- Joined
- Apr 3, 2015
- Messages
- 43
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- 9
I just wanted to suggest a few little behavior changes and improvements for the game's aiming system/HUD for dumb-fire and projectile weapons.
I haven't found anything that mentioned those things in particular, but I'm guessing someone must have said it once already.. So I'll keep this brief and just second whoever posted that in the past.
Suggestions are welcome !
I haven't found anything that mentioned those things in particular, but I'm guessing someone must have said it once already.. So I'll keep this brief and just second whoever posted that in the past.
- "Gyro Gun Sights":
Basically, I'd like to suggest adding an indicator on the HUD that indicates where to shoot with the cursor to hit the target, at its current pace and attitude, or at least make it an option for people that want it, so those that don't can turn it off. Its used in real life on fighter planes, and its also used in space sims such as X3, and it makes it that much less frustrating to dogfight in space.
My point is that, unlike in an aircraft vs aircraft game situation, where leading your shots is relatively easy, space ships can move erratically in all 3 dimensions. Add to this the fact that there are rarely any reliable frame of reference in space for your brain to determine what way you're going, what way your target is going, what is the speed difference between both, and what speed the projectile is actually going at. This means that in order to hit your target, you have to take a shot, then correct, until you hit the target, or until your target changes direction/pace, and you have to redo this again. And it gets even more complicated when the projectile's base velocity is the velocity of the ship, as enabled on certain servers. Because you'll need some time to get accustomed to it.
This trial and error method not very practical for those opting for dumb-fire missiles, or slow-firing canons. And even those using rapid fire canons might find themselves missing a lot of shots, and precious DPS. And it gives all those weapons a disadvantage right from the start in comparison to homing missiles, or beam weapons.
Plus in the event the weapons are remade, this would still be a relevant and recyclable feature.
My point is that, unlike in an aircraft vs aircraft game situation, where leading your shots is relatively easy, space ships can move erratically in all 3 dimensions. Add to this the fact that there are rarely any reliable frame of reference in space for your brain to determine what way you're going, what way your target is going, what is the speed difference between both, and what speed the projectile is actually going at. This means that in order to hit your target, you have to take a shot, then correct, until you hit the target, or until your target changes direction/pace, and you have to redo this again. And it gets even more complicated when the projectile's base velocity is the velocity of the ship, as enabled on certain servers. Because you'll need some time to get accustomed to it.
This trial and error method not very practical for those opting for dumb-fire missiles, or slow-firing canons. And even those using rapid fire canons might find themselves missing a lot of shots, and precious DPS. And it gives all those weapons a disadvantage right from the start in comparison to homing missiles, or beam weapons.
Plus in the event the weapons are remade, this would still be a relevant and recyclable feature.
- Bullet Crossing Distance:
When you install guns on each sides of your ship, the projectile will never cross, they'll go in a straight line. Unless you use the focused fire button. But the thing is, focused fire only makes projectiles cross at the right distance when you have a target under your reticule/cursor. This works fine for beam weapons as the travel time is instantaneous.
But the issue is, with canons and dumb-fire missiles, you have to lead your target, and so, the target is rarely under your reticule/cursor.
This means that, the projectiles do not cross at the right distance, firing around the target depending on its distance and its size, and you can only hit the enemy ship with significantly less firepower, than if all your guns could fire at it.
My suggestion for this would be to either:
But the issue is, with canons and dumb-fire missiles, you have to lead your target, and so, the target is rarely under your reticule/cursor.
This means that, the projectiles do not cross at the right distance, firing around the target depending on its distance and its size, and you can only hit the enemy ship with significantly less firepower, than if all your guns could fire at it.
My suggestion for this would be to either:
- Compute bullet crossing for the problematic weapon systems based on the current target's distance.
- Have a variable bullet crossing distance that can be adjusted in increments during combat by the player using a key.
- Reticle Behavior on Chunk Change:
This one is also quite problematic when dogfighting.
Each times you pass the boundaries of a chunk in space, your cursor is reset to the center of the screen. This might not seem like a problem, but its enough to make you miss a few shots until you drag your mouse back in the middle of the mouse pad, and it also put a stop to any turning maneuver you were in the process of.
Which is extremely annoying to say the least, when you're fighting on the edge of a chunk and go through this several times over the span of only a few seconds. Its enough to make you lose a target momentarily.
Also, I don't know if joysticks or controllers suffer the same issue, but I doubt it, given they do not use the cursor to steer around and shoot. Which would mean, this could potentially give a temporary and exploitable advantage to an opponent flying with a joystick/controller over a mouse + keyboard.
Each times you pass the boundaries of a chunk in space, your cursor is reset to the center of the screen. This might not seem like a problem, but its enough to make you miss a few shots until you drag your mouse back in the middle of the mouse pad, and it also put a stop to any turning maneuver you were in the process of.
Which is extremely annoying to say the least, when you're fighting on the edge of a chunk and go through this several times over the span of only a few seconds. Its enough to make you lose a target momentarily.
Also, I don't know if joysticks or controllers suffer the same issue, but I doubt it, given they do not use the cursor to steer around and shoot. Which would mean, this could potentially give a temporary and exploitable advantage to an opponent flying with a joystick/controller over a mouse + keyboard.
Suggestions are welcome !
