There are many good ideas implemented here, and I think that a cover system is a necessity.
Fights are usually too damn short, even firefights between elite soldiers in PA play more like a knife fight in speed and dynamic. For example, if you and a friend have been attacked by some enemies, your only options are flee, fight, die. Cover would add a new option: Delay. Example:
Two dudes (let's call them GROUP A) are attacked by three dudes (GROUP B) somewhere in Reno. The two dudes run behind some cover, and start shooting. The three dudes get some cover too and both sides start shooting. Everyone has plenty of options:
Group A:
- Make a run for it
- Make a fighting retreat using constant cover
- Cripple their legs and run for it
- Cripple their legs and use your superior speed to constantly change cover and flank them
- Use a grenade to knock them away, then attack with all abbadon
- Shot them with lasers to bypass their cover
- Stay inside cover and whip out radio, delay the enemy and call out desperately for help
- Switch to armor-piercing ammo
- Any combination of any action
Group B:
- Use grenades to knockback the covered enemies, then attack with all abadon
- Send a unarmed-melee fighter to go there, knockback them away from cover (most unarmed/melee attacks have a small knockback effect, Sledge and Super Sledge specially) cripple their legs/arms or kill them
- Use lasers or flamers to bypass cover
- Use armor-piecing bullets to ignore DT bonus
I think the main problem of cover is WHAT is going to give cover bonuses. I suggest PE for DR bonus (represented as the character's ability to find the sturdier part of cover, therefore dimishing damage when he gets hit), AG for AC bonus (obvious here) and LK for both.
A suggestion of mine is to make a perk that makes IN and CH give those bonuses instead, and ONLY acessible for characters with low BASE PE and AG (to represent the "Smart Non-Action Guy" type of characters, think the Medic/Diplomat/crafter). What about something akin to "Smart Coward" as a name?
Another suggestion is to make the bonuses depend on current unused AP. So, in real-time, the guy who's drops into cover then bursts nonstop should be easier to hit and get more damage than the other guy who stays in cover and sometimes takes a potshot at his foe, waits for his AP to regenerate and does so again. This also makes sense for characters who NEED to stay in cover to do something like healing. This would make different playstiles in relation to cover.
Another suggestion is to make Bonus Move give a small cover AC bonus, as to represent the person's increased mobility making it easier and faster for him to shoot and cover.
I agree with the skill part, but I don't know about only DR being affected by cover. It makes more sense to be missed when behind cover than it does to be hit for no damage, however a combination of misses and reduced (grazing bullets?) damage would make a lot of sense.
As for explosives, cover should still apply to some extent depending on what the cover is, but a smart rocketeer won't just shoot as his target's cover, he would shoot at the ground next to his target splashing him with far more damage than firing a direct shot.
Flamers would have to get so close they might as well just rush past the cover anyway.
I think we need cover to further balance weapon types at the end of the day and for this reason I would still like to see laser and plasma damage being resisted by cover as cover would be an ideal way to withstand a sniper (which might be laser based) or big gunner attack logically.
I think both AC and DR bonus are necessary. AC represents the cover protecting you from enemy shots entirely. DR bonus represents the enemy shots losing strength after going though the cover. I like the AC bonus because it makes AC-bonus perks more rewarding. I like the DR bonus because it makes DR-perks more important, and also because it means using armor-piercers against enemies, which I like.
About the flamer: Increase flamer range a bit. Flamer range in reality is much strong than in games. This is a typical case of Videogame Flamethrowners suck.
I think Laser should either ignore cover entirely or at least ignore the DR bonus. A laser is a beam of energy focused in one point. A plasma bolt is a big ball of super-hot ionised gas contained and launched though magnetic processes. Plasma is stronger, but laser' focus in one point should give it a advantage. This is good because lasers are mostly neglected.
I think the main purpose of throwning granades behind obstacle should be to uncovering enemy. Grenades will become more popular, also throwning skill.
Very much this. Grenades should ignore cover bonuses. Combined with the explosive effect and the common explosion knockback, grenades will be the anti-cover. This will finally make them useful in the game. I think throwing spears could ignore cover AC bonus, as a way of making spear throwing more popular.
A cover system togheter with the Hex-Shooting suggested a week or so ago. Epic.
Also this.
right, after your opponent has wasted his AP on your cover you know that you have time to run to the next bit of cover, perhaps making your way closer to him or closer to your escape.
there would be more time spent waiting for your opponent to make a dumb mistake leaving himself open, as is the case in a real fight.
It might encourage camping but i think one would camp to one's own detriment. With this system one would want to stay on the move as there would always be cover spots behind you or on your flank for someone to take advantage of unless you are so far to the edge of the map that you are basically out of the fight in which case your enemies can simply run the other way.
what I like most about this is that the fights would be protracted but it's in your best interest to try to end them fast or get out. Otherwise your opponent would be able to send a distress signal for reinforcements before you get a chance to kill him (of course you could do the same).
It will make PvP more interesting out in the waste. It will encourage dialogue between two stalemated opponents, It will even give blue-suites a bit of a leg up.
Agreed entirely.
I like the whole new focus on moving though cover to cover. This will make leg shots more useful, because crippling someone's leg will impair his hability to switch cover. It would also make battles more dynamic.
Only a few places would be suitable for camping. Spending too much time camping will allow the camper's foe to prepare to break his cover. Campers can be flushed out with grenades/melee, attacked with lasers or flamers, flanked or eventually out-camped by some smart-allec who will eventually call his bros to siege him and do anti-camper measures detailed above.
Combining all those suggestions would make the combat much, much better.
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