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The Mongolian Campaign Contest Entries » The Mongol Ascendancy

The Mongol Ascendancy

Author

File Description

Ty Freeborn

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

During the twelfth century there arose from eastern Asia a man and a people who conquered much of the known world. From the Korean peninsula to the River Danube one people, one family, came to rule all. This is the story of the Mongols, conquerors and creators of the largest land empire the world has ever known. EXCERPT SCENARIO 1 (All The Tribes That Live In Felt Tents): As you sit astride your swiftest steed you realize that the time has come to secure your destiny. Silently you pray that the Eternal Blue Heavens protect you... EXCERPT SCENARIO 2 (Foray Into Northern China): You sip again from the tepid beverage, beginning to feel the first hint of intoxication warm your head. In the open field, or man to man, you know your armies are superior. But, these fortified cities, with their towers and walls, now they present a problem. But surely they aren't invincible. There must be some way... EXCERPT SCENARIO 3 (The Punishment Of God): Your generals, already clear about the plan, acknowledge with a slight bow, Turn and depart as you sheath your sword. You pause to reflect a moment on the years of arduous battle that await; after all, you are fifty-six and no man lives... Suddenly, pushing that thought from your mind, you turn to your armorer, grasp the outstretched battle helmet and placing it securely under your arm you stride out to mount your warhorse. The time has come to exact payment, a retribution for the misdeeds of the Shah. The Khwarezm empire, despite it's superior numbers, will indeed most assuredly pay! Of that you are quite certain. I hope you enjoy this campaign. Please feel free to let me know what you think.

Author

Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only )

Steideli

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

Rating
5.0

"The Mongol Ascendency" is a real gem of a campaign. The Author does a great job of retelling this part of history. In the first scenario, "All the tribes that live in felt tents", the player must consolidate his rule over central Asia. The scenario begins right off the bat with the player involved in a heated battle. Other tribes Shifting alliances are a key factor that will effect the players choice of action. These shifts aren't random. They occur for a certain reason. It all fits well into the story told here. Destruction of enemy town centers are the key victory condition. Most of the enemy tribes are quite tough. The Tartars most be attacked hard and fast as soon as time allows. After destoying the enemy tribes, you must return to the kurilai (Great Meeting) where you will be declared the Great Khan. The introductions, history, and introductory maps all stand out in this campaign. They are simply outstanding. The history is informative, rich, and a joy to read. The author used many different resources as credited in a full bibliography. This is something I would like to see more authors do. It gives the work a real professional quality. The second scenario, "Foray into Northern China" revolves around learning the art of siege warfare. The early battles in this scenario revolve around your siege workshop. Protect it well. The authors terrain usage is very good. The landscape is fully fleshed out and includes many cool touches. The little bone bridge over the river in the third scenario is outstanding. The final scenario, "The Punishment of God", takes the Mongols to the middle east. Here they must defeat the forces of the Shah. You'll begin this one with lots of resources which you will need for the heated battles ahead. Creativity is high, and the balance is good through the campaign. I did think that the tribes in the first scenario were a little bit too hard to defeat. This is a great work, in fact it's one of the best! I can recommend it without hesitation!

Angel Grex

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

Rating
5.0

Fantastic job. Extremely well-told story of Genghis Khan's career, from exile to the conquest of Kwarezm. Terrific terrain maps. Some tough fighting. Lots of fun. My observations are: Playability: Superb. I will definitely play this whole thing again. Figuring out how to get safely started in the first scenario was most engaging, as was the real nice feel of the map layout. The foray into China in the second scenario requires a clever strategy, or you can't get the job done; learning how to do it well was great fun. The feeling of gradually increasing momentum in the third scenario, as you begin your sweep across Asia, is captivating. Creativity: Very good. Exploring Ty's maps is always nifty - nice things to see, danger at many turns, controlling your peasants/slaves in buildup scenarios is as important as controlling your troops in combat. Fine use of terrain map layout to create tactical and strategic challenges. Well-chosen Gaia goodies appear at just the right times in sensible/realistic places. Balance: First scenario is the toughest I have ever played - the enemies are strong and smart; it is not at all certain you'll succeed in your effort to unite "All the People Who Live in Felt Tents." Second is quite hard - I'm still not quite sure how he achieved the essentially non-stop action which begins on your first contact with the Tangkhut in this scenario. Third - the campaign to seek revenge on Shah Muhammed - is only moderate. Map layout, resource control (dispersal and limitation), and tech/building disabling all used to good effect, along with very fine .ai/per files -- you can win only by playing very well, and will most definitely lose if you screw up. Map Design: Marvelous. Best use I've seen of the Ronin suspension bridge in 3rd scenario. Mix of wide-open terrain for free-for-alls and canalized routes for sequential confrontation of several enemies. Nice swamps, rivers, mixed forest, roads. Spots of lush beauty and stark barreness. Believable cities, sparse nomad villages. Well-dispersed and sometimes frustratingly clever placement of valuable resources which tempt you, but are not accessible. Story/Instructions: Top-Notch!! Blends fact and fiction to engage you completely. Check out Genghis dressing and thinking while preparing to take the field against the treacherous Shah. Objectives clear; hints useful. Bitmaps beautiful (although not real helpful). Nicely-mixed victory conditions, which function perfectly. Victory messages uncommonly good, providing excellent transition from one scenario to the next. Historical Content: Excellent. Multiple sources obviously consulted. Even has footnotes. Nice mix of simple reporting and analysis. An educational and entertaining read. Of special note, IMHO, is the scenario difficulty progression from hard at the beginning to easier, which likely mirrors the change in perspective of the main character as the isolated and hard-pressed Temujin fought and schemed his way to becoming he almost unstoppable first great Khan. Overall: If I were ES, I'd probably give this guy a job 8^). Great fun, great design. Don't miss it!!

