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MrGreenWithAGun's avatar
MrGreenWithAGun
New Ace
3 years ago

Bloom v Recoil, the Design Decision and its Repurcussions

I come from a Halo background and I have never had the recoil issues I find with Apex. Bungie and 343 Industries chose bloom to simulate the impact of recoil, and many simply hated that they did this...
gameplay discussion
reconzero's avatar
reconzero
Seasoned Ace
3 years ago

@MrGreenWithAGun

Bloom was the mechanic that Bungie used to say to the player, "I know you think your reticle was on the target. Your reticle may even actually HAVE been on the target. But you may or may not get the damage depending on the mood we're in and how fast you pulled the trigger. Sucks to be you." Oh and, "Yeah, that other guy? You know the one, the one who was shooting at you at the same time you were shooting at him? And half your shots missed even though you were on his head the whole time? Yeah, well that guy pulled his trigger just as fast as you pulled yours but he still hit all his shots because reasons. And you're dead. And he isn't. Still sucks to be you."

When a developer designs a mechanic that behaves inconsistently with what your sense are telling you then that developer made a very, very bad design decision. I'm not saying Reach was a bad game, but it was good despite the weapon mechanics, not because of them. IMO. Wow. It's taken me thirteen years to realize just how badly that mechanic crippled that game. Sure am glad I didn't realize it at the time because I have no idea what else I would have played if not Halo.

MrGreenWithAGun's avatar
MrGreenWithAGun
New Ace
3 years ago
@reconzero Ok, you feel bloom serves no legit purpose. But do you feel recoil serves any legit purpose? Or would the shooter be a better game without it, sort of like Halo before bloom where you hit the target you are aiming at every time?
  • reconzero's avatar
    reconzero
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago
    @MrGreenWithAGun

    I didn't mean to imply that bloom (or recoil) serve no legitimate purpose. In the case of bloom I honestly believe it was designed to hide flaws in netcode and the then dodgier nature of the internet. In the case of recoil, it serves to make the weapon harder to use and, so the developer believes, rewards players who put in more time learning to compensate. In both cases I think the logic is flawed, but the rationales remain.

    All that said, I'm on record many times having said that gun skills shouldn't be the only critical success factor in a shooter, but most especially in a battle royale shooter. The simpler the weapons are to use the more we can all focus on other aspects of the game. Trouble is that most players to this day don't believe that there ARE any other aspects of the game. At least none that are as easy to deal with by cheating.

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