Creeper World 4 Is The Best Tower Defense Game Ever Made

The unstoppable fluid enemy has returned and destroyed every world in its path! Defend against Creeper as it floods across the 3D terrain in this real time strategy game where the enemy is a fluid.
Get Creeper World 4 on Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/84...
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[@Acrid_Arsonist]

Praise the grid

[@FooFoo4230]

As Zealot would say, “PRAYSE THE GRYD”. (It has been a long time since I played CW4. This is probably incorrect. But hey, being wrong is a good way to get people to say what the correct answer would be, hah.)

[@Jan_Iedema]

And praise it well!

[@CountCocofang]

Hmm, what I always find is a tricky problem to solve in strategy games is the issue of "critical mass". Basically, once you as the player reach a critical mass it is like 95% impossible for you to lose anymore. However, the enemy is still so fortified that you have to slog through them. Yet there is no more pressure and no more challenge. You just slowly advance to an inevitable victory. For example in a 1h match you reach critical mass 20 minutes in and the map is all but won. Yet you still have to spend 40 minutes mopping up. That's always an anticlimatic feeling. As the victory screen might as well pop up on critical mass and the rest is just going through the motions.

[@zealgaming8161]

RTS has a pretty good solution to that issue. You just have the AI also macro aggressively and with more resources on it's part of the map. That way, you punish the player for being too passive while not overwhelming the player early game.

[@agafaba]

My initial thoughts is its highly related to resources being limited. If I think about starcraft it doesnt feel like a slog nearly as often because you still have limited income and a limited army size, you can still lose if you waste too much attacking. Creeper world is limited only by income per second, so its much more prone to issues like this.

[@xsision5513]

there are some games that solve this pretty well for example sc2 where to make it less of a slog everything is less tankier in compared to other games and the fast movement of the units removes the feelingof a slog

[@jmatt440]

I guess one way of solving the issue is a powerful late game unit that you should only work towards once you're completely safe and ready to assault your enemy

[@tydalgames7353]

Agreed. To the best of my knowledge that is one of the reasons why some guys introduce "contingency events" to introduce randomness back to the seemingly possible winning scenario that is being built up. XCOM 2 has the avatar project for example and some board games have "death cards" every "X" turns with random challenges.

[@GantaaOhime]

Creeper world 1, 3 and 4 are games that I keep falling back to and losing a weekend every year or so. They are so good, and 4 is really the collection of lessons learned from the previous three games. Worth picking up

[@Weroleytor]

My man really said "all of them are good except 2" lol, I mean I get it, it's different, but I personally like 2 a lot, I agree it's probably the worst one in the series tho

[@GantaaOhime]

@@Weroleytor I wouldn't say it's bad. It's worth playing. But only once. The rest are worth replays

[@davekachel]

I personally have no idea which creeper world I used to play ages ago but I know I had a lot of fun with it Is there a reason why you dont come back to 2 but to 1?

[@devil_98_]

@@davekachel 2 was a departure from the normal viewpoint/world orientation that the game is on. For 1 & 3 the game is top down and very much similar to this game, just older. For 2 the game was shifted to a side on view and a lot of mechanics were changed/added that weren't quite as popular. 2 Isn't a bad game at all and actually where I started, but I do agree that 1,3 & 4 are better overall

[@GantaaOhime]

@@davekachel 1 was just charming. I got into it looking back at Jebs previous work after her joined Notch and there he had linked to Knuckle games creeper world. I can't remember the exact link between the two. Might have been a game jam crossover or something. Anyway CW scratched that indie novelty itch while we awaiting some of the very early minecraft updates, and was like peak gamejam indie energy goodness. So it's just nostaltgic and good. 2 and 3 are both good for I think the same reason, they were experementing on the gem of a concept of CW1. 2 for this reason was maybe the more unusual of the middle era games. 2's novel and interesting ideas just didn't really draw me back. 3 did, but that might have been just because 4 wasn't out yet. 4 is a good summation of everything that worked from 2+3. Less overall new content, but everything just tightened up and made modern.

[@Derplordington]

I do enjoy watching the coom zone assimilate the map

[@slipvyne]

you must construct additional pylons. And sprayers. Especially from high places.

[@joshmartin2744]

I died a little inside each time he would build an m-portal without connecting it to pylons.

