Electronic warfare

[Doug97]

One aspect of real war that's completely missing from BF2 is electronic warfare. Possessing the technology and techniques for eavesdropping on and interfering with enemy communications is incredibly valuable in real life. I know it's not going to be possible to accurately model real-world ECM etc., but in my opinion the game should at least pay lip service to it.

Some quick ideas that might not be too difficult to implement:

Commander has a rechargeable button (like for UAV, arty, etc) allowing him to eavesdrop on all enemy comms for, say, 30 secs.

Another button could activate 'AWACS', making all enemy aircraft visible to either the commander or the commander plus all friendly flyers.

Another button could jam the enemy comms, making the enemy unable to communicate for say 30 secs.

Soldiers could plant autonomous air alerting devices as far forward as possible, which will alert the commander if an enemy aircraft comes close.

Observation equipment would allow soldiers to see right across the map, help him pick out enemy soldiers, vehicles etc. for spotting.

I think it should be possible (but not easy) to shoot down the UAV. To prevent it becoming useless its duration could be dramatically increased so that the onus is on the enemy to put it out of action, rather than it running out of 'fuel' and having to leave after a few seconds. Also, can anyone tell me if there is a functioning example of a Combat UAV?

I'd also like to see artillery locating radar, but I guess that's only going to be useful if the arty can move around. Like it can in real life.

How about a localised EMP burst that the commander can activate? Are there any EMP weapons (apart from nuclear ones) around or in testing at the moment? I remember them dropping chaff on power lines in the last Gulf war, I guess that's not quite the same though. Anyway, EMP would inactivate all enemy electronics in the area for a short time - useful if your team is ready at the jumping off point for an assault on their position!

Most of these would make the role of the commander more fun, and also more important, which I think is a good idea as at the moment I think his role is undervalued by many people.

[Super6]

Operation Anaconda: The battle of robert's ridge (actual battle) a CIA UAV with one Hellfire shot the missle to hit a machine gun position that was pinning a crew down. BTW, this was unique because never before (i think) had the CIA ingaged in combat with the military

[Beckwith]

you sure the UAV was CIA, lest i knew UAV's of that size were all USAF and besides a hellfire is a pretty big weapon by CIA's standards not something that one would expect to be in there budget

[Eddie Baker]

you sure the UAV was CIA, lest i knew UAV's of that size were all USAF and besides a hellfire is a pretty big weapon by CIA's standards not something that one would expect to be in there budget

Armed Predator UAVs are also used by, ahem, agencies other than the Department of Defense. One was used to destroy an AQ lieutenant in Yemen in 2002, along with his buddies, while he was riding in his car.

[Beckwith]

Eddie Baker]

you sure the UAV was CIA, lest i knew UAV's of that size were all USAF and besides a hellfire is a pretty big weapon by CIA's standards not something that one would expect to be in there budget

Armed Predator UAVs are also used by, ahem, agencies other than the Department of Defense. One was used to destroy an AQ lieutenant in Yemen in 2002, along with his buddies, while he was riding in his car.

i a feeling youd show up in this thread at some point

[TerribleOne]

What would be really cool is if you could add in manned reconissance aircraft that can be flown like the awax or nimrod to give additional support that pilots and the commander can be in, if the commander can take a seat infront of a screen that has an extra optioned menu on it. he gets addittional support (unrealistic yes but its a game- and a very cool plane ) but then this takes the commanders out of the battle probably allot more and they have somwhere to go.
Since guys with radar and guns in one map isent allways a good idea..
Even if there is a ship on the map the commander could be the only one allowed in to a specific room with the same ideas. Or in barracks, either way.
this then could allow the commander to roam the map as a soldier and leader but not use the special radar functions unbtil he gets in a specified room or craft.

[Wolfmaster]

the commander should definetely not be a 'supersoldier' meaning he can do the normal soldier jobs AND the commander things. at least not at the same time. terribleone, ur idea's good but i'd prefer if the commander couldn't be a normal soldier at all.

[TerribleOne]

I think the commander should be mobile in the battlefield but unable to use radar etc when hes there. I also believe the commander should not be using the kit other soldiers have for example a commander ONLY kit. Which could include a radio capable of communicating with all of his soldiers and extra strong binos etc etc.
Before the smart arse pops out again **** NO NOT IN A SUIT****

[Doug97]

I suppose nerfing the commander's abilities to run around wouldn't be a problem, as long as he gets all the new toys I suggested. But then, if he did get all those toys, he'd be so busy having fun with them he won't have time to run around!