README ENCORE is a lore-respectful mod offering increased replay value for Armored Core VI by improving player build variety and ramping up difficulty without radically changing the core of the game, accomplished by modifying missions, tweaking normal foes, and modifying enemy ACs, additionally featuring cosmetic changes. AC design philosophies detailed by Faction: Balam: Balam ACs at large would be permitted RaD parts thanks to Tester precedent, but this doesn't do terribly much for them at large, with none that would take great advantage of things like Gridwalker except maybe G1 and G3, whose P04s are fine. They're some of the more screwed-over ACs in vanilla except for Volta, and among the least changed outside of part buffs, but some do get some things. Arquebus: At Watchpoint Alpha and beyond, Arquebus ACs are allowed limited access to Institute parts in order to patch some...irregularities with certain builds, and I can now incorporate the Lammergeier as well. There's no reason the loot-happy corporation wouldn't incorporate Institute salvage alongside its PCA technology, especially when Ephemeras are all over what's essentially their new territory. Combine with the implications that duplicates of certain HAL associated parts exist, and you get some room here. It might be a stretch on the HAL parts, but it's one I'm willing to make when it's nothing as extreme as using its frame or weapons, just internals and a booster. Don't complain to me that it's a stretch, I already know. Branch: As independent mercenaries of great renown, Branch can have more or less anything they want that isn't made by ALLMIND or the Institute, and the new 1.05 parts let them round things out nicely. Raven in particular gets heavier buffs including a break from this rule justified by Branch's attention on the place Sulla dies. RLF: The RLF is canonically allowed neutral corporations, Elcano, and RaD, so this was used along with LogicID switching to fix a certain couple of jobbers, plus some in-universe theft to tweak your good buddy in Chapter 5. That theft was then made far stronger in concert with his laser slicer by FromSoft themselves. I have great instincts for this, apparently. RaD: Not much here since the ACs involved are wrapped up in lore or other things, like how Rummy is the most 'meant to suck' AC in the game. Carla however got a sensible booster. ALLMIND: ALLMIND affiliates can basically have whatever they want in-lore (you get HAL-related internals and the booster from Loghunt and all) and this was used to enhance Sulla and Ch. 4 Iguazu. Arena ACs: The Corporation AC has been tweaked while the Trainer and Rubiconian ACs are completely rebuilt using different existing AI, following the rules established for the Corporation and Rubiconian ones. Consider the new Trainer the result of 621 cranking up the settings in the simulator followed by ALLMIND running with it. Somehow, the settings got stuck and now the Trainer refuses to enter target dummy mode. A consequence of your actions, or just an odd modding consequence? It's the second one, use the tetrapod for a dummy. Modded Non-AC Enemies: PCA/Arquebus-PCA: Due to the significant increase in time-to-kill resulting from the LC buff, the AP value of the Xylem Tower and Shield in Take the Uninhabited Floating City has also been increased by a lesser multiplier. The idea is to make things a bit harder, but it was a little excessive on original testing. Elsewhere, the sniper LC buff seems perfectly reasonable by my own testing, as it's rare that they appear in enough numbers for it to be especially risky - you have help in the Xylem survey anyway! Feel free to leave feedback on the compensation buff in Take the Uninhabited Floating City. A tip-save the plasma cannons for the LC section starting at the 3:00 on the clock, and Assault Armor or Pulse Protection can take a good chunk out of the drone bombing with the right positioning and timing. Additionally, the helicopter in Survey the Uninhabited Floating City