A Few Newbie Qs
tracktwo
Join Date: 2003-05-01 Member: 15978Members
Join Date: 2003-05-01 Member: 15978Members
Hi everyone. I've only been playing NS for a few days now, and I'm having a little trouble finding out a few things. Sorry if these questions have been asked before, but I didn't see them posted on the forum or in the manual.
I generally play marines, since that's what seems to be recommended to new players. I also try to follow the advice I've seen around here which is basically to just follow orders. But, one thing that I haven't found much about is the 'implicit' orders. Basically, I don't know what I should be doing when I'm not doing anything else. Normally when a game starts, I just sit around and guard the base unless I'm given something specific to do. But, if the comm drops down some stuff in the base, should I go start building it without an order to do so, or keep watching the doors? I also notice that often at the start of a game a group of marines immediately take off outside the base (to set up some res, i presume). Should I sit at the base and guard, or tag along with them?
Another thing I had heard mentioned somewhere is to not attack enemy structures unless ordered to do so. I don't know if that means I should never attack them without an order, or if it just means I shouldn't take random potshots at structures while I'm en route to somewhere else, which basically just tells the aliens precisely where I am. A few times I've been ordered to a waypoint near a res nozzle to find an alien res dealy there and maybe a few OCs. I have never played comm, so I don't really know if the comm even knew those things were there when they sent me. Do I sit there and wait for further orders? Tell the comm there are enemy structures there? Just start taking out the OCs and then knife the res tower? Take out the res tower first from a distance, then worry about the OCs?
Finally I'd like to say thanks. I've read a few posts of people having horrible experiences logging on to servers as a newbie and just getting flamed or immediately kicked. Maybe I was just lucky, but I've only found servers with people willing to help out. The only problem is there usually isn't enough time in the middle of a game to ask questions, so I decided to ask here instead.
I generally play marines, since that's what seems to be recommended to new players. I also try to follow the advice I've seen around here which is basically to just follow orders. But, one thing that I haven't found much about is the 'implicit' orders. Basically, I don't know what I should be doing when I'm not doing anything else. Normally when a game starts, I just sit around and guard the base unless I'm given something specific to do. But, if the comm drops down some stuff in the base, should I go start building it without an order to do so, or keep watching the doors? I also notice that often at the start of a game a group of marines immediately take off outside the base (to set up some res, i presume). Should I sit at the base and guard, or tag along with them?
Another thing I had heard mentioned somewhere is to not attack enemy structures unless ordered to do so. I don't know if that means I should never attack them without an order, or if it just means I shouldn't take random potshots at structures while I'm en route to somewhere else, which basically just tells the aliens precisely where I am. A few times I've been ordered to a waypoint near a res nozzle to find an alien res dealy there and maybe a few OCs. I have never played comm, so I don't really know if the comm even knew those things were there when they sent me. Do I sit there and wait for further orders? Tell the comm there are enemy structures there? Just start taking out the OCs and then knife the res tower? Take out the res tower first from a distance, then worry about the OCs?
Finally I'd like to say thanks. I've read a few posts of people having horrible experiences logging on to servers as a newbie and just getting flamed or immediately kicked. Maybe I was just lucky, but I've only found servers with people willing to help out. The only problem is there usually isn't enough time in the middle of a game to ask questions, so I decided to ask here instead.
Comments
1.
If there are people in base tell them to guard you and build, or you guard and they build.
If your team is making a major attack on a hive or taking an advance position then probably the alien team will concentrate their forces there for a few minutes so youll proly have time to build.
If youre alone in base and most of your team just got slaughtered somewhere then expect company fast.
Dont build something when youre alone in base and you hear aliens near you.
2.
Someone always has to guard the base, so if everyone else left then you should stay.
If you see your teammates saying you're gonna relocate at the start of the game then tagg along with the others.
3.
If comm tells you to go somewhere then the best thing is to get there unnoticed. If you shoot something along the way the alients will come track you down. If you're getting shot at by o towers along the way, keep going, dont stop, keep quiet, hide if any aliens come your way. Getting "behind alien lines" can give your team lots of opportunities to win, either by a team phase rush or sieging of a hive. If you're going somewhere with more team members who make alot of noise and such then distroy everything to your waypoint as its not very hard for any of the aliens to not notice a marine group and tell the others(so at least if you die, you still did some damages).
4.
