does leading need loving?

[DeadTeddy]

my thought on this is definately. as far as I see it the game is made up of a bunch of squads running around each doing what it wants and a bunch of CR5's trying to keep up and get things done. a few days ago a guy who is CR5 on TR joined my NC squad on solsar after 3 hours of fighting there cause they don't listen after the part where he got them to solsar.

what things do you think could actually help build a chain of command for the armies on auraxis and get ppl to want to use it? I'll just give a few of my ideas but I really want to see other ideas from more experienced players and espcially from the CR5's.

my ideas:
pick a commander feature:
all platoon/squad leaders can open a window with a list off all ppl with a CR higher by one then their own globaly or continentaly according to their choice. if none are on the cont they can chose one that is higher by too ranks and so on. the list also shows the location of the commander and how many ppl he is leading. a double click lets you see a short description the commaner wrote about his plans. he can then send a request to that commander to be under his command.
so if I am CR2 and I'm leading a squad I can ask a CR3 named X to lead me. he is being lead by Y and he is being lead by Z.
2 commands will allow you to send messages up and down the chain of command.
each commander can click anyone under him to see where his squad/platoon is, their waypoints, stuff like that.
and of course, all the ppl directly under the same commanders control can communicate in their own chat that he too hears.
command experience would go up the tree but shrink at every stage so the guy at the first level would get about the same as the guy at the top if all ppl under the top guys command earn the same CXP. I don't really care about XP but some reward needs to be given for leading.


this thing seems complex but it would be just a few simple features to add to the commanders list they are working on. it's a simple, dynamic, and easy chain of command.

anyone who doesn't wish to lead can simply use the /anon command that should be in with the commanders list.

Edit: each commander can draw battleplans seen by those 1 level below him in the chain. so if a CR5 has 3 or 4 people under his command he draws plans for each one where to go, then they draw for their CR3's more specific orders, the CR2's get even more specifics and so each squad has it's own job.
also the top guy can put 4 waypoints that are colored, not numbered, meaning they have no specific order. these are for every one of his troops down to the grunt lead by the CR0 guy. no more messages like "AMS south of gunuku, go hunting"

platoons where supposed to implent this in some way but since they are too small to make a difference when not together, it doesn't work.

[iiTropicRaiNii]

Good idea, as always its going to be hard for a lot of people to follow orders and not just walk around shooting things. But it would make things more organized in game.

[DeadTeddy]

heh, ppl don't follow orders in planetside. what this would do however is 2 things:
1)you know who to listen to, not a bunch of CR5's each spamming his own orders
2)divide the forces into divsions if there are a few CR5's. with some work on the CR5 chat each one will be able to move on a certain base and stuff.

if a CR5 takes initiative it could go as far as specific squads for tanks, air cavalry, and infantry, all working according to a master plan.

[Firefly]

Join an organized outit. Squads and platoons can be organized. Join an outfit within an Alliance, where organization goes a step further.

Simply having a CR5 global something to link squads is kinda lame. That adds a half a link. But those other dudes might not be as organized as your squad or vice-versa. I've found other squads and platoon'd with them, and immediately regretted the decision when they were given a simple objective and were scattered all across the map and could not even make it there.

[Indecisive]

People are not obligated to follow your orders. They pay the exact same amount of money to play as you do.

[DeadTeddy]

90% of the time if you give a squad a WP most of it will try to get there. it's kind of hard though if you're a grunt with no transportation though.

planetside has armies but it takes the approach most games take to communication, only it's not enough. to organize so many people it takes much more then one guy cause if it's "Americas army" you can asign each guy a position or a role, or just say "follow me" but with 100+ ppl it's impossible and you know it.

[FlakMan]

Everyone wants to solo, it's the CS rambo syndrome everywhere. Chain of command is impossible with PS at this point.

[DeadTeddy]

actually I'm a fan of teamwork but when the squad gets to a zerg everyone solos. PS has very little room for teamwork. however if you bind 5 squads together, send one to the CC, 1 to the gen and 3 to the spawn rooms. they will go together, and when you go together you work together. especially if you can chat with the ppl you go with.

[Firefly]

Everyone wants to solo, it's the CS rambo syndrome everywhere. Chain of command is impossible with PS at this point.
Wrong. Once again, I say: join an organized, structured outfit. Not everyone wants to solo, and chain of command is possible, but only with people who want it. And there are, in fact, plenty of people who desire such organization.

Have a nice day.

[FlakMan]

Thanks for being so very condescending.

Teddy was talking about a coc for everyone playing PS. I was saying something like that wouldn't work. Fayce.

[DeadTeddy]

read it again flak. COC for everyone who wants it. it's meant to be one on each continent. each person can find a commander for the continent he is going to fight on but doesn't have to. I'm tired of not knowing if someone is taking care of that gen the TR cloacker blew up in our tech plant (it's always the TR) or if the ANT is comming.

[Cloaked_Thunder]

I have to beg all of u ppls pardons......get real... I am a huge teamwork fan and teamwork leads to taking bases and winning....

