14 replies to this topic

[Aylek]

How about a hotkey for setting a focus target for both lance and company commander?

Basically this would set a kind of mark on a mech currently targeted by the lance or company commander, ordering their lance or the whole team to focus their fire on this specific target.

Advantages
- changes would be in line with the improved importance recently given to the lance / company leadership
- another means for communicating more quickly
- fast and smart way of coordinating a unit
- improved teamplay without the need of voice communication

Disadvantages
- added complexity for both lance and company commanders
- possible confusion among team members

I could think of two different kind of markers, the main distinction being their relative source - lance commander or company commander. Attacking the company commander's target should always be of higher priority, of course.

As the company commander automatically receives lance commandership of his lance, the maximum number of targets called would be limited to three, so that there shouldn't be too much confusion. Bewilderment could be lowered by using different colors for the targets called, where the color depends on the rank of the target caller repectively (again, lance & company commanders).

This is an idea flowing in my mind for quite some time now. Additionally, as my unit received an application by a deaf-mute yesterday, this struck my mind as a reasonable tool even if voice communication would be implemented sometimes.

Edited by Aylek, 06 October 2013 - 10:45 PM.

[MightyK]

Quote

a hotkey for setting a focus target

Oh yes please!

This is very important because focus fire ist so important!
Right now there is no way to have focus fire in PUGs.
A focus feature would improve mixed 4-man/PUG games imensly and would add real teamplay possibility for PUGs.

[Goreka Salazar]

Would make the matches more tactical!

I like this idea!

[Infest696]

Great Idea! I know this behavior also from other games!

[Kahoumono]

Nice idea, although it could be chaotic if everyone can call out targets. Perhaps only lance and company commanders can issue a direct target to their respective charges with immediate effect. Otherwise, grunts can also call targets but the target will not be highlighted unless two or more other teammates call the same target.

[Squid von Torgar]

Good Idea, provided it is limited to Lance/Company Commanders. Players should receive an XP/CB bonus for shooting highlighted mechs as an incentive.

[Gaan Cathal]

Squid von Torgar, on 07 October 2013 - 04:03 AM, said:

Good Idea, provided it is limited to Lance/Company Commanders. Players should receive an XP/CB bonus for shooting highlighted mechs as an incentive.

This. More cooperation-incentive is good, as is limiting target-calling spam.

[stjobe]

We've been asking for hotkeys for any number of functions for over a year now; so far exactly zero have been implemented.

Some examples:
* Calling a target like the OP suggests
* "Help, I'm being attacked in grid Xn!"
* "Contact in grid Xn: <mech type>"
* "Enemy spotted in grid Xn"

And so on and so forth; each suggestion has been met by silence from PGI, even though implementing them would go such a long way to evening out a bit of the difference between those on voice comms and those not.

I'm not holding my breath that this is the thread that will finally make PGI see that these things are a must, not just Quality of Life improvements.

[MightyK]

Gaan Cathal, on 07 October 2013 - 04:12 AM, said:

This. More cooperation-incentive is good, as is limiting target-calling spam.

/sign

[Aylek]

Obviously this has to be a 'lance / company commander only' feature. I probably didn't make myself clear enough about this in the OP.

[PyckenZot]

Zot approves of this post

[Flitzomat]

Yes

[Koniving]

As a concept, of course this is not only awesome but the most basic item of team-oriented games that is MISSING.

As something put into MWO.... we're ******. If this goes into MWO time to kill will be less than several seconds and it'll become a match of who can 'mark' targets the fastest.... meaning that PGI will have to actually get its head out of the sand and actually address the time to kill issue and the growing problems of power creep.

Too much converged, pinpoint, front-loaded damage being delivered FAR too fast.

stjobe, on 07 October 2013 - 04:23 AM, said:

I'm not holding my breath that this is the thread that will finally make PGI see that these things are a must, not just Quality of Life improvements.

Agreed -- as even if PGI did see... they'd avoid it like the plague for reasons above.

[stjobe]

Koniving, on 20 August 2015 - 12:02 PM, said:

As a concept, of course this is not only awesome but the most basic item of team-oriented games that is MISSING.

As something put into MWO.... we're ******. If this goes into MWO time to kill will be less than several seconds and it'll become a match of who can 'mark' targets the fastest.... meaning that PGI will have to actually get its head out of the sand and actually address the time to kill issue and the growing problems of power creep.

Too much converged, pinpoint, front-loaded damage being delivered FAR too fast.

I don't know if communication shortcuts would necessarily decrease TTK - people still have to read the messages and act on them, after all - but I'm 100% in agreement that PGI absolutely needs to do something about the instantly converged pin-point accurate damage we're throwing around by the alpha.

Edit: Yeah, rereading this old thread, a "focus fire this one" key might well have the effect you describe.

Koniving, on 20 August 2015 - 12:02 PM, said:

Agreed -- as even if PGI did see... they'd avoid it like the plague for reasons above.

I also wrote that post almost two years ago, so I wasn't wrong...

Edited by stjobe, 20 August 2015 - 01:37 PM.

[Koniving]

stjobe, on 20 August 2015 - 01:36 PM, said:

I also wrote that post almost two years ago, so I wasn't wrong...

Damn -- didn't realize it was old (or I wouldn't have quoted ya there). It popped up as a new topic which is the only reason I'm here.