good morning everyone. it is 5 am and i just played a well received movement shooter game briefly on steam and i have many thoughts on the slide mechanic. excuse my rambling as i will not be caring about formatting or being concise at all Because I Dont Value Your Time
sliding is a mechanic that has slowly grown in popularity since about 2015, and is now a core mechanic most multiplayer focused fps games. surely you all know this, but i will explain it briefly. if you hold crouch while sprinting, you will go into a slide animation, where you have low friction and your character literally slides against the ground with a speed burst but loses speed over time.
i am writing this thread to say that i think this mechanic sucks, and i will tell you why i think it sucks.
of course, people who frequent this website have a baseline appreciation for shooters with complex and engaging movement. quake is the godfather of all shooters, bla bla bla influenced cod and halo and counter strike, bla bla youve heard it all before. the point im making here is the gold standard of movement comes from strafe jumping, air strafing, and counter strafing -- things that give the user control. you are free to do what you want with the limitations enacted, like air speed or acceleration, but besides that you can do whatever you want.
limitations are just as important for expression and satisfaction in movement.
i personally find that the limitations that come with slide mechanics are unsatisfying. you just go in a straight line a little faster... and thats it? some games limit the duration of the slide at which you can stand up, or even how much you can look around. that sucks! it feels better to just sprint around! the advantage is a speed burst and a smaller hitbox, but with that there isnt much left for expression or mastery -- the mastery comes from strategy and implementation, not mechanics.
but with all that being said, i am unsure if thats a viable reason to dislike the mechanic. i have been playing a lot of swbf2 2005, which is a game that has excellent movement. one of the core mechanics of movement with this game is the roll, where the player gets a smaller hitbox and speed burst. but what makes the roll good and satisfying compared to the slide?
i think its because you are free to roll any direction at any time, regardless of whether or not you are sprinting or what direction you are holding. by having the freedom to roll any direction and quickly look around before rolling, you are actually given quite a bit of freedom to commit to a roll of your choice -- something the slide typically doesnt offer. the limitations are easily understood, and you get a very tight and precise speed burst of your choice.
uh anyways. sliding sucks. i hate the slide. its eyerolling. its not fun. its boring and lazy and derivative. please tell me your opinion on the slide. Thanks for reading guys