Observatory And Motion First

SDJason · May 2003

<div class="IPBDescription">it works best for me</div> IMHO, when comming its best to see the entire battlefield. which is why i always research motion tracking within 1 minute of start.

From this unlimited amounts of information can be found.... and relayed to your teammates, you can even effectively lead a group of scouts around the attacking force to set up a new base..

My strategy always goes IP, armory, observatory, 1 mine pack, then motion, then 1 more mine pack, then secure hive....

Not only can your marines be well informed of where all aliens are, but YOU can see where the aliens are, where they are building, where the gorge is (moves slower) where o chambers are(they show up while being built) and u can scan for a better picture of things..

While u almost always get disadvantaged due to carapace, it is better to have information to work with, than marines who dont know where to go..

Any criticizm's/suggestions to this, im open to feedback, in no way is this strategy perfect, i want to know whats good and what is bad about this...

Jason

Pithlit · May 2003

Yeah, MT is nice, but for my oppinion, way to expensive in the beginning
youd better start out with a sec resT. or you will strave to death
An Armory is not always needed, since it keeps your rines in base to reload, build a sec or even third IP Portal, then tey will engage the nemy, still spawning fast enough so theres a stedy flow
after the sec and even third (if possible res is up, then build an armory)

from that on it varys what you want to do

Zunni · May 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>My strategy always goes IP, armory, observatory, 1 mine pack, then motion, then 1 more mine pack, then secure hive....</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>

Yep, others may like level 1 weapons better, but for my money knowing where aliens are and aren't in gamestart is way more important..

My answer to any critics would be....

If you are in any area of the map with level 1 weapons you have 60 bullets before you have to reload... You shoot those 60 bullets off (and kill a few skulks), you are defenseless when the one skulk that was hiding and you didn't see chooses this moment to kill you..

As opposed to having level 0 guns and knowing there are 2 skulks nearby and one hiding in the corner, so you don't stick around to waste 60 bullets... and heading to the hive they aren't at..

My 2 cents...

Precious · May 2003

I was just thinking the same thing. I have yet to try it but it sounds great for small 6 on 6 games.

SDJason · May 2003

yes while there is no perfect strategy, sometimes certain things are better, i have seen 3 ip games at start go extremely well, however the map i play most is nancy, and on that map, it seems to be the best strat, since it takes a while to get to a hive anyways.

ill have to consider making more ip's and no armory, its cheaper too....... <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'>

Spazmatic · May 2003

It depends on the map, and the opposing team, and your own team. It can be quite valuable, especially if you a skilled gorge hunter. The example someone gave was Nancy, on which I adore motion tracking if I'm not going for res denial (courtesy Chopper Dave). However, on some maps, I don't really like it at all, such as Eclipse. And Tanith. It really, really varies.

MasterShake · May 2003

Motion tracking is nice, and it really pisses off the aliens, but I don't think its that necessary early in the game. Too many marines rely on the little blips when all they have to do is LISTEN. Skulks make enough noise for you to hear them with plenty of time to react, unless you're building. I say weapons and armor level 1 is much more helpful early, then motion later on when the <b>Commander</b> needs to see where the aliens are gathering.

It is helpful for slaughtering an inexperienced gorge, but a good gorge will not move, hide in the res nodes, and always have an escort waiting for ambush on the cieling.

Spazmatic · May 2003

Actually, I've seen even experienced gorges fall to early motion. After all, they have to move SOMETIME, and they tend to have several other blips moving with them. Makes them easy for the commander to pick out. That and motion makes killing res nodes possible... Without it, all the slashing makes it hard to hear aliens approaching, especially if they know how to stagger movement for stealth.

im_lost · June 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Motion tracking is nice, and it really pisses off the aliens, but I don't think its that necessary early in the game. Too many marines rely on the little blips when all they have to do is LISTEN.</td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
Not everyone has high-quality equipment that will pick up all of those little sounds. Unless someone is making lots of noise that is easy to hear, I usually can't hear it. (By the way, this is a laptop computer. I also get about 20 fps when nothing is going on around me.) For a clan game your statement is perfectly true, but for a public game, some people are going to have lower-end computers, and giving them something to know when the enemy is near is a big boost.

Spazmatic · June 2003

Plus, motion helps give you a sense on their general movement pattern, which is always nice.

MasterShake · June 2003

Yes, I believe motion tracking is definitely the most valuable for the commander. With motion, the commander can see enemy movement and plan accordingly. It is useful in gorge hunting at first (if the commander points out the gorges probably position), but eventually the aliens should notice this and get more sneaky.

It definitely is a good tool for the gorge killing strategy, but if the gorge lives too long and the skulks get carapace, you've already used 70 res that could have gone towards weapon/armor upgrades.

As for the sound issue, buy a $15 pair of headphones or join a server that uses Audio Tracking. You don't need a top of the line sound card to hear the patter of little skulky feet.

