I was playing a game where the aliens took over and OC'd the crap out of cargo room in tanith, yet for some reason all of my marines kept walkingin and dying, instead of ignoring it and getting on with the game.

So i was thinking, what if the comm could but ticks , arrows , and crosses onto the minimap, so when marines bring up there own minimaps it has the ticks, crosses and arrows that the comm put on his.

So in the above situation I could of put like 3 crosses and when marines check the minimap they can see not to go there. instead being lemmings

Great idea!

I hate it when my marines run into areas of the map and I'm too slow to warn them, also great for people who don't have voice comms

Great idea

Have a limit, though, so we don't have a whole map riddled with useless signs!
Also, maybe attach small text messages (5 words)?

mh, the minimap is kinda small. i think its not good for text. there shuold just b symboles, like skorpion already said. this would save space, and make it more clear.

+an idea frm me: how about a comm-msg ? this msg never disappeares. it should have its own place, and only 1 comm-msg is available at one time. so when u write up a new one, the old one automatically disappeares and the new one takes it space. on this way the comm could say "all X go to Y". cuz it often is to hard to find a specific group of ppl on ur team, mark em and give em a waypoint. this often is impossible also.

Brilliant!!!
I would love for visuals on the mini map. and i dont think it would be hard to code, just use the same code as WP but remove the rine wier sprite. Mabye a limit of 5 or so.

awesome idea. make the symbols removable with a simple right-click of the mouse.

Totally agree with that suggestion

thumbs up

bump

omg This is EXCELLENT !

This _MUST_ be added. Comm could mark Alien RT:s on minimap and all the OC:s and hive... this is really good.

From the darkness of the I&S forum, a light springs forth

This is quite a remarkable idea; it would surely help newbies, as well as give idiots less reasons to rambo off.

Excellent idea. Thumbs way up. Makes controlling one's team so much easier.

but if the marines have something like that.

What about the aliens??
there must something like that for them.

I want this idea. Now.

Almightnu : About the spray idea... Just make every alien use a spray of some sort ... I am using one that says "Danger Ahead"...

They have this in DOD so it shouldnt be hard to code, and its a brillient idea the marks on the minimap and the Comm msgs. plz devs add both of these.

the dod antisniper mark on the map would fit for aliens... pointing into the direction where danger is ahead, pressing the button and marking it for your alienteam (vanishes after 1 to 2 minutes)

*imagines a marine map full of skulls, arrows and crosses*roflmao*

would be nice under skilled comms... but what if a noob just spams the map and you can't notice anything, even on the +showmap?

Limit

Yeah good idee, but that might take time for the com, and lose vital speed.
A com with a mic is still better...with a team that actualy listens

Only implement if there is a "Gorge Here Icon" I would use that to make the marines go places lol. Works better then "SG Here Icon".

awsome idea

you can place , and maybe on the minimap
also oc's
instead of a limit on each icon or on all icons, make a limit on each icon in an special area of the map.

Been suggested before. I have no idea why it never got implemented. Oh wait. Everyone wanted us to release the game.

It's great that someone has brought this up again though. It would be even better to have it implemented.

Here's hoping.

If you wanted words you would have to put them on the "C" map


Do marine even have a "C" map? dunno, but if they do...

Sounds like a good idea.

Hopefully they will add this in beta 5

I love this idea, A - it makes the comander need even more leadership B- with better communcations the marines can act more like a team , and C- it'd help out a lot with not having everything fall into choas

Threadomancy!!

Still, I don't have anything against this idea being bumped. I'm personally for it, and if this helps Zunni to be able to see it, then it couldn't have hurt.

Great idea.

Hmm. No text message on the map itself. Too busy.

A text message in a commander specific place? Maybe, though theres already a lot of stuff on the hud. So basically what needs to happen instead is to make the commanders' text more visiable.

I like the Xs. However I think the limit should be 6-10, and definately no more. The Xs dont show up on screen like waypoints, and only appear on the map at most. The Xs dont mean anything except what the commander wants them to mean, in otherwords, they are markers. They dont signify anything except something is there, and the commander himself can clerify if he wants.

Again, there is only so much a commander can do. THe commander IS NOT THE TEAM. Therefore you cannot expect this to make any teams better in any way. if they want to walk through Oc's they'll do it.

Hmm interesting, but I use my minimap to see where enemies are. So does every clanner I know. How would we avoid the aliens disappearing behind text?

And what's wrong with Voice comm for telling marines where to go, if they don't know, assign them to go with someone who does OR give a way point..

