Day 13: Horror, help!

[Ytaker]

I think maybe there should be some tips in game about rushing. Rushing makes the game so much easier. Maybe modify the first level a bit. It would make the game more easy for new players to do.

[TonyP2000]

Don't use replusers on the bottom chamber, this will push the creeper up to that last capsule. (I myself did that on my first run.  :-[ ) You have to be very aggressive with the last chamber to keep the creeper from destroying that capsule. That chamber under the LS can be held back with a single repulser and left for last.

This was the first level I had trouble on myself. I use to take too much time on that ring of creeper.

[ontheworld]

I think maybe there should be some tips in game about rushing. Rushing makes the game so much easier. Maybe modify the first level a bit. It would make the game more easy for new players to do.

Rushing is considered an advanced tactic IIRC

[JohnSteel]

This goes beyond "a little challenge". A little challenge is good. This is a radical jump in challenge that requires a completely new way of playing this game. One that you have no introduction to beforehand. I spend the first 12 levels playing one way, and it works. Suddenly that way doesn't work anymore. The first game had this problem, although not as extreme. It's bad game design. Good game design has that "a little challenge" concept built in: Each level is more challenging than the one before it, evenly increasing the challenge.

[Grauniad]

This goes beyond "a little challenge". A little challenge is good. This is a radical jump in challenge that requires a completely new way of playing this game. One that you have no introduction to beforehand. I spend the first 12 levels playing one way, and it works. Suddenly that way doesn't work anymore. The first game had this problem, although not as extreme. It's bad game design. Good game design has that "a little challenge" concept built in: Each level is more challenging than the one before it, evenly increasing the challenge.

I'm curious. Just how is the game play here radically different?

Oh, and watch out. It will get radically different a number of times before you even get the hit the Bonus maps. There are zero-g maps, and a bunch of other things out there.

[Kithros]

The trick is to not overbuild weapons too quickly, 1 blaster and 1 shield in front of the decaying terrain up top is enough for that, 1 repulsor will hold off the bottom.  You can wait until about 45 seconds in to build the blaster and shield (the blaster won't quite finish in time, but the shield will hold them off anyway), and until about 1:10 to build the repulsor. After those, you want to get 1 creeper maker, once it's about half way finished start building a blaster with that towards the middle (this is so they both finish at the same time). Of course, inbetween all this you want to keep building as many reactors as you can, using the crystal energy as quickly as you can to mass reactors (but without going into a big deficit). Once you have lots of energy, then keep building blasters/launchers toward the middle, after the first capsule is saved go down to the next room (and keep building reactors whenever you can), leave 1 launcher behind and go straight to the bottom. Once you've capped both emitters at the very bottom, then you can go about clearing out all the creeper everywhere else on the level. Your weapons should almost always be either firing, or moving, and never let your energy reach 20/20 (or whatever maximum energy you have). If you get into a deficit, deactivate some of the buildings you're working on or weapons that you don't need at the time.

[UpperKEES]

This is a radical jump in challenge that requires a completely new way of playing this game.

I don't think it's radical, but it's indeed one of the first maps in the story line that you can't completely play laid back. It's just an indication you haven't been playing the first 12 maps very efficiently.

If every map could be finished using exactly the same strategy and a rather careless way of playing this would be a very boring game.

The first maps allow you to explore the features of all units in a relaxed way, so now you've arrived at the point where you should apply this knowledge or improve your gameplay a little more to be able to advance. Like Grauniad said you'll experience this a lot more in the upcoming story maps.

Do the tips posted in this topic and the video's mentioned by Grauniad help you? If not, why don't you post a screenshot at the moment the first pod gets destroyed?

[Ytaker]

I think maybe there should be some tips in game about rushing. Rushing makes the game so much easier. Maybe modify the first level a bit. It would make the game more easy for new players to do.

Rushing is considered an advanced tactic IIRC

It's an advanced tactic that if done poorly makes the game easier than any basic tactic done masterfully. It's also essential to later levels, but isn't taught to players.

[Kithros]

There are very few situations where you would really want to rush honestly, it can sometimes make a map slightly faster, but almost never easier (unless the map is pretty much specifically designed to be rushed). To me, rushing would be almost completely ignoring reactors and such to attack the creeper faster (not necessarily no reactors at all, but extremely few - there was a post on the day 18 thread about someone who nullified the middle emitter + the gateway and emitter to the left before the space invader came out, I would consider that rushing). On day 13 I still build a significant number of reactors before I start going offensive at all.


What I typically try to aim for is to never have energy not being used, never have a big deficit, and to have all the spaces for reactors/tech domes that you reasonably can filled up just at the same time the first emitter gets nullified. I still have a few weapons attacking before then, but they aren't my main focus - 1 maker 2 blasters is good enough for a while on the right, you'll want to add in a launcher when you get to the bigger pool there though.



