Starship Defense is a tower defense game for the DSi (download). Enemies follow
a path around your fleet of ships which have two types of hard points to attach
weapons that fire on enemies within there targeting field.
Your main resource is energy. It's used to buy weapons and the cost is shown in
the this guild like this: <###>. You start with a small amount and get more
mainly by defeating enemies. At the end of each wave you earn "interest" on the
energy you have at the end of the wave. Because of this it is a good idea to
spend just enough energy to defeat each wave so you'll gain more in interest.
Remember what Einstein said: "The most powerful force in the universe is
compound interest"
Your second resource is crystals, used to unlock advanced weapons, the cost of
which is shown in the this guild like this: (#). You get one at the end of each
wave and can also be used to unlock bonuses, or use SOS cards.
SOS cards are awarded at the end of successful missions. You can hold only
three at a time and if you use an SOS and still fail the mission you get that
SOS card back. So there's no reason not to use one if you so if your not trying
to get a no SOS bonus then
Note: Anything more than S.O.S. cards and basic weapons are unlocked while
playing theough them game. I don't have the information on when they're
unlocked because I'd have to start over and delete the game data. I'm not going
to do that yet before I know anyone else actually plays this game.
-------
Weapons
-------
I've described the effects of each weapon and some basic strategy for them.
I've done some experimenting so some details that aren't spelled out anywhere
in the game are here. Also the effects of the three types of power ups are
described. You get the basic idea just from the name of the power up but again,
there's some more details that aren't spelled out that you'd have to notice for
yourself it know about. Or you can read them here.
[Basic]
Ghost Laser <100>
This is your most basic weapon and like you'd expect of your most
basic weapon it's cheep and versatile, but not the most effective
option. Obviously you will need it for cloaked enemies. The Ghost
Laser has a narrow targeting arc so it's best placed somewhere where
enemies approach straight towards it, where you may be able to get
two shots from it. If enemies are passing in front of it, it will
hit the first one and its slow recharge will cause the rest to pass
it by. You may have to micromanage its adjustable firing arc
sometimes so it hits the first enemy in a wave and then shift the
angle so it can catch another enemy at the end. If they're close
enough some enemies may even pass behind it's firing range. Also
useful when placed in an area where enemies have to pass by more than
once like in a wide "U" shaped canyon or where several of them can be
angled to aim at approaching enemies, like an interior corner,
placing them along both walls.
+Power
The power upgrade as an added effect in addition to doing
more damage. It causes the Ghost Laser beam to shoot
through enemies, allowing it to hit several of them in one
shot, which can be very effective. In the right levels and
placed correctly I've seen more than five weak enemies get
killed in a single shot. To be effective they obviously
have to approach down it's firing arc and not across.
+Range
A big improvement over its standard arc. Best used when
enemies are passing at a distance at the widest part of the
arc allowing it to fire earlier and get a second shot at
the later part of the enemies path. Also can allow you to
hit an enemy a second time if it makes a U turn to move
along an opposite wall.
+Speed
The most useful upgrade if multiple enemies are passing in
front of it at close range. Still won't make it fast enough
to hit the same enemy more than once unless they're
lingering in the area anyway.
Berserkers <120>
Almost as inexpensive as the Ghost Laser, so you can buy them in
large amounts. Has splash damage and good power so it's useful
against swarms of weak enemies as well as stronger ones. They have to
be moving slowly though. Apparently these gunners haven't played
Missile Command and don't know you need to shoot not where the enemy
is, but where it is going to be, because a fast moving enemy will
often be on the edge of the blast radius by the time it explodes.
Also with its slow recharge time you may not get many shots from them
per wave. While they cannot target stealth enemies, they can still
damage them if they fire on a visible enemy and the invisible one is
within the blast radius, but since they're not at the center of the
blast they won't take as much damage. They are very short range but
there variable angle can still help you get extra shots on occasion.
It's best placed where enemies pass in front of them if for no other
reason than to allow the Ghost Laser to get the placement that's
better for them.
+Power
Basic damage increase so good against strong enemies, but
since it also has splash damage it will increase the damage
done to weak enemies at the edge of the blast radius where
they might not have been killed in one hit before. This may
also increase the size blast radius or it may just seem
that way because of the increased damage at the edge.
