Oftentimes it seems that squad coordination can be difficult. You have to keep your soldiers focused, ensure they stick together in the dangerous, unsure environment of the Nostromo, and sometimes they even need to be kept in line during briefing. When you're in the chaos of battle, you're most likely to take orders from the voice that shouts loudest, and this isn't always the squad leader. Sometimes you'll get a squad member who has their own ideas about what the squad should be doing, and a conflict over command can split a squad apart. Some marines stay with the squad leader, some go with the dissenter, and usually neither group is large enough to accomplish their objectives on their own.
I feel the issue is at least somewhat related to perception. Its easy to take orders from the commander; they're dressed in full officer's regalia, they look like they're in charge, and consequently they act like they're in charge. Squad leaders wear the same armor and uniform as standard squad members; if you didn't look at their ID you couldn't tell them apart from any other squad member trying to give commands. I feel that squad members would be able to more easily internalize and intuitively grasp the chain of command if squad leaders wore a distinctive piece of clothing which denoted their elevated rank and legitimacy of orders they give.
In the actual fictional Colonial Marine Corps, I assume squad leaders would get an officer's insignia somewhere on their battle armor, but this is difficult to show on a sprite 20 pixels wide. In addition the squad members themselves would all know each other a lot better, having spent months in training, and maybe years serving together before the events on the Sulaco and Nostromo which begin each round.
In contrast, the players in each CM squad usually have only just met each other, and get limited time while suiting up and being briefed to learn who each other are and which squad member holds which position. If you're lucky you'll get an experienced squad leader who can effectively communicate to the team what to do. However, unlike the fictional Colonial Marine Corps, and most real-world militaries, squad leaders in CM become so usually because they get to the LO first and request it. Its analogous to a marine squad saying "OK, well, its Tuesday, so that means its Jenkins' turn to be squad leader. Good luck buddy, hope you don't get us all killed." You can see how such a situation might cause disputes in command to arise. I'm definitely not saying have a whitelist for squad leaders, but seeing as the difference in character or training between squad leader and standard is largely academic, I think it would be helpful for the marines to be able to instantly visually identify their leader.
I'm very much a fan of the cosmetic equipment in the medic and engineer locker rooms. I always put on my profession's jumpsuit and backpack underneath my armor, because if anyone needs a medic or an engineer, they can tell from the orange or white that I'm not just a regular standard, and that my role within the squad structure is different. Seeing as the role of squad leader is as vitally important, and probably more so, as medic or engineer, I think it would improve teamwork and roleplay if anyone can tell, at a glance, who the leader of any individual squad is, without any words needing to be said.
I suggest adding any or all of the following:
- Distinctive headgear, such as a beret. This needn't be at the cost of head protection; simply name it "armored beret" or something and give it comparable armor to a helmet. Clothing like this is not entirely unrealistic.
- A distinctive backpack. You could either go with the "captain's blue" color scheme used by the door to the squad leader's locker room, and give them a renamed captain's backpack, or you could come up with another color scheme just as distinctive.
- A distinctive jumpsuit/armor. Jumpsuits, while mostly hidden by the overlaid battle armor, are still visible, and their distinctive color can give a clue as to the wearer's profession. On the other hand, you could recolor the squad leader's armor and/or helmet such that one can easily see that the wearer is in command.
- Make the telecomms run that "job name" script as default, the one which gives:
but modified for the various squad positions and occupations of the Sulaco crew.
Any or all of these changes would be fairly trivial to add, would allow for easier coordination and teamwork among marines, and would encourage roleplay. Thoughts?
