Mail Me your favorite strategy, and I might put it up here (you'd get all the credit, of course.) :)
Okay, I'm not going to lie to you, here...I am not a Warcraft II god. I'm not even close. I can't tell you how to win 99% of the games you play, or the best way to combat an attack of mages paired with gryphons and knights, etc., etc.
What I can do for you is help you get over the bumps of your first few multi player games...I know
that when I first started using Kali, I was overwhelmed at once by people who were on 24 hours a day...
I would have given anything for a little advice to get me started. And so, here I am, trying to do just that.
Any comments would be welcome here; as I said, I am by no means an expert. Just mail me with anything you have to say.
Table of Contents
I. Kali...what, where, and how?
II. OK, so how do I play???
III. Terms you'll hear
IV. Ways that people are going to kick your ass.
Kali is a great program that fools your computer into thinking that the
Internet is a really big IPX network. This lets you play many games which support IPX
networks, such as Doom, Duke Nukem 3d, Descent, Descent II, Virtual Pool, and of course, Warcraft II.
Many other games are also supported. A demo version of Kali can be downloaded at Axxis Software's website. This demo gives you everything
included with the full version, except that it limits you to 15 minutes of play. Give it a try and you'll
definitely want to pay the $20.00 registration fee. This is also recommended if you plan to play
Warcraft II at all, since a typical game lasts longer than 15 minutes :).
(Note: I don't have Win95, and so I don't know the requirements for Kali 95. the information here is for the original MS-DOS version of Kali, not Kali95)...
Anyways, here is what Kali needs: A true SLIP/PPP connection that can be contacted from a
DOS dialer (In other words, most ISP accounts. AOL will not work with Kali.)
You need a 14.4 modem at the very least; anything else would slow the game down
unbearably. A 28.8 is highly recommended, as it speeds gameplay up tremendously. Many games
are also restricted to those with 28.8 connections by people who want a smooth game.
If you want to play Warcraft II, you'll need two things, both which can be downloaded from Blizzard Software. The first is the upgrade patch to v.1.2. This
speeds up network play a hundredfold. Secondly, you need war2kali.exe. This makes Warcraft II more
compatible with the Kali drivers. Just type in "war2kali" instead of "war2" at the DOS prompt.
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Once you have all the software you need, you're ready to connect.
Just set up Kali according to the documentation included in the online information, and dial up your ISP.
Now, here's something I accepted only after weeks of denial: KCHAT is worthless!
It's all too easy to sit in the #chat channel repeating again and again, "Anyone for a game of War2?"
and waiting to get two or three responses. You could wait for quite a few minutes, and some of the
people might just get tired of waiting.
In reality, it's much easier to use the chat interface already built into Warcraft II. First, connect
to a Kali server ("Kali @server"). Once your connection is established, run war2kali from your
war2 directory. Then, just join a multi player game, and ask if it's open. If it is, then you're set to go.No waiting, people just jump into a game and hit the start button.
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Surprisingly, Warcraft II doesn't have that many special terms, but there are a couple that could
confuse you:
ogre rules - Ogre Rules (or the Ogre Rule) is a rule which prevents you from attacking another
player until you have the capablility of making Ogres (if you're an orc) or knights (their human
equivalents.)
FFA - FFA stands for Free For All. You'll usually hear this in chat rooms or when a team member has
been dropped. FFA means, basically, that no teams are allowed and that survival of the fittest is the name
of the game.
first contact - In a first contact game, teams aren't decided in the chat room. Instead, the first person
you encounter who is not already on a team is your teammate. This introduces an element of randomization
into the team-making process.
That's really about all I can think of right now...
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Now, it's true that some people are naturally great at Warcraft II the first time they play on Kali.
These are the same people who are star quarterbacks, point guards, pitchers, and back-strokers in the
same day. If you do have the gift, then good for you. For the rest of us, the
first few multi-player games are going to be serious massacres going the wrong way. Hopefully, some
of this information can minimize this frustrating period in the life of a new Kali addict...
