The Alien Comm

**Darkilla** · 05-14-2006, 04:35 PM

This post mostly fits on captains games, but could be applied to full regular games on the TG server aswell.

The Alien Comm - Yes, I know that you can't just jump in the at the beginning of the game, and have an alien comm drop Sc's and mc'saround themap... (how cool would dropping 100res of oc's in marine base off the bat?) But the comm does more then have teh top down view of the map.

What if, for a game, a gorgie decided that he was going to be the proverbial boss of the alien team. Keep his minimap up, and run the alien side of the tactics. There's usually a fatty somewhere on the map that has little todo but sit in a hive and shoot it (hive gorgie) or maybe it's a skulk waiting in a prime location for an ambush.

What if after the first 3minutes ofthe game (where everything's been decided before saying ready) there was someone to keep that level of tactical awareness going. Perhaps the captain?

Example:
One hive up, 1lerk, 1fade, 2 gorges, 4skulks. lerk gases seigebuilders, 1 skulk + fade hassle them. 1 skulk doing nodes. take teh skulk out ofthe seige attack andhave him (with 2 other skulks) hit marine base. 2 skulks can take down the armslab / aa / proto / pg / obs in less then 13 seconds (except proto). Force the becon, and you have a fade and a (bile?) gorge + lerk to get that seige down at base. 3 skulks is formidable in base, they can prevent teh comm from jumping out, if someone phases back, he's toast, and during a becon, it's 3 DIFFERENT targets the marines need to hit beforethey can phase back to the seige. MORE TIME.

I really would like to see this idea perhaps tried on one ofthe captains games. Have a few people doing it. Wyz / Turb / Aero would make GREAT Alien comm's! (specialy turb!)

**Yoshi MCF** · 05-15-2006, 01:35 AM

Without a real top-down map to look at, alien comms don't have nearly enough intel to be successful. It's everybody's job to give good intel and take appropriate action. If you need somebody else to constantly tell you what to do as an alien, you're not doing your job. It's perfectly acceptable to ask your team, for example, if they need a second set of chambers or a second fade. However, these kind of questions should not come up so often that one person needs to devote their entire time to telling people what to do.

Even the hive gorge should be listening for incoming marines and gathering intel. If the gorge's attention focused elsewhere, the gorge might as well not stay in the hive.

Originally Posted by Darkilla

Example:
One hive up, 1lerk, 1fade, 2 gorges, 4skulks. lerk gases seigebuilders, 1 skulk + fade hassle them. 1 skulk doing nodes. take teh skulk out ofthe seige attack andhave him (with 2 other skulks) hit marine base. 2 skulks can take down the armslab / aa / proto / pg / obs in less then 13 seconds (except proto). Force the becon, and you have a fade and a (bile?) gorge + lerk to get that seige down at base. 3 skulks is formidable in base, they can prevent teh comm from jumping out, if someone phases back, he's toast, and during a becon, it's 3 DIFFERENT targets the marines need to hit beforethey can phase back to the seige. MORE TIME.

I wouldn't want to be on the team where only half the team is defending a building hive from a siege.

**Wyzcrak** · 05-15-2006, 10:23 AM

We had this idea years ago for the same reason it's being up now: it's not a bad idea.

I called it "being the KC" last time I brought it up (Kharaa Commander). Yoshi's right, though. This is a solution to a problem that has a better solution. That is, get everyone on the alien team to that point where no high-level, game-spanning central leadership is necessary. Yeah, that's a tall order for a pub server, but we wear big shoes around here.

**zibalatz** · 05-15-2006, 10:52 AM

For more ideas on this subject, there have been at least two previous threads about this idea: thread #1, thread #2.

**Spitelord** · 05-18-2006, 11:45 PM

Sounds like 1.04 where you only had one gorge. That gorge had to know what to do or all was
lost. It was just like being a comm for the rines. You always had an escort and people actualy
listend to you. Now? They just yell at you to put up RTs and you get to listen to that early lerk/fade scream about chambers...

**Sirusblk** · 09-03-2006, 03:13 AM

It's certainly an intresting idea. Of course you can sorta pseudo-do it by holding up your map (m key is default), and looking at the leaderboard. I've requested an escort to an uncapped RT after putting up a couple of chambers. However I get what you're getting at and know that it's tottally different, and I for one would be up for it.

-Sirusblk

**Yer Mom** · 09-03-2006, 12:05 PM

I would be up for a plugin that let a certain alien have a commander top-down view, if that's possible. I think it'd be fun to try out a few times.

Dunno how possible it is, but it definately sounds fun to try.

-Mom

**Agamemnon** · 09-03-2006, 04:58 PM

Actually, every alien has the tools to effectively act as a comm, and should do so whenever possible. Using your map and the /res plugin, you can see both what needs to be done as well as who can do it. Check these whenever you're dead, building, or otherwise not in combat. Don't be afraid to make suggestions (or give orders, depending on the situation) to others on the team. For instance, if you can see on the map that your team doesn't have enough nodes, and you can see a node that should be dropped, open /res and ask the skulk between 25 and 35 res to drop it. Same process with chambers, lifeforms, and hives. Asking a specific person is far more effective than saying "we need nodes, somebody drop nodes!" I'd love to see more people on the server using these awareness tools to make sure everything that needs to happen is getting done.

**Yer Mom** · 09-04-2006, 11:20 PM

I wonder how possible it would be to create a plugin that activated once Sensories were in play that made it possible for the aliens to get a top-down view of a room that had a sensory in it? This could make for good ambushing techniques. Say, press use on a sensory chamber to activate top-down view, and press use again to cycle between sensories?

Get my drift?

-Mom

**Irish Pirate** · 09-05-2006, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by Yer Mom

I wonder how possible it would be to create a plugin that activated once Sensories were in play that made it possible for the aliens to get a top-down view of a room that had a sensory in it? This could make for good ambushing techniques. Say, press use on a sensory chamber to activate top-down view, and press use again to cycle between sensories?

Get my drift?

-Mom

You mean like the minimap? Something similar could be achieved just marking marines near sensories on the minimap.

It would be interesting if sensories could function as cameras and allow players to see out of them, it would definitely add more strategy to placement.

**Headroller** · 09-14-2006, 11:01 AM

Coming to 3.0 after only playing early versions, its a bit odd. Mainly when I found out you dont need 2 and 3 hives to Fade and Onos. And when people got bitched at for changing forms early in a game. I used to love gorging and was very good at it. But alot has changed now. Being a gorge pre major rehaul was exactly like being a commander. And I personally liked it alot better that way.

But to each is own. Although some sort of toggleable overview map might be cool.

**Pokerface** · 09-14-2006, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by Headroller

But to each is own. Although some sort of toggleable overview map might be cool.

You mean like the one you get pushing the (default) C button?

**Headroller** · 09-14-2006, 12:19 PM

I didnt know it was Toggleable, thought you had to keep it held down. TBH ive only ever used it on accident.

**Irish Pirate** · 09-14-2006, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by Headroller

I didnt know it was Toggleable, thought you had to keep it held down. TBH ive only ever used it on accident.

You can set up the bind so it toggles.

I would suggest learning to use the minimap more often it's a very valuable feature. I spend most of my game time staring at the minimap.

**Agamemnon** · 09-15-2006, 04:20 PM

The one change I'd like to see to the map is adding player names, or even just labeling them with slot numbers. It would be so useful to be able to say someone's name rather than something like "skulk in c12".