| 1 |
After this game, @BLISS asked me about the purpose of territory, since @srcerb seemed to win by investing in overdrive and defenses instead of map control. I contend that territory is important, and that @BLISS was winning due to their superior territory control, but did not manage to capitalise on this advantage and close out the game. I said this to @BLISS and he said I should post an elaboration here. This is that post. I like how this game demonstrates quite a few aspects of territory control, escalation and overdrive, so most players should learn something here.
|
1 |
After this game, @BLISS asked me about the purpose of territory, since @srcerb seemed to win by investing in overdrive and defenses instead of map control. I contend that territory is important, and that @BLISS was winning due to their superior territory control, but did not manage to capitalise on this advantage and close out the game. I said this to @BLISS and he said I should post an elaboration here. This is that post. I like how this game demonstrates quite a few aspects of territory control, escalation and overdrive, so most players should learn something here.
|
| 2 |
\n
|
2 |
\n
|
| 3 |
https://i.imgur.com/PFvWbGM.png
|
3 |
https://i.imgur.com/PFvWbGM.png
|
| 4 |
I don't want to focus too much on the early game, but @srcerb seems to be in a better position. @BLISS has their constructors working in their base, whereas @srcerb is expanding. The result is an early production lead, and a sizable army, for the early game.
|
4 |
I don't want to focus too much on the early game, but @srcerb seems to be in a better position. @BLISS has their constructors working in their base, whereas @srcerb is expanding. The result is an early production lead, and a sizable army, for the early game.
|
| 5 |
\n
|
5 |
\n
|
| 6 |
https://i.imgur.com/FOJDtbN.png
|
6 |
https://i.imgur.com/FOJDtbN.png
|
| 7 |
By minute six the economies have equalised. This is due to good raiding by @BLISS and some expansion to the South. @srcerb has opted for an early push with Reavers, Knights and Ronin. It is difficult to assault a base this early on this map due to the long ramps leading up to the base. @BLISS defends the push with Rogue and the defenders production advantage. @srcerb would likely have been better off taking their army South to clear out the expansion to confine @BLISS to his base.
|
7 |
By minute six the economies have equalised. This is due to good raiding by @BLISS and some expansion to the South. @srcerb has opted for an early push with Reavers, Knights and Ronin. It is difficult to assault a base this early on this map due to the long ramps leading up to the base. @BLISS defends the push with Rogue and the defenders production advantage. @srcerb would likely have been better off taking their army South to clear out the expansion to confine @BLISS to his base.
|
| 8 |
\n
|
8 |
\n
|
| 9 |
https://i.imgur.com/0QTnVWk.png
|
9 |
https://i.imgur.com/0QTnVWk.png
|
| 10 |
A lot happens between minutes 6 and 12. @BLISS has beaten back the cloakbot army with some well controlled Rogues, Racketeers, and Snitches. @srcerb has raided the bottom left with Glaives, and gets a commander kill. Killing the commander will account for about a metal production disparity of about 7.2k over the course of the game. @srcerb also built two Fusion Reactors, but has been using snipers and cloakers, so only some of the extra energy is used for overdrive.
|
10 |
A lot happens between minutes 6 and 12. @BLISS has beaten back the cloakbot army with some well controlled Rogues, Racketeers, and Snitches. @srcerb has raided the bottom left with Glaives, and gets a commander kill. Killing the commander will account for about a metal production disparity of about 7.2k over the course of the game. @srcerb also built two Fusion Reactors, but has been using snipers and cloakers, so only some of the extra energy is used for overdrive.
|
| 11 |
\n
|
11 |
\n
|
| 12 |
The biggest issue for @BLISS at this stage of the game is that there are eight metal spots within their territory which do not have metal extractors. To be a bit facetious, @BLISS is technically correct in saying that territory is not that important. The important thing is the additional income from the metal spots within the territory. Constructing these extractors would yield a net income of 20 metal, taking into account that two of the spots are being sneakily mined by @srcerb. The single largest point of improvement to be made here is the prompt construction of metal extractors. The pair of spots near their main base have never been mined, which is a loss of about 3k metal in income over 12 minutes. This is a significant proportion of the total metal produced so far, which is is 14.4k for @BLISS and 18.7k for @srcerb.
