Custom Map #3199: [PAC] Island. By: KTIVGames

Started by AutoPost, May 28, 2022, 05:10:14 AM

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This topic is for discussion of map #3199: [PAC] Island


Author: KTIVGames
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ikkonoishi


Brila

Quote from: ikkonoishi on May 28, 2022, 02:57:15 PM
The ern generator doesn't seem to exist.

On the third island, you have to work for it. I spammed a lot of blobs and scinners and got a lucky shoot at the rift lab. maybe a little overkill...

Vuld_Edone

I see people tagging it as "bad". It's not bad, but the pacing is wrong.

First attempt I tried to take over the island next to the start using blobs/skimmers, but they would get distracted, though they give me 2 ERNs. I used those to try and brute-force my way on the island, but only managed a stalled bridgehead. At that point I decreed that was not logistically possible.
Second attempt I focused on collecting ERNs and building floods to build up said logistics. Took ~30mn during which basically nothing happened, after which I went into 2/5 and got all the creep I could dream of anyway. Spammed skimmers until the islands were wastelands and took over.

This is when I understood the actual problem. Due to the purple barriers and, by that point, ~800k anti-creeper, the only way I found to progress was to spam sporfuls by the hundreds. It was noisy, it took forever and didn't really feel rewarding.
Though one player achieved a 37mn victory, so there might be a better tactic.

Now, without those barriers someone would just keep spamming skimmers/blobs from the starting point until everything is blown up. So rather, it's the anti-creeper that should be lessened, so that breaking the main entrance would actually be an option.

MadVandal

Quote from: Vuld_Edone on May 29, 2022, 02:55:14 AM
I see people tagging it as "bad". It's not bad, but the pacing is wrong.

First attempt I tried to take over the island next to the start using blobs/skimmers, but they would get distracted, though they give me 2 ERNs. I used those to try and brute-force my way on the island, but only managed a stalled bridgehead. At that point I decreed that was not logistically possible.
Second attempt I focused on collecting ERNs and building floods to build up said logistics. Took ~30mn during which basically nothing happened, after which I went into 2/5 and got all the creep I could dream of anyway. Spammed skimmers until the islands were wastelands and took over.

This is when I understood the actual problem. Due to the purple barriers and, by that point, ~800k anti-creeper, the only way I found to progress was to spam sporfuls by the hundreds. It was noisy, it took forever and didn't really feel rewarding.
Though one player achieved a 37mn victory, so there might be a better tactic.

Now, without those barriers someone would just keep spamming skimmers/blobs from the starting point until everything is blown up. So rather, it's the anti-creeper that should be lessened, so that breaking the main entrance would actually be an option.

I can see why. Getting off the first island is entirely based on chance with spamming skimmers or egg blobs and odds of it working right are very low. So low that the map will likely appear broken to most player. Even when I got the spore launcher to activate a few times and spit up some eggs it still wasn't enough to get working emitter placement. Once the AC floods in it then becomes almost impossible. After wasting over 45 minutes and 3 retries it just wasn't worth. Tried building a flood but some stupid "nuke" thing starts up zapping all creep away.



Mr$Hyper$

I went with an idea on this review board, going for floods but some nuke thing keeps hitting me and the auto build ai sweeps in with 5 mortars. This map will give me no happiness in seeing how you must use super-secret tactics to win. I've been playing PAC for years now ever since CW3 came out and this isn't fun to say the least

Malignantmind

Quote from: MadVandal on May 29, 2022, 09:08:17 PM
Quote from: Vuld_Edone on May 29, 2022, 02:55:14 AM
I see people tagging it as "bad". It's not bad, but the pacing is wrong.

First attempt I tried to take over the island next to the start using blobs/skimmers, but they would get distracted, though they give me 2 ERNs. I used those to try and brute-force my way on the island, but only managed a stalled bridgehead. At that point I decreed that was not logistically possible.
Second attempt I focused on collecting ERNs and building floods to build up said logistics. Took ~30mn during which basically nothing happened, after which I went into 2/5 and got all the creep I could dream of anyway. Spammed skimmers until the islands were wastelands and took over.

This is when I understood the actual problem. Due to the purple barriers and, by that point, ~800k anti-creeper, the only way I found to progress was to spam sporfuls by the hundreds. It was noisy, it took forever and didn't really feel rewarding.
Though one player achieved a 37mn victory, so there might be a better tactic.

Now, without those barriers someone would just keep spamming skimmers/blobs from the starting point until everything is blown up. So rather, it's the anti-creeper that should be lessened, so that breaking the main entrance would actually be an option.

I can see why. Getting off the first island is entirely based on chance with spamming skimmers or egg blobs and odds of it working right are very low. So low that the map will likely appear broken to most player. Even when I got the spore launcher to activate a few times and spit up some eggs it still wasn't enough to get working emitter placement. Once the AC floods in it then becomes almost impossible. After wasting over 45 minutes and 3 retries it just wasn't worth. Tried building a flood but some stupid "nuke" thing starts up zapping all creep away.

