Supreme Commander Talk

Well, now that I’ve gotten the two lame maps out of the way its time to move on to the rest of the 1v1 ranked lineup which is, for the most part, awesome.  In addition to the classics like Finn’s Revenge and Open Palms, there are also some new maps.  Two of those are truly strange in their layout, and one of those is the subject of today’s review: Dark Heart.  I’ll try to stick to the vague formula that I’ve been following with the other reviews: talk about the map’s graphic feel, crtitique its gameplay, offer some hints and tips on strategies to use, and lastly summarize my overall thoughts on the map.  So lets begin!

Dark Heart is a 6 player 10×10 map in a 2v2v2 configuration.  There are a total of 55 mass points, for an average of 27.5 mass points per player in a ranked game.

Graphically, despite the name “Dark Heart”, the map itself is quite bright and beautiful.  It features sandy beaches, green, forested islands, gray cliffs, and jagged mountains in the corners.  There are some Seraphim ruins on the center island.  The three starting islands are arrayed on the three faces of the central island.  Each starting island has what I call a “sand bar”, a strip of land with 2 mass points behind it.  Lastly there are three peninsulas jutting in from the edges with 3 mass points each and a few more Cybran ruins.  This makes for a total of ten separate landmasses, with about half the map covered by water and half by land.

The gameplay is quite fascinating.  T1 spam is simply not possible given the water canals.  Aeon and Seraphim can use their T1 hover units to some effect, and of course Cybran have their Jesters, so all three of these factions should definitely take advantage of these.  Games on this map will almost certainly be decided late into T2, and possibly even T3.  The most important factor by far in winning this map is understanding the mass situation.  Basically, the map is absolutley loaded with mass.  Not only are there tons of mass points for the claiming, even more importantly there are exactly 12 Cybran destroyer wrecks evenly distributed.  These are absolutely critical, I still see players largely ignoring these and there is just no excuse.   Each of these wrecks are worth a little over 2,000 mass, which is enormous in the early game.  Along with the other wreckage, the forests, and the bountiful mass points, the key to economy on this map comes down to energy.  Without energy, all that mass is largely useless.  A smart player will invest a lot of that mass into mex upgrades, but without energy trying to upgrade multiple mexes will slow your economy to a crawl.  Thus energy becomes the single most critical factor on this map to determining who is going to pull ahead.  Obviously map control is key as well, which means moving out and grabbing mass points and wreckage on the central and 3rd starting islands, as well as the sand bars and the peninsulas.

I will suggest a build order that is a bit different from other maps but I have found it to be brutally effective.  Have your commander build a land factory (or air factory if you prefer) as usual, then queue up something like 30-40 power gens.  Using your land factory, queue up a ton of engineers.  Send your first engineer to the nearest destroyer wreck and start reclaiming.  Your second engineer can build the mexes at your starting point, and from there you can start to reach out and claim the rest of the map.  Your commander may eventually need some help building the power gens to keep up, as you will want to start upgrading your mexes very quickly using the enormous mass income you should have early on this map.  Once you have got this patter going, you can decide if you are going to focus on amphibious land, naval, air, or some mix for the actual win.  If your enemy attacks you early you will have to respond, but keep in mind the importance of grabbing all that mass and building up your energy, as both are necessary to give you an edge.

Once you have established your main base, you definitely want to fight for the middle island.  It has 10 mass points, which are nice, but it also has fantastic strategic position.  From that island your T2 missile launchers and T2 artillery can devastate your enemy base, while at the same time protecting your own.  It is also easier to dominate the 3rd starting island if you control the center island.  Your AA on the center island can pester enemy aircraft and limit your enemy’s ability to patrol his home island with interceptors.  The peripheral land masses are nice, particularly the destroyer wrecks on the peninsula’s, but dominating the center island will yeild by far the most benefits in the long run.

The main danger is T2 amphibious or hover tank attacks.  The lack of easy T1 rushing means players can grow complacent on their home islands.  It is absolutely vital to build up an intel grid protecting your home island, using both sonar (especially against Cybra) and radar.  a dozen T2 Wagner’s or Riptides showing up on the shore of your home base without you knowing can easily cost you the game.  T1 frigates can be a nuisance but the many cliffs greatly reduce their effectiveness.  Nonetheless, they are an excellent choice to harass early on.  If you are up against a Cybran player, watch for Jesters and get those interceptors out quick.  Its much cheaper to vector in fighters to shoot down his Jesters than it is to try to maneuver T1 mobile AA into position or try to build T1 static AA everywhere.  If you are Cybran, take out those roving engineers wiht Jesters ASAP!  Denying or delaying your enemy’s access to those destroyer wrecks and mass points can tip the game in your favor.

I know I say this alot, but once again air transport can be vital.  There isn’t nearly as much space as on the 20×20 maps to sneak a drop in, but due to the nature of the map your opponent is also much less likely to build many point defenses or have a lot of land units sitting around.  Use drops to destroy enemy expansion bases or raid his home island.  Do not let your opponent dig in anywhere except his home base, and you can box him in and destroy him at your own leisure.  Of course the defense against this is radar, a good belt of static AA, and a reserve of mobile units or point defense at your home base to prevent your enemy from pulling off this surprise on you.

Provided you have focused on energy and map control and have taken the center island, the game should be a breeze.  If you lose the center island, try to at least deny its use by your enemy using air and artillery, and continually try to expand to the other landmasses around you.  Over time energy will cease to be a factor and it will come down to mass, which is dependent on mass control and upgrading mexes, so investing wisely early on will ensure that you have the lead to ground your opponent down in a battle of attrition.

Well I think thats enough rambling about this map.  Water maps tend to bring out the factional differences more than land maps, so definitely work out a strategy specific to your faction.  But whatever you do, plan for Dark Heart so that when you draw this map you have a ready-made plan and are aware of the strategic value of the central island and the destroyer wrecks.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 27th, 2007 at 7:44 pm by Engineer and is filed under Maps. Keywords: . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.