[GUIDE] BFH Widgetz Total Research

Hey fellas, my name is megaLOL and I'm proud to introduce you my BFH Widgetz Total Research!
Pour yourself a good cup of tea, take some soft french croissants and let's get started :)

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Editable .xls-file with the tables:
goo.gl/Pz13Sa

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There was tons of usual guides and many of them were rather good (check out my nostalgia thread to see some of them), but I decided to do something never seen on official forum before. I've assembled a consolidated table of widget stats to see which of them are overpowered/underpowered not only by mouth speaking but according to digits&numbers.

Unlike the Weaponry Research, each category of widgets has slightly different table structure. I did my best to keep it as simple&unified as possible though, and of course there is an explanation legend.
The source of data are files from 1.126 version game client. An example of table piece:

I can assure you, there's no wow such complex so infostorage neither at BFH Wikia, nor at bfh-info.renegadeline.cz. As every widget is listed here, you don't need to travel across the internetz anymore to be aknowledged!

Well, what to say about widget mechanics... Naturally, they are "abilities" and even share the same folder in the game files. The main difference between them is widgets are limited by uses or time duration (if set, otherwise they are free aswell), while hero abilities are free to use.

Also, widgets share same sections of code with weapons, such as:

- ObjectTemplate.createComponent SingleFireComp (defines firing works)

- ObjectTemplate.createComponent DefaultAmmoComp (defines ammo part work)

- ObjectTemplate.createComponent SoldierDeviationComp (defines weapons' deviation parameters)

- and many others.

 4xmpl, ammo part of the bandages.tweak code:

The red squared line defines the cooldown and the purple squared one defines duration of the widget's action in the seconds.

BFH Wikia is a mess if speak about widgets part, so I've myself divided all widgets in 4 categories which have few subcategories describing what they're called upon to perform:

• Support (Hit Points / Motions / Gainings)
• Attack (Explosives / Melee)
• Vehicle (Hit Points / Motions / Pocket)
• Fun

Total number of widgets is 39, if count pair of royal&national as a one. By the way, I've added a Teleport (Void Shortcut / Wormhole) to a widgets kind as long it barely is a weapon but perfectly fits to widget category. 
So, with a Teleport it grows to 40 widgets count overall: 16 of support, 11 of attack, 10 of vehicle and 3 of fun category.

Some of them weren't available in actual game depending on it's version, such as Crude, Regular, Fine, and Splendid bandages&wrenches, which were cut off from the official BFH during "Winter Armistice"-event (2009 december), but the files of it remains untouched in the "Objects" folder.

As long as this guide is the most complete and reliable source of info about this part of the game content, I hope it'd be helpful for server owners to balance chosen versions and even every single widget thru changing desired stats.

Okay, let's get to the main part: stats and expositions. The table explanation legend:

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SUPPORT

Hit Points

Despite it's obvious bandages is a must for every player (even a soldier class playing), and the game itself is way less pleasant without a possibility to heal your hero up, the current state of every BFH reviving project lacks of VP pricing system and therefore it causes widget overusage.

I suggest you be careful when you choose the type of bandages your game version would have - the Supremes, Splendids and even Fine ones with current 3-second cooldown easily beat up 5-level Combat Medicine in terms of overall health restore during the whole round.

Widgets to the right are ones that were added during notorious "Winter Armistice" (and Sarge's Stamina Boost came up in 2010 march). EA studios claimed the game non-profitable and completely switched the business model of it from free-2-play to pay-2-win, VP prices have been raised drastically opposite of BF prices which were lowered to encourage players spent money for achieving ingame advantages.

First version of the Terrific Health Tonic hasn't included any usage delay or unskippable animation, but just instantly healed 50 HP. Fantastic Fire Proof Underpants in it's turn have quickly made high level Burning Bullets-soldier build an expendable. The tonics have been generating so much toxicity and hate about their p2w-nature and brainless usage mechanics so it resulted in a "tonic noob"-meme.

After 3.5 years (!), in 2013 april tonics were rebalanced a bit thru adding a short drink animation interrupted any active ability and prevented player from firing weapons while it's in effect... but the patch was a hardly laughable joke due to ability to bypass added drink animation by initiating a weapon switch. EAsy's coding in a nutshell, huh.

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SUPPORT

Motions

Rocketjump widgets are all exactly the same in terms of  work mechanics, they differs only in outfit needed to wear for jump usage along with it's animation... aaaaand price. Yep, absolutely identical widgets were priced not identically. Don't ask me why, please.

The only pair of widgets which aren't the same counterpart of each other is Captain Royal's Speed Boost / Metallo's Rocket Jump. Of course, multiple hate fluids popped up about it's obvious unfairness and continue pop today, not surprising at all.

One side got third jumpy crapget and another got additional 10 seconds of a minute of sprint for every hero class! The maths done reveal royal gunners leveled Leg It to 5 can sprint about 2/3 of the round time with Speed Boost equipped, which gives an invaluable advantage both in strategic and tactical means. 