+Range
The Berserker already has very short firing range, so
doubling almost nothing is still almost nothing. The real
use of this is that it increases the blast radius of the
missiles. It's quite an increase actually. I've been
surprised how far away weak enemies pop into a shower of
energy when a Berserker targets a much closer enemy. So
it's very useful for attacking swarms of weak enemies.
+Speed
It was very slow, now it's less slow. Not much else to say.
Makes them better but doesn't change your strategy.
Gatling Gun <200>
Fires rapid low damage shots and has a very wide firing arc, so they
are great for whittling down enemies with constant damage. Best
placed on an outside corner where it can fire on something while it
moves throughout it's firing arc. It's good to pair other slow firing
or restricted range weapons with a Gatling Gun. While your Ghost
Lasers or Berserkers can get a good but sometimes non-fatal hit on
something they likely don't have the time to get in a second hit in
due to thier recharge time. The Gatling Gun however is always firing
on something that's in range, so it's a reliable source of damage,
with the exception of solar flare levels. Solar Flares will shut down
all your Gatling Guns for a few waves, so it's best not to use them
at all in those levels
+Power
Great increase in damage, not much else to say.
+Range
This makes an already large firing arc huge. With this the
Gatling Gun will rarely be idle.
+Speed
Better than the power bonus from what I've seen. In the
same situation I've seen speed kill more enemies than
power, possibly due to overkill in the final hit on an
enemy wasting damage while faster firing likely does the
same damage, but nothing is lost on overkill. It's rare for
the right situation to occur where it will make a
difference, so don't hesitate to use power if you want to
upgrade a Gatling Gun's damage output if it's available,
but if you have the option like with the rotating power up,
go for speed.
[Advanced]
Mag Ray <200> (1)
There's an important factor to consider when using Mag Rays. Their
targeting beam rotates clockwise, so the direction the enemy wave is
moving in can determine how well the Mag Ray works. If the enemy is
moving in the same direction, depending on the speed, it might not
catch a single enemy but if it does when the it releases the enemy,
the Mag Ray might grab it again and hold it indefinitely. The other
possibility is the beam and enemy are moving towards each other, in
which case it is certain to catch something, but when released they
more in opposite directions so it will not catch the same enemy
twice. Although if the other enemy units don't more fast enough to
pass the trapped one then you'll likely trap each one once and slow
down the whole wave. This is best used against high strength single
enemies or very small groups. Holding one out of twenty enemies in a
wave likely won't tip the scales in your favor. You should probably
only place the Mag Ray where there's empty space on at least two
sides, otherwise the beam will spend a more than half it's time
scanning the interior of your ship.
+Power
Allows the Mag Ray to hold two enemies at the same time.
While it's twice as effective, it's still doesn't make it
good against swarms.
+Range
Simply increases range. Since the Mag Ray is installed in
the interior of your ship rather than on the edge some of
it's range is wasted scanning where no enemies can be. This
gives you more open space to target. Range bonus is almost
necessary to get the most out of your Mag Ray.
+Speed
The scanner spins faster making it easier to catch enemies,
but the range is still the critical issue with Mag Rays
Mine Launcher <250> (2)
The Mine Launcher drops four mines a short distance in front of it.
They disappear after a short time, but it takes slightly longer than
it takes for it to recharge, so for about three seconds you will have
eight mines in place. The fact that a mine hit will decloak a stealth
enemy allowing for conventional weapons to hit them may be it's most
important feature. The first enemy in the wave will plow through the
minefield and take most of the damage and be decloaked. Since it
doesn't wait for an enemy to fire you can't be sure when in a wave it
will fire new mines, so don't rely on mines to handle all your
stealth enemies. Keep in mind that the decloaking effect lasts for
about 8 seconds, and you can't decloak an enemy again until it's
cloak is fully restored. This means if an enemy gets hit with a mine
and decloaks and gets hit with another mine 7 seconds later it will
still recloak one second later. So if you want to use it to decloak
strong enemies to be fired on by conventional weapons you have to
watch your spacing of Mine Launchers and the speed of your target.
Against weaker enemies you can have them closer together because they
will likely be destroyed by the mines themselves before you benefit
from the decloaking effect. Remember that the Mine Launcher spreads
mines in a random pattern, which means not evenly. They may end up
all too far away or too close or some far and some close and none in
the middle and you're targets might slip between them. Nothing you
can do but have more launchers to increase your odds of having them
hit something.
+Power
With the unpredictable nature of mines I can't determine
how much of an increase in damage the power upgrade gives.
