but the civilians would have low morale, and they would panic whenever they see an alien and run in random direction anyway (or away from aliens, like they seem to be doing quite well atm).
yeah, shouting orders to civilians would be cool, as long as the orders are simple (like 'run here') and as long as the civilians panic and run elsewhere instead, especially when they see an alien : )
in his own mind, the panicked civilian knows better where the danger is, than the suspicious phalanx agent who might not really care about the bloodspider or plasma death approaching the civilian, doesn't he?
was mind control a 'no'?
was mind control a 'no' because it would be overpowered?
well, here's some mind control:
some aliens (tamans) could use mind control to issue a similar kind of 'run here' command to civilians, and maybe it might work better if the civilian is panicked.
this kind of mind control is what the ufologists have "reported", isn't it?
edit:
actually the civilians look like they are walking in park, while aliens are butchering people all over the place.
maybe they could look more like the panic animation.
maybe they could use the same animation as soldiers?
in this case they should be holding something in hand, like a bread, a bottle, a baby, a laptop, a handbag, a suitcase, a teddy bear, etc?
i guess i am getting carried away, but that way the civilians would look like they were living their life when the aliens suddenly appeared.