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Creeper World => Custom Map Discussion => Custom Map Comments => Topic started by: AutoPost on November 24, 2010, 09:36:37 AM

Title: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: AutoPost on November 24, 2010, 09:36:37 AM
This topic is for discussion of map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds (http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld/mapcomments.php?id=3569)
(http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld/thumb.php?id=3569) (http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld/mapcomments.php?id=3569)

Author: UpperKEES (http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld/viewmaps.php?author=UpperKEES)

Desc:
Up for a real challenge? Good, because you'll need some stamina for this one.

Last map in the Hard Art series and about as tough as the first one. Strategical choices will be more important however and bad decisions will be punished severely. See the opening text and comments for some tips.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: burguertime on November 24, 2010, 09:44:18 AM
Quote from: AutoPost on November 24, 2010, 09:36:37 AM
Last map in the Hard Art series and

Oh noes, I liked the hard art. Last One? No more? Sob.

XD
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 24, 2010, 09:44:51 AM
Title:
Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Difficulty:
Expert Only
Creeper type:
Land only
Remarks:
Up for a real challenge? Good, because you'll need some stamina for this one.

Last map in the Hard Art series and about as tough as the first one. Strategical choices will be more important however and bad decisions will be punished severely. See the opening text and comments for some tips.

Description:
This is the last map in the Hard Art series. It's a complete remake of Nice Job 22: The Artist (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=3787) (which turned out a bit easier than I intended and could be finished within 10 minutes).

Changes include:
- Shifted the entire map 1 block to the left to make it perfectly symmetrical.
- Changed colors and added enhanced graphics (which will be the case for all of my future maps).
- Decreased the starting time of the delayed emitters; they now start after 9, 15 and 18 minutes of gameplay.
- Increased the intensity of all emitters slightly.
- Relocated all emitters one block to the left or right to make them less annoying. They now flood the adjacent higher elevations less during the first part of the game and are easier to cap (without your blasters getting damaged).
- Removed the two pre-built structures.
- Added three more upgrades and changed their location.

The main difference in gameplay is that you will need to cap most emitters to be able to finish the map. One blaster is still enough for each of them, but only when this blaster doesn't get distracted by nearby creeper. If you don't take this into account before the first increase at the 9 minute mark your entire network may collapse.

Don't focus on blasters too soon however; your primary defence should consist out of mortars that you may have to send on a bombing run to clear some terrain. Make sure you plan the layout of your network well, so you'll have some space left to add blasters later on. Your choice of weapons and their placement will be crucial!

When you find this map is too hard, you may want to play Nice Job 22: The Artist (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=3787). The comments for that map also contain a lot of hints that can be applied to this one. You might need them, because this is going to be a rough ride. I sure hope you're up for a challenge!

No need to tell more about M.C. Escher I guess, as you've probably already read enough about him when playing some of my other maps. He's my favorite artist!

Well, I hope you enjoyed playing my hard art maps. Starting next week it's time for something completely new....

ARTIST: Maurits Cornelis Escher
TITLE: Two Birds
MATERIAL: Pencil on paper
YEAR: 1938
DIMENSIONS: 22.8 x 24.3 cm

Download page:
Hard Art 9: Firebirds (http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld/mapcomments.php?id=3569)
Full size screen shot:
(http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=978.0;attach=1936;image)

Based on:
(http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3787.0;attach=847;image)

More art:
See here for more maps about art (and jobs) ;) (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=978.0)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 24, 2010, 10:00:00 AM
Quote from: burguertime on November 24, 2010, 09:44:18 AM
Oh noes, I liked the hard art. Last One? No more? Sob.

Yep, last one of this series, but certainly not my last map. Thanks for liking them though! :)

The next series will be called 'Quagmire Quest' and will consist out of at least 5 maps. Besides enhanced graphics they will feature the use of new game mechanics, hence requiring a different style of play.

