Question from new player. "Tips and tricks?"

[The Empire]

Greatings forum members.
My name is Peter. I am totally new to the game DEFCON and this forum.
I was wondering if there were any tips or tricks in the game.
Also any suggestions about strategy.
I plan on just playing against AI till I learn more about the game.
Any info or instructions I would be greatly apreciative.
-Pete (aka The Empire).

[Feud]

Well, there are numerous threads dealing with tactics. The main advice I give to new players is to not give up, spectate games that have players from the forum playing in them (not all, but many of the forum players are of slightly better quality then the random people you find), spectate games that don't have any forum names in them (we can get stuffy in our tactics, fresh ideas are a good way to grow), and lastly, don't think you have to do "x" in order to be good. Every player is different, and what works for some doesn't work for others.

Oh yeah, and no matter what, remember that it is just a game! Too many people seem to forget that.

[caranthir.pkk]

Keep your silos together, out of the radar range of the enemy and learn how to use a navy

[torig]

Search the forums for the beam attack, which will make your bomber strikes a lot more efficient.
Micro fighters and bombers, as having better micro skills than someone else will help you out.
Read the topic called Defcon school.

Don't trust Feud. He's got long ears!

[The Empire]

Thank you for the advice, keep it coming.
I started reading some posts, but I was disappointed about the back biting and mean spiritedness among the forum members.
I think we should keep the fighting in the game and not in the forum.
All right I'll get off my soap box.

*How can I maneuver my navy?

*Can one move there ships when the game starts?

*Also are there advantages in being certain continents?
(Some have greater reach than others in placing the fleet.)

Many thanks, Pete.

[torig]

Pete, try placing your subs at defcon 5 for a change. Immediately order them to move. This effectively gives them 3 whole defcon levels to roam the oceans undetected!! Best is most players -still today- do not really anticipate this.

How do you mean, "how" can you maneuvre your navy? You click the fleet/single ships you want to move and right-click to where they have to move.
Mostly you will not be allowed to move into international waters before defcon 4 (I thought) or even 3, but if you click far enough away it should have been registered anyway.
Of course you can move your ships. See the explanation I just gave.

It all depends. There is a disadvantage for each advantage, that might be more prominent in 1v1 games. The case of Asia vs USSR comes to mind. Asia will be able to position subs in the Indian and hit many cities from them, while USSR doesn't really have that many large cities to hit from the starting position.

As a general tip, consider the scoring mode very carefully. In default, a kill means 2 points and a death 1 point. Play aggressively! You don't need to defend your cities as much as your installations.
Whatever you do:

• Never mix subs in with your fleets. They will slow down the entire fleet to the pace of the subs, but if the fleet gets destroyed the sinking ships will hurt your subs, too.
• Never place your airfields or silos too close to the border.
• Some losses have to be accepted so the overal number can be kept down. In the case of Africa, give up defending Cairo. For Asia either Bombay or Tokyo are likely candidates.
  For NA pick a coast, and for SA give up Mexico.
• In Europe, it doesn't much matter where you place your stuff. As long as it isn't too much to the east or south (depending on your alliances, too).
• A sub in active sonar mode cannot be destroyed by a bomber flying over or be shot at by a battleship. So don't be afraid to ping before launching, to see if the coast is clear!

Perhaps you are misinterpreting the forums? There's a lot of disagreement and discussion, which I've found to be quite open and well argumented, but I wouldn't claim it's really bitterness.

[The Empire]

What I ment by "Can you maneuvre your navy?" is can you set way points in how you want them to move ie; curve around a pennicila of a country or is it just a straight line?
Thanks for the advice.
I would like to "Sit in" as a spectator on a game to see how others play.
How would I go about doing that?
If you and some of the other players are going to get a game going could you let me know so I can watch?
I can do this after 5:00 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time) USA.

As far as the back biting comment, I might have incorrectly judged the forum member, sorry to offend.

My email addess incase anyone wants to email me is:
peter_e_hildebrand@hotmail.com

Thanks Pete.

[torig]

No, waypoints are impossible. You can see the actual route a fleet will follow by hovering the cursor over a member of the fleet for a while.

Check the 1v1 ladder and King of the hill topics. Some of the (known) best defcon players set up matches there regularly, so it will be easier for you to spectate.
You just need to find a game "in progress" that allows spectators. You then connect to it, wait for it to sync up (in the meanwhile you can close the box, not by clicking cancel but the box at the top right corner. This will let you watch the game while synching, which is quite nicer than watch that bar fill up).

I didn't take offence really ; I'm just clarifying that perhaps you encountered some normal discussion. But there is a lot of griefing going on, and bitching about the griefing

Btw, I thought I once was in a game with you, a while back?

[The Empire]

No I just bought the game two dayz ago.
I love it!
One of my favorite movies are War Games.
-Thanks, Pete...