PC No such thing as a "Sniper Rifle"

R

RyanX

Refugee
It always bugs we when I see the term "Sniper Rifle" in a video game. Same with "Assault Rifle". Anyone who has spent time in the gun community knows that those two terms are faux pas when describing guns. They are simply high powered rifles. If you wanted to get technical, if one is sniping, they are using a "sniper's rifle" but it is not used to describe the gun. I hunt with high powered rifles...and they could also be used for sniping, but I'm not going to call it that. Just simply call the gun whatever it's type is... .308, .30-06, 7mm rem mag etc.

 
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I'm not french but wouldn't the plural of faux pas be faux pas's?

And how does it make any sense if I'm right?

(And yeh, I use your argument all of the time in gun debates).

 
@the OP

Isn't that being a little pedantic though?

It's just names.

I'm betting you've said Kleenex a few times in your life.

It's not a Kleenex, it's a paper tissue. Kleenex is a brand name.

At some point things become colloquialisms or just so common that people accept them.

Are those names reeeeeeeeeeeeally going to bother you that much?

People who know guns know better.

Most people don't know guns.... but they know what you're talking about when you use those words.

 
I didn’t realize it bugged people. Thanks for the info. Now I’ll get a small emotional payoff whenever I use the term in the future knowing I’ll have triggered nerd rage...

;)

 
@the OP
Isn't that being a little pedantic though?

It's just names.

I'm betting you've said Kleenex a few times in your life.

It's not a Kleenex, it's a paper tissue. Kleenex is a brand name.

At some point things become colloquialisms or just so common that people accept them.

Are those names reeeeeeeeeeeeally going to bother you that much?

People who know guns know better.

Most people don't know guns.... but they know what you're talking about when you use those words.
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Exactly.

There are designs elements that distinguish a sniper rifle from a high-powered rifle though, such as;

flash supressors

noise supressors

longer barrels so that the propellant fully burns to reduce muzzle flash

higher twist barrels for flatter trajectory (perhaps arguable)

stocks designed to be fired from a prone position/fold up

There is a healthy amount of marketing involved, and the term is thrown around quite loosly by guns rights opponents to denigrate the need to have such weaponry. But, I don't quite follow why this is very important for consideration in the game.

 
Look I get that the OP is exactly right.

There's no arguing it.

Things could be [pedantically] correct but.... would that increase overall game play?

I dunno.

I guess I can understand your frustration.

Once when I was at a beach picnic with my kids I made Cornbread in a jar JUST TO PROVE you could do it without breaking the jar.

[......cough.... I broke the jar.....]

 
It always bugs we when I see the term "Sniper Rifle" in a video game. Same with "Assault Rifle". Anyone who has spent time in the gun community knows that those two terms are faux pas when describing guns. They are simply high powered rifles. If you wanted to get technical, if one is sniping, they are using a "sniper's rifle" but it is not used to describe the gun. I hunt with high powered rifles...and they could also be used for sniping, but I'm not going to call it that. Just simply call the gun whatever it's type is... .308, .30-06, 7mm rem mag etc.
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I see some problems with alternative names.

  • The name would ideally be descriptive of the weapon's function to a lay person. For example, if a game expected players to know that an an M97 is a shotgun while an M98 is a rifle, the "gun community" might be happy, but it would fail as a user interface since it wouldn't communicate the necessary information to many players.
     
     
  • The name would ideally not use any real-world manufacturer names. Your example of "7mm rem mag" was designed by Remington Arms, and I think the deal is they have a copyright or some other legal protection on using the name in a game or other work. This is why the new vehicle in Alpha 17 is formally "the 4x4," not "the Jeep."
     
     
  • The name would ideally not refer solely to the ammunition used, because there's some hand waving/consolidation going on for the sake of game balance. That is, there is only one rifle bullet in the game, called 762mmBullet, and it's used in the "AK47", the "SniperRifle", and the "HuntingRifle". Is this realistic? It doesn't really matter; what's more important is that it would be confusing if one cartridge were used in three weapons, while those three weapons were given different names based on the cartridges they use. And if you're thinking great, then split it into three different cartridges... again, game balance. :) There's a limit to how detailed the gun simulation part of the game should be, and there's already a lot of inventory clutter due to guns/gun parts/ammunition not being interchangeable.


