Custom Map #1671: Fractal Dawn 1 Starfire Facility. By: Tomboy.exe

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This topic is for discussion of map #1671: Fractal Dawn 1 Starfire Facility


Author: Tomboy.exe
Size: 256x160

[CS Z]

Interesting story in the initial ADA message.  Looking forward to future bits of this mini-campaign series.

Both objectives are doable but the optional objective is mildly tedious due to all the creeper breeder.  The difficulty between the two objectives is such that most people will just complete the rather easy required hold objective.  Once the creeper cap is hit and the ERN portal maxxes out, it's pretty stable with no risk of losing.  Turtling then becomes an option and doing so eventually pushes into positive energy production.  The number of ERNs on the map felt like the right number to have.

The factory didn't need to be included for this map since there's no Redon, Bluite, or Greenar.

I still say that the base game and server need to be modified to require mapmakers to complete all objectives in a single run before they can post their map to Colonies.

[GadgetBoy]

Interesting story in the initial ADA message.  Looking forward to future bits of this mini-campaign series.

Both objectives are doable but the optional objective is mildly tedious due to all the creeper breeder.  The difficulty between the two objectives is such that most people will just complete the rather easy required hold objective.  Once the creeper cap is hit and the ERN portal maxxes out, it's pretty stable with no risk of losing.  Turtling then becomes an option and doing so eventually pushes into positive energy production.  The number of ERNs on the map felt like the right number to have.

The factory didn't need to be included for this map since there's no Redon, Bluite, or Greenar.

I still say that the base game and server need to be modified to require mapmakers to complete all objectives in a single run before they can post their map to Colonies.

Don't forget that miners can be flipped to bluite.

[Tomboy.exe]

Interesting story in the initial ADA message.  Looking forward to future bits of this mini-campaign series.

Both objectives are doable but the optional objective is mildly tedious due to all the creeper breeder.  The difficulty between the two objectives is such that most people will just complete the rather easy required hold objective.  Once the creeper cap is hit and the ERN portal maxxes out, it's pretty stable with no risk of losing.  Turtling then becomes an option and doing so eventually pushes into positive energy production.  The number of ERNs on the map felt like the right number to have.

The factory didn't need to be included for this map since there's no Redon, Bluite, or Greenar.

I still say that the base game and server need to be modified to require mapmakers to complete all objectives in a single run before they can post their map to Colonies.

Thanks for checking out the map. I agree that turtling does become the most effective method, and maybe I should have increased the wall decay speed so it was more dangerous, but oh well. Might do that for a harder redux.
As for the optional objective... yes, it was tedious. Looking back I probably should have reduced the breeder terrain and simply increased the emitter power. Though as for requiring mapmakers to complete all objectives... I actually did that in my first run of the map, I just didn't know I needed to submit a score in order to upload the map, and thus I had to redo it. The optional objective was tedious, so I didn't do it the second time. It was only included because for some players they don't feel like they beat a map unless they fully nullify.
Regarding the factory, I actually debated if I wanted to include it or not, but after realizing that using anticreeper wouldn't hurt the map, I decided to leave it so you could mine bluite.
As for the story! Thank you, I'm working hard to ensure that players can actually enjoy it, because the story was my favorite part of the main game. I'm still trying to figure out how to make messages pop up at times that aren't the very start. There was originally intended to be a second conversation once the hold objective was achieved, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work, so it got cut down and put on the end of the first one.

Hope you enjoyed regardless! -Tomboy.exe

[CS Z]

As for the story! Thank you, I'm working hard to ensure that players can actually enjoy it, because the story was my favorite part of the main game. I'm still trying to figure out how to make messages pop up at times that aren't the very start. There was originally intended to be a second conversation once the hold objective was achieved, but I couldn't figure out how to make it work, so it got cut down and put on the end of the first one.

Hope you enjoyed regardless! -Tomboy.exe

InfoCaches are the easiest (vanilla) way to progress in-mission story.  Drop an InfoCache, associate it with an ADA message, and the game takes care of the rest.  They are a bit limiting though and InfoCache objectives (Collect Items) can frequently be cheesed.  4RPL is how to design a mission script for more complicated game conditions.  Pressing Shift + E on any map (e.g. the main campaign) lets you see how any given mission was built (under Mods -> CPACK Manager).