There were strong rumours Royal side have been buffed in so unpleasant way for a reason of a balance which staggered heavily to the National side by the time of widget arrival. Nutz got more maps biased towards them (all four start maps are perfect examples of it, especially Coastal Clash one), better vehicles, consequently more heroes created and more skilled players overall.

Nevertheless, such a clumsy attempts to keep the game balanced instead of proper fixes deserve disapproval by any meaning.

The Teleport "weapon" strangely equips to a RPG/explosive slot and barely can be estimated as at least some satistfying replacement to an actual RPG or even a MGL. 
It might serve a last resort-ability for saving your ass in a lost fight or an important control point guarding at Conquest game mode, but the most essential application of this wea-dget is an instant flag capture in the gamemode of same name. Just be aware dropped teleport ball can be easily destroyed by every single damage point taken, so place it wisely.

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SUPPORT

Gainings

Not much to say about this section besides mentioned in the table. As far as I remember, with all XP boosts stacked altogether rather good player is able to achieve level 30 in a 30-40 hours of pure gaming. And, of course, it would be just perfect to have VP boost equipped from the very start of new hero leveling.

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ATTACK

Explosives

The main idea of attack widgets floats in the air: a substitution for some of the abilities mostly to give lowlevel heroes an option to be less crippled against expirienced noobbashers.

As explosives part there is Pirate Keg seems like an old gunners' keg-version that was before "Heroes of the Fall"-event (2009 october), Eggs obviously cosplay Troop Traps, two identical versions of Gasbombs can be percieved as a grenade with attached Burning Bullets-effect... and even Cake is just an ordinary thrown explosive, although it has no explosion force but just damage and physical behaviour makes it inefficient to use.

Have to explain about the Kegs and Eggs separately. 
Strangely Kegs, while being explosives, can not be eaten by IEG, and I believe ObjectTemplate.detonation.canPickup 0-raw is responsible for this, so "1" will be the value for "can be eaten by IEG". Also, keg usage ridiculously don't broke your stealth while it's certainly not a mine.

Another oddity is Eggs do have poison damage in their code, but it isn't applied to damage part, as ObjectTemplate.createComponent DefaultDetonationComp-section tells me, so it deales no poison damage as intended whatsoever. It's the reason the text of the ability part is red.

The only some kind of unique action performs Amassing Force, or simply Magic. Hard to explain it with only words, it's better one time seen than one hundred times told (starts at 0:35):

I personally consider this widget a broken alternate version of Blasting Strike and not going to use it in any ways.

Magic along with Pirate Keg (which is definitely overpowered because of high stomping force, IEG-immunity and non-breaking of Stealth) are the most hated widgets among every explosive stuff in the game and unanimously being claimed cancerous.

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ATTACK

Melee

As we know already, "melee"-damage mechanics is naturally explosive ones, so the name of subcategory is just a conventionality.

All but one "melee" widgets don't have an actual BOOM BAMM-effect, but just deal damage at close range like Claw and Chair or give you feel of hand-to-hand action like the Glove. The last one appositely uses lowlevel Blasting Strike-code affecting only infantry targets. The Throwing knife is a pure projectile with no explosive code even.

Notable one is the Overcharge widget contains two abilities in a pack: it starts with short Elixir-alike speed boost and ends with powerful Blasting Strike-push combined with explosion. When you activate the widget you lose almost all control of your hero but mouse look to change moving direction. IMO, Overcharge is neither OP nor UP, but just useful and fun.

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VEHICLE

Hit Points

For no apparent reason many players consider Wrenches is a part of support category as it are Bandages, but since they are only available to use in vehicles and affect only it's Hit Points, it would be proper to rank them side with other vehicle widgets. 

With the larger cooldowns all wrenches have, they are more balanced then bandages variety, but in case of VP pricing lack the Supreme and Splendid ones also may lead to overusage and vehicle camping as a result.

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VEHICLE

Motions

Just two of them. Jump is more fun than useful (oldschool Carmageddon-feeling, mmm...), but Ramming Jeep is the devil's tool of tanks death. I personally consider it's weird and a lilbit' OP when a fast jeep has the ability to demolish a tank in one hit after simple clicking the button. Generally, you can destroy any enemy and empty vehicle in your way with ramget active.

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VEHICLE

Pocket

These were ones of the most hated and it's no surprise again - if the Pocket Jeep widget is just useful when noobs selfishly take all the jeeps and leave, but Pocket Tanks easily can break the balance with a such a small colldown of 12 seconds and tanks' power.

Maybe devs've thought a bit about balance before implementing a new one and set the cooldown of Pocket Copter to 80... but the others sadly remained unaltered.

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FUN

Why it's Fun category? Cuz these widgets deal neither no damage at all neither the damage is so small it don't bother to table the values (Firework detonation code has conspicious explosion values). Relax and have fun!

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Well, oophhh, that's it! I hope you enjoyed reading and my research would be some kinda useful for you. Will be very glad to see your comments or maybe even additions'n'fixes to the theme!

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Editable .xls-file with the tables:
goo.gl/Pz13Sa
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