should now be more aggressive, as a value that made it more passive while you engaged the snipers has been removed. Ekdromoi were later given an Attitude Stability buff as I frankly found them less intimidating than a standard Shield LC before I did it. Balteus: Encore's first major Ayre (SOL): Given the logic above I couldn't NOT create parity between the SOLs. There were whole attacks I'd never seen from her when I saw someone stream the boss fight! Thanks to the low health, she dies fairly quickly after the pulse armor turns off. So I buffed it. The pulse armor may make this excessive, so feel free to suggest dialing it back a bit, but I found that things worked. Definitely merits some other changes I made, though, befitting what is now much closer in length to ALLMIND's battle, the PA playing Mind Gamma's role of drawing things out. If the rank requirements are too lenient after I adjusted them for the >25% AP buff, please let me know. Cosmetics: You'll notice playing this mods that a lot of factions' enemies look different! I've scattered cosmetic variations throughout the game's more prominent non-AC enemies inspired by their factions' AC aesthetics, or in the case of the PCA, chosen to better contrast Arquebus's models while remaining sensible. Primarily, I do this because in the course of making this mod I saw someone messing with the idea and managed to identify the RGB params in NPCMaterialParam in DSMS, so it only seemed right for me to do something with it! Plus I wanted to visually distinguish the factions better against the snow and ash-filled environments. The following are the affected groups and inspirations: RLF: BASHO pilots' color schemes. Arquebus (including assimilated PCA craft): V.VII Maeterlinck, V.V Hawkins, V.VIII Pater, V.III O'Keeffe, and V.II Snail are all represented here, though O'Keeffe and Snail stand out the most, including one very special guest. Balam: Nile/Volta inspired green plating for standard MTs, Michigan cosplayers for tetrapods. PCA Suppression Units (LC/HC): Color scheme chosen to contrast the V.III and V.II color schemes of Arquebus LC/HC units. PCA Subject Guard: Color scheme chosen to match above with a clear distinction in division denoted by accent colors. PCA Autonomous Units: Matching above while maintaining red accents that, even vanilla, denote PCA drone craft, shared across Balteus, Watchpoint Alpha drones, and Enforcer. PCA SP (Ekdromoi/Cataphract): Color scheme chosen because the Ekdromoi is like a Blackbird and I like planes. Cataphract is incidental. A special guest from the Institute gains further references to half of its inspiration. RaD and the Junker Coyotes are untouched because they didn't need my help. For the PCA forces, drawing a divide between the PCA branches struck me as good visual language, and they needed to stand out as different from Arquebus-assimilated models. Detailed part changelog: VP-66LS: Total Rounds 60->80 Wuerger/66E: Total Rounds 66->86 VE-66LRA: Total Rounds 90->110, Attack Heat Buildup 205->199 IA-C01W1: NEBULA: Total Rounds 58->100 IA-C01W6: NB-REDSHIFT: Total Rounds 52->94 44-142 KRSV: Total Rounds 160->200, Displayed Attack 312->352, actual base Attack 78->88, first stage charge damage 1098->1222. Actual damage results are based on a plasma AoE effect, resulting in these numbers appearing strange at first glance. Ammo cost 400->300. EL-PW-00 VIENTO, HG-003 COQUILLETT, MA-E-211 SAMPU, VP-66EG: Now full-auto capable. DF-MG-02 CHANG-CHEN: Inflicts 11 points of ACS Anomaly per shot. IB-C03W1 WLT 011: Displayed Attack 405->425, actual base Attack 335->355, first stage charge damage 965->995. Actual damage results are partly based on a plasma-like AoE effect, resulting in these numbers appearing strange at first glance. IRIDIUM: Projectile Speed 420->450 LITTLE GEM: EN Load 192->180, Reload Time 4.4->4.2, Weight 3100->2900 SONGBIRDS: Total Rounds 42->50, Projectile Velocity 360->400 BO-044 HUXLEY: Total Rounds 240->400 BML-G1/P20MLT-04: Total Rounds 140->156, Burst