Aiming system enhancement

[Iosyn]

[quote=“arctan2x, post:34, topic:2727”]A simple implementation would be to allow a player to target a specific body part on command, make the shot more likely to miss based on the part, and if it does at least a certain %% value of the creatures health pool in one strike it causes crippling based on what you hit. Or, for certain things (like eyes), it becomes incredibly hard to hit but if any damage is dealt causes some hindrance. I assume monsters can be blinded?

Quickest implementation I can think of. Doesn’t require multiple health pools, special attacks to be learned, or anything. It does require some extra binary variables attached to the creature array to determine whether or not the creature actually HAS the specific body part, but that is by no means a difficult thing to implement. Just requires a bunch of extra [1]/[0] be added all over the place and a quick if/then when you are choosing to aim your shot to determine what you are allowed to shoot at. If the player chooses not to aim just roll a die if the score a hit to determine what they hit, or just assume they hit the torso.

Game is in c++ right? Pretty sure I saw that said somewhere >.>
If it’s not completely ignore anything I say, it’s the language any assumption I make is based on.

It’s a quick and dirty, but iono. Those are the best kind when you’ve got a billion things to do. Polish after the fact.[/quote]

well, wildlife could be blinded and I suppose zombies could too-- but both would then fall back on scent.

[kevin.granade]

Any chance for double yield and throwing knives any time soon?

Throwing knives are a simple mater of making them, I added the ability to thow a single item from a stack of items a while back, which was the main thing keeping them from working as they should.

Dual Wield is going to happen some time or another, but if you want dual-wield, you’re probably not going to like how it works, because it will assess realistic penalties for your actions, so it will rarely be beneficial combat-wise to dual-wield weapons.

[FunsizeNinja123]

So… Having 2 shields in each hand is gonna be bad?

[kevin.granade]

Two shields in each hand is not going to be possible
Weapon and shield will likely be a valid combination, whether the weapon is a one-handed melee weapon or a pistol, because the defensive bonuses may well be worth the attack penalties.

What I’m referring to is two pistols, two swords, or other such absurdities. This leaves e.g. Escrima out in the cold, which is a legitimate two-weapon style, but frankly a martial art based primarally on inflicting pain and breaking joints isn’t going to get you far in the Cataclysm anyway…

[FunsizeNinja123]

So dual wielding pistols are ok… Maybe SMGs? Anyway, on shields, maybe there can be three ‘kinds’ of shields. Like a small , medium and a large shield.
Small shield that you strap onto your arm for faster maneuvering and such, but is… small. Not much blocking going on unless your fast enough (Dex thing?) and you can hold something else in that hand. Medium shield will be held in your hand and is… medium. Gives alright cover and protection. Large shield is going to be held in your hand, probably heavy, but is gonna be a huge thing covering your body. Do not recommend hitting anything while using the large shield.

Freaking hate writing out ideas, it seems so prefect in my head but comes out as… something else.

[kevin.granade]

So dual wielding pistols are ok… Maybe SMGs?

No, the opposite. Dual-wielding firearms of any kind is pointless and this will be reflected in-game. You can do it, but enjoy not hitting anything ever.

[FunsizeNinja123]

Aw… Nibblets.

[John_Candlebury]

[quote=“FunsizeNinja123, post:40, topic:2727”]So dual wielding pistols are ok… Maybe SMGs?

No, the opposite. Dual-wielding firearms of any kind is pointless and this will be reflected in-game. You can do it, but enjoy not hitting anything ever.[/quote]

But it is going to be effective once we reach a certain skill threshold or will it be perma bad?

Ohh please Kevin think about 'em matrix sequences

[RindFisch]

Dual wielding means you can’t really aim and suffer increased recoil (as even a handgun is usually used with both hands if possible).
It really is pointless to use against anything you could conceivably miss, but against targets big and/or close enough that hitting isn’t much of a problem, I could see it having some use, least.
Against a zombie hulk 5m away, you’re probably not gonna miss either way with some decent shooting experience, so dualwielding two handguns would allow you to pump it full of bullets a bit faster.

That’s all asuming medium handguns, ofc. Dual wielding SMGs or heavier is kinda silly in all situations.

