Some of the biggest changes in Gallipoli compared to the previous games can be found in the gunplay. It has received a major set of improvements and reworks to really improve the realism and pacing of the game, while also making it more satisfying. You’ll feel greater differences between the weapons in the game.
Before we get into the actual changes, let’s discuss our reasoning!
Note: if you can't see the images, try the blog on Reddit!
Pacing & Immersion
While we believe our previous games were a good showcase of what fighting in WW1 was like, we really wanted to take it to the next level with Gallipoli. For this, we took a close look at pacing and immersion, how we could more closely capture what combat was like as a soldier on the front. We hope to push teamwork and smart decision making more in Gallipoli and make battles feel more realistic. Every weapon should have their own challenges, yet be fun and rewarding to use.
Now, that’s easier said than done. There’s no ‘immersion slider’ we can tweak a little. So to achieve this, we’ve made some major improvements in all kinds of different areas of the game. A lot of these are related to weapon handling and player status, how a soldier would react in the heat of combat. Let’s take a look at some of the improvements we’ve made!
Reloading
Reloading got a lot of love in Gallipoli. All of the reloading animations are upgraded massively and are completely unique for each and every single weapon! Reloads and bolting are a bit slower and methodical in Gallipoli to better reflect real life, which also requires you to be more tactical with when and where you reload.
Each weapon in Gallipoli has their reload split into three stages: unloading, reloading and closing the bolt. For single-round reloaded weapons like rifles, every round inserted functions as an extra stage.
Completing a stage essentially functions as a checkpoint in case you need to interrupt the reload. It’s more realistic that way; once you put a round into the weapon, you won’t have to do so again after getting interrupted.
Suppression
One of the other biggest changes is how suppression works and affects you at the receiving end. In Isonzo, getting suppressed was mostly a visual effect, restricting your vision. In Gallipoli however, it triggers your fight or flight instinct!
Being suppressed initially increases sway and recoil. As you continue to get suppressed, you’ll start to panic and the effects get much more severe. Your vision darkens and you lose color perception. Your hands start shaking, making it very difficult to aim and return fire. Near misses from bullets cause you to flinch and throw off your aim.
If you’re heavily suppressed, you may also struggle to properly close the bolt, the last stage of a reload. It’s not a gun jamming mechanic that requires manual input. You will always succeed in reloading, but it takes a second longer than usual. Of course, this comes with another unique animation!
Suppression by bullets happens when bullets are whizzing past you. Machine guns have the easiest time suppressing others due to the volume of fire, and doing so should be the main priority. Bullet suppression is stronger at longer ranges, to make sure you don’t get all shaky in one-on-one close-quarters combat.
Explosions also suppress. The strength and range depends on the size of the explosion. Explosives that are designed to stun instead of destroy, like certain types of grenade, cause relatively more suppression. Explosions and stunning are a big topic on their own, so more on that in a later blog!
The best way to combat suppression is to go prone, preferably behind cover. Lying on the ground makes you partially resist the effects of suppression and helps you recover quicker.
Weapon Handling
Once you spawn in, weapon in hand, you’ll first notice some general changes we made to handling. We’ve built on the systems used in Isonzo to add more layers of depth and realism to the weapons in Gallipoli.
Drag & weight
Drag is a new feature in Gallipoli and determines how quickly your weapon follows your movement, based on its weight. Lightweight weapons like pistols respond only slightly slower to turning around, aiming down sights and the end of a sprint. Heavy weapons like machine guns take a bit longer to do all of that. Overall we balanced it to make it a bit more challenging to snap on target, but not take 3-5 business days to do so either.
Weapon modifications do affect a weapon’s weight, so an SMLE MK.III without bayonet or scope will be snappier than one with.
Sway
Weapon sway has gotten a lot of attention and now more closely reacts to your status! The basic ‘breathing sway’ pattern has been completely reworked to match reality more closely, but we’ve also added two new factors: ‘hand wobble’ and ‘arm fatigue’. Both add a bunch of little movements that come with handling a weapon of different weight classes.
Hand wobble is the inaccuracy that comes with handling lighter weapons like pistols, while arm fatigue is the strain on your arms from carrying around a big chunk of metal like a machine gun. Of course, holding your breath to focus on aiming massively reduces all sway for a limited time.
Surface Resting
You can now rest any weapon on any surface! Previously only an option for weapons with bipods, it’s now extended to all weapons in various degrees.
If you’re aiming from behind cover or are lying prone on the ground, you’ll have an easier time aiming your weapon. Unlike bipods, there’s no setup required to benefit from it. Bipods are still available on some weapons and do still require deployment, but have a way stronger effect on aim than surface resting.
That’s all for now! There are a bunch more improvements that really elevate the immersion, but we’ll show those another day. If you’d like to stay up to date, be sure to wishlist and follow Gallipoli on Steam!
If you’d like to learn more about the history of the Middle Eastern theater of WW1, be sure to check out our new video with Dr Chris Kempshall!