Sniping in DayZ. The built in hack & how it should change for the better/harder

[Haplo (DayZ) 44]

I jest, shooting while sprinting cannot be done in ArmA

[irzero 56]

Even in America the 50 cal is a very rare rifle. Much more common are 308 marksmen rifles. Using 50 cal on humans is also stupid. The blast and sound are way to big to be covert. The round should also drop like a stone but it doesn't.

Right now the 50 is the most unbalanced gun in the game and there are more of them than Enfields.

[Haplo (DayZ) 44]

I was going to give you beans irzero but I remembered you said "using 50 cal on humans is also stupid" heheh, sorry.. I don't know what else I'd use it for. Perhaps some leisurely target practice.. :P

Edited August 16, 2012 by Haplo

[Fector 29]

Great read!

The spotting with a mildot reticule reminded me of an old SWAT game, where this kind of thing was an actual part of the game (after several, extensive sessions of both theoretical and practical training, you were deployed as a swat sniper in a 'real' mission).

Fond memories. For its time (90s..), the game featured a high degree of realism and thinking back, the complicated sniping was the most appealing aspect of it.

Would love to see this in standalone.

[matty_28 0]

Sound awsome. I think im going to start learning my ballistic science now.

you have my beens

[Cheboygan 93]

Great post, "authenticity" for the win

I would venture to say that there aren't any "match" grade rifles in the game though, and all the military rifles are firing standard ball ammo so MOA at .25 would be to low IMO. I think the most accurate rifles would probably be the hunting rifles my 306 does >.25 out of a bench at 100 yards with a couple of different rounds and its not a match rifle.

I think the M24 can at least be assumed to be using M118LR, which is pretty close to Sierra Gold quality. I shoot M118LR and Sierra a lot and the differences aren't that far off. .25 is too tight (I agree) even for M118LR though. Maybe .50-.75.

[bazbake 456]

I was going to give you beans irzero but I remembered you said "using 50 cal on humans is also stupid" heheh, sorry.. I don't know what else I'd use it for. Perhaps some leisurely target practice.. :P

Considering it's an anti-materiel rifle...I'm going to say "shooting holes in engine blocks."

Oh, you thought you were being clever. I accidentally ruined that joke where you pretended to not know what you're talking about by showing that you actually don't.

[Haplo (DayZ) 44]

Okay hero, I'll leave you to shooting engine blocks, whilst we ambush vehicles quickly and effectively, without having to completely replace an engine on the fly. You must be ballin' if you have spare engines for every model of car handy, or is it just that no one told you how else fencing wire can be used effectively?

I know that wasn't 100% applicable to DayZ, but srsly dude, I jest, calm the fuck down.. I wasn't being rude or obnoxious towards irzero, he made quite a valid statement.

Oh, you thought you were being clever. I accidentally ruined that joke where you pretended to not know what you're talking about by showing that you actually don't. Now, let us not resort to that kind of attitude any further yea?

Edited August 18, 2012 by Haplo

[tommes 331]

Could be quite a few skills that could be leveled over time like a survival skill that after a certain time you then get granted the white blurs on edges of screen.Its like being in the woods for so long you learn to notice movement in the edges of your view better.Another one would be swimming speed and could come into effect of their are some maps with large rivers etc.And of course stamina could get skilled if ever added.Sorry went off topic.

No. This is no RPG! Either you aquire those skills for real or not. No stupid skill level table with experience points! Don't make this game into dice rolling!

[sALADIN1 7]

The thread title had me geared up for a rage OMG NERFZ THE SNIPERZZZZZ thread but I agree with you completely. My group of 4 currently has a CZ 550, an AS50 and an M107 (our fourth member doesn't like sniping and uses an M16A2), and we can wipe out anything we want to from over a kilometer away. Fun, but it would be more fun if it was actually difficult.

[a_ruttle 199]

Long as hell but I read it. :)

I love ARMA too and I wish they would use the ACE system if they are going to include military sniper rifles. I actually would prefer if they kept it to hunting rifles but if they insist than this is what it should be.

I came to this thread to post the same suggestion ACE 2 sniping would be good unfortunately too many people would refuse to take the time to learn how to use the ACE sniping system in the editor and just complain about not being to snipe anymore.

[redfield-77 315]

I came to this thread to post the same suggestion ACE 2 sniping would be good unfortunately too many people would refuse to take the time to learn how to use the ACE sniping system in the editor and just complain about not being to snipe anymore.

Yeah everyone in dayz is a fucking sniper but only if its easyCODmode. Soon as they made sniping realistic only the ARMA players could do it anymore and the pussies would cry.

[ravenger 10]

+1 and im suprised some 12 year old hasnt got on here and flamed it yet but I only read the first page.