I always try to come up with something new, so in my opinion these new maps will be better than my previous ones, but that's of course up to the players to decide.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: burguertime on November 24, 2010, 10:13:19 AM
Lolz, I put a post between auto and the description. Totally unintentional. My first try was a wipe, because i did not foresee the emitter increase.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 24, 2010, 10:23:58 AM
Quote from: burguertime on November 24, 2010, 10:13:19 AM
Lolz, I put a post between auto and the description. Totally unintentional.

No worries, I just wasn't fast enough. ;)

Quote from: burguertime on November 24, 2010, 10:13:19 AM
My first try was a wipe, because i did not foresee the emitter increase.

Yep, you really want to take those into account. Also have a look at the comments for Nice Job 22: The Artist (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=3787.msg17064#msg17064), as I've posted some tips & hints there that apply to this map as well. It's the easier version, so it might be an alternative when this map turns out to be too hard.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 03:08:53 PM
I've done it. But doing it during work hours on double speed seems to be detriment to low times.

Also, your blasters are somewhat better than mine, UK, because i had to leave two on each emitter to make sure it stayed down.

(i dont get the fire rate upgrade though)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 25, 2010, 03:53:27 PM
Quote from: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 03:08:53 PM
I've done it.

Great job! 8) You actually posted a score earlier than I expected one, so I was already preparing to post a screenshot how to start, but I'll wait one more day with that now I know it's possible without some help.

Quote from: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 03:08:53 PM
But doing it during work hours on double speed seems to be detriment to low times.

That will certainly make a difference. Doing this map on double speed actually deserves some extra points!

Quote from: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 03:08:53 PM
Also, your blasters are somewhat better than mine, UK, because i had to leave two on each emitter to make sure it stayed down.

(i dont get the fire rate upgrade though)

Spoiler
Hmmm, I guess you can say that the fire rate upgrade indeed makes my blasters better. ;)
[close]

Spoiler
You don't need that upgrade during the first 15 minutes to be able to cap an emitter by one blaster though! Only the later increases require it (and I recommend using it!). You'll have more than enough time to reach all upgrades before that.
[close]
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 08:42:47 PM
Oh well. I've done a LOT of mistakes. One of them was getting to 27 energy collection without a single storage unit. I think i could do it in less than fourty minutes on a second try, but...

If i was not completely exausted after work yesterday, i would've posted by then.

But I do not regret double speed. for me its double the fun at the cost of high scores. Meh, hit me baby one more time.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 25, 2010, 09:04:49 PM
Quote from: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 08:42:47 PM
Oh well. I've done a LOT of mistakes. One of them was getting to 27 energy collection without a single storage unit. I think i could do it in less than fourty minutes on a second try, but...

Spoiler
Yeah, not building a storage unit will indeed have cost you quite some time.... Just like collecting 27 energy; I think I used around 20 to finish.
[close]

Quote from: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 08:42:47 PM
If i was not completely exausted after work yesterday, i would've posted by then.

Well, I'm happy with your score as it shows other players that it can be done without more hints or help and even without playing very carefully.

Quote from: burguertime on November 25, 2010, 08:42:47 PM
But I do not regret double speed. for me its double the fun at the cost of high scores. Meh, hit me baby one more time.

Yep, there's a lot of truth in that when you play twice as many maps in the same amount of time.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 11:32:20 AM
Kees,

You really don't need to post a screen shot (unless someone is really struggling). I do like where you placed the upgrades, It only took about (1:30) for those  ;)

I think I need to expand quicker with collectors rather than using as many reactors. Since I do remember your first hard art map  8)

Again, enjoyable map!

JM
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 26, 2010, 10:02:45 PM
Quote from: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 11:32:20 AM
You really don't need to post a screen shot (unless someone is really struggling).

Okay, I'll wait with that until it gets requested.

Quote from: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 11:32:20 AM
I do like where you placed the upgrades, It only took about (1:30) for those  ;)

Yeah, in the previous version you got 3 for free, now you get 1 for free and 5 for a tiny effort (building a few relays). The drawback however is that getting them fast slows down your energy production and defending them also costs precious energy.

