Silencers

[Lord 342]

What does anybody think of the idea of implementing silencers? Someone in another topic mentioned making entire guns yourself, and initially this seemed stupid, but, then I realized that you could build a silencer more easily than you could build an entire gun, and have it be more effective.

You could have homemade silencers that the PC could cobble together from whatever material was available, or you could have factory made silencers for specific guns, or even throw in a few purpose-build silent firearms like a Welrod pistol or something.

Silencers would work by requiring some sort of check on the part of anyone who would listen for gunshots. Probably a PE check, but it would depend on the skillsets and so on that Fallout 3 will use... Anyway, the quality of the silencer would determine how high the check would be; a silencer you whipped up yourself from a soup can or a cat wouldn't have a very high check, but the noise wouldn't be so obviously a gunshot. A better silencer would require a higher check. There would also be modifiers for the weapon type and fire mode (Easier to silence a .32 pistol than a .45 SMG in burst), as well as listener position.

Silencers should make the bullets less effective since they decrease velocity; perhaps a hit to range and accuracy, maybe even lower damage. What does anyone think?

Finally, silencers would degrade with use, the most primitive homebuilt type becoming useless after only a dozen odd shots, while factory-made ones specific for a weapon could possibly last the entire game assuming they were used in moderation.

 

[Gunslinger]

It really depends on the quality of the enemies' AI. I'll take two examples from Silent Storm and Arcanum, two turn-based RPG type games.

In Arcanum, you had the option of constructing a silenced revolver if you were a techie. This would have meant a much needed stealthy approach for techie disciples (which would have been hard what with bulky armor and the lack of melee combat skills if you happened to concentrate more on firearms). Unfortunately, the enemies in Arcanum usually engaged combat when the player enters a certain radius. Going into sneak mode really helped but often times enemies would seem to be able to ferret out my position during their turn. And with the limited range of a pistol, making attacks when the player was out of screen (which seemed, to me, the only effective way) meant hit and miss chances during early stages.

Now, in Silent Storm, there was a more sophisticated sneak system and better enemy AI. Here, silenced weapons were a godsend. In the beginning of the game, I would deploy my scouts in sneak mode in order to safely spot enemies and scour the map for my other squadmates. The spotter role meant that my scout could only observe and not attack, doing so would give away his position. But later on in the game, the equipment locker provides you with a silenced submachine gun which is really a godsend since it adds a deadly element to the spotter. Normally, the silenced submachine guns in Silent Storm were traditional models that you wouldn't have found particular useful (since by now, you'll have found a weapon with better range/AP cost/ammo capacity) but the silencer makes a world of difference. For instance, if there were two enemey machine gunners atop a hill who were accurately pouring down fire upon my normal squadmates, I could have my scout flank their position in stealth mode unobserved and fire a few bursts directly behind them. Later on, when silenced rifles were available, I could have my scout act as his own spotter/marksman combo and not risk having him charge enemies up close in order to accurately hit them.

So I think that Silent Storm has proven that silencers can be effectively implemented. But I think that it really depends on how the developers balance the game. I think that they'd have to be alot more harsh than Silent Storm with the checks characters have to make in order to not be revealed. In some missions of Silent Storm, I could literally wade through the opposition with just one scout armed with a silenced submachine gun, silenced carbine, and a katana.

 

[Claw]

Well, normally if you start a combat in some areas you are automatically in combat with most people in the area.

That ought to be improved, and a silenced gun might give you the option to kill someone without everyone turning hostile.

 

[Lord 342]

Yes, I'm hoping that all enemy AI becomes smarter. No more of this "killing person X sets flags for all of person X's cohorts to hate the player". NO! Person X's cohorts will have had to see you snuff him (or otherwise come to know about it). Everyone should work this way if they wanted to implement silencers without having them be laughable.

 

[Jabbapop]

Yes, I'm hoping that all enemy AI becomes smarter. No more of this "killing person X sets flags for all of person X's cohorts to hate the player". NO! Person X's cohorts will have had to see you snuff him (or otherwise come to know about it). Everyone should work this way if they wanted to implement silencers without having them be laughable.

After the fallout, there were minute changes in genetic structure, resulting in minute telepathic abilities, otherwise known as intuition.