Tabula Rasa's Deployment 13 is currently on the Public Test Server and includes the introduction of the Command System, which allows players to control subordinates like pets, mission NPCs and devices.

In today's Feedback Friday post, Dev_Harleyquin explains in detail exactly how a player can control these subordinates on the test server. The full post is located here , or you can keep reading after the jump.

Here is Dev-Harleyquin's post in full .

Deployment 13 is on PTS! We'd love to hear your feedback!

You can find a list of everything that was changed in the Public Test Server Patch Notes.

In D13, we introduce the first "roll out" of the Command System, previously named the Minion System (sounds better now doesn't it?). Below, QA Extroidanaire, Dev_Harleyquin, explains how to use this system while it is on PTS. And for those that don't want to wait to check out a sneak peak of a certain new feature in D13, we've included a spoiler screenshot below.

 

Command System

Subordinates are AIs that are associated with a master who is a player. They include pets, mission NPCs , and devices such as turrets. There are a few general rules that can be applied to most subordinates.

• Offensive subordinates will prefer to attack hostile targets
  
• Healing subordinates will prefer to heal their master
  
• Movement or repositioning will generally take priority over other actions
  
• Player controlled subordinates will teleport with their masters, but not change maps

Subordinate Control

A player may control their subordinate in several ways:

• they may set their subordinate's combat stance
  
• assign an anchor point
  
• order the subordinate to follow a particular target
  
• order the subordinate to assist a particular target
  A player may issue several commands at one time to their subordinates as well. Each of these will be discussed further below as well as highlighting some specific behavior combinations.

Combat Stance

/cmd passive
/cmd aggressive
/cmd defensive

The player can put a subordinate into one of three combat stances: Passive, Defensive, or Aggressive. These three stances control if a subordinate will respond to an attack and if it will agro any enemies. Setting a subordinate's combat stance to Passive will clear its hate list. Subordinates enter the world with the default stance of Defensive.

	Passive	Defensive	Aggressive
Respond to Attacks	No	Yes	Yes
Respond to Agro Perceived Enemies	No	No	Yes

Regardless of its combat stance, if a subordinate is able to perform helpful actions on friends, it will do so when needed. For example, an Exobiologist uses /cmd passive assist on their clone. The clone will not attack if a Thrax fires at the clone or the Exo. But the clone will heal the Exobiologist if they need it.

The player can always command a subordinate to interact with a specific target, including attacking a target, no matter what combat stance the subordinate is in.

Go/Stay

Go
Shift + F9
Subordinate will move to the location indicated by its owner's reticule and use that as an anchor point.

Stay
F9
/cmd stay
Subordinate will stop following or moving to a location and use the current location as an anchor point.

Players can assign an anchor point to their subordinate with the Go/Stay command; this will tell the subordinate to return to this location after it completes an action. The Go command will set the subordinate's anchor point to the specified location. The Stay command will simply set the subordinate's anchor point to its current location. Issuing a Follow Me command to a subordinate that has an assigned anchor point will cause the subordinate to regroup around the player. Or if the player moves more the 50 meters away the subordinate will change back to following it's master and move closer.

After the player has set the subordinate's anchor point, the subordinate may move in order take action. Once the subordinate has completed its action, it will return to its anchor point.

For example, if a Ranger uses /cmd aggressive stay on their Spotter the Spotter will move to attack any valid target within agro range. After the target dies the Spotter will return to its anchor point.

Follow Me/Target

Follow Me
F10
/cmd follow
Subordinate will follow its owner.

Follow Target
Shift + F10
/cmd follow
Subordinate will follow the specified player.

All subordinates will appear with the default setting to follow their master. This can be changed by assigning a subordinate an anchor point or by commanding the subordinate to follow a specific target. Issuing a Follow Me command to a subordinate that is following a different target will cause the subordinate to regroup around the player. Or if the player moves more the 50 meters away the subordinate will change back to following it's master and move closer.

However, while in combat, a subordinate will always try to stay within a certain distance from their master or follow target. If the player moves too far away, the subordinate will try to catch up before resuming combat.

If the player wants a subordinate to follow without fighting anything, the player can use /cmd passive follow.

Target/Target Me

Target Me
F11
/cmd target
Subordinate will target its owner.

Target
Shift + F11
/cmd target
Subordinate will target the specified player.

The player can command a subordinate to interact with a specific target and the subordinate will respond based on a few things:

• Is it a friendly or hostile target?
  
• Is the subordinate offensive or healing?
  
• Does the subordinate have any actions for that kind of target?

For example, when you tell the Repair bot to target a squad member the Repair bot will repair the squad member's armor because:

• The squad member is friendly
  
• The Repair bot is a healing subordinate so wants to heal
  
• The Repair bot has two actions attack and heal, and it can only heal friendly targets not attack them.

Once commanded to interact with a target, a subordinate will not interact with other targets until its current action is completed or stopped. If a subordinate is set to Defensive or Aggressive, it will accrue hate for any creature or player that attacks it while interacting with a target. Once an interaction is complete, the subordinate will engage any targets that are on its hate list, and then return to its stay position or to following the player.

Assist Me/Assist Target

Assist Me
F12
/cmd assist
Subordinate will assist its owner.

Assist Target
Shift + F12
/cmd assist
Subordinate will assist the specified player if they are within 20 meters.

The player can put a subordinate in assist mode. For subordinates that are primarily offensive, assist mode will automatically issue a Target command whenever the player attacks an enemy so that the subordinate is targeting the same enemy. For minions that are primarily healers, assist mode will cause them to target the player over other actions.

 

D13 Spoiler

Due to map imbalances, assaulting teams can now be reinforced by accessing a special teleportation pad in the Northeastern base. Here's a look at what you'll get.