VS underpowered when it comes to infantry?

[Zalmoxis]

Well I did say in the op that this is just a speculation thread. What else can we do while we patiently wait for the beta?

[Ratstomper]

Originally Posted by WorldOfForms

I'm sure it wouldn't be annoying at all to have infiltrators turning invisible to hide in corners inside bases and then one-shotting people with sniper rifles at close range.

Well, we've seen that cloaking isn't a permanent option like it was in PS1. You can only cloak for a certain amount of time before it has to recharge (think the spy in TF2). That means you likely won't see many guys camping in a stairwell or something with a sniper rifle. There MAY be a cloak pack that allows you to stand still and not drain energy, but I think the tradeoff is you can't have a sniper rifle with it.

I never enjoyed close range fighting with a sniper rifle anyway. It was always MUCH more satisfying to "pip the ace at 900 yards", so to speak. Learning to adjust, adapt and control to make incredibly long distance hits is what sniping is all about for me, but that may be because I grew up shooting.

I tried to find that clip from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but couldn't.

[Haro]

I understand, we're all bored and waiting for beta, but there is only so far a thread on speculation like this can go.

[Bruttal]

we have damage degradation over distance but high accuracy if am not mistaken. nothing like being at max pulsar distance noticing your hitting your target but only taking off like 0.01% health each shot and of course your shooting is slowed due to the extreme distance aiming. those were just wasted shots.

[Haro]

Originally Posted by Bruttal

we have damage degradation over distance but high accuracy if am not mistaken. nothing like being at max pulsar distance noticing your hitting your target but only taking off like 0.01% health each shot and of course your shooting is slowed due to the extreme distance aiming. those were just wasted shots.

In all likelihood, weapons will most likely have a cut off for minimum damage after degradation, à la Call of Duty, until some ultimate range is reached where damage just doesn't work anymore.

For sniper rifles, this degredation will probably not stop for several hundred yards, which seems to be a soft cap on sniper rifle ease-of-use for all classes from videos I've seen. This is the point bullets will be dropping and deviating from original course that it will require either significant skill, luck, or some combination of both to hit. Also, VS rifles are likely to be a mid point between TR and NC rifles in terms of ROF and damage, so you will likely be able to put several rounds on targets at long range. This is pure guess work, and it depends on whether damage degradation will also influence other empire rifles (I don't think so, but maybe) and I would doubt that the VS would drop much below TR damage, since it wouldn't have the advantages of a high rate of fire and large magazine, and so it would be generally worse than TR weapons. This is all speculation, but it's how I see it turning out.

[Blackwolf]

Originally Posted by NoDachi

Since when did snipers play a game changing part?

Every base assault launched from a tower or AMS? Every bridge battle? Most cave fights? Everywhere infantry fight in large open areas?

Ignorance is irritating, not bliss.

I don't think the DEVs would stick a sniper rifle in that was under par. It might be a continues laser that chews through the target in a second or two rather then a single bullet. Or it could be a high powered laser that will drop a target in one or two shots at "max range" but might not deal as much damage as an NC or TR rifle. As long as it serves it's primary function at the same level as the other two empires, I don't think the VS will be underpowered because of it.

I am worried about weaker weapons and armor compensating for higher maneuverability when it comes to VS vehicles though. The Scythe is particularly concerning to me because I REALLY want it to function exactly as described, but I know that if it does, it would be tremendously over powered compared to the others.

[Ratstomper]

Originally Posted by Blackwolf

Every base assault launched from a tower or AMS? Every bridge battle? Most cave fights? Everywhere infantry fight in large open areas?

Ignorance is irritating, not bliss.

Unless you're the ignorant.

[noxious]

What is with all these utterly pointless and speculative balance threads lately? There's no way for any of us to know which weapons/factions/classes/vehicles/items/etc are underpowered or overpowered until we've actually had a chance to play the game.

Simple adjustments to the numbers behind the scenes can completely alter the balance of power, so theorycrafting that Y must be underpowered because of Z is absurd, as the dev team can use unknown factors A-X to balance things out.

[Sephirex]

Originally Posted by noxious

What is with all these utterly pointless and speculative balance threads lately? There's no way for any of us to know which weapons/factions/classes/vehicles/items/etc are underpowered or overpowered until we've actually had a chance to play the game.

Simple adjustments to the numbers behind the scenes can completely alter the balance of power, so theorycrafting that Y must be underpowered because of Z is absurd, as the dev team can use unknown factors A-X to balance things out.

If you take away all the pointless balance threads, the only posts left on these forums would be "I want Beta now!"

[Flaropri]

Originally Posted by Sephirex

If you take away all the pointless balance threads, the only posts left on these forums would be "I want Beta now!"

Now now, there's also the occasional clever video or photo-shop... asking for beta...

[Ratstomper]

Originally Posted by Flaropri

Now now, there's also the occasional clever video or photo-shop... asking for beta...

Or the ones complaining that the unfinished NC music sucks...

[BlueSkies]

Originally Posted by NoDachi

Since when did snipers play a game changing part?

Never played PS1 did you?

Snipers, particularly in PS1, can function extremely well in the role of area denial. For instance, defending a base that had high ground on more than one side meant you weren't going outside if the attackers brought half-way decent snipers (disclaimer: most snipers in PS1 were/are terrible).

I can understand many people having a dim view of snipers after playing certain FPS titles. However in PS1, and hopefully PS2, it is a different situation.

On the other hand, I encourage you fine soldiers in the TR and VS to ignore the impact of snipers on the battlefield. It makes it easier

[Ratstomper]

Regular FPS maps aren't usually big enough to warrant any real sniping. Which is what led to quick-scoping becoming some kind of made up ub3rl33t skill. PS1 and PS2 should be different.

Originally Posted by BlueSkies

On the other hand, I encourage you fine soldiers in the TR and VS to ignore the impact of snipers on the battlefield. It makes it easier

I dunno. I like it when they try to run and hide.

[SGOniell]

Originally Posted by Elays

Thus my added idea of it "melting" through the armor. It will be cooler than first fired, sure why not, but the "melting" quality could still retain greater penetration than the "punching" of a bullet, yes? This is sci-fi, after all.

That just doesn't work...Materials take such an amount of energy to alter them, in the case of these weapons its coming from the heat. Plus depending on the temperature all you could end up doing is altering the structure of the material causing it to transform from one to another. Like when you heat up steel you could end up with Cementite, Austenite, or Ferrite rather than what you started with. This would simply bring out other properties. Depending on how its done you could make it tougher and then you'd be screwed.

[Necronile]

Originally Posted by SGOniell

That just doesn't work...Materials take such an amount of energy to alter them, in the case of these weapons its coming from the heat. Plus depending on the temperature all you could end up doing is altering the structure of the material causing it to transform from one to another. Like when you heat up steel you could end up with Cementite, Austenite, or Ferrite rather than what you started with. This would simply bring out other properties. Depending on how its done you could make it tougher and then you'd be screwed.

Why necro a thread?