This is great panel ! *Heads to blacksmith*

thanks I'm planning to update this once a week or so.

Still haven't managed to play St. David yet, lol.

Great idea, panel! Gotta check that scen...

Great idea!

*vows* One day, a scenario or campaign by my hand shall be on display here.

[This message has been edited by Lord Sipia (edited 11-16-2011 @ 09:42 AM).]

This is an interesting addition to SD.

Thanks for the encouraging responses.

Also, if you have any suggestions regarding the thread or any download recommendations for me to look into, I'd be happy to hear them.

I might cooperate by taking the time to review one or more of these goodies...

since it is your goal to promote work that is less known than it deserves, maybe a nice review (where possible and deserving) will help .

Is this limited to single player scenario files with fewer thab 1000 downloads?

Is this limited to single player scenario files with fewer thab 1000 downloads?

scenarios and campaigns, yes. the no. of downloads depends also on how old the file is. For instance, if there's a good file from early 2000's that has only around 1000 downloads is still underdownloaded IMO, and therefore could use a spotlight.

I'm restricted to single player because of my internet connection.

I might cooperate by taking the time to review one or more of these goodies...

I'd appreciate that Ivo, just let me know if you come accross something interesting. I will be following the new reviews anyway.

Bringing back this sort of thing has been discussed by the staff quite recently but no solid plans were made yet as we're aiming for a few others things atmo. If you'd like I can bring it back up for discussion and perhaps with the results of this thread get the highlighted scenario/campaign up onto the main page.

One of my ideas was to do a 'Scenario of the Week/Month' feature. If you had a continual flow of hiddem gems perhaps we could implement it into that and bring to light the scenarios/campaigns in discussion (as well as this thread).

We will have to see how it goes. It would of course be great to have an official feature again, and I would certainly contribute if needed.

EDIT: I will also post the current feature here, so it doesn't get lost when I update the OP.

Adventure Series IX - The War (2008) and St. David (2009)

by Jas The Mace1


As you can see, my first feature includes not one, but two downloads. Let me explain: "St. David" is actually the RPG part of the bigger game called "Adventure Series IX - The War". If you are an all-out RPG fan, Saint David is the perfect download for you. It includes a marvelously complex (for AOK standards anyway) rpg sandbox-style land that you will spend quite a few hours in, centered around a city called St. David. The gameplay is fairly similar to games such as GTA, with the protagonist, stranded in a foreign land, having to perform a series of "jobs" for the locals in order to gain enough money to return home. The quests are very creative for the most part, and the map design is above average. Also, almost all NPC's will have something to say to you, though some of them will not show you respect until you earn some upgrades, in the vein of the old GTA games.


If you want to know the full backstory behind this great RPG, and if you happen to also enjoy some tactical fixed-force and build-and-destroy, then the full game "The War" is the way to go. The game's strength is its impressive variation of game styles and an epic story of two kingdoms at war, that you will witness through the eyes of various protagonists, through cutscenes and chapters each with their different playing style. But be warned, this game is much more complex than the average blacksmith scenario, and it will take a lot of tenacity (and spare time) to get to the bottom of it. You will be amazed at the amount of things the author has managed to fit into only one (!!) scenario. For instance, picture the fact that St. David, the RPG part, is only chapter 7 of the scenario's 8 chapters!

It is baffling to me that these two games have not even gathered 600 downloads each to this point. You can download the one that you think fits your preferences better and read the full reviews below:

St. David (panel's rating 4.6)
Adventure Series IX - The War (panel's rating 4.4)

[This message has been edited by panel (edited 11-17-2011 @ 06:14 AM).]

Splendid work as always, Panel. Best of luck in managing this! Jas was a great designer that most people didn't know of. He used to be a critical part of SWS until his whereabouts were swallowed away to oblivion. Great to see his Adventure series being featured. They're all good quality scenarios.

One of my ideas was to do a 'Scenario of the Week/Month' feature. If you had a continual flow of hiddem gems perhaps we could implement it into that and bring to light the scenarios/campaigns in discussion (as well as this thread).

If this feature comes to fruition, I'd love to be a contributor as well. I shall now be looking for outlying gems and write a feature/review about them for future perusal.

@ Andan: feel free to share your features in this thread. I'm planning to release a feature on here weekly, so if you want your feature released in a certain week, just let me know beforehand.

if that sounds like a good idea, we can change also the thread's title into something less... selfcentered

By the way, this applies to anyone on here who wants to contribute and who has some experience with designing, reviewing and/or assessing scenarios.

Wow, I have had no idea about St. David's. It looks wonderful, I will start playing it shortly.

[This message has been edited by Dannflor (edited 11-18-2011 @ 08:11 PM).]

panel, this thread is looking excellent. It has AoKH's blessing. If we can help, let us know.

if that sounds like a good idea, we can change also the thread's title into something less... selfcentered

If you want it changed, I'm all ready for it.