Fire Interval 0.08->0.14 BML-G2/P20MLT-06: Burst Fire Interval 0.08->0.14 IA-C01W3 AURORA: Total Rounds 100->120 BML-G1/P29CNT: Missile spawn interval 0.2->0.19, spawned missile maximum 18->26 VE-60SNA: Projectile Velocity 500->550 CC-2000 ORBITER: Generator Output Adjustment 103->104, Weight 12650->12150, AP 2780->2850 IA-C01C EPHEMERA: Generator Output Adjustment 126->127, Generator Supply Adjustment 96->98 IB-C03C HAL 826: Generator Output Adjustment 120->122 EL-PL-00 ALBA: Jump Height 37->44 BST-G2/P04: Boost Mode Velocity and Boost Mode Jump Velocity 360->371, AB Initial Velocity 561->590, AB Continuous Thrust 510->539, displayed AB Thrust 8501->8985 BST-G1/P10: Boost Mode Velocity and Boost Mode Jump Velocity 344->354 AB-J-137 KIKAKU: Boost Mode Velocity and Boost Mode Jump Velocity 340->352 FC-006 ABBOT: Medium Range Assist 32->41 FC-008 TALBOT: Medium Range Assist 54->60 Vertical Missiles (Not VPM): Homing Stop Distance 45->30. NACHTREIHER/42E: Load Limit 48650->46650, Attitude Stability 662->711 BORNEMISSZA: Restored to pre-nerf movement values, EN Load 455->610. BASHO (Arms): -.1 to all defensive values, Recoil Control 66->51 Jailbreak (Arms): Recoil Control 45->40 Melander Arms: Firearm Specialization 100->104. Note that these Firearm Specialization adjustments are largely to keep these arms at parity with their default gameplay. VP-46S: Firearm Specialization 102->106 Mind Alpha Arms: Firearm Specialization 103->110 Ephemera Arms: Firearm Specialization 104->108 Tool Arm: Firearm Specialization 96->100, Melee Specialization 100->110 Melander C3 Arms: Firearm Specialization: 135->140. These buffs, however, are intended to be somewhat more real, since the positive effect past 120 is fairly slight. Nachtreiher/46E: Firearm Specialization: 160->170 VP-46D: Firearm Specialization 133->138 Firmeza Arms: Firearm Specialization 122->125 HAL 826 Arms: Firearm Specialization 123->130 Alba Arms: Firearm Specialization 140->150 NEW PARTS IA-C02: PERENNIA: An Institute frame filling the role of a heavier Ephemera type, since its equivalents are so dramatically heavier and finer weight classes benefit this archetype quite neatly. Obtained from Loghunt alongside the Mind Alpha parts (see below for mention of how this works). The PERENNIA uses the AC4A SOLUH model, as I believe it's strongly related to the Ephemera and HAL's artistic ancestry. IA-C05: SEMPERVIRENS: An Institute frame belonging to the Xylem's technological branch, obtained from the shop after Escape, implying it to have been found and refurbished by RaD. The SEMPERVIRENS uses the AC4A ARGYROS model, since it fits aesthetically quite nicely. IA-C0X: MONOKARPOS: A pre-Institute relic that may be an ancestor to Institute technology, resembling an Ephemera's performance save for sacrificing core performance for an early MDD stealth system. Stealth system works only on players because the AI isn't designed to react to it, but it's there for those who want it (and it lets me make fun fights). Utilizes the Pulverizer's model for similar reasons to the Perennia, as I think it's a part of the Institute frames' design ancestry. Some of their weapons, too - a different Pulverizer basically has Auroras. XX-009 CLEMENS: A Balam frame dating back to the Jupiter War. Similar in performance to the Melanders, it sacrifices core performance for a reactive weapon mounted to the core. Optimized for close combat where the user shoves the AC in the enemy's face. Utilizes the Crest Assault Type model. IA-C05W3: ARRHYTHMIA: An Institute-made 'wave booster' associated with the SEMPERVIRENS AC. Acts as a shoulder-mounted quick booster and unlocks at the end of Loghunt - the SOL 644 uses the same technology, after all. IA-27G VENA CAVA: An intermediate midweight energy weapon generator obtained from Loghunt. For those who have already completed it, completing a mission should do it (might need to have a combat log enemy in it). This generator serves the purpose of providing a midweight option that isn't