Camping (gaming) - Strategy Games

Strategy Games

Camping can also be applied to real-time and turn-based strategy games, where it is also referred to as turtling. It is the opposite of a rush. Instead of attacking, players put most or all efforts into fortifying defensive and critical positions. Any attempt at attack against these positions is usually unsuccessful; any damage done to the defenses is often repaired or rebuilt before the other player can attack again. The obvious disadvantage is that turtling players often have no resources to invest in an effective offensive force, so they are not as mobile as rushers. As in first-person shooters, this is looked down upon as a rude practice due to the stalemate that often results, with neither side able to gain a victory over the other.

Many strategy games attempt to prevent such camping by forcing players to collect resources outside their starting position. Because campers, whose "economy" supports fortifications instead of armies, are usually unable to defend these areas, opposing players can cut off their funding and eventually win through sheer numbers and attrition. For instance, in Warhammer 40K-based game Dawn of War, all resources are taken from strategic and critical points located around the map, and turtling results in being massively outnumbered. (Relic Entertainment have underscored this viewpoint by establishing a "Territory Control" victory condition, wherein a player wins if they control more-than-50% of all Control Points for a certain length of time.) Thus, turtling offers great short-term defensive advantage but cedes the initiative; it can be seen as a suicidal or desperation tactic, or a hallmark of an inexperienced player. There are also some units in turn-based strategy games that are capable of helping to spike on the turtle's guards, such as the MB-5 Rabbit in Nectaris and the Mech in Game Boy Wars 3 or most of the long-range artillery that is able to sweep fortified position either clear of enemies or weaken their defences before crucial assault.

Another common game mechanism to prevent camping is the existence of superweapons, powerful attacks which can be unleashed on any part of the map and cannot be defended against. This usually requires construction of a superweapon structure, which forces campers to seek out and destroy the structure. Many games also have artillery units which have longer range than defensive structures, forcing the camper to deal with the threat. This can be a two-edged sword as campers can build (and heavily defend) these same units and structures themselves though paradoxically the resource investment required to build Superweapons in quantity actually leaves a turtling player even more vulnerable to Superweapons.

Turtling is not always futile though, especially in games with numerous opponents. A turtling player is unlikely to initiate attacks until mid to late game, normally focusing on advancing up the tech tree and either a) having such powerful defenses as to render themselves essentially invulnerable, or b) having a force of top-level units to (finally) attack with. An aggressive player attacking a turtler uses resources and units that, in most cases, would be better used against a player who is more likely to retaliate and, as such, constitutes a larger threat. In a hostile environment like this, turtling can be a viable strategy; there is potential for unhampered research and limited growth while the other players battle amongst themselves, with the turtler eventually emerging to dominate the weakened opponents. However, as with any form of turtling, this strategy tends to be frowned upon. A good example of this strategy can be seen in THQ's game Dawn of War, where Space marines have powerful top-of-the-tech-tree superunits that are able to teleport in to the enemy base, and destroying the aggressive player's vital structures (with aggressive player likely having majority of the army located near defending player's base).