9 replies to this topic

[Crabbit]

On many occasions while playing Hawken, I have found myself wanting the ability to "flag" enemy mechs, in order to quickly and visibly communicate with my teammates to focus fire on one particular opponent. The main idea being to cut through the chaos of battle and unify the team. The current hotkey targeting system ("Enemy spotted" controlled by 'Q') to identify enemy mechs on the radar is a nice scouting feature, but it does not provoke a unified team effort to take down a particular opponent. Adding a hotkey feature which would visibly and audibly highlight an enemy mech to elicit a focused, directed attack by teammates would be a valuable strategic tool. Furthermore, a feature such as this seems fitting for mech combat since conflicts are between heavily armored combatants and usually involve prolonged, hammering beat downs. In order for such a feature to work and not promote unnecessary confusion, the communication would only be sent to teammates in close proximity. What do you think_

[Zeshi]

Sounds like a great idea to me. Its always nice to have options for people who don't have mics or cant talk due to large amounts of ambient noise. Now getting people to actually listen to your in battle suggestions is an entirely different matter

Edited by Zeshi, November 01 2012 - 09:29 PM.

[DER3Z]

Crabbit, on November 01 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

On many occasions while playing Hawken, I have found myself wanting the ability to "flag" enemy mechs, in order to quickly and visibly communicate with my teammates to focus fire on one particular opponent. The main idea being to cut through the chaos of battle and unify the team. The current hotkey targeting system ("Enemy spotted" controlled by 'Q') to identify enemy mechs on the radar is a nice scouting feature, but it does not provoke a unified team effort to take down a particular opponent. Adding a hotkey feature which would visibly and audibly highlight an enemy mech to elicit a focused, directed attack by teammates would be a valuable strategic tool. Furthermore, a feature such as this seems fitting for mech combat since conflicts are between heavily armored combatants and usually involve prolonged, hammering beat downs. In order for such a feature to work and not promote unnecessary confusion, the communication would only be sent to teammates in close proximity. What do you think_

I like how they have enemy spot (Q) i kind of think its the same thing. This game is very team based and to play a team based game you need to play with a group of friends or a clan. A lot of people console and pc gamers dont communicate when playing a quick match due to the fact that they dont know you, so why do i need to talk to you_ I think its a stupid logic not to communicate with your teammates when your playing a video game where you want to win. Even if you upgraded the enemy spotting, people will always have trouble with teamwork from their teammates when your in a quick match.

Edited by DER3Z, November 01 2012 - 11:39 PM.

[CakeBandit]

DER3Z, on November 01 2012 - 11:38 PM, said:

Crabbit, on November 01 2012 - 09:01 PM, said:

On many occasions while playing Hawken, I have found myself wanting the ability to "flag" enemy mechs, in order to quickly and visibly communicate with my teammates to focus fire on one particular opponent. The main idea being to cut through the chaos of battle and unify the team. The current hotkey targeting system ("Enemy spotted" controlled by 'Q') to identify enemy mechs on the radar is a nice scouting feature, but it does not provoke a unified team effort to take down a particular opponent. Adding a hotkey feature which would visibly and audibly highlight an enemy mech to elicit a focused, directed attack by teammates would be a valuable strategic tool. Furthermore, a feature such as this seems fitting for mech combat since conflicts are between heavily armored combatants and usually involve prolonged, hammering beat downs. In order for such a feature to work and not promote unnecessary confusion, the communication would only be sent to teammates in close proximity. What do you think_

I like how they have enemy spot (Q) i kind of think its the same thing. This game is very team based and to play a team based game you need to play with a group of friends or a clan. A lot of people console and pc gamers dont communicate when playing a quick match due to the fact that they dont know you, so why do i need to talk to you_ I think its a stupid logic not to communicate with your teammates when your playing a video game where you want to win. Even if you upgraded the enemy spotting, people will always have trouble with teamwork from their teammates when your in a quick match.

Even without a dedicated bunch of buddies, the Q key and the computer telling you ENEMY SIGHTED and highlighting their location with a little box if you're looking at them should be enough to indicate that you need to shoot them.

[Korriban87]

I like the idea, also it would be nice to flag location in order to set up ambushes or something like that, a sort of "ambush at waypoint alpha" and then you ping the location.

[TheChaffeemancer]

Just make the current spotted more noticeable. People usually get the idea of "Enemy there... shoot enemy." If people aren't shooting, they either aren't paying attention, can't do so, or just won't anyway. We could use a "Go here!" Option

[Crabbit]

Adding this hotkey communication feature would supplement mic communication and would be useful in both competitive and casual play. Having a visible and audio alert to "Attack enemy target" would convey the information faster and more efficiently then having to describe, over the mic, which opponent you want your teammates to focus their fire on. Currently, in a dynamic fire-fight, describing which mech you want teammates to help you out with is difficult to communicate, even with a mic.

Furthermore, the current scouting hotkey (Q) "Enemy spotted" does not tell your teammates that you want to focus fire on a particular opponent. It only conveys that you have spotted an enemy and flags their location on the radar. It does not suggest that you are actively attacking or want to attack the spotted enemy. For example, you might spot an enemy sniper across the map and flag their position to your teammates with 'Q', but it does not mean you are going to trudge across the whole map to get them.

An "Attack enemy target" hotkey feature would also encourage more teamplay in casual matches where people are not using mics.

I like your "Go here" and "Ambush here" communications as well.

[BeefC4ke]

I voted maybe.

I see it's use but I'm also one of the players that, should a system be implemented, would probably have the mark on them whenever seen. Seeing crab play he would probably have it as well.

I see it's use but I'm worried about the gang-bang potential. It's bad enough when you're in TS with guys on the other team and they keep telling you the whole other team has it out for you.

[LtMackAttack]

Just like in Battlefield Play4Free, every class of soldier carries a tracer dart gun. But only the Engineer class can use an RPG to fire and lock on to an enemy vehicle. Also, anyone flying an attack helicopter can lock on with guided missiles. The tracer dart is only active a few short second or until the driver of the enemy vehicles uses a smoke screen to remove it. Something similar to this, I think, would be useful in the Hawken universe.

[Crabbit]

BeefC4ke, on November 04 2012 - 10:48 AM, said:

I voted maybe.

I see it's use but I'm also one of the players that, should a system be implemented, would probably have the mark on them whenever seen. Seeing crab play he would probably have it as well.

I see it's use but I'm worried about the gang-bang potential. It's bad enough when you're in TS with guys on the other team and they keep telling you the whole other team has it out for you.

I agree BeefC4ke. There is a good chance a feature like this would be used on players like us, often. However, that may not be a bad thing. For example, lead players know how to handle their fuzzy bunny. If flagged, we would get the hell out, all the while drawing enemy fire and laying down some severe damage: something like a diversion. This could be a tactical advantage for your team, allowing them to move into a better offensive/defensive position. Furthermore, this would add some stress/excitement to the flagged team leader. Being flagged would make it more challenging to dominate, which ultimately makes you a better player.

To prevent excessive gang-bang potential, I suggest a communication feature like this only flag an opponent for a short time (maybe 5 seconds or less) and, if possible, only communicate to teammates in close proximity. The whole idea being to quickly communicate and focus teammates in close proximity on a particular opponent.

I could also see use for communication used to highlight enemy deployables, i.e. "Attack enemy turret" ect.

LtMackAttack, on November 04 2012 - 11:05 AM, said:

Just like in Battlefield Play4Free, every class of soldier carries a tracer dart gun. But only the Engineer class can use an RPG to fire and lock on to an enemy vehicle. Also, anyone flying an attack helicopter can lock on with guided missiles. The tracer dart is only active a few short second or until the driver of the enemy vehicles uses a smoke screen to remove it. Something similar to this, I think, would be useful in the Hawken universe.

Although I am only suggesting a quick hotkey communication feature, I like your idea LtMackAttack. I can imagine a "tracer dart" feature being used to 1) allow quick lock-on by teammates with Hellfire rockets, 2) command friendly turrets who to attack and, 3) direct which opponents you want the battleship to attack during siege mode.

I am willing to bet the devs might already have multiple hotkey communications beyond "Enemy spotted" (Q) and "Assistance needed" (Z). Most games these days have many useful hotkey communications. We probably just have not seen them in any of the early testing.