Squad system is terrible

[nebsif]

There needs to be a hotkey for VOIP to squad only.

There needs to be a hotkey for VOIP to squad only.

There needs to be a hotkey for VOIP to squad only.

This. This. This.

Numerous times I wanted to talk to my SL, or my squad members when im one.. but yelling "spawn on me im at X" or "Squad lead lemme go in 1st" to your WHOLE TEAM is completely pointless.
Currently the all team voip only serves a good purpose for people to vent their rage at their "stupid" team, just like you had Russian guys spamming Russian stuff in RO1 cuz their tank driver is crap or what not.

 

[smokeythebear]

To me "spawning" doesn't make sense at all in a game where we should have reinforcements not spawns, the reinforcement should have to go from the regular reinforcement point like everyone else.
Teleporting to the squad leader just feels out of place in a realistic setting.

That's why I like the rally point system of Project reality. Rather then spawn on squad leader you place a vulnerable Cache that can be easily destroyed and has a long cooldown, meaning that SL's wont want to ninja it at the risk of losing it. It's proven to work really well, it adds to gameplay and does not break immersion. Because of it you can have squads operating independently on large maps.

 

[Ossius]

As some mentioned, no incentive to follow squad leader orders. I got an idea!

When you assign a move marker, if the squad is fighting in a 10 meter radius around the marker, they get extra team points.

I'd follow my squad orders if I could get faster experience.

That's why I like the rally point system of Project reality. Rather then spawn on squad leader you place a vulnerable Cache that can be easily destroyed and has a long cooldown, meaning that SL's wont want to ninja it at the risk of losing it. It's proven to work really well, it adds to gameplay and does not break immersion. Because of it you can have squads operating independently on large maps.

Problem is Project reality has maps three times the size of Pavlov's house and fixed spawns at either end of the map, SLs have to be useful else your team loses.

EDIT: Another awesome idea!
Make squad selection the default option maybe? That way people will actually pick and choose squads and loadouts, Ala Project reality.

 

[LeopoldStotch]

What we would need is a more "open" squad system as the OP suggested, and a reward for people for a leading a squad. Oh, and don't give squad leaders semi's, let it be an SMG or a regular bolt action.
The commanding system needs to be much more intuitive, half the time when I try to use it, the order I want to place ends up somewhere entirely different. Then of course you should get points for
a.) doing kills near your squadleader
b.) COMPLETING ORDERS, a.k.a: "move here!" I move there "order completed, +2 points"
c.) Killing targets marked by the squad leader ("marked target +2)

etc etc etc

 

[Porta]

What we would need is a more "open" squad system as the OP suggested, and a reward for people for a leading a squad. Oh, and don't give squad leaders semi's, let it be an SMG or a regular bolt action.
The commanding system needs to be much more intuitive, half the time when I try to use it, the order I want to place ends up somewhere entirely different. Then of course you should get points for
a.) doing kills near your squadleader
b.) COMPLETING ORDERS, a.k.a: "move here!" I move there "order completed, +2 points"
c.) Killing targets marked by the squad leader ("marked target +2)

etc etc etc

Yeah and taking objective marked by SL +5 points or smth....

 

[Josef Nader]

What we would need is a more "open" squad system as the OP suggested, and a reward for people for a leading a squad. Oh, and don't give squad leaders semi's, let it be an SMG or a regular bolt action.
The commanding system needs to be much more intuitive, half the time when I try to use it, the order I want to place ends up somewhere entirely different. Then of course you should get points for
a.) doing kills near your squadleader
b.) COMPLETING ORDERS, a.k.a: "move here!" I move there "order completed, +2 points"
c.) Killing targets marked by the squad leader ("marked target +2)

etc etc etc

This. SLs get points for accomplishing objectives, Commanders get points when their overall orders are accomplished, and fireteams get points for doing as they're told.

It could possibly be farmed for XP, but the progression system and I aren't on very good terms right now, so bother that.

 

[ChargerCarl]

The whole squad/commander system in this game is just really confusing and unclear.

I'd like to see it more like Forgotten Hope 2.

 

[Zrix]

It really doesn't feel like you gain anything by squading up. And just doing so is awkward and unintuitive.

There should be rewards and/or benefits to being in and leading a squad. And the interface should get a remake.

 

[mechanicalDR]

I suggested a mod idea that would actually enforce squads. If a player strayed too far away from their leader they would temporarily turn into a bot that would travel back into range of the leader. Of course this would only be for a single life skirmish type game, can't really apply it to the chaos that is Red Orchestra pub territory. I would play the heck out of a larger map arma style skirmish though. Wishful thinking. Would be like playing Advance Squad Leader as a single man. Are there any games that actually have squad tactics?

 

[Josef Nader]

Are there any games that actually have squad tactics?

Games have tried, but trying to get people to work together on the internet is like herding foul mouthed, antisocial cats.

So basically just herding cats.

(****ing cats...)

 

[mechanicalDR]

Games have tried, but trying to get people to work together on the internet is like herding foul mouthed, antisocial cats.

So basically just herding cats.

(****ing cats...)

