What's with "Iron Sights" in today's games?

[tkioz]

every game seems to have "iron sights" when you aim, what was wrong with the damn cross hairs spread when normal and tighter when pulled in?

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Well, here's a few reasons I would imagine it exists:

1. It feels good. Left trigger to zoom, right to fire.... it's a simple mechanic that feels good to a lot of gamers.

2. It's more natural. I feel wierd when I zoom in and the crosshairs just gets smaller as the gun sits on the right of the screen. It just doesn't feel as immersive.

3. It's a tactical mechanic. You sacrifice movement speed for greater accuracy.

1) Would work the same with cross hairs that get tighter.

2) Make it an option then.

3) So? I don't see why it couldn't work with crosshairs.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

[

3) So? I don't see why it couldn't work with crosshairs.

Why can't you just accept that to a lot of people it just feels better to aim down the sight?

It works ok with just a crosshairs but most people just prefer it this way on a very basic level.

The game is mimicking an action from real life in order to give context to having a more accurate shot.

 

[IBlackKiteI]

I like iron sights, though as someone said before your bullets come from the sights.

I just don't see how they could be a bad thing when done well.

 

[Dogstile]

It looks cool. My only problem with iron sights is that I find it hilarious when in COD the flash comes from the barrel and the bullet comes from the scope.

 

[random_bars]

Basically, CoD has iron sights, CoD is popular, therefore any game that wants to be popular must emulate CoD.

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

It's a game mechanic.

I don't see why you would overlook less sensible game mechanics like the HUD and damage system to complain about something like iron sights.

 

[moretimethansense]

I find it ironic that someone who claims to use firearms IRL thinks that aiming from the hip with crosshairs is acceptable. I don't find that to be the case at all. There is only one way I fire my weapons -- front sight on the target. I don't hold two handguns in each hand like a jackass, wasting ammunition. I don't "shoot from the hip" either. That clown business belongs in movies.

Who the hell is taking about shooting from the hip or using two guns? I'm talking about a bloody video game, sighting in a target in real life is vastly different then a video game, breathing for example matters, the only time I ever saw breathing in a video game I wanted to hunt down the developers with a rusty butter knife to really make it hurt, judging the wind, and humans (or in my case animals) don't bounce around like humming birds on meth.

And the sights in the games I've see don't work the same as they do in real bloody life anyway, they are basically cross hairs with a different more annoying skin, I'd love to see a game that tried to get the sights "real", players would murder the developers, hell I've yet to see a scope{/b] done correctly in a video game, you do know they don't work as point and click right?

You do know wind that affects the bullet is quite impossible to implement with our technology right? Wind, at least from what i have seen, is merely decoration used for levels. It has almost no tangible effect with bullets.

Sorry but have to correct you there, wind is not "impossible to implement with our technology" there are games that have done it two examples being:
Sniper Elite
Sniper: Ghost Warrior

Both of these games have implemented both wind and gravity in to their gameplay, it is debatable how well they've done it, but they have done it.

 

[Squilookle]

So a friend gifted me Battlefield Bad Company 2... what the hell is up with the sights?... every game seems to have "iron sights" when you aim, what was wrong with the damn cross hairs spread when normal and tighter when pulled in?

Yep, I'm with you on that one. Every time I discover a new game has ironsights it's just a massive 'aw crap they just had to, didn't they?' moment. I don't think it's realistic either- in real life we all have two eyes, and at any split second moment we can open the other eye to see things that are hidden behind the gun for the other eye. Seriously if I want a sixth of my already very limited view of an in-game world blacked out, I'd put a book in front of the monitor.

Not to mention their mere presence suggests that you'll never shoot straight unless you are using them. This is one reason why I hated the Wii Goldeneye- the original was as much about running and gunning freely as Unreal Tournament was about headshotting a dude while leaping between skyscrapers in low gravity. Try THAT with Ironsights. Plus it makes every insane kill replay look essentially the same over much of the screen.

If you like battlefield but hate Ironsights, you might be interested to know that before BF2, the series didn't use Ironsights, it used the spreading crosshair that you sound like you prefer.