I believe that most of us here who are, older than 15, like teamwork and such. Sometimes if i go solo then no i dont want orders, i wanna do my own thing..... However, I love an organized platoon/squad/outfit. And i like receiving orders ( when it's within my means) and I think there are lots of ppl here that will take orders well.... The problem is that a) noone knows how to properly lead and hand out tasks. B) has retards in their squad who just do dumb crap, which in that case just kick them from the squad and recruit for "team players" to join ur squad....


I know im guilty of this too but most are too worried about not getting the last shot on the nme... We need to not worry bout the exp pts as much for each kill but look at hte big picture... If u can scare/lay damage to armor/reavers and scare them off then u just helped ur team one step further into victory. Teamwork = big base hax XP. :D

[DeadTeddy]

yeah, not everyone is a team player, but mostly when people have the tools for teamplay you see allot more teamplay. for example if you take any round of AAO you will find more teamwork then most clan matches in CS. in battlefield the most teamwork you will find is someone waiting for ppl to load up the car.

why does AA have more teamwork? cause everyone has a role, from leader to sniper and if the leader does his job many ppl do the same. a good leader also considers the rushers and knows how to use them in his plan.

that just gave me an idea for another feature that could help commanders on any scale. a clock. a simple clock. there are too many time zones and ppl hate to calculate them. make an auraxis time zone based on the server's location and that's it.
timing an attack has always been very effective in AA:O so there is no reason not to do it here. I'm talking about simple thing like "gather in hapi CY, we move out for the tower at X, gal drops at Y so get ready to rush inside 30 secs later"

[SpunkJackel]

Personally, this clock idea is one of the greatest I have ever heard. A clock and some type of land coordinates would improve the game 10 fold as far as leading is concerned.

[WritheNC]

CR5 is a cute little backpack, an orbital strike, and the ability to spam your entire empire.

I agree that the best way to get organized is to join an organized outfit. That's it.

This game is torn between those who want to win(and have fun winning) and are willing to dedicate themselves to that end, and those that want to have fun and screw around without compromising that fun to do what it takes to win.

[Destroyeron]

Everyone wants to solo, it's the CS rambo syndrome everywhere. Chain of command is impossible with PS at this point.


Not everyone wants to solo. I hate going solo. Yes, continent chain of command is impossible, but outfits into squads and such is possible.

[Firefly]

I could go for a map overlay that had grid squares on it. That way people who aren't in my squad or platoon, that are calling out targets, can say something like:

"/c There's two Vanguards south of the [base] air tower, at grid 321 456". Then I can pull up the map, locate that grid, and slap a waypoint down for artillery fire.

Each continent would have a permanent grid-square system, that did not shift (like the friggin command-draw lines and text) when one zooms in on it. A four-digit grid would equal one kilometer. A six-digit would equal 100 meters, and an 8-digit would equate to 10 meters. Each main grid square would form a 1-kilometer grid/squared, and one can see smaller secondary lines inside that designate smaller meter-measurements.

The military uses this system- it's called Universal Trans-Mercator system, and it takes the place of that shitty northing/easting system. It's very handy if you know the terrain you're in. By simply knowing what coordinates you are at, you can roughly judge the distance between you and a target by looking at the numbers. I've gotten rather good at it, and I can plot 8-digit coordinates on a map without using protractor tools to fine-tune the coordinates. I can check my own grid, look at a set of coordinates for another place, and tell you roughly where it is and how far out it is (without a map). PS needs a feature like this, simplified for idiots so we can all use it.

[DeadTeddy]

wow, I was just thinking of having a toggle on the map that makes the arrow have x,y coordinates next to it and that's it. kind of easier I think.

any other nice ideas that could help organization?

[Firefly]

The problem with the X-Y coordinates (which is a very very close system to the UTM system, if not the originator of the military system) is that it only shows coordinates where your cursor is. An example, you say?

Imagine this. Your outfit is invading Searhus (the neutral free-for-all continent). You're sitting on Teamspeak with your squad of Reavers, circling around Drakulu fighting off X-Empire's tanks. Suddenly your second squad leader calls up and says "Uh, we have three Flails firing from a protected position south of SE Tara tower, behind that cluster of rocks on the rise in the hill just east, my coordinates are XXX YYY! We're pinned down, need assistance."

So you hit the map, and proceed to scroll around until your mouse cursor reaches a similar, nearby area, and then you try to pinpoint the grid location because counter-battery Flail fire must be more than just generally accurate when you have no laser-pointer. If you're off by a few meters, you're screwed, and pinpointing a pixelated dot is a lot harder when you only have a rough area. Sure, you might find it and sure you might get lucky. But how long will it take?

In combat there is no time. When those soldiers call up on the radio, you automatically assume their last words will literally be their last words, and you'd better have a response. Now in virtual combat with assured respawns, that's okay, you can die and respawn blah-blah.

But what if you have no spawn points yet because there's an enormous tower battle going, you're the advanced guard for a planned invasion, and 0000 (your spy) had his information wrong or sold you out, so the enemy was waiting? You don't have a base hack complete, you don't own towers, and your AMS just got blown up by incoming Flail fire. That grid system allows you to automatically look and get a well-defined area so that pinpointing is a whole lot easier and faster.

Just an example for the tactically-minded.

[DeadTeddy]

too many ifs, too many options is what made winamp3 suck. no need for all that.

[Hamma]

One thing there should be and I see no reason why there isnt, is a grid system. "AMS @ B4"