Squad and Fireteam Composition and Cohesion

**KeithMann** · 03-04-2006, 12:46 PM

As I understand it, RO will not have direct support for squads per se, prefering to leave such things up to the players. I applaud this move, but it does beg the question: how shall we define squads?

I'd like to start the discussion by asking for historical precedents. It would seem a shame to apply modern military tactics to an otherwise faithful WWII game.

**John CANavar** · 03-04-2006, 02:42 PM

Another issue will be the implementation Manner. No matter how much we enjoy historical accuracy for a nice atmosphere, if it proves difficult to use in game then we may need to change it. I am also very curious about how we are going to maintaion cohesion and coordination without a BF2 like squad system.

**KeithMann** · 03-04-2006, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by John CANavar

I am also very curious about how we are going to maintaion cohesion and coordination without a BF2 like squad system.

Officers get sidearms, right?

**Strag** · 03-04-2006, 05:04 PM

In RO, there are no little blips on a minimap that indicate the locations of your enemies and/or your teammates. In fact, there isn't even a minimap. All you get is a compass and an overview map that displays the general layout of the battlefield, including certain team assets and the various objectives. There IS a grid system for use with this map, and your individual location is shown on this map as a red arrow. Besides that, you're on your own.

As such, infantry formations should work really well in this game, and will probably be a big factor in maintaining unit cohesion. Indeed, since situational awareness is much more difficult to achieve in this game, knowing where your buddies *should* be in relation to you will help a lot. I think those in-house squads that have practiced these sorts of things will have a big head start in RO, and will only need to refine these things.

Squad structure will probably change with the map type. So far as I know, there are three map types in RO: Tank only, Combined Arms, and Infantry Only. Having squad-level SOPs in place for each of these map types would be a boon.

Regarding comms, I would think the three in-game VOIP channels could be used in the following manner here at Tactical Gamer:

Public: For players to raise issues with admins (game issues and administration only)
Team: For Group Leaders (tank and/or infantry) to communicate needs and enemy dispositions (platoon comm net)
Local: For nearby team members to communicate with each other (squad comm nets)

**Razak644** · 03-04-2006, 05:04 PM

well German doctrine was that the MG is main weapon and infantry supports the MG. Russians i think relied on Arty and just mass numbers to overwhelm the enemy.