How shooters actually behave and why most of the time they calmly observe targets
Without a fighter with an optical propeller, it is impossible to imagine not only modern warfare, but also shooters. But every game has enough conventions. Discrepancies with reality are inevitable, and snipers are no exception.
Psychological picture
In many video games, the sniper is an active member of the battle group. He does not hunt people, but simply supports the detachment, shooting accurately from a long distance. That is, it is the complete opposite of the classic sniper and the tasks that he performs.
Such a “man with a long-range weapon”, at least in Western classifications, is separated from a simple “sniper”, since they have fundamentally different tasks and, accordingly, a way of action. There are also police snipers, whose specifics differ even more – there is little enemy, and a lot of civilians who cannot be hurt in any way.
Today we will talk specifically about the “classic sniper” with the task to destroy the most valuable targets at long distances individually or as part of a group of the same snipers.
While the attacking or defensive detachment is fiercely fighting with the enemy, the shooter will patiently wait, not move in the fierce cold and terrible heat, relieve himself and constantly look through the scope or binoculars. And all in order to slap one, but really important person with one shot.
In terms of psychological qualities, a good sniper stands out significantly against the background of other members of the squad. Indeed, in addition to being phlegmatic and good shooting, he kills people in cold blood, deliberately and without combat adrenaline. Such an attitude towards business cannot but affect a person.
Cold-blooded destruction of an enemy through a sniper scope is not the same as throwing grenades at the enemy or methodically loading a howitzer. The psychological portrait is corrected more strongly
The author of the article happened to visit one local conflict and interview several experienced fighters. If the ordinary military was not afraid to trump something, then the sniper was mostly shy of journalists, was laconic and avoided bragging. All this stemmed from the specifics of the work – quiet, isolated from others. Although he could not be called unsociable or sociophobic.
The shooter even had a kind of code of honor – after he destroyed the enemy on the other side, he always sat out the return mortar fire at his positions, and did not crawl back to go to another area. This was done so that the supporting troops “understood everything” and did not feel used up. Trench thinking, especially when the war is positional, is often characterized by constructions like “he killed someone here, left, and we get a response here.”
However, both the conflict and its participants (at least in the majority) were not regular military personnel. And such a habit for a sniper trained as a “professional” would seem amateurish. But in the “people’s” war, where volunteers, yesterday’s civilians fight, everyone has their own quirks.
Boone from Fallout: New Vegas could pass for a realistic sniper, but he has its drawbacks
There is no such perfect sniper hero in any game. However, in the Sniper Elite series, the psychological portrait is not bad, but there is a lot of running around and hundreds of enemies killed in a couple of hours of battle – and this is instead of hours of tracking down one, but really important prey. Still from the purely psychological portraits, the closest to this image is still the gloomy Gordon Freeman from Half-Life 2. But he is a nuclear physicist who does completely different things. Boone from Fallout: New Vegas is also a bit similar. But only a little. Boone can arbitrarily attack the fighters of the Legion faction he hates. Such behavior is forgivable to anyone, but not a calculating shooter.
It’s a pity. An unsociable, silent and calm sniper could be a cool character. True, it would require strong screenwriting skills – not everyone can tell a story about a gloomy silent man.
Shooting through glass
In games, we are accustomed to firing dashingly through glass. Most often, this is just a decoration that falls apart beautifully thanks to the animators. But in fact, even such a fragile barrier affects the flight of the bullet.
In 1984, the Americans from Fort Meade conducted an experiment. To simulate urban combat, two snipers stood a meter away from the glass and fired 7.62-mm rifles at a growth target located a hundred meters away. The distance was funny, almost point-blank for snipers. But instead of the chest, where both were aiming, the bullets hit the arm and thigh. In real clashes, the enemy would not stand at full height, so the chances of defeat would be even less.
There are some peculiarities in the situation when the glass is directly in front of the target (in the worst case – at a distance of 1-3 meters). Bullet deflection in this case will be minimal. However, hitting the hostage or destroying the wrong goal for which everything was started is easier than ever. After being shot, a person can receive a sheaf of shrapnel in the neck or face.
