Custom Map #467: So you like little ships. By: Sorrontis

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This topic is for discussion of map #467: So you like little ships


Author: Sorrontis
Size: 144x360

Desc:
Another SSDI sector. Nothing to see here. Let's move on.

[jswgames]

new to forums so sorry if I goo something up, but how is one supposed to defend against your spear ships in this level  ive tried everything but they attack before I can build much of anything and are basically unstoppable..  so frustrated... any hints would be appreciated.  what am I stupidly overlooking?

[Sorrontis]

Welcome to the forums. This is the place to ask!

You have to have the center and top right controlled before the spear ships attack :) Focus on that first

[jswgames]

Ok. Ill try that. ive been focusing on top left and getting trounced.

[Sorrontis]

You're going to have to be very quick. Also, omni rushes are important (that's a hint). You'll need to get that central emitter - it hides an amp gem - a very important amp gem.

[awelord]

Leave a bait ship for spears. Take one of the powerzones on the left and start building a big ship after few power added at the beginning destroy the power zone that leaves a dead ship but not builted. spears attack that ship but cannot destroy also. then u can keep going without spear attack. But i can't finish the game also :)

[ColonelSandersLite]

It's not the size of the ship that counts, it's how you use it :P.

General thoughts:
Good map overall.  The opening is very tight and challenging.  Probably too much so for non-veterans.  I like the ship designs, but despite my best efforts, I just couldn't really find a use for the decoys.  There are some pacing issues here as you have to wait on certain things to happen during the mission and then capitalize on the openings those things provide.

My Rating:
10/10

My times:
46:01
29:25

Difficulty:
Very hard.

[Sorrontis]

As always, thanks for the review!

[GoodMorning]

I disagree with the above. Patience and care, but not difficulty, save in the beginning. Oh, and annoyance about the rams.

I found a very good use for the Decoy.

Walkthrough

First land at the top, grab all of the mines. Start building some smaller ships, maybe the cannon barge. Your first priority, though, is Omnis.
When you have gathered all of the pickups, rush the tough Emitter in the land with all of them. Get the mine, if any survive long enough. Rebuild the Omnis.

Work up in ship sizes. The ships are there for two reasons: first to keep the plasma repaired, second to kill the rammers. The HQ is the important one, followed by the lathe-bearers. You'll want everything at some piint, but the largest can wait until you have space in mine range.

Good thing you took that mine, because it just triggered a particle burst. Better capitalise on that. All Omnis to the front. Amp gem? Time to expand range to cover those factories.

Oh, look! some of those particles hit the next island, disabling one cannon with mire. Sending a ship down could draw particles onto the land, instead of safely past it. A few Omnis can take it.

Time to finish building. Tech up, use those other amp gems. Take out what red plasma you can near those annoying Emitters.

Oh, look! The other particle burst went. Well, good thing we removed the red plasma, now it's laying the blue version. Time to press the advantage. Forward: the lathes. Take the left Emitter if you can, using the particles as cover. Try not to attract the red particles. Amping helps. If not, no great stress (it only almost worked for me), and you'll run out of cover.

Now what? Those cannons are irritating. Wouldn't it be a pity if they went offline? Oh dear, they only have one shot before they need recharging. Better hope that they can protect that mine... Oh. Thanks, Omnis and small Wallard. Now it's down to the other clusters. This takes a while.

Once the cannons are out of it (or during), those first Emitters inside the land are annoying me. Omnis, Wallard, perhaps a Decoy?

Now we have some space, let's have some cannons clear out that Struc. Forward lathes, let's get that energy-sucking pair of Emitters (that have been annoying us from the start) out of the way. Isn't that a good feeling?

Looking forward, we have more of those annoyingly tough particles, and not enough space to protect from ramming ships. Oh well, we do the best we can. Look at that! If we put a Wallard's twin lathes on one of those next mines, it can hit the Emitter with the "Defensive Struc" lathe. What if we tried even more lathes rebuilding the mine when it dies? We'd better amp and try to prevent ramming of them. Oh look, both of those Emitters have fallen, and we've not touched them at all (directly)...

Nearly there now, but we can't seem to take the land. Probably something about those last Emitters, with their huge-health particles (30, I think?). But why haven't they killed us yet? I'd guess the fact that their particles have a very short lifetime. Say, what if they evaporated by themselves before they got to out lathes? Forward the Decoy. Look, the particles form a little blob around the Emitter. How nice for our lathes. Let's place our entire Omni force on that central island for when they become useful.

Once one of those is down, the Decoys can hold the others easily. But they're so soft... Let's make things easier for them, and attack the ram-ship spawners. That large Wallard can't really fit, but the others sit side-by-side. Well, we can try to fit the big one in above. somewhere.

All right, we've run out of latheable structures, and the clock is still ticking. Time for the charge of the Omni brigade! (Triumphant music) Wait for the mire spawners to pop... and done.

[close]

Thanks, Sorrontis.

[Johnny Haywire]

Wow, I feel good after beating this map! I actually won twice, except that the first time I rock burned all around the protected enemy mire structures, which protected me from them but... oh no, do I really need to kill them with mire? Did I save the game? Oh great, yeah I saved it... right before my main assault.

I hate losing ships so I just sent about a bajillion waves of 19 omnis at it. Eventually worked my way through.

I've now played 80 maps! Does this mean I'm a veteran?  :o  Seriously though, this map is brutal and I can see how a lot of people would rage quit rather than trying to figure out a solution.

Great job making a map that's challenging and for (literally, in this case) throwing something new at us!

My rating: R - Under 17 not permitted without a guardian.

My times: I'm eating Cheetos, so good times for sure!

Difficulty: Cooked all the way through, with no pink in the center. Extra crispy!  ;D ;D

[CyberDyneSystems]

Wow, loved this one! What an insidious little map! :)