05-16-2016, 05:33 PM
Alpenglow
(Otter-Spotter)
I didn't get to shoot a lot in this mission but I am content with taking a recon role any time.
I found it hard to follow what was going on, mostly because there was only quickly scrolling radio messages and no tasks, meaning that at any time there was little to do but scroll through the backlog. Still, I enjoyed the mission, and from my POV it went well.
The Madness
a (useless) AA Soldier
I took the AA slot, mostly because I thought "so many AT guys I guess I should take this so we are prepared for anything. Sadly, that was not the case, since there was no air thread and I lugged 40 kg around without reason.
One thing that we do frequently (in this mission too) and which rarely works is the following: One team, or the teamleader, moves forward to a Recce position, then orders the other team or members of his team to drive vehicles over the crest and start engaging.
This almost always ends in disaster. One of the reasons I think is the lack of situational awareness. In this case, it was Teck9 and me that were supposed to drive the vehicles up, switch to the gunner seat, and start engaging.
Here's the issue though - I had absolutely no idea how far I had to go to crest the hill, and I had absolutely no idea how things looked once I did. It took me a couple of seconds to even find the target, left alone ranging and starting to effectively engage. That is when I took a missile to the face. I was revived after I got catapulted out of the vehicle, but still, the Hunter HMG was wasted.
So, what do I think should change? Well, two things:
1) Do not restrict this to a single person per vehicle. A driver and a gunner should be in if at all possible, and the gunner can say when he is sufficiently exposed to see the target. The driver can then even disembark and do something else, but until such time as the vehicle is properly positioned, the driver should be in.
2) More importantly, though, don't leave the guys behind when you scout. They should be with the team or team leader to actually have eyes on, and confirm, the position of the targets they are about to engage. If this isn't the case, then there is always going to be a several seconds gap between finding a position for the vehicle, switching to gunner, and starting to engage, a gap that was large enough for one of the AT guys at the checkpoint to get my Hunter destroyed. Had I at least seen beforehand what I was up to, things might have gone different (not in this case since there were plenty of Titan gunners on the other side of the ridge line).
Suchy, I think, was shot shortly after, and I didn't wait until Teck picked up the AT since there was an Iffrit engaging us. I picked it up and fired a missile but the bugger went behind the hillside. Then I was shot.
What I had to witness afterwards was kind of painful to watch. The task was to clear the checkpoints, but the teams moved at glacial speeds, way too slow. In such a case, especially with only sporadic fire coming in from the other side, the machine gunners should suppress the other side while the rest clears the checkpoint. This way the mission took way over an hour, mostly because of indecisive movement and slow action.
(I know I come across like a prick now, not wanting to blame anyone I am just saying what the issue was I observed, not that I would have done better)
Game of Phones
Alwarren, First of his Name, Protector of the Realm, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men
Some days, radio discipline sucks. This was one of these days. I constantly had to talk against someone in the other teams. Now, we didn't have short range radios, but I could hear everyone so I have to assume that everyone could hear me, and in this case this means, if your King speaks, everybody shuts up. Simple as that. This was especially infuriating since it happened again immediately after I mentioned it. I say again, your King speaks, everybody falls silent in awe and listens to his words of wisdom. Next time this happens, I'll have your tongues out with hot pincers.
Ahem...
Well the rest of the mission worked out alright I suppose until we got to the camp. Problem is I didn't really get what decimated us so badly. Certainly the fixed weapons, but it can't have been that alone. Someone who was dead at that time might give some insight on this.
Anyway, we found the USB stick and I was prepared to make a run for it. I saw a guy in brown in front of me, thought "this must be an enemy" and lined up, at which point I earned an extra ventilation hole in my forehead.
Property of Mabunga
Helicopter Bait
Highlight of the mission was the guy on the grill.
This was a pretty moody mission, although the fog was a bit overdone. I had a lot of rubberbanding in the beginning, but it eventually got better. There was a shitload of units on the map (over 200) in a very tight space. It was pretty entertaining, though, more so since the attacks could come in at any time. But it clearly demonstrated that something isn't right with AI vision, they apparently see through the fog since my character reported targets 400 meters away with a visibility of at most 50 meters.
The thing at the end was IMO overdone and superficial. Not only because the fucking choppers crashed right on our heads and killed all but one of the team, also because it simply is pointless to just add some extra few hundred meters to hike.
