Seven Habits of Highly-Effective Agents, by VC, the GE:S Weaponsmith.
Goldeneye Source Beta 3 brings for the first time Goldeneye combat and gunplay rules to the PC FPS arena. As we all know, Goldeneye is great because it is different, but this also means old techniques developed over years of Doom, UT, Quake, and TF2 don't apply anymore. I present herein a primer to get you up to speed.
1. Don't spam.
Goldeneye damage is very large per-strike with even the pistols earning 50% damage for a headshot, but any strike grants the victim a moment of protection from further damage. During that time, extra bullets that strike are worth zero. Short bursts will keep your ammo use frugal and are as, or more, effective at defeating the opposition.
2. Aim.
Your victim gets the same moment of protection no matter where you hit him. If you spam and hit his arms, he will last a very long time. You are almost always better served by taking a moment and using your sights to aim properly than just holding the trigger and charging like a fool.
3. Reload.
Weapons are not a free magazine anymore. In keeping with Goldeneye standards, a weapon is a pickup with a low ammo value. If you pick up an RC-P90 and have no 9mm in your pocket, you have 10 bullets because that's all RC-P90 comes with. Check your weapon's magazine before going into battle, and think of your teammates, too. Let your buddy have the weapon your last victim dropped, and don't suck up all the ammo crates and leave your team standing around waiting on the resupply.
4. Choose the Right Tool.
Because all weapon damages are large, you will choose your gun based on the situation, not the power level. In Alpha, it was a very simple progression. PP7S < ZMG < KF7 < AShot < AuG. With Beta 3, you will be choosing your weapon based on combat ranges and weapon abilities. Shotguns are good if you can get near melee range, but start to feel like Klobb from down the hall. PP7-S or Phantom? Phantom is less accurate and the PP7-S is silenced, so PP7-S is better on Runway surface, but in the underhalls, the Phantom is the clear winner.
5. Don't be afraid to use melee.
Slapping isn't exactly savage, but you certainly can bring down a foe who's unaware and weakened. Just don't try to chase him down while he fires on you, go find a weapon instead. If the server gives you hunting knife (ge_startarmed 1) you can do some serious damage.
6. Don't get ganked while waiting on an item respawn.
One change in Goldeneye Source is that weapon respawns are dynamic. Fewer players mean longer resupply times. If there are only two or three players, items will wait more than 20 seconds to respawn. If the server is packed, respawn times will decrease toward 10 second intervals.
7. Use your sights.
Goldeneye 007 has a very complicated system that handles the "breathing effect." Your view and line of aim drifts around, and the amount depends on your activity. If you run around, you will drift a lot. If you stand still, the drift decreases. We haven't implemented this behavior, but we have implemented a surrogate. In simplest terms, using your sight will increase your accuracy. This is particularly noticable with high-accuracy weapons like Golden Gun, and with the pistols. However, every weapon benefits from being sighted, even the shotguns and the Klobb.
