Skill Discussion: Reading the Battlefield.

[NKato]

So, I just had a string of atrociously bad matches where my team just sat with their thumbs up their asses while I took the initiative.

I'm in a T-34, moving through the south flank of Ash River where it's lightly defended and start coming around the bend towards their spawn, intending to go uphill to take out their tank destroyer camper when said tank destroyer camper comes barreling around the corner and rams into me.

I look around as I try to survive that encounter. None of my allies are nearby. They're all still halfway across the map on the south flank, staring at phantom tanks (their imagination) when there's already an ally ahead of them (this should have told them that the route was clear, since I *did* kill a couple of tanks along the way).

So yeah. This just fucking pisses me off. People who can't read the battlefield in a matter of seconds, and take action to support their teammates who had just taken the initiative. Only for that player to get promptly shat on because they did not have any fire support.

I do not want a repeat of this shit in Star Citizen. I want people to be able to glance at the radar overlay, and see where everyone is, and be able to make sound decisions based on that.

I do not want to hear stories of people in TEST getting screwed out of gaining a foothold because their buddies developed tunnel vision at the worst possible time.

So, I ask you this: How do we emphasize the skill of "Battlefield Awareness" and how do we instill it into TEST Squadron so that it becomes standard-issue?

And forgive me, but I am not in the mood for snarky/trollish responses. If you can't answer this thread honestly, don't answer at all.

P.S. Don't use the "Star Citizen is not Free-to-Play" argument. Idiots will always exist in all games, and I do not want this particular brand of idiocy in TEST.

 

[GrammarGestapo]

battlefield awareness is so important, I think the only way we can really instill it in people is if we talk to them one-on-one. For the drunken friday night flights, that shouldn't be an issue. Most members probably will not participate beyond that and their own little groups they form. But for those of us that will be fighting in an organized, dedicated fashion: there should be group ups in various games where we get to together and go through the concepts of what makes a good teammate. The only real way to show it is by example, and star citizen right now isn't the game to do that. However, it will be eminently important in the FPS module. If we get people running around in circles dashing, reloading, and spamming bullets until they die (which will happen quite quickly) we're gonna have a real problem.

 

[Chairman Meow]

And forgive me, but I am not in the mood for snarky/trollish responses. If you can't answer this thread honestly, don't answer at all.

 

[Gearen]

Nkato, we are 5698 members in TEST, at least a 10% of that is going to be that particular brand of idiocy. Take that in mind.

 

[NKato]

Nkato, we are 5698 members in TEST, at least a 10% of that is going to be that particular brand of idiocy. Take that in mind.

Duly noted. I'm pretty aware of that, actually. The thing is, when I'm running an op for TEST, I expect there to be a very low incidence of such stupidity.

 

[Jhonon1]

I can understand the pain, but the PU will have constantly changing maps/conditions and not as prominent a map.
In spite of limited screen real estate I always up the mini-map as large as I can because knowing where things are is important. On a map you've played a dozen times you already know where to look (far left housing corridor, central gardens, etc) and maintaining awareness like that almost becomes easy. More regimented maps (as for Star Marine) will hopefully allow similar acclimation, but out in the PU we are going to have to rely very heavily on communication and interpreting our limited maps.
Hopefully people can keep up, but constant practice is what makes perfect.
I look forward to operating with you NKato, and maybe we can whip this herd of drunkards into shape.

What games do TESTies currently group up in?

 

[maynard]

...The thing is, when I'm running an op for TEST, I expect there to be a very low incidence of such stupidity.

just be aware, anger originates in unmet expectations

 

[NKato]

just be aware, anger originates in unmet expectations

Yeah. I know that all to well...all too recently.

 

[WarrenPeace]

An important part of battlefield awareness is simply knowing the battlefield. I can attest to this simply by the fact of having started playing WoT with absolutely 0 clues about what was going on. A few weeks later, I now know the basics of where I can expect enemies to scout, where they like sit back and snipe, and the best areas to go to in order to not get wasted 30 seconds into the match.

To apply this to Star Citizen, I think a big part will simply be getting good intel on where we'd like to fight before we start throwing down. On defense, this is less an issue, since we will know our own backyard pretty well. On offense, this purpose will be fulfilled by using Heralds, Ghosts, and other ships modified for scouting to get a read on the area before we commit to an operation. Is there a nova nearby throwing off shit-tons of heat? Take advantage of that, use the high ambient IR to hide our own ships. Quasar in the system fluxing up the EM spectrum? Dump all your smart-missiles, load up on simple heatseekers.

These sorts of things, just knowing what will be most effective and what to watch out for, will probably cover 80% of problems that might come up. Even a slow player can be quick on the draw if they know what to be on the lookout for. For the inevitable times when careful planning fails, however, my best suggestion is to make sure that we have good communications. Good comms, whether it's helping people take advantage of opportunities that get created or supporting each other when shit hits the fan, are massively important.

 

[Czechmate]

Weren't you being unaware yourself? Why didn't you fall back when you realized you didn't have back up?

 

[Halvix]

So, I ask you this: How do we emphasize the skill of "Battlefield Awareness" and how do we instill it into TEST Squadron so that it becomes standard-issue?

Communication. The only way to succeed and excel on the battlefield is to communicate well with your teammates. Get your squad in a mumble channel while playing games together. Get used to calling targets, calling out your position, telling your teammates what you are doing. You can't coordinate without some kind of communication, and without coordination you only have chaos and division.

