Attention Fellow Squadmates!
I would like to talk about a sorta forgotten in-game feature, some of you already know about it but many newcomers may not, the Browser Map.
This feature actually was released back in around August of 2013, and what it does is shows an simplified real-time image of the current map and the game play of that match! On the map, you can see the individual markers showing yourself, fellow teammates, enemy AI units and even to opposing players! The map is limited in gaming details, but nevertheless this works great in RB and SB since you can better prepare your flight plan and attacking vectors without always mashing "M" for an map pop up. It also show the grid markings, to better calling out locations in the map! This feature works for all gaming modes as well as Air, Tank and Ship matches!
How do I access the Browser Map you ask? Easy, just open your Internet browser, and at the address bar, type in your hostname with the :8111 port after last set. You could also use your PC IP address if you know it, or just 127.0.0.1:8111, all the same.
Of course, this will work best if you have a secondary monitor connected to your PC, but not just limited to your computer! If you have another PC, laptop, tablet or device connected to your own Private Network (Wi-Fi/LAN), you can access the map the same way! This method will ONLY work with the hostname or IP of the PC you are gaming on, since it will have its own IP and hostname.
Now, let me share with you the other benefits of using the browser map.
Breaking the Language Barrier:
Don't you feel like sometimes, during matches you wish to help out your fellow teammates with info and details about the match, but when you do they respond with "Извините, я не говорю по-английски." (Sorry, I don't speak English) Well if you have the browser map open, you can see the in-game chat that is occurring in real-time! This allows you to highlight the players response, open up and use Google Translate and easily paste the response and have it translated back in your native language.
Then, you can even make your own translated response back and voila! Seems like a lot of work, but when players like to talk garbage in another language and think they can get away with it, they now have something coming to them. Which brings me the my second point.
Think Free Speech is Actually Free?
Yesterday, Rubble, Cya, Smores and I encountered what I've noticed happening a little more frequently that i'd like to, Racial Slurrs... Of course we at AOD condone such acts, punishable by squadron death, and we all wish others would follow suit in reporting any player who thinks they could chat away in-game and think they could get away with it. What the browser map also does, is show a record of the game chat of the matched you were in, of course up to a certain limit, cashe willing. This allows you to easily take a screenshot, and when reporting the offense, include "screenshot available upon request" at the end of the report.
We can't save the world, but maybe we can rid it of racial trolls one at a time...
Thank you guys for your time and hope this benefits you all!