Knuckle Cracker

I've been tracking Virgil's progress and am looking forward to the new version of CW.
While we wait, play these games based on his blog posts.



Theme: Coming Attractions - closing 18 Nov 2012




   
   
   
   
   
   

Map Name:	Size:	Complexity:
The Island of Dr. Wall 11/11	Medium	Medium
NACDAR 11/3	Medium	Low
Space Invaders 10/28	Small	High
Digitalis 10/21	Medium	High
Big Bertha 10/14	Large	Low

A few useful links:
All Tournaments (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=7410.0)
Code Map Scoreboard (http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld2/viewscores.php)
Tournament Score Tool (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=7477.0)

Results Per Player


   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Rank	Name	The Island of Dr. Wall 11/11	NACDAR 11/3	Space Invaders 10/28	Digitalis 10/21	Big Bertha 10/14	Total Score	Total Time
1	Helper	12087	13009	11034	11969	12697	60796	30:44
2	UoADeadeye	10972	11909	8230	11177	11779	54067	93:01
3	TheSmileyCoder		13002	11530	12261	12718	49511
4	ctuna	12079	12821		11861	12741	49502
5	dt42	12043	12700	10660	11876		47279
6	inept_celt	11373	12006		10811	11972	46162
7	Martin					12486	12486

Best scores in Bold Blue.
Scores recorded at 2012-11-16 06:26:42 forum time.

Smiley & Helper, any chance of posting some tips on how you go those awesome scores on NACDAR 11/3.  I can't even kill the first emitter by 5 minutes! 

For NACDAR, keep in mind that those are very low level Emitters and you have all the remnants/jewels you need to power your way through.
There are no nasty surprises waiting for you anywhere, so just charge all the way.

I redid the level and recorded it. Even managed to shave a few seconds of my previous time. You can find the video http://youtu.be/RB5A3fiG-ww (http://youtu.be/RB5A3fiG-ww)

This time I chose to do the video in real-time, to give a better impression of my methods. When you deal with low power emitters, makers are especially usefull, as I am sure the video will show.

Oh no!  I've been playing that level on Medium/High, so there were combating fields in those cavities.  I was watching SmileyCoder's video thinking, how can he put an emitter up there when the field is going to push all the creep into it and then I realized what was wrong.  Well, if you want an interesting challenge, try it on High.  Now, I'm going to try it on Low which should be sooooo much easier.  Thanks again!

Blah...meant Beacon, not Emitter

I figured you didn't mean to write emitter. :)

I believe the preceding post was intended as a joke. At least perceive it as such. I intend to take no further action. Too thin a skin is never a good thing.

Edit: As for the video itself, its very.... professional. :P

Definitely was intended as a joke.  The video's very smooth, better than anything I could do, with my inexperience - I haven't the tools or knowledge to do as good a job.

I'm not REALLY a jerk.  I just play one in real life.

I really don't know how to respond to that.

I agree with Grauniad, that thin skin does not go good with the internet, luckily the internet is a big place.

I find that I don't really understand the humour behind the post, and find it both weird and uncalled for, and fail to see what the post was meant to achieve. I doubt many read the post and laughed.

Quote from: SmileyCoder on November 15, 2012, 03:32:13 AM
I really don't know how to respond to that.

I agree with Grauniad, that thin skin does not go good with the internet, luckily the internet is a big place.

I find that I don't really understand the humour behind the post, and find it both weird and uncalled for, and fail to see what the post was meant to achieve. I doubt many read the post and laughed.

Well, nothing's funny when you have to explain it.

My humor is often blended with sarcasm and irony, and can sometimes have a near-British dryness to it.  And we all know how comprehensible those British are.  So I'll admit that, although it's usually not as opaque as this one seems to be, judging from people's reactions, it is not always something that everybody gets.  (And what joke is?)

With that in mind, since this seems to be taken more seriously than intended, I'm taking down the post.

