Custom Map: Hard Art 6: The Screams

[SPIFFEN]

I have tryed this map some times now , but i cant manage it .
Might be that i dont have enought patient or something ,
so i'll nag for hints soon =)
( I always have trouble with UpperKEES maps =P )

[UpperKEES]

Just tell me at what moment you get stuck and I'll give you some hints from there.

[UpperKEES]

Maybe I will keep the top score for a little while. ;D

That could indeed last for a while....

Hmmm, just missed it by 13 seconds after a stupid mistake which caused the loss of a drone and a relay, so I have to make it on my third run.... *reminds himself NOT to move the front blaster* :P

Edit: done! ;D

[Fisherck]

Darn! Oh well, at least I can say I had for a little while (what more could I expect ;)).

[UpperKEES]

Darn! Oh well, at least I can say I had for a little while (what more could I expect ;)).

It took me 2 attempts, more than an hour (I pause a lot) and a different strategy to beat your time. I would never have thought a time like this was possible, so it's always nice when players push each other to their limits! :)

I have tryed this map some times now , but i cant manage it .
Might be that i dont have enought patient or something ,
so i'll nag for hints soon =)

Let me start with some tips how to defend yourself:

Spoiler

- First you'll need 1 blaster to stop the creeper flowing in from the top. Build this one soon!

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Spoiler

- A little later you'll need 2 blasters to stop the creeper flowing in from the sides.

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Spoiler

- After a couple of minutes the creeper will start overflowing the fences of the bridge on the left and the right. You'll need 2 mortars or 2 drones to take care of this.

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Spoiler

- Besides the above mentioned defence I'd concentrate the first 6 minutes on building up your infrastructure (mainly energy, some storage and some speed).

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Spoiler

- Make sure the first scream (from the left person) at the 6 minute mark doesn't surprise you.

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Please let me know if you need more help.

[Sqaz]

- After a couple of minutes the creeper will start overflowing the fences of the bridge on the left and the right. You'll need 2 mortars or 2 drones to take care of this.

You can also do this with one mortar and the 20% range upgrade, this works just as well.
And an other hint, know the difference between left and right  :P(I defended the wrong scream at 6min)


P.S.: For those of you who are now asking: "Hey Sqaz, if you played it were's your score", you should look at some of my comments on Kees' first map and you'll find out I can't stand to have to fight once I'm sure I'll win anyway and have more than enough energy.

[UpperKEES]

You can also do this with one mortar and the 20% range upgrade, this works just as well.

Spoiler

I actually prefer the drones in this case, because you can use them better later on for the top part. ;)

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P.S.: For those of you who are now asking: "Hey Sqaz, if you played it were's your score", you should look at some of my comments on Kees' first map and you'll find out I can't stand to have to fight once I'm sure I'll win anyway and have more than enough energy.

In that case I should stop playing CW! ;D So why did you give up? Because of expecting the wrong scream? The sky is the hardest part and I don't see what it has to do with Nice Job 1: The Engineer, besides the fact that the referred artifact also was the hardest part of the map. Building up enough energy is just the beginning (and easy on this map) and now it seems you stop playing at the moment the real fighting begins! :P

[Sqaz]

You can also do this with one mortar and the 20% range upgrade, this works just as well.

I actually prefer the drones in this case, because you can use them better later on for the top part. ;)

P.S.: For those of you who are now asking: "Hey Sqaz, if you played it were's your score", you should look at some of my comments on Kees' first map and you'll find out I can't stand to have to fight once I'm sure I'll win anyway and have more than enough energy.

In that case I should stop playing CW! ;D So why did you give up? Because of expecting the wrong scream? The sky is the hardest part and I don't see what it has to do with Nice Job 1: The Engineer, besides the fact that the referred artifact also was the hardest part of the map. Buidling up enough energy is just the beginning and now it seems you stop playing at the moment the real fighting begins! :P

I gave up after capping all lower emitters, and having about 18 energy, when I saw that if I wanted to break through the clouds it would take a whole lot of timing, bridging droning and fighting even though you could've just have deleted those upper 5 totems (and I'm pretty sure the fact that I played it monday at 6:30 o' clock also had to do something with it :P)

And I prefer tactics above brute fighting, you'll see that almost all my maps have a very late turning point (in my last map e.g. you never had to use brute force).

In that case I should stop playing CW! ;D

Not everyone plays this map entirely for having the best score  ;), and if I know I'll win without problems why should I keep playing a map.
And I'm not planning to stop playing CW yet, sorry 'bout that :P

[UpperKEES]

I gave up after capping all lower emitters, and having about 18 energy, when I saw that if I wanted to break through the clouds it would take a whole lot of timing, bridging droning and fighting even though you could've just have deleted those upper 5 totems

Sure, just delete the part you couldn't make! :P

Bridging? Never necessary on any of my maps and you know that. Didn't use it myself either.

Timing? Yes, if you like to finish fast and use paratroopers like you do yourself on your last map. ;) Without the need to finish fast you don't need timing, so you can play very laid back after your initial defences are up.

Droning? Not necessary, but a little support helps. The first 2 times I finished this map I only used 2 of them, but I'm sure I can do without them at all.

Fighting? Absolutely! As you may have seen there are many positions where you can put your units in 'the sky'. These have been chosen carefully to make an interesting fight, thus I don't see your point at all.

