Nav Points...are they really that usefull?

[Criminal]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to get some thoughts on the old navpoint system that has always been in MechWarrior. In discussing this with a few devs it seems really strange to simply be setting nav points for yourself. If the points were translated to the team maybe but they never really have been. In the old mechwarrior weren't the navpoints just particular points of interest on the maps to use to guide yourself around it? Would you think that setting your own nav points would really even be that usefull?

[=KoS= Eldragon]

For me it depends on three key factors:

1) Does the game have a full screen map? Does it show points of interest and/or team mates? Without a full screen map, having something else to navigate by would be very useful. Even if I just set my own nav marker at the spawn point so I know where to get repaired.

2) If I am playing in a game mode that has capture points, having some kind of nav point to guide me to that location would be essential.

3) Being able to create a nav point that others could see would also be really useful. Its hard to coordinate where to rendezvous with other team mates in games where one person has died and is walking back from the spawn point. e.g. "Head towards at Nav Point 'Eldragon', I will meet you there".

Steps would need to be taken so I am not cycling through 20+ different nav points.  Such as player's personal nav point showing up on the large full screen map, and someone else would have to click on it to select that nav point as their target.

If the nav point could not be shared among other team mates, and there were already nav points for the major capture-able locations, then being able to set you own nav point would not be very useful. Unless you are someone who can't read a map and is easily lost.

[TuRbOlAg]

If there were some sort of command map that would show the real time location of you, your friendlies, and anything on radar that was easy to use and fast, it would be extremely useful to plot out some points from time to time to show attack patterns and such to teammates.  The problem with most multiplayer games though is that sometimes it's hard to get anyone to frigging listen to suggestions and strategy.  >_<

Is it worth the code it would take to implement something like that?  Meh, probably not.

[Bcbear]

I think it would be a great addition to multiplayer games,
Moreso, however, organized team play like leagues, or just good friends
But yeah, the ability to be able to make your own nav points would be very useful, as Eldragon posted
I say this would be a worthwhile addition for a beta patch (that is, a patch AFTER the public beta is released )

[CHHš Siege]

I wouldn't mind seeing an implementation of a command cockpit so someone can take on the commanders role and set nav points for their team, perhaps akin to the way the commanders role worked in BF2. If there were any way to implement this in something of a canon way, where the command cockpit actually allows for both seats - the command and pilot seats - to operate either the mech and/or the guns. If it were only restricted to a few of the largest mechs even, and cost a small fortune, that would be totally excellent, but I rather suspect all that would be very hard to implement.

I haven't really played any Crysis MP yet, mainly just the SP game thus far, so I don't know if it has anything akin to the BF2 commanders role. If it does, or if it's even possible, to just implement a 1 ton command cockpit option that costs 10^32 C-Bills and allows that player to set navpoints for their team, that alone I think would still be really nice, especially for we Clansmen.

It should also of course be a similarly huge reward for killing anything with a command cockpit in it. Maybe it should have a big antenna or something?

[Tiger842]

Yeah I think they're useful. Everyone pretty much gave the reasons, I'm just agreeing

[SeniorBiscuit]

Yeah I echo the above statements, its nice to always know where the objectives are and your exact distance from them, but power struggle in crysis already has those.

So I echo the above statements about team coordination, itd be nice to be able to say, battle armor regroup at beta and put that on the map somewhere.

[Ghiest]

If you could nominate the leader who could set waypoints for the team, or you could see your teams waypoints then I think it will be a good idea to have.

[=KoS= Eldragon]

I say this would be a worthwhile addition for a beta patch (that is, a patch AFTER the public beta is released )

Agreed. Lets find out if there is a problem first before we start worrying about solutions. :-P

[TuRbOlAg]

Another things worth adding is that in most multiplayer games players use landmarks to describe locations to teammates, i.e. regroup in the blue building near the crashed chopper.  In LL maps though, landmarks seem to be few and far between, so a nav point system would be excellent in that regard.

[(TLL)Highlander]

If you could nominate the leader who could set waypoints for the team, or you could see your teams waypoints then I think it will be a good idea to have.

I agree here, have some kind of way to have a select few lance leaders or a commander to be able to set team viewable nav points. If not, then general navs would be nice for at least solaris arena because in games like power struggle in crysis you can use the objectives as navs. The grids on the map is helpful, but not nearly as much as HUD displayed navs when in a pinch

[Askis]

I agree, that being able to set Nav points would be nice to have, but as long as there are already points for the objectives and bases, it wouldn't be essential.
Also, what Eldragon said:

Steps would need to be taken so I am not cycling through 20+ different nav points.  Such as player's personal nav point showing up on the large full screen map, and someone else would have to click on it to select that nav point as their target.

is crucial imho.
If dozens of Navpoints appeared on my Hud, it'd be irritating, so if possible, selecting which ones to show and which ones to ignore would be best.

Also, if it takes to much time to code or is too hard to implement, I'd be able to live without it no problem

[Torin Fawkes]

Well since Crysis kinda sorta already has a nav system implemented, why not use it? Instead of hearing "OUR OUTPOST IS UNDER ATTACK CHARLIE SEVEN!!!!" I think hearing "Mechbay under attack navpoint alpha" would be great. The only problem I could foresee is having to find voice actors for that. Also keep the mini map and the heads up marker that are closely tied to this, as both of those can be applied to the mechwarrior universe quite nicely.

[STUN]

I think all you really need are some basic coordinates, I know its cool to have the old mechwarrior nostalgia.

If its too much work, I say just leave out the nav system.

[SmuttyChiken]

If there is an in-game mini map then a grid system overlayed on the map should suffice ... like the mod in Mechwarior4 ...