Operation Overkill gameplay has 3 frequent activities: Oracle location hunting, map navigation, and selling valuable gear to the complex for crystals. When selling gear to the complex, a chain of bases is the fastest and safest way to handle this activity. Running around the map using a hemp rope may be equivalent or faster than manually typing series of numbers and waiting for animation sequences, but you risk encounters, storms, and teleporting cyclones. Using a script to teleport through a chain of bases is lightning fast and you avoid making mistakes when typing long sequential lists of coordinates again and again, one script for going up, the other script for going down.
MAP NOTATION
First download all of the maps so you can load them in a text editor and mark them up. For difficult maps where the ‘hole up’ locations don’t correspond to ‘hole down’ locations, you could mark up the maps with an “*” where a ‘hole down’ leads on the next lower map, and mark a ‘+’ where a ‘hole up’ leads on the next higher map. If a ‘hole’ leads to a dangerous or dead end area on the corresponding map, mark it with a ‘X’. If a hole-up is in the optimum pathway to go back to the complex, mark it with a ‘C’.
All pits that do not have solid rock at the exact same coordinates on the lower level have a chance of dragging you down to lower levels. You could markup all ‘safe’ or ‘solid’ pits (that have solid rock underneath) with an ‘S’ and then mark up all ‘dangerous’ or ‘downward’ pits with a ‘D’.
Your bases could be marked with {}, other player bases marked with <>. Nukem gets dropped by the Hydrites at random locations, and if you don’t move Nukem with thumpers, you can mark these places with NN.
BASE PLACEMENT
Different maps make base placement challenging, with rock barriers, pits that damage you and can make you fall into lower levels, map squares that cannot be used to build bases, and other sadistic map designs that are designed to punish players and make their lives miserable. Here are a few strategies to handle a few of the more interesting maps.
When planning out the locations, you need to start with maps of all 5 levels and make sure all of your bases are in range of each other. Look at your destination X,Y coordinate and compare it to the base location, and write down the differences between the coordinants. To know if a base and a second location is in range, look at the largest difference first and make sure both numbers are smaller then these: +-13/+-3, +-12/+-6, +-11/+-7, +-10/+-9. After you have made an initial plan for placement of your bases, adjust their location and keep them in range of the base immediately above and below while trying to meet the following conditions in some regard: access to the complex, prison, the level 5 Air Force Base, a somewhat centralized location that lets you teleport anywhere on the map, and somewhat hidden from other players. Being able to return to the complex to sell valuables is more important than other considerations. Bases located in single digit coordinates are easier to teleport to [1-9],[1-9] since you have to manually type the coordinate numbers every time you teleport to them. Bases located on the edge of maps cannot be nuked directly with a nuclear missile, but since they can still be nuked indirectly, dropping their shields and defenses. Teleporting to an Oracle location with a centrally placed base outweighs the benefits of this for most bases, since nuclear missiles attacks are rare and Oracle hunts should be very common.
ABYSS(10)
This map earns it’s difficulty level of 10. When you leave the complex, you are “in” rock so you can choose to go either North or South, but if you go north you are unable to return to the complex, and the only hole going downward quickly drops you down to levels 4 & 5 with no easy way to return. You cannot build any bases in the minimal area next to the complex, and the only way to return to the complex seems to be the hole up at [8,25,2]. The obvious location on level 1 to build a base is directly outside the complex [9,23,1]. From here you can teleport to [8,25,2], fight encounters at this location, and then use a hemp rope to return to the complex.
If you build a base at [18,13,2] you will be in range to teleport to [9,23,2] to go back to the complex, to the prison [24,2,3] (note: you must teleport 2 spaces away from the prison) and to build a base in the somewhat hospitable area of level 3 [24,22,3] to use for leveling up. On level 4 you can build a base in the radiation area of [14,13,4] and sit on the adjacent square of the Air Force Base to fight monsters without a radiation penalty. The same trick can be done on level 5 by building a base at [23,11,5] and leveling up on the missile silo/AFB map squares on this level. To “escape” the deadly alternating pits, build at least 2 additional bases on level 5 at [2,11,5] and [22,21,5]. Pits on levels 3 & 4 will often drag you down to level 5, so these are a priority before building others.
DEFILES(9)
This map is rated 9 and has a number of challenges. No base can be built near the complex and a pit exists to cause the player damage when they leave the initial area of the first map. No bases at all can be built on level 2. The prison on level 3 is not easily accessible.
The first base should be at [3,16,1] and can teleport the user to the map square [12,26,2]. A hemp rope can quickly take the player down to [12,28,3] where a 2nd base can be built. From here you can teleport to the map square [21,27,2] and use a hemp rope and 2 quick moves to return to the complex. Later another base could be built at [15,10,1] to teleport the player to the first base at [3,16,1] faster.
If you slide down to the next level from the pit at [19,10,1], you should repeatedly jump into the pit at [19,9,2] and then build an ‘escape’ base at [20,14,3] that can teleport to a base on level 4 [13,25,4] or to the map square [21,27,2] to return to the complex.
To get access to the prison, build the next base on level 4 in the very lowest center area of the map [13,25,4]. This provides access to the hole at [2,6,4]. Level 5 has only 1 single map square on the entire map that you can use for a base at [8,21,5]. The hole up here will allow you to get access close to your 4th level base.
D’SHAI(6)
This map is at first initially very hostile to new players, but very easy to navigate at the lower levels. When leaving the complex, sometimes you’ll fall into the pit and get dropped to the lower level, other times you’ll use the hemp rope. Build 2 bases on level 2, one somewhere near the hole down to use when going down to lower levels, and the 2nd base at [8,12,2] to get faster access to the complex when teleporting up from the lower levels. Late in the game, a nuke dropped at [12,10,1] will nicely clear the pit, remove a number of obstacles, and let you build a base near the complex.
