Novahq.net Forum - Major Gameplay Changes

The Joint Ops Revision mod is still in progress, but it is getting closer to an initial release. Until then, I'm requesting some input on some of the major changes to the game.

At it's core, this mod is focused on gunplay changes, but has evolved into environmental and AI gameplay changes as well. You will not have the same experience playing this mod as you will with stock joint ops. It will be a bit more on the tactical shooter side of the spectrum.

Below are just a few of the major changes that affect the gameplay the most. Take a look and let me know what you think. Hate it, love it? Do you think you would enjoy this take on the game?

Player mechanics and HUD

The default speed of the player has been reduced, but you can also sprint by pressing a sprint key which will not allow you to shoot while moving, but you will run at a speed similar to, if not a little faster than, the vanilla game run speed. Because of this speed adjustment, you will no longer have super human ability to dart side to side in combat. You will find it more affective to move from cover to cover and play more cautiously.

Player health has been reduced to 100HP (same as AI's) and you will begin a slow bleed out if your health is critical. You can stop the bleeding by applying a field dressing which is available to all kits/classes. The field dressing will stop the bleeding but will not restore your health. Seek a field medic to restore health.

The HUD is minimalistic, removing the unnecessary brackets and showing only need to know information, while also reducing the amount of info you have on screen. You no longer have a minimap in the HUD or incoming fire direction indicators. However, you do still have a radial compass at the bottom center of the screen. Player personal info such as health and stance are displayed on the bottom left, while info pertaining to your current weapon is located on the bottom right.

HUD will no longer show you an exact ammo count in your magazine, it will only show your total ammo count. Instead of a numeric display, magazine capacity is now displayed with a generic magazine icon which will indicate the magazines capacity in 1/4 increments, giving you a rough estimate. Guns which use transparent magazines, such as the P90 or G36, will have a unique magazine HUD icon which will show the exact visual amount of bullets in the magazine (not a number) allowing you to estimate mag capacity much more accurately by visual inspection just as you would in reality.

Player class equipment has been reworked to the following...

All classes have field dressings, body armor, and parachute accessory options. Throwables are 2 frag grenades, 2 flashbangs, and 3 smokes, unless otherwise noted.

Rifleman
- Primary equipment include semi auto and full auto small arms assault rifles up to .308 caliber. Each with iron, red dot, or medium range magnified optic options.
- Secondary equipment is pistols or pump shotgun.
- Accessories are limited to C4 charges, body armor, or SOFLAM (a laser designator with high magnification and range finder).

Engineer
- Primaries are limited to non suppressed SMG's or SBR rifles. Iron and non magnified optics only.
- Secondary is limited to 9mm pistols only.
- Accessories include Anti tank/air launchers, vehicle mines, and mortars.

Medic
- Primaries include all SBR or full length rifles and SMG's, iron or non magnified options only.
-Secondary options are all caliber pistols or pump action shotgun.
- Accessories are limited to body armor or parachute.

Sniper (now more of a marksman/special force class)
- Primaries include Scoped large caliber rifles, DMR rifles with non magnified or medium range optics, and suppressed or non suppressed SMGs.
- Secondary options are all caliber pistols.
- Accessories include claymore mines, C4 charges, or SOFLAM.
- Grenades are limited to flashbang and smoke.

Gunner (now more of heavy fire support class)
- Primaries are all LMG's or rifles with grenade launcher attachments.
- Secondary options limited to 9mm pistols only.
- Accessories are limited to body armor or parachute only.
- Grenades are limited to smoke grenades only.

Gunplay

The weapons in the Mod have been overhauled with new graphics, sounds, and functions aimed at not only realism, but to also dramatic affect. Guns in the mod sound and feel punchy and powerful. They are more dynamic in their handling and capabilities. Each gun has recoil levels based on their felt recoil, calculated based on the weapon weight, bullet weight, and bullet muzzle velocity. So, you'll notice that shooting a heavy gun compared to a lighter gun of the same caliber will have less recoil.

Weapon weight also affects your ability to wield the weapon. Very noticeable weapon sway can be felt on every weapon, even with non magnified optics. The amount of sway increases as weapon weight increases. So, heavier weapons may give you less recoil, but will be harder to aim in general. Currently, sway is reduced to 50% of the standing sway amount when crouched, and all weapons have no sway in prone (simulating a supported stance on the ground). Taking the time to crouch or prone will give you a noticeable advantage when engaging medium to long range targets.

The sway stability and recoil mechanics can vary based on weapon types. For example, bullpup rifles have 25% less sway and recoil because the weight of these rifles are more towards the rear of the gun in the shooters shoulder, giving you better control compared to a non bulpup of similar weight and caliber.

Bullet spread from your gun is no longer arbitrary or affected by stance. Each gun has the correct MOA accuracy of its real world counter part. Leaving the accuracy affected more by the skill of the shooter. Now bullets will go where your sights are aiming at the time you pull the trigger, only spreading by the accuracy capability of the gun itself. Stance simply affects your ability to control the gun while aiming and shooting.

Environment

Objects in your environment will have more effect on how you play. You'll find that thin softer materials such as sheet metal, thin wood walls, thin trees, and cloth will no longer stop bullets. Bullets passing through these materials will have less velocity and power, but can still be lethal.

Bullets also now react to passing through foliage. Shooting through foliage will slow projectiles making them less effective. If you're fighting in the thick jungle, you may want to pick a gun with a heavier bullet that can better punch through the thicket.

AI gameplay

In this MOD you'll notice a few differences to enemy AI behavior. Bot animations have been overhauled for better aesthetics and more dynamic behavior. When BOTs are moving in combat, they will now randomly move side to side, making them a harder target. If stationary in combat, they will crouch behind cover, and randomly stand to shoot or search for targets.

Bot's will now react to being shot and wounded. If a bot is shot, but not killed, they will react in shock by stumbling to cover, limping away, or they may just stand for a few seconds reacting to their wounds before recovering and returning to battle. If they are wounded, this will also effect their ability to move quickly, usually limping from their wounds.

Be careful when killing enemies in this Mod, they might still have a little bit of fight in them. Occasionally when downing an enemy, out of muscle spasms or sheer hate filled motivation to kill you, they may still squeeze off a few rounds as they go down.

You will also hear the bots being more vocal. During engagements, you may hear them calling out your position or shouting to teammates to give them cover, spread out, or let them know they're reloading. They may also call for help if they're wounded, or you might just hear them coughing and grunting in pain from injuries. If they are shouting, the sound of their voice can be heard further away, and at distance you'll hear them echo through the jungle.

Bot's can also no longer cheat by seeing you through thick foliage or cloth objects. Generally, if you can't see them, they can't see you.