Instead of Audio Amp, "Bat Ears"

[Traak]

When you equip this implant/item/ability/however they do stuff in PS2, you can listen and hear enemies with more volume and range than if you had just your normal hearing.

It would be a narrow beam, like a zoom implant.

It would do nothing with your radar. It would just allow you to "audio zoom" a very narrow slice of your view and hear it more loudly. No red dots show up on your screen.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/normko/...57603230869583



However, I think with future technology, we might be able to shrink it a bit.

It would require your environment to be quiet, too, so you can't use this from a plane, tank, vehicle, or in the middle of running or even walking. Standing still, stable, and in a quiet environment, it would allow you to have increased range, in a narrow band, for your hearing, much like a zoom implant.

It also can't hear through walls or doors, so it is used outdoors, not indoors.

It would make physical stealth, such as is important in some real-world combat, a valuable thing. Unlike Audio Amp, it would pick up weapon reloads and other noisy stuff, but it would not allow you to hear enemy soldier's footsteps.

And, it doesn't allow you to hear past a hill, but would be useful for sweeping forests, caves or steamy swamps for sounds.

[NewSith]

I am vengeance. I am the night! I - am - BATMAN!

[CutterJohn]

Uh.. Whats wrong with thermal? Which you can use in most of those situations you say this wouldn't work in.

[Traak]

Where are you postulating that thermal vision would work that I said this wouldn't?

Seeing through floors? Thermal can't see through floors
Seeing through walls? Thermal can't see through walls
Seeing over hills? Thermal can't see over hills

You can hear stuff in a forest that the tree boles block you from seeing, so sound works where thermal doesn't.

So, to answer, you can hear stuff that you can't see, even on IR.

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by Traak

Where are you postulating that thermal vision would work that I said this wouldn't?

Seeing through floors? Thermal can't see through floors
Seeing through walls? Thermal can't see through walls
Seeing over hills? Thermal can't see over hills

You can hear stuff in a forest that the tree boles block you from seeing, so sound works where thermal doesn't.

So, to answer, you can hear stuff that you can't see, even on IR.

It works on vehicles and at a sprint.

[RedKnights]

I really like this idea, some kind of sound amplification implant would be cool.

[Traak]

Ah, yes, works on vehicles and on a sprint.

But it wouldn't see planes through clouds, wouldn't do anything that normal sight wouldn't, except maybe show cloakers?

Bat ears would allow you to hear stuff, regardless of whether weather or trees blocked its view.

Either is better than radar or Audio Amp.

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by Traak

But it wouldn't see planes through clouds

Normal people would suggest radar as a good use for that.

[Traak]

I don't think it would be for something that far off, actually. Radar would be good for that. I don't subscribe, in general, to anything that places enemy soldiers on the radar. Vehicles, yes. Enemy soldiers? I believe having to see them, or hear them, just like warfare in most games is far superior for gameplay quality for more people than just corner-camping brainless killwhores.

It would reward boldly running around, searching for foes instead of cowering behind a barrier with your Audio Amp on, watching a radar screen.

Run and gun is far more fun than slithering around quietly hoping you don't move too fast or one of the dread Audio Amp overlords will find you.

Audio Amp and any other means of putting enemy soldiers on radar slows the pace of the game, and rewards motionlessness or very, very, very, very slow movement.

I would like to see the game reward those who were alert, looking and listening, and mobile. It would pick up the pace, the excitement level, and quit rewarding retarded game-breaking boring crap like sitting still camping a corner or a stairwell.

[Traak]

And the Bat Ears wouldn't augment radar, as I said, but just make the user able to hear very acutely. Of course, a counter-measure would be a nice loud noise, like a grenade, which would not only switch off the Bat Ears, but really change the volume and tone of what he was hearing for a while until the after-effects of hearing a grenade explosion massively amplified wore off.

[Ailos]

I'm more a fan of the idea of me being able to deploy one of those concrete blocks with my CE.

Strategically speaking, this would make more sense: when a platoon is guarding a base, you generally expect to set up a perimeter with a group of 2 or 3 guys at each corner of the base and maybe some in between, each carefully observing a small section of the horizon, looking for which direction enemies can come from. I would only hope that engineers will get the ability to deploy ammo and supply dispensers (not a med terminal though, but maybe medkits would be one of the consummables available at this mobile terminal). It would also make sense that we would have the ability to deploy these sound dishes to help those on point duty detect enemy intrusion faster.

This would of course all be done in tandem with a couple reaver patrols equipped with ground and air detection radar, and an array of motion sensors and detectors, to supplement detection of any intrusion, but the audio dish need to have a range much farther than any motion sensor, and it would be more sensitive. For instance, a motion detector would have to be calibrated to not be set off every time the wind causes bushes to move, or some other environmental noise, but the sound sensor can simply amplify all sounds at a distance and the human can easily tell the difference between a bird taking flight, and a guy putting a round inside his grenade launcher, or a cloaker slamming the trunk of his ATV/buggy or getting out of a mossy.

[FRIENDLYUNIT]

Ever play a game called Codename: Outbreak?
Very entertaining little game (and it had co-op!)

When you zoomed in with the rifle scope you also got pretty much what the OP is describing via some sort of lazer mic or something. Great feature.
(Side effect was that you could also get snuck up on while zoomed in and camping.)