HALBERD2(8)
This map is challenging for many reasons. Since you cannot build a base on level 1, create your first base in the fastest accessible location at [14,19,2] and then build your 2nd base at [23,27,2]. This allows you to get back to the complex when fighting on level 2 very easily through the nearby hole-up.
IZZONE(7)
This map puts a hazard directly outside the complex with the pit that drags you down to level 2. The first base should probably be at [4,5,2] and then the 2nd at [6,2,1] for cases when you’re not dragged down to the 2nd level. A base at [11,11,4] gives you easy access to the prison.
NESSUS(6)
This map is a true navigational maze. You cannot build a base on level 2, but you can very quickly get down to level 3 at [10,15,3] and build your first base here. Keep plenty of crystals in this base to repeatedly repair the telepod when teleporting back to [12,17,2] to return to the complex.
You cannot build on level 5, but a base near the 2-way hole at [6,15,4] will both give you a way to quickly get to level 5 and provide access to the Air Force Base in a minimal number of moves. Strategic placement of additional bases on levels 3 & 4 can provide access to the prison and when traveling around the map to get to the oracle. Because all of your bases should be on levels 3 & 4, it is helpful to have all the bases within range of each other.
OMEGA(7)
Place your first base at [4,15,1] and your second base at [7,24,3] and keep plenty of crystals on hand in both bases to repair the telepod due to the base-inaccessible level 2. When going to lower levels, teleport to [7,24,2], and when going up, teleport to [13,18,2].
OXBOW(4)
Level 4 has no squares capable of building a base. The guideline to follow to minimize transportation time is to build a base on level 3 corresponding to a hole-up on level 4, and build a base on level 5 corresponding to a hole-down on level 4.
A base at [11,4,3] is near the location to teleport up: [5,3,4] and is also near the prison. Placing another base at [6,9,5] is close to the [9,12,4] location to use when teleporting down, and provides decent access to the Air Force Base.
PANGAEA(9)
This map has a difficulty rating of 9 for good reason. If the pit directly outside of the complex drags you down to a lower level it is very difficult to return. Only 1 map square on level 2 supports a base, so you should build one at [10,16,2]. Getting to this location from the complex requires jumping into at minimum 3 additional pits, so build a base at [11,3,1] to teleport down to level 2 and build an ‘escape’ base at [13,27,1]. (for times that you get dragged down to the next level)
Returning safely from level 2 to level 1 without risking a pit requires teleporting to the open square [11,22,1]. Since this has the potential of burning out your telepod, keep lots of extra crystals in your level 2 base.
A base on level 4 near [13,26,4] gives you access to the prison. Another base near the 2-way hole at [7,14,4] gives you access to level 5 & the air force base.
SPEAREL(7)
Base placement on this segmented map shows more about the necessity of map coverage rather than the difficulties discussed on other maps. On level 2, the rock barrier divides the map into several sections, but the left side has holes traveling upward, and the right side does not. Placing a base on the right side, still within teleport range of a base on level 1 near the complex, and also near the center of the map allows you to teleport to non-base squares in other areas.
The same principle applies to level 3. You need to fight monsters near a base, not in radiation areas, and not in open pits, so placing a base in the center area of the map allows you to easily teleport to either side and fulfills these requirements. Placing the 2nd base on level 3 in a radiation area near the prison, yet within teleport range of your bases on levels 2 & 3 can also act as a good staging area for raiding the prison.
STEALTH(8)
This map has a number of challenges. After jumping into several pits and traveling down to the 2nd level, the closest map square to build a base on is at [20,2,2]. From this base, you can teleport back to the map square [8,7,1] and quickly get back to the complex, but going from the complex to this base will always be hazardous.
The area on the lower right side of both level 1 and level 2 is a trap. If you enter this area, you cannot escape unless you jump into the pit at [17,17,2] multiple times. The Oracle may sometimes be found here, so if you build an “escape” base at [24,27,2], you can build a base at the midpoint on level 3 at [19,15,3] that is just barely in range of both of these bases.
Unfortunately, level 4 allows you to build bases only in a few radiation areas on the left side, and a base built on level 3 at [19,15,3] can’t reach any of them. Since you want a chain of bases that can reach continually from level 1 to level 5, you might want to build your level 3 base in a more centralized position on the map such as [14,14,3], and either build a single base in the ‘trap’ area (to teleport out of the area or stock Telegrasps) or just risk the pits to escape that area and save your crystals.
WARZONE(7)
This map has no special requirements, but to optionally build 3 bases instead of 5:
[16,18,1] Base 1
(16,15,2) UP
(17,18,2) DN
[18,18,3] Base 3
(19,22,4) UP
(22,8,4) DN
[24,14,5] Base 5
ZZEXLIA2(3)
This map is fairly easy, but no bases can be built on level 2. If you build a base directly outside the complex at [12,13,1], you can teleport directly to [3,24,2] and immediately use a hemp rope to get to [3,24,3] and building a base here provides easy access to the prison and to teleport down to lower levels. To return, simply teleport up to [2,22,2] and use a hemp rope up and make your way back to the complex. This has the potential of burning out telepods on both bases but only requires you to build 2 bases.
A slightly more expensive option is to build another base at [2,21,1]. This allows you to teleport from [12,13,1] to [2,21,1] avoiding possible telepod burnout on the way down, using a hemp rope twice at [2,22,1] and then [3,24,3]. On the way back up, you can use the base at [2,21,1] to teleport to [12,13,1] and avoid the ‘walk’ back to the complex.