Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge -- Time Study FAQ being updated and maintained by Jason Heyes (geoffhys@optusnet.com.au) FAQ originally written by PyroFalkon (pyrofalkon@hotmail.com) Version 3.0 === --REVISION HISTORY-- 30 November 2001 (v3.0) - Third release by Jason Heyes. 10 November 2001 (v2.0) - Second release by Jason Heyes. 03 November 2000 (v1.0) - First release by PyroFalkon. === --OPENING BLURB BY PYROFALKON-- I've written two semi-popular time studies already (one on Age of Empires II, and one on its expansion pack). To continue the tradition, I've decided to make one for my newest love, Red Alert 2. This FAQ has little fat, and a lot of meat. There's no review, no fluff talk aside from this section and my disclaimer. I give you the info you need, and that's that. I assure you that this time study can't and won't help you if you're a newbie. Check out NVarkovsky's fantastic FAQ for detailed info on missions and units if you're starting out. This FAQ is for the vets, especially those who frequently ally. Using this, you can accurately give your allies information on how long it'll take before you ready your army, or navy, or whatever. I won't go into the tech tree or what the units do. I'm going to assume you know the game well enough that you don't need to question "what's this?" every line. === --THE NEW WRITER-- I'm not as interested in Red Alert 2, or PC games as a whole, as I once was. This FAQ was never updated in over a full year, which is simply something that should not happen. As such, I'm turning the FAQ over to Jason Heyes. You'll still be able to get it from my website and any other website that you've been able to get it from before; I simply won't be updating it or answering questions on it. Everything from the end of this section are his words and timings, not mine. My thanks go to everyone who wrote me an e-mail complementing or condemning me for writing this; and my thanks go to everyone who read it, whether they wrote me or not. Okay, enough talk. Take it, Jason. === === (OPENING SECTION) The first and second versions of this FAQ were written for Red Alert 2. The current version (v3.0) of this FAQ is written for the Red Alert 2 expansion pack entitled: Yuri's Revenge. However, Red Alert 2 players will still find this FAQ useful. The following study is intended for the elite class of commanders. To the average novice the information presented here will have little bearing. The purpose of the study is to help experienced commanders broaden their strategic vocabulary so as to give them an edge, a slight advantage over their human opponents. However, less experienced players might find it enjoyable trying more advanced subjects. === ------------------------------- --Time as a Strategic Element-- ------------------------------- Strategically, time can be used to our advantage by gaining knowledge about duration in Yuri's Revenge (YR). When we get familiar with the duration of events in YR (like base construction for example) we will be better prepared to handle the events which follow. When we are better prepared, we are better players. The table in the next section shows the build-times for every unit and structure in YR. By looking at that table you will be making the first steps to understanding how time can be on your side. ---------------------- --Build-Times for YR-- ---------------------- Allies ------ (Structures) Power Plant ($800) -------- 32 seconds Ore Refinery ($2000) ------ 80 Barracks ($500) ----------- 20 War Factory ($2000) ------- 80 Naval Yard ($1000) -------- 40 AirForce Command ($1000) -- 40 Patriot Missle ($1000) ---- 40 Pill Box ($500) ----------- 20 Fortress Wall ($100) ------ 4 Prism Tower ($1500) ------- 60 Gap Generator ($1000) ----- 40 Battle Lab ($2000) -------- 80 Robot Control Centre ($600) 24 Service Depot ($800) ------ 32 Ore Purifier ($2500) ------ 100 Weather Control ($5000) --- 200 Chronosphere ($2500) ------ 100 Spy Satellite ($1500) ----- 60 (Infantry) G.I. ($200) --------------- 8 Guardian G.I. ($400) ------ 16 Engineer ($500) ----------- 20 Rocketeer ($600) ---------- 24 Spy ($1000) --------------- 40 Tanya ($1500) ------------- 60 Navy Seal ($1000) --------- 40 Attack Dog ($200) --------- 8 (Vehicles) Grizzly Tank ($700) ------- 28 IFV ($600) ---------------- 24 Harrier ($1200) ----------- 48 Mirage Tank ($1000) ------- 40 Night Hawk ($1000) -------- 40 Prism Tank ($1200) -------- 48 Robot Tank ($600) --------- 24 Battle Fortress ($2000) --- 80 MCV ($3000) --------------- 120 Chrono Miner ($1400) ------ 56 Amphibious Transport ($900) 36 Destroyer ($1000) --------- 40 Aegis Cruiser ($1200) ----- 48 Aircraft Carrier ($2000) -- 80 Dolphin ($500) ------------ 20 Soviets ------- (Structures) Tesla Reactor ($600) ------ 24 seconds Battle Bunker ($500) ------ 20 Ore Refinery ($2000) ------ 80 Barracks ($500) ----------- 20 War Factory ($2000) ------- 80 Naval Yard ($1000) -------- 40 Radar Tower ($1000) ------- 40 Flak Cannon ($1000) ------- 40 Sentry Gun ($500) --------- 20 Fortress Wall ($100) ------ 4 Tesla Coil ($1500) -------- 60 Battle Lab ($2000) -------- 80 Service Depot ($800) ------ 32 Industrial Plant ($2500) -- 100 Nuclear Silo ($5000) ------ 200 Iron Curtain ($2500) ------ 100 Nuclear Reactor ($1000) --- 60 (Infantry) Conscript ($100) ---------- 4 Engineer ($500) ---------- 20 Attack Dog ($200) --------- 8 Tesla Trooper ($500) ------ 20 Crazy Ivan ($600) --------- 24 Flak Trooper ($300) ------- 12 Boris ($1500) ------------- 60 (Vehicles) Rhino Tank ($900) --------- 45 Flak Track ($500) --------- 20 V3 Rocket Launcher ($800) - 32 Kirov Airship ($2000) ----- 80 Spy Plane ----------------- 240 Siege Chopper ($1100) ----- 44 Terror Drone ($500) ------- 20 Apocalypse Tank ($1750) --- 70 MCV ($3000) --------------- 120 War Miner ($1400) --------- 56 Amphibious Transport ($900) 36 Attack Sub ($1000) -------- 40 DreadNought ($2000) ------- 80 Sea Scorpion ($600) ------- 24 Giant Squid ($1000) ------- 40 Yuri ---- (Structures) Bio Reactor ($600) -------- 24 seconds Slave Miner ($1750) ------- 80 Barracks ($500) ----------- 20 War Factory ($2000) ------- 80 Submarine Pen ($1000) ----- 40 Psychic Radar ($1000) ----- 40 Psychic Reveal ------------ 240 Grinder ($600) ------------ 24 Battle Lab ($2000) -------- 80 Citadel Wall ($100) ------- 4 Tank Bunker ($400) -------- 16 Gattling Cannon ($1000) --- 40 Psychic Tower ($1500) ----- 60 Cloning Vats ($2500) ------ 100 Genetic Mutator ($2500) --- 100 Psychic Dominator ($5000) - 200 (Infantry) Initiate ($200) ----------- 8 Engineer ($500) ----------- 20 Virus ($700) -------------- 28 Yuri Clone ($800) --------- 32 Brute ($500) -------------- 20 Yuri Prime ($1500) -------- 60 (Vehicles) Lasher Tank ($700) -------- 28 Chaos Drone ($1000) ------- 40 Gattling Tank ($600) ------ 24 MCV ($3000) --------------- 120 Magnetron ($1000) --------- 40 Master Mind ($1750) ------- 70 Floating Disc ($1750) ----- 70 Slave Miner ($1750) ------- 56 Amphibious Transport ($900) 36 Boomer Submarine ($2000) -- 80 Special ------- American Paratroopers ------- 240 seconds British Snipers ($600) ------ 24 Cuban Terrorists ($200) ----- 8 French Grand Cannons ($2000) 80 German Tank Destroyers ($900) 36 Iraqi Desolators ($600) ----- 24 Korean Black Eagles ($1200) - 48 Libyan Demo Trucks ($1500) -- 60 Russian Tesla Tanks ($1200) - 48 --- Notes: * When you build a soviet industrial plant the price for every vehicle decreases by 25%, so does the build-time. * The build-time of a unit decreases by 25% for every additional building constructing that unit. * The slave miner can be built out of two different production categories. When built out of the structures category it takes as long as the allied and soviet ore refineries. When built out of the vehicles category it takes as long as the allied and soviet miners. * (Important) The build-times in the table are measured in game seconds, not real seconds. To understand the difference please read the next section. ---------------------------- --The Nature of Time in YR-- (Optional) ---------------------------- The game speed option in YR allows us to change how fast things build and how fast the game runs. When you change the game speed you are altering the "speed of time" in the game. If you put the game speed on fastest (value of 6) everything happens in fast forward like time were sped up. While if you put the game speed on slowest (value of 0) everything happens in slow motion as if time were slowed down. However if you put the game speed somewhere in between, things will move around more normally. So