Officer Armor has toggleable Trackers

[Harrysno]

@JohnMorrison

It was this kind of answer I was looking for when I asked “Why don’t they have trackers”

I agree with most of this after reading your reasoning but now I have to ask:

Why SLs have the trackers then?

SL Trackers were added before my time, so I can only realistically speculate. But I’ve always viewed SL Trackers as a way to help new players know where to go, seeing as new players will almost always start as an RFN with no map knowledge or idea of what to be doing.

@Cabal

“Apes together strong” is exactly what the most primitive way of organisation can be, primitve, but still. Just because you don’t have to use complicated words, orders and signs doesn’t mean it isn’t organised.

In my eyes, at least, organization implies a level of active communication about what is going to be getting done. When I see a murderball, the extent of communication I see between marines is which direction the Queen is coming in or if there is a flank coming from immediately behind the murderball. It is because murderballs require little communication that they are formed so often, they require little to no effort to figure out and little to no effort to keep going. However, it’s for that exact reason that I dislike murderballs and find them unfun.

By having all the marines bunched up in one location and fairly-thoughtlessly shooting in one direction, you wind up removing most opportunities to actually create memorable moments in a round. You don’t have a chance for Delta to pull of a stunning surprise maneuver to decimate the Xenos (even if it doesn’t go that way 9/10 times). You don’t have a chance for Charlie to discover a Xenomorph flank ahead of time by scouting out ways to move around the frontline. You don’t have Alpha patrolling the backlines in Fireteams to gun down lurkers and runners. You’ll probably still have Bravo fortifying comms, but we better hope that they don’t lose it because we all know they won’t be able to take it back without help.

For me, at least, when I tell marines to “stick together” I am referring to their individual squads. If I want Alpha & Delta to bunch up, or Charlie & Alpha to bunch up, or Delta & Charlie to bunch up, I explicitly state it. If I want them to separate and pursue separate tasks, I explicitly state it. And sure, there are implicit roles that each squad marine plays when they’re all bunched up in a murderball, but I’d hardly call it the peak of organisation precisely because it’s implicit - it isn’t being actively communicated and planned around, it just happens.

Also I’d say it’s a stretch to call restoring comms, repairing the sensor tower, or flanking a “murderball on a smaller scale.” Unless you consider any group of marines moving together a murderball, that is.

[Cabal]

@Sandvich123

Bro your mad goofy

Better to be mad goofy, than goofy mad.

Don’t you shed a tear for mean names for CIC/CO players, the truth stings, everyone wants to be Captain Kirk, there is no denial, when this fails many times, they change personality to Ciaphas Cain, or in the worst case, to Zapp Brannigan.

@Harrysno

In my eyes, at least, organization implies a level of active communication about what is going to be getting done.

And this exists in a case of murderbal. But is non-verbal and primitive. I see a marine, I stick next to a marine. I see a lot of marines, I follow. Monkey see, monkey do.
It is a bit of a herd instincts and crowd psychology, but it still is.
Marine gets grabbed by a warrior trough the doors, other marine follows, another marine follows, I follow too. Works like a well oiled machine. SADAR shoots rav with AP, everyone shoots rav.

@Harrysno

It is because murderballs require little communication that they are formed so often, they require little to no effort to figure out and little to no effort to keep going.

They require little verbal communication, this is true. Effort is there but it comes naturally.

@Harrysno

However, it’s for that exact reason that I dislike murderballs and find them unfun.

I don’t argue that. Both marine and xeno murderballs are my least favourite, one of the reasons is the ammount of lag it creates to be near, I always choose smaller skirmishes on the sides. But I see them as naturally occuring, because indeed apes together strong and “flanks” to “break” stalemate are not.

@Harrysno

And sure, there are implicit roles that each squad marine plays when they’re all bunched up in a murderball, but I’d hardly call it the peak of organisation precisely because it’s implicit - it isn’t being actively communicated and planned around, it just happens.

It is peak in this game, as I mentioned before. If you had a voice chat, smaller ammount of people who you already know and played a bit so they all know eachother, then you can have organisation. Murderball is a peak of organisation that entire marine force, or individual squads in CM can achieve.
There are more advanced forms of organisation, that is true too, but it relies on few individuals at best. CAS/OB/Mortar spotters and respective PO/CIC/Mortar marine.

Maybe it is not “actively” communicated by some definition, but it for sure is constantly passively communicated, althought it comes from “below” instead of “above”, every time a marine player sees few other marines on his screen and doesn’t see any on the other, he is informed that he should go with them.
Murderballs however require leaders, but wordless leaders. It is not necessarily a dedicated Squad Leader, or CO. It can be just as well a 5 hour PVT who charges in because he doesn’t know any better, but this encourages others more than 10 CIC announcements and 100 chat messages all caps from his SL.

@Harrysno

Also I’d say it’s a stretch to call restoring comms, repairing the sensor tower, or flanking a “murderball on a smaller scale.” Unless you consider any group of marines moving together a murderball, that is.

Of course a flank is a murderball of a smaller scale. It is precisely that. You take one squad (people who were around you to respond to your calls for a flank, often some of the guys not from the squad you are leading) and you go as a fairly big group somewhere.
The formation is exactly the same, only the actual SL is the leader of that small murderball. You don’t do anything different than big murderball does other than the mentioned fact that you are officialy directed by a SL when you try to flank and not some brave random.

Going to restore comms, or repairing sensor towers is the same, you go with a big group to a point and then stand there while engi repairs it.

The game was rigged from the start, entire marine force is balanced to stick together and the more of them, the better they are. And nobody will ever do anything about it. There is no way to nerf murderballing without nerfing every other aspect of the game. It is for both marines and frontilne xeno castes.
Murderballing is a sad reality, the peak of marine force organisation in PvP.

Not every group of marines together is a murderball. Force that is fairly spread out isn’t a murderball, but this only happens after queen was killed, hive destroyed and marines are searching the last few xenos, who can easly avoid another murderball.
If it would happen at any other point, marines would be killed off one by one. They still get killed one by one anyway in that case, but other marines quickly pour themselfs to the meatgrinder to get the sick last frag.

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I will yet again say that I’m not advocating for murderballing, or advocating to eliminate it. I am simply stating the state of SS13. Fighting murderballs that organise themselfs naturally in CMSS13 is like fighting speed being a king in SS13.

[osmos]

Looks like it’s on the table now. Everyone must murderball neowww!

Expands Squad Lead tracking list