As well, I know when I comm I don't have time to type details out to my marines (hence why having a mic is almost a pre-requisite for comming imo), too many med packs, oh marine in hive slip him a phase, and upgrade the armoury.. and start the next round of upgrades.. I can't type (Many OC's here) But I can say STAY OUTTA Gen, they have it locked down and repeat that every so often..

Just don't think this adds a lot to the game imo..
Help me understand..

It doesnt really, except puts a X on the map, in which a marine will be like, "ooh X means that either a enemy is over there, or something is up in that room."

This is pretty damn hot B>

Aliens being hidden behind the marks shouldn't be a problem, if the marks simply are rendered at the back.
I know I'd really like it as comm if I could open up my minimap and use my left button to place "go here" and right button to place "don't go here" marks that will appear on everyone's minimap. Clicking on an already existing mark would remove it. Additional information on why a rine should go to spot A and avoid spot B can be given by chat or voicecomm.
That would certainly reduce the amount of times I have to retype "AVOID DOUBLE!!!" or "get free rt's".

Perhaps for clanners voicecomm and smart players make this function redundant, but for pubs it would be a godsend.

Firstly I really like this idea, although it may need some kind of fine tuning...
What about making clanners in the pre-"ready"-phase able to draw a strategical plan on the map that would show up after starting the game?
For the problem with the overloaded map, it would be good to
a) Just let it show up on a special binding (afaik now we have "c" and "m" as standard map binds, what about making "c" tactical map and "m" normal map or vice versa?)
b) Don't let it show up on the small map in the upper right
I would really like to see some kind of this idea ingame

I have thought greatly about this idea and it is easily do-able...

) Have one for....
) ) "Danger do not go here"
) ) "Equipment here"
) ) "Gorge Building here"
) ) "Enemy Hive"
) Then you also have the standard arrows "Left, Right, Forward and Back"
) Have a max of 4 "Text Labels" limited to say 40 chars each..

the text lables could be placed near the beginning of the game, just outside marine spawn (visable to marines only) so a commander could do things like...
"Squad X go Horseshoe then South loop"(36 chars) -- this would be useful instead of the comm shouting things down the mic, others not hearing him cause some other noob marine is nattering away.... and so they dont forget, everytime they leave the base..

Alternativly, this could also be sent as a HUD message and be shown in the top right of thier HUD at all times, sorta like a "Send message to X Squad" -- this could be done on a right click of the Icon at the top...

Way points do only so much, like pinpoint the destination for X marine(s) and only if theyer selected when a waypoint is initiated... These could be permanant "signs" that appear either on the floor to a marine or floating in mid air like a waypoint or weld target, or only on the minimap...

You would not need "attack target" or "Gorge here" as you can waypoint thoes (once the wapoint thing is fixed (without a mod) ) -- although they dissapear when Xalien goes out of sight... but yeah..

any ways... i like this idea and i'd love to see some form of this implimented...

Are we talking about the minimap or the +showmap?
Either way, IF it was to be implemented, please make it into a +command that would allow players to have it on or off if they choose to. For permanent icons, type the +command in the console, and ignore typing the -command.

I would love to see a short line for comm messages:
Present main objective: <insert free text here> (e.g Get double.. or Clear Cargo etc)
If comm doesn't want to use it he doesn't have to. And when there is no message, also remove the words Present main objective... or whatever it would say.

Hah, if you make it a toggleable command for players. Comms wont use it. Why? Because if some players refuse to pay attention to it, its pointless for the comm to take the time to use it, when some of the players wont have a clue that its being used.

Now unless you can get a large amount of the commanders out there to back this idea, then you'll be able to guarentee its use in commanders of the future.

X = waypoint
R = resource tpwer
D = defend target
W = weapon

Waypoints already exist. Resource tower sprites already exists. Defend target is a way point variable. Weapon is the same as pickup item variable. You can alternate with a Move to Waypoint variable. Go to (this waypoint) to get the shotgun your buddy dropped.

The text labels however are more useful. But again, typing those out take time. Not to mention in 2 seconds you might need to update those messages. Such as, gorge building here. My other gruge is against the newbie factor. Newbies will be as unwilling (or willing depending on how you look at it) to use this system. They wont understand what it means when a "gorge is building there". What is there? Does there mean in that room? What is a gorge? It really all depends on how much experience that newbie has. Yes its easier to understand than "Gorge is building in Chem[ical transport])". But if you really want to type out stuff, Id rather tell the marines to watch for ambushes where the gorge is building, and that takes too long to type out vs saying, even if it means some newbs wont know what Im talking about. Chances are that they will die anyways if that occurs.

