Best posts made by Rodimus_Prime

Thank you to everyone who continues to maintain what is arguably the greatest gaming passion project ever, second only perhaps to Dwarf Fortress & Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead.

I will be showing how to get started, the basic tools, and generally good habits to consider while creating your map. Will be using the FAF server voice chat, for which I can not create an event link, so just drop me a line if you're interested; Immortal-D #6337

@Jip @Rowey Tentatively scheduled to start at 3pm/1500 Pacific Daylight. This was a last minute idea for my clan, if there is sufficient interest going forward, can always do this again on a Saturday or Sunday to accommodate all times. The mapping tournament looks incredible, I've been considering sponsoring one myself when I have a bit more time.

@magge I hadn't specifically planned to record since this is originally an event for my clan, but if there is sufficient interest I can certainly do so.

"Better Reclaim View", which is in the Vault (last time I checked). I play on a 4k with 150% scaling, works like a charm.

@jip Are you kidding me?! I've been using this mod for months, also use player colors as my default setting, and only now do I learn about that setting to fix the black-icons bug. Thank you!

I can not begin to describe how pleased I am that you make a point of mentioning which mods are integrated or otherwise conflicting. On that note, one of my favorite features from Random UI is the 'easy reclaim', which I did not see mentioned here. Being able to only click reclaim without move orders has been amazing. Is that also being integrated alongside the hard-move commands? (now 'ignore mode').

I cruised to 1k with Aeon, and the overarching feeling I get is that effort per reward does not feel good relative to other factions. Take this with a grain of salt, as I'm sure part of it comes down to my APM and situational awareness. That said, there are a few particular aspects that I feel are not so much 'high skill - high reward', but rather 'maximum try hard for average gains'

ACU
Issue: The 2 gun upgrades cost an extra 200M & 6,000E. For this, you get 5 meters range, and that's it (no change to speed). The extra range is nice when you learn to manage the sweet spot (I consider that to be a good instance of 'skill = reward'), but it doesn't quite feel like '200 mass & 6k energy' worthwhile.

Suggestion: I'm sure that buffing the guns would cause a riot, so I suggest reducing the costs just a bit.

In my dreams: Single nano-repair on the right arm. This would allow for a 'brick wall' defender build; engineering, nano, shield. Plus it makes sense thematically, given that Aeon originally worshiped the Seraphim and tried to emulate their tech.
Double Chrono - I don't know what this would look like, but cost should be similar to Seraphim's AoE upgrade; a T3 resource investment.

Aurora
Issue: If you are caught off-guard for just a second, your T1 army is dead without inflicting corresponding damage. I feel this is a prime example of 'not high skill, but maximum effort required at all times'.

Suggestion: Increase movement speed a bit. If you are rushed and ~5 seconds delayed responding, Aurora should be able to moderately retreat, saving at least some of the army.

Mercy
Issue: Perfection or death. As I've started playing higher-level games, I've found that nobody neglects mobile AA. A single T1 anti-air can defend against 2-3 Mercy. When you compare the relative costs, that seems incredibly silly. At that point, a full Tac Missile base is a better investment.

Suggestion: Increase Mercy's hitpoints such that it can withstand at least a few volleys of T1 anti-air. A single T2 AA can destroy it in 1 pass, sure. But T1 AA should require several shots per Mercy to make the unit viable.

Galactic Colossus
Issue: The GC trades all utility functions for hitpoints and the suction claws. At the T4 stage where groups of 10+ Brick & Percy are common, hitpoints quickly amounts to very little (doubly so when the enemy can casually throw away a group of Strats & Gunships on the GC).

Suggestion: Consider the variety of utility that other T4's get; Stealth, Torpedo, Range, Anti-Air, Shield, Omni-directional firing. GC has the suction claw, that's it. I therefore suggest (if at all possible) buffing the claws. Right now they are simply unreliable and slow. A faster recharge between grabs and the ability to reliably use both claws at the same time would help a lot, I feel.