[kevin.granade]

If it was reasonable to fire two pistols significantly faster than one, I’d believe you, but I’m very skeptical of the effectiveness of that vs just concentrating on unloading one gun as fast as possible then switching. The main issue being recoil, you can unload a gun into a target really fast in cata, it’s keeping the recoil under control that’s the issue, and you’re going to be highly penalized at that firing one-handed.

[Sheb]

My math sense is telling me you could unload it twice as fast. But then you’d get twice the recoil, + a penalty of the off-hand weapon.

[kevin.granade]

Assuming good coordination and training, you might be able to do a “tactical eject” (just ejecting magazines for both guns and letting them drop) for both guns simultaneously. Now what, you have a gun in both hands, how are you going to reload?

In practice, your options are either drop one gun and do a tactical reload on the other, in which case one of your guns is now on the ground, or holster one and tactical reload the other, meaning you now have one holstered. To reload both, you have to holster, tactical reload, holster, draw, tactical reload, draw, which is MUCH slower than just doing a tactical reload, or even two tactical reloads.

[John_Candlebury]

Or perhaps you could activate uncanny dodge and to a flashy matrix reload?

[FunsizeNinja123]

Or have the mags attached to your belt and you just have to slam down the guns on the mags.

[MarkB]

Maybe add a “dual-wielder” trait to reduce the penalties for those who really want to do it?

[vultures]

Mmmm… ummmcanny dodge. Um-kay? \o/
Another thing… you know how there’s that 6-bullet-space plastic doodle-noodle that picks up ammo off the table, for example, and puts 'em all in the revolver’s barrel & once? Well, there’s a clip loader, also… not really sure about the batteries (would have to be like a single AAA) but it does feature a spring mechanism so your hands don’t start shaking once you finish reloading the handgun. Imagine scissors with a spring in the middle and some cap space so you just slip in the bullets and that’s pretty much it.
And of course, for the fastest reloads of assault-line weaponry, there’s the magazine reloader (I’m pretty sure there’s one for the 7.62 caliber) with a small magnet to ease the pickup out of the box.

[kevin.granade]

To all of the above (except vultures, he’s talking about actual things)

no

[system]

On the dualwield and reloading - IRL it takes much more time, but it’s not hard. Put one gun under your armpit, reload second one, rinse, repeat.
The real problem with dualwielding - accuracy. It’s totally crappy with everything except for the handguns(and only if you know the technique and are shooting only at one target).

[kevin.granade]

Yes, “not hard, but takes longer” is exactly what I was saying, as opposed to reloading two guns simultaneously somehow being faster than reloading a single gun twice.

[vultures]

Ok, here’s what…
Since I’m an ambidexterous dude (really) and we’re running low on paper for dual wield print here, lemme point out that there is no magic mushroom that can make you run @ full speed & shoot two different, moving targets at the same time, nevermind the bursts you (ok, we all) want.
Now, for most of the tasks that require freedom of both the hands, you’ll still need both; I know we all love the arcade and Lara Croft’s sideboob and arse, but your character, really, does it this way: whilst firing from a twin USP, if one weapon empties and you assume it before you first squeeze the trigger so you hold a clip in the opposing hand, still you need to stop firing the other gun, too.
What does this tell you?
First of all, don’t try to poke your gun with an upright standing clip on the table and fire away. Especially don’t if you’re doing it with Christopher Walken sitting against you, firing against you. He knows you’ll crush, he’s co-written the script.
Now about that panic, and wielding multiple sidearms @ once; can it be just something special, like having that shotgun ready if you’re facing an overwhelming number of Zs? I’m seeing it this way, you can get really hurt and have some beers to ease the trouble, you can snort your way around Brutes and Hulks with coke and meth, you can cook creatures from other planes of existence in your pot, but you’re never ever gonna draw two handguns even if fifteen Zs are in your face trying to eat it anytime now.
I’m only starting off creative, code a panic button in game; it has a certain treshold, some additional messages to display (hints, for ex.) and an extra feature or two until it wears of, like +2 or so on attacks with firearms until it wears off. And again, if you have your other single-handed weapon holstered.