Commander, we have a problem...
Zuriki
Join Date: 2010-11-20 Member: 75105Members
Join Date: 2010-11-20 Member: 75105Members
<b>DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE IS MY OPINION ONLY, YOU MAY DISAGREE WITH SOME OR ALL OF WHAT I HAVE SAID, BUT I REQUEST THAT YOU DO NOT INSULT ME OVER MY OPINION. I AM ALSO FULLY AWARE OF THE CONTEXT OF A BETA RELEASE AND UNDERSTAND CHANGES WILL BE MADE.</b>
<b><!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->UPDATE:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I HAVE MADE AMENDMENTS AND APPENDICES TO THIS POST, I RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS POST FIRST AND THEN CONTINUE TO <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=111669&view=findpost&p=1810931" target="_blank">HERE</a> FOR A COMPLETE (as of) UNDERSTANDING OF MY OPINIONS.</b>
That obligatory flame-shield in place I shall begin. For most of the games I have spent my time in the CC, this is primarily due to my god-awful ping, combined with FPS lag (which should hopefully be eliminated in the final release as my graphics card is over the requirements multiple-times) which makes the more 'relaxed' nature of the Commander role pretty much the only viable gameplay option for me. That, and I think I hate it when others play commander and fail to deliver even shotgun upgrades until about 5 minutes into the game.
I haven't spent any time as the alien commander yet, so my opinion will be based purely on the Marine commander.
The commander needs some heavy reworking and fleshing out. Everything the commander does is finished in a few minutes, you build some extractors, make a new CC, upgrade the first and make a few upgrades to weapons. But really most of it can be done pretty quickly and then the commander is pretty much done. It's not even fun to play commander as you don't have to strategically place builds except maybe a sentry here or there and an armoury close to the fray.
My second major gripe is the health and ammo drops, they are far too annoying to even both with at the moment. Firstly you have to jump to the CC to select them, then you have to find a marine in need - but half the time they don't notice them or are already too dead for it to have had any affect. Thus making the entire system to clunky and useless. If there was a faster way to select the CC without jumping to it on the Minimap and an easier way to jump between marines then it might be of some use - just.
My third gripe is the lack of any communication. I've given orders to marines, 9/10 they don't follow them. Any time there has been another commander I've never gotten orders (that's a lie actually, I got ONE move order ONCE ever) and I've even asked for orders and not gotten them. I need to start playing with friends, this is not a jump into a random server with random people game, not yet at least, because nobody works together, nobody follows orders. I know others have stated their discontent with the current RAMBO situation but that is another topic.
In conclusion, the commander is not a fun role to play, and fun should be a priority in any game design.
Comments, rants and misc, welcome.
<b><!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->UPDATE:<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> I HAVE MADE AMENDMENTS AND APPENDICES TO THIS POST, I RECOMMEND YOU READ THIS POST FIRST AND THEN CONTINUE TO <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=111669&view=findpost&p=1810931" target="_blank">HERE</a> FOR A COMPLETE (as of) UNDERSTANDING OF MY OPINIONS.</b>
That obligatory flame-shield in place I shall begin. For most of the games I have spent my time in the CC, this is primarily due to my god-awful ping, combined with FPS lag (which should hopefully be eliminated in the final release as my graphics card is over the requirements multiple-times) which makes the more 'relaxed' nature of the Commander role pretty much the only viable gameplay option for me. That, and I think I hate it when others play commander and fail to deliver even shotgun upgrades until about 5 minutes into the game.
I haven't spent any time as the alien commander yet, so my opinion will be based purely on the Marine commander.
The commander needs some heavy reworking and fleshing out. Everything the commander does is finished in a few minutes, you build some extractors, make a new CC, upgrade the first and make a few upgrades to weapons. But really most of it can be done pretty quickly and then the commander is pretty much done. It's not even fun to play commander as you don't have to strategically place builds except maybe a sentry here or there and an armoury close to the fray.
