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                               GUNBOUND
                      A.SATE SUPPLEMENTARY GUIDE
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Version 1.22
Copyright 2005 chloromethane
Last Updated 30 March 2005
Contact at [email protected]
If you intend to reproduce this guide under any circumstance (other than for
personal, private use, in which case be my guest), please ask. The only place
you should see this guide in is GameFAQs.

OUTLINE
1.  Before You Begin
 1.1 Terms
 1.2 Recommended Readings
2.  Guide and Personal Introduction
3.  Mobile Introduction
4.  Weapon 1 and Its Uses
5.  SS and Its Uses
6.  Weather
7.  Anti-A.sate
8.  General Advice
9.  Version History
______________________________________________________________________________

1 BEFORE YOU BEGIN

My grammar is terrible. If you spot mistakes and are 100% sure that they are
so, please contact me with the details.

1.1 Terms

Close range - Opponent next to you or up to say, three bot lengths from you

Mid-range - About half the map length

Long-range - About the entire map's length

Mid/long-range, close/mid-range - Somewhere in between


Bot length, bot height - These are for estimating only, and do not include the
   guy sitting on the bot.

Bunge - Causing an opponent to fall through into the bottom of the screen,
   resulting in a kill.

Dig - Literally digging your opponent into a hole. This is typically done by
   aiming at the ground just in front of the opponent.

Double Team, DT - being targeted by multiple people

Shotgun, sg - Choose Drag (while in battle, click Esc then select Drag) and do
   a full-bar shot.

Terrain - The ground, the stuff you stand on

Tracer - The dot that the A.sate fires for all its weapons

1.2 Recommended Readings

The 'main' in-depth A.sate guide on GameFAQs, by Smashnuke, is very good for
people who don't know the difference between shooting left and right with an
A.sate. If you are one of those people, read it before coming back.

Understanding delay is ridiculously important. For that, turn to the General
FAQ by Dissemble. While you're there, learn about the weather bar if you don't
know about it yet.
______________________________________________________________________________

2 GUIDE AND PERSONAL INTRODUCTION

Understand that this is a SUPPLEMENTARY guide. It touches on the slightly
finer aspects of the game. Because of that, I try not to include information
that is too 'obvious', that you probably know or can figure out by yourself.
My ASCII text diagrams are not exactly fine art, but I hope they get the
message across and that you can bear with the ugliness.

I play in avatar-off zones, which usually only allow dual and dual-plus. I
usually use A.sate, but sometimes choose random or other mobiles just for
kicks. I use slice, and typically use angle 50 (I tend to forget angles
easily, so I standardise). I play Score 3v3, 2v2, occasionally 1v1. Keep these
in mind as you read the guide.
______________________________________________________________________________

3 MOBILE INTRODUCTION

3.1 Pros

- High close to mid-range damage, considering its relative ease of use

- Shield
When you are damaged then no longer targeted, the health regenerated can be
quite significant.

- Good traction (for climbing terrain)

- Shooting mechanics: leaves room for much creativity in the strange maps

(Shooting mechanics refers to the way the A.sate shoots - the tracer, the
satellite, the lasers, etc.)

3.2 Cons

- Weak long-range game

- Low health

- Shield
Mage SS is a world of hurt. A good Mage will SS you on his first turn. Not
only does it damage your non-shield health, it also takes away all the shield
in its blast radius (yes, that includes you), leaving you with a bit less than
half your life. A dual will kill you off.

- Shooting mechanics
This leaves you killing yourself if you're not careful. When in doubt, use
weapon 1. A good opponent will also use that to shield himself, either using
terrain or your teammate.

3.3 Shooting mechanics

3.3.1 Tracer

The A.sate works like so: you fire a tracer, then a satellite shoots lasers in
the direction of where the tracer landed.

Take a look at the A.sate and you'll notice it has this snout-like thing in
front of its eyes. And in front of the snout is that aiming arrow. It's this
snout from which the tracer comes out (yes, I recorded a clip with my digicam,
all for your education). You'll need to know this in many close range
situations, or like when there's some terrain right in front of you and you're
not sure if the tracer will land smack there.

3.3.2 Position of satellite

For weapon 1 and 2, the satellite stays directly above you (the mobile); for
SS, it hovers above (or below) where the tracer landed.

