The Ferax

[Shredding Day]

This is my first post so I guess there needs to be some introduction. I really like Osmos. It's minimalist for sure, but unique, fun and moderately challenging. Good job guys.


I beat the Ferax on my third or fourth try by growing to nearly its size, halting next to a large edible blob when I saw it advancing towards me and then absorbing that blob right before impact. It wasn't pre-planned, I just saw the opportunity and took it. Although this little trick is probably the best way to win, I'm wondering how easy other players find it to beat the Ferax in a figurative arms race?

I wish there were a few more Sentient levels. Is any additional content planned for Osmos, free or otherwise?

[Richard H]

I found the Ferax to be quite hard. In the end it became one of the few levels which I had to keep replaying with time slow down at critical points and develop a pattern for. I wound up with a pattern which had me approaching the Ferax with slightly greater mass a couple of times early causing it to drop its bundle (so to speak) and thus limiting its absorption options and rate of mass increase. In the end it didn't take too long but I was somewhat relieved to finish it off since I could see it taking some time. Was almost considering the randomise option.

I'm just playing Epicycles 2 and while I've spent longer on it I'm enjoying it more. Something about coordinating your exit from one gravity well and your entry into the next I like. Kind of like you are a planetary probe using gravity and time to reduce fuel usage.

Not sure whether I prefer the levels with AI or without really. Probably both for the variation I guess. An important question for me since I was working on an artificial ecology simulator for the iPhone which didn't work out (you know those time lapse clips of things rotting? Well this thing is like watching it happen in real time.) and am now turning it into an eat or be eaten style game. It was going to exclusively feature AI controlled agents but now having found this little gem I'm not so sure. Of course, with just one person month of devlopment planned, if it sees the light of day it will never approach the production values or depth seen here.

[jeffplum]

I am The Ferax! Mwahahahaha!

Er, not really. I found the easiest way to get the Ferax was by abandoning slow motion and just going at the Ferax like crazy as soon as the level starts. I found after the third try I outsmarted him by just being slightly bigger -- and absorbed him like a mofo. I think the word is probably "pwned" or something.

[Battlefrank]

I don't know if Thread Necromancy is allowed here, but...

Son, I've killed more Feraxes than you can count, they are small time! If you want a challenge, EPICYCLES 3, THE HARDEST LEVEL IN OSMOS.

[Renamon]

EPICYCLES 3, THE HARDEST LEVEL IN OSMOS

not really i have finished F3C - epicycles 3 easy

really hard is S4O - deadly ecosystems forever 1 (with 2 Ferax), 2 (with 3 Ferax) and level 3 maybe with 4 Ferax x_X

finish first and u will know

greeting: Renamon

[Battlefrank]

EPICYCLES 3, THE HARDEST LEVEL IN OSMOS

not really i have finished F3C - epicycles 3 easy

really hard is S4O - deadly ecosystems forever 1 (with 2 Ferax), 2 (with 3 Ferax) and level 3 maybe with 4 Ferax x_X

finish first and u will know

greeting: Renamon

well that's what I meant
I've done 4 feraxes at once, because I'm a badass and I win.

[wazzie]

I am (stack) on Deadly Ecosystems Forever lvl15 with 15 feraxes: the melting point of silicone is 1687C.
Anybody has any idea how to go further?

[Renamon]

ecosystems forever lvl 15 and 15 feraxes ? respect ! i cant finish vs 4 -.-

[wazzie]

You have no idea how much I played until I got this far. A few tricks I learned:
- race bigger feraxes for a large food mote on a collision path: catch the food first, became bigger then the ferax, eat the ferax
- approach a bigger ferax and let it chase you, escape towards large motes right beside a wall, catch food and became bigger than the ferax, bounce back on wall, eat the ferax
- use the walls to your advantage: you can accelerate/change direction (to a certain degree) on walls without losing weight

The last part gets really difficult on high levels. When there is barely any food left I mostly loose my first place because feraxes fight/eat each other so quickly.

[dee]

deadly ecosystem forever 62, movement becomes choppy, I think AI needs roughly 100ms to calculate one frame
trick is to get mass quickly, then accelerate into clusters of feraxes