StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Stark wrote:EDIT - BCG, JSF believes that the airstrike spreads it's damage over the number of targets in the area. He has had a single heavy tank almost destroyed by one (as a sole target), but we've both had many heavy tanks survive with damage (with many in the zone at once). Can yo uconfirm this?

I don't know, he may be right. I had always assumed it was fairly random, just less so than an artillery barrage. i.e., a given airstrike might do 70% damage to one heavy tank, and another only 20%, just based on where in the target zone the tank happened to be at the time and/or maybe the ballistics of the cluster bombs themselves (not sure if WiC bothers to calculate that).

Yeah, that's it: where the little effect dots hit the ground with explosions doesn't seem to be where the damage goes, like an arty strike. It really does seem to hit absolutely all units in the area with some amount of damage - it's why it's so good vs infantry or light vehicles as it's almost always enough to wipe them out. It's a really good TA made hard to use by the ludicrous warmup time.

I still don't see many people use the 'heavy air support' one. On Assault maps that can turn a rout into an easy win, but it's very hard to place well on a domination map.

Well damnit, now I'm curious. If Massgate didn't disconnect me every five goddamn minutes in the middle of games, I'd say we should go test it.

You too? Ace has all kinds of problems. Did you try changing the options/network stuff to 'through firewall' etc?

So when are you guys on? I'm on a lot, haven't seen any of you yet.

Alan Bolte wrote:So when are you guys on? I'm on a lot, haven't seen any of you yet.

I am on fairly regularly. What's your massgate name?

Compellor. You can be sure it's me because I have the same avatar. I think I'm gonna play a round or two before bed...

I am up for a game now if you are.

Stark wrote:You too? Ace has all kinds of problems. Did you try changing the options/network stuff to 'through firewall' etc?

Yeah, I screwed with the network options and even tried one of the command line options they implemented in a recent patch. No dice.

Stark wrote: Frankly, saying it's effective when there are multiple light tankers who spend TA vs a single heavy tanker who doesn't is actually an admission of how useless it is.

The light tanks are droped behind enemy lines to cause alot of chaos. This was very effective when I played the game. The players doing this use their normal units on the front. Their speed makes them excellent harrasment units - especially when an air player joins the fun. A li

Light tanks being good for ruining arty spawns is irrelevant to their usefulness vs heavy tanks. If you could airdrop heavy tanks, they'd do the same shit only better. Just yesterday I ruined the enemy's shit with I think a total of three light tank drops, but that doesn't mean I'd ever take a light tank into battle with anything serious. As armour, I use them when airdropping or to fortify rear areas, that's it. Even the rear airdrops are usually supported by my heavy tanks in a huge flanking maneuver - one light tank can't cut off half a team's spawn area, but three heavy tanks sure can (since it's unlikely a single player will have the RP to buy so many heavy tanks in one go and most people don't wait/coordinate).

And it only worked because the other team was uncoordinated: one light tank killing 10+ support units and taking a point can only happen when their air guy is totally retarded. A few *medium* choppers can kill a light tank in seconds. Thats *medium* choppers.

By the way, I love how people don't think to pull back and regroup. After JSF left last night, I couldn't get anyone to form up and move together as a group. The armor left my ass to the wind, the air would fly off to fuck all nowhere, and there I was, HAA with my bare ass to the wind as armor tore me to pieces from extreme range. Thanks guys, I love you too.

God those armor players were lame.

It's pretty sad that 'armour with supporting HAA' is a game-winner, and all armour players will complain when there's no HAA... but very few armour players will actually stick with the HAA and protect it. They just expect you to magically be there when they're attacked.

Doing things like 'stick with air defence' is why JSF is such a good player, regardless of how many games he's played.

It's also really sad that in the event of a combine armor + AA attack, your own team's armor won't shoot at the HAA, but rather, just keep plugging away at the enemy's heavy armor. Ensuring their doom. Hey you numbskulls, that's what HEAT rounds are for! Kill the AA so your choppers can come save your ass!

Hell, I try to stick near friendly AA and kill the bad ones before other tanks, but it just seems that most AA players are goddamn idiots. Most of the time they won't advance unless I'm way the fuck out in front or they'll drive directly away from a chopper swarm.

Public servers!

I can never figure out how close to stay to the armor as HAA. If I'm snuggled up against them it can be problematic to survive against enemy armor, but infantry is the real problem. The heavy tanks can drive right past them, taking only moderate damage before getting out of range, while I'm lucky to retain half my numbers. If I hang back, though, a smart air player will strike and be out of range by the time I can reach them.

Be in range but out of LOS. Use buildings, craters or trees etc. Your range is huge, so you don't have to be right there.

JSF says that if you're very close to armour to the rear, the bulk of the tanks will block incoming fire. Sounds risky, though, just hide behind a ridge or building etc. Infantry should be dealt with at range: if heaps of AT squads are getting into range of your HAA and armour, you've made a mistake.

I blame the armor, then.

Why? You've got access to TA too. Fucking use it - napalming infantry is my second calling. Tanks can't fight infantry for shit either: their best attack is running it over. The position of your units is your responsibility, and if everyone is going to be killed by infantry fucking run away.

Use TA and q-menu to let people know where the infantry swarms are, as arty and napalm and WP and incendiaries fuck them right up.

I mean armor that charges past infantry without doing anything about it, expecting me to keep up. Sure, 10-20 seconds later they're burning, or the houses are flat, or at the very least I hit em with light arty, but that doesn't help when enemy air takes just that moment to charge in. My range isn't as good as you seem to be implying.

Heh. Yeah, well a quick crush'n'bolt is effective, but HAA doesn't have the armour to keep up with that sort of thing.

If you can't see the infantry coming, then you're doing dangerous business anyway. JSF and I usually spot it miles off and either call in arty (ie, arty players: medium WP shells kill infantry good) or napalm to sort them out before they're in range. I guess you have to choose the armour player to support: armour players that run away from their HAA don't deserve the support. Leave a few angry q-menu pings (like 'need ground assault' and 'need artillery' and then an 'i'm going here' at somewhere away from the swarm) and they'll get the picture.

Stark wrote: Leave a few angry q-menu pings (like 'need ground assault' and 'need artillery' and then an 'i'm going here' at somewhere away from the swarm) and they'll get the picture.

Assuming they see it. A friend of mine knows better but just doesn't spot the things when they come up because he's so wrapped up in what he's doing.

You mean 'too stupid'. I notice most of the pings when I'm desperately microing infantry. I never miss one when I'm using air, because it's so easy. People who 'don't notice' the q-pings are, by default, worthless players. ESPECAILLY when they're backup players. If someone says 'need anti air' or 'need artillery', people who don't notice contribute nothing.

I just bought the game, finished SP, but online but I'm pretty bad at doing everything- playing infantry is far too slow to keep up, and gets blown away by TA far to easily, as air I miss incoming HAA too often, and I guess you've already covered the failings of support and armor players which apply to me .

When do people here play online? Also, my username is KanoneZiel

As infantry, just hide. As armour, form a wedge and shoot everthing that moves. As air, keep flexible about your heavy/medium balance and use the ALT key to spot HAA. As support... well... I suck at support. Best score only 900! Pfft. Hide your AA, use medium to kill infantry, and move every time you shoot to avoid retailiation. Repair like a bastard.

Tomorrow sometime you can join the JSF School of WiC and we'll have some SDNish games.