[Rigor Mortis (DayZ) 141]

No. This is no RPG! Either you aquire those skills for real or not. No stupid skill level table with experience points! Don't make this game into dice rolling!

Then how do you suggest we make shooting require skill? If your character can hold a rifle dead steady on a target 1500m for long periods of time, you're going to be able to kill that target given a little practice with the rifle. I think a lot of people playing DayZ have never fired a real weapon and don't realize that hitting a stationary target is much more difficult than simple point and click. I'd love if you could modify a Wii controller with iron sights and use that to shoot in games... but that's definitely not something that will make it into this one :D

I absolutely love the originals post - you can have my beans!

[vier0hr 21]

LMAO I stopped reading after sniping is a hack. I own a sniper rifle in RL and shoot it quite reguarly. I agree with sniping being stupid easy in game, but in RL it's not that hard once you get the hang of it.

[faatiydut 6]

I'd suggest slowly adding different ballistic mechanics one by one, at least to give non arma players chance with true realism, i'll admit that I'm not an original arma player, but at the same time realism is something I'd love to see implemented as well as it possibly could, but changing point and click to wind considerations, scope sway, barrel warping, bullet drop and unavoidable inaccuracy might be a bit too full on and I admit that I probably wouldn't touch a sniper if it suddenly became that difficult, but maybe having different server difficulties adding different mechanics would be a good way to implement it. I'd certainly support that and i'm apparently from the ezCODmode community.

[bazbake 456]

I'm surprised in the long list of skills people keep suggesting, no one included "survival." You know, the longer you survive the more blood you get, the less damage bullets do, and the steadier your aim.

FFS. We need more ideas like OPs to make this game what it should be.

[oWARLOCKo 7]

Honestly my views on this are, if your only playing so that you can sit up in a ridge line somewhere and rack up a kill count on other players you should not be playing a "Zombie Apocalypse RPG" in the first place, you should be playing ARMA2 vanilla as a sniper.

But you do have good points and some good ideas that could actually help the gameplay alot. Sniping in Dayz is definitely too easy and in a game that focuses on "realism" it should certainly have a higher learning curve. Real world snipers train daily, for years to learn the skills that they need to operate and that should translate into Dayz in some way. And Im sure that if it were made a little harder then it would help cut down on the number of obnoxious players who like to think that they are so Elite when they make a kill with an AS50.

[tommes 331]

Then how do you suggest we make shooting require skill? If your character can hold a rifle dead steady on a target 1500m for long periods of time, you're going to be able to kill that target given a little practice with the rifle. I think a lot of people playing DayZ have never fired a real weapon and don't realize that hitting a stationary target is much more difficult than simple point and click. I'd love if you could modify a Wii controller with iron sights and use that to shoot in games... but that's definitely not something that will make it into this one

I absolutely love the originals post - you can have my beans!

The mechanics are already there with shaking gun and everything. They're just to weak.

[xximrtwoixx 104]

I'm surprised in the long list of skills people keep suggesting, no one included "survival." You know, the longer you survive the more blood you get, the less damage bullets do, and the steadier your aim.

FFS. We need more ideas like OPs to make this game what it should be.

Because thats a gamey BS skill. HP should not be included as a skill as everyone is essentially the same meat bag.

[adamtheheretic 106]

As you realized yourself, your post was pretty lengthy. However I did read it all, and I wouldn't mind different levels of realism on different servers, along the lines you describe.

I think mentality like that is what makes sniping more simple than it should be anyway. The more realism they add, the harder a set of skills will be to master. As well as this being an entertaining though grueling route it will feel like you've actually accomplished and gotten better at something at the end. Making things realistically difficult in a simulator should be a top priority other than fixing current bugs... making things harder for the sake of it should not. That's why I believe the OP is a genius.

[Kra 151]

10/10, would read again.

I wholeheartedly agree, an awesome solution to the over abundance of ace snipers in DayZ. Beans for you, sir.

[Cheboygan 93]

Just reading this interview: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/08/17/day-z-standalone/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RockPaperShotgun+%28Rock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

"... we don’t want a point-based system because one of the things that works well in Day Z is that if you are good at some things in real life then you are also good at it in the game. For example, if you can read the stars in real life, then you can read the stars in the game ..."

Hopefully that sentiment carries over into long range shooting, and possibly other areas.

There are things in game I don't do because I don't do them very well. I say, why should long range shooting be any different? :)

[bobda 11]

Is there any footage of ARMA3 sniping out yet? Maybe some of this has already been implemented into the engine, and since DayZ will be a mix of ARMA2 and 3, it could be easily implemented, or is already being looked into.

[puppetworx 474]

Yes to this, snipers are faced with disproportionately less realism then the rest of the survivors and that is bad for both groups of players.