This topic is for discussion of map #861: The Rinser of Winds
(http://knucklecracker.com/particlefleet/queryMaps.php?query=thumbnailid&id=861)
Author: Sorrontis
Size: 500x480
Desc:
Winner of the second contest was Planetfall. As requested, I made a map using his phase shield script. I hope you enjoy it. After 60 hours of map making, playing, tweeking, rinse & repeat. I'm done. This was an impossible request. I hope it was good enough. #PRPL :See Forums for Credits
CREDITS
Thanks to Planetfall for that crazy script I had to work with.
Thanks to Virgil for fixing those issues with phalanx guns and such. ;)
Thanks to Goodmorning for the help with all the other scripts I needed help with.
Thanks to all of you who have patiently waited for a true Sorrontis map.
HINTS!
Spoiler
What... It's empty? Oh noes!
Alright, Alright, here's some real hints:
- Have multiple hard saves (not just a quick save) and by that I mean having saves that span the last 10-15 minutes of in game clock
- There's some pleasant and not so pleasant surprises. Surprise!
- There are 3 obvious start points, and 1 special hard start point. Each start point is different.
- Because of mire and so many cannons, you will feel some lag at times (depends on your computer). Sorry :-\
- Be careful. There are a few things you can do to make this map literally impossible. Hence why you need so many saves ;)
For those who won't wade through the scripts, but find this too chaotic... (I gave in after five restarts and read).
Mouseover that partial-sphere custom graphic for a description of what the specific thing does. Only works with an exact lineup with the middle.
Spoiler
Hold K.
I'm not sure where Sorrontis thought a "hard" start point, but it will probably be area-skippingly rewarding, if near-impossible to claim. My guess is the lower-left, but I'm likely wrong.
There's a script in play to keep you from swapping starting areas. (Not spoilered because it's made clear quickly.)
Many things can be shut down from elsewhere.
More guesses/speculations/solutions when I play again. So far, I've taken unacceptable losses when the hard particle bursts on the left pop - it might be better to start in the middle.
Sorrontis, literal impossibility is not helpful - there should always be a way to recover, if you can do more than survive.
Quote from: GoodMorning on August 03, 2017, 07:42:49 AM
I'm not sure where Sorrontis thought a "hard" start point, but it will probably be area-skippingly rewarding, if near-impossible to claim. My guess is the lower-left, but I'm likely wrong.
It is not. :P It's a place I put there for anyone foolish enough to look for more of a challenge. The reward, you get the ship "Exp. 99" right off the bat. I can't be fast enough to grab this spot and still survive.
Quote from: GoodMorning on August 03, 2017, 07:42:49 AM
Sorrontis, literal impossibility is not helpful - there should always be a way to recover, if you can do more than survive.
Yeah, I am aware.
Spoiler
It has to do with the fireworks. There's a random element to it that when you destroy the trigger, there's the possibility of an emitter in the center column. If that happens, you have to reload a few saves back.
It's only happened once in the 10s of times I played the map, and at this point I had to give up.
Quote from: GoodMorning on August 03, 2017, 07:42:49 AM
More guesses/speculations/solutions when I play again. So far, I've taken unacceptable losses when the hard particle bursts on the left pop - it might be better to start in the middle.
Ah, left, right, middle. It's all good. They all have surprises ;) What must you do, do not turtle; expand quickly, until it's time to turtle. Wraiths and Stunner Hunters are cheap defenses.
Quote from: Sorrontis on August 03, 2017, 09:48:05 AM
It is not. :P It's a place I put there for anyone foolish enough to look for more of a challenge. The reward, you get the ship "Exp. 99" right off the bat. I can't be fast enough to grab this spot and still survive.
Oh, that? I was looking for something much more complex.
Wow! My worst (the worst?) rated map! 9 ratings of 1! I did my job well! Or it's really that bad. :-\
I'm currently at 10:37, waiting for the next storm on the left. I've written off the right to particle bursts for the moment.
The K trick is cruel. If not warning, at least have some two-interpretation dialogue. The fact that it comes up during the first left particle storm? At least it didn't come up during the second.
Edit: Oh, and the Exp99 start is my new best friend - that many lathes, cannons and dischargers is a huge help.
Edit: Why not use pixel coord setting for the comet? It looks so much neater.
Edit: 20min in, central bursts captured. Save also captured. It looks like it will be hard to lose from here, so I'm bewaring a trap. I do wonder if it would be faster to capture the hard start immediately, then warp out and wait out the storm, building stores with <spoiler>.
Quote from: GoodMorning on August 03, 2017, 08:57:33 PM
The K trick is cruel. If not warning, at least have some two-interpretation dialogue.
There is a warning :) Look up to the left ;)
Quote from: GoodMorning on August 03, 2017, 08:57:33 PM
Edit: Why not use pixel coord setting for the comet? It looks so much neater.
Ummm... I don't know. It was an early code and I forgot to change it :(
There is a sign - it says "is your friend". This is not - in any way, shape, or form - a warning.
This is definitely a map for those who "seek challenge".
Edit: I think this is the first map I have played on .5x for any length of time, and one of the few with a half-dozen saves or more.
