Sniping. and art.
Posted: 2004-09-16 21:47
Sniper Theory and Game Neglect
------I'm sure all of us have been running through the endless abyss of jungle called Ho Chi Min in BFV or perhaps the long hilly island called Iwo Jima in BF1942 and been tapped in the head. Chances are youve just experieced sniping firsthand, you never saw where it came from (until the camera panned over to the shooter) and you could do nothing about it. There are myths about snipers, most untrue and grossly innacurate.
------Take for instance saving privet ryan, the German sniper in the tower and Jackson in his bell tower, while these may be good vantage points they are not good sniping postions (we all saw what happend to jackson). They are obvious, they are in a high place where your muzzle flash is easily seen, and they are easy to get pinned down in, this goes for TREES also. While you can see better (maybe), they will be the wrong place to shoot from for all these reasons.
------Also, one thing that games have neglected, even games oriented around sniping (Marine Sharpshooter I and II), is the dirt. DIRT gives away your position. Think about it, you are sitting in your hide, with your stock resting on the viewing port or supported by your body, and you take your shot. The dust infront of your rifle is bound to kick up. no? This is another firing signature that the sniper should need to be concious of.
------My next comment is oriented around the art of stalking and land movement, there is a checklist which most snipers go through before a mission and or stalk.
-enemy location to be engaged
-Enemy strengths and dispositions within his area of operation
-Probable final fire positions, obtained from an assessment of the enemy and the ground to be covered
-routes in and out fo area
support available while on task
------Games have also neglected realistic sniping for face paced action, which i can understand. But a sniper is not a simple man with a rifle, he is a person who knows the ground, he knows how to walk so that he rolls his feet so that he doesnt break twigs as easily, he knows how to move without being seen. He will also go through another checklist while planning.
-likely firing positions
-possible vantage points along his rout from which to observe the next bound
-obstacles either man made or natural
-available cover, and hence the type of movement possible for that bound, and estimated time needed to cross it
-dead ground
-any obvious landmarks that will aid navigation while crawling
-civilian dispositions whithin area of ops
-animal dispositions within area of ops
-possible withdrawl routes
------i know most of these things would never get into a battlfield game because of how players usually want face paced action vs. total realism. But please just remember the snipers out there, the ones that dont go streight in, the ones who advance before theirs squad and with just a few shots, throw the other team into dissaray. The one thing i want most is good cover and ghilli suits.
------Most combat snipers where a ghilli suit of one form or another. These suits are usually standard uniforms along with civilian or civilian/military hybrid things on them. A sniper will usually take a week or so to make his Base, where in which he will take the cloths provided and begin making a network of webs on the arms, back, legs, and hat. after this he will take a neutral color of hessin and use a steel comb to shear it into jagged worn peices. he will take strips and hot glue them to the actuall suit. The webing will be indulged with more hessin, but not fully. The rest of the web is to be used as interchangeable spots for natural camoflauge. He will change out camo and grasses everytime he enters a newly color oriented spot.
------Another gripe is that snipers are seen as lone gunmen. Let me say that it is NEXT TO IMPOSSBLE to be a fully effective combat sniper operating alone. 95% of the time a sniper works with his spotter. This is a position that should be added to the game. It should be a position where you get a ghilli suit and M16A2 or M4A1 with scope and two mags.
------The spotters role in the team is to be a second pair of eyes and ears when on the stalk and serve as the high casualty producing section of the squad. Should the team get in trouble the spotter would be carrying a semi/automatic weapon. He also carries a spotting scope, usually a 20x Unertl scope or a differant brand name. This is used to judge distance and report it to the sniper. Before firing the sniper and his spotter go through a short diolaug.
- Elevation [observer] 694 yrds
- Deflection [observer] wind 4 clicks left
- Indication [observer] base right corner of building
- Confermation [sniper] Target seen
- time to fire [observer] fire
------As you can see the spotter plays an integral role in the team. we need a spotter position to go with sniper positions in the game. Seriously
------Thank you for listening to my rant about how neglected snipers are.
------Sources:
---------Sniper (book)
---------Weapons of Delta Force (book)
---------Special Forces by Tom Clancy (book)
---------The Art of Being a Combat Sniper (book)
---------http://military.future.easyspace.com/
---------http://www.emilitarymanuals.com/
---------http://www.vpc.org/studies
PS: this is a grossly dumbed down version of what i could have written. but i didnt want to bore anyone
------I'm sure all of us have been running through the endless abyss of jungle called Ho Chi Min in BFV or perhaps the long hilly island called Iwo Jima in BF1942 and been tapped in the head. Chances are youve just experieced sniping firsthand, you never saw where it came from (until the camera panned over to the shooter) and you could do nothing about it. There are myths about snipers, most untrue and grossly innacurate.
