Command view is one of the most spectacular aspects to Allegiance. When watching the ongoing saga of a multiplayer game, it is amazing to realize that the ships are actual online combatants twisting and fighting for survival, not just small prerendered graphics from another me-too real-time strategy game. Command view provides an omniscient view of the battle and the gaming environment as they unfold real-time before you.

To access Command view

Command view can be accessed while flying or at any station hangar. The difference between accessing Command view while flying and at a station hangar is that you can only see the current sector you are in while flying. At the station hangar, you can look through all sectors that you and your team have located. If you are flying when accessing Command view, your ship will have a special icon that looks like the silhouette of an eye so you can always tell which ship is yours.

It is in Command view that the commander will spend most of his time. The interface of this display allows the commander to provide the strategy needed for his team to win the game.

At the upper center of Command view, your chat messages will appear. You will receive not only chat messages from your team but also status messages from your automated stations, miners, and constructors. For details on chatting, access Gameplay: Communications:

Main Display

The main display is where all the action is. What you see happening in this display is happening real-time in the game. All objects are actually rendered as you'd see them in the Combat HUD, but the scale and icons make it easier to recognize ships and objects. The grid pattern makes it easier for you to see the plane of space. The lines that stretch from the grid plane in the sectors to the various objects represent the three-dimensional distance of the objects to the plane.

To move about the view, use your mouse cursor. Move the cursor to an outside edge of the Command view display to scroll the screen in that direction. To zoom the view in and out, use the + and - keys on your numeric keypad.

All icons in Command view have an item associated with them on your screen. These are the same icons used in the Combat HUD for peripheral radar. For a list of the peripheral radar icons, see the Allegiance Survival Guide that came with your game.

Command Bar

The Command bar lets you quickly select and command the various ships and utility craft that are under your command.

Selecting Command Recipients

To command, first you select a recipient, either yourself, a single ship, all ships in your sector, your complete team, or just a specific wing.

There are three ways to select the recipient(s):

Self, Sector, Team, All, or Wing on the Command bar.>

To communicate with the recipient(s), begin typing in the displayed chat box, and then press ENTER. Your message will be sent as normal chat.

Commanding

Actually assigning commands to recipients is a quick three-step process -- and even quicker if you use a smart command.

To assign a smart command

you want to build on.>

To assign a command

and then select the objective in the proper sector that is now displayed in Command view. All the recipients will receive the command and, once they accept the command, they'll automatically go into autopilot and travel to the new sector where the objective is.>

If you wish to contact all of your forces in a specific sector, all you need to do is right-click on the sector map in the This will bring up the command recipient as the sector name. You then proceed to give a command as normal. Any and all of your team participants in the sector will recieve the command.

There are several commands you can give to your teammates as well as to your miners, constructors, and mine and tower layers.

Attack --Orders the command recipient to attack the selected objective. This command is given to fighting craft such as fighters and interceptors but not to scouts or repair or support craft.

Capture --Orders the command recipient to capture the selected objective. When giving a Capture command, make sure the attack force has a troop transport, which is needed to board the enemy structure once that structure's shields are down.

Defend --Orders the command recipient to defend a specific target such as a structure or a miner or builder.

Pick Up --Orders the command recipient to retrieve the selected objective. This command is commonly used to to pick up a pilot in an eject pod or a piece of debris you want recovered.

Go To --Orders the command recipient to go to the selected objective. This command is useful for gathering forces before an assault on an enemy sector.

There are three options for setting a Go To waypoint:

Go To,, and then click a point in space.>

Repair --Orders a player to repair a structure or ship's hull. The commander usually has a best idea of who is need of repari and can help direct the player with the repair unit to the player who is in need of repair.

Join --Orders a player to join a specific objective wing.

Mine --Orders the selected miner to mine the selected Helium3 asteroid. This command allows you to direct miners where to go to keep them out of the path of the enemy.

Build --Orders the selected builder to create its pending structure on the selected asteroid. If the builder requires a specific asteroid, sectors containing that asteroid will appear with a red border around them on the Map display.