So I've just had a very frustrating game of Battlefield 4.
Usually I hate sniping in games, and I think I suffer from the same problem anyone who has experience with a real rifle has - Usually bullets in games travel like laser beams: They travel in a perfectly straight line and hit the instant you pull the trigger.
As someone who would regularly shoot a real rifle at over 200 meters (I know, hardly sniper ranges, but it was a .22)...I have nearly ten years of muscle memory telling me to account for wind speed, bullet drop and travel time.
It's why BF4 is the first game I've ever been any good as a sniper: There are actual physics involved. While the bullet isn't affected by wind (which is a good thing, you can't toss a handful of grass into the air in a game), the bullet does drop over time and travel time is a factor.
Suddenly, my muscle memory wasn't a liability, but an advantage.
However, it highlighted something else wrong with online shooters: As a sniper, lag and latency are a real factor.
You see, usually, I play whatever class is the most run and gun in online shooters...and while lag is an issue for everyone, it doesn't hit the assault class as hard. You're nowhere near as precise. If you're shooting at a guy 20 meters away, even an aimed shot with an automatic weapon is going to 'spray' a bit...so if the hit detection is a little off, if there's 70ms of lag, who cares? When your gun is shooting 900 rounds per minute, if a couple shots 'miss' due to lag, the rest are going to hit.
Now compare that to firing a single bullet at a moving target at 300 meters, and you only get a one-shot kill if you hit the head.
It's frustrating as hell.
I know, I know...I know a lot of BF4 veterans are snorting and saying 'lern 2 play'... but when you've lined up a perfect shot, pulled the trigger, then watched the bullet pass straight through the guy you're shooting with absolutely no effect, it makes you want to bite your controller in half.
In the game I just played, I was in a spot with really good concealment and saw a guy stopping to launch a rocket at a helicopter. He was 100 meters away and dead still. This is a dream shot. At 100 meters, bullet drop isn't a factor, the guy's head fills 50% of my scope and it's a stationary target. I'm lying prone with a bipod on my rifle...there's not even any scope sway.
I lined up and fired. The bullet passed through him with no effect. This happened four times before he finally realised he was being shot at and returned fire...at 100 meters, with an smg. His first bullet got me right in the head and I died.
That's the problem with online shooters. I have a 150mbs fiber connection, and every time I start BF4, I know I'm either in for a couple of hours or awesome fun...or a couple of hours of complete and total frustration. Sure, I know it also depends on the skill level of the people you're playing against....when your average K/D drops from 20/1 to 1/10...there's more than skill involved.
Usually I hate sniping in games, and I think I suffer from the same problem anyone who has experience with a real rifle has - Usually bullets in games travel like laser beams: They travel in a perfectly straight line and hit the instant you pull the trigger.
As someone who would regularly shoot a real rifle at over 200 meters (I know, hardly sniper ranges, but it was a .22)...I have nearly ten years of muscle memory telling me to account for wind speed, bullet drop and travel time.
It's why BF4 is the first game I've ever been any good as a sniper: There are actual physics involved. While the bullet isn't affected by wind (which is a good thing, you can't toss a handful of grass into the air in a game), the bullet does drop over time and travel time is a factor.
Suddenly, my muscle memory wasn't a liability, but an advantage.
However, it highlighted something else wrong with online shooters: As a sniper, lag and latency are a real factor.
You see, usually, I play whatever class is the most run and gun in online shooters...and while lag is an issue for everyone, it doesn't hit the assault class as hard. You're nowhere near as precise. If you're shooting at a guy 20 meters away, even an aimed shot with an automatic weapon is going to 'spray' a bit...so if the hit detection is a little off, if there's 70ms of lag, who cares? When your gun is shooting 900 rounds per minute, if a couple shots 'miss' due to lag, the rest are going to hit.
Now compare that to firing a single bullet at a moving target at 300 meters, and you only get a one-shot kill if you hit the head.
It's frustrating as hell.
I know, I know...I know a lot of BF4 veterans are snorting and saying 'lern 2 play'... but when you've lined up a perfect shot, pulled the trigger, then watched the bullet pass straight through the guy you're shooting with absolutely no effect, it makes you want to bite your controller in half.
In the game I just played, I was in a spot with really good concealment and saw a guy stopping to launch a rocket at a helicopter. He was 100 meters away and dead still. This is a dream shot. At 100 meters, bullet drop isn't a factor, the guy's head fills 50% of my scope and it's a stationary target. I'm lying prone with a bipod on my rifle...there's not even any scope sway.
I lined up and fired. The bullet passed through him with no effect. This happened four times before he finally realised he was being shot at and returned fire...at 100 meters, with an smg. His first bullet got me right in the head and I died.
That's the problem with online shooters. I have a 150mbs fiber connection, and every time I start BF4, I know I'm either in for a couple of hours or awesome fun...or a couple of hours of complete and total frustration. Sure, I know it also depends on the skill level of the people you're playing against....when your average K/D drops from 20/1 to 1/10...there's more than skill involved.
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