GROUND CONTROL WALKTHROUGH by Briareos Kerensky (briareos@inwind.it, briareos_HF), ver 1.4, 11/08/2002 Table of Contents 1-Update History 2-Introduction to Ground Control 3-History Briefing 4-Crayven Corporation Units Briefing 5-Order of the New Dawn Units Briefing 6-Special Weapons Briefing 7-Special Equipment Briefing 8-Tweaking Ground Control 9-General Tactics 10-Crayven Corporation Walkthrough 11-Order of the New Dawn Walkthrough 12-Cheats 13-Secret Sabotage mission Walkthrough 14-Homeworld vs Ground Control 15-Credits and Misc **************** 1-UPDATE HISTORY **************** 11/08/2002-version 1.4. Corrections and updates. 01/08/2002-version 1.3. Found Dark Conspirancy data disk. I'm happy ;) For this release, minor corrections and few things added in the Unit, Weapons and Equipment sections. 28/07/2002-version 1.2. A lot happened (basically? DreamCast, GameCube, Aliens VS Predator 2, Warcraft 3), but eventually, an update!...BTW, corrected some spelling mistakes and a stupid error about the photomultiplier. Added unit and equipment descriptions. Walkthrough standing still, but started General Tactics section. Minor corrections throughout the document. Added a section, HomeWorld vs Ground Control. Found original english names for every mission; rejoy! Also, do not, repeat, D*O N*O*T, ask me for cracks or serial numbers of the game. I won't divulge any URL to any warez-related site too, so don't bother sending mails about this. 22/04/2002-version 1.0. This document should have been completed one year ago (when I first get a PC effectively able to run Ground Control), but it has been post-poned until now. Most sections have to be completed, or even started, but Crayven Corporation as the first three mission in its walkthrough. ******************************** 2-INTRODUCTION TO GROUND CONTROL ******************************** Ground Control is one of the most originals RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games ever did. It borrows concepts from a lot of other games, such as MechCommander, Starcraft and HomeWorld; like in MechCommander you won't be able to build new units during the mission, nor resources to gather; like Starcraft (and Age of Empires, too) the units in the game completes themselves as each unit has its own strenghts and weaknesses; like HomeWorld you move in a totally tridimensional terrain, though Ground Control is set on a planet, with hills, trees and other feautures that can hide units or block fire. Not enough Ground Control's graphic engine is capable of challenging other engines, like HomeWorld's or Quake III's (not joking, really: watching all those mobile parts and expended cartdriges when an units is firing, clouds moving, dynamic colored lights...). To properly play Ground Control you'll have to revise all you now about RTS. ****************** 3-HISTORY BRIEFING ****************** After the Third World War, Earth lied devasted and its inhabitants wanted peace. Two powers risen from this devastation, Crayven Corporation and the Order of The New Dawn. The first, a multinational company dedicated in discovering, exploring and terraforming new worlds under the flag of money; the second, a strange cult composed of zealots, wanting to bring humanity to the light of a misterious god. Now, on Krig-7B, an apparently worthless, desertic planet, these two powers have engaged a bitter war for something only very few people know about... ************************************ 4-CRAYVEN CORPORATION UNITS BRIEFING ************************************ Just before beginning, a brief explanation of the parameters is a must; this will aply for both factions, of course. Firepower is self expliantory, though it tells only how much damage the unit does with a single salvo, and doesn't (repeat, IT DOESN'T) consider accurancy and projectiles trajectory or speed (but considers rate of fire). Armor can be self expliantory too without the Resistance value; Armor describes the amount (tickness) of the unit's armor; this amount is then spread between front, sides and rear arcs, usually with a 50/20/10 proportion, but this might change; a thin armor makes the vehicle vulnerable to all weapons, while a tick one will make light weapons useless. Resistance indicates the vehicle's capability of taking damage, or Health Points, if you like it more. When a projectiles breach the Armor, it allocates damage. Note that EVERY shot will allocate a small amount of damage. Example: a Marine firing at a Grizzly in its front arc WILL allocate damage; however, the low firepower of the Marine and the Grizzly tick armor will let only the 1% percent of the Marine's firepowere penetrate and affect the Grizzly's Resistence (its HPs); so, a Marine can destroy a Grizzly, but he will take hours. Speed is self expliantory. Visual Range will describe how further the unit can see, NOT the ability to detect hidden units; this value is called Perception. Stealthness is self expliantory. The best value is awesome, the worst none, passing by wonderful, very high, very good, good, average, low and very low. Crayven Corporation bases its army (or "self-defense" force as Crayven likes to call it) on strong, heavily-armored tracked vehicles, the Terradynes. Though Order's units may be faster and more powerful, they cannot match Crayven's tick armor; their weapons are based on standard projectiles. ------------ --INFANTRY-- ------------ + Crayven armed infantry - CCMIB-2 "MARINES" Firepower: very low Armor: very low Resistence: low Speed: very low Visual Range: average Stealthness: average Perception: low Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 8 Special Weapons: RMM-9 infantry mortar; CG-89mm anti-tank rocket Special Equipment: personal medikit; portable radar Basic infantry unit; nothing much to say here. They can damage even Grizzlies or Wolves if they manage to get to their rear or they use their anti-tank rockets, though anti-infantry mortars, able to dispact enemy infantry almost instantanly is usually the best choice, as your own ground vehicles will face other heavy ground units; they can fire at low-altitude air-targets, but do not expect to use Marines to destroy incoming aerodynes, they are not so accurate. + Crayven special forces - CCSF-9 "JAEGER" Firepower: average Armor: none Resistence: low Speed: very low Visual Range: wonderful Stealthness: wonderful Perception: wonderful Technology Level: 2 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: GyroJet ammo; 140mm RPG Special Equipment: personal medikit; satchel charge; image elaborator Crayven Corp's advanced infantry unit. Jaegers are specialized in stealth attacks, sacrificing armor for speed and stealthness, but not firepower: their K516d Gauss cannon, though not known to be the fastest rifle on Krig-7B, is actually powerful enough to penetrate front and lateral armor plates of the heaviest ground unit. Jaegers can also track air units, but their low rate of fire makes them ill-suited for this job; however, due to their low armor, when (and if) spotted, Jaegers are extremly prone to recieve damage even from the lightest weapon. Despite these drawbacks, Jaegers are excellent unit when used with artillery, attack or bomber aerodynes and any other kind of long-range support unit: they can easily sneak into an enemy base, palce satchel charges to destroy power buildings and then spot for artillery units, or just support (from afar) the main attack force. They are also the best unit to recon the map, thanks to the alredy