I was just wondering...what are your normal strategies for maps? I usually just get a basic network of collectors and then I just get enough mortars/blasters to keep the creeper at bay...then I just build tons of reactors till I have around 7 collection and 6 speed packets, then I start getting 2-4 drones to bomb large pools/spawn points of the creeper, and slowly advance and build more blasters, and moving my mortars to more...advantageous positions.
most maps i branch out with as many collectors as i feel i can safely get (more than once though it ends in me not having enough time before the creeper gets me) but i try to identify a couple of key choke points and build a few blasters to keep the creeper at bay till i can get my economy going, then i just push forward with leapfrogging blasters and collectors to cap off as many emitters as necessary till i can activate the totems
Pretty similar.
Generally, try to single build collectors at first, and aim for as many upgrade points as I can before the creeper overflows them. Get energy income to 2 before starting on a weapon, that way I can probably power the gun and keep building.
As the creeper approaches, look for choke points that can be used to slow it down. If there's deep pools forming the choke (or even not so deep), mortars are very efficient. Blasters are great at taking out the thinner layers that ooze towards you.
Once I'm consolidated, decide if I need drones, and keep building reactors, storage and packet speeders so that my energy storage is never full, but avoiding starvation.
Then start working blasters forward to cap emitters. Sometime you can fly a fully charged blaster or 4 onto an emitter to cap it, and then build the collectors out to it in time, and save a bunch of time.
That's my basic strategy, but the great thing with this game is you always need to look at the scenario. Sometimes you should rush, and race the creeper to a quick finish, i gnoring weapons. Sometimes you need a weapon or 2 almost immediately, more urgently than energy. Sometimes even looking at the upgrade points will get you killed.
The biggest thing to learn I think is energy management. Keep starvation down. Energy starvation means no matter how many guns you have, they won't be firing much anyway, and it takes for forever to get anything built. Less is more, 2 guns on choke points that are fulling charged can do much more than banks of guns that will only fire once in a while.
Then, never leave you energy storage full, or you're not working fast enough!
(http://s3.directupload.net/images/091230/7jyrej8r.jpg)
I played the bowl today for the 5th time and noticed that this is a great start up.
at least for that mission.
I try to move the city as close as possible to creepers spawn point ,
and build blaster or mortar close to the city ( depends on the map ) ,
so its kind of safe . ( use pause )
If possible , i build collectors in the flying path of the city ,
and close to the city , but it's important not to build to much in the start ,
then it takes longer to finnish the buildings .
( Be ready to build a new , when the other are finnished )
Move base if need. Resource heavy. If unexpected overrun restart ;0 and adjust.
I have a bout the same strategie at first make a line of collectoers in start when oyu have 3/4 make a second line toward choke points built a blaster for the flat ground choke points and some mortarts for the pools. slowly start building a network bye building 1 thing at a time then build 2 then 3 etc until you can assault the emitters and then cap them of
I personally avoid using relays unless necessary. They take absurdly long to build, don't produce any energy, and are really a waste of time unless I really have to get somewhere.
_k
I noticed that I have enough energy to keep two lines of collectors building at the start. I start out building two lines, one collector at a time with collectors pre-placed to avoid delays. I don't usually (unless map layout demands it) use collectors reactors early on. Later on I will use lines of collectors relays to speed up network transmission. If possible, I will try and place the two lines of collectors such that they form a circle.
I avoid placing any weapons units (unless necessary) in the early build process.
For the fighting part I have two strategies -
1. Leapfrog the blasters. I have 3 blasters connected to the leading collector. Two to the front and one slightly behind. I then move the one behind to the front, into a space cleared by one of the front balsters, then I move the one now taking a break in front of the other, and build the next collector in that space between the two. Rinse and repeat.
2. Mortars in deep pools. Nothing drains the creeps as much as mortars (or drones) firing into deep pools. The drawback of drones is that you have to keep remembering to dispatch one.
Yeah i do basically same as you guys.
I'm used to make like 4-5 collectors around city and wait till they get done, after that i make my network larger aiming for higher points. While doing that i put about 2 or 3 blaster or few mortars near city to charge them. I use reactors as less as possible collectors are way better. So when my blasters or mortars are loaded i send em up to frontier for static fight. I hold creeper line and start constructing either energy storages and speed packets. It's All quite easy when u get the start right, then it's only matter of time when you finish game.
