Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 -- Time Study
FAQ being updated and maintained by Jason Heyes (geoffhys@optusnet.com.au)
FAQ originally written by PyroFalkon (pyrofalkon@hotmail.com)
Version 2.0
Last Update: 10 November 2001
===
--REVISION HISTORY--
10 November 2001 (v2.0) - Second release under a new writer.
03 November 2000 (v1.0) - First release.
===
--OPENING BLURB BY PYROFALKON--
I've written two semi-popular time studies already (one on Age of Empires II,
and one on its expansion pack). To continue the tradition, I've decided to make
one for my newest love, Red Alert 2.
This FAQ has little fat, and a lot of meat. There's no review, no fluff talk
aside from this section and my disclaimer. I give you the info you need, and
that's that.
I assure you that this time study can't and won't help you if you're a newbie.
Check out NVarkovsky's fantastic FAQ for detailed info on missions and units if
you're starting out. This FAQ is for the vets, especially those who frequently
ally. Using this, you can accurately give your allies information on how long
it'll take before you ready your army, or navy, or whatever.
I won't go into the tech tree or what the units do. I'm going to assume you
know the game well enough that you don't need to question "what's this?" every
line.
===
--THE NEW WRITER--
I'm not as interested in Red Alert 2, or PC games as a whole, as I once was. This FAQ was
never updated in over a full year, which is simply something that should not happen. As
such, I'm turning the FAQ over to Jason Heyes. You'll still be able to get it from my
website and any other website that you've been able to get it from before; I simply won't
be updating it or answering questions on it. Everything from the end of this section are his
words and timings, not mine.
My thanks go to everyone who wrote me an e-mail complementing or condemning me for writing
this; and my thanks go to everyone who read it, whether they wrote me or not.
Okay, enough talk. Take it, Jason.
===
===
(OPENING PARAGRAPH)
The following study is intended for the elite class of commanders. To
the average novice the information presented here will have little
bearing. The purpose of the study is to help experienced commanders
broaden their strategic vocabulary so as to give them an edge, a
slight advantage over their human opponents.
===
-------------------------------
--Time as a Strategic Element--
-------------------------------
Just as all commanders must work within the limits of the battle arena
they must also work within the restrictions of time. Most commanders
take the notion of time for granted. Few go further.
To better appreciate the importance of time we should consider two
very different types of commanders: offensive and defensive.
Offensive commanders are those who employ "rush" based tactics. They
appreciate the importance of time because they waste none. The best of
these commanders don't act prematurely though, they act when the time
is right.
Defensive commanders are also aware of time but their appreciation is
different to that of the offensive commander. Some prefer to draw a
game out to one final battle which determines success or failure. And
others prefer to gradually weaken their enemy over time.
In both cases time is the fundamental strategic element at play.
----------------------------
--Taking Advantage of Time--
----------------------------
Having the answers to questions like:
* How long does it take to build an allied ore refinery?
* How long does it take a war miner to harvest $1000 worth?
* How long does it take to train a spy?
* How long does it take for my night hawk chopper to get to my enemy?
can give the commander an edge over his/her opponent.
The answers to all questions like these can be found from the
methods and information detailed in this study.
Special
-------
American Paratroopers ------- 240
British Snipers ($600) ------ 24
Cuban Terrorists ($200) ----- 8
French Grand Cannons ($2000) 80
German Tank Destroyers ($900) 36
Iraqi Desolators ($600) ----- 24
Korean Black Eagles ($1200) - 48
Libyan Demo Trucks ($1500) -- 60
Russian Tesla Tanks ($1200) - 48
---
Note: The build-time of a unit decreases by 25% for every additional
building constructing that unit. The same applies for structures when
you have multiple construction yards.
Interesting Note: The build-time of any unit or structure is
proportional to its cost by a factor of 25. That means you can find
the build-time by dividing the cost by 25. So to find the build time
for an Ore Refinery we can divide its cost ($2000) by 25 and the
result is 80 seconds. This works for every other unit and structure.
