squad control and movement

[Alpha117 10]

Yet another newbie question(s)

1. How to you make you squad move at different speeds and in different formations?

2. How do you heal yourself or get the squad medic to heal you?

3. In the squad icons, bottom left of screen what does the 'crossed yellow arrows' mean?

Thanks

[nkenny 1051]

1.MODE

Its a bit hidden but choosing the relevant units (f1-f10) then going into the MODE menu (press 7) you will find some pretty self explanatory ROEs

Stealth, Aware, Safe, Danger. Having said that the default mode Aware functions very well for most situations. Frankly I find the AI to become somewhat less responsive when set to other modes.

2. Action menu

Select medic(F<n>) ACTION menu (press 6) usually the top option "Heal team leader" or similar.

3. Special Forces capable

I'm not entirely certain to what you are talking about, but it could be "special forces" indication. Basically the troop has the "hide body" option available.

-k

[Alpha117 10]

Thanks.....yea hidden or what.....learning curve :rolleyes:

[nkenny 1051]

Heaven forbid we get a functional and streamlined UI.

-k

[Alpha117 10]

page 41 -42 of manual sums it up :eek:

[nkenny 1051]

Important AI commands.

7-7 Crouched mode

Increases combat survivability and sheer visual look tenfold.

Master MOUNT&DISEMBARK (4-x-x)

You'll spend a lot of time getting in and out of transports.

7-2 DANGER mode when stationary/defending

Use danger mode only when you are surprised (reacting to contact) or holding an area. Otherwise you essentially kill the mobility&manoeuvrability of your squad.

7-3 AWARE for everything else

YES. particularly when conducting an ambush or similar. In stealth mode the AI is too concerned with getting behind things and hiding, and whilst this would in many cases be a welcome trait; the AI tends to sprint from concealment to concealment(which kind of defeats the purpose).

MICROMANAGE only while defending.

The less you tell your troopers to move (and who to specifically attack) the better. Micromanaging during an assault just tends to confuse your soldiers and produces distinctly silly/unrealistic situations.

That we're equipped with... shall we say less than ideal... interface to handle the constantly changing nature of modern day fire fights doesn't exactly help things either. While defending (and when you've got the time for it) Individually assigning troopers to WATCH (left-alt) different directions can lead to good results.

ENGAGE AT WILL, usually isn't worth it

Tends to produce suicide rushes through enemy lines of fire. Ergo another body bag.

-k

Edited November 2, 2009 by NkEnNy

[EDcase 87]

Heaven forbid we get a functional and streamlined UI.

-k

It may not be pretty but once you get the hang of it you will find that its very fast for so many possible commands.

Here are a few that I use

Select all units or a few then...

1,1 (FOLLOW ME) easy one ;)

1,2 (MOVE AHEAD) They follow your direction but in front of you.

1,3 (STAY BACK) Follow behind at a distance. Repeat to make them go further back. (1,1 will cancel)

1,7 (WAIT FOR ME) stop (you can also use 1,6 but that can cause problems if you are then killed)

3,2 (HOLD FIRE) Only if they haven't been spotted by enemy.

3,1 (OPEN FIRE)

4,2,1 (GET IN MY VEHICLE) You can specify where they sit with other options 4,2,#)

4,1 (DISEMBARK) get out

5,4 (I'M INJURED) medic will try to get to you.

6 These are more specific commands. If you select a medic you can press 6,1 to heal anyone injured including yourself. You can also press 6 and then left click on an injured soldier. Another useful option is to tell everyone to EJECT from a vehicle that will make them all get out at once (much faster that DISEMBARK 4,1)

7,2 (DANGER)

7,6 (STAND)

7,7 (CROUCH)

7,8 (GO PRONE)

Once you get used to them you can give these orders very fast.

Edited November 2, 2009 by EDcase

[Alpha117 10]

many thanks....writing these down for easy access until remembered

[NeMeSiS 11]

Select the units you want to order around->Press backspace->Play with the menu

I dont understand why this menu is so hard to access compared to OFP/ArmA1.

