When a reload is interrupted, cancel it entirely!

The current mechanic is:

1. You start to reload when you still have some ammo left
2. You use a skill like charge or slam, use an object, or enter a purchasing menu
3. Your reload stops to perform the above action
4. The action completes
5. Your reload starts again from the beginning, automatically


The problem scenario:

1. You start reloading just to top off your ammo
2. Enemy ambushes you, and you respond with a charge, slam, or grapple
3. You're now stuck reloading, even though you still had ammo you could be using, when you want to be firing to follow up the skill you just used
4. You die frustrated


Why it's bad design, IMO:
The player should have as much control over their character's decisions as possible. The character shouldn't make any decisions without the player's input. In this case, the character is making a decision to initialize a new reload that the player didn't ask for and probably doesn't want.


Possible Solutions:
1. Simply don't start a new reload when a skill finishes. Let the player either use the ammo that they still had available, or initialize the reload again on their own if they so choose.

2. Add some way of cancelling a reload that's faster than switching weapons twice. Maybe if you just select the same weapon you already have out, it would cancel a reload. This would be a nice change even in addition to the first proposal.

3. Resume the reload where it left off.

Reload should simply cancel if you fire weapon or use skill. Gunner has it the worst, poor guy.

Could also add auto reload in the future, like TF2.

oh, they made that a feature now? I always just used a script

i like when devs take common scripts and make them features

Yep they did, works even better than the scripts too!

*Thumbs up this topic*.

Yeah I'd like this to happen as well.

Canceling reload by simply clicking mouse1 is not how I would want to see it, definitely not.
But, canceling reload on action should be implemented, just for the sake of not dying on random ambushes.
Either way, it's a feature and situations like that can be easily avoided. When you think about it, reload animation should be an indication of being vulnerable for a moment, i.e. an incentive to attack.

it still normally would be, when the person is actually out of ammo

if you could cancel it easily, you could also use it to trick people into thinking you're vulnerable, which would be interesting

That's how TF2 implemented it so that auto reload would work seamlessly. It'd feel clunky otherwise. I don't find anything wrong with their implementation so it'd be a good addition for this game.

I'd just like it so that if I'm stunned or grappled or use a skill I don't have to restart my reload if I still had something in my clip. I should have to reload again completely to get a full clip, though.

exactly

You can already cancel a reload and trick people into thinking you are vulnerable as gunner. Just switch your weapons twice and you'll still have your previous clip and not reload. I do it with gunner all the time and have caught Eka off guard with this strategy.

that would be ok if it didn't take so long

I would also be ok with being able to cancel a reload by pressing the key to select my current weapon

Oh, the many times I've died 'cause I wasn't able to cancel my reload. :|

i a got non stop weapon changing glitch or something today, i change to my mortar from mini and then went to change back the result was endless changing between the two, then i died

That happens to me because of the way my scroll wheel is.

i use Q to switch weapons, i can't stand scrolling for weapons

Instead of using the mousewheel for "Toggle Weapons", I have mine set so that wheel down = primary weapon, and wheel up = secondary weapon. That way it doesn't matter if I scroll once or ten times, I get the weapon I want.

^ As do I but the scroll problem still exists

Cancel on action is reasonable, but cancel whenever you feel like it should not exist in this game. One of the gunner's weaknesses is in his reload. TF2 is different in that the heavy never has to reload his stockpile of ammo. Our gunner is balanced around a long reload downtime.