Add rangefinder to commanders binoculars and/or possibility to order fire support via map (grid coordinates)

ok maybe the insurgent commander might not have fancy laser rangefinder but optical angle based ones are a thing too, just not quite so point-and-click.

Anyway I'd like to know the distance to the point I'm going to order fire support to, especially when I'm trying to be tricky about it. Using map and ordering support to particular grid coordinates would be useful too (or an alternative to the rangefinder).

These actually sound interesting as alternatives to vanilla binoculars.

The range finders provide a distance value in meters to target, allowing for a little more accurate fire support, and offer a stronger fundamental understanding of weapons if an easily accessible firing range gets implemented.

I'd like to think that using the map and grid squares might be too strong as an ability however. Any fundamental level of map knowledge would make this an incredibly powerful tool to knock out MGs, Snipers, and other defensive positions with 0% risk. Even adding time constraints like the commander and observer being forced to take longer calling out specific coordinates might not be enough, as there's still very nominal risk in doing so.

last edited by Goat Walrus

Is this what you were thinking of? I think it sounds good on paper, but might be bad in practice. I once thought of an idea where the commander just modifies the call-ins and confirms them. Basically it's Rising Storm 2's system. Not good for small maps at all.

0_1546591283122_Insurgency commander tablet.jpg

I think the current system is better because of how hard it is to keep your observer alive. It's like carrying around a very fragile, expensive piece of equipment.

I would definitely leave the observer/radio-operator mechanic as it is regardless of rangefinder binoculars or being able to (tell the observer to) call fire to grid coordinates. As you said, it's a good balancing act.

For gun-runs it would be nice to be able to give the direction too (this point, from SW to NE) but maybe that's getting a bit too ArmA 😉