Custom Map #1250: Upstream Battle

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This topic is for discussion of map #1250: Upstream Battle


Author: Bongo

Desc:
* A simple but hard slog against a tide of creeper * Creeper goes clockwise, Anti-Creeper goes counter-clockwise * Alternate technology method * Psychedelic Creeper *** HINTS *** * Don't spend tech points on techs you can't use * Don't kill the Phantom Gateway until the end. It shoots Anti-Creeper. (You can turn off siren sounds in options menu). * Use Shields and/or Conversion bombs to defeat the last rooms.

[viper00900]

cbombed the heck outta this map, as usual i drug it out a bit, had a few problems but i am so not a pro creep killer :D
Neat map, make some more for us not so hardcore players :D

[Spatchcock]

I like the anti-creeper phantoms.  They add some interesting strategy to the map.

[Bongo]

I know this map is very simple but I was trying to develop a concept about Creeper characteristics. I'm not sure I did a good enough job with the development though.

Imagine that you have a long room. On one end is a Creeper Emitter making 2 million units per second and at the other end is an Anti-Creeper Emitter making 1 million units per second. At first glance one would think that eventually the whole room would be filled with Creeper, but that is not always the case. The final composition of the room will depend on:

* The viscosity of the Creeper / Anti-Creeper (how much and fast it 'spreads out').
* The distance between the Emitters
* the surface area where the Creeper / Anti-Creeper meets.
* The maximum density for the Emitter(s), and
* Any fields or gravity that move the Creeper / Anti-Creeper off the Emitter(s) faster (or slower) than the normal viscosity.

Going back to our long room; as the 2 million unit Creeper Emitter overcomes the 1 million unit Anti-Creeper Emitter, the Anti-Creeper Emitter has to produce less to achieve the same concentration and diffuse less distance from the Emitter to the Creeper / Anti-Creeper boundary.

As a concrete example, when the Creeper occupies 2/3 of the room its 2 million unit Emitter raises the concentration at the same amount as the 1 million unit Anti-Creeper that only occupies 1/3 of the room.

Just the idle thoughts of a bored guy. I guess I'll go back to working on Banana Man 2 : The Banananing, or not :P

[Karsten75]

I think some of your ideas are wrong. Ultimately, the stronger emitter will vanquish the weaker. It will just be a matter of time.

[Kithros]

I think some of your ideas are wrong. Ultimately, the stronger emitter will vanquish the weaker. It will just be a matter of time.

Actually, that's not entirely true unless the max densities on the emitters (or the 2147M cap) never become a factor. The max densities on emitters can effectively reduce their output - though in normal cases the fields and such will only make it take longer than normal for one emitter to overpower the other. If there are no max densities of any kind involved though, then the stronger emitter will always overpower a weaker emitter if nothing else is adding/destroying creeper (and there is an actual path that can be travelled between the emitters of course).

[Bongo]

I think I'm missing a variable or factor somewhere. Just shows the perils of mathematical modeling without real world experience.

From what I can see the stronger emitter will always fill the room, the only question is how long it will take. With a very long and narrow room it could take hours to finally fill the whole space which is much longer than any normal game. Here is a quick experiment I ran for 30 minutes (game time). The Creeper Emitters (left) are making 1 million units per second (100k @ .1 seconds) while the Anti-Creeper Emitters (right) are making 500k units per second (50K @ .1 seconds).