this idea is simple and effective, i've even tested it, it works wonders and alot of games do it.. but is there a way to do it without the button press? or is there an alternative method that could replace this? how plausible is a realtime cover system, could it work? how?

i'm just throwing questions in the wind so when anyone reads they can see how in depth solving this can be and this is what i think game design should be about.. instead of jumping on the train and follow ideas that exist... brainstorm, get opinions and build something new, i personally think that alot of AAA titles fail because the developers weren't thinking of the customers when designing but maybe of how cool and unique their idea is... feel free to disagree