Quote from: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 11:32:20 AM
I think I need to expand quicker with collectors rather than using as many reactors. Since I do remember your first hard art map  8)

Spoiler
Well, I do build 1 collector per island as they are about twice as efficient, but I still need lots of reactors.
[close]

Spoiler
Compared to HA-1 I think the mortars are more effective on this map.
[close]

Quote from: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 11:32:20 AM
Again, enjoyable map!

Thanks. :)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 10:13:24 PM
I didn't even try getting the 6th upgrade, so I lost 3 relays... I was okay with that. The flying faster upgrade isn't on my high on my priority list  :D
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Kamron3 on November 27, 2010, 03:02:56 PM
>>REQUEST<<
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 27, 2010, 03:28:47 PM
Quote from: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 10:13:24 PM
The flying faster upgrade isn't on my high on my priority list  :D

Nope, on mine neither. The same goes for the fire rate upgrade. That one will only cost you more energy during the start up phase, while you only need it later on. It may actually force you to micromanage your mortars and that's something I don't like to do. I finished myself without deactivating them all the time; I'm just too lazy for that on a map that takes longer than 5 minutes.

Quote from: UpperKEES on November 26, 2010, 10:02:45 PM
Quote from: snowmaker (JM) on November 26, 2010, 11:32:20 AM
You really don't need to post a screen shot (unless someone is really struggling).

Okay, I'll wait with that until it gets requested.

Quote from: Gaara on November 27, 2010, 03:02:56 PM
>>REQUEST<<

Spoiler
Okay, I'll first post a screeny how to start off:

(http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5339.0;attach=1963;image)   (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5339.0;attach=1965;image)
[close]

Spoiler
You'll have enough time to build 2 relays, a collector and 2 reactors before you should start building your first mortar. You can build a third reactor in parallel with the mortar when you start it a little later. When the mortar is done, let it fire a few rounds and disarm it so it will charge completely. Then move it the the island on the right as indicated. You may already hear the sound of Odin City getting damaged, but when executed well you'll be in time to save it. When it's all too tight for you, just build a reactor less before you start the mortar. This will make sure you're safe, but will slow down your expansion later on.
[close]

Spoiler
The relay has been placed in such a way that I will need a minimal amount of them to reach the other islands.
[close]

Let me know if you're able to conquer a second island now. I can post more hints when you need them, so just ask.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: burguertime on November 27, 2010, 04:29:27 PM
Just for curiosity, how many relays you build on the second island (the one by the third upgrade with elevation four)?

I built one in a odd (it took room for two buildings on that island) placement in order to link to two other islands with only one relay, but sometimes it got destroyed.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: burguertime on November 27, 2010, 04:45:48 PM
Is there any reason the collector is there? switching places between collector and mortar gives you two little squares more coverage for energy building. It is very little, but hey, lets min-max
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 27, 2010, 06:56:10 PM
Quote from: burguertime on November 27, 2010, 04:29:27 PM
Just for curiosity, how many relays you build on the second island (the one by the third upgrade with elevation four)?

Spoiler
Just one, but on a spot that needs defending after 9 minutes....
[close]

Quote from: burguertime on November 27, 2010, 04:29:27 PM
I built one in a odd (it took room for two buildings on that island) placement in order to link to two other islands with only one relay, but sometimes it got destroyed.

Spoiler
Yep, same for me; it indeed wastes one space, but when you keep advancing fast enough (but not too fast), you won't ever have a shortage in available space.
[close]

Quote from: burguertime on November 27, 2010, 04:45:48 PM
Is there any reason the collector is there? switching places between collector and mortar gives you two little squares more coverage for energy building. It is very little, but hey, lets min-max

Spoiler
It's there because I want my first mortar to be able to fire a shot to the far right, so Odin City survives; that's the only reason. But indeed: it's always wise to keep an eye on the small things in life! :)
[close]

This map is all about balancing:
- You need to expand fast enough to have enough space.
- You need weapons to be able to expand.
- You need space to generate energy.
- You need to expand slow enough to be able to defend the terrain you conquered.
- You need to cap emitters that become a threat.
- You need to let go of emitters that would only drain your energy.

