Reworks to some survivor boots

[anoobindisguise]

Summary

Balance "Rebalance survivor boots"

Purpose of change

Survivor boots were still using the old style of materials and coverage and needed to be modernized. They also did not reflect the survivor's needs accurately - there are plenty of boots lying around so anything the survivor makes should be specialized to deal with the post-apocalypse, namely acid puddles.

Describe the solution

The boots are now made of acid-resistant polymer and aramid materials. They have redone thickness, encumbrance, recipes and coverage. All the boots have rubber soles like other boots, a thin nomex liner - nomex is a fantastic material for its chemical resistance - and a waterproof/sunproof nylon outer layer. Nylon is also pretty acid resistant which will help keep the acid from seeping into the feet. As a result the boots have 5-6 environmental protection, not as good as full rubber boots (10) but much less encumbering.
Light Survivor Boots are 1.1mm of kevlar, 0.1mm of nomex and 0.3mm of nylon, with a 0.6mm rubber toe. Fitted encumbrance of 5.
Normal Survivor Boots are 2.2mm kevlar, 0.6mm nylon, 0.2mm nomex, with a 0.5mm steel toe. Fitted encumbrance of 10.
Winter Survivor Boots are 1.6mm kevlar, 2.5mm fur/fauxfur, 0.1mm nomex and 0.3mm nylon, with a 0.5mm steel toe. Fitted encumbrance of 25.

Heavy, Fire, and Wetsuit boots are untouched, but they were already planned for obsoletion.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Does this make acid zombies too weak and easy? (Certainly not any less than activity suit, right?)
Does this level of protection make sense for a survivor to stitch together? The underlying fabrics are pretty resistant to chemicals and whatnot but maybe we need a more advanced aramid sewing machine first?
Are these "too much better" than existing pre-cataclysm footwear? Most people don't need a kevlar-nomex aramid combo boot in their day to day life. These boots eschew leather, is there any particular reason a boot would be made of leather as opposed to an aramid of some sort?
Do the encumbrances seem fair? I based them roughly off existing items, though in the past we've typically done "you cannot have acid protection on feet without a shitton of encumbrance". Aside from game balance I'm not sure if that needs to be the case right?

I want to call them something other than "survivor". "Hazard boots" maybe?

Testing

Loaded up in game and confirmed without errors.

Additional context

[worm-girl]

Acid kind of sucks for a lot of reasons. It's a gear check that is everpresent in the world and forces players into a few pretty specific pieces of footwear. There's no real counterplay to it. You have acid shoes or you go home and sleep after every fight.

Frankly acid puddling on the floor should be the least of anyone's worries, it doesn't make sense that that's the primary concern when dealing with it - most shoes have thick soles and are at least somewhat waterproof.

Acid should be damaging gear, causing acidosis, blinding people, sticking to the skin of your body, making fumes, etc. Acidproof clothing should look like goggles, masks, and smocks, not shoes.

[randomtyper]

I'd say survivor wetsuit gear deserves some attention too, some players like to stay near water or want to get wet buffs instead of just ignoring the debuff. Neoprene being pretty underused is a factor too. But that is likely work for another PR.

Survivor fireboots deserve to be obsoleted with this, though. Though I think IRL those survivor boots of yours would have their nylon outer layer burned off if one stayed close to fire for too long.

Speaking of naming those, how about "traveler's custom boots" or "custom survival boots"? Those are custom-made boots created for a specific purpose: ensure comfortable travel and wearer's survival. "Hazard" is a bit of a stretch imo.

[Kantonine]

Survivor fireboots deserve to be obsoleted with this, though. Though I think IRL those survivor boots of yours would have their nylon outer layer burned off if one stayed close to fire for too long.

it would make better sense to then have the nylon layer on the inside with the nomex/kevlar facing outwards

[anoobindisguise]

Survivor fireboots deserve to be obsoleted with this, though. Though I think IRL those survivor boots of yours would have their nylon outer layer burned off if one stayed close to fire for too long.

it would make better sense to then have the nylon layer on the inside with the nomex/kevlar facing outwards

The nylon layer is for waterproofing and UV protection, it would need to be on the outer layer.

[randomtyper]

Survivor fireboots deserve to be obsoleted with this, though. Though I think IRL those survivor boots of yours would have their nylon outer layer burned off if one stayed close to fire for too long.

it would make better sense to then have the nylon layer on the inside with the nomex/kevlar facing outwards

The nylon layer is for waterproofing and UV protection, it would need to be on the outer layer.

Hm, then it would not be realistic for them to not take damage from fire. That said, is the UV protection really necessary? Nomex may degrade under solar rays, but how fast and severe is that degradation? And for waterproofing, the main goal is to keep the survivor's feet dry, no? If that is the case, then nylon can be inner layer.

By the way, not all nylon is really UV resistant anyways https://www.xometry.com/resources/injection-molding/uv-resistant-plastics-polypropylene-vs.-nylon/

As alternative, it is possible to use neoprene https://www.coirubber.com/fire-resistant-rubber/, but it is not breathable at all.

P. S.: Does the game even model out layering of materials in armor piece enough to make it matter?

P. P. S.: I would layer the materials in this way: Kevlar first, protecting Nomex from damage. It is pretty fire resistant, too (more than nylon, at least). Then Nomex, protecting inner bits from fire. Then nylon, keeping the feet dry and comfortable: Kevlar as inner layer sounds... meh in terms of comfort). In winter boots the innermost layer will be made of fur, and nylon over it.

[randomtyper]

Heh, kinda feels like the only thing that was seen in my comment was "not all nylon is really UV resistant". Can't really complain, though.

For those wondering "why leather?": if this article is to be believed https://www.leathermag.com/features/featureflammability-and-flame-retardancy-of-leather/, natural leather should resist direct fire for about 18 seconds, and even when ignited, burns (more like smoulders) slowly, unlike nylon (which burns brightly when ignited). Combined with natural water resistance and breathability of leather, that sounds like a pretty solid choice.