a mic really helps a lot and just recently i took a break from commanding until my replacement arrived. but i've still seen plenty of a few commanders doing great by chatting, too.
e.g. if you have a coordinating, map-aware "captain" on the field with a microphone, that can work out nicely as well.
It is. I started playing it without and have soon noticed typing just won't work. Not for regular gameplay and especially not for commanding. Tried with typing and it's just too time consuming and while you're doing it, you can't give medpacks and build stuff so that is a huge negative. So i bought a headset specifically for this one game.
There should be a note on the Steam Store page that says "Microphone HIGHLY Reccomended", not just for commanding, but for everyone.
Keep in mind not everyone buys it via steam.
I would have the microphone prompt right when you launch the game.
"A microphone is highly recommended for this game and can make your experience far more enjoyable, if you have one press LEFT ALT to talk to and coordinate with your teammates."
What I don't understand is how some comms don't read the chatbox..I understand in some situations you are too busy...but it literally is on the same screen that you are dropping meds/buildings/watching fights.
It just shows the ego of some comms and how little some of them care about their ground forces opinions.
A commander doesn't have a second for himself if he does the job a little seriously. Checking everything all the time leaves no time for reading. And that's a thing to do when you play against / with good players.
A commander isn't only a medpack dispenser. You should try (more?).
A commander doesn't have a second for himself if he does the job a little seriously. Checking everything all the time leaves no time for reading. And that's a thing to do when you play against / with good players.
A commander isn't only a medpack dispenser. You should try (more?).
Yeah, but usually the comms you try to address with text are those you couldn't reach with a mic, and those are not *that* busy with comming. Quite the opposite, actually.
Well, I used to be a field player until I joined HBZ. Now I am their [noob] commander. (Waiting for you reaffirmation Bicsum! Dont dissapoint me! )
I often play pub to be able to test things out or just to have a fun time while improving myself.
If I don´t go comm in a round, I just want to play on the field once in a while or I have commed some pub rounds which were terrible so I need a break from it.
I could make a list with abuses against me even though I commed when nobody wanted to. "Noob goes Craig Hive. SHIFT idot" and such nonsense don´t make one thrilled to jump in
again.
Honestly, if you have the badge it means you've commanded enough in the past to deserve a break from the chair for a game. The people who don't have it are the ones that ought to get their butts in there and learn the other half of the game. Sure, if you're absolutely green this doesn't really apply to you, but I doubt anyone reading this thread is very green at all.
hey, i put in my hours over the course of my 1000. not my fault the badges aren't retroactive.
incidentally, the ones that want it and have it, don't deserve it. and the ones that deserve it, really don't care one way or the other if they have it.
incidentally, If i'm in hive it's shade first, almost every time... i know it's not good, but i just want my skulks to have fun.
I like my name like i like my coffee, without accouterments.
I love when commanders, even experienced ones, say "Repair phase is under attack. Everyone go to repair." Oddly enough the entire team goes to repair except for the few people sitting in base. Then the commander proceeds to complain that were are not protecting the RT's while were in repair, because we lost 3 of them.
You can tweak the scenario a bit, but I see this so often.
In my experience player name on minimap has helped alleviate this a lot as long as the commander takes advantage of it and calls people out by name. It's a tiny bit more mental effort to actually think of your teammates as more than identical grunts, but the UI changes helps in that regard so much that it's pretty sloppy commanding not to do that even in a pub nowadays.
which makes picking the the most unpronounceable name imaginable, an awesome way to quietly troll your comm.
which makes picking the the most unpronounceable name imaginable, an awesome way to quietly troll your comm.
i second that while i don't do it for trolling (nick is from a pre-voice-era), it always makes me smile how people get distracted by trying to figure an adequate way of pronouncing it (i guess there is none) in the heat of battle. in the end, each person adresses me differently...
which makes picking the the most unpronounceable name imaginable, an awesome way to quietly troll your comm.
i second that while i don't do it for trolling (nick is from a pre-voice-era), it always makes me smile how people get distracted by trying to figure an adequate way of pronouncing it (i guess there is none) in the heat of battle. in the end, each person adresses me differently...
oh, i usually go for something really really long, really embarassing to say aloud or, sometimes, if i'm really in a puckish mood, just an obscenity.
I'm hoping that every time they call out for my attention, they'll get odd looks from anybody in earshot.
which makes picking the the most unpronounceable name imaginable, an awesome way to quietly troll your comm.
i second that while i don't do it for trolling (nick is from a pre-voice-era), it always makes me smile how people get distracted by trying to figure an adequate way of pronouncing it (i guess there is none) in the heat of battle. in the end, each person adresses me differently...
oh, i usually go for something really really long, really embarassing to say aloud or, sometimes, if i'm really in a puckish mood, just an obscenity.
