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Scenarios » Ancient Times Custom plus Lite v2_83
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Ancient Times Custom plus Lite v2_83
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| Author |
File Description |
| Carbo |
Posted on 01/16/07 @ 09:31 PM (updated 07/05/07)
| File Details |
|---|
| Ruleset: |
AoW: SM - Unofficial Patch 1.4 |
| Map Size: |
XL |
| Levels: |
2 |
| Single Player?: |
Yes |
| Co-Op vs. AI?: |
Yes |
| PBEM/Hotseat?: |
Yes |
| Multiplayer Online?: |
Yes |
| # of Wizards: |
8 |
| # of players: |
8 |
| Skill Level: |
Advanced |
| Password Protected: |
No |
Surface Minimap:
 |
Cavern Minimap:
 |
This is a customized version of Ballemann's map that reproduced the battle in ancient times throughtout the old world. On the original map were 5 civilizations: The Romans, The Carthaginians, The Persians, The Germans and the Huns. On that map, the level 4 units for each race were turned off.
I really liked that map, but when I replayed it, I beefed it up a bit to make for a different experience:
1. all city buildings enabled
2. Changed the opponents and added 3 more. Now there is one wizard for each specialty (life, death, etc.) and two cosmos wizards.
3. There are 3 active wars at the start of the game between 3 pairs of wizards. Two wizards are free to decide who to support and who to crush.
4. Added a fair amount of underground content. Get out your shovels!
5. To prevent the AI wizards from dying off too easily (they have the annoying habit of emptying their cities of defenders), each wizard has an underground sanctuary city that is blocked off by a powerful independent army guarding a tower - this is to keep the defenders in the sanctuary city from moving around.
6. For each independent city there is a chance each turn of spawning a berserker army. If the city is captured or razed, the berserkers are stopped.
7. Added several heroes and included customized resources such as different unit body and stats for some hero types.
8. Tweaked the racial relations for the wizards to force them to stay closer to their intended character. For instance, Marcus is an Archon zealot, and will have difficulty interacting with any other race. Since this means all of his cities will be Archon, provision has been made to supply Marcus with units that have the Tunnelling ability, since Archons lack this ability (it is up to you to figure this out).
9. much randomness (for replayability) - just about every site has a random army guarding it.
The impressive hero and wizard pics are from Randamaster's Fantasysaga stuff.
Note that this map was tuned mainly for an interesting single player experience versus challenging AI opponents, with very different challenges based on which wizard is chosen. That being said, much effort was made to balance the goodies added for each wizard and to balance their unique weaknesses with unique strengths. Therefore, it may make a good multiplayer or cooperative map.
I played it with the Ally Victory turned on and all wizards kept at the default max AI setting.
Much thanks to Ballemann for his excellent map. I hope Ballemann enjoys the new spin on the map and the new underground content. Also thanks to Randamaster for the excellent hero/wizard images. This map was the result of a bit of experimentation at map editting that got out of hand. I hope to create a truly original map soon. I am uploading this map because it suits my style of play and so I figured someone else might enjoy it as well.
Note: The zip file contains the resources needed for this map (in User/Resources/AT_Custom - use the setup program to use these resources) and the ahm file for the map.
v1.1 changes:
- Berserker armies are less likely to be spawned from each independent city (15% vs 20% previously) but there is now a 1 in 4 chance that the army spawned will be a fairly tough city killer stack.
- some minor tweaks to terrain (like just above the waterfall in the north), and added one additional underground spot for a city to be built.
v1.2 changes:
- the change from 1.1 was too hard on the AI players (sorry about that...should have play-tested it a bit more before uploading it) and so the AI players now get double starting gold, and an extra starting army to compensate. Hopefully that will give the AI idiots a better chance at surviving long enough for you to crush them yourself.
- fixed access to an area near Tanny's Sanctuary City.
- minor changes near Marcus' Sanctuary City.
v1.3 changes:
- further AI compensation for v1.1 changes: AI wizards now get a starting mana bonus. They also spawn an army near their sanctuary city on day 20 