I just assume it works.
+Range
Not really much of a range increase at all. I actually
throws out an extra mine increasing it from four to five.
So it doesn't really cover a wider area, it just covers the
area more thoroughly so there's less likelihood of there
being empty space for enemies to pass through.
+Speed
This is, in my opinion, clearly the best option for a Mine
Launcher upgrade. I mentioned earlier the recharge rate
causes an overlap of 3 seconds where you have double the
active mines. With the Speed upgrade that increases to 7
seconds, which actually leaves only two seconds when it
doesn't have double mines. More mines active at the same
time means more damage (like the damage upgrade) and less
empty space for enemies to pass through (like the range
upgrade). So this is really the best of all options.
Starport <330> (2)
The Starport launches three small fighters that fire small quick
shots similar to the Gattling Gun and follow a target for a set
amount of time. The fighters can follow their target outside of the
"firing" range of the Starbase itself. Its range is just for
launching fighters, they can operate outside of that range
afterwards. When there target is destroyed they will begin attacking
another nearby target. Again, this is independent of the Starbase's
launch range. This makes the Starbase best used against fast moving
enemies. While other weapons get more shots when an enemy stays in
it's firing arc long enough to recharge, the Starbase will do a
consistent amount of damage regardless of how fast or on what path
the enemy flies. Solar Flares will shut down all your Starports for a
few waves, so it's best not to use them at all in those levels.
+Power
Appears to be a standard damage increase.
+Range
As I've mentioned several times, the Starport's fighters
can fly outside of the Starport's firing range, making
range less important for it. The range upgrade can however
be used to get a second attack against a large wave by
launching earlier and having time to return and refuel and
launch again against the enemies at the end of a wave. They
will likely still have to be moving slowly for this to
work.
+Speed
This isn't really a speed increase at all. Instead it
increases the flight time of the fighters, allowing them to
get in more shots before returning to base.
[Science]
Storm Gun <350> (3)
The Storm Gun does not do a lot of damage to any individual target,
however it does hit so many targets at once that it adds up quickly.
The Storm Gun has two targeting radii. An enemy has to enter the
inner radius for it to fire. Afterwards the attack will continue to
cascade over all enemies that are within that or the second targeting
radius. So obviously the more open area it covers the more potential
targets it can hit. Solar Flares will shut down all your Storm Guns
for a few waves, so it's best not to use them at all in those levels.
+Power
Standard damage increase, and with the small individual
damage there's no danger of overkill.
+Range
Increases both firing range and cascade damage range, and
this weapon more than any other benefits from having more
targets available.
+Speed
A faster recharge rate. Doesn't really affect your strategy
for using the Storm Gun.
Gravigun <400> (3)
Fires at an enemy (stealth included) and creates at that point a wide
circular field. While in that field enemies take constant damage. The
in game description implies it slows down enemies but the way it
works it seems to stall them near the center of the field and then
they quickly rejoin the place where they would have been on the path
had they not been caught. So no practical slowdown effect I can see.
+Power
Standard power increase.
+Range
Increases the firing range but also the size of the
singularity it creates.
+Speed
Fires faster. No other noticeable effect.
[Special]
Y-Bomb (2)
Can be placed anywhere and explodes shortly after, so make sure you
place it ahead of your target. If an enemy escapes all your weapons
and you can't place anymore in it's path this may be the only option
left. Crystals are a limited resource so don't use it often. Although
if you already have all the weapons you need unlocked then there's no
reason not to use it.
E-Boost (1)
This should be the first thing you use crystals for in any mission.
It will increase the energy bonus (interest) from each wave from 5%
to 10% then 20%. This can be a big bonus over the course of the
mission so the sooner you get it up the better. And if you need more
crystals...
Power Crystals <200, 300, 400, 500>
You don't really need to unlock every weapon on every mission so you
shouldn't often be short on crystals, but when going for perfect
missions then sometimes you can't wait. Especially if you used
E-Boost (which you should) because then it would be the sixth wave
before you unlock a science weapon. Buy getting to a 20% bonus early
you can earn enough extra energy to buy a power crystal to replace
the ones you used to get to 20%, unless you need new weapons really
early. Basically I'm saying use you own judgement.
-------
Enemies
-------
I'll get to them next
-
This is the end of the file. You ain't got to go home, but you can't stay
here.
-
0123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789123456789
