Like an engine that runs at peak performance, success in any endeavor requires precise timing. Moving, building, and idling all require forethought to contribute to a favorable outcome.
Coordinating forces to move upon your opponent’s base from a variety of angles is only effective when they arrive with a planned, coordinated effect. Either all of the forces arrive simultaneously to overwhelm the defending forces -or- they arrive from opposite sides with delay, so as to have concentrated defenders on one side when the other wave arrives unopposed on the opposite side.
Constructing military assets early in a game may allow for immediate assault, but it sacrifices economic development that could have been constructed instead. That additional income lost per tick could have been used to construct further economic development. If engineeering potential is built in tandem with economic capacity, then growth of the entire system is exponential and infinite. However, if military assets are never created then a large military force will wipe out all of the economic benefits of exponential growth. Not only must a player balance how much economy is spent on creating army, but a player must balance when to start building army and when to focus on building army. This all depends on map size and the aggresiveness of the opponent(s). An opponent that walks their army across a large map gives you a time advantage while an opponent that airlifts his forces across oceans takes away such advantages.
Having your forces standing still is generally considered a sin. However, there are times when it is favorable to wait for other events to conclude before committing your forces to action. Having enough air transports to airlift at least 50% of your army rather than 20% is a perfect example. Allowing two opponents to destroy each others’ armies before putting your army into action is another great example. Waiting for economic buildings to complete before starting new engineering projects is further proof that standing idle is not always truely idle.
A typical fuel engine needs to coordinate intake, compression, explosion, and exhaust between multiple cylinders to run at peak efficiency. A commander in battle needs to coordinate construction, expansion, production, and aggression to operate at peak efficiency. While the biggest and best units may be the most powerful, if they can not be produced in massive quantities, then weaker units could be more effective from a production point of view. The commander that wins may have the worst kill ratio, but he still wins.
