Finding units

[thewood1]

I am having a heck of a time finding and clicking on units. Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to click on the floating icon to select a unit. Also, can you do a group select and issue more than one unit an order?

I am also having a very hard time keeping track of the status of a unit. Are the little lit/unlit icons the only way of telling its status. I would like to have two things: 1) click on the event window and expand it to more than 4 lines. The scolling one line at a time is a little tedious in a battle with a lot of stuff going on. 2) a hot key to open the spec window and that include any status indicators and any messages pertinent to that unit.

Also, when I hit the tab key, why does it always go down on the deck? If I am up high, I would like it to stay at the same level.

Right now the ability to get a feel for what is happening to my units and easily accessing them and the enemy units is a something that is really keeping me from enjoying the game. I soen way to much of my time just trying to click on the units.

[Capitaine]

I have thought about the coins being able to select a unit, but since they can be toggled on and off I don't know if that would work.  That said I don't have too much trouble selecting unless it's a transport and rider, in which case selecting the transport can be tricky but not too hard.  I think you need to get used to the lit icons for units if you want detailed unit status on a constant basis.  Right now I'm not overly sensitive to that info so I don't find a need to know it all that often.
 
The base order can only be given via the HQ unit for a platoon, so lassoing units doesn't work.  Another feature I like about the game. [;)]
 
Not being a CM player, I have taken to the interface very well and prefer it to what I recall from CM.  I definitely have the feeling I'm controlling platoons and not individual squads/afvs.  I do check each unit for targeting, but find that there's not as much need to nurse individual units in PCK as I recall needing to do in CM.

[thewood1]

The not nursing units is a double edged sword though.  I give a platoon order and then have to check if one of its units is exposed.  I basically have to issue two sets of orders to position units for positioning for things like ambushes or hull down..
 
I play at a higher elevation and I can tell you, its almost impossible to click on a unit the first time.  It requires me to get lined up with where I think the unit is and then try to zoom down far enough to nail it.  The HUD display does me no good on enemy units and is kind of clunky for finding a unit you are looking at.

[Capitaine]

ORIGINAL: thewood1

The not nursing units is a double edged sword though.  I give a platoon order and then have to check if one of its units is exposed.  I basically have to issue two sets of orders to position units for positioning for things like ambushes or hull down..

I play at a higher elevation and I can tell you, its almost impossible to click on a unit the first time.  It requires me to get lined up with where I think the unit is and then try to zoom down far enough to nail it.  The HUD display does me no good on enemy units and is kind of clunky for finding a unit you are looking at.

I see; I do recall that precise positioning was important in CM and was one thing I didn't care for. Admittedly I don't, and don't really want to, get down to ground level and lay ambushes and the like. But I understand where you're coming from.

I play from a medium elevation and most of the time I can click on the unit pretty easily. If a unit is in the woods I may have to zoom in to find the actual figures, but am not bothered by having to do that.

I'd agree that the HUD display is not as helpful as it ought to be once you have a lot of units on the map. One generally looks at the map and wants to select units in that context, rather than going sequentially from the HUD icons. I suppose one could make a habit of just moving down the HUD icons in order to examine every unit each orders phase. But being more "hands off" in my general approach I'm less inclined to want to go through each unit every time.

If there were an ID of some sort that appeared both on the map unit coins and the HUD unit icons, that could help immensely in making better use of the HUD, huh?

[thewood1]

You don't have to do precise positioning in CMBB.  That's the beauty.  Use the hull down command.  So you have no issues with knowing an enemy unit is coming down the road; you want to ambush it; you have to keep you units out of sight; but in sight of the road.  How would you do that in a tactical, squad-based game without moving each unit and make sure its not hanging out and in cover?  I am curious, because I have found no way to do it effeciently in PCK.

[Stridor]

thewood,

I also would like to put "click on coins to select units" on the wish list [;)]

[Mobius]

ORIGINAL: thewood1
You don't have to do precise positioning in CMBB.  That's the beauty.  Use the hull down command.  So you have no issues with knowing an enemy unit is coming down the road; you want to ambush it; you have to keep you units out of sight; but in sight of the road.  How would you do that in a tactical, squad-based game without moving each unit and make sure its not hanging out and in cover?  I am curious, because I have found no way to do it effeciently in PCK.

For something like that you would give Orders to the platoon HQ to get them to the general area you want to set the ambush. Like a Rush. Once your platoon is there you can give the HQ unit an Engage>Stay order and Give the other squads Engage>Move order to get them the exact right spot to hide. Toggle with the 'Ins" key to check what kind of cover they are really in.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: thewood1
I am having a heck of a time finding and clicking on units. Wouldn't it have made a lot more sense to click on the floating icon to select a unit.

That was on our pre-release wish list actually, but didn't make the release. I guess I've developed a knack for knowing where they are, but even I sometimes when playing zoomed out find myself clicking on part of the platoon that I can easily see, then using the HUD icons to select the other units.

Also, can you do a group select and issue more than one unit an order?

Other than issuing orders to a platoon through the HQ you mean?

I am also having a very hard time keeping track of the status of a unit. Are the little lit/unlit icons the only way of telling its status.

Yes, that's the only way right now. Plans for the future include more detailed HUD icons that would show damage/casualties, removing models as casualties for infantry squads and adding some kind of "decal" damage to tanks.

I would like to have two things: 1) click on the event window and expand it to more than 4 lines. The scolling one line at a time is a little tedious in a battle with a lot of stuff going on. 2) a hot key to open the spec window and that include any status indicators and any messages pertinent to that unit.

#1 Added to wish list. #2 is already partially in - try the "S" key. [8D] When you say including status indicators and messages, you're saying those should show up on the spec screen for each particular unit? That could actually be trickier than it might seem, but I'll add it to the wish list.

Also, when I hit the tab key, why does it always go down on the deck? If I am up high, I would like it to stay at the same level.

Hm, that's been that way as long as I can remember - it's the main key for getting right down to a unit. A second Tab then puts you in "binocular view". If I understand correctly, you want to move to a unit you see without changing your camera view? I normally do that by clicking on the minimap or double-clicking on a HUD icon. I think double-clicking the HUD icon does precisely what you're looking for actually.

Right now the ability to get a feel for what is happening to my units and easily accessing them and the enemy units is a something that is really keeping me from enjoying the game. I soen way to much of my time just trying to click on the units.

Ok, I hope it's just a matter of learning all the various view tools and options. But if not, I'm listening and we'll take notes to see what we can improve.

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: thewood1
The not nursing units is a double edged sword though.  I give a platoon order and then have to check if one of its units is exposed.  I basically have to issue two sets of orders to position units for positioning for things like ambushes or hull down..

Have you tried also using the Insert key to toggle the Terrain Map for more precise placements if you want to make sure a unit is in cover?

I play at a higher elevation and I can tell you, its almost impossible to click on a unit the first time.  It requires me to get lined up with where I think the unit is and then try to zoom down far enough to nail it.  The HUD display does me no good on enemy units and is kind of clunky for finding a unit you are looking at.

Ok, I think we probably haven't done enough for players who play zoomed way out. I think that's just not a play style most of our team has, but we're listening and can make some adjustments. I understand the requests for bases and unit model scaling better now. I'd like you to try the existing view tools we have while playing at say level "2" or level "3" and see if it gets any easier. Level "3" is really the most zoomed out level that we thought would be very playable in terms of on-map selections.

Regards,

- Erik