[@andybrown4284]

Sustained mortar fire takes a fair bit of investment to gain momentum compared to turret spam but once you hit the sweet spot and have ranks or mortars volley firing they rapidly take down a wall of creeper. Usually easier than waiting for terps to build you higher ground as well

[@durgun8247]

Ideally you want a good mix of cannons and mortars and the mortars should go in front of the cannons. Mortars are less efficient when firing at shallow creep, so for maximum energy efficiency you want mortars firing at deep creep the cannons can't reach, but still letting a significant amount of creep get to the cannons

[@durgun8247]

Cannons deal 48 damage per energy (DPE) whereas mortars deal 60, but mortars deal damage in bursts of 180 compared to a single cannon shot dealing 12, so you can lose a lot of energy from mortars if they're shooting at a trickle of creeper.

[@alanea5860]

@@durgun8247 actually anticreep can handle shallow creep + protect at same time with mortars for heavy lifting

[@jmatt440]

Random fact, a map creator named vertu discovered that there is a 'critical mass' of mortars that can defend the whole area even from small trickles. Of course, it depends on the creeper height

[@JanB1605]

I always went back to a combination of sniper, air defense, mortar and cannons as my front line units. Normally two mortars, two cannons to cover them (should the creep get close), and one sniper and air defence each. always works out great. Also, I normally have mortar on elevated ground wherever possible. One tactic I like is to use bombers on a particular spot to get the creeper down far enough and then fly in 4 cannons and a sprayer and plop them down in the middle of the creep, followed up by something that transports power. Normally I'm able to penetrate deep behind enemy lines that way and cut off the path of the creeper far back. Then plop down some sprayers to deal with the remainder.

[@marekslazak1003]

That was always my issue with CW3. Basically you needed to build enough defence to sustain a relatively small amount of land for long enough to research your tech and after you do that it's just a tedious process of clearing up the map. And all the maps felt the exact same

[@sander_bouwhuis]

Very satisfying to watch. I especially appreciate you building the power pylons in a nice grid.

[@DemonBoy524]

Always good to see more recognition for this game, I love it. My only problem with the game is in my experience harder difficulty usually just ends up being slower progression and not really "harder" gameplay

[@Hedning1390]

Try "battlecreeper operational". It is a level against a battleship that keeps getting new abilities. It took me almost 32 minutes to beat (I beat the dailies in under 10) and I lost once.

[@squidwardo7074]

there isn't really much other way to make the game "harder", unless you're ok with the game "cheating"

[@user-vu3yv6yt1o]

Didn’t understand a single thing happening but I enjoyed watching

[@blueredingreen]

If there's ERN available, I always start off building nothing but 1 single fully-covered miner and put an ERN on it. If there aren't immediate threats, I build 3 more miners and put ERNs in them too. That's the fastest way I've found to scale up my economy - that gives you over 20 generation in less than a minute (compared to the 8 you had). I do this even if resources are in the middle of the map or near enemies, just because it provides such a huge benefit. One can always move the HQ if needed, but I generally don't need to. Also, if you want to be optimal, don't exceed your energy generation. This very significant in the beginning, when you only have 1 generation, so if you build multiple towers or miners at the same time, the generation is split among them. Thus it takes much longer for the first one to finish, compared to building one at a time. Thus it takes much longer to start generating more energy, which could help build the others faster. Although this requires much more micro-management. Also, I tend to just build tons and tons of mortars, with a handful of cannons, as mortars are much more energy efficient than cannons. Cannons mostly have the advantage of being cheaper and better at keeping creep away from it.

[@Hedning1390]

The game is smart enough to prioritize towers over guns and started towers before new ones, so it's very noob friendly. It sounds like you underestimate cannons. Cannons have much higher hp, so you can place them in creep to push it back quicker and get a tower down to keep the area. Also one miner with earn doesn't give you 20 energy generation (maybe that's not what you meant), and it doesn't grab any area. Area is really what you need so you can cut off the creeper. That is a lot faster than reclaiming later. That's not to say it is never useful, but it's situational.

[@YukoValis]

For the longest time I thought creeper world 3 would be the standard. But 4 is still an amazing game that holds up to this day. It is easily my second favorite tower defense game. I am more partial to gemcraft chasing shadows.

[@alanea5860]

nah cw 4 pushed series into new dimension ... and quite sucesfully if you prefer 2d check particle fleet emergence its just improved creeper world 3 spin off

[@Bluepikmin64]

I don't think there is a standard. Knuckle Cracker likes to experiment with his games. The next one Creeper World IXE is a cross between Creeper World 2 and Particle Fleet. The thing that has stayed the most consistent across the last 4 games is increasing amounts of flexibility in making levels.