In my dreams: Put the head on a swivel so it can attack while retreating and/or flanked.

Czar
Issue: Remains the game's most expensive bomb. Great when you already have air control, but that's true of all T4. The issue I've found with Czar is that it lacks mobility. Other T4 air can easily 'hit and run'. Czar is the only unit that must be effectively stationary to attack.

Suggestion: To address this, I suggest buffing the Czar's 'pickup speed'. It's 0-60, if you will, reducing the time needed to go from 'idle' to 'zooming across the map'. I see no reason why Czar should not have a 'hit and run' option like the other T4 Air.

That's all I got, thank you if you actually made it this far. Note- I have not played enough Navy to offer any critique of Aeon's arsenal there.

I've been experimenting with Mercy in sandbox mode, trying to find some practical application for it, and am coming up short. Like Janus, the DoT means it is terrible against shields and requires 3 passes to kill a T2 Pgen. Also like Janus, it's great at destroying groups of T1, T2, and Engies.

Unlike Janus however, a single Flak can kill the entire squad of Mercy before they hit. A Janus will survive at least 2 passes over a Flak, dealing a lot of damage each time. Coupled with not being reusable, I'm just not seeing any use for the unit. The change to DoT means it can't even be used as a T4 deterrent anymore. So what's the point of Mercy these days?

Glad I went searching through the FAQs. I spent a couple hours in sandbox tonight and could not figure out why I was lagging in effectively a single player game. My laptop is more or less top of the line (though I am on a wireless net). I opened up the aforementioned Nvidia service app from Task Manager, then clicked into it for the Services menu. I disabled 'Nvidia Display Container LS' in the Services menu, and now my game is smooth as butter.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the instant toxicity, but I am disappointed.

I started hosting the Dev. version a few days ago, and the auto-balance features with rating display are amazing beyond words. My lobbies average 1k, so I can't speak to gameplay balance, but I did feel like the Swiftwind was substantially downgraded, though I didn't see anything about it in the patch notes. Regardless, all the little details are amazing, looking forward to the roll out.

I can't speak to a glitch, but this immediately fixed my lag; Open the Services menu (list of gear icons) and disable 'Nvidia Display Container LS'.

Edit: Just did the math. Aeon gun is now double the cost (both mass and energy) of other guns for a whole 5 meters, which is silly.

I am not fond of this change. 5 meters is not a lot, and already requires significant attention & micro to utilize. The synergy with Chrono is admittedly cool, but the cost of the second range upgrade is way too high.

A little something I wrote for my crew and wanted to share. I felt this didn't quite belong in the mapping sub-forum (let me know if this should be moved). This is a first draft, suggestions are very much appreciated. -The black airbrush on a few pictures was needed last-minute, that will be cleaned up in the future

Zerg Canyon

Overview

Another simple map, but the dark mud means that connected pathways may not be obvious at a glance. Reclaim is evenly distributed across the edges of all the mountains, so you can use this to gauge paths during the early game. Edge-building is critical at positions 2/6 & 3/5; securing the middle and leaving your core base, respectively.

This map is a good example of why you need to be aware of terrain. Although the color changes with elevation, in the heat of battle it's all mud. Taking the time to carefully build your defenses at the top of ramps and edge of mountains can be a game-changer. In a battle between Point Defense & Elevation, the ground always wins.

Game Plan

Getting your Commander out of the base early is always a good idea, but that is doubly important here. The side players have two Goals, while the middle player can be attacked 3v1 from the very start. Position 4 should move the Commander up to support middle within the first couple minutes. Remember, a vanilla ACU is worth just two T1 engies, but can fight ~20 tanks.