------Take for instance saving privet ryan, the German sniper in the tower and Jackson in his bell tower, while these may be good vantage points they are not good sniping postions (we all saw what happend to jackson). They are obvious, they are in a high place where your muzzle flash is easily seen, and they are easy to get pinned down in, this goes for TREES also. While you can see better (maybe), they will be the wrong place to shoot from for all these reasons.
------Also, one thing that games have neglected, even games oriented around sniping (Marine Sharpshooter I and II), is the dirt. DIRT gives away your position. Think about it, you are sitting in your hide, with your stock resting on the viewing port or supported by your body, and you take your shot. The dust infront of your rifle is bound to kick up. no? This is another firing signature that the sniper should need to be concious of.
------My next comment is oriented around the art of stalking and land movement, there is a checklist which most snipers go through before a mission and or stalk.
-enemy location to be engaged
-Enemy strengths and dispositions within his area of operation
-Probable final fire positions, obtained from an assessment of the enemy and the ground to be covered
-routes in and out fo area
support available while on task
------Games have also neglected realistic sniping for face paced action, which i can understand. But a sniper is not a simple man with a rifle, he is a person who knows the ground, he knows how to walk so that he rolls his feet so that he doesnt break twigs as easily, he knows how to move without being seen. He will also go through another checklist while planning.
-likely firing positions
-possible vantage points along his rout from which to observe the next bound
-obstacles either man made or natural
-available cover, and hence the type of movement possible for that bound, and estimated time needed to cross it
-dead ground
-any obvious landmarks that will aid navigation while crawling
-civilian dispositions whithin area of ops
-animal dispositions within area of ops
-possible withdrawl routes
------i know most of these things would never get into a battlfield game because of how players usually want face paced action vs. total realism. But please just remember the snipers out there, the ones that dont go streight in, the ones who advance before theirs squad and with just a few shots, throw the other team into dissaray. The one thing i want most is good cover and ghilli suits.
------Most combat snipers where a ghilli suit of one form or another. These suits are usually standard uniforms along with civilian or civilian/military hybrid things on them. A sniper will usually take a week or so to make his Base, where in which he will take the cloths provided and begin making a network of webs on the arms, back, legs, and hat. after this he will take a neutral color of hessin and use a steel comb to shear it into jagged worn peices. he will take strips and hot glue them to the actuall suit. The webing will be indulged with more hessin, but not fully. The rest of the web is to be used as interchangeable spots for natural camoflauge. He will change out camo and grasses everytime he enters a newly color oriented spot.
------Another gripe is that snipers are seen as lone gunmen. Let me say that it is NEXT TO IMPOSSBLE to be a fully effective combat sniper operating alone. 95% of the time a sniper works with his spotter. This is a position that should be added to the game. It should be a position where you get a ghilli suit and M16A2 or M4A1 with scope and two mags.
------The spotters role in the team is to be a second pair of eyes and ears when on the stalk and serve as the high casualty producing section of the squad. Should the team get in trouble the spotter would be carrying a semi/automatic weapon. He also carries a spotting scope, usually a 20x Unertl scope or a differant brand name. This is used to judge distance and report it to the sniper. Before firing the sniper and his spotter go through a short diolaug.
- Elevation [observer] 694 yrds
- Deflection [observer] wind 4 clicks left
- Indication [observer] base right corner of building
- Confermation [sniper] Target seen
- time to fire [observer] fire
------As you can see the spotter plays an integral role in the team. we need a spotter position to go with sniper positions in the game. Seriously
------Thank you for listening to my rant about how neglected snipers are.
------Sources:
---------Sniper (book)
---------Weapons of Delta Force (book)
---------Special Forces by Tom Clancy (book)
---------The Art of Being a Combat Sniper (book)
---------http://military.future.easyspace.com/
---------http://www.emilitarymanuals.com/
---------http://www.vpc.org/studies
PS: this is a grossly dumbed down version of what i could have written. but i didnt want to bore anyone
.but if your ideas come through then i love it! 
my favorite part is the spotter.that is a definate must.