A perfect choice for new pistol - Ruger MkIII

[vector623]

I would like to propose a fourth weapon which I think would perfect the selection in this game: the Ruger Mk III

The Ruger Mark III is a 22lr target pistol manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is sold in either a stainless steel or blued coat. The barrel varies in both length and style. There is a choice between fixed and adjustable sights - adjustable is by far the most common, though the impact on the gameplay is cosmetic. 10 rd magazines are standard. The MkIII also features a rear thumb safety, magazine disconnect safety and loaded chamber indicator. The III is in MkIII is actually a roman numeral 3, representing the third major revision to Ruger's target pistol. The MkIII comes in two major variants - the plain MkIII and the cheaper 22/45, which features a less swept-back grip, designed to mimic the angle of the handle on the M1911.

Like the other firearms in Receiver, the Ruger MkIII is a very common, very popular and very accessible handgun platform like the Colt, Glock and S&W. In other words, it's a classic like the rest. I'm excluding the Glock's auto-fire mod, which is only really accessible (in the US) to Class III firearms dealers, the government and criminals. In my opinion, any additional weapons to Receiver need to have that much in common with the current lineup. We've all got our wishlists, but guns like the Desert Eagle just don't fit with the rest. And additions like shotguns and M16s would probably be too difficult to work into the gameplay. Conversely, a 22lr pistol almost feels like an omission from Receivers armory.

So the MkIII shares what I feel are the required commonalities with the other guns. But at the same time, shooting a MkIII is a different enough experience from the Glock, S&W and Colt that (IMO) the variety introduced would be worth the work required to implement it. The price for 22lr bullets generally rings in at a tenth the cost of a 9mm round. Due to the smaller bullet size, the 22lr delivers about a fifth of the kinetic energy of a 9mm or 45acp shot, resulting in an almost negligible recoil. For that reason, shooting is generally the most comfortable on the 22lr, compared to other common calibers.

Converting this to Receiver gameplay, the Ruger MkIII should have more abundantly generated ammo with faster and more accurate follow-up shots. However, turrets and drones should likewise require more shots to destroy. IMO, the bullets should deliver half the damage, but be available in at least 3 or 4 times the quantity. The MkIII would then replace the Glock pistol as the game's easiest setting. The exact coefficients are obviously up to the whoever implements this (hopefully Wolfire at some point?), but the general rule should be more generated ammo and less damage per bullet.

Not all guns in Receiver come with the same difficulty level. IMO, the S&W provides the hardest difficulty while the Glock is the easiest. I think the Ruger MkIII should provide the easiest pistol in the game, in keeping with its design as a beginner's shooting platform. This game is quite difficult as it is and I would guess that the vast majority of players will never beat it without resorting to cheats. The Ruger MkIII would provide an easier path to victory for less skilled players, but by doing so through an addition that I feel is in consistent with the both the character of this game as well as the gun itself.

The addition would require modeling, new rules for features like the magazine disconnect safety as well as sound sampling. The report of a 22lr shot, while loud, is very easy to distinguish from a self-defense caliber. The difficulty for this pistol can be widely adjusted, by balancing the ratio of ammo generation to turret and drone damage coefficients. However, beyond the addition of the gun's assets (textures, sounds, keybindings, etc), I would estimate that the rest of the game would not need to be updated to balance difficulty. I think this pistol just fits.

In my opinion, the addition of the Ruger MkIII would make for a perfectly rounded out lineup of firearms for this game that would perfectly preserve the spirit of Receiver while providing a fresh experience and optionally, a legitimately reduced difficulty.

[AmorphousGamer]

Very well thought out, but I'm going to be nitpicky and complain about one thing you said. You said the revolver is the most difficult gun to use. That simply isn't true. It's the most simple by far. And in this game, simple = easy. If you don't know anything about guns, you're pretty likely to fail to get the 1911 or the Glock to even fire. But a revolver is so painfully simple that to mess it up, well . . . I really can't think of a way you could mess up.

[Hotshot3434]

Overall it sounds like a great addition to the game. One point I am unclear on is how you are able to adjust the damage of the guns. IIRC all the current guns have the same bullet characteristics despite their differences (I.E. the .357 revolver should have a generally slower and less powerful bullet due to gas leakage between the cylinder and the barrel and overall being a less powerful ammunition). The drones also take damage based on what you hit rather than having a health pool. The only way i can think of having a less damaging bullet would be to give a % chance for a disable when you hit a part, but that just turns the skill of the game into pure chance.

[vector623]

Amorphous, the revolver is the hardest for me personally. I am very familiar with both the Glock and the Colt and autoloaders in general. Revolvers are a new experience for me though. Even though this is just a game, I think that familiarity with these weapons provides a lot of in-game intuition - which says a lot about how accurately Receiver simulates shooting.

Hotshot, I think you're right about the damage. I was under the impression that there was some chance involved (which wouldn't bother me, since there would be in real life). In that case, simply have the 22 rounds damage as much as the other calibers. Sure the game will be much easier - fast and accurate shooting and an abundance of ammo will be granted. Still, Receiver will still be a 1-shot, 1-kill game. Even though this obviously makes it much easier, it'll still be a challenge.