Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Figured it is about time I posted a significant bone. I'll let you guys chew on this for a while before explaining things. I'm curious to see what you make of it Steve [ September 01, 2006, 11:41 AM: Message edited by: Battlefront.com ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Interesting. Looks more complicated than what we are accustomed to. I will reserve further comment until some explanations are forthcoming. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Technical glitch... original image is out of comission and I'm having problems getting the replacement up. Should be fixed in a few minutes. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YankeeDog Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Curious. I'd be curious to see this pic, and a pic of the commands for a non-HQ unit, such as a regular squad, side-by-side. It looks like a fair amount of the stuff up there is specific to a command unit (C&C stuff, I assume. . .) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jussi Köhler Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 A truly fascinating bone. Fabulous! Encore! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellfish Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 www.imageshack.us 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yardstick Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Wow. Now I'm gonna be dreaming about CM:SF all weekend... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParaBellum Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Originally posted by Michael Emrys: Interesting. Looks more complicated than what we are accustomed to. I will reserve further comment until some explanations are forthcoming. Michael Exactly my thoughts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junk2drive Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 His status is jones-ing? How do we get him a fix? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Some quick answers: 1. yes, there is a lot of info here, but there isn't anything that is realy complicated about it. First, 1/3rd of it is game related and not unit related (per se). Instead of having popup Orders Menus like CMx1 we have Command Buttons that are always visible. The Commands you see are a work in progress and are not unit/situtation context sensitive at the moment. 2. When the unit is a Squad the UI shows three columns of Soldiers. The HQ example shows only one column since it's a Team. The other two columns go next to the one you see. 3. I chose to show the HQ because, well, because it has some interesting features that Squads don't have. First of all, you have a list of all units attached to the HQ and all Formations (that is the second "tab" with three flags). These are hotlinked to the actual units/formations. This allows you to move around the Order of Battle really easily. You also get a nice little abstracted report of the entire Formation's status. For non-HQ Teams, such as vehicles or weapons, this area is used for other things such as Damage Reports, Ammo Reports, etc. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineCape Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 First impresssion: Seems easy on the eye and structured in logical command groups, with clear LED's to warn you in one quick glance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 On the far left, we see that the well rested, but nervous, Lt. Jones has access to poison gas delivered via SP Arty or Airstrike. Next over we see that he is fully powered up on regular bullets, but has no black-banded nuclear rounds, no handheld "massage devices" and is almost completely de-powered on grenades. Below this are the special commands for "See all/know all", the Muadib sonic shout of doom, and the "Check my investments" PDA. Next over, we see that he posesses binoculars, a cell phone, two oboes, a box which will hold 5.56 of anything, and custom pool cue case with handles. Next we see that he is rated at 4 of a possible 6 guns in marksmanship, so he is an adequate shot. His personal skills are the next item, showing him to be somewhat inexperienced, no doubt contributing to his nervousness, and thus, not particularly high morale. The Unit box shows that he commands 4 squads and 4 camels (Iraqi Cavalry Vehicles). Then we have CM familiar command buttons, except that you may choose fast or quick now, with fast being a somewhat manly run, while quick, though conserving energy, being more of a loping sashay. Finally, in the lower right hand corner, we have the countdown until his radiation badge (just above the clock) shows that he has sustained a lethal dose and should set his self destruct mechanism to take out as many of the enemy as possible. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 More notes on the volume of info... There are basically 7 logical areas of primary information: 1. Unit Attributes 2. Chain of Command 3. Ammo 4. C2 Links to HQ 5. Suppression Meter 6. Special Equipment 7. Soldiers (weapon, speciality, and health) Most of this data does not change for a unit. The things that do change in a way that is pretty obvious. The main point is that when you go to look at the UI you usually know what it is you want to find out. For example, "what's my ammo load?" or "why is this unit not moving as ordered?". Because the info is consolidated and logically laid out, without being hidden in secondary screens, you can find it quickly and easily then get on with whatever it is you want to do next. While playing in RealTime I find I don't look at the unit info much. I glance down at it to answer a quick question or two, then plug away at getting the unit to do what I want within the context of my plan. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Vergeltungswaffe, Exactly correct! Well, except for all the little things you got wrong BTW, the pool cue is a UBK (Urban Breach Kit). It allows a unit to get into a building more easily if the doors are locked. This is abstracted since UBKs consist of many possible tools, including C4 and shotguns with solid slugs. All that matters is that it gets you in faster in some cases. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Where is movement order no. 3? or is that a secret? M is presumably movement - what do the F S A buttons represent? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerkommandant Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 What is the blast order supposed to do? It can't be a firing order and the only other thing I could really think of, is that it means to run as fast as possible i.e. to get to a good cover or the breach a street or an open field very fast. Chris 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerkommandant Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 And I guess slow then means that he goes conseeling himself and/ or crawling? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerkommandant Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 F is presumebly Fire for firering orders. Chris 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PseudoSimonds Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Originally posted by Wicky: Where is movement order no. 3? or is that a secret? M is presumably movement - what do the F S A buttons represent? Answer here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Blast tells the unit to move to a location, plant a demo charge, and get away! This is how one breaches walls, for example "mouseholes" within buildings. There is no #3. Instead the Commands buttons are dynamically assigned based on the unit type and context (though not at the moment). Something like Blast shouldn't be available to this unit because it lacks demo charges, for example. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konstantine Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Awesome, thanks. What's "Jones"--soda status? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 Jones is the unit's current Leader. The indicators next to Attributes represent secondary Attributes (i.e. CMx1 type Bonus stuff): Leadership - Leader (nothing) - Experience Fitness - Condition Motivation - Morale These secondary Attributes (Bonuses) do not change within a scenario. Well, except for Leadership since the Leader can be replaced. There are five positions; +2, +1, Neutral, -1, -2. The effects of which are intuitive, I think, and largely familiar to CMx1 players. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellfish Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 What are the stars next to the rifles? Also, the UI looks very clean and easy to navigate. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Battlefront.com Posted September 1, 2006 Author Share Posted September 1, 2006 All icons next to weapons are Specialities. Every Soldier has one, even if it is plain old Rifleman (aka Buttkicker ). Two Stars = Leader, One Star = Assistant Leader. If you lose both then someone else will be put in charge, but you'll get no leadership benefits from the replacement. The other two Specialists in this example are Radioman (RATELO) and Forward Observer (FO). The only significant piece of UI that isn't shown here is the Support Fire UI. Took nearly 3 years to figure out how to make it smooth and easy, but we did Steve [ September 01, 2006, 01:14 PM: Message edited by: Battlefront.com ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudel.dietrich Posted September 1, 2006 Share Posted September 1, 2006 Can we see a screen of a Syrian platoon HQ? Is it any different? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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