Frustration - Am I Comming Wrong?

StormLiongStormLiong Join Date: 2002-12-27 Member: 11569Members
<div class="IPBDescription">another comm guidance</div> Well there has been alot of post on this matter. I myself am going through the games when I as a comm think we marines will win but instead get raped in the end.

I don't to bore u all wif all teh game details from start but I will say that it was NS_nancy. Alines had us pinned good. We were able to hold 4 res towers and had 15 players each team. We had unamed hive but couldnt even move into mess hall or port cos the alines just kept pinning us down. One group after another just got massacred by them.

But I was teching up while this all happened. By the time fades came, I had upgraded everything to the max and had enuf res to give at least half teh team HA, welders n HMG. I tot should be no problem now to push back to get a hive. I kept on giving HA and welders and told them to push into subspace.

What happend? We were slowly losing ground and in the end lost. Now tell me, was it my fault for poor planning? or is just my marines skillz? I just dont want to be blamed for a lost when I have given my marines the best upgrades n equipment to combat 2nd units. I mean I always thought that even if I only had one hive (and hold enuf res towers), if i tech up max i should be able to push teh fades back.

Comments

  • ZennZenn Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12970Members
    Well, if your problem was the OC/DC in mess hall, you should have set up a seige to clear a path. Then advanced to mess hall, and done the same thing to mother interface, then, again in mother interface and seige the hive. Seiges are your friends when it comes to needing to clear out a room. Also, you might have wanted to give a person or two a grenade launcher, fades run away from those <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->

    How to get a seige- Build a turret factory, and upgrade it, then you can build seiges near it.
  • StormLiongStormLiong Join Date: 2002-12-27 Member: 11569Members
    edited February 2003
    well mess hall wasnt OC/DC spammed. It was just the trend was, when one group of marines managed to clear mess hall, I would quickly get a phase gate up, TF and turrets. By then another mass of skulks come in and massacre them.

    I was thinking of abandoning mess hall but there was no where else to go. I go to one area, mass skulk rush comes in. Plus i couldn't get all my men to be together. The vent hall near port was kinda useless cos i cant siege port from there plus i always found that area was a very hard point to get a hive.
  • TeoHTeoH Join Date: 2002-12-30 Member: 11640Members
    Its my opinion that 2 hive aliens, played properly can match or outperform HA/HMG marines untill you start adding in grenade launchers. Get some GLs going.

    It should probably also be said that NS is just not designed for 15 a side matches. Server operators, particularly some of the American servers need to drop the attitude that bigger is better, just because you CAN host a 32 player NS server doesn't mean you should. The game achieves balance somewhere between 6 and 9 a side, games outside this bracket are likely to run into problems. Not least of which are the size of the maps, nancy is cramped enough as it is. Ultimately, playing with such large teams should result in a marine advantage anyway.
  • ZennZenn Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12970Members
    Man o man, if you had full upgrade HMG/HA guys getting trashed by skulks, you had some crappy marines <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->

    Couple things to keep in mind-
    -Grenade Launcher- Grenade spamming an area you're trying to defend helps a lot, murders poor skulks.
    -Build your TF and phasegate in the very center of the room, most don't, I do. It's more effective to surround them with turrets then to try and get them in the corner and allow a blind spot sometimes.
  • AhnteisAhnteis teh Bob Join Date: 2002-10-02 Member: 1405Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    No way to tell whose fault it is.
    Could be skill-less marines or it could be a comm who spent all his time in base and didn't bother to command at all.
  • Speed_2_DaveSpeed_2_Dave Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8788Members
    jetpack hmg in Nancy is *lethal* You can take down 1-3 hives without even touching a single alien with just one or two jetbo's

    Of course, that's if they know what they're doing.
  • CatpokerCatpoker Join Date: 2002-06-25 Member: 816Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Plus i couldn't get all my men to be together.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    this is what is wrong

    i would say 95% of games lost on the marines (in pubs) is becuase of this one quote
  • OlljOllj our themepark-stalking nightmare Fade Join Date: 2002-12-12 Member: 10696Members
    on nancy use jetpacks instead of HA.
  • Chopper_Dave1Chopper_Dave1 Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2353Members
    In order to keep aliens from attacking, you need to attack them.

    But don't bite off more than you can chew - the weakness of most commanders (and the one you seem to be exibiting) is that of only-attack-hive-itis. It's helpful to keep in mind that the aliens are basically defending the whole map, and the marines are trying to take it from them. Every room you gain control of is a small victory for you, and a small loss for the aliens. Every room they manage to hold is a small victory for them, and a small loss for you. Small victories and small losses add up to big victories and big losses.

    Therefore, if you keep getting beat back from the hives, then crawl your way to victory. Build an armory and phase in every major room or hallway you manage to take, or have your team harass an alien resource node en masse, then extablish a base there, etc. Aliens are going to be inclined to defend stuff with their hivesight, and because you are on offense, you'll usually have the advantage because you have a full group of armored marines, and they have a rag-tag group of fades frantically trying to defend against you. If you just keep attacking, and keep the aliens scattered (if you have a REALLY competent marine team, attack in two places at once to keep things confusing for aliens), then eventually your opportunity to attack a hive will come.

