Ideas for a new mission planning tool/MP slots system

[ResonantCard1]

Hello guys,

 

We all know the Multiplayer slots system. It's kinda awful and doesn't allow the mission makers enough flexibility when placing aircraft as they always have to make a compromise between the different types that they're placing. The list of slots can also get extremely long.

 

The slots system should change, maybe it could be replaced by an screen where you could choose your take off airfield, then the plane type, and off you go. The plane would be dynamically spawned at the airfield instead of preemptively placed down and waiting to be activated by a player.

 

Furthermore, with this screen we could do some basic mission planning already. We could choose the general type of mission we would fly and the callsign. We could have a map of the area, put down a marker to mark our objective, and other markers to create our waypoints. This could be used to see other people's objective markers and mission, which would help coordinate strikes.

 

Lastly, we could choose our starting loadout on that screen too, although that can be done relatively easily on the airfield already. It'd just be a bit unrealistic.

[BatLunette]

Role system would advance MP gameplay, this would allow players to take distinguished roles and keep the track of what everyone is doing. If you notice a lack of air superiority fighters, you can take this role and let everyone know your intentions. Same for SEAD/DEAD/CAP/CAS/Supply and other types.

 

Currenly we don't see what roles players took, we can only ask them or look at 3rd party GCI tool if transponder is set, and not everyone uses chat/voice chat. On big servers it's a problem. When I fly, I need to know how many people are engaged in SEAD or ground attacks, so I could judge if we need another CAP fighter.

 

I have a good example of it:

 

 

 

This would provide environment for basic teamwork. From here, we can judge who does the role best or which role don't have enough firepower and people. This won't limit players, since pretty much every aircraft is partly multi-role, but for proper job they need to know what exactly is needed on a battlefield.

 

This is especially important for upcoming RTS engine, since we need to know how many people throw to supply lines and how many people we need to counter advanced enemy SAM sites.

This could also help to popularize CA since this would become a set of dedicated slots. A squad of people could perform tasks on a ground based on muiltiplayer mission.

 

Additionally, assigning players to independent squads not only in voice chat, but also in the game itself could eccourage people to cooperate and bring players together to complete a common task.

Edited September 29, 2020 by BatLunette

[Glide]

One of the great strengths of the current system is the portability of the .miz file. Are you asking for the mission launcher interface to be "map aware" and "inject" or "append" flight components to a .miz file as the mission is launched? Or perhaps you are suggesting the ME have more multiplayer and role templates that can be used for mission generation?