What do you think is better big ore fields or small infinite ore patches?

[mightywindr]

Obviously the infinite ore wouldn't have the pay off the same as gems like it does currently, that messes with the game. But big patches of ore or tiberium also limit game design. I dont like the idea of captured buildings that supply money either. I like the idea of small patches of infinite ore without the gem pay offs like in RA1 on here.  The harvester AI really makes big fields of ore a sucking point. 

You cant destroy a patch of ore, its small so it doesn't hinder map design, and its not a building that can be blown up is non variable in size,  and not command and conquer, ...............and its  still kinda in the spirit or design of command and conquer.

What do you guys prefer ?

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by mightywindr

[bbglas007]

Bigger ore fields offer more combat diversity - Small ore fields stifle strategic options... 

There's nothing like flanking your opponent with misdirection, then swooping in quickly to mop up a couple of miners sparsely spread out away from defences whilst their units try to close the gap on you but it's too late.

If there are small ore patches, you can expect similar kill to death ratios and tougher battles with limited options as targeting heavily defended miners become less interesting 

[TheDarkDrake]

Which command and conquer are we talking about? 

You actually can destroy ore in Red Alert 2 and Yuris revenge.

As for general map design: Small infinite orefields have 3 uses:
1) Turtling maps. 

Those maps favor turtles. They have a lot of choke points and heavily defendable infrastructure. They are mostly super-weapon oriented, as one strike can wipe out most, if not all your base. 

Ore and Tiberium fields are usually put outside the base to encourage expansion, as well as having few base ones kept inside the base. It is interesting to toy around with, because there rarely is any good turtle oriented map. 

2) As said above by bbglass007, heavily defended miners become less of a target. A way to fix this, is to have ore fields in the outside and money generating buildings at the starting location+1 small ore field. This will again, force the player to expand outside of the base perimeters. 

 

3) One of my favorite uses for infinite expensive ore is money maps. But instead of putting them at the starting location, put 2 fields in the center and have the players compete for the ore. The starting location would only have the drill/ore spawner, and no starting ore. As such, any ore that does come out, is harvested quickly, so securing the extra becomes a priority. 

[Daniel M King]

I prefer larger average richness patches (although more exponentially on richness, RSO style) that are so different I have space to build.

I've found that one or two large patches that contain so much ore that it's a fun challenge to get to the game late at night. And productivity research makes those patches more endless.

One of my problems with Infinity Patches (Angels Infinite) is when they need liquid mining. Not that they need liquids, I can't touch that part of the early game of the patch with a miner otherwise the miner will come out. I prefer random infinite patches that are 100% infinite and 40% infinite rather than regular 60% for that reason.

I have another push of infinite ore, especially all the small pieces all over the place that I am on the way to build and try to work around them or build in that space. I enjoy tapping completely through the metal ore. I was satisfied when I finally used the patch.

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Edited May 31, 2021 by Daniel M King