Sniper rifle trail

[Xyntech]

Originally Posted by Hypevosa

If you really hate snipers so much then take up the mantle of the countersniper and stop whining and start getting revenge. Every effective squad should have 2 snipers for counter sniping purposes and for scouting, softening enemy defenses before entry. If you can depend on your counter sniper to have your back you should be fine.

I'm a sniper, but I only snipe normal infantry when there aren't other snipers around that I can go toe to toe with.

No. No no no no no.

I am very much in favor of snipers. In the first Planetsides prime, snipers were often a valuable part of tower and bridge fights, and occasionally even base fights.

But Snipers should never be primarily about counter sniping. That should be one of their roles, but if it's their primary role, the concept is broken. This isn't a reality simulator, this is a game. You don't put something into the game to counter itself. That's just stupid.

2 snipers per squad? So let's see, we've got 2 engi's, 2 medics, 2 snipers... That leaves 4 players to divide between MAXes, Heavy Assault, Light Assault (gotta have at least one LA if they have the ammo boxes), and non sniping infiltrators.

Get real. A squad should maybe have 1 sniper maximum if their squad isn't focused on ranged combat, if even that many.

Snipers are not a waste, certainly not in a free form game like Planetside, but snipers who only focus on shooting other snipers are useless even in Planetside.

[Masahiko]

The Bolt Driver left a huge red trail after it was fired. Not to mention that almost everything was a tracer in PS1. Consdering that it looks like they have one slot and a pistol i think its more than fine for those future inf snipers.

[Raka Maru]

It didn't surprise me that this turned into another name calling rabid sniper debate... Again.

* 15 snipers on a hill is called air cav bait. Easy kills.

* This isn't a death match game. If you can't personally get at the sniper or don't want to, there are other empire members that will do it. Get squadded or join an outfit.

* Snipers should be feared and hated by enemy foot Zerg. That's what they are for. Stop complaining and go hunt them if you hate them so much.

* If you just want to deal with shooting other soldiers in your vicinity, then Planetside is gonna open your eyes wide, and then shut them tight as you will die often. There is much more going on than your immediate surroundings.

* If a sniper is affecting your K/D count and your kill steak, then he is doing his job for his empire. The ones who can't take the time to go hunt him down are the actual K/D stat whores.

I personally enjoy both sniping and hunting snipers. It pulls me out of the meat grinder for a while. I'll either put away my MCG or Max and grab a plane or put on my cloak and find them. Now that cloakers are also snipers, I can just get behind him and take his head off rather than place a boomer at his feet.

Back on topic of OP. Having tracers on a sniper rifle makes no sense for that class (logically). It gives away your position, but it's a lot better than scope glare, which is a bad idea for fixing camping problems. But then again, this is not a death match game with fixed spawn points, this is planetside, and camping is a non-issue because of the scale and availability of movable spawn points.

[MrBloodworth]

Snipers in PS2 cloak there Raka Maru. That's a game changer.

[Raka Maru]

Originally Posted by Cuross

lol and us snipers respect that. But now I'm just wondering, if everything is supposed to be fair, then when you happen to sneak up behind an enemy, do you tap them on the shoulder and ask for a proper firefight? Lord knows he's just waiting to be farmed if you got behind him, haha.

-----------------------
Back on topic:
I think the real issue is if the tracer round is going to go away, finding a different sacrifice is necessary. As a sniper, we still want the range and damage, but I think I can speak for the rest of us when we say we'd happily sacrifice time instead. Give us back the targeting reticule or put in a mechanic where we have to take the time to set up a steady shot, without us being able to move even the crosshairs too much. That makes it so that we can't easily involve ourselves in a normal firefight from such great distance and we'd pretty much have to focus on finding a stationary target.

Would there be a way to make it so that the tracer started halfway through the shot instead of going all the way to the sniper rifle? Or three quarters the way, that way people will still know the direction of the sniper, just not the actual area.

I really like this idea! Most snipers will not want to trade off the tracer round for let's say a softer hitting bullet or shorter range, but if it left a "trail" of some sort within the visible range of enemy soldiers, that would be good. Just add it to the fog of war.

[Cuross]

Originally Posted by Raka Maru

I really like this idea! Most snipers will not want to trade off the tracer round for let's say a softer hitting bullet or shorter range, but if it left a "trail" of some sort within the visible range of enemy soldiers, that would be good. Just add it to the fog of war.

