Hungy's LAN 18/11/2010

Quotes so far:

"Happy birthday. See you next year!" - Long, on the phone to some girl

Company of Heroes Online - Terror Commander

I'm going to detail below how I play Terror in Company of Heroes Online.

Currently level 20, Terror commander

Hero units
Headquarters: Field Pioneers
Wehrmacht Quarters: Fatherland HMG team, Durable HMG team
Krieg Barracks: Accomplished mortar team
Sturm Armory: (unused for now)
Panzer Command: (unused for now)

Army items
Base building upgrade (machineguns)
Pioneer defence
Panther defence
Panther sight
Panther accuracy
Ostwind sight
Sniper sight
(One slot free)

Base operations
Initial build priorities
- Straight away, build field pioneers (140 manpower) and a normal pioneer (120 manpower) squad from HQ
- Use the starting pioneer squad to start capturing fuel points and/or garrison crucial buildings near contested middle areas.
- Use field pioneers to capture points (level 1 gives +20% capture speed)
- Use final pioneer squad to build Wehrmacht quarters (220 manpower, 15 fuel)

Wehrmacht quarters
- Build Durable HMG team (260 manpower), use to support pioneer squads near middle
- Build Fatherland HMG team (280 manpower), use to support pioneer squads near middle

As soon as possible, Escalate to Skirmish Phase (200 manpower, 35 fuel)

Upon escalation, build a Krieg Barracks (220 manpower, 35 fuel)
- Build Accomplished mortar team (240 manpower), use to support pioneers and MGs.

Escalate to Assault Phase (200 manpower, 50 fuel)
- Build a Kampfkraft Center (100 manpower)
- Research Level 1 Tank veterancy (100 manpower, 30 fuel)

Escalate to Battle Phase (200 manpower, 65 fuel)
- Build a Panzer Command (260 manpower, 50 fuel)
- Research Level 2 Tank veterancy (200 manpower, 50 fuel)
- Build one Panther (600 manpower, 110 fuel)
- Research Level 3 Tank veterancy (300 manpower, 70 fuel)
- Build two (if you have a King Tiger, 1000 manpower), or three (if you don't have a King Tiger) more Panthers, plus two Ostwinds.
- Charge them hard and fast down one flank into one of the enemy Headquarters. You should be able to destroy 2 headquarters with this initial rush.
- This should be the turning point. Victory is assured. Follow up with further armored assaults on the remaining headquarters.
- Capture remaining Victory Points.
- Win.

Total cost of base operations (up to Level 3 Tank veterancy): 3,640 manpower, 460 fuel.

Field operations
- Early game, rushing a pioneer squad into a building near your allocated Victory point is a must. Automatically gives heavy cover, which means your pioneers can defeat any engineer units that approach.
- Use the field pioneer squad (+20% capture rate) to capture fuel and munitions points leading to the victory point, with strategic points as necessary to link it up (supply lines).
- Where possible, use your first machinegun squad to enter the same building as the first pioneer squad. It can cover your pioneers while they capture the point.
- Use second machinegun squad to support/cover flank approaches to the victory point.
- Once Victory Point is secured, use pioneers to build bunkers (150 manpower) at key locations. Upgrade with heavy machinegun (50 munitions) as soon as possible.
- Use mortar for long-range support of bunkers and machinegun squads, especially for counterbattery fire against enemy mortar teams.
- While initially two machinegun squads and a mortar team is a very effective defence, especially with bunkers built and upgraded, they will be unable to stop Greyhound armored cars, halftracks, and tanks. If necessary, stiffen your defence with PaK 38 anti-tank guns (310 manpower) from the Kreig Barracks.
- Ultimately, your aim is not to hold the victory point itself, but the resource points that lead to it. With a steady supply of resources, you will be able to securely escalate and attain Panthers earlier.
- Anything that you build extra to the stated build guide above will lengthen the amount of time it takes to reach Panthers.
- Remember, though, that flexibility is the key. It's no use finally building a lone Tier 3 Panther if the enemy has taken all the resource points that you were supposed to defend. You'll have lost the game at that point. If you need AT guns, build them. If you need extra bunkers, build them.
- While bunkers cannot move, they are the preferred anti-infantry defence as compared to heavy machinegun squads. Bunkers don't take up population, which means you can build more tanks.
- When using tanks, remember to micromanage them. Always keep their frontal armour pointed to the enemy. If you see blobs of Rangers or Airborne paratroopers with recoiless rifles sliding about your flank, use Forced Retreat (100 munitions) on them.
- When attacking American base buildings, your target priority should be as follows: Tank Depot, Motor Pool, then Barracks. Enemy tanks will hurt you the most, so prevent them from being built. After that, it's AT guns which will hurt you the second most, so prevent them from being built too. Nothing in the Weapon Support Center can hurt tanks, so ignore that. Take out the Barracks to prevent riflemen from using stickybombs on you.