|
12 |
The biggest issue for @BLISS at this stage of the game is that there are eight metal spots within their territory which do not have metal extractors. To be a bit facetious, @BLISS is technically correct in saying that territory is not that important. The important thing is the additional income from the metal spots within the territory. Constructing these extractors would yield a net income of 20 metal, taking into account that two of the spots are being sneakily mined by @srcerb. The single largest point of improvement to be made here is the prompt construction of metal extractors. The pair of spots near their main base have never been mined, which is a loss of about 3k metal in income over 12 minutes. This is a significant proportion of the total metal produced so far, which is is 14.4k for @BLISS and 18.7k for @srcerb.
|
| 13 |
\n
|
13 |
\n
|
| 14 |
There are a few more things to note at this point. The first is that this snapshot demonstrates the diminishing returns of overdrive. @BLISS is using overdrive to convert 25 energy into 5 metal, whereas @srcerb is spending an additional 81 energy for a return of only 7 more metal. The difference in overdrive is not large at this stage of the game, even with the two Fusion Reactors. Another thing to note is that both players have similar values of total living units, which means that @BLISS has done very well in terms of attrition.
|
14 |
There are a few more things to note at this point. The first is that this snapshot demonstrates the diminishing returns of overdrive. @BLISS is using overdrive to convert 25 energy into 5 metal, whereas @srcerb is spending an additional 81 energy for a return of only 7 more metal. The difference in overdrive is not large at this stage of the game, even with the two Fusion Reactors. Another thing to note is that both players have similar values of total living units, which means that @BLISS has done very well in terms of attrition.
|
| 15 |
\n
|
15 |
\n
|
| 16 |
https://i.imgur.com/9IV485z.png
|
16 |
https://i.imgur.com/9IV485z.png
|
| 17 |
@BLISS spends the next few minutes pumping Rogues and Rackteers. This initially works well against the Ronin/Glaive composition of @srcerb. The later loss in army value is when the Rogues encounter heavy defenses.
|
17 |
@BLISS spends the next few minutes pumping Rogues and Rackteers. This initially works well against the Ronin/Glaive composition of @srcerb. The later loss in army value is when the Rogues encounter heavy defenses.
|
| 18 |
\n
|
18 |
\n
|
| 19 |
The issue here was attack-move. @BLISS could probably have won the game at any point in the last few minutes by just moving their army into the defending units and turrets, since the force disparity was so great. As it was, the Rogues were set to attack-move, which meant that the Rogues tried to engage targets at their maximum range. This allowed @srcerb to push the Rogues around by running small forces of fast units at the Rogues. In this screenshot, most of the Rogues are retreating from a Glaive while a small force of Rogues assaults a HLT. Similar things happened throughout the game, resulting in a lack of the type of coordinated assault required to smash the defenses.
|
19 |
The issue here was attack-move. @BLISS could probably have won the game at any point in the last few minutes by just moving their army into the defending units and turrets, since the force disparity was so great. As it was, the Rogues were set to attack-move, which meant that the Rogues tried to engage targets at their maximum range. This allowed @srcerb to push the Rogues around by running small forces of fast units at the Rogues. In this screenshot, most of the Rogues are retreating from a Glaive while a small force of Rogues assaults a HLT. Similar things happened throughout the game, resulting in a lack of the type of coordinated assault required to smash the defenses.
|
| 20 |
\n
|
20 |
\n
|
| 21 |
Attack-move is most definitely not the "do everything for me so I don't have to look at my army" command. It implements a specific behaviour (retreat to maximum range against targets with less range) which must be used tactically. In many situations your top priority is not for your units to sit a safe range. In this situation the priority should have been to group together and assault @srcerb before they were able to make too many defenses. Attack-move was good for attrition, but not good for taking the initiative.
|
21 |
Attack-move is most definitely not the "do everything for me so I don't have to look at my army" command. It implements a specific behaviour (retreat to maximum range against targets with less range) which must be used tactically. In many situations your top priority is not for your units to sit a safe range. In this situation the priority should have been to group together and assault @srcerb before they were able to make too many defenses. Attack-move was good for attrition, but not good for taking the initiative.
|
| 22 |
\n
|
22 |
\n
|
| 23 |
https://i.imgur.com/iY3XJ7I.png
|
23 |
https://i.imgur.com/iY3XJ7I.png
|
| 24 |
Both players have added a factory. @BLISS picked Rovers, while @srcerb picked Planes. I much prefer the Plane factory because air units are very dissimilar to ground units. This forces @BLISS to make some AA and respond to different types of threats. By comparison, the Ripper/Ravager/Scorcher/Fencer composition from the Rover factory is fairly similar to Rogue/Racketeer/Bandit, so @srcerb does not have to invest in different types of counters. More generally, your opponent probably has some way of dealing with your unit composition by the midgame, so one of the main purposes of escalation is to present your opponent with different types of challenges. This is what makes aircraft and striders such popular escalation choices; they are rarely seen earlier in the game.