My second major gripe is the health and ammo drops, they are far too annoying to even both with at the moment. Firstly you have to jump to the CC to select them, then you have to find a marine in need - but half the time they don't notice them or are already too dead for it to have had any affect. Thus making the entire system to clunky and useless. If there was a faster way to select the CC without jumping to it on the Minimap and an easier way to jump between marines then it might be of some use - just.
My third gripe is the lack of any communication. I've given orders to marines, 9/10 they don't follow them. Any time there has been another commander I've never gotten orders (that's a lie actually, I got ONE move order ONCE ever) and I've even asked for orders and not gotten them. I need to start playing with friends, this is not a jump into a random server with random people game, not yet at least, because nobody works together, nobody follows orders. I know others have stated their discontent with the current RAMBO situation but that is another topic.
In conclusion, the commander is not a fun role to play, and fun should be a priority in any game design.
Comments, rants and misc, welcome.
Comments
There's always stuff to do, if both teams are playing properly you will constantly be replacing structures, expanding, losing ground, retaking ground, and whatnot.
Med/ammo spam is stupid though, was stupid in NS1 and still is, needs a better solution.
People don't listen, organisation doesn't happen most of the time, you're probably too used to playing NS1 where the only people left are the ones who've spent way to long on it, for general popular games you won't get coordination.
However, if you use the waypoint system, I noticed its a fraction that do follow order (not 1/10, more like 2/5), and even more if you use public chat to complain on them for not following order (then its closer to 3/5). This could be enough, as to protect a cc you normally only need 1-2 marines.
If you also do have a really good plan, try explaining it in teamchat, chances are that they will follow your orders when they know how the field actually looks (they only see a tiny fraction of it yknow). From their point of perspective your orders might looks very stupid.
I <i>really</i> want a electrify marine button though, which damage marines x damage (maybe every second you hold it down, or its a toggleable button). With that kind of carrot (life), I think ppl would follow your orders. Altough then there is the griefers...
tl;dr
I want an electrify marine button, and until that comes, the best solution to make marines follow orders is to explain yourself (which is something commanders dont want to do in war).
I think the command experience could be much more than an RTS experience.
I would like the for commander to be actually 'commanding'. Spending more time with the players up front, talking on the mic.
More like this scene from Aliens:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kmTNObny3k" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kmTNObny3k</a>
Also the way points need to be clearer. The floaty ones are great for showing location through the walls, but I would rather see something like this on location.
<img src="http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8364/floorwaypoint.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
It would be great for you to know when the commander is selecting you, knowing he is on your shoulder and doing something in regards to your situation. You should be rewarded in the short term for working as a squad.
I know more elite players will do these things without having to be commanded and can do, but could this not be part of the gameplay and make for more atmospheric, tense and exciting games that are a lot more emotionally involved. You only get that from genuinely caring about players.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Punishments (based on objectives/way points) could be:
Lack of access to higher upgrades for X minutes if task not completed in X minutes
Less resources income for X minutes if task not completed in X minutes - this could also go to other players instead
Reduced moral - a player in a squad has a higher 'moral' and takes less from an attack / fires 'slightly' quicker / whatever
Player rating - :/ :| :) ;) 8D
Rewards
Instant Health (Depending on task a %)
Instant Ammo (Depending on task a %)
Improved Sight
Improved Hearing
Faster Speed (Could go up / down depending on how squady he is)
Improved R.O.F
Improved relationship with commander (Comm knows you are doing better for him, so is made more aware of you)
You know when comm is watching or has selected you
Scanning the room could give your visor a temporary boost, so that it identifies not just aliens present, but vent locations also<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The possibility to make this something more involved, more intense, more atmospheric and really pushing the 'on-line' aspect that make games so exciting (which is all about communication and relationship between players btw) is huge.
Now the only link is that marines need meds/ammo from the commander (which they can get easily from the seemingly abundance of armorys o_O) and- as someone stated- the 'teching up stage' in the first 5 mins of the game.
There's no more "hey dudes get here, i NEED you to build this!" There's only "hey guys if you like you could defend this, but if not 'sall good." Or he wouldn't have to say anything at all. He can play his little RTS game almost separate from the marines playing their little FPS game.