Grauniad -
This isn't about thin skin, it is about common courtesy and common sense.

There is no humor involved in someone jumping into a thread and posting snarky comments - a thread in which he had no involvement of any kind.

The old adage about not saying anything if you have nothing good to say stands up well in this situation and your own snarky little "Edit" comment is entirely out of place.

It would seem prudent for you to quit taking sides (for or against) other members and simply be a "Moderator" instead of an advocate.

Quote from: Helper on November 16, 2012, 06:40:29 AMIt would seem prudent for you to quit taking sides (for or against) other members and simply be a "Moderator" instead of an advocate.

It's a moderator's job to take sides.  I know posting now seems self-serving of me, but the situation's over, and I've admitted my fault in it, and the post is rescinded.  I don't think that questioning his judgement, integrity, and professionalism after you've gotten what you want is the best way to lay this to rest.

Why would I want to "lay this to rest"?

Your actions were improper and so were Grauniad's. I did wait a couple of days to respond in order to not post too hasty a reply, but I have no intention of letting it rest.

And, no - it is NOT a Moderator's job to 'take sides'. It is understandable that one might think so, but a real moderator stays carefully neutral and doesn't allow his personal favoritism (or disfavor) to show.

You are apparently suffering under the misconception that it is acceptable behavior to jump in and post your "humor" in a thread where you have no involvement and where you think it is OK to take a cheap shot at work that someone else has done. In that you are wrong and might be better served to move on down the road.

Your criticism is one of form over function and is meritless. One of the other players asked for some help and Smiley graciously took the time and effort to provide it.

If you have something to contribute, why not beat his 4:09 time and make your own video? Criticizing others is so much more effective when done from a postition of merit.

Quote from: Helper on November 16, 2012, 08:21:44 AMAnd, no - it is NOT a Moderator's job to 'take sides'. It is understandable that one might think so, but a real moderator stays carefully neutral and doesn't allow his personal favoritism (or disfavor) to show.

What I'm saying is that, neutral as a mod must be, every decision has to be in someone's favor.  I didn't mean it's his job to be unprofessional. Trust me, I'm likely no favorite of his.  ;)

I've apologized to Smiley, and removed the post.  Now, I'll apologize to the community I've disrupted: I'm sorry.  (EDIT: I looked back, and realized, I did NOT post an explicit apology, I allowed it to remain implicit.  I'll make it clear now - I do apologize to you, Smiley, that my post was expressed in a different spirit than it was intended.)  

I can't apologize to you, since you're championing someone else's cause.  That being the case, I'll not post here again.  Since this is now between you and Gran alone, my suggestion would be to complete this in PM's.  If you want to further discuss with me, you can contact me by PM, though I don't think I have anything left to contribute.  I won't check in here again.

Hopefully, with this, the community can start healing from the drama I've incited, and any issues that need to be addressed can be addressed privately and productively.

I was going to stay out of this, as its most likely going nowhere, but I wont let that one slide:

Saying "No-one here gets my humour, so I removed my post" does not technically count as an apology in my book.

If you have honest and constructive criticism of my work, please let me know. If you do find the intro lame, I actually do want to know. I can't improve my work, without knowledge of where to improve. But a half sarcastic half snide remark just leaves me wondering.

Quote from: SmileyCoder on November 16, 2012, 08:41:48 AM
I was going to stay out of this, as its most likely going nowhere, but I wont let that one slide:

Saying "No-one here gets my humour, so I removed my post" does not technically count as an apology in my book.

If you have honest and constructive criticism of my work, please let me know. If you do find the intro lame, I actually do want to know. I can't improve my work, without knowledge of where to improve. But a half sarcastic half snide remark just leaves me wondering.

Sorry, I saw that as well, and edited my post immediately above.

EDIT: The intro wasn't lame - the only constructive criticism I can offer is that it seems to clash stylistically with CW2's styles - the look and colors and music, but on its own merit as an introduction to a video, it is very smooth and well done.

Apology accepted.

