Yeah the bullets really don't feel like they are doing an instahit.
But, that could just be my perceptions because so much of the other shooting mechanics were changed.
Like bullet spread. In the old renegade NONE of the guns had their bullets spread out over a distance (with the exception of the useless shotgun), they were all 100% accurate. So patches tiberium pistol was just as accurate as the basic infantry rifle, which was just as accurate as Deadeye's sniper. So really it came down to the guns range, damage, and the aim of the person using it.
Also, none of the guns in the original had any recoil. In this re-make when I take the basic infantry rifle, not only do the bullets end up flying all over the place, but the aimer climbs higher and higher as you shoot.
Personally, I did not like this as I feel it affects the balance of the game. The infantry rifle was never great in the old game, but in this one it feels truly useless, especially at a distance.
I think that's why they added the free marksman class, but still I would have just preferred it to play like the original in that regards.
Although, constructive criticism aside, I'm still very happy to see whats been done with this game. And I'm looking forward to seeing what improvements are made.
P.S. Do stealth units flicker and become visible when they take damage? I shot a stealth tank but didn't notice it flicker. If not that definitely needs to get fixed, as shooting around your base in a sweeping pattern was the only good way to prevent SBH's sneaking in. Again even if they do flicker this technique of sweeping the base looking for stealth units becomes much harder with the bullet spread mentioned earlier. Something like making the bullets spread out in a cone, affects the balance of the game in so many ways.