Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
For some reason I didn't like xenotactic...
But I loved desktop TD, I just can't get past the hard level (max stage 42), and some other challenges either..
Also, I liked vector TD: http://www.candystand.com/play.do?id=18047
I hacked Xenotactic a bit. Basically giving myself infinite money.
I still didn't pass level 6 :)
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno6b.png
For the record, none of the walking aliens got past the white turret, but the aerial ones…
I didn't alternate the maze ends in this version.
EDIT: The second time was also a failure. The green turrets in this image deliver ~23000 hp of damage each. My point was to test how many DCAs you need to fend off successfully the aerial attacks. The answer is more than 27.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno6c.png
(The reason why there were un-upgraded DCAs on the field, was that the cost of the first upgrade was ~23000$ in this hack. (And the second upgrade gives most of that back.) My starting money was also ~23000$, so I couldn't exactly do everything I wanted.)
______________
"But consider this: Our technologies are compatible. Cybermen plus Daleks ― together we could upgrade the universe."
My point was to test how many DCAs you need to fend off successfully the aerial attacks. The answer is more than 27.
The best defense against flyers is actually Torrent towers (which I guess would be plasma? in this version), not Dart towers. Also keep in mind that you can and should use Frost towers to slow down the flyers and keep them in range longer.
someone is out there who will like you. take off your mask so they can find you faster.
I support the new Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun.
Also keep in mind that you can and should use Frost towers to slow down the flyers and keep them in range longer.
Utilizing this fantastic idea, I went ahead with the ~infinite money hack and created this room in level 6.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt.png
The important idea here is that the outer layer of the maze consists of Zero Towers (freezers). The inner after that is BFG towers (plasma), and further inside are missiles. All of these have a range that covers the edges of the screen as well as the tunnels right beside them. The center of the screen consists of anti-aerial defenses as usual, with occasional freezers intermixed. At the bottom of screen, where I didn't expect anything to enter anytime soon, I put sniper towers which have a range of half of the board.
In several corner spots, I put sonic turrets in order to mazimize the profit of the freezers.
This strategy worked excellently. First observation, the bottom right corner of the anti-aerial defense rectangle was not actually needed until wave 86. The bottom of the screen was very idle as well.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt_b.png
At wave 93, it started to become very crowded. This is when the most dangerous aerial attack begins.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt_c.png
My grid actually handled them quite well. No helicopters survived.
At wave 99, the screen becomes permanently crowded. The bottom also is now in use. The enemies just have way too many hitpoints (more than 1.6 million).
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt_d.png
Wave 100 is the last aerial attack. A few helicopters actually survived this assault which was hard enough to put the game crawling at about 1 fps.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt_e.png
The next two or three hours were spent in this same wave, guiding the enemies back and worth through the maze at very low FPS. I actually converted some of the aerial defence towers into snipers and BFGs as no aerial enemies were expected anymore.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt_f.png
Finally, it came down to the last enemy. I accidentally left it slip, though it still had over a million hps so it would have been exhausting to kill it.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level6perfectsetup_attempt_g.png
Here is the anticlimatic ending of the game.
http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_ending.png
By the way, here is a maze for level 5 which completes the level without interaction. http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level5perfectsetup.png
Similarly, for level 4... http://bisqwit.iki.fi/kala/snap/xeno_level4perfectsetup.png
______________
"But consider this: Our technologies are compatible. Cybermen plus Daleks ― together we could upgrade the universe."
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
Died in level 76 of level 6...
you need at least 5 red AA towers by that point I guess =/
Edit: Bisquit-- There is a far more effective way of laying out your base. Keep in mind that you can collect an entire wave (more or less) on 6 hypersonic towers (with the help of a zero tower), and when they are stacked on top of eachother, let max level SAM sites blow the shit out of them.
with infinate money, I dont think you would use a single plasma; AOE is just too important.
Nice one :)
I made several mistakes which I didn't notice until the last waves were rolling in:
- I didn't know what "Interest" really did, I thought it increased the amount of money the enemys were worth. So I spent all my money as soon as possible, not getting filthy rich.
- I was unaware of the possibilities of stacking the special towers.
So I had lots of blue ice towers, 6 of the red guides missile towers (which I couldn't upgrade to 10, they were just lvl 4 or 5 at the end), and just one of the boost towers. Well, I still succeeded. My next attempt, had there been one, would have looked quite similar to yours.
Makes me wonder how the points are calculated, though. More points for faster kills?
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
He is probably right. I dont think it is possable. Far as I can get legit is level 77... died there 3 times now.
http://www.mypicshare.com/5rxpy01hpic.html
I have done it with and without plasme, with and without slowing towers.
this time was nothing but plasma and anti air towers, but I dont think there is really any way it can be done.
If it's the same 100-level challenge as the one in Desktop TD 1.2, I don't think anyone beat it (without juggling - with juggling it's just a matter of patience and having enough lives left at the end to drop the flying bosses). The record was in the 90s though. I'm sure people at the forums there know better than me though.
someone is out there who will like you. take off your mask so they can find you faster.
I support the new Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun.
I tried to see what's the *minimum* amount of weapons (as in the number of weapons, upgrading is ok) to pass mission 1 without any alien getting through. The best I got was this:
http://warp.povusers.org/snaps/xt_mission1.png
Almost. 1 alien passed through (the last alien, seen in the screenshot, died from the plasma blast, also seen in the screenshot, before passing through).
It's actually quite difficult to get no aliens to pass through with a minimal amount of weapons. I tried up to 5 weapons, to no avail. (The problem is that with more weapons it's more difficult to upgrade them fast and thus they are not powerful enough to not to let anything slip through; fewer weapons are easier to upgrade faster, but being fewer they also let at least one alien through, or at least I couldn't find a strategy which avoids that.)
I also tried something similar with mission 3, but this time just completing the mission is enough (regardless of how many aliens pass through). While this is not the absolute minimum setup for that purpose, I think it's still quite small.
http://warp.povusers.org/snaps/xt_mission3.png
And to think I had big trouble passing mission 3 the first times I tried it... :P
Well, I don't juggle (though I'm not good at the game) and there's a vocal minority on the Desktop TD forum that doesn't, which is why one of the challenge modes is "no selling", but I really think the level 100 challenge (and the frosts + squirts only challenge) was made with juggling in mind because it really is impossible otherwise.
someone is out there who will like you. take off your mask so they can find you faster.
I support the new Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun.
Some say Easy in Desktop TD is far too simple. Well, they're right:
The only leaks were all the Darks, unsurpisingly, and 2 bosses (The flier and 1 of the group bosses)
Some say Easy in Desktop TD is far too simple. Well, they're right:
[picture proof]
The only leaks were all the Darks, unsurpisingly, and 2 bosses (The flier and 1 of the group bosses)
You can easily beat Desktop TD on easy level using only 1 tower. No leak. Just put 1 of those quick firing towers in the middle of the way, and upgrade it between waves.
The only leaks were all the Darks, unsurpisingly, and 2 bosses (The flier and 1 of the group bosses)
