| rdfs:comment
| - The extent to which an FPS is a simulation of real-world shooting and combat. FPS on the classic end of the scale are characterized by fast movement, bunny-hopping, dominance of slow-projectile explosive weapons (rockets), large health gauges (or regenerating health) to allow for longer duels, nerfing of the accuracy/firepower of direct-fire automatic weapons for gameplay/fun purposes, and fun tricks like rocket jumping. Vehicles will be easy to pilot, able to dodge/strafe, and able to shoot reasonably well while moving. Hyperspace Arsenals are common. Items are placed on the ground very unnaturally or are even spinning in the air. Near the classic end of the scale, Artificial Stupidity is common for balance purposes. Bosses will be larger-than-life and over-the-top.
|
| abstract
| - The extent to which an FPS is a simulation of real-world shooting and combat. FPS on the classic end of the scale are characterized by fast movement, bunny-hopping, dominance of slow-projectile explosive weapons (rockets), large health gauges (or regenerating health) to allow for longer duels, nerfing of the accuracy/firepower of direct-fire automatic weapons for gameplay/fun purposes, and fun tricks like rocket jumping. Vehicles will be easy to pilot, able to dodge/strafe, and able to shoot reasonably well while moving. Hyperspace Arsenals are common. Items are placed on the ground very unnaturally or are even spinning in the air. Near the classic end of the scale, Artificial Stupidity is common for balance purposes. Bosses will be larger-than-life and over-the-top. FPS on the realistic end of the scale are characterized by slower/fatigue-restricted movement, use of crouching/prone positions to increase accuracy and reduce visibility, dominance of sniper rifles and assault rifles, the need to use scopes or iron sights for long-range shots, recoil having a detrimental effect on accuracy (and discouraging the use of automatic fire), limited health (though the existence of the Instant Death Bullet is itself a sign of unrealism), and bleeding, leading to very short combat and an emphasis on the use of cover. Vehicles will require multiple crew to operate effectively and will be restricted by terrain. Usually no bosses, but if there are these usually are either as easy to take down with a Boom! Headshot! as yourself or vehicles that the bog-standard bullet hose can't scratch, forcing the need for anti-vehicle weapons. At the far realistic end of the spectrum are the simulations. Rainbow Six debuted in 1998 and rewarded real-world tactics and tactical planning as a counter-terrorist unit. SWAT3 was similar, but introduced the need for non-lethal methods. Ghost Recon and Operation Flashpoint then attempted to simulate entire battlefields from the soldier's perspective. Some of the elements like Regenerating Health are the most common in games in the middle of this scale. The scale, of course, is not intended to be a judgment of gameplay. Being more realistic or unrealistic does not, in itself, make a game more or less fun, although different players have their preferences. It may be noted, however, that the popular market seems to have moved toward the realistic end of the scale since the online popularity and commercial success of Counter-Strike, leading to the commercial success of the Call of Duty/Modern Warfare and Battlefield series. The incorporation of realistic elements into mainstream FPS games seems more popular than ever. That said, both the Call of Duty and Battlefield series still favour arcade-style gameplay over realism. However, with the mainstream adopting realistic elements, a niche was left for the old-school run and gun that Doom and Duke Nukem were all about. Serious Sam and Painkiller took the old formula and amplified it, with outrageously powerful weapons matched against legions and legions of monsters, with gore to match. The success of Team Fortress 2, with its cartoonish graphics on top of gameplay very similar to its Quake-mod forebear, is also good reason to expect that the classic FPS style isn't going away any time soon. See also Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness. Compare Acceptable Breaks From Reality. The way that the Standard FPS Guns are implemented generally varies on where a game falls on the scale, with cosmetically similar weapons having wildly divergent gameplay characteristics. List is ranked from classic/unrealistic to realistic/simulation. Commentary on examples is encouraged. List is named for Martin Fackler, a battlefield surgeon who developed ballistic gelatin, used for testing the deadliness of firearms. Examples of Fackler Scale of FPS Realism include:
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)