sv3672;n10882221 said:
I do not remember for sure if that game actually has Morrowind-like random hit chance for the player's character (I think at least enemy attacks do have that, and the chance is modified to 100% at very short range), but I do agree that such system is generally not ideal in an action-ish game.
For Stalker (and I kid you not, since I modded it to get rid of this), the game did operate exclusively off of gear, but "lower tier" guns would not only have
ridiculous bullet spread and exaggerated damage drop-off over distance, but the game would intentionally fail to actually generate a "bullet" XX% of the time. So, e.g., even though I fired 5 times...only 3 bullets would actually exist in-game for purposes of determining hits and damage...and only 1 of those would fly anywhere near where the weapon was sighted. (Fairly early-on in the game, you could grab weapons that worked much better, so it didn't feel like such an overwhelming issue after the first ~5 hours.) But when you realize that these penalties do not apply to NPCs (who can pinpoint your character instantaneously and never "drop" bullets)...and that you're almost always outnumbered and out-gunned...and that ammo is both rare and expensive...
Well, you can see where this is going. Artificially impeding player skill creates nothing but needless frustration. Especially if players MUST pass a section in order to move on -- what in the world is the point putting the player directly in the action (1st-person)...giving them total, real-time control...then
forcing them to fail when they so obviously have the real-life skills to succeed?
Shavod;n10882261 said:
Already talked about it, but first Deus Ex in my opinion did it pretty well. Skills related to firearms improve mostly your accuracy, which in the game depends on how long you have to aim at the enemy to be sure you will hit him. As you increase those skills, the time required for the aiming gets shorter, so eventually, when you reach the peak with your abilities in using that particular type of weapon, you are able to hit your target almost immediately.
Fair! And this was a game in which it didn't bother me at all. That was actually a great way to handle it...especially since there were clear indications on the screen of how much "better" you had become. Still, those mechanics made for very stilted shooting mechanics. Great game -- one of my favorites! -- but it will never be remembered for how awesome the combat was.
Shavod;n10882261 said:
Now I wonder was there ever any third person shooter RPG where the RPG mechanics affected the gameplay in other ways then by increasing the damage output?
Hmmm...not a "shooter", per say...but there have been plenty of 3rd-person RPGs (or at least games with RPG elements) that have mixed up the standard "increase damage output" thing. I must once again praise Kingdoms of Amalur. Let's look at their take on overall combat (including ranged):
- You have four major factors that affect "shooting": weapon choice, specific damage type, weapon skill, and attack type.
- Weapon choice is bow, sceptre, staff, or chakrams. Each of these has its own range, move set, and skill synergy.
- Various weapons will contain various elemental damages, armor piercing, additional damage vs. specific enemies, the ability to stun, etc.
- You also have spells and skills that can create a range of various effects, and these work in tandem with attacks.
Here's where the major difference lies. Unlike Diablo-esque style ARPGs, you have a dynamic, improvisational fighting system. Every weapon has a move-set ala fighting games like Street Fighter, Dead or Alive, etc. Plus, you can work in spells, skills, and/or a second weapon during combo attacks. This means that your passive stats are nowhere near as important as your mastery over your active selection of weapons, spells, and skills.
That's the way I think 3rd-person "shooting" should go in RPGs. It's not so much about the amount of damage I cause, nor about just my accuracy, but rather a range of skills and abilities unique to my character that lats me control the field and
ensures I'll get a clean shot on my target. No real "aiming" needed!
(Heh-heh-heh...I just read back over this. I did a terrible job making this clear. I don't have time right now, but I'll try to pick it up again later.
)