One thing that kinda annoys me is when people assume that Dead state during the game means the trooper has been permanently eliminated, forever and ever. However, that doesn't make much sense, both lorewise but also gamewise. First, I see the Infinity battle as being the 15-30 initial, critical minutes on the battlefield, no more than that. Instead, the way I see Unconscious and Dead is the "mission-kill" approach. When a trooper is put Unconscious, they are unresponsive to command and don't do anything responsive to the battlefield - but it's unclear if they are actually wounded, or just somehow disabled. Doctor or Engineer running up to them is able to check their state - maybe they just went into shock, or maybe the impact knocked them unconscious, or their wound is such that they can still contribute. Making the WIP roll isn't just healing/repairing, but also initial inspection - maybe there simply isn't anything Doctor can do for them (they looked fairly okay from distance and readouts, but damn, the bullet nicked the tendon on the hip and one of their legs just doesn't work. Following to that, Command token usage represents commander telling the Doctor "I don't care they'll do bleed out internally eventually, I need them running up now", basically asking to have the trooper put back up despite this causing longer convalescent times later (and reroll failing because there still isn't anything Doctor can do about it, or accidentally doing more damage than good). "Dead" state just means trooper is known to be out for good for this mission - they might not even have a serious injury, but something is preventing any kind of quick fix. Shock ammo in this case, might mean that even though the hit was not particularly deadly, it put enough stress on the nervous system to take out the target permanently, or that it hit a major nerve junction (like spine) and just eliminated critical part. Alternatively, for tougher targets or troopers with NWI, it might just means it scrambled them enough to disable them for next few hours, but then they'll be as good as new. On the topic of Camo states, also, I interpret them as "enemy sees something there, but isn't sure what it is, or is it worthwhile to shoot" - could be just a mirage. It might be Foxtrot peaking behind the wall, but it might be just someone poking a stick with Foxtrot hat, teasing the enemy troopers to shoot at nothing - only we never play out the "sticking out the hat for teasing the enemy" scenario.
The old Campaign rules allowed for a "MedEvac" roll and, if failed but with a Cube, a "CubeVac" roll. The first was variable depending on faction, baggage bot not in a null state at the end of the game, and medic/paramedic not in a null state at the end of the game. Then the cubevac was per faction, with Aleph being quite the strange one ("autopass" always unless the enemy was CA, in which case it was an autofail...).
Breaking two limbs might be an easy fix back at the base by now but you still aren't getting back in the fight this minute. But why can only cubed troops be rerolled against?
The autofail v combine one was also in the fluff. I call it fluff. I call ALL game system backstory "fluff". I call pretty much all human folktales and legends "fluff", too. "Lore" lends a gravitas to stuff that most of it does not deserve. Gamers around me started using it in D&D back in the 80s when "legends and lore" was published (instead of calling it what it was; "legends and folk tales" ). Anyhow. Because of their "always on, always live" constant cube 2.0 backup system, Aleph characters had direct links to the core - and a sepsitorised cube with that access could not be allowed to happen. So aleph units who fell in battle to Combine were expected to self-terminate (they had command overrides to do this) and any remaining copies of THAT unit were "boxed". Aleph could always create a new one to replace it, but that "individual" would be gone.
Doctor will likely not be willing to damage the patient if that's their only body. But if the patient can always just get a new LHost if things go badly, well, easy-come-easy-go and all that :D (note: this is all just my mental explanations. And sometimes I cannot come up with a good reason - for example: why cannot Camo-state troopers old an objective at the end of the game? it doesn't matter if the enemy sees them or not, they are there.
If a doctor pumps you full of future adrenaline so you can run on bloody stumps there's probably a program to pay for a new body.
I think the re-roll for cubes is supposed to represent the help that the Silk network everyone has aids in administering drugs and nanobots to a patient.
So if you cannot see a s*** (because of smoke) and someone shoots you, you can dodge as well as you have had seen this guy in clear sky. But if there is some visual noise, and you can barely see the attacker, suddenly you have problems with dodging their shots :D
I forget what book, but the cube reroll was explained that Cubes can interface wirelessly with medical scanning devices to more accurately portray the wounded individuals status and what is wrong. This gives the doctor additional key information much faster.
Some things can be explained by lore some things are pure game mechanics. Smoke and white noise are pure game mechanics balance, transition from mimetism to camouflage is the difference of a trooper that has a colour and shape shifting uniform and kit and a trooper that knows how to use them to full effect. Unconscious and dead are game mechanic states, indeed an unconscious or dead model can be lightly damaged or "not (permanently) damaged" at all, but they are our for the mission, for example an unconscious tag may simple have its power lines severed from a really lucky ricocheting combi rifle round, easily fixed but for all terms and purposes a disabled vehicle, a dead TAG on the other hand may have as "Superficial damage" as having its power cells destroyed it is easily repairable at the base, but on the battlefield it is as good as a burned wreak.
It was apparently written somewhere else, but its funny how "isolated" members of the link team seems to forget that they can, you know use their own voice to synchronise/coordinate their movement ;P
For most tech factions it is represented because they lost their connection to the battle network, veterans can coordinate themselves without the continuous support from above hence they are immune, Ariadna theoretically should not be affected by isolation breaking their link teams, but I think it is a game balance thing more than anything else.
It's because even Ariadna communicates using technological means, not shouting across. Just less technological than the rest of Human Sphere.
"Using your voice" is not as easy or clear-cut as it may sound, Infinity armies are highly trained and specialised definitely they can use their voice, it does not mean they would function in an efficient way enouph to be part of the modern (sci fi) battlefield, they are not out, but without the constant feedback of information they are used to they are effectively on their own, probably a huge liability for the rest of the fireteam too.
And on the other hand, the advanced factions wouldn't make use of such energy and failure prone tech if it didn't give them a strong advantage such as coordinating over a much larger area, relaying orders significantly quicker and requiring significantly less training to achieve. So basically, Ariadna is entirely made up of Veterans while the connected factions can form link teams with no unit nor sectorial restrictions and no ZOC restrictions. Not very balanced.
Well theoretically all regular Ariadna troops could have isolation immunity, but better they do not have, they would cost more if they did.
They also use radio communication, have personal radios, and when they lose contact with Command it still hits them hard, just like it does anyone. Ariadnans use modern technology as far as we know it today, and signals/communication is critical in modern armies, just like it would be for the future forces of the Sphere powers.
One thing is to speak in battle, another entirely is to follow a host of indicators in the HUD of your vision that provides tactical and strategical analysis in real time (and processed faster than real time), with visual cues helping to coordinate the whole "army". Consider how this expands into the Lt and Chain of Command "positions": take down the Lt, and all coordination of the network goes down until the new guy in charge can take over and start issuing an overall strategy ("spending" the lost turn "fast skimming" on what the KO Lt was doing, which also explains why that Lt won't become leader again if he gets healed during the LoL turn); Chain of Command are troopers ready to take over on a moment's notice, and veterans just now where everyone is without checking, because they have been doing this forever. Like the Morat, who are soldiers since birth :p
