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Faster Selector Switch?

Posted: 2008-03-31 02:44
by SgtShellback
Did a quick search on this, didn't find anything, so I hope not a repost:

I think using the selector switch should be faster. I know it's only a second or two to go from semi- to full-auto or burst, but I also know from experience (USMC Infantry) that it is really second nature and much faster than that. It can also make the difference between life and death in CQB if you can't get to full auto or burst in time.

On a related note, perhaps to add another element to game balance or faction differences PR could have slightly different selector switch times/ magazine reload times for trained/untrained factions. I know when I was in, we did magazine drills every day to train muscle memory, but I doubt that non-professional forces do the same. So maybe longer times for them, and shorter times for the trained forces. Is this even possible?

Opinions? :mrgreen:

Posted: 2008-03-31 04:14
by Spec
I agree with both suggestions.

...

BUT

Today you'll get to know the word hardcoded. It's the word that stops the Dev's from doing lots of the things they want. (Didnt sound mr.grenade-like? Well, at least i was trying)

To your first suggestion: I highly doubt this is possible. Many of the standard game elements of BF2, like VoIP and many parts of the keymapping are hard coded, means they are part of the game's source code and not changable by the PR Dev's.

To your second suggestion: The reloading animation is part of the weapon. Of course you could give the AK a longer reloading time than the M16, but there are two problems:
1. If an insurgent picks up an M16 he can reload it just as fast as a trained soldier, and if a soldier picks up an AK he'll also have to reload it as slow as an insurgent, because the reloading animation and so the time are part of the weapon, not of the shooter - and this is also hard coded, because the way weapons and thier animations work is a basic part of the game.
2. The dev team dont have enough animators for doing all the animations they want already, and there are much more important animations still to do.

I hope i'm not wrong here, but i'm sadly pretty sure i'm right.

Posted: 2008-03-31 05:38
by SgtShellback
Gah! That's too bad. Oh well! :mrgreen:

Posted: 2008-03-31 07:54
by Mosquill
Spec_Operator wrote:I agree with both suggestions.

...

BUT

Today you'll get to know the word hardcoded. It's the word that stops the Dev's from doing lots of the things they want. (Didnt sound mr.grenade-like? Well, at least i was trying)

To your first suggestion: I highly doubt this is possible. Many of the standard game elements of BF2, like VoIP and many parts of the keymapping are hard coded, means they are part of the game's source code and not changable by the PR Dev's.

To your second suggestion: The reloading animation is part of the weapon. Of course you could give the AK a longer reloading time than the M16, but there are two problems:
1. If an insurgent picks up an M16 he can reload it just as fast as a trained soldier, and if a soldier picks up an AK he'll also have to reload it as slow as an insurgent, because the reloading animation and so the time are part of the weapon, not of the shooter - and this is also hard coded, because the way weapons and thier animations work is a basic part of the game.
2. The dev team dont have enough animators for doing all the animations they want already, and there are much more important animations still to do.

I hope i'm not wrong here, but i'm sadly pretty sure i'm right.
Animations are not a probmel. You don't even have to modify them to do that. The problem is that there is no such thing as firemode switch delay. Yes you can see an animation, but that doesn't mean that it actually does something. You can just press 3, switch fire mode, and fire ignoring all the animation.

Posted: 2008-03-31 12:00
by Spec
ah, okay, sorry.

I was talking about the magazine change at that point rather than about fire selection anyway.