I took this from a different forum but its very well done and should clear up any confusion about being commander. Its a very important part of the game IMO. So props to Messadiah at somethingawful.com.
Teamwork is absolutely essential in this game, and it's oh so easy too! This thread is to show everybody how exactly being a Commander or Squad Leader works, feel free to add any comments, tips, or suggestions of your own as this is going to be a very general overview.
First up is the Commander. Press Capslock to access the Command Screen
Important things you need to be aware of to start with:
1. - Squad list
This is the listing of all your squads and what classes each squad has and their health, the Squad Leader is the far right class icon. The green checkmark area is whether the Squad Leader has accepted or denied your orders, because I did this in singleplayer the bots are subservient to me and accept my orders of death without question. You can select the squads using the number keys on the keyboard and you can select multiple squads by holding shift and clicking on them or using the number keys, this aids in getting your orders out as soon as possible.
2. - Tools of the Trade
These are your tools, use them wisely and use them often.
Scan does a radar sweep of the entire map showing red dots wherever there is an enemy unit. This sweep only shows up for the Commander, use it to warn your team where the enemy is, where they are heading, or where to direct your artillery strikes.
Artillery is your favourite tool because you get to blow shit up and that's what this game is all about. Do a scan or use your UAV to find an area with a high concentration of enemy soldiers, click the Artillery button, then click on the mass of enemy.
Notes: After calling the artillery, it takes about 10 seconds to actually come down on your target so take that into account if the mass of enemy soldiers is on the move somewhere, try to guess where they'll be when hell starts raining down on them.
UAV's are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles used for local recon. Use the UAV where you believe there are a bunch of enemies and it will sweep that area and show little red dots on your map just like the Scan. The main difference between the UAV and the Scan is the area covered and the
UAV scan can be seen by your entire team.
Supplies is a magical parachuting crate full of love. Drop this in a large concentration of your own team so heal them, repair their vehicles, give them ammo, and make them happy.
Here you see a supply crate parachuting to the ground, I love the parachutes in this game. Also not the bottom left of the HUD shows who you are.
Notes: Supply crates don't care who gets the supplies, so if you drop this on your enemies it won't crush their heads but in fact give them all the happy love bits that your team needs.
Supply crates also repair and heal
everything, so if you're the commander and your team is retarded and won't repair your dead artillery, drop a crate in between them and you'll have the power to blow more shit up again in a few moments.
3. - Overhead Map View
This is your main screen, use it to monitor your squads on a global level, or zoom in and watch a specific battle play out from a few hundred feet in the air. Since we're all new at this, the main reason you'll want to zoom all the way in is to watch your artillery strikes on populated areas, the results are always spectacular. In this shot you can see a supply crate dropping below the Scan radar, the UAV trailer at the bottom, and a couple of humvee's and a tank.
Note: The buttons along the bottom are filters, by default they are all on so you can see everything, unclicking the icons removes those players/vehicles from your view. Use the resign button if everybody hates you and all you can manage to do is teamkill with the artillery.
Here is 2nd level of zoom which gives you a good show of the entire battle.
4. - Mini-map
Use this as an overview of the battle, it shows you which points are held by who. If anybody knows what other information is shown here please expand on this.
5. - Chat Area
This is where the chat moves to in Commander mode, just above it is the kill reporting area which also shows other commands. The buttons on the bottom under the chat area are who you are sending chat to when you.
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Ok we've got the basics of the view down pat let's get to the more interesting stuff, first off the most important... the right click menu.
Your first option is to
Zoom, which is a lot easier if you just use your mouse wheel. There are 3 levels of zoom, 2 of which are the 2D overhead map, the 3rd and closest zoom level is the one seen in the first overview screenshot where you see the actual 3D models and terrain from straight up.
Next is
Spotted, when you spot an enemy unit of any kind, right click on it and click spotted and this will alert your team to its location and what it is.
Artillery,
UAV, and
Supplies will target those things where you right clicked.
The important commands here are
Move,
Defend,
Attack,
Repair,
Destroy, and
Mine. These are how you order your Squad Leaders around, right click where you want them to go, and then select what you want them to do when they get there. The majority of the time you will likely be using attack since the Squad Leader should have the smarts to know what to do when they get where you want them, you are just there to guide them.
In this screenshot I have all 3 squads selected and the order I gave them is to attack this point, whichever squad(s) is highlighted, you will see a line from the Squad Leader to the point you ordered them to. I am hidding in the shack in the middle right hoping nobody notices me, this is what you'll do a lot as commander.
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The Quick/Communications/Orders Menu
Most people have voiced their dislike of the new quick communications menus but I've come to accept and even like them. This one is T by default (Sec. Comm), it allows you to quickly call down
Artillery,
Supplies, or an
UAV to your current position. Hold down T and click or move your mouse up or down and click to use these.
Note: On the mini-map in the upper right of the screen there is an artillery symbol with a couple rings around it, what this icon means is
run like hell so I don't get kickbanned for TKing you.
