Commander's Screen

Heavyarms · May 2005

I'm sorry, I'm new and I'm asking a repetitive question you've all probably heard asked 10,000 times so a link of some sort will do. I'm new to the mod, I've had it two days and I want to learn and practice with the commander's screen before I jump into the game. I've watched a ton of people basically flounder and mope around while using it to cause a loss to the team, and I get frustrated by that sometimes. Can anyone help? I tried creating a server by myself, but couldn't because I needed 2 people.

Ok, I just saw a thread below this one, my sincerest apologies.

Heavyarms · May 2005

Ok, I finally jumped into the commander's chair for the first time during a game, after my team was sort of flunking around and some poor management by another commander. It's like playing an RTS with pieces that don't follow your orders always (actually rarely do they.) I jumped in with few resources, few towers, and few people doing much of anything and they all got backed into our own spawn. They then were trying to defend but it's my fault I wasn't paying much attention to that, because we had one resource tower and no one was getting anymore. So, they ended up ejecting me and then I left cuz I had class hehe. I found people have a short string for you while doing it, kind of sucks.

DaJMasta · May 2005

yes, pubbers usually have a short temper for any comm they dont know, even if they are doing well or come into a horrible situation.

Then if they dont try to eject you, the never follow orders....

Im usually the first one to half the waypoints cause no one else cares to go that way <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' />

But if you are a decent player and want to comm, or a decent comm and u want to comm, they usually will only get a couple kickvotes on you <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' />

More than half the rine games I play have a kickvote started at some point, even if were doing quite well.

Corporal_Fortier · May 2005

Well if you want to pratice by making a server alone, you do not need a 2nd player! Just open the console and type <i>sv_cheats 1</i> (I'm not sure if it takes an "s" or not though). Then you want join the marine team and test out stuff! You'll just have to get out of the chair to build stuff, but it takes a lot less time than in normal games.

You can also download bots to pratice against! Just visit <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75671' target='_blank'>this thread</a> for more info!

Don't discourage yourself, it takes some time to be able to lead real marines to victory! If you do not have a microphone, I suggest you get one and use it to give order to your troops, it works much better than typing!

Jarod · May 2005

Been there, done that. Starting NS is never easy.
I started it in a non-steam HL with bots on LAN and tried comming. The bots never eject you or dislike your orders or doings.
But they are stupid ^^.

I personally like to comm more than play as a marine on the field, (unless I have SG and HA.) since I never hit anything really. And I've seen that no matter who the comm, they always start a vote to eject, no matter how good or bad it is.
If you feel like that the game just isn't going in your favor when comming, LOGOUT and let someone else get the blaim for bad comming, and listen to the praises afterwards when people say that you weren't that bad at all ^^! <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' />

Seriously, don't get upset and think that you are no good, practise makes perfect! No one is instantly perfect, it requires failure and succeeding.

daidalos · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Corporal Fortier @ May 4 2005, 08:57 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Well if you want to pratice by making a server alone, you do not need a 2nd player! Just open the console and type <i>sv_cheats 1</i> (I'm not sure if it takes an "s" or not though). Then you want join the marine team and test out stuff! You'll just have to get out of the chair to build stuff, but it takes a lot less time than in normal games.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
yep, it's "sv_cheats 1" and "bigdig" so everything builds itself <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' />
The poor thing is: I just played NS and we had no com, so I jumped in and got 2 eject votes. My friend told me once, he was playing a game where everyone ejected the com so noone could go com anymore, the game was lost. I sometimes wonder whether some people are thinking about what they do or just eject.
I wouldn't never build a tf or a second ip at the start of the game. I saw VERY many people doing that. The thing I always forget are the mines. They are very important, tell your Frontiersmen to lay them around the ip and build the structures as far from the CC as possible, so you can jump out of the CC and kill that skulk that is chewing on your armory easily. He will have a long way until he reaches you.

I never commed much but I don't think it is wrong to follow these hints <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' />.

jago6 · May 2005

I've seen people get **** on marine training servers and kick comms. To me this defeats the point of even joining the server. If you don't want a crappy comm, then why even join a rine training server? I think since I've been playing I've voted twice to kick a comm.

Slavak · May 2005

Ahahaha american servers suck <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

Every 2nd server has ether bots or fake players on it, Your community ejects b4 you even get in. AND theres a 12-1 noob to good upwards player ratio.

You should come to New Zealand, we have the best ns community in the world.
almost everyones friendly, we scrim all the time, always a server with a good game on it

Thats the life

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' />

BlueNovember · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Slavak @ May 6 2005, 06:12 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> You should come to New Zealand, we have the best ns community in the world.
almost everyones friendly, we scrim all the time, always a server with a good game on it  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Be that as it may, the pings are a little on the high side. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' />

(New Zealand is an awesome country though. Spent the best 3 years of my life living there. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' />)

meep · May 2005

Download the NS Training map if you want a brief overview of commanding. It's pretty good, it give you some really basic strategy. It's at the very top of the stickied posts.

MistenTH · May 2005

As daidalos said, to get acquainted with the command interface, open your own server and set sv_cheats 1. And activate bigdig.

Now experiment with building placement, their costs, how to drop structures and equipment, the range of the TF and siege turrets, so on and so forth.

Where upgrades are located etc, and also, very important, to get a feel of the maps.

In games where marines win, think about the orders the commander gave, the things that were done, what could have led to the win. Observe building placement, what the res was invested in.

If marines lose, take note of what went wrong and try not to repeat them.

