Ridiculously-Fast Construction: Difference between revisions

Content added Content deleted
VisualWikitext
m (update links)
m (clean up)
Line 40: Line 40:
== Real Time Strategy ==
== Real Time Strategy ==
* In the ''[[Cossacks (video game)|Cossacks]]'' and successor ''[[Video Game/American Conquest|American Conquest]]'' series of games, buildings can be constructed (the traditional way of workers hammering at the ground) and units trained extremely rapidly - in some cases literally in a matter of seconds. This is particularly evident in the late game as there are various upgrades in all of the games that greatly reduce build and training times. The effect is also especially pronounced on higher end computers.
* In the ''[[Cossacks (video game)|Cossacks]]'' and successor ''[[Video Game/American Conquest|American Conquest]]'' series of games, buildings can be constructed (the traditional way of workers hammering at the ground) and units trained extremely rapidly - in some cases literally in a matter of seconds. This is particularly evident in the late game as there are various upgrades in all of the games that greatly reduce build and training times. The effect is also especially pronounced on higher end computers.
* In ''[[Total Annihilation]]'', buildings are built using nanobots. Oddly enough, the game's opening cinematic seems to suggest that the build time in the game is actually ''slowed down''. Justified, in that the whole game offers a logical reason why construction is so fast--namely, the whole concept of war is centered around the capacity of a single unit to make up an army from nothing in a matter of minutes. And they can do it because they have at their disposal the nanotechnological advancements of, approximately, a very very long time.
* In ''[[Total Annihilation]]'', buildings are built using nanobots. Oddly enough, the game's opening cinematic seems to suggest that the build time in the game is actually ''slowed down''. Justified, in that the whole game offers a logical reason why construction is so fast—namely, the whole concept of war is centered around the capacity of a single unit to make up an army from nothing in a matter of minutes. And they can do it because they have at their disposal the nanotechnological advancements of, approximately, a very very long time.
* Similarly, in the fantasy-themed ''[[Sacrifice]]'', buildings and units are not constructed at all, but summoned/created out of thin air by magic -- literally, [[A Wizard Did It]].
* Similarly, in the fantasy-themed ''[[Sacrifice]]'', buildings and units are not constructed at all, but summoned/created out of thin air by magic—literally, [[A Wizard Did It]].
* The ''[[Command & Conquer]]'' series made its overcoming of this trope an integral part of the story. Tiberium is the element that allows for 'micro-manufacturing' of all those buildings within about 5 seconds or so, which is why GDI and NOD fight over it so much. The official strategy guide for the original ''Command and Conquer'' not only explains how Tiberium enables quick, automatic building construction, but even goes into how your troops and tanks never run out of ordnance, due to a Tiberium reinforced supply of micro-manufactured warheads. They even go into a long spiel on how Engineers can capture enemy buildings so fast -- they're trained ''so well'' in the use of shaped charges that they could walk straight through a bank vault without changing pace. Further, much of their training is conducted completely blind, and off-color jokes abound about how quickly they can accomplish certain operations in the dark. In the case of NOD, the majority of all vehicles are also bought and flown in via airstrip, eliminating the construction aspect of the necessity to explain why they materialize so quickly, but not how deliveries are so rapid and constantly successful.
* The ''[[Command & Conquer]]'' series made its overcoming of this trope an integral part of the story. Tiberium is the element that allows for 'micro-manufacturing' of all those buildings within about 5 seconds or so, which is why GDI and NOD fight over it so much. The official strategy guide for the original ''Command and Conquer'' not only explains how Tiberium enables quick, automatic building construction, but even goes into how your troops and tanks never run out of ordnance, due to a Tiberium reinforced supply of micro-manufactured warheads. They even go into a long spiel on how Engineers can capture enemy buildings so fast—they're trained ''so well'' in the use of shaped charges that they could walk straight through a bank vault without changing pace. Further, much of their training is conducted completely blind, and off-color jokes abound about how quickly they can accomplish certain operations in the dark. In the case of NOD, the majority of all vehicles are also bought and flown in via airstrip, eliminating the construction aspect of the necessity to explain why they materialize so quickly, but not how deliveries are so rapid and constantly successful.
* Partially explained in ''[[Starcraft]]'' and, to a lesser extent, ''[[Warcraft]] III'':
* Partially explained in ''[[Starcraft]]'' and, to a lesser extent, ''[[Warcraft]] III'':
** In ''[[Starcraft]]'', the Protoss teleport buildings and units to the base instead of actually constructing and training them, and the Zerg, whose technology is all organic, simply have their drones and larvae mutate into buildings and units, respectively. In addition, it is ''plausible'' that Terran SCVs, possessing future technology, can construct buildings in no time, and humans are taken out of cryogenic storage. Terran buildings also seems to contain only the bare minimum of everything. Thus, they do not take long to create.
