While I was playing the other day, I got pinned down in a base, and caught myself thinking about how useful a "Target Designator" tool would be. It's primary purpose would be to make air support for infantry somewhat more streamlined. Here's the basics of my idea (although I haven't been on the forums long, so I know I'm by no means the first person to think this up), after a bit of thought: Available to fireteam leaders, squad leaders, and platoon leaders through leadership certs Can be used to "paint" enemy armor, or designate a specific location without having to open the map screen When "Painted", an enemy vehicle would have a beacon placed on the vehicle itself, not just its location. This beacon would only be visible to platoon members within aircraft or ground vehicles. same rules apply for marks on ground Maximum of 5 designated targets per platoon, one per squad, plus one platoon wide. A recharge time for individual players before being able to mark a second target an alert for the drivers of vehicles who have been marked a "Lock on time" of sorts I am sure that there are many ways this could be improved upon, so I am certainly happy to see and take part in any discussion stemming from this idea. (Constructive criticism appreciated)
IMO, make it a side-use for the Infiltrators Sensor Dart: Direct hits on vehicles also causes them to become outlined in the HUD for any nearby allies (all allies, not restricted to platoon/squad, will get the dime a dozen instant-action players a target to focus). if there's one thing that would help me locate targets (and not be too obtrusive on screen), it would be a faction specific outline/glow of the vehicle.
I think this could be a cool way to differentiate between the Bulldog and Fury. Let the Bulldog function as a mortar, more or less, which can target designations by infantry.
I definitely agree that a tool like this would allow for an interesting way to incorporate indirect fire styled weapons into the game
Beacons / SmokeSignals are pretty useless in their current forms and I don't think that the Coder nor the Dev is actually willing to make them actually visible to every applicable Air Unit in the Hex like they should.
