Rush (video gaming)

In video games, rushing is a battle tactic similar to the blitzkrieg or the human wave attack tactics in real-world ground warfare, in which speed and surprise are used to overwhelm and/or cripple an enemy's ability to wage war, usually before the enemy is able to achieve an effective buildup of sizable defensive and/or expansionist capabilities.

Definition

In real-time strategy (RTS), real-time tactical (RTT), squad-based tactical shooter (TS), and team-based first-person shooter (FPS) computer games, a rush is an all-in alpha strike, fast attack or preemptive strike intended to overwhelm an unprepared opponent. In massively-multiplayer online first-person-shooters (MMOFPS), this also describes the masses of hundreds of players in massive, unorganized squabble in effort to win by gross numerical superiority. In these contexts, it is also known as swarming, cheese, mobbing, goblin tactics or zerging, referring to the Zerg rush tactic from StarCraft. In fighting games, this style of play is called rushdown. In sport games, this style of play is called blitz or red dog. This also has a different meaning in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and competitive online role-playing games (CORPGs), where characters frequently deploy summoned creatures (pets) for use in mob control tactics known as mob control, sapping tactics known as minion bombing, or use of tactics that involve repeatedly throwing themselves (dying and reviving) at a boss mob. Collectible card games (CCG) and trading card games (TCG) can employ a strategy of weening, flooding or aggroing the opposing player with small, cheap and expendable targets rather than strong, well-coordinated units.

Alpha strike

Alpha strike may refer to:

Alpha strike (engineering)

An alpha strike is a term referring to the event when an alpha particle enters a computer processor, and modifying the data contained in that processor. These can cause data corruption or system shutdown, and are becoming an increasing problem as transistor sizes are reduced.

Physically, what happens in an alpha strike is that the alpha particle excites electrons via electronic stopping power in the material, and these may disrupt the normal electronic state of a memory component. The particle can also leave permanent defects in the components via collision cascades.

References

Alpha strike (United States Navy)

Alpha strike is a term used by the United States Navy to denote a large air attack by an aircraft carrier air wing, first coined during the Vietnam War. It is the Navy's version of the more widely used term "strike package".

An Alpha strike is typically a large strike representing a "deck load" of aircraft, i.e.,the amount of aircraft that can be brought to the flight deck, armed and launched against a high-value target. This will generally amount to about half of the aircraft aboard and will comprise aircraft from all squadrons on board and are also referred to as airwing-size strikes. The other half will normally have been recently recovered aircraft, and will be parked and prepared for their next mission on the hangar deck below the flight deck. During an Alpha strike the carrier will remain into the wind and at General Quarters with a "ready deck" to recover any aircraft returning to the ship with battle damage. During the Vietnam War an Alpha strike also meant that the target of a strike was specifically taken from a target list maintained by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as such required JCS authorization.