as extreme and restrictive as the VE-20B at the cost of damage and the VE-20B's booster capacity strength. VE-21C: An Arquebus ADD FCS specializing in close and long range with a dead zone in midrange, designed more or less entirely around making V.II's build make sense. Ain't that great? VP-66LH/R: A full auto variant of the Laser Handgun designed for accessibility reasons, allowing those with issues with the weapon's semi-auto fire rate to use it without hurting their hands. Unlocks in Chapter 1. ELSTER/66E: A sniper rifle based on the LRA's behavior. Sniper rifles are a conceptually difficult design space to integrate into this game without just letting them 'do whatever,' so I took inspiration from the Sniper variants of the LCs and PCA drones to design this weapon as a 'charge-only' weapon that, in exchange for restrictive charging, gains more range than you have lock-on distance and the ability to punch severely over its weight class. Lorewise, this is a Schneider-developed weapon made as part of the Arquebus Group's reverse-engineering of PCA technology. EL-PW-02 MALDICIÓN: A laser assault rifle sporting intimidating burst fire capability. Developed by Elcano in the closing days of the war using laser weapons stripped from fallen Arquebus, independent, and PCA sources, this presents an alternative archetype of energy weaponry. SR-001 FERNALD: A linear rifle version of the above, based on the Harris. A Balam prototype that never entered mass production thanks to the Balam Group's lack of long-range fire control systems, the schematics were leaked by an unknown party before one was found in the hands of a notoriously efficient independent mercenary. HSR-G1/P03: Another, lighter sniper rifle using the Curtis as a base and offering greater ease of use in exchange for lesser power. An old-generation Furlong model dating back to before the corporation's missile specialization, the weapon never saw wide adoption due to the lack of long-range fire control support for early-generation ACs, but is now experiencing a resurgence thanks to the efforts of Furlong and Arquebus ADD. VE-66PRA: A heavy plasma rifle with faster projectile speeds than existing models. This weapon is another product of Arquebus's reverse-engineering efforts, emulating HC and Ekdromoi weaponry, but is yet to fully capture its superiority. VE-66EGA: A stun weapon using a downscaled PCA rifle's design, produced by Arquebus ADD. VP-66KRD: A more conventional AR and grenade launcher combo using the same rifle design, produced by Arquebus. VE-60PCA: A scattering pulse cannon based on PCA technology, made by Arquebus ADD. Vvc-760LR: An automatic linear rifle design recovered from PCA archives by Arquebus and completed by VCPL under contract, using their expertise in magnetic systems. Vvc-763RG: Another PCA weapon design completed by VCPL under Arquebus contract, this weapon incorporates the functions of a linear rifle with an explosive impact befitting a rail gun. WB-0020 GAG GIFT: A light machine gun with massive fire rate and magazine size with similar performance to a gatling gun at the expense of extremely low ammo cap, designed to evoke similar light but strong machine guns from older games. PL-001 AINSLIE: A pulse grenade launcher made by Balam to round out their arsenal against shields without running into problems with Dafeng's generators. Sacrifices guidance and propulsion for raw firepower, requiring finesse to use but offering greater power at lower cost than the Schneider PFAU in a manner that reminded me, mid-development, of old-generation rockets. Instead of forced manual aim, however, it has a particular range and arc. BL-004 ALDRICH: An explosive launcher in a similar style to the AINSLIE with a more forgiving fire arc. IA-C02W1: PROTOSTAR: A light wave rifle similar in behavior to the VE-66LRB in its main fire, trading away a slight amount of power for lighter weight and an explosive charge shot with an aesthetic that will make Armored Core veterans know exactly what