My problem with the game are these weird numbers. .8, .59, .whathaveyou. its to small to visuallize it. at least for me, who's used to juggle with thousands and millions like peanuts (i play eve online...).
Where the ground allows I usually line out two long strings of collectors (so only two are building at a time.) Add a couple blasters or mortars as needed to keep the creeper somewhat under control. Add branches to my collector lines as needed to power those weapons at key points.
necro alert
nic nac there's no excuse to reviving a dead thread with a post that isnt useful to the thread
Quote from: nic nac on December 30, 2009, 12:32:40 PM
(http://s3.directupload.net/images/091230/7jyrej8r.jpg)
I played the bowl today for the 5th time and noticed that this is a great start up.
at least for that mission.
So where/what you build for numbers 4 and 5?
Quote from: Kamron3 on December 31, 2009, 10:05:29 AM
I personally avoid using relays unless necessary. They take absurdly long to build, don't produce any energy, and are really a waste of time unless I really have to get somewhere.
_k
Same here, I calculated that they are useless unless you have to jump over creeper covered area.
Collector = 10 resource
Relay = 20 resource
To jump basic distance with relay, you need minimum 2 of them, and you cover same distance by placing 3 collectors, so you save 10 resource, PLUS you get the energy from collectors.
If you need to cover more distance, say 3 relays, you can cover same distance with 5 collectors, again save resources (= 10 energy), plus all the extra added resources.
So for any distance, you always save 10 resources, which means you build any link 10 tics faster, plus the added energy resources. So don't use relays unless you need to jump over something, or need the ground space absolutely for something else. Reactor is not valid for that, as best energy/space you get by combining maximum distance collectors with reactors.
For building the network, I do almost same than most here, but I start with 2 collectors to drain the energy reserve. Then I continue with single line until I have ~6-10 energy in reserve, and then I start building 2 collector lines at a time. Like everyone else said, weapons should be left at the last possible moment. Usually I expand as much as is possible to do safely, then have few weapons to keep off the creepers, fill the covered (by me, not the creeper) area with reactors and speed, maybe couple of drones if the map has nice pools out of reach, and after I have sufficient number of reactors, I start to leapfrog forward. Works on most maps, but of course you have to adapt to the map. Some maps you build drone really soon to keep the creeper at bay, some maps you need mortar fast, on some you need only blasters, etc. I love the game as it's so versatile.
I fell off that tactic as its to slow in the later levels where you need to spread fast. I now use a mix of generators and collectors.
Placing at least one collector, then a generator in max distance and connecting another collector in max distance to that one.
Quote from: nic nac on February 28, 2010, 10:09:02 AM
I fell off that tactic as its to slow in the later levels where you need to spread fast. I now use a mix of generators and collectors.
Placing at least one collector, then a generator in max distance and connecting another collector in max distance to that one.
This is slow and won't always work. A reactor (which is what I think you meant) costs 40 units to build, that's 4 times as slow as building a collector. If you need to reach out to somewhere, then it is far better to build a row of
reactors collectors.
Also, I don't think weapons towers connect to reactors? If I'm correct in that, you cannot defent the foremost reactor you are buiding or clear space in front of it for the next collector in your chain.
Edit: Fixed a dumb mistake.
Alright my strat is to spam reactors, Speed, Storage for the first 5-10 min if its allowed, then i build a Laser Wall with Drones. I then make funny comments to near-by people about the Balance of Creeper World.
weapons dont connect to reactors, right. but collectors connect to reactors.
usualy i start with an imperfect collector grid and slowly replace every other collector when I have breathing space.
ive figured that. If you start out with a solid 20 energy in your reserves from the start. You build one collector, then from there you can build 2 collectors at a time, and that will off-set the cost of building two at once.
Also, if you dont have to, DO NOT, move Odin in the beginning, unless you absolutely have to, moving it takes so much time and you could have used that time fight off creeper. For example, one of the conquest maps has you in a huge crevice with a giant mountain up next to you, getting an upgrade for fire rate and you can hold it off with two blasters, moving it up would have the creeper way too far in my opinion.
For mortars, right after they shoot, i move them so they dont get damaged from creeper, then place them again.