[@YukoValis]

@@Bluepikmin64 well I mean before 4, 3 was the standard with its 2D. Every game before played a lot like 3. No one was expecting 3D until this got released.

[@alanea5860]

@@Bluepikmin64 ixe is attempt for retro spin off for nostalgic people ..... not continuation of series

[@ulizez89]

creeper world 3 is better in my opinion.

[@foseydontanri7859]

i remember playing "creeper world" when it's a flash game, on a website i do not remember now. it was so good.

[@Erreger]

Didn't even realize the 4th of the series was out. Heading to pick it up now, thank you!

[@Bistro999]

Always a fan of the creeper world content!

[@Jan_Iedema]

Always love when you play this. It’s so soothing to watch.

[@malfeasantamalgam]

there will probably be a new one once this time rolls around next year IXE looks great so far

[@jmatt440]

yeah, i'm hoping wander plays IXE, although i'm not sure it will be completed that fast.

[@gabehorsley9236]

This came out at a great time. I have a lot of medical issues, so I tend to get sick fairly often. Your creeper world videos are the only things that really comfort me. Thank you for doing what you do.

[@MrKhairi217]

get well soon mate!

[@febeomnibeepboop6367]

try and focus on doing healthy diet things. cut sugar as much as possible, no alchol and eat whole foods. obviously hydrate, ;) it all helps a little. movement or light exercises within your limits will boost your metabolism and increase the function of your body. try couch tuner or some other thing online for extra entertainment. gl hf bud

[@Alexandragon1]

Nappy New Year, @wanderbots ! Thx for the video!

[@randomninja7632]

Every time wander plays this game it pops back into my head and now I need to play it some too. It’s a literal brain slug Anyway praise the grid and may it terraform the entire world

[@Ryotaiku]

I played nearly 60 hours of this and never knew you could terraform bluite for better refinery placement, or that you could overload nullifiers to get rid of creeper structures permanently.

[@RTamayo98]

seeing you play creeper world reminded me of this other old tower defense i played/still play and i'm curious as to what you'd think of gemcraft :3 it started out as series of multiple flash games i think but i play their most recent installment when i got it on steam, gemcraft: frostborn wrath, it's definitely got a lot of content and systems to sink into and i haven't beaten the game yet myself but it's something i hope you should give out a try!! :3

[@blanket7031]

He recommended it from his steam winter sale video. I just bought it

[@tylerphuoc2653]

@@blanket7031 If you're also looking for other flash game classics, both Mardek and Epic Battle Fantasy are made a part of the Steam Winter Sale, too

[@0num4]

I'm still working on Gemcraft: Chasing Shadows. It's several years old, but you can play that game for hundreds of hours and not complete everything there is to be done.

[@jasonknickerbocker6683]

Gemcraft undoubtedly top 5 tower defense games ever. So many games pulled the "units in towers" idea, and it's almost a rogue-like game with the progression of skills. Played those games all the way through like 12 times haha!

[@twistedwolf7194]

love this game so glad it’s back

[@jakez082]

This just popped up in my recommended videos, I think I remember playing something like this, maybe creeper world 1? on addictinggames or armor games in like 2006 when I was a kid.

[@austintucker5251]

This games great dude. For a good sized Chanel you make really good content keep it up happy new year btw.

[@nilohermes6447]

I love the creeper world games but the best tower defence games ever made are the GemCraft games by game in a bottle.

[@sambyers7653]

If you get tired of the base game, there's a decently substantial modding community. There's a mode where you play as the Creeper instead against a map with defenses fully built (some with decent AIs that will move buildings and strategize against you), ones where you play in first person, gimmick maps, additional weapons (both for normal play _and_ play-as-creep versions), and a ton of other cool stuf to mix things up.

[@SomeGuy-kn9yc]

I no matter what I always come back to see creeper world I love watching it

[@brylythhighlights4335]

One MASSIVE tip I've learned is to fly your command center near your frontlines - it removes the travel time for energy packets massively and lets you build and reload much much faster! :)

[@anarchosnowflakist786]

oh nice, I remember playing a bit of one creeper world when I was little, I felt it was very cool though I didn't understand much, it was in 2d back then, I might pick it back up when I have the time

[@spritemon98]

Best Christmas gift

[@christopherrogers532]

I'm that crazy person that well quite happily terp my way across the map for giggles even when they don't need to.

