Custom Map #1480: The Cleansing. By: Hubs

[Xeos]

I cannot do this map :( I can get as far as getting the top left 3 islands and that's it - I just cannot penetrate any further - any tips would be appreciated :)

Also, I have a glitch whereby if I select a spore , I get s crosshair in a circle but when I place it, the crosshair will not turn off by pressing cancel - I need to click on digitalis first, then cancel and it will switch off. Any help on this would be appreciated too.
Many thanks in advance
Ian

[Hubs]

I cannot do this map :( I can get as far as getting the top left 3 islands and that's it - I just cannot penetrate any further - any tips would be appreciated :)

Also, I have a glitch whereby if I select a spore , I get s crosshair in a circle but when I place it, the crosshair will not turn off by pressing cancel - I need to click on digitalis first, then cancel and it will switch off. Any help on this would be appreciated too.
Many thanks in advance
Ian

Here's a few tips:

Spoiler

Once you have the upper left 3 islands (4 if you count the one you start on), I recommend going for the island shaped like a Y. Try to grab the PZ the shield is on. Grabbing the two PZs in the void should really help too. Then work on the island with alot of mortors.  Spores are your friend on this map! You can beat this map with only 2-4 emitters and the rest spores.  Let me know if you need more help.

[close]

The "glitch" you mentioned isn't really a glitch. PAC maps don't use the cancel button on the lower panel. You need to use escape or spacebar to cancel tower selection. That should deselect the spore tower and remove the target icon from the cursor.

[Stave]

I cannot do this map :( I can get as far as getting the top left 3 islands and that's it - I just cannot penetrate any further - any tips would be appreciated :)

My strategy:

Spoiler

First, turn the obvious two PZs occupied by collectors into emitters. But don't try for the second PZ on that left island just yet, it's too well defended by the mortars, bombers, sprayer, and PZ'd pulse cannon. It's too hard to keep for too little tactical gain. Instead, spread to the east across the top for two more PZs - Abraxis can't easily retake those from you. Get the other two nearest void PZs, and then you'll have some options - go after the CC, the Y-shaped island, the mortars/ore mines, or even work your way down the west edge with spores (not many beams there!).

[close]

[speef]

How do you remove digitalis? probably explains why I suck at these types of maps.. but I do enjoy them regardless!

'
'
I learned this by accident on a stdout map. I was doing well, and suddenly noticed that some digitalis had gone missing... I tried to fix it and lost MORE digitalis... and then MORE....

...so I started pressing keys until I figured out which one turned the tool back to "place". Lost a fair bit of ground there. :)

That was the same time that I figured out that you could target all the spore towers at once (MAN that was nice, haha).  (If anyone else doesn't know, pick a tower, shift-T, choose a target... similar to the way you focus support emitters.)

[stdout]

Shift-T or just T. The shift isn't necessary.

[Hubs]

For those who don't know you can press H to see help. I also just created a tutorial map that walks through all of the different controls.

[Xeos]

Thank you Hubs and Stave for your help - It is much appreciated :) I do love these maps though - After the first one I played, I looked for maps only of this style and played them all and now I will only play one if its a PAC map as they are much more fun and more challenging :)

[Hubs]

Thank you Hubs and Stave for your help - It is much appreciated :) I do love these maps though - After the first one I played, I looked for maps only of this style and played them all and now I will only play one if its a PAC map as they are much more fun and more challenging :)

I'm the same way! Non-PAC maps just aren't as fun anymore. Adn I have to fight the instinct to add digitalis in the deep creeper :)

[Xparrot]

I joined the forum to ask this...please, please give me another hint for beating this map? I've been at it for three hours (restarted twice). I can take the top two islands, the two PZs in space, and the top two PZs on the left island.

But I can't get beyond that point. I've tried to take the east island with the CC (cannot get anything to it, too many beams), the y-shaped island (I can get the PZ with the shield, but can't advance from there or keep the emitter if I try to go somewhere else), and the island with the mortars (have tried from the top side, the left side, and both at once; I can take down the shield with spores but cannot get creeper to either of the PZs).  I also cannot get the 3rd PZ on the left island.

I've tried turning all but three PZs into spores . I've tried turning all PZs into emitters.  I've tried staggering spores, and sending them all at once. I cannot get anywhere. How do you take another island after this point?