(Otter-Spotter)
I didn't get to shoot a lot in this mission but I am content with taking a recon role any time.
I found it hard to follow what was going on, mostly because there was only quickly scrolling radio messages and no tasks, meaning that at any time there was little to do but scroll through the backlog. Still, I enjoyed the mission, and from my POV it went well.
The Madness
a (useless) AA Soldier
I took the AA slot, mostly because I thought "so many AT guys I guess I should take this so we are prepared for anything. Sadly, that was not the case, since there was no air thread and I lugged 40 kg around without reason.
One thing that we do frequently (in this mission too) and which rarely works is the following: One team, or the teamleader, moves forward to a Recce position, then orders the other team or members of his team to drive vehicles over the crest and start engaging.
This almost always ends in disaster. One of the reasons I think is the lack of situational awareness. In this case, it was Teck9 and me that were supposed to drive the vehicles up, switch to the gunner seat, and start engaging.
Here's the issue though - I had absolutely no idea how far I had to go to crest the hill, and I had absolutely no idea how things looked once I did. It took me a couple of seconds to even find the target, left alone ranging and starting to effectively engage. That is when I took a missile to the face. I was revived after I got catapulted out of the vehicle, but still, the Hunter HMG was wasted.
So, what do I think should change? Well, two things:
1) Do not restrict this to a single person per vehicle. A driver and a gunner should be in if at all possible, and the gunner can say when he is sufficiently exposed to see the target. The driver can then even disembark and do something else, but until such time as the vehicle is properly positioned, the driver should be in.
2) More importantly, though, don't leave the guys behind when you scout. They should be with the team or team leader to actually have eyes on, and confirm, the position of the targets they are about to engage. If this isn't the case, then there is always going to be a several seconds gap between finding a position for the vehicle, switching to gunner, and starting to engage, a gap that was large enough for one of the AT guys at the checkpoint to get my Hunter destroyed. Had I at least seen beforehand what I was up to, things might have gone different (not in this case since there were plenty of Titan gunners on the other side of the ridge line).
Suchy, I think, was shot shortly after, and I didn't wait until Teck picked up the AT since there was an Iffrit engaging us. I picked it up and fired a missile but the bugger went behind the hillside. Then I was shot.
What I had to witness afterwards was kind of painful to watch. The task was to clear the checkpoints, but the teams moved at glacial speeds, way too slow. In such a case, especially with only sporadic fire coming in from the other side, the machine gunners should suppress the other side while the rest clears the checkpoint. This way the mission took way over an hour, mostly because of indecisive movement and slow action.
(I know I come across like a prick now, not wanting to blame anyone I am just saying what the issue was I observed, not that I would have done better)
Game of Phones
Alwarren, First of his Name, Protector of the Realm, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men
Some days, radio discipline sucks. This was one of these days. I constantly had to talk against someone in the other teams. Now, we didn't have short range radios, but I could hear everyone so I have to assume that everyone could hear me, and in this case this means, if your King speaks, everybody shuts up. Simple as that. This was especially infuriating since it happened again immediately after I mentioned it. I say again, your King speaks, everybody falls silent in awe and listens to his words of wisdom. Next time this happens, I'll have your tongues out with hot pincers.
Ahem...
Well the rest of the mission worked out alright I suppose until we got to the camp. Problem is I didn't really get what decimated us so badly. Certainly the fixed weapons, but it can't have been that alone. Someone who was dead at that time might give some insight on this.
Anyway, we found the USB stick and I was prepared to make a run for it. I saw a guy in brown in front of me, thought "this must be an enemy" and lined up, at which point I earned an extra ventilation hole in my forehead.
Property of Mabunga
Helicopter Bait
Highlight of the mission was the guy on the grill.
This was a pretty moody mission, although the fog was a bit overdone. I had a lot of rubberbanding in the beginning, but it eventually got better. There was a shitload of units on the map (over 200) in a very tight space. It was pretty entertaining, though, more so since the attacks could come in at any time. But it clearly demonstrated that something isn't right with AI vision, they apparently see through the fog since my character reported targets 400 meters away with a visibility of at most 50 meters.
The thing at the end was IMO overdone and superficial. Not only because the fucking choppers crashed right on our heads and killed all but one of the team, also because it simply is pointless to just add some extra few hundred meters to hike.
I don't need luck, I have ammo.