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[BLITZ ON] MEN OF WAR - Assault Squad is Out (NSF56k or Shermans)
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Unfortunately it's the only game I've ever played where 90% of the time the AI is more interesting than the community.
Playing co-op skirmish with a buddy or two is fun, challenging, and hilarious. Playing against humans (or at least the 3 games I played so far) has been boring and tedious camping affairs. Layered sandbags, machine gunners, AT guns, and snipers. My 3rd and last game I had a choice to either call in artillery to clear the area or help my wife clean the kitchen.
I figured cleaning the kitchen would be more entertaining.
http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=16534
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
GM of Pearl City - A group of superheroes form The Beacons.
Player of Arifyn Tok in Kingmakers [D&D 4E]
Player of Kane Fainklyn the Hallow Preest in Crumbling Citadels [D&D 4E]
Player of Torin Magnus in Blackwood [Monsterhearts]
Player of Torin Magnusson in And Justice for All (M&M 3E)
Multi player game one japanese soldier after the rest of the section dies, three russian tanks, we've lost most of the flags running out of troops. In the space of 15 mins WASD and thirdperson shooting I eliminate a sandbags full of dudes, grab a PPSH off dead russians, srounge ammo, kill 4 guys around a house and grenade another through a window. I then proceed to gundown two tanks after pick up a at rifle and waiting for side shots. I then die to one of my multiplayer partners short dropping on my position. Epic.
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
Also I would like to report that turning men from hold stance to move at will turns them into cover seeking, retreating and counterattacking machines \0/
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
Awesome. I'll hop on in a little while, if you're still around after I grab some lunch.
one word, Co-Op
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
We got so rolled
Bloody good game, we need to kill the 88 next timewith HE, your sniper was murdering all the crew but they just remaned and put a panzer on your sniper
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
BUY IT
NOW
Because I definitely bought it.
Basically I want to learn with people who won't crush me so bad. Or who will crush me, but will be nice/informative as they do it!
I played Men of War (the original) literally the day AS went on sale and there were still people playing. AS has many more players than that. It's not Starcraft 2 or anything but it has a dedicated fanbase and I never have trouble finding a game.
EDIT: Link to steam ID in sig.
The community tends to have a lot of russian's USA and various eastern and western european. I'm pretty sure one dude was smacktalking me in rumanian, I presume it was smack talking as he was on the opposite side and I blew up his vet tiger with a AT grenade. It's intresting as this is the first multiplayer game outside of EVE online that I've interacted with people that don't speak english at all. Even my old IL2 Slovakian sqn I used to be a part of everyone spoke english ( I think mostly for my benefit, nice chaps really).
To end my waffeling Men of war is cracker I have not enjoyed an RTS as much since multiplayer Total annihilation. This game is the business.
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
We've tried to break up the team responsibilities more traditionally, diving our attention in lanes like Dawn of War. Out of four of us, two of us focus on the right and the other focus on the left. And that pretty much sums up the division of responsibility.
However, I think that's suboptimal. Why?
#1. Micro-ing certain units increases their value tremendously. A single sniper, for example, can demolish the enemy when you have him under direct control. But microing units takes time away from other important tasks, like queueing reinforcements, finding more ammo for your other troops, keeping an eye on the battle as a whole, etc. And if you do try and keep an eye on higher-level responsibilities, you stop microing your unit and it dies or doesn't do anything. But, in co-op AS, you can reassign units to other players -- so one player who is controlling just one sniper and nothing else could just give all his other units to his teammates.
#2. Paying attention to ammo and where reinforcements are going and who they're assigned to is very important. In my last game, I had a very successful mortar team made useless by a lack of ammo, and I spent five minutes running around the map trying to find more of it. (And then it died when it got run over by an allied tank moving to the front lines.) But managing logistics while also managing a front line or an assault is problematic. You'll look away from your units for 30 seconds and then come back and they'll be dead.
#3. The team needs to cover every bit of their line and remember everything in order to win. The AI on normal difficulty is brutal and will exploit a single point in your line that isn't covered with AT with a single puma that will go through that hole, then kill all your MGs and Mortars and supply trucks. Then the AI will run twenty infantry into that hole and you'll lose the game. All because one spot in your line didn't have proper AT coverage. But with four players focused on four different lanes, its hard to make sure the entire line is covered.
So, I suggest a different approach to the division of responsibilities. With four players in co-op, it should be more like this.
Player one: Logistics and battlefield management. He only controls a few infantry (who act as couriers) and supply trucks. He brings ammo, fuel, engineers, and new units to the front lines and makes sure that the other players have the resources they need to keep fighting. ALSO: he keeps an eye on the battlefield as a whole. He doesn't micro anything (other than couriers and supply trucks), but instead watches the entire battle to keep an eye on any weak spots that might form without the other players noticing. When a new unit is created and assigned to another player, they give it to the Logistics Manager who then carefully walks it to the lane that needs it, then reassigns it to the player whose lane it is.
Player two and three: Right and left lane command. These two guys are responsible for pushing the lane forward at their respective lanes as well as securing the territory they grab. They have to be aggressive and completely focused on only strategically taking out enemy emplacements using whatever fancy tactics are necessary and don't worry about battle logistics at all (since the logistics manager should be taking care of it).