Rich Parker

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

Rating
5.0

This campaign is outstanding in every respect. I plan to play it again soon, without the concern of judging criteria. Exceptional prose in the instructions, great bitmaps, creative VCs and situations, fine balance and playability, excellent terrain maps, and even footnoted historical references! Be forewarned, these are not easy scenarios, but they are worth putting the effort into. Another campaign with excellent use of ai and per files. This campaign is a joy to play. Top marks in every category.

Ronin

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

Rating
5.0

Fascinating. The only thing not included in the pre-game instructions was the "Fasten Your Seatbelt" sign. This piece literally fastened me to the seat before the screen for hours after hours without ever letting me lose interest in the pursuing the assigned task. For two reasons. This campaign has the peculiar trait of extending the player's attention span to fit the duration of the game and - not to be overlooked - it is _hard_ as well as challenging right from the start through to the end. In all rating categories it scored the highest for me, there is no question about that. I found the attention given to create visual continuity in map design and story telling noteworthy. What this campaign excels in though, is the Historical Content category. In my opinion the work invested in historical research and in its skillful rendering into instructions makes this campaign the most "contest conform" entry among all, even if it lacks all the tricks and gizmos many accomplished designers are so adept in applying. Playing this campaign I became so much involved in the historical story line, that I suddenly became aware of the emergence of an additional characteristic of this special game genre: educational value. This campaign made me wonder what will be possible to accomplish with the more sophisticated and more feature-rich sequel of this game in creating scenarios with historical content which will allow players to re-enact stories from the past and learn history at the same time. I suggest a special reward given to and/or honorable mention made of the author for the historical content of his entry.

DeathShrimp

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

Rating
5.0

Great pregame maps, on par with ES's own. ; A minor point, but having the diplomacy color key on the pregame map really helps anticipate who I am going to be fighting. ; I'll have to remember that for our next game! ; The history and instructions are rich--so rich that it spills over into Hints. ; I admire the author's desire to get as much detail in as possible, but players who just want to get into the scenario are going to have to hunt for the Objectives. ; I was impressed by the bibliography, but I almost wonder if it is not too much--I feel that a designer needs to distill a story down to the most important elements so that a player is not distracted from getting into the game. Think about the crawling yellow text at the beginning of Star Wars--would it not have gotten boring if it had gone on for 15 minutes? ; But I digress. ; The first scenario opens with a huge battle, which is an exciting way to begin. The second scenario was more of a build-up slugfest with two tough enemies, and the third scenario had a long list of specific objectives. ; Fortunately, these could be completed more or less in logical order. Maps were beautiful without being claustrophobic. ; All three scenarios had a nice mixture of exploration, resource gathering and combat. ; The enemy never let up, but since he generally started with large cities and forces, this isn't too surprising. ; This campaign feels the most like an AOE game, by which I mean it shows off the game's strengths while avoiding areas of weakness.

Steve Ryan

Posted on 10/11/99 @ 12:00 AM

Rating
5.0

This is a very good campaign. We have now come to expect greatness from our Campaign editors and Ty delivers in spades! >From the Bitmap and the first bit of text I knew I was in for a treat. The story is a magnificent mix of actual history and prose and really got me in. He even interspersed actual historic quotes including their references.. nice touch! The bitmaps really are a nice touch.. different but very campaign like. The balance in each scenario was terrific.. none of the enemies gave up without a significant struggle. The use of units was historically accurate and gave a real feel for the Mongol wars. The AI work was terrific with special mention to the changing diplomacies in scen 1 and the fact that even though it was tough destroying the production centres was the key to success in the other scens. The maps were beautifully and faithfully designed.. with all the bridges and scenery in place. A flow on effect from scen1 to scen 2 was nicely executed and must have taken a lot of work. Nice use of diplomacy changing units like hidden gaia Scythe Chariots etc. Lovely mountain range with rocks gold and snowy top as well! The scens were very hard but not tedious .. they maintained my interest throughout. Victory condition all worked well as expected with no strange defeats popping up!

HGDL v0.8.2

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Rating
5.0

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Added:	10/11/99

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