The first minute or so of the game for me, you don't need to build the maker and blaster quite this early - if you're playing it safe you should secure the top and bottom before pushing through the middle, but since I knew i had time for it I went straight to the middle.

Spoiler

[close]

Where I am when I nullify the emitter - I dug under the emittter and blocked it off with shields, and put a nullifier inbetween the shields to nullify the emitter quickly without needing to clear out all the creeper. This strategy only works if the emitters are positioned well for you, but when it is useable it's very effective.

Spoiler

[close]

After this room, you should leave the launcher at the second room to hold the creeper off, and head straight for the bottom. Once both emitters on the bottom are capped you can worry about dealing with the creeper on the rest of the map with no risk to any survival pods.

[ontheworld]

I think maybe there should be some tips in game about rushing. Rushing makes the game so much easier. Maybe modify the first level a bit. It would make the game more easy for new players to do.

Rushing is considered an advanced tactic IIRC

It's an advanced tactic that if done poorly makes the game easier than any basic tactic done masterfully. It's also essential to later levels, but isn't taught to players.

To me that's not rushing, just using the pause button and build instead of doing completely nothing for a minute...

[Ytaker]

I think maybe there should be some tips in game about rushing. Rushing makes the game so much easier. Maybe modify the first level a bit. It would make the game more easy for new players to do.

Rushing is considered an advanced tactic IIRC

It's an advanced tactic that if done poorly makes the game easier than any basic tactic done masterfully. It's also essential to later levels, but isn't taught to players.

To me that's not rushing, just using the pause button and build instead of doing completely nothing for a minute...

Define rushing as you will. Then imagine someone who ocassionally forgets to do it, gets bored and does something random sometimes, and often screws up and continues with powerful emitters and drones.

They'll still be a lot more successful.

[Kithros]

I played through day 13 while deactivating every other reactor that I built, and not picking up any of the artifacts. This is obviously not meant to be an actual walkthrough for day 13 (it's very hard to play it out this way), but the general strategies I use are still fairly similar to how I do it normally. The main differences are that I can't use a creeper maker like I would normally (since I can't pick up the remnants), and I didn't have enough energy to be able to shield+blaster the top early on so I had to play that a bit differently.

[SNAFU]

I found this mission (and subsequent ones) much easier by noting the times at which crucial events happen so I can 'nip them in the bud' and establish priorities and objectives to meet.

1:05 Top-right Creeper pool breaks through its wall. Address this first! Note there is no emitter, so a short-range Replusor or a Blaster+Shield can cover this, but if it gets loose, your life will be much more difficult as it will flood over the top of the 1st pod's protective wall as well as denying you building area.

1:40 Emitter pool under the Liberty ship floods out of its tunnel. Not an immediate threat, but you could use the ground it covers to expand your economy. :) You should be able to cut it off with a Repulsor before it flows out but if you're having trouble keeping your energy from stalling, the top-right pool should take priority!

3:00 1st pod destroyed (if you let the top right pool breakout). Seriously, don't let this happen!  :-[

5:00 Right emitter pool eats through the wall and destroys the 2nd pod. You must destroy the emitter AND clear the creeper in the room before this time!

5:00 Ring of Creeper around the 3rd pod begins to overflow outwards. Don't worry, the pod is not threatened by this  but you will need to keep the ring pruned throughout the rest of the mission to keep it from overflowing again and threatening your units, so be sure to leave a Launcher in the room to 'trim' the creeper.

11:30 Liberty Ship's starting position finally threatened by bottom-left pool if it has been left unattended. This shouldn't happen unless you just completely forget about it, but this should give you an idea of how little of a threat it actually poses and why you should concentrate your resources on rescuing the pods.  :P

15:00 4th pod in serious danger from the creeper flooding final chamber. Be very careful with how you handle the two emitters flooding the area as improper placement of Repulsors could accelerate the flow of creeper into the final chamber! Ideally, you want to isolate the 2 emitters from the lower tunnel, then clear creeper about halfway up the lower tunnel and then back off! If you do this, the creeper in the final chamber should drain back into the lower tunnel, which you can then clear at your leisure. Also note that Makers can work against you here and push more creeper into the final chamber from the fluid pressure, so if you use them, don't pump out too much friendly creeper!

17:15 4th pod destroyed by creeper overflow barring your intervention.

Hopefully newbies can find this information helpful in devising their own plan of action.  ;D

[UpperKEES]

Thanks SNAFU! :) I think this time line will be very useful to starting players.

And welcome to the forums!

[Ebon Heart]

Be very careful with how you handle the two emitters flooding the area as improper placement of Repulsors could accelerate the flow of creeper into the final chamber!

This is good advice, when I did this level, I remember getting two repuslors down there, then realizing it was a bad idea and destroying them. So in other words, don't use repulsors for that final pod. lol