Player four: Micro guy. This guy is only focused on carefully micro-ing just one or two units who are (1) nearly useless unless they are micro'd very carefully or (2) whose value vastly increases when you carefully manage it. While his teammates focus on the big picture, the micro guy focuses on taking just a single, high value unit and punishing the enemy with it. He is given free reign to rack up as many kills as he can while conserving manpower by not losing that one high value unit to worrying about anything else than killing motherfuckers. I imagine he probably controls the snipers and tanks.
I really want to try this division of responsibility. Tonight.
Obviously this is what I listened to on the way to work this morning, and I'll listen to it again on the way home.
http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2011/03/17/three-moves-ahead-episode-108-three-men-of-war/
*Three Moves Ahead is a strategy game podcast. They talk about all kinds of strategy games in hour+ long, cerebral podcasts released around once a month.
If the sale lasts long enough till my next paycheck im on this.
Get on G&T vent and play!
And I'm hopping on now if anybody's still playing.
Is there a way to play against the AI on the giant multiplayer maps? Just so I can get used to what multi is like before diving in?
Otherwise, really like this game. A bit curious if there is arty outside of mortars and the airstrike you see in the single player.
Google+ Profile Origin: 13Evigilant Steam: Evigilant
Also, having a single guy dedicated to logistics and battlefield management was definitely the way to go. We were finally able to actually win some co-op missions for once. We did discover at the end that having the logistics guy *also* manage artillery was good, too.
Comrade Shepard, our logistician and commander has ordered me to capture and secure a bridge and the row of urban housing beyond. My battle-weary Russian soldiers -- many of whom I had revived from near death on the field of battle just moments before -- don't hesitate when I order them to storm the bridge and run into the house on the other side. Some of them aren't even armed, having dropped their damaged, useless weapons after being incapacitated earlier.
It doesn't matter, though. Half of them get mowed down as soon as they reach the house. The others put up a good fight, but soon only three men remain. They take up refuge behind the house, their rifles pointing at the only two entrances to the small courtyard they find themselves in. The attack failed.
And the Germans are ruthless. Having crushed my advance, they send two tanks forward and a dozen infantry just before the bridge, waiting to attack. All I have is one AT gun on the other side and a dozen troops. They won't be able to withstand an attack.
But wait! The three soldiers behind the house... There's an unmanned German AT gun there! And the Germans don't seem to notice me there! If only I could position the AT gun in just the right spot... I order two of my men to command the gun and they struggle to properly reposition it.
Just then, a German soldier wanders into the courtyard. And the Russian soldier of mine who isn't on the AT gun is unarmed. He only has his fists. I order him to melee attack the German soldier -- who for some reason didn't start shooting -- and my soldier responds ruthlessly, punching the Nazi in the face and knocking him to the ground, leaving his panzershrek behind.
The AT gun can't seem to get a good shot with the building partially obstructing the view. So I manifest my personal consciousness into the mind of the Russian soldier with the Panzershrek -- don't ask me how -- and I walk him up to the corner, aim the weapon -- which only has one round in it -- and fire it at the two tanks, which are side by side a few yards away on the other side of the wall.
The first tank explodes. Then the other explodes. And it takes out about a dozen German soldiers surrounding them. The bridge is mine.
MEN OF WAR.
Or ill just gift you something of equal value when I get paid... either way.
EDIT: Oh bummer it doesnt seem to be on sale anymore. From the thread ill guess 35 is worth it?
This is the greatest RTS for CO-OP and versus play. I love how even in versus play the preferred default is 1 or two people on your side as well.
35 is worth it by a country mile, as long as you like internet play, assault squad is a bit of a non starter for a single player.
"I think I can comment on this because I used to live above the Baby Doll Lounge, a topless bar that was once frequented by bikers in lower Manhattan."
EDIT: Cmon cmon. I just played my first match, some guy did 1v1 on a 2v2 map for some reason and i got beat pretty hard.
I learned lots of great things. Like I should be getting Regular Infantry, which come with a BAR and extra sandbags, instead of Assault Infantry which don't. And that getting a Hellcat or another tank destroy is a high priority.
I love this game. The community for it is pretty fun too.
I tried to stick mainly to infantry, with a smattering of AT-guns and mortars for entrenched positions, but my guns were inexplicably losing regularly to their tanks. I was also experimenting and screwing around a lot, so I will probably be fine next time I go in with the purpose of actually winning, but still.
Also, for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to resupply my sniper with ammo from the truck I ordered up. He was convinced that it would be more fun to take it for a spin than to continue shooting mans.
Hit "x" when you have a dude selected, then click on what you want him to inspect. So in this case, you'd want to select your sniper, hit 'x', then click on the supply truck and move around his inventory.
Also, you should watch the videos that Tycho made in the OP for what effective combat looks like in this game.
In other words do the tanks have health bars? :lol:
EDIT: Basically, a single well-aimed shot can kill just about any tank. Likewise, many poorly aimed shots can be defeated by the enemy's armor.