Custom Map #4666: SLOW PAIN. By: rb

[willbir]

Could one of you top-scoring fellas please post a few starting screenshots? I'm stuck around 15 minutes!  :(

This is 3 minutes in

[Karsten75]

This is 3 minutes in

Wow, your energy management must be superb. You even have some pods left...  My strategy appears similar, but it seems I take 2x as long and go through a phase of extreme energy shortage. I can't also hold the entire ring around the outer square.

[willbir]

This is 3 minutes in

Wow, your energy management must be superb. You even have some pods left...  My strategy appears similar, but it seems I take 2x as long and go through a phase of extreme energy shortage. I can't also hold the entire ring around the outer square.

This is 1:30 in, save your energy and don't build any more weapons until the PZ reactors are online.

[D0m0nik]

I did the same as Willbur

Spoiler

Made gaining the PZs perfect North, S, E and W for reactors. Also mortors are much better than cannons as they can keep two emitters under check and are just more energy efficient. I also made a priority of cutting the digitalis early. At first I flew cannons over until I could set uprelays and check the growth. 

[close]

[Karsten75]

Hey D0m0nik, thanks for the early screenshot. That I can do...

Problem (at least one), is I can't ever maintain a position to cut the Digitalis growth.  Anyway, I've just captured the screenshot to show you. At that stage, I think I'm a packet faster than your setup (at least if I look at how far the second relay at the bottom is built). ;)

Edit:

Got a much better score, not nearly as good as the top guys, but I guess I (once again) learned the valuable lesson of "energy management is king" is Creeper World strategies.

Thanks guy.

[D0m0nik]

Nice work Karsten!

To keep the digitalis from expanding was a bit tricky.

Spoiler

At first I was flying over cannons to cut the digitalis closer to source, I probably sent about 4 over at staggered intervals to keep it at bay.

[close]

And yes energy management is God! The real trick though is keeping the intensity up throughout the entire game. It is very easy early on to expand right at the edge of your energy production so that you are just on the edge of 'green'. The challenge is to maintain this intensity to the very end, if your energy ever goes fully green then you are being wasteful and not being aggressive enough! You cannot afford to waste a single packet of energy. I still struggle towards the last few mins which is why there is such a gap between Alter/EA and myself. I suspect they maintain 100% efficiency.

[stdout]

That's my weakness right there. I always enjoy a very tight opening, keeping the energy perfectly balanced, but once I get a foothold I then have a tendency to relax and just attack with what I have and allow my aggression to be tempered into relaxed fighting. I think if I could keep the intensity through to the end I would do much better.

[willbir]

I did the same as Willbur

Spoiler

Made gaining the PZs perfect North, S, E and W for reactors. Also mortors are much better than cannons as they can keep two emitters under check and are just more energy efficient. I also made a priority of cutting the digitalis early. At first I flew cannons over until I could set uprelays and check the growth. 

[close]

Your way is better, I was doing it upside down.