[SOP: Ideas] Spotting in BF2142

**Zhohar** · 02-15-2009, 01:47 PM

This is a thread to let YOU speak your mind and give your piece in the creation of this SOP. SOPs are basically standard practices on TG -- if you've been here for a while, you know how it works. These SOPs will be directed to newbies so that they can easily pick up TG and understand how to do things.

Let's get started with a basic SOP -- spotting. The ideas is to let everyone here contribute ideas, good and bad. I will write the final draft of the document. From this document, we're going to help Silver making a video SOP. Both the text and video SOPs will be available so that newbies really get an idea of how things happen around here.

Remember -- the aim is to help someone quickly get "into" TG. Be gentle and don't use complicated BF terms.

That said, these are the ideas I believe are integral to spotting.

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1. Spotting is different from a contact report. Contact reports are done via VOIP and are relevant to the squad. A spot is something that benefits the entire battlefield, and does not necessarily require overt attention of the squad.
2. To "spot" someone in BF2142:
- move your mouse cursor over the enemy
- press and hold the Q key on your keyboard
- click the left mouse button once and let go
- let go of the Q key on your keyboard
This will place the enemy soldier or armor as a marker in your minimap. More importantly, everyone else on your team will also see the enemy soldier marker on their minimaps as well.
3. Spot often. Even if what you're spotting is not relevant to the squad, someone else might be engaging that enemy and your spot could save their life. It only takes a brief instant to spot, and it's beneficial to the whole team.
4. It's possible to add a marker where there is no enemy presence on the battlefield. That is, it's possible to spot things that aren't really there.
Instead of left-clicking on the Q menu, right click and you will be presented a list of options.
Spotting things that aren't there is rarely used, but it is useful in the odd case that you cannot physically see an enemy (because he's behind cover, for example), but you are certain that he is around that general area.
5. If you do Q-Spot an enemy, and his marker is not added to the minimap, try again. The system is a bit finicky, but it will always work on the second or third try.
6. If you spot too often, you will be blocked from using any Q-spot for 30 seconds. Don't spam spot -- spotting an enemy once is just enough. If it requires the attention of other people -- use VOIP.
7. The minimap marker goes away after a while, so it's a good idea to refresh the spot every 10-15 seconds.
8. Especially spot armor. TGers enjoy infantry-focused maps where armor is rare and hence quite powerful. Not a lot of people are prepared for a walker on an infantry map, and a spot on that walker will let a friendly know that he ought to spawn as an engineer.

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These are just preliminary ideas I've had. You are welcome to contribute ideas, screenshots or really anything you think might contribute. If you'd like to help Silver with acting and such, you can post that here too.

Please get your ideas in before next Friday. We're thinking of making one SOP per week.

**Exploding_Silver** · 02-15-2009, 05:00 PM

> if you slightly miss a spot it puts a ? on the map
> q spot can be very fast and done even during shooting at somebody or reloading
> should be fast reflex, q spot then shoot
> q spot links into verbal spot to squad
> q spot puts the red dot onto minimap and mainmap
> if you spot the same thing 3 times, you hear 'enemy spotted' 3 times, but your teammates dont hear the 'enemy spotted' after you have successfully spotted and they are red dots on the minimap

please contribute to the list and we will have a final list on Friday evning
then saturday i will cut a 3 minute movie
then sunday Zhohar will voice over
then admin approval and publish as a sop

**frozenchrome** · 02-15-2009, 09:11 PM

Evening, you might want to mention one of the main goals of spotting: Situation Awareness. You can break down the tactical benefits to something like this:

SQUAD LEVEL: Allows your squad members to be able to better react for a given immediate event.
TEAM LEVEL: Allows your team squads additional detail to assist in their next move or reaction.
CO LEVEL: Informs the CO of given battlefield conditions to help the overall plan.

The idea is not just tell people to Q-spot but make them understand the underlining need for its usage. Or something like this

**Ikkarub** · 02-16-2009, 05:06 AM

Might be worth an additional note about trying to keep the enemy's key assets (ie, APC on Berlin, walker on Tunis) spotted whenever possible for the commander's benefit and for anyone trying to decide where to send a squad.

Perhaps mention of the limitations of spot too (like not being able to spot through a fence).

Stuff that particularly merits spotting other than armor? Flanking forces, snipers, squad leaders (though since there's no special spot information for that, VOIP's probably better) and active camo spring to mind.

**spiff913** · 02-16-2009, 02:43 PM

In addition to the q-spot, viewing an enemy through your scope for 1-2 seconds puts additional info in the heads-up display - health, etc.

