Hello, this may be my first posted post, but I've done plenty of posting on my other account. I am going to do a generalized short guide.
- Part 1 - About the Game -
Colony is a supposed "starcraft"-like game. The creator, Krin, explained that he loved the game "starcraft" and wanted to base this game off of that. The game has a semi-story, which goes back and forth between two supposed teams. You start with 4 flat construction spots, where you can build different types of buildings. Your objective is to destroy the enemy base. There are 2 sides, and you work with your teammate to defeat the enemy.
- Part 2 - Story/Skirmish -
I never really played much of the story. It is pretty easy I guess. Try using some of the multiplayer strategies. Skirmish/Quick Play is the same thing pretty much.
- Part 3 - Multiplayer -
Multiplayer is my favorite, which I play on a lot. Though, it is full of hackers, cheaters, glitchers, generally mean people, jerks, cocky people, and young children who should not play such violent games at their age.
I avoid these type of people, some may be mean, or be a jerk, or be really young, but there are those out there who are looking for a fair game.
Multiplayer uses your AG account name as your display name. You choose from certain lobbies, though the main one is the only one people play on usually. People can create 4 person games, (no 1v1 unless you kick the extra 2 people)
- Part 4 - STRATEGIES -
Here's a big boy. There are different ways to start. I list 5 decent strategies that are one of the best for each type of unit-producing building.
The bank is one of the best ways to start for any kind of strategy. The armory is another way, but is normally for pros.
Forge/Fascists: To start as a fascist, start by place a bank. Once you reach $40, you should be able to place a forge. This is a decent way to rush, but that is optional. If you want to rush, you can spawn a bunch of scouts or romans. If you want a fair game, or the host says no rushing, you can then place a generator once you reach $50. Here is where it hits a fork in the road.
b]Way 1:[/b] Place a armory, upgrade the forge to the 2nd, then 3rd, delete the armory, place a generator. Spam satakas and delete the bank if you want. If you delete the bank, then replace it with a generator. Upgrade the generators if you want.
Way 2: Place a hospital in the extra space. Use a combination of satakas, medics, etc.
Outpost/Communists: This one has been coming less and less common. Here's my strategy for using the outpost. Place a bank to start. Once you get $40, place a outpost. To rush, spam tanks. If the enemy counters and starts spawning air-type vehicles, then counter the counter and spam marines. To continue, place a hospital next. Use it to generate people, by clicking "Auto-Build" (the swirly arrowed line) and then clicking on the orange button with the man in the middle. Put some medics in if you want, but don't forget to use it as a generator. Upgrade the outpost to the Barracks. Then place a armory, you can keep it to generate people, or delete it and replace it with a hospital AFTER you have upgraded the barracks to a arrsenal. Use black queens (optional) and hover tanks. Black queens are GREAT for destroying "medic defenses", or defenses where a high-hp unit stands farther into the battlefield as the medics are behind him, healing him from a range where no medic can be hit and the guy is almost invincible unless he takes a whole lotta' damage. Black queens have a longer range, and shoot missiles where they can destroy a whole bunch of medics.
here are some tips and tricks for those who wanna become awesome:
work habits these are general tips that most pros follow, because they greatly ease the game. *hotkeys - ok, these are pretty critical, especially if u use a touchpad. (though not only). they ease the game in general, and quicken your responses. incase u don't know, the hotkeys are 1234qwer for the corresponding buttons on the panel, a and d for scrolling, c for team chat, and uhh..... shift for repeat, x for rally. (the last two are hardly ever used, see next) *general work habits - don't use rally (ever!!!). instead, line your troops up by hand, if and when u need to. rally slows you down, makes you timid, and is a bad idea in general. also, it doesn't line up nearly as we'll as u can (even if u retreat into the base to line up, also a bad idea). in addition, keeping 'repeat action' on instead of using shift will free your hand to use the other hotkeys, and not cost much time or effort. *atmosphere habits - just things that help most people, nothin special. try turning the game music off, it can help your focus, and help you hear the in game sounds, which can help. if u don't have a superfast CPU, try closing other tabs to minimize lag, especially youtube tabs. chatting ingame can hurt your battlefield awareness, and therefore your play. try avoiding chatting in closely matched games.
ingame tips tips to improving your game. *be aggressive - this is very important. without aggressiveness, the game is not only more boring, it also becomes much less skill dependent (hence many people don't like 'rushing', and claim it is a form of cheating). *pinning - the basis around which revolves the pro game. pinning involves placing your units just outside the opponents base weapons range. this means that the enemies units are attacked as the are spawned, and overwhelmed individually. in addition, u get the highest possible amount of 'field influence' (see next point). trying to get a pin whenever possible is most likely a good idea. *field inf (short for influence) - ABSOLOOTALEE QREETEEQAL!!! no, seriously. almost as important as pinning. incase you don't know, field inf is the inf u get for having units on the field. there are three inf zones, which grant a different amount of inf per 5 secs, depending on which you control. in the first, which runs from the start of the field, grants 1 per five secs. the second runs from halfway between the base and the middle, and grants 2. the third runs from the middle of the field, and grants 3. this is important because it in effect it gives you free units, that are also generally suited for different things than your other units, and can therefore cover your other units weaknesses. try and control as much of the field as possible!
for everything else, you can mostly learn from playing the game. if something wasn't really clear, meet me or some pro ingame, and we could explain it, and other things
uhh... I just realized I've forgotten some real basic tips. why have i forgotten? well... they are so basic, and so much a part of the gameplay, that they didn't even cross my mind while typing the other post....
anyway... here they are:
micro - ohh man, can't believe I forgot this... micro, or micromanagement, is what makes the difference between a noob, an average player, a semi pro and a pro. micro is pretty much proper control of your units on the battlefield, and can't really be explained or taught, at least not like this. the best I can do is tell you about the most basic types of micro, and even that will take forever... instead, I'll point you in the direction of some cool youtube vids, and say 'watch!'. just search youtube for 'MiamiBigAL', 'Bankhead', or 'DracoTheDragon' and add 'colony'. pretty much any vid with those, and I saw a few, will have at least some micro...
next: observe you opponent - pretty basic, though it is quite surprising how many people don't think of doing this... all I have to say is, don't say on your side of the screen and then complain when 'suddenly' the opponent has you pinned with a huge army. instead, LOOK at your opponents base and watch what they are doing! adapt according to what they are doing, instead of just building up...
which leads to the next point: adapt - this should be second nature to most pros, but may not be obvious to newcomers. don't start a battle when you think you have everything figured out. instead, fool around and do as you see fit for each new threat as it arrises.
that's all I've got for now. if I think of a few more, I might post them...
basically, the best way to learn is to actually play. and the best way to play is against pros. don't be afraid of losing, don't be afraid of being owned and don't be afraid of messing around...
I suggest playing 1v1 games, especially against pros, as that isolates your skill and lets u focus on important things like micro and pinning. once you've gotten good at 1v1, you can go back to thinking about 2v2 with what you've learned.
The only Colony guides that would garner any real attention at this point would be pro guides with highly detailed explanations meant for experienced players, but even then it's fairly unlikely that they would really get anywhere.
