This topic is for discussion of map #7264: Praise The Sun
(http://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld3/queryMaps.php?query=thumbnailid&id=7264)
Author: Sorrontis
Size: 256x256
Desc:
PRAISE THE SUN! The Sun. It's beautiful to look at. Unless you get too close. #Sorrontiphobia #CRPL #MeanCRPL #SeriouslyWhatsWrongWithSorrontis #AreYouTryingToBlowACPU #DeathToAllCPUs Warning: Lag Alert for Weaker CPUs
Also - fittingly - this is map #100
The Special Units
The Rocket Launcher
It fires short range nukes at you. Pretty self explanatory.
The Mortar
It shoots mortar shells at you. When those hit, they break into more little mortar shells.
The Breeder
Right below the sun, there's this little yellow and blue core. What does it do? Well, it multiplies creeper into more creeper.
The Sun
Oh, the sun. The sun is so hot, and big. If you get too close, it'll suck you in and burn you up.
Hurt the sun to start it's movement. It has a lot of HP - turrets, snipers, mortars, berthas (hard to aim), AC and when it eats a building ; all do some damage. It's slow, but because of its massive health, it will run around the map a few times. And you'll lose a lot of stuff.
After a little time, it starts throwing a lot of spores at you by eating surrounding creeper.
Mines
Surprise! There's mines. They destroy your units around it and send out spores. Boom!
The Guard
This little guy runs between the spore towers and lets creeper out. When it reaches a spore tower, it deposits a nice little runner that can stun you if you get too close.
Rage quit number one! :o
More to follow no doubt!
Take it slow. I need you to stay alive - you're one of the few that ever finish my maps :D
I havn't given up! I go on holiday in two days though, may not complete it before then!
Hopefully the sun is not as ferocious as in this map!
Quote from: D0m0nik on April 07, 2019, 11:37:45 AM
I havn't given up! I go on holiday in two days though, may not complete it before then!
Hopefully the sun is not as ferocious as in this map!
Enjoy your vacation!
That's me done for today, stumped for the moment on the sun.
Spoiler
snipers are the only thing that target it but don't seem to hurt it. Perhaps I need to take out the top corners first? I'll try again another day.
Beast of a level, not nice, not nice at all!
Spoiler
The sun is behaving in a slightly odd way. First game it started moving after 30 minutes, second run through after 55 mins. Not sure what set it off but it wasn't the same thing both times. Also the random destruction of units - what is causing this? Kind of annoying when it does not seem to relate to anything on the map.
Quote from: D0m0nik on April 07, 2019, 05:30:58 PM
Spoiler
The sun is behaving in a slightly odd way. First game it started moving after 30 minutes, second run through after 55 mins. Not sure what set it off but it wasn't the same thing both times. Also the random destruction of units - what is causing this? Kind of annoying when it does not seem to relate to anything on the map.
Spoiler
I haven't put it in the Hints yet, but if flyers get too close, or really built units that's not enemy, they get sucked into the sun, which deals the sun damage. Which sets it off.
Quote from: D0m0nik on April 07, 2019, 05:30:58 PM
Spoiler
snipers are the only thing that target it but don't seem to hurt it. Perhaps I need to take out the top corners first? I'll try again another day.
Spoiler
Snipers have the best range, so they'll target first. Mortars/Cannons/Berthas will target the digitalis under it (5x5). I wouldn't use Berthas until the sun is at a standstill which it does for a little while when it reaches its destination. Everytime it "eats" a building, or goes over AC, it also takes damage. It's just, it's a sun. It can take a lot of punishment.
Spoiler
I think a direct Bertha hot sets the sun off as well.
Got there in the end through shear weight of numbers over any skill! That was a tough one.
Yeah, that's possible :)
I lost so many turrets and other things to win.
I overbuilt to a daft point and caused insane lag. 10 mins to beat the sun took 2 hours!
I was running at 1 fps for a bit of time - until enough turrets died, and then it moved to 4 fps :P
Just looked at your score - you beat it before the nuke showed up. Amazing!
Nuke?!!!! :o
Thank God, I might have cried!
I was able to destroy it before it hit one of my reactor farms.
Had stabilized nicely, all was well, then the Sun started peppering me with spores and immediately overwhelmed my beam lines :-(
ATTEMPT #2: Kept the spores under control, barely, but not enough energy to survive.
ATTEMPT #3: Tried the lower-left corner, but not enough energy to build up eco, keep the emitters under control, and start lathing them, all at the same time. The first spores were deflected but energy was too little, too late, and I aborted when the almost-powered nullifier on the first emitter got hit by a spore and died because the mortars didn't have enough energy to clear the creeper in time.
ATTEMPT #4: Right side again. Enough energy but not enough beams when the sun spores hit (at around 25 minutes).
Energy would go deep into red while fighting the first spore wave; not sure if enough beams would have meant a permanent energy deficit or enough energy recovery to stabilize again.
(I still fear what the nuke and the sun movement will do to me.)
ATTEMPT #5: As #4, four rows of beams, worked.
Advanced more, then SOMETHING hit with read beams, eliminating the front row of mortars that I had just moved there. The mortars were insta-killed, and the second row of mortars was insufficient to keep the creeper at bay, so all the eco behind that got obliterated before I could set up a second line of defense (plus I'd have had to sacrifice to many reactors that I don't think I'd have been able to hold anyway).
How getting clobbered because of overextending or other bad decisionmaking is okay, but having your front line wiped just because it's near enough to some bogey that has just been waiting as a trap? With no warning, such as a range circle? That's just low, and warrants a -2.
Tell you something.
The rating is somewhat less than the map deserves, but the map still deserves to be hidden from people who want to enjoy something casual, so I'm giving 1/10 anyway, and hide the map from myself for good.
I just don't enjoy putting several hours of attempts into a single scenario, permanently having to count on being slapped without a warning.
I know I could win the map by saving, but that's just save-scumming and I hate to do that, and I hate it even more if I'm forced into doing that.
No Sir, thank you Sir, I pass, Sir.
:-( :-( :-( :-( :-(
Was able to get started and survive the spores by connecting to left and middle, powering two of the berthas and ingoring the third for a while, then building a chain to the right for some critical early energy (like 4 extra production for just 3-4 relays) but NOT trying to actually defend the right side. Then some desperate scrambling to up my energy production (including destroying the forge to build a reactor on its power zone) while getting juust enough defense to not die and eventually taking out the emitters on the left.
Unfortunately, the map became laggy AF due to overbuilding and whatnot by about an hour in.