It's one of many reasons why I much prefer playing BF1942 online. Even today. I might check to see who's on right now, actually, and jump in for some good action packed fun without ironsights.

 

[Exocet]

Or,you know,game try to be more atmospheric,and running into the action and seeing your weapon drawn up towards your face wher e you can nowaim down the sights draws you more into the game then some wierd magical for that zooms in,makes the crosshair tighter and for some reason,makes you more accurate.

It's about atmosphere,and not having iron sights breaks it.

 

[Smooth Operator]

You do know wind that affects the bullet is quite impossible to implement with our technology right? Wind, at least from what i have seen, is merely decoration used for levels. It has almost no tangible effect with bullets.

Mate you are way off the mark there, adding a wind or gravity factor to the trajectory is the simplest thing possible, and the calculations for all that are millions of times less taxing then model animations.
Games simply don't have any of that because it's far less fun.

 

[The_ModeRazor]

Yeah, I sometimes miss those times when I could just run down a corridor like a ************ and shoot as if there were no tomorrow. But hey, I like iron sights too. Just not as much.

 

[mParadox]

If VALVe puts in iron sights in the next Half Life(whenever it comes out, if ever) I will be a very unhappy little boy.

Bioshock also had mercy on us and killed ironsights.

EDIT: Yes I know that Bioshock has ironsights, but they are pointless and they don't even apply to all the weapon! :\

 

[moretimethansense]

I find it ironic that someone who claims to use firearms IRL thinks that aiming from the hip with crosshairs is acceptable. I don't find that to be the case at all. There is only one way I fire my weapons -- front sight on the target. I don't hold two handguns in each hand like a jackass, wasting ammunition. I don't "shoot from the hip" either. That clown business belongs in movies.

Who the hell is taking about shooting from the hip or using two guns? I'm talking about a bloody video game, sighting in a target in real life is vastly different then a video game, breathing for example matters, the only time I ever saw breathing in a video game I wanted to hunt down the developers with a rusty butter knife to really make it hurt, judging the wind, and humans (or in my case animals) don't bounce around like humming birds on meth.

And the sights in the games I've see don't work the same as they do in real bloody life anyway, they are basically cross hairs with a different more annoying skin, I'd love to see a game that tried to get the sights "real", players would murder the developers, hell I've yet to see a scope{/b] done correctly in a video game, you do know they don't work as point and click right?

You do know wind that affects the bullet is quite impossible to implement with our technology right? Wind, at least from what i have seen, is merely decoration used for levels. It has almost no tangible effect with bullets.

Sorry but have to correct you there, wind is not "impossible to implement with our technology" there are games that have done it two examples being:
Sniper Elite
Sniper: Ghost Warrior

Both of these games have implemented both wind and gravity in to their gameplay, it is debatable how well they've done it, but they have done it.

Really? Wonder why they never mentioned that in any reviews or anything. You sure it was actual dynamic wind and not an imitation to actual dynamic wind?

If you mean did the wind chang direction and strength during the course of the level, then no, but I don't think that it's a lack of technology that stops them putting it in.

In COD4 there is a sniping mission where you have to compensate for the changing wind, it changes completely and randomly several times during a twenty second sniping sequence, it isn't realistic it's just annoying.
If they implemented dynamic wind many (not me) would complain as the shot they compensated for misses as the wind changed strength, also the wind doesn't change direction dramatically all that often so if they did a truly realistic version of the wind the only difference would be a slight ebb and flow during missions, in the end making an engine to simulate wind for a game would be more effort than many developers are willing to put in to a mechanic that would only have niche appeal anyway.

 

[Vykrel]

fire from the hip if it bugs you so much

of course, thatll greatly decrease your accuracy. oh well

 

[tkioz]

Not to mention their mere presence suggests that you'll never shoot straight unless you are using them. This is one reason why I hated the Wii Goldeneye- the original was as much about running and gunning freely as Unreal Tournament was about headshotting a dude while leaping between skyscrapers in low gravity. Try THAT with Ironsights. Plus it makes every insane kill replay look essentially the same over much of the screen.

What ever happened to games like that? Ever since FPS games went mad with realism I've missed running around with twin pistols or a minigun jumping between buildings while blowing away anything in my path