The Grunt Rush
The Odd Man Out
The Grunt Rush
The most common tactic I see used effectively is the Grunt Rush. The Grunt Rush
is very simple to understand and explain, and surprisingly hard to combat (especially for a beginner.)
Quite simply, the grunt rusher builds only the bare minimum necessary to produce grunts (or footmen.)
I believe this is a Town Hall, many farms, and a barracks. That's it. They then proceed to bring
a ton of gold in and rapidly produce a zillion grunts/footmen. They go on to sweep through your
building forces like a blitzkrieg. All your elaborate plans are ruined! Your allies can't help you...they're
being grunt-rushed! :)
To be sure, the grunt-rush is a move of brute strength and no finesse, and it has been argued (by me on many occasions) that it defeats the purpose of the game. In fact, the Ogre Rule is often used to prevent a grunt rush. However, I believe that some great man once said "Go with what works." And, on many occasions, the grunt rush works very well.
Defeating the Grunt Rush
The only surefire way to defeat a grunt rush is to declare the Ogre Rule
and have everyone agree to it.
However, this does not always sit well with your fellow players, so strategies must be formulated.
I am not, as I said before, a Warcraft II god, and my strategies are surely not the best. They are simply
the best I've thought of so far...so with that said, here you go (good luck...)
1. Grunt Rush them first!
I don't like grunt rushing, but dammit, get them before they get you! Most grunt rushers will
build two barracks, but there's a chance that they won't build the second early in the game. If you're
playing on a big map, and can spare the gold, build a second barracks. You'll make back the
lost time by producing twice as many grunts/footmen. When you think you're ready, just charge on in.
However, you have know way of knowing the strength of your enemy...this is why Grunt Rushing is
always a sort of Russian Roulette.
2. Build a line of archers behind a line of footmen to defend your town.
I don't use archers much, myself, but a friend of mine finds them to be really effective.
If you have five or six archers firing at a single target simultaneously, then it could kill many
grunts before they reach your footmen, who could finish the job.
3. Cannon towers.
Cannon towers are very effective against any number of grunts/footmen,
but only if guarded by a few footmen and archers, because once the grunts make it to the tower, it's toast.
In general, one cannon tower guarding your entrance with a few footmen is sufficient to hold off a huge
number of grunts. Just make sure to build the tower and upgrade it quickly. (You'll need a blacksmith
to build the cannon tower.)
Odd man out
This is my name for a very common sequence of events that can leave you banging your head
against a wall for hours:
You've been playing for a week or two, and you know the ropes pretty well. You get into a
three-man FFA, and set to work. You build up your forces in just the way you
like. Doing better than ever before, you have a sizable army in no time. You send out a scout and find
an enemy. You charge with all your forces down into his territory. In a heroic struggle, you fight
with all your experience and defeat him! Though weakened and wounded from the battle, glory is yours!
You are the man! You have mastered Warcraft II! You..........
...get killed by the third man, who's been biding his time and waiting for
you two to annihilate each other.
This has happened to everyone, and it's not fun.
Defeating the Odd Man Out
Defeating the Odd Man Out is really just using common sense. In truth, the best strategy is to be
the odd man yourself, any time that you're in an odd-numbered FFA. There
are a few steps to follow:
1. NEVER charge one enemy with all your troops. (Never put your eggs in
one basket.) This leaves you wide open to the Odd Man.
2. It's also not a good idea to attack one enemy with only half your forces, as they will defend with
their entire force. You can therefore balance your forces unequally for offense and defense, or play it
safe and keep building. That brings us to #3...
3. Just be the Odd Man yourself! It's easy...build up a sizable army and devote it to defense in
case you're attacked. Scout out the other players and keep an eye on them. Don't make a move until
there's only one player left, who's been weakened.
Cheap, yes, but it works well and they're definitely going to try it on you...
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Please Mail Me your favorite strategy, and I might put it up here (you'd get all the credit, of course.) :)