[This message has been edited by Leif Ericson (edited 11-19-2011 @ 06:21 AM).]

Thank you, Leif

If we can help, let us know.

i think news'ing it would be great, as I'm sure there's some people that enjoyed the blacksmith feature but didn't frequent the forums (I know I used to be one), and they might be interested in this.

I will keep this name for now, until I can figure out one that sounds better. Suggestions are most welcome

It's a pity that I am unable to find some hours to just enjoy good scenarios... I'm still playing The Successor (I completed more than a half of it). And, after, I think I will try to win the Battle of Tannenberg on Hard, and try to finish The Rockspring Revolution too. But this thread is a nice idea, Panel. It's good that somebody speaks about the unknown wonders of the Blacksmith.

My Castle Never Falls (2009)

by Hawk_kk



This week I intend to bring to your attention a type of scenario that usually doesn't get to many downloads here at AOKH. Somehow, people tend to have a preference for the epic scenarios or campaigns featuring huge maps and hours of gameplay. What lies on the other side of that spectrum? The mini-game of course. Traditionally set on a minuscule 25X25 map, this type of scenario presents appeal only to the "conoisseurs", so to speak.

Even taking this into account, i still feel that "My castle never falls" by Hawk_kk, from the Chinese studio of "Ocean Blue" fame, should've gotten more attention, more downloads, and at least one review in the 2 years since it's been submitted to the Blacksmith. What does it have in store? First off, a great story, which sets it apart right off the bat from the vast majority of minigames. The story of a young samurai, the challenges that he faces and the dark secret that he uncovers, one of the better medieval Japanese-themed stories on the site, that will probably keep you glued to your seat until you finish the game, if you're anything like me.



Then, there is the great gameplay variation. You will be amazed at how many things the designer could fit into one single game...which happens to be designed on the tiniest map possible. Fans of RPG and Fixed Force really have something to look forward to, with a leveling-up system for the protagonist and a pretty epic battle (for a minigame) to conclude the whole thing. To be honest, the only slight drawback is the translation from Chinese which is sometimes awkward...But that's not only explainable, it also adds a bit of a charm and authenticity to the game, which, let's not forget, takes place in the Far East.

It will take about 1 hour and a half in-game to finish, so it is accessible even for those of you who don't have too much time to spare. If you have not played this file yet, I can only encourage you to do so, and... make sure your castle never falls!

You can read my full review and download the file here:

My Castle Never Falls (panel's rating 4.6)

I'm currently playing a campaign called "Blacksun beta series", by The Kestrel. It is absolutely fabulous! One of the best (if not THE best) RPG's ever made for AOK. it's released in 2003 but doesn't have any reviews, and just 1200 downloads, which is just saddening.

However, I've run into a bug that crashes the game. What makes it even more annoying is that I am so close to finishing the game.

Andan, I recall you saying that you playtested for this campaign back in the day. Maybe you can give me a hint to evade this bug? It's when the battle starts between the elven forces and the demons on that small island.

This is a great addition to our SD forum panel. We'll have to see about getting these news'd soon.

sticky?

sticky would indeed be great

A title change?

Yes, as I said I'm open for suggestions on that one. i was thinking of just dropping the "panel" part. "Blacksmith treasurehunt" is suggestive enough, i think

The Blacksmith Treasure
The Smither's Treasure
are two suggestion for the title.

How about "The blacksmith's finest works"?

well, it's more like "the finest works that have not gained mainstream popularity", but that would be too long a title. the "treasurehunt" implies that you need to search for them.

I like the idea of Lord Sipia: "Blacksmith's Finest Works" sounds well.

i quite like the personal touch of the panels blacksmith treasurehunt. However, if its gonna change then id just change it to The Blacksmith Treasurehunt!

If we're going to change the title, I would also just suggest "The Blacksmith Treasure Hunt".

The Blacksmith Treasure Hunt - By Panel

I would also just suggest "The Blacksmith Treasure Hunt".

I agree. In retrospect I guess it's also more correct than "treasurehunt" So if you want, you can change it right away

@ Tetsuo, Devestator: thinking it over, I decided it's best not to associate the name of the thread with me. Just as other initiatives on this forum were passed down from one user to the other (such as the CSC), this might happen to this thread too at some point. I can only hope it will be that popular at this point though :P

[This message has been edited by panel (edited 11-26-2011 @ 03:57 PM).]

Panel, about Blacksun, IIRC I only playtested the campaign up to the second scenario and the first half of the third one. Never played the fourth one until now.

Also, about time this thread gets news'd.

This is very under looked. Even though it is unplayable, I think it would be perfect for this thread.