You're defending the position that it is OK for a game to give players SA, instead of a game requiring players to achieve SA.
For me, your position is bizarre, and a bit sad. I want to be good based on my own merits, not a game feature.
Please don't mistake me as someone who needs to be spoon-fed to succeed in a game. I have a collection of combat flight simulators that I always play on full realism, with the hardest flight model, all game HUD elements disabled--and since my joystick broke years ago, I play with a mouse and keyboard.
And it's hardly spoon-feeding. Hey, it's not as though the player has a Halo-esque scanner or a CoD-esque minimap showing the height, bearing, and distance of every enemy.
You still have to be situationally aware to a high level to succeed in Red Orchestra--what kind of firearm is firing on the floor above you? Are you too far in front of your allies to be easily supported? Is that muzzle flash from a friendly or enemy weapon? What is the current trend in the battle and what should you be doing to help your team maintain that advantage or counter the enemy's advance? Are you in a vulnerable position to being flanked in the first place? Is that a grenade that just landed next to you?
Oh, and once you see that pheripheral indicator show up faintly at the extreme edge of your screen--is that an enemy, or is that the friendly machine gunner who came by earlier returning to pick up more ammo? Pheripheral indicators place fresh demands on your tactical awareness. Do you bother to check your left quickly and risk missing an opportunity to slow the enemy advance across the square, or do you take that shot at the distant enemy, confident that you're just seeing another ally in the corner of your eye?
Pheripheral indicators don't give you a minimap and directions to every hostile within a 500-yard radius. They don't remove or even significantly diminish the need to be situationally aware. Many times, they announce to me that I've
failed to be situationally aware--I can already hear the MP40 riddling me. In RO2 right now, how many times have you been surprised and killed even
with the current pheripheral indicator system? If it is improved to be more subtle, show only MOVING people, and show friendlies and nerfed to only show enemies out to 50-75 meters, wouldn't the number of unpleasant surprises logically rise?
Currently, I agree--the vision indicators
as implemented do reduce the need for situational awareness somewhat. If fixed, however, I feel that it can act in precisely the way it should--giving you a tool you would have in real life, with all its advantages and disadvantages.
I mean, ever try and sneak up on a friend from one side and get spotted? Ever throw a snowball at someone from one side only for them to spot, see, and dodge it? Pheripheral vision makes it difficult to sneak up on someone in real life, as designed by nature.
Pheripheral vision or not, you still have to evaluate: am I in good cover? Can I be easily seen from outside? Can I be surprised easily? Can I be supported by my allies? Do I have an escape route if a grenade lands? Am I covering a good approach to the capzone? Am I protected from artillery? Can I move quickly if I need to? You're still a fleshy, weak human (or will be once the wound system is fixed), and the best way to extend your short lifespan is still to exercise situational awareness.
Two fixes I forgot to mention:
--indicators should show only moving (sprinting or jogging) enemies and friendlies.
--indicators should show up as "false alarms" from time to time randomly.