|
24 |
Both players have added a factory. @BLISS picked Rovers, while @srcerb picked Planes. I much prefer the Plane factory because air units are very dissimilar to ground units. This forces @BLISS to make some AA and respond to different types of threats. By comparison, the Ripper/Ravager/Scorcher/Fencer composition from the Rover factory is fairly similar to Rogue/Racketeer/Bandit, so @srcerb does not have to invest in different types of counters. More generally, your opponent probably has some way of dealing with your unit composition by the midgame, so one of the main purposes of escalation is to present your opponent with different types of challenges. This is what makes aircraft and striders such popular escalation choices; they are rarely seen earlier in the game.
|
| 25 |
\n
|
25 |
\n
|
| 26 |
It is also vital to respond rapidly to changes in your opponents composition, lest their temporary advantage snowball into something bigger. When I see enemy aircraft I like to use Alt+Shift to queue 10 mobile AA units at my factory. The Alt modifier inserts the AA at the start of the factory queue, and makes them one-time orders in the case of a factory set to repeat. If you slowly filter AA into your composition you may never have enough to keep up with your opponents planes.
|
26 |
It is also vital to respond rapidly to changes in your opponents composition, lest their temporary advantage snowball into something bigger. When I see enemy aircraft I like to use Alt+Shift to queue 10 mobile AA units at my factory. The Alt modifier inserts the AA at the start of the factory queue, and makes them one-time orders in the case of a factory set to repeat. If you slowly filter AA into your composition you may never have enough to keep up with your opponents planes.
|
| 27 |
\n
|
27 |
\n
|
| 28 |
The unusually small size of this map also allows for an additional type of escalation. A Missile Silo in the center of the map can reach anywhere on the map. If you can afford to built and protect a forward Missile Silo it very often ends the game. In this game, an expenditure of about 3k metal in a Silo and missiles would destroy bot Fusion Reactors and most of the Windgens.
|
28 |
The unusually small size of this map also allows for an additional type of escalation. A Missile Silo in the center of the map can reach anywhere on the map. If you can afford to built and protect a forward Missile Silo it very often ends the game. In this game, an expenditure of about 3k metal in a Silo and missiles would destroy bot Fusion Reactors and most of the Windgens.
|
| 29 |
\n
|
29 |
\n
|
| 30 |
At
this
point
I
have
some
advise
for
@srcerb.
This
game
is
the
perfect
situation
for
Phoenix
as
you
are
fighting
an
army
of
light
units.
Also,
Swift
is
not
particularly
good
against
ground
armies
and
a
single
Owl
is
extremely
useful,
since
it
is
the
best
scout
in
the
game.
The
Snipers
were
also
very
good
as
they
resulted
in
a
lot
of
attrition.
|
30 |
At
this
point
I
have
some
advice
for
@srcerb.
This
game
is
the
perfect
situation
for
Phoenix
as
you
are
fighting
an
army
of
light
units.
Also,
Swift
is
not
particularly
good
against
ground
armies
and
a
single
Owl
is
extremely
useful,
since
it
is
the
best
scout
in
the
game.
The
Snipers
were
also
very
good
as
they
resulted
in
a
lot
of
attrition.
|
| 31 |
\n
|
31 |
\n
|
| 32 |
https://i.imgur.com/EaN0POe.png
|
32 |
https://i.imgur.com/EaN0POe.png
|
| 33 |
@srcerb
has
a
clear
advantage
by
the
30
minute
mark.
The
low-weight
armies
of
Shieldbots
and
Rovers
have
been
whittled
down
by
Snipers
and
unable
to
push
through
the
dense
nest
of
defenses
set
up
to
the
East.
Glaives
are
now
routinely
raiding
the
side
hills,
nullifying
most
of
the
territory
disparity.
My
last
piece
of
advise
is
to
put
a
few
more
resources
into
defense.
Heavy
investment
in
defenses
is
really
not
that
bad
if
you
use
it
to
lock
down
75%
of
the
map.
