Hi Adventurers!
In our prologue post, we went into great detail about the underlying meaning of Season 9's name "REBOOT". In the future, we will continue to focus on polishing the core experience and quality of the game. Season 9 might seem like a season without any actual content, but in reality, the development team put tons of effort into enhancing the core aspect of the game- gunplay.
The sole purpose of this gunplay overhaul is to greatly increase the depth of play, give each weapon their unique characteristics, optimize weapon balance and improve visual presentation, thus, comprehensively bringing the fun you experience in gunfights to the next level!
I. Depth of play
In the very beginning, ROE had a design philosophy of using a simplified shooting mechanic, lowering the requirement of entry. However, while this design was very beginner-friendly, it also sacrifices the depth of gunplay to some extent. Some players jokingly call our guns "laser weapons" that are not satisfying nor challenging enough to play with.
So, we looked at a number of mainstream shooters on the market, including CS:GO, Rainbow 6: Siege, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Battlefield 5, and more. On the basis of in-depth study and comparison, we have developed a new set of recoil mechanisms to bring a completely new experience of weapon handling.
Under the new mechanism, different weapons will have different recoil patterns and show distinct personalities. Players can gradually improve their recoil control skills with each weapon through learning and practice. We believe that mastering those weapon controls can be greatly rewarding and provide a great sense of accomplishment to players. At the same time, weapon attachments under the new mechanism will have a more significant impact on the recoil, greatly increasing their tactical value.
▲New recoil patterns
II. Weapon balance
Weapon balance has also been a common topic of discussion among our communities. In order to highlight the characteristics of different types of weapons, we have adjusted each weapon's bullet air friction ratio, meaning the projectile's drop and flight speed attenuation will be more noticeable. This will greatly open up the differences between weapons, and provide a clear identity to each weapon's strengths.
▲Bullet drop-off comparison
We also distinguished the ADS speed for each type of weapon. Pistols, for example, have a much faster ADS speed compared to sniper rifles. And attachments will now affect the ADS speed for weapons as well.
In addition, we adjusted the damage and damage attenuation for different weapon types, such as assault rifles and submachine guns, to further fine-tune the weapon balance.
▲Display of weapon distance damage drop-off (Each weapon has its ideal combat distance)
Lastly, we have added a limb penetration mechanism, the goal is to make the bullet hit the area more precisely, show a more realistic presentation, this also helps with reducing the confusion of inaccurate hit registration.
In the past, a bullet from a weapon hits one part of the target but cannot penetrate the rest of the target, hence situations like "the hand stops the bullet from piercing the body" happens.
But with the limb penetration mechanisms, different weapon types will have different penetration capabilities.
▲Limb penetration in a nutshell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n3YHYlLsJA
▲Sniper rifle penetration
III. Visual improvements
Visual presentation plays a huge part in building satisfying gunplay, we have started with optimizing the camera shake and scope sway effect during shooting to bring players a greater sense of immersion when engaging in gunfights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOuQR3mNr5U
▲Camera shake
The camera motion will be more intense, and it will be directly related to the power and weight of each weapon. The sway of the scope will naturally correlate with the breathing of the character.
IV. Final thoughts
A gunplay overhaul with this kind of magnitude takes a lot of testing and iterations, considering the new recoil considerably increased in difficulty, we will first put the patterns to test in the limited-time TDM mode "Heavy Caliber" for players to experience. As always, we will pay very close attention to monitor our data and our communities, and we really look forward to reading some amazing feedback from you, so us devs and players could perfect the mechanism together, and roll out this overhaul to all maps and modes in the game.
Thank you for reading.
-ROE DEV Team