described stealthness and their above-average perception and visual range. -------------- --TERRADYNES-- -------------- + Crayven scout terradyne - CLSV-112 FSV "LOCUST" Firepower: low Armor: low Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: wonderful Stealthness: good Perception: wonderful Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: uranium ammo; HE grenade Special Equipment: repair module; minelayer + Crayven light terradyne - CT-917 FST "JACKAL" Firepower: average Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: average Stealthness: low Perception: low Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: uranium ammo; HE grenades Special Equipment: repair module; automatic defense cannon; defense rocket launcher; anti-aircraft defense unit + Crayven main battle terradyne - SFB-209 AAT "WOLF" Firepower: wonderful Armor: good Resistence: good Speed: average Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 2 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: HE ammo; HE mk.II ammo Special Equipment: repair module; advanced tracker; repair unit Crayven's main terradyne. The Wolf features a single-barrel 150mm cannon capable of piercing even the tickest armor. Its speed, combined with the strong armor and the medium visual range, makes of the Wolf the ideal unit to handle ground targets, whatever they are: they can easily outmaneuver larger terradynes and then open fire on their sides or backs and they can sustain heavy damage. Wolves cannot fire on air targets, nor they have Equipment that partially defend them from air threats. HE ammos are useful against infantry and lightly-armored targets, while HE mk.II are quite useful against larger enemies or when you need to destroy something quickly. Repair modules affact only Wolves, while repair units are fixed turrets capable of repairing evey unit, just like the APC's own repair gun: very useful if the APC took damage and the mission is just started. Advanced trackers are good only for novice units. + Crayven destructor terradyne - DTT-1203 "GRIZZLY" Firepower: good Armor: wonderful Resistence: wonderful Speed: low Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception:none Technology Level: 3 Elements in a Unit: 2 Special Weapons: HE ammo; HE mk.II ammo Special Equipment: repair module; anti-missile system The Wolf's big brother: it is less balanced than the Wolf, sacrificing speed for armor. It uses twin 120mm cannons instead of the Wolf's single 150mm cannon, partially reducing its firepower but allowing Grizzlies to fire at the same rate of a Wolf. The Grizzly is best suited as a strong hammerhead to destroy heavy defenses to allow Wolves (or Wolfs ?) to take out lesser foes. Like Wolves, Grizzlies cannot fire against air targets, though they can intercept incoming enemy missiles thanks to their anti-missile system. This doesn't matter much, has Grizzlies can take tremendous punishment before going down. If you are going to take AAA units with you, equip Grizzlies with reapir modules, so that you'll be ready to face eveyhting on the battlefield. + Crayven missile launcher terradyne - DTA-266 AMRLT "FIRECRACKER" Firepower: good Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: average Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 3 Special Weapons: Aries missile; Inferno missile Special Equipment: repair module; photomultiplier Medium-range fire-support unit. The Firecracker is essentially a multi-role missile battery on two thread, packed with enough equipment to let the crew drive it and enough armor to withstand light damage. Firecrakers can engage ground units (except infantry) and air units thanks to its missiles; those missiles are not highly powered, but are really accurate and then rate of fire of a fully equipped Firecracker unit can destroy everything in short time, provided that the unit is protected against enemy fire. As with most advanced units, Firecrackers carry three self-repair devices and three photomultipliers. Special weapons are dedicated missiles, the best in its own field of action: Aries missiles are powerful, if less accurate, anti-air missiles, while Inferno are designed as anti-tank ones. The main drawback of the Firecracker is its low armor resistance, enough to stop infantry and small-caliber fire, but not enough to stop large-caliber rounds or missiles; however, being able to keep up the pace with Wolves and Grizzlies, Firecrackers are good support units, though they might be eclipsed by the Jaeger/Hog combo. + Crayven anti-aircraft terradyne - APF-331 MAAG "OCELOT" Firepower: wonderful Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: very good Stealthness: none Perception: average Technology Level: 2 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: none Special Equipment: repair module; photomultiplier This terradyne is specialized in anti-aircraft roles. Ocelots cannot attack ground targets, and need at least one Marine squad to be defended. It is better to keep them near your strike force to give them protection against ground forces and give your ground forces a deadly protection against aerodynes. Against Ocelots it is better to use ground vehicles: 2 full groups of Ocelots can literally tear apart even the strongest aerodynes in few, well-placed shots. The Ocelot is one of the few units without special weapons; when equipping Ocelots, at least one group should use a photomultiplier; the repair module is higly optional, as you'll keep them near your APC (which has a repair gun). + Crayven artillery terradyne - APP-671 CAT "HOG" Firepower: awesome Armor: average Resistence: wonderful Speed: low Visual Range: low Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 4 Elements in a Unit: 1 Special Weapons: guided projectile; tactical nuclear bomb Special Equipment: repair module; photomultiplier Artillery. You'll love this unit. Each Hog squad contains only one artillery piece, and this is its main drawback. As all support unit the Hog should be placed behind your main strike force, where it can be defended against attacks. Remember that Hogs can fire when moving (they'll lose accurancy, though) but cannot fire at moving targets; well, tehy can, but the slow projectiles speed, their arched trajectory and the relative slowness of the Hog's artillery will make such shot only good for suppression fire; one of the most popular ways to use artillery is to have multiple units fire in suppression mode (CTRL button): with this order artillery units will begin to fire at a very large zone, eventually destroying everything; this always works well, especially when you are ging to assault a base, where defensive turrets are usually positioned near walls and near entrances. An ohter way to use artillery is to used light aerodynes, Jagers or Light Terradynes to highlight targets; of course, Jagers are the best units for such roles, and every Crayven unit with artillery support should have one squad of Jaegers for scouting duties. The standard artillery rounds are vulnerable to anti-missile defenses, and remember, they are slow: this means to wait 10/15 seconds before moving your units where Hogs bombarded, to avoid killing your units with your artillery fire. Repair modules affect only Hog units and photomultipliers are basically useless on such units. Guided Projectiles are really good, but have the same range of the standard projectiles; do not expect them to hit infantry units at extreme ranges, they are guided but not that accurate. Also, guided projectiles