Squad lead locater beacons

[Whistle]

Summary (a quick, 2-3 sentence summary): A helmet restricted pin pointer beacon, similiar to the xeno queen beacon, limited to each individual squad.
This will be on the HUD of regular marines at all times (akin to xeno) or by clicking their own helmet attachment to see the location. (Debate?)

Benefits (How this will benefit the server and game as a whole): This will dramatically increase squad cohesion and gameplay as squads will now work as a full organized unit as I can imagine was originally planned or at
least should be.


Details (Description of how you think this would work, the benefits, etc): squads acting like squads without constant micro managing of direction to keep them together which on occasion will get the Sl killed, or lose cohesion or lose marines if orders rapidly need to change, instead they can just look at the radar and follow the Sl has he receives and relays.
It will reduce Ramboing.
It will also reduce camping in FOB's and bases as marines can move as an organized unit and properly patrol as one solid unit.

Implementation (Optional, if you have an idea how to implement it): Another helmet attachment irremovable and a hijack of the xeno code already in use with a simple reskin, just remade for the colonial marines, who canonically have locater beacons.



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Additional points: As it's tied directly to the helmet, it will not give away a pin pointer into the enemy hive unless the Sl was already engaging inside the hive, in which case the area has already been found.
No this will not 100% ensure squads stick together and pick offs will always be possible, maybe more so with squads being able to move around more easily.

Pin pointer does not work on different (z?) levels of a map and that would be fine.

Debatable is having the over watch officer control if a squad should follow another SL.
Say all sl's are dead bar Alpha, over watch officers can change the target beacon for a rally and command presence.

One last note, I often pull a flare behind me and ask that the marines follow that at all times, it works to a degree and squad performance has been noted by many to be damned effective, even if we die, which is just as regular as others.
Adding this will not break the game.

[Jeser]

OH GOD YES. Or... finally make squad icons for marines.

[MedicInDisquise]

This is pretty smart. +1

Shouldn't be too hard to code. Just a bit worried that it might conflict with the pinpointer in the liason's office.

[Whistle]

This is pretty smart. +1

Shouldn't be too hard to code. Just a bit worried that it might conflict with the pinpointer in the liason's office.

If the overwatch option is considered, then coding will have to be put in place to have different pinpointer signals.

[Rob606]

+1 I love the idea, my only gripe is that helmets are so easily lost. I think it should be planted in the Armour if anything.

[Whistle]

+1 I love the idea, my only gripe is that helmets are so easily lost. I think it should be planted in the Armour if anything.

Kept in helmet so that if an SL gets dragged to the hive, the station does not have a sudden pin pointer to the enemy base.

[Rob606]

Kept in helmet so that if an SL gets dragged to the hive, the station does not have a sudden pin pointer to the enemy base.

I understand - but what if I lose my helmet but I'm not dragged off? If I survive and keep fighting? Then the pointed is lost unfortunately.

[Whistle]

Maybe make it removable, yet inert if out of the helmet, so that it can be replaced to another helmet and not force the Sl to suffer sudden hugger death.

[Rob606]

Possibly, but here's another solution I thought of:

Have the beacon as part of the leader armour, to avoid the problem of a non-facehugged SL losing his helmet and thus the beacon.

To counter the problem of this pointing towards the hive when the SL is captured (which is present anyway as overwatch officers can direct squads to lost personnel), code the armour so that when the player wearing the armour has sticky resin applied to him/her, the beacon is disrupted and will not work again til fixed.

Fixing could mean application of electrical wire to the suit or something similar - something the SL would not have readily available, to stop them resisting out of the resin so that the beacon suddenly turns on again.

[Shadowling1232]

Does suit sensors not exist anymore?

[Whistle]

Does suit sensors not exist anymore?

If every squad member can easily see the coords of their Sl, then that becomes an important question.

They exist but only the Bo can see the position of all squad members at current in a mostly unused and awkward fashion.
Suitable for finding lost squaddies through overwatch direction only, not for coordinating group movements.

[Shadowling1232]

Ah so like the queen radar for aliens, gotcha.

Seems like it'd probably more effort than its worth however, marines need to be able to follow their SL at all times. Seems pretty abusable to me actually.

[Rob606]

Seems pretty abusable to me actually.

Abusable? How so?

[Dyne]

+1, very interesting.

[Shadowling1232]

Heavy duty meta locating, and probably some new kinds of meta that'll arise once created. With all that aside

+1 Genius concept.

[lucashunter608]

good god, amazing idea, why anyone didn't suggested this before? 1+

[Tristan63]

+1

Sadly you cant reduce ramboing unless you make it a rule, not a guideline to follow superiors orders unless questionable or outrageously stupid (If the SL or majority of squad have Intel)

[SpanishBirdman]

+1

Hopefully this will deter mismatched groups of rainbow marines roaming the countryside in random directions

[Fritigern]

+1 Marines always have the worst coordination, especially when they get into big death balls and start FFing each other. Give them something to focus their attention.

[Whistle]

I would like to bump this as an important suggestion and ask for staff input.
Noone has had any disagreements thus far and I would like to hear some, if any that a developer might be able to make with their more in depth knowledge, or, have their support.

[Rob606]

I don't how intensive the code is for the Alien Queen's tracker in-game, so the only real issue could be that if that code causes lag; imagine it with another 4 active beacons on full rounds.

[Rob606]

Bumping this because I think it's a great idea and I'd like to hear some feedback from the devs regarding how strenuous this would be on the build.

[Surrealistik]

+1. Overdue.

[Desolane900]

good god, amazing idea, why anyone didn't suggested this before? 1+

Somebody did. Check the accepted suggestions. http://colonial-marines.com/viewtopic.php?f=130&t=3261

[Rob606]

Somebody did. Check the accepted suggestions. http://colonial-marines.com/viewtopic.php?f=130&t=3261

Not the same idea at all. Their suggestion was similar to the sec-hud sunglasses. The idea in this thread is more akin to the Queen's tracker.