AutoAim vs Free Aim - What's your Pros & Cons

[Hyperglide]

Auto Aim is for n00bs. Free Aim isn't.

[CaliMeatWagon]

Hello all,

 

What are some things you would consider as Pros and Cons when it comes to AA vs. FA? Which do you prefer, and why?

 

A few things I've noticed:

- Majority of the action is in AA lobbies & DM's vs. FA lobbies & DM's.

- You will be shot out of a car in AA lobby vs. being ran over in FA lobbies.

- Hard to engage in gunfights in FA lobbies vs. the constant scrimmages found in AA lobbies.

- FA lobby killers spam snipers vs. a little bit of everything in AA lobbies.

- Less squeakers in FA lobbies vs. you already know, lol

- arranging a FA TDM against a crew comes with many self enforced rules vs. in AA, Forced & Pickups is enough.

- Gun/Weapon Melee spammed in FA DM's vs. (can't think of something that's spammed in AA that's not in FA).

 

OT: Getting tired of all the damn Heist posts, goddamn...nothing new is being said. Guys, just read the current Heists threads and contribute to those...you're not bring nothing new to the table.

 

I would play FA more except for two issues.

 

1) The laser accuracy of the NPC's

 

2) Your looking around "aim" doesn't translate into your gun aim. I have a small cheater dot on my screen at dead center. I'll have that aimed at something, pull up my gun, and all of a sudden I'm aimed at the sky. I honestly don't know why it's like that when it works perfectly fine in Max Payne 3.

 

 

Now when I get an XBox One I'll more than likely be playing exclusively in first person, so I see myself making the switch to FA.

 

Auto Aim is for n00bs. Free Aim isn't.

 

There are noobs everywhere.

Edited February 26, 2015 by CaliMeatWagon

[IamCourtney]

Auto aim could be made even more realistic if the accuracy was low right after you snap-aimed to a target, but then the accuracy should improve over the next second or two if you keep aiming but stay still and don't fired.again, this is just like real life. You can quickly point a gun in the direction of your target, but your accuracy will improve if you then use your sights to make fine adjustments. The game should reflect this. And your accuracy would decrease for a moment after shooting, or during movement. The game could reflect this, as many others do, by changing the size of your aim dot or circle. When you initially lock on, you'd have a large aiming circle, which would indicate that even though you're pointed at the target in gross aim, your fine aim is still not locked on yet and your billets will land anywhere within the circle. Over the next second or two, during the time that in real life you'd be adjusting your fine aim, your aim circle would gradually shrink. This fine aim shrinkage would only happen if you remain still and don't fire. If you fire, or move your body or attempt to manually adjust your aim,mthe aim circle would stay larger. After each shot it would momentarily enlarge again.

 

 

This is a cool idear and I'd probably play Auto if it worked more thoughtfully like this. I agree with you that Auto is more realistic in terms of how quickly an actual person would aim a gun but I still prefer Free because the sets of skills involved in doing it well are more engaging to me.

[JustinR512]

I don't need to be told where to shoot.

Also, when I first played, aa was screwing me as often, or more so, than helping.

I also find that those who have shot a multitude of guns in real life, know how hard aiming can actually be. Very few are natural born with precision capabilities and being able to judge distances. Of course there is no bullet physics in GTA so its simplified to quite a degree already.

Play with what works for you, however do not for a second think you know anything abouts guns and aiming irl just because you have/can do it in a video game.

LBC

Everything I know "abouts" [sic] guns and aiming comes from IRL experience with aiming and shooting, and everything I said earlier was based on that experience. Pointing a gun in the direction of a target is quick and intuitive, moving an aim dot with a thumb stick is not. I can reach my arms out in front of me with a gun in my hands, visually track a moving target, and keep my gun pointed in the direction I'm moving, all without any conscious thought. I know this because I've done it. I can't do that with a thumb stick, and I don't believe anyone else can, either. It's not intuitive, which means it needs thought, plus the thumb stick is too insensitive for rapid yet fine movement.