You can actually field gen your way to the second island pretty easily because the narrow bridge + enough creeper just floods out over the void. You just need to get some floods going. Once you get one, it's pretty easy to get several more and then you have all the creeper you could need. I found the easiest way to do that was making an egg gen, and then just popping the eggs over and over again to get the first flood built as fast as possible.

Had to use blobs/skimmers for the final area because there was just too much AC to overwhelm with anything else.

MadVandal

Quote from: Malignantmind on May 30, 2022, 05:58:25 PM
Quote from: MadVandal on May 29, 2022, 09:08:17 PM
Quote from: Vuld_Edone on May 29, 2022, 02:55:14 AM
I see people tagging it as "bad". It's not bad, but the pacing is wrong.

First attempt I tried to take over the island next to the start using blobs/skimmers, but they would get distracted, though they give me 2 ERNs. I used those to try and brute-force my way on the island, but only managed a stalled bridgehead. At that point I decreed that was not logistically possible.
Second attempt I focused on collecting ERNs and building floods to build up said logistics. Took ~30mn during which basically nothing happened, after which I went into 2/5 and got all the creep I could dream of anyway. Spammed skimmers until the islands were wastelands and took over.

This is when I understood the actual problem. Due to the purple barriers and, by that point, ~800k anti-creeper, the only way I found to progress was to spam sporfuls by the hundreds. It was noisy, it took forever and didn't really feel rewarding.
Though one player achieved a 37mn victory, so there might be a better tactic.

Now, without those barriers someone would just keep spamming skimmers/blobs from the starting point until everything is blown up. So rather, it's the anti-creeper that should be lessened, so that breaking the main entrance would actually be an option.

I can see why. Getting off the first island is entirely based on chance with spamming skimmers or egg blobs and odds of it working right are very low. So low that the map will likely appear broken to most player. Even when I got the spore launcher to activate a few times and spit up some eggs it still wasn't enough to get working emitter placement. Once the AC floods in it then becomes almost impossible. After wasting over 45 minutes and 3 retries it just wasn't worth. Tried building a flood but some stupid "nuke" thing starts up zapping all creep away.

You can actually field gen your way to the second island pretty easily because the narrow bridge + enough creeper just floods out over the void. You just need to get some floods going. Once you get one, it's pretty easy to get several more and then you have all the creeper you could need. I found the easiest way to do that was making an egg gen, and then just popping the eggs over and over again to get the first flood built as fast as possible.

Had to use blobs/skimmers for the final area because there was just too much AC to overwhelm with anything else.

Tried FG, but the creep keeps getting "zapped" before building up enough.

Vuld_Edone

#8
Quote from: Malignantmind on May 30, 2022, 05:58:25 PM
You can actually field gen your way to the second island pretty easily because the narrow bridge + enough creeper just floods out over the void. You just need to get some floods going. Once you get one, it's pretty easy to get several more and then you have all the creeper you could need. I found the easiest way to do that was making an egg gen, and then just popping the eggs over and over again to get the first flood built as fast as possible.

Had to use blobs/skimmers for the final area because there was just too much AC to overwhelm with anything else.
I did try a field gen during my first attempt, when blobs/skimmers alone proved insufficient; and I had 3 ERNs at that point, so good firepower, with support from what blobs/skimmers would cooperate. I just still couldn't break through, only got a bridgehead, at which point you reach the 30mn mark anyway where creep becomes abundant, so not worth the effort.
I think you have the right tactic for faster time, but it's really tight, especially with that ERN mortar.

As for the final area, my problem was getting the blobs/skimmers through. Though that might just have been a mistake on my part, if blobs/skimmers get through purple barriers then yeah, a simple spam will do the trick. Would have saved me >30mn of end game.
I guess I'll test that.

EDIT: Yeah, purple barrier doesn't stop blobs/skimmers, my bad.
So, I spam blobs early game to get 2 ERNs, then just sit there until the 30mn mark, so creeper++ triggers, then I just spam skimmers until both islands have been wiped out, then I spam blobs until I hear the hub is dead.
Still. That means my whole game is spent looking at that one corner of the map at speed x4. In principle it's good, but it's not well-paced.

CaptAlex

A lil trick to jump between islands much quicker:place an egg gen near the edge of an island.If an egg pops over the void you can place mesh over the resulting creep.Repeat until you have a much bigger bridge over the void.

SteveCarlo

Quote from: CaptAlex on June 10, 2022, 06:19:13 AM
A lil trick to jump between islands much quicker:place an egg gen near the edge of an island.If an egg pops over the void you can place mesh over the resulting creep.Repeat until you have a much bigger bridge over the void.


yup, much easier to egg and mesh especially off the first island  it's of little to no use for the big island

but still, there is about 30 minutes of waiting for that first flood and then bam! off to the third island more emitters than you can use and then blob, skim, spore, & sack until the base is gone

i've never found a way of crossing over the causeway