I have downloaded the Multiwinia demo recently and I must say it is BRILLIANT.One thing that irks me however is that formations seem to be almost useless due to the fact that non-formations (mobs?) can throw grenades,and even one grenade can reduce half the formation to a small cloud of glittering souls unless they have the shield "powerup" on them.

This would be understandable if they came from the side or back (formations should have their downsides after all) but from the front the "increased firepower" of formations does not seem to stop one or two enemies getting into grenade range (unless the formation is backed up by a turret)

Offtopic:what the heck does "rocketwinians" do?I know "futurewinians" makes a huge saucer that sucks people up and beams them down as physcic ghosts whose shots turn people into yet MORE ghosts.

This post has been edited by FriedDodo : 17 April 2009 - 03:04 AM

First off, formations can be quite useful, but only in certain circumstances. They have improved laser range, better "armour" (it does take more hits to take them out, and formations are not as vulnerable to an exploding armour as loose DGs are), will not run away, and fire more frequently. Against small mobs, or in defensive positions, they are very handy. They are also great for taking out ants nests. I have also seem people use them to great effect as an offensive tool, though I must admit that I don't like to use them in that manner. Finally, as you point out, formations can be useful for defending turrets.

With regard to the rocketwinians crate, this causes DGs to fire rockets rather than grenades on the team that opened the crate. Thus, if my DGs open a rocketwinian crate, my DGs will fire rockets, rather than grenades, for the remainder of the game.

Finally, those "ghosts," as you call them, are the futurewinians. They are all automatically given the subversion weapon, which, instead of killing hit enemies, converts them to their team. It is also possible to get subversion from a crate -- in that case, you can select where to use it, and any of your DGs within the radius of use will use the subversion weapon for 30 seconds, and convert nearby DGs.

xander

If formations have better range and firing speed is that why they don't use grenades/rockets? (Rocketwinians...painful!)

Well the Futurewinians do look like ghosts,though admittedly the "ghosts" left by dark forests and soul devourers don't go around mind controlling people.They are a nightmare to get rid of however (at least the Evilwinians* have to capture a spawn point/score zone to become a nuisance)

*Thats what the black ones from the infection outbreak are called,during one game they captured a spawn point and score zone and appeared on the scorelist under this name....they came 3rd place (not bad given they "joined" halfway through)

a few last questions:

1. What does "Magical forest" do?It seems to generate souls but does it do anything else?

2. Why the heck does "plauge outbreak" make your guys explode?are Multiwinians explosive by nature?

3. Am I the only one who likes that little beeping "marching tune" of the formations?

This post has been edited by FriedDodo : 17 April 2009 - 03:10 AM

QUOTE (FriedDodo @ Apr 17 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If formations have better range and firing speed is that why they don't use grenades/rockets? (Rocketwinians...painful!)

All I know is what the differences are. If you want to know why, you would have to ask Introversion, the company that created the game. That being said, I think you are on the right track.

QUOTE (FriedDodo @ Apr 17 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well the Futurewinians do look like ghosts,though admittedly the "ghosts" left by dark forests and soul devourers don't go around mind controlling people.They are a nightmare to get rid of however (at least the Evilwinians* have to capture a spawn point/score zone to become a nuisance)

*Thats what the black ones from the infection outbreak are called,during one game they captured a spawn point and score zone and appeared on the scorelist under this name....they came 3rd place (not bad given they "joined" halfway through)

Yes, I know what Evilinians are called. In fact, I even know that there is no "w" in their name.

It should also be pointed out that Evilinians are on the same team as soul destroyers (soul destroyers are always on the black team), and that they are immune to fire (thus flame turrets are useless against them). Also, in my not so humble opinion, neither Evilinians nor Futurewinians are that much of a threat until they capture a spawn point. Against Evilinians, the same tactics you would use against any other player work pretty well, and against Futurewinians, formations can be quite effective. Neither team is much good against formations because they are controlled by the AI, and the AI isn't that great.

QUOTE (FriedDodo @ Apr 17 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

1. What does "Magical forest" do?It seems to generate souls but does it do anything else?

Um... they burn real nice? Their only intended function is to create souls. These can be harvested with a Harvester or Engineer, or by ants to reinforce their numbers.

QUOTE (FriedDodo @ Apr 17 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

2. Why the heck does "plauge outbreak" make your guys explode?are Multiwinians explosive by nature?

Plague will infect your DGs. Infected DGs have a nice, healthy, green glow, and are contagious---any other DG that comes near has a pretty high chance of getting infected. While a DG is infected, it will tend to ignore orders, and fire off its weapons at random (exploding 'nades might be what you are seeing as exploding DGs). After a certain period of time, an infected DG will either simply die on its own, or recover.

One really nasty thing to do with infected DGs is to load them up into an armour (if you have one), and drive that armor through your enemies' bases. Of course, they can do the same to you.

The key to dealing with infection is to quarantine it. Get any healthy DGs away from the infection, and keep ordering the infected DGs away from healthy ones. If done correctly, you will lose very few DGs, and the infection will clear itself up pretty quickly.

QUOTE (FriedDodo @ Apr 17 2009, 08:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

3. Am I the only one who likes that little beeping "marching tune" of the formations?

Probably not.

xander

I would say formations are best for holding territory. I really only use them for preventing attackers from overrunning me. And I happen to love the marching tune.

My favorite formation technique is what I use to fight other formations: I march my men within range of the enemy squad and immediately release the formation. No less than four grenades predictably fly at the enemy, destroying ~85%.

Left... Left... Left, right, left...

I use formations primarily where there is (A) a choke point and (B) lots of soldiers available, because formations are only effective when you can put 100+ troops into a formation.

This post has been edited by JacaByte : 19 April 2009 - 09:48 AM