CCIP-subsim
Posts: 695
Joined: 11/10/2015
Status: offline
|
I'd just add that there's no need to worry about pre-CoW scenarios being affected. There's no reason to enable comms disruption then - the only thing you'd gain then is units going OOC due to damage to equipment (which pre-CoW means only ships/subs, in any case). So you can safely leave it off (just like you do now with things like advanced gunnery calculations or unlimited magazines now). From what I understand, too, all the new CoW-only features like this and the aircraft damage are "opt-in" for scenarios - i.e. they will always be disabled by default, unless the scenario maker chooses to enable them.
From my point of view as someone who likes to play around with scenario editing - I think it's a feature that, given the way it works now, is best used judiciously and only for a few units or situations per scenario (e.g. to model a major cyber attack). Having large numbers of units going in an out of contact willy-nilly would be very disorienting for the player.
One exception I can think of is scenarios where the player's role is as a "dispatcher" - who issues missions for units. And when these units leave base for their missions and click out, you won't know until they return/resume contact. Could be an interesting mechanic 
A similar use might be "first person" missions where the player only has control of units in range/in contact of their "HQ" unit - e.g. a task force commander in a larger operation, with authority to call on any assets that enter his AoR.
We've focused on subs, I think since it's mentioned in the article itself - but to me the use of OOC mechanics is possibly least interesting when it comes to them. I would think of missions where you have to deal with it as being less about dealing with sub comms, and more about missions where you as the player are encouraged to focus on other units instead.
One more thing for scenario designers that I'd add:
Keep in mind the variety of triggers you can use and combine with each other! You can make units go in and out of contact based on entering/exiting an area; you can make them go in/out of contact at specific or random times, you can attach reference points to units (and even let the player edit them), and you can even tie radio contact to events like damage, or contact with another unit. There could be a pretty thorough doctrine set for a unit, which might stay silent except for "safe" areas; you might have units do a check-in for just a few seconds/minutes when you can evaluate it's situation and change orders, and then it'll go out of contact right after and follow it's doctrine until next short check-in. If you have a submarine sent out as a scout to locate a specific high-value unit or task force, it will stay silent when it's in contact with other enemy units and not compromise its stealth - but when it sights the target, it'll report immediately! You could even do it per types of contacts, e.g. a patrol unit meant to search for snooping unfriendly units will ignore fishing boats but report in as soon as it runs into an AGI.
THEN, on top of that, consider using Special Actions! Radio contact management doesn't have to be passive (I.e. sit and twiddle your thumbs until that pesky lost unit checks in) -in creating a scenario, you can also consider simply adding an action -just click "CALL [UNIT]" in Special Actions, and there they are!
On top of that, same goes for managing the SOP for your units. Remember that Special Actions can be used to enable or disable certain events (and vice versa). So, using those, you can allow the player to customize OOC operating procedures for units - and choose whether they want a check-in every hour, or two hours, or what kind of contacts to report, or which areas are safe/unsafe to transmit it. For the sake of realism, it can even be set up to only allow you to give those kinds of instructions to a unit while it's in contact (and not telepathically)
I realize it's a non-trivial job to create these kinds of scenarios of course, and might be a little above-spec for the average CMANO player.
I've already mentioned the idea in the "Airbase Logistics" thread, but I'll repeat it here just in case - one really great thing I'd love to see added to the editor in the future is the ability to import whole "packages" (or templates) of event logic and Lua scripts into scenarios, which would contain whole pre-made systems for things like logistics, AI behaviour and coordination (incl. integrated IADS or C3 networks), and managing this type of contact logic as well. If it were possible to simply plug a system like this into a scenario via a menu in the editor, and then customize it and assign roles to units (e.g. if you wanted to have sub comms limitations, you'd just have to select which subs you want to use it). It'd certainly be easier without learning Lua and writing perhaps hundreds of lines of scripts! Not that learning Lua is a bad thing 
|
Printable Version
RE: Command: Modern Air / Naval Operations second stand... - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread