Weapon Switching on the Move

[solzenicyn 129]

Hi there,

 

in the recent update of the development branch you can experience our very first playable iteration of the weapon switching on the move.

 

Yes, you read it right, at long last you will be able to switch weapons while moving in Arma.

 

Animation tweaks and engine improvements are still in progress so further changes & optimizations are to be expected (as it is natural for development branch after all).

 

As always, we would like to share thoughts, suggestions and opinions with our community and gather any and all valuable feedback for further improvements of this feature.

 

Hopefully, you will experience sudden increase in quality of life gameplay as much as we do while playing around with this seemingly subtle, yet quite game changing improvement.

[Brisse 78]

Yes, it's amazing that this is finally here :)

 

I do find it a bit unrealistic that you are able to switch just as fast when sprinting as when walking. Remember, the Arma 3 soldiers carry their primary on their back. Switching weapon when having the primary in a sling on your back is a fiddly process. I see two solutions to this. Either make the weapon switch take more time the faster you are moving, or if you try to switch while sprinting, force the soldier to slow down to a jog instead.

 

In real life, one would probably only attempt to put his primary on his back when standing still, or maybe while walking, but I understand Arma 3 players want fluidity in the gameplay, which is something I want too, so the two previous solutions I proposed are not 100% realistic, but are intended to strike a good balance between authenticity and gameplay.

[en3x 209]

I was thinking of blending animation into slinged rifle (like the one you can see when climbing ladders) instead of
placing it on the back.That way switch would be faster and as much authenthic as in real life.
 
Something for future reference

 

 

The one thing that is not big distraction but could be looked out is that I want to

shoot handgun when it comes up and for that tiny second I can't even though

is pointing forward simply because I have to wait for the end of the animation

to play out.

 

So as it comes up I should be able to shoot it, instead of waiting for animation

to play out.

[NeoArmageddon 958]

Hidiho! 

 

I really like the new animation/transition.

 

Only thing I would like tweaked is the speed. Rifle<->Launcher takes quite long and that is great! Rifle->Pistole could be faster thou.

When the transition from rifle to pistol would be fast but back from pistol to rifle slower you have basically what en3x wrote a post above mine.

I think you can also motivate that realism wise (drawing pistol is fast, putting it back and getting the rifle ready again is slower).

 

For me that would also make eprfect sense gameplay wise: Out of ammo -> quickly draw pistol. But be aware that getting the rifle back is slower, so pistol should be a last resort.

[PuFu 4600]

i support the change of the bone position from the back to the front (sling mimic). It does feel weird to have the weapon on the back these days, and i am afraid that if you don't change it now while working on these improvements you never will

[St. Jimmy 272]

i support the change of the bone position from the back to the front (sling mimic). It does feel weird to have the weapon on the back these days, and i am afraid that if you don't change it now while working on these improvements you never will

Weapon slinged on front and running does anyone know if it's actually used anywhere? I can't imagine that working at all. Pounding AK on chest and knees when running isn't good thing. There are just so many things wrong having a weapon hanging in front if you need to move anywhere other way than walking.

[infrareddimming 195]

I was going to address the issue of weapon transitions, but I see you guys already brought it up. Even using the same youtube vid I wanted to use  ;) Obviously I would support such a change. I'm not sure if it's already in the game, but perhaps reload and transitions can be linked to character skills? A max level value would allow the character to basically do SOF levels of speed, while a low value would be very slow in comparison. In an ideal world I'd love to see different sets of animations used depending on skill levels (SF operator, infantryman, militia and civilian). This would also counteract the weird effect of having a ragtag bunch of units using advanced fire drills. However, I realize this might require an extraordinary amount of resources. 

[ineptaphid 6413]

Weapon slinged on front and running does anyone know if it's actually used anywhere? I can't imagine that working at all. Pounding AK on chest and knees when running isn't good thing. There are just so many things wrong having a weapon hanging in front if you need to move anywhere other way than walking.

Thats is true-however for situations where you quickly have to pull a pistol, it does not make much sense to sling a rifle on your back first.Maybe there could be two types of weapon switch? They could be linked to if you are moving normally or using tactical movement stance. For that one you would essentially just drop the rifle and pull up the pistol in an emergency. Don't know if that is feasible at all.

