Tau Cannon/Gauss Gun was never my cuppa. Primary felt too janky and pew-pew-y, and the charge of secondary always felt less useful to me. Plus, not to be an absolute nerd, but it’s not even technically a railgun in the real world sense (I know… I know…).
I will say, the lesser known ability to shoot through walls is pretty cool, so it gets points for that.
But the Q2 and Q3 railguns are my boys. Absolute classics. Point, click, kill. Q2’s was my introduction to the idea of a railgun, and I still think it looks the coolest. Hard to beat it from the top spot in my mind.
That's just a skill issue. The tau cannon's secondary charge is one of the most useful alt-fire modes you'd ever see in a 90s shooter, and it basically breaks the game when you're using it in multiplayer. The charged shot can deal splash damage through walls when it hits surfaces at right angles (where it doesn't ricochet), which allows you to kill multiple opponents behind cover even if you can't see them. The charged shot also propels the player with its recoil (horizontal boost in singleplayer, omnidirectional boost in multiplayer), effectively giving you rocket jumping without any self-damage. You can dominate entire lobbies by only using this gun and the LG if you know how to do proper tau jumps.
The full auto primary fire isn't really that awesome because it just wastes too much ammo in exchange for low damage that is also not as cost-efficient, but the fact that you can still use this railgun in full-auto in emergency situation can be useful sometimes. Quake's railguns aren't even remotely as mechanically complex and rewarding as this weapon because they only really have one firing mode, and it doesn't do anything outside of damaging people with a hitscan beam and piercing multiple targets.
Half-Life yes, Black Mesa, no. They made it way weaker in the remake. Charge shot used to do more damage per cell than individual shots. In Black Mesa, you can't even kill a grunt with a fully charged shot on Hard unless you hit him in the right spot.
Dusk's bolt-action elephant gun doesn't entirely fit since it's obviously just a gunpowder-using firearm, and when it comes to its gunplay mechanics, there's nothing really that special about it.
If we are talking all shooters here I think objectively the best would be the Farsight from Perfect Dark. Xray scope and automatic tracking makes the gun do all the work.
Betting the blue spiral trail effect after firing threw them off. I do agree it's a wildly satisfying railgun, but that also may be my Q2 nostalgia talking
I didn't particularly like Quake 2 until the remaster warmed me up to it but I've always thought it nearly perfected the Id style arsenal. The railgun is awesome.
It was the first PC FPS I really got to dig into as a kid, so it's got a very warm nostalgic place in my heart. That was always just "fucking around with" as a kid, though - the remaster is where I actually played through the entire thing. And between the base game, the N64 port, the two original expansions, and the new expansion, Nightdive put a ton of content into that thing!
Yeah! It's a truly incredible update. Ultimately the main reasons I disliked Q2 was how confusing I found the interlevel keyhunting (since fixed via compass) and the simple fact it wasn't actually a sequel to Quake. The actual gameplay was always extremely fun and polished.
i guess if w'ere counting tau cannon which i thought was a particle accelerator I would also say type7 particle weapon from FEAR is my thing. That shit turns people into skeletons
I wouldn't count Tau Cannon as a railgun cuz railguns should be quick and stuff. And Tau Cannon needs to charge to shoot the powerful shot. But otherwise yeah, this gun is deep enough to have an entire game built solely around it.
It's a directed energy weapon with a charged alt-fire that shoots a singular hitscan death beam that fucks anything it hits, pierces targets and can also shoot through cover, so I think it fits.
We're talking about video game ones, and by no charging time i mean you don't need to hold any buttons to charge it up to shoot. That's why I didn't count Tau Cannon cuz in boom shoots you usually pull out railgun as soon as you need it.
My favourite railgun-typed weapon is the ASMD from Unreal. Due to the pure satisfaction it makes when you gib few enemies with the shock-combo. None other similar weapon I used in old FPS games can deliver such an experience.
If modded guns count, it's the PB Bangers & Mash railgun, an addon to OG Doom's Hideous Destructor mod which is horrendously powerful and can wreck a full line of boss monsters and the door behind them with ease. The sheer feel of the heft of lugging that massive thing (And its handcharger) around makes it all the more satisfying to charge and shoot it at your soon-to-be-vaporized enemies.
Quake 2's railgun looks awesome and is satisfying to fire.
Added bonus of the ambient hum too that's a slight give away at it's presence.
yes, the ambient hum you hear right before you click on a guy and turn him into soup
The sound it makes has yet to be surpassed, all these years later
And the trail is just beautiful.
The Quake 2 railgun still reigns supreme.
Tau Cannon/Gauss Gun was never my cuppa. Primary felt too janky and pew-pew-y, and the charge of secondary always felt less useful to me. Plus, not to be an absolute nerd, but it’s not even technically a railgun in the real world sense (I know… I know…).
I will say, the lesser known ability to shoot through walls is pretty cool, so it gets points for that.
But the Q2 and Q3 railguns are my boys. Absolute classics. Point, click, kill. Q2’s was my introduction to the idea of a railgun, and I still think it looks the coolest. Hard to beat it from the top spot in my mind.
That's just a skill issue. The tau cannon's secondary charge is one of the most useful alt-fire modes you'd ever see in a 90s shooter, and it basically breaks the game when you're using it in multiplayer. The charged shot can deal splash damage through walls when it hits surfaces at right angles (where it doesn't ricochet), which allows you to kill multiple opponents behind cover even if you can't see them. The charged shot also propels the player with its recoil (horizontal boost in singleplayer, omnidirectional boost in multiplayer), effectively giving you rocket jumping without any self-damage. You can dominate entire lobbies by only using this gun and the LG if you know how to do proper tau jumps.
