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Cover Systems in Gaming: cRPGs and Beyond

ironyuri

Guest
I like cover systems, sometimes.
 

Luzur

Good Sir
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Mastermind

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Bethestard
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ironyuri said:
Thus it's fairly clear that the cover system was the gimmick of 2006, a new development permitted by advances in engine design.

I've been taking cover since at least doom (put walls between myself and enemies whenever I could*, and take them out 1 at a time). There's nothing new about covers, they're a natural extension of even the most basic 3d shooter.


*not literally, but it's a good way to stay alive if you've been reckless and wasted most of your health.
 

Archibald

Arcane
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
7,869
i see nothing wrong with it but i don`t like how it`s done. You come into new area, you see places where you can use that awesome cover system and you know that enemies are around. Forced gimmick atm imo.
 

MetalCraze

Arcane
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
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21,104
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Urkanistan
In 2006 the release of Gears of War heralded the beginning of the "tactical cover system" or the "sticky cover system" in gaming.

Newfag detected

Coversystem was already there in kill.switch in 2005

ironyuri said:
The reality is that the cover system was a revolutionary paradigm shift in game design
Yes. Previously you had to take cover on your own behind any thing you wanted. Now you press a retardo button and suddenly you are glued only to the armoured wooden box that can't be penetrated by 120mm cannons, put your crosshair over enemies who can't see you and press the "WIN" button. This is innovashun

in the RTS genre on the other hand the cover system seems to have been left behind with Company of Heroes.
Thank god you know nothing about strategy gaming, at least that subforum will stay clear for a little longer.

In terms of cRPGs the cover system has entered the genre through Mass Effect
Mass Effect is RPG lol!

and I believe it works well in shooter-style games....
Let me guess? Because you don't have to play shooters anymore - twitching the "win" button instead?
 

Turisas

Arch Devil
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Messages
9,926
I bet TES V will have a cover system, so you can pull off those AWESUM arrow headshots more safely.
 

MetalCraze

Arcane
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There was no cover system in R6: Vegas
When you were close to the object there were just some context-dependant animations for your char but that's it
 

Malraz Alizar

Novice
Joined
Jul 2, 2003
Messages
36
ironyuri said:
While Gears of War introduced this element to the third-person shooter, another game, Company of Heroes, introduced the cover system to the real-time strategy.

Close Combat, 1996, developed by Atomic Games, published by Microsoft
 

Zeus

Cipher
Joined
Apr 25, 2008
Messages
1,523
Time Crisis. 1995. Shooter with a cover system. Duck behind stuff, reload, pop back out when the time is right, all that good stuff.
 

Achilles

Arcane
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
3,425
A cover system could work if it's realistic and not retarded. No indestructible objects behind which you take cover, no popamole AI that just stands there and waits to be killed, no slow-ass and retarded enemies, no blind-rfiring that is as accurate as normal shooting, and NO FUCKING CHEATING by being able to see everything behind cover.

Of course it will never happen, because people who play cover-based shooters are morons (see my sig for details).
 

barker_s

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Wow, you guys really seem proficient with Google.

I'll never understand what the hell is your problem with cover systems/health regen. Games are supposed to be fun, not ultra-realistic. I know you'd like your character bleed to death from a gut-wound or be unable to hold your gun because your hand has been shattered by a bullet, but come on! There are war-sims for that!
 

Alex

Arcane
Joined
Jun 14, 2007
Messages
8,750
Location
São Paulo - Brasil
I used to think that these cover systems were annoying, but to tell the truth I never played them before Alpha Protocol (not my favorite genre). Anyway I recently started playing Crusader: No Remorse and thought the cover system was quite nice! Are these newer games more like it? Or are they more like Alpha Protocol (which I didn't really like).

By the way, Luzur, nice image! Did you come up with it or is that from some other thread?
 

Cynicus

Augur
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
176
As far as I can tell, cover-based mechanics in shooters exist because they facilitate play on consoles, where the imprecision of the controller makes traditional shooters difficult to play. There is no great innovation or evolution there just as there is none in the giant, Fisher-Price-sized reticles that exist simply because they're easier to see on a standard TV and require less precision. IMO, in modern game design, it's rarely about good game ideas, it's primarily about milking the market.

Personally, I think cover-systems, at least the "sticky" varieties that I have personal experience with, suck nuts. Just give me the ability to duck and lean and I'll make my own cover, thanks.
 

SoupNazi

Guest
barker_s said:
Wow, you guys really seem proficient with Google.

I'll never understand what the hell is your problem with cover systems/health regen. Games are supposed to be fun, not ultra-realistic. I know you'd like your character bleed to death from a gut-wound or be unable to hold your gun because your hand has been shattered by a bullet, but come on! There are war-sims for that!

Location: Poland
 

MetalCraze

Arcane
Joined
Jul 3, 2007
Messages
21,104
Location
Urkanistan
barker_s said:
Wow, you guys really seem proficient with Google.

I'll never understand what the hell is your problem with cover systems/health regen. Games are supposed to be fun, not ultra-realistic. I know you'd like your character bleed to death from a gut-wound or be unable to hold your gun because your hand has been shattered by a bullet, but come on! There are war-sims for that!

Except the other guys in your camp defend it as being realistic :lol:

The fact remains - cover system is the exact opposite of fun. The only way for an arcade shooter to be fun is going John Woo on enemy's ass

Cover system turns the game into a shooting range where you play a static turret which casually whacks enemies. Only because you can't move and do precise shots at the same time with a gamepad.

Jeez I can't imagine how all those fine shooters of the yore existed without cover systems where you had to OMG take cover on your own anyhow you want, whenever you want and from any position you want and nothing was restricting your movement to a 1m long side of the table.
 

Twinkle

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Sep 14, 2009
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Lands of Entitlement
What the fuck with that idiotic hype about cover systems anyway? For example, Vietcong, pretty old game, allows to hide behind any suitable object and lean as much as I want or slightly raise body to fire, offering more flexibility than any next-gen cover I've used.
 

pero

Novice
Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Messages
54
Twinkle said:
What the fuck with that idiotic hype about cover systems anyway? For example, Vietcong, pretty old game, allows to hide behind any suitable object and lean as much as I want or slightly raise body to fire, offering more flexibility than any next-gen cover I've used.
This is what's always confused me the most. As far as I can tell, cover systems are there more to encourage people to use cover than to improve the process. Crouching and leaning is more effective and more flexible, yet it's less and less commonly implemented. I'm ok with using cover when it's appropriate, but I can't help but feel like the people who wouldn't do so unless obliged by a gameplay mechanic would probably be happier without having to do so at all. In short, I have no idea who cover systems are actually supposed to appeal to.
 

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