are VERY vulnerable to anti-missile fire. Hog's other Special Weapon is a nuclear bomb. As all artillery ordances is not accurate, but it does an hefty damage; infantry units will be killed or severly damaged within any explosion radius; light and medium ground targets will be destroyed with the 50% and it takes a very accurate shot to fully destroy heavy targets. However, it is deadly and psicologically devastating. Both Hogs and Sagittas (Order's artillery Hoverdyne) do not fire at will by standards. Also, they won't stop firing if friendly units are within their impact area. ------------- --AERODYNES-- ------------- + Crayven light scout aerodyne - AV/U-122 LSA "HAWK" Firepower: low Armor: low Resistence: average Speed: wonderful Visual Range: wonderful Stealthness: good Perception: good Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 2 Special Weapons: uranium ammo; HE grenade Special Equipment: photomultiplier; ECM; afterburner + Crayven attack aerodyne - AV/U-309 HAA "VULTURE" Firepower: good Armor: low Resistence: average Speed: wonderful Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 5 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: MCM-DI Tse Tse rocket; Fury HE rocket Special Equipment: photomultiplier; ECM; afterburner + Crayven fighter aerodyne - AV/F-1001 FA "DELTA" Firepower: wonderful Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: wonderful Visual Range: average Stealthness: low Perception: low Technology Level: 5 Elements in a Unit: 3 Special Weapons: advanced AI missile Special Equipment: photomultiplier; ECM; afterburner Crayven's fighter. Totally unable to target ground targets, Deltas are designed to control the skies, at every altitude. Though not capable to enter or exit the athmosphere alone, Deltas are capable of acceptable performances even at orbital altitudes; however, Deltas were principally designed as low-altitude highly maneuverable planes to hunt down every other hostile aircraft, a job that Deltas accomplish with great accurancy; they are only armed with N69-PDU "Glory" missiles, but are enough to counter the Order hunt aerodyne, the Draco, and destroy any other kind of aerodyne with few, well placed shots. Deltas can be equipped with special AI missiles with greater accurancy and explosive power than standard missiles, plus all other standard equipment for aerodynes. + Crayven bomber aerodyne - AV/U-45 SRBA "CONDOR" Firepower: wonderful Armor: low Resistence: good Speed: good Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 5 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: fragmentation bomb; tactical nuclear bomb Special Equipment: photomultiplier; ECM; afterburner Condor aerodynes are flying versions of the Hog artillery units. They share one the Special Weapons, the nuclear device, which is more powerful, as four independent units release one (note that a single nuclear device carried by a single Condor is more powerful than a Hog's one). The Condors are slow and very fragile, and can fire only to ground targets; they aren't very accurate (bombs are unguided), and are best used against installation and slow moving targets (infantry, teavy Terra/Hover -dynes) when everything capable of AA fire has being destroyed. When ordering a Condor to bomb a zone, be sure that all turrets or generators are gone, or they will be destroyed at once. The Fragmentation bomb is very useful against fleeing, relatively slow units; it is deadly against infantry and can damage every kind of ground armored target, though chances to destroy it are slim. Nuclear Bombs can be used virtually against everything, as they are way more powerful than the artillery-luanched weapons; a single device can destroy a squad of medium ground vehicles with a not-so-precise shoot, though Condors will have to reach the target, unlike Hogs that fire indirectly. Photomultipliers can be used for targeting moving targets and both AM Systems and Afterburners are useful to avoid some enemy attacks, though they won't save Condors from multiple enemy fire (the Condors is big and slow); AMS is very useful to stop incoming missiles and protect units for few seconds during bombing runs. ------- --APC-- ------- + Crayven command APC - CLSV-601 "RHINO" Firepower: average Armor: average Resistence: very high Speed: average Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: low Technology Level: none Elements in a Unit: 1 Special Weapons: none Special Equipment: none (APC repair equipment) Your APC. If you lose it, you'll be death. It is highly armored, so its endurance is more or less the same of a Wolf. Though the APC carries a medium gun, it is not intended for combat, nor for scout duties. APCs can also carry infantry squads: use them as protection for the APC. The APC cannot use neither Special Weapons nor Special Equipment, but it always mounts a special repair gun capable of recharging other unit's health bar. ----------------- --FIXED TURRETS-- ----------------- + CCT-123 A three barrel, medium caliber machine gun mounted on a high turret. It is devoted to point defense against infantry attacks; it's deadly in its duty, but when facing even light vehicles the CCT-123 finds itself in real troubles. + AKA-125 A blocky, twin barreled, fast firing, 125mm cannon. It has a good destructive power, but it lacks range; also, being so short, it hasn't a very wide line of sight, making it a good target for long-range units; when detects a unit, however, the AKA-125 can deal some damages even to medium vehicles; it has some difficulties in targeting infantrymen. ************************************** 5-ORDER OF THE NEW DAWN UNITS BRIEFING ************************************** Main units of the Order are the Hoverdynes, hi-tech hovercrafts with energy weapons. Order units are less resistant than Crayven's but they tend to have more firepower and to move faster as they travel on air cushions rather than on threads. ------------ --INFANTRY-- ------------ + Order strike infantry - OCRU-1001 "CRUSADERS" Firepower: very low Armor: very low Resistence: low Speed: very low Visual Range: average Stealthness: average Perception: low Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 8 Special Weapons: focalized impulse; SMAUG-12 flamethrower Special Equipment: personal medikit; portable radar Basic infantry unit; all drawbacks and advantages of Marines apply here too, though Crusaders might be a little easier to kill. Their special weapons, however, seem to be a little bit more effective. Though from the name doesn't seem, the flamethower fires grenades in an arched trajectory, like the Marines' anti-infantry mortar. + Order anti-terradyne infantry - ATI-720 "TEMPLARS" Firepower: wonderful Armor: none Resistence: very low Speed: very low Visual Range: average Stealthness: average Perception: low Technology Level: 2 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: Vendetta nuclear warhead; MIRV Vendetta Special Equipment: personal medikit; photomultiplier; personal stealth field Where Crayven Corporation has stealth units, the Order has shock troops. Templar units are composed only by seasoned women of the Pax Dei, and they carry one of the most advanced missile launchers ever developed, the GrU-6 Vendetta. This missile launcher is somewhat larger than a standard backpack, but its firepower can rival even tank-mounted weapons; this power comes primarly from the high accurancy of the missiles fired, capable of pin-pointing the weakest spot in targets' armor. Missiles follow an