It
is
also
good
practice
to
diffuse
constructors
throughout
your
territory,
both
to
respond
to
threats
and
reduce
the
time
it
takes
to
rebuild
extractors.
|
33 |
@srcerb
has
a
clear
advantage
by
the
30
minute
mark.
The
low-weight
armies
of
Shieldbots
and
Rovers
have
been
whittled
down
by
Snipers
and
are
unable
to
push
through
the
dense
nest
of
defenses
set
up
to
the
East.
Glaives
are
now
routinely
raiding
the
side
hills,
nullifying
most
of
the
territory
disparity.
My
last
piece
of
advice
is
to
put
a
few
more
resources
into
defense.
Heavy
investment
in
defenses
is
really
not
that
bad
if
you
use
it
to
lock
down
75%
of
the
map.
It
is
also
good
practice
to
diffuse
constructors
throughout
your
territory,
both
to
respond
to
threats
and
reduce
the
time
it
takes
to
rebuild
extractors.
|
| 34 |
\n
|
34 |
\n
|
| 35 |
This screenshot shows the effect the extended Rogue battles on the terrain and the vehicle-pathing overlay. This is another reason that Rovers were not a good choice.
|
35 |
This screenshot shows the effect the extended Rogue battles on the terrain and the vehicle-pathing overlay. This is another reason that Rovers were not a good choice.
|
| 36 |
\n
|
36 |
\n
|
| 37 |
https://i.imgur.com/NPQAAa2.png
|
37 |
https://i.imgur.com/NPQAAa2.png
|
| 38 |
Merlin is a good idea, as it is artillery and a strider. Unfortunately it is a bit late. By this point @srcerb has built up enough Snipers to kill the Merlin before it is able to make a significant dint in their defenses. The Dante was not that good by comparison, as it is bad against defenses and Snipers,but it could still be a good idea if built early enough. @srcerb built a Singularity Reactor later in the game, so it is was still possible to win by sniping it. 2.4k metal on a Missile Silo and two Eos would kill the Singu and could be built quite far back from the front line.
|
38 |
Merlin is a good idea, as it is artillery and a strider. Unfortunately it is a bit late. By this point @srcerb has built up enough Snipers to kill the Merlin before it is able to make a significant dint in their defenses. The Dante was not that good by comparison, as it is bad against defenses and Snipers,but it could still be a good idea if built early enough. @srcerb built a Singularity Reactor later in the game, so it is was still possible to win by sniping it. 2.4k metal on a Missile Silo and two Eos would kill the Singu and could be built quite far back from the front line.
|
| 39 |
\n
|
39 |
\n
|
| 40 |
https://i.imgur.com/JRwmMy8.png
|
40 |
https://i.imgur.com/JRwmMy8.png
|
| 41 |
The game continues in a similar way until @BLISS is overwhelmed by a massive force of Snipers, supported by Ronin. It may have been possible to come back by attacking up the ramp instead of into the heavy defenses. That said, I'm now at the point of nitpicking things which are only obvious in hindsight.
|
41 |
The game continues in a similar way until @BLISS is overwhelmed by a massive force of Snipers, supported by Ronin. It may have been possible to come back by attacking up the ramp instead of into the heavy defenses. That said, I'm now at the point of nitpicking things which are only obvious in hindsight.
|
| 42 |
\n
|
42 |
\n
|
| 43 |
Here is a summary.
|
43 |
Here is a summary.
|
| 44 |
* Mix constructors into your construction queue and periodically send them out to capture and reinforce your territory.
|
44 |
* Mix constructors into your construction queue and periodically send them out to capture and reinforce your territory.
|
| 45 |
* Attack-move is not the best tool for all situations. Sometimes it is better to group and push.
|
45 |
* Attack-move is not the best tool for all situations. Sometimes it is better to group and push.
|
| 46 |
* Escalate by thinking about how to give your opponent new types of problems to solve.
|
46 |
* Escalate by thinking about how to give your opponent new types of problems to solve.
|
| 47 |
* Be faster to react to opponents unit choices. Use the Alt modifier to insert one-time construction at the start of a factory queue.
|
47 |
* Be faster to react to opponents unit choices. Use the Alt modifier to insert one-time construction at the start of a factory queue.
|
| 48 |
* Use slightly more defenses to defend your expansion, especially when you have pushed your opponent back to their main base.
|
48 |
* Use slightly more defenses to defend your expansion, especially when you have pushed your opponent back to their main base.
|
B631908 2 on Intersection v4.1 (Multiplayer)