When attacking something, always attack anything that is attacking you
K, have fun
its nice to see a competent newbie, really it is.
k, let see, some guys run off immediately? if the commander said "relocate" that means youa re going to put your initial base somewhere else, and you SHOULD follow the others,
if the commander didnt say to relocate then those guys are being dumb and you should stick around base to build or defend. at least one palyer should be defending by watching the doors at all times. if one or two are already defending, then you should take it upon yourself to build the IP and armory, and whatever else the comm wants. if youre alone in the base then you will ahve to build and keep one eye on the doorway, its a lot more difficult.
about RT's, if you are going to a waypoint and happen to pass an alien one, keep going and ask your commander if you should attack it. aliens get an immediate warning if anything of theirs gets attacked, so if you were on a covert secret mission to a strategic point you really dont want to mess with the RT. if a skulk sees you and you ahve to fire on him they will knwo anyway, so keeping quiet doesnt matter as much , as youve already been found. then the question is "am i in too much of a hurry to knife that RT" more often than not the commander needs you somewhere specific quickly, so you can ignore the RT. when you run out of things to do, be sure to remind the commander of the alien RT, dont let them get more cash then they have to, you kno?
if it has OC's the commander probably wants yout o ignore them too, dodge the whole area. if he wants it cleared he will say so, in which case start with the OC's. an RT takes too many bullets unless you are fully upgraded, so youll want to knife it safely by clearing the OC's first.
if the commander is watching over you then he can see any structures and aliens that you can see, if no marine is nearby then he cannot see if there are alien structures, or if he is watching some one of your teammates then he wotn know of the chambers either. its best to tell him, as he isnt likely watching over you (unless of course you see a medkit fall from the sky;))
um... what else.... to be an efficient killing marine you need to kno the habits of skulks, to learn how to kill skulks you have to be one. also, the opposite is true, to be a good skulk you should know what a typical marine is doing where and when. its very important to kno which dark corners to hide in or where the marine expects you so you wont be there. so after a few more hours id suggest going alien, and keep in mind the things that best killed you as a marine so you can practice them. (probably things like hiding on the cieling and pouncing on a marine's unsuspecting backside).
lastly, dont be a Gorge for a while. its the builder alien and he is equivalent to commander, so a new gorge can ruin a game, although the autohelp text says "wow you can evolve, try being a gorge right now!" when you know how to marine well you can try to command and vice versa.
Unless a relocate is called you should stick in base especially if you dont know the map very well and noone else is there. A good comm will specify how many people he wants to stay though.
Usually you dont want to attack structures while on your way especially if headed to a hive. If you can do your job (set up phase, tf, etc) without the structures affecting you than dont bother them. Usually the more experienced rambo players or if you are going in a group to pressure a hive is when you want to attack any and all structures along the way (res, d chambers, o's only if they affect what you are trying to do).
btw same thing goes for attacking structures as building, one person knifes one person guards
Or if the com isn't very good, it might be better to now follow his orders. I have seen few coms, who gives some stuff to marines and then orders them to attack to a hive which is well defended, when there might be another hive, which doesn't have that much defence and would be a better place to attack.
But good / decent com is pretty easy to regonize. Usually they start to give orders in the beginning of the game, they give med pack's to their marines, before they start to ask them, they talk to their team all the time and tell's what they are going to do next, what kind of a upgrades they are upgrading, etc...
Amen...
Depends. If there is nobody else watching the doors, watch the doors. If there are turrets, you'll get a heads-up about alien attackers when they go off. The only real reason to watch the doors is so that someone doesn't chew your backside off while you're building. Basically, try and get whatever-it-is built, but you can't do any building if you're dead.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I also notice that often at the start of a game a group of marines immediately take off outside the base (to set up some res, i presume). Should I sit at the base and guard, or tag along with them?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
They're ramboing. That means acting without orders. It's either a good thing (the marines know what they're doing and are going to really good spots) or a bad thing (the marines are just looking for aliens to kill). Neither of which should be you - don't go off by yourself to try kill stuff, and you don't yet know really good spots <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->. So basically yes, stay in base.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Another thing I had heard mentioned somewhere is to not attack enemy structures unless ordered to do so. I don't know if that means I should never attack them without an order, or if it just means I shouldn't take random potshots at structures while I'm en route to somewhere else, which basically just tells the aliens precisely where I am. A few times I've been ordered to a waypoint near a res nozzle to find an alien res dealy there and maybe a few OCs. I have never played comm, so I don't really know if the comm even knew those things were there when they sent me. Do I sit there and wait for further orders? Tell the comm there are enemy structures there? Just start taking out the OCs and then knife the res tower? Take out the res tower first from a distance, then worry about the OCs?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The business about not attacking structurs without orders refers to the fact that whenever any alien thing is attacked, all the aliens know about it. Therefore, only attack what you intend to destroy. If you're on the way somewhere, don't fire on any chambers.
