Breakthrough to Central Consciousness Walkthrough

You start south-west of Central Plaza with the Commander, five Zippers, three Fidos and a Zeus. The plaza is a raised platform in the middle of a metal world, with a dome at its centre. Core guards it with 74 units on Medium, among them four Doomsday Machines, 20 Gaat Guns, 19 Cans, 13 Pyros, four Fusion Power Plants, four Pulverizers and eight aircraft. You win when the Commander stands within 100 pixels of the top of the dome, or when every Core unit is destroyed. You lose if the Commander dies.

Every Doomsday Machine reaches the top of the dome, and one shot does 2500 damage, so two hits kill the Commander. Almost nothing on Core's side moves unless it is attacked, and Core has no factory, so time is on your side. Build up your energy, put a Big Bertha at home, destroy the Fusion Power Plants that feed Core's guns and then the Doomsday Machines, and walk the Commander up the south ramp.

The Battlefield

Central Plaza fills the north-centre of the map. It has four raised lobes around the dome, and four ramps lead up into it, from the north, south, east and west. At the top of each ramp a Doomsday Machine stands between two Cans. Twelve Gaat Guns sit on the raised posts of the lobes, and a Fusion Power Plant stands on each lobe. South of the plaza, two rows of raised blocks cross the map. Your start is below them, and gaps between the blocks let you through.

Blue numbers mark the plan and red letters mark Core's groups. The map shows the Medium set-up; hold the pointer over a unit to read its orders.

Map of Breakthrough to Central Consciousness 12345ABCDEFGHI
The planEnemy positionsYour unitsEnemy unitsObjectiveHover a dot to see the unit and its orders. · Map 4,096 × 4,096 pixels · Scroll or pinch on the map to zoom; drag to move.
  • 1Your start, south of the two rows of blocks.
  • 2The Big Bertha. Its range of 4096 reaches every target on the plaza from here.
  • 3The gap through both rows of blocks, your way north.
  • 4The foot of the south ramp. Gather here before the Commander walks up.
  • 5The top of the dome. The Commander must stand within 100 pixels of this point.
  • AThree Cans that wait until they are attacked, next to your way north.
  • BTwo Gaat Guns on the blocks either side of the central gap.
  • CThe south Doomsday Machine, between two Cans. Attacking it wakes the Pyros at I and two Rapiers.
  • DThe north Doomsday Machine.
  • EThe west Doomsday Machine.
  • FThe east Doomsday Machine.
  • GOne of the four Fusion Power Plants. The others stand at (2464, 2128), (1440, 1120) and (2464, 1120).
  • HTwo Pyros that patrol from here to the west edge, between the two rows of blocks.
  • IEight Pyros along the north edge. They come for your Commander when C is attacked.

Patrols and Guards

Core has only a few timed orders here. Most of its units stand guard and move only when something is attacked.

When What happens
From the start Two Pyros patrol from H west to (132, 3171), along the corridor between the two rows of blocks and past the gap at 3.
0:30 A Can starts a patrol along the west edge, from (160, 544) to (195, 2651).
0:45 A Can starts a patrol along the east edge, from (3904, 2656) to (3925, 522).
6:45 Two Rapiers start patrols to (3221, 2422). One sets off from (784, 464) and crosses the plaza; the other flies down the east side from (3296, 560).
10:00 Three Pyros start a patrol in the east, through (3069, 2555) and (3419, 2221).
C is attacked The eight Pyros at I attack your Commander. Two Rapiers on the plaza attack your Merls, Adv. Aircraft Plants, Adv. Vehicle Plants, Lugers and Fidos, then your Commander. A Construction Kbot starts a patrol to (1304, 1922).
D is attacked A Construction Kbot starts a patrol to (2558, 1172).
The Rapier from (3296, 560) is attacked Four Vamp fighters on the plaza attack your Freedom Fighters, Thunders, Hawks, Brawlers and Phoenixes.

The other 17 Cans are ordered only to wait until they are attacked, and the towers cannot move.

The Plan on Medium

Set Up at Home (0:00 to 10:00)

  1. Build Metal Extractors on open ground around 1. Surface metal is 244, so each one yields well anywhere. Energy is the limit on this map, so add Solar Collectors and Wind Generators from the start.
  2. Build a Vehicle Plant and Construction Vehicles, then an Adv. Vehicle Plant for Adv. Construction Vehicles.
  3. Send the Fidos and Zippers to 3 and kill the two Pyros from H as they pass. A Pyro's flamethrower reaches 160; a Fido hits from 480.

