Please give us quick commands for binoculars

[104th_IronMike]

Tank Crew is taking really nice shape, and the binocular addition was great, thank you!

IMO it would be really nice to have a quick command function for the binoculars though. I posted this in another topic, but would like to get some attention on it. As many as 6 quick commands would do and would make playing the commander role just so much more flexible and also able to command from the binocular view, as he should (and would with a human crew). Also, please let us control the binoculars via mouse, at least as an option. IMO even a turret like function with shift+t or t would do fine as an alternative to head tracking.

The Quick Commands:

Binoculars should have six basic command functions, and these six would be enough, using the crosshairs as center, rather than the red circle:

1. "fire!" (at wherever the binocs are looking at dead center);

2. "move!" (at wherever the bincos are looking at dead center, full speed)
3. "retreat!" (from wherever the binocs are looking at dead center, in reverse facing the commanded point)
4. "turn!" (to wherever the bincos are looking at dead center, when vehicel is stopped)

5. "cease fire!" (just that)

6. "stop!" (stops the vehicle)
 

(Maybe if one wanted, one could add the same with a 2nd bind for each for the platoon level.)

Inner crew commands from binoculars should be shouted, not radioed, but I would take above six commands even without any voice feedback from the commander. Just a reply "verstanden!" or "copy!" would be enough from the crew.

 

Additionally a "fire!" order should always trump a "move!" order, but not cancel it, that means, whenever the gunner is ready to fire, the tank stops, fires, then drives on until reloaded and ready to fire again until target is destroyed or cease fire order is being issued. When target is destroyed or cease fire has been issued, move order continues until move point has been reached or another fire order has been issued or cancelled by a stop command. Same for retreat ofc, to be cancelled only by "stop".

 

Thank you for taking it (or something similar) under consideration. Tank Crew is awesome, I hope it continues to grow.

 

[Skeleboners]

Honestly, give us these out of the binocular view as well, the slow speed of commanding your crew is frustrating right now.

[69th_chuter]

As far as the quick commands go, I'm just curious as to how the gunner and driver would be expected to know exactly what the commander was looking at in his binocs.

In reality the commander could call out a hull based clock position but would need words to get more precise than that.

 

Something I'd like to see is the ability to select the "next" round, the one after what's currently chambered.  For example, a solid shot is loaded but I want an APHE next.  And why, if a current round type expires, will the loader not simply load the next available type while announcing it?  He just sits there waiting for you to tell him to do it.

[LachenKrieg]

8 minutes ago, chuter said:

As far as the quick commands go, I'm just curious as to how the gunner and driver would be expected to know exactly what the commander was looking at in his binocs.

In German tanks, the crew used an intercom system to communicate with each other. The commander would have to inform the gunner and driver of what he could see, and what he wanted done about it.

[=J18=FritzGerald]

On 7/13/2020 at 2:43 PM, 104th_IronMike said:

Also, please let us control the binoculars via mouse, at least as an option.

You can control the binoculars with the mouse, at least, that's what I use to control them.

[104th_IronMike]

13 hours ago, chuter said:

As far as the quick commands go, I'm just curious as to how the gunner and driver would be expected to know exactly what the commander was looking at in his binocs.

In reality the commander could call out a hull based clock position but would need words to get more precise than that.

 

Something I'd like to see is the ability to select the "next" round, the one after what's currently chambered.  For example, a solid shot is loaded but I want an APHE next.  And why, if a current round type expires, will the loader not simply load the next available type while announcing it?  He just sits there waiting for you to tell him to do it.

 

They wouldn't. Just like a commander in real life would simply formulate words and not have to open a control panel and go through several steps to bring across a simple 3 words order... In the end such questions are questions of playability more than they are of realism. The swiftness of saying, "Tank, bearing 170, 1km, fire!" is something one can easily imagine and something that can be easily ommited, since no matter what option of command interface you choose, you yourself will never find yourself really uttering these words to the AI, unless you play with humans who do not need a command interface. So it is kind of a mute arguement. (The proposal is for a quick means to communicate with AI, not MP.)

The combination of binoculars + quick commands is just the most flexible option to make commands quicker and more intuitive. If you feel that stepping through "^, F2, F3, F2, select tank crew" is more realistic to you, you can continue to use that of course.

 

On 7/14/2020 at 7:33 PM, Skeleboners said:

Honestly, give us these out of the binocular view as well, the slow speed of commanding your crew is frustrating right now.

 

 

That's basically the whole point of the thread, indeed. ?

Edited July 16, 2020 by 104th_IronMike

[LachenKrieg]

Discussions related to issues of being able to command an AI tank crew/platoon of tanks, or a group of real players in the same tank are an important part of what makes this module so interesting.

 

Clearly, the experience of giving commands to real players in the same tank will be far more real then it every can be giving commands to in-game AI. And maybe this is a call out to everyone here. Have as many friends as you can join you as your gunner/driver. It will help the user base here gain experience in what is likely to be the feature with the most potential, improved coordination of teams in multi-player game play.  It would also help build awareness/interest in the module, and potentially aid its development as the user base to grows.

 

But developing/improving the command system used to control the in-game AI is obviously still important for when you are alone. As users, all we can do is point out issues/bugs with the UI and hope that the Dev's are able to address it.

 

15 hours ago, chuter said:

...And why, if a current round type expires, will the loader not simply load the next available type while announcing it?  He just sits there waiting for you to tell him to do it.

  This is one such point that should be easy to address by the Dev's.