Edit: That's enough for the moment. I'll take a break in this interval while I'm not cursing your name. :) That will probably come when the next trap is triggered.
There's a counter. Why would a friend count every time you borrow from him?
Chances given to access additional resources? Esp. when there's the odd gem in the mix? There's no hint it's "borrow" either.
Now, were it me, I'd make it triggerable at any time, but with a minimum interval.
Fair enough :)
Finished, and not a load in it (this time).
I didn't have use for either PhaseShip - by the time they built, there weren't non-Doppel particles around, and Omnis were taking care of the middle.
Then I failed in my mission!
How do I finish reversing the emmitters :-\.
Can't convert all off them from red to blue, used omnis, lathes, HQ and power source, but cant convert all six of them. Sucks
Only need that completed to win
Would flipping them all at the same time work?
Yes that is what I am trying.
Trying to convert all of them at the same time, but not happening
Can you post the save? This is not suppose to happen.
where Do I post the save.
right here. you can grab the save from the folder and just post it as an attachment. I'll look at it once I have access to my gaming computer.
Can you also take a full map screenshot? I want to see if the blue ball is still there? (See my image, red circle)
Here you Go
Yep. there it is. Go get the blue sphere on the center left right. Destroy it!
EDIT: Sorry, Sorrontis has a migraine today.
Sorrontis: Centre right, East side...
thank you, neat little trick ;D
Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggahahahahahahag.............
Okay.
It's done.
I've beaten the map.
52:40. But it took me 7 real time hours(with a 2 hour break between)
GG Sorrontis.
I need a break now...zzzzzz..........
Quote from: ChaosMaster130 on August 05, 2017, 12:25:07 AM
Blahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggahahahahahahag.............
Okay.
It's done.
I've beaten the map.
52:40. But it took me 7 real time hours(with a 2 hour break between)
GG Sorrontis.
I need a break now...zzzzzz..........
Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince: And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!
Awesome map! I usually keep 2-3 saves when playing but this map took the record of having me keep 10 saves, that has to say something! :D Even after finishing it and reading the comments I still have no idea what the K key was supposed to have done though?
Playing this map without the speed upgrade made me think of an idea for a map where the upgrades would be pickups at specific locations instead of amp gems (ie. to get speed upgrade you must go to the lower left of the map). Just throwing it out there to you guys who actually know what they're doing with the scripting :)
That's an interesting thought :)
K-Key gives you a energy pod at the location of your cursor (when you pressed k). Usable every 15 seconds. ( I think )
I've written one for that before, but the graphics were ugly. I'll see if I can dig it up.
Regarding K, it's typical Sorrontis:
Spoiler
It spawns an energy pod if K is being held as the game clock passes a multiple of 15sec. So, it can trigger four times a minute.
Spoiler
Occasionally, it will spawn other things (exactly what is tied to the game clock). Free amp gem, anyone?
Spoiler
Nothing is reliably free in a Sorrontis map, though.
Oh that was a thing? I kind of beat the map without it :o
Ha! Definitely. That's why it was hidden :) I would never put something that's required to win the map as hidden feature. I'm a horrible map maker (as per the ratings) but I'm not that horrible 8)
First map I've rated a 10, as far as I can remember. Great challenge.
I'm glad you like my maps :)
Sorry but I hate this map. Your derelicts release particulate that are nuclear. A single particle from them will destroy a battleship. They take massive damage to kill a single little red dot. You simply don't have enough resources to stop the derelicts from exploding in time either.
That's fair :)
Apparently, I went for the "hard start" first, but I'm not sure what's hard about it. It's just more like:
1) Plan to get wiped out when the derelicts activate.
2) Warp in, rebuild and keep building that massively huge 99 ship.
*The Exp 99 ship has NO lathes, in case you're misled by
QuoteEdit: Oh, and the Exp99 start is my new best friend - that many lathes, cannons and dischargers is a huge help.
Before playing this map, I'd recommend buying a new computer. It was so slow that I just let it run for 15-30 minutes at a time and did actual work-life-important-stuff while waiting for things in the game to happen.
Once you capture the fireworks kill switch (in the lower right area), you're pretty much set. Just kill the emitters that pop up and let stuff happen from there.
I... have mixed feelings about this map. Loved the ships, and the strategic solutions required. Really didn't like the random stuff or the lag. Overall, especially considering the epic nature of the map, I'd have to give it the ol' thumbs up.
Whew! 39 more Sorrontis maps to go! ;D
Quote from: Johnny Haywire on August 30, 2018, 12:38:40 AM
[...] Whew! 39 more Sorrontis maps to go! ;D
Oh boy, I better finished with RL work so I can torture you more! :D
As always, that's for all the little reviews and keeping my spirits up while I can't enjoy my time ... work is mean to me.
He SPEAKS! :o
Aye, I've been captured by Turkish-Tibetan Terrorists who have given me the choice of gnawing off all my fingers and toes before they kill me, or (in their own words): "You also either choice having of being victor to total each map by impossible map-maker 'Sorrontis' but if you having lose then Barkhan Zo Ming will gnaw fingers of you instead!"
So I figured, hey... playing your maps might be as painful as the other option, but at least playing your maps will keep me alive longer.
Oh, and did you see Map # 404? I was so happy about that one. 8)