If a newb is chattering away, obviously as mic spam, then its everyone's responsiblity to mute him. If not they arent doing their job to helping the commander out. Using voice comm in conjunction with waypoints helps people greatly. Mix in squads and use the format "Squad 1: blah blah" is even more effective (except for the swing strat).

I think we should take a more simple look at this idea. Rather than have a complicated list of symbols meaning certain things (which is completely anti-noobie), have something simple, like a slightly opaque (so as not to block red dots on the map with MT) red or green X. Different commanders could use them for different things as needed.

Zunni, this is for pubs. Clans probably wouldn't touch this, because you're right, they have to be excellent communicaters with their voice. In a pub, a little while into the game, you can use it to mark "friendly" paths leading out of marine start, and "enemy" paths. The map I think of most here is Eclipse, with 2 paths that immediately branch into 4 paths. A red X would indicate that area has been lamed, or that aliens are constantly coming from there. A green X would mean that the marines have the nodes in that direction capped for the most part, and that the aliens won't be coming away from there to much. It would really help games where a lot of people are coming and going, so somebody doesn't accidentally walk into a WoL.

Well, that's how I would use it. You could use it differently, or not at all. This is really just another way for the commander to communicate to his team, which is one of the most important things a commander has to do.

I'll explain my story better so the gods may understand

(24 player server)
In a game on tanith we relocated near the crate at the top of double res, so naturally the aliens took over and OC'd the crap out of cargo room.

1/2 of my marines decided to see if they could break through, which was fair enough, but after severl failed attmpets with more oc's and dc's being built they would not get through, yet for some reason all of my marines kept walking in and dying, it was as if the gorges were handing out porn magsing,

NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TYPED OR YELLED OR WAY POINTED!, they would walk in and die, they would request sieges GL's, you name it, but each attempt failed, as it was now not only gorges and chambers it was skulks and fades, there was no getting into cargo, the aliens were too well defended.
- "welcome to pubs" i hear someone say..... even skilled clan players, went in there thinking they could take on whatever it might be(as some of them do), only to get killed over and over while the rest of the map was being chewed to all crap !

There was 1 or 2 marines running around the rest of the map trying to reclaim all that was lost, but 2 marines against 8 or so other aliens? not a chance. Ofcourse by that time our tech was no match for 2 hives, and eventually we lost waste hive and shortly after it was game over.

now really if could of gotten the minimap and biggymap and plonked a big ugly red X sybmol, the lemmings might have have decied to avoid that area and walk around the backway to where i placed the green crosshair or tick symbol. cause really all they had to do was go around the backway.... but when i yelled , typed, only a handful did and failed as there wasnt enough fire power.

wait i just had another brain storm lol, how about a RED DONT GO HERE X WAYPOINT - the opposite of the the blue one

Now i personally would only see use for the green tick/crosshair or a red X symbol (on both mini and biggy maps), you know to walk and shoot at the green one, and you know to avoid the red one, nice and simple , everyone can understand

but if people can make use of (and are fast enough) to type small text labels etc then i dont see why not include them as well. Let the commanders decide whether they would like to use all of the features.

I'm not sure a toggle would be needed, aslong as the text and symbols would be clear and not really block the map, the main problem ofcourse that if it is a toggle people might switch it off and then it would all be useless.....



and i would ike take this opportunity to plug my rolling egg idea , which has now been locked lol
http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/in...last_post&st=20

Hmm I dont know if its justifiable to implement it if its only going to be mostly used for wols. Obviously Xs can mean much more than that, but since its only used in pubs, I dont like seperating pubs and clanners even more.

And as for that game on tanith. If you cant take cargo then your in trouble anyways. Its with good reason that they tried to take that important room so many times. Since they couldnt, the aliens are free to push elsewhere and take 5 resource towers and an additional hive. Whats worse is that they are still able to get around on the map via vents vs your marines who have to walk back to MS, then around to sat comm to bypass the defended room. Even with a team of pro players they would have a difficult time breaking cargo without sieges and shotguns if they had gorges and fades and skulks defending that important room.

I dont think it was a problem of them not knowing there was a wall of lame. I think it was more of a problem of not having an alternative job for the marines besides push for the 2nd hive.

Nothing says clans couldn't use it. They could, but probably wouldn't need it. I mean, it's a little hard to remember everything your commander says to you, so the comm could quickly place an X in a room that's lamed.