I hear your point (and appreciate your oppinion), that the style does not really match. The intro is something I made for my MS access tutorials, and just re-used for my CW2 videos.

I normally only post this chart once (then update it during the week) but will post it again as a 'do-over'. Time to move on down the road.
*************************************

Results Per Player


   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Rank	Name	The Island of Dr. Wall 11/11	NACDAR 11/3	Space Invaders 10/28	Digitalis 10/21	Big Bertha 10/14	Total Score	Total Time
1	TheSmileyCoder	12249	13002	11693	12261	12718	61923	22:31
2	mopa42	12103	12988	11432	12235	12695	61453	25:48
3	Helper	12087	13009	11034	11969	12717	60816	30:36
4	ctuna	12079	12821	11133	11861	12741	60635	31:48
5	dt42	12043	12700	10947	11876	12491	60057	35:22
6	UoADeadeye	10972	11909	8230	11177	11779	54067	93:01
7	inept_celt	11373	12006		10811	11972	46162
8	rob3k	10400	11893		10412	11972	44677
9	Martin	11972				12486	24458
10	ea3401			11780			11780
11	Wheatmidge			11554			11554

Best scores in Bold Blue.
Scores recorded at 2012-11-18 18:46:43 forum time.

Any tips or hints on beating Space Invaders 10/28 would be greatly appreciated.  I get burnt up at about the 4:00 minute mark.

Thanks.

That one pretty well kicked my butt.
Here is how I started out (1:00).
The key to survival (for me) was getting that white jewel down the left side.

Thanks a lot, but I can't get all that done in a minute.

Quote from: inept_celt on November 16, 2012, 08:30:37 PM
Thanks a lot, but I can't get all that done in a minute.

I'm with you, Celt - though I can get close to that, I can't sustain the beam with the energy I can produce that soon, so far. Guess there's more to it - and I'll keep looking for a solution

Quote from: ctuna on November 16, 2012, 11:30:43 PM

Quote from: inept_celt on November 16, 2012, 08:30:37 PM
Thanks a lot, but I can't get all that done in a minute.

I'm with you, Celt - though I can get close to that, I can't sustain the beam with the energy I can produce that soon, so far. Guess there's more to it - and I'll keep looking for a solution

If you are really efficient with your energy you can build enough reactors to fuel the dark beam by the time of the break out.

The advice I would add is to grab the top tech resource. Even though it exposes decayable ground the added bonuses are more important, and the top ground will break first.

Bought the games after playing the flash versions for free and finding a surprisingly thriving community around them. I'm sure most here can relate with becoming slightly obsessed with the game after first playing.

I don't think I'm any threat to win these weekly challenges, but it's fun to jump in. Interesting to see the top times for a map like NACDAR and then note how far I am from polishing off the creeper at the 5 minute mark!

I played 'The Island of Dr. Wall' (no 11/11 on the end) as my first map towards this weekly and didn't realize my mistake until I checked the online scores after submitting.   ;D

Hi rob3k - a hearty welcome to CW!
I laughed when reading your comment about playing the wrong version of the game you wanted...something that (IMO) everyone here has done more than once.

I've even done the wrong ones (size/difficulty) on games that I selected for the week's competition.

You might want to look at all the advice over in "Gameplay Discussion" (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?board=14.0) for a load of tips/tricks for improving your scores. Every time I read through those I find things that I've missed/forgotten.

Have some fun with these games and feel free to ask any specific questions about any of them. Smiley might even make a video for you to review. ;)

EDIT:
Looking at your times/scores, it appears as though you are leaving behind some Gems/Remnants. That is why you have better times than others, but lower total scores.

It was a real balancing act to keep the beam going on that map for me.  I kept adding reactors one-by-one.  And the beam sometimes broke off for a second a leaked.  And I used all my tech to increase reactor efficiency and packet speed.  And, I restarted several times to focus on amassing as much energy production capacity as possible.  It was an interesting one...

