Improved Hunting Rifle Mechanics

[llacher]

I love the hunting mechanics in this game and think that they add a lot of depth to the game cycle. I do however find that some details of the hunting rifle seem a bit sideways. The hunting rifle is a Lee Enfield of sorts, but it is missing some big details. Owning multiple of this rifle personally, I feel I can speak to the detail changes needed.

 

For one, the rifle sight picture is off. I respect the need for a mechanic that makes landing a shot difficult, but it does not resemble the actual optic. I will attach images of the proper sight picture for reference. Having the narrow sight in the front makes the game feel more fair instead of having shots seemingly disappear into the ether if you are even slightly off with the extremely large front sight in game.

Second, upon reload of an empty magazine with zero ammo in the gun, there is visibly a round still in the magazine in game. This is an easy programming fix and I have also included an image of an empty magazine for reference so that it may be corrected accurately.

Third, the rifle action is too slow, especially with someone who has supposedly decent rifle skills by skill level 5. Even a novice like Mackenzie can quickly cycle an Enfield bolt as that is how they were designed. Here is a link to just how fast it can be cycled with basic practice.

https://youtu.be/qqQVz1UIvZ4

I propose instead of buffing critical chance and other invisible skills as level increases, adding hit areas on the animal and buffing the cycle and reload time for those times when a bear is charging or you just barely missed that deer. This will also challenge a player with ammo conservation as they may find themselves wasting more ammunition if it did not take 3 seconds between shots as it does currently. This game actually inspired me to buy Lee Enfields and since then have increased the immersion into the game. Tweaking these minor corrections will only serve to improve the game immersion and better represent the true, Canadian wilderness, Lee Enfield. Thank you

[Lumi]

Yes. Please thin the sights, and get rid of the forever-bullet ^^

However, I think the rifle cycling action is fine, or even too fast as is. It's been made clear they don't like using realism as a reason to demand things (sorry, you're not demanding this in this case, just the most fitting word that came to mind for how they put it) so there's that. Balance > Realism pretty much.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Lumi

[ManicManiac]

  I do not think we need to have the mechanics behind marksmanship/ballistics in this game be "hyper-realistic."  I think that the site alignment/site picture works fine as it is.  If it's working as Hinterland intends it to, then I'd say it isn't broken.

On 10/28/2019 at 12:54 AM, ManicManiac said:

I think more people should understand and accept that it's a video game, and doesn't have to reflect "reality."  In fact, I think we should be glad that it doesn't... for example if the shooting mechanics were 100% mapped to reality... most of us would probably not be able to hit the broadside of a barn from any significant distance.  Thankfully we don't have to worry about windage, elevation, full or half value winds, bullet drop, the Coriolis Effect... I mean the list goes on and on.

On 7/31/2019 at 11:32 PM, ManicManiac said:

if you employ good marksmanship basics you should be in good shape.  Specifically I mean good sight alignment & sight picture.  As for comparing it to other games... most games (shooters especially - ironically) are very far from accurate when it comes to actual marksmanship, and I think we should be glad for that.

Even in the long dark all we really have to worry about is sight alignment and sight picture.  We don't have to worry about windage or elevation calculations.  As such, we don't have to worry about bullet drop or half value/full value winds.  We only see a tiny suggestion of the effects of breath control and trigger control only when we are freezing or fatigued.   

I think sometimes a video game just has to video game.  If folks would like to have the real world experience... I think it might be better for folks to just go outside and have a real world experience.  This isn't a hyper-realistic wilderness survival simulation... and in my opinion, it doesn't need to be.  I think Hinterland is doing very well at crafting the experience they want to share with us.

On the other note:

On 6/15/2020 at 10:36 PM, llacher said:

Second, upon reload of an empty magazine with zero ammo in the gun, there is visibly a round still in the magazine in game.

This kind of seems like a bit of a nit-pick (to me) that really doesn't impact the gameplay in any meaningful way that I can see.  I don't see any need to for Hinterland to invest the time and resources into fixing this one (relatively insignificant) animation detail.

Edited June 17, 2020 by ManicManiac

[SirSharper]

Responding to the original post:

1. I don't have any issues with the sight. But I also do not own a rifle IRL. I could see how that may be annoying to someone with experience. 

2. the visible round without ammo bothers me, but I agree with Manic that it really doesnt "break" anything. (but fixing it may break something) 

3. reload is slow on purpose i assume. its kind of a give and take for the extra power (and creates a "make sure you land your shot" situation) 

[llacher]

I'm not asking for windage here because the game does not have any shots that even come close to having that be a factor. If you attempt to hit an animal in game, the max range is well under 50 yards, 40ish meters. But as for the sights, the rifle in real life and in game weighs nine pounds, 4 kilos, and has an effective range of 400 yards, 350ish meters with little practice. If you want that weight to have the rifle give any meaningful value, it needs to be better than the revolver in some aspects as a trade off. Currently, the only advantage I see is when handling a moose since the revolver struggles there. Outside of that, it's just a revolver that weighs more than double and fires more slowly. The sight on the revolver is also better and doesnt have timed aiming. I am seeking something to justify taking the rifle and packing that weight is all. It has massively more power than any of the 4 "firearms" in real life, massively more accuracy. If Hinterland went through the trouble of adding reloading into the game, give me a reason to reload as opposed to forging arrows and leaving the rifle in the locker. Make the rifle accurate but ammunition scarce. Allow it to reload more quickly so I can squander my resources. But most importantly, justify the weight of the rifle and give it the reasonable respect it deserves to even be in the game