arched trajectory, and being fire-and-forget missiles, it is possible for Templars to move while firing without losing efficency. Each Templar fires 4 missiles per salvo, and the recicle rate for the salvos is very low for such a small weapon. Basically Templars are very powerful units, and the clever use of their Special Equipment and Weapons can made them even more deadlier. The ground to air MIRV (Multi Independent Re-entry Vector) Vendetta missiles are used only against Aerodynes, partially covering the inability of the Templars to lock on air targets. However, the Vendetta nuclear warhead is the real Special Weapon you should use; it is far less powerful and its explosion is smaller than an artillery's one, but the innate accurancy of the missiles often makes this shot deadly even for Grizzlies. To futherly enhace the Templars' accurancy photomultiplyers can be equipped, but personal medikit are useful if you are going to use them as part of the assault force (and if you aren't going to use the as an assault force, you didn't understood anything about Templar units). Stealth fields can be used to sneak Templars into a base. -------------- --HOVERDYNES-- -------------- + Order scout hoverdyne - W/SAH-4 "APUS" Firepower: low Armor: low Resistence: average Speed: wonderful Visual Range: good Stealthness: good Perception: good Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: Special Equipment: repair module; minelayer unit + Order light hoverdyne - 01/SAC-34 LAH "SCULPTOR" Firepower: average Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: average Stealthness: low Perception: average Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: Special Equipment: repair module; portable defense system; portable stealth unit + Order main battle hoverdyne - 01/MAT-3 "LINX" Firepower: wonderful Armor: good Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 2 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: plasma hell; plasma charge Special Equipment: repair module; defense shield; speed pulse + Order heavy hoverdyne - 01/WL8 "VOLANS" Firepower: good Armor: wonderful Resistence: wonderful Speed: average Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 3 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: plasma hell; plasma charge Special Equipment: repair module; defense shield; speed pulse Order's assault Hoverdyne, the Volans is the perfect counterpart of Crayven's Grizzly. Developed following the same philosophy of its counterpart, the Volans is essentially a bigger version of the Linx. It has two Shogata PDX9, the same model mounted on the Linx, but Order technicians still have to figure out how to recreate the same rate of fire of the Linx, as the Volans' main reactor cannot power the whole vehicle and the guns without endangering its crew. Armor is almost as twice as durable, and the vehicle itself has a wonderful internal structure that allows it to sustain heavy damage before being destroyed. However, the Volans pay this protection with one of the lowest speeds in the Order army, though it is still superior to a Grizzly. Volanses and Linxes share the same Special Weapons and Equipment. + Order fire-support hoverdyne - 012/BT-MV mk.II "LACERTA" Firepower: awesome Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: good Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 2 Special Weapons: multifrequency prysm; focalizer prysm Special Equipment: repair module; defense shields; photomultiplier As with Crayven's Fireckaker, the Lacerta is born for long-range fire support; this vehicle is still in experimental stage, but Order Deans are beginning to use this vehicle more often as they understand the true capabilities of this mobile weapon platform. As the Fireckacker, the Lacerta can fire to both ground and air targets, though fast-moving Aerodynes might pose problems, as the Lacerta's recycle rate and stright-beam weapon are less efficent than the Fireckaker's deadly accurate missiles; against ground-bound targets (both infantry and vehicles, though infantry will be hard to knock down with Lacertas only), however, the Lacerta is deadly: the X9k weapon system not only is very powerful, but also very accurate: it can rip apart heavy and assault vehicles with few, well placed shots, even if they hit the frontal armor. Not enough, if the other targets are close to the original impact point, the energy beam produced by the X9k can bounce between them, allocating extra damage (note: this is not like an artillery strike; I saw only five or six times the beam bouncing through targets, so do not expect that Lacertas alone can rip armies apart). This weapon system has also a very long range, and it is mounted on a full-rotating turret. Lacerta's Special Weapons improves the X9k accurancy (multifrequency prysm) and firepower (focalizer); if you are going to take Lacertas only for fire support (this duty includes anti-air fire-hey, I do not reccomend this), carry multifrequency prisms, as the X9k beam tend to be less effecfive against Aerodynes (as stated above). As with most Order Hoverdynes, Lacerta carry Defense shields, useful to avoid damage during high-pitch battles and repair modules for small self-repairs. Photomultipliers can enhace thier already good line of sight. + Order anti-aircraft hoverdyne - 01/AAPBT-600 "PAVO" Firepower: good Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: good Visual Range: good Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 2 Elements in a Unit: 4 Special Weapons: none Special Equipment: repair module; photomultiplier An extraordinary machine. The Pavo is reasonably fast and well armored for a support hoverdyne, and still has room for one of the most advanced Order weapons, FUR/X9 "claw"; the FUR/X9 fires huge blue/white balls composed of electricity, capable to lock on targets and follow them until they reach the designated targets. However, the particular nature of this weapon makes impossible to target ground units, to the Pavo became a dedicated anti-aircraft weapon. The ability of a single Pavo unit to destroy enemy aerodynes taking little or no damage is impressive, as it is seeing the blue bolts coming from a Pavo home on their target and severly damage it. As with Crayven's Ocelot, the Pavo doesn't carry any special weapon, and its special equipment is basic, with repair modeules and photomultipliers. + Order artillery hoverdyne - 04/DN9-FO OAH "SAGITTA" Firepower: awesome Armor: average Resistence: wonderful Speed: average Visual Range: low Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 4 Elements in a Unit: 1 Special Weapons: anti-tank charge; long-range charge Special Equipment: repair module Just the Order counterpart of the Crayven's Hog artillery tank. Sagittas might be a little more accurate than Hogs but have a slightly (very slightly) less powerful weapon; armor stats are equal, but the Sagittas move a little faster. Both vehicles share Special Equipment, but have different Special Weapons; the long-range charge, though doesn't increase neither firepower nor accurancy can really make the difference in highly defendable positions (hills, ridges) and when coupled with scout units. Anti-tank charges increase firepower and are useful against heavy vehicles and fixed turrets. + Order robot-modules mobile base - 011/BEHCCA "ORION" Firepower: average Armor: average Resistence: wonderful Speed: average Visual Range: good Stealthness: none Perception: awesome Technology Level: 3 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: advanced robot modules Special Equipment: repair module; defense shield; photomultiplier There's nothing in the Crayven army capable to match the Orion for the idea. Reading this description can make the Orion looking like a worthless scrap of metal, to be substituted with Sagittas or Lacertas; however, the Orion has unique capabilities, which make such units the perfect counterpart for the other support unit in the Order army. Orions are well protected, with good movement capabilities, but no "real" weapons. To attack objectives Orions rely on GHE robots, small automated units resembling spiders with a powerful shaped charge. Those robots can target ground units (except infantry) and buildings and Orions release three of these units per "sweep" until the target is destroyed. Relying on such small robots rather than Order's standard energy weapons might make the attacks a bit slow, but those units are capable of homing on their targets and have a long autonomy, allowing Orions to stay hidden and continually pounding the enemy with explosions; often, this tactic shatters the enemy ground force even before Orion platforms have been located. Orions are vulnerable to air attacks and cannot reply with the GHE robots to infantry. The advanced robots possess a more power explosive charge and better tracking devices, almost capable of tracking down Apuses and Locusts. Special equipment is standard-issue for Order units. ------------- --AERODYNES-- ------------- + Order scout aerodyne - OA1/FAS-T12 "LYRA" Firepower: low Armor: low Resistence: average Speed: awesome Visual Range: wonderful Stealthness: good Perception: good Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: Special Equipment: defense shield; perception enhacer; photomultiplier + Order attack aerodyne - OA2/HAA-309 "PHOENIX" Firepower: good Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: wonderful Visual Range: average Stealthness: none Perception: none Technology Level: 5 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: fragmentation torpedo; Helios torpedo Special Equipment: defense shield; photomultiplier Though classified as a strike Aerodyne, the Phoenix can engage both air and ground targets thanks to its Fire Control System and the Hugh SZX-3000 "Jaguar" torpedoes. Those missiles are very effective against any kind of armor, as they rely on twin shaped charges, one to open holes in the target's armor, then a second to penetrate within the target and explode inside. Basically, it has the same damage value of a Delta, but the SZX-3000 are less effective against infantry, as their warhead soen't spread any shrapnel onto the battlefield. Also, Phoenixs are able to target other Aerodynes, but the SZX-3000 relatively slow-speed make them very limited in anti-air capabilities, leaving these Aerodynes easy preys for Deltas and Dracos. All Order aerodynes are more durable than Crayven ones thanks to their defense shield, which can protect them enough to retreat or to allow support hoverdynes to destroy any hunter aerodyne. The Phoenix special weapons specializes in anti-infantry (fragmentation torpedoes - not efficient as the standard ones against ground targets due to their anti-infantry warhead) and in anti-building roles (Helios torpedoes - slower but more powerful than standard missiles, not reccomended against any faster than a Grizzly). + Order fighter aerodyne - OA3/AN-9000 "DRACO" Firepower: wonderful Armor: average Resistence: average Speed: wonderful Visual Range: average Stealthness: low Perception: low Technology Level: 5 Elements in a Unit: Special Weapons: advanced plasma missile Special Equipment: defense shield; photomultiplier ------- --APC-- ------- + Order command APC - 05/DCAPC Firepower: average Armor: average Resistence: very high Speed: good Visual Range: average Stealthness: low Perception: low Technology Level: 1 Elements in a Unit: 1 Special Weapons: none Special Equipment: none (APC repair equipment) Your APC. If you lose it, you'll be death. It is highly armored, so its endurance is more or less the same of a Wolf. Though the APC carries a medium gun, it is not intended for combat, nor for scout duties. APCs can also carry infantry squads: use them as protection for the APC. The APC cannot use neither Special Weapons nor Special Equipment, but it always mounts a special repair gun capable of recharging other unit's health bar. ----------------- --FIXED TURRETS-- ----------------- + AERIS-4 PULSE LASER TURRET Anti-infantry turrets; they can be a trouble for vehicles if there is a large group of them, but they are lightly armored, and even a Marine squad will be able to destroy them with minimum losses. They have a normal perception and line of sight. + TIER-7 GUANA Their objective is simple: to destroy everything moving onto the ground. And they do it too well. They have a relatively limited range, but extended enough to reply Wolf's and Grizzly's fire. A single Tier-7 is capable of decimating a single Wolf unit in no time, but has problems in targeting infatry and has not a very long line of sight, nor it has an high perception. It is usually backed up by an Outpost. + PULSE LASER TURRET Inexpensive turrets. They do not pose a proble for every fighting unit, though they posses the best line of sight and perception of all Order turrets. Their range is very limited, but have a fast rate of fire. Jaegers can eliminate such structures from afar, or just move in whatever you have to quickly dispatch them. + LINDAU-666 Nothing more than an artillery cannon mounted on a fixed position. All warnings and weak points of artillery units apply here too, with the exception that the Landau won't be able to withdraw if under attack. + DEFENSE CANNON A small caliber machinegun with some firepower; it is enough to destroy infantry units in few shots and enough to damage medium ground units, but it is lightly armored, so even Marines will be able to destroy it before it does too much damage. Sometimes it is also mounted in small bunkers that enhaces its armor up to 50%. + DEFENSE CANNON 2 A very small structure that doesn't resemble even a cannon: a small sphere mounted over a square base with polished surfaces. In fact, it doesn't even fire to enemy units, and probably you won't notice their use (or even they are there) until artillery or attack aerodynes start firing at the Cannon or in the sorrounding area: it doesn't attack units, but it is capable of tracking and shooting down missiles and artillery rounds before they allocate damage at the cannon itself or at the sorrounding area (very small, however). It is capable of destroying 3 missiles/artillery rounds before reloading (a very short time indeed). + HUGH TA/9 MISSILE LAUNCHER Though classified as a missile launcher, the TA/9 fires the same energy bolts of the Pavo, but a much slower rate. Also, when took alone, it poses no treat to strike Aerodynes as it is too lightly armored to withstand heavy assaults and has too low rate of fire to destroy incoming aerodynes; however, whan a group of these concentrate fire, they become dangerous as a Pavo squad. ************************** 6-SPECIAL WEAPONS BRIEFING ************************** ------------------- --CRAYVEN WEAPONS-- ------------------- Type: RMM-9 infantry mortar Available to: Marines Load: 3 Effect: three bombs with an arched trajectory Use: very useful against infantry, though they can be useful against light and medium terradynes. Type: CG-89mm anti-tank rocket Available