Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 3:25 am
I just played, no, commed a game on the newbie server that was non-competitive mostly to learn the tech trees and try stuff.
Here's some things I learned:
Carriers are drones. I can use them to scout without leaving the base. (someone told me this but I might have found out myself)
There is no tech race with maxed money settings.
4 miners are a must when the other team doesn't have anyone to attack them... except I don't really need more money, do I?
Teleports are key - without them, you can't get where you want to go nearly as fast.
I started off trying to keep it simple on HiHigher with IC... teleport, outpost, refinery. Except I couldn't find the refinery button, so I can't really build one, can I? Is that something specific to IC, or what?
Anyway, onward with the story, I move out to the middle and place my teleport high and my outpost low. I don't know why, I've just heard the sealing the middle is a good idea. The middle sector had an exp rock so I built an expansion complex in there.
I did not learn how micro miners. That will probably be important in a real game.
I did learn, however, that expansion gives us TTs and HTTs. So I researched them, and then I further realized that I had no weapons for them. So I researched the EMP missiles.
I found that my opponent had built pretty much every techbase, but that I had expanded out farther - so I took the next sector past my outpost with a teleport.
I hopped into a HTT and went against his tactical laboratory... and was obliterated. He defended easily in a something ship. It was a ship, it was shooting me, whatever.
After getting back to a base 2 sectors away, my carrier spots a battleship, and is then destroyed... I figure, he's out somewhere, I can try again. The green door was actually pointing right toward the aleph, so I hopped into my HTT again and successfully captured his Tac. Then I researched stealth bombers (because that's what tac is all about, apparently) and went to bomb his garr and a supremacy center.
The next thing I learned is this - never. ever. ever. Ask for a bomber, stealth or otherwise. Just... no. No.
Let's not speak of this again.
Anyway, I suck at bombing. I missed. It turns out, it's best to actually select what you're trying to hit. Then, I didn't have enough missiles to destroy the thing because of the misses. Yes, multiple.
Just don't give me a bomber, okay?
So, another HTT run later, I'm trying to capture a shipyard. I bring down the defenses, here comes a battleship... and where are the doors?
I learned that you should always know where the door is before you try to capture a base.
And that it should probably be pointing towards the aleph.
After his battleship destroyed me, we called it a draw, as it was really just a game to explore and learn what it's like to be in a bomber/HTT/battleship/commander's seat.
Which brings me to my final thought -
I should probably stay out of the commander's seat for quite a while. A lot more practice is in order, and really, I'm not that great at RTSs. Or FPSs. But it's such a great game, how could I not play it?
Thank you to my opponent and thank you to everyone who doesn't give me a bomber.
Here's some things I learned:
Carriers are drones. I can use them to scout without leaving the base. (someone told me this but I might have found out myself)
There is no tech race with maxed money settings.
4 miners are a must when the other team doesn't have anyone to attack them... except I don't really need more money, do I?
Teleports are key - without them, you can't get where you want to go nearly as fast.
I started off trying to keep it simple on HiHigher with IC... teleport, outpost, refinery. Except I couldn't find the refinery button, so I can't really build one, can I? Is that something specific to IC, or what?
Anyway, onward with the story, I move out to the middle and place my teleport high and my outpost low. I don't know why, I've just heard the sealing the middle is a good idea. The middle sector had an exp rock so I built an expansion complex in there.
I did not learn how micro miners. That will probably be important in a real game.
I did learn, however, that expansion gives us TTs and HTTs. So I researched them, and then I further realized that I had no weapons for them. So I researched the EMP missiles.
I found that my opponent had built pretty much every techbase, but that I had expanded out farther - so I took the next sector past my outpost with a teleport.
I hopped into a HTT and went against his tactical laboratory... and was obliterated. He defended easily in a something ship. It was a ship, it was shooting me, whatever.
After getting back to a base 2 sectors away, my carrier spots a battleship, and is then destroyed... I figure, he's out somewhere, I can try again. The green door was actually pointing right toward the aleph, so I hopped into my HTT again and successfully captured his Tac. Then I researched stealth bombers (because that's what tac is all about, apparently) and went to bomb his garr and a supremacy center.
The next thing I learned is this - never. ever. ever. Ask for a bomber, stealth or otherwise. Just... no. No.
Let's not speak of this again.
Anyway, I suck at bombing. I missed. It turns out, it's best to actually select what you're trying to hit. Then, I didn't have enough missiles to destroy the thing because of the misses. Yes, multiple.
Just don't give me a bomber, okay?
So, another HTT run later, I'm trying to capture a shipyard. I bring down the defenses, here comes a battleship... and where are the doors?
I learned that you should always know where the door is before you try to capture a base.
And that it should probably be pointing towards the aleph.
After his battleship destroyed me, we called it a draw, as it was really just a game to explore and learn what it's like to be in a bomber/HTT/battleship/commander's seat.
Which brings me to my final thought -
I should probably stay out of the commander's seat for quite a while. A lot more practice is in order, and really, I'm not that great at RTSs. Or FPSs. But it's such a great game, how could I not play it?
Thank you to my opponent and thank you to everyone who doesn't give me a bomber.