Taurean

Lol wtf why? xD It's just a fun thing

Yes, well that is quite interesting .. One can actually learn a lot about details, but real life experience, sure not many has that. So this is just a fun thing, but if someone has real life experience, it's just cool if people want to add that to it as well. Just being as realistic about it as one wants to be. But try to remember what real life is really like and what real experts in each field, warranting 90-100 on the scale, actually do every day.

I appreciate this feedback. And maybe you're right, you know ^^ I would say, in my defense, that Raven and others that has lots of life experience, and police/SWAT experience, should have higher experience levels. And i will also say, i have a personality type that when i am in a civilian situation, i behave normally. If i was to be in a sitution of war, i would behave completely differently. I think most people would .. if they had any common sense. You don't expect to be the same person in "normal life" as you do in a situation where life and death is everyday happenings and attacks on your life can happen anytime, or at least there are degrees of danger at all times. Most people have that "switch" - where you realize that if you don't do things the way you should, your and your team members' life is on the line. Not everyone may have this ability, but i believe most people do - i know i have that conscience. You get orders and you carry them out to the best of your baility. But you are correct, i have not been in a combat situation. Maybe i am overrating myself.

Very cool! ^^ Dang i forgot about equipment .. that's good that you added that! Not sure if you're serious about your pricing though ;D That's pretty steep ^^ But for a good mechanic and nobody else available, who knows! I can see this adding up to a very diverse display of mercs in a year or two ^^

Not reading all that, but i do agree with you that it was a game for it's time. Today, JA2 surpasses it by a lot, and even JA2 is ready for a big suprasser. JA1 was fun when it came out... and it's still a good retro grame experience.. but i don't think i could play it through either. I'd have to stick with JA2, too many upgrades that makes the game flow much better.

Come on guys i want to see the mercs of the world here ^^

Yes that was a very nice added detail. I hope they bring back that element. And i also agree, not making it too big of a side deal. It makes it more intense when there is fewer. You have to search harder. The guy in the wheelchair too, giving you an option to hire him for a week instead of the more unsavory route, giving them a personality and challenging you on the ethical side. That is really where i think JA2 stands out relative to other games. It makes you challenge your own ethics. Same as with the hicks. Is it right to take them all out even if they do steal and make Keith go out of business? They have their bad ways .. but don't they have a right to live? ^^ It's just a great game all around. If they can bring back all those intricate elements, then they've come a far way to make a good successor to JA1+2.

Fun idea, but i think he should stay in JA2 as the one-off humoristic sidekick ... He also ends up dead, which iirc, is an inevitable part of the game progress if you play the classic approach.

I friggin should have been outside today, very nice weather, i just didn't have the fire... and beisdes, the air is kind of cold, there is a bit of wind .. i don't think it would be good enough.. very early springtime still. Let's keep a cool head, eh ^^ I'll get some good pictures sooner or later ....

Make a qualified categorization 🙂 The thing here is the general knowledge. An olympic ski-shooting (biathlon) gold medalist would probably be very good at marksmanship in general, but not in very broad general knowledge of shooting with different types of firearms, and in different situations. So i would rate someone like that at about 75-80 on the marksmanship scale. But of course, this type of person would have extremely good health and agility, which is part of the bigger picture. You would hire them for the big picture. If you need a perfect marksman person, they might not have perfect health or agility. To me, having experience with different types of firearms, being able to consistently hit targets far and near, in different types of situations (terrain, weather, pressure from enemy fire), would indicate a better score in marksmanship. For example, a full-time working military army private that is consistenly trained in different types of firearms, on a daily basis, that has been rated over long periods of time and has talent, would score 95-100 on the marksmanship scale. Or perhaps a mercenary actively engaged in a variety of successful missions. From how you describe yourself, i would place you in about the 60-65 range, since you have real life experience with little facilitation, and you yourself describe yourself as able to hit targets, meaning you have confidence. And with more experience, you would probably learn and adapt fast in this field. I have no experience and it would take me much longer to get familiar with it.