I'm hoping that every time they call out for my attention, they'll get odd looks from anybody in earshot.
Names on minimap does have it's advantages, though. I recently asked "Fries n weed" to meet up with "kaffee" in mezzanine.
which makes picking the the most unpronounceable name imaginable, an awesome way to quietly troll your comm.
i second that while i don't do it for trolling (nick is from a pre-voice-era), it always makes me smile how people get distracted by trying to figure an adequate way of pronouncing it (i guess there is none) in the heat of battle. in the end, each person adresses me differently...
oh, i usually go for something really really long, really embarassing to say aloud or, sometimes, if i'm really in a puckish mood, just an obscenity.
I'm hoping that every time they call out for my attention, they'll get odd looks from anybody in earshot.
Names on minimap does have it's advantages, though. I recently asked "Fries n weed" to meet up with "kaffee" in mezzanine.
oh, i'll use it too, all the time. like, "weeds, incoming lerk behind you" for example... because apparently not everybody looks at their command map upwards of 50% of the time.
You don't need a mic as commander if your team knows what it does. Then you just need to give short orders and drop a ping now and then. And as player, I enjoy rounds when less than maybe four people are talking. There are players that just never shut up and you don't even hear the enemies. That is extremely annoying. Yes you can mute them, but from time to time they say something important, so I don't. (Don't kill me, I know that mics have their advantages, but I would rather use a voice menu like Starsiege Tribes had to offer. That keeps the infosat least short and tactical.)
That would be odd, since his comment doesn't apply to my statement.
his implication, as I read it is that a comm directs, not just dispenses. good comms and decent ones both dispense and get the upgrades out. but the former has a plan of attack that they need to coordinate. i'm decent, but when I win, it's only because my marines have ground the enemy into submission, usually not because I led them to victory. This changes a bit with arcing and such, but usually i'm not the one to initiate a sneaky phase or a gorge rush. I am carried by their skill at shooting and biting.
I'm a pretty good priest, i can make the bars go up good. that does not mean i'm a good comm. and no mic, means hard as hell to make the bars go up and coordinate at the same time.
Sometimes the distinction isn't as obvious as one marine going 30 and 2 with everybody else negative.
i've been in games as that marine, granted not with such a blatant score. and i've switched teams the next game, and the same marine commander that was all feeling himself, wonders why his commanding isn't working this time around...
and the reason boils down to nobody is actively killing 6 res towers, and preventing base rushes and killing upgrades. He wasn't experienced enough to ask for it, nor was he experienced enough to notice it, and he definitely wasn't experienced enough to know what it does to the enemy economy.
And I believe that you just have to push a good team (that knows what to do) in the right direction with a few commands. If you have people on your team that do exactly what you describe above, then a mic spamming comm is not necessary. Hence: "You don't need a mic as commander if your team knows what it does."
And I believe that you just have to push a good team (that knows what to do) in the right direction with a few commands. If you have people on your team that do exactly what you describe above, then a mic spamming comm is not necessary. Hence: "You don't need a mic as commander if your team knows what it does."
you don't need medpacks either, if the team is good enough... using "a team that's good enough" in your scenario, robs it of any worth in differentiating good vs ok comms.
if you play enough, you'll realize that the mark of a good team, is when there's almost constant chatter, relevant chatter, but chatter none-the-less. when guys call out numbers and positions. and comms call out timings and movement... the game becomes another beast entirely.
It's Super Effective!Join Date: 2012-08-28Member: 156625Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow
edited May 2014
I've seen games where the commander was afk, had little impact or non at all! and that team still won, obviously not often, but it does happen.. So does that mean we can take the no-mic issue to the next level and for argument sake take it EVEN further and say "The commander, don't need to do anything if you have a good team" (team skill being relative to the other factors)?
This is obviously pointing out a much larger issue which this topic isn't about, just saying
There are players that just never shut up and you don't even hear the enemies. That is extremely annoying. Yes you can mute them, but from time to time they say something important, so I don't.
Off topic, but this...omfg this is annoying when it happens ingame. They might just be coordinating with their teammates on a different part of the map. But the ones who don't shut up prevent me from hearing any lifeform until they are on top of me.
There are players that just never shut up and you don't even hear the enemies. That is extremely annoying. Yes you can mute them, but from time to time they say something important, so I don't.