Use your Commander at the secondary goals (“B”) and your army at the primary (“A”). That way if the battle turns against you, your Com won't be caught out at the edge of the world. You can still consolidate forces with your teammates and counter-attack from the middle. Additionally, Goal B has the height advantage, so your Com can harass the enemy army from relative safety. Be careful at sub-goal B that you don't get stuck into a corner! (literally)

On most 10 kilometer maps, forcing no-mans-land to be on your opponent's side of the middle means that Tac. Missiles against his core are a good option. T1 Air Scouts are dirt cheap. You should build them (somebody meme this please). That said, a forward radar hugging the mountain is always a good idea as well.

Lastly, terrain is again a factor when attacking the enemy's core base. All 4 positions have a narrow chokepoint to defend. Your best bet is to attack from the “1a/7a Goal” position, going around the back of the enemy's Player 3/5. Anything else is a frontal assault against elevation and mountains, which will require a significant army to break through. In most situations, hitting the back lines in this fashion is always a GG.

Wegos

Overview

Wegos, otherwise known as 'the map that looks a lot like Millennium'. There is nothing fancy going on here, but knowing the layout beforehand will always give you an edge. Reclaim is spread out exactly as one would expect, across all the terrain features. Wegos plays similarly to Open Wonder, with the extra steps of a mountain & pond on each side.

Game Plan

The space between the pond & mountain forms a natural chokepoint that can be difficult to break. Fire-basing should never be your first plan, but a couple of well placed T2 Artillery can hold the line for a time. Focus on securing the mountains and trying to establish a presence on your opponent's side of the water. A T2 ACU can go under water and use its' range to effectively build behind enemy lines, either to the sides or at the tip of the pond.



There is nothing more to say about this map. Most of the fighting will take place in the center as players try to skirt the edges of the pond. Coordinate with your team to break a firebase and push through. Lastly, remember that on maps like this, building Salems earns you secret bonus points towards your score.

Speaking of bonuses...

This map is a prime example of a travesty I see all too often. Players walk straight through dense tree-groups that are safely on their side of the map. This can cost you hundreds of mass over the course of the game. Improving at SupCom involves a lot of little things, and taking the extra second to reclaim your way to a location is one of them.

I didn't see this in any recent discussions. I learned the hard way that using Attack Move on my Engies has a few quirks.

For example, dragging the Order through tree groups will often result in moving through those trees en route to the final target point, thus destroying them. Dragging a long Attack Move through rocks works fine. Additionally, the reclaim range of Attack Move is many times greater than Patrol or manual reclaim, almost ridiculously so.

I'm actually surprised this was never addressed, so is there a technical block on editing this function? If not, then I suggest adding a ring around the target point of Attack Move, showing the reclaim range.

@deribus said in Aeon Gun ACU:

@immortal-d said in Aeon Gun ACU:

5 meters is not a lot,

Then don't get the 2nd upgrade

Your response tells me that you're the kind of player who makes newbies want to quit after 1 round.

@ftxcommando said in Aeon Gun ACU:

5 meters makes it impossible for bricks and percies to kill a shielded aeon gun acu

They can't catch the ACU, but neither can it stop retreating if a significant group of said units is pushing.

A long shot, but I'm wondering if anybody recognizes this or has more information. I pulled it from an old template file and it has done wonders for my lava, but the position is obviously different from my own design.

On a 10km 5v5 with ~35,000 reclaim, a Strat by ~10:30-12:00 is not unreasonable. Additionally, having your teammates build Flak and a few Inties negates most of the risk from said rush. I find myself wishing the rush carried more risk, possibly by taking longer to achieve. Is the ~10:30-12:00 Strat an outlier? It seems like the standard for my range (I play ~600-1400).

Simply increasing the cost & time of the T3 Headquarters upgrade specifically seems like the obvious answer, but that is a separate discussion. Is there some aspect of the ease or difficulty that I'm missing here?

That's fair. I suppose I don't see that often at ~1400 range, as stupidly aggressive Coms tend to die to a combined Gunship & Strat attack.

I've been keeping an eye on this. Will the mod integration be part of the patch notes when it is fully implemented?