The full auto primary fire isn't really that awesome because it just wastes too much ammo in exchange for low damage that is also not as cost-efficient, but the fact that you can still use this railgun in full-auto in emergency situation can be useful sometimes. Quake's railguns aren't even remotely as mechanically complex and rewarding as this weapon because they only really have one firing mode, and it doesn't do anything outside of damaging people with a hitscan beam and piercing multiple targets.
Ah, gotcha. Definitely more features. I totally forgot about the jumping. I played less HL multi back in the day.
the tau cannon altfire can oneshot helicopters in hl1
https://preview.redd.it/qzm7os8b2fcg1.png?width=360&format=png&auto=webp&s=39222f0c3cd6d783e6a7ab459370038a4d224e0e
Mogged by this one:
https://preview.redd.it/wadxclqa4ecg1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=093f855b1bb357d9548b646dedae480d133b6467
Red faction 1 railgun of course. You can use its thermal scope to snipe through walls
I was gonna say, Red Faction has the best Railguns.
You can snipe through walls with the Half-Life one, but it doesn't aim for free, it rewards players who can predict where other players are.
It's great till an enemy uses it
Not thought about this for years and you're bang on, amazing gun
Half-Life yes, Black Mesa, no. They made it way weaker in the remake. Charge shot used to do more damage per cell than individual shots. In Black Mesa, you can't even kill a grunt with a fully charged shot on Hard unless you hit him in the right spot.
It's a tie between the Tau Cannon, Quake 2's Rail Gun, Dusk's Hunting Rifle and Unreal Tournament 99's Shock Rifle.
Dusk's bolt-action elephant gun doesn't entirely fit since it's obviously just a gunpowder-using firearm, and when it comes to its gunplay mechanics, there's nothing really that special about it.
If we are talking all shooters here I think objectively the best would be the Farsight from Perfect Dark. Xray scope and automatic tracking makes the gun do all the work.
Not hitscan but the Quake 2 railgun is the best railgun in FPS games in general, close second is the railgun from the first F.E.A.R
Q2's railgun is hitscan, though
Betting the blue spiral trail effect after firing threw them off. I do agree it's a wildly satisfying railgun, but that also may be my Q2 nostalgia talking
I didn't particularly like Quake 2 until the remaster warmed me up to it but I've always thought it nearly perfected the Id style arsenal. The railgun is awesome.
It was the first PC FPS I really got to dig into as a kid, so it's got a very warm nostalgic place in my heart. That was always just "fucking around with" as a kid, though - the remaster is where I actually played through the entire thing. And between the base game, the N64 port, the two original expansions, and the new expansion, Nightdive put a ton of content into that thing!
Yeah! It's a truly incredible update. Ultimately the main reasons I disliked Q2 was how confusing I found the interlevel keyhunting (since fixed via compass) and the simple fact it wasn't actually a sequel to Quake. The actual gameplay was always extremely fun and polished.
Bruh, Quake 2 is hitscan
Nah, Q2 has got a delay. Best RG is the one in Q3.
It has a cooldown, preventing you from spamming it, but not a delay to fire cold. And no travel time for the shot.
ULTRAKILL's Railcannon is an absolute beast.
Electric is amazing for combos or ultraricoshots.
Screwdriver does bonkers damage and heals you a ton.
And Malicious wins the game as long as you happen to blast at least one explosive.
i guess if w'ere counting tau cannon which i thought was a particle accelerator I would also say type7 particle weapon from FEAR is my thing. That shit turns people into skeletons
Nah, its the railgun of quake 2
Red Faction 1 Rail Driver
https://preview.redd.it/brehj424ppcg1.jpeg?width=704&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=364e994379e5c8e78b611be50f0fd510f6e5d58b
Single shot, break action, wall and terrain piercing railgun, what isn't there to love?
I wouldn't count Tau Cannon as a railgun cuz railguns should be quick and stuff. And Tau Cannon needs to charge to shoot the powerful shot. But otherwise yeah, this gun is deep enough to have an entire game built solely around it.
It's a directed energy weapon with a charged alt-fire that shoots a singular hitscan death beam that fucks anything it hits, pierces targets and can also shoot through cover, so I think it fits.
No I get it but it's like idk , it's not that ready for unforeseen consequences as one might assume.
Wait what do you mean deep enough?
It has ricochets, can pierce walls, can overcharge, can jump with, has a pew pew fire mode. Basically has a lot of mechanics for a railgun.
Real life railguns do not need charging time?
We're talking about video game ones, and by no charging time i mean you don't need to hold any buttons to charge it up to shoot. That's why I didn't count Tau Cannon cuz in boom shoots you usually pull out railgun as soon as you need it.
My favourite railgun-typed weapon is the ASMD from Unreal. Due to the pure satisfaction it makes when you gib few enemies with the shock-combo. None other similar weapon I used in old FPS games can deliver such an experience.
If modded guns count, it's the PB Bangers & Mash railgun, an addon to OG Doom's Hideous Destructor mod which is horrendously powerful and can wreck a full line of boss monsters and the door behind them with ease. The sheer feel of the heft of lugging that massive thing (And its handcharger) around makes it all the more satisfying to charge and shoot it at your soon-to-be-vaporized enemies.
for me quake 2s railgun will always be the best of the best
https://preview.redd.it/oc4iq0odiscg1.png?width=1024&format=png&auto=webp&s=e6523ff649f706f1799c191e5a5ca8a4bca47522
Going to nth Quake II's railgun, nothing since then has even come close
Quake 2’s railgun is truly god tier. The Quake 3 railgun is such a piece of shit and downgrade by comparison.
Its automatic damage is still deadly and the rail charge sound is sexy.