HUD Elements PS2 could borrow from BF

[IceyCold]

Before I get started let me point something out very quickly:

This is simply a thought, and I would love to hear some feedback on this but PLEASE DO NOT TURN THIS INTO A BF3 SUCKS / DON'T COPY / HATE THREAD. We have one of those already. Thanks.

With that out of the way let me start by saying there is one thing that the old Planetside was lacking that I have often found incredibly useful and intuitive about the battlefield games, HUD icons and the Radial Menu. Now of course to utilize this in Planetside 2 it would have to be modified, and it could be prettied up a bit for Planetside 2. Without any further bullshittery let me just post the images:


http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...w18/BF3Hud.png

This is the first image. I simply hopped into BF3 and snapped it really fast and labeled it for this presentation. I'll go over the elements I think PS2 could benefit from and how they could be improved for PS2.

Wounded Allies Icon:
As a medic player, this is quite possibly the best HUD icon ever. It isn't hard to get confused in a firefight as to what is going on or to lose headcount and not realize that a soldier is down somewhere. One thing I absolutely hate is the “click button to spam medic in chat” feature than the earlier BF games had, since all it did was clutter chat and not really help me do my job as a medic since I was being spammed by so many people. This feature is great as far as I am concerned, and could be extremely helpful for medic players.

How to make it better for PS2:
My biggest concern here (and for many of these icons) is clutter. Let's face it, with 500 allies on the field this could become a problem quickly. So for PS2 a good way to handle this is to make it so that only Medics see this icon, and only for soldiers within a certain distance from them. Say 250 meters.


Allied infantry and vehicle Icons:
Let's face it, sometimes it is good to know where your buddies are; but it is even better to know where they are in relation to your current location. This one needs little explanation.

How to make it better for PS2:
This one is simple, make it so you only see these icons for your Squad/Platoon-mates. This would help immensely for coordination and for operating as a team.


Objective Icons:
Simple, it is an icon that shows the objectives in your area.

How to make it better for PS2:
Either have it only show the objectives near you (within say 2000 meters) or only display objectives set by your Squad/Platoon leader and the mission you are on.


Squad Leader Icons:
Allows you to see the leaders of yours and other squads.

How to make it better for PS2:
I actually like the idea of being able to see allied squad leaders, so you can get a general idea of where allied soldiers are. For a squad leader scanning the horizon to find allied troops in his AO this is a great tool since it gives a general concept of where your army is without cluttering their screen with icons. Having maybe another icon for Platoon Leaders would be great as well.


Spotted enemies Icons:
The second most useful Icon for the HUD. Allows you to spot and light up enemy soldiers / vehicles / and utilities.

How to make it better for PS2:
This one I considered for a while, because it can make life a bit difficult for infantry. So I came up with the solution I think works best.

When spotting INFANTRY: Infantry when spotted simply lights up the position they were in when spotted. Thus you don't get the big icon over your head making you an easy target. If you are spotted you can move from your current position and get to cover and try a new approach which gives you a fighting chance.

When spotting VEHICLES: Because vehicles are larger they are constantly tracked when they are spotted. This makes being in a vehicle a bit more challenging as anytime someone spots you they can see your movements until the spot wears off.

Finally, you would only receive Spotted Icons from allied infantry within 250 meters of you or your Squad/Platoon at any distance. The Spotted Icon should only last for 5 – 10 seconds for both infantry and vehicles.


The Radial Menu:



I wont dissect this because it is fairly self explanatory and it would not need much change for PS2. It simply works by holding 'Q' and moving your mouse to highlight the option you want. If you simply tap 'Q' quickly it will call out whatever you spotted.

One thing that would be nice is when you call for help (be it medic, ammo, backup, or pickup) an icon appears over your head, indicating which one you requested as well as the standard emote sound.

The “Need Medic” option changes to “Need Repairs” when in a vehicle. And the “Need Pickup” could change to “Need Passengers” for PS2.

Just some thoughts, would love to hear your opinions.