 

[Feral Oxide]

Communication. The only way to succeed and excel on the battlefield is to communicate well with your teammates. Get your squad in a mumble channel while playing games together. Get used to calling targets, calling out your position, telling your teammates what you are doing. You can't coordinate without some kind of communication, and without coordination you only have chaos and division.

What Halvix sed.
Breaking out of single player mode and working as a team can be difficult. And usually (always?) needs a leader, with top down and lateral communication. I see that as a problem with the whole battle royale focus of many. It's me against everyone in there, rather than us against them. Right now I prefer to play public VS and don't worry I'm not top dog, the point is to battle and stay alive, not worry that "he took my kill"... we took it down together, and the REC is just play money anyway.

 

[NKato]

Okay, so that's one thing. What else is needed?

We've got Communication. Then there's the ability to recognize opportunities in the battlefield. To quote Gram from RSI Chat:

(9:55:06 AM) TheGrammarpolice: in world of tanks, I've noticed there are two types of people. Overly aggressive ones, that get themselves killed, and overly cautious ones that don't know when to take advantage of an opening.
(9:55:11 AM) TheGrammarpolice: both are equally terrible
(9:56:03 AM) TheGrammarpolice: the best can MAKE and take advantage of those openings, but only a few people ever get that good
(9:56:11 AM) NKato: Right.
(9:56:19 AM) NKato: So the ones who CAN (make those openings), will be the biggest game-makers for TEST
(9:56:26 AM) TheGrammarpolice: the thing we should focus on is making sure they can 1, recognize an opening. and 2, take advantage of it.
(9:56:29 AM) NKato: The challenge is in the timing to get the rest of the unit to follow suit

 

[Halvix]

(9:56:29 AM) NKato: The challenge is in the timing to get the rest of the unit to follow suit

This is where communication counts.

Recon spots an opening and reports it to the team leader. The team leader then communicates the information to the team. The team continues to call out enemy locations as they advance on the opening together. Enemies are always moving so knowing their locations at all times is a must, if nobody calls out the enemy locations then it can be a disaster. Continued communication helps the team adjust on the fly to the enemies continued maneuvering. This is why during most wars communications are a key targets. An enemy that can't communicate is blind to what is on the battlefield.

Your other points come down to experience and practice, both come with time and are worked on individually or as a team. Teamwork and communication require practice as well to be effective. Veteran teams always do better than rookie teams.

 

[NKato]

This is where communication counts.

Recon spots an opening and reports it to the team leader. The team leader then communicates the information to the team. The team continues to call out enemy locations as they advance on the opening together. Enemies are always moving so knowing their locations at all times is a must, if nobody calls out the enemy locations then it can be a disaster. Continued communication helps the team adjust on the fly to the enemies continued maneuvering. This is why during most wars communications are a key targets. An enemy that can't communicate is blind to what is on the battlefield.

Your other points come down to experience and practice, both come with time and are worked on individually or as a team. Teamwork and communication require practice as well to be effective. Veteran teams always do better than rookie teams.

There are other kinds of openings too, like weak spots in the enemy's defense, and holes in their defensive screen, for example.

 

[Sol Invictus]

I will admit, i am crap at fps, like really crap and dont enjoy the fighting. What i am good at is tactical planning and tactical logistics.

 

[Halvix]

There are other kinds of openings too, like weak spots in the enemy's defense, and holes in their defensive screen, for example.

Good situational awareness is helpful for identifying enemy weakness. Once you see the holes in a defense then you can exploit them. Being able to read a battlefield takes experience, which is why leaders are usually long time veterans.

 

[NKato]

Good situational awareness is helpful for identifying enemy weakness. Once you see the holes in a defense then you can exploit them. Being able to read a battlefield takes experience, which is why leaders are usually long time veterans.

The first time I entered a "battlefield" ( I use quote marks because I don't have actual battle experience in the field, the Marines or the Navy wouldn't take a deaf guy), was when I purchased SWAT 3 back in 1999 and played the everliving crap out of it. That game defined who I am now when it comes to battlefield success.

 

[Willem Default]

Communication is key over everything else, and everything is linked to it. I play Red Orchestra 2 a shit ton, and the teams that has no one on the mic always loses. I don't usually use my mic, but I type a lot in-game. Obviously in FPS in SC I'd use mic, but RO2 is a lot less fast-paced like CoD or Battlefield. Sort of in between Battlefield and ArmA. Anyway, the way RO2 works is that there is a Commander slot (calls in artillery, recon, etc.) and a Squad Leader slot (spots arty, throws smoke, commands small groups, and acts as mobile spawn), all other slots are infantry (MG, Rifleman, Elite Rifleman, Anti-Tank, etc.).

Although I imagine SC FPS as more action oriented like CoD or Battlefield, the threat of the definitive death system may add a sense of caution (I hope), and thus the RO2 command structure would work well. In an op have one man leading all squads over mic, then each squad has a leader also on mic, then other infantry stay off mic unless urgent to avoid traffic.

 

[K1NG]

The first time I entered a "battlefield" ( I use quote marks because I don't have actual battle experience in the field, the Marines or the Navy wouldn't take a deaf guy), was when I purchased SWAT 3 back in 1999 and played the everliving crap out of it. That game defined who I am now when it comes to battlefield success.

That's not how things work. Maybe in a video game sure, but let's call it what it is.