by (Ex-)Colonel Dion
I'd like to thank Skyven for a great game and I encourage everyone to register, it beats the heck out of playing unregistered.
1. OVERVIEW
The strategy behind playing a game of Metal Knights changes greatly when you don't get to keep your technology advancements. You will need to outmanoeuvre your opponents and exploit all your advantages. Keep in mind though, that unregistered players can beat all but the best registered players.
2. GAMES TO PLAY IN
The first thing you need to do is to find a game that you'll have a chance in. Every once in a while you'll see a game marked unregistered players only. Most registered players respect this and won't join these games, however a few do. Most of the time though, you should join registered games (meaning any game without unregistered in the tile). If you do, try to play games that are either small (120x120 or smaller) or that have very few resources (or mostly water). The reason for this is that in a large map, your opponent will have the time and money to increase his/her tech level. You will too, but unfortunately, you don't get to keep yours and he/she will. So as a summary, join small or scare resource maps.
3. HOW TO USE YOUR ADVANTAGES
Advantages? What Advantages? Well, unregistered players get 2 advantages. The first one is that registered players tend to underestimate unregistered players. It's only a minor advantage, but you'll need it. The second one is that registered players can get panthers over and over again. For a registered player, it costs 150 (the cost of a factory) to begin an attack in a new direction. For an unregistered player, it only costs 80 (the cost of a panther university) to attack in a new direction. Use this to your advantage when already inside an opponent's territory.
4. HOW TO OVERCOME YOUR DISADVANTAGE
Well, there are only about 2 tactics that work well for an unregistered player. Number one, crowding. Yes, I'm sure some of you think that crowding is dishonourable, but believe me, it works very well. In case you don't know what crowding is, it is when you set up your base 9-12 spaces away from your target. You then immediately send troops at your target to capture the cities and resources in between you two. This forces them into a defensive position, if you can get them to sign a peace treaty with you, all the better. The second tactic that works is nuclear weapons :). No skill needed here, if you have more territory and money than your target, then buy ALL the upgrades from panther to patriot, then all the upgrades from predator to nuclear in one turn. Next nuke their base, move a solider in and win.
About technology, Panthers are almost always worth getting when expanding in any direction. Since, on later turns, you can only purchase the researched unit in the city that researched it, make sure that you get it on a city near the edge. Most of the other time you will not be buying technology until you really have the cash to make the jump to worthwhile units. The best setup is always to have a city that can buy Hercules next to a city that can buy artillery. These two unit types together pack enough firepower and speed to take out most bases. I strongly suggest AGAINST using the 2-unit metropole trick to get Hercules early unless it will give you a huge incoming or mobility advantage. If you're going to sacrifice your metropole, you might as well get the Hercules permanently. So save up, it's an expensive move.