Custom Map #3885: Air Assault. By: BermanPost

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This topic is for discussion of map #3885: Air Assault


Author: BermanPost
Size: 256x87

Desc:
EXPERT ONLY Digitalis with Runners on the march, Spores overhead, and NO Ground Troops (you do have Beams). you must you must rely on your air force (and Berthas) to blunt the assault, and protect Guppy sneak attacks.

[GoodMorning]

I'll have to return to this later, too much micromanagement for this hour. Best plan so far:

Spoiler

A micromanaged start, to get every scrap of power possible. Reactors almost on top of CNs to lower transmission overhead. Beams not to go up until the Spores are already in the air. Even then, postpone building the Beams that aren't going to be hit until later. 10 Beams was the minimum, I think, for a sustainable defence (roughly one Beam for every Collector in a stretched line down the front).

Then add a minimal set of Strafers to cut the Digi at the far end. Best guess at the count needed is 10, used in pairs, cutting three lines apiece. Probably Bombers need to be up either rapidly or immediately thereafter to deal with the Creeper that's about to arrive or be released from the lines. Once the Strafers launch, the "Stop Resupply" command will help rebalance the economy, and regular disarming will make the ammunition last longer.

Once the Digi is cut in the first place, it's considerably easier to keep off. You now have a bit of breathing room before the Strafers need reloading. More power.

Once you have the power, place a matched pair of Strafers operating, with identical timing, on every one of the 15 furthest Digi threads. Identical timing to ensure that they do not get out of sync, resulting in the cross-connections wreaking havoc. Ensure that the geometry of each system is the same, and all will be well.

At this point, the economy should be stable, and so the assault preparation can begin. This will likely consist of a wing of Bombers, a flight of Strafers, and a few Guppies (multiple, so that they can take turns to sit in Creeper for a time).

[close]

Now, inevitably this will be missing something vital, as someone will have found in practice. What is it? ("Missing" in any or all of the three different ways it might be interpreted.)

[svartmes]

Cool map! It's a lot more fun than it looks!
I hope you make more of these "expert" maps :)

For those struggling, here's a hint of how I did the assault:

Spoiler

I had about 10 Berthas and started with the top left emitter. Surround the nullifier with Bertha marks and bombers. Careful positioning and Bertha timing is key.

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[Johnny Haywire]

Yeah, I suppose a lot of people aren't playing (or at least just not that much, as in my case) but this is truly a good test for a player's skills. I had to restart 3 times before I could manage the onslaught.

Some non-spoiler hints:
1) Digitalis doesn't grow well under AC.
2) Bombers & Ore mines require NO power once they're built.
3) Building a base a little further back initially will give you a few extra much-needed seconds before the digi arrives.

Great map! Thanks for being so creative!  ;D