[quote=“Austupaio, post:43, topic:1268”]So you think that doing a ‘whirlwind’ attack is perfectly normal but that dual-wielding pistols is impossible.
I do agree, though, dual wielding shouldn’t allow you to aim at two different targets, it would be more complicated to add and would be too ‘gunfu’.[/quote]
Except that burst fire already allows you to aim at two different targets. I don’t mean two targets near each other, it’s literally bullet time where you get to shoot x number of shots at any or all targets within range, even if they’re in opposite directions. Even targets you can’t normally target (even if you can see them due to clairvoyance), like smoke zombies, can be hit by the secondary shots.
And seriously, do people care about realism that much? We’ve got portals to Phobos spawning Cacodemons and whatnot. We’ve got artifacts that can make you invisible, let you see through walls, or shoot fireballs. And even the more down-to-earth stuff like crafting isn’t realistic at all. Making a crossbow out of a 2x4 and rubber hose? As someone mentioned in another thread, that’s just a crossbow-shaped slingshot. At least the slingshot recipe is realistic.
Now before you say something like, “We accept zombies and Cacodemons and X-Men mutations and bionic implants and magical artifacts as part of the Cataclysm universe which is given, but normal humans are not capable of dual-wielding pistols so that breaks immersion,” we already have eye mutations as well as eye bionics. If players shouldn’t be able to dual-wield pistols “straight out of the box,” that doesn’t rule out a mutation or bionic giving them the necessary dexterity and coordination to do so.
Dual-wielding pistols is not unrealistic for the same reason dual-wielding melee weapons is not unrealistic in this scenario. Dual-wielding melee weapons against a human foe would be very difficult and require lots of practice and training. People fight back. That wild swing you made with your off-hand because you’re not ambidextrous? Your opponent sees that as an opportunity. But zombies aren’t human, they aren’t cunning, and they don’t see opportunities. They don’t defend, they only attack, so any clumsiness with your off-hand isn’t likely to make a huge difference as long as you can hit them, which is to say, as long as you can hit a human-sized target moving at slow to moderate speed in a very predictable fashion. Similarly, dual-wielding pistols against a human foe would be stupid, since any benefit gained from additional rate of fire or ammunition will be more than canceled out by lack of accuracy. This is because hitting a human target is already difficult. Humans don’t stand still, and when faced with a gun, only a fool would rush straight at you. That second pistol will do you a lot of good when he’s hiding behind cover taking potshots at you, or running away in a zigzag pattern, or shooting at you while prone. Hitting that target would be difficult with your main-hand pistol, let alone off-hand. But against zombies? That second pistol doubles your ammunition. It allows you to shoot in 2 directions at once. Yes, doing so would not be very accurate. Hitting a human target would likely be impossible, but not because of the accuracy penalty. It’s because humans aren’t stupid enough to just stand there and let you shoot them. Zombies are. Zombies are the exact opposite of what humans are. They’re slow. They’re stupid. They have no fear or survival instinct. And they outnumber you. They’re your primary threat and it’s not unreasonable to dual-wield against them because they’re not human and don’t act human, thus the tactics used for fighting humans don’t apply. Therefore, it’s not unreasonable to be able to dual-wield, pistols or otherwise.
