Just to clarify the taser thing...
Original vanilla Tonic code went like this:
1 - is the victim in a vehicle?
2 - if 1 is yes, then is the victim on a quadbike?
Then later, assuming the shot-distance was within the right range, and the victim wasn't already 'mid-tase' or in restraint, these two items would again be checked:
3 - If 1 was true AND 2 was true (i.e. in a vehicle, in a quadbike) then you would be EJECTED and the tase sequence would begin.
4 - If not 3, then you would just begin the tase sequence.
Clearly, the logic for that is all flawed, because clause 4 would fire the tase sequence EVEN IF you were in a vehicle that WAS NOT a quadbike. I believe Tonic meant to detect pedestrians in 4 (hence the lack of need to 'eject' them), but actually clobbers everyone with that catch-all instead.
So... I've rewritten clause 4 thus:
4a - If not 3, then ONLY if not 1 (i.e. not in a vehicle of any kind) do we run the tase script (without an eject).
If clause 4a fails (ie. in a vehicle, but not a quad or kart), then nothing at all happens - the script just exits cleanly without triggering either the eject nor the tase script.
I've also extended clause 2:
2a - Is the vehicle the victim's in either a quadbike or any of the four Karts available?
This in turn makes clause 3 handle the eject for karts as well as quads.
In Tonic's original version, if you tased a person in a non-quadbike vehicle, they would begin the tase animation whilst still inside the vehicle, and their legs would poke out of the side, but they would not technically fall out. It looked ridiculous and would often result in a crash (and sometimes death as a result). Clearly wasn't meant to be like that, I'm sure.
Quad riders and karters will be thrown off the vehicle (possibly sustaining roll out damage, depending on their speed), but the tase action *should* zero that damage (in much the same way that cops shoot each other in the foot to max out their health, which is not very RP, but it does work, again due to the rather simplistic 'damage = false' part of Tonic's tase script. In my opinion, this script ought really to examine 'initial damage', prior to the taser 9mm bullet-hit, save it, do the tase animation, and then restore that pre-bullet damage, but he doesn't do it that detailed. He seems to just set damage to false, which is the same as saying 'health to the max'... and he seems to have deliberately created this 'super-tase' thing for cops, so I'm not going to change it just yet).
For people in non-quad/non-kart vehicles, it now means that if the taser round has made it through the glass or metal of the vehicle, its charge is (effectively) dissipated and spent, and will cause you no harm and will not trigger the tase effect. Unfortunately, there is no way to detect (quickly enough, at least) the version of the Offroad without doors, nor is there any way to detect a car that has had its glass smashed or its doors ripped off, or anything else that would expose the driver, and whilst this isn't a perfect situation, I'd rather err on the side of caution and leave it this way. Helicopter pilots can no longer be tased either (even if their side is exposed).
All in all, I hope this will mean that vehicle chases will be more common, and it gives players running away in cars slightly more scope to make a dash for it. I also hope that this will mean the cops can DROP THE 3 MINUTE RULE that they have adopted before tasing someone. I still believe tasing should - where possible - be preceded by a warning shout, but this isn't always possible (or wise) in every situation. But I hated the self-enforced 3 minute rule which was there to stop cops tasing cars instantly and pulling out the players. Now, if they can pull out the player, it's fair game, because tasing is no longer an option... so there's no need to wait 3 minutes. Tase the bugger as he runs for the car... if you miss, and he makes it to the vehicle, you have a chase on your hands. That's more realistic, imho.
