Will Gordon 'the' Freeman have..

[duchaked]

I don't think it would be like omg COD influence as just as much a design choice thing as it is personal choice.

It wouldn't bother me, might help the combat a bit, but it's not a deal breaker either way IMO.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

I see your points and understand how it could be best not to add an aiming mechanic, but for the record Gordon's suit does not have a targeting system for the same reason he doesn't aim down the sights. The suit was designed for protection from hazardous materials like poisonous chemicals, acid, radiation, and blunt trauma (to some degree). The cross-hairs are simply for the player to tell better where the gun is pointing in lieu of sights.

Exccept the suit has some military applications. In the first half life, when you put it on it lists all the features: one of them is munitions monitoring. Obviously they may have expected a few aliens might need shooty-shooty.

 

[Jason Fayers]

I don't really see them as that important to HL, and so I could go either way, but I do worry that if CODification started it wouldn't stop and the series could endup losing its special something.

 

[coolman9899]

Probably not. Half-Life is too...Half-Life-y to do the whole CoD sight-aiming thing.

...Right. Because CoD invented sights in games.

OT: It's not really Valve's thing to use them. Sights are used to shoot more accurately, but with the pinpoint crosshair and the fact that the guns are already ridiculously accurate, there's no need. Plus the HEV suit probably has some kind of built-in targeting.

i can see that, but i just feel that not having the ability to aim down the sights ..on a shooting game..is a dated mechanic and makes the gamplay feel slightly dated. I mean HL2 is so engaging you can forget about it because you're wrapped up in the story. But in this day and age..Gun and Aim are pretty synonymous no?

Walk - toggle run
Shoot - toggle aim

nope nope nope nope. The bloody shooting mechanic is perfect and crist YOU HAVE A ZOOM!
I would make it feel no longer like half life. And no it is not dated why whould a aim down the sight make a game newer.

 

[TheDude7053]

hey Juk3n you trolled SPUF under another name, It wont happen here.

 

[coolman9899]

And accually tell you what, buy gmod on sale for like 3.00 USD and download pewpew. Then you can play through half life with guns with sights then tell us how it would enhance the expreiance

 

[The Random One]

I hope not, because it would ruin my idea that Gordon is not actually trying to kill anyone, just to stay alive, and his suit just happens to turn his frantic wild sprays of bullets into perfect shots, and also gag his crying and moaning so everyone thinks he's being stoic.

 

[thedeathscythe]

Probably not. Half-Life is too...Half-Life-y to do the whole CoD sight-aiming thing.

...Right. Because CoD invented sights in games.

OT: It's not really Valve's thing to use them. Sights are used to shoot more accurately, but with the pinpoint crosshair and the fact that the guns are already ridiculously accurate, there's no need. Plus the HEV suit probably has some kind of built-in targeting.

i can see that, but i just feel that not having the ability to aim down the sights ..on a shooting game..is a dated mechanic and makes the gamplay feel slightly dated. I mean HL2 is so engaging you can forget about it because you're wrapped up in the story. But in this day and age..Gun and Aim are pretty synonymous no?

Walk - toggle run
Shoot - toggle aim

I personally don't see the need of an ADS feature in Half-Life, but if they added it, they could actually keep shift as the walk button, and when you hold shift and right click, it would aim down the sights instead of alternate firing. Letting go of shift and moving (running) during this would knock you out of ADS, but you could still walk around by still holding shift and moving. You know, I could see them integrating it in a good way. At the same time, I don't really think they'll even do it. Could be done well, though.

 

[Wrann]

If they added ADS it would be entirely superficial unless they made shooting from the hip less accurate to make you want to use ADS. So ether it has zero affect other than aesthetics in which case it is pointless when its just as easy to not ADS, or it breaks the feel of the guns we have used constantly by making them less accurate when firing from the hip.

Also it would only affect four weapons them being pistol, revolver, shotgun, and AR1.

 

[Xlr8DETH]

why does including a ironsight mechanic immediately make a game "samey" or "COD like" or "non original and boring"?

Because people suck and CoD isn't an RPG.

Anyway it seems a bit overkill to make a thread for such a small issue that the game would be better off without. ADS would detract from the run and gun nature of the game, encourage camping and quite possibly allow the player to effectively kill enemies at such a distance they don't even see you.
Like it or not the simple addition of iron-sights will change the way the game plays, possibly greatly and in a game like Half-Life definitely for worse. It won't just be a simple option of whether to use it or not, but aiming will almost certainly provide huge accuracy benefits and what-not which will cause players to use them in practically all engagements. As a result there will be a lot less movement and therefore less exploration done by the players, detracting from the game.

Whilst ADS is a great addition to more realistic military-ish games it has no place in Half-Life.

im not endorsing that half life should have am ADS mechanic it just pisses me off that people immediately assume that if they add this it will automatically become a grey brown generic shooter piece of crap. also just to be a devils advocate how would ADS cause people to no longer explore? that seems much more up to the player than whether or not you move more or less

 

[Texas Joker 52]

There's a really easy way to solve this, to the satisfaction of both parties.

Valve: just let us fire while zoomed in. No ironsights, and not just hipfire. Problem solved.

Actually, there is a better way, and another game has made that compromise: Fallout: New Vegas. You had the option to toggle 'true iron-sights' on or off, so you could either just zoom in, or aim with said iron-sights. I won't say that F:NV was a good or bad game, so that I don't start flame wars, but Valve COULD theoretically do that so that it was an option, not just a solid change. That way, people who loved how Half-Life played in 1, 2, and its episodes, they can play it the same way. For people who want iron-sights, there are those too.