** In ''[[Starcraft]]'', the Protoss teleport buildings and units to the base instead of actually constructing and training them, and the Zerg, whose technology is all organic, simply have their drones and larvae mutate into buildings and units, respectively. In addition, it is ''plausible'' that Terran SCVs, possessing future technology, can construct buildings in no time, and humans are taken out of cryogenic storage. Terran buildings also seems to contain only the bare minimum of everything. Thus, they do not take long to create.
** In the ''[[Starcraft II]]'' Terran Campaign, you can obtain an upgrade that allows you to drop pre-built Supply Depots directly from the Hyperion in orbit onto the battlefield, which can save you a lot of time.
** In the ''[[Starcraft II]]'' Terran Campaign, you can obtain an upgrade that allows you to drop pre-built Supply Depots directly from the Hyperion in orbit onto the battlefield, which can save you a lot of time.
** In ''[[Warcraft|Warcraft III]]'', only the orcs and humans use workers to build structures in the traditional sense. The undead instead summon them, and the night elves grow them like plants, even though only some of the buildings are sentient trees, and others are obviously artificial in nature. The game makes no effort to explain the ridiculously fast training for any of the four races, but in the single-player campaign, it is implied that all the units already exist and are fully trained, and the buildings only serve to bring them into action. In some cutscenes, as examples of [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]], we see units training outdoors "for real".
** In ''[[Warcraft|Warcraft III]]'', only the orcs and humans use workers to build structures in the traditional sense. The undead instead summon them, and the night elves grow them like plants, even though only some of the buildings are sentient trees, and others are obviously artificial in nature. The game makes no effort to explain the ridiculously fast training for any of the four races, but in the single-player campaign, it is implied that all the units already exist and are fully trained, and the buildings only serve to bring them into action. In some cutscenes, as examples of [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]], we see units training outdoors "for real".
* ''[[Battlezone (1998 video game)|Battlezone 1998]]'' has "bio-metal", an insanely useful and multipurpose recyclable living metal that can be reformed and shaped innumerable times with the application of energy. It's [[Lost Technology]], left behind by [[Ancient Astronauts]] -- who seem to have inspired the Greek gods -- that were subsequently slain when some of their creations [[Turned Against Their Masters]]. Chasing after bio-metal, as with the Tiberium in ''[[Command & Conquer]]'', is the central plot driver of the game.
* ''[[Battlezone (1998 video game)|Battlezone 1998]]'' has "bio-metal", an insanely useful and multipurpose recyclable living metal that can be reformed and shaped innumerable times with the application of energy. It's [[Lost Technology]], left behind by [[Ancient Astronauts]]—who seem to have inspired the Greek gods—that were subsequently slain when some of their creations [[Turned Against Their Masters]]. Chasing after bio-metal, as with the Tiberium in ''[[Command & Conquer]]'', is the central plot driver of the game.
* ''[[Dawn of War|Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War]]'' justifies this nicely, at least with Imperial forces. Prefabricated buildings are dropped from orbit and then assembled by servitors. Units are requisitioned, and are shuttled in from orbit via pods or [[Drop Ship|dropships]]. Eldar grow an [[Unobtainium]] material using "psychic singing" for their buildings and use teleportation for their transport. Orks construct their buildings from a pile of materials dropped by a flyer, the results being rather slapdash. Chaos summons in its buildings and units via the Warp. Necron buildings are assumed to have been constructed long ago and stored in underground tombs, and then teleported onto the battlefield as needed. The fact that many of the soldiers are veterans with a history of combat stretching back years, decades, or in some cases even centuries or millennia, rather than new recruits (with those units supposed to be being among the game's weakest), also helps suspend disbelief in so far as the setting's premises are accepted.
* ''[[Dawn of War|Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War]]'' justifies this nicely, at least with Imperial forces. Prefabricated buildings are dropped from orbit and then assembled by servitors. Units are requisitioned, and are shuttled in from orbit via pods or [[Drop Ship|dropships]]. Eldar grow an [[Unobtainium]] material using "psychic singing" for their buildings and use teleportation for their transport. Orks construct their buildings from a pile of materials dropped by a flyer, the results being rather slapdash. Chaos summons in its buildings and units via the Warp. Necron buildings are assumed to have been constructed long ago and stored in underground tombs, and then teleported onto the battlefield as needed. The fact that many of the soldiers are veterans with a history of combat stretching back years, decades, or in some cases even centuries or millennia, rather than new recruits (with those units supposed to be being among the game's weakest), also helps suspend disbelief in so far as the setting's premises are accepted.
* ''[[Supreme Commander]]'' gets around this by making nano-assembler technology be an integral part of the game setting, to the point that the only resources the player needs to worry about are raw Mass and Energy. Units being constructed are even showed being molecularly assembled as they are built. All units, except for the Commander himself, are unmanned robots, which gets around the problem of having to staff and crew all those combat units.
* ''[[Supreme Commander]]'' gets around this by making nano-assembler technology be an integral part of the game setting, to the point that the only resources the player needs to worry about are raw Mass and Energy. Units being constructed are even showed being molecularly assembled as they are built. All units, except for the Commander himself, are unmanned robots, which gets around the problem of having to staff and crew all those combat units.