I think it's a very subtle tether that's been broken, but i feel it's pretty vital. There is no longer a need for a dedicated comm (which is think is an angle they were aiming for?). The alien team seems more forgiving of these new RTS elements since there was already a sort of every-man-for-himself sense to its gameplay (everyone with their own res pool).
They've obviously tried to include more RTS elements than NS1, but maybe it's hurting more than helping? That being said we're still miles away from 'final' gameplay but it's worth thinking about.
Build and research times are decreased for testing purpose and a lot of the lategame builds/upgrades aren't even in the game. I think we need the full tech tree to evaluate that question.
<!--quoteo(post=1810730:date=Nov 26 2010, 10:17 AM:name=Zuriki)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zuriki @ Nov 26 2010, 10:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1810730"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I've given orders to marines, 9/10 they don't follow them. Any time there has been another commander I've never gotten orders (that's a lie actually, I got ONE move order ONCE ever) and I've even asked for orders and not gotten them. I need to start playing with friends, this is not a jump into a random server with random people game, not yet at least, because nobody works together, nobody follows orders. I know others have stated their discontent with the current RAMBO situation but that is another topic.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The "requesting orders" buttons as Marines doesn't seem to do anything at the moment and the commands by the Com don't seem to show to reach the Marines all the time, so this might as well be feature/bug related. Rambo situations might also be caused by the "Tier2=GG" situation. When the winner is clear the commander kind of looses his "right to exist" or his usefullness which is already limited due to the unfinished tech tree in beta.
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=111671" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=111671</a>
Maybe let my post die, and i repost here?
Some of my suggestions will give the comm more time to care about his marines.
For the Marine commander, I would love to see weapon specific upgrades instead of just unlocking weapons. More than just +damage (which is good), like shotguns getting more bullets and bigger bullet spread (to have the same bullet density but easier to aim), bigger clips for assault rifles, longer reaching flashlights, greater AOE for flamethrower, stuff like that.
Marine commanders can't drop guns any more, so giving them researchable upgrades for specific guns might be a good replacement for boredom and lack of commander-soldier communication.
In NS2, Marines would get shotguns and ask for the shotgun upgrade. In NS1, they'd ask for shotguns.
I want to see the hp bars of own players and structures aka "the ring" (without the need to select one after another all the time)
I want a mac button to auto-repair structures around it. (with on and off function)
I want to know which marine needs what: (little icon on the marine?)
- I need a medpack
- I need ammo
- I need orders
I want a squadsystem that works. (and doesnt take away the view on the map around the marines - like it is atm)
IDEA:
- Either make a "join squad"-like system(drag and drop you own name) we know from Battlefield: Bad Company2 => so players choose with which player they wanna group up
- Or make a drag and drop like interface for the commander
<img src="http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2554/unbenannt2b0.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />
- Color highlight "the rings" on the map, and "the smaller rings" on the minimap around the marines. (so i know thats a squad red guy etc.)
I want to see "attack defend goto" waypoints i gave marines or whole squads on the map/minimap
- audio alert if they reached it
- colorhighlight the waypoint if possible (squad)
I want an working alert + goto action system @ spacebar
I want to make multiple researches on a structure -> spent the res now, structure researchs one after another automatically
I want to have hotgroups with multiple structures and tab between them by pressing TAB. (cst.1 + cst.2 + armory + obs in a hotgroup, (Command Stations always have the highest priority, so the first selection is always a CSt.) I press the hotgroup button and land on CSt.1, after pressing TAB im on the cst.2, TAB im on the observatory, TAB again armory, TAB again back on the Cst1...) Command Station > Observatory > TechLab > Armory > RT > IP or so...
I want to have hotgroups with multiple macs and tab betweend them.
I want a hotkey for idle macs
If i drop medpacks/ammo/etc on marines, i dont want to select them and unselect the command station => need to reselect commstation to drop another one. (happens all the time :,()
I want ghoststructures => shiftkey + build multiple structures
Double press of a hotkey = goto structure only if pressed fast. (timewindow seems to big for the 2nd press atm)
... thats it for now, i hope i got every point i wanted to say (possible edits inc.)
