@Nex @Gargos &
@Manyo have pretty much covered everything major as to why the projectile speed increase is over the top, I'll just throw my two cents in here though as I agree with practically everything said.
Honestly, these new projectile speeds feel unwarranted. They've fundamentally screwed with the gun play in MB2 and it feels like any generic shooter, part of the allure of gunnery in MB2 for me has always been that element of prediction, that room for even the best players to slip up and make mistakes and for even the worst players to occasionally cause moments of glorious carnage. Making the gun play more consistent just changes the skill set from prediction to tracking, but MB2 maps and classes are not built for this nor is the gunnery system in depth enough to support this.
You have to practically rebuild the entire game for these
almost hit scan (at mid range) weapons to really fit in. As it stands aggressive play-styles as a gunner are basically dead and playing non-optimally
(not hugging cover) will get you killed against even mediocre gunners. I mean, I'm an ARC main and I'm probably best known for being that ARC main that is super unpredictable/very difficult to hit but even my most tricky ARC-FU maneuvers can be tracked and negated with ease with this change, as they no longer have to predict as much as just follow me with the crosshair.
The projectile travel speeds previously were slow enough that it was a good balance between skill and estimation but pushing it up even just this 15% is enough to seriously impact the way guns perform and the moves you can get away with. Yes, now you have a framework for a much more mechanical and thus
'skillful' (depending on your definition) system but you've also lost the charm and appeal of playing a gunner in the first place, there's very little practical skill difference between a fresh gunner and an experienced gunner, except that one of them will know to hug cover more.
Prediction is based on two things. How well you know what people generally do in a particular hallway, and how well you know your opponent. This is not skill, merely refined practice hitting the same predictive moves over and over again. You at first guess, and then slowly get use to what your opponent is going to do before he does it. This is fine, but feels extremely poor in fun gun-play. Not only is it based on repetitiveness, which I think we all deal with more often then not, it also doesn't feel like you have a gun. As in, at all. Now, I played since 1.3, so I don't go too far back, but I like the feel of having to aim without trying to guess( or predict) where my opponent is going. That just feels.... poor, in game-play taste. Now, after doing some Open fights tonight, there is still some feel to this. However, it certainly makes me feel like I earned a hit, rather then finally got your pattern down. Big difference there.
To address you other point, the guns still don't feel hit scan, at least at mid-range (though our definitions on range is what probably vary). Is it more hit-scan(ish) then it was... sure. That was kind of the point of the increase in speed, so accuracy and aim took more point then predicting patterns. Sabering is much the same, if an opponent attacks in a same pattern time and time again, you eventually get it down and start PB-ing them like there is no tomorrow. Changing up your combo style, and actively mixing it up fixes that, but a strafing style can really only be mixed up so far. Left, right, and a little farther left next time to dodge a bolt coming in feels cheesy at times, even in this patch, though not nearly as bad as before.
Aggressive styles should be pretty dead, to be honest with you. If you run up on someone, and try to point blank them repeatedly, so you can hit-scan (which was a thing even in the last patch at super close range) just seems silly. An aggressive play-style like the one you describe relies on you, the ARC, jumping around the enemy so they have a harder time hitting you, while you can point blank hit-scan them to death, especially with the roll and shoot that ARCs have. Should we really encourage that? Don't hit scan mid range, but hit scan close up for your play-style? What about other people who play anything not an ARC? Should they be left out? Slow Soldiers/Commandos/Hero/BH can't play the way in which you describe very effectively in the old patches, and of course, not in this one. They burst from cover, try to get a few shots off, and return. Sure, you can pressure an enemy, but you use ammo to do it. ( EDIT: In hind sight, maybe if you explained your play-style a little more, I can understand it better from your point of view, so please do so).
An experienced gunner still has the mechanics of the game down, and how far they have to shoot in front of their target to hit at different ranges. Frankly, the skill difference is still wildly separate, especially when to use the specials of the different gunner classes. Gunning everyone always says it like it is one big thing, but really, after you get past shot speed mechanics, and cover, it is how well you use the class. Different specialty mechanics for different class abilities and weapons is where any experienced player, gunner or not, shines.
I made some points in my last post, but I didn't want it to seem like no one gave a damn about what you are talking about. I tried to be as understanding as I can, and would love more conversation that doesn't boil down to, "I want this", and the other side screaming, "I want this."
