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Why do all FPS type games have to have some form of a sniper?
gauge2k3
Member Posts: 442
Is there an unwritten rule somewhere I have not seen. No developer seems to be willing to break away from this. Snipers have less skill in general than an average fps player using a rifle. The only real skill in a sniper in most games is making long range moving shots. But even if you remove those long range shots and someone is bad at fps's, they can pick up a sniper rifle and start one shotting away at everyone in the game.
Would it really be a trajedy to see an FPS without snipers in them? Maybe have a thing like modern warfare where you can call in a sniper shot after so many consecutive kills or something. Or you can purchase sniper support after attaining some funds or something. I just feel that a sniper class is a lack of skill that is only "fun" for the sniper because he gets to ruin other peoples gameplay. While this is a relatively new idea for MMO's, in FPS players have loved ruining other peoples fun for a lot long ( spawn camping etc etc). Many consider it their only reason for playing. Sniping is most definately not fun for the receiver who has almost no way of defending himself against an attack of that sort. Generally the larger the maps in an fps the harder it is to defend against a sniper.
TLDR: Is it necessary for snipers to be in an FPS? Will not having them reduce varience in play style too much? Discuss.
Comments
Why do these games feature shotguns/pistols when they are useless in comparison to medium-range fully-auto weapons?
Because some people are masochists, and developers pride themselves on giving a realistic set of options, along with a realistic set of pointlessness between those options.
How about a game where the only route is that everyone plays sniper? That could actually be pretty damn engaging.
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well if they would incorporate what it really means to be a sniper in the field "camoflage, planing, scouting, preping, insertion & ectraction from target" then the machanics of a sniper totally changes from what we have today.
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Sniper ghost warrior has online sniper vs sniper matches :P
But that game has something other fps probably don't have on snipers since the maps are small and easy to spot people into.
In sniper ghost warrior you have to calculate the wind, range plus finding other snipers which is kinda a pain but it sounds fun if you manage to do it :P
The problem with your arguement is this. While shotguns and pistols negatives are fairly accurate in most FPS's, not accurate at longer ranges but more stopping power close up, a sniper rifle negatives are almost never put into a game.
IRL sniper shots take MUCH longer to set up, you need a spotter, you can't just go crazy firing shot after shot and expect to hit. Picking up and moving around with a high powered sniper rifle is SLOW at best. Sniper rifles are AWEFUL in close combat situations. There is a reason why every soldier in the military is not carrying a sniper rifle. None of this is true in an FPS.
i have to disagree.
most snipers have to have more skill then there average "spray n pray" soldier (yup, i'm a "spray n pray" :P). i'm not very good at FPS but i have to admit that sniper rifles are the most challenging of weappons usually. i just can't hit anything that moves with such a slow fire rate and small field of view.
i'v always been more of a land mines and granade launcher kind of guy, simply because i suck at aiming wile me and my target are moving.
if anything you should be asking yourself "why are there always land mines and granade launchers in fps?"
no different from someone carrying a fully automatic heavy machine gun running into a group of people holding down the trigger with full on spray and pray. Knowing there are snipers around means avoiding viewpoints that cover the direction you're going. So just because you keep getting waxed by snipers doesn't call for action to remove them. It means you need to keep your head down. No one enjoys getting shot. Thats war.
I could live without seeing snipers in fps games or maybe a very limited amout in a setting. Don't get me wrong, they are fun to play sometimes and I'm sure more fun for people who really enjoy them. However snipers are the only class that I can think of that having to many ruins the competitive nature of capturing control points. Seeing over 1/3 of your team hiding behind rocks trying to get a sweet headshot while the rest of the teams efforts are trivialized trying to push for control from a superior number of defenders isn't much fun.
To many medics, assaults, engineers or whatever doesn't seem to have the same effect and actually keeps things dynamic. To many snipers on the other hand usually ends up more frustrating.
Probably the same reason RPGS end with the holy trinity. It's just how it is.
Drop the next-gen marketing and people will argue if the game itself has merit.
Same thing with rogues, rogues are commonly hated, "no skill", yet they exist in every game.
I think snipers aren't any less skilled than machinegunners, they just use different tactics. When I played Gunz: The Duel (few years ago), I was called a "sprayer noob" for using rifle successfully rather than taking potshots with shotgun/revolver and slashing sword in air like an idiot (the "pro & skillful " way).
I like to play snipers, because it boosts the tactical factor of the game. That is, rather than "OMG GO TO CENTER AND KILL WITH RIFLE", people start to use cover because they know that as soon as they stay in open, a sniper's gonna headshot them.
A lot of people like to be snipers.
There are people who just run in with a shotgun/auto-shotgun in FPS games and blast up everything in site too. People have their play styles.
In a game like MW2, most maps have the sniper at a disadvantage. There will only be a couple spots that actually have a good line of sight and distance. Very few of those are clear shots, there is generally stuff for people to take cover behind. Add in the sway and all of the gadgets people can get like show everyone on radar etc. it can become tough to get a good sniper spot going. They also add the sway to make the shots more challenging. In MW2 I could be at the top of the kill list everytime by doing a setup which had extra speed and extra melee length and a very fast firing weapon, but I couldn't always be at the top of the list with a sniper. Yet I find the cheap ways that I can play to be at the top of the list everytime boring and unchallenging so I play sniper a lot. Also with the MW2 crowd there are a lot of people who hate getting sniped so much that they will hunt you out for the rest of the match (of course knowing this you can keep moving to kill them on their way back to you which is fun) so that keeps you from being able to just not pay attention and snipe away. You always have to move around and check to see if anyone is after you.