The heights of all three satellites are relative to you only: weapon 1's
satellite is the lowest, weapon 2's is the highest, and the SS' is in the
middle of weapon 1 and 2's. (By the way, I did screen shots, and found that
the bot, weapon 1's, SS' and weapon 2's satellite are all evenly spaced apart.
So it's like the following diagram.)

X             <<< weapon 2's satellite

-  -  -  -  X <<< SS' satellite

X             <<< weapon 1's satellite

O           x <<< tracer
^
^
you

Knowing the height of the SS' satellite is very important in maps like Nirvana
B and Metamine B, where there's very high and very low terrain, and people
standing a lot higher than others are. If the SS' satellite is BELOW your
target, you'll need to shoot ABOVE the satellite (if you shoot below it, the
satellite will aim downwards).

3.4 Evaluation

Fragility and a weak long-range shot are a problematic combination. Later in
the game, it is likely that the teams will be on opposite sides of the map.
You can't go too close to them, or you'll be their common target (i.e. dead in
one turn). You can't be too far from them, or you can't do anything. A mid-
range game is your best bet.
______________________________________________________________________________

4 WEAPON 1 AND ITS USES

4.1 Bunge

You might have witnessed one of those 'un-bunge-ables' before. The mobile
stands on the tiniest platforms that seems impossible to remove. The problem
is that in order to hit the platform, you hit the mobile first, which absorbs
the impact. Just remember that weapon 1 comes down at a lower angle, so it
might be a better choice especially at close range. Dual [weapon 1] if
necessary.

4.2 Long-range or awkward terrain

Weapon 2 does pitiful damage at long-range and your opponents will exploit
this fact. In larger maps like Dragon, your best shot does about 100 if you
aim from end to end. Weapon 1 can do similar damage and is definitely a viable
alternative if you have a dead aim (granted, weapon 2 spreads wider and has
greater room for error). Furthermore, you get better delay.

Similarly, weapon 2 can be useless when there is a whole chunk of terrain
between your target and satellite. On rare occasions, your weapon 1 can
connect if you move and adjust your shot. Two weapon 1s can do 200 damage,
which is not strong, but respectable.
______________________________________________________________________________

5 SS AND ITS USES

5.1 Introduction

The A.sate's SS shoots vertically, giving it more uses than simply dishing out
damage, which it does a good job of, nevertheless. Both the damage and delay
of SS are between that of Dual-plus and Dual [weapon 2]. That makes the SS
your weapon of choice when your opponent's health is about 400+ and/or when
there is item lock.

REMEMBER that the SS has smaller shooting angle than weapon 1/2. Don't just
switch to SS and fire away without checking if the angle changed.

5.2 Long-range

Unlike weapon 2, the SS's damage does not decrease with greater range.
Provided it connects, you will find that it is well worth the delay at long
range.

(See 'Weapon 1 and Its Uses - Long range or awkward terrain')

5.3 Enemy on pixel platform

Problem

Sometimes you have an enemy sitting comfortably on a thin/small platform that
is above the ground (see diagram below). You want to kill him off with a dual,
but you're afraid the first shot might clear the platform, causing the enemy
to fall and your second shot to miss.

     O    <-- guy
    ---   <-- thin/small platform


______    _____
/      \__/     |__  <-- ground

Solution

For most other bots, you'll thus have to either make sure you don't clear that
platform, which is pretty hard, or do an ultra high angle shot.

As an A.sate however, you can also use your SS. Done well, it does almost the
same damage as a dual, and since it is vertical, you don't have to worry about
whether you do clear that platform.

Evaluation

This use of SS is theoretically quite good, but in reality, it is very
difficult to get the maximum damage (low 400s to 500, depending on the target
mobile) out of SS, particularly when your target is on a platform. A slight
misjudgment will cause either half the lasers to miss, or the tracer to land
completely off target. It will work if you are comfortable with SS and have
used it often, but otherwise this might not be up your alley.

5.4 Welcome-hole for an incoming bot

Problem

An enemy will often drop near you after you've killed him, hoping to 'take
revenge'.

Solution

A fun strategy that I have found amazingly effective is SS-ing his landing
spot. Remember that the wind will affect his drop.

