Part 188: The Source & Dungeon Novice

The Source & Dungeon Novice


And so it begins - the final system of this trek.




Here it is. 11 planets designed by Virgil Wall himself, the creator of Creeper World. We'll be saving Brain for the very last, as that's the one with two achievements attached. TheSource comes first by the usual methodology.




I seriously overestimated this map, just have to say that at the outset. I was expecting some dramatic scripting stuff given the name, but what we have here is a standard emitter in the center feeding a bunch of digitalis connections to all the outlying islands, and a few Totems scattered about. And that's it.

Whenever I see a single standard emitter, I'm always looking for the catch ... but there isn't one here.




I began in the northeast, basically just looking for a good-sized island that was defensible. There's only one digitalis approach there. Soon I decided to split up though since we have two Command Nodes available.




After building up a little while with a pair of Digitalis Cannons at all approaches, waiting for something weird to happen, which it never did, I sent a group of weapons to the island between my holdings and ... well, I guess we call it The Source.




That was easy enough, so I kept going. The final part does get a bit interesting. You need guppy connections and have limited room, what with the digitalis-covered steps up to the Source itself. I began with Mortars.




After getting some thigns blown up, I managed to handle the logistics well enough to connect the two top corners. This foray up the steps though was premature.




I found this to be one of those situations where a firing rate upgrade or two is worth their weight in gold due to the cramped quarters. A couple platforms for cannons to clear a spot, and the Nullifier can operate. I spent a fair bit of time getting this going, but per usual fighting digitalis uphill isn't my strong suit.




Dungeon Novice was to be my next victim. A top-to-bottom map, this attempts to in some way fuse CW with a dungeon-crawler game, only in a much differente way than the Credits mission did. That rectangle in the middle of the dungeon itself holds an AC emitter.




First order of business was to get the basics set up and deal with emitter trap at the top of the map. I overbuilt some and this could have been better, but basically just wanted some AC to hold it back while we knocked out the creeper when the walls burst. It worked decently well.




This part on the right is an example of something I should have done more of sooner, but it was a useful find - grabbing the ore before the digitalis path could break through the wall, and then a Sprayer keeps everything at bay until I can get through/across the paths.




The critters started becoming an issue soon afterwards, and it was time to deploy Snipers. Also note how I brilliantly deactivated this sprayer, which had the purpose of collecting AC, so that it wouldn't fire. Except ... I deactivated it BEFORE it built, so it was just a plan for a sprayer and didn't do anything for quite a while until I noticed this. *facepalm*




This is the biggest spot probably where I would have been well-served to grab the Ore Mines a LOT sooner. I didn't think there was room to go around the digitalis here initially.




Once we gained sniper superiority there was quite a bit of this; creeper and AC piling up against each other while I made my way through the rest of the dungeon wiping out the resistance. Getting sprayers up in strategic situations quickly and tapping all the ore spots ASAP is the key to making this more painless IMO.

The first couple planets at least in this system are pretty much go have a bit of fun pushovers.