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Battle of Saraighat, 1671
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| Author |
File Description |
Jatayu
(id: Sword_of_STORM) |
Posted on 04/04/18 @ 09:30 PM
| File Details |
|---|
| Version: |
Age of Empires II (2013): Rise of the Rajas |
| Style: |
Mix |
Screenshot:
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This scenario is based on a historical event set in India. The Battle of Saraighat was fought in 1671 between the Mughal empire , and the Ahom Kingdom (led by Lachit Borpukan) on the bank of Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati. Although Ahom army was much weaker than also they defeated the Mughal army by brilliant uses of the terrain, clever diplomatic negotiations to buy time, guerrilla tactics, psychological warfare, military intelligence and by exploiting the sole weakness of the Mughal forces—its navy. The Battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire in to Assam.
Features both fixed force and B&D style gameplay.
Battle on multiple fronts land and river to defeat a powerful force! There are also many sidequests for getting upgrades and other units.
Features
Mixed gameplay including FF, B&D and some RPG elements
About two hours of gameplay
Land and river battles
Custom music pack
Installation
Extract the two folders from the zip file and put them in your mods directory (HD edition)
You can also subscribe to these mods on Steam workshop.
Steam link (scenario)Steam link (music pack)
Credits to: Bassi for several suggestions and feedback, Cataphract887 for playtesting. |
| Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
|---|
| kud13 |
Posted on 05/06/18 @ 11:48 AM
Playability: 4
I found no real bugs in the scenario. The only complaint, the elephant in the room, is lag. During the 4th phase of the scenario, when the Mughal offensive begins, the game slows down significantly. This is further emphasized by poor pathfinding and odd AI behaviour around chokes- and while I realize that these are HD-specific problems, nevertheless they do impact the playability.
Balance: 3
The early FF parts of the scenario are tough but fair, requiring deft micro in order to win or survive enemy encounters, and, as the hints indicate, the key is minimizing losses.
The B&D buildup phase offers a number of objectives to complete in order to prepare for the Mughal assault, that comes on multiple fronts. This portion offers a few "side objectives" that can be easily accomplished with minimal exploring.
The "meat" of the scenario, the DTS portion, is far too easy. Primarily this has to do with the chosen map design- the enemy columns are to be funneled into narrow chokes, reinforced by castles, and bypassing fortified cities. Unfortunately, I found the AI pathfinding (especially on the south bank) to make holding the massive, constantly spawning enemy waves a trivial task, as the AI (wisely) refused to charge into the narrow gap, under castle fire, as long as my castle was in place. Which meant the challenge was reduced to successfully removing enemy Bombard cannons that would spawn in occasionally as parts of '"elite" detachments. Without these cannons, the enemy massed troops tended to mill around, refusing to cross an imaginary line, and were easy pickings for my own artillery. While ultimately still fun (and still a ton of micro required on the other bank and elsewhere) this reduced the challenge significantly.
Creativity: 5
The strongest point of the scenario are the twists on water combat. Introducing Turtle Ships, which are foreign to any of the civs involved, as well as giving the player means to convert them via "boarding" turned naval combat into a tense and exciting struggle. Here I actually did encounter an odd bug, whereas sometimes some of the captured ships would get stuck in a single spot, unable to move or attack things out of range, but I actually felt it fitting, as it would also make me configure the rest of the fleet around these "damaged" ships.
The twists on naval combat serve to make this one stand out.
Map Design: 4
Map was busy, with very good detailed work in certain mission critical areas (such as the mangrove jungles on the North Bank where phase 2 guerrilla warfare takes place). As mentioned above, over-reliance on narrow passes, while understandable from a stylistic point, wasn't the best choice given HD's limitations. Aside from that, no real complaints.
Story/Instructions: 5
The opening cutscene set the stage for the story well. The dialogue during various phases provided clear explanation as to what were the next objectives. Hints and scouts were informative and helpful.
The map layout helped to bring the story and gameplay together, and fundamentally it was very simple easy to understand the goals and motivations at each stage.
