Appendix A:

Game Stats

‘Run some more tests on those numbers Stint!  Here, stand over there…. BOOM!’

 

Here is the culmination of a lot of in game/non play work (and dozens of beers) putting together some interesting numbers that are constants in a game full of variables.  It is the hope of this Quiet Captain that, if we can remove every random event and calculate what's going to happen next, then our odds increase, however slightly, and we gain some advantage of knowing something that our enemy does not.  As we research more and more during the course of the game, this page will grow in length and eventually fill up with all sorts of numbers on every aspect of the game.  For now, there are only a few interesting, though illuminating, tidbits of information you may find useful.

 

Always keep in mind that behind every visual, and every action, no matter how small is the matrix of the game (yeah like the movie, first one rocked, the rest, feh)  I personally find it hard to play RPG’s cos I see the matrix behind them, they’re all the same to me.  Sure one’s in space, ones in fantasy, etc, etc, behind it is the same damn engine that I’ve been playing since pen and paper in the 70s.  Anyway, remember that there is a REASON that guy killed you in 2 shots when you fired the exact same 2 shots from the same weapon at him and he didn’t die.  Everything is mathematics here in BF2 world, though it doesn't seem it.  It’s up to US and our team of dedicated suicide testers to wrench out all the little details of this binary world and use them to our advantage.

 

 

The Numbers Game

 

The Value of Bases

 

Chess is a pretty cool game.  Much better than Checkers in my opinion.  I got into a big chess kick in my mid teens that lasted a few years of intensive book reading and practice till I figured out I’d never really amount to anything close to what it takes to be a master.  Sure I beat a grandmaster once, neat story in fact.

 

I was in my early 20’s playing guitar for this local coffee house in South Philly near University of Penn.  In the back, was him, the aforementioned master of the black n white.  If he really was or not, I’m not sure, but this much I do know, he sat back there, with board in front of him, and welcomed all challengers and never lost.

 

Except for once.

 

With my solid knowledge of chess, and my own shortcomings I approached the problem the way I do here in battlefield, Planetside, or chasing after women, which sadly I’m WAY out of practice, or so I convince my wife.  But I’m off topic.  Anyway, knowing I would most likely never beat him on an up and up meeting of the minds (genius that I am although) I was able to get this gorgeous girl to stand next to him while we had our match.  If she was truly interested in him, or just helping me for my cause I will never know, but I do know this; by the time that match was over, the king had fallen.

 

Whispers shot around the coffee house for months to come of the one guy that had beaten the master, needless to say, I was damn proud.  So proud in fact that I accepted his rematch offer… BIG MISTAKE.  After being distracted by the girl next to him for round one, he wasn't about to take his focus off the game for the rematch.  I should have walked away declaring my undefeated carrier in chess play at the Café Kiros, but nope, twas not to be.

 

I got smoked for the rematch, and the tiebreaker.

 

What did I learn?  Know your enemy, never underestimate him, and (this is a big rule in Sun Tzu) Only fight battles that you are pretty sure you are going to win.  I was still the only person to beat the master for years to come, but if I had just walked away afterward, I would have been closer to a God by not losing ever, ahh well.  What was this page about?  Oh yeah, Base Value.

 

 

Lets Use Songushia Stalemate as our example of the value of bases.  This was learned due to a Tragic loss suffered by not knowing the cost of the individual bases.  There will be several things that factor into a bases final score and what makes it worth more than a seemingly similar base.  Simple things like what spawns there contributes highly to it’s final score, as well as height advantage and how easily it is to defend.  Then there are the not so obvious things like specific terrain that will come into effect as well as it’s placement to other like bases.  A base not worth much maybe brought up by the bases surrounding it.  Likewise a base that should be worth a lot could be minimized due to the fact it is isolated and away from the lanes of traffic for the battle.  There Are bases (called King’s or king bases) that are worth Zero.  This does not mean they are actually worth nothing, but rather, like chess, the king is worth zero because when you take him, the game is over.  King’s bases are those that are cannot be captured by the enemy.  The map below has no bases like that so it is a moot point

Base Value

Free Beer

(you wish)

This method of cataloging base value is in its infancy.  There is still a lot of work to do on figuring out each maps pluses and minuses as we continue.  But for now lets assume you are familiar with the above map.  Bases 1 and 6 have several things going for them that would make them high value bases.

 

Each spawns a transport helicopter, a tank (the ONLY tanks on this level), and an APC

Each holds the Commander Assets for the particular teams that spawn there

Each has major height advantage over its nearest neighbor base.

The Chinese base has a slight advantage in restricted space over the US near the flag

 

Looking at that, it’s easy to see that these two bases are the most valuable on this map.  If they were to be given a score it would be 9 or Queen’s level.  To protect them as if a Queen in chess.  Since they can be captured they cannot be king’s.  Lets look at their nearest neighbor bases 2 & 5.

 

Each one is slightly isolated from the other bases on the same level due to its placement

Each one spawns 2 APCs (though only one for the holding empire’s side) a helicopter & AA

Each one has only two access roads to it.

US has slight advantage due to building placement near the flag

 

Due to the above stats they would be rated around 5’s or Rooks as the game looks at them.  Very valuable as a whole, but not as valuable as the Queens above them.  So, in an emergency, if you would have to lose one or the other, the rooks are sacrificed up first before queens.  Lastly, lets look at the center bases 3 & 4

 

Each one spawns a Jeep & APC

The North base has 4 separate access roads, the south only 2, this makes south more valuable and easier to defend giving it a higher score, but only slightly.

 

I personally consider Knights to be a tad more valuable than bishops, so in this sense the south base would be considered knight, while north a Bishop.  No base on this map would be considered Pawn, however one that would be the village on Operation Clean Sweep, or the Oil Cisterns on Daqing Oilfields due to the complex way it would need to be defended

 

 

Weapons Vehicle

Recognition

Appendix A:

Game Stats