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What triggers icons on the map


Tonywjones44

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Found my self engaging some eny infantry in a wood with a Pizarro in the 3D world at quite close range (#0.5km) the other day and flipped to the map so I could pass on the coordinates to my wingie. No icon showing. And no icon appeared during the engagement althought there was one for another eny unit - of a different type - nearby.

The AAR showed the same, although they showed up if I selected 'Actual enemy'. But as I coulc see them and they could see me (and shoot at me) I would have thought they'd qualify as 'Reported enemy'). So my question is: What actually triggers the map icons please?

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Well, for one, you can hold the [shift] key and a little asterisk will appear in the middle of the screen. Put that asterisk on an "un-spotted" eny unit and release and the unit will show up on the map. (AFAIK this works from observer and TC positions.)

My guess is the AI didn't see the eny and so didn't mark them on the map. (Even though you saw them.) This way you can't just scan an area and have all eny show up. The game has to "know" you saw them.

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Well, for one, you can hold the [shift] key and a little asterisk will appear in the middle of the screen. Put that asterisk on an "un-spotted" eny unit and release and the unit will show up on the map. (AFAIK this works from observer and TC positions.)

...provided, that access to the map screen, and map updates have not been disabled by the mission designer - which might be the case here.

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...provided, that access to the map screen, and map updates have not been disabled by the mission designer - which might be the case here.

I don't think so as that would have applied to ALL map updates and icons, surely? As I said, the icons were appearing as usual in most instances. It was just this particular unit that appeared anomalous. I'm used to this happening with eny infantry in buildings (and accept it as just part of the game), but this is the first time I've had it happen out in the open. Perhaps the icon triggering is not 100% reliable. If so, no big deal. :)

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Well, for one, you can hold the [shift] key and a little asterisk will appear in the middle of the screen. Put that asterisk on an "un-spotted" eny unit and release and the unit will show up on the map. (AFAIK this works from observer and TC positions.)

My guess is the AI didn't see the eny and so didn't mark them on the map. (Even though you saw them.) This way you can't just scan an area and have all eny show up. The game has to "know" you saw them.

Thanks for the suggestion SP. I will give it a try later on. I thought that the game AI always placed an icon on the map if there was a clear line of sight from the player to the eny unit. Certainly, some times it seems to be quite the other way. I've had eny units buried deep in woods 4km away show up as a map icon. No way could I have seen them from further than 50m! And no, there weren't any other Blue units closer than I was.

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There is of couse always a time delay between some computer unit spotting something, and it appearing on the map. That time delay probably should be made bigger.

Smaller? Please? :) But in this case it was a player unit (me) that had spotted the eny unit, and it must have taken me at least 5min to deploy and send in my inf while taking up a safe overwatch position.

Please do not take this as a complaint in any way at all. I accept that the game has to differ from RL in many respects and probably can't be 100% consistent either. Just trying to learn 'what it is - and what it is not'. And be effective as possible within those parameters.

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If map updates were off, you would see no enemy icons on the map at all.

The map is not always 100% accurate, and can take a while to update enemy locations. Know where your friendly units are so that you don't have to do any guessing when you spot something. Updates can be even slower during multiplayer sessions, and worse if there is network overload.

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Yes! it's way too fast now. :remybussi:

Especially if your force isn't "networked" or "digitised".

A bunch of M1A2 SEPs sure (since the "contact" is in fact the relaying of your position from GPS and the enemy's position from the laser range finder).

Older units relying on the good old "contact report" (most use something along the lines of):

Initial Report: "Contact Tank! wait out" (just in case that's the last you hear from them).

Then a Full Contact Report:

At Time

At Grid (the enemy's, not yours)

What is the Enemy

What is he doing

What are you doing about it

Eg

Contact Tank wait out.

A little later:

Contact Report:

At: 0723

At: GR 123456

What: 1 x T-80 Coy

What: Assaulting into EA Blogs

What: Am engaging

This needs to be plotted on a map at the higher HQ (and usually by neighbouring units) and confirmed, then its on the battle map.

As opposed to the icon appearing on everyone's map across the BG in an instant (which is the case now for even the most technalogically challenged units).

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had to? still do! Us that doesn't sit in vehicles with blueforce tracker and TCCS systems still have to do it the good old way :)

And even if you have a BMS, having a paper backup is allways a good idea.

Those eletronic things CAN fail (on their own, or aided by ENY eletronic warfare).

Nobody can jam a paper map :-P

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