en3rgy52

We are entering the exam season and summer is upon many of us so I would expect activity to be lower than it has been. I have no problem with name hiding but I doubt it would increase activity. I know this maybe going over old ground but a ladder (Clan, 1v1, either or both) would have a dramatic and positive impact on actvity.

It promotes competitive team play. Same argument has having a ladder, although I get the distinct impression that either are or will ever be a priority for the developers.

Teach me how to play in a long game please!

Only fully sanctioned MOD Maps should be included, any MOD map containing any alteration or modification of units etc should not be included. We are vastly over complicating things here, whilst a "quick match" system would be a nice to have I don't think it is a "need to have", there simply aren't enough players to warrant one and it causes issues such as the ones outlined. A simple ladder that records official games that can be played on a pre-defined list of maps means players can to choose to either play an approved MOD map or a WW map. If a game is set and it's a MOD map and you don't like MODs then don't join it and vice versa for WW maps. The best players will be able to pay both anyway and as the old saying goes, "the cream always rises to the top". If there is a large section of the community that wants MOD maps that contain modified units and wants to play them competitively, then perhaps a separate MOD only ladder would be suitable. Anyway the more we bitch and moan the less likely we are ever going to get a ladder. Remeber, the development of all this is being done in peoples own time and they will not get much recognition for the effort!

As far as I am aware, Purple and Pink are always opposite if both colours are selected with Pink either BL or BR. In addition Gold and Red are always opposite when both selected but I do not know whether a similar rule applies to these colours as it does with pink, i.e. one is always at the top or the bottom. I stand to be corrected but I think this is correct.

A brief summary of each spot. Top left : secure the bridge and use a 2 ref attacking build order. Don't build more than 1 harv so you can afford a Jj and a sam. Left mid : generally a 2 ref rush. Bottom left : 2 ref rush again here. Bottom mid : usually inf rush bottom right using a 3 or 4 ref build order! Defence is your friend here. Top right : 2 ref rush, if you bunk from here, your team loses, it's that simple. Top mid : secure bridge, personally I usually go conservative from here by 3 or 4 ref inf rushing and repairing the second bridge. Right mid : for me, I do the same as if I were top mid but you can 2 ref from here more easily than top mid because you don't need to secure the bridge. Bottom right : same as bottom mid, infantry into defence. Obviously things will pan out differently every time and you have to adapt to the situation at hand. Scouting is an absolute priority, if at first you don't succeed in scouting someone, try and try again! Leaving bottom left, left middle or top right un scouted can allow them to win the whole game almost on their own!

I have seen TRZ and Ray make this build order work a lot and from every position on Terrace. Perhaps one of them might be able to answer

You can still get screwed if someone chooses to fly around an MCV on a carryall!

PS, don't forget to build a turbine for your power plant at some point so you don't go low on power. Low power = 50% reduction in build time.

Terrace or Forest Fires (+ other maps) 2 ref disruptor rush. To do this you will need to be good at scouting, good at anti scouting and good at defending an inf rush with a small number of infantry and a harvester or two. You will want to save as much money as possible by not building too much infantry as it is not a BO that prioritises economy. However, only building 1 harvester gives you some room for manoeuvre, i.e. you can build jump jet infantry to scout, or build a few extra infs if you get inf rushed. In certain situations you can build a second harvester from the warfactory, usually on Forest Fires rather than Terrace. Power Barracks Ref Warf (1 harv) Ref Component Radar (sell) Pad Tech (sell) Service (sell) Now, keep an eye out as to what your enemy is doing, if they have sent a big infantry rush you may need to build a bomber as soon as you tech. You may need to sell 1 of your refineries for infantry and extra cash whilst being infantry rushed and may also need to put your dis on hold so that it doesn’t complete whilst the enemy infantry are still in your base. The enemy will target your pad and destroy it so don’t sell your repair bay until you know your pad is not a risk of being destroyed or you have a second pad. Speed is of the essence with this BO so you need to get your dis out as soon as you can, otherwise its all for nothing. Get another refinery on build whilst you are off attacking and depending on how your attack goes you may be able to get out a second disruptor before looking to expand and build defence. Remember, if you in a 2v2 or more game, land your JJ otherwise your allies won't be able to see what you can see. Even landing in the corner of the base can be a big help.

Sol's videos are great because they show the best TS players currently playing.

Hi Micro, if you couldn't find the info you were looking for via Moles fantastic site, the keys are... E = everything you can see on screen. T = every unit of the unit type you have selected in view, i.e. if you have a titan selected, pressing T will select all titans in your view. I believe pressing T twice should select all units of that type from across the map but I believe this might not currently be working.

When playing Terrace in a 2v2 a good cookie cutter build order for top right and bottom right as GDI would be... Please note this build order should be used in conjunction with an infantry rush, but remember, don’t build so much infantry that you quickly run out of dosh. Look to send the infantry rush after building and selling the third ref. Power Plant Barracks Ref Ref (sell) Ref (sell) - send infantry, should only consist of roughly 5-8 disc men with the rest being riflemen Ref Warf (build a harv first then titans, or straight to titans if you know your enemy is going for a disruptor) Ref Component tower Radar (sell) Pad Tech (sell) This build order also works for top left but you should look to build your 5th ref towards the tiberium on your right and you have to control your harvs more between the two tiberium fields. Obviously you need to be aware of what your opponents are doing and adapt. If you gain the upper hand you can go straight into tech and get a disruptor after you build your war factory instead of building a refinery after your war factory. Remember to scout, remember to try and stop the enemy from scouting you. Remember to warn your ally if you’re playing a 2v2 about incoming attacks and what your opponents are doing. Also, remember to get your harvs to harvest tiberium as close to your refineries as possible.

