[quote="Litppunk, post:42, topic:14067"]Yes sorry I hadn't clarified there that is more or less what I meant. Better dodging at closer would produce the correct results... sort of, but would be more universal and be an ....er inaccurate depiction of what is happening. Monsters don't get *better* at dodging at closer ranges, the (long range) sights become less effective at aiming at closer targets, increasing how much effect their dodging has (not the effectiveness of the dodging, but the effect OF dodging)[/quote]
It's not inaccurate at all, it's a result of dodging and aiming effectively operating in two different coordinate systems. Aim speed is expressed in angular speed, effectively degrees per second, while dodging is linear, in e.g. feet per second. If you map linear speed to angular speed, that mapping changes depending on distance between the target and shooter.
That would be true if the relative size of the target remained constant, but this is not so. Which would even out except that humans are not robots.
Aiming at something farther away the amount of forgiveness for slight variant in angle degree is less forgiving, which means you have to aim that much harder, even though you can get ‘back on target’ faster, it is harder to keep any breathing and other muzzle sway from effecting aim. As far as I can tell this is represented well in the current system, which means that dodge shouldn’t need to be adjusted much for long range. Except maybe in the case of ‘active’ dodging.
At short range, the angle variant is more forgiving, but there is a much greater change for following a target moving the same speed, and in the case of untrained shooter, nerves/jitters/fear and such. So called ‘Zombie survival guides’ go out of their way to recommend civilians give themselves extra cushion distance on the minimum firing range and list this as one of the reasons.
Asides from that until the target comes close enough that you are swinging your weapon in wide arcs that it is the physical weight, and maneuverability of the weapon is becoming a factor in aiming at a target moving side to side, a rifle is going to be the better weapon.
There may be a slight penalty on movement, on the momentum of getting the heavier rifle to target, but it is made up in stability of the weapon platform. What it does not make up for, is if all you can see through your sight is forest 200m away, a chest hair at 10 feet on wall of flesh and then count the antlers on a deer at the edge of the forest as the target leaps sided to side inside the minimum effective scope range.
It is the Sights accuracy not the weapons that is the problem in this case. The same weapon with an open, minimalist sight would not have major aiming penalties until the target was so close that grappling the weapon is more effective than dodging. At which point I don’t think any weapon would be especially effective unless its a shotgun, and/or being used as a bayonet holder and/or impromptu gunpowder brass knuckles
All in all, rifles should get some penalty at close range, and extreme penalty at close range if equipped with any kind of a scope.
What are the ranges we are talking about? And how dodgy? one wall of the hallway to the other in the blink of an eye? At that point rifles, even with non vision blocking sights the penalties would probably amount to 10% (<5%?) or less for a reasonably well trained civilian, but waving a light weight pistol back and forth wouldn’t be better enough to matter. It’s light weight would probably only mean it getting waved to far. more than that, it would come down to discipline and skill with the weapon more than WHICH weapon, to the point it would essentially be a well trained hipfire anyways.
Realistically the close range rifle nerfs should come down to scopes more than platform based, except in the case of larger, bulkier rifles more akin to a marksmen or sniper rifle than an assault rifle.
Game wise it makes sense to just give everything a niche and its the right choice. I’d just like to see compact rifles get a respectable tip of the hat in the penalties at middleish close range where scopes aren’t involved. Get scoped weapons nerfed the hardest and most sharply at close ranges. dodge or no. Probably throw a hard_to_dodge [tag] to reduce dodging effectiveness on automatic fire to give SMG’s and machine guns a better niche.
Its a shame the size of the reality bubble forces sniper like weapons to push the whole scale down, or just drop them off the end. realistically a decent mid range rifle with a 4x zoom or so should be able to shoot to the edge of the bubble without trouble. Which makes any solutions feel kind of compressed.