Essentially that comprises of the team list on the right hand side of the comm view, giving you a more condensed idea of 'location, health, requests, squad, alerts, who is talking'.
Marines when using mics/text/radio menu would be made aware to the commander. Obviously this could get crowded, so those taking health hit, or on low health, or near alien structures would have more priority. Then the comm could either double click to go to location, or assess them on the list (are they grouped with others? health?) quickly to see if it is worth it.
I really do not like the idea of a space bar to go to alerts, the problem being you can not be selective of the alert you want to attend. I do however think space bar would be a good way of returning you to point you were before you double clicked the squad/player alert.
Drag drop would be fine for squads, but I think the way the game does it is okay but needs work.
What needs to happen is that players need to be rewarded/punished for doing what they are told. If they are not being told anything it does not effect things. If the comm is causing grief, there needs to be an excellent system to kick them in place.
The question is what rewards/punishments should be in place? I do not think electrocuting players in constructive in any way. But I have mentioned my ideas for that above.
Some things have to be done smartly by the computer, because otherwise there is far too much to do.
In other words, speak loudly and clearly on the mic. If they don't follow your orders, repeat/spam your instructions but don't shout. Repeating your orders lots of times works pretty well IMO.
It doesn't actually matter whether you're good at comming if you can talk like you're good at comming. Just look at politicians around the world if you need proof.
Rewards and punishment... i need to think about that.
I need to click on the bar => he gets highlighted on the field => Now i know the position of him => next step, i need to select the commandstation => drop a medpack.
With rings all i have to do is drop a medpack on or in front of the guy with low health - because i know instantly which one it is.
???
Like the stimpack in SC2. It needs a cooldown period so you can't keep alive a marine all the time and have a cost.
I think that would simplify the commanding quite a lot.
That said I never felt like med spam was too much of a problem in NS1 (it could get expensive).
This takes away fun and gameplay... commanders need to place with "skill". (needs to read the movement of the marine and alien and place in a good position)
This takes away fun and gameplay... commanders need to place with "skill". (needs to read the movement of the marine and alien and place in a good position)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
But is that really adding to the depth of the gameplay? Chasing marines around with the mouse just feels clumsy, it is not predictable and takes time away from more intelligent areas of what makes up the commanders role.
I agree dropping 'something' should be the case, but not the clumsy messy (visually) drops that occur so often. I would much rather see something temporary dropped (like the crag, heals within a range) but can not be abused. Maybe a range of a couple of meters, and once 3 marines have healed from it it evaporates and has to charge up on the comm interface for that squad.
I think being rewarded health for tasks is fine, but instead of being 100% boost, it could be 20%. You will have probably lost health in fights for the task, and even a small amount of HP can help.
I think health/ammo supply and the other possibilities mentioned are all ways of getting players to do tasks, whilst not taking away the ability for them to run around blazing if they want to. It just means they do not have access to improved upgrades for a short period if they do not follow them.
I agree. I don't like the direction this game has taken ever since it was announced marines would buy their own guns. In the old days of NS1 , "rambo" marines were pretty much doomed , dying alone. People felt linked to the commander , both in purpose and execution.
Right now there is nothing else to do besides going rambo with whatever gun you fancy , and the comm orders MACs around more than marines - especially since those always obey orders.
Map layouts also have to do with that. In NS1 , maps were huge and disorienting to new players - waypoints helped marines focus their firepower and wrestle map control , it was intentional that aliens were greatly favored in 1v1 situations. Marines required medpack and ammo support because the comm had to make hard choices for secondary bases , despite phase gates.
Compare Eclipse with Rockdown , with only 2 paths out of the marine base , that the comm can build along without much thought. Marines typically spend about 5 seconds running back to armories when low on health or ammo. That kind of tactic would be suicide in NS1.
As for the current comm interface , it's very broken so I wouldn't worry too much about it. We can only give meaningful feedback once ammo and medpacks can be dropped at any time , not requiring to scroll over half of the map to select the comm station and then back to marines.
I'm sure they will have hot keys to select certain structures you want to keep an eye on, but camera snapping hot keys would also be useful.