Excellent video Sol. These are the sorts of things I was talking about.

Talk about being burned.

Ouch, thanks Punker...

MLRS's used with Q (the command to shoot and move) can be devastating.

In order to help players improve I thought it would be an idea for some of the more established and pro players to share some tips and tricks that they use in online competitive play. Whilst not a pro, I'll start. When using a subterranean unit such as an APC containing your own engineers or Cyborg Commando or both, the player who's base you are going to attack might have an engineer sat next to the building you want to attack so that they can repair it. If this is the case you can use the alt command on the sub to force the sub to pop up and squish the engineer. To do it, simply send your sub as normal and when it gets near to its target, select the sub, hold down the alt key and click on the unit you want to squish. This works particularly well if the enemy is using a ghost stalker to help defend their base. There is a counter to this move but I'll leave that to someone else to come up with.

You would be surprised at how few units some of the better players use to defend against multiple disruptor attacks. As Nod it is usually an idea to have a number of infantry and sams so that you are able to prevent the disruptor from landing, i.e. it can't land on top of units or a piece of wall placed just before the disruptor is about to land (underneath its landing point which requires good anticipation). When defending you will be faced with the decision of what buildings to save etc. If you are attacked by multiple disruptors dropped from the air you may have to accept that you will have to sell one building whilst saving the other. On Obelisks, they are expensive and rarely if ever used in high end multiplayer. As an attacker, if I see one, im either going to bomb it, not land my disruptor within range of it or bomb your power so that its out of action.

The Nod bike is useful in multiplayer when somone lands a disruptor in your base with the intention of destroying a base structure like a refinery or war factory etc. They should be used in conjunction with a few infantry and an engineer to save the structure. The advantage comes from the fact that they can be moved around your base quickly to get to the disruptor before it lands to give the maxiumum amount of time to do damage and the fact that they are cheap and can be produced quickly i.e. you see it in your enemies base and it's ready to go or you see it late and it's already halfway across the map. They are good in an emergency.

Pavement is incredibly under used. I don't think many people realise what it actually does!

Hi Sol, I hadn't really considered the fact that you can't build there very easily. Whilst it is impossible for the enermy to harvest it and therefore you could question why you would want to prioritise it, I was thinking more from the point of view of letting BR have the tib in the middle rather than compete with your ally for it. However, as you say, without being able to build there very easily you are going to have to sacrifice some units to protect harvestors which means less to help out in the middle.

I played back in the early 00s but not at a very high level, I quit just as I started playing vs. the likes of Sharks etc and was begining to grasp the game and whilst I don't profess to be good I feel I can hold my own in a 2v2 of various combinations of the current crop of good players I have come across. I don't play 1v1 so can't comment on that, however, with regards to 2v2, the players who draw the reaction of oh shit they aren't on my side are as follows (no particular order); TRZ ; different BO everytime, just never know what you are going to get, mentally he fucks me up. Mola ; same as above Ray ; Just an incredibly solid player. There are a number of other superb players and I am sure I am going to get shouted at for not including e.g. Kapa and Grey but I have not had the pleasure of playing with them much over the past 6 months or so. Other honorable mentions go to c0rps & t1ght. Like I said I don't claim to be good but I have been on the winning side of pretty much every combination of player that I have played with over the past 6 months or so. I appreciate things aren't like what they used to be but this is a tpoic about now, not then.

Such a shame about the recon error, it was a very very good game. It is difficult to tell who was likely to win due to the fact that it was from Sol's POV and you couldn't easily gauge what everbody else had left. On a slightly different note I would be interested to get peoples view on why people who are TR don't not make more of an effort to harvest the tiberium that is below the cliff and to the left of them. It always strikes me that both TR and BR end up competing for the same tiberium whilst TR has an extra source quite close by. I understand the point at expanding to the middle etc and not leaving BR on their own but surely TR can expand to the middle to aide BR without having to share the tiberium. TR could easily expand to the tib directly below it and to the left of it (above the cliff) as usual but then go for the stuff below the cliff that sits round the back. In addition the tib round the back and below the cliff is effectively free from titan and ground unit harrasment. Just looking for reasons why this never appears to be done.

The only genuinely useless unit is the wolverine and even then it can be used as a cheap scouting unit due to its speed. The Hover MLRS can be used on maps with water and is useful as a mobile same site, the Nod borg can be used as a scouting unit early in the game due to its durability vs. anti-scout infantry, the Nod buggy is a usfeul scouting unit, the Nod bike is a usfeul scouting unit and can be used for defence vs. disruptors or as an offensive unit as part of an early rush and JumpJet infantry are the best scouting unit in the game. I agree there are arguments to be had over the effectiveness and the cost of some of these units, particularly the wolverine and buggies effectiveness vs. infantry, but why remove or limit them from the game?