[@pulsefel9210]

i cant wait for the next game. its looking like a nice mix of 2 and 4

[@gold_twisted]

I've never played this game but I like watching the purple go away

[@nathanlamberth7631]

i love your infatuation with perfect lines

[@jaredkeyes3742]

First time seeing this game. Idk what I’m looking at but it peaks my interest. I played one of the early versions of this game back when I was kid.

[@niekpauwels9569]

Damn, I remember playing the first ones of this series like 10 years ago as flash games. That's memories right there

[@SuperChausette]

Yeah I was mind blown when I found out those flash versions were demos of the full games

[@htbravata993]

This is cool, last time I played a creeper world game was Creeper World Evermore, that was a fun game

[@hulfe2514]

Brings me back to watching ShadeOfDead playing Creeper World 3

[@EliWCoyote]

Holy shit, I remember this game! I must have played the 1st Creeper World...the one with the silly savior-of-the-universe plot, and the launch sound that was obviously the sound of a water heater LOL!!!

[@sashakarpov9876]

thanks for you to unlocking me this game for the third time of my life

[@donkfail1]

A great and entertaining reminder of how good this game is.

[@icantpronounce]

i think creeper world 3 is my fav but 4 is amazing

[@skychaserthedragon2046]

Mortars, rockets, mortars are just rockets with no propellant attached. They'll both explode when they hit their target.

[@Bobo-ox7fj]

I really wanted to love 4. I played the flash demo all those years ago, I played the first, the second, the third, even that extra flash spinoff which had the dailies gimmick front and center. Loved the third. I like the new and recycled mechanics in 4 (except for the dark towers) but for some reason it just doesn't stick. Excited for CW2: Part 2, always loved those sand games as a kid and to see that with creeper really gets those neurons activating.

[@generrosity]

Praise the grid, always a good choice of gameplay

[@blackholetl]

I am so glad you took a liking to this game just like I did.

[@Hedning1390]

It's interesting to see how one of those very long times is produced.

[@cinderycinder2155]

Im confused by this game. Are you fighting the ocean? If so Mr. Torgue would be so proud!

[@jeremyayers5353]

“As for me and my house, we will follow the grid”

[@Khether0001]

Listen to that music!!!! Seriously AMAZING!!!! And I had no idea the game was that awesome already! You, Sir, just made a sale!!! 😃😃😃😃😃

[@twopoint2811]

wander and cw4 is really comfy. Praise the grid!

[@halonator22]

This game is basically my way of playing supreme commander

[@h2h1zzz]

It's Tuesdays, time to play creeper world 4

[@Jamlord2061]

the only rules of creeperworld is not over extending with building plans

[@valkariv5587]

okay you got me, I´ll install Creeper World 4 again

[@a.cunningham4974]

FINALLY Creeper is creeping again

[@isaacmcbeth5770]

If I had to guess the idea of the map was the mines were a trap to all for the creep to take the fast growth loca

[@stighemmer]

The grid must grow.

[@tostare]

I love this game, i'm just replaying it too. How are you snapping all the towers down in a regular optimally spaced grid like that, is there a key you're holding down or something?

[@user-jn3vw2cl4h]

Best hour in my life

[@ashelyfrankow149]

OH MY GOD i remember playing older versions of the game when it was still too down when I was a kid! Holy fuck the nostalgia! I totally forgot it existed

[@_mwk]

Hmmm not sure if it's taken the crown of best TD from gemcraft.

[@user-cd4bx6uq1y]

Great game

[@l4dfanatic11]

after 3 games, he made a 3D one, next game will be 2D but side view instead of top down, cant wait.

[@mtvjacknife816]

Yay, more creeper world!🎉

[@epleprekahn]

The grid must flow

[@dantecastello902]

I love this game

[@jmatt440]

WANDERBOT IS PLAYING CW4 AGAIN!!! WOOHOO!!!

[@darkpheonix77]

mortars on the ridged would have been my frist priority with weapons.

[@Superabound2]

THERE'S A NEW CREEPER WORLD GAME???? Holy shit i played the hell out of this series back in the day

[@Bobo-ox7fj]

Wait till this guy finds out there's another one in the works too.