    And I guarantee you, GUARANTEE YOU, that you'll see no fades or lerks in your bases as long as you attack. But if you attack and fail miserably, ie biting off more than you can chew, then they'll retaliate with some pretty ugly results for you.

    Good luck!
  • TalesinTalesin Our own little well of hate Join Date: 2002-11-08 Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
    As noted previously, yeah... lack of GLs was your failing point. One bombardier can keep a hallway relatively secure, timing his shots and angling them properly. Two can close a hallway off with less skill, one firing while the other reloads. Mess Hall is a crucial point, but very difficult to hold. Midway between two Hives, it cuts off a quick route across the map pretty neatly. You'd have been better off setting up shop in Mother Interface (just outside Subspace Array) though, which would have had the same effect, and with the proper setup would have been more difficult to attack, keeping things out of sight from the long corridor, keeping Fade acid-rocket bombardment to a minimum.

    Send these three together:
    HA/HMG
    HA/Welder
    HA/GL

    GL takes care of long-range problems and Umbra-ing Lerks, mostly suppressive fire. The HMG nails anything that gets into mid-close range, trying to charge the little group. The Welder keeps both of the others alive from any acid rockets that might be potshotted toward you, and acts as an extra-close-range fighter, popping skulks with the torch and giving a little more kick to the HMG when taking out a Fade. If the welder's feeling a little unarmored, he can drop it and have one of the others weld him up again before taking his weapon back. So long as the three work together, they can take out five or six Aliens with ease, regardless of morph level.
    Not to even speak of the six HA/Welder (NOTE: **NO** HMG) rush. It's almost impossible to take 'em down, especially so with a Comm who occasionally drops medpacks.

    Desperation (or a quick and cheeseball game):
    JP/HMG/Welder

    I've kept a game going where we were stacked against 2:1 odds just by outfitting everyone with JP/Welders, keeping the hives down. Adding in HMGs only makes them more deadly to any Skulks or Lerks that might try to stop them from completing their assigned task. Yes, it's overpowered. Yes, it's a cheap way to win a game. No, I don't recommend using it if you are playing to have FUN.
  • TeoHTeoH Join Date: 2002-12-30 Member: 11640Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
    Yes, it's overpowered. Yes, it's a cheap way to win a game. No, I don't recommend using it if you are playing to have FUN.
    <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    That is a naive way of viewing the issue. Refusing to use effective strategies purely because they are effective defeats the object of the game. This is a strategy game, by default there are tactics which are effective and tactics which are not effective, you engage your brain and make use of the strategies that are effective, in return your opponent must engage his brain, see that you will use the most effective strategy, and devise a way to defeat it. This is how games progress. If you refuse to progress and stick your fingers in your ears shouting "LALALA" you will never appreciate the depth of the game. Play to win, and you will appreciate the 'Fun' of countering your opponents powerful strategy, knowing that he was doing his best to defeat you rather than poncing around with his own made up rules of how the game should be played.
  • FlayraFlayra Game Director, Unknown Worlds Entertainment San Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
    Keep in mind that the aliens are currently a bit overpowered at the 2-hive mark. If the other team is good enough, you may have no chance. This of course will improve in the future though.
  • BoozerBoozer Join Date: 2003-01-29 Member: 12916Members, Constellation
    One thing you can try differently if you are having trouble with one spot (mess hall) never forget about the vents and jp'ers. You could have continued to try and take mess hall (and GL really necessary defending against lerk/fade combos) and sent one or two jpers out to Aux command or Mother Interface to get a phase gate up and start trying to seige.

    Anyways keep trying we need lots of good commanders out there rawr <!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='siege.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::sentry::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/turret.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='turret.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • littlewildlittlewild Join Date: 2002-11-20 Member: 9467Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--Flayra+Feb 11 2003, 11:42 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Flayra @ Feb 11 2003, 11:42 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Keep in mind that the aliens are currently a bit overpowered at the 2-hive mark. If the other team is good enough, you may have no chance. This of course will improve in the future though. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Couldn't agree more.

    Any way, the comm should focus on getting and securing resources nodes. It is sometimes better to forgo the hive lockdowns and grab more res nodes.
  • InexorableInexorable Join Date: 2002-09-28 Member: 1360Members
    As long as you remember to continually scout any hives which you haven't locked down. You never want the confirmation of the # of hives owned by the Kharaa to be death symbol left by a Fade's claws or Onos's bite. Keep a close eye on those empty hives so that if a stray gorge does decide to build, you can have marines there in a few seconds.
  • dexiondexion Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 5339Members
    edited February 2003
    While the outcome is rarely always able to be seen, keep in mind several key points.

