will still be applied regardless.

• Sometimes shooters are being struck by their own shots, but this is likely a mod compatibility issue, as it doesn't occur with this mod alone.