Finding the right strategy (expansion speed) is the key to solving this map. Only when building your first mortar in parallel with another reactor you will experience some deficit, but I played the rest of the map without it. When you still have a deficit when capping emitters you'll most likely have a lot of trouble finishing.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Kamron3 on November 28, 2010, 12:34:49 AM
With your help I got control of 4 islands, but at 15:00 it kicks my ass.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 28, 2010, 11:34:45 AM
Quote from: Gaara on November 28, 2010, 12:34:49 AM
With your help I got control of 4 islands

Spoiler
Good! That's how you want to start; conquering island by island and using it's space to generate more energy which enables you to use another weapon.
[close]

Spoiler
I'm not sure about your build order, but I would first generate as much energy as you can, because this will speed up the growth of your economy. No need to rush to the upgrades, you will get there soon and in time. Just add another mortar when your energy levels allow for that and occasionally disconnected them temporarily from the network to clear a new island for you and connect it again by building a new relay. You don't want to keep expanding at the maximum rate though, see below.
[close]

Quote from: Gaara on November 28, 2010, 12:34:49 AM
at 15:00 it kicks my ass.

Spoiler
Oh, that means you survived the 9 minute emitter increases and that's a good sign. At 9 minutes some emitters will start causing trouble, so you may want to cap these just before that moment. This works best when you have isolated these island with your mortars, so the capping blasters won't get distracted from capping and waste energy on creeper that comes flowing in from the sides.
[close]

Spoiler
You want to let the mortars do all the hard work for you and only use some blasters for capping and maybe a few later on to conquer the left part of the map. Just before the 15 minute mark you should also start capping the emitters that didn't cause trouble earlier, so you want to make sure you have built up enough energy for that. Also keep in mind that you'll need a few speed nodes to prevent the blasters from running dry.
[close]

Spoiler
Finally, at the 18 minute mark you'll need the fire rate upgrade to be able to keep capping all emitters, so make sure you have all 6 upgrades by that time. I have collected all of them long before 9 minutes, so that shouldn't be a problem.
[close]
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Kamron3 on November 28, 2010, 05:46:12 PM
Even with this help, I still can't make it past 18:00 without the second island getting overrun.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 28, 2010, 06:20:13 PM
In that case you probably didn't expand fast enough to be able to isolate the center islands. This makes capping their emitters a lot harder.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Kamron3 on November 29, 2010, 05:10:07 AM
Quote from: UpperKEES on November 28, 2010, 06:20:13 PM
In that case you probably didn't expand fast enough to be able to isolate the center islands. This makes capping their emitters a lot harder.

Makes sense... I can't expand fast, it's just not me.. but I really want to finish the map! :'(
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 07:22:35 AM
Kees, until you mentioned double time in relaiton to the puzzle map I didnt know it existed.  :P

I love it. Now I'm failing this in 9 minutes instead of 18  ;D

Much harder than the first one all right. Easy enough to get a position but need to be more aggressive with moving to close things down.

Good fun.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 08:22:16 AM
Quote from: Gaara on November 29, 2010, 05:10:07 AM
Makes sense... I can't expand fast, it's just not me.. but I really want to finish the map! :'(

I admire your perseverance.

Spoiler
Just conquer island by island and use all energy to generate more (apart from building a relay to a new island and adding a mortar when necessary) until you have to cap a few emitters at the 9 minute mark. The easiest route is to first follow the upgrades. I save the left map of the map for last, because it's a little harder to cross to there.
[close]

And like I said in chat: don't use double speed all the time and/or pause a lot. This really helps! You may think it saves you time, but starting over and over will cost you more!

Quote from: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 07:22:35 AM
Kees, until you mentioned double time in relaiton to the puzzle map I didnt know it existed.  :P

I love it.

Yep, it can be convenient in certain cases, see here (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=5063.0), but it can also make you play hasty and badly.