Besides that, I went through a number of rifle-related pages on Wikipedia to write this post, and all pages referred to "sniper rifle" while none referred to "sniper's rifle." And I have to believe it's the gun enthusiasts that know this stuff that fill out those pages in excruciating detail. So you'd think they'd fix it if the term "sniper rifle" wasn't proper. I mean, they're quick to discuss at length other faux pas (yes, I looked up the correct plural form :D ) like silencer versus suppressor.

 
I feel you, brother. And it's a magazine, not a clip.
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Well, if we're on the pedantic parade, can we relabel the cement mixer to concrete mixer? The image is not a cement mixer (mortar mixer), and we specifically make concrete in it - not cement. :p

edit: This whole thread wreaks of millenial tripe.

 
I'm not french but wouldn't the plural of faux pas be faux pas's?
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What in God's name is that apostrophe doing in there? How could you even think that that would be the plural form? (The plural and the singular are spelled the same, but pronounced differently. I also am not French; I just know things.)

edit: This whole thread wreaks of millenial tripe.
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Only millennials care about accuracy in their language? What a weird, disparaging remark.

 
What in God's name is that apostrophe doing in there? How could you even think that that would be the plural form? (The plural and the singular are spelled the same, but pronounced differently. I also am not French; I just know things.)
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No, Faux pas is pronounced the same both in singular and plural forms.

 
Only millennials care about accuracy in their language? What a weird, disparaging remark.
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Uh... there's a difference between accuracy in language and just being petty and pedantic.

[Not saying the OP is ... just pointing it out.]

It's one thing to correct a speeeelling error for instance.

It's another thing to say:

"It's Leviosaaaa! Not leviosa!..... dumb*** street rat wizard-wannabe trash!"

 
No, Faux pas is pronounced the same both in singular and plural forms.
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Are you French or do you speak French? I'll gladly take your word for it. I knew the spelling thing, but I searched on Google (Oz...) which told me the pronunciation thing. Without firsthand knowledge, I'm only as good as my sources.

Uh... there's a difference between accuracy in language and just being petty and pedantic.[Not saying the OP is ... just pointing it out.]

It's one thing to correct a speeeelling error for instance.

It's another thing to say:

"It's Leviosaaaa! Not leviosa!..... dumb*** street rat wizard-wannabe trash!"
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I get that; I'm just not sure why it supposedly is unique to "millennials." (It seems to me I always was being corrected by old ladies...)

 
I thought a Sniper Rifle was for shooting those elusive snipes. Sneaky buggers snipes are.

:p

(yeah, yeah, it's all semantics)

Video GAME. Zombies. Reality didn't run away screaming fast enough. It became zombiechow.

:p

(and I'd call the Barrett a sniper rifle, not much else your gonna do with a .50 cal rifle but 'reach out and touch someone')

 
It always bugs we when I see the term "Sniper Rifle" in a video game. Same with "Assault Rifle". Anyone who has spent time in the gun community knows that those two terms are faux pas when describing guns. They are simply high powered rifles. If you wanted to get technical, if one is sniping, they are using a "sniper's rifle" but it is not used to describe the gun. I hunt with high powered rifles...and they could also be used for sniping, but I'm not going to call it that. Just simply call the gun whatever it's type is... .308, .30-06, 7mm rem mag etc.
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Yeah maybe, but there are actually a lot of people who don't spend any time in gun communities or go hunting, so - which might come as a surprise to you - they have no idea what some numbers mean. But they do know what a sniper rifle or an assault rifle is. Namely, the sniper rifle is designed to hit a target over a long range and the assault rifle is designed to fire a lot of rounds in a short time. So these terms make perfect sense. The "gun community" doesn't like them for other reasons, mostly because they make it sound like guns were dangerous. That's a fairly unpopular opinion in said community, right.
 
If we wish to get bent about some of the nomenclature in the game, then I think it's worth debating how appropriate it is to have Miner 69er as a perk.

Maybe in the USA Miner 69er has some historical significance. On my side of the world it seems little more than a cheap rhyme.

But what is much, much worse is the alternative interpretation of the spoken words... Minor 69er.

Anybody fancy a prison term? Does a phrase that has pedophile overtones belong in a game?

 
It's actually more than one historical reference and not just US only.

But if it reminds you of your prison term in some unknown country that's nothing TFP could anticipate.

 
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