Custom Map #326: Cube attack!

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This topic is for discussion of map #326: Cube attack!


Author: J

Desc:
Blast your way through 8 different challenges in 8 different cubes! Includes a bonus mission when you completed all cubes.

[snowmaker (JM)]

Love this map. Well done!

[fitz]

As always a great map. Thanks

I'm sure I could have found an easier way but my brain hurts now!

[SmileyCoder]

Ive tried the map 8 times from the begining and still have not found the "right" way to start. I think the start is too annoying, I feel like its basicly a game of "guess" what the creator thought, there is no room for error.

[koker93]

looks like it would be fun - if i could actually build a defence for the silly amount if phantoms...

[fitz]

I would be facinated to know the order that people attacked the eight cubes. I'm not sure the sequence I followed was optimum. On the other hand I don't want to give anything away.

[J]

A few things about the nexus: If you let it spawn before you've collected the DB tech, you can't win anymore. Phantoms target the nexus, so you need to go down and defend the nexus. To go down, you need the beacon tech.
HINT:

Spoiler

Pause the game and disable the beacons before you start playing

[close]

HINT:

Spoiler

Collect the phantom tech, you should use all available blasters for that

[close]

I would be facinated to know the order that people attacked the eight cubes. I'm not sure the sequence I followed was optimum. On the other hand I don't want to give anything away.

1 3
6 7
5 8
4 2
9

How I gave the cubes a name: The name of the tech in it.

HINT:

Spoiler

Use the weapons you have!

[close]

[fitz]

Aha,

I did (but with a slow time):

1 8
4 7
3 6
2 5
  9

Although I did kill one creeper source in the top right at the start making it containable. The second box was very painful, lots of suicide blasters.  :-\

[DethbyIT]

Excellent game!
I bumbled and fumbled my way through it, but will go back with a more logical approach next time.

Thank you - obviously a lot of thought and work went into the game.
dbit

[Katra]

The corner squares all had two parts, and I did none of them all at once. At most times I was doing more than one at once. (And I was continually building reactors for more power.) I ended up sending a lot of kamikaze blasters on this map. The following is a (rather rough) mega spoiler. Much overlap between 'steps' in places.

Spoiler

1. Grab the techs that are in the LS chamber and left corridor, set beacons to access the entire left and bottom pathway around the sectors, and add some phantom coils to protect beacons and reactors. (And yes; I shut down the bottom beacons for a bit to avoid them running out of power. After a small redeployment of phantom coils.) Note that defending your bottom beacons against phantoms will keep them from the nexus as well.

2. Use all prebuilt blasters to clear everything in top left cube except the small creeper pool around the shield tech.

3. Move all blasters clear around to the lower right and take the blaster tech. (1 line across from the entrance let no drones escape alive; and packets ignore drones to activate the tech.) Leave the upper portion of the cube for now.

4. Immediately upon getting blaster tech build blasters and a couple beacons inside the lower right chamber, and when the beacons activate nullify the gateways. AT THE SAME TIME build a fleet of blasters in the upper left cube. When you have three or four rows fully charged, open the pool around the shield tech, clear the creeper, and take shield tech.

5. Place a shield over the entrance to the top right cube. Dig out enough ground to surround that with two or three rows of blasters. (Probably should do this along with 3 or 4.) Move blasters for those rows from upper left.When decaying terrain collapses (if you have time in reserve after setting up shield and blasters spend it building reactors) let the blasters work on the creeper for a bit, then mass move a bunch of blasters from upper left into the chamber. (About half of what's still in upper left) When those start to run out of ammo try to move them back out (I only got 3 out) and at the same time mass move the rest of the blasters from upper left in to replace them. If you timed it right (and sent enough blasters in) this second charge should stick, allowing you to clear out the center of the chamber. You'll have to contain the streams from the two emitters at the corners of the room for now.

6. Open the lower left cube. A shield and two rows of blasters in the corridor outside keeps it contained; and you'll be needing fleets of spare blasters and a few repulsors. I used lower right cube as build space. As the creeper inside starts to be worn down start sending blasters into the room entrance. (I spent many minutes sending kamikazes in and constantly building replacements. As you start to gain a toehold inside repulsors in the corridor will aid your advance; and once I cleared enough space inside I lined up an entire row to work my way upward to nullify emitters and get the launcher tech. If you have the power 5 and 6 can overlap.

7. Build a bunch of launchers in the lower left cube and redeploy blasters to contain the drones when opening the upper part of the chamber. (One shield to seal the entrance, and stack a column of repulsors outside to the limit of their range to take over creeper containment when a drone takes out that shield.) Open the top part of the cube, clear drones and creeper, and get the conversion bomb tech. **DO NOT DESTROY THE GATEWAY IN LOWER LEFT CUBE!** Surround it with blasters to kill the drones.

At the same time build half a dozen launchers in the top right. This should allow you to get the tech dome tech. Once you have it build a bunch of tech domes ASAP.

8. Build conversion bombs and a shield to seal entrance to center left cube. One salvo of conversion bombs should leave you with a room full of AC, allow you to nullify emitters and gateway, and take the micro rift tech. At the same time dig the square of ground over the solid ground with blue x in bottom right cube (It's right by the gateway) allowing the gateway to dig out that piece of solid ground. This gives you access to the pre-built micro rift network. Build beacons to give you access to all of it, and build/move phantom coils to defend them. (And to intercept phantoms close to the source.) A few micro rifts built now will save quite a bit of time.


9. Activate the pre-built micro rift in the nexus chamber. As soon as you get the maker tech build one in the tiny AC pool where you entered set to vacuum, and two in the upper right cube. Once those two are built use them to finally nullify the remaining emitters there. Dig through the ground between bottom corridor and the nexus chamber and build beacons to access the center of the nexus chamber. Once the little AC pool is sucked dry (You might want to build extra makers to expend it) the bottom left gateway will send build packets to open gaps in the solid terrain wall at the top of the nexus chamber. Once you have access to the chamber nullify the lower left cube gateway.

10. One shield and one blaster will allow you to get the dark beam tech without spilling any of the wimpy pool of creeper surrounding it. Once you have dark beam tech build one where the tech was (aimed at the nexus) and one each aimed directly into the top part of the lower right cube and the center right cube. When they're built and charged arm them and open the two chambers. With the beam active you'll be able to catch the dark mirror tech in center right cube, and a little fancy reflecting will allow the beams to clear you nullifier space to clear both cubes.

[close]

[f2d]

I was under the impression you're supposed to finish all the cubes before getting to the nexus, however, building a beacon to reach the prebuilt rift allows you to get there before finishing all the cubes, and the dark beam makes finishing the cubes MUCH easier. Also, the nexus never activated for me because I built blasters to kill off that little bit of creeper that's supposed to activate the nexus.

[J]

Yeah, I had to make a trigger field

[Katra]

I was under the impression you're supposed to finish all the cubes before getting to the nexus, however, building a beacon to reach the prebuilt rift allows you to get there before finishing all the cubes,

One just has to clear any one of the bottom or middle cubes and clear the AC from a path between gateway and micro rift. Bottom left is by far the easiest (the only AC will be in the little pool right around the rift) and naturally comes first in sequence. Center right would be plumb ugly without dark beam to kill them super drones, and I suspect the upper section of bottom right isn't possible with conventional weapons. (Several drones with a huge payload...)