**Lorax74** · 02-16-2009, 02:59 PM

always, Always, ALWAYS spot armor. I don't care if you have an engineer in your squad or not, keep the hostile armor on the map for the CO, other engineers on your team, and to warn the soft, squishy infantry that are trying to avoid armor.

Spot all snipers, don't just say "sniper over there", which I hate (I insist on compass points when calling things out, over there or to the left just doesn't cut it).

Don't spot too many times in a row or you'll end up silenced for 30 seconds, might not sound like a long period of time, but it's an eternity when you're trying to flip a flag and there are hostiles about.

**LordMeatwad** · 02-16-2009, 03:13 PM

i like to add spoting of enemy gunships EVERY time possible to keep your own armor alive and your gunships in the know!

**Zhohar** · 02-16-2009, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by Lorax74

Spot all snipers, don't just say "sniper over there", which I hate (I insist on compass points when calling things out, over there or to the left just doesn't cut it).

True, but if you're a nebwie, it's relatively hard to figure out where the sniper is. I remember hearing the sound of a Zeller, and noticing a huge drop in health, but I couldn't figure out where it was.
I think it's beneficial to just say "Sniper" sometimes so that the more experienced members of a squad can look for common sniper hideouts and hopefully find the source of the bullet.

... and that kind of thing is what I was thinking ought to be in the Contact Report SOP. Specifically, one of the points in there ought to be "be relevant to the situation at hand". Basically, tailor your message so that it says things relevant and beneficial to the squad, and leave out things that aren't important.
If you're in a hot firefight on Comm Tower, you don't really have time to say "one contact left, nw of flag, assault medic" -- usually it just ends up being screamed to the last friendly in the squad "Just one more left!" -- ie, so that the friendly doesn't run for the revive but rather takes care of the last enemy.
And oftentimes, people speak quite at length about things in a contact report. "Eroak, two engineers, by the Rorsch, they've also got mines down over on this side of the building" - that's a contact report, technically, but it's different from the stock contact report.

And if you'll REALLY allow me to rant -- this is what I disliked the most about the previous SOPs. They were so clinical, so cold-cut. They allowed no room for flexibility or speed, or adaptation on the fly. I think we ought to be very open with our SOPs, and most importantly, provide lots of examples. No one speaks in that clinical voice of SOPs. We're trying to get people to do things, not bore or intimidate them to death.

Sorry for hijacking my own thread, I'll probably move this later. Gotta run now.

**jazy2** · 02-16-2009, 03:47 PM

Also mention that if someone runs behind cover and not visible anymore sometimes they can be spotted by "q spotting" by aiming your "spot" above the cover. Even if you miss the spot the "?" will appear.

**Sleepy8** · 02-17-2009, 02:15 AM

I'm no expert on much of anything, but I can't be the only one who likes to spot things like Rorches and armor just to see if they are manned.

**Vulcan** · 02-17-2009, 10:15 AM

One of the main jobs of a recon class is to spot targets. This should be the handbook for any recon squads. Constantly find targets outside the UAV areas. That's a majority of what I do as recon.

**pred011586** · 02-17-2009, 11:02 AM

Originally Posted by Sleepy8

I'm no expert on much of anything, but I can't be the only one who likes to spot things like Rorches and armor just to see if they are manned.

You're not, I do that to, along with others. I also use the Q-spot on popular sniper locations to check for hidden snipers since if your Q-spot is within what seems to be a body's length (don't quote me on that, not sure how right it is) of where they are, even if you can't see them, you'll still spot them.

**jazy2** · 02-17-2009, 11:16 AM

The discussion came up a long time ago about commanders just spamming spots on a flag area to check for ememies. I may be wrong but I think it was considered a little un-TG to exploit the game engine like this. If you saw someone, spot away. If you didn't see anything, don't spot was the outcome. Please correct me if I am wrong here!

I must see if I can dig up that discussion and post a link......something of a commanding discussion...........

**Lorax74** · 02-17-2009, 11:30 AM

Originally Posted by jazy2

The discussion came up a long time ago about commanders just spamming spots on a flag area to check for ememies. I may be wrong but I think it was considered a little un-TG to exploit the game engine like this. If you saw someone, spot away. If you didn't see anything, don't spot was the outcome. Please correct me if I am wrong here!

I must see if I can dig up that discussion and post a link......something of a commanding discussion...........

I blind spot all the time, it was actually taught in one of the first 2142 infantry classes (taught by Bommando and freekyE, it was WAY long ago).

**experiment626** · 02-17-2009, 12:36 PM

Await orders. If the newbies are actually reading this before they play' it would be a big help to "HOLD SPAWN and KIT" until SL gives them instructions. Holding spawn can be critical if the SL needs a spawn bob for something like Berlin? Care bear?