This topic is for discussion of map #10683: Dealer's Choice
(https://knucklecracker.com/creeperworld3/queryMaps.php?query=thumbnailid&id=10683)
Author: The Destroyer
Size: 256x188
Desc:
Choose your landing spot by choice of playing style. Choose Blue for an easier game or choose Red for a harder but quicker game. In honour of the character Neo from the movie Matrix when choosing the red or blue pill.
Yep, I did underestimate this map.
great stuff!
this is going to take a few goes to work out a good starting strategy!
just trying save the forge is going to be a bit of an effort!
but first, a plan for the spores i guess! ;)
I haven't find solution (( I started at Blue area, removed all spore towers but then creeper floods my research building and it is over (((
Protect it! Sprayers, bombers and cannons.. ..
Is it even possible to start south?
Nice map!
Can't see how it's possible to take the red pill though. Getting the forge on line would take a long time so certainly not a quicker route! Red pill = red herring.
Since you say it, it must be true!
This is a good map. I tried and failed multiple times, and even left it and returned the next day to try again.
Tried taking the pickups on the red pill first - failure.
Tried a mixed nullification/beam building approach on the blue pill - failure.
Finally got the blue pill cleared (don't build beams!), but then lost the forge - failure.
Got the blue pill cleared, preserved the mines and forge, but waited too long to get a foothold on the red pill - probably could have recovered, but chose to quit and restart.
Got the blue pill cleared, established good positions to preserve the forge and mines, very quickly built guppies and an army of cannons to go south, got a foothold before the creeper got too dense. Built sideways from there, at one point flew the CN down briefly to grab the powerups, and it was a mopup exercise. I could have shaved a few minutes off by being earlier with the singularity.
Really enjoyed this map and the challenges it gave and the thought that it by necessity provokes in the player. Hoping for more maps in the future from this author.
I went back and improved the score from 33 minutes to 25 minutes. Once again, I bow to Domonik's amazing score!
Thanks for all the great feedback everyone. I almost assumed no one liked the map with the low scores given by some people. But now I think the low scores are from people that gave up too easily. LOL
A couple of tips for this map;
- You don't really need to start in the red zone. But it would help to collect the 3 Tech Artifacts as fast as possible. You can either land your Command Node there first to collect the tech and then move to the blue zone to establish a base. Or use a Guppy to land on red and build a few Collectors up to the tech which is a more effective route to take since your Command Node's movement speed is very slow until upgraded by the Forge.
- I deliberately left a gap in the air defences at the bottom of the red zone.
- Use your Bombers to help create a buffer between yourself and the creeper.
- Use the Power Zones left by the enemy after you've destroyed it with a Nullifier. It'll make it easier and quicker to spread out vertically.
- And lastly, it is possible to start on red. However, it will be a very hard battle and you will need to relocate your Command Node quickly to the blue zone once you've gotten a foothold on red.
Good luck everyone!
Could you show a screen recording of starting on red? It would be super interesting to see the process
In theory you can start red, build one collector and then send the CN back to blue. You have time to take out about 15 or possibly 18 spores before they fire and then delete all collectors and just slowly move your CN around building nullifiers. This could take about 10 minutes though and would be a considerably worse tactic than conquering the blue island before sending the CN over briefly to collect the tech. You certainly can't start red and stay there so the map description is perhaps misleading.
What if.... I have an idea, will try it out later today.
Maybe, just maybe, one can (ab)use one special side-effect in this game, but I don't know if it will be enough
Quote from: Martin Gronsdal on June 05, 2023, 03:51:01 AMMaybe, just maybe, one can (ab)use one special side-effect in this game, but I don't know if it will be enough
I couldn't get any benefit from it Martin but I look forward to hearing about your success!
Quote from: POMie on June 05, 2023, 05:12:38 AMQuote from: Martin Gronsdal on June 05, 2023, 03:51:01 AMMaybe, just maybe, one can (ab)use one special side-effect in this game, but I don't know if it will be enough
I couldn't get any benefit from it Martin but I look forward to hearing about your success!
not even close with my attempt. "Not even close" as in that it could never work, as it didn't even get close to the integer overflow I hoped to exploit.
Quote from: D0m0nik on June 04, 2023, 06:37:55 PMIn theory you can start red, build one collector and then send the CN back to blue. You have time to take out about 15 or possibly 18 spores before they fire and then delete all collectors and just slowly move your CN around building nullifiers. This could take about 10 minutes though and would be a considerably worse tactic than conquering the blue island before sending the CN over briefly to collect the tech. You certainly can't start red and stay there so the map description is perhaps misleading.
so, we have to look at the definition of "starting" somewhere. If "starting" means that you land the CN somewhere, to immediately get the fruit out of there, then sure, you can start south. You also get the southern pickups that way.
But if "starting" means building a base that somehow survives there until the end, then wow, I want to see a recording for learning purposes. The author wrote further up in this thread, quote: "- And lastly, it is possible to start on red. However, it will be a very hard battle and you will need to relocate your Command Node quickly to the blue zone once you've gotten a foothold on red.", end quote. It would be nice to see how that's done. I believe a really good player may achieve this, but with the spores from the north and the strong Inhibitors, if anything, this is way above my skills.
EPIC!
I didn't touch the tech on the red pill until it was over. I feel better about having to restart a couple of times, seeing that a lot of experts struggled with this one a bit. Whew.
I nullified most of the spore towers, but then tanked the rest with beams. That was a fun battle! Protecting the ore and forge was a little challenging, but 3 bombers on each did the job nicely.
Took me three attacks on the bottom before I could hold the line, sacrificing many blasters in the process. May they rest in pieces.
This is perhaps the best & most challenging no-tricks map I've played all year.
Thanks for the map!!! =)