to: Marines Load: 3 Effect: large rocket with straight trajectory Use: useful against light and medium terra- and hover- dynes. Against heavy vehicles you should circle the enemy to fire this rocket in their thinner rear armor. Type: GyroJet ammo Available to: Jaegers Load: 1 Effect: projectile with a smoke trail; they create an explosion when impacting Use: to be used against vehicles. Can destroy medium ground vehicles with direct hits to the sides or to the rear. Type: 140mm RPG (rocket propelled grenade) Available to: Jaegers Load: 1 Effect: mortar-like projectiles, though they have a straight trajectory Use: against infantry. Very effective. If you're lucky you should be able to kill an entire unit with one shot. Type: uranium ammo Available to: Locusts, Jackals, Hawks Load: 3 Effect: fast, straight-trajectory grenade-like projectiles Use: anti-armor projectiles. Very effective against light/medium vehicles and, when shot from behind and sides, against heavy vehicles. Type: HE grenade Available to: Locusts, Jackals, Hawks Load: 3 Effect: mortar-like projectiles. Use: those grenades are designed to handle infantry and lightly armored vehicles. They allocate some damage to more armored vehicles, but not that much. Type: HE ammo Available to: Wolves, Grizzlies Load: Effect: Use: Type: HE mk.II ammo Available to: Wolves, Grizzlies Load: Effect: Use: Type: aries missile Available to: Firecrackers Load: Effect: Use: Type: inferno missile Available to: Firecrackers Load: Effect: Use: Type: guided projectile Available to: Hogs Load: 3 Effect: they look like normal artillery rounds. Use: very accurate; use them against valuable targets, such as defense turrets or slow moving targets; very vulnerable to anti-missile systems. Type: MCM-DI Tse Tse rocket Available to: Vultures Load: Effect: Use: Type: fury HE rocket Available to: Vultures Load: Effect: Use: Type: advanced AI missile Available to: Deltas Load: Effect: Use: Type: fragmentation bomb Available to: Condors Load: Effect: Use: Type: tactical nuclear bomb Available to: Hogs, Condors Load: 1 Effect: large (VERY large) blue explosion Use: Mhmm...only precise strikes. In fact, the bomb is ideal against a single, important unit. Only direct hits will allocate decent amounts of damage, while the explosion does only light damage. Good graphic effect, however. Condor variants of the bomb allocate much more damage in a wider area. ----------------- --ORDER WEAPONS-- ----------------- Type: Available to: Load: Effect: Use: **************************** 7-SPECIAL EQUIPMENT BRIEFING **************************** -------------------- --COMMON EQUIPMENT-- -------------------- Type: personal medikit Available to: Marines, Jeagers; Crusaders, Templars Load: 3 Effect: none visible; restore health of all units in the squad Use: when the health of your infantry is low, use on medikit to fully restore the whole squad's health. Note that when their health bar is below the 50%, the medikit won't completely restore it; maximum capacity is about 40% of the element's health. Type: portable radar Available to: Marines; Crusaders Load: 1 Effect: small tripod with a small radar antenna on it Use: basically useless. The radar scans a little portion of the map. When deployed, it is impossible to move it (though you can destroy it). Type: repair module Available to: Locusts, Jackals, Wolves, Grizzlies, Firecrackers, Ocelots, Hogs; Apuses, Sculptors, Lynxes, Volanses, Lacertas, Sagittas, Orions Load: 3 Effect: the same of the personal medikit Use: just like the medikit, though this is for vehicles. Like the medikit, units below the 50% won't be completely restored by a repair module. Type: minelayer Available to: Locusts; Apuses Load: 3 Effect: Use: Type: photomultiplier Available to: Firecrackers, Ocelots, Hogs, Hawks, Vultures, Deltas, Condors; Templars, Lacertas, Orions, Lyras, Phonixes, Dracos Load: 3 Effect: increases line of sight Use: it increases line of sight for a brief moment. Useful for scout units and if you are going to take novice units in advanced missions for the first time. --------------------- --CRAYVEN EQUIPMENT-- --------------------- Type: satchel charge Available to: Jaegers Load: Effect: Use: Type: image elaborator Available to: Jaegers Load: Effect: Use: Type: automatic defense cannon Available to: Jackals Load: Effect: Use: Type: defense rocket launcher Available to: Jackals Load: Effect: Use: Type: anti-aircraft unit Available to: Jackals Load: Effect: Use: Type: advanced tracker Available to: Wolves Load: Effect: Use: Type: repair unit Available to: Wolves Load: Effect: Use: Type: anti-missile system Available to: Grizzlies Load: Effect: Use: Type: Afterburner Available to: Hawks, Vultures, Deltas, Condors Load: Effect: Use: Type: ECM Available to: Hawks, Vultures, Deltas, Condors Load: 3 Effect: none visible Use: stops all incoming missiles locked on the squad using the equipment. Protects the squad for other two/three seconds, then stops working. ------------------- --ORDER EQUIPMENT-- ------------------- Type: Available to: Load: Effect: Use: ************************* 8-TWEAKING GROUND CONTROL ************************* (to be completed) ***************** 9-GENERAL TACTICS ***************** I'll speak about combat first. The preparation sequence before a mission is delicate, too, but let's start with the heavy metal first (moment suggestion: Cirith Ungol's 100 MPH). In Ground Control, as its name suggests, you'll lead various type of units, ranging from infantrymen to heavy artilelry platforms, passing through aeroplanes; your main strike force will be ALWAYS a ground one, and seldom you'll need some real support from Aerodynes, which will limit their use to fast hit-and-run attacks toward far, far away galax...ehm, targets. Also, do not consider basic infantry (Crusaders and Marines) totally useless: they are extremely useful for guarding the APC or to sneak some units behind enemy lines while your Hover and Terra Dynes take the brunt of the assault; of course Jeagers (if you play with the Crayven Corporation) are better suited for this task and they can work completely alone and Templars (Order of the New Dawn) should help the HoverDynes in the assault, as their firepower is amazing. ********************************** 10-CRAYVEN CORPORATION WALKTHROUGH ********************************** Mission 1: COMMUNICATIONS RELAY New Units: 1 infantry squad (Marine only, no Weapons or Equipment) Objectives: + Destroy the Communiations Relay + Retreat before the Order Reinforcemnts Arrive Dropships available: 1 Briefing: Your objective is to destroy a small enemy outpost, serving as a Communications Node near the Oracle's Dunes. You'll have only one Marine team, though the optimal number would be three: it would be too costly. Map and Weather Description: The weather is fine. Full sunlight and no storm to obscure line of sight. The map is small, set on a desert. There's a small plain at the center sorrounded by low hills. The enemy base is in the upper-right side of the map. Start and retreat points are in the south. Unit Deployment: Just deploy the Marine squad. Set them in offensive, if you want. On The Field: Quickly board the Marines on the APC and start heading toward the Order base. You'll encounter 2 Hoverbykes at the center of the map, and three Hoverbykes patrolling the area sorrounding the base; unboasrd the Marines when you encounter the Hoverbykes, and approach the base from the north. Sneak the Marines in from the small breach in