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# ? May 10, 2024 00:37 |
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The options here are weird in that in the other map you have way less money at your disposal but the Allied attacks and base also seems weaker to the point that I actually found it the easier one of the two. Like you start with less money, the ore fields are really scarce and when you do find a church to blow up (tucked away in a faraway corner) and the usual crate pops out? It's a healing crate! Now that's real blasphemy right there. The radar dome's a lot easier to reach and destroy here too. Either way, good to get around to the "real" maps after the super easy tutorials and the spy hunt.
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# ? Feb 18, 2019 21:28 |
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Kanfy posted:The options here are weird in that in the other map you have way less money at your disposal but the Allied attacks and base also seems weaker to the point that I actually found it the easier one of the two. Like you start with less money, the ore fields are really scarce and when you do find a church to blow up (tucked away in a faraway corner) and the usual crate pops out? It's a healing crate! Now that's real blasphemy right there. Interestingly, both the Soviet and Allied campaign have followed a similar structure so far. 1st mission was a showpiece where you have to go out of your way to lose, 2nd a simple base building mission with a super weak enemy base, 3rd a commando style mission, and then 4th was finally a true build up and destroy gloves off mission. Wonder if that was intentional or not?
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# ? Feb 19, 2019 02:01 |
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Soviets Mission 05 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt0e-lSvUZE Soviets Mission 05 With successful attacks into Germany, and the spy threat dealt with, the intelligence officer now tasks us with being the diversionary force to pull Allied troops away from Berlin. Somewhere north-east of Athens, although hard to determine where specifically. Skiros Island? Andros Island? Location: Somewhere in the area East of Athens. Oh, the briefing states "Khalkis Island", so more directly North of Athens than East. Objective: Capture the Allied radar dome and capture Khalkis Island. Briefing: Khalkis Island contains a large quantity of ore that we need. The Allies are well aware of our plans, and intend to establish their own base there. See to it that they fail. In addition, capture their radar center so we can track Allied activity in this area. Author's note: A memorable mission from my childhood, but not necessarily positive. I admit, the dislike I have for this is fueled in part by the engineer rework and my dumb kid-brain. Name: Joseph Stalin Aliases: Unknown Affiliation: Soviet Occupation: Leader of the Soviet Union Voiced/Played by: Gene Dynarski Leader of the Soviet Union, he has grand plans for the conquest of Europe and does not like to be let down by his commanders. Personally promotes the Commander to Field Captain. SUB PEN ARMOR: Light PURPOSE: Constructs & repairs naval vessels The Sub pen builds and launches Submarines and Transports. Damaged Submarines and Transports docked in the Sub Pen are repaired Author's Note: The same as the Allied Naval Yard, with the addition that a spy infiltrating this gives the spy's team the Sonar Pulse, capable of revealing all submerged units on the map. SUBMARINE RANGE: Long ARMOR: Medium WEAPON: Torpedo Silent and stealthy, Submarines can attack ships from afar. Subs must surface to fire, giving away their position, and opening themselves up to any nearby units that can hit them. Author's Note: The only combat ship for the Soviets, the submarine is submerged until it attacks, and is rather vulnerable to most things.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 04:20 |
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I was waiting for this map! I remember staying the the night with my friend playing through the Soviet campaign and during a Surge-fueled movie night we played this map, my friend mined the entire thing out, and I think we eventually mass paratroopered the Allied base on the big island. It was a bloodbath, but it worked.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 04:45 |
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Yep, hated this map as a kid too. Only one of the Soviet maps that really gave my kid-brain any issues. I'd always end up mining out the starting area and have to either wait an hour for enough ore to grow out to build enough transports and tanks to take the middle or use paratroopers to mass up in the SW of the island and swamp the place in riflemen Stalin's actor is so good in this game
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 05:05 |
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Yeah, I remember this mission well for being a horrible slog, and really just kind of a filler mission all told. Sure you get introduced to navel combat and using landers, but at least have the mission be more exciting then just capturing an island to mine ore and once again capturing a single key building. Anyway, this mission is another one that is surprisingly tough, and if you let the Allies build a base on that center island, get ready for a nightmare of a slog trying to take them out. Starting out with super low funds and barely passable amounts of nearby ore, alongside a bare minimum of starting troops also doesn't help things and makes starting out slow. All Allied ground attacks will come from your north, and if the Allies get built up on the middle island, expect ships to cruse on by and pelt your base. Taking out the Allied base on your island quickly is key, as I think that as long as the Radar Dome is not yours they will keep receiving reinforcements from that road near their base. Totally forgot the cheap stunt with the APC engies though, shades of TD Covert Ops there. Once the base is down, you have to then set up shop on the middle island, which I remember being incredibly