Victory can be attained in the following ways:
- Holding on to more victory points than the opposition, until their tickets reach 0.
- Destroying all enemy base buildings, field headquarters and bunkers.
- Entire enemy team surrenders/disconnects

My style of play is designed such that all three methods of victory are viable. If your base-rush is successful, you can win by destroying all enemy buildings. If your base-rush is only partially successful, or it takes longer than expected, you still have ample time to capture all the victory points while the enemy is distracted.
Any one of these can, if overwhelmingly successful, induce the opposition to surrender.

To summarise
- Play defensive early and mid-game, using a few specialised infantry units to hold back the enemy while you escalate. Make ample use of commander abilities such as Firestorm and Forced Retreat, as they use munitions only.
- Build up a powerful armoured fist with which you can crush the enemy headquarters.
- Destroy base buildings.
- Capture victory points while enemy is off-balance.

Imogen Heap

The famous bit starts at 2:54.

Anyway, Imogen Heap was doing an interview regarding the inspiration for this song. And I quote:
"In a broad strokes way, it’s about losing something very dear to me and how much of an impact that person had on my life and about maybe how when something awful happens to somebody else, how other people react to it. It tied in with when I went to see Michael Moore’s Farenheit 911 and I remembered that image of George Bush being told and him completeley carrying on as if nothing had happened. And I just thought that was outrageous, if I was the president I would run out of there and fucking get onto the TV and say something amazing, and he wasn’t even reading his book and he had it upside down. And I was really horrified at how selfish and awful he was, and how emotionless he was and that kind of reminded me a little bit about somebody else behind this song."
http://www.barcodezine.com/Imogen%20Heap%20Interview2.htm

Are you stupid? Seriously? Just completely clueless? Let us run over Bush's reaction to being told of the September 11 attacks.
He's at a primary school surrounded by little kids. Instead of rushing out of there leaving every completely distraught and clueless and crapping all over the chance for the chidlren to show off in front of the President, he actually sits there and tries to listen and stay normal, for their sake. The fact that he did actually have the book upside down shows that he was indeed distracted by the events, but had to maintain a normal facade.
Not only that, but he's in front of a nation's media. If he simply responds to the first report straight away without a single moment to actually step back and consider the facts, he'll be labelled a rumourmonger.
He wasn't being emotionless. He was being very clever. And that, Imogen, is why he was President for two terms, and you're not.

Hua Mulan

My first ever Youtube upload! Perhaps my favourite scene from the entire movie, sad as it is...

Han Han 韩寒

思想品德不及格，总比没思想好。
(Ideological and moral failing is better than not thinking well.)

越小的官就越喜欢滥用职权。
(The smaller the government the more I like abuse of power.)

Quotes from Han Han (Chinese: 韩寒)

Perhaps the single most widely read blogger in the world.

Double entendre

So I was hanging out on MapleStory with these two randoms (both girls...I think). Anyway, our conversation involved in something like this:

Girl 1: We've started learning about female anatomy in Anatomy class now.
Girl 2: Learn anything new?
Me: I don't think so. She probably has about 10+ years of self-exploration under her belt.

Double entendre win? :D

Duty and truth

"Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less." - Robert E. Lee

What is duty?
Duty is the obligation you have to something. Everything.
Duty to your parents. Duty to your teachers.
Duty to your life. Duty to yourself.
Duty to your country. Duty to those you love.
Duty to those that you do not know, because they are human too.
Some of us are called upon by duty. For others, duty finds us.
To fulfil our duty is the ultimate calling in life.

"My intent is to tell the truth as I know it, realizing that what is true for me may be blasphemy for others." - Gerry Spence

As most of you know, I'm pretty opinionated about a lot of things. They're my opinions. Justified, in my mind, by fact from various sources. If you're going to disagree, disagree by trying to change my mind. Not by insulting me.