A guide to bullet paths and friendly fire. [Alpha]/[Omega]

[TopHatPenguin]

This is an updated firing lane and bullet path guide from my previous PA one which is applicable to the current iteration of CM.


General introduction to Bullet paths:

► Show Spoiler

Green Squares = Are your traditional firing lanes/bullet paths.
Black Squares = Are your diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Purple Squares = Are your secondary diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Red Fill = Areas that cannot be hit with bullets.

The image on the left is to give an idea of what the area looked like before I turned it into bullet paths and firing lines which can be seen on the right. The marine can fire everywhere besides behind the southern practice target in this picture. Think of Cm as one big grid and the tiles are the squares in the grid, from there you'll start to understand how bullet paths work.

Firing with friendlies nearby:

► Show Spoiler

--->
Green Squares = Are your traditional firing lanes/bullet paths.
Black Squares = Are your diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Purple Squares = Are your secondary diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Red Fill = Areas that cannot be hit with bullets.
Pink Fill or a Pink Square = Areas that if you fire at will hit a friendly.

The image on the left is to give an idea of what the area looked like before I turned it into bullet paths and firing lines which can be seen on the right.
The marines in this picture are in a tight hallway so it's hard for them to get a clear shot as they could end up FFing each other.

Firing Through Doors:

► Show Spoiler

Green Squares = Are your traditional firing lanes/bullet paths.
Black Squares = Are your diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Purple Squares = Are your secondary diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Red Fill = Areas that cannot be hit with bullets.
Light Blue Fill = Area of a target, aka where a xeno would be.

The image on the left is to give an idea of what the area looked like before I labelled it. In the image you'll see a the target area for the marine is the the normal place you'll find a xeno trying to camp a doorway, however as you can see our cunning marine can fire at that spot diagonally from where they are standing.

Firing at enemies behind cover:

► Show Spoiler

Green Squares = Are your traditional firing lanes/bullet paths.
Black Squares = Are your diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Purple Squares = Are your secondary diagonal firing lanes/bullet paths.
Red Fill = Areas that cannot be hit with bullets.
Light Blue Fill = Area of a target, aka where a xeno would be.
The Brown Star = Area where you need to click in order to hit the enemy at the target position, if there is no brown star you can just click on the target position to hit them.

The image on the left is to give an idea of what the area looked like before I labelled it. In the image on the right you'll see Mr marine targetting a sneaky practice target hiding behind some glass, now of course they can shoot and break the glass, but he can do one better by aiming behind the target, he can effectively shoot the target behind it's cover, without having to destroy the cover.

Firing at moving targets:

► Show Spoiler

When firing at moving targets, you'll want to aim roughly 1 to 2 tiles ahead of a xeno running away on average, depending on their speed, the slower they are the less tiles, the faster they are the more tiles.

Fanning:

► Show Spoiler

Fanning is when you use cover to it's maximum potential and try to minimise the amount of time you are out in the open, while you also use burst fire for quick strikes against an enemy, an example being in the gif above.

Where to Aim:
This question is normally asked quite alot in OOC, some players will state the head, some state that the groin or arm is better to aim at. In all honesty it's up to personnel preference where you aim as you do the same amount of damage no matter where you hit, generally though it's better to aim at the chest, yes you may break their ribs and cause a lung to be punctured but atleast some of your shots if you do end up ffing will be absorbed by the armour, compared to aiming at the arms or groin which has a lower chance to absorb the damage. If you do aim at the chest you are also more likely to hit your target instead of "The bullet misses ancient lurkerr (658)"

Useful tips:

Tip One: Additional Aiming Information.

Remember that you can fire buckshot into a lurker if they pounce a marine next to you, runners you can as well but only if you are quick on the draw, but luckily for you the higher the upgraded runner the longer they are stunned in their own pounce. If you're wondering as to why my cursor is behind the lurker instead of on the lurkers sprite it's so that the marine on the ground doesn't get filled with lead, the same also applies to xenos so if you see a stunned or sleeping xeno you need to click it directly to hit it otherwise the bullets will just fly over it.

► Show Spoiler

• To combat heavy weapon spread you aim as far behind the desired target as possible. By doing this you ensure that the weapon will have decreased spread until later ranges.

Tip Two: Defensive emplacements and where to stand.
Remember that if those pesky xenomorphs are charging towards your defensive emplacement(barricades, sandbags etc.), take a step back to avoid being slashed and potentially killed. For all other times you should stand on the same tile as the defensive emplacement for a better chance of protection against incoming projectiles. Note that if boiler gas is incoming, get out of dodge or equip a gas mask.



Tip Three: General Attachment Tip.
Increasing the accuracy of your weapon with attachments will affect your miss chance. The more accurate your gun is due to attachments the less likely your bullets will miss which means you'll have more chances to penetrate that thick exoskeleton of that pesky xenomorph.

[Lokiki_01]

Wooks, add a thing about shooting around far corners, like: You're clicking on xenos - hitting wall, but when clicking behind xeno - bullets will hit him

[TopHatPenguin]

Wooks, add a thing about shooting around far corners, like: You're clicking on xenos - hitting wall, but when clicking behind xeno - bullets will hit him

Added.