 

That last part, rapid yet fine movement, is one of the big problems I have with free aim. Imagine you're aiming in one direction, but suddenly you want to aim in another direction. I'm not talking about following a moving target, I'm talking about switching to another target. You can move your aim quickly with the thumb stick, true, but getting the aim point to,stop exactly where you want is tricky. I'm sure some people are better at it than others, but the point is it's a gaming skill that needs to be developed. In real life, quickly pointing to another direction is a skill that everyone just has. You don't need to develop it, you don't need to think about it.

 

Here's the thing. In a video game like this, you don't have true 3D, just rendered 3D displayed as a flat image. You don't have 3D hearing, you don't have smell, you don't have feeling. You don't have rapid fine control over your character, your character doesn't have the full range of motion that you do, your character can't do a lot of stuff that you can do. That's why the aids in the game are there, to make up for these losses that just aren't possible in a console video game. The limited capabilities of what a video game can do already make playing unrealistically difficult compared to real life, so yes, when an unrealistic aid is out in place to make up for that, I take advantage of it. I use one unrealistic feature to make up for other aspects of unrealism.

[El Zodape]

Auto-aim

 

Pros:

 

-Locks on target, duh.

-I can kill multiple targets way more quickly by just aiming, shooting, then moving the right stick to switch target, repeat. Saves lives.

-I can aim through bushes and that kind of stuff. The AI can do that sh*t, so I should be able to do that too.

 

Cons:

 

-Not always aims at my desired target.

 

Free-aim

 

Pros:

 

-I always aim at the thing I want dead with no problems.

 

Cons:

 

-Takes more time to kill something because I have to aim by myself. If i'm against multiple targets with no cover, I'm pretty much dead.

-Wastes more ammo.

-AI shooting me behind bushes. 'Nuff said.

[Nacho Z]

@JRebbert512

 

While I do understand what you're saying and it does make a lot of sense in that if you quickly aim at a target the feeling is closer to the AA mechanic than FA, I don't think it tells the whole story.

 

If you're firing a full auto MG at a fast moving target IRL then the recoil would be a big factor in accuracy yet in AA it tracks with barely a flicker of recoil. I think FA better represents the difficulty of tracking a target as although dragging the dot across the screen isn't realistic, neither is rock steady recoil on full auto. There should be some element of challenge to match the real life difficulty.

 

Also, in the heat of a life or death gun battle you'd expect a bit of panic, whereas in AA no matter the situation you can lock on with 100% accuracy every time. I'm not pretending I've been in gun fights but I bet it's not as easy as that.

 

Unlike yourself however I've never fired a gun more powerful than an air rifle so I'm not especially educated on the subject, just trying to put across an opinion.

[OwensRacing]

In Auto aim lobbies, if you are good with a sniper you won't have any problems because most players won't be accurate or fast enought to kill you first.

Pretty satisfying pealing some AA warriors wig with a sniper. I've recently gotten back into playing COD and must say my old skill set is coming back quickly. This has afforded me an amazing advantage using the sniper rifle in GTAV.

[REDDICE]

For me its FA for the skill and AA for the fun.

[Chamber53DV]

I'll play free aim lobbies on PC.. but right now, free aim on a console sounds terrible. Especially if you're stuck having to fight people who just spam the marksman rifle and the sniper rifle. boooooooooring.

 

I don't understand it. I've run into a few that would only fight with snipers, I'm pretty good with the Marksman. But I learned that in AutoAim lobbies. Why go to a Free Aim lobby if all you're going to do is sit behind a sniper. If that's the case, Then I can say I'm pretty good a FA'ng.

[Shootinalloveryourface]

Free aim > auto aim

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X1000

[Chamber53DV]

 

Hello all,

What are some things you would consider as Pros and Cons when it comes to AA vs. FA? Which do you prefer, and why?

A few things I've noticed:

- Majority of the action is in AA lobbies & DM's vs. FA lobbies & DM's.

- You will be shot out of a car in AA lobby vs. being ran over in FA lobbies.

- Hard to engage in gunfights in FA lobbies vs. the constant scrimmages found in AA lobbies.

- FA lobby killers spam snipers vs. a little bit of everything in AA lobbies.

