Better gun mechanics before multiplayer

[GodWaffle]

Hey,

As you can notice when playing Project Zomboid right now, guns are super-easy to use, kills pretty much every single time due to auto-aim.

I was thinking that this would become an annoyance in Multiplayer (and with NPCs) if it's a matter of whoever shoots first wins instead of having to actually aim.  

Taking cover

First and foremost we'd need a way to get low down so we can hide behind objects (I'm thinking cars when they're added), this would give another way of taking cover in a gunfight.

I'm thinking a way this could be achieved is standing next to an object like a car, and holding CTRL will make the player crouch down behind it, while the mouse is facing away from the object the player will stay crouched, if you point the mouse 'over the top of the object' then the player stand up and aim over it, but crouch down again if the cursor is moved back.

Better aiming

I'm thinking that when you aim with a weapon, rather than aiming in the general direction of the target and just shooting and hitting using auto-aim, you would need to aim with your mouse.  

When a gun is equipped and the CTRL or RMB is pressed, the mouse cursor would become a crosshair (or a transparent line would emit from the player in the direction of the shot, the higher the player's aiming skill is, the longer the line is, 3D engine will allow this I'm assuming) and you'd aim for the target.

When you shoot, depending on your shooting skills the bullet will have a 'radius' of where it will hit from where your mouse cursor was, this radius will get smaller as the player's skill increases.  

I feel that the transparent line would be better for this as it would feel more like you're aiming from the player's arms than pointing a mouse cursor onto a target.

Getting shot

When you get hit by a bullet, the game would calculate where you get hit, fatal shots are possible if you get hit in the heart or head, and other vital areas would cause a quick death (you'd bleed out fast), if you get hit in the arm, you will be injured and bleed, but you can bandage your wound and take medication to avoid infection (maybe have a 'remove bullet' tooltip on a set of pliers or something)

This would avoid it being a one-hit kill on characters which would be frustrating as hell, and would give you a chance to escape.

Anyway, just my thoughts, let me know what you think.

-GodWaffle

[Guest easy AI opponent]

+1

 

Getting shot

When you get hit by a bullet, the game would calculate where you get hit, fatal shots are possible if you get hit in the heart or head, and other vital areas would cause a quick death (you'd bleed out fast), if you get hit in the arm, you will be injured and bleed, but you can bandage your wound and take medication to avoid infection (maybe have a 'remove bullet' tooltip on a set of pliers or something)

This would avoid it being a one-hit kill on characters which would be frustrating as hell, and would give you a chance to escape.

Anyway, just my thoughts, let me know what you think.

-GodWaffle

Like that as well. However intendend or not this will make NPCs or (future other players) more dangerous than the zombies (just like in dayZ or the real world aka "the walking dead"). Seems like in any case when adding NPCs or other players this is the road they have to go.

[Kajin]

At lower skill levels, maybe the straight line could be a transparent cone that gets wider and wider the less skilled the character is?

[GodWaffle]

+1

 

Getting shot

When you get hit by a bullet, the game would calculate where you get hit, fatal shots are possible if you get hit in the heart or head, and other vital areas would cause a quick death (you'd bleed out fast), if you get hit in the arm, you will be injured and bleed, but you can bandage your wound and take medication to avoid infection (maybe have a 'remove bullet' tooltip on a set of pliers or something)

This would avoid it being a one-hit kill on characters which would be frustrating as hell, and would give you a chance to escape.

Anyway, just my thoughts, let me know what you think.

-GodWaffle

Like that as well. However intendend or not this will make NPCs or (future other players) more dangerous than the zombies (just like in dayZ or the real world aka "the walking dead"). Seems like in any case when adding NPCs or other players this is the road they have to go.

 

I agree, the current system works fine for dealing with zombies but it really will need to be revamped when facing off against human (or computer-controlled-human) opponents or the combat will be frustrating, guns will play a much bigger role when there are people in the world.

 

At lower skill levels, maybe the straight line could be a transparent cone that gets wider and wider the less skilled the character is?

 

Possibly, that might obscure the player's vision a bit though if it's too wide.

Also, I think recoil will need to play an effect too (you can currently go machine gun with a pistol, if you were aiming at someone and did this you would likely hit them more than once), so you'd need to give it a second or two to re-align your aim.

[GodWaffle]

I'm also thinking when the player is shot in the leg they will have to crawl or limb to safety which is much slower than your average zombie, this could lead to some Walking Dead style Shane kills Otis moments where you leave someone for the dead so that you can escape.

Now this entire system may seem pretty complex but I'm sure that this is something that may need to be a big change, guns at the moment don't require skill and as far as I can tell I'm a crack shot even without any skill level-ups + machine gun pistol is possible.

This will be frustrating as hell once NPC's and later multiplayer are implemented and I think this is an essential change (or something similar to this) to ensure the game remains fun when facing off against other people.

[Janske]

In case of firearm combats with NPCs or Multiplayer would be armor like kevlar/Dyneema/plates a usefull item, could be found by Police-zombies, or Police station, heavy combat gear by military-zombies or military stations, when there is any one in this region.

[silents429]

Eh the last point was the only one I agreed with, Guns are something to be feared in real life and should in the game, and thats why it should be established that if your going to raid someone you have an easy chance of dieing just as easy as you could kill them.

The only thing about Multiplayer for me thats a bit wacky is how combat will work, the last point is the only one so far I think fits right.

[GodWaffle]

Eh the last point was the only one I agreed with, Guns are something to be feared in real life and should in the game, and thats why it should be established that if your going to raid someone you have an easy chance of dieing just as easy as you could kill them.

The only thing about Multiplayer for me thats a bit wacky is how combat will work, the last point is the only one so far I think fits right.

 

Fair enough, whether my idea on aiming is good or not, I do believe we need an actual aiming system, being able to auto-aim on players will take the skill out of PVP situations since it's a matter of who's auto-aim hits first (much like GTA Online, PVP in that is bland since it's all auto-aim)

I'm also wondering if PVP Melee combat will be changed to allow you to block incoming attacks with a weapon, not sure if melee needs any tweaks though.

The only one I can understand not being considered is the cover mechanics though I believe they should be considered, shooting over small walls or something will be dangerous if there's no way of taking cover behind it, however if we get the ability to crouch it could work instead.