This is my take on armor in Unturned II. It features my subjective opinion as a militaria enthuasist. My opinions stem from one of @tehswordninja’s Armor in II sources in Pineridge, me. I would like also to preface that a few of my ideas are streamlined versions of some of his concepts (more like he complicated mine lmao). This post is made assuming that UII will use the same spawn style types (Ranger, Military, Police) and only focuses in the vest area. I will not touch upon the the way inventory can be handled (such as slots) and leave it rather general.
Main concepts
There should be multiple types of vests of which the items are all unique from each other stat-wise, unlike in 3.0 where Germany’s Military Vest is the exact same as Washington’s. This means that a Ranger Chest Rig will not behave the same as a Military Chest-Rig, despite both being part of the same category.
There are 3 types of vest and armor;
- Bodyarmor
- Plate carriers
- Chest rigs.
Each type has several variations and subtypes.
Some vests and chest rigs will have M.O.L.L.E.
M.O.L.L.E.
M.O.L.L.E. (further refered as “molle”, and pronounced “molly”) would allow players to place pouches on vests where they need, effectively tailoring their gear to their style and needs. While virtually a straight upgrade to vests with integrated pouches, each pouch needs to be collected, and gear with molle would be more end-game.
Pouches in game would be mounted via a grid-like system in the UI, of which each pouch will take a specifc amount, e.g. a magazine pouch would take 2x3, a grenade pouch 2x2, a flashband/smoke 3x1, a utility pouch 4x3.
Example of a molle grid. Notice that different molle strip arrangements take different grid arrangements.
While grenade, flashband, utility, etc. pouches will have little to no varation (since those wouldn’t affect gameplay), magazine pouches will have three:
- Fast Mag Pouch, a hardshell pouch that is virtually silent and the fastest, but can only carry magazines, a single type of mag too and and a single mag at once.
- TACO Mag Pouch, a softshell pouch that makes minimal noise, but can carry only a single magazine, but can carry any type of magazine and items up to the size of a water bottle.
- Velcro Pouches, a pouch that can carry multiple type of magazine, multiple ones at once, but has a velcro flap that is pretty loud.
Note that the first two are rarer than the more common velcro pouches.
Example of pouches. Note: The mag types also apply to all weapon types, not just AR. Also note that pouches come in color variations too.
Extra system with pouches that could be implemented; The position of a pouch could affect how hard it is to reach and how long it takes to have the mag taken out. For example, mags put on the lower section of the vest would be the fastest, while mags on the sides would be slower to take out and mags put on the back would be unreachable.
PS: I know that UII is said to have a M.O.L.L.E. backpack, but it’s unknown if the molle will actually usable or only cosmetic, like 2.0.
Bodyarmor
Bodyarmor is the main type of common armor and is mostly less effective. Usually found in Ranger and Police locations, bodyarmor is a type of vest that boasts armor between light and heavy that cannot have it’s plates interchanged. No type of bodyarmor has molle, making it a starter type of armor, although some types of chest rigs can be overlayed. The selection of bodyarmor varies from map to map, where less militarised countries might have all of their police and army wear bodyarmor instead of plate carriers, or where more militarised countries like the US would have police wear plate carriers too. Rarer bodyarmor surpasses the heaviest of the plate carrier’s armor. Bodyarmor have no storage space.
Bodyarmor comes in two types; Low-Profile and Combat.
Low profile bodyarmor has low armor, but is more common. They are usually light and don’t affect movement. Usually of this style:
Combat bodyarmor covers more of the body and has heavy armor, sometimes having groin and neck guards. They are usually heavy and affect movement. Usually of this style:
Note the camo; some militaries also issue bodyarmor along with plate carriers.
Plate Carriers
Plate carriers are vests in which armor plates of different kinds (kevlar, steel, ceramic, composite, etc.) can be put into. The plate carriers themselves are lightweight and strapped in molle, allowing them to be a perfect balance of speed and defence, at the cost of being hard to obtain and made effective. Alone, a plate carrier offers zero armor and it’s carrying capacity is limited to a small integrated pouch. It’s effectiveness depends on on other items that need to be found/crafted. The amount of molle available, along with it’s ability to take plates, depends on the type. Usually found in Military locations, sometimes in Police locations depending on the map.
- Light Plate Carrier: Has molle only on the front and back and can carry only front and back plates
- Medium Plate Carrier: Has molle everywhere, but only has front and back plates
- Heavy Plate Carrier: Has molle everywhere, and can have plates placed on the back and front, along with the sides.
Examples of each type (In order):
Chest Rigs/Vests
Chest Rigs and Vests are the most common type, the lightest and offer absolutely no armor. They can be found practically anywhere.
They are separated into 5 categories:
- Magazine carriers: Lightweight chest rigs that have integrated pouches, some have molle. Very common in Ranger locations and sometimes found in Military locations. Their magazine pouches are silent, but can only carry one type.
- Platforms: Lightweight vests that only cover the front of the chest in molle, with limited weight bearing capabilities. Made for those who want speed over anything. Smaller ones can be worn over bodyarmor.
- Load-Bearing Chest Rig: Essentially a mix of a platform, and a magazine carrier, they can carry a lot more weight.
- Harnesses: Comprised of a belt and harness, there rigs can carry a lot of weight, don’t have any modularity but have the ability to be worn over bodyarmor.
- Vests: These are dirt-cheap common vests that are plate carriers without the ability to carry plates. Found virtually anywhere.
Examples (In order):
Exo-skeletons
While this goes more on the more sci-fi side, I think UII is the perfect opportunity to add clothing that affect more gameplay elements. And by Exo-skeletons, I don’t mean the Call of Duty kind, but the more practical and realistic S.T.A.L.K.E.R. kind, which serves to haul heavy equipement at the price of mobility, and would still be in a basic prototype stage.
There’s 2 types:
Passive Exo-Skeleton: This type of exo-skeleton only serves to negate a certain part of weight already carried on the person. This allows the user to move at the speed of having barely any weight, but severely reduces movement: Crounching is slowed down and proning takes a while. Looks sorta like this:
(not including russian dude)
Active Exo-Skeletons: This type is incredibly rare and hard to maintain, but allows the user to carry 100kg of gear. This includes heavy bodyarmor (able to block some of the most powerful rounds) and an extra-large backpack, at the cost of not being able to prone, having crouching being a lot slower and having sprint being barely effective. It’s not very durable, and not having any power in it locks you up in place.
Looks:
(also doesn’t include russian dude)