Quote from: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 07:22:35 AM
Now I'm failing this in 9 minutes instead of 18  ;D

Heheh! :D

Spoiler
At the 18 minute mark you want to be capping the emitters of 'inhabited' islands. One blaster is enough, but you'll need the fire rate upgrade for that.
[close]

Quote from: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 07:22:35 AM
Much harder than the first one all right. Easy enough to get a position but need to be more aggressive with moving to close things down.

Yep, that's what I tried. I first made it as tight as possible for myself to finish. The emitter increases occurred after 8, 14 (+6) and 18 (+4) minutes. Then I was afraid not many people would be able to finish and I don't like posting almost impossible maps, so I changed the increases to occur after 9, 15 (+6) and 18 (+3) minutes. These few extra minutes make a world of a difference!

Unfortunately (for me) Kapoios showed me in chat yesterday that because of the above it's possible to complete the map just before 15 minutes by using the strategy I was trying to prevent: a speed run with mortars (and some drone support). This proves how hard it is to create a map that's still reasonably doable, but can't be pwned (because I consider a time below 18 minutes faster than intended). I guess I shouldn't have tried to please everyone at the same time.... :-\

Oh well, definitely time for a completely new series! 8)

Quote from: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 07:22:35 AM
Good fun.

Thanks! :)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Miss Melissa on November 29, 2010, 01:19:13 PM
yep.. quite the battle.. horrible time, but hey at least i finished. good times great map. thanks.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 02:12:16 PM
Quote from: Miss Melissa on November 29, 2010, 01:19:13 PM
yep.. quite the battle.. horrible time, but hey at least i finished. good times great map. thanks.

Hey, great to see you back here! :)

Yep, this map changed a bit since you played The Artist, so you may have noticed that.

On the other hand it almost seems as if this one is still easier for you than your own map (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=5306.msg28656#msg28656)! Or are you just trying to beat all of us on that one? ;)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
First of all, great map, KEES. It certainly is an extremely hard battle. And a very pretty picture! It gave me a few days of a style of gameplay, a long, hard, non-trivial battle that I had never been exposed to before. It is a gem of its style combining all sorts of gameplay elements, most important being using smart locations for weapons. Efficient energy use, albeit very important in the map, comes second to putting your weapons at good places, and I really like that.

My experience with it had its ups and downs. My first reaction (except the initial "hey, this is very pretty") was that I was irritated by the colouring of the various elements that wouldn't let me understand what's going on with just looking. Luckily, this doesn't go to extremes. At least you can tell which one is higher of two adjacent locations. Mind you, I have some colour vision deficiencies, which is partially to blame.

I lost a few times at the 18 point mark because I didn't realise I needed the firing frequency upgrade to maintain Kapping the emitters. Even if it's because of a player error wasting 18 minutes of hard work naturally builds up frustration. Having saved games would have significantly reduced my "downs" for this map. Looking forward to CW2! It is only thanks to UpperKEES in chat, pushing me in various ways, that I didn't abandon this map early and I'm thankful for that. Following his hints made the gameplay much tidier and I was much happier when I played those 18 minutes again and I started enjoying myself.

My turning point with the map was when I realised that your mortars are "controlling" up to 4 deep pools of creeper. An extra mortar on the same or a different island that targets pools already targeted by other mortars is almost no help. This might have been obvious to most people, but when it dawned on me that this is the case, I understood the map much better and was able to devise my own strategy. (I hope this isn't too spoilery, or I'll be glad to remove it.)

Quote from: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 08:22:16 AM
Unfortunately (for me) Kapoios showed me in chat yesterday that because of the above it's possible to complete the map just before 15 minutes by using the strategy I was trying to prevent: a speed run with mortars (and some drone support). This proves how hard it is to create a map that's still reasonably doable, but can't be pwned (because I consider a time below 18 minutes faster than intended). I guess I shouldn't have tried to please everyone at the same time.... :-\

I'm not sure my strategy is what you were trying to prevent. Reducing the time milestones to 8-14 would not make my strategy impossible. You would have to reduce the times so much that it would also make the intended solution impossible. My drone is only used once to "conquer" the bottom right island which turns out to be very tricky and I use blasters to control some of the pools.

