Weapons Re-Design
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 6:49 am
I'd like to keep this thread separate for the purpose of discussing the way weapons are implemented in classes and into the game as a whole.
With that being said, I would like to take a quick poll on the idea of re-designing the entire weapons (guns, specifically, not touching the lightsaber combat) from the ground-up, with a focus on three primary points:
Realism : Right now, the weapons set featured in Jedi Academy are built and geared towards game-play, not realism, not in the slightest way. Weapons are optimized for a faster, twitch-based style of play. While slowing down things like rate-of-fire, reload speed, and adjusting ammo usage may be a good place to start, I believe the core mechanics, the more root functionality of each weapon can be re-thought and re-designed in a way that not only makes each weapon equally fun and entertaining to use, but also creates a challenging and unique way to approach armed conflict.
Fit-to-Setting : For one, this is Star Wars, a fantastical and amazing world. Secondly, we're in an era and setting nearly three-hundred years after the Battle of Yavin. For all intents and purposes, there are three-hundred plus year-old weapons still in service. Technology has advanced since then, just like it has since the time of the Old Republic, and I believe that both the form and the function of every weapon can and should be updated to reflect the current era. Also, this gives us the opportunity to implement more exotic weaponry that hasn't seen it's way into Star Wars games before. Similar to the way that the Wookie bowcaster and the concussion rifle have been portrayed as archetypal weaponry for both of these races, we can take this opportunity to introduce similar racial weaponry (saving the basics for the general 'military' uses, i.e. pistol+carbine+rifle).
Balance : Not to re-hash my earlier point, but the weapons are geared towards competitive game play, not realism. Certain weapon types are favored due to their mechanics, and have functionality that give them a clear-cut advantage. Specific weapons have obvious advantage not just in certain situations, but across the board, in any situation (read: anything that uses metallic bolt ammunition). It is my view that equally balanced guns (when the skill of the users is equal) stand an equal chance against each other (see any game built on the Unreal engine, or even the original Quake 3 Arena).
Combine these three ideas and you are left with weapons that function realistically, look appropriate to the setting at hand, and have solid tactical uses in multiple situations. With this in mind moving forward, I strongly believe that we can better equip our militaries, mercenaries, criminals and gun-slingers to create a realistic, unique, and immersive role-play experience not found anywhere else.
A quick note regarding specific mechanics.
I'm still working on tracking down the specific code and classes for certain functions (thank you Raven), but I believe that a re-load mechanic (or even an overheat as it's been discussed in other threads) is possible. For the purposes of this poll however, I am thinking as broadly and wide-reaching as possible. (Let not your imagination stop you!)
The engine that we're working with is a powerful one, and let me tell you; though it's graphical fidelity may not be the greatest and most up-to-date out there, the greater understanding I am continually gaining of the game's code, combined with the knowledge and skills of several other dedicated individuals that I have seen here in JEDI, leads me to be more and more convinced that all I have described above and so much more are possible. It'll take work, it'll take time, it'll take blood, sweat, and tears. I'm willing to go the distance to help build something incredible, in this, and every other aspect of RPMod, how about you?
With that being said, I would like to take a quick poll on the idea of re-designing the entire weapons (guns, specifically, not touching the lightsaber combat) from the ground-up, with a focus on three primary points:
- Realism
- Fit-to-Setting
- Balance
Realism : Right now, the weapons set featured in Jedi Academy are built and geared towards game-play, not realism, not in the slightest way. Weapons are optimized for a faster, twitch-based style of play. While slowing down things like rate-of-fire, reload speed, and adjusting ammo usage may be a good place to start, I believe the core mechanics, the more root functionality of each weapon can be re-thought and re-designed in a way that not only makes each weapon equally fun and entertaining to use, but also creates a challenging and unique way to approach armed conflict.
Fit-to-Setting : For one, this is Star Wars, a fantastical and amazing world. Secondly, we're in an era and setting nearly three-hundred years after the Battle of Yavin. For all intents and purposes, there are three-hundred plus year-old weapons still in service. Technology has advanced since then, just like it has since the time of the Old Republic, and I believe that both the form and the function of every weapon can and should be updated to reflect the current era. Also, this gives us the opportunity to implement more exotic weaponry that hasn't seen it's way into Star Wars games before. Similar to the way that the Wookie bowcaster and the concussion rifle have been portrayed as archetypal weaponry for both of these races, we can take this opportunity to introduce similar racial weaponry (saving the basics for the general 'military' uses, i.e. pistol+carbine+rifle).
Balance : Not to re-hash my earlier point, but the weapons are geared towards competitive game play, not realism. Certain weapon types are favored due to their mechanics, and have functionality that give them a clear-cut advantage. Specific weapons have obvious advantage not just in certain situations, but across the board, in any situation (read: anything that uses metallic bolt ammunition). It is my view that equally balanced guns (when the skill of the users is equal) stand an equal chance against each other (see any game built on the Unreal engine, or even the original Quake 3 Arena).
Combine these three ideas and you are left with weapons that function realistically, look appropriate to the setting at hand, and have solid tactical uses in multiple situations. With this in mind moving forward, I strongly believe that we can better equip our militaries, mercenaries, criminals and gun-slingers to create a realistic, unique, and immersive role-play experience not found anywhere else.
A quick note regarding specific mechanics.
I'm still working on tracking down the specific code and classes for certain functions (thank you Raven), but I believe that a re-load mechanic (or even an overheat as it's been discussed in other threads) is possible. For the purposes of this poll however, I am thinking as broadly and wide-reaching as possible. (Let not your imagination stop you!)
The engine that we're working with is a powerful one, and let me tell you; though it's graphical fidelity may not be the greatest and most up-to-date out there, the greater understanding I am continually gaining of the game's code, combined with the knowledge and skills of several other dedicated individuals that I have seen here in JEDI, leads me to be more and more convinced that all I have described above and so much more are possible. It'll take work, it'll take time, it'll take blood, sweat, and tears. I'm willing to go the distance to help build something incredible, in this, and every other aspect of RPMod, how about you?