Anyone else use the sneaking symbol?

[Necrocat219]

tl,dr Is anyone else using the sneaking symbol tactically in their games?

In case you haven't noticed, the sneaking symbol actually hangs around for an amount of time proportional to number of actions you take. creating a soldier creates a 'tick' of sneak, moving it as well takes 2 ticks, it even appears briefly when a unit moves out of stealth. If it never appears during your opponents turn, they never did any stealthy moves.

Im actually thinking of making a short guide as to how to use the opponents sneaking symbol to predict what they are doing and stop your symbol giving your actions away. Im curious as to how many players use it because its helped me make so many intelligent guesses as to what my opponent is doing based on how long their sneak symbol lasts for. I have even tricked opponents in thinking they are under attack by spawning 2 runners which ended with a funny win.

Edit: also curious as to how it's never been mentioned once as a top tip by super titans :o

[worldfamous]

The sneaking symbol is vital. It is the only tool we have to deal with the fog. In many situations you can pinpoint exactly where your opponent is based on the current situation. I'm not sure if it's intentional or just the game lagging, but the time the symbol spins seems to vary. I wonder if it spins longer for a higher cost unit? If that's the case, is has even greater value.

[Necrocat219]

I'm pretty sure it doesn't and only does so for actions taken from games where I've got almost complete vision, it's just a fantastic feeling counting how many actions they take in the fog and finding youf prediction to be right

[GreatGonzales]

Yeah I use the sneaking icon. My understanding that the duration of the sneaking icon also depends on the time the person took between taking actions. So if I move a runner up, see something that requires my thought, think about my next move in light of this information, and then take another action, the sneaking icon will last longer than if I took two actions in quick succession. Understanding this, I think, is key in misleading your opponent.

[Necrocat219]

(10-13-2012 04:14 AM)GreatGonzales Wrote:  Yeah I use the sneaking icon. My understanding that the duration of the sneaking icon also depends on the time the person took between taking actions. So if I move a runner up, see something that requires my thought, think about my next move in light of this information, and then take another action, the sneaking icon will last longer than if I took two actions in quick succession. Understanding this, I think, is key in misleading your opponent.

Oh yeah I forgot this can affect the time it lasts for, something I don't think about

[aaronINdayton]

So if you're pro, you take your actions in chunks, maybe spawn a unit today and move it tomorrow, then submit?

[Necrocat219]

(10-13-2012 05:10 AM)aaronINdayton Wrote:  So if you're pro, you take your actions in chunks, maybe spawn a unit today and move it tomorrow, then submit?

Actually when you're taking a turn against someone and halfway through you have to think about what you need to do next, watch the replay after the turn and you'll see that how long you took to make your turn is represented. I reckon you only have to wait for a few minutes

[awpertunity]

(10-13-2012 04:14 AM)GreatGonzales Wrote:  Yeah I use the sneaking icon. My understanding that the duration of the sneaking icon also depends on the time the person took between taking actions. So if I move a runner up, see something that requires my thought, think about my next move in light of this information, and then take another action, the sneaking icon will last longer than if I took two actions in quick succession. Understanding this, I think, is key in misleading your opponent.

I definitely try to mislead my opponent who may be trying to use the icon to predict my moves as well. I often alternate moves in the fog and outside the fog in quick succession to make it harder for them to figure out what I've done, especially when trying to surprise the opponent with a newly spawned special.

For example I will spawn a bombshell, then move a unit out of the fog, move the bombshell in the fog, attack outside the fog, shell the bombshell in the fog, move another unit out of the fog, all in quick succession. Makes it look like I only did one action outside of their view, when in reality it was 9 wits worth! ;]

[Harti]

Never used it, hah.
(seriously)

[CombatEX]

I don't bother looking at the length of the icon because its pretty unreliable to do so. I do look at the icon though so I know if my opponent has done anything out of my vision.