Capping the lower emitters only takes a few minutes (without the need to build up energy for the top part), so the map would have to be rated 'medium' in that case. You would be able to do so even before the first scream starts.

And I prefer tactics above brute fighting, you'll see that almost all my maps have a very late turning point (in my last map e.g. you never had to use brute force).

Brute force? I don't get that.

Spoiler

I use only 10 energy to start with and end the map with about 12. The final stage is ALL about tactics, even more than on my other maps. Every emitter can be capped by 1 blaster! (Except for the screams that take 3, but that's only once per minute so you can use the same blasters for the other scream. ;))

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Too bad you haven't played the most interesting part. I have never created a brute force map and never will.

(and I'm pretty sure the fact that I played it monday at 6:30 o' clock also had to do something with it :P)

That must be it then!  ::)

In that case I should stop playing CW! ;D

Not everyone plays this map entirely for having the best score  ;), and if I know I'll win without problems why should I keep playing a map.

I play for fun, but I always try to beat the highscore. Don't tell me you don't! I think the difference is that I often make it.... Hahaha! ;D

You referred to 'winning a map' and so did I. I haven't encountered a single map that I couldn't beat yet, so I assume I can finish any map that has been completed before. This doesn't take away the fun for me, because for me it's not about finishing the map, but about how I did it. I enjoy walking the road more than I enjoy reaching my destination. :)

[Sqaz]

I enjoy walking the road more than I enjoy reaching my destination. :)

So do I, but I enjoy planning the road more than following my GPS.

But I must admit I kinda liked the last part of your map, and regardless what you say you have to paratroop (even though I've got nothing against that), I was wrong about the emitter intensity my first playing round, didn't though they were cappable by one blaster, so the end wasn't that bad.

And I don't play for highscores, I'd prefer being one of the 5 people able to finish a map than be first on a map with hunderds of scores.

EDIT: Btw. you don't have to paratroop on my last map, I tried it without and it's possible.

[UpperKEES]

So do I, but I enjoy planning the road more than following my GPS.

Agreed. Planning is essential when walking the CW road (and a good sense for direction definitely helps ;)).

regardless what you say you have to paratroop (even though I've got nothing against that)

Or you paratroop, or you use drones, or you use mortars. It's all up to you! :)

I was wrong about the emitter intensity my first playing round, didn't though they were cappable by one blaster, so the end wasn't that bad.

Yep, they are. I almost always prefer rather normal emitters and try to use the terrain to make it interesting.

But I must admit I kinda liked the last part of your map

Great, glad to read that! :)

And I don't play for highscores, I'd prefer being one of the 5 people able to finish a map than be first on a map with hunderds of scores.

I like both types of maps. The one with 5 people able to finish is probably very hard, so a real challenge. The one with hundreds of scores (which one? tell me! ;)) is probably very well made or nice looking. Nevertheless I'll try to beat the #1 score for both, just because I like an additional challenge. I would do so for any game or sport I play, but it's no big deal if I don't make it.

[snowmaker (JM)]

Terrain and strategy is what I look for whenever I play a map. That's why I play both (sqaz & Kees) of your maps. It's fun to compete for the best time   ;D

I know anyone would become a better player if they designed maps, but I have chosen not to quite yet.

Thanks for the hints... I definitely overbuilt so maybe I will try again.

[Sqaz]

I'm pretty sure there is one chronom map with 100 scores (or there will be one), but I'd never play a map twice just to get a better score (and I'd certainly won't play all 200 most played chronom maps just to get the best score on all of them, like someone I know  :P), maybe if a map is very good I'll play it two or more times, but I won't do it for the score, and I admit I'm not as good as you, but I don't care, if you play everything just for scores what's the fun of it (even though there's a good score is nice if you're playing it anyway  :)).

My GPS is told to avoid highways but take the peaceful roads through national parks and other parts of nature rather than get stuck in traffic on the highway (ven if that's still faster).

[UpperKEES]

Like snowmaker I like to improve myself if I can, because that's when you learn. I only replay my own maps, the tournament maps and the other really interesting ones.

I like the Chronom maps because they were a nice change from the custom maps after months of playing. What I like about them is that none of these have a 'trick' involved or have been designed with a certain strategy in mind. Still it takes more than 10 minutes to complete some of them, making them a better challenge than many custom maps. For the easy ones I like to test my own capability to finish them as fast as possible.

maybe if a map is very good I'll play it two or more times, but I won't do it for the score

Hmmm, then I guess you like some Chronom maps as well....  ;D

But most important: I don't care why other people play or what maps they pick (although I like it if they prefer mine ;)). It's fine with me if players like to compete, but just as fine when they choose not to. I won't judge them for that, so I hope people don't mind that I do like competition. Especially people that don't care for scores (as they say) shouldn't be bothered at all. I just enjoy finding efficient strategies and tactics resulting in a fast time and (still!) improving my game play. It's a nice and enjoyable way to keep myself alert.

The fact I like competition is exactly the reason I share my solutions for tournament maps, post about useful strategies at the forums and give hints for my own maps, so other will get better. When I would solely play for the high scores I would keep that all to myself.

PS: since when do 15-year old boys drive cars? I've always said you are older! :P

[SPIFFEN]

I still dont manage to find the right spots to put my Blasters i think ,
and i dont manage to get enought energy in time to support them =(
Think my timing is bad as usally =P