Thought this would be a fun thing. Going to make it as easy as possible. No need for profile picture, you can do if you like ^^ Rate yourself as a merc ^^ No lying! Points range between 0 and 100. Feel free to write supplementary notifications with the rankings. You are free to add words or sentences to the different traits, or make up your own entirely. This is just my template. You can use it if you like. Name or nickname: Age: Height: Weight: Nationality: Health - General health, fitness, running/jogging distances, moving long distances without fatigue, constitution, recovering ability. Agility - Movement, sneakiness, stealthiness, ability to blend in with the environment and moving in a flowing motion. Dexterity - Technical ability with fingers, working fast with hands, understanding practical matters, hand-eye-coordination. Strength - General strength, lifting and carrying heavy objects, not necessarily over long distances, interconnected with agility and health. Leadership - Ability to cooperate and work with others, ability to absorb and sort out useful information and relay that to others in a clear and decisive manner, ability to instill confidence in others regarding relevant subject matters, also self-leadership, being able to stay positive and focused over long periods of time even if working alone, or with many different individuals and with frequently changing team members, respect for authority, being able to deal with taking lives as a way of war, personal ethics, not taking lives for fun, but as necessity to ensure peace. Wisdom - Interconnected with experience; Life wisdom, general amount of broad knowledge, but also natural wisdom, being able to understand any matter quickly and thus learn and grow fast, teaching away things in a holistic manner, detail-orientation, systematical approach, knowing when to act and when not to act, also connected with working with difficult personality types, staying focused on the task even if there are difficult and distracting individuals around. Marksmanship - Being able to hit targets with general firearms, practice with firearms and general throwing objects, understanding and determination of the relation of distance, force, bullet/object weight and trajectory. Mechanical - Ability to work with tools and equipment, on machines and any mechanical device, big or small, lockpicking, mechanical knowledge, lubrication. Explosives - Ability to work with explosives of any kind, from firecrackers and grenades to mortars and tnt, also traps, understanding complexity of chemicals and explosives and how these interact with humidity and temperatures. Medical - Knowledge of treating wounds, both on self and others, understanding importance of sanitation, being able to work fast and decisive with medical equipment, also in the battlefield. Experience level - Interconnected with wisdom; Life experience, but also combat experience, being able to read the battlefield, anticipate enemy strategy, reading the landscape, recognizing dangerous situations and acting quickly and decisively, also instilling confidence in team members in the heat of battle over prolonged periods of time. Daily/Weekly/2 week salary - Your expected salary as of your total service today, in dollar amount. Skill 1 - One skill you are particularly good at, if any. Skill 2 - Second skill you are particularly good at, if any. Personal alumni - A few words, in an objective style, on your current life situation and where you stand in terms of what you expect of your mercenary experience. My analysis: Name or nickname: Rob Age: 38 Height: 175 cm Weight: 240 lbs/110 kg Nationality: Norwegian Health - 55, generally not very good fitness, average form. But can get in shape if given opportunity to do so as part of the work experience. Has in periods in life been in good physical shape due to the nature of physical labour jobs and working out during spare time. Agility - 45, stealth is not his strength. Dexterity - 58, has worked with general mechanical practice, driving trucks, repairing simple mechanical problems. Has also worked as a construction worker for many years and used an array of tools. Strength - 54, average strength. Leadership - 40, notices inefficiencies and lets people know, but respects authority and works with others to reach goals. Patient, but not procrastinating. Very eager to learn from good leaders and teachers, and teaches away things clearly and holistically, but lacks experience. Wisdom - 60, has been through many challenges and does not easily quit, and has a general broad understanding of different life situations. Eager to learn and grow, but is not a multi-talent nor a genius. Marksmanship - 36, has practiced archery for a year, which went relatively well, but no experience with firearms. Mechanical - 55, see dexterity. Explosives - 10, very little experience with explosives, only fireworks and simple firecrackers. Know enough to keep his distance to such devices without the proper knowledge or direction. Medical - 15, no experience beyond simple bandading and sterilization. Level - 3, has been through some challenging life situations, but no combat situations, and should not be the leader in any combat situation. Daily/Weekly/2 week salary - 100$/600$/1000$ Skill 1: Archery Skill 2: Swimming This man has gone through a series of different practical jobs during his lifetime, and has a generally strong attitude of service. He is trustworthy, respectful of authority and will carry out orders given. Spent 1 year practicing traditional archery, and is practicing swimming on a regular basis. He is now seeking out to learn and grow as a mercenary as his life feels relatively dull at the moment, and is very excited to join any team and make the best of any situation - as long as it is not high-risk, as he is very green in the mercenary business. Despite this, he will not hesitate taking enemy lives if given such orders. During his life, he has learned about himself that he has possibly been in the wrong fields of work, and has unexplored potential in leadership, as he quickly notices flaws in any organization and becomes irritated when things aren't run efficiently.

Thanks for posting the video. I think it looks nice and i will definitely try it.

I get that point. And i agree a lot with it. The more detailed a game becomes with it's graphics, the less you have to use your imagination, and thus the less work your brain has to do... and that takes a lot of the fun and challenge away. But that's the challenge for the developers i guess. Make it interesting even with good graphics. And that's what i'm hoping for.

