Strategies

[Deathguise]

One reason why truck rushes are so lethal is because the Machinegun Guard Tower and Machinegun Bunker are actually armed with Heavy Machineguns making them difficult to counter if an enemy truck rush manages to built 1-2 in your base or main chokepoint leading to your base.

[bengaltiger]

One reason why truck rushes are so lethal is because the Machinegun Guard Tower and Machinegun Bunker are actually armed with Heavy Machineguns making them difficult to counter if an enemy truck rush manages to built 1-2 in your base or main chokepoint leading to your base.

Which is why you need to be at that point first, with a force large enough to kill a couple trucks.

And speaking of strategy, here are my main points:

1. Recycle units as soon as there's a major new weapon researched (ie. MG->light cannon->heavy cannon ...)
2. build all combat units on the heaviest hull, with exp'd units getting tracks and the strongest anti-vehicle gun, and new units getting wheels and all the other weapon types (i.e. an arty unit, AA, something like a Stryker MGS, etc)
3. use exp'd units in groups every time there's a need to crush through a line of defence, under normal opposition, I mix them up with less exp'd units
4. build vehicle repair bases near the frontline to keep my units from traveling 10 minuts to get to a repair bay, I build a few bunkers around such repair bases, and use them as a line of defence if it hits the fan.
5. I also have every unit retreat with light damage, it keeps my losses really low (5-10x lower than the enemies)

[new paradigm leader]

my idea on strategy is very simple create a harcrete wall with a defensive hardpoint once every two tiles then withn that buil other vital buildings and internal defences then start researching till you have alll the techs then go forth and wreak ownage

[Terminator]

my idea on strategy is very simple create a harcrete wall with a defensive hardpoint once every two tiles then withn that buil other vital buildings and internal defences then start researching till you have alll the techs then go forth and wreak ownage

Its called simple " Camper " =)

[kernel panic]

Its called simple " Camper " =)

I think it's more like "Strategic Waiting." There is a downside to this though: the enemies will have much higher ranked units and have more oil than you do when come out of your shell. If they have been spending their oil on research as well as troops you in for a tough fight.

My fix would involve requiring a CC before MG guard tower could be researched. Thoughts?

My thoughts are: build your own MG towers. A well defended base is more than structures or units, it's BOTH. Don't be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Be crunchy all the way through.


KP

[Zarel]

My thoughts are: build your own MG towers. A well defended base is more than structures or units, it's BOTH. Don't be crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Be crunchy all the way through.

KP

But see, that's the problem. In a good game, more than one strategy should be viable - no one strategy should completely supersede another.

Anyway, the problem is that the time from start of game to you being able to build MG guard towers defending your base is about as long as the time from start of game to your opponent being able to build MG guard towers attacking your base, on a small map like Rush or MizaMaze. This gives way too much of an attacker advantage, since it completely removes the standard attacker disadvantage of having to get to your base first (since MG guard tower can be researched while the enemy sends trucks over to wreak havoc).

[manaze]

one word: morters

[stiv]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but Viper Flamers are available right away (at least in skirmish and seemingly in MP). They eat trucks like candy.

And as manaze mentions, as soon as you can build it, artillery is your friend.

[kernel panic]

But see, that's the problem. In a good game, more than one strategy should be viable - no one strategy should completely supersede another.

Anyway, the problem is that the time from start of game to you being able to build MG guard towers defending your base is about as long as the time from start of game to your opponent being able to build MG guard towers attacking your base, on a small map like Rush or MizaMaze. This gives way too much of an attacker advantage, since it completely removes the standard attacker disadvantage of having to get to your base first (since MG guard tower can be researched while the enemy sends trucks over to wreak havoc).

Good strategies will always supersede poor ones. In the case you make for small maps I am pretty sure that a player defending would still have the edge because they can build with two trucks at a time instead of one. As long as the defender made a concerted effort to get his defenses up first I bet he would. If he wastes time and oil by splitting up his resources then, yes, he would be faced with the potential for an MG tower in his base.

Also don't forget that as soon as you start a structure it has full hit points. You don't have to complete it for it to be effective. Use partial structures to block the enemies path and confuse the MG tower targeting AI. The MG towers don't have that many HP, but if you get a few started and let the enemie's tower shoot at them while you finish one you'll have the upper hand and be on the road to a strong base. This works really great a little later in the game when you can throw down a line of incomplete hardcrete bunkers to keep your foes blocked or busy while you complete a few bigger guns just behind the bunkers. Later on you can either complete these structures or remove them if they get in the way.


Hope that helps.


KP

[Zarel]

Good strategies will always supersede poor ones. In the case you make for small maps I am pretty sure that a player defending would still have the edge because they can build with two trucks at a time instead of one. As long as the defender made a concerted effort to get his defenses up first I bet he would. If he wastes time and oil by splitting up his resources then, yes, he would be faced with the potential for an MG tower in his base.

Good strategies will supersede poor ones, yes, but there should be no objective "best" strategy that supersedes all others (although I think we agree on that point already).

An attacker can send two trucks, nullifying that benefit. And for MG Guard Tower build time, one truck vs two trucks is still minuscule compared to reaction times in clicking build, repair facility, research... The game essentially becomes a game of reflex rather than nuanced strategy, which is bad.

Also don't forget that as soon as you start a structure it has full hit points. You don't have to complete it for it to be effective. Use partial structures to block the enemies path and confuse the MG tower targeting AI. The MG towers don't have that many HP, but if you get a few started and let the enemie's tower shoot at them while you finish one you'll have the upper hand and be on the road to a strong base. This works really great a little later in the game when you can throw down a line of incomplete hardcrete bunkers to keep your foes blocked or busy while you complete a few bigger guns just behind the bunkers. Later on you can either complete these structures or remove them if they get in the way.

That's just bad structure AI that's been fixed in trunk. Unfinished structures don't block anything, and guard towers now shoot trucks and other things before they shoot unfinished structures (I wrote that patch - you're welcome). gerard_'s proposed updates would also make unfinished structures slowly self-demolish if trucks aren't working on them.