Concept 2: Advanced communication Rose 'Commo Rose MK II'Now I know this is a controversial topic, but look at the facts here
The current system uses a bar implementation which rules out the term commo-rose altogether
This bar, I take it, has its root in Fh1 and tries to cater for the 'most important' communication options, stripping down the BF2 communication to reduce spam and make use of Fh1 style radio and voice overs
The issue1/ The distinction between voice overs and radio overs is muddled
2/ The new system does NOT make use of any heurestic methods or HCI principles to make it use-able ie among other things, it lacks pairing, intuition and forces players to recall the locations of each button they need rather than recognize any semblance of pattern as should be the case
3/ Many people would WANT more options, and hence the stripped down comm-bar restricts users to one group's ideal of a communication set
The thinking behind the new roseThe new commo-rose makes use of BF2's rose order which MUST have undergone strict useability tests and makes use of mouse movements across a tree-architecture that is only 2-tiers deep in the worst case scenario, unlike the current system which uses a 'geedy algorthm' of next-next-next
The Rose MK II adds right mouse click by adding contrary or similar options to the same rose option bars, but requiring right-click to activate, rather than left-click (PR had this, I believe)
The commo rose MK II uses ALL of BF42's most used options as well as all BF2's options and a few custom ones
The rose changes based on the role of the player: Tankers get a different one from infantry, who get custom ones depending on if they have radios or not etc.
Hand signalsThis is additional idea that would work in conjuction with rose if implemented. Basically, like FH1, alot of commo-rose options let the player motion in some form or other like the spot animation currently ingame.
Options like hold this position, follow me etc are in this idea
GrenadesMany voice their disdain for the noise a grenade thrower makes that alerts both friend and foe. To aid this, the thrower gets a single option (as per PR) when greande is active. This, when selected issues the shout 'grenade', meaning, the thrower can now decide to shout or not.
Voice versus RadioA clear distinction needs to made between voice and radio overs for the commo-rose idea to appeal to all
Basically, only a few people should have radio overs which can be heard in tele, while everyone else simply gets a voice over whihc travels only as far as the voice carries
For the radio overs, spamming is further reduced by having only those with a radio capable of hearing the radio-over
The following groups have radiosTruck drivers, armored car and APC drivers only
Tank drivers only
Plane operators and tail gunners
artillery gunners
scouts, only when doing a spot
squad captains only when using a spot
the commander
*These are the only people who can SEND and/ or hear a radio over
The following groups do NOT have radio oversregular infantry
Scouts not doing a spot, but using the commo rose
squad captains not doing a spot, etc, etc
extra truck personel, extra APC or armored car personel
jeep drivers and passengers
*The above do NOT send radio overs or hear them - they thus recieve and transmit by voice only
In short
The commo rose MK II is supposed to be an all-inclusive architecture that bases itself on a system tried and tested i.e the BF2 commo-rose design
It lends itself to hand signals meaning a player needn't hear the voice over but can tell what is expected by visual
It adds scenematics in the sense that with well-tweaked voice overs, squads can hear each other and enemy infantry in a battle shouting commands and screaming, while keeping everything realistic without any unneccesary radio oves coming through
Players cna quikcly issue commands or coordinate with other players without the need for extra hardware such a microphone, clarity of VOIP language and speech or typing
Alternaitve/ AdditionallyWith the designs as is, one option can be a taunt, which chooses from a few random voice overs or selects from a select list, aiding in BFVietnam style 'polite conversation from one army to the next'
RecommendationVoice overs need to be done for this system to work, however, like the current system, many can exist as placeholders with non-audible voice overs for the time being
the devs should create a list of scripted phrases which would be distributed across the forum for people from the required country to send in auditions of recorded voice overs.. selection can then be done based on skill of acting, and clarity of voice
Movie voice overs can be also used if deemed apprioporate - Personally, I liked the voice calls from a bridge too far, but what the hell :-)