Buffing the Sniper-rifle

[K0NFL1QT]

Better yet, recognize the rifle sprite. Notice the chat message about looking down the scope. Don't stand in front of the specialist if you are between them and definite hostiles.

Friendly fire is not the issue. The fact is that it doesn't do enough damage for its crippling ammo capacity and sluggish rate of fire. Increasing bullet speed is not an option, so it needs something else. Shooting through objects might be good, but you'd need to actually be able to see through them to target properly. Alternatively a guaranteed knockdown could work.

[Surrealistik]

I think it has multiple issues.

Friendly fire is _definitely_ one of them, especially if damage were to be increased. Let's face it, in practice this is always used away from the fray, so you're always going to be shooting through a screen of troops, and god forbid one of them get hit.

People barely respect warnings about grenades, so what makes you think you'll part the human seas with a warning about the rifle? Even if they respect the warning, that means a probable net loss in your squad's damage output as they focus on giving you a shot and not fighting. Again, for this weapon to be practical, it needs to ignore friendly fire.

[K0NFL1QT]

Eh. Might work. Would means being at a sub-optimal range for the weapon in most cases, as you'd try to be as surrounded by allies as possible, and we already have one squad support 'no friendly fire' weapon

[UNDUS]

My opinion: friendly fire is definitely the thing holding this weapon back, but if it ignores friendly fire entirely, it could become a horrible thing that sits behind roving wads of marines dispensing death with no self-risk.

Instead of flat-out disabling friendly fire for it, add a new item to the sniper weapon system kit called the tactical stand. It's a deployable and repackable platform that you, or any other marine, can stand on to shoot over the top of people's heads. In code terms, friendly fire would be turned off while you're standing on it. You could also make it a toggle for the gun, some kind of tripod thing that elevates it and gives you a remote control. Either way.

This meshes with the way the sniper rifle should IMO be used: as a static defense tool.

Also, headshotting an alien with it should be a guaranteed knockdown/stun.

Also, it should come with enough ammo for it to actually be used regularly.

[Surrealistik]

I'd be fine with a tactical stand that offers additional benefits.

[Dyne]

Run and gun in front of your squads heavy weapons IS idiotic and should not be promoted.
Unless you have a smartgun as squad heavy weapon, then have fun just being shot by your squads smallarms.

[Surrealistik]

You don't go to the frontline with the Sniper Rifle.

You _do_ go to the frontline with just about everything else, so run and gun isn't an issue for them.

[UNDUS]

One more thing: I find the fact that the smartgun gets the thermal eyegear, but the sniper doesn't, to be a bit odd. Logically it should be the other way around. The smartgun is going to be used in well-lit areas where you're surrounded by marines, so the thermal aspect is wasted. But for a sniper with a long view range, having thermal vision would be a huge asset.

[Dyne]

Smartgun targeter eyegear is part of the 4-piece system, and comes from the original movie, though, truth be told, all marines had infra-red, not that aliens were visible in that spectrum.

[RadiantFlash]

I actually had an idea. The whole basis behind the sniper rifle is armor-penetration, right? Well, Why not have it shoot through materials and/or hit multiple aliens, similar to baystations new AP Sniper-rifle.

[Jeser]

Nothing idiotic about run and gun; it's how you don't die as a marine, especially with acid spit being a thing; they shouldn't stop trying to survive because you want to take a shot once every couple of seconds.

Besides, it's a sniper rifle that's carefully aimed; it has all the reason in the world not to friendly fire like the smartgun.

So long as the sniper rifle doesn't ignore friendly fire, its status as a viable weapon will remain questionable at best.

With FF sniper rifles will remain only FoB defence weapon.

[Dyne]

I saw snipers on assaults already, providing covering fire from other domes and semi-hidden field fortifications, so dont underestimate the sniper players ingenuity.

[DesFrSpace]

*ahem*

Bob like gun, he like to fire his colt .50 pistol.
One day bob realize, "Why don't I just invent an HIGHLY ADVANCE INTRICATE WEAPON for LONG RANGE!"
At the end of his experiment, Bob has extended his colt's barrel by quadruplet in length, attached a powerful stock, and put another grips for good measure.
Bob call his new gun, a sniping "B-olt"(BECAUSE B-ob + C-olt = Bolt), and named it Bessie's Child 01.
After reading this, you wonder, why was this created, it's was put together for your entertainment. But, you be sorry if you continue reading further.

Soon after, Bob put miniature explosive .50 round in, and named it Bessie's Burn 02.

[doodeeda]

The new eye gear for the sniper rifle doesn't help. The point of it is apparently is to make sure no terrain is in the way of your shot without light, but if there is no light you cannot see your target/hostile. Therefore, you can't see where it is and shoot it. It is a meson scanner and is as useless as a meson scanner.

[UNDUS]

I've found that it seems to work in certain directions (north?)

I don't think the thermals were designed to be used with the zoom-out of the sniper scope.

But anyway, the new sniper buffs are great.

[doodeeda]

They aren't thermals. They are meson goggles basically.

[IAMMagikarp]

The sniper is not that bad with friendly fire, i got domed by one and I was okay except for a fracture skull.

[Aeleto]

Sniper rifle incendiary ammo needs a buff, xenos can instantly put it out as soon they get hit by pressing resist.

[DesFrSpace]

Sniper rifle incendiary ammo needs a buff, xenos can instantly put it out as soon they get hit by pressing resist.

Buff it to the same or half time it would take to RESIST the Xeno's nest. And if Resist MORE, the affected organism will BURN in FIERY as they MOVE.

PS And no Alien can't rest and roll, they might rest, to a state of unconsciousness.
And no, Alien putting fire out for alien is - no clue- but Alien can't pull the burning alien, affected by incendiary ammos.
PSS One Incendiary ammo will start fire, two and more will result in physical damage.
PSSS Fire Extinguisher put out flame, so can water.

[Derpislav]

If the round uses phosphorus-like payload - which it probably does, unless we go with something entirely different BECAUSE IT'S SCIENCE FICTION CHEMISTRY HAS ADVANCED (but is now worse at burning things alive) - it would be both impossible to stopdropandroll it out or extinguish with water. But balance purposes, I guess.

[DesFrSpace]

You make it sound like radiation, which are far more deadly in closer vicinity.

[SASoperative]

Well we buffed it... Hello fire

[DesFrSpace]

Hear - Fire, fire, fire!
I think they are screaming fire, not ordering to fire their guns.

[andre1999]

UNLESS you intend to reduce reload speed, cause as is reload speed is SILLY broken. No sniper rifle in the history of humanity has taken 30 seconds to reload when magazine based, and even then a single shot rifle takes a third that time.

I agree with this, not even a 20MM Anti-Tank rifle take this long to reload, and that it's a single round bolt action, hell, you could reload a WWII 40MM AA gun magazine faster... infact, even multiple shots in a Flak 88, which i can safely say, is broken.

[Evilkyle24]

I agree with this, not even a 20MM Anti-Tank rifle take this long to reload, and that it's a single round bolt action, hell, you could reload a WWII 40MM AA gun magazine faster... infact, even multiple shots in a Flak 88, which i can safely say, is broken.

+1
Thirty seconds to reload a gun is ridiculous. Andre's right here, a single shot bolt action rifle designed to kill TANKS doesn't take that long to reload.