As DayZ is seeing a gunplay overhaul with the next update, I would like to offer some feedback on changes that should be carried forward from alpha DayZ to make it more refined, methodical, and simulator-like. There's a sense that the current gunplay is too floaty and encourages run-and-gun behavior and instead needs to feel more heavy and impactful to slow down the combat like it was in Alpha DayZ.
- Weapon weight and inertia. I think Alpha DayZ handled this much better as swinging weapons around still felt fluid/pinpoint yet maintained a sense of inertia and weight due to slight barrel lag. The severity of this lag being amplified by barrel length and firearm weight would be nice. Current DayZ's version of this can feel a bit janky.
[ADDITION] Here's how current DayZ handles it and my gripes annotated in the video. Do pay attention to the stance, as the artifacts get worse when crouched
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- ADS Bounce and ADS movement slowdown. While the bounce is a little overdone in Alpha DayZ, it is far too toned down in current DayZ and ADS strafing is too fast. Especially with 8x+ optics like the hunting scope, strafing should be heavily punished by forcing you to bring your eye away from the scope and/or walk while aimed in as you'd "injure your eye with [an optic] close to it - Jan Pražák (BI)", let alone that optic having 8X+ Zoom!
Striking a middle-ground between current DayZ's implementation, ArmA 2's implementation, and Alpha DayZ's implementation of this would be nice to slow down gunfights and mitigate A+D strafing that is reminiscent of arcade shooters and is far too prevalent in current DayZ.
(See this 1min clip from the ArmA 2 Dev Diary for ArmA 2's implementation). This may require bringing back head bob which would be nice as I miss it a lot!
[ADDITION] Here's how current DayZ handles it and my gripes annotated in the video
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- Lean spam mitigation. Lean spam was not an issue in alpha DayZ and ARMA 2 due to the slowdown of player speed when leaning (a forced walk). This could pose fluidity concerns but is likely a worthwhile tradeoff to maintain immersion and the integrity of authentic gunfights that DayZ was previously known for due to its mil-sim roots. Another solution could be lean stamina, similar to crouch stamina in Counter-Strike 2. See this Reddit post for community complaints
[ADDITION] Here's how current DayZ handles it and my gripes annotated in the video
Additionally, the magnitude of the lean angle was a touch lower in alpha DayZ and therefore felt more natural and fluid. Currently, your character leans too far left and right (especially left!) and it feels jarring. What Alpha DayZ did to combat this was it reduced the lean angle magnitude while moving (as you can see in this video clip). It made a huge difference in terms of how it looks and would probably reduce lean spam while strafing.
[ADDITION] This is an important new video showing the differences between current DayZ and Alpha lean angle magnitudes that weren't quite illustrated in the previous revision of this ticket
_A solution could be to clamp at one of the earlier poses for the motion-capture lean frames_
Related: T167254
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- Increased Recoil impact. Even with small firearms like a P1 Pistol, there's a visible kick into the camera that can be seen. It enhances the visceral nature of gun combat and enhances its authenticity to tip it more towards feeling like a mil-sim rather than an arcadey game.
In current DayZ, recoil only becomes apparent when you full-auto. When you single-fire, it barely kicks (e.g. In current DayZ, the Mosin's recoil is extremely diminished compared to how it was in the Alpha).
[ADDITION] Deleted old video, as I find this annotated comparison does a better job
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- IK Issues when you point the gun extremely high or extremely low (especially while leaning). The IK breaks down in current DayZ when you aim a gun at these extreme angles. Alpha DayZ was not optimal as it constrained the aiming angle of the weapon, but neither is current DayZ where the hands end up no longer physically touching the gun.
[ADDITION] This may have been unclear as to what issues arise in current DayZ, so here's the annotated video illustrating that
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- Return of 0.57 crosshair (instead of the huge, thin T-shaped crosshair we have right now, which frankly looks like programmer art). This crosshair will not be insanely accurate like the dynamic crosshair of 0.59 but will still give general direction on where the gun barrel is pointing while still looking aesthetically pleasing.
Other misc. changes fielded from the community
- Slower weapon raise upon sprint
- Reduced ADS Speed (particularly with iron sights which can feel instantaneous vs. a red-dot optic)
- Remove drop-shotting (disallow keeping weapon raised while going prone)
- Mitigate A+D circle strafing (people find it immersion-breaking and gamey-looking when they see players constantly jiggle-peeking and side-strafing)
- Force jog upon stairs and similar inclines (Enabling sprinting up stairs just makes PvP too rush-oriented / run-and-gun instead of tactically holding strategic positions)
- Slight increase in weapon sway upon holding breath
- Toggle Lean (Video clip from ArmA 2 devlog in case not clear)