Just divide its cost by 25 and you have its build-time.
Important Note: The times listed above are measured in game seconds,
not real seconds. To understand the difference please read the next
section.
-------------------------------------
--The Nature of Time in Red Alert 2-- (Optional)
-------------------------------------
The game speed option in RA2 allows us to change how fast things
build and how fast the game runs. When you change the game speed you
are altering the "speed of time" in the game. If you put the game
speed on fastest (value of 6) everything happens in fast forward like
time were sped up. While if you put the game speed on slowest (value
of 0) everything happens in slow motion as if time were slowed down.
However if you put the game speed somewhere in between, things will
move around more normally. So how fast time goes by depends on the
chosen game speed.
Another way to see how time in RA2 can speed up and slow down is by
watching a superweapon countdown which appears on the lower right of
the battle viewport. We can see from watching the countdown that time
speeds up and slows down as we increase or decrease the game speed
setting. If you compare your watch with the countdown you will notice
that they are usually not synchronised (they will not be ticking at
the same speed). The important thing to realise here is that your
watch indicates real seconds while the countdown in RA2 indicates
game seconds. Both are generally different in length.
-----------------------------------
--Some useful Discoveries on Time--
-----------------------------------
The superweapon countdown is like an in-game timer which we can use
to time events in RA2. Through using this timer I have come up with
some useful discoveries which might be helpful.
1. It takes about 100 seconds on average for harvesters to mine $1000
worth of credits from yellow ore and about 50 seconds on average for
harvesters to mine $1000 worth of credits from multicoloured ore.
(We assume at least one refinery built directly adjacent the ore)
2. It takes one minute (60 seconds) for an oil derrick (tech building)
to produce $200 worth of credits.
3. Money is spent at the rate of 25 credits/sec on every unit or
structure being built at any one time. That rate increases by 25% for
every additional structure building the same thing.
4. To spend out of one category continuously throughout battle (eg. on
tanks) without falling into economic recession you need 3 harvesters
mining yellow ore or 2 harvesters mining multicoloured ore. When there
is one extra structure building out of that category you need 4
harvesters mining yellow ore or 2 harvesters mining multicoloured ore.
5. It takes 3 oil derricks to produce the same amount of credits as
one harvester does mining yellow ore and 6 oil derricks to produce the
same amount of credits as one harvester does mining multicoloured ore.
6. The cost ratio between any two units or structures tells us how
many we can buy of each for the same price.
Examples:
a) tesla tank : rhino tank = $1200 : $900 = 4 : 3
So we can build 3 tesla tanks for the price of 4 rhino tanks.
b) grizzly tank : mirage tank = $700 : $1000 = 7 : 10
So we can build 7 mirage tanks for the price of 10 grizzly tanks.
c) conscript : apocalypse tank = $100 : $1750 = 2 : 35
So we can build 35 conscripts for the price of 2 apocalypse tanks.
===
--CLOSING PARAGRAPH AND LEGAL STUFF--
I'm a stratagist and my email is geoffhys@optusnet.com.au. I welcome
all non-offensive e-mails. If you found a mistake, or I missed
something, or you wish to offer comments, or wish for me to elaborate
on something, e-mail me. I'm open to conversation about stuff in
general but my interests lie in games, movies, programming,
mathematics and physics. My favourite games at the moment are RA2 (of
course) and ThiefI/GOLD/II. My favourite movies are The Terminator,
Predator and Taxi Driver.
This document is copyright 2001 for Jason Heyes. If you plan to use
it in part or as a whole other FAQ, you need my permission first and
you must give me credit. However, if you want to post it on a website
or e-mail it to someone, you may do so without my permission. I would
appreciate it if you drop me an e-mail telling me where you're posting
it or who you're giving it to, but you don't have to.
Dieses kleine Tool kann die Videos aus dem Spiel zu Dateien auf der Festplatte extrahieren, man kann sie sich also alle anschauen und z.B. ins .avi Format umwandeln. (Benötigt wird dazu der Bink-Player unter www.radgametools.com)