Cut Core's Power

  1. Build a Fusion Reactor and Energy Storage, then a Big Bertha at 2. It costs 64,680 energy, and every shot costs 1500 more. Fly a Peeper over the plaza so that the Bertha can see its targets.
  2. Fire first at the four Fusion Power Plants. Each has 3000 hit points, so two 2000-damage shells destroy it. Apart from them, Core's only energy comes from its two Construction Kbots, 8.5 each. A Doomsday shot costs 800 energy, and every Gaat Gun and Can shot 75. Once Core's stores are empty, those guns cannot fire.
  3. Next, destroy the Doomsday Machines at D, E and F. Each has 3140 hit points, so each takes two shells. Leave C until last.

Deal with C

  1. Before you shell C, get ready for what it wakes. The eight Pyros from I come for the Commander, and two Rapiers go for your Adv. Vehicle Plant and Fidos before the Commander. Keep the Commander at home among Sentinels, whose lasers reach 430, and put Defenders around the Adv. Vehicle Plant and the Fidos.
  2. Shell C, and kill the Pyros and Rapiers as they arrive.

Walk to the Dome

  1. With the Fidos, kill the three Cans at A from beyond their range of 200, and the two Gaat Guns at B from beyond their 400.
  2. With the Bertha or the Fidos, destroy the three Gaat Guns on the plaza's south side, at (1216, 2368), (1632, 2368) and (2272, 2368), and the two Cans that stood beside C, at (1824, 1952) and (2064, 1952).
  3. Shoot down the Rapier that patrols from (784, 464). Its route passes within 100 pixels of the top of the dome. It is not the Rapier that wakes the Vamps. A few Samsons with the Fidos will do it.
  4. Walk the Commander through 3 to 4, then up the ramp to 5. With the Doomsday Machines gone, nothing left on the plaza reaches the top of the dome: the nearest Can is 245 away with a range of 200, and the nearest Gaat Gun 682 away with a range of 400.
  5. If your stores allow it, cloak the Commander for the walk. Cloaking costs 200 energy a second standing still and 1000 a second moving, and an enemy within 40 pixels still sees it.

What Changes on Hard

  • Your forces are the same.
  • Core has 91 units instead of 74: 24 Cans, 21 Pyros and eight Rapiers.
  • Attacking C wakes 12 Pyros instead of eight, and four Rapiers instead of two.
  • Four Pyros patrol between the rows of blocks from the start, and five patrol the east from 10:00.
  • Two more Rapiers start patrols at 6:40. The one from (896, 528) also crosses the plaza.
  • Five Cans wait around A instead of three. The new ones stand at (1008, 2720) and (720, 2672), the first only 186 pixels from the gap at 3.
  • The Doomsday Machines stand at (1968, 1968), (2288, 1632), (1984, 1296) and (1584, 1616), and the Cans beside them have moved too. Aim the Bertha again.
  • Surface metal is 250 instead of 244.
  • Core keeps all 4200 energy its Fusion Power Plants make, against 70 percent on Medium, so destroying them matters even more.

Which Units Beat Theirs

Core unit Its threat Your answer
Doomsday Machine 2500 damage every 8 seconds at range 600, plus two lasers; 3140 hit points Big Bertha: range 4096, 2000 damage, two hits
Fusion Power Plant No weapon, but it pays for every Doomsday, Gaat Gun and Can shot The Big Bertha, first of all: two hits
Gaat Gun Laser, 180 damage at 400, 1200 hit points Fidos from 480, or the Bertha
The Can 2800 hit points, laser, 220 damage at 200 Fidos from beyond 200: 24 hits each
Pyro Flamethrower, range 160, 700 hit points Fidos and Sentinels (range 430)
Rapier Gunship, 940 hit points, rockets at 450 Defenders and Samsons: 97 and 90 damage to aircraft

Metal and Energy

This is a metal world. There are no deposits, geothermal vents or rocks to reclaim. Instead the surface metal is 244, so a Metal Extractor yields well anywhere on open ground, and metal is never the problem.

Energy is. The wind runs only from 200 to 1000. A Solar Collector gives a steady 20 and a Fusion Reactor 1000. Plan for the Big Bertha's 64,680 energy and 1500 for each shot, and fill your Energy Storage before you try to cloak the Commander.

Traps

  • Attacking C sends eight Pyros after the Commander and two Rapiers after your Adv. Vehicle Plants and Fidos.
  • Attacking the Rapier that starts at (3296, 560) wakes four Vamps that hunt your aircraft. It patrols down the east side, so keep your air units away from it.
  • Every Doomsday Machine and Fusion Power Plant explodes for up to 2000 damage within 258 when it is destroyed. Keep your units clear while the Bertha fires.
  • Two Doomsday hits kill the Commander: 2500 damage each against its 3000 hit points. Never take it within 600 of one that still stands.

Back to the mission page.