I am actually a little bit excited, and that's rare for any new game. And for this franchise, i have extremely high expectations. But also, as i use to say .. if they can recreate even a fraction of the quality JA1 and 2 had, i'll be over the moon. It all remains to be seen. Because those games i consider that good.

Anyone with such a demeanor would not last 1 battle in the mercenary business ^^ Or maybe even get to be in one ...

I always liked Major Spike Scallion. I took the habit of occasionally using "boy?" after questions and such, on the internet ^^ I find it hilarious that he would use that term to the player, indicating that he is older and "above" the player in some way, calling them "boy", even if he is serving under the player ^^ And he reminded me of a masoner that lived in my town, he looked literally exactly like him, the voice was very similar too. Which leads me to believe that they took most or all of the characters from real life. I looked through some pictures from a kind of party in my old town about a month ago, and one guy there that i didn't know, looked 99% like Fred Morrison in Drassen mine in JA2 ^^ It was freaky. The JA2 alumni says: ""The departure of Spike Scallion from A.I.M. was a major loss to the organization. His demeanour and unwavering command of any situation always served as a comfort for those who found themselves neck deep in it alongside him. Major Scallion was offered a lucrative long-term contract serving as a military consultant for the North Koreans and no amount of negotiation could convince him to stay." - Jagged Alliance 2 Alumni gallery There is nothing to say he cannot return for service, maybe older and more experienced, perhaps with lesser physical stats, sort of like Gus.

On another note, i found the hitmen/persons a very cool and scary addition to the game. Just showing up so suddenly ^^ their personalities were very well made too. Iirc they kept coming back even after you killed them. Would be very funny if one could hire them ^^ i looked at their stats chart and most of them have very high stats.

I guess you are writing about the 1.13 version? ^^ In the original game, the counterattack on drassen is hardly noticeable... and training militia is usually easy and quite affordable.. But i actually agree on the early stealing strategy, that is when you need the money the most. And taking out the mob is usually possible at least in the early-mid stage of the game.

You steal from him early? ^^ Those hitmen are difficult to deal with. I guess it's a personal style thing how or if one wants to keep him along or not.

Sure sure, i didn't mean to cut it out completely, i meant that having it in too great detail maybe isn't the most necessary thing. I mean it may not be the area to spend the most money or effort. But i agree it is an essential and vital part of JA 1 and 2 and should absolutely be a part of JA3. Or maybe? ^^ Maybe having very detailed face expressions could be the one key factor that sets JA3 apart from all other game series. And the same way in having options to react to NPC's and such. As in how to get more information out of them or persuading them to help you and such - which was a big part of JA2. I'm just scared if it gets too complicated. Not quite sure what i'm apprehensive of. I feel that the core dynamic that made JA1 and 2 great was getting teams together, making them work together and the journey of taking over the entire map. And all the details in that.

I think i get the criticism but i think they look alright enough. Won't need to put another 200 hours into redesigning that.

I thought about mentioning that too ^^ The guy eats bugs to stay alive, how could you not want that guy on your team? I always thought he was serious about it ^^

Well there are elements in there that i like, and yes it seems to have elements that would fit with JA3. It does look very decent. But i think JA3 should be even 10 times better because of all the extra game mechanics it has.

I also wanted to share a post i made on the bear's pit forums, i'll copy it over since i made it myself. It's about hit percentage calculations, it is quite complex and i didn't find out 100% how it works, but here's a good part of it. If anyone has any more information about it, i would greatly appreciate it. I just read through this guide: https://www.fadden.com/gaming/ja2/ja2-official-secrets.txt?fbclid=IwAR0GVDFORvV5H900H_QA6d0EBiTEqWB7LT26OLFFQYNwPbfUkh8U -2hWn0A Guns with weapon range: https://fadden.com/gaming/ja2/weapons.html I wonder if i have gotten it correctly with this: Scope or Lynx shooting while prone against a prone enemy at 25 range with a Mini-14, 0 health and breath loss, 0 shock value, 4 aiming points. No bipod, laser scope or sniper scope. First time hitting, so the 10% bonus to hitting same enemy as last is ignored. 99 = Marksmanship 40 = Aiming points spent 20 = 10% bonus crouched, 20% bonus prone -40 = 2% penalty each tile after the 5th; 2 x 20. -29 = Gun range - (Sight range x 3) / 1.7. (Mini-14, 25 sight range x 3 - 25 = 50 / 1.7 = 29) -40 = Prone enemy above sight range 14. 3% penalty up to 20% or 40% depending on crouching or prone. -00 = Shock value = 10% of health loss and 5% of breath loss, up to 10, 5% to hit penalty each point. -00 = Breath value, up to 50% with 0 breath points left. Reduced by dexterity; 100 dexterity = 10% of penalty. -00 = Life loss value, up to 66%. Reduced by experience level; Level 9 = 80% reduction. Bandaged wounds penalty is halved. 159 - 109 = 50% chance to hit.

