Custom Map #11514: S03-0C - Monolite. By: LappySheep

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This topic is for discussion of map #11514: S03-0C - Monolite


Author: LappySheep
Size: 123x123

Desc:
Map is considered to be easier than my other S03 maps (regarding S03-07 and later). Has some quirks which still need to be ironed out, but it's fine enough. Time is not reflective of difficulty. You can see detailed information on units/perks at - https://lappysheep.github.io/S03_info/

[Martin Gronsdal]

First off, I just want to say I really enjoy these maps—great work and thanks so much for making them!

That said, I wanted to share a bit of feedback regarding the aether generator. Personally, it doesn't quite click for me. I feel like it doesn't really add much to the gameplay beyond providing a too slow trickle of aether. I think the experience might be stronger with regular totems instead—perhaps with singularity disabled to keep them from being too efficient.

Of course, that's just my take, and I completely respect that these are your creations and your vision.

Thanks again for putting so much effort into these maps—they're genuinely appreciated!

[Johnny Haywire]

I was worried when I saw "easier" in the description, but this isn't an easy map. Another very enjoyable battle, and the "boss" in the middle was a great fight.

It looked like some of my units got insta-zapped by something at one point, when I was close to one of the Hive units. Is that a new skill? I like that the things don't just suicide-splash into the base - they can do some pretty nasty things!

As for the aether issue - I'm not really sure what would be best. I only use a few level 1 upgrades (range, rof, energy, and AC) and by that point the mission is close to being finished.

If a new player managed to survive the initial attacks and build a base, I suppose they could just wait for a few hours of game-time and get higher upgrades which would make it easier. But that's a long time to wait. I do think the tech limits help make it more challenging but with such a slow rate of aether I don't think they're necessary. It would take nearly 24 hours to get a level 5 range upgrade I think. So while I think having a faster aether gain might make it more enjoyable for most players (that goes for me as well), I'm ok with it as is. My main concern would be how increased aether could make it far less challenging.

Ultimately, please feel free to keep it, tweak it, whatever. I love these battles just as they are, and they keep getting better!

Thanks for the map! =)

[LappySheep]

First off, I just want to say I really enjoy these maps—great work and thanks so much for making them!

That said, I wanted to share a bit of feedback regarding the aether generator. Personally, it doesn't quite click for me. I feel like it doesn't really add much to the gameplay beyond providing a too slow trickle of aether. I think the experience might be stronger with regular totems instead—perhaps with singularity disabled to keep them from being too efficient.

Of course, that's just my take, and I completely respect that these are your creations and your vision.

Thanks again for putting so much effort into these maps—they're genuinely appreciated!

I was worried when I saw "easier" in the description, but this isn't an easy map. Another very enjoyable battle, and the "boss" in the middle was a great fight.

It looked like some of my units got insta-zapped by something at one point, when I was close to one of the Hive units. Is that a new skill? I like that the things don't just suicide-splash into the base - they can do some pretty nasty things!

As for the aether issue - I'm not really sure what would be best. I only use a few level 1 upgrades (range, rof, energy, and AC) and by that point the mission is close to being finished.

If a new player managed to survive the initial attacks and build a base, I suppose they could just wait for a few hours of game-time and get higher upgrades which would make it easier. But that's a long time to wait. I do think the tech limits help make it more challenging but with such a slow rate of aether I don't think they're necessary. It would take nearly 24 hours to get a level 5 range upgrade I think. So while I think having a faster aether gain might make it more enjoyable for most players (that goes for me as well), I'm ok with it as is. My main concern would be how increased aether could make it far less challenging.

Ultimately, please feel free to keep it, tweak it, whatever. I love these battles just as they are, and they keep getting better!

Thanks for the map! =)

Thanks for your comments. Regarding the points made on aether, I intend on keeping it along the current system, with some minor tweaks in future. Aether is supposed to be a small quality of life improvement, not a major point of benefit, although I might change this for more-dense maps later.

As for the "insta-zapping", that's likely due to the new "Hydra" unit. Roaches attack from a short distance for 0.4 DPS, Hydras attack from slightly further and for a base DPS of 0.75, going up to 1.125 DPS across 1.4 seconds. It's much less noticeable if you aren't playing on 1x game speed; when sped-up it can definitely feel instant.

I referred to the map in the description as "easier" because of less pressure to move quickly via spores. I wanted the new unit to be more impactful (respective to the other units).

[Martin Gronsdal]

What if the aether generator could be pegged to tasks in-game? Kill an emitter, and get 50 aether, etc?

[LappySheep]

What if the aether generator could be pegged to tasks in-game? Kill an emitter, and get 50 aether, etc?

Probably not. I don't want aether to be a resource you get by "map progression" standards. In other words, you should have to go out of your way to have it - currently that means losing time. I have already had an idea akin to this, but it'll be for a much later map.

In terms of "side objectives" for current maps, I think clearing optional emitters to reduce required energy consumption or reduce risk is more than mine for the time being. 50 would also be way too much, even 2-3 aether each would be quite a lot considering how weak the side-emitters are and how much time that would effectively save compared to waiting.