Custom music was hit or miss, imho, with some tracks fitting, while a few others feeling out of place.
Additional Comments: A solid scenario, held back not so much by its own design, as by the limitations of the chosen medium (HD version). While it is unfortunate that these limitations don't allow the designer's ideas to really shine through delivering that non-stop DTS action, the innovations in naval combat, as well as the setting still are likely to leave a lasting impression, if one can stomach the lag. Hopefully we can see more from author.
[Edited on 07/09/19 @ 09:08 PM]
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Possidon
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 07/23/20 @ 04:33 PM
Playability: 4
The scenario is an entertaining mix of styles which will occupy players for a nice period of time. Its blend on numerous styles will entertain players who are interested in these particular styled scenarios and historical gameplay. The scenario is entertaining at most points and with a number of side quests in what is probably the most boring part, the B&D build up, there is a diverse and varied gameplay. The battles can be intense at points which also helps the entertainment factor.
Balance: 3
The scenario goes to two different extremes in the balance factor. In the first part the scenario is intense and very challenging with your small force of soldiers overwhelmed and outnumbered in both size and strength against a powerful force. On the other hand the main bulk of the scenario, the B&D and DtS potions are incredibly easy. You're given a decent fortress with many military buildings to help you build up quickly. you are also given a decent number of villagers and enough resource to survive for hours. Limiting the player to castle age and limiting the population limit to 150 helps create more of a challenge, but overall most players will be able to pass this section by with ease. You can also bypass the pop limit by buying the ships from your allies and therefore they are created through triggers rather than trained through buildings. Completing side quests also gives additional soldiers, allies and technologies. Also the map design allows for easy defending due to the narrow chokepoints that can be used to trap the enemy charges.
Creativity: 4
On the most part the scenario isn't much different from your typical B&D scenario based on a historical battle. However, there are a couple of elements which sets is apart such as incorporating other styles, such as the fixed force battles in the first section as well as elements such as the side quests and the ability to buy special ships from your allies. There's also some exciting and novel boarding mechanics in the naval battles which spice things up a bit.
Map Design: 4
The map design is quite nice, recreating the Brahmaputra River in India. The scenario is designed well with appropriate use of terrain and eye candy to create an authentic looking Indian landscape along the banks of the river. The use of Mangrove trees and swamp terrains prove effective, the forts and towns are also nicely designed. Theres good terrain mixing and effective use of elevation and eye-candy, though one might look at some of the more open areas and see them as a little bland. I also thought a little more effort could have gone into the design of the enemy bases and they seemed to just have buildings randomly placed just so the team has the ability to train resources rather than having an actual base of operations.
Story/Instructions: 4
The scenario is based on a historical event and it is clear that the author has done his research. The scenario opens with an accurate descriptive account of the real life battle and its events, and then proceeds to retell it through the scenario. Though the scenario is not story driven there it tells the story of the battle well and there are historical characters and some dialogue to explain whats going on. The Instructions are clear and helpful and explain the objectives well and there are clear hints to help guide the player if they get stuck.
Additional Comments:
Overall the Battle of Saraighat is a decent scenario, while it is not perfect and has areas of improvement it is well made and definitely recommended to anyone who is interested in historically accurate scenarios based on real life battles.
Well Done
Possidon |
Jatayu
(id: Sword_of_STORM)
Official Reviewer
File Author |
Posted on 08/04/20 @ 03:16 AM |
| Ragnar Lodbrok |
Posted on 04/01/23 @ 08:06 AM
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Jatayu
(id: Sword_of_STORM)
Official Reviewer
File Author |
Posted on 04/02/23 @ 11:35 PM |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
|---|
| 3.9 | | Breakdown |
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| Playability | 4.0 | | Balance | 3.0 | | Creativity | 4.0 | | Map Design | 4.0 | | Story/Instructions | 4.5 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 406 |
| Favorites: [] | 1 |
| Size: | 55.98 MB |
| Added: | 04/04/18 |
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