Also, units go automatically to combat mode when engaged. If you put them in combat mode yourself (Which can give you an advantage if you do it before the fight starts because your units look better around them and position themselves better) dont forget to put them back into aware otherwise it will take forever to go somewhere.

Edited November 2, 2009 by NeMeSiS

[Whiskey_Tango 10]

gotta take formation into account as well, echelon left/right when moving next to a known enemy location for example...if you come under fire you team will have a clear firing lane

staggered column for narrow areas or when you need to move fast, is also good for defending your flanks

wedge is good for traveling against unknown enemy locations, vee would be a reverse of wedge but with more firepower to the front

line for all your firepower to the front (probably the best formation for an ambush)

[khugan 24]

I'm glad you posted. I'm struggling with this too. Is there a sticky or a link some place that explains the various settings in the editor like move, guard, sentry, etc.? (explanations from actual players) Also I can't figure out how to use Teams effectively, like telling team Red to move here and Green to move there. Sorry for the hijack.

[nkenny 1051]

http://community.bistudio.com/

Editing forum. Most of the stuff from Arma1 (and opf for that matter) is still quite relevant. Editor is quite powerful, albeit slightly disorganized (notice a trend?). However even by mastering the simple stuff you should be able to produce highly entertaining and challenging missions.

:)

-k

[liquidpinky 11]

Might as well jump in with a unit related question.

How can I order my rocket artillery to force fire on a building I know is occupied but I can't get a visual on the enemy inside. Either for suppression to keep their heads down till I get there and deal with them myself or to just hopefully kill them and save me the bother?

[RogueBlade 0]

Important AI commands.

ENGAGE AT WILL, usually isn't worth it

Tends to produce suicide rushes through enemy lines of fire. Ergo another body bag.

-k

What do you recommend over engage at will? Just engage? Do you also have them on hold fire?

[nkenny 1051]

@Rogue Blade – Engage at Will

Firstly like any ROE choice, you need to look at the tactical considerations. In situations where my soldiers are liable to be left alone; Engage at will can save their lives. Personal initiative on their part can actually save their fireteam/element.

When conducting an organized assault or planned ambush on the other hand. It is often better, vital even, to keep your formation intact. The AI has a tendency to lock on targets, and attack with fearsome aggressiveness, only to get blindsided and shot to death.

In short. Anytime I feel I cannot feasibly provide overwatch/cover for my squad. I might put them to both DANGER and ENGAGE at WILL. Then you’ll just have to trust in their personal abilities, and make the best out of the situation yourself.

Armoured Vehicles and Engage

Vs armoured vehicles the rules of the game change somewhat. Not only do armoured vehicles represent an incredible dangerous threat to your (soft) squad. But the AI is poorly equipped to handle it!

Therefore the best approach is to carry some AT(anti tank) weapon yourself. Your own ability to make long shots, pop in and out (using cover), or just plain old intuition makes a human AT soldier significantly more effective than any AI.

If that is not possible due to roleplay considerations or perhaps terrain and situation. There are two avenues of approach. An AI armed with AT weapons will automatically attempt to aim and shoot any armoured targets. If I feel the situation merits it, I may use the targets-‘2’ menu to manually assign the TANK as a priority target.

If my formation is hiding or overrun and I feel that the amount of enemy infantry is at a manageable level; I might use the Targets-‘2’ menu and order a ‘3-4’ Engage. In my experience this is rarely effective, but sometimes you just might get lucky!

Also I try NEVER to send a single AT unit against an armoured vehicle.

To Summarize

If you cannot see what your element/squad is up to. Engage at Will.

If you will or cannot move; use Danger mode.

If attacking armoured targets; use ENGAGE only when confident infantry threat is dead.

The main advantage of your AI allies is: Gives the enemy someone else to shoot at. Just MIGHT save your life in close-environments (more eyes). Is often thematically exciting.

Never forget that the personal initiative and deadliness of a human player; is the focal firepower of any squad.

-k