If you've been given a waypoint to go somewhere that turns out to be guarded by OCs, tell the commander about them and pull back. He can see chambers which you can see, but he can't be everywhere at once so alert him to the fact that there are chambers there. If it's very obvious that the commander knows the chambers are there (ie, it's a hive location or the chambers have been there causing trouble practically all game) then it's a fair bet you're supposed to destroy them. When in doubt, ask.
Something very important to pay attention to is the chat and voicecom. Recognise your commander's name so that you know when who-ever-it-is over voicecom is giving orders. Instructions aren't always in waypoint form - something like "guys, go out and get res" means go find res nozzles and report when you get there (typically with the "I need orders" thingy). "relocating to (insert-hive-here)" means just that - pack up, move out, and establish a new base somewhere else.
It's nice to see newbies who are prepared to learn <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The only problem I see with this is "good" is far too subjective. What one person sees as "good" another sees as lame. Even if the comm is new, you can't go wrong following his orders; you might lose but then it's the comm's fault. Even if you think it's a bad idea to attack that heavily defended hive, the com might have one marine building a siege in a vent somewhere and needs a distraction.
-edit-
BTW it's great to see someone asking intelligent questions AND no one flaming him. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Playing Alien is not that harder than playing Marine... only having new or CS players (I don't mean <i>converts</i> <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->) makes the game boring for the alien team. Balanced games are always funnier.
It's frustrating to die for the Nth time when you start skulking , though. (try playing First - Person Sneakers such as Thief , Hitman or Splinter Cell to enhance your skulking skills)
All you have to remember to not get flammed , is to not evolve to Gorge before 2nd hive is up (people are less likely to call you a noob gorge if you have a builder mate , and you can learn from him) and ask the gorge if you can evolve to Lerk at 1 hive (gorge might want to build Offence Chambers walls to secure the place)
Also , try not to die when you're from a "dying breed" (Fade when there's one hive remaining , Onos when 3rd hive has been destroyed)
As stated before , the comm usually is no smarter than you. The only important thing to keep in mind is the team's "tactical awareness" , the comm detects things with the obs ping. If he finds a breach in the alien defense he'll give you a waypoint to the alien hive to siege or phase it : even if running straight to the hive seems pretty foolish , it may be a major opportunity to break the alien progress.
On the other hand , it's likely he won't know that 3 newly created offence chambers are in the way to the hive. You can then either ask for ammo to take them down (risky) or take a different path , then ask him to drop you the needed destructive hardware.
If a comm neglects his team , doesn't assign waypoints , remains silent or plays too defensively , feel free to eject him.
If players start flamming you for no valid reason , don't hesitate flamming them back <!--emo&::skulk::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/skulk.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='skulk.gif'><!--endemo-->
The aliens see anything that is attacked, be it skulk, onos, OC, or hive, through their hivesight, a network of circles placed over their playerview. This means that the INSTANT you harm any alien rescource, player or otherwise, the entire enemy team gets an alert to what is being attacked, and thusly knows exactly where you are. If you do not attack anything, and are not parasited, you are invisible to the hivesight network and thusly you can go around your business without the alien team knowing.
What does this mean? If you want to be stealthy, do not shoot anything. I mean anything. If you must kill a skulk, do it fast enough so that the enemy team doesn't have time to tell where his blip was before you off him and the blip vanishes. If you want to build stuff near an alien hive, or IN an alien hive, don't shoot enemy buildings, it will call attention to your position and the suprise is ruined. However, if the aliens know you are there, or if you are activly attacking a location, fire at will.
In general, however, wasting LMG bullets on RTs and Hives is pointless, they have too much HP. Use your knife for the former, and several teammates firing in unison or an HMG for the latter.
-Over and out
p.s The highest rule in all online gaming is treat others well and have fun
<!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'><!--endemo-->
In my opinion, flaming someone back will only succeed in making the situation worse. Generally, if someone starts flaming me, I will simply ignore them.
Then, if you want to knife an alien res tower, or build a structure in risky place, one person knifes/builds while the other covers. You can use the 'Covering' saying in the menu to let the other person know (The marine will say something like "I'm covering ya"). Instead of a skulk coming and eating the single marine, the covering marine can start firing (alerting the other marine, to stop and get weapon out).
yeah... And then hope the second marine aint a n00b and that he'll cover you...