Off topic, but this...omfg this is annoying when it happens ingame. They might just be coordinating with their teammates on a different part of the map. But the ones who don't shut up prevent me from hearing any lifeform until they are on top of me.
That's a stupid reason to not mute someone if you literally cannot hear what is going on in game.
That's a stupid reason to not mute someone if you literally cannot hear what is going on in game.
Well if we're getting into it, there's many reasons why I don't mute people.
Main reason being, I'm an admin on the servers I play on, so I need to leave it open to make sure people aren't abusing voice chat, breaking server rules..etc.
My original post was just off topic ranting...it's not some game issue that needs a solution. Don't take it so literal.
Comments
e.g. if you have a coordinating, map-aware "captain" on the field with a microphone, that can work out nicely as well.
Keep in mind not everyone buys it via steam.
I would have the microphone prompt right when you launch the game.
"A microphone is highly recommended for this game and can make your experience far more enjoyable, if you have one press LEFT ALT to talk to and coordinate with your teammates."
It just shows the ego of some comms and how little some of them care about their ground forces opinions.
A commander isn't only a medpack dispenser. You should try (more?).
Yeah, but usually the comms you try to address with text are those you couldn't reach with a mic, and those are not *that* busy with comming. Quite the opposite, actually.
I often play pub to be able to test things out or just to have a fun time while improving myself.
If I don´t go comm in a round, I just want to play on the field once in a while or I have commed some pub rounds which were terrible so I need a break from it.
I could make a list with abuses against me even though I commed when nobody wanted to. "Noob goes Craig Hive. SHIFT idot" and such nonsense don´t make one thrilled to jump in
again.
hey, i put in my hours over the course of my 1000. not my fault the badges aren't retroactive.
incidentally, the ones that want it and have it, don't deserve it. and the ones that deserve it, really don't care one way or the other if they have it.
incidentally, If i'm in hive it's shade first, almost every time... i know it's not good, but i just want my skulks to have fun.
I like my name like i like my coffee, without accouterments.
which makes picking the the most unpronounceable name imaginable, an awesome way to quietly troll your comm.
hey, to be fair, you guys can only carry me so hard, because you're standing on a solid foundation consisting of medpacks.
oh, i usually go for something really really long, really embarassing to say aloud or, sometimes, if i'm really in a puckish mood, just an obscenity.
I'm hoping that every time they call out for my attention, they'll get odd looks from anybody in earshot.
Names on minimap does have it's advantages, though. I recently asked "Fries n weed" to meet up with "kaffee" in mezzanine.
oh, i'll use it too, all the time. like, "weeds, incoming lerk behind you" for example... because apparently not everybody looks at their command map upwards of 50% of the time.
oh, he was mocking the hell out of you
his implication, as I read it is that a comm directs, not just dispenses. good comms and decent ones both dispense and get the upgrades out. but the former has a plan of attack that they need to coordinate. i'm decent, but when I win, it's only because my marines have ground the enemy into submission, usually not because I led them to victory. This changes a bit with arcing and such, but usually i'm not the one to initiate a sneaky phase or a gorge rush. I am carried by their skill at shooting and biting.
I'm a pretty good priest, i can make the bars go up good. that does not mean i'm a good comm. and no mic, means hard as hell to make the bars go up and coordinate at the same time.
Sometimes the distinction isn't as obvious as one marine going 30 and 2 with everybody else negative.
i've been in games as that marine, granted not with such a blatant score. and i've switched teams the next game, and the same marine commander that was all feeling himself, wonders why his commanding isn't working this time around...
and the reason boils down to nobody is actively killing 6 res towers, and preventing base rushes and killing upgrades. He wasn't experienced enough to ask for it, nor was he experienced enough to notice it, and he definitely wasn't experienced enough to know what it does to the enemy economy.
if you play enough, you'll realize that the mark of a good team, is when there's almost constant chatter, relevant chatter, but chatter none-the-less. when guys call out numbers and positions. and comms call out timings and movement... the game becomes another beast entirely.
This is obviously pointing out a much larger issue which this topic isn't about, just saying
Off topic, but this...omfg this is annoying when it happens ingame. They might just be coordinating with their teammates on a different part of the map. But the ones who don't shut up prevent me from hearing any lifeform until they are on top of me.
That's a stupid reason to not mute someone if you literally cannot hear what is going on in game.
Well if we're getting into it, there's many reasons why I don't mute people.
Main reason being, I'm an admin on the servers I play on, so I need to leave it open to make sure people aren't abusing voice chat, breaking server rules..etc.
My original post was just off topic ranting...it's not some game issue that needs a solution. Don't take it so literal.