game weapon balance

Balancing Sniper Rifles

https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/118201/how-can-i-discourage-camping-while-still-supporting-a-sniper-style-of-play

General

• Sniper load out has only a pistol as secondary weapon
• Slower reload time
• Slower movement when using the scope
• Limited clip size and number
• Damage - Head shots instance kill, otherwise requires multiple hits
• Bullet drop, coriolis effect, cross winds
• Sniper rifle is noisy which gives some indication of where the sniper is
• Sniper rifle scope glint when the sniper is aiming at a player and the player is looking in their general direction
• Laser sight that every can see that shows exactly where the sniper is aiming
• Birds that fly out of the grass or off buildings when they hear a sniper shot, pigs/sheep/cows etc. could also run away
• Smoke or air distortion trail that shows where the shot came from
• Throw grenades, napalm, flash bangs, and smoke grenades to distract or provide cover
• A rocket launcher class could pop up, "fire and forget" to hit a sniper without being shot
• Make sniper rifle less accurate from a standing position, more accurate crouched, most accurate fully lying down
• Use DOF to show only far away things as in focus, blurring everything closer
• Force snipers to sling/unsling weapon (takes a few seconds) between running and firing
• Rifles weight more, so running speed is slower
• Aiming for every weapon gets worse when low on health
• Make accuracy start from say 50% when first scoped, after 2 seconds or so the sniper is relaxed accuracy climbs to 100%, after say 1 minute the sniper gets fatigued and requires doing something else for a bit with a cool down to recover, if you stay zoomed in you start wobbling wildly and gasp
• Bonus points for sticking with your team, who presumably are moving around acheiving objectives

Blunt

• Breakable guard towers, or even boarded up windows on a building where the boards can be shot out, exposing the sniper
• Design levels with multiple alternative routes to sniper spots, and alternative objectives so you don't even have to go near the sniper
• Add clutter, cars, rocks, walls, long grass that other players can use as cover to advance on a sniper
• Move the current objectives or the frontline or have the team cycle through a series of objectives so the sniper cannot stay in one position for long, they either have to move forward or retreat to keep up with where the frontline moves to
• If a player doesn't move for long enough broadcast their position and set them on fire, give them a points penalty or stop them shooting for 5 seconds
• Every time a sniper shoots or is spotted set a 20 second timer to air strike, artillery or mortar that area
• Get less points for a sniper kill, ie. only half a point, 1 point for other weapons, 2 points for a pistol, 3 points for a knife?
• Reduce the number of players that can be a sniper on each team? Could set limits for all classes
• Team Fortress 2 Spy is like an anti-camping character: Uses invisibility and disguises to infiltrate into enemy territory, kills instantly when stabbing their victim from behind

Encourage Movement

• Players leave dog tags when they die, which the other team can pick up for a bonus?
• Ammo/health/shields/etc. spawn far away from good sniping positions, encouraging movement

Other

• Kill cams show who killed you and where they are so you can get revenge on a sniper or flank them

Pistol Balancing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEOOFs485jU

• Allow medic to shoot their pistol while dragging injured players to safety
• Allow shooting while recovering the bomb
• Could hold a shield, knife, torch, GPS in the other hand
• Allow dual wielding?
• Shoot pistol while driving
• Make other guns tire the player out quicker, 3.5 Kg rifle vs 0.7 Kg pistol.