this weapon is, if they didn't recognize the Canopus model already. Couldn't be an Armored Core mod without making a Karasawa when I saw the opportunity. The actual hitbox of that charge shot is, of course, smaller than it looks. You'll understand. Obtained alongside the KRSV. WC-0000 PUNCHLINE: A light wave rifle produced by RaD using Carla's secret knowledge, and revealed only once Overseer's cards are on the table. WB-1000 ORPHAN: A rail gun produced by RaD based on a design appropriated from the Junker Coyotes following Brute's death, based on the Overed Rail Cannon. IA-C02W2: APHELION: A light wave rifle designed to counteract melee rush tactics popular in the old, the Aphelion fires a single beam straight that begins homing after a delay, missed shots capable of spinning back into their target. Its charge shot is a melee-punishing explosive stab to make the prospect of charging one particularly distressing, though it is difficult to land. Obtained in Loghunt. LR-037F HARRIS: A boss weapon variant. Full auto enabled with faster fire rate. All boss parts are in the shop to look at them but are expensive enough as to be extremely unlikely to obtain /or/ have prohibitive ammo costs that will tank your rankings if you use them. If someone's played enough of this game to get these, I doubt I'm doing much to them anyway, and if people want to cheat em in for the presets to work that's my compromise. MA-J-200/BC RANSETSU-RF: Same idea, different gun. /W PARTS: The pre-existing but unattainable parts used by Walter in Bring Down the Xylem. These appear broken and I'm curious what happens when others test them, and decided to include them alongside my boss parts. BST-G3/P01: A new generation Furlong Dynamics booster made to enhance Elcano Foundry's Project Sunrise, its performance similar to the Alula it's based on but retuned for aerial combat. DUPLICATE BOOSTERS: These invisible boosters unlocked throughout the game exist so that they can be used on the PERENNIA and any other modded models I integrate into Encore in the future, as many of these aren't set up for AC6's modeled boosters thanks to their origin from other games or as NPCs. They have no additional functionality beyond the base boosters and exist solely for fashion preservation. Non part stat changelog: Sniper LC: AP and Attitude Stability stats changed to be identical to Shotgun LCs. Projectile Starting Velocity 600->800. Ekdromoi: Attitude Stability 1650->1850. AAP07: BALTEUS: Pulse Armor value 5500->6050 and reapply value 5499 to 6049 Xylem Control Tower / Shield: Health value 4000->8000 IB-07 SOL 644 (Ayre): AP and Attitude Stability changed to match ALLMIND's SOL. Rank requirements for the Shut Down the Closure Satellites adjusted. HC HELICOPTER: TeamAttackEFfectivity removed to increase aggression. BAWS Guard MT: TeamAttackEffectivity removed, various increases to Range and Bullet Velocity. Helicopters: Various increases to Range. BAWS Bipedal MT: All NPCThinkParam entries matching shield-using and machine gun-only (whether one or two) NPCParam IDs had TeamAttackEffectivity removed. BAWS Tetrapod MT: Laser blade and bomb launcher tetrapods receive the same change as above. NPC AC Modifications - Indirect (Non-Ammo Part Buffs Only): G6 Red Nosaac G3 Wu Huahai G5 Iguazu Rusty (Chapter 5) G2 Nile 51-002 K/MIND BETA Handler Walter Ayre (ECHO) Direct (Part Changes) (* denotes indirect buffs as well) V.V Hawkins* V.VIII Pater Sulla Iguazu (Chapter 4)* G1 Michigan* Rusty (Chapter 5) "Cinder" Carla* Rokumonsen Coldcall* V.II Snail* King V.I Freud Raven (Nightfall)* Chartreuse* 51-001 K/MIND ALPHA* 51-003 K/MIND GAMMA (ALLMIND/Iguazu)* Coral Release Mind Alphas Direct (Significant Rebuild) V.III O'Keeffe 51-013 BE/CORPORATION AC Index Dunham Little Ziyi Direct (Unrecognizable) 51-014 BE/RUBICONIAN AC Trainer AC New Part Users Raven (Nightfall) V.I Freud Sulla MIND GAMMA V.VI Maeterlinck King Coral Release Mind Alphas (Hand Weapons) MODEL CREDITS KRDCD - PCA Sniper Rifle (VP-66LR