Take note that this strategy is to DISABLE your opponent (i.e. render him
useless so that you can bother someone else), rather than bunge him. As the
hole is vertical, it will be pretty hard for you to dig him further, or shoot
him, for that matter. Weigh your options.

Evaluation

The SS creates a clean, narrow, vertical hole of about five bots' height that
you can't achieve with any other bot. Most players will find it pretty
difficult to shoot from it, and might even damage themselves while trying. I
think it is quite worth the delay with the right conditions.

Incentives

- Bot types: some mobiles have a tendency to kill themselves when stuck in a
hole, or just have a hard time shooting from one, e.g. A.sates, lightning
mobiles like Lightning and JD.

- Favourable, strong, permanent wind: If your opponent is landing downwind
from you (e.g. rightward wind, he lands to your right), he will have an
exceedingly hard time hitting you.

Disincentives

- Higher priorities: maybe you should help your teammates kill off an
opponent, etc.

- Opponent's shooting: This won't work on Nak [weapon 2] or Aduka [weapon 2,
depending on where Thor is], or on people who do high angles on a regular
basis, e.g. Boomer, Turtle.

- Wind Change: If you see that Wind Change (the meteorite on the top bar) is
coming or is already here, the wind will most likely change by the time your
opponent lands. And he will not land in your hole. Boohoo.

- Thor: Depending on the position of Thor, its lasers usually widen the SS
hole, making it slightly less effective.

(On a separate note, if the land is thin, your SS will clear the whole chunk,
thus your opponent will fall right through. Funny, but not that useful, as it
doesn't earn you a kill nor does it disable your opponent. It is just a
delaying tactic that takes up a turn of yours as well. You will probably be
better off doing something else.)

5.5 Anti-Nak

Problem

Naks have a powerful weapon 2. You don't want to be on the receiving end of
one.

Solution

Move as far as you can from the Nak. Fire an SS right next to you, between you
and the Nak (See diagram below).

   __o   _____o__ <<< Nak
     ^| |
     ^| |
     ^|_|<<< SS hole
    you

It will be extremely difficult for the Nak to use weapon 2 on you, not only
because of your position immediately next to the cliff face, but also because
of the land on the side of the hole opposite of you. He will be forced to
either use weapon 1, or do an ultra high angle, which is still quite
difficult.

Evaluation

The biggest problem with this is the delay and what your opponents can do
during that time. Unlike the welcome-hole idea, you are simply granting
yourself a one-to-one immunity. You are still vulnerable to other opponents,
which is a big factor given the delay, and that Nak can simply shift its focus
to your teammates.

This will be more useful in smaller games such as 1v1s and 2v2s.
Take note that if the Nak is downwind from you with very strong (e.g. 25)
wind, he can use a slightly high-angled shot to hit you.

(A similar idea can be applied to Grubs who abuse slopes for their weapon 2,
but for this case, a hole using your weapon 2 should be enough.)
______________________________________________________________________________

6 WEATHER

(If you don't know what weather is, go see the General FAQ by Dissemble)

6.1 Weather patterns

At the start of the game, check out the weather bar to see what's coming and
make some sense of them and their order. Use them to your advantage. They
always show where the lightning or solar beam is going to be on the turn
before. That's useful as well.

For example, say Thor is arriving before Item Lock:
You dual at Thor.
Your opponent shoots without item at Thor.
He shoots again at Item Lock.
You SS, he's dead.
(This assumes, among other things, that your opponent doesn't have a
particularly damaging SS, e.g. JD, Nak, Aduka)

6.2 Hurricane

6.2.1 Shooting through a hurricane

Hurricane can be pain, since, being an A.sate you have to think about the path
of both your tracer and your lasers.

Nevertheless, I found a useful 'Rule of Thumb' for when your tracer meets the
hurricane on its upward path. That is to shoot just as you would without the
hurricane. This is because in this case, the tracer's path is lengthened by
the hurricane while that of the lasers is shortened. It sort of cancels out.
The rule does not work that well in close-range battles, but try it out and
see how it works for you. And this has only been tested with weapon 2.

I usually shoot through a hurricane with weapon 2, which is like the lesser of
two evils. Firstly, the better delay of weapon 1 can result in you 'lapping'
others in delay, in which case you have to shoot through the hurricane again.
And since weapon 2 reacts differently through a hurricane from weapon 1, your
previous shot was essentially useless. Secondly, you're more likely to do team
damage with weapon 1 because of the lower angle. Weapon 2 is easier to
control.