[Gruman 123]

+1  to have the Primary hanging on the chest in a fast transition to the sidearm. If we could have a secondary placement for stowing the primary, I would prefer a Diagonal-barrel down position on the back. Ever tried to run with a rifle with just slung over your strong shoulder? Same applies to the launcher.

 

Anyway, good progress. Thanks.

[Brisse 78]

Weapon slinged on front and running does anyone know if it's actually used anywhere? I can't imagine that working at all. Pounding AK on chest and knees when running isn't good thing. There are just so many things wrong having a weapon hanging in front if you need to move anywhere other way than walking.

 

You are right. It doesn't work in the real world. One has to get rid of whatever is in your hands and grab the primary weapon with both hands before being able to sprint, or even jog.

 

On the other hand, a real world soldier wouldn't put his weapon on his back in the middle of combat either, so this is a hard nut to crack for the Arma devs. As I said earlier, it's a fiddly process and takes much more time and effort in the real world than it does in Arma. There are several steps involved. First you need to get out of the sling. Then you need to detach the sling from the rear attachment point and put it on the middle attachment point, before you fold the stock, and then finally put it on your back, making sure the charging handle is outwards so it doesn't poke you in the back and hurt as you move around. The only situations where we put our weapons on our back was when we did work that required both hands, such as setting up camp, digging trenches, carrying stretchers etc...

[en3x 209]

Transition from primary to sidearm is usually resort in MOUT or in CQB environment when you are working within confined spaces.

Sidearm is shorter and easier to operate or to simply switch weapons if primary runs out of ammo when you are up against enemy

which is very close.

 

So if you do transition and you are out with a pistol you don't really run with your rifle slinged you are more likely to walk or have

slightly  faster movements, however nothing close to sprint.

 

I was curious if you can run with weapon slinged and I gave it a try.The result is:

 

Possible.Sure weapon will jump all around you but it won't hit you because of plate carrier and gear.

And that is all with one point sling.With 2 or 3 point sling weapon won't dance around at all.Regardless if weapon

dances and wobbles around you can still run around.

[Brisse 78]

Correct en3x, but I don't see any way that could be implemented in Arma. Some compromises will have to be made in the game. I don't know what those compromise are, and I guess it's up to the devs to try out some different appraches and decide what they want to do.

 

Everyone saying that it's a good idea to try and have the weapon on the chest instead of the back do have some good points (it's what a real soldier would do when switching to sidearm after all), but there are going to be a lot of hurdles to overcome before it can work in a believable fashion.

[infrareddimming 195]

Weapon slinged on front and running does anyone know if it's actually used anywhere? I can't imagine that working at all. Pounding AK on chest and knees when running isn't good thing. There are just so many things wrong having a weapon hanging in front if you need to move anywhere other way than walking.

 

You can run with rifles slung on your chest, you just need to hold it with your arm. Firing with your sidearm should obviously be disabled during these moves. However you should be able to switch when using slow jog and definitely during tactical pace. 

 

Check out Pat McNamara demontrating running with his carbine (around the 0:30 mark)

 

we need a holstering option back though. For both primary weapon and sidearm. Pistols should obviously go in their holsters, but a holstering a rifle could have that weapon slung across the back

[en3x 209]

Correct en3x, but I don't see any way that could be implemented in Arma. Some compromises will have to be made in the game. I don't know what those compromise are, and I guess it's up to the devs to try out some different appraches and decide what they want to do.

 

Everyone saying that it's a good idea to try and have the weapon on the chest instead of the back do have some good points, but there are going to be a lot of hurdles to overcome before it can work in a believable fashion.

 

If is static like with climbing I think it would work just fine.

 

You can run with rifles slung on your chest, you just need to hold it with your arm. Firing with your sidearm should obviously be disabled during these moves. However you should be able to switch when using slow jog and definitely during tactical pace.

Check out Pat McNamara demontrating running with his carbine (around the 0:30 mark)

[/size]

we need a holstering option back though. For both primary weapon and sidearm. Pistols should obviously go in their holsters, but a holstering a rifle could have that weapon slung across the back

Even if you don't hold it you can, with knowing that weapon swings left and right.So in arma case running with rifle on your chest without holding it is possible

[five_seven5-7 56]

This is a hard one to please everyone...

