Project Reality Forums

smee wrote:Just seems that there no longer commanders on maps. Is this happening generally or just a .8 trend.

0.8 trend

It was not very popular before but 0.8 made it much better to not have commander actually... :/

The only problem is that SL must coordinate with other squad by typing in squad chat instead of using commander.

I do see commanders sometimes in-game but its quite rare and they do not do the job very long.

Still love PR though. Don't get me wrong R-Dev, its my favorite game, even tho its so buggy.

Hmm Im not sure a command vehicle would be what we need. That way the Co's are more busy driving there toy instead of using the CO screen.

And no satisfaction in seeing the dots execute your plan? I find thats the satisfaction of the CO position. You got yourself a plan. ( 2 squads trough the middle one on the flank waiting for your go) You lay it out, you hope the sl's listen, get excited when they do and start ordering them around. There is nothing cooler than seeing those dots manouvre to the positions you picked and flanking around the enemy and stuff like that.

But it still gets kinda boring because in pub games theres usually a few squad leaders that dont listen and when your on the losing side it gets boring very easily.

just give him the 15K nuke

I command occasionally, all I ask is that my squads talk to me.

If they want orders I shall give them,

If they want guidance or for me to facilitate their goals, I shall also oblige.

Ask and ye shall receive from commander, all he wants is for people to talk to him.

(he's a very lonely person)

p.s. I did not vote in the poll for the options are limited

I posted a real idea to help the commander role in the suggestion forum called Commander Mobile Head Quarters.

There should really be more area attacks more frequently, IRL these kind of fire missions would be going on almost non stop in the battlefields represented in PR, and it would give a worthwhile incentive to be commander.

Jedimushroom wrote:There should really be more area attacks more frequently, IRL these kind of fire missions would be going on almost non stop in the battlefields represented in PR, and it would give a worthwhile incentive to be commander.

that's just not true all the time if there are civis around they will not use them unless they do not care for them the USA as of now will not drop mortars knowing civis will die you know with all the world leaders disliking civi being killed besides the Terrorist.

The Commander is vital to any win through coordination and foresight.
1 - Squad leaders must be receptive to being led.
2 - Commanders must be given more things to do. Such as: more different types of area attacks, bring back the UAV (in some form).
3 - Commanders must be given the ability to look around while in the box (security reasons)

The real reason many don't play commander is because they don't want to be stuck in that box.

Gaven wrote:The real reason many don't play commander is because they don't want to be stuck in that box.

Those of you who don't go commander should be advised, there are nakid ladies in the box

Dr2B Rudd wrote:Those of you who don't go commander should be advised, there are nakid ladies in the box

Naked lady virgins?

*stops downloading donkeyporn*

Actually,

I have played a couple of rounds as commander in PR0.8. Beeing new to the game, I was nothing better than a "Squad Leaders Secretery", but that changed very fast, for You can learn a lot from Your Squad Leaders or, if You are a Squad Leader, from Your commander.

There should be more precise tips and tricks for the commander, and not only general hints. I.e. I still miss a good Coordinate Your air support with ground forces and blast Your enemies away guide.

The commander is the only person that has a permanent overview of the situation on the field. Given enough information, he is able (if he is good enough) to predict certain events on the battlefield and react to this set of circumstances with a new battle plan.

In my humble opinion, it is not the fact that the CO has to stick to his command post that make his life miserable, but the ignorance of his squad leaders to use him as their most valuable asset. Give Your CO a chance to show how he can benefit Your team And remember: Like You, a CO has to learn his tricks in the game.

I still remember my most terrible defeat as commander, when I did not foresee the dramatic effects of the hostile attack of village on Fools Road: Beeing shot in my CO container once the enemy infiltrated British Communications was bad and a good lesson, but even worse was the fact that my squads did not want to fall back to village. The result was, as You can guess, a cap out..

.. but then I head my best round as a commander: A victory on Muttrah. I took over the US when they were on the verge of beeing beaten back to the carrier. With a last FB on the ground and docks in enemy hand, I reorganized the attack and made sure that the front line was working properly. The SLs listened to my orders and relayed information to me and the other squads. I tried to switch the squads between guard and attack duties, so at the end, we all had our great victory parade in the MEC fortress.

Summarizing: I prefer active communication with my SLs than some fancy gadgets. But, of course, fancy gadgets are nice to have, but will not improve the COs dramatic situation.

The problem

Too many players in the PR community does not know how to play Commander from the tin box or from any other static position on the map too, or for that matter, playing CO without being on the map in the first place; an approach which adds one more fighting trooper to the team and superior CO challenge to the game as well.

Thus the result in general is that the CO creativity is missing in most rounds on the public servers. So CO creativity is therefore not evolving too on the public servers. And the CO function is the most demanding and most challenging and most fun function in the game of Project Reality. No doubt.



What to do when SLs dosent listen?

If you don't like to play CO because the SLs doesn’t listen to you, then ignore those who dont and only focus on those who does. In all regards of the game.


