Sniping
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Hitman Go dev locks and loads Hitman: Sniper
Square Enix Montreal announced a new game based on the Hitman series for mobile devices today, Hitman: Sniper. As with the developer's recent approach to mobile in Hitman Go, Sniper is "tailor-built for touch screen devices." It plans to show off the game on undisclosed smartphones and tablets at E3 next week. Hitman: Sniper is a "massively competitive sniping game that will focus on the subtlety of execution," according to the developer. Players will complete contracts that include any number of assignments and targets, each expected to be worth replaying multiple times to topple other players' scores on leaderboards. Square Enix Montreal drew comparisons to IO Interactive's Hitman: Sniper Challenge, which launched ahead of Hitman: Absolution, and that those familiar with the stand-alone game will "have a pretty good idea of the sort of action you can expect" from Hitman: Sniper. When the developer announced Hitman Go in February, it noted that it was working on "something else" that fit "perfectly within the Hitman fantasy." The sniping game sure seems to fit that bill, and will launch "later this year" for free with optional in-app purchases. Square Enix Montreal just began offering Hitman Go on Android devices yesterday and is "working hard on the next set of levels" for the game. [Image: Square Enix]
Snipers confirmed for Titanfall, but quick- and no-scope shots are 'ineffective'
Beyond the joys of stomping people into goo from the cockpit of a giant robot, Titanfall is largely a traditional shooter, though unlike other, modern console shooters Titanfall won't allow snipers to cheat the system. "Sniping is in the game, but due to how the game plays it's a pretty different animal than you'll find in your run of the mill modern military shooter," claimed "scriptacus," a representative of developer Respawn Entertainment in the game's forums. "Quick scoping and no scoping are ineffective." For those unfamiliar with the terms, "quick scoping" and "no scoping" allow snipers to drastically increase their fire rate by exploiting the way virtual rifles work. No scoping is simply firing without aiming and relying on the power of your gun to offset your lack of precision. Quick scoping is a practice in which virtual snipers learn to bring up the scope reticle only long enough to squeeze off one, quick shot. On consoles, where auto-aim has become standard, those who have mastered quick scoping can almost guarantee a hit - which is usually all a sniper will need. How Titanfall's developers plan to counter these tactics is unknown. It could be that players simply move too fast for quick scoping and no scoping to work properly (as in Tribes: Ascend), or Respawn may have increased the amount of time necessary to aim and then fire. We have attempted to contact the developer for further information, but have yet to hear back.
EVE Evolved: Fitting Heavy Assault Cruisers in Odyssey 1.1, part 2
EVE Online recently revamped all of the Heavy Assault Cruisers in its Odyssey 1.1 update, in addition to buffing active shield boosters and armour repairers and rebalancing medium beam lasers and railguns. Last week I put together a new brawler setup for the recently revamped Deimos, a sentry drone sniper fitting for the Ishtar, an extremely effective anti-frigate Cerberus setup, and a sadly underwhelming railgun Eagle. This week I've turned my attention toward the Amarr and Minmatar HACs, with some surprising results. The Zealot and Sacrilege are still as powerful as ever, and the Muninn may see some use as a tactical frigate sniper, but this patch could see many players retiring their Vagabonds. The nano-fit Vagabond was once the unrivaled number one ship for lone pirates, able to speed-tank anything larger than a frigate and still deal over 500 DPS. It engaged safely from outside web range, moved too fast for turrets to track, and absorbed any attacks that did hit with its sizable buffer tank. When CCP made warp scramblers knock out microwarpdrives, Vagabond pilots adapted with dual propulsion module fits that use a microwarpdrive to approach the target and an afterburner to orbit. Unfortunately, the Vagabond didn't fare well in the Odyssey 1.1 patch and players aren't sure if they can adapt this time. In this week's EVE Evolved, I put together PvP setups for the at the Zealot, Sacrilege, Muninn, and Vagabond Heavy Assault Cruisers.
EVE Evolved: Fitting battleships for PvP in Odyssey, part 2
Battleships used to be the backbone of every major PvP fleet in EVE Online, but recent years have seen them increasingly overtaken by more mobile Battlecruisers, Heavy Assault Cruisers, and tech 3 Strategic Cruisers. Armour buffered battleships are still used in carrier-supported fleets and for a while nullsec played host to huge missile-spamming Maelstrom blobs of unholy death, but many of the battleships just haven't been worth using. Developers saught to rectify that in the recent Odyssey expansion with a complete balance overhaul of the standard tech 1 battleships, and it's starting to pay off. In last week's EVE Evolved, I looked at how Odyssey buffed the tier one Dominix, Scorpion, Typhoon, and Armageddon beyond all recognition and experimented with new PvP setups for each of them. This week I've turned my attention toward the tier 2 battleships, which turned out to be equally versatile and deadly. Now officially falling under the umbrella of "Combat Battleships," the Megathron, Raven, Apocalypse, and Tempest have become powerful damage-dealing platforms for fleet warfare. Each of them can now fulfill sniper or close-range damage roles and carry a spare flight of Warrior II drones to bat off tacklers, but what's impressed me the most is the sheer level of damage and tank they can achieve. In this week's EVE Evolved, I experiment with setups for the recently revamped Megathron, Raven, Apocalypse, and Tempest tier 2 battleships. These setups may require Advanced Weapon Upgrades 4 and a cheap 1-3% powergrid or CPU implant.