* ''[[Homeworld]]'' and its sequels get around this by also having molecular assembly technology incorporated into the setting. In addition, the crews of the combat vessels are assumed to be colonists from the Mothership that are awakened from cryo-sleep. As there are 600,000 of them, it is unlikely that the player will ever build so many units as to begin stretching disbelief in this regard. In ''[[Homeworld]] 2'', the largest production-capable ship, the Shipyard, even explicitly described to be "so massive it needs to be hyperspaced into combat". This also necessitates said hyperspace technology module to be built first (and, in the Vaygr's part, manually researched first). Here, however, even the largest of units show up from somewhere as opposed to magically appear beside the ship, as every production capable unit has an "entry" and "exit" point for ships that can be produced to be deployed. This adds a very breathtaking moments (and also annoying to some extent) when a battlecruiser is finished and is clearing the production bay before it is sent on its order.
* ''[[Homeworld]]'' and its sequels get around this by also having molecular assembly technology incorporated into the setting. In addition, the crews of the combat vessels are assumed to be colonists from the Mothership that are awakened from cryo-sleep. As there are 600,000 of them, it is unlikely that the player will ever build so many units as to begin stretching disbelief in this regard. In ''[[Homeworld]] 2'', the largest production-capable ship, the Shipyard, even explicitly described to be "so massive it needs to be hyperspaced into combat". This also necessitates said hyperspace technology module to be built first (and, in the Vaygr's part, manually researched first). Here, however, even the largest of units show up from somewhere as opposed to magically appear beside the ship, as every production capable unit has an "entry" and "exit" point for ships that can be produced to be deployed. This adds a very breathtaking moments (and also annoying to some extent) when a battlecruiser is finished and is clearing the production bay before it is sent on its order.
* ''[[World in Conflict]]'' explains this by having all of the available units as off-map reinforcements. Whenever the commander needs more units, they are simply airdropped directly into the combat zone. Where exactly all these reinforcements (and the planes that are dropping them) are coming from isn't quite explained, but there are some points during missions where you're allowed to deploy a certain number of special units, with the reasoning that they're extra equipment being flown in from nearby depots and bases. This trope is also [[Lampshade|Lampshaded]] during one of the missions, where the Americans must take back Ellis Island from Russian Spetsnaz commandos. The Americans are at first confused as to how the hell the Spetsnaz have so many vehicles and equipment, and then quickly deduce that the American garrison on Ellis Island was horribly oversupplied.
* ''[[World in Conflict]]'' explains this by having all of the available units as off-map reinforcements. Whenever the commander needs more units, they are simply airdropped directly into the combat zone. Where exactly all these reinforcements (and the planes that are dropping them) are coming from isn't quite explained, but there are some points during missions where you're allowed to deploy a certain number of special units, with the reasoning that they're extra equipment being flown in from nearby depots and bases. This trope is also [[Lampshade]]d during one of the missions, where the Americans must take back Ellis Island from Russian Spetsnaz commandos. The Americans are at first confused as to how the hell the Spetsnaz have so many vehicles and equipment, and then quickly deduce that the American garrison on Ellis Island was horribly oversupplied.
* Played hilariously straight in ''[[Netstorm]]'', where much of the game depends on your ability to lay down ''bridges'' faster than your opponent in a manner similar to ''[[Video Game/Pipe Dream|Pipe Dream]]''. Of course, it only gets better when you realise that the entirety of your army consists of static buildings that take the form of ''cannons''. The entire game is based on building your cannons in more advantageous locations than your opponent, and more quickly.
* Played hilariously straight in ''[[Netstorm]]'', where much of the game depends on your ability to lay down ''bridges'' faster than your opponent in a manner similar to ''[[Video Game/Pipe Dream|Pipe Dream]]''. Of course, it only gets better when you realise that the entirety of your army consists of static buildings that take the form of ''cannons''. The entire game is based on building your cannons in more advantageous locations than your opponent, and more quickly.
* ''[[Act of War|Act of War: Direct Action]]'' does not have you build tanks and other machinery at your base; rather, you build a landing pad, and your bought tanks are brought in as helicopter baggage. Of course, no explanation is given as to why your tank arrives within seconds of you ordering it. This makes one wonder if it wouldn't be simpler to find a flat piece of land near the enemy base and just fly ten or so of your tanks there.
* ''[[Act of War|Act of War: Direct Action]]'' does not have you build tanks and other machinery at your base; rather, you build a landing pad, and your bought tanks are brought in as helicopter baggage. Of course, no explanation is given as to why your tank arrives within seconds of you ordering it. This makes one wonder if it wouldn't be simpler to find a flat piece of land near the enemy base and just fly ten or so of your tanks there.
Line 100: Line 100:




= Non-video game examples: =
= Non-video game examples =


== Web Comics ==
== Web Comics ==
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Ridiculously-Fast_Construction"