A lot of people probably knew this but, placing a blaster at a higher altitude then a creeper spawner and the spawner being in the range of the blaster instantly caps the spawner.
Quote from: ElderKingpin on March 08, 2010, 06:54:33 PM
ive figured that. If you start out with a solid 20 energy in your reserves from the start. You build one collector, then from there you can build 2 collectors at a time, and that will off-set the cost of building two at once.
mh... for obvious reasons it's usually better to start with two collectors and then build one at a time (until you got a certain amount of energy stored depending on your production).
Quote from: ElderKingpin on March 08, 2010, 06:54:33 PM
Also, if you dont have to, DO NOT, move Odin in the beginning, unless you absolutely have to, moving it takes so much time and you could have used that time fight off creeper. For example, one of the conquest maps has you in a huge crevice with a giant mountain up next to you, getting an upgrade for fire rate and you can hold it off with two blasters, moving it up would have the creeper way too far in my opinion.
I moved Odin on about every map I played so far. Not repositioning it is usually a huge mistake. On some maps you can move Odin just a few squares to save one or two collectors later.
Moreover it's usually not a good idea to take the firerate upgrade. 10% more energy and 10% less building costs are usually way better. if you are not lazy as I am you can get convinced of that by doing some simple calculations.
Furthermore you should usually fight the creeper as late as possible. fighting it earlier than nessassacy is usually a wast eof energy
both of my strategies work fine for me. Ive never had to move Odin city.
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If you decide to place a blaster in a layer of creeper, and the "creeper fog" is covering his health bar, then he isnt killing fast enough.
Try what hi says, it really makes sense.
Some maps call for moving Odin City; most do not IMO. As for upgrades; I'll usually get 10% more energy and building costs 20% less first. Added range third; though there are cases where I'll get it first. (Particularly if I need to keep the creeper level down with a mortar or two.) Fire rate usually comes last; and a lot of times I don't bother.
Regarding moving Odin city:
Quote from: hi on March 08, 2010, 08:30:22 PM
I moved Odin on about every map I played so far. Not repositioning it is usually a huge mistake. On some maps you can move Odin just a few squares to save one or two collectors later.
That, and I always assumed that Odin City collected less energy when it is located against a wall or edge of the map. Why waste energy that comes for free?
Regarding upgrades, about the same as Katra. Unless I'm in a particular situation, this is my order:
1. 10% less building costs (which means 10% less energy for building AND 10% faster building!)
2. 10% more energy (unless the map already provides many collectors and/or reactors and can be finished quickly).
3. 20% faster building (unless I'm already in starvation/deficit mode without the upgrade).
4/5. 20% more fire range OR 30% faster moving (often the range upgrade, unless I need to move a lot of blasters or Odin City. I also don't pick the range upgrade when this makes capping emitters harder; I don't want the blasters to get distracted from their main job).
6. 15% more fire rate (it often drains my energy quicker than I want to. I actually would prefer an upgrade to slow my weapons down a bit, especially the mortars).
Does anyone have any strategies on building bases fast to get to survivors before being overrun or trying to keep an island half way across the map before the creeper can overrun it? I'm having trouble with some custom maps that require you to get to survivors in just a few minutes before they are killed I keep getting close but never can get them, and I see that people have beaten the level but I just can't seem too.
You could put a collector on that island and then fly over it with OC to build it. As you probably won't have a connection to your network, this might be the first thing you want to do. After that give up the collector or reconnect to it later. You can also build a collector on that island and connect to it by having a blaster flying in the air. Both options require some step by step pausing of the game.
Alternatively bomb the creeper in the vicinity - this works especially well if the pods are on raised ground. If you don't have drones, fly a mortar there to bomb the surrounding area, fly it back to recharge, rinse, repeat. Not my cup of tea, I usually give those types of maps a miss.
Quote from: Karsten75 on March 15, 2010, 10:04:34 PM
Not my cup of tea, I usually give those types of maps a miss.
:o But Corvus is your favourite map!
Granted (boy I'm creeped out that you care this much), but check my walkthough video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UaIkZlNiw0), you will see I didn't have to do any of those things.
For my personal best, I did fly a mortar or two into the creeper, but that was a short once-off operation and did not necessitate micro-manipulation of my units.