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"Hold Breath" needs better lungs
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Description

Hold Breath works for just under 10 seconds, this is very unrealistic and extremely frustrating. Specially with the new fatigue rules, this otherwise very useful countermeasure to the mad sway of weapons after an ill-advised sprint is all but useless.

It does not provide the needed stability for even a crudely adequate amount of time.

For a play-testing exercise, I decided to hold my own breath together with the right mouse button in multiple scenarios. This provided a very interesting feedback to just how long and often this feature could be used. (allowing for my typical gamer-chair fitness, of course)

It was then very clear that soldiers in ArmA are all suffering from extreme lung conditions and under no circumstances should pass a medical for frontline deployment.

I strongly urge that the timing values governing the duration of "Hold Breath" are increased. Recommend a factor of 2x at least, as well as a 1/2 reduced cooldown/catch-breath period

Details

Legacy ID
2579515745
Severity
None
Resolution
Open
Reproducibility
Always
Category
Gameplay
Steps To Reproduce

hold breath by holding RMB in gunsight view

hold own breath for comparison

realize you could have easily held your own breath 2~3x as long as your "trained soldier" (note how soldier is extremely winded, as if nearly fainted)

mentally adjust your comparison as needed, to account for fitness and stamina differences between yourself sitting down and a trained soldier after some running

reckon the obvious health crisis that afflicts all of ArmA's infantry

Additional Information

This is in large at fault for the overwhelming number of players critical of the new fatigue system.

Whereas the new fatigue rules are well sound, the means used to counteract the debilitating results are not sufficient.

by doubling or tripling the effective hold breath time, it could be possible to achieve a very elegant balance that favors tactical gameplay and realistic strategic compromises.

additionally: when firing from a deployed position, weapon sway should be always minimal (as if holding breath).

fatigue should not affect the stability of a deployed weapon, even without bipod. This is also a fact I have confirmed by personal experiments with a weight & shape analog sports air rifle (C.B.C. "Montenegro" Carbine + scope)

Event Timeline

Moach edited Steps To Reproduce. (Show Details)Dec 7 2015, 10:03 AM
Moach edited Additional Information. (Show Details)
Moach set Category to Gameplay.
Moach set Reproducibility to Always.
Moach set Severity to None.
Moach set Resolution to Open.
Moach set Legacy ID to 2579515745.May 8 2016, 1:16 PM
Bohemia added a subscriber: oukej.Dec 7 2015, 10:03 AM

Would be nice to see the hold breath time, being dependent on fatigue. So maybe ~15sec if the player is out of breath and up to 2 minutes if he is completly relaxed. Maybe increate fatique while holding breath for prolonged times.

When holding breath to long you will get additional sway. A sniper for example holds breath for max 15 sec.

You can hold your breath for 2 minutes????

oukej added a comment.Dec 8 2015, 12:06 PM

Just a note - "hold breath" is a game abstraction of steadying the aim, focused muscle coordination and a slightly prolonged respiratory pause.
After "holding breath" for more than few seconds irl the effects of lack of oxygen will jump in and make your aim even worse - then it's better to relax for a second and wait for another attempt.

Moach added a subscriber: Moach.May 8 2016, 1:16 PM
Moach added a comment.Dec 8 2015, 1:56 PM

two minutes is indeed madness -- if you can do that IRL, congrats, and/or - be careful doing that, you might pass out...

in ArmA, however, we're not talking about holding your breath for as long as you can without the world going dark - we're looking to allow ourselves a little bit of aim stability for an amount of time that is actually useful in combat (unlike currently modeled, which is not)

it takes just about 1.5 times the current usable "hold breath" time on average to steady the aim on a target for one single shot

if you're REALLY fast and luck is on your side, as well as your mark isn't moving at all (while also standing up for your convenience) - you can perhaps use the hold breath function to pull of that stable shot

on any less lottery-winning-lucky situations, you'll spazz out and spray lead all around your target's neighborhood - most rounds hitting so far off he might not even notice he's being shot....

then you die from one single magic bullet from that same dude -- they actually CAN steady their aim, somehow....

it's very hard to conclude anything other than the obvious fact here -- weapon sway is largely exaggerated, making it unequivocally UNFAIR

hold breath or no, they can shoot straight - we cannot

curiously, after being shot (specially to the head), my character becomes able to hold his breath indefinitely... he doesn't do much of anything else though