difficult. There are a fair few Allied units scattered all over the island, and the main area where you are expected to build is closed in by cliffs and your Ore Trucks will constantly be harnessed by Allied units. There is a huge amount of ore on the island, but the short distance between your and the Allied base will mean attacks will be frequent and defending your Ore Trucks difficult. Plus there is a ton of Allied Destroyers and Gunboats surrounding the island, which can and will target down your buildings and units if given the chance. Yet if you build a ton of Subs, once you do gain control of the waters, the Subs become worthless as they can't target anything on land, so you have thousands of credits worth of units sitting around doing nothing. I will give Westwood credit for the idea of racing to take over the middle island though, that is pretty unique, just wish it was done in a better way. Weirdly, so far the Soviet campaign seems to be introducing new units a lot faster then the Allied side. 5 missions in and you are already facing Medium Tanks and Destroyers. Wonder if that was intentional or not? Anyway, it was very nice seeing the whole slog of taking over the middle island being stopped by that Para-Trooper team, never though to do that back in the day. Still, not a great mission all told though.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 05:30 |
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as far as the missions go in the Soviet campaign, I wasn't really too fond of the base building ones but the cutscenes made up for that.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 05:51 |
This is the mission I could never beat as a kid... I think part of the reason was I didn't realize there are three triggers for the allies starting to set up on the island, and if you trigger either before you're ready for a full assault they'll get too strong a foothold. The triggers are attacking the radar base, building a sub pen, or dropping soldiers on the island. And I kept rushing to build a sub pen.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 07:28 |
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nielsm posted:This is the mission I could never beat as a kid... Huh, didn't know about those triggers, but that definitely explains why it was always such a horrible slog, as I also always built a Sub Pen pretty early on.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 08:54 |
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Aww poo poo. First round on this map I dropped paratroopers on the island super early, and by the time I'd built a few tanks and transports there were already like 5 medium tanks and artillery waiting on every single bit of landable shoreline Second time round I waited until I had 5 transports filled with heavy tanks before I set foot on the island, and everything went swimmingly. There are few problems that can't be solved by 25 heavy tanks.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 11:37 |
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That was certainly an easier way to go about it, doing the map normally there's a real risk the map'll run out of ore which is pretty much what happened to me. By the time I got a base going on the island it'd more or less been picked clean, sorry about that ore you wanted Stalin. As an additional dick move, the Allies get off-map transports of a couple of tanks and an artillery + rocket guys every so often on the beach you land on who can and will take out your Construction Yard and other buildings real fast. Also I always thought that "godspeed" didn't seem like a very Stalin-like expression. But yay, promotions.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 15:22 |
Kanfy posted:Also I always thought that "godspeed" didn't seem like a very Stalin-like expression. But yay, promotions.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 15:27 |
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Yeah, this is the Soviet mission everyone who played this game always remembers, and not in a good way. An island siege map was a new thing enabled by the new naval mechanics... but you're not really given the tools you need to be able to to it effectively. What a shame.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 16:48 |
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Why no Yaks? A dozen Yaks will quickly take out an MCV, and while Yaks may be trashy, they still do better than subs.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 21:04 |
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Theres something about using them for everything as a kid that I kinda just dont really use them as an adult. Im not saying it makes sense. Also I hate their poor aim, I'd rather invest in the MiG or tonks.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 21:12 |
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I feel like you as a kid just totally ignored the intended method of using engineers. You're always talking about accidentally blowing up buildings, when the intended method is to use multiple engineers to weaken the structure before you capture it. Not the most efficient method, to be fair.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 21:45 |
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fluffykittys posted:I feel like you as a kid just totally ignored the intended method of using engineers. You're always talking about accidentally blowing up buildings, when the intended method is to use multiple engineers to weaken the structure before you capture it. Not the most efficient method, to be fair. But I could build yaks and tanks with that money
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 21:48 |
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How many engineers does it take to switch a light bulb? Five. The first four will only damage it.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 21:58 |
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"Just throw enough flying machines at it" solves a lot of problems in these games, but it's also by far the most boring way to play in my opinion so I always try to avoid it.
