09-04-2004, 02:22 PM
For the combat side, I think of a RTS game as a complex real time version of paper rock scissors. The best ways to win in that game are the best ways to win in RTS games.
1) PRS rule: Almost everyone chooses rock, it's easy because you don't change your hand shape so indesicive people default to it. How that applies to RTS: People often have the same builds, they find something that works and spread it around. If you see a sloppy first attack they are probably going for this "standard" build. Build your army to counter it. Eventually you can learn to predict battles and their outcomes from well before the units that will be invovled have even been trained.
2) PRS rule: Cheat! Wait till they choose their meathod, pretend you were choosing rock, and choose the counter. Apply it to RTS: Have also a reactionary build. You see them building casters, you build anticasters. They build heavy melee you build heavy magic damage or polymorph (or equivalent).
3) PRS: Cause a tie. Both choose rock and but heads. RTS: This really only applies to team games, but if someone can play a good "decoy" that can win a game. Often people push an attack too hard just because they are trying to finish what they started, when that is the case you know the location of their army AND the strength. If you have an expansion use that as your new town and defend the hell out of your old one with defensive structures so it looks like you are struggling to survive. Waste the odd peon to repair and/or build something so it looks like you are desparate. They waste men and resources trying to kill one player who (or appears to at least) has hunkered down, meanwhile that person's allys have massed and teched an awesome army.
4) PRS: Tip your hand. Deliberately choose something too fast and force a "do-over". They now think that is what you will choose again. RTS: You got scouted. Say you had 4 footmen, immediately switching to rifels can catch their army built to counter your footmen off guard.
For the resource side, I use one simple rule: Need more resources? Make more workers. (Damn that's complex! :lol: ) Early build orders are the only real constant on this one, but unless you pull the same strat every game this should vary some as well.
1) PRS rule: Almost everyone chooses rock, it's easy because you don't change your hand shape so indesicive people default to it. How that applies to RTS: People often have the same builds, they find something that works and spread it around. If you see a sloppy first attack they are probably going for this "standard" build. Build your army to counter it. Eventually you can learn to predict battles and their outcomes from well before the units that will be invovled have even been trained.
2) PRS rule: Cheat! Wait till they choose their meathod, pretend you were choosing rock, and choose the counter. Apply it to RTS: Have also a reactionary build. You see them building casters, you build anticasters. They build heavy melee you build heavy magic damage or polymorph (or equivalent).
3) PRS: Cause a tie. Both choose rock and but heads. RTS: This really only applies to team games, but if someone can play a good "decoy" that can win a game. Often people push an attack too hard just because they are trying to finish what they started, when that is the case you know the location of their army AND the strength. If you have an expansion use that as your new town and defend the hell out of your old one with defensive structures so it looks like you are struggling to survive. Waste the odd peon to repair and/or build something so it looks like you are desparate. They waste men and resources trying to kill one player who (or appears to at least) has hunkered down, meanwhile that person's allys have massed and teched an awesome army.
4) PRS: Tip your hand. Deliberately choose something too fast and force a "do-over". They now think that is what you will choose again. RTS: You got scouted. Say you had 4 footmen, immediately switching to rifels can catch their army built to counter your footmen off guard.
For the resource side, I use one simple rule: Need more resources? Make more workers. (Damn that's complex! :lol: ) Early build orders are the only real constant on this one, but unless you pull the same strat every game this should vary some as well.