Pege · June 2003

I think researching motion tracking before building arms lab entirely depends on the aliens. If you're playing a high-quality game where there are lots of clanners (or just good players) in both teams, you simply must build the arms lab first to get those upgrades. Theres no point in motion tracking if the aliens have level 2-3 carapace and you have 0-1 upgrades. You just see your death approach. Still, usually public games have quite many "n00bs" and then its more important to know where they are hiding. MT is superb then: especially helps people like me who for some reason cannot even hear footsteps.

big_fat_c0w · June 2003

i don't know ... Mt is important and cool but tbh it too mush res for the start.. u must remeber that wep upgrades improve your turrets/ mines.. i guess it realy depends in your startegy..if u r going for the lock down you'll need that wep upgrade also since your M got good pos and they don't realy need Mt... but if u r going tech rush u wont belive how valuable MT could be.. from killing gorges to gurading RT.. MT rulez @ those kind of stuff...
( if pld correctly offcourse..)

Obliterater · June 2003

As comm it is always nice to see everything, but I try to get that information from my troops on the ground. 25+45=70 res at the beggining is way to expensive.

I would rather get armslab, armor lvl 1, and a pack of mines. Besides, marines with any skill at all know to check doorways and listen and stuff, so it would only help a little anyway.

Kazyras · June 2003

Quick MT should only be done if there are enough players, like 16 or more. Otherwise you won't be at least 1/1 by the time they have level 3 carapace.

That_Annoying_Kid · June 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (big fat c0w @ Jun 1 2003, 01:21 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> i don't know ... Mt is important and cool but tbh it too mush res for the start.. u must remeber that wep upgrades improve your turrets/ mines.. i guess it realy depends in your startegy..if u r going for the lock down you'll need that wep upgrade also since your M got good pos and they don't realy need Mt... but if u r going tech rush u wont belive how valuable MT could be.. from killing gorges to gurading RT.. MT rulez @ those kind of stuff...
( if pld correctly offcourse..)  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
I would tend to agree

MT is very very nice for gaurding res for a tech, or hunting gorge while waiting for tech

Mindmeldme · June 2003

i tend to pick up MT usually abut 5 minutes into the game. I try to get 2-3 res towers built...then get motion track going as quickly as I can. It gives my marines a great advantage early in game against aliens...even with Cara. Motion track means that they can usually see ambushes ahead of time and see rushes coming...even help them track and go commando against the gorge. However it's making sure I don't research it to soon and lose all my res when I need to use it to put down phase gates or try and grab another res tower.

BreakfastSausages · June 2003

I always get 1 ip at first and then an upgrade of some kind, they are all very useful if used at the correct time

and so far level 1 armor first seems to be the most successful, you do not need gun upgrades until they get carapace, and all the motion tracking in the world cant help you if you cant kill the aliens when they find you.

I think motion tracking is more useful in a smaller game, when there is a much better chance that you can go around the aliens, or find the gorge undefended. I play 9v9 mostly, and I don't have much trouble finding the gorge without mt, but he is very rarely alone.

ps: you can get a good headphone/mic set for like 15$

Xzilen · June 2003

Eh, I don't like this, no offense. I find this way too expensive, plus why even bother locking down a hive? If you ever lock down hives I think it should be two, otherwise, the other one will just go.

eiko · June 2003

most decent players have effective ears and eyes.

Xzilen · June 2003

Agreed with the above poster, its just too many res for something that only nomially adds to a persons ears.

Church · June 2003

i usually research MT just to help myself as the comm. The fact that the marines see blips is just an added bonus. With the knowledge that MT gives you, it makes your army much more responsive. You can stretch your forces thinner. Your troops in a sense beome much more "mobile" especially if you have Phase gates. you can protect more with less marines. You can hunt the enemy structures where they currently aren't. Imagine how the vietnam war would've gone if the U.S army had motion tracking (kinda dumb, but just an example)

big_fat_c0w · June 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (|ds|meatshield @ Jun 6 2003, 08:40 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Imagine how the vietnam war would've gone if the U.S army had motion tracking (kinda dumb, but just an example)  </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> 
marine:naplam sub space hive!!
comm: love the smeal of naplam on the morning
marine: MUHAHA hive on fire!!!

anyway.. MT on a good team is increadinly useful

JesusC · June 2003

I've tried it both ways - going early MT and early upgrades - and found both have their uses. If you want to assassinate the gorge, MT is a must. Also if the alien team is lacking in skill and can't get that many bites in, you should just get MT to keep them on the run. However, against skilled aliens, MT doesn't help that much more, because as everyone pointed out, your marines could have just heard them in the first place, all they get is an extra blue dot... and they have to fight cara 3 skulks with level 0 guns.

Observatory And Motion First

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