(Say your tracer landed on an opponent by chance when you were shooting
through a hurricane. SS-ing on the next turn would be a sweet idea (if the
hurricane didn't leave by then). Hurricane amplifies your deviations by the
way, i.e. a slight miss will equate to a complete fiasco.)

6.2.2 Considering the hurricane

If you don't fancy the challenge, you can dual when you see a hurricane coming
between you and your target. That way you skip the hurricane entirely, and you
continue shooting on your next turn as if the hurricane was never there.

Alternatively you can aim for a guy not blocked by the hurricane, but this is
a new shot, one that you are more likely to miss. I prefer the dual idea.

Sometimes your opponent finds himself at the base of a hurricane. You should
be happy. It's hard to miss in this scenario, so you should go for it. If YOU
find yourself in a hurricane, same thing applies to your opponents. Move
before the hurricane comes.

6.3 Thor/Lightning/Force/Item Lock

Some players believe that you should dual during Thor/Lightning/Force, and SS
during item lock. While you can get 100-200 more damage during Thor/Lightning,
delay should be your priority. Reducing an opponent to 200 health is great,
but that might mean he gets to kill you with two consecutive turns. Besides, I
like to save up the SS to make a welcome hole (See SS and Its Uses).
______________________________________________________________________________

7 ANTI-A.SATE

7.1 Use of terrain

Because the A.sate's lasers spread significantly from mid-range onwards, an
opponent can become quite a nuisance when he keeps against a fairly steep
slope (say, 60 degrees to the ground). Even if the lasers SHOULD get him, they
are more than likely to scrape against the terrain, and even your best shot
will hardly scratch him (see diagram below).

If you face this snag, move closer or target someone else. You can even SS if
you feel lucky.

            o       <-- your satellite



        ____o____   <-- you
       /
     _/
    /
  o/   <-- guy

Other uses of terrain include sheltering, digging a hole etc, but these have
fairly obvious solutions. Blast your way through or get someone else.

7.2 Close range diggers

These include Raon and Bigfoot, JD to some extent. Bigfoot's weapon 1 deals
damage at the low 200s with better delay than you. Raon has their mines that
can be very disruptive. Both dig well.

It isn't so bad if they are on your left, since you can shotgun their side and
still keep up with their damage. However if they are on your right, you have
to aim for their right side at a high angle, which can be very challenging
with all the digging and angle changes.

Therefore if you are near a digger whom you think is competent, 1) pray that
he does not aim at you or 2) move as far from him as possible. The latter is a
more viable option though. I would suggest teleporting, but few rooms allow it
nowadays.

7.3 Damage monsters

With A.sate's pathetic health, you can die quite easily. 'Damage monsters'
include shotgunning Tricos and Turtles, Armour, Boomer and A.sate. Their
weapon 2s can do 250 damage without help from weather or items. For
shotgunners, try aiming a little short to have a digging effect. As for the
rest, it is pretty much a damage competition. There is nothing much to say.

(A well-placed Lightning weapon 2, Thor-charged Aduka weapon 2 and shotgunned
Raon mines can deal 250 damage and above, but these situations are rare.)

7.4 Mage

As with all shield mobiles, the Mage SS is a deadly foe (see 'Mobile
Introduction - Cons - Shield'). If you get to shoot before the Mage, keep some
distance and maybe try to dig it. If he misses slightly, the SS does not do
direct damage and only removes your shield. You can now laugh at him.

If you fear them, just choose a non-shield bot.
______________________________________________________________________________

8 GENERAL ADVICE

8.1 Shooting

My personal opinion is that you shoot best relaxed. As they say, it's just a
game. Even if you missed a particular important shot, your teammates are
screaming 'NOOB!!' at you and your opponents are laughing their heads off, try
not to take it too hard. That shot is in the past. Concentrate on the present.

As for method of shooting, I use the marker on the slice bar intensively. It
is great for adjusting your shot immediately after you shoot. I have bad
short-term memory, so it is a lifesaver.

8.2 Items

Where I play, rooms usually only have Dual and Dual-plus, sometimes Teleport.

