The weather is a sad joke - for the AI.

[wilku]

Not sure if any of the devs ever shot a firearm at all, but in case they haven't: NO, sandstorm, rain, fog and other weather conditions don't magically change a bullet into a BB pellet... This is the most annoying feature of the game, as I tend to have about 80% of battles in bad weather (should I R&R instead then? but that would require prior knowledge of the weather, like a forecast or something).

Make it impact visibility and to-hit change, but come on... a bullet in the rain is as lethal as a bullet on a nice sunny afternoon...

Now, to the point: it wouldn't be a problem in general, but the AI simply can't handle it and NPC are absolutely stupid and don't take weather into account: If you know you'll only graze an enemy, you won't run head-on vs 5 enemies relying on your HP and assuming you'll kill them one by one (which is what my *brilliant* allies tend to do).

It's really annoying that I am guilt-driven to abandon good tactics and sacrifice my mercs' health to save those stupid NPCs...

[marcinl0]

Yes, absolutely agree, the weather in JA3 is unecessary problem only slowing down gameplay graphics.

[5Cents]

No, the devs were right, and you must be wrong with that, you know..

As mentioned in Devs-Diary 11, the devs were on the shooting-range in development-process. And the Bulgarian-Specforces (also mentioned in the game-credits) were there too!
So its absolutly obvious and logically, as good devs, they asked them about weapons and their behaviour (at least in general) directly or at least by mail.
So weapon must be absolute rational understandable (or at least somekind of 'special' in JA3 😉 )..

Sarcasm off..😂

 

Edited August 4, 2023 by 5Cents

[Melliores]

The grazing mechanic only works for mid to long range. If you engage in close quarters ( I am not sure whether it is within 4 or up to 10 tiles range) you will have full visibility of your target and can aim normally with no risk of grazing hits.

In that context it makes very good sense to close down so you can avoid the low vision penalty.

That penalty works in two stages as far as I understand - first it completely obscures targets at long ranges and you do not see them at all. At medium range you can see them but are not able to aim normally. I think this was a good compromise instead of giving you a huge accuracy penalty. You can still hit, even with bad marksmen, but you won't do the same damage.

Now, the AI does not like to take into account the numbers against it, be it friendly or foe AI. That is an issue with the AI, not the weather system. 🙂

I do like that the weather has an impact - when it rains and you use a low-reliability weapon like the FN-FAL, after a few bursts the weapon condition is already around 70% and you can experience jamming. Makes you value high reliability weapon and mods like the AK even more.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Melliores

[Raeven]

It's a gameplay mechanic. It makes the gameplay more variable and interesting to have weather conditions.