 

Dont turn even more Arma to a COD or BF.

 

Switching on the move may only occur in a walk situation: due to a primary malfunction; out of ammo or CQB (buildings) transition where big guns lose. No one switch to a less powerful gun just because so. And switch to a rocket sprinting, it needs stability(rest) due to the massive weight.

 

 

Rapid transition - normal carry 1 sling point

Normal switch RPG/Primary - Rear carry 

Hasty carry don't work in a run, the gun will drop to the ground

[Brisse 78]

five-seven5-7 that is a good illustration, but clearly it's made for a weapon without a folding stock. The "rear" position will be very awkard, since you can't kneel without digging the muzzle into the dirt. We always carried with muzzle up, but as I said, we had folding stock. Standard procedure will be different for each army and each weapon type :) (which is just another thing that's going to be a bit too complicated to implement in arma)

[five_seven5-7 56]

You are right but also no one crawls with the weapon on the back, the sling is primary used only for resting.

 

Devs, its just common sense use it wisely...

 

in normal carry one point  the weapon needs to be higher or will turn into a pendulum swing when hits the legs

 

hasty, can fall from the shoulder

 

OFF-TOPIC: Also the Thigh / Leg Holster only works well in a urban environment. The best config is to use in the chest if not starts wobbles and wiggles all over the place not to mention losing magazines if there isn't a lanyard loop.

[2nd ranger 282]

I'm all for slinging the rifle in front when switching weapon, but I'm guessing the main issue with it is clipping into the different kinds of vests. And even if there was a position that looked OK for all vests, the rifle would probably be floating in front of the chest if the unit isn't wearing one. However, I don't think that's a reason not to do it, since there are other, worse clipping problems in the game (FIA jacket + vest, for one). And of course, most weapons clip into backpacks when on the back anyway.

[road runner 4344]

Sling the weapon to the the weak hand side, I'm sure I read on a previous SITREP they were toying with the idea of having the weapon slung to the front centre, pretty sure there was a video to accompany it, same video mayeb talking about shooting from vehicles ??

[road runner 4344]

I'm all for slinging the rifle in front when switching weapon, but I'm guessing the main issue with it is clipping into the different kinds of vests. And even if there was a position that looked OK for all vests, the rifle would probably be floating in front of the chest if the unit isn't wearing one. However, I don't think that's a reason not to do it, since there are other, worse clipping problems in the game (FIA jacket + vest, for one). And of course, most weapons clip into backpacks when on the back anyway.

The addon community vests all clip the arms anyway so having a weapon clipping isn't going to spoil "realism" too much, I'd love to see collision boundary boxes around the lower abdomen so that arms stop clipping, but maybe one day eh? 

[warden_1 1070]

i support the change of the bone position from the back to the front (sling mimic). It does feel weird to have the weapon on the back these days, and i am afraid that if you don't change it now while working on these improvements you never will

Would be cool to assign a key to switch, then just have the following:

Single key press: drop weapon to front slung position and transition to secondary, same to switch back.

Key hold: Sling primary on back and bring up secondary, same to switch back.

Would be cool to see the same for reloading...

Single press to drop the mag from gun and inventory and reload with a 20% faster animation speed, key hold to do normal reload process where mag is placed back into inventory.

[ineptaphid 6413]

Would be cool to assign a key to switch, then just have the following:

Single key press: drop weapon to front slung position and transition to secondary, same to switch back.

Key hold: Sling primary on back and bring up secondary, same to switch back.

Would be cool to see the same for reloading...

Single press to drop the mag from gun and inventory and reload with a 20% faster animation speed, key hold to do normal reload process where mag is placed back into inventory.

That's exactly the kind of thing I wanted-would be fantastic

[acesential 3]

Since the feedback tracker is down, figure this is the best place to mention this-

 

Attempting to swap weapons while crouch-running results in either the weapon changing in the top right but the animation not playing until you stop moving, or the character sliding around on one knee.

 

Happened a few times while testing in the virtual arsenal.

[oldy41 61]

Switching fire mode to the UGL does no longer switch sights. Actually, I cannot enable the UGL sights anymore.

[St. Jimmy 272]

Switching fire mode to the UGL does no longer switch sights. Actually, I cannot enable the UGL sights anymore.

I wonder if there's some changes coming for that then?