You're confusing things by introducing some "new" class of units that really aren't special in any way. What you're describing is simply "rare and powerful units".

Some things you're confusing....

* There's the concept of the strength of the unity. Naturally stronger units usually should be harder to attain than weaker units. Strength can often be very situationally dependent (i.e. a very strong unit can be worthless given the state of a particular game)
* There's the concept of the cost of the unit. Some units require only (more or less) money/resources. Some units require the game to be in some state before they can be acquired. Usually cost is closely tied to the strength of the unit.
* There's the concept of the replaceability of the unit. Some units (what you're calling heros) are irreplaceable (unique). Usually it makes sense to make irreplaceable units very strong -- otherwise you wouldn't care that you can't replace these units. However, as mentioned before, this strength can be very situationally dependent (e.g. you have to keep so and so hero around because at so and so point in the game you'll need his special power). Replaceability can be controlled with timers or dependence on other aspects of the state of the game.

Now the type of unit you're describing (and that you're envisioning as some new concept you invented) is nothing more than a unit that has high strength, and either a high cost that depends on the game being in some state or a high degree of irreplaceability that depends on the game being in some state.

But it's still just another type of unit...

[quote name='Acharis' timestamp='1303718287' post='4802576']
[quote name='Luckless' timestamp='1303699524' post='4802525']
So, what exactly is an 'elite unit' then, besides one that is rare and very powerful? (They're expensive, therefore rare. I can't remember any time I've spammed SupCom Experimental units.)

That's a perfect example. These were not rare, but nonexistent, you never bought them... That's my biggest complain about powerful but expensive units in games, no one buys them because it does not makes sense in terms of cost efficiency. Of course we could change them to be much cheaper but then everyone would buy only these so the efect would be even worse...

Elite is a rare unit, but the rarity does not come from the fact that it is too expensive. Elite is a unit which makes sense to buy in terms of cost efficiency. That's the key premise.
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He said he never *spammed* them, not that he never built them at all. Experimentals, Commander upgrades and even some tier 3 units in Supcom 1 could be potential game-winners - provided you could build an economy strong enough to build one without completely crippling your economy to the point where you can no longer survive. For the most part, they would more than justify their cost if you could get them out, although there were exceptions (none of the UEF exps, were worth their cost, for example).

They're an interesting example because although in terms of resources, they are no different from the run-of-the-mill units - they require mass and power just like anything else - the mechanics of the economy combined with their sheer cost does make them very different in game terms. Tier 1 - 3 units are all reasonably spammable at various stages of the game, but experimentals are so expensive that they will generally dominate your economy - you'd be lucky to be able to build more than one at a time, and you may have to shut down many/all of your other factories, and/or make extensive use of reclaiming to just to get that one out in a reasonable time frame.

In SupCom 2 they were much easier to build - and much less 'epic'.
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I never played SupCom1 much and honestly forget the bulk of it, but most of the experimental units are very useful in SupCom 2, and very much 'elite'. The effect that they can have on a battle compared to standard units very much makes up for the cost of a few of them, but without the backup of standard units you will get slaughtered.

The important thing about any kind of hero or elite unit needs to be their ability to change a battle, while not being an instant win button.

I never played SupCom1 much and honestly forget the bulk of it, but most of the experimental units are very useful in SupCom 2, and very much 'elite'. The effect that they can have on a battle compared to standard units very much makes up for the cost of a few of them, but without the backup of standard units you will get slaughtered.

The important thing about any kind of hero or elite unit needs to be their ability to change a battle, while not being an instant win button.

While some experimentals were pretty much 'win' buttons - if you managed to build them (Paragon, Seraphim nuke) - most were more like turning points rather than inherent game winners, and they could swing the battle either way. An incoming experimental invoked a real sense of emergency - you'd have to scramble your counters, whilst withdrawing any useless chaff that will contribute nothing but grant the exp easy veterency and making it even harder to kill than it already is. If you lacked the counters, or your scouting was poor and you were unable to react until it was too late, or otherwise react ineffectively, it would inflict crippling damage that would most likely lose you the game. If you can deal with it efficiently, you not only deprive the opponent of a massive investment which has likely set his economy back a fair bit, but you can reclaim it to fuel the construction of your own counterattack.

In SupCom 2 the reduced power level of the Exps combined with the lack of scaling (Exps do not benefit from any of the research upgrades) means that many of them have a very narrow window of opportunity during which they are cost effective to build. With a few exceptions, you're better off massing the more scalable conventional units. Almost all of the mobile combat exps will lose to their equivalent mass of fully upgraded conventional units. The experimental buildings are a different kettle of fish entirely, and are nearly all worthwhile.

As for elite units in general, I'm surprised noone has mentioned the Dawn Of War games. Both DoW 1 and 2 have used 'elite' units which fit the above definition very well.
In DoW 1 you had 'Relic' units: Many of them would have their own pop cap to prevent spamming, and in order to build them at all you needed to capture a special 'Relic' control point. Since there were never sufficient relics on a given map for all players to possess one, this often lead to a lot of fighting over those parts of the map.

DoW 2 had a very different system, where you earned points for kills, and those points could be used for certain powerful special abilities and/or purchasing special units. I personally felt this was a step backwards - acquiring and holding relic points was a strategic choice, whereas killing stuff is something you're just doing anyway, and not something you can really build a strategy around.

Now the type of unit you're describing (and that you're envisioning as some new concept you invented) is nothing more than a unit that has high strength, and either a high cost that depends on the game being in some state or a high degree of irreplaceability that depends on the game being in some state.[/quote] I'm not trying to invent 'new' category of units, I called them "elite" to streghten the difference between balanced "regular" where power and cost is connected and "elite" where power is higher than cost but there is some other limiter. Althrough, I agree that in reality these both concepts can be merged more that I initially anticipated.

As for players, this could be represented as:
- elite vs regular - you have elite recruits and regular recruits (earned at 1:9 ratio as the game progresses), you use them to build elite units and regular units
- units with different costs - some units require titanium some require iron, titanium is more scarce, titanium units are better (this works only if the player gets both titanium and iron from the same territory/mine, so there is no dilemma which resource invest in)
Technicly, both are identical as you said, but the player will get a different impression (I also wonder which representation would be better).

As for elite units in general, I'm surprised noone has mentioned the Dawn Of War games. Both DoW 1 and 2 have used 'elite' units which fit the above definition very well.
In DoW 1 you had 'Relic' units: Many of them would have their own pop cap to prevent spamming, and in order to build them at all you needed to capture a special 'Relic' control point. Since there were never sufficient relics on a given map for all players to possess one, this often lead to a lot of fighting over those parts of the map.

Yes, that's ideal example of what I thought of as "elite" units.
But why no one mentioned that game as example? More interesting, why I have not mentioned it even though I played it too I recall these relict units but... I can't recall what exactly these did, also I don't remember bothering about the relicts too much (I was not a big fan of the game and I probably suxed at it). Plus they removed it in the sequel... Why? Is is that this system is flawed and simply do not work? Why no one was thrilled about it in that game?