EVE Evolved: Fitting battleships for PvP in Odyssey
Tech 1 ships in EVE Online used to be arranged in tiers that determined the cost and power of the ship and what level of the appropriate skill was required to fly it. This gave a sense of progression back in 2004 when all we had was frigates, cruisers, and battleships, but developers have since filled in the gaps between ship classes with destroyers, battlecruisers, strategic cruisers, and tech 2 ships of all shapes and sizes. In a recent game design initiative, CCP has been removing the tiers from within each tech 1 ship class by buffing the lower-tier ships up to the same rough power level as the largest ship in its class. The recent Odyssey expansion saw the humble battleship buffed beyond all recognition. The Megathron, Raven, Tempest, and Apocalypse all became extreme damage-dealing powerhouses, but the Dominix, Scorpion, Typhoon, and Armageddon were buffed the most. Each of them can now fit several monster setups, dealing upward of 1,000 damage per second or completely disabling enemy ships with energy neutralisers and electronic warfare. The build costs of these tier one battleships were more than doubled in the expansion, but prices are only slowly rising due to the existing stock on the market. That makes the tier one battleships incredibly cost-effective PvP powerhouses at the moment, and players are beginning to take advantage of it. In this week's EVE Evolved, I experiment with PvP setups for the newly revamped Typhoon, Armageddon, Scorpion, and Dominix battleships.
EVE Evolved: Fitting the Gallente Talos
Among the hundreds of changes brought by EVE Online's recent Crucible expansion, the new tier 3 battlecruisers certainly rank as player favourites. Rather than giving each race a bigger, tougher battlecruiser, CCP gave the new ships the ability to fit battleship-class weapons but heavily limited their defensive capabilities. All four tier 3 battlecruisers are turret-based, letting them output massive damage with close-range guns or hit for solid damage at battleship sniping distances. As with all new ships, it can be difficult to figure out how to fit the new tier 3 battlecruisers to make full use of their unique combination of high damage output and high mobility. Last week I looked at three viable setups for the Caldari Naga, which proved to be an absolute monster with 1,000-1500 DPS when using close-range blaster setups and a terrifying 650 DPS when sniping at 100km-130km. This week I take a similar look at the Gallente Talos, a ship designed specifically for close-range combat. I explore a traditional armour-tanked blaster fitting with dual webs, a shield-based variant that packs a huge 1,500 DPS punch, and two long-range blaster fits that give the Naga a run for its money. In this week's EVE Evolved, I explore four solid PvP fittings for the Talos, with both shield and armour setups.
EVE Evolved: Fitting the Caldari Naga
While EVE Online's recent Crucible expansion brought us over a hundred small features, balance tweaks, and graphical updates, its headline feature was undoubtedly the four new tier 3 battlecruisers. It's been several years since a new combat ship was added to EVE, and combat had begun to get a little stale. Most of EVE's ships follow a logical design progression, with larger ships having more tank and higher damage output. CCP turned that concept on its head with the new tier 3 battlecruisers, which deal battleship-class damage but have both the agility and paper-thin tank of a tech 1 cruiser. The Caldari Naga is the very definition of a glass cannon, able to output more damage than a Megathron or Rokh but at the cost of having practically no tank. It can be sniper-fit to deal around 650 DPS at ranges of 100-130km, blaster-fit to output a raw 1,500 DPS at ranges below 10km, or even set up to fight effectively with blasters outside web range. Its high top speed and cruiser-like agility add new gameplay options to existing sniper and heavy damage-dealer fleet roles, providing battleship-class damage for roaming cruiser gangs. It's a potential game-changer for nullsec alliances engaging in hit-and-run style warfare, but as with all new ships it can be difficult to figure out an effective ship fitting. In this week's EVE Evolved, I explore three solid fittings for the Naga designed to fill common PvP roles.
EVE Evolved: Gallente and hybrid balance
It's been another week filled with announcements and positive news for EVE Online, with CCP showing off EVE's new nebulae and revealing the Amarr and Caldari tier 3 battlecruisers. For Gallente pilots, no news was celebrated more than the rebalancing of hybrid weapons and ships that specialise in their use. Short-range blasters can technically deliver the highest damage output of any turret, but their extremely short optimal range means they deal a smaller fraction of their maximum damage in most fights than other ships. Blaster ships have to spend valuable travel time closing into weapons range, and once up close, targets are hard to track. Although railguns were designed by the Caldari, they're hybrid weapons just like blasters, and so they are the long-range weapon of choice for Gallente sniping and mission-running ships. They have good range and tracking speed but have always suffered from slightly worse damage output and alpha strike than beam lasers and artillery cannons of the same size. Countless suggestions for fixes to blasters and railguns have appeared on the forum over the years, but until now they've remained unchanged. As a Gallente pilot and avid Thorax and Dominix fan, I'm very excited by the hybrid balance changes coming this winter. In this week's EVE Evolved, I take a break from the new player experience experiment to take a look at the impact of the upcoming hybrid balance patch and why the announced changes are needed.
