Levels

In *CounterAttack*, you will select the next level from a few different ones after completing most levels, thus making each game different. Your choices will affect how long your campaign will be, how hard it will be, and how it will end.

Some levels are hidden, as are certain paths between levels. To unlock these levels or use these paths, you will need to meet special conditions.

## Level Attachments

Gears on levels in the level select screen, formerly displayed as stars, indicate the presence of attachment rewards specific to that level.

* Most Campaign level-specific attachments can be obtained upon level completion by destroying the boss (or pack of bosses, as the case may be) at the end.
	+ Some boss attachments have a low base unlock chance (though this chance can be raised by increasing attachment unlock rate).
	+ A rare few boss attachments also require a secondary condition to be met (such as completing the level without any deaths in the current run) before they can be unlocked from the boss.
* The remainder of a Campaign level's attachments are typically unlocked by destroying special enemies in the level. For example, in both First Encounter and Quick Encounter, a Hard Drone with a blue trail unlocks Turbo if it is destroyed before it leaves the screen.
* Level-specific attachments of Survival levels are randomly unlocked at set intervals (time or wave count, depending on the level).

Note: Some level-specific attachments, particularly adjusted (Adj), improved (Imp) or modified (Mod) attachments, may also be obtainable outside of that level via upgrade or combination of their weaker versions.

## Campaign Mechanics

Most levels in *CounterAttack* are played as part of campaigns taking place within campaign maps (whether it is *CounterAttack*'s built-in Campaign map or a player-created campaign map accessed via Custom mode).

* When starting a new campaign on a campaign map, the player must choose a level on the far left side of the map, also known as a starting level, as the first level of that campaign.
* Every time a level is completed within a campaign (by destroying all mandatory bosses of that level), the player must move from left to right along a path defined by the campaign map.
	+ If more than one level is connected to the completed level by a valid path, the player gets to choose which level to play next based on the desired campaign difficulty.
	+ After choosing the next level, the player is given an opportunity to change their ship's attachments before it begins. (Pilot selection cannot be changed in the middle of a campaign.)
* A campaign will end as a victory if the player travels to and completes a level without any valid paths on its right side, also referred to as a final level (in most cases, this will be the Bonus level). Dying on any level with zero lives remaining will end the campaign as a loss instead.
	+ Regardless of win or loss, the campaign's end will reset the player's campaign map progress, allowing for a different path to be taken in the next campaign on the same map.

*CounterAttack*'s built-in Campaign map also includes a couple of mechanics which are currently not available for custom campaign maps:

* Some paths between levels cannot be traversed until the player unlocks a specific attachment, regardless of whether said attachment is equipped at the time of traversal.
	+ Missile Drones must be unlocked in order to travel from Altercation (Easy) to Lone Ship (Medium).
	+ Strange Module must be unlocked in order to travel from Battle For Earth (Hard) to Solar (Special).
	+ Tesseract Generator must be unlocked in order to travel from Aquaria (Special) to Incursion (Very Hard?).
* Certain pairs of levels on the Campaign map have secret paths which can only be traversed via unconventional means.
	+ Unlike normal travel between levels on the campaign map, using a secret path to travel between levels does not provide any opportunity to change attachments.

## List of Campaign Levels

### Tutorial Levels

* First Encounter (starting level)
* Pilot Training (tutorial-path final level)

### Very Easy Levels

* Quick Encounter (starting level)
* Homefront
* Destroyers
* Debris Field

### Easy Levels

* Altercation
* Bulwark
* Asteroid Field
* The Red Passage
* Mining Outpost
* Arch Evasion
* Automaton Prime (easy)

### Medium Levels

* Preemptive Strike (starting level)
* Ascent
* Lone Ship
* Surface Trouble
* Outpost Ginga
* Intervention

### Hard Levels

* Outbreak (starting level)
* Cloud 666
* Battle For Earth
* Minefield
* Auto City
* Redemption
* Armada
* Automaton Prime (hard)

### Special Levels

* Prototype Cruiser
* Solar
* Sentry
* Aquaria

### Very Hard Levels

* Incursion
* Automaton Prime (very hard)

## List of Survival Levels

The following endless levels, grouped together under *CounterAttack*'s Survival game mode, must first be unlocked by progressing through the Campaign.

* Flood Survival
* Wave Survival
* Vertical Survival

## List of Other Levels

* Staging Area
* Level Editor

## Gallery

Campaign map from a game version predating v1.0.6.