Comrades in Arms Discussion Board

I have been thinking about a thing and know its time to ask the rest of you.
Would it be any interest in having a “night” were we play a little more organised?
A mission is chosen before the night starts and a roster is posted on the forum(say 48h before the mission starts) were players sign up to participate(if only 3 players signs up fore a 18 player game its no point in playing it).
This special organised night could be something that happens 1-2 times etch month.

Hove well organised you probably are thinking right now, Well no point in playing super serious and start mumbling letter combinations a simple Fire Team, Support Team or Mortar Team should probably be enough.
A HQ section consisting of the mission commander(to avoid having to many players given confronting commands) And maybe 2 assistant commanders(Squad leaders, Lead Pilots etc)

Please give me some feedback on this any thought is appreciated

A added a vote on this so that those that is interested v those that is not could give response wit out being forced to write anything.(if they want)

I voted "sounds interesting."

Hey, testing things that sounded interesting was how I got here!

I'd like to try it but I am not sure to which degree it is possible or enjoable with plain coop missions. Planning ahead in this way fits more to PvP games with lots of players.

Do you have any live examples from other communities or forums who do similar things so everyone can get an impression on what is meant with "organisation"?

Well it should be quite enjoyibel even in Coop style missions. And others that use it well think of it as an extreme light wight ShacTac.

We take your Shrine Mission as an exampel.
The HQ guys mets 10-15min before game starts, there the commander presents a basic plan(based on the inteligens he have from the brifing that he has bein given before the game) He presents his plan fore the assistents. And they give comments if they sea a problem or somthing they belive the Co have missed. There after the plan is presented fore the hole force of players.
Durring HQ meting time the players takes up the slots they have reserved fore them self(in the roster post)
After the presentation the players could ask the Co questions and when that is done the mission starts.
The mission is basicly the same as most coop-nights is now but somthings are stream lined fore a more simpel structure. And the HQ is responsibel fore directing the squads, coordinate support, and decides when and in what order objectivs are assulted.

(Shrine misson)
HQ element= call sign HQ Team
Officer
Squad Leader
Radio OP
Sniper
Medic

Rifel Squad= call sign Fire Team
Squad Leader
Senior Rifelman
Senior Rifelman
Grenadier
Grenadier
RPG Grenadier
RPG Grenadier Assistent
Automatic Rifelman

Support Squad= Call sign Support Team
Squad Leader
RPG Grenadier
Machine Gunner Ammo Bearer
Machine Gunner
Machine Gunner

Mortar Squad = Call sign Mortar Team
Forward Observer
Mortar Gunner
Mortat Assistent Gunner

What could we earn wite this system then?
Simplicity well it might not sound like that but its true. Bay refering to Teams insted of induviduals its easier fore a replacment to step in and take command. TS/text communication become more logical. Any one that hears that Mortar Team is engaging hill 67 understands that hill 67 is a god thing to not get close to.
Or when you take over command of a squad(after the previous leader have beine killed) you can fast begin to understand whats happening on the battelfield. Fire Team One is capturing hill 55 Fire Team Two is holding in Montingac.

When we have played before it could some times be this way insted. Overlord and his squad is advancing on hill 55, Marto and Gum is in Montingac, Variabel is in the Forest, the two finns are exploring the mortar. And 5min later(hoppfully after the hill is secured)
Tony is on hill 55, Marto and Gum is still in Montingac, Ninja is close to the Forest fighting, the mortar team have killed themself.
Whats happend?
Well if you have heard the transmissions before you could figure it out but if not, well then its hard to know were did Overlords squad go? and what happend to Variabels Squad?
Quite danting to take over as squad leader fore Tony and Ninja at this point, they first need to spend 5min trying to understand hos ho, and then where they are.

But back to the Shrine Mission
The mission starts and every body makes there best to complet it.
Then the mission ends and we have a small debrifing, and discus what whent wrong, what dident go wrong and so on, noting fany but to avoid doing the same misstakes twice.

And after that we could play another mission or maybe everybody is tieard and drops of.

And other communitys doing this more or less i could mention a small swedish Arma2 community wite over 100 real "members"(and some hundred more registered forum readers)
And it sems to work well fore them but the have a more milisim approatch to it, that a dont think is needed or wanted here, after all not al have a military background to fall back on.

Hoppe that this explaned a bit more what a was thinking

As I see it, gameplay like this can easily get too organized. Some players ain't able to stay all night, some pop up early and some late (and Anguis popping in and out ). Looks like it demands a minimum amount of players to get it working properly (in WGL 3 players for each mortar team, 2 for each chopper, 2-3 for HQ and so on..)

And with a setup like this it can get real boring for the unlucky one who was accidentally killed early in the evening (remember some of our most famous games Grip? ).

The only way to come close to it, as far as I can see, is to use a whole lot of AI's, and I believe you all know my opinion on that.

Another thing to consider is that OFP commands/ commanding structure ain't suitable for this type, each team leader can only command his own squad. It might have been possible if we got a "2. layer" of command chain, like only officers/ SL's in that level). Combine this with WGL's horrible maps we got more trouble than we like And I really would appraise my TL to pay attention to "our" squad on TS and working us out of the mud instead of chatting with the "3. level"

I think the way we play now (in missions with several squads) works pretty well, each squad choose/ select their own target/ way to target (sometimes it means a few min. waiting for other squads) for synchronizing attack

What I miss, and maybe it's possible to implement some of this there, is som more A&D (PvP) from time to time  :

I chose the second option, b/c it does sound interesting, nothing more, nothing less. I can't make a huge time commitment during daylight hours, here in the central U.S. OL has summed me up pretty well.