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# ? Feb 20, 2019 22:23 |
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It doesn't help that space is at a premium in your starting position on this map, and a significant portion of that will be in gunboat range. Still, it is interesting to see the AI actually build a base from scratch for once. And they will definitely build AA guns on that island and effectively force you to transport units to the few beaches if you let it.
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 00:15 |
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Here's the island base the Allies will build if you give them the chance by the way, pretty basic but like I mentioned they'll strip the place of ore with those two refineries right quick so if you take long and lose a lot of units it's definitely possible to make the mission very difficult to win due to there being no resources left. Guess you can always mass Paratroopers or something though. Also spot the sneaky Camo Pillboxes, the real enemy of high resolution Red Alert. Kanfy fucked around with this message at 12:17 on Feb 21, 2019 |
# ? Feb 21, 2019 12:12 |
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I spotted three- one between the leftmost refinery and the war factory, one under the northern turret, and one more between the barracks and rightmost refinery.
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 12:45 |
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Wow, those camo pillboxes...sure are something in high res RA. I would honestly mod the game to paint the top neon-pink or something like that if I had to play campaign against that.
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:39 |
fluffykittys posted:I feel like you as a kid just totally ignored the intended method of using engineers. You're always talking about accidentally blowing up buildings, when the intended method is to use multiple engineers to weaken the structure before you capture it. Yeah, that was what i always did.
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:40 |
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Camo pillboxes in low res are hard to spot too
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:44 |
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I mean, being hard to spot is kind of their thing. Otherwise what are you paying extra for?
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:45 |
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FoolyCharged posted:I mean, being hard to spot is kind of their thing. Otherwise what are you paying extra for? According to the manual, more armor!
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:46 |
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Jobbo_Fett posted:Camo pillboxes in low res are hard to spot too I don't think I ever had a problem spotting them when I played at 640x480 or whatever the game ran at when I was a kid in 1998. I remember them being kind of a joke "Why spend extra money on a camo pillbox?" That was before I knew they had extra armor.
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:50 |
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Kanfy posted:"Just throw enough flying machines at it" solves a lot of problems in these games, but it's also by far the most boring way to play in my opinion so I always try to avoid it. There isn't an interesting way to kill those ships, or the stuff on the island: your doing it slow and dull no matter what you do.
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 18:51 |
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I believe when it comes to playing against AI there is no reason to not be using turrets all the time and if you are going to build pillboxes there is no reason to use the camo ones because AI knows where it is. When playing against other people, it is better to use the camo because, well, people will have a harder time seeing them than the AI will. Extra armour is kinda moot when you're rolling a shitload of tanks
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# ? Feb 21, 2019 22:13 |
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Soviets Mission 06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zntZz6dSMI Soviets Mission 06 After capturing Khiska island, the Soviets have finalized a bomb, or bombs, of some sort and Stalin has tasked us with transporting some vital trucks to a Soviet base to finalize the project. Most likely in the area of Dubrovnik. Location: Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia Objective: Deliver the trucks to the designated area. Briefing: There is a special cargo that needs to be transported to a nearby Soviet base in the northeast. Make sure the trucks reach their destination intact. Along the way, there is a bridge which the Allies may have destroyed. If so, use the Navy at your disposal. Our attack subs will make short work of any Allied boats you discover. Author's note: A rather simple mission, although, I believe, not the one that you can cheese immediately. Regardless, it still offers a nice challenge considering how basic it is. Name: Joseph Stalin Aliases: Unknown Affiliation: Soviet Occupation: Leader of the Soviet Union Voiced/Played by: Gene Dynarski Leader of the Soviet Union, he has grand plans for the conquest of Europe and does not like to be let down by his commanders. Personally promotes the Commander to Field Captain. Name: Unknown Aliases: Unknown Affiliation: Soviet Occupation: Intelligence Officer for the Soviets Voiced/Played by: Andrea Robinson Projects a perfectionist attitude and seemingly holds a grudge against Gradenko. TECHNOLOGY CENTER ARMOR: Light PURPOSE: Construction of high-tech structures The Soviet Tech Center allows the construction of high-tech units like the Mammoth Tank and Tesla Coil. Author's Note: Not different from the Allied version, just in what in unlocks. FLAME INFANTRY RANGE: Short ARMOR: None WEAPON: Flame-thrower These soldiers are slower and more susceptible to damage than other infantry (due to the large tanks of flammable chemicals they carry). The Flame Soldier can decimate structures and infantry in seconds with his flamethrower. Author's Note: A sad evolution from its Tiberian Dawn days. The flamethrower infantry lost its characteristic speed, but remains just as soft, and just as deadly. There's ways to make them work in the player's favor, but I'd rather go with Grenadiers.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 03:31 |
