Shape-shifting Omni-Gun

[DDRRE]

After seeing what weapon switching looks like in 3rd person, I thought of an idea that would somehow make more sense.

How about a shape-shifting gun that, when switching between weapons, glows/melts and changes its form to the one of the weapon chosen?

In 1st-person, you won't see the hands hiding the weapon and bringing up a new one, and in 3rd-person, it wouldn't look ridiculous.
However, it can't just change-shape out of nowhere. In order to not break the UX we should add some other significant animation - perhaps the player takes their left arm and punches a button on the gun (that stays on the same place for all guns)?

We can give it some scientific background if we must - all weapons and ammo picked up are actually modules for the omni-gun.

Regardless of whether you like it or not, did you guys understand what I meant here? If not, I'll elaborate further and try to sketch something up.

[pilarius]

I think that I understand what you mean. Nanotechnology, huh? It is a really cool idea! I think it would be awesome because of the visuals and also picking up new guns would actually make more sense (the gun pickups aka modules could look as some small colourful object projecting the guns as a holograms over themselves). On the downside I can't think of a way the ammo pickups could make any sense and if this issue isn't solved I would have to be against implementing this. I know that disappearing/reappearing weapons also don't make any sense but I am already used to that.

[Nation Uprise]

I like the idea. Epic actually came up with a similar idea and implemented it for Unreal Championship 2. The weapons would digitally materialize in the player's hands. It looked almost like the opposite of the de-rez animation from Tron Legacy, with crystal-like particles. I thought that was a very cool idea and it explained weapon switching a lot better than the "here's another bazooka size weapon coming out of my pocket" that every other UT had. I guess an explanation for the "rezzing" would be that the player would pick up a weapon spawner instead of the weapon itself.

I'd love to see an animation of DDRRE's idea. Where the weapon would morph when switching. That'd look awesome.

[DDRRE]

I'd love to see an animation of DDRRE's idea. Where the weapon would morph when switching. That'd look awesome.

Anyone up for that challenge?

[DDRRE]

Anyone up for that challenge?

Bumping this again.

[DJ Elmo]

I like this idea alot, we should be able to come up with some loosely believable sci-fi reasoning for just about anything in a game with the word "unreal" in the title to prevent the core gameplay from taking a backseat to realism or animation aesthetics.

By the same token I really think some kind of boot underglow/particle effect along with a sliding mechanic would work much better than a dodge roll and it's animation.

[FirebornForm]

Per Epic's direction of the game "More grounded realistic like batman chris nolan style" I don't think this idea fits. That's more like what we would have seen in UT2K (Or Championship 2 as stated) when they died they would dematerialize digital style and respawn, 2k's tournament was all pretty much virtual but I think UT4 is going to be "real. Especially given Epic's direction on what the guns will look like "More functional, not sci fi plating on everything" this idea doesn't look like it suits it.

[W4RH4WK]

just to throw in some ideas, anybody remembers the first Tron game, i think the added some nice weapon switch effects. Rod and Mesh related weapons i mean.

[DDRRE]

Yes W4RH4WK, this is closer to what I had in mind.

[xFuneralx]

This comes to mind when I picture it. The weapon pickups could be attachments.