Build on build

On 22 October I played the latest build. This one is short, because I only wanted to show what has changed since playtest 4. Same mission: one section out of the gate, a contact, a casualty, and the chain that gets them onto a helicopter. Anything the earlier videos already covered is cut out.

What is new since playtest 4

• Out of the gate the section hard targets: sprinting and zigzagging along the path, because leaving the patrol base is when you are most exposed. It is not perfect yet, but it is a detail I really like.
• In contact, each soldier goes prone if that lets him see the enemy's firing point, and kneels if he needs to.
• When a section is in contact, the platoon sergeant walks into the ops room to get the picture, in case he is needed.
• After the first rapid rate of fire, the section fires and moves, using the right skills and drills: a few rounds, back down, crawl, and up again in a better fire position, so nobody is still sat in the spot a sniper has dialled in on.
• When the lead soldier was hit, he pulled himself back off the firing line, turned over and treated himself while the section carried on with the firefight.
• The section no longer moves its casualty on its own. I set the casualty collection point, click the section and press J, and choose a casualty party or a stretcher party. For a T3 it is the casualty party: the section 2IC and a cover man take him back to the CCP.
• At the HLS the QRF goes into all-round defence, with the section commander just inside the circle so every arc is covered.
• When the QRF reports the HLS secure, the watchkeeper drafts it for me to send to aviation ops, so the helicopter knows it is a safe place to land.
• The MERT (Medical Emergency Response Team) helicopter shows on the board with how far out it is and its ETA.
• At the HLS the casualty is put to one side and someone gives first aid while they wait, with a new animation. It looks good through the drone feed.
• The MERT orbits once, lands, the casualty is helped on board and it lifts.

What worked

• The hard targeting out of the gate.
• The reaction to the first burst of fire: down, back into cover, and the right posture for each soldier.
• Fire and movement in the firefight, and the soldier treating himself.
• The room ordering the casualty back, not the section deciding for itself.
• The watchkeeper's HLS secure call, and the helicopter coming in.

What did not

1. The platoon sergeant's party carries the casualty at the back. He belongs in the middle of the group.
2. When the drone follows a unit, the board shows it twice: one symbol sitting on top of the unit's, and one orbiting where the drone really is. One drone, one symbol.
3. The QRF should pop smoke for the helicopter, and there is no smoke effect yet. It goes in the next build.
4. There is no walking animation for the wounded soldier yet, so the casualty party looks more like it is escorting a prisoner.
5. The helicopter is a stand-in model until the real one arrives.
6. The menu for moving a casualty to the CCP is rough. The interface gets its proper pass once the build settles.

What happens next

Fixing that list, starting with where the casualty sits in the platoon sergeant's party and the drone showing twice on the board. Ryan is building the proper assets in the background and finding me stand-ins to use until they are ready, so each playtest adds another layer of drills and realism on top of the last.

Still placeholder

The art, the animations, the captions and the words on the net. They say what is happening rather than how it would be said.

Come and tell us what we are getting wrong on the Discord.