Part 147: spider Web

Yeah well, if I actually went that far I literally wouldn't be able to fit the entire table of contents in the OP, which is already well over halfway to the forum's character limit. Just sayin' .

spider Web

This is a longer video, pushing two hours for a single level, as we head to the snowmaker(JM) system. If this planet was any indication, we're going to be here for a while.




A rather eclectic batch of names, and only three worlds are on the bigger side of things. I head off to the large red one first.




What a tangled web they weave ... in keeping with the name, we have a lot of Digitalis. The clear areas are so rough elevation-wise that we can't really build there. The Totems and Ore in the east make that 'arm' particularly attractive, and I begin there.




I'm able to claim quite a large area. This is not a tough-start kind of level. Already I have multiple totem connections and a Forge going up, with Digitalis Cannons guarding the key approaches and a Sprayer in the west.




SuperRunners are the 'spiders' of this web, of the large but not massive variety. I've never seen so many of the big ones as you do here, and they aren't particularly slow. Getting enough spare energy to fuel a sufficient amount of Snipers, and boosting their reach with Range upgrades are my top priorities here.




I recommend relaying over to this Nest earlier on and nullifying it. I tried, but was too late by the time I realized the opportunity and creeper started leaking in to interfere. That would have slowed down the propagation of the critters.




14 minutes in. The spiders continue to multiply. I have 36 energy income and rising, enough defensive everything in place, and the struggle here is in getting enough snipers in range - particularly with them stunning everything. With each one of this horde requiring many shots to put down, a big key to doing this level well is just getting a LOT of good sniper positions up.




Several minutes later. I'm starting to thin them out, but just a little, with about ten snipers. Also a good view of the web in general. The Spore Towers by comparison are a minor nuisance. They won't become more than that so long as they aren't ignored, just the usual energy tax.




70 energy, almost a half-hour in, but I've finally gotten the upper hand. It's not until you get the spider population under control that you can hope to push deep into their webs and start taking back significant sections of this map.




I put up a trio of standard Berthas, aiming them directly ahead of us, and a SuperSniper as the vanguard of our wedge attack pushing west.




Inch by painful inch, the advance proceeds until we've cut the central mass nearly in twain.




Then came a long and only slightly faster push south. Digitalis crossings are nearly constant along this path, which meant I needed to post digitalis cannons along the sides. The artillery concentrated on the emitters to lower overall creeper levels. I left a gap once in my defenses, and paid for it as the digitalis quickly reformed, forcing a hasty retreat and then the regaining of the lost territory.




One emitter and spore tower were in range of the ridge, but three more structures required crossing the rough terrain.




I ended up Terping up a substantial pier to get myself over there. This was complicated by the fact that there were actually dark-space holes in the terrain further out, but ultimately it worked well.




Here's some of that a bit futher on. Not often I need four terps, but they made the work go faster and I had the energy.




Now it was time to set my sights on the final stronghold. By this point I had a rather massive army, particularly given I'd abandoned much of the southern area to the digitalis. It didn't serve any purpose to maintain those positions now.




Once again snipers did the heavy lifting first, reducing the spider population while the cannons pushed back the digitalis. Once we got close enough, the path split and terps were once again deployed to get within range of the primary emitter. There was a nest in the far corner, but by this point it was a simple thing to waltz over there and wrap this up.

While this was definitely a slog at times, I feel it is the rare map which is justified in being this size. All the different digitalis tendrils and the way they flood with spiders until you combat them serve a gameplay purpose beyond more-is-better. That made this map a little bit unique, and pretty enjoyable.