Reloading weapons
Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:58 am
So, the player carries stacks of ammo magazines, and as you fire the top item in the stack (representing the loaded magazine) loses "durability" which represents the amount of ammo left in that magazine, with the exception of the rocket launcher (so it's also excluded from my suggestion).
Currently, when that magazine runs out of ammo, you instantly and seamlessly start firing the next magazine in the stack.
Suggestion:
Add a short pause when the magazine runs out to simulate loading a new magazine into the gun, which (for simplicity's sake) gets slightly faster with each upgrade to shooting speed.
There would need to be some indication of what is happening so people don't get confused, but reloading is an expected function of any video game's weapons, so it's not like it needs to be super obvious.
I think at the very least, the durability / ammo count bar that shows over the ammo would fill up again, like a progress bar for the reload.
Possible extra effects that would mean more complexity and effort:
It would be nice to have some simple sound effects: a click when the magazine runs out, and... whatever sound you want for finishing the reload. A simple confirmation tick, the clatter of a weapon slide, etc. Having two separate sound effects like that (one for 'magazine empty' and one for 'reload finished') would make it trivial to adjust as reload speed is increased.
It would be really nice for each gun to have unique sound effects. The pistol/smg may sound like racking a slide, the shotgun would have the iconic ka-chunk of a pump-action (nevermind that a semi-auto shotgun doesn't make that sound), and the flamethrower could sound like attaching a gas hose or something.
It would be really really nice to have a short animation when reloading... but that would be a lot of work, because each gun is going to have (or at least should have) a different reload time.
Currently, when that magazine runs out of ammo, you instantly and seamlessly start firing the next magazine in the stack.
Suggestion:
Add a short pause when the magazine runs out to simulate loading a new magazine into the gun, which (for simplicity's sake) gets slightly faster with each upgrade to shooting speed.
There would need to be some indication of what is happening so people don't get confused, but reloading is an expected function of any video game's weapons, so it's not like it needs to be super obvious.
I think at the very least, the durability / ammo count bar that shows over the ammo would fill up again, like a progress bar for the reload.
Possible extra effects that would mean more complexity and effort:
It would be nice to have some simple sound effects: a click when the magazine runs out, and... whatever sound you want for finishing the reload. A simple confirmation tick, the clatter of a weapon slide, etc. Having two separate sound effects like that (one for 'magazine empty' and one for 'reload finished') would make it trivial to adjust as reload speed is increased.
It would be really nice for each gun to have unique sound effects. The pistol/smg may sound like racking a slide, the shotgun would have the iconic ka-chunk of a pump-action (nevermind that a semi-auto shotgun doesn't make that sound), and the flamethrower could sound like attaching a gas hose or something.
It would be really really nice to have a short animation when reloading... but that would be a lot of work, because each gun is going to have (or at least should have) a different reload time.
