Feedback:User/Guild Wars 3 perhaps/Squad Commander Standing Orders
Squad Commander Standing Orders | |
|---|---|
| User | Guild Wars 3 perhaps |
| Categories | Player vs. Player Mechanics |
Go here to see a list of my other GW2 suggestions and discussion contributions.
My suggestion is to permit Squad Commanders to type a list of standing orders for their squad. The standing orders would be accessible via a tab, link, button, or whatever squad window/control is available. When a new player joins the squad, a link to the standing orders (if there are any) will immediately appear in their squad chat window.
This would permit Squad Commanders to list out common commands and expectations of squad members without having to retype them in Squad Chat every time a new player joins the squad.
For example, a Squad Commander might type the following in their standing orders window:
- Welcome to Squad X! Your Squad Commander is Player ABC. (I know this will be evident by the Squad Commander icon floating above the Squad Commander's head, but it doesn't hurt to reinforce it; especially if a player joined the squad by clicking on a squad member other than the commander.)
- If you've just joined the squad, proceed to the rally point map marker and await further orders.
- If you are a current squad member and you have completed your currently assigned mission, hold your position and await further orders.
- Defenders are not to abandon their posts to pursue an enemy. Defenders are to fight to the death in defense of their position. Guardians preferred for defense duty.
- Attackers may break off an attack if reduced to 25% of their strength. Regroup at the rally point.
- Recon is recon. You're not there to fight the enemy, you're there to provide the rest of the squad intel on the enemy. Keep yourself out of sight and out of harm's way. Thieves with some form of stealth skill and speed boon preferred.
- Supply gatherers are to keep their supplies safe. If in danger of being overrun, retreat with your current supply load rather than die defending the supply point. Do not volunteer for supply gathering duty if you don't have a speed boon.
By providing this interface, it spares the Squad Commander from endlessly typing the same thing over and over again in Squad Chat. It also benefits the squad members by keeping the Squad Chat channel clear of repetitive commands which will tend to dilute the efficacy of the Squad Chat channel as the means by which orders are delivered from the Squad Commander to the squad.
Lastly, any time a Squad Commander makes a change to the squad standing orders a link will automatically appear in Squad Chat to alert squad members to this fact. They can then open the standing orders window if they want to read the latest changes.
Thanks for reading.
Guild Wars 3 perhaps 19:45, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
Update[edit]
An anonymous contributor to the discussion page made the excellent suggestion of adding a "battle plan" map which a Squad Commander can draw upon to show offensive/defensive positions and strategies. I think this is a fantastic idea. To reduce overhed for the squad members, this map would exist on the same dialog screen as the standing orders. The screen could be split so that one (smaller) section lists out the standing orders while the other (larger) section displays the "battle plan" map.
I would also suggest adding some very basic drawing tools to the map:
- A pencil for drawing free-form lines.
- A line tool. Click on a point, drag the mouse cursor to another point, click a second time, and the line is placed on the map. This may include an option to toggle on or off an arrowhead at the end of the line.
- A circle tool. Click and drag the mouse cursor to draw a circle or ellipse on the map.
- A rectangle tool. Click and drag the mouse cursor to draw a square or rectangle on the map.
- An annotation tool. Click on the map. This creates a small shaded-in square with a blinking text-insertion cursor. The Squad Commander then types whatever they want into the annotation box. The annotation box then automatically scales in size as more and more text is entered into the box. Clicking the mouse cursor outside the box or selecting a different tool exits the annotation mode.
- An eraser tool. Click or click and drag a bounding box around a previously drawn element to remove it from the map.
- Color selector. The Squad Commander can select from a palette of (limited) colors which apply to any of the drawing tools above. They could, for example, associate red with their assault group. That group then knows that any red arrows or other elements on the map specifically apply to them. Alternately, the Squad Commander could associate color with time or order-of-operations. For example, red indicates the first action and/or direction of an attack, green indicates the secondary action and/or direction of an attack, and blue indicates the final/closing action and/or direction of an attack.
Thank you for reading.
Guild Wars 3 perhaps 18:35, 10 August 2012 (UTC)
Update #2[edit]
In addition to the "battle plan" map, it might be nice to have a Squad-Commander-configurable timer. The timer can be set to any number of minutes and seconds the Squad Commander wishes. The Squad Commander then clicks a button to start the timer counting either up to or down from the set time. The Squad Commander could then add annotations to the map or instructions in their standing orders such as:
- At minute 5, assault group begin attack on Keep X.
- The assault group's feint initiated, scout group begin their attack on Resource Camp Y at minute 6.
- At minute 7, assault group break off from attack and attempt to lead enemy away from turning their attention to Resource Camp Y.
This timer would then be visible on the screens of all players who are members of this squad. Not only on the Standing Orders/Battle Plan dialog menu but also ever-present on their main game window (in a corner or centered near the top of the screen). The timer is rendered in real-time; if the Squad Commander's timer reads 5:37 (5 minutes, 37 seconds), it will read 5:37 on all squad members' screens, as well.
This would permit finely coordinated actions on the part of a squad without having to resort to typing long strings of text in a chat box. Instead, prior to undertaking an action, all the squad members review the standing orders and battle plan map. When this briefing is complete, the Squad Commander starts the timer and the squad gets down to business; each member knowing in advance what their orders are and when to execute them without ever having to refer to chat (an extremely inefficient method for delivering orders and coordinating actions among dozens of players).
Thank you for reading.
Guild Wars 3 perhaps 02:59, 11 August 2012 (UTC)
