The casual-friendly approach to squads and platoons is teaching players to be idiots.

No ability to rebuke or punish unruly players. No ability to limit what classes people can play, vehicles they can pull or places they can spawn. Not even the ability to ban or blacklist players.

I want the ability to 'slap' players which causes severe damage, messes up their screen, and causes their vehicles to steer erratically. I want the ability to 'rebuke' players which causes a huge center screen popup message on a timer that blocks their view and locks their controls until it goes away.

I want the ability to turn off the option to buy certain vehicles (or make people ask permission to do so), and to suggest or lock out certain class choices, with the ability to turn off all their squad XP rewards if they fail to play the suggested class.

I want squad members to completely lose their ability to talk in platoon chat altogether. The fact that this even exists just encourages zerging, because it makes every single platoon just feel like a 48-player squad.

I want the ability to turn off where players can spawn, and the ability to forcefully initiate their redeploy function. If they cancel the redeploy manually, the leader gets a notification so he can punish them.

Lastly, I want the ability to leave leadership / member feedback on players and have it be publicly viewable. Someone with high feedback leaving negative feedback would trash your reputation. Platoons and squads would be allowed to set thresholds for reputation. This way players who are good members can be isolated from the idiots who pull ESFs when you ask everyone to get in a Galaxy, and then claim they're "escorting it".

Joining squads and platoons is entirely optional. Players need to stop being coddled because their feelings might be hurt. Leaders should have the ability to mercilessly punish players if required to teach them how to behave in a squad. The fact that we cannot even ban players, and SLs have to beg the PL to stop what he's doing to kick out ****** players who just join again two minutes later is complete nonsense. This wet nurse approach to squads and platoons has done nothing but teach people that it's okay to only follow some orders. That when the leader says 'Go to the base and get on the point', it's acceptable to pull a tank, drive to the base, and drive around outside shooting people instead.

There's no reason this game can't have a playerbase that is ready and willing to follow orders and work as a team. I shouldn't be FORCED to somehow find out which outfits actually do force teamwork, and then FORCED to only run locked squads. Plenty of outfits like to run public squads for both recruiting purposes and because not ALL pubbies are mouth-breathing idiots. However, because players in this game are never forced to follow orders (which are ORDERS, not SUGGESTIONS), there is no real reason for anyone to do anything they don't want to. Just join a squad so you can get free XP bonuses and more spawn options and then do what you want.

It's garbage is what it is.

And what's worse, there's no automatic system in the game for subtracting DKP. These BR2's can't handle their whelps, and they need to see the consequences of that.

Teaching using punishment methods is the worst way out there. You might be suffering from some kind of power trip though. If you want a platoon or a squad this way, just find other people like you.

Forcing = discomfort -> lower performances

Or maybe you want people to be forced to obey you because you lack the leadership and charisma to make them follow you willingly?

In life, you don't always get what you want. You can't make people be who you want them to be and do what you want them to do. You're just going to have to accept that. This applies to multiplayer video games as well.

I can agree to blacklists and having an option to limit Platoon chat to squad leaders only, but that is it.

You could just start announcing executions.

"For the crime of neglecting squad orders and smelling funny, you are condemned to the firing line."

Bonus points if you have the Commissar hat.

So you want to be the almighty dictator and everyone else your humble servant without any rights?

Must be real fun to play in a platoon lead by you. Not.

There's already a solution for all of your issues; It's called kicking them from the squad/platoon.

The only post in this thread worth reading. Shut this thread down, it'll only get worse from here.

Bravo to you, sir.

Sure, I'll be in your BDSM club platoon for 50$ an hour.

Now I remember why I play solo ...

You should go take your leadership insight to West Point. I hear lots of militaries around the world teach the ability to follow orders by asking nicely and being considerate to feelings.

BCP ran a ruthless outfit and he not only got everyone to listen to him, but he ran the most effective outfit in PS2. Zergfits are outfits that accept anyone and are nice and cuddly places where you can line up for a hug if you're not having fun, and zergfits get nothing productive done, ever.

That goes both ways. In life, you don't get to hear your boss tell you 'have these reports on my desk by Friday' and you just decide that Monday is just as good without consequences. You know what makes people turn in reports on Friday instead of Monday? The knowledge that if they don't, their boss will fire them, they'll be unable to pay rent, be kicked out of their house, fall into depression, and then kill themselves.

Kicking people from a squad teaches them nothing.

And here I thought this was a game, an escape from the rigors of daily life and responsibility. Now I see I was mistaken, and PS2 should be taken even more seriously than my real job.

Don't like it, don't join a platoon and pollute this game with your "I'm a special snowflake and I'm above listening to the leadership" attitude that has made this game's playerbase pathetic.

Let me guess, you're the guy that when the PL says 'everyone to the warpgate' you go 'BUT I HAVE A TAAAAAAAAAAAAANK!'

Pollute the game? Frosty posts are always good for the lulz.

Yes pollute it ... Didn't you know that all PL's are Sun Tzu incarnate ? They have all had to sit a 3 hour test in Armchair Generalship to attain the levels of strategic and tactical planning that they have ...

TLDR: Most PL's couldn't order themselves out of a paper bag ..

What lots of players forget is PS2 has a steep learning curve for low BR players, Without these NEW low BR players there will be NO PS2 in the future. Its easy option to slap players down for getting it wrong but it takes a better leader to help and educate newer players.

Try having a little more patience or start a hardcore outfit if you only like that style of play.
I often have to repeat myself and explain mechanics over and over while running Platoons with low BR's in them, I explain the waypoints, give them notice when we will redeploy so not to spawn vehicles and maxes for a while before hand.
No low level player is going to give up his fresh MBT and redeploy when their timer is still close to 15 mins are they, people forget how long low BR's have to wait for stuff but expect them to dump it at a moments notice.

To be really honest I don't think your style of leadership is going to catch on......

I have outfit only squads and then other mixed squads within my platoon, I use the outfit only squads for the fast response and hard tasks where collective teamwork and support is essential. And the other squads for the normal tasks.

Never have to many low BR's in a single squad try and mix it up with the experienced players so they can learn where they are supposed to be.

I ask only that players in my public platoons have their comms on and pay attention to the platoon chat, If I cant explain something or how to get somewhere then there is no way to improve their game play.

And more often than not I've see the same players come back to my platoons and get better each time which is rewarding in itself.

To many leaders have no idea that a good leader can get things done and help low level players at the same time, arrange your platoon squads right and you shouldn't have a problem. Don't blame the players and get your big stick out, unless you hit yourself for poor leadership qualities.

Player penalties for not following orders is a poor leaders tool for venting their frustration and nothing more.

Leaders that care about PS2's future would never agree with anything like this in my opinion.

I'd rather infect it, spread the disease known as "enjoyment".

because planetside 2 needs less players.

Heh, all I hear from the original post is "waaaaah, people won't play the game the way I want them to"