From: stripes@pix.com (Josh Osborne)
Subject: Re: What is the strategy behind standard?
Organization: Pix Technologies -- The company with no adult supervision
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 00:36:40 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.201531.10619@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov> richard@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov (Richard Weidner) writes:
>I am a bit non-plussed playing the standard game.
>Obviously the drones can do a lot that you can not do.
>(eg. turn, aim, fire simultaneously to different locations)

Then again you can leearn to aim correctly, while the drones do not.

>I can sort of see the reason to go 1 on many but since they
>fight each other you can lose the game without even moving
>or seeing anything. Why that strategy? Also, it seems a 
>bit un-fair to allow them to shoot at one location and turn
>and move to another simultaneously. There is no way you could
>do that without two mice and four hands. Also

Co-pilot (not, it isn't implmented), helper program, or get real good
(revers helps, as does quick mouse movement - your ROF is fairly low, so
you can fire, move mouse, change dirrection, move mouse, fire again without
losing a shot).

>it is impossible to perform their fire patterns. Even  holding
>the key down continually will not give that fire density. What is the 
>idea behind that game?

If you are in the same vechile you should be able to get the same ROF.
I haven't got the faintest idea why that's the set-up for the standard game.
I have a set of customised settings I use.

>Also, why are there so many wimpy vehicles? It seems like half
>of the vehicles can be destroyed by the standard vanguard drones
>before you could even do anything. For instance the 
>mine layers are pretty useless as well as the one machine
>gun vehicles. I am guessing they
>are for a different game but why are there so few vehicles of

The duel-* vechiles are good for fights agenst other duel-* vechiles,
basicly one shot kill's 'em.  Makes for high-tension short to medium length
games.  Some of the vechiles are for races.  Some are worthless and should
be removed.  Some are for Ultimate.  Some are *great* for combat, but *only*
if you are alot better then the people you fight, for example Timebandit
has a moderate amount of firepower and is quich enough that it can avoid
taking much damage (and it can't take much), it can kill vechiles that cost
2 or 3 times it's price, so it can get 2000 or 3000 points for them, while
they get 500 or less when they nail it.

>use in the standard solitaire game? Do most people create their
>own vehicles so they don't need the 20 or so supplied ones?

20?  20!  I wish.  There are more like 150+, look in the Vechiles directory.
You are normally best off sampling a wide group, then making your own.  Make
at least 10 before you settle in on one design.

>Actually I am guessing that not many people play the standard game.
>The customized game with your own vehicles seems to be the 
>better game. You can at least put the drones in different 
>teams to keep them from ending the game before you even find them.

I have been meaning to build up a *small* set of Setups to distribute
with the game, if anyone has any reqal good ones, please post them.
-- 
           stripes@pix.com              "Security for Unix is like
      Josh_Osborne@Real_World,The          Multitasking for MS-DOS"
      "The dyslexic porgramer"                  - Kevin Lockwood
We all agree on the necessity of compromise.  We just can't agree on
when it's necessary to compromise.       - Larry Wall
Newsgroups: rec.games.xtank.play