And I'm sure that Valve, being the cunning and creative S.O.B.s that we know and love, can figure out a clever way to change the controls to suit both side. After all, Valve is awesome, and makes exceptional games. The only problem is, it feels like forever for those games to come out, though I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they're taking so long so that the final product is GOLDEN. Figuratively.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Shouldn't we be more concerned that there's still no actual evidence that points to Half-Life 3 being a thing? I think that's the more important argument/discussion than iron sights.

 

[gideonkain]

I don't really like Iron Sights, it's basically saying: "hey our aim system isn't gonna work until you fill half the screen with your gun and crawl-walk around"

Ya, real hardcore...

 

[Tsaba]

Kicked enough Ass
Busted enough Can
Prodded enough Buttock

By the time HL3 is released to have learned how to aim down the sights?

How many other protagonist in shooters have a PH.D degree in Theoretical Physics from MIT? Gordon Freeman don't need no "iron sights" when he can fire from the hip with accuracy. The mans a Genius.

 

[Tharwen]

Play Garry's Mod and you'll see that the source engine is capable of iron sight aiming. I think it's an active decision not to put them in though, because it keeps the gameplay faster and the guns uniquer-er.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

im not endorsing that half life should have am ADS mechanic it just pisses me off that people immediately assume that if they add this it will automatically become a grey brown generic shooter piece of crap. also just to be a devils advocate how would ADS cause people to no longer explore? that seems much more up to the player than whether or not you move more or less

Games like Call of Duty and Battlefield are much more suited to the use of iron-sights and do them well.
I just think they simply wouldn't work in Half-Life, mostly because they'd make the game deviate from that whole run and gun feel which Half Life relies on.

 

[Treblaine]

Kicked enough Ass
Busted enough Can
Prodded enough Buttock

By the time HL3 is released to have learned how to aim down the sights?

Sights are for wussies. The Freeman is accurate even shooting from the hip.

Look, I'll tell you why so many want Aim-Down-Sights: Console gamers and their inadequate gamepad controls.

See a thumb-stick is such a poor aiming device even with aim assist you cannot get the right balance of speed and precision, all ADS does is at the push of a button:
-decrease sensitivity
-dial up aim-assist
-use more detailed sights.
-narrow-spread

Look at all the PC focused games that do NOT have Aim-down-sight as standard:
-Quake
-Unreal Tournament
-Half Life 1 & 2 + Episodes
-Left 4 Dead
-Team Fortress 2
-Painkiller
-FEAR
-Bioshock
-Killing floor

Duke Nukem got markedly higher metascore on PC I think down to the mouse-aim is much more suited to aiming without ADS.

The only PC focused games that integrate an ADS mechanic are those who are going for a higher sense of realism like ARMA, Stalker, Metro 2033 and also Crysis (realistic in a Hard-sci-fi kind of way).

Because with a mouse the ergonomics are so good it is easy to quickly snap to the target then precisely move the reticule for a headshot. I've just come from playing Bioshock 2 on PC where I got 3 headshot insta-kills in a row against a series of charging splicers, every time I'm confronted by one I pop a bolt though their head before they have a chance to react. You only really need sights for when you need high zoom, like with sniper rifles.

Gordon Freeman uses a powered suit to shoot from the hip with ease and a heads up display to always tell him where his gun is pointing. He is not like every other soldier who must slow to almost a stop to shoot, he is able to take on the Combine and all other incredible odds by being footloose.

The question should instead be:
"Will Gordon Freeman be enough of a wimp by the time HL3 is released to have FORGOTTEN how to shoot accurately from the hip"

Face it, ADS is less for "realism" and much more a crutch for poor console controls that are more suited to action/adventure games than any kind of shooter.

But with the new Source engine the could include a localized body damage mechanic, it seems a pretty lame excuse not to include an aim mechanic "because we dont want to be like CoD" well..do you want to be like every man on the planet?

Pro tip: play it on PC where it belongs, where you have a REAL aiming mechanic that is called "mouse aim". I have been playing shooters with both DualShock and Mouse + Keyboard for over a decade now, I can easily hit the body parts I want with mouse aim sans-ADS yet console I need the ADS crutch to even do half as well.

 

[Treblaine]

My major problem with ADS being fundamental to gun aiming is it takes up a valuable function button/key.

It doesn't matter if you have keyboard or gamepad, you only have so many fingers!

With the WASD position you have only 4 (+2) inputs ready within reach: Shift, Space, Left click and Right click. Oh, and +2 with Ctrl and M3. Same with gamepad, Left-stick click-down, right-stick click-down, left trigger, right trigger. +2 with right and left bumper.

Sure keyboard has a load of other keys but in combat they aren't in easy reach, that means a key that could be for Secondary fire, or "Shoot plasmid" or whatever has to be for ADS instead.

Not every weapon needs to use sights.

Why can't you have secondary fire for all weapons, and the weapons that need sights - like sniper rifles, rocket launchers and so on - secondary fire raises sights to zoom in or engage lock-on mode. A shotgun is better off having the key for ADS be for the secondary fire like "double-shot", instead.

ADS is very little value for PC gamers as we don't use aim assist - at all - and more than just the ergonomics of mice most mice have variable sensitivity.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Why would he, he's not a military man and that is what makes him stand out from the usual crowd of soldier X in brown shooter X.