I agree with mandoble, it would be very nice to have something like that. I wouldnt call it a GENERAL ROOM, i'd just call it HQ.
What I picture is a room LIKE the MAP ROOM but that:
1) Has a flat, top-down view of the map (like the one in clipboard, but in black/grey/white colors and covers most of the screen so you can see things easier)
1a. When player d-clicks on a field the map view zooms and centers on the field in question, showing the field in the center and terrain 25 miles around it.
1b. In this zoomed view the player can see the dot dar more clearly, moving mouse over the dot dar will pop up a little flag showing who the contact is (if green), what he flying and his alt. By double-right-clicking on it you can tune your radio to a priv message to that pilot.
1c. Friendly vehicles would be shown as green squares rather than dots. Enemy vehicles, when 2 miles out of the field/town, would be shown as red squares. Friendly fighters would be shown as green triangles, friendly bombers as green circles, enemy units of same types will be shown as red triangles/circles.
This allows players to act as AWACS as long as they are in the HQ.
2) Has mission editor functions so you can make more detailed missions there.
3) When in zoomed view (as said in point 1), you can double click on the field itself to get a top-down view of the field (aka, a la being in tower and pressing F5, zooming out and looking from straight above). Note: It would only show a picture of it, it wont have any real-time data. The point of this would be to show the field's layout in relation to the NORTH. This way someone planning mission can make an appropiate approach for the buffs.
4) Have detailed strategic information. Status of factories,fields (and field objects) and their down time shown in a count-down digital clock, location of resupply convoys and their countdown to next spawn for FRIENDLY stuff, when viewing enemy stuff it should only show the % down of stuff in factory/city/fields.