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For those wondering, you can cheese the other mission by driving the trucks past all the enemy units while they blast your MCV because its basically one screen filled with enemies, and its hilarious.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 04:32 |
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Oh yeah, this mission. Never really liked this mission much either, although it is by far much better then the last one, although that isn't saying much honestly. I like the idea behind the mission, getting key units past tough enemy checkpoints, but its' execution, much like last mission, isn't so great. The start of the mission is pretty cool though, like your MCV getting chased by a handful of Allied units, and having to react quickly to deal with them. Not having a clear indication of where to set up though isn't that great, although with a bit of scouting it becomes clear that north is the only place with ore. Problem is, as seen in the video, there is an Allied Cruiser up there, so unless you beeline for Subs, enjoy it destroying large parts of your base out of nowhere if it notices you. While the amount of ore you have to work with is adequate, the high amount of starting funds does allow you the ability to quickly get a Sub fleet up. The Allied base is honestly pretty basic, minus the nice looking but honestly kind of weak defense up front. V2s from the cliffs above can make short work of it, although since the Allies have a good sized ore patch next to their base, it is tough to take out their Ore Truck early. Once the front defenses are down, only the pair of Cruisers to the northeast are any threat, and the Allies only put modest amounts of pressure on your base. Getting the trucks past the blockade isn't too tough either. Just use subs to destroy the bridge, and then sink the Cruisers on the other side. With only a couple of tanks north of the bridge a screen of 3 Heavy Tanks can cover the trucks as they dash north after unloading and then you win. Shame that the Flamethrower Infantry is pretty heavily weakened though, loved how much of a beast they were in TD. Anyway, a not too exciting mission all told that really doesn't leave to much of an impact besides the sneaky northern Cruiser that loves to shell your base out of nowhere. Also interesting that once again, the Soviet campaign is teching up faster then the Allied one, as you already have Tech Centers and taking on high-end Allied units.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 05:06 |
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The start of this mission is a bit hairy, but I always figured the APC Full Of EngineersTM was there to give you a quick free repair for your damaged construction yard, and then a few more to buy time while you get your subs up if you were unlucky enough to build in range of the cruiser. I got lucky and built just out of range, harvested the gems to the left and I think there's a crate stashed in the fog of war you never revealed just to the right of your tech centre. From there I built a literal line of heavy tanks blocking off the entrance between the cliffs to my base, rolled over the allied base and just drove over the bridge as a convoy. I think after this map I got super paranoid about building anything anywhere near the shoreline.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 09:59 |
Jobbo_Fett posted:
Flame infantry being ridiculously vulnerable is at least true to life. In most wars the flame infantry was usually the deadliest jobs because on hit meant that you were going up in flames. The Soviet actually made disguised flamethrowers to try and make it safer:
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 17:06 |
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Alhazred posted:Flame infantry being ridiculously vulnerable is at least true to life. In most wars the flame infantry was usually the deadliest jobs because on hit meant that you were going up in flames. The Soviet actually made disguised flamethrowers to try and make it safer: Very true, but I feel like the investment to get to that tech level, with their cost, makes their vulnerability especially noteworthy as they just... aren't worth getting when you have grenadiers. Hell, even regular infantry is often better, especially if it means getting 3 for every 1 flamethrowerman.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 17:27 |
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Jobbo_Fett posted:Very true, but I feel like the investment to get to that tech level, with their cost, makes their vulnerability especially noteworthy as they just... aren't worth getting when you have grenadiers. Hell, even regular infantry is often better, especially if it means getting 3 for every 1 flamethrowerman. That's what happens when you replace your Mechanical Man with regular Workmen .
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 20:07 |
Jobbo_Fett posted:
You don't need a tech center to build Tesla Coils, those only require a War Factory.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 20:42 |
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# ? May 10, 2024 00:37 |
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nielsm posted:You don't need a tech center to build Tesla Coils, those only require a War Factory. Ha! The manual states the Tech Center is required, so this is a pre- vs post- patch situation.
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# ? Feb 22, 2019 20:52 |