Dual-plus is useful when your opponent just Dualed and you want to beat his
delay while damaging him considerably at the same time. Weapon 1 acts
differently from weapon 2 though, so it can be difficult to make the best out
of Dual-plus, especially anywhere further than close range. And I hope you
know that the item's delay is adding to the weapon you select. Therefore,
Dual-plus with weapon 1 rather than 2.

Teleport is good for escaping a tight situation, e.g. being dug, being Double
Teamed, dying. But you only have six slots, so I am not that keen on Teleport.

8.3 Game Theory

Game theory is an Economics theory essentially about making assumptions
regarding your rival's behaviour and (re)acting accordingly. In Gunbound,
these assumptions would be based on anything from ranking to chats (e.g. he
blatantly says 'DT the sate') to past matches against the same people. First
of all I need to say that this has only worked (or rather I have only put it
into practice) very occasionally, but it's such an interesting theory that I
had to include it here.

For example,

Assumption:
Your opponent swears by Dualing at Thor/Force/Lightning.

Action:
Say it is the turn before that weather comes, and your turn is after his. Dual
before the weather comes. The usual response would be to try to beat your
delay (with weapon 1/2/SS, Dual-plus, etc), but this guy swears by the Dualing
at Thor, right? So he obediently does so, giving you the next turn and a good
chance at killing him at Thor, i.e.

At some other weather:
- He does weapon 1/2
- You Dual
At Thor/Force/Lightning:
- He Duals
- You Dual kill

I remember someone pulled this off on me when I was among the fervent Dual
believers. 'Twas very clever.

Yet another example,

Assumption:
Dual double-teaming. This typical happens at the start of the Cave map, where
everyone is close to everyone else. Two teammates Dual the same target on
their first turn, killing that target off.

Action/reaction:
Because A.sate is much more of an offensive mobile than a defensive one, you'd
rather your teammates be the ones taking damage, especially if their mobile
type is suitable.
A defensive strategy in close-range situations is [what I call] Dancing, which
is essentially moving on to an opponent whose turn comes latest on the delay
list. If/when that opponent moves, you repeat the Dance. Remember that A.sate
isn't too mobile, so you might run out of fuel before reaching. Sometimes it's
better to stay put.
On the offensive end, it is important to dish out a lot of damage, quickly.
Firstly it puts an end to the double-teaming when you kill opponents. And
secondly if you can't Dance you will probably die a swift death. In this case
it is better to make an impact before you leave to let your teammates finish
them off.

(Side note: Game theory is often credited to John Nash, the character in 'A
Beautiful Mind'. It's not specifically an Economic theory, but also has uses
in other social sciences, mathematics, etc. I learnt it in Economics though.
If you're interested check out the Wikipedia article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_theory

The term Dance was adopted from Real Time Strategy games, or in my case,
Frozen Throne. It is a counter to Focus Fire, which is essentially the RTS
term for double-teaming, except on a larger scale since RTSs tend to have many
units. You run that unit being Focus Fired so that all those Focus Firers
chase it round the mulberry bush and end up doing nothing. You can see that
it's quite similar to Gunbound.)

8.4 Etiquette

Please refrain from spamming. Repeating a person's name over and over will not
make him ready more quickly.

Spamming and shaking while someone is trying to shoot reflects bad
gamesmanship. It is completely 'legal', but, like jeering in a game, is not
socially accepted.
______________________________________________________________________________

9 VERSION HISTORY

1.00 - 1 Feb 2005
Guide created

1.01 - 5 Feb 2005
Minor content and presentation changes
Added 'Introduction' and 'Long-range' in SS section

1.10 - 25 Feb 2005
Added enlightened stuff about hurricane and other weather issues.
Changed to a number dot number dot number format. We'll see how that works
out.
Other minor content additions

1.20 - 3 Mar 2005
Shooting mechanics guys. Very important.
Changed the format of Pros and Cons. See how that works.

1.21 - 12 Mar 2005
Added a part on game theory

1.22 - 30 Mar 2005
Hello Smashnuke, of the main A.sate guide. If you're reading this, please
contact me if you're interested in merging the two guides. I actually wanted
to mail you this stuff (months ago) but your mail doesn't seem to work and I
ended up making an entire guide. Haha.
Minor content changes
______________________________________________________________________________

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