A key for a commander to see all the players at one time, health/ammo status might be cool too, functions like tabbing scoreboard
Ok i made some more changes to my UI concept addressing these concerns:
"Med/ammo spam is stupid though, was stupid in NS1 and still is, needs a better solution."- Chris0132
@ Koruyo "I want to see the hp bars of own players and structures aka "the ring" (without the need to select one after another all the time)"- Koruyo
<b>[b]All-Status Button could be a toggle (see thread)</b>[/b]
"How do i know which marine needs health if i watch a fight? (5 marines) I could drop 1 medpack and hope the right one saw it or i could spam all over the place - but thats not effective."
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=111606" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=111606</a>
That is not true... if you have played many matches on rockdown at the moment, you will realise that unless the comm gets the 2nd cc up and GLs/Flamers, aliens will always win (pretty much).
They have made being a bad comm harder to be, but being a bad comm (I think) was more to do with the structure to which you are delivered an understanding how the interface works.
Ie.
You jump in chair, a login sequence begins giving a brief run down on the situation and you role, you have a command assistant, players are easier to locate and manage (ping bar esq thing), etc, etc..
If you are a noob commander, there tends to be a marine on map whining to place a res node/whatever. If you could click on that whining marine in the form of a button, move to his position and understand that you have to build a res node, etc there... all the better.
All about communication baby.
Hear hear. Needs to be changed.
Frankly... I don't know why the buttons need to be in a grid on the bottom right anyway... why not a set of big "Build Stuff", "Support Marines", "Give Orders", "Research" buttons which bring up context specific menus which take up a large amount of the screen (hence easy to give info about what you want) and then disappears when you're not selecting... All of this can still be hot-keyed.
Maybe I just don't love StarCraft enough, but really don't see why you should HAVE to fly around the map selecting structures unless you are doing some specific to that very structure (as opposed to some ability unlock by that type of structure, or an upgrade to all structures of that type).
...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Of course the role of the commander is key in any game, I absolutely understand that. But you can't argue the role of the comm is being stripped down to where they don't absolutely make or break a game. That was my point.
disagree. you can't say its not fun. i like being in control of the macs and drifters. while macs aren't that cool yet, they are getting an EMP. and drifter blind is fun to use. well, in general, alien comming is more fun with all the active abilities of the crags and whips (soon to be implemented). But keeping up with the power node rebuilding and defense setup as rine comm is more work and less play.
<!--quoteo(post=1810730:date=Nov 26 2010, 05:17 AM:name=Zuriki)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zuriki @ Nov 26 2010, 05:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1810730"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->My second major gripe is the health and ammo drops, they are far too annoying to even both with at the moment.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
couldn't agree more. avoid having to click on the cc at all. permanent a and h keys (plz make bindable, i'd rather use wasd for map scrolling) that can be hit from any menu or no menu at all. when ammo or health is selected, plz clear the screen of all red and blue squad bubbles. this should be towards the top of the gameplay list.
<!--quoteo(post=1810730:date=Nov 26 2010, 05:17 AM:name=Zuriki)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zuriki @ Nov 26 2010, 05:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1810730"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->My third gripe is the lack of any communication. I've given orders to marines, 9/10 they don't follow them.
I know others have stated their discontent with the current RAMBO situation but that is another topic.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
same, i think the group selecting needs refinement and then polish. right now i find it easier to use my mic to order the team around. also, we need a labeled mini map. i need to know what to call places. "west tech point" in rockdown is a lame name to have to say repeatedly.
<!--quoteo(post=1810730:date=Nov 26 2010, 05:17 AM:name=Zuriki)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zuriki @ Nov 26 2010, 05:17 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1810730"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->In conclusion, the commander is not a fun role to play, and fun should be a priority in any game design.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
agreed on priority, but i wouldn't say it's not fun.
In conclusion, the commander is not a fun role to play, and fun should be a priority in any game design.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I agree with you,
but we must take into account that it is very hard to make a RTS fun and exhilarating.
Especially when you can't completely control the players.