You mention "pwning" of the map, but you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. The map remains interesting and hard even with my strategy. It's extremely hard to design a map that only allows a certain solution, especially when it is a long one, where things become chaotic and unpredictable.

I played your earlier map a bit, The Artist, of which this one is a remake. It turns out that my strategy doesn't work so well there, though I only tried once. Massive improvements, by the way. Both in the gameplay and the aesthetics.

Thanks very much, KEES, for this map!
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 05:35:55 PM
Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
First of all, great map, KEES. It certainly is an extremely hard battle. And a very pretty picture! It gave me a few days of a style of gameplay, a long, hard, non-trivial battle that I had never been exposed to before. It is a gem of its style combining all sorts of gameplay elements, most important being using smart locations for weapons. Efficient energy use, albeit very important in the map, comes second to putting your weapons at good places, and I really like that.

Thanks Kap! :)

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
My experience with it had its ups and downs. My first reaction (except the initial "hey, this is very pretty") was that I was irritated by the colouring of the various elements that wouldn't let me understand what's going on with just looking. Luckily, this doesn't go to extremes. At least you can tell which one is higher of two adjacent locations. Mind you, I have some colour vision deficiencies, which is partially to blame.

Yeah, good that you tell me. I would never had thought of that. Most of the time when I played this map it was just the question: is this island above or below creeper level? The elevation actualyy didn't matter that much. Only when you and Kam (Gaara) started playing and mentioned this in chat I realized that some people might actually try to build on the lower elevations until they gained some experience with this map. My future maps won't be using such abundant colors, so you should be okay. It's just that colors and art go hand in hand, so this series couldn't be grey.

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
I lost a few times at the 18 point mark because I didn't realise I needed the firing frequency upgrade to maintain Kapping the emitters. Even if it's because of a player error wasting 18 minutes of hard work naturally builds up frustration. Having saved games would have significantly reduced my "downs" for this map. Looking forward to CW2! It is only thanks to UpperKEES in chat, pushing me in various ways, that I didn't abandon this map early and I'm thankful for that. Following his hints made the gameplay much tidier and I was much happier when I played those 18 minutes again and I started enjoying myself.

Glad to hear that, but you're right: I've wished for that save functionality myself many times in the past!

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
My turning point with the map was when I realised that your mortars are "controlling" up to 4 deep pools of creeper. An extra mortar on the same or a different island that targets pools already targeted by other mortars is almost no help. This might have been obvious to most people, but when it dawned on me that this is the case, I understood the map much better and was able to devise my own strategy. (I hope this isn't too spoilery, or I'll be glad to remove it.)

No, that fine. The Artist was especially designed for the use of mortars, because blasters are much better on most maps. They only turned out to be too effective and I still haven't solved that completely obviously. That's okay though, as it still turns out to be rather hard for most people.

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
I'm not sure my strategy is what you were trying to prevent. Reducing the time milestones to 8-14 would not make my strategy impossible. You would have to reduce the times so much that it would also make the intended solution impossible. My drone is only used once to "conquer" the bottom right island which turns out to be very tricky and I use blasters to control some of the pools.

Well, I was trying to force to use of mortars instead of many blasters, but in such a way that you would still need to cap the emitters on the way to the totems. A nice balance between the two. This would require you to build on the lower elevations as well, but only after isolating them first.

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
You mention "pwning" of the map, but you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. The map remains interesting and hard even with my strategy. It's extremely hard to design a map that only allows a certain solution, especially when it is a long one, where things become chaotic and unpredictable.

Yep, that's actually what I like: not being able to overview all possibilities from the start and applying the one and only solution. I still think I should have increased the emitters earlier, but maybe only you and me would have finished it, so I'm happy the way it is now.

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
I played your earlier map a bit, The Artist, of which this one is a remake. It turns out that my strategy doesn't work so well there, though I only tried once. Massive improvements, by the way. Both in the gameplay and the aesthetics.

Didn't work? Oh weird. I guess those 3 extra upgrades do make a difference then.

Quote from: Kapoios on November 29, 2010, 03:37:56 PM
Thanks very much, KEES, for this map!