the northest side of the base and destroy the Crusader unit near the Barrack, then take care of the two Aeris-4 turrets. Move the APC at the entrance of the base and have you men destroy the Comminucations Relay; meanwhile the computer will inform you that the Order reinforcments will arrive in 5 minutes, but you'll have plenty of time to destroy the Node. Board your Marines on the APC and head toward the Extraction Point. De-Briefing: The mission was a success, but the Order is too spred to counter you fast hit and run operations; why they aren't taking care of their own structures? Is there something more important? Mission 2: THE DEFECTOR New Units: 1 infantry squad (Marines only; can be equipped with AI Mortars and Medikits) Objectives: + Rendez-vous with the Defecting Bishop + Extract Dropships available: 1 Briefing: The Denver Dropship will leave in 15 minutes, and there is no time to lose: a defecting Bishop, Delendre, though unbelievable, contacted the Corporation seeking protection. Loyal Order units are already following him to track him down, and it is vital to save him. Map and Weather Description: An other small desertic map, this time with more hills and canyons, where enemy units will be able to stage ambushes. Full sunlight. The DropPoint is in the south, the Extraction Marker in the west and the Rendez-Vous point in the north. Unit Deployment: Marines, offensive set; carry along any Mortar and Medikit you can. On The Field: Again, board your Marines on the APC and begin to travel toward the Rendez-Vous Point. Take the west-most route: you'll encounter 2 enemy HoverBykes and three Crusader squads; to destroy them faster, use the Mortars again the Crusaders and just have the Marines fire at the HoverBykes; once they are gone, board the Marines on the APC and meet the defecting Bishop, now under attack by 4 Hoverbykes. Though he is in an APC, he won't fire back and when you'll reach him the APC will blown up. Move the APC near the body of the diyng Bishop (it's very little, and it is NOT near the APC wreckages) and have the Marines destroy the HoverBykes, then board them on the APC. Before passing out, the Bishop will give you a disk, and will pray you to stop the Order and its Garm Project, and will babble something about Devils disguised as Angels... Now, move toward the Extraction Marker as fast as you can to avoid being targeted by the Order's 5 Liht Hoverdynes. De-Briefing: Bishop Delendre died more for fear than for wounds; Order Bishops would prefer to die in agony rather than seeing their robes touched by infidels, and this one ever asked you to stop the Order. Mission 3: AT THE SOURCE New Units: 1 Terradyne unit (Jackals only, with all Weapons and Repair Modules) Objectives: + Destroy the Energy Generators before Thomas' unit attacks + Help Thomas in destroying the Order base Dropships available: 1 Briefing: You requested more units, and the Hayes finally granted sme support; however this support comes from major Dwight Thomas, and you'll have to be his vanguard in a joint operation to destroy the Order's local base. This base is protected by 7 Tier-7 Guana heavy turrets, which can destroy heavy Terradynes in few shots; their drawback is that they consume large quantities of electrivity, so destroying the generator will silence them, allowing Thomas' men to destroy the rest of the base and their defenders. Map and Weather Description: This mission will be executed in nighttime. The map is prevalently mountanious. The DropPoint is very near the east entrance of the enemy base. The only other entrance is in the north-west, and it is protected by the Tier-7 turrets; the east entrance is defended by Light Hoverdynes, Crusader units, Aeris-4 and Pulse Turrets. Major Thomas squad will attack from the north-west, and will be composed by two Wolf squads and his APC. The Energy Generator is hidden between the canyons in the north part of the map. Unit Deployment: Offensive set for everyone. Arm your Marines with Mortars and Medikit; Jackals will be useful with HE Grenades and Repair Modules. On The Field: Ignore the Order outpost, and quickly board your Marines on the APC and move the Jackals toward north, and have the APC follow them. Once the small canyon you're on is ending, turn west and proceed straight until you see a white natural ramp to the hill above. Move all your units toward the canyon opposite the ramp and unload the Marines: use them to hunt down the Crusader unit in the area while the Jackals use one or two shots of their Special Weapons to destroy the Energy Generator (Uranium Rounds works better as pure damage, bu the HE Grenades, thanks to their arched trajectory will make targeting the structure a lot easier); if the structure is still active, you can order your Marines to use their Mortars to bring it down, but save at least one Sepacial Weapon for every squad. Now tha the Generator is down, load your Marines on the APC and wait Thomas and his Terradynes to assault the enemy base. Rather than backtrack your steps and attack from east, join Thomas in attacking the north entrance (note: though all turrets, even the Aeris-4 and Pulse ones, are down, Thomas' APC can still take damage, and if it is destroyed, mission failed baby); destroy all turrets first, and then all infantry units; Thomas' Terradynes will take care of all structures and enemy Hoverdynes. As soon as you enter the base, the hospital in the base will surrender, but Thomas will destroy it; after it is destroyed, mission will end. De-Briefing: Thomas murdered wounded people, and Enrica Hayes even gave him an Initiative Bonus for this; and you did nothing to stop him. Proabably the Order is right, the hand of God will eradicate all impures. Mission 4: IRON SHIELD New Units: 1 Terradyne unit (Jackals only; no new Weapons or Equipment) Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: 1 Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 5: ACQUISITION New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 6: NEIGHBOURS AT THE DOOR New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 7: THE SATELLITE New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 8: NO WIN SITUATION New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 9: JUNGLE PURIFICATION New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 10: ANTI-AIR RAID New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 11: SIMPLE ESCORT DUTY New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 12: TAKE & CONTROL New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 13: UNDER THE SHIELD New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 14: BEHIND ENEMY LINES New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 15: SHOW OF FORCE New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: ************************************ 11-ORDER OF THE NEW DAWN WALKTHROUGH ************************************ Mission 1: LIBERATION DAY New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 2: CLEAR THE WAY New Units: Objectives: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 3: NOBODY HOME New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 4: ACTIVATION EQUIPMENT New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 5: INTO THE DUSK New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 6: EARLY WARNING SYSTEM New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 7: IMPORTANT CARGO New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 8: HERETIC MANNA New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 