But in terms of commander-mechanics and interface discussion, I have the following 2p worth:
1) The RTS interface should heavily, HEAVILY draw from established known-good approaches present in the likes of SupCom, Starcraft and Dawn Of War 2. That's because they are converging to 'optimal' as demonstrated by the histories of each and where/how they've changed. I dare say UW aren't planning anything contrary to this, it just isn't implemented yet. As an serious RTS player myself, the keys things are off-screen selection and off-screen triggerability of unit abilities with permanent GUI representation of arbitrary assets all managed by logical, configurable hot keys. Of course, the whole thing has to respond in a timely manner and work properly, too ;)
2) Consider having the commander-issued health/ammo spawns as abilities on the marines themselves, triggerable by the commander once a group of marines is selected. It fits the lore and is the logical 'how they'd actually do it' approach. The marine gets the ammo / hp immediately as opposed to watching it fall through the floor.
3) Definitely have orders easily-visible, unambiguous yet not distracting or combat-impeding. Satnav stylee guidance to waypoints is hugely important for the idea of a 'commanding' Commander role who gives commands that are worth following and get followed. The lack of this in NS1 was a big contributing factor as to why, once learned/understood/mastered by the community at large, it became an FPS with a babysitter as opposed to FPS players operating in an RTS: there was no advantage to having the commander orchestrate the battle.
(I think the power node and multi-base features in NS2 are SUPER AWESOMES as I expect they will address this shortcoming of NS1 very well as long as the maps are big enough and complex enough. Rock is a good example of a small simplistic map that will propagate unwanted FPS-with-babysitter NS1 regression; Tram is where we'll see real advantage in centralised RTS-style orchestration and true RTS gameplay).
4) I hate to say this next bit because I feel gaming in general has been ruined by the ultra-noob obligatory inclusion of XP and character development systems where gameplay and skill is secondary to the kind of gear you can shoot or armour you can wear. BUT, if a key design goal for NS2 is to truly have an RTS-######-shooter thing going on, I think that some sort of order-completion reward system would augment things vastly. I refer to Halo: Reach as the kind of model that would work, where the lvl-up element is one of bragging rights, kudos and cosmetic stuffs, not game-altering feature unlocks. There IS a place for this lvl-up design virus ruining gaming elsewhere, and I think its first true home since the RPG could be NS2. Want your top 5 percentile helmet thingy? Then follow the orders. If the commander is incompetent, vote him out.
5) To further support the RTS factor, I think the information on the whereabouts of the enemy and the general state of the battlefield should only be available to the commanders, who must then pass this information on. If the marines don't have the full context, they must seek a relationship with the commander or rambo and die. Keeping a nice thick line between the two roles (commander and soldier) should lead to a cohesive and working chain of command supporting a centralised strategy. It also encourages the commander to be competant in order to 'survive'. This would perhaps also lead to the use of the greatest and most underused weapon in the game, VOIP. For me, playing as commander in the early days of NS1 was a deep and thoroughly entertaining exercise in social engineering. NS2 will likely be no different. Except...
6) The commander needs a way to passively 'punish' uncooperative players. In NS1 for the marines, this took place in the form of 'take your ass hat off or no HA+HMG'. In NS2, there is no mechanic for the commander to provide carrot/stick, especially with the absence of an order-completion reward system. I suggest allowing the commander to designate certain players as having access to GL/Flamer. This also addresses the weapon-spam issues people are currently obsessed with if the marine team is only allowed, for eg. 4 specialist roles.
What if the commander keeps giving his friends the gear? If you think he's behaving improperly (however you define that yourself) vote him out. Alternatively/additionally, perhaps have a weapon specialist designation have a cool-down, so that once a marine is killed having been designated, the role cannot be assigned to them for a period of time. Or something. There's a lot of emergent issues with all this because of the human factor. Might simply be that to use the GL/Flamer, you have to earn the respect of your fellow players. Maybe we could engender the return of having to earn respect of your fellow human by functioning usefully in order to get what one wants! Wow. Far out man.....
(Apologies for the lengthyness, as a games designer I tend to brainflood on this kind of subject! No apologies at all for poking fun at the rampant gaming-kiddie culture.)