So i just played a couple of skirmishes on the mod and here are some initial observations about the gameplay:

1) Infantry in general feel slightly too slow... which is kinda bad because a) makes it harder to avoid tank crushing b) bad for scouting/exploring maps c) inf cant be used offensively as it takes years to get anywhere on the map.
But the Grenadier's speed actually feels pretty much right atm - so i suggest using him as a reference point. i think the Rocket soldier's speed should be increased to equal that of the Grenadier while the Rifleman should be faster than both. Then balance the rest of the infantry speeds in proportion to these.

All infantry may also probably use a little bit (roughly 15-20%) more range.
(I realise this could make Rocket soldiers outrange flamers/pillboxes... so may have to increase flamer/pillbox range to compensate)

I'm aware it all mirrors RA1 settings though, but no harm in making infantry feel more fun and viable to use than in the original game :)

2) Rocket and Tank weapons feel a tad too effective vs infantry. i think it could be toned down roughly 25%, or make them slightly inaccurate vs infantry.

3) Dogs are just plain useless... rocket infantry practically counter dogs right now, which isnt right - ofcourse this is partly due to rockets doing too much vs infantry.
I think dogs as a whole could use a lot of buffs - at a hefty cost of 200 for just over-specialised anti-inf, they better damn be amazing vs inf to be worth it.

I say reduce cost to 120 or so and also apply some or all of the following:
significantly increased speed (should make a viable scout unit), increased hitpoints and also the ability to dodge tank and rocket weaponry. It should also be able to detect stealthed units from a reasonable distance.

4) Current fog regeneration+shroud cover+short sighted units makes scouting very difficult.
i think all units could use more fog-clearing range (about 25-50%). Right now it feels like a gamble sending a unit into the fog because you really have no time to react to whatever you encounter. The fog regeneration rate may also need to be reduced a little.
It was a bit different in RA1 because most units could simply dodge fire easily so they lasted a bit longer under enemy fire, allowing you to see farther into enemy territory. With the high accuracy of weapons in TRA (which is otherwise fine), scouting is definitely a harder task.

All units could also use more sight range as they dont seem very good at automatically retaliating vs nearby enemies.

Also i think shroud that covers the map should be removed - having fog is sufficient; players deserve to know the terrain/map features without having to explore it every game.

5) allied artillery should have more range to outrange turrets imo. Again, im aware its currently setup just like RA1, but i believe artys not outranging turrets was a bit of a flaw in the game. Decrease its damage vs infantry (should require 2 hits for inf) so it doesnt become too strong vs inf.

6) chrono tanks feel a bit too effective... theyre rather expensive though so perhaps may just need more playtesting. I think chronotanks could however use a teleport range limit; teleporting anywhere on the map doesnt seem fair.

7) GPS shouldnt permanently remove fog. It should have a periodic cooldown (shorter than current one) and reveal the entire map (stealth and submarine units too) for a about 10-15 sec.

8) Air units dont quite feel that useful, but maybe im wrong. They feel a bit too slow imo, especially the helicopters. The MIG and longbow seem pretty meh damage-wise... 3 MIGs for a single heavy tank? really?!
Perhaps some extra fog-clearing range for all air units too is in order, as its rather difficult to use air units when fog keeps growing back.

Yaks seemed somewhat decent vs buildings, but ive noticed they make a shorter turn circle than their minimum attack range limit allows for, so they end up just taking multiple circles around a target and not shooting it because theyre always within that min range. I would suggest removing or reducing this minimum range so Yaks can fire more easily.

There was one tidbit about air vs rocket interactions that was nice in RA1 -- rocket projectiles had somewhat limited fuel and often exploded before hitting air units moving away from them. I think itd be interesting to have this implemented to atleast an extent, in order to increase reward for well-controlled air units, especially since right now they feel a bit too fragile and not very potent either.
I havent played this mod extensively enough to be sure if this is already in though.

However any improvements to air units will naturally require Soviets to get better anti-air options as theyre the weakest in this department - so perhaps the Sov Rocket soldier and MIG (not sure if they already hit air, but they totally should!) could be made more effective vs air.

9) Re-deployable MCVs needed! i think this is the key reason for the game feeling a little sluggish atm. having to build a new MCV everytime for expanding is rather annoying. Moreoever they feel very fragile for a $2500 investment, so perhaps a bit of a hitpoints buff needed there.

