Link Hi, friends. As promised in the last diary, well speak today about battalions and how to manage them. We shall reveal some of the secrets, which have been guarded so far. Well talk as precisely as possible about what echelons and battle ranks are, and how many troops can be taken into battle. Also, using the example of two tasks and their solutions, we will explain why Soldiers: Arena will be comfortable for players with different microcontrol skills and expectations from the gameplay.

Once again, we remind you that the interface shown on the screenshots is still being finalized and can be changed. Do not rush to get used to it or spin the flywheel of criticism in the comments section.

First, we select a battalion from the list of available ones. There could be an illustration with an almost ready-to-use interface and a draft description under the art, but someone scrawled a cheat code for endless gold on it, so ... Try as hard as you can to imagine the most beautiful interface and then just pick a battalion there. Next, the army constructor window will pop up.
link And here we are forced to take a big pause before continue managing the battalion, and explain what the echelons are, and again plunge into some history. The Arena-game began with three major innovations: a dynamic front line, a system of specialties (battalions) and the concept of echelons. We can say that this is the foundation that keeps all the other features on it. We told about the dynamic front line almost on the onset, a bit later we also revealed the concept of battalions, and echelons were saved for last. In fairness, its worth noting that we still left some clues, but we hid them behind words such as early stages, middle of the session or endgame. Echelons divide the game session into three stages, which subsequently evolve for both teams simultaneously. With each subsequent echelon, the level of available units, the number of command point (CP) and the intensity of the battle grow. In combination with other solutions, echelons help to solve several problems at once, which we attempted to tackle in Soldiers: Arena from the very beginning:

• Units should not depreciate. If you love the BT-7 for its speed and cheapness, it makes no sense to give it up. The first echelon will be present in each session and in each session, the BT-7 will be useful.
• The need to minimize excess waiting and moments of inactivity. First echelon units are available immediately and you do not need to save CPs for them, just to choose the order of spawn (more on this in one of the following diaries). In most cases, by the time the first echelon units are finished, the second one is ready. Thus, a player with phantom threads of nerves and low resistance to defeats will not be able to lose all his favorite units at once, lose the game and lose himself on a downwards spiral of existential apathy. Well, ok, he can always lose himself, but we have diminished the reasons for this.
• Make the pace of the game smooth and constantly growing. The first echelon makes it possible to study the enemys battalions relatively calmly, test its defenses, strengthen your own and warm up. The second is for the full-scale battles along the entire front line and the culmination of the game, which often makes it clear how it will end. The third echelon is a battle of top units and a fight to the last.
• Emphasize the features of the battalions. For example, a battalion of medium tanks is especially good at the first and second echelons, and by the third, when top heavy tanks and cannons arrived, it slows down a little. It is necessary to be cautious and go to a fight if only having a numerical advantage.
• Create a lot of interesting game situations and non-linear balance. Some will say that when on the first echelon, only the howitzer commander has the leFH 18 and this is NOT interesting situation at all, and the T-35 of the heavy tanks commander is something too nonlinear. But such is life - there is never equal conditions in it. In addition, such mastodons are very expensive. For example, leFH 18 at the first echelon is available only in one copy and occupies slightly more than half of the available CPs. But losing such a unit, it makes the situation very uninteresting for you, and nonlinearity may also enter a downhill experience.
• Add realism! There is nothing realistic in the fact that only Tigers and Katyusha participated in the battle. We want to show the alignment of forces on the battlefield and the interaction of army types as plausible as possible.

Link Echelons are divided into slots (4-5 usually). In the battalion constructor window, you will see that only certain types of units with a unit level limit are suitable for each slot. For example, in the second slot, you can put only support infantry and firing points of 5-th level maximum. In addition, each slot has its own capacity. So to put there ten medics or three Pak-38 - is a strategic question.
When selecting the slot, at the bottom of the Recruits panel you will see all the units from among those already open that are suitable. As you can see, playing for a certain kind of troops, you are not limited to this particular kind.
The battle rank (BR) is the cost of the unit and at the same time the indicator of the capacity of the echelon. On the unit card, the BR is displayed in the lower right corner. A unit's BR may differ depending on the chosen battalion since the units native to the specialty of the battalion receive a discount of about 20-30 percent. Each echelon has its maximum BR value: 12, 17, 22, respectively. The first digit to the right of the echelon name shows the used BR, the second shows the maximum one. The smaller the difference between these values, the better you prepared for combat.
We are committed to ensuring that in Soldiers: Arena the fate is not decided only on the clicking speed of the players. Those who do not do well with microcontrol will not feel useless. Specialization battalions and the correct managing of them make it possible to emphasize your style and your abilities. Consider the example of two tasks, how much the gameplay may differ, the density of presence on the map and the requirements for micro, depending on your build.

Task number one: minimum clicks+maximum firepower*on armor(+safe distance)=USSR artillery tanks battalion.

Link Now this battalion (accessible only to the USSR) is assembled so that it can be played as safely as possible and only a few units at a time. KV-2 are expensive, clumsy and not very accurate, but they can keep the enemy in suspense well while being out of reach. Well, relatively so ... howitzers, airborne, top AT-guns are still dangerous, but you usually have time to react and fallback. Yes, and keeping track of two units is not so difficult. About the cons: very bad control of the map, shooting from the respawn area is as accurate as predictions of entering the Early Access, and the reconnaissance and support of the infantry constantly has to be requested to the allies. With such an assembly, the loss of each KV-2 is unbearable pain, and the support of allies leveling your weaknesses is a necessity. But if you soberly assess your strength on microcontrol, like to break the plans of enemy artillery and shoot monstrous projectiles through half of the map - this choice is for you.

Task number two: maximum micro+stealth+map control*quantity(-survivability) = sabotage and reconnaissance battalion.

Link If in childhood your parents forcibly sent you to learn piano and now you think that someone should answer for this - take it without thinking. The battalion is assembled so as to have the maximum amount of infantry to control the map, reconnaissance, actions behind the front line and dirty sabotage. Youll have many units, but sensitive ones. And the better your micro skill, the stronger this battalion. If you just frame the units and send them to rush ... well, then this battalion will seem useless to you. But if you know how to pave the way through the enemy's defense line with the auto attack turned off, constantly using DC for throwing grenades, invoking artillery strikes and firing, while not forgetting the other units scattered throughout the map - this will be pain and dirt, dirt and pain, and I dont know ... pain in the dirt. Each battalion has similar peculiarities and can be managed in completely different ways. For example, the first one can play through spamming BT-7As and infantry support, while the second one through sniper superiority and sitting in the bushes. Style, pace, requirements for micro and situational overpowerness of units is determined only by your preferences. Speaking of preferences. Write in the comments which battalions with unusual specialization and combinations of units you would like to see in the game. It is possible that Santa Claus will hear you out. Friends, before saying goodbye, the Best Way team wants to wish you all the best for the coming year. A year that will be interesting and significant for all of us. Be kind, cheerful and exercise much! It is soon now.

[ 2018-12-27 21:09:25 CET ] [ Original post ]