[@hahasomeoneelse1720]

There's another in development already lookup creeper world:IXE the dev is taking a new approach and it is again reverted to 2d

[@nobodx]

Curious, do you have the devs next Creeper World ( Ixe ) on your radar ?

[@MrPatrickbuit]

Creeper World 4 best RTS ever made agreed. Creeper World 3 is super good too though.

[@shadowlordalpha]

im so use to tom just throwing down like 500 guns at the same time that it actually confused me for a second why you were making so few

[@aurielklasovsky1435]

Love this game!

[@edgyguy7084]

You would be surprised how many people f up a decend grid... U get my sub button press for making it look good! xD

[@beefytaquitos]

Wait when did he change it so nullifiers eradicate the enemy base? Or is that part of the custom map you're playing? Cuz normally they just sit there being nullified until the map is done.

[@grynte1]

love how he has 30 mortars and just keep making more xD

[@pikachu12999]

Merry christmas

[@Wineblood]

Never heard of this channel before but creeper world gets you a like.

[@davidcassidy602]

Welcome! Wander has a let’s play playlist of CW3, dated approximately 3 years ago. I want to say it was him who introduced me to CW3, but it was actually NerdCubed.

[@nekokiki4002]

Anti-creep by the end is basically kingdome come

[@madscientistgamingcentral8689]

Guess you can say you hit the GRIDy

[@LibertyMonk]

You should use Pylons more, especially when you're in "screw the grid" mode.

[@jeremyayers5353]

They’re coming out with a new one! But I’m sure you know already 👍🏻

[@Khether0001]

Thanks!

[@ChewbaccaDavis]

Bro, if you have a plateau, ern a mortar. It's funny to watch. You can also ern transmission towers

[@fisouz]

"top #5 in the world reference" at 20:50ish haha

[@genericname42]

The grid!

[@yoshiakijkoga]

Also on GOG, if that your sticking point.

[@HanakoSeishin]

Creeper World is a great game, but if I didn't already know it, I wouldn't have clicked, because I know I'm not into tower defense. Even less into RTS though, so I don't even know how to characterize this one... really the feeling of satisfaction it gives me is more akin to economy/logistic games, the feeling of building a mechanism and watching it work. And also bubble wrap (or for modern audiences think powerwash simulator).

[@kban6748]

You know what Wander, i will take any excuse to watch Creeper World 4. So keep finding excuses to play! I'll be here

[@prosto_ivan8353]

I love creeper worlds. Amazing games

[@n0o0b090lv]

Creeper world 4 is good game its so relaxing too

[@Mic_Glow]

It's good but 3's art style is way better. Can see terrain height and creep depth without problem, unlike in 4, even in top-down view

[@dlscorp]

I agree, CW4 is a step backwards in graphical fidelity. Looks like a mobile game now.

[@doorsday147]

wander idk if youll see this but I want your thoughts on my biggest gripe on this game that being that this game only has a fun early game its super fun barely holding on as wave after wave of creeper pounds your defenses, but once you're stable... it's just cleaning at that point you have no threat of losing, and you just have to spend time meeting the objectives now, which is a lot less fun if you agree with me on this, what do you think could be changed to create that tension throughout the level?

[@ChewbaccaDavis]

The game has a set cap to the amount of creeper that can exist on the map at any one time. Essentially we never see the production continuous. If it could be made that the creeper max increases over time, that would increase the challenge as the match progresses

[@inajosmood]

Yes, would be great if the creeper would increase creeper production levels or kinds in some way. There's the LPAC mode in Colonies section (player made maps). There you can add boosts to creeper towers. If AI could do that, would be very cool

[@KainYusanagi]

The issue is with your (and Wanderbot's) playstyle not being conducive to the game's desired style of play. You aren't meant to go slow and hunker down and then slowly build up and clean house, you're meant to go fast and take big risks to quickly take territory right from the start, then quickly hop forward further and finish the level relatively quickly. The slow playstyle is allowed rather than removed because some people play that way, but it is not the intended way.

[@Makujah_]

Didn't know they made a 4th one. Not a fan of 3d graphics, but the game looks just as fun when you get used to it

[@DarkYor]

Check colony section vith LPAC, Cursor, and other fun tags. The best of this game you get only from modders (map makers).

[@Vectorbro]

In mortars we trust

[@isaacshafer9261]

This is almost exactly like a map I played about a week ago

[@antediluvianatheist5262]

What was the map?

[@WeirdChickenGames]

i guess you dont know our Tower Defense Game :D