Buuut ive noticed basecrawling by spamming powerplants is actually pretty viable right now lol. Redeployable MCVs arent going to be of much use if its so much more viable to just spam powerplants to expand your base to the next expansion.
So may want to consider reducing the build radius provided by powerplants, barracks and possibly airfields too.

10) also- a few units like MCVs, certain trucks, mammoths, teslatanks, chronotanks should have their 'turn radius' removed and just turn like smaller tanks do because they often take large circles and then get stuck in places.
RA1 units never had turn radii anyway.


Let me reiterate that all of these are just first impressions, so could change once i get to play some real people online! :)

all in all, a really fantastic mod though that truly feels faithful to the original, and im really enjoying it - i got ra3 just for this mod alone and it feels well worth the time :)

imo continue your support with a couple of post-release updates with some balance tweaks+new maps and the efforts will be well rewarded with a strong multiplayer fan-base (and the RA3 community at gamereplays.org will also likely support it via cash tournaments).... i know i personally will continue to play and enjoy it and will ask many others to check it out.

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An excellent analysis of problems, including virtually everything i had to complain about is right here. That being said, This mod as absolutely splendid, but if some of these issues were addressed I think the game would be vastly improved. The rocket infantry being OP seems to be a common complaint in these posts, and so far I'm inclined to agree. I found that infantry, Yak's, and hinds seem to be utterly flattened by rocket troops. Perhaps reducing their accuracy, damage vs infantry, or as cgf123 suggested, stop rockets from flying outside their attack range. Maybe improving the armour of hinds would help since they are supposed to be dedicated infantry stompers, and even two rocket infantry can knock them out at this rate.

yeah, let me clarify that its mostly the anti-infantry power of rockets (and tanks) thats particularly imbalanced

vs tanks/armor i think rocket infantry are still actually below par... i find that tanks still pretty much beat rocket infantry with their cannons+crushing

all infantry could really use that movement speed+range increase i suggested so they arent crushed with impunity


about air, after playing a couple of games i have to admit now that MIGs are still decent at killing ore trucks, so i suppose thats about the same as RA1... wish they were worth using vs other vehicles though. Will probably have to test the other aircraft more extensively to form a concrete opinion of them.

whether rocket infantry 3shot-killing MIGs is debatable i guess, because MIGs have the speed advantage, while rocket inf in their current state take ages to get anywhere.

at the same time the poor sight/fog clear range of the MIG (and just about every unit) makes it a bit of a gamble to send them in to kill stuff.
So if i send my MIGs to hunt trucks in a field, before i realise that field is actually gaurded by anti-air units i'll have lost my MIGs already.

which in turn brings me back to the shroud/fog problem (shroud = covers everything including map terrain, fog = covers only enemy units/structures etc while showing map terrain)-- i think the shroud that covers map features really needs to go. its annoying that i have to memorise the map features beforehand to know where all the ore fields, terrain features etc are located.

if campaign missions are ever made for this mod, the shroud would feel at home there - but not in a multiplayer environment.

The fog grows way too fast, and this in combination with poor unit sight implies theres low reward for scouting the enemy, and thus more luck-based guessing style play.
I dont think fog of war as a whole should be removed however - it was a good feature that was introduced in RA1, and continues to be in modern titles like CnC3/RA3.

But keep in mind how fog of war was (reasonably) balanced in those titles: CnC3 had a slow fog regrowth rate of 30 seconds, while RA3 had fast/cheap early scouts with long fog clearing range - two different approaches but both ensured scouting was adequately effective and you were able to figure out what your opponent was doing and react accordingly.

The economy needs some work as well - i think trucks collect too slowly so income flow doesnt feel smooth enough, while at the same time ore fields deplete way too quickly and/or regrow too slowly.

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heres a recent replay between me and another player, hopefully demonstrating these points
1) current shroud/fog makes scouting difficult
2) rocket inf, while being very effective vs infantry, arent actually that good vs tanks
3) expanding to fields is via basecrawling and theres really no other option; redeployable mcv's would be nice and powerplants with their current build radius may result in some imbalanced basecrawl strategies.
4) Conyard is too easy to kill, and losing one is very crippling with current economy.
5) MIGs can be decent vs ore trucks, but again due to current fog/shroud its all a gamble knowing what awaits you there
6) overall economy is a bit sluggish; you need quite a few trucks for a decent income flow but due to extremely slow ore growth, fields deplete quick and you are starved for cash pretty soon.   Game1vsBigCheese_NW_SvA.rar (221kb) downloaded 4 time(s).

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