- Less squeakers in FA lobbies vs. you already know, lol

- arranging a FA TDM against a crew comes with many self enforced rules vs. in AA, Forced & Pickups is enough.

- Gun/Weapon Melee spammed in FA DM's vs. (can't think of something that's spammed in AA that's not in FA).

OT: Getting tired of all the damn Heist posts, goddamn...nothing new is being said. Guys, just read the current Heists threads and contribute to those...you're not bring nothing new to the table.

 

I would play FA more except for two issues.

 

1) The laser accuracy of the NPC's

 

2) Your looking around "aim" doesn't translate into your gun aim. I have a small cheater dot on my screen at dead center. I'll have that aimed at something, pull up my gun, and all of a sudden I'm aimed at the sky. I honestly don't know why it's like that when it works perfectly fine in Max Payne 3.

 

 

Now when I get an XBox One I'll more than likely be playing exclusively in first person, so I see myself making the switch to FA.

 

 

 

Auto Aim is for n00bs. Free Aim isn't.

 

There are noobs everywhere.

 

Good to know it doesn't work to put a dot on your TV. I've heard of people doing this for other games, I was going to try it out myself.

[Shaundi.]

This thread has potential.. not.

 

Though, I prefer free aim myself because it's fun.

Edited February 27, 2015 by ZeusMowat_278

[ditsall22]

I only ever play FA because kills take more skill, but the lobbies where so empty. I was able to find a cool group of like minded people who use ARs only, and we would go at it in dm to get better.

 

I got really good at free-aim, but went back to AA cause FA lobbies are so empty and often filled with cheap asses in their super cars smh.

 

AA lobbies became so easy to dominant and something is ALWAYS happening, so I say overall AA is more fun, but less satisfying, but thanks to my 3-4months in FA I always out gun other players from mid to long range with my AR.

[TheGoodSgtScooter]

Well first off, in free aim there isn't as much BS lag compensation, which means I don't roll on my screen and stand still on someone elses, which happens a lot in auto aim, at least for me. (I've tested this with people) I also prefer it for missions and such, because it just feels cleaner imo. There also seems to be way less lag.

Edited February 27, 2015 by TheGoodSgtScooter

[Strachan]

While auto aim may seem more realistic to some it is drastically unrealistic, imo, for the same reasons given to the contrary. You can look with your right stick before aiming and in real life you generally look at where your pointing the gun - ergo more realistic to have your target in sight before attempting to shoot at it. Then the distance your eye is from the reticule is all that stops you from hitting the target first and every time. Sure, it's a gaming habit you can learn but put it this way: you've had those arms you hold a gun with your whole life and have had decades of experience in manipulating stuff with them, it doesn't take most gamers long to adapt the controller to their hands - almost as if they are an extension.
Also back on realism: IRL people aren't able to aim like that at you unless they have a particular set of skills so I prefer to be in a level field with my peers. Free Aim all the way.

Can't say in my past year and a bit in FA iv'e seen anything worth bitching about except maybe the overuse of the auto shotty and explosives for those unable to shoot straight but the tools are there to be used so I can't complain. In AA its just cheap shots left, right and centre and while the constant carnage appeals to some, it doesn't to me, it's taken a long time to build up my money and i'd rather not waste it on pointless war.

[Chamber53DV]

I only ever play FA because kills take more skill, but the lobbies where so empty. I was able to find a cool group of like minded people who use ARs only, and we would go at it in dm to get better.

 

I got really good at free-aim, but went back to AA cause FA lobbies are so empty and often filled with cheap asses in their super cars smh.

 

AA lobbies became so easy to dominant and something is ALWAYS happening, so I say overall AA is more fun, but less satisfying, but thanks to my 3-4months in FA I always out gun other players from mid to long range with my AR.

That's going to be my plan, work FA lobbies to bring my FA game up but AA will be my main play. Dude, I know we've been grinding missions for Heists but we should team up for some spree killing. I can count on two hands how many players I've killed in the past two days! That has to be a record.

[Chamber53DV]

Well first off, in free aim there isn't as much BS lag compensation, which means I don't roll on my screen and stand still on someone elses, which happens a lot in auto aim, at least for me. (I've tested this with people) I also prefer it for missions and such, because it just feels cleaner imo. There also seems to be way less lag.

