Situational Awareness: How the Concept Applies to MechScape
Written by Zepherusbane

Hello MechScape World! In my last article I discussed leadership qualities and how they might apply to leadership of MechScape clans. This time I am discussing situational awareness and how that concept might apply to MechScape. As will continue to be the case until the game is released, we do not really know what features or interfaces we might have in the game but as with good leadership, we can expect the game will require a certain level of situational awareness when playing to be successful.

Situational awareness is a concept I first learned about while in the military. The basic premise is that you consciously make an assessment of everything going on around you and your actions are dictated by what you find in your environment. How well you analyze your surroundings and information available to you determines how successful you are at any given task. How quickly you can recognize and disregard things that have no bearing on your current situation also is (is also) a key factor.

For example, I draw once again from RuneScape since MechScape is not yet available. When you are working on certain tasks in RuneScape you must play close attention to the gameplay to be successful, but with others it is not necessary; for example, to work your way through to fight and defeat Jad in the hopes of earning a fire cape takes much more attention than it takes to cut willow logs in Draynor Village.

While fighting Jad in RuneScape, you have to keep track of which attack he is about to use so you can change prayer types while also paying close attention to how many doses are left in your potions and what food you have left. Timing is also a key to success. While building up to the final battle you may need to change armor to heal before the final fight and anticipate when it will start based on which other creatures you have fought so far.

There are endless hours of information you have to analyze and use to determine what you will do next. Before you even enter the pit you have to develop a strategy to determine what armor to wear, what mix of food and potions to bring, and how many bolt racks or crystal bows or other weapons to bring.

To have situational awareness means to perceive all environmental elements within a set amount of time and in a set area around yourself in a manner that allows you to make informed, rapid decisions. You have to evaluate what potential these items will have in the near future and whether your decision now will have a disastrous effect later. It can be applied to numerous things from piloting an aircraft, to fighting Jad in RuneScape, or to controlling a mech in MechScape.

If you have good situational awareness it means that you have a complete enough awareness of what is going on around you to understand how information, events, and your own actions will impact your goals and objectives, both in the present and in the near future. You have to be able to determine whether a new item (piece of information) is a threat or is friendly and react accordingly.

The more technical the situation, the more important it is to maintain good situational awareness. I expect that MechScape will have many more elements that need to be considered than RuneScape does. I can envision a person being encased in a mech that has numerous technologies that can be used or not used based on the decisions of the individual running it. Heads up displays could provide too much information and cause an overload to those who are not able to process enough information quickly enough. How fast can you notice the other mech coming up behind you in the darkness, realize it's an enemy, turn up your rear facing shields, and fire off a missile.

So, as we all wait for the release, consider how you might train yourself to be more aware of what's going on around you. If you can process more information faster than your opponents in MechScape you'll be well on your way to achieving great things in the game. Incidentally, this will also help you in your real life as you go about your day to day routine.


-Zepherusbane


MechScape and Community News


Security Guide:
This week, a member who wishes to remain anonymous has generously submitted a security guide to MechScape World. Here at MSW we take security very seriously, and would like our users to be as safe as possible. Please, read this security guide and make sure your account and your computer is safe from all threats. (Read more)

April 2009 Research Summary:
Ren released his April 2009 Research Summary which contains most, if not all, the information known about MechScape. (Read here) If you enjoyed it, please Digg it.

MechScape Trailer:
Ren created a nice, quick trailer for MechScape which features tidbits of concept art and new information. (Read more)

Mod MMG on MechScape beta:
Mod MMG is reported to have spoken about the MechScape beta on his clan chat. Supposedy discussions are ongoing but the eligibility criteria is likely to be that the player has had a few months continuous RuneScape membership at the time of the launch. (Read more)

Previous Issues:
MechScape Post #6: Removing the Need To RWT
MechScape Post #5: The Hype Surrounding the Release Date of MechScape
MechScape Post #4: Gerhard's Influence on MechScape and Jagex
MechScape Post #3: A Great MechScape Flood?
MechScape Post #2: The MechScape Environment and Concepts
MechScape Post #1: MechScape Clan Leadership

Footnotes
Contributors: Brenden, Ren (Content Research Team); mike470, Oscar, Xela, zepherusbane, Dizzy(Writing & Editing Team).
Disclaimer: The views expressed by members of staff do not necessarily represent the view of MechScape World.

I'm aware of the awareness in mechscape. It sounds pretty cool...

This is a very nice topic you have chosen, and thanks to Zepherusbane for writing it. This has got me thinking about preperation for the next few years ahead in my life. My GCSE's, friends and ofcourse family. And the big highlights coming over the next couple of months, my work experience, holiday and something I am fighting for close to heart.
I will be thinking about preperation more now, and I will try to make every move in Mechscape the correct move - But maybe with a few mistakes as we all learn from mistakes.

Yup. Situational awareness = complex gameplay > grinding

Sounds like MechScape is going to be really intense..
I've never been as attached to the idea of a Mech as i am now.. lol, thanks now i'm even more excited..

Me too, shouldn't this be on the front page?

I think that sounds really cool about the awareness. It will make the game much more fun. It will be A LOT harder. And you will get a greater sense of accomplishment if you get to the top (If there is a top).

Another great article Mike :):)

Great post, as always! Good job, Zepherusbane!

Sounds like it'll be funner for longer if this is the case

Very nice, I'll ask my dad about situational awareness cause he was in the military too and I see we have an ad (well on my screen anyway) its not adventure quest, its mechquest copying jagex's ideas.

Playing certain video games in a multiplayer environment (mainly shooters but other games as well) allow you to practice these skills as I have discovered in my 4 years of playing Halo. You have to be quick, know where they can be hiding, line em up, bang. You feel really good seeing your name in first place trust me

The articles are thought-provoking, but just long ways of saying, once again, "we don't know anything, here is some speculation and ideas. Bottom line, it could be anything."

What I would really love to see is Jagex release a steady stream of information. I am literally loosing interest in this, because life goes on as usual, and I have other things to do than worry about a potentially crappy game for an unknown and potentially massive amount of time.

Hmm interesting read, but I think you left some of your editing parts in like


Thanks Jim, fixed ~Mike

nice thread

Very nice post. From some of my encounters in RuneScape, I know that This is one of the things I will have to work on.

Wow, this is great.
Nice one Zepherusbane.

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Yeah I hear ya, I reckon they are been too secretive over the whole business, God it'n not like anyone's life is in danger if they release a bit more information on it. I'm going to soon forget about it if they don't release some solid info on the game soon, screenshots and stuff like that, or even release the entire game.

Yep >.< I agree

A good read (again - even though I helped edit it) Good second article, it's interesting how you bought your real life experiences into it to demonstrate how the concept applies. Well done!!

Nice article once again. :) I always thought RuneScape needed more content that required situational awareness; here's to hoping MechScape will fulfil that instead.