So i was inspired by some posts this thread: https://community.jaggedalliance.com/forums/topic/50-blood-amd-meat/#comment-2330 How about we all share strange things that was in the game, that we either found out by accident, by trying out, or some other way? I thought i knew almost everything. But reading those posts again i see there are things i didn't know. It enhances the game experience to know these things. This will be a long-running thread. I can just share some few things to get things started. May be known to most players but maybe not to everyone. - Though it's not a very ethical thing to do, you can marry Ira, or i think any woman, to the main hick Daryl, and they will give you access to the barn with the sniper scope and other gear. It is obviously best to dispose of them, since they are stealing from the shop in cambria, which will go out of business if they aren't disposed of in time. But remember to capture the town and get acquainted with Keith the shop owner before doing so, because i don't think you get the favor bonus if you don't. This may be a weigh-off, since the supplies the hicks have is a huge upgrade at this stage in the game. Personally i do dispose of them before taking cambria to get the supplies. - If you make it to the end game, and face down Deidranna and Joe before her, if you can run up to him with a merc and offer him 20 000$, he will retire and run away. - As someone did write in the thread i linked to, if Pablo starts telling you that equipment is missing, you can either hit him or shoot him (i think), and he will come clean and find it. This, along with the fact that if you talk to him directly with a high leadership merc, he will tell you "Pace is brutal around here, it would bury someone like you!" indicates that he is overworked and underpaid. If you give him a small amount of money between shipments, "coffee money", he will not lose shipments. This is a more ethical way to do things. If you kill him, a new worker will take his place, but he is worse, because he will simply forget things and you will lose the articles forever. If you kill him, there will be no option to order in supplies anymore. So "greasing Pablo's palms" is the only way to secure shipment, apart from the very rare occasions where it gets lost in the mail. - Maybe a very known thing, but hiring Fox for 1 day, running to Estoni and hiring Maddog, you can do this early, will let you have him for free almost from the start of the game. He can pick the lock to the small room in the factory in Drassen and you will get the h&k mp5 there. He is free, high hp, an expert lockpick and a great asset to the team this early. He is obsessed with Fox since he obviously has seen her in the porn magazines ^^ and you can hire him with her, even if she has below ~30 leadership, which is normally required to hire him. - Probably most know this, but you can dispose of the criminal mob in san mona when you feel ready for it, and the arms dealer Tony and his associate Hans will still let you trade with them, they will not turn hostile unless you act aggressive to them first. They are obviously not part of the mob. - Despite being considered the "worst" merc, Flo can actually have a good use. It is mentioned in her dossier that she worked in a library and has extensive knowledge about guns and firearms. This will give her a +10% sales bonus when selling guns and firearms, as well as a 10% discount when buying. Put her in san mona with a couple of repair kits. Have a mule camp in Estoni and buy ceramic plates, and worn out guns, which jake sells very cheap. Occasionally run this mule to san mona and have flo start repairing these guns. She must be practiced up 5-6 points in mechanical skills before being able to repair, though. Then have her sell 100% repaired guns to Tony occasionally. This method guarantees that 1) You have a person in estoni that can continually buy compound 18, ceramic plates, and cheap medical gear and such, and also someone in san mona that continually are updated with buying new equipment from tony, as well as trading and netting you money everytime he returns from being out. You can use a cheap merc from M.E.R.C. for this, for example Gasket which has high mechanical skills, and have him repair items in san mona so flo doesn't have to do it all. You can travel with her from san mona to estoni continually, but this is very tiresome because you have to avoid combat, and she is weak and gets tired easily, making the travel planning a hassle. - This may be seen as a cheat, although i do not think it is. If you want to avoid combat in a certain square, use this method: Enter the square with all the mercs either at the very top or bottom, or left or right side of the screen. Have them all sent out of the square, so that you are taken to the map again. Now, click on the travel orders, and cancel their travel destination. 5 minutes will automatically pass, and they will return to the square. Now, you can place them at the other side of the square, and leave the square in the direction you originally wanted to go, without facing down the enemies. This is very useful for making advances on towns without having to run low on bullets or medical gear, while also not wasting time. The town militia can deal with the enemy troops later, it takes you less time. I will stop here because my dinner is ready ^^