In modern FPS games there tends to be far cheaper/easier/less skilled options for kills then a sniper. Even if you take out sniper rifles people will just snipe with AKs or M16s or whatever long range rifles exist.
Every since games added sway and controlling breathing to take shots along with how fast characters tend to move in modern FPS games, the best way to top the charts has been with non-sniper classes. The maps are made to limit sniper options as well.
Decent players learn the maps quick and know what zones snipers are likely to cover. They either avoid those zones or use a sniper who's main job is to kill other snipers. BF2 was a game I liked a lot, and I would get tons of kills sniping, but I could always get more kills being a spec ops character and getting in close.
It doesn't matter the game (I loved the battlefield series topping out with BF2 but never found the Bad Company games interesting) sniping isn't the top option like it was back in the old days of sniper rifles always shoot straight with no sway and the maps are wide open.
Snipers in PS are 2 shot kills and can be quite skillful. It also very situational and massively increases in efficiency in preperation. It also has its counters, so long as they are there I see no problem with them.
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The sniper is just another type of support specialist, optimized for clearing a path for the offense. The slow nature of reloading and simply panning while zoomed-in provide balance and make it a relatively poor defensive unit (except against other snipers). Also, although anyone can pick it up, you really do have to be good for one-shot/one kill statistics. As borne out in many games, too many snipers typically spells doom for the team.
As traditional as the sniper rifle is in FPS', I still think people do not know how to properly "deal" with it in a multiplayer setting. Most map designers do a poor job balancing maps, if they even give it consideration, either not providing enough cover or decent perches. In addition, most people pick up a sniper and think players will be as easy to headshot as an NPC. Finally, people dealing with sniper-fire often don't think at all about tactics of using cover, either land masses or providing cover fire for partners, much less thinking about killzones on a map.
So, no, I don't think sniper rifles are a problem, nor should they be removed. I think people who play snipers are primarily attracted to the glamour of the "lone wolf" reputation rather than necessarily having the skills to use it, while some just don't know how to deal with incoming fire that isn't within melee distance (regardless that they use ranged attacks).
TLDR version: Learn2play ( ' :
Without snipers who do you get to stab in the back.
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A sniper is used for support. They are usually setup on high spots and in cover. They are used to communicate to troops in the area of conflict to let them know where the threat is at. At the same time they use the sniping ability to elliminate any enimies that the troops may not be able to see or get to. Also they are used to call in air support since they usually have the better eye of what is going on on the battlefield. I do all this in Battlefield 2 and other multiplayer FPS either using a VOIP program or using some in game chat function. So to elliminate the sniper in a FPS is like elliminating your DPS or other essential class in your group in a MMORPG game. All classes have a primary function and when but together become that unstoppable force when everyone works together..
It's because of Saving Private Ryan.
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Playing a sniper in Planetside was a specialty of mine and we didn't just shoot other players. We scouted. We performed interdiction. We were the wall clearers and bridge keepers. Snipers played a vital roll in Planetside and I thoroughly enjoyed playing that game.
The obvious answer to this question is that many people love playing snipers and it therefore sells more games.
If you want a game which isn't as focused on snipers I would suggest Operation Flashpoint or Arma, both are much more like combat simulators than FPS.
I HATE HATE HATE snipers. Still have nightmares about those AWP whores in CS (with their stupid deagle weapon change for quick reload)
Because being a sniper is a glorified class like jedi are to sci-fi games.. lol Personally I like the idea of the class, however it needs to be tweaked a bit so that not every tom, dick and harry can pick it up , aim crosshairs and kill target .. I'm just not sure the devs have the ability tho to make a sniper class more challenging without breaking it.. LOL
It's probably worth noting that HL2 gets tons of calls to include a sniper rifle, but has yet to do so. The closest you get is the strangely-effective magnum revolver.
I think most games tend to make the sniping too easy - way too quick to focus in on a target when you first zoom, and many don't even include any form of barrel sway/unsteadiness.
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The reason is quite simple,it is because a good FPS will have ALL range of attack,this means every player has something they will conform to.My favourite FPS was UT99,it offered riccochets,shooting around corners,long range,mid range,short range even spam,and combo shots.SO if you don't like a sniper rifle or do not see fit to have it in the game,then what would you replace it with?Quake had it a bit different,you had the Rail and eventually Unreal unveiled a lightning gun thta sort of acted liek a sniper gun.The sniper is not only long range ,but it uses a scope to make long range accurate,most games have other alternatives for long range but not very accurate.Also added to long range and accuracy is the sniper is alwys the fastest shot at long range making for the perfect long range weapon.
This doesn't mean you can't add other long range weaponry like cannons,missiles or whatever.The thing is that a sniper rifle is also realistic in that a single person is all that is needed to operate one,when you bring in tanks,missiles,or other long range ,how do they get all the unlimited ammo,unlimited fuel ect ect.
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I mentioned earlier that snipers were a bit of a glamour position and another mentioned "Saving Private Ryan" being the reason for the popularity. If one were to make an mmorpg-relevant analogy, you could call snipers the Jedi of the FPS world ( ' ;
This is why I think FPS games should have 1 sniper for every X ammount of players.
I don't have any problems with snipers, I think its definitely a good way to play, because sometimes it does take skill to snipe effectively. My favorite games that utilize snipers are the ones that balance them, such as Global Agenda, Transformers WFC, BattleFront 2, and similar titles.
I think that sniper rifles are usually very overpowered in some games where there is absolutely no balance in damage mitigation. I think BF was better overall then say MW.