    1. have a plan
    2. be able to abandon it (very important)
    Don't keep doing the same thing over and over because.
    a. you will be predictable
    b. chances are if it didn't work the first 5 times it will not work the 6th.
    3. USE your marines. Do not randomly hand out equipment except in emergencies.
    a. Aliens LOVE to attack the standard marine. Send some off on a mission where you want the fades to be. (give one a jetpack and a hmg and have him go throught the vents to sub and fire a few rounds into the hive to draw the fades away.) "alright marine fire 10 rounds into the hive, then wait 20 seconds and fire 10 more then hide."

    b. TIME your attacks
    c. The aliens are not usually smart enough to fight on 2 fronts well.

    3. FLANK FLANK FLANK

    4. USE the aliens mistakes agianst them.


    There are many other things to keep in mind but battle is too fluid to put them down on paper, experience is what will teach you.

    dex
  • 2of12B0RG2of12B0RG Join Date: 2002-12-21 Member: 11285Members
    Every time I comm nancy the first thing I do is secure messhall. IMO this is a major capture point to winning that map. On one side of messhall you got subspace, which you can siege from the next room that has the nozzle in it. You can destroy the hive without even moving into it. On the other side of messhall is port engine, which you can also siege without moving directly into. If you get a alien team that builds inside the hive more than the rooms right outside then nancy is a simple marine victory.

    Of course, the backbone of everything that is marine is always teamwork.
  • ZennZenn Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12970Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--Flayra+Feb 11 2003, 11:42 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Flayra @ Feb 11 2003, 11:42 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Keep in mind that the aliens are currently a bit overpowered at the 2-hive mark. If the other team is good enough, you may have no chance. This of course will improve in the future though. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Only if your talking 6v6 or something, than yes, sure. In a bigger game, no.
  • StormLiongStormLiong Join Date: 2002-12-27 Member: 11569Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--Flayra+Feb 11 2003, 11:42 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Flayra @ Feb 11 2003, 11:42 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Keep in mind that the aliens are currently a bit overpowered at the 2-hive mark. If the other team is good enough, you may have no chance. This of course will improve in the future though. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    This might be a but off-topic but can i just say "wow!". Flayra given a comment on my post! /me jumps in joy

    seriously though,
    Thanks Flayra, now that I have official confirmation that 2nd hive aliens are still SLIGHTLY overpowered. So i guess next time i comm to avoid 2nd hive getting up at all cost. I use to say "well as long I got one hive but tech up well I can crush fades anytime". I got to keep remembering how skillfull teh aliens are b4 thinking that now.
  • ZennZenn Join Date: 2003-02-01 Member: 12970Members
    Actually Storm, the idle thing to do is get 1 hive early, secure some res towers (important), and tech up. Once you get your first few upgrades, its time to start moving on the 2nd hive. Get some scouts out there, set up a mini base near a hive (try to remain totally unnoticed by the aliens.) And set up a seige...most likely that hive will be up by this time, and as soon as the seiging starts, get ready for all hell. While the seiging is going on, keep an eye on the battle at hand for the hive, but also, keep an eye on your main base, and any minor outposts, 1 alien or 2 love to run to main base during a hive seige in an attempt to draw your men back to defend, or do some damage, so be ready for that...and hopefully have some turrets at base.

    Seeing as how you stated you had HA/HMGs...you had the advantage over the 2 hive aliens (aliens are only slightly overpowered at 2 hives when the marines aren't teched that well), you just needed some good GLs, as we have stated before <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->

    Can't believe I disagree with Flayra, lol
  • TeoHTeoH Join Date: 2002-12-30 Member: 11640Members
    Effective tech strats are all based on the idea of reaching a winning level of tech BEFORE there are 5 fades munching your IPs. JP tech's, Shotgun, HMG rush, even the (quite silly looking) HA/Welder rush are all designed to hit before, or just after (pre-fade) the aliens get the second hive. Every other effective strat that i have seen also works around this idea. Be it a flat out hive rush or phases and attempted 2 hive lockdown / double siege. Never sit back and bank on your ability to fight 2 hive aliens, even the highest level of marine tech does not have an easy time.
  • Little_HunterLittle_Hunter Join Date: 2003-01-26 Member: 12793Members, Constellation
    Generaly a coms skill doesn't matter that much in a public game, it only matters if the team listens to him. The fact that you couldn't get your whole team together meens that they wernt listening to you, and hence your attacks were under manned and under powered.

    As for aliens at hive2 still being overpowered i agree. If you look at the alien tech at the very beginning the mariens have a slight advantage. If bunny hopping was gotten rid of then the advantage would be gone. However, for mariens to effectivly hold ground against hive 2 aliens they NEED to have at least level 3 ammo and armor. For mariens to have enough advantage over hive 2 aliesn to gain ground, mariens NEED to be at the very highest tech level (jp/hmgs or ha/welders). Once aliens get 3 hives it's all over.

    The normal plan most comanders try is trying to take both unoccupied hives before the aliens can take another one. This is however extremely hard to do, and it normaly turns into desperatly trying to hold on to the one hive you did occupy while upgrading stuff to fight the fades that are killing your base.

    I have alot of faith that the ns team will make hive 2 aliens weaker while still keeping the balance.
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