Ver) - ELSTER/66E KRDCD - HC Plasma Rifle - VE-66PRA KRDCD - 050ANSR - SR-001 FERNALD KRDCD - 047ANSR - HSR-G1/P03 KRDCD - ER-O705 - EL-PW-02 MALDICIÓN KRDCD - PCA Rifle 2 - VE-66EGA & VP-66KRD KRDCD - SOLUH NEXT (inc. SAUBEES) - IA-C02: PERENNIA & ASTERACEAE KRDCD - HLR-01 CANOPUS - IA-C02W1: PROTOSTAR KRDCD - HC Pulse Cannon - VE-60PCA KRDCD - ARGYROS NEXT - IA-C05 SEMPERVIRENS KRDCD - LETHALDOSE - IA-C05W3: ARRHYTHMIA KRDCD - MP-O901 - PL-001 AINSLIE KRDCD - N-WGIX Long Rifle (Harris Ver) - Vvc-763RG KRDCD - N-WGIX Short Rifle (Curtis Ver) - Vvc-760LR KRDCD - PYTHON - WB-1000 ORPHAN KRDCD - GEN3 KARASAWA - WC-0000 PUNCHLINE KRDCD - SALINE - BL-004 ALDRICH KRDCD - XMG-A030 - WB-0020 GAG GIFT KRDCD - ER-R500 - IA-C02W2: APHELION KRDCD - 03-AALIYAH/M - BST-G3/P01 Modified Missions If this list seems shorter than you'd think, it's because I'm not out to make everything harder purely for its own sake. That a game has easier missions here and there is simple enough, and a good number of the missions in this game are wrapped up i gimmicks or scripting that make them poor targets for modding at this time unless you just want to make things brutal for their own sake. There's not much of a point, to me, in upgrading a mission like Grid 135 Cleanup where it's kind of a simple starter level by design, and the ability to mess with scripted stuff is still limited at this time. More is likely to come, but don't expect everything to be changed for change's sake alone, and the scale of change in each of these will vary. Destroy the Weaponized Mining Ship Operation Wallclimber Obstruct the Mandatory Inspection Attack the Watchpoint Infiltrate Grid 086 Steal the Survey Data Attack the Refueling Base Destroy the Special Forces Craft Attack the Old Spaceport Eliminate "Honest" Brute Coral Export Denial Destroy the Ice Worm Underground Exploration - Depth 1 Underground Exploration - Depth 2 Underground Exploration - Depth 3 Eliminate V.III Take the Uninhabited Floating City Intercept the Corporate Forces Destroy the Drive Block MIA System Modifications Firearm Specialization (the arm stat) has been adjusted to have a more real distinction between low Firearm Specialization and positive values. While still a smaller effect than your FCS, the low values should now be a more real tradeoff. All arms that would have been negatively affected by this change while being meant to be neutral to positive have had the stat increased. Known issues: Yes, I could make a version where the Arena fights remain truer to the timeline with earlier-timeline versions of Pater, Snail, Freud, and O'Keeffe, but that's a little much effort and the Arena kinda fudges it anyway. I believe Hawkins appears before the PCA does, for example, and you can check the VE-40A's description for how accurate that is. Currently this is fixable but breaks arena images, and fixing that requires something that'd severely bloat file sizes. The same goes for the now-inaccurate images. If a model's janky don't take it up with me, I'm not the model guy. All custom item descriptions are only in English. Some combinations will be subjective as difficulty tends to be, but in certain cases (chiefly V.III) I really just want to see what happens and I'm loosing it on the world, plus sometimes I find it to be better flavor. Also V.III is hilarious. The Defend the Dam Complex cutscene is a little off if you look for it. No, that can't be fixed without just keeping the original parts. Other cutscenes (such as Depth 2's not displaying the Enforcer's modified paint) may be off due to enemy indexing; this is unavoidable with any new enemy placements at this time, and for this reason I have often leaned harder on replacing weak enemies than adding new ones. It's unavoidable with missions like Depth 2 where they're more exploration-focused and there's very little one can do without adding new enemy placements. Trainer AC's AI doesn't turn off due to the AI switch needed to make it function, use the Tetrapod for an unmoving dummy test.