Taking cover has always been a big part of the game- it is important that the player takes cover if being shot at since it can be quite difficult to return fire whilst being shot to pieces.
Originally the method of taking cover was limited to hiding behind an obstacle. However I saw no sense in the fact that there was no partial cover for the game characters to crouch behind; for example you could stand behind a 3ft high sandbag and be completely protected from enemy fire.
So I have implemented a sticky cover mechanic (which i have meant to do for a long time). When the player stands next to a piece of cover a small icon appears in the corner of the screen. If the player hits the spacebar, they will duck behind the cover and be protected fully in that direction. If the player then hits the spacebar again they will stand up again ready to fire but still protected partially by the cover.
It works well and is also used effectively by the AI. It yet again forces the player to be more tactical, for example; if a group of enemies are holed up behind good cover, then taking them down will be difficult unless you get a good angle on them.
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