DescentBB

I´m playing TEW and just found \"My First Helix Cannon (TM)\" in Level 08.

Yet, as soon as I pick it up my trusty Spreadfire Cannon is gone

Is this an intended behaviour in TEW?
Or is it a bug in current version of D2X-XL (1.14.27)?

I already played through D2 with an older version of D2X-XL and was - of course - able to keep both cannons, then...

Thank you in advance!

that sounds like a bug. Head on over to their site and ask. They might already know about it.

..er the XL site that is.

Turn off \"smart weapon switch\" (in the game options, I think). Smart Weapon Switch disables vulcan cannon when you have gauss, and likewise disables spreadfire cannon when you have helix (presumably because gauss and helix are just like upgraded versions of the vulcan and spreadfire.)

When you say \"gone\", do you mean that it switches to the weapon or that the the spreadfire (good ridance ) is removed from the inventory?

spread da blu balls!
haha, that is a shame.. if it removes it anyways

It isn't gone, it's just that the game prevents you from accidentally switching to it. In other words, prevents you from using it at all.

I personally don't use smart weapon switch because I don't need it. But it's not a bug, it's a feature. *wink wink*

Solved!
Turning off \"Smart Weapon Switch\" did the trick.
Thanks a lot!

I thought Smart Weapon Switch would just prevent you from accidently switching to \"harmful\" weapons like Phoenix, Gauss or Guided that might easily kill you in tight spots...

Yet I have to disagree on \"just an upgraded version\":
- the Spreadfire doesn´t only shoot more balls but consumes more energy, too
- the Gausss damages your own ship when used in tight spots, the Vulcan doesn´t
So both replacements aren´t *only* better.

-> I´m glad to have my Spreadfire back

....you didn't know that there was 2 weapons for each slot?

Guess I've been playing too long.

Yeah, people do naturally disagree on whether any of the D2 weapons supersede the D1 weapons completely. I don't think they do either, although I am very unlikely to use Spreadfire in D2 that said - primarily because its damage is so low compared even to weapons that *are not* Helix. Nonetheless, it has its uses because it is harder for targets to avoid when used correctly.

OMG, no!
Of course I know that there are two weapons for each slot in D2

But as long as abovementioned option was set I wasn´t able to use my Spreadfire cannon anymore at all after having picked up the Helix.

So although I quite well know that I had both cannons equipped, that both occupy slot 3 and that one can toggle between them by repeadedly pressing \"3\", I just couldn´t use the Spread any more.

In previous post I just wanted to stress that I still see the neccessity of *being able* to use the \"old\" weapons even after picking up the \"new\" ones.

Completely deactivating them sucks

I don't use that version of the D2 mod. .. what a weird option.

Sirius wrote:Yeah, people do naturally disagree on whether any of the D2 weapons supersede the D1 weapons completely. I don't think they do either, although I am very unlikely to use Spreadfire in D2 that said - primarily because its damage is so low compared even to weapons that *are not* Helix. Nonetheless, it has its uses because it is harder for targets to avoid when used correctly.

I can't think of any reason to prefer the vulcan to the gauss unless you constantly find yourself shooting at walls right next to you. I think the jury's still out on D1 L4 quad lasers vs. D1 L6 quad superlasers, but everything else is better or the same in D1.

D1 didn't have super lasers, but if you mean D1 quad 4 vs D2 quad 6, then the D1 lasers were actually more powerful simply through pure numbers. I think the figure is 52 for D1 Q4 vs 50 for D2 Q6.

Now, Vulcan, yes that's a different issue, but it performs better at extreme close range - which is important if you're shooting a diamond claw that is closing on you very fast, just for instance. It's also important in multiplayer games against people who intentionally try to force you to kill yourself.

The other very specific time it's better is when using it to light up lava for secondary damage. More rounds means more explosions, and if I recall the Gauss explosions on lava weren't significantly more powerful.

Interesting. 50 vs. 52 isn't a huge difference though, and I never had any problem with the diamond claws even at close distance. I suppose vulcan might be better if you're in a lava level, so I'll have to keep that in mind.

Gauss has better knock back which is great for holding daimond claws at bay. The Gauss uses more rounds per shot than vulcan (which share ammo, but I'm sure you know that) It's been a while though. 25 ammo to 1 gauss shot?

It's somewhere pretty close to that mark, yes. Gauss fires them far less frequently, though.

That gauss sure is fun to blast people away hehehe

[quote="hori"]Solved!
Turning off "Smart Weapon Switch" did the trick.
Thanks a lot!

quote]

I see nothing smart about that switch.

It's supposed to mean \"smart\" as in \"you hit the spreadfire/helix key, it assumes you want the Helix since it's better\". Which is a little more smart than not assuming, of course, but assumptions aren't always right.

But...but....spreadfire and vulcan are kewl!

Another reason to hate D2X-XL.

BTW, are D1 quad 4 really even stronger than D2 quad 6? Didn't really think it was possible... what a damn shame.

...

Yeah, I suppose if you're hunting for reasons to hate D2X-XL you can invent all sorts. Truth is, though, it's become quite a good edition of D2.

I thought weapon preference ordering did that already?

Maybe, but there is one situation where it might not; if you already have vulcan, gauss and plasma, and have plasma selected, then switch to weapon \"2\", I can't remember whether the weapon order affects whether gauss or vulcan is selected.

I guess in an ideal world, smart weapon switch would automatically select gauss first, but if you pressed \"2\" again it would figure you wanted to switch to vulcan.