If marines are losing badly and locked into MS, feel free to hop into the commander chair and toy around with a real situation, no one will care.

But ultimately, one fine day, you'll have to get in the hot seat, pray you know what you're doing, and begin the rocky journy from there.

A very safe opener would be IP/Armoury/Arms Lab/W1 or A1, with the buildings spread out for easy defence. Lay a pack of mines around the IP to defend base.

From there, the rest is up to you.

pip1 · May 2005

I would suggest you to be a good "grunt" before you start comm'ing. Get familiar with how a game goes, and see what other comm's do. Read some (or a lotta) topics on these forums, and see what tips other people have for you.

A good comm can make a bad marine team win, but a bad comm make a good marine team loose as well. The comm is the most important person on the whole marine team, so you might want to wait a little while before start comm'ing for real. Unless you don't mind loosing and having a whole team caps locking "noob comm" at you <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

Now, when you first jump into the chair, remember that sentry turrets (the small ones) are your enemy, and should never be built. Once you know that, you're already come a long way compared to people who have played the game for a while <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' />

btw, comming a team to victory feels GREAT <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' />

N_3 · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (pip ! @ May 13 2005, 01:01 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Now, when you first jump into the chair, remember that sentry turrets (the small ones) are your enemy, and should never be built. Once you know that, you're already come a long way compared to people who have played the game for a while <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
^
Turrets generally arent worth the res, especially when you drop a few. Only really want to use them if you have heaps of res and are locking down 2 (not 1) hives, or possibly holding important/dominant 'sieging camps,' like cargo on tanith.

meep · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (N 3 @ May 13 2005, 06:11 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (pip ! @ May 13 2005, 01:01 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Now, when you first jump into the chair, remember that sentry turrets (the small ones) are your enemy, and should never be built. Once you know that, you're already come a long way compared to people who have played the game for a while <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' /></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
^
Turrets generally arent worth the res, especially when you drop a few. Only really want to use them if you have heaps of res and are locking down 2 (not 1) hives, or possibly holding important/dominant 'sieging camps,' like cargo on tanith.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Turrets have low life and don't do much damage, but you would be suprised at how psychologically damaging they can be. Place turrets so that they <i>obstruct</i> entrance and exit from an area. Marines will have little trouble moving around them - they're small enough to jump over easily or move around - but fades will often be very wary about blinking in for fear of getting stuck on them while blinking out. Onos will also hesitate to run into an area, since if the attack the turret to get it out of the way they're wasting time not focusing on bigger objectives (like the turret factory) but if they ignore the turrets and go for the factory, they're in danger of getting blocked from escaping and getting gunned down.

Also, even though they do little damage, they never miss, and constantly seeing that red damage indicator on your screen can also be psychologically damaging, even if it's not actually what kills you.

pip1 · May 2005

You can get 4 mines for the same price as 1 turret. Sure, turrets block, and help kill skulks, but they are very time-consuming compared to mines. Mines kill skulks and fades a lot better as well (imo).

BlueNovember · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (pip ! @ May 13 2005, 08:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> You can get 4 mines for the same price as 1 turret. Sure, turrets block, and help kill skulks, but they are very time-consuming compared to mines. Mines kill skulks and fades a lot better as well (imo). </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><ul><li>Mines are only effective once. Turrets can act as a deterrant for the duration of a game.
</li><li>Turrents are far better at taking down lerks than mines are (hitscan)
</li><li>Good mines require good marines to be used properly, good turret placement is totally in your hands. (I hate turrets, but I hate people who run off with the mines/put them *ON* the IP more).</li></ul>There is no be-all and end-all. Each has its own advantages for different situations and scenarios, although admitedly mines are certainly the more tactically versatile.

meep · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (BlueNovember @ May 13 2005, 06:50 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (pip ! @ May 13 2005, 08:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> You can get 4 mines for the same price as 1 turret. Sure, turrets block, and help kill skulks, but they are very time-consuming compared to mines. Mines kill skulks and fades a lot better as well (imo). </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><ul><li>You cannot "get 4 mines for the same price as one turret". Although you can get 8 mine packs (40 mines) for the price of 5 turrets.</li></ul>  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
What? 8 mine packs is 32 mines. Also, turrets cost 10 res each, the same as a pack of mines.

BlueNovember · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (meep @ May 14 2005, 05:39 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> What? 8 mine packs is 32 mines. Also, turrets cost 10 res each, the same as a pack of mines.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
I've never noticed that mines now come in packs of 4. When did that change? <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' />

As for 8/10 res turrets; meh. Shows how much I use them. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /> Thanks for the correction though.

N_3 · May 2005

its been 4 mines per pack (10 res) since like 1.04 <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' />

meep · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (N 3 @ May 16 2005, 03:34 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> its been 4 mines per pack (10 res) since like 1.04 <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' />  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
No, it was 5 mines until some time during 3.0 beta.

BlueNovember · May 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (meep @ May 16 2005, 05:08 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (N 3 @ May 16 2005, 03:34 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> its been 4 mines per pack (10 res) since like 1.04 <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
No, it was 5 mines until some time during 3.0 beta.  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Well that's a relief. <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' />
Played 1.04 on a listen server on a laptop yesturday... old skool. Why was it that Onos were so reveared whereas now they're just targets to soak up damage for the fades? <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' />

Heavy_D · May 2005

Because by the time you could gestate to onos, you had three hives and had already won the game.

Commander's Screen

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