Campaign - gamma 8 is fairly unpleasant. [SPOILERS]

[Corporal Punishment]

I played through Gamma 8 again this week and found that the most annoying thing is not the Lassat vaporizing your structures, but the simple fact that it takes ages to crack the missile codes. Basically, your mobile units are safe as long as you keep sending trucks north to rebuild stuff recently fried and keep two battle groups in position where the Nexus forces appear. It's not really a challenge. Maybe speeding up the code cracking process a bit is all that needs to be done.
As for Zarels hide underground idea, I remember C&C had the Tick Tank, a NOD vehicle that could burrow itself and act as an extremely well armored defensive structure. This could add a completely new dimension to these Twin assault cannon-Panther-Tracks from Hell.

[kringled]

I played through Gamma 8 again this week and found that the most annoying thing is not the Lassat vaporizing your structures, but the simple fact that it takes ages to crack the missile codes. Basically, your mobile units are safe as long as you keep sending trucks north to rebuild stuff recently fried and keep two battle groups in position where the Nexus forces appear. It's not really a challenge. Maybe speeding up the code cracking process a bit is all that needs to be done.
As for Zarels hide underground idea, I remember C&C had the Tick Tank, a NOD vehicle that could burrow itself and act as an extremely well armored defensive structure. This could add a completely new dimension to these Twin assault cannon-Panther-Tracks from Hell.

My only issue with mobile units was that as they engaged in firefights with the Nexus units, some would of course be damaged. My first time through, it happened 2-3 times that a laser satellite hit a repair facility that was being used by one of these damaged units, and so they died.

One random idea I played with (but it would require quite a bit of redoing the map and some scripting) was that maybe somewhere during the stage, you could get a message about additional incoming troops from a new direction (the south) and a new part of the map could open up. The rough location of incoming troops could be given one of the blinking red dots kind of thing. I was thinking that this part of the map could be very heavy on water tiles, which makes it hard to use to build up more of a base (although there should be enough room for the occasional support structure like a sensor etc). As Nexus mostly uses hover units, they would have free roam, but the player might have to try to either divert an air force or hover units, or have ground units operating with more restrictions on movement. I'm not so much proposing this because I thought the level was too easy, but because it got to be just a bit of a grind - continually rebuilding destroyed structures and waiting for ground incursions while the missile codes researched. As you say, even just shortening that up might be an improvement.

Keith

Keith

[johninsj]

Ok, I've managed to muddle my way to the cracking the codes stage. I agree this the most boring phase ever. If I understand the strategy, you keep the laser sat. busy by building endless cheap stuff in checkerboard patterns for it to kill in the upper half of the map, and your lab (as far down the map as possible) grinds through the (apparently) hours of time it will take to research the codes. Eventually after a couple days of this, you complete research and end the level.

Oh, and every so often a force appears at either side and is obliterated by a massive hail of artillery - you need to maintain walls/hardpoints on the two side entrances to hold the force for a moment, along with sensor towers, and keep some artillery - making the center an ideal artillery battery location (spaced out for laser friendly safety)

I dunno. Seems like one round of research should have been sufficient to demonstrate you grasp this strategy - you're not required to apply any new strategy for subsequent levels of research so it's just a battle against boredom after the first round of research.

My suggestion for improving the level - just one "code crack" research level, and you're done. Because the rest of this stage is irrelevant.

[johninsj]

Wow... awesome. Now, it's crashing trying to load my save games after the first and second code crack. Well, here ends beta 8 for me, I am not sitting through another two hours of code cracking wait time.

I can submit the crash dumps if anyone cares.

[dak180]

Wow... awesome. Now, it's crashing trying to load my save games after the first and second code crack. Well, here ends beta 8 for me, I am not sitting through another two hours of code cracking wait time.

I can submit the crash dumps if anyone cares.

Since no bug truly exists until it has a ticket I would suggest making one; in addition to the logs I would also suggest attaching the saved games.

[johninsj]

Wow... awesome. Now, it's crashing trying to load my save games after the first and second code crack. Well, here ends beta 8 for me, I am not sitting through another two hours of code cracking wait time.

I can submit the crash dumps if anyone cares.

Since no bug truly exists until it has a ticket I would suggest making one; in addition to the logs I would also suggest attaching the saved games.

http://developer.wz2100.net/ticket/2476
done. Crashes on Linux and Mac. Nothing obvious in the log.

[makkris]

Actually there is one area in the NE corner of that map, about 10 x 10 tiles size, where the laser satellite does not fire! It is to the south of the small island there..

[makkris]

Actually, there is a 10 X 10 tile area on the NE corner of that map, just south of that island where the Laser satellite does not fire.. Constructing artilleries here might be usefull!