CNC Zero Hour

Introduction:

This guide has been made in an effort to raise the skill level on our beloved game. You might argue that the game is dying and it's not worth it but I believe with minimal effort I can get many people reaching the expert level with this guide. Don't flame me if I've got anything wrong. This is purely my opinion and you can choose whether to consider it or not. However I will be getting one thing straight before I continue. This guide is meant for people who want to become TOP PLAYERS. Not pros. TOP PLAYERS or experts. Also this guide is written with pros in mind. If you are a noob, please leave. You will not understand/ benefit from this guide.

I will be making a lot of examples of situations in pro games, because as Zero Hour is so situational I need to explain situations. You can't just say 'play hard and play aggressive to win'. I am going to explain exactly HOW you should do it in detail. If you need any explanation of situations we can do it on the forum discussion.





A: Keyboard Preparation - Shortcuts



I'm encouraging you to become a robot and get into the habit of becoming a robot with these shortcuts and hotkeys. Change your laserlock hotkey to a key that is close to the numbers '1,2,3,4, ect'.

Spacebar: Use spacebar to jump to the spot on the map where you are getting attacked. So fucking useful.

Scrolling: Use right click scroll at all times. Set your scroll speed on the gentool options to what is the best for you.

Using letters on the keyboard for unit hotkeys:
K: the hotkey 'k' is to make a worker. You should use all of the hotkeys and get used to using them fast.

Q: Use the q key to select all units on your screen at that time. Very fucking useful for saving time when selecting your army.

E: INVALUABLE. Use when laserlocking to select all Md's and then laserlock.

A: Attack move. Useful for GLA mirrors especially with quads. Units tend to bunch together with some armies.

G: Guard mode. Very useful for killing worker in tunnel scaffold, making units micro themselves to an average degree when you are busy.

X: Good to use to scatter when migs come or the such

S: Good to use to stop your units when they are about to run into mines, or when enemy migs come.

V: Evacuate. Good to use to save time manually clicking the evacuate button on your technical, humvee, chinook, bus, whatever. Very good in USA mirrors.

Numbering units and buildings: Totally up to you but I like to use 1, 2 for GLA arms dealers, 3-4 for USA wf and rax and 1,2 for china war factories. I never number my units and I SUCK because of it SO FUCKING NUMBER YOUR UNITS! This means assigning a number hotkey for your unit and remembering where you sent it and what is assigned to what.


B: Mental preparation



Playing the game against the top players can make you nervous. My motto is that Zero Hour is 10% skill and 90% mental. The 10% skill comes from the fact that Zero Hour doesn't need much apm and is more about strategy and having a clear head.

Tips for a good mental preparation:

1. Don't worry about the outcome of the match. It's just a game of Zero Hour so don't feel nervous
2. Don't think about who you are playing against because this is more likely to make you nervous
3. Get experience and play in tournaments. They are great for killing nerves so relax
4. Imagine your opponent is naked when you're playing them (NOT HAWKY THOUGH!)

Remembering: You need a good memory to be a top player at Zero Hour. You will be numbering your units. If you number a technical '4' and send it to your opponent's base, and then press spacebar when your opponent attacks your tunnel and forget about the tech, what use is it? That's a wasted $500.

Tips for a good remembering:

1. Some people naturally have a great memory and can remember what units they numbered or where their units are on the map
2. If you can't, a good tip is to say out loud 'I have a technical numbered'. Keep repeating it until you use your technical.

C: Preparation for a good speed



Having fast speed is crucial, although zero hour doesn't require a high APM (actions per minute), speed puts you on an even playing field with an equally fast opponent. Also having good hand eye co-ordination is a must, as you will have to be clicking places and things without misclicking as it can cost you games.

People look at replays of players like rage and are like wow, he's so fast. He isn't actually that fast, he just employs a bit of speed with good strategy.

A good start is to have warm hands. Having warm hands lets the blood flow to them better. Now you might think i'm crazy, but playing the piano before playing a game of Zero Hour really helps. If you don't have a piano, try warming your hands and typing 100 words into notepad before your game. You will notice that you are much more co-ordinated. Speed and strategy go hand in hand. There is no point on being speedy around the map if you don't know what you're doing.

Tips to develop your speed

1. Drink coffee and listen to music that gets you energetic
2. Play the target shooter and other fast clicking games
3. Have warm hands when you play the game
4. Being a little bit tired is good because it will speed your reaction times up.