The worst thing with glass are sniper rifles chambered for a low-pulse cartridge.
It is much more difficult with panoramic windows in expensive houses or shopping centers. Most often (due to their large area) they are hardened and therefore can extinguish most of the pulse of the bullet, making it difficult to hit the target. Everything is especially bad if the shooting is carried out with an intermediate 5.45 or 5.56-mm cartridge. However, under certain conditions, it is possible to get an unexpected result with a traditional 7.62-mm sniper. To ensure the success of the operation, a pair of snipers agree on the sequence of shots: one breaks the glass, and the other immediately hits the target. When it comes to particularly durable glass, the number of snipers assigned to the task can reach at least a dozen – sooner or later one of them will break through the obstacle.
In games, such difficulties in the daytime with fire can not be found, although the ability to hit several opponents with shrapnel at once would add realism to them. In the same Call of Duty, it is easy to imagine how the player organizes the work of snipers to eliminate the general. Yes, and in turn-based games, tasks on the sequence of shooting would come in handy. For example, it would be possible to alternate between characters who have a weapon with a rifle and “intermediate” (say, 5.56 mm) rounds.
But you can understand the developers. No one wants to spend money and time on creating a realistic physical model that will correctly simulate the behavior of a bullet when it comes into contact with different types of glasses. Not everyone will notice such nuances. It’s not a matter of the schedule!
Shot price
Snipers in games, even when it comes to loners, usually leave a trail of corpses behind them. In reality, the situation is different. To eliminate the target, you need to crawl to the no-man’s land and equip yourself there a sniper station. And it is better to have a few so that there are spare ones.
At the same time, even careful camouflage does not provide any guarantees. First, patrolmen can constantly draw terrain to keep track of landscape changes. Secondly, snipers can also work for the enemy, who observe the territory and notice little things. And, finally, thirdly, when hit, the enemy can determine the direction of the shot by the nature of the wound. After this, no one guarantees that the sniper will be able to escape. Knowing the approximate location, the enemy is able to open fire on the position from all guns. In other words, a sniper shot on the front line is very expensive. Therefore, he will not beat everyone in a row and leave behind mountains of corpses, as in games.
And they can also provoke a sniper to shoot by sticking out dummies of fighters from behind the shelter. Some of the more advanced ones are almost indistinguishable, especially from a distance of hundreds of meters. Therefore, a real sniper will think a hundred times before shooting somewhere.
In addition, to date, they managed to come up with a lot of sniper detection systems – both devices that catch the glare of the sight, and acoustic systems that accurately detect the arrow by the sound of the shot. At the moment, most of them are imperfect and work not without reservations. But times change, and sooner or later they will be added to the real counter-sniper capabilities.
99% of sniper work is surveillance
Snipers in general can lie for weeks, replacing each other, not firing a single shot and being limited to observation. Especially if the area is calm, and the war is positional. They will study the enemy. In such conditions, the officer will hide the shoulder straps and will forbid subordinates to put their hand to their heads in his presence. Therefore, the target will have to be calculated by behavior, frequency of appearance on the front line and other signs and only then eliminated.
A perfect and realistic sniper game can be very interesting. But it does not require a giant open world or even “corridor” levels. The player is offered a set of tactical situations and maps – large, complex (similar to the new Hitman, with the difference that these will not be mansions or racing tracks with stadiums, but different sections of the front line). Each has several beds to choose from; you can change them only at night, or on a crawl, with a high probability of detection. The enemy lives his own life, carries out service, hides from artillery, rejoices when bowlers with soup are brought from the rear. And seeks to find you and destroy you.
You lie and watch closely. On the other side, everyone is in the same shape, without insignia – but you can distinguish their faces in the telescopic sight. The task is to find the most senior officer and make just one shot. Depending on the accuracy of your actions, you are more or less likely to experience a reciprocal mortar attack or counter-sniper work of the enemy. After that, during the night you change your prone and repeat the same with the already frightened and much more vigilant enemy.
With the right presentation and competent game design, you can completely create a new subgenre. After all, if there are tank shooters, why not sniper stealth?
