I watched some let's plays and it looks hella fun. But it also looks like it might take a minor investment in time to learn.
Not to learn...but to master.
It is a lot of fun in MP. It really isn't a heavy intellectual lift, but it is strategically complex. There are an almost infinite number of strategies that will work (or won't work) depending on your faction, the other players, your allies, and how you develop your force structure. For a typical game, here are a couple of pointers:
- In the default settings, the game gives twice as many points for the damage you inflict than it takes away for the damage you suffer. Therefore, the side that makes the first effective strike will usually win.
Because of the emphasis on offensive, most of your R&D efforts should be aimed at developing your offensive potential. IMHO, It is almost impossible to win a game using a defensive "turtle" strategy. That does not mean that you should neglect defenses. Rather, defenses should be aimed at protecting your offensive potential.
When playing against the computer, if your allies are nearby, expect them to break the alliance and attack you. For example, I have yet to play a game as the US where South America hasn't attacked me. It may be better to select allies who are distant from you, but who offer a threat to another faction. For instance, when playing the US, Africa, Europe, or the Pacific factions may be better allies than South America.
In general, when building your force structure, consider what you want to be your primary offensive vehicle and develop it to the maximum. Then, after developing some defenses, possibly develop a secondary offensive force to supplement it. Rarely will you have time to develop a full triad before war breaks out. In general, the air forces gives you an relatively long range offensive striking power early in the game. Fighter a/c also provide some defensive capabilities. If you decide to take the air route, quickly develop advanced aircraft and mid-air refueling to give a global reach. I then try to develop air launched missiles or air launched medium range missiles to give a stand off capability, to better penetrate hostile air defenses. The downside to this strategy is that airbases are difficult and expensive targets to defend.
A naval strategy might be to quickly develop SSBNs and quiet engines, along with ship launched cruise missiles to use to take out defenses. The problem with this strategy is that naval forces are vulnerable to counterstrike by quick reaction MRBM and ICBMs. SSMBs are also expensive but they are relatively potent, going to sea with 12 SLBMs. Note that in the game, SSBNs must surface to launch, so they are vulnerable to an opponent with a good ISR capability and a quick reaction missile force.
An ICBM force is expensive and time consuming to construct, but it is also hard to defend against. If you build ICBMs, IMHO you should emphasize mobile missile launchers, as rarely do silos survive after launching more than 1-2 missiles. However, mobile launchers are vulnerable to stealth aircraft, so if you do this, it helps if you have a good AD network set up in the area where you are keeping your mobile launchers. If you are located near an enemy, consider using cheaper MRBMs instead of ICBMs. Note that for missiles, the game factors the fact that missiles traveling E-W have greater range than those traveling N-S, so that being geographically close, but N-S from your targets may mean that MRBM or SLBM may not have sufficient range to hit everything you need to hit.
Surveillance assets are important for targeting. Develop either a AWACs or Satellite capability to locate enemy targets before the shooting starts. Afterwards, it will be too late. OTH radar is also important if you want to develop an ABM capability.
Also, the game gives you points for population destroyed. Most large cities take approximately 30 megatons of ordinance to really take down However, the city-busting 50 megaton bomb takes a fair amount of research to develop and a similarly expensive heavy ICBM to deploy. So, most cities will require a restrike. Until the late game, you are unlikely to have the large warheads, so you will have to use multiple smaller warheads to get enough points to win. Accordingly, have a stockpile of ordinance built up for when the war starts, as you will need them. and you will be hard pressed to build them once the shooting starts.
