First off, I understand the game is still in it's alpha stage and things will change down the road. I'm more concerned about long-term play when things become more stable and more playable in general. Basic strategies more or less is what i'm asking. So anyway, I really want to get back into real-time strategy games, Command & Conquer: Red Alert was one of my favorite games growing up but I found that as time went by and the real-time strategy genre evolved, I found myself struggling to continue playing these kinds of games. The last RTS game I really played to any extent was Emperor: Battle for Dune; since then I've tried my hand at many others including Red Alert 2 and 3, Company of Heroes, and Dawn of War; as well as a miserable attempt to play DotA 2 (which I know isn't quite the same but it's derived from RTS initially). Unfortunately I have not tried Total Annihilation or Supreme Commander. I don't know what my problem is these days; whether it be an issue with being able to multitask, construction priorities, coordinating attacks or what, but no matter what I do I can't seem to play the games like I used to be able to. I want to be able to pick up and play Planetary Annihilation, not necessarily at a professional level but at least well enough that when more intelligent AI is implemented that I'd be able to hold my own against it or against some of my friends if they decide to pick it up after the alpha or beta. I'm aware of the basics: I know about the resources and how to procure them, and I know how to construct a base. What I want to know is sort of a build priority. I can see resources first, but given how the game works should I start with that or should I get an extra fabrication unit or two to help out? When I think about it, I have too many questions, so i'll sum it up. What's a basic strategy to get set up with and when's a good time to go on the offensive? More importantly, what can I do to get better in the longrun?
Pick up Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance and/or Total Annihilation, I'd lean more towards SupCom thought, it does play a bit differently, but the scale and features is more similar to what PA will have I think. Mike
There is a simple advice for TA/PA style of games and that is: Never stop building stuff. Basically your factories should never be idle, they always need to build units. When you have a surplus of resources, build more factories. You'll come surprising far following just those two little points, although its harder then it sounds. Not forgetting to build stuff while your focus is somewhere else takes quite a bit of training.
I think this is something I never picked up on with the newer games, older RTS titles didn't really have the interface to support multiples of the same unit-producing structures (i'm particularly thinking of the Westwood era RTS titles). I mean they did, but you could only use one of them at a time. I recall that when I wasn't swarming the AI's base (wasn't expecting to have to fall back many times) that I often kept the unit production going as much as I could, but there's a speed limit to how many soldiers, tanks, and cruisers you can build when you're only allowed to use one barracks, factory, and shipyard at a time. It would be nice if there was a sidebar interface that allowed you to select and check the status of facilities that can produce units to allow you to easier keep track of what's still building when you take your army into hostile territory.
smallcpu is correct, you need to keep building stuff and make sure your resources are properly balanced. Of course in the full game you will need much more than just balance and constant building to win since it will be across motherflocking planets but at the moment, knowing when to build what and how to make sure you don't clog yourself in red is enough. I, personally, do not build storage, always end up in red and always win. Unless people cheat, cause they know I stream so they ghost me. The bastards...
I think the correct balance of resources in to out is something that isn't working for me. I've been trying to get bases built up in skirmishes with AI opponents just to see if I can find that balance, and I usually end up running out of power when I attempt to build several structures at once. I do notice the different units have different power outputs for construction with the advanced fabricators draining power faster than Clark Griswald's Christmas decorations; i'm wondering if it's better to hold off on building the second-tier fabricators until I have a considerable amount of incoming resources, or should I get these guys early and devote everything I can to having these guys build the advanced collection structures and bring in large amounts at once when they finish. Every time it felt like a big deal when I got that +5000 power from the advanced power plant.