how fast time goes by depends on the chosen game speed. Another way to see how time in YR can speed up and slow down is by watching a superweapon countdown which appears on the lower right of the battle viewport. We can see from watching the countdown that time speeds up and slows down as we increase or decrease the game speed setting. If you compare your watch with the countdown you will notice that they are usually not synchronised (they will not be ticking at the same speed). The important thing to realise here is that your watch indicates real seconds while the countdown in YR indicates game seconds. Both are generally different in length. To find out how to convert build-times into real seconds, read the next section. ----------------------------------- --Converting between Measurements-- (Optional) ----------------------------------- To convert a build-time into real seconds we have to multiply it by a special number called a conversion factor. Here are the conversion factors for each game speed setting (0-6): 0: 1.50 (slowest) 1: 1.25 (slower) 2: 1.00 (slow) 3: 0.75 (normal) 4: 0.50 (fast) 5: 0.25 (faster) 6: 0.125 (fastest) Therefore, when the game speed is on 6 (fastest), for example, we must multiply the build-time by 0.125. The number you get from that is the build-time converted into real seconds. Remember, if the game speed setting changes then so does the build-time's conversion into real seconds. ------------------------------------------- --Some interesting Discoveries about Time-- ------------------------------------------- The superweapon countdown is like an in-game timer which we can use to time events in YR. Through using this timer I have come up with some useful discoveries which might be helpful. 1. It takes about 100 seconds on average for a miner to mine $1000 worth from yellow ore and about 50 seconds from multicoloured ore. 2. It takes one minute (60 seconds) for an oil derrick (tech building) to produce $200 worth. 3. Money is spent at the rate of 25 credits/sec on every unit or structure being built at any one time. That rate increases by 25% for every additional building constructing a unit. 4. For most units and structures the build-time is equivalent to cost divided by 25. Therefore a unit or structure twice as expensive as another will probably take twice as long to build. 5. To spend out of one production category continuously throughout battle (eg. vehicles) without falling into economic recession you need at least 3 miners on yellow ore or 2 miners on multicoloured ore. 6. It takes 3 oil derricks to produce the same amount of credits as one miner does on yellow ore and 6 oil derricks to produce the same amount of credits as one miner does on multicoloured ore. 7. The cost ratio between any two units or structures tells us how many we can buy of each for the same price. Examples: a) tesla tank : rhino tank = $1200 : $900 = 4 : 3 So we can build 3 tesla tanks for the price of 4 rhino tanks. b) grizzly tank : mirage tank = $700 : $1000 = 7 : 10 So we can build 7 mirage tanks for the price of 10 grizzly tanks. c) conscript : master mind = $100 : $1750 = 2 : 35 So we can train 35 conscripts for the price of 2 master minds. d) terrorist : apocalypse tank = $200 : $1750 = 4 : 35 So we can train 35 terrorists for the price of 4 apocalypse tanks. === --CLOSING PARAGRAPH AND LEGAL STUFF-- I'm a stratagist and my email is geoffhys@optusnet.com.au. I welcome all non-offensive e-mails. If you found a mistake, or I missed something, or you wish to offer comments, or wish for me to elaborate on something, e-mail me. I'm open to conversation about stuff in general but my interests lie in games, movies, programming, mathematics and physics. My favourite games at the moment are RA2 and YR (of course) and ThiefI/GOLD/II. My favourite movies are The Terminator, Predator and Taxi Driver. This document is copyright 2001 for Jason Heyes. If you plan to use it in part or as a whole other FAQ, you need my permission first and you must give me credit. However, if you want to post it on a website or e-mail it to someone, you may do so without my permission. I would appreciate it if you drop me an e-mail telling me where you're posting it or who you're giving it to, but you don't have to. Good luck in Yuri's Revenge!