[mzimmer74]

I don't know if you are doing this or not, but someone else gave me two hints that were HUGE helps for beating these maps.  First, you can put the field generator anywhere, not just starting at the totems.  Second, if you have an emitter in the void without digitalis around it really puts out a lot of creeper.

Spoiler

Using those two tips, I found that extending the digitalis to the PZs in the void, then creating an emitter there, and then deleting the digitalis gave me a powerful emitter there.  Then I simply put the field behind that emitter and pushed it onto the nearest islands.  I could use that to destroy the beams so my spores could land.

[close]

Hope that helps a bit.

[Stave]

I joined the forum to ask this...please, please give me another hint for beating this map? I've been at it for three hours (restarted twice). I can take the top two islands, the two PZs in space, and the top two PZs on the left island.

But I can't get beyond that point. I've tried to take the east island with the CC (cannot get anything to it, too many beams), the y-shaped island (I can get the PZ with the shield, but can't advance from there or keep the emitter if I try to go somewhere else), and the island with the mortars (have tried from the top side, the left side, and both at once; I can take down the shield with spores but cannot get creeper to either of the PZs).  I also cannot get the 3rd PZ on the left island.

I've tried turning all but three PZs into spores . I've tried turning all PZs into emitters.  I've tried staggering spores, and sending them all at once. I cannot get anywhere. How do you take another island after this point?

Sure!

Spoiler

I left the original three PZs as spores for most of the map. Three seems to be enough to break a shield and get some digitalis into the void. Near the endgame I switched almost all to spores and just bombarded the crap out of Abraxis for the cleanup.

That emitter in the void, near the east island with the CC, is key. Once you build an emitter there, make it your T target, remove the digitalis all around it, and set up a field pushing from it towards the CC. You should be able to take out the Forge (does that remove Abraxis' upgrades in PAC? I don't know. It doesn't seem to.) and the two beams. You can then get spores through to help you take the CC out and get those five PZs on the northeast Bertha island. Once you've got some solid creeper and inactive digi laid out on land, connect it to the emitter.

[close]

After you've got some more resources, you have more freedom. I'd recommend trying out on your own before reading what I did next:

Spoiler

I don't actually remember what I did next, oops!  :-[ You can either go for the Y island from both sides (Bertha Island and void emitter) or go after the mortar/ore mine island. After you have the Y island, get another emitter into the void on the east there, remove its digitalis, and push south with a Field. That'll take out the next CC. You probably won't be able to keep those reactors destroyed (four PZ'd mortars, ew), but you should be able to push and break them every so often to keep Abraxis hungry for energy.

[close]

[Xparrot]

Thanks for the advice!

I actually ended up beating this map myself last night (...at 4 AM.  Whoops.) My total time was nearly 3 hours so now I feel like I have to get that down, but in the meantime, the strategy I got to work was suggested offhand by someone above:

Spoiler

After I took the two space emitters at the top, I turned almost everything else into spore towers and bombarded the crap out of the bottom PZ of the left top island until I finally took it, then used that island to attack the mortar&mines island from front and left, then once I had that, kept working my way down the left side with spores. 

(I also removed the digitalis between islands once I'd taken them completely, to keep anticreeper from flooding everywhere, that seemed to help.)

[close]

I did not know about space-PZ emitters producing a lot of creeper - I'll have to keep that in mind for next time!

This map is brutal, but that makes the victory all the sweeter...

[Stave]

I did not know about space-PZ emitters producing a lot of creeper - I'll have to keep that in mind for next time!

It's not so much that they produce a lot of creeper, it's that creeper won't flow from digitalis into the void. It just builds up on the digitalis (at the same rate). You can use that to your advantage too, letting creeper deepen for a few seconds, then destroying the digi out from under it!

[Xeos]

I finally did it after I just found out that I can remove emitters and replace with spores and vice versa with Shift X ! (I really should read the instructions !! )

I have now attacked the map in a variety of ways and its been brilliant to understand and learn the benefits of specific strategies. Initially when I played this, I thought it was insanely hard and now I can beat it. Subtle positioning of spore attack positions and things like that can make all the difference.

Great great map and can't wait for the next one that can upstage this if possible???

[Hubs]

Great great map and can't wait for the next one that can upstage this if possible???

Challenge accepted!