Hey, I'm just trying to come up with any other possible compromises outside their basic effectiveness. I mean, I can still play sniper with the tracer giving me away, but I find the whole idea of a tracer coming all the way back to me a bit odd. However, I'm beginning to think that no compromises can be made since both sides are offering points and counterpoints but nothing else. Granted, this is a really difficult issue to maneuver around, so this will probably stick to full tracers. I just hope that sniping isn't going to be as easy as other modern games. At ANY distance.

[Raka Maru]

Originally Posted by MrBloodworth

Snipers in PS2 cloak there Raka Maru. That's a game changer.

Yes, I realize this. It seems to be confirmed however in the demos that cloak turns off when shooting, and the cloak has a very short timer that I saw. It looks useful for just running to another piece of cover.

Haven't seen how cloaks behave yet without sniper rifles equipped so can't make a judgement on that yet. Hopefully today's TB live feed will show some of this action. Infiltraitor class seems to have its own subclass of "fully cloaked sabbotour" and "sneaky moving sniper".

[Raka Maru]

Originally Posted by Cuross

Hey, I'm just trying to come up with any other possible compromises outside their basic effectiveness. I mean, I can still play sniper with the tracer giving me away, but I find the whole idea of a tracer coming all the way back to me a bit odd. However, I'm beginning to think that no compromises can be made since both sides are offering points and counterpoints but nothing else. Granted, this is a really difficult issue to maneuver around, so this will probably stick to full tracers. I just hope that sniping isn't going to be as easy as other modern games. At ANY distance.

What I meant by adding it to the "Fog of War" was that if enemy soldiers were near the sniper, they would see where it came from, but of they were far down range, they would only see a trail for the last part of the bullet travel that is near them, whether the shot was directed to them or another nearby soldier.

To be clear, I don't like my position given away by tracers... That said, this would be a good compromise to me.

Remove the tracer and change it to a sonic trail, smoke trail, energy trail or whatever, but only visible by enemy soldiers if they are in range.



Barney 1, 2, and 3 would see different parts of the trail because of their position.

3 is target and knows where in general direction.
2 knows path, but not exact location of shooter or target.
1 knows where sniper is exactly, but not target. He can come try and get me.

[Malorn]

Oh noes, there is a trail after sniper shots that gives their position away! They might have to relocate, use that cloaking device, and play strategically! Its as if the game has tradeoffs and balance! Oh my!

[Xyntech]

That's a decent idea Raku. I like it. Pretty good compromise. Like a superior damage direction indicator at range, and an additional give away in addition to sound for close range.

[Envenom]

One shot, one kill.

[Raka Maru]

Originally Posted by Xyntech

That's a decent idea Raku. I like it. Pretty good compromise. Like a superior damage direction indicator at range, and an additional give away in addition to sound for close range.

This would also "encourage" snipers to use longer ranges to not give themselves away. This "discourages" the closer shots cuz you will be spotted, and in range of non sniper rifles and powerful machine guns.

Smart snipers will still shoot and move because the sniper hunters will be heading closer. Gives time for both players to reposition themselves.

[2coolforu]

Originally Posted by Cuross

Okay, so I have an issue with nearly all shooters and tracer fire. As if hit indicators aren't enough, unnecessary tracer fire gives away your position nearly all the time. I have a special issue with sniper rifles and this trail they cause. Yes, snipers can be annoying, but snipers have a purpose: to scout, to remain hidden, and to take opportunities. So anyone who's been playing the game, is there any hint of a sniper rifle's "tracer" round? Wondering because it's already been said that it'll take two good hits from a sniper (once for shields and once for headshot) to kill, so I think that the tracer is going to be unnecessary, especially given the fact that if a sniper drains your shields, your first thought should probably be "Oh, *expletive*! Hide hide hide!" and not "Now where is that camping *expletive*?"

Or am I the only one who has this issue? I feel that a sniper should be unseen and unkown, and I wouldn't feel the least bit annoyed that a sniper got the better of me.

Planetside 1 had a huge trail for the sniper, in a huge ass battle with 200 people shooting everywhere you have plenty of cover as a sniper. The trail is one of the few things that gives a player an idea of where fire is coming from.

[Dreamcast]

One shot one kill is in the game.


2:16 in the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=1-4AePpza-4


Either the guy was on low health before hand or headshots are OSOK against light troops

[vampyro]

Sniping in ps1 was very similar and very lethal. Remember you might have 10-20 snipers in one battle. Im pretty sure its safe to say from a ps1 vets perspective, "its fine, learn to play." The tracer fire needs to be there, other wise ps would be called sniper wars.