Firearm controls and manual bolting


Lobotomy Lobster

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The rifle is one of the most enjoyable items to use in the game and it would be cool to have more tactile controls that allow you to manually charge the bolt and reload it.

The following is a way to make it work for rifles without adding any new buttons to the keybindings:

  • The Reload/R button becomes a bolt button: pressing it draws the bolt back and ejects the cartridge in the chamber, while releasing it lets the bolt go forward. If a live round is ejected then it would immediately go back into the player's inventory for convenience.
  • If the bolt is held back and the player left clicks, a round is added to the chamber.
  • If the bolt is held back and the player right clicks, a 5 round stripper clip is added to the chamber if the player has 5 or more rounds in their inventory.

It could also work with a revolver if one is added into the game later:

  • Holding the Reload/R button opens the cylinder.
  • Right clicking ejects any spent brass. Repeatedly right clicking empties live rounds directly into the player's inventory.
  • Left clicking adds new rounds, one at a time.

Receiver has some very interesting weapon controls, as seen in the vid below. Its a lot more complicated than what I'm proposing but its a good example of how it could work. Red Orchestra 2 also has manually bolted rifles in it, which is useful for watching the landing of a shot through your scope before chambering another round.

 

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Really like this idea.

I play on xbox one so I don't use PC controls but I can see how it could work with a controller even better.

I really like how in the game your gun tilts when you are moving and smoke whisps its way out of the barrel after firing. It's things like this that make me fall in love with Th Long Dark.

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i second that, it would be an interesting feature and an immersion boost for this game, breaking the standard FPS routine a little bit and, maybe, alowing ether quicker action if you're well used to it with maybe the risk of botching it in a tense moment (like a bear charging you).

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Interesting idea but I think it'll be yet another way to die in the Long Dark :P

I think though it will just catch a lot of new players off guard, my encounters with bears are very much premeditated. Its very rare that I just run into a bear without knowing, so when I do get close enough to shoot them, its because I want their meat.

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Interesting stuff, @Lobotomy Lobster. And I agree, Red Orchestra 2 has a nice approach to its bolt action rifles. Very tactile. 

Since we're not strictly a hunting sim, we definitely want the The Long Dark rifle to generally feel like a "tool," -- you pick it up and use it as needed. It's a minimalist approach currently, to be sure. 

How do you feel like your suggestion might impact new players to the game? :)

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40 minutes ago, Patrick Carlson said:

Since we're not strictly a hunting sim, we definitely want the The Long Dark rifle to generally feel like a "tool," -- you pick it up and use it as needed. It's a minimalist approach currently, to be sure.

Adding a manual reload would still be very minimalist. And although rifles are tools proficiency with one takes time and practice ;)

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2 hours ago, Patrick Carlson said:

Interesting stuff, @Lobotomy Lobster. And I agree, Red Orchestra 2 has a nice approach to its bolt action rifles. Very tactile. 

Since we're not strictly a hunting sim, we definitely want the The Long Dark rifle to generally feel like a "tool," -- you pick it up and use it as needed. It's a minimalist approach currently, to be sure. 

How do you feel like your suggestion might impact new players to the game? :)

The impact for new players is mainly immersion. Making the rifles actions manual makes it more involving and rewarding when you get muscle memory for how to use it. There's a whole new layer of pressure when a pack of wolves attack you and you've got to keep track of your bolting and reloads; it feels pretty good to pull it off in other games like RO2.

I really agree that the rifle should be a tool as its the least used item in the game but most people will never truly see it as a tool alone. Weapons give you a sense of power and that's always going to be a draw for a lot of people. I think this is a good way to make them a bit more interesting to use which scratches that itch, it fits in with the parts of the roadmap that mention giving the game more manual actions and will hopefully lead to people not asking for new guns so much as they'll be happier with the one they've got in the game.

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Love the idea, especially for Xbox One. I would prefer if anything to make it strictly buttons only, because I can see the struggle with click and drag maneuvers. I like the whole holding R button and right clicking. I think it would be very fun on a controller for sure. If you get really good at it, it would be very fun.

 

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