Thank you for playing! (Especially considering you're not that fond of long fights....)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 06:25:18 PM
Quote from: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 08:22:16 AM


Quote from: RichieRich on November 29, 2010, 07:22:35 AM
Kees, until you mentioned double time in relaiton to the puzzle map I didnt know it existed.  :P

I love it.

Yep, it can be convenient in certain cases, see here (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=5063.0), but it can also make you play hasty and badly.



So true about the sloppy play. I found it was very useful in trying different starts here to find the route that suited me best. I was basically 2/3 finished at 30 mins - all the energy and the bottom half of the map closed down and should have stopped the double time as I really wasted loads just faffing around instead of concentrating.

Will go back and do it again properly.

But notwithstanding the potential for sloppyness, I think the double time is perfect for restarting your maps where the start is usually tough and the increasing intensities pretty much guarantees failure if you try to push it. You know, that horrible place where suddenly the deficit goes up and you start going backwards. Restarting a map after failing a good bit into it can be a bit daunting and this makes it easier.

Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Miss Melissa on November 29, 2010, 08:31:57 PM
Quote from: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 02:12:16 PM
Quote from: Miss Melissa on November 29, 2010, 01:19:13 PM
yep.. quite the battle.. horrible time, but hey at least i finished. good times great map. thanks.

Hey, great to see you back here! :)

Yep, this map changed a bit since you played The Artist, so you may have noticed that.

On the other hand it almost seems as if this one is still easier for you than your own map (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=5306.msg28656#msg28656)! Or are you just trying to beat all of us on that one? ;)
Good to be back.. All work and no internet makes Miss Melissa a dull girl!
No really!.. as far as my painting map goes.. I just cant beat it.. dont know how i did it when u first sent it to me to test. its on my list.
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 29, 2010, 09:03:05 PM
Quote from: Miss Melissa on November 29, 2010, 08:31:57 PM
Good to be back.. All work and no internet makes Miss Melissa a dull girl!

Let's hope you'll have internet on your next assignment!

Quote from: Miss Melissa on November 29, 2010, 08:31:57 PM
No really!.. as far as my painting map goes.. I just cant beat it.. dont know how i did it when u first sent it to me to test. its on my list.

Oh, I'm sure you'll make it. Maybe you had some beginners luck the first time? I remember you setting a time similar to mine and I haven't made any changes. Glad you're still playing! :)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: Kamron3 on November 30, 2010, 07:24:17 AM
Hey, KEES, maybe now that there are spoiler tags, you can release a step-by-step on how to complete the map without ruining it it for everyone else!
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on November 30, 2010, 10:27:49 AM
Yes, I will certainly edit the comments for all my maps later this week to use the spoiler tags.

It is impossible however to give a step by step solution for a map like this. Apart from what I've already written a video would be the only solution and I'm not going to do that (although anybody else is free to do so).

I think you should be satisfied with what you've reached after all your effort, because you made a lot of progress. The main key to solve this map is not in a very different approach, but in building more efficiently, so you would have to improve that a little more.

Thanks for playing though; you showed a lot of stamina! :)
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: DethbyIT on January 02, 2011, 01:22:07 PM
Sure wish I knew the secret to the common statement that "1 Blaster" can cap an emitter.
Working without deficit, the Blasters slowly erode from the emitter and get over-whelmed.
I've tried putting 2 Blasters on each emitter (base plus 3 islands) and everything still melts down shortly past the 18 minute mark.

[Ummm - never mind. I figured out that "capping" (or kapping) does NOT mean putting the Blaster on top of the emitter to control it.]
Title: Re: Custom Map: Hard Art 9: Firebirds
Post by: UpperKEES on January 11, 2011, 08:19:02 PM
Quote from: DethbyIT on January 02, 2011, 01:22:07 PM
[Ummm - never mind. I figured out that "capping" (or kapping) does NOT mean putting the Blaster on top of the emitter to control it.]

Hahaha! ;D That indeed isn't a good thing, see here (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=5274.0).