My experience about Sls not listning

I’ve tried the frustrated situation being CO when no SL listened to me, a massive amount of times. Maybe more than 100 CO rounds? Maybe even the double amount?

From 0.4 to 0.7 I think I always had rounds where X SLs didn’t listen to me. So I adapted, maybe slowly yes, but I did adapt in the end. I was new as CO player in this game once too.

Maybe you can adapt 2?


When you go CO know what you want!

Don’t join a PR map and apply to go CO unless you already have done at least the following:

• 1. Thought about how you would like a team organised. Try to come up with minimum 3 organisational versions.
• 2. Thought about a plan you would like to try out on the map.
• 3. Thought about how you will communicate your wants to the team.
• 4. Thought about how to approach the ticket factor when executing your plan.
• 5. Read the stuff being posted in the CO forum and remember to ask questions if your new to the game function.

Playing as CO yes! ...but not on a public server

If the CO function is what you want to play in PR, just not on the public servers, then join the tournament or a clan and try to work your self up the system, maybe starting out as a staff player on a team or likewise?


All the best,
Mike

The problem with SLs not listening is that sometimes commanders are so clueless, so out of it that the SL can't help it. It's worse when the commander decides that the SL is a bad SL because he doesn't listen to his CO.

Some commanders tend to arbitrarily shift icons on the minimap with no regard to the situation on the ground, forgetting that they need intelligence first, before acting on it. Most SLs in the game do not provide intelligence to the commander on constant basis, and so it ends up with blind leading those that can see perfectly well. This, in my experience, is the primary reason why SLs don't seem to listen to COs.

Take, for example, a situation where your squad is far away from a flag, and trying to get it, but encountering resistance. The enemy is dug in, has a firebase between you and the flag, and then, an enemy APC suddenly pulls up and tries to kill all of you with its autocannon. As you try to get your AT guy to a good firing position, the commander places a move marker on the flag you were trying to get to in the first place, and tells you that's how you fit in his grand plan.

Commanding isn't only about commanding, but also about coordinating and intel gathering. Having that in mind, the commander needs to be able to communicate effectively. An SL will disregard anything the commander says if he happens to be under fire while having three other people talking to him. Contrary to what you'd think, the commander CAN'T talk a lot, and he needs to communicate as efficiently as possible. He does need his SLs to paint him the picture of the battlefield, by getting them to frequently communicate their current situation.

As to commanding being fun, playing as CO can be very rewarding. It's really satisfying to win a round after commanding for the entire length of it. Makes you feel like you really accomplished something.

This result highly surprises me...

where are you guys?

When I see a CO ingame or am one myself, around 90% of the games no squads listen to what the CO says.
And no this has nothing to do with servers or anything. Be it on T&T or TG or any other server that wrote TEAMWORK on its flag.
Voip or Teamwork squads.

They just dont listen...

In the 10% of the games where someone listens to the CO it is of course not all squads.
If lucky maybe 2 full squads.


The CO is dead, not because of the ingame changes PR took, but because of the players that dont listen to him anyway, no matter what.

You cant miss something you dont want.

Gaven wrote:The real reason many don't play commander is because they don't want to be stuck in that box.

Then they don't want to play as CO cause running around blasting nubs isn't the CO's job.

Its pretty hard to coordinate all that stuff on the field, remember intel and ponder whats next. Why should a CO have anything more to do?

The problem I see is that people think that CO should fit into the FPS style of play when its obviously a strategic gameplay mechanism that isn't really compatible with fragging in the first person.

I figure in a game where all the squads are communicating their situation to the CO all the time and providing intel there should be so much stuff coming at the CO that he won't want to be away from his mega map.

But somehow people think that blockade running with the supply truck is what being a Colonel or Brig or whatever you wanna say being CO is all about.

my Signature says all the commander needs

i like being commander but no one will do what i ask its always "No sir" they wont even ask for JDAM.

Zrix wrote:A forward command vehicle, like a 2 man APC, but with the gunners armament replaced with the same function as the command post should give the commander some fun by allowing him to observe the action.
It also adds another aspect to the game as you can cripple the enemies command structure if you knock him out.

Like so:

we really need this for the commanders so wan you got the SL that don't tell you anything. so you get some what of a idea of whats going on

For me, the only reason ppl wanted back in 0.7 was coz he was needed to build stuff and get supply trucks to the front, never as a real commander. Now, that the only thing he can do is command, nobody likes to play it, coz nobody gives a rats *** about what that stupid guy in his cubicle has to say. It seems like most players have a real issue with authority and following orders.

.blend wrote:For me, the only reason ppl wanted back in 0.7 was coz he was needed to build stuff and get supply trucks to the front, never as a real commander. Now, that the only thing he can do is command, nobody likes to play it, coz nobody gives a rats *** about what that stupid guy in his cubicle has to say. It seems like most players have a real issue with authority and following orders.

see if we give him a nuke or more power then people would play him more and do more for him