Custom Map #3886: Creeper Balance. By: BermanPost

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This topic is for discussion of map #3886: Creeper Balance


Author: BermanPost
Size: 147x147

Desc:
EASY to live, HARD to win. Creeper vs Anti-Creeper Balance. NO Energy weapons. You have to move the Anti-Creeper around to break the balance in your favor.

[GoodMorning]

Forgive me this next line, but:

EASY to live, EASY to win, HARD to stay patient for.

Now that I've said that, I would do well to state my reasoning:

1) No Forge, No Fun. This is not normally the case, but when the map is as one-dimensional as this, the lack of upgrades significantly extends time, without providing any additional challenge. Specifically, AC Storage and Packet Speed. Even allowing a Forge, providing an Aether pack, and setting the limits of the other upgrades to 0 would be good.

2) No "depth". Once you know how to gather AC, and have built the offensive force, you will win without any additional thought, merely shuffling forward.

3) Too much "depth". The outer two rows of Emitters are futile. A smaller map is faster, and if you can kill the first Emitters, you can kill the later ones, so they add no additional challenge, merely additional time.

[Loren Pechtel]

The lack of a forge is a major pain here.  You're seriously limited in the rate at which you can gather AC because of this.  Most of the time was waiting for my bombers to reload--while only half the sprayers were actually sending in any AC because the CN saturated.

[RrR]

The lack of a forge is a major pain here.  You're seriously limited in the rate at which you can gather AC because of this.  Most of the time was waiting for my bombers to reload--while only half the sprayers were actually sending in any AC because the CN saturated.

Spoiler

keep the collecting sprayers as near to the CN as possible  - sprayers can only send AC when amount of AC in CN + AC in transit is less than CN AC capacity. Having the sprayers close reduces transit time and hence amount of AC in transit, so sprayers can send more.

[close]

[GoodMorning]

The same is true for output, but the bottleneck is rarely relevant. Somewhat like a PC that's too far from the CN being unable to fire continuously as the CN won't send more packets than it can store, so it waits until the PC has received the first packets and used them. The net result is a transit loss.

Pity that there's no overcharge mode, where packets are sent whenever it's not full, and any that cannot be stored are lost. Too hard to implement, I expect.

[D0m0nik]

The best technique for me was to also set my front line of sprayers to collect, they effectively pull the creeper wall forward. Only realised half way through but it is a lot easier.

[GoodMorning]

It works to a point, but I found that after the AC Emitters are beyond a certain distance, it's actually easier to get in Nullifier range by external supply. Otherwise the Sprayers drag the AC back toward you, making progress slower.

Then again, whatever works...