I'm gonna have to try that mission thing again. 5 attempts at Pickup Sticks said the hell with FA Contact Missions.

 

Your post reminds me we still gotta do that 1v1 FA DM!

 

Edit: Take it easy on me though...I'm still learning, man.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Chamber53DV

[CaliMeatWagon]

 

 

Hello all,

What are some things you would consider as Pros and Cons when it comes to AA vs. FA? Which do you prefer, and why?

A few things I've noticed:

- Majority of the action is in AA lobbies & DM's vs. FA lobbies & DM's.

- You will be shot out of a car in AA lobby vs. being ran over in FA lobbies.

- Hard to engage in gunfights in FA lobbies vs. the constant scrimmages found in AA lobbies.

- FA lobby killers spam snipers vs. a little bit of everything in AA lobbies.

- Less squeakers in FA lobbies vs. you already know, lol

- arranging a FA TDM against a crew comes with many self enforced rules vs. in AA, Forced & Pickups is enough.

- Gun/Weapon Melee spammed in FA DM's vs. (can't think of something that's spammed in AA that's not in FA).

OT: Getting tired of all the damn Heist posts, goddamn...nothing new is being said. Guys, just read the current Heists threads and contribute to those...you're not bring nothing new to the table.

I would play FA more except for two issues.

 

1) The laser accuracy of the NPC's

 

2) Your looking around "aim" doesn't translate into your gun aim. I have a small cheater dot on my screen at dead center. I'll have that aimed at something, pull up my gun, and all of a sudden I'm aimed at the sky. I honestly don't know why it's like that when it works perfectly fine in Max Payne 3.

 

 

Now when I get an XBox One I'll more than likely be playing exclusively in first person, so I see myself making the switch to FA.

 

 

 

Auto Aim is for n00bs. Free Aim isn't.

There are noobs everywhere.

Good to know it doesn't work to put a dot on your TV. I've heard of people doing this for other games, I was going to try it out myself.

 

 

For this game it is pretty pointless and most other games already have a decent setup. I put mine on there about 2+ years ago when I was playing BF3. I had a huge problem of running around either staring at the sky or the ground (well that's where dead center would end up). So I put the tiniest dot with a sharpie just to help me keep my "eyes" level. The dot is actually small enough that I only see it if I'm looking for it.

[ThaSouljaCity]

I honestly feel that auto aim is how GTA was meant to be played. If I wanted to manually aim at my targets then I'd play any other generic first person shooter

[cjdavies]

Auto aim:

- I suck at free aim against other players, in general.

- Someone trying to run me over, easily defend myself.

- I suppose missions and survival is easier.

Edited February 27, 2015 by cjdavies

[Synophrys]

Mindless DM'ing, -> AA
If I want to enjoy some playing without getting auto-aimed with an auto-sh*tty (not a typo) each 100 ft. -> FA

[crack1king]

It really don't matter

Edited February 27, 2015 by crack1king

[CH14R1]

I fall asleep on AA. Cover, lock, burst.. repeat. I finished the single player on free aim so i think it's just a matter of what you're looking for, aiming or locking. Only joined AA couple times by accident and i remember the big WTF. I could lock uzi on bikers passing at 100mph, buzzard pilots doing low fly bys, its damn funny

[JC Hammer]

Auto Aim is for n00bs. Free Aim isn't.

 

I'd say it's the other way around, sure it's harder to shoot (some weapons) but that also means it's way easier to survive.

 

I'd suggest all Noobs start out in Free Aim / free roam before joining an Auto Aim / free roam lobby.

[Chamber53DV]

I fall asleep on AA. Cover, lock, burst.. repeat. I finished the single player on free aim so i think it's just a matter of what you're looking for, aiming or locking. Only joined AA couple times by accident and i remember the big WTF. I could lock uzi on bikers passing at 100mph, buzzard pilots doing low fly bys, its damn funny

to be honest, they both have mundane gunfighting tactics, though:

 

Midrange:

- FA = R2 Strifen + Spray & Pray.