Don't diss cats yo. They will be our overlords in a couple years.

When people do squads, its the very niche and hardcore ofp/arma groups. The only problem with that is that its so hard to get setup and into. Am I really the only person who has a huge urge to play out realistic firefights? Even RO1 is made up of plenty of headless chickens. Sure, they are prone, capping the objective, but they are all still very unorganized, and most definitely not in fire teams.

Wishful thinking ;_:

 

[MadTommy]

Bloody hell.. what a bunch on cry babies!

If you don't like to spawn on the SL don't do it.

And us that don't have an issue with it can continue to use it. I have no issue with the spawn on SL as it is. Asking for it to be removed when you can simply not use it is.. well pathetic.

The squad system can certainly be improved but don't throw out the baby with the bath water!

 

[Mr.Light]

The squad system needs to be more... in your face. As a SL, when I give a command I have no idea if anyone has accepted it. When a SL give me an order and I try to accept it I press F4 and nothing happens.. I have no idea if I have accepted or if anyone else in my squad has accepted so I end up going solo.

If you accept a command you should automatically say you have accepted it and when you complete an order you should automatically say you complete it. There needs to be this communication in the squads in order for there to be any sense of order!

 

[mechanicalDR]

The squad system needs to be more... in your face. As a SL, when I give a command I have no idea if anyone has accepted it. When a SL give me an order and I try to accept it I press F4 and nothing happens.. I have no idea if I have accepted or if anyone else in my squad has accepted so I end up going solo.

If you accept a command you should automatically say you have accepted it and when you complete an order you should automatically say you complete it. There needs to be this communication in the squads in order for there to be any sense of order!

All the maps so far, even fallen fighters are too tiny for squad commands and organization to be of any tactical use. Its a mad rush to the obj's. "Hey guys, your trying to cap that obj right? Good, carry on." You spawn a stones throw from where you need to go. Squads commands say cap A instead of B, because I like A better. Right now they are basically mobile spawns and the lovely people who carry the smokes that'll save your butt.

 

[DiedTrying]

Do people gain points for completing Squad Leader orders? Most people don't even confirm or deny so I can't tell!

It's always fun to spawn on a squad leader and spawn directly on top of a nice cooked frag! It's also fun when you know the location of a camping squad leader when I have the MG34 or DP! Guys spawn in the open and I mow them down before they move!

And to say that squad leaders have 0% effect on the game is false. A good squad leader camping somewhere can have a good many people spawn off him and have them go straight into battle rather than taking 5 minutes running to the action.

 

[Josef Nader]

Bloody hell.. what a bunch on cry babies!

If you don't like to spawn on the SL don't do it.

And us that don't have an issue with it can continue to use it. I have no issue with the spawn on SL as it is. Asking for it to be removed when you can simply not use it is.. well pathetic.

The squad system can certainly be improved but don't throw out the baby with the bath water!

Way to not read the thread.

We're moaning about the command interface being obtuse and difficult to use, so hard to figure out that nobody pays attention to it, and there is very little reward for people working as a team. Only a few people have moaned about spawning on the SL, and they were quickly hushed.

 

[Porta]

Before any rewards are implemented for following SL orders... the feedback/info for the squad need to be serioulsy improved.

GUI/VOIP/HOTKEYS etc

 

[Deek]

Wait. There's a squad system?

....

... but I'm desperate for more cohesive teamplay at this point.

But seriously, yeah. Me too. Providing the feedback and tools necessary to create cohesive play in a pub environment would take the game from good to great.

Unfortunately, I'm sure it's far from priority at the moment. It will likely happen post-release. I hope/assume Tripwire isn't satisfied with the current squad mechanics, as they seem very bare bones and placeholder-ish.

 

[INQUE]

Wait. There's a squad system?

....


But seriously, yeah. Me too. Providing the feedback and tools necessary to create cohesive play in a pub environment would take the game from good to great.

Unfortunately, I'm sure it's far from priority at the moment. It will likely happen post-release. I hope/assume Tripwire isn't satisfied with the current squad mechanics, as they seem very bare bones and placeholder-ish.

I really do hope they feel that the Squad system needs to be improved.

At the moment, they haven't commented (or at least I haven't seen a dev comment) on this issue

Could be a low priority for the at the moment since they need to focus on getting the game optimized and stable, which is understandable on its own right.

I really do hope the Squad system will get a facelift post-release with better features / UI enhancements

 

[KarmakazeNZ]

It really doesn't feel like you gain anything by squading up. And just doing so is awkward and unintuitive.

There should be rewards and/or benefits to being in and leading a squad. And the interface should get a remake.

Hmmm let me see.. regardless of any game mechanic, working as part of a squad is fun. All of you here seem to want to do it. So why do you need a special feature of the game? Can't you work as part of a team without having to be bribed?

Why do you need extra XP or some other personal benefit before you play as part of a team? It seems to me that what you are saying is you are selfish, and unless you get extra benefits you are not going to work with your team.

It just sounds stupid to me that people keep asking for rules to be put in place to force them to do the things they WANT to do.

Doesn't that sound ridiculous to you?