Frantic Moments

Durandal · November 2002

<div class="IPBDescription">Fun Times</div> I have to say, I've been playing this mod for three days now, and I love it. Not only have I been a long time fan of FPS games, but I've always loved RTS as well. I've logged a painful amount of hours on Empire Earth among other games, so this combination has really struck a chord with me.

Probably one of the most priceless games was tonight. I was on the marine side, and I figured from the get-go that we were going to run into problems. I was right.

We had a sub-par commander to start with, and after the first five minutes I became his unofficial advisor - where to place turrets, how many to place, where to head next, told him to build a phase gate several times (which he unfortunately ignored), etc. Finally he had had enough of the comm chair and decided he wanted to hop out. I let everyone know I was trading places, but the bugger wouldn't get out. Apparently he didn't know how! So he finally figures out what that big red "Logout" button on the upper-right corner of the screen is for and gets out. The second I hop in the chair the players decided to kick the old commander not realizing he got out of his chair, so I got booted a split second after I entered and was banned from it.

It made me chuckle.

So another commander hops in, and after about five minutes he decides he doesn't want the job either. So he trades places with someone else... five minutes later, the new commander trades places with someone else.

While all this was happening - I fogret which map, but it was the one with the mess hall - we had set up a resource tower, a turret factory, a few meager turrets, and an armory. It was myself and two other marines, and we had skulks and fades coming at us left and right. It was like out of a movie... we were desperately trying to hold them back, and we kept screaming - both over the sub-menu request and over voice chat - for health.

This is us: <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='asrifle.gif'>

This is them: <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'> <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='skulk.gif'>

This is our commander(s): <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='wow.gif'>

By an act of God we managed to hold the mess hall from that onslaught, but the damage of poor commanding had already taken its toll. The one hive we managed to take over early game had fallen, and though we had HAs and HMGs, I knew in the pit of my stomach it would only be a matter of time.

We lost outpost after outpost, and finally dug in at our main base. The siege lasted a good 15 minutes, and in an futile act of desperation our commander built a secondary comm chair in a small room not far from base. We managed to get a respawn point and a few turrets up, but no armory.

That aux comm center lasted about three minutes.

The kicker is, three marines had escaped and spent a good five minutes hiding in the vents talking with the aliens, all good fun, and then were finally discovered and slaughtered.

The moral of the story: The new patch is a definite step in the right direction, and the single biggest thing that can sink the marines is either an inexperienced commander, or several inexperienced commanders.

-Durandal

Mindmeldme · November 2002

All it takes sometimes is one man. Even if either of the teams are new or semi good...one man can lose the game for the marines. Don't try and learn to be a commander in game...do it on lans...

MonsieurEvil · November 2002

Awesome first post, Durandal. That's a great story. For the record, you were on NS_Nancy. Whenever I command on that map, I seem to lose (although others win consistently, so I know it's just me). We usually find ourselves barricading the CC and area outside it with mines and turrets after a lost battle for hives.

Then it's the final scene from Aliens where 'they're commin' outta the ###damned walls, man!!!'

Hellbilly · November 2002

Great story Durandal and i can just picture it in my head. I was actually playing that map for 4-5 hours last night.

My first experience of this game was when i was a marine and i honestly felt like i was in a movie like Aliens or Starship Troopers. Hearing all the voice comms, the excitement, the suspense, the fear of Aliens. It literally tickled with excitement.

Now i have become more of an alien player since it takes more time to learn properly.

And i just stay out of the CC at all cost <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='tounge.gif'>

Durandal · November 2002

Thanks Monsieur and Hellbilly <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'>

I know whatcha mean about that "They're commin' outta the walls!!!" feeling. Makes me want to rent Aliens again. Too bad I owe the video store about twenty bucks.

Oddly enough, my first real game (not counting my very first game where I logged in five minutes before the round ended) was on the alien side, and we won! Pre-patch too.

I absolutely love the alien side - it's like no other gaming experience I've ever had. It was on Eclipse, and I remember the first time I played as a skulk after I got the hang of things... bouncing around a dark corridor like a rubber super ball biting at a squad of regular marines.

And when I discovered the beauty of cloaking as a slulk and waiting high up in a pearch above a high-traffic marine area, dropping down behind one, finishing him up in a few seconds and returning. Then laughing so hard I couldn't breath when the same marine walks by again, pauses, looks right at me, and then keeps on walking.

That was the same game I discovered the absolute ridiculous hilarity of the cloaked Onos. Myself and a friend cloaked as Onos' at either end of a T junction and just waited for a marine or two to walk right past us, and then just steamrolled him. This went on for about five minutes. My friend calls the Onos the "Amazing Invisible Elephant".

Of course, after that, some of our attempts at playing as the aliens didn't go so well, but it made me a believer that a competent alien team, even pre-patch, could hold its own. Though like I said, I think the patch definitely had more good than bad in it.

One question I have - I wanted to learn the command console in and out, and set up a non-dedicated server and passworded it so I'd have a chance to play around with it, but the console wouldn't let me place items. Does there have to be at least one player on the alien team to use it, or is there something basic that I'm missing.

Thanks!

-Durandal

Wheezer · November 2002

haha
The amazing invisible elephant strikes again <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

Hellbilly · November 2002

<i>"One question I have - I wanted to learn the command console in and out, and set up a non-dedicated server and passworded it so I'd have a chance to play around with it, but the console wouldn't let me place items. Does there have to be at least one player on the alien team to use it, or is there something basic that I'm missing.
"</i>

I tried the same thing and it seems there must be an alien player present. But i also heard about something you have to change to be able to do that.

Maybe someone can enlighten us?

MonsieurEvil · November 2002

Turn on SV_Cheats. See the pinned post in server operators on how to run a local game with 1 player. Also, check out some of Cheeseh's new bots for commanding practice.

Durandal · November 2002

Excellent! Thanks for the help. I figure I don't want to ruin the gaming explerience of 7 teammates just so I can figure out how to place a turret <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'>

-Durandal

Gnu · November 2002

Here's how to get commanding practice in a LAN game by yourself;

go to LAN -> create game -> advanced options and enable cheats
then pull down the console once the game starts and set sv_cheats to 1

This will start the game even with just one player and you can go ahead and place and build structures.

There were also a bunch of commands you can use once you enable cheats, maybe someone else who remembers them can post them?

Frantic Moments

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