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Just Another Bad Dream...
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| Author |
File Description |
| Felix Hermansson |
Posted on 06/13/04 @ 07:03 AM
| File Details |
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| Version: |
AoM: The Titans |
Just Another Bad Dream... (June 2004)
This is a fully revised and improved version of 'Good Advice' from the original 'Fall of the Trident' campaign. Now Arkantos faces Atlantean troops from the expansion in his dream, and he is in for some additional surprises as well!
To play this scenario, first copy the file 'Just Another Bad Dream.scx' into your 'scenarios' folder. Next the file 'dream01p2.xs' goes into the game folder '../Microsoft Games/Age of Mythology/ai2' (and NOT into the folder named '../My Games/Age of Mythology/AI2'!!). You need the 'AoM: The Titans' expansion to run the scenario, but apart from that no extras are necessary. It works with the standard installation as long as you put both files in the correct folders.
'Good Advice' is one of my favourite scenarios in the original 'Fall of the Trident' campaign, mainly because of the surprise twist at the beginning of the third part, where Arkantos joins forces with Kamos and Gargarensis to attack Atlantis.
At some point I decided that I wanted to be able to play this part all by itself so I created a standalone version. But I soon found that without a follow-up scenario to jump to I had to change some of the triggers to make the ending work; and once I started to play around with them I was hooked. Since I was adapting them anyway I decided I might just as well add a little extra something - and after I began to introduce Atlantean units I realised that I had to change the AI file as well to make it work...
So what was supposed to be a simple copy of the original ES scenario quickly evolved into the fully revised AoM:TT version you see now: Atlantean units, buildings and god powers, several additional features, new sound files, a slightly improved map design and an AI script which balances the enemy's troops between offence and defence even better than the original did, especially on the higher difficulty levels.
I quite like the result and I hope you do as well. Credit where credit is due, though: All I did was to add a slab of new paint to a house others have built. So my thanks go to the people at ES who originally designed 'Good Advice', for they are the ones who did the real work!
I would appreciate any comments, good or bad. Please tell me what you liked, what you disliked, and especially, tell me why. If you have any ideas on how to improve it, all the better.
Please send your comments via e-mail to hoodncloak@hotmail.com. Oh, and add "AoM" to the subject, otherwise your message will probably be lost in all the spam mail I receive.
Two more comments from my side:
The scenario is optimised for a screen resolution of 1024x768.
There are four fully implemented difficulty levels in this scenario, just like in the original one. I suggest you play it on hard. You are going to miss part of the fun if you play it on moderate, and on easy it is just a pushover. Of course, if you are looking for a real challenge, then titan might be just right for you!
Have fun!
Felix
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| Pages: [1] 2 » Last » | | Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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| tbarak |
Posted on 07/02/04 @ 03:29 PM
That said the land action was captivating and on moderate level the game played at a balanced pace which was neither too easy nor frustratingly hard. I really appreciate the graduated difficulty settings- the map details change depending on the difficulty settings you use- and the ai is quite smart. For example I couldn't just use catapults to destroy enemy towers without some retalliation from the opponent. Another example is I couldn't just build a fortress near the enemy without being raided. These are great features and are the mark of thoughful scenario design.
For some reason this map felt small and at 240x240- with the water- it was small. Although eye candy was present it was a bit lighter than I prefer to see. I know sometimes simplicity for sake of playability is necessary, you could still build up your locations and land/waterscapes a bit without appreciable degradation in the game's fluidness. I also didn't really see a hook that was original or that really set my imagination on fire in this scenario. While I love to sack a wonder just as much as the next guy, I love something original to do even more. Of course one has to remember this scenario is part of a campaign and likely in context to a greater storyline, the wonder may indeed take on more significance.
Now I'll get hyper-critical. I found the leap from moderate to hard about unbearable and I think with the disabled heroes you may have a balance issue- at least it was with my skills. I admit I stampede for the hard level in all games I try, but playing the ai on hard in this game was frustrating. I just simply couldn't counter the enemy myth unit production. I suppose expert micro of the heroes that are available may have solved this issue but I think enabling the heroes would give the player a better chance. On hard, the two town centres and available resources were just not enough to out-spam the ai in a prolonged, straight-up, head-to-head brawl. The area in my base was pretty small and I couldn't get as many rax up as I would have liked. There was no other way to win but to go head on at what appeared to be an endless stream of enemy units. So fierce was the opposition that I couldn't even run units over to the wonder to earth quake it. :(
Clearly Felix is a game-maker with a keen grasp of good scenario design. I enjoyed playing Just Another Bad Dream very much and I am sure anyone who also plays it will think as highly of it as I. While not a complex mission, the scenario tests traditional Myth game skills in a lively- and at times demanding- format that is in general very successful and fun to play. I like the twist at the end and without giving it away, I think it could be even better with some visuals illustrating the situation. Nice job!
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EaZy
(id: EazY_Ben) |
Posted on 07/02/04 @ 05:58 PM |
| tbarak |
Posted on 07/03/04 @ 10:12 AM
1. The current rating system is totally inadequate at present and I cannot give it a fair rating using that criteria.
2. I don't think I have enough experience and haven't seen enough cinematics to feel comfortable making this type of judgment.