Quote from: Helper on November 17, 2012, 08:52:04 AM
Hi rob3k - a hearty welcome to CW!
I laughed when reading your comment about playing the wrong version of the game you wanted...something that (IMO) everyone here has done more than once.

I've even done the wrong ones (size/difficulty) on games that I selected for the week's competition.

You might want to look at all the advice over in "Gameplay Discussion" (http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?board=14.0) for a load of tips/tricks for improving your scores. Every time I read through those I find things that I've missed/forgotten.

Have some fun with these games and feel free to ask any specific questions about any of them. Smiley might even make a video for you to review. ;)

EDIT:
Looking at your times/scores, it appears as though you are leaving behind some Gems/Remnants. That is why you have better times than others, but lower total scores.

TYVM! I have realized I have to grab those pick ups, though I forget about them some of the time...

Space Invaders has pretty well whipped me. I think I need to experiment with dark beams a bit as this map is the first time I've attempted building one and it just gets destroyed as soon as the creeper breaks through.

Actually, I wouldn't mind a Space Invaders video after the weekly comp is finished, but I don't want to start any fights.  ;)

Here is a video of the start:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pOStVuzL20
Remember that all my videos are available in a higher quality then youtube's default settings.

Wow! Talk about a "Doh!" moment.
It took me exactly 5 seconds to see my major mistake for the whole game.

Very nicely done.

Just out of curiosity, what was it?

I was going for the white gem first, which takes a lot of extra seconds.
If I can get caught up on all the maps in the 'submitted' queue, I'll take another run at this one.

Did the Invaders map once more, to see if I could better my score, which I did manage, but must say, I am much impressed by the score by ea3401, its still 35 seconds faster then me. Must be some fancy mirror moving. I would like to see it demonstrated :)

 :-[
I managed to beat ctuna's time on Big Bertha...then realized that I'd forgotten an Ore remnant.

I need to go chop some firewood...or something.

I can't make videos, but maybe this picture shows my "fancy mirror moving".  :)

Thanks for the scrennie. Better placement of Dark beam, and good idea moving in the LS. Should have though of that. Thanks

Thanks for the video! Helped me get a little further, but I don't think I'll get a victory on this one in time. Realized from the video that I wasn't arming the dark beam my first several attempts. Duh.

To put it short, the objectives are to grab gems ASAP, and build reactors as fast as you can without starving for energy. Don't dig when you don't need to, don't make beacons unless required. Make every bit of energy count, for the first minute or 2. I would say that 80% of what determines how fast you complete a map is based on the first minute.

Final results below...another SmileyCoder kind of week - well done!
Special recognition to the new (and some not so new) faces that showed up this week.
These tournaments are always a case of 'the more, the merrier'.

Smiley - you're on for the next one.

Results Per Player


   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Rank	Name	The Island of Dr. Wall 11/11	NACDAR 11/3	Space Invaders 10/28	Digitalis 10/21	Big Bertha 10/14	Total Score	Total Time
1	TheSmileyCoder	12249	13002	11693	12261	12718	61923	22:31
2	mopa42	12103	12988	11432	12235	12695	61453	25:48
3	Helper	12087	13009	11253	11990	12717	61056	28:47
4	ctuna	12079	12821	11303	11861	12741	60805	30:33
5	dt42	12043	12700	10947	11876	12491	60057	35:22
6	UoADeadeye	10972	11909	8230	11177	11779	54067	93:01
7	inept_celt	11373	12006		10811	11972	46162
8	rob3k	10400	11893		10412	11972	44677
9	Martin	11972				12486	24458
10	ea3401			11780			11780
11	Wheatmidge			11554			11554

Best scores in Bold Blue.
Scores recorded at 2012-11-19 05:29:13 forum time.

For those who don't have the 'Notification' turned on, Smiley Coder has started this week's game over here:
http://knucklecracker.com/forums/index.php?topic=12005.new#new

Jump on in and join the fun.