love this game. i love the old school retro graphics and sound. i love the ripple when you kill creeps. but man is this game HARD. i can't even pass the 2nd easy level and i've tried it 6 times already. but it's not the hard game where you get mad and throw the phone in frustration, it's the hard game where you try different strategies and slowly realize what works and how you are getting closer with each try. it would be nice to see the damage output for each tower and how much damage the upgrades give. this way i know if it's better to buy new towers or upgrade. the laser tower is great, but it's very slow to turn. this makes it hard for a new wave of creeps because it has to move the turret all the way around and i usually miss out on the first hit because it's turning. anyone have any hints on how to beat the 2nd level?
I couldn't agree more with everything you said. Level 2 is killer, but I keep coming back for more punishment (in a good way)
Does anyone have any tips or techniques for this game? I've gotten to last wave on level three over and over, but I just can't beat it. It's only level three!! I got the closest by not using any rockets. I used three lasers and a bunch of guns. It didn't get me through that last wave, though.
I really don't remember. I do remember that the last creep was a few pixels from the end and it would have given me a game over.
geoDefense Screens I haven't gotten vids done yet, but I put some screens up for ya: http://criticalthoughtgames.com/Screenshots.html -- David
Something that has helped me a lot: Be careful with your laser tower placement. Make sure to place it so that its main firing lane is firing *with* traffic, not against. Since it will target the creep that is closest to the exit, it will consistently fire down the whole lane, instead of firing at diagonal angles. Example: Place the laser tower at X, not Y. (Ignore the underspaces, I had to use them to space out my crappy ASCII graphic.) ___Y X_>>>>>>>> __^ __^ __^ __^ Be sure to place slowing towers on the main line of fire as well. Also, I've found rocket towers to be fairly ineffective until later waves. I think it would be great to see how much damage the towers do as well -- I need to be able to calculate the more efficient route. Has anyone else noticed that you can tap and hold a tower, and then drag around a line coming off of it? At first I thought it was used to direct it's primary direction of attack, but it doesn't seem to do anything.
Wow, that's some brutal hard-core TD! I can ALMOST win the 5th Easy level. Almost. But that's not a bad thing--I like the challenge. (I just wouldn't recommend this as Baby's First Tower Defense. This is for people who have some TD experience already.) At first I missed being able to work while paused, but now I like that--just for variety. It adds some arcade-style challenge, making a faster-paced game. (You can still pause to think, just not to buy/upgrade towers.) Thanks and welcome, nsxdavid!
You, sir, are my hero. That laser strategy is so obvious, but when you're playing it doesn't seem like it. I tried that one time and finally beat level three.
i find placing 2 lasers aiming down the same lane is good too (when they fit). great game. i love that it's hard, but the maps are SHORT.
Just figured out how the multiplier system works -- my Easy 1 score was 17,000, and now it's 160,245! Since people like to figure things out on their own: pay attention to the location of enemies when they die. Currently on Easy 10. This is a great take on TD genre, I'm really enjoying it.
that's interesting.. It would be cool to be able to turn the lasers using the 'line' before the next wave comes! still stuck on easy2 last wave -_-
I finally beat easy level 2 using all lasers. Made it with 1 life to spare... Man this game is HARD. It's almost 50% TD and 50% puzzle. It really makes a difference on the placement of the laser guns. Move it slightly off center of the lane and you don't hit all the incoming creeps.
I am very happy with my purchase of this game! I'll have to say that "easy" mode wasn't so EASY after all, but a very fulfilling experience once you get to finish all the stages. I'm still recovering from the trauma of the easy levels though.. there's no way I'd touch the "medium levels" button today Knowing how "mentally challenging" the game can be, would it be a sin to suggest a "fast-forward" mode? Just thought it might add to the adrenaline rush you get from it
At least you understood the crucial step of offering the game for $1 in the beginning. This is very good and cheap advertisement and something every developer should consider. You just "bought" a 5 star rating from me that way. I suggest that you let the towers aim at the the angle they can do most damage. For example laser towers should aim at the angle they can hit the largest number of creeps, splash damage towers should aim at the largest group of enemies, etc.
Design notes Thank you for the 5 stars! The idea to have laser towers aim where they would do the most damage was one I had during development too. The main reason I didn't do it wasn't game play related, but performance. The computations to figure that out is intense. It's one of those things that humans can do easily and computers suck at. And being real-time, especially when it gets super intense was a priority. As I evolved the game, I discarded more intelligent targeting for the most part because I realized that by sticking to consistent mechanics I could engineer levels to be very interestingly, and delicately balanced. They becomes... as some others have commented here... puzzles in their own right. But puzzles with more than one solution.. Understanding how to use each tower in the most optimal way is key to the challenging parts of the levels. Laser Towers are tricky... they are weak, but hit everything in a line. The maths work such that if you hit three of them in a shot its more total damage dealt than the equivalent blaster (on a cost per damage per second basis). But placement requires good observation on how they behave when targeting. This becomes even more important later when you figure out what the line thing is for... Someone asked if upgrading was better than a new tower. On a mathematical basis, it is. But there are several things to consider... for example, how long are creeps in the target range of a tower. Putting a blaster on the inside radius of an elbow of the path lets it keep pounding a creep longer than on the outside of the elbow, right? The general consensus that this TD is "hardcore" is interesting. In designing it, I was aiming to bring some intensity to TDs. I love Tower Defense, but just wanted one where I felt like I was really part of the action in real-time.... like a shooter might be... but where tactics and timing counted, and when you lose... you can invent a completely different strategy and try again. I didn't realize this would make it so challenging. I can do the easy levels only half paying attention.... but naturally that's just because I have lived with this for several months of development. But you know what... I'm not sure I'd change it much... the intensity is what makes it compelling in my opinion. Tower Defense games are all about the "tipping point" where get to the point that your income is going up faster than the creep power and you've essentially won. But I worked really hard to eliminate that from the way geoDefense plays. It is possible to cross the tipping point in some cases, but because of the controls I have over each waves progression I made it so that seldom happens. This is why you often have to fight to the bitter end... and winning without losing any lives is pretty rare.... nothing is more exciting that fighting down to that one last guy and pulling off a victory! I guarantee that every level is beatable... because I have personally beat every single level... often many times as I polished the difficulty curve on each level to a razors edge. Funny thing is.. as I go back and place some of the levels even now, the harder ones are tough to beat even with all the time I've spent with them. It really demonstrates that skill matters and if you step away from a level for awhile you probably will find it a challenge when you go back to it later. -- David
