3 replies to this topic

[StaIker]

tl;dr - Commanding a large force as one unit is a complex task, this instrument takes some of the "housekeeping" tasks off the commanders mind and helps hold the company together.

This concept was born out of experience in the MW4 leagues. The workload of commanding was immense and required extensive experience to be comfortable with, something that can only be gained with months and months of practice. One of the most basic tasks of command was simply moving the force around the map without the group scattering all over the place and becoming ineffective as a combat unit. While it sounds easy, it turned out not to be as everyone tended to make their own path with terrain and obstacles working to break up group cohesion as well. Once combat was joined the difficulties increased exponentially as each player tried to maneuver for shots or protection from fire. It was not uncommon to see an organized force completely fall apart within seconds of joining battle due to the commander losing the ability to both fight and hold his force together.

This instrument indicates the direction of movement for each Mech in the company. It keeps the commander aware of how his force is maneuvering, if they are all holding steady with the group or whether they are disintegrating. This is extremely important to know, new orders can only be issued if the force is capable of following them. If that force has lost cohesion, additional orders will only further weaken the company as some Mechs try to respond while others get further and further out of position. Thus it is vital that the commander can see the state of his company before he issues each new order in combat.

This shows a company in chaos. The Mechs have scattered off the commanders heading (blue line) and are now effectively fighting as individuals.



This is what it should look like when everything is going right. The company is moving together on the correct heading except for one Mech which has broken loose and needs to be called back. Such deviations are immediately obvious to the commander.



Here it is in place on the HUD. With just a glance the commander can determine the state of his company without having to take his eyes off the enemy.

[00dlez]

In theory, maybe, but such a simplistic design might not paint a clear enough picture to make decisions off of.

I feel like mechs as they torso twist and turn their legs to maneuver around rocks, buildings, hills, etc face a swath of directions over just a few seconds. With 12 mechs moving at once, those lines will whip around and move quite a bit, even if the company is all moving towards a given point.

Once battle hits, that will be useless. Directing fire to "the north" could have the group moving in 180 degrees of direction, more when they attempt turning maneuvers.

There is no relevant distance gauge, A mech could be 750m ahead of where he should be and the Commander just knows that his facing is correct.
(That's what radar is for! Great, use radar and eliminate the additional HUD object.)
^ And along those lines, a simple purple/green (or two other colors not being used for other radar indicators, could be added as small lines extending from radar contacts, giving the torso facing and direction of travel (legs). I think that would be a far more useful inclusion.

[Siilk]

I remember devs talking about full-fledged RTS-like command interface somewhere in the role warfare post. Can someone look it up?

[StaIker]

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In theory, maybe, but such a simplistic design might not paint a clear enough picture to make decisions off of.

I feel like mechs as they torso twist and turn their legs to maneuver around rocks, buildings, hills, etc face a swath of directions over just a few seconds. With 12 mechs moving at once, those lines will whip around and move quite a bit, even if the company is all moving towards a given point.

During any movement through obstacles that's true to a degree but that's fine, that's what the instrument is for. If the company should suddenly come under fire the commander can instantly see the state of his force. He can estimate the time it will take for the company to reform based on their current headings and issue orders accordingly. I don't know if you have played in NR leagues before, but simply moving around the map in a coherant formation is a lot harder than it sounds and that's with people in your own unit. Try directing strangers and the exercise becomes much more intensive.

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Once battle hits, that will be useless. Directing fire to "the north" could have the group moving in 180 degrees of direction, more when they attempt turning maneuvers.

It is not intended to be used at close quarters, as the company will inevitably break up onto many different headings to engage the enemy at point blank. This instrument serves only as an aid to movement and to combat at long/medium ranges, activites which are traditionally quite difficult to control.

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There is no relevant distance gauge, A mech could be 750m ahead of where he should be and the Commander just knows that his facing is correct.
(That's what radar is for! Great, use radar and eliminate the additional HUD object.)
^ And along those lines, a simple purple/green (or two other colors not being used for other radar indicators, could be added as small lines extending from radar contacts, giving the torso facing and direction of travel (legs). I think that would be a far more useful inclusion.

Radar provides information on spacing but not on movement. Both are important to know. I would hope that the commander has noticed a Mech that is 750m out of formation even if it is on the correct heading. Adding direction indicators to the radar as you suggest would be an ideal first choice for this sort of information and if it could be done without cluttering the radar to the point of being hard to read I'd be all for it.

My little drawing has been reduced to the core function without worrying about what it looks like or where it should be displayed. I'd be very happy to have this information in any form that could be read at a glance. I think of it like having a radar for Air Traffic Control. To be expected to land the planes without crashing them into each other the operator has to know not only where they are but where they are going. Positional information alone is not enough. The commander has a similar job, he has to simultaniously control the movement of 11 other Mechs while he is also fighting the enemy and yet he's expected to do it without the information he needs to make good decisions. A heading indicator of some sort is one of the critical information gaps that needs to be filled to make this task managable.

The simple fact is that if maneuvering a force is too difficult in practice, people won't bother to try. The game will settle into a fixed position fight on contact with the enemy with any movement being done at the individual level rather than as a lance or company. To have any chance of creating a game where movement really is an integral part of battle it has to be possible for a company of average players do to under the direction of an average commander.