Hardest map?

[Karsten75]

I guess if we're going to have a "quickest map" topic, we should have a hardest map topic as well. :)

November 14, 2352 is my first nomination.

I had several starts where I got overrun. Even then it was tooth and nail all the time trying to get a good foothold, since high ground is scare.

[davidp]

I've been trying to find hard ones.  Here's one that starts out slowly, but isn't too hard once you cap most of the emitters.

June 29, 6213

--David

[Sqaz]

I guess if we're going to have a "quickest map" topic, we should have a hardest map topic as well. :)

November 14, 2352 is my first nomination.

I had several starts where I got overrun. Even then it was tooth and nail all the time trying to get a good foothold, since high ground is scare.

Seriously? Beated it in half your time, only needed 3 drones and 4 blasters.

I've been trying to find hard ones.  Here's one that starts out slowly, but isn't too hard once you cap most of the emitters.

June 29, 6213

--David

Beated this one in a bit more than ten minutes, once you get to the middle totem you can just set up a relay to the middle island and connect the last totem with the city, never capped any emitters.

[UpperKEES]

Sqaz, 10 minutes for an automatically generated map is hard! Emitters can always be capped by 1 blaster and never increase in strength. How many of the original in-game maps keep you busy that long with the experience you have now?

Just consider that you and me can beat almost any custom map within 20 minutes, while these maps were manually and deliberately designed to give you a very hard time!

To me it's a pleasant surprise that the Chronom maps occasionally keep me busy for more than 10 minutes. There's really a lot of quality in their relative simplicity (and actually quality due to their simplicity). Being a map maker I can only admire that.

Having said that of course the first 10 minutes of a custom map can never be compared with the second 10 minutes because of the exponential energy growth, so between minute 10 and minute 20 you're normally a lot busier....

[Sqaz]

The difference between these and (some of) the custom maps is more that here, you just see the terrain and you can directly find your strategy. And even if it takes ten minutes it's more 5-6minutes energy building, 3minutes fighting, and another minute to connect the last totem with the city, in all these maps I played there are none that force you to protect your starting position, if you choose it well, before you have at least 3-4 energy.

Like many people said before, hard isn't about time, it's about how hard it really is,  as I already said, you can just look at these maps, and find your strategy, cause all of them that I've encountered have or a high mountain to place your city, or a lot of depressions to protect you, and mostly both.

But of course with 3.6 million maps there has to be at least one truly hard map, maybe it's finishable in less than 10 minutes, but probably it gives you a minimal amount of starting terrain and a real creeper threat.
Maps like the ones we're now talking about are no different from the rest, and if they'd be posted in the custom maps they'd be ranked medium or even easy.

Sqaz, 10 minutes for an automatically generated map is hard! Emitters can always be capped by 1 blaster and never increase in strength. How many of the original in-game maps keep you busy that long with the experience you have now?

Well, I never needed to cap an emitter, and even if so, most emitters used in custom maps are cappable with one emitter, there are some really hard maps where you can easily cap all emitters with one blaster.

But you're right about the in-game maps though.

[UpperKEES]

in all these maps I played there are none that force you to protect your starting position, if you choose it well, before you have at least 3-4 energy.

I'm pretty sure you were firing your first weapon before you were generating 3-4 energy on this one. ;)

Maps like the ones we're now talking about are no different from the rest, and if they'd be posted in the custom maps they'd be ranked medium or even easy.

Keep in mind that maybe a 10-20 players worldwide are very advanced players. The Chronom maps have obviously not been designed to give these players a very hard time, but aim at the average player (see average map time). Nevertheless I still have a lot of fun with them because apparently people like the concept of playing 'the map of the day' and some special dates, which creates more competition than many of the custom maps were able to do. :)

[Sqaz]

I'm pretty sure you were firing your first weapon before you were generating 3-4 energy on this one. ;)

Well, actually not, during that score I only build my first weapon (a drone) after 2.5 minutes. The only time I built a weapon before generating 3 energy was when I deliberatly moved my city closer to the emitters.

[Karsten75]

@sqaz: I think I've usually employed a strategy of moving OC. I may have to rethink that since moving OC closer to the totems often involved having to fight the creeper with smaller energy reserves.  That may make the maps harder than bulking up on energy first.

[Sqaz]

@sqaz: I think I've usually employed a strategy of moving OC. I may have to rethink that since moving OC closer to the totems often involved having to fight the creeper with smaller energy reserves.  That may make the maps harder than bulking up on energy first.

I also move the city on most maps, but only if there is higher terrain, or a choke point so you can hold back great amounts of creeper with one blaster or such.

[Sqaz]

I think I found a really hard one, it's Februari 29 2800, almost no starting terrain, no possibility to move your city closer to the totems so you'll have to cross a whole open plain.

[knucracker]

You can dial up the same map as Feb 29, 2800 (no trick required).  Of course there isn't supposed to be a Feb 29, 2800 since there isn't supposed to be a leap year....  but you can legitimately access this map with no slight of hand just by using the spinner controls.

[UpperKEES]

Sep 11, 2010 also is a rather tough one.

[thepenguin]

Of course there isn't supposed to be a Feb 29, 2800 since there isn't supposed to be a leap year....

why isn't it supposed to be a leap year?

it's divisible by 400 so it is

gregorian calendar rules

[knucracker]

Yeah, I stated that one backwards.  2800 should be a leap year, 2700, 2600, etc should not.

[ontheworld]

the hardest so far for me: dec 31 9998

EDIT: bet you won't be bulking up before building a weapon on this one