Gold Capped: Dealing with Neutral Auction House sniping
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen aims to show you how to make money on the auction house. Email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! Neutral auction house sniping is the practice of lurking at the neutral auction house (which is usable by both factions) until someone tries to use it to move items from one of their characters to another across factions, and then stealing it. Unlike someone who ninjas a mount in a PUG, this type of theft is totally OK with Blizzard -- all the sniper is doing is buying a posted auction.
MAG moves to patch 1.03
For better or worse, most MMOs these days live and die by combat. That goes doubly so for the MMOFPS field, since it's difficult to have a game with "shooter" right in the genre descriptor without some form of lethal ordnance being unloaded. MAG, the massive squad-based shooter on the PS3, has made a major overhaul to its combat system with patch 1.03, designed to address several community concerns and elements that the designers felt were unfair and unfun. A large-scale weapon overhaul has taken place as the centerpiece of the patch, with the effectiveness of several weapons and strategies being re-tuned. The short version: shorter-range weapons have been toned down in terms of their accuracy at range, sights have been toned down for a similar reason, and both battle rifles and rocket launchers have received notable buffs. There's also greater consistency in firing through thin materials such as tents. With changes to the warnings for charges, faster gear switching, and decreased respec costs, the patch also brings improvements not solely linked to weapon balance. MAG players have the patch available now, and we're hoping that the shifts are keeping players more entertained and less frustrated at someone sniping them from half a map away with a shotgun.
Scattered Shots: Do Hunters need Camouflage?
Hunt much? Got a pet? Scattered Shots is the feature you turn to when you've gotta have your weekly fix of hunter information, and you've just gotta have it every Thursday afternoon without fail. Those who mine the very depths of the Wrath of the Lich King alpha client have discovered a possible new hunter ability called Camouflage, which, if it goes live, could add an entirely new dimension to the hunter class. Its current form is kind of like a combination Vanish and Cloak of Shadows, in that, once every 5 minutes, it saves you from all debuffs currently destroying you in one way or another, and it puts you in "improved invisibility" (not actual stealth like a rogue has). There's no mention of any time limit, except that it will break when you deal damage.There are a number of implications this ability could have for hunters if it actually ends up on our action bars. For one, it would be quite different from a mage's Invisibility spell, which usually only allows them to see other invisible targets and only lasts for a short time. If Camouflage were to break upon dealing damage then we'd have to be able to see our targets, right? Likely we'd be able to move around and stalk them too. Also, it would not break when you start to cast a shot (such as Aimed Shot), or even if that shot were to miss -- only if it hits its mark. It could be the perfect companion to good damage openers on unsuspecting targets.If this goes live, Hunters are going to become snipers on top of everything else we are, which is super cool.
SMS-activated laser hack blinds security cameras
We'll be straight with you: under no circumstances should you give this villainous "hack" a go outside of one serious round of perfectly legal Capture The Flag. That said, a Hollywood-inspired individual figured that he'd rig up the next great security camera deactivation scheme for the 007 writers the world over to take note of, and if you've got a scope, a laser, a spare cellphone (and quick thumbs for SMS-ing), and a bit of wiring knowledge, you too can piece together a dubious hack that you'll likely never utilize. 'Course, if even this seems daedal to you, there's always the tried and true MacGyver method.[Via Hack A Day]
DARPA proposes "one-shot" sniping system
DARPA, which you may know from the Urban Challenge, has thrown its research proposing muscle behind a program with the "aim" of making sniper's jobs easier. Ya see, one of the problems with flinging a hunk of lead over a mile into the distance is that external influences (like cross-winds) mean that a shot aimed and fired directly at a target will most likely go astray. Snipers are trained to compensate for these external influences by using math to calculate the perfect angle required to hit their target, be it a snipe bird, or an annoying robot. DARPA's aim with the new RFP is to solve this problem by creating a system that finds the "perfect angle" by digitally measuring all the required atmospheric information: an aimbot for real life, if you will. DARPA outlines the two existing solutions to the problem -- Laser Doppler Velocimeters and Coherent Doppler Lidar -- and instantly writes them off as inadequate "for this application", so if you're thinking of taking DARPA up on this challenge you should probably look into alternate sensor technologies. As the proposal is simply a suggestion that someone else should sort out the problem, there's no specific time frame as to when we could be seeing a sniper scope that tells snipers where to aim. Fortunately, someone's already created a computer system that tells soldiers what to aim at. [Via Gizmag]