- AA = L2 Locking + Rolling

 

Long Range:

- Both are equal in my eyes, so far.

 

Close Range:

- Both tactics used are somewhat similar (e.g.- explosives, auto shotty, etc.)

- Sometimes Mid Range tac is used in close range.

- Spam use of Pistol whips/weapon melee's in FA (sometimes to the downright hilarious level)

[9i OTD]

Auto Aim Pros - AA lobbies are busier than FA ones

Auto Aim Cons - Makes the game boring and easy, bearly any shooters have AA as the default targeting mode anymore.

 

Free Aim pros - Gunfights are more engaging

- Winning is far more satisfying

- Your skill can develop

- It's funner

Free Aim cons - Every fa**ot and his horse are in the AA lobies, meaning there are less people to play free aim with.

[GodIy]

Literally the only downside to auto aim is locking onto someone you don't want to lol...and that can be fixed by using the interaction menu and putting friend aa to low...

[PandaLambpaws]

AA is not perfect but it's my preferred between the two.

I find FA combat not all that fun. I like the idea of FA, but it just turns into combat-rolling or sniping, and it's done all out in the open. Some people say it's because they feel more in control and having superior aim is an aspect for them, but to me the pace is just not as varied or fun and I'd rather have auto-aim and perfect moving around the enviroment, changing weapons, duck and fire, etc.

I like the cover and move aspect of gameplay AA provides even if the auto-lock is a bit overpowered. I like that you can punish someone if they don't set up their angles and their cover well. If someone wants to sit and hide behind something with their gun and making it difficult to access them, you should probably move on anyhow.

[.Vooodu.]

I prefer auto-aim over free aim because auto aim is more realistic.

 

Yes, you read that right: I said auto aim is more realistic.

 

I want you to try this little experiment. Grab so,etching in your hand: game controller, remote control, doesn't matter, just something small that you can hold sort of like a gun. Now I want you to point it at your TV screen.

 

Are you pointing it at your TV screen? Good. Now answer this: once you started moving, did you aim directly at the TV screen right away, or did you have to adjust your aim back and forth, maybe up or down a little bit? No, you didn't have to adjust, you just aimed directly at the TV screen right away.

 

 

 

Don't take this the wrong way... But that is the silliest thing i've ever read.

 

 

Unless i actually aim at my tv...its going to move unless i force myself to continually aim at it. Which is manual aim.. Because thats how free aim is.

 

 

 

Heres a better example on why its so silly. And a better experiment.

 

Turn off your tv. Blindfold yourself. Spin around 10 times a fast as possible. Now point at the TV while blindfolded and dizzy.... Chances are you are not gonna point right at the tv 1st try. But you would of if you had auto aim...

 

And thats why i find AA so boring... Because i can kill things blindfolded...

[Chamber53DV]

 

I prefer auto-aim over free aim because auto aim is more realistic.

Yes, you read that right: I said auto aim is more realistic.

I want you to try this little experiment. Grab so,etching in your hand: game controller, remote control, doesn't matter, just something small that you can hold sort of like a gun. Now I want you to point it at your TV screen.

Are you pointing it at your TV screen? Good. Now answer this: once you started moving, did you aim directly at the TV screen right away, or did you have to adjust your aim back and forth, maybe up or down a little bit? No, you didn't have to adjust, you just aimed directly at the TV screen right away.

 

 

Don't take this the wrong way... But that is the silliest thing i've ever read.

 

 

Unless i actually aim at my tv...its going to move unless i force myself to continually aim at it. Which is manual aim.. Because thats how free aim is.

 

 

 

Heres a better example on why its so silly. And a better experiment.

 

Turn off your tv. Blindfold yourself. Spin around 10 times a fast as possible. Now point at the TV while blindfolded and dizzy.... Chances are you are not gonna point right at the tv 1st try. But you would of if you had auto aim...

 

And thats why i find AA so boring... Because i can kill things blindfolded...

Lol, what the hell?! You trolling, right?

 

Who in the hell goes to a real life gunfight and blindfolds themselves and spins around for 10 seconds then tries to shoot a mofo.

 

No more Real Life to In Game comparisons.