9: HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 10: FOUR BRIDGES TOO FAR New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 11: SOURCE OF POWER New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 12: COVERT BEGINNING New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 13: WINTER WONDERLAND New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 14: DESPERATE ATTACK New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: Mission 15: THE LAST DANCE New Units: Objectives: Briefing: Dropships available: Map and Weather Description: Unit Deployment: On The Field: De-Briefing: ********* 12-CHEATS ********* First of all you need to activate the cheat mode: to do this, go to the main menu and press the "m", "s" and "v" keys at one time. Now you can enter the following codes: + console: bring up console the key "~" (for users with a different key layout from the english one, it is the key left to the 1, NOT the one in the numeric pad, just below the Escape key) + god: god mode + not god: turns off god mode + from massive with love: strange vehicle textures and explosions replaced by hearts + gimme maps: all missions + the new generation of rts-games: Secret Sabotage mission + flashlight: GUI has spotlight ************************************** 13-SECRET SABOTAGE MISSION WALKTHROUGH ************************************** (to be completed) ****************************** 14-HOMEWORLD vs GROUND CONTROL ****************************** Someone begun mailing me asking which of the two games is better. I promised them that I would have put a section in the Ground Control document, as it is the one under construction....enjoy, and remember that all below is striclty subjective. Point 1 - BACKGROUND and STORY Both games haven't exactly the most beatiful in-game story of the world; in fact, Ground Control is full of cliches and stereotypes, and you won't play the game to see how it ends; you'll just play it because is a good game. As for HomeWorld, I understood at mission 7 the origins of the Kushans, but many, many questions where still unaswered, and, above all, every mission was a surprise. And, a very important thing, Hiigara can be every M-class planet out there, you just get hints on how the Kushans , and probably on the Taiidans, look like. As for universe background, HomeWorld start from nothing, putting you in command of an alien race; and you see only ships, not people. Ground Control is human vs human, and the background is well defined, but, again full of cliches. This point goes to HomeWorld. Point 2 - GAMEPLAY HomeWorld recreated a full 3D environment; does Ground Control do the same? Hard, very hard to say. Ground Control is set on a planet, full of hills, canyons, mountains, plains and whatever you can find on a real planet. Everything? Not really, there are no caves. Only Aerodynes and flying units are allowed to pass over other units, where HomeWorld emphasized the aspect of full 3D environment, giving each ship dffent armor values for front, rear, sides, bottom and upsides. However, HomeWorld is set in a relatively free environment, with no natural features that can block line of sight or weapons fire: in Ground Control you can set ambushes by placing your units in the shadowy slopes on a hill, order artillery strikes from afar; and you are not bound by collecting resources or to have a base (HomeWorld hasn't a "base" in the StarCraft/Cmmand & Conquer terms, but it produces units, stores resources and upgrade existing units, much like a standard base). The first HomeWorld didn't considered unit experience, something that Ground Control and HomeWorld:Cataclysm consider well beyond the simple kill count. Someone might also say that terrain can limit movement freedom, but in HomeWorld only nebulas affected sensors, and not by that much in the first episode (Cataclysm producers realized that and expanded sensor's "rules"). The point goes to...well it's draw, here: both games have strong and weak sides, which are striclty connected to the spirit of the game. Point 3 - 3D ENGINE Both games have stunning 3D engines. HomeWorld was produced somewhat earlier than Ground Control and its engine recieved only a small upgrade for Cataclysm. Ground Control engine was used only in this game, and was able to kill a machine where HomeWord was able to run relatively smoothly. Both engines features lights, bi explosions, small moveable parts, very small details and extraordinary textures; however, Ground Control's engine can handle large quantities of units, clouds casting dynamic shadows on articulated terrains; every unit has a turret, and releases expended cartdriges after firing; every infantryman in a squad has its legs, arms and has different animations, and spit blood when destroyed. Textures are not too big but reallt impressive. Above everything, the camera can be freely moved through the battlefield, while HomeWorld's always track a certain unit. Though HomeWorld artists did a better work in choosing and using colors for backgrounds, which are never boring or give you the "already seen" impression. The point here is for Ground Control. Point 4 - BACKGROUND MUSICS, SOUND EFFECTS and VOICE ACTORS Definitively for HomeWorld. The use of classical music (Samuel Barber) well underlines important moments while other musics well define battles. The Bentusi voice is wonderful as it is Karan Sjet's, or the Beast's one. And the voice actors always play their role very well. Hearing an Ion Cannon firing is a pleasure (it is the same for friendly artillery rounds in Ground Control) and everything has its sound effct, even turrets tracking enemies or fighters doing tight turns. Ground Controls has some good sound effects but musics close to nothing and Leader (the company distributing the game here in Italy) had the "great" idea of translating it in italian. Translation and dubbing are done quite well, but most voice actors place too much or not enough emphasys in the wrong places, though Cardinal Aegeri's actor is really good. Point for HomeWorld. ******************* 15-CREDITS AND MISC ******************* Well, the first credit always goes to the software house which have done te game...so, thanks to Massive Entertainment; then to my new computer: without it I wouldn't be able to play this great game; then to myself for this great walktrhough (gee...); then to Robert A. Heinlein for Stranger In A Strange Land, which became my favourite book after the first three chapters; then to everyone reading this walkthrough, everyone showing it with my permission and to everyone playing Ground Control (which isn't exactly a best-seller...dammit, forget about C&C and play real games!). Here are all sites that have my permission to show this document: 1) GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com) 2) My site, WolfArt (http://www.geocities.com/khan_briareos/index.htm) 3) Esprit Network (http://cataclysm.esprit-str.com), translated in French 4) Cheat Code Central (http://www.cheatcc.com) 5) Gameguru Mania (http://ggmania.com) 6) Mega Games (http://megagames.com) 7) Games Over (http://www.gamesover.com) If someone sees this document in other sites, please mail me. To ask permission to post this document, just send a mail writing down the URL. Copyright (c) Briareos Kerensky 2002/2003. Reproduction and translation of this document (as a whole or parts of its) in any mode without permission is strictly forbidden. All names and marks are proprieties of respective owners.