C&C Power Play mod for C&C: Generals Zero Hour

It has just hit me that there are unexplained mechanics of this mod that makes it somewhat different from vanilla Zero Hour. No, it's not the lack of buildings (that is fixed in the next update), or the fact that there are tanks with 8 barrels strapped onto the turret.

So let me just get into it then.

In vanilla Zero Hour, projectiles has no issues (generally) tracking and hitting even the fastest Rocket Buggies if it gets too close. This is not the case in Power Play.

Instead, all projectiles have differing speed and accuracy depending on the unit and faction it belongs to. Fulguran units are equipped with weapons that by default has faster speed and less "scatter radius", but none of their weapons can magically "track" moving vehicles, so it still has a smaller chance to miss its shots. The only exceptions are hit scan-based weapons like Bishop's laser, where it will still hit them with ease.

What does this mean?

Solisian and Lamini units generally have an advantage in not just being able to go from A to B faster than their counterparts, but due to their mobile nature, they also have easier time to "dodge" incoming projectiles. In contrast, other units have harder times to do the same, but they also have a lot of health to compensate for that fact (unless you're Infernus, in which case, it is one of your primary weaknesses that you get for trading it with superior firepower and generally cheaper production cost).

This might not matter to you if you are the kind of person to spam like 100 units if not more onto an enemy force, but in a smaller scale where micromanagement is more feasible, positioning your units can make a big difference when it comes to finding a decisive winner in the battle.

In more recent versions of Power Play, you may also notice that the EMP effects are constant; whenever a vehicle is disabled, it will take roughly 2 seconds to resume operation, regardless of whether it's a Super Heavy Tank like Robus, or something small yet mighty like Termite. While "laser-based" disabler is no longer a thing (for now), disabling a vehicle this way will also require constant attention to it, as leaving the target unattended would instantly re-activate the unit and make it operational again.

If you have played Fulgura before, chances are you have seen the description saying "can attack at longer range than other units". This is an indication that the unit can attack at 250 unit distance (idk the unit being used here, so), compared to the (default) 200. You might be saying, "hold up, this is a very far distance for a regular unit", and to that I say, yes it is.

Units with such description not only attacks further than their counterparts, but they generally have better accuracy mentioned above as well. Artillery however beats that at 300, which makes them the furthest any units in Power Play can reach with its weapon. The only exception is Doomsday, whose detonation radius spans up to 500, basically your entire screen.

All these things may not seem like a lot, but it dictates what kind of units are suited for their roles, and what kind of units counters one another. If someone is sending a bunch of Rats to swarm you, Vulkanic units such as Robus generally has no problems dealing with them, but artillery units will get decimated due to its inability to reliably and quickly dispose of them. In contrast, slow-moving tank blobs make a perfect target practice for them due to their powerful AoE projectiles being something they cannot simply avoid.

Some units aren't meant to be used alone, even. Vanguards for example, possess very little health (only 600 hp, which is nothing given even Fulguran units can hit up to 200 at a time) for being a Tier 3 unit, but thanks to its 250 weapon distance, it can safely engage away from enemy fire, as long as there is something to soak up damage in front of it (e.g. Harbingers or even Scarabs). Spamming Vanguards without these units can leave them vulnerable to anything that doesn't die instantly to their powerful cannons, making them an easy target to ambush and attack from the flank.

And that is all. If there are more mechanics I should explain here, I will either make a new article, or add some more text here.