[Eenkogneeto]

Actually very detailed, Most of this is stuff that comes naturally to me, but i've been playing SS13 for a good 6-7+ years. Good work. Suggest you give a gif demonstrating 'Fanning' around obstructions with burstfire. Being you click and then step to clear the line of fire.

[TopHatPenguin]

Actually very detailed, Most of this is stuff that comes naturally to me, but i've been playing SS13 for a good 6-7+ years. Good work. Suggest you give a gif demonstrating 'Fanning' around obstructions with burstfire. Being you click and then step to clear the line of fire.

Added.

[Karmac]

Use a pulse rifle with accuracy mods for a more accurate representation of what you want to happen.

[TopHatPenguin]

Use a pulse rifle with accuracy mods for a more accurate representation of what you want to happen.

A standard rifle with no attachments is perfectly fine for this, you'll hit along those squares for a lot of shots. Granted having accuracy mods would increase the amount of shots that hit, but for this guide it wasn't needed.

[Renomaki]

You should also update the fact how firing from behind a table/barricade won't protect you unless you are a tile BEHIND the cover in question.

I discovered that players standing directly on the tile of a flipped table can still be hit with bullets/spits, whereas if you stand behind the table's tile in question, the shots will hit the table instead.

So many people still hug their cover, not realizing that they are negating it by standing directly on it.

[TopHatPenguin]

You should also update the fact how firing from behind a table/barricade won't protect you unless you are a tile BEHIND the cover in question.

I discovered that players standing directly on the tile of a flipped table can still be hit with bullets/spits, whereas if you stand behind the table's tile in question, the shots will hit the table instead.

So many people still hug their cover, not realizing that they are negating it by standing directly on it.

Added.

[Karmac]

If you feel its worth mentioning you could note diagonal shooting, such as shooting between two diagonally placed girders. Most people complain about spitters doing this, yet forget marines can use it as a trick too.

[TopHatPenguin]

If you feel its worth mentioning you could note diagonal shooting, such as shooting between two diagonally placed girders. Most people complain about spitters doing this, yet forget marines can use it as a trick too.

Added.

[Karmac]

Don't judge me I'm dyslecix

[Eenkogneeto]

Advanced Tactic: You can buckshot a runner when they pounce a marine, but only if you do it /very/ fast. The window gets bigger the older the runner.

[TopHatPenguin]

Advanced Tactic: You can buckshot a runner when they pounce a marine, but only if you do it /very/ fast. The window gets bigger the older the runner.

Added.

[nerocavalier]

I was hesitant to add it in the beginning about shooting runners which have pounced marines because it could lead to more FF due to the short amount of time.

I'd say throw it in, anyway, and have a little faith in your fellow marines.

If FF goes up, we can always blame Eenkogneeto for it.

[Eenkogneeto]

Maybe consider a part about shooting through diagonals? Get a MT/CE to build you two walls in the firing range so shoot diagonally through, a picture of what you see and a picture of what is on the other side with the firing lines drawn through the wall.

[Biolock]

Excellent guide, easy to follow. Perhaps you could add a section about shooting something that is downed, resting, or sleeping and how the bullet mechanics change for that target.

Also, I'd be amiss if I didn't address, as your friendly neighborhood medic, that I personally aim for the groin. Yes, there is /less/ armor on the marine's groin than on his chest, HOWEVER; if you DO hit their groin and you DO break something, it has a far less likely chance of killing them than a broken chest. In fact, a marine, so long as they can withstand the pain, and don't bleed out, can continue fighting with an un-splinted, broken groin. Where as if you try to do the same with a broken chest, it's a death sentence every time. Also, the miss % is negligible when targetting the groin vs. chest.

[TopHatPenguin]

Maybe consider a part about shooting through diagonals? Get a MT/CE to build you two walls in the firing range so shoot diagonally through, a picture of what you see and a picture of what is on the other side with the firing lines drawn through the wall.

Added.

[Lokiki_01]

HOWEVER; if you DO hit their groin and you DO break something, it has a far less likely chance of killing them than a broken chest.

Bio, it's still a death sentence to fight unsplinted, broken groin deals damage to liver, and liver deals a lot of tox damage. But in a short term - yea, broken groin is better.

[Simo94]

add clicking behind the hunter and not at them with M4 if they are pouncing a marine as it reduces the chance of FFing the pounced marine

[TheMusician321]

add clicking behind the hunter and not at them with M4 if they are pouncing a marine as it reduces the chance of FFing the pounced marine

^ this

I ff'd so. many. people. this way, granted I was using double RDS smgs but clicking on young hunter 69 would just hit the guy below him instead of the hunter itself.

[TopHatPenguin]

add clicking behind the hunter and not at them with M4 if they are pouncing a marine as it reduces the chance of FFing the pounced marine

^ this

I ff'd so. many. people. this way, granted I was using double RDS smgs but clicking on young hunter 69 would just hit the guy below him instead of the hunter itself.

First useful tip covers that, I'll add it into the description of the gif to point it out abit more.

[TopHatPenguin]

Apologies for the delay on diagonal shooting, been struggling/forgetting during a round to get a picture for it. Hopefully by tomorrow it should be done and updated. Along with some potential flamethrower additional info for when using it.

[Caryl]

This is such a Top-Kek guide. Beautifully detailed and demonstrated. Well done, Wooks!

[TopHatPenguin]

Updated - 26/01/2017