Custom Map #1316: Smell

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This topic is for discussion of map #1316: Smell


Author: Jord

Desc:
If popular this may be the start of a group set.

[JmfR]

I was enjoying the hair pulling all the way down I was even willing to over look the well placed gateways which had just the right timing to force a certain type of removal but when I had to do it even more to remove the emitters You lost Me

[clbuttic]

I spent more time on this map than any other, but finally got it right after restarting quite a few times. I like it, there is a lot of juggling that needs to be done. You have to get your dark beams up and running as quickly as possible. If the creeper gets to those gateways, then you are screwed. Be prepared to CTRL-C and CTRL-V a lot.

[Kilroyinc]

First of all, I really liked the concept of this board.  The limit of dark beams and mirrors is good.  The challenge of defeating the drones and which ones to go after first is also very good. :)  The suprise at destroying the bottom emitters isn't all that bad.  However, there are a few things I don't understand:

First,  What is the purpose of the ore rigs without the ability to build an AC maker?  ???  Even when I upgraded my ore storage to the maximum, there was still ore left to be mined.  As far as I can see, these ore rigs are a waste of space and energy.  Don't put in ore rigs if you are not going to allow an AC maker.  (-2 Points)

Second,  What is the purpose of burying creeper under diggable ground that does not have to be dug out in order to build power plants/tech domes?   ??? I understand burying creeper in areas that you need to dig out to increase power and tech production or obtain resorces (i.e. crystals, remnants, technites, pods, etc).  But burying creeper just to bury creeper and make the player dig out almost half the board in order to find and destroy it is just plain over kill and makes no sense to me.  By the time I got to the point of eliminating the buried creeper, I was ready for the level to be over.  Here are two solutions:

• Limit build direction.  In this case limit build directon to up and down only.  That way the player will have to dig out more ground to increase power.  As it is now, once I eliminated the creeper in the columns near my ship, I built power plants in them.  Therefore I did not need to dig any further down.
• If you're not going to limit build direction, only bury creeper in areas that need to be dug out to build structures, obtain resources, or obtain pods, cubes, and bunkers.

(-2 Points)

Over all I believe you have an excellent concept; but for the reasons listed above I can only give it a 6/10.  :-\

[Jord]

I was enjoying the hair pulling all the way down I was even willing to over look the well placed gateways which had just the right timing to force a certain type of removal but when I had to do it even more to remove the emitters You lost Me

For at least 2 of those gateways, I know it is possible to use nullifiers once you clear the creeper with beams and keep it out with a blaster or two. As for the bottom emitters, a U shape with mirrors works nicely.

[Jord]

First,  What is the purpose of the ore rigs without the ability to build an AC maker?  ???  Even when I upgraded my ore storage to the maximum, there was still ore left to be mined.  As far as I can see, these ore rigs are a waste of space and energy.  Don't put in ore rigs if you are not going to allow an AC maker.  (-2 Points)

Because I didn't want to give the ability to block enemy packets, and I felt it was an easier alternative than making more fields. The point of the ore was to give some control of when and which way you could destroy all the creeper up top. I only added 1000 ore so maxed ore storage should have plenty of space, unless you put points into rig efficiency. Which I'm sure a lot of people do with most maps, just because they have extra tech points to throw around.

Second,  What is the purpose of burying creeper under diggable ground that does not have to be dug out in order to build power plants/tech domes?   ??? I understand burying creeper in areas that you need to dig out to increase power and tech production or obtain resorces (i.e. crystals, remnants, technites, pods, etc).  But burying creeper just to bury creeper and make the player dig out almost half the board in order to find and destroy it is just plain over kill and makes no sense to me.  By the time I got to the point of eliminating the buried creeper, I was ready for the level to be over.

Basically to give everyone something to micro manage while dealing with the bottom. Plus how often is there a map where you actually HAVE to destroy most of the map to get to creeper, instead of making a straight line to a pool. I figured it would be fun to juggle and a way to shave extra time off. But thank you for the suggestions.

[Kilroyinc]

Because I didn't want to give the ability to block enemy packets, and I felt it was an easier alternative than making more fields. The point of the ore was to give some control of when and which way you could destroy all the creeper up top. I only added 1000 ore so maxed ore storage should have plenty of space, unless you put points into rig efficiency. Which I'm sure a lot of people do with most maps, just because they have extra tech points to throw around.

I think I see what you mean here.  However having a maker to help clear out the buried creeper uncovered in the middle would have been an asset, and you already had the shifting fields in that area to begin with.  In the conversation at the beginning it states to be careful not to block the enemy dig packets.  Also the creeper density following the dig packs and the gravity directon would have very quickly made a maker, even with its production maxed out, useless.

Basically to give everyone something to micro manage while dealing with the bottom. Plus how often is there a map where you actually HAVE to destroy most of the map to get to creeper, instead of making a straight line to a pool. I figured it would be fun to juggle and a way to shave extra time off. But thank you for the suggestions.

I had my hands full enough in dealing with the bottom especially with the high health drones.  They had a nasty habit of destroying my mirrors every 15-20 seconds.  As a matter of fact, I have come across several maps where I had to destroy a good percentage of the board to find just a few squares of buried creeper.  I guess it is just a pet peive of mine.  I give you credit in the fact that a good share of the middle section had buried creeper, which is better than just one or two squares.  ;)