EMP vs. Hacking

[Quadhelix]

Subject:
EMP and Hacking behave differently and affect different units

Description:
In the original Generals, EMP and hacking seemed to be largely the same in that they both tended to have the same effect on the same units. The main different was that, with the exception(?) of the Microwave tank, EMP was an area of effect weapon while Hacking affected a single unit/structure. Also, consider the Generals-inspired C&C3 mod MidEast Crisis 2, where hacking/computer viruses are generally treated as friendly-fire-proof EMP and nothing else.

The idea here is to distinguish the two weapons mainly by having them affect different units. Specifically, low-tech units tend to be vulnerable to EMP but not hacking/viruses, while high-tech units tend to be vulnerable to hacking/viruses but not EMP. (If you need a justification for this, consider that most modern cars run off a computer that would be vulnerable to EMP but that probably isn't connected to any sort of network; conversely, high tech units might either have better EMP shielding or run off of computers that aren't vulnerable to EMP, such as a biocompter.)

In that light, EMP would be a high-tech, area-of-effect weapon that helps the high-tech units compensate for being significantly outnumbered by low-tech units. Conversely, hacking/viruses would be a low-tech (maybe even tier 1) weapon that is targeted at a single unit and helps take the bite off your opponent teching up before you.

Pros
-More diverse mechanics/units
-Helps a low-tech player defeat a higher-tech player/helps a high-tech player fight a player with a better economy

Cons
-Could lower the benefit of having good macro by allowing players to nullify your numerical or tech advantages
-Might make teching up less of a priority if your opponent can freeze your Mammoth Tanks but not your Predators.

[Sollitdude]

an emp shuts down electronics. a virus changes the code of electronics. whats so hard about that?

[Quadhelix]

an emp shuts down electronics. a virus changes the code of electronics. whats so hard about that?

I'm not entirely sure what your point is.

Are you saying that, for realism reasons, EMP and hacking should affect the same units? In that case, my response would simply be to point out that electronics can be shielded from EMP and that a computer (or any other electronic device) generally has to be communicating with the outside world to get a virus or be hacked. It is not inconceivable that a computer might be shielded against EMP but connected to a network, leaving it vulnerable to hacking but not EMP. At the same time, a computer that is not communicating would not be vulnerable to hacking but would be vulnerable to EMP.

Are you trying to "explain" the difference between actual hacking and actual EMP? If that is the case, then I would simply point out that that difference (shutting down electronics vs. changing the code) doesn't have any effect in game, which is what this entire subforum is all about: proposing gameplay ideas. As things stand, hacking and EMP do pretty much the exact same thing in-game: shut down enemy vehicles and structures. Vehicle hacking (e.g. Black Lotus or the ECM Tank) affects the same units as an EMP while structure hacking affects the same structures.

[patricKngedd]

Yeah you are right, I am very old in web based services, I had also noticed EMP and hacking are same. Recently there has been a lot of hype based on the EMP - the Electro-magnetic Pulse. On the Matrix we saw these blasting away robots trying to subdue the humans. In real life their uses are often more to do with electronic warfare.