Intel-War with zk-units

Intel war is an example with limited units how to play with static defense and units together!
- It shows you how you can make cost with defense.
- If you otherwise get annoyed by fleas when you have already 1/2 the map and can't divide attention.

The goal is:
- Expand and mex.
- Defend mexes
- Reclaim
- Get Death-Shield-Ball once you have the resources.
- Create an easy FFA sub-game.

Desired strategies:
- Fire-Bases cost 130 metal (mex+radar) + additionally what you want in def.
- You don't attack the enemy directly after the start (maybe spawn Stinger spam for free at the start locations...), you attack fire-bases with the right unit-combination to be able to reclaim
- If you can't beat an enemy, it is not usefull to let his only option be to attack you, so don't expand over your quarter (except maybe into the center) and continue reclaim+retreat.
- But you can still leave a mex in the enemy area if you think it is good.

Why I chose shield bots:
- No uber-cheap unit which costs less than 1/2 a con and can kill this con, support line.
- No stealthy units which can cloak and attack (flea, scythe) AND are cheaper than cons
- No real damage on arty, and it is a huge investment compared to other things (highest ranged real damage is on rogue)
- Sneaky Pete or Aegis + Roaches require attention, but beat everything which 1-2 Bandits or a outlaw can't beat per cost - except Rakeeter+Felon.
- Rakeeter+Felon are T2/T3 and change the gameplay where you have to start reacting against incoming forces in a more sensitive way and not fight with the support of statics or a static cloaker (Eraser is not allowed) for Roaches.
- Really fast unit which does only work as a defender because Roach (speed:4) dies to LLTs/MTs
- Really slow units (outlaw is 1.5) which beat only the second fastest unit (Bandit:3).

Units which are allowed (and a small overview over those I use here to give an example):
- dirtbag 20m|2.5speed
- radar 55m
- mex 75m
- Bandit 80m|3
- LLT 90m
- Rogue 120m|1.95
- Convict 140m|2
- Roach 160m|4
- Thug 180m|1.95
- Stardust 220m + Terra-form-spike about 80m = 300m total
- Outlaw 250m|1.5
- Every other unit from shield factory
- Athena (only shield bot units, statics and rector)
- Rector
- Every static defense including the not explained ones, but only close to mexes (the mex is at 1/2 their fire range) or at your base field, so that you can't make a porc-line.
- I don't think defender is more usefull than LLT for cost...

7x7-table map with this Metal-output on the spots in a field-center:
0 | a b c d e f g
--|----------------

---

1 | 1 2 1 [color=grey]0[/color] 1 2 1
2 | 2 4 2 1 2 4 2
3 | 1 2 1 2 1 2 1
4 | [color=grey]0[/color] 1 2 4 2 1 [color=grey]0[/color]
5 | 1 2 1 2 1 2 1
6 | 2 4 2 1 2 4 2
7 | 1 2 1 [color=grey]0[/color] 1 2 1

And if you want to send labels ( LBLs ) to a player-base :P
- player0@b2.map
- player1@f6.map
- player2@f2.map
- player3@b6.map
(The red fields with extraction=4 are start locations)

Each field has in the middle:
- T0.0 75m : mex: gives you +(1-4)m/s
- T0.5 130m : T0+ radar to see inc oming enemies.
Upgrade the field centers to Fire-Bases:
- T1.0 220m : T0.5+ LLT (90m): protects radar and mex
- T1.5 360m : T1.0+ Convict to shield/repair the llt
Only at the very front if you have a good backup with Bandits, Roaches:
- T2.0 430m : T1.5+ Terra+Stardust -LLT -Convict
- T2.4 570m : T2.0+ Either Convict to shield radar and mex OR Rector to jam everything, rebuild, reclaim, etc.
- T2.7 710m : T2.0+ Both cons
[color=grey]Only if the enemy is stupid AND everything lower made 2x cost AND you can't kill the enemy or expand otherwhere AND you need it AND it is a boring game, ...:
- T3.0 1630m : Add a sneaky pete to use cloaked Roaches (only enable it when the enemy uses something that is useful vs visible roaches!).
- T3.5 1110m : Add a shield to tank some initial damage and to use Roaches under your shield more free vs units at the edge and block 1 nuke/napalm from silo.
- T4.0 : Moar Stardusts against raiders (roaches vs stuff Stardusts can't kill
- T4.5 : Moar 2 Shields to build a triangle where every shield protects the other 2 as good as possible.
- T5 : Meet the lol[/color]

[INFO]How does a T1.5 base looks like?:
- the radar is built as close as possible to the mex.
- the LLT can overshoot both if it is built on the radar corner and mex-edge.
- Convict stays on the mex-edge between radar and LLT.

[INFO]Abuse Radar-Bug!:
- "Radars can't look behind hills" is only partially true.
- When you build a radar and Terra-form the hill after the built, it can watch behind it.
- So it might be worthwhile to kill the radar of a T2-Fire-Base at some costs to create either a blind spot or the need for a second radar.
- I don't know if it keeps this old expired los-map if it got stunned, given, etc.
- Issue: http://code.google.com/p/zero-k/issues/detail?id=1493

How to beat Fire-Bases with no losses - don't work vs higher tiers at all:
- T0 80m : 1 Bandit
- T1 180m : Dirtbag + Bandit (only at 2.5 speed, because of dirt)
- T1 240m : 3 Bandits (retreat at 66% with a widget - I tested it).
- -- Slower movement solutions:
- T1+ 120m+ : 1+ Rogues (leaves too big wreck vs T0)
- T1.5 250m : Outlaw
- T1.5 340m : Thug + 2 Bandits (crtl-move for formation to get not even damage)
- T1.5 390m : Convict + Outlaw (can avoid some -not all- damage and repair/reclaim afterwards)
- T1.5 440m : 2 Convict + 2 Bandits (very fast reclaim/rebuild afterwards)
Special (extra):
- 620m+160mx : Felon can kill Roaches, but always have Roaches by your own vs enemy Rogues and Thuds.

How to counter enemy-Attack-Forces@your-Fire-Base.battlefield so that it is you who take no losses and can reclaim?:
- T0.0 + T0.5 80m : no, upgrade to T1-firebases and/or raid the enemy!
- T1.0
- - 40m speed:2.5 : 2 dirtboxes which somehow screens your LLT (not tested)
- - 80m speed:3 : send a single Bandit to support your LLT - you need to watch out for radar dots and where they go!
- T1.0+
- - 160m speed:4 : Roach (very fast!)
- - - Hide it next to your LLT to save it from a single bandit
- - - if you can kill 2 Bandits, you get 32m reclaim - you always make cost.
- - +80mx : use Bandits to kill scouting dirtboxes

[not tested] If an outlaw is screened by Bandits (which engage roaches 1by1) or the enemy already got a Felon, you can try to use 6-10 or 15-20 dirtboxes to either trap the outlaw or Felon (if he has no cons to reclaim that hill).

Rogues are slower than dirtboxes. and almost as slow as outlaw/Aspis where it is almost the only mobile counter against.

Rogues make it really unfun!
But if you have a Stinger, either the stinger blocks your Stardust or your stardust blocks your Stinger.
DDM needs energy to run.

If you want real T3 fire bases, you need something that is Stardust+Stinger+requireNot2Fusions (in other words anti-everything except Rakeeter)

This is an in depth list of mechanics for a concept or idea that was never introduced or explained. As such it is useless.