I do NOT agree with ZLO's energy spam method

[Flynn]

Okay bare with me guys, I know this is controversial, calling out a pro on their play style, but hear me out on this. ZLO's method is to build just enough energy to get by. On small maps, this may give him a few advantages, but on large maps with lots of reclaim it is detrimental to his game (in my opinion). On large maps with lots of reclaim I put four to five engineers on spamming infinite T1 pgens until I acquire the technology for level two pgens and then recycle the level one pgens. I don't see how building just the right amount of power is beneficial on large maps with a lot of reclaim at all, it is simply not worth the micro time and you can find yourself in situations where you need a lot of energy quickly and if you don't have it you fall behind.

In some ways, on small maps I also don't agree with his "energy on demand" policy of building the right amount of energy. On small maps I put one engineer on pgen spam at the right time which sustains me for the game and if I have too much excess energy I pause it and unpause it when I know I am gonna need some more energy or add an engineer or two when I need to increase production. Like if I want to go T2 Com or GunCom or T2 land/air.

I think the method of having a continuous spam going on (whether it is a drip feed with one engy or a mass spam with three to four engys) is better from a macro point of view. In this game you should get in to the habit of always growing your economy before you cut back on stuff. Don't have enough mass due to pgen spam? Look for some reclaim before you cut back on pgen spam (assuming you are pgen spamming for a good reason!). Stalling upgrading that mex? Again, look for some reclaim and/or rebuild mexes before you even think of pausing it or cutting back elsewhere.

By the way, along with TAG_ROCK, ZLO is one of the nicest pros out there and I have a lot of respect for him, but I just wanted to get this off my chest as I have been watching cast after cast and it has been bothering me. Oh yeah and I can do a perfect imitation of the stereotypical Russian accent he has now Just my 2p.

[ZLO_RD]

i dunno, i do not like wasting power, however i do not like making storages as well (however i understand that i should make storages but i still can't force miself, or when i have no mass, i do not see any benefits from investing in storages)

i think you should just wach blackheart's replays if you want balance your eco...

on small map you know about every bit of reclaim on map and you can know how much energie you need, and actually kinda same on big map =\

my personal opinion and strategic philosophy will be: that on small map i would rather build more tanks and if i win more than 50% of map i will stall power, than i would expect that i will win more than 50% map and build power preemtively draging mass away from tank spam.. i can endup with less mapcontroll and less tanks and powerstall

also mapcontroll can give you some hidros that do not require power to build while t1 power need alot power to build

in late game you always need power and you just have to find balance between infinitie power spam and spamming as much as needed =\

many people overestimate reclaim and build way to many power, and many people underastimate reclaim and have mass in storage and power stall =\

i kina like that aeon/uef can just spam t2 mobile shields if then overbuild power hard

[Flynn]

Yes, dare I say as an Aeon player I usually build Blazes/Obsidians and mobile shields on infinite build so having a reasonable surplus of energy is necessary for T2 land as well as T2 air when you play Aeon. But as you play Cybran often you have the option to go T2 without much of a need for extra energy. So I guess this is an example of your faction suiting your play style more

[Gerfand]

ZLO you could make more Eng when against Aeon on Early T-2, and make a lot of Stealth and use the range to you advantage (when using Rhinos), unless if they have a Air Force above you army

[ZaZen]

I would think with the amount of games Zlo has played and won his energy management must be good and therefore micro management of power is better than spamming lines of T1Pg. 75 mass and 750 energy each and every pgen is a lot to throw into unused energy early in a game.

[Hawkei]

Perfect energy management is the icing on the cake. Better by far to have too much power than too little. But if you have the right amount that is best. Perfect power balance is very much a pro tip. Instead of balancing power with reclaim, the trick it to balance power with build power.

Lfac = 1 Pgen
Afac = 5 Pgen
Nfac = 2 Pgen
Engineer = 0.5 Pgen
ACU (when building) = 1 Pgen
Radar = 1 Pgen
Hydro = -5 Pgen

It is a good habit to make a mental note of all the construction activities you have. My usual trick is to buld the requisite number of pgens adjacent to each structure. When doing lean power build, I alternate pgens and factories in my build que with the same group of engineers. So power is built only as required.

[Flynn]

Back when I played original SupCom that is what I used to do, but it didn't leave me options for overcharge or guncom on small maps (which is the only place I think it is viable. But yeah I guess it is a method that is only viable if you are a very good player, such as ZLO