I really wanted to give Felix some feedback because his project is very good and really it deserves some praise and useful(hopefully at least)comments which will help him to improve. I know the work that goes into the projects is enormous and least I could do in return is to leave him a few words of encouragement. |
Felix Hermansson
File Author |
Posted on 07/05/04 @ 02:36 AM
About the missing water action: I thought about having the AI fight for control of the sea as well, but I couldn't think of a good way to keep the game balanced if the player had to defend against ships as well. Now all the AI does is maintain a naval force to protect its harbour, trying to keep the player from staging landing operations himself.
Btw, I doubt that you'd find it "disapointingly easy" to fight off the AI's naval attack on difficulty hard or titan... ;-)
About the balance issue: The main reason the heroes are disabled is simply because they wouldn't fit into the story. Arkantos is on the 'other' side now, it wouldn't make much sense if Ajax or Chiron came to his aid. (In the original they're even part of the defence forces.)
Anyway, the AI rarely adds more than one Argus to its attack armies, and the myth units assigned for defence don't even respawn. Four regenerating, immortal heroes, properly backed up with regular troops and myth units, should be capable of dealing with those, I think.
I adjusted the balance in such a way that I personally find it interesting to play on difficulty hard. You're probably right about the "leap" between moderate and hard, but that's very hard to judge for myself and without more comments from people actually playing it.
[Edited on 08/05/04 @ 02:20 PM]
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| filmdirector2 |
Posted on 09/04/04 @ 09:23 PM
This is the scenario Good Advice redone, Atlantean style. Unless you disagree with me and think the original "Good Advice" scenario was unplayable, I think this deserves a five in playablility. It's a bit harder than the original "Good Advice", but most regular Campaign-Beaters can pull it off.
Balance: 5
This was extremely well balanced. The idea of the scenario is simple, but complex. (I don't even understand what that means, I don't get oxymorans, but it feels like the right time to say it). it pretty much goes like this: Between the constant raids of the "Evil Empire" (Atlantis), you have to make an army while under attack to destroy the Poseidon Wonder. As I said before, simple, but complex.
Creativity: 5
Very well done on the creativity side. The opening cinematic is changed and very well done. In the "Good Advice" scenario, you get Gargarensis and Kamos, but no Kemsyt! Kemsyt is my favorite character from the Fall of the Trident Campaign. Felix Hermanson ever managed to put this in. But not crudely (is that a word?) fall from the sky, but have Kastor turn into him. Other aspects such as the mix of Atlantean units, and soldiers, and other creative bits you have to search every nook and cranny to find. Well done Felix.
Map Design: 3
Although you reworked the Evil Empire's city, I though you could've included more eyecandy. Now with the Titans editor, much more is capable than before. Nice job, but I though a little more could've done the job better.
Story/Instructions: 4
There wasn't really the need to alter the stroy/instructions. I don't really think I should give it a five though, you could've added a little more. But, it's hard to do in a pre-made scenario that you are altering, not making. I though you could have done a little more water action, and, maybe an optional mission on the water. ex: destroy 5 enemy docks.
Additional Comments:
Good Advice is my personal favorite scenario. I would think it would be done by the campaign makers when I played it. Well done. Also, I played it twice. Once i attacked from land, and once from water. The water is much easier, because you cond have to plow through the army. It was almost too easy, so I though you could have created more towers/ships on the coastline.[Edited on 09/05/04 @ 10:47 AM]
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Felix Hermansson
File Author |
Posted on 09/05/04 @ 01:14 PM
Some points from my side:
When you say the scenario is a bit harder than 'Good Advice', are you referring to a specific difficulty level or does this comment apply to the whole range I implemented? (It is certainly more difficult on titan, because the maintain/attack plans of the original AI script had some serious flaws there.)
About story and instructions: You might not have noticed, but I did indeed "add a little more". The hints (and of course the spotlight) are completely new, and so is most of the spoken dialog during the game. But I agree, it does not deserve a five.
I explained my views about the missing water action already in my response to tbarak's comments above. I simply couldn't think of a good way to keep the game balanced, not in the time I was willing to spend.
If you think the attack via the harbour is too easy I suggest you try it on a higher difficulty level. You may be in for some unpleasant surprises... ;-) |
| filmdirector2 |
Posted on 09/10/04 @ 03:01 PM
The difficulty levels was also great. Most scenarios don't add it. |
| CaveTown |
Posted on 07/18/05 @ 09:53 AM |
Felix Hermansson
File Author |
Posted on 07/25/05 @ 12:53 PM |
| Raptors |
Posted on 02/04/08 @ 08:20 AM
Just one question... How do you get the AOM Campaign scenerios(fall of the trident) to the editor? |
| Pages: [1] 2 » Last » |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
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| 4.4 | | Breakdown |
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| Playability | 5.0 | | Balance | 5.0 | | Creativity | 5.0 | | Map Design | 3.0 | | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 2,043 |
| Favorites: [] | 1 |
| Size: | 157.19 KB |
| Added: | 06/13/04 |
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