(10-21-2009, 12:09 AM)Overlord link Wrote: [ -> ]What I miss, and maybe it's possible to implement some of this there, is som more A&D (PvP) from time to time  :

It's funny you mention this - these types of scenarios, and their feasibility in CiA have been playing through my mind, recently. I'd like to mix them in a little more, too.

Quote:And with a setup like this it can get real boring for the unlucky one who was accidentally killed early in the evening (remember some of our most famous games Grip?  ).

Well its no different being killed in this from being killed in a regular game. Whend ded you are out until the next round.(and are free to do what ever you wants to durring the waite)

Quote:As I see it, gameplay like this can easily get too organized. Some players ain't able to stay all night, some pop up early and some late (and Anguis popping in and out  )

Yes it could but we could surly find a strukture that fits the players here, and players poping in and out, well thats simply solved, if we set a starting time and you come 30min in to the mission well then you just have to waite untill the mission ends(just as in a regular coop)

Quote:Looks like it demands a minimum amount of players to get it working properly (in WGL 3 players for each mortar team, 2 for each chopper, 2-3 for HQ and so on..)

Yes it demands a minimum amunt of players, but that minimum is set bay the number of players taking part in the game(as a said no point in picking a mission fore 18players if only 3 will show up).
And the other thing is that the HQ could easily be just one player. and hiss assistemt commanders are those squad leaders that have a wital roll to fill in that mission. The only thing that needs a big crew is the Mortar and that dosent show up in to many missions.

Quote:The only way to come close to it, as far as I can see, is to use a whole lot of AI's, and I believe you all know my opinion on that.

O we dont nead to have AI's running around, this way ether have more neead of them in the regular coop nights if we should charge 2-3 different objectivs at once.

Quote:Another thing to consider is that OFP commands/ commanding structure ain't suitable for this type, each team leader can only command his own squad. It might have been possible if we got a "2. layer" of command chain, like only officers/ SL's in that level). Combine this with WGL's horrible maps we got more trouble than we like  And I really would appraise my TL to pay attention to "our" squad on TS and working us out of the mud instead of chatting with the "3. level"

Well it already included in the game but its not ussed as it should.
We have the Group tracking system that is probebly the best way to track Squads in the game.
The map were its just to point and click to mark a objectiv. More advanced commands could be given tro TS or Text chat.(the squad command bar system is kind helpful but kind of destroy some of the fun, no guess ranges, just point and click and its tells you if its a enemy and so on)

The basics will be the same as its now but the mission commander will take responsibility over the mission as a hole. And direkt the squads towards a common goal. He calls in Air Strikes and artillery support. The squads takes the names that corrospond to ther tasks.
A general plan is made before the mission and every body strives to achive it(if nothing force a change of the plan durring the game)
Etch Team commander is still responsibel fore directing the members of there Team.

If enugh players shove a intrest we could make a try atleast, it might work better then some belive.
A whould recomend a non coop night so that no players fell unwelcome durring the offocal nights.(basiclly a whould say it allways should be on a non coop night).

(10-21-2009, 12:22 PM)Grip link Wrote: [ -> ]Yes it demands a minimum amunt of players, but that minimum is set bay the number of players taking part in the game(as a said no point in picking a mission fore 18players if only 3 will show up)

I agree with Overlords point here. I don't think I would gain anything from this organisation with only a single squad of other players. I'd want to have at least 12 to 15 players to really have fun with this. The more players the better.

(10-21-2009, 12:22 PM)Grip link Wrote: [ -> ]If enugh players shove a intrest we could make a try atleast, it might work better then some belive.
A whould recomend a non coop night so that no players fell unwelcome durring the offocal nights.(basiclly a whould say it allways should be on a non coop night).

Count me in. I want to try it at least, as I said before: the more participants the better.
I'd also like to use Mumble for this when we can sort out the Squad leader comms, it really would add a lot of fun and immersion (at least for me )

I reckon it a good idea - count me in.

MAybe we should try first with a say 1 or 2 squad size mission - so we can at least fill up the slots. Post the slot roster, post a pic of the map and discuss some tactics for the few days before, and have the mission planned so everyone knows what their doing and where they need to go. We could perhaps make this mission the first one we play, then after it play missions as normal. Would be good to have a plan and a squad member in command without others talking over the top of him etc. Would be good to try at least for the first mission each sunday...

Yes Sir! That sound intressting!

I'd like to suggest to combine this with a little more realism. Like no more markers on the map after the briefing. In reality not every soldier has a map, so that already is a bonus, but a squad leader in loukov marking the lz for the pilot at the airfield.... Or the whole waypoint thing. Always bugs me playing a "when realism matters"-mod and then my squad leader uses waypoints to find out where he is cause he got lost  :. Yes those things are possible in OFP, but so is respawn, and we don't use that either. And yes it might happen to get lost, but then there is that thing called compass, together with the map a powerful tool.

Just some thoughts.

It definitely would add a lot fog of war not to be allowed to place markers after the briefing. I can't say for myself yet if it would push the "realism" a bit too far.

First of all we should actually play a mission with some ahead planning like Grip suggested and then develop best practices and "house rules" we want to use.

A was thinking about giving it a try this sunday maybe, or is that interferring wite some other importent event?
But a need to steel a Brifing from the server first (so a need the server in WGL fore 15min or so)

Have a look into your MPMissions cache directory Grip, maybe you will find the mission you need there. I started the WGL server for you anyway, please tell me when your're done so that I can start the FDF server again for tonight.

Which mission are you thinking of?

na, a dont have it, might have hade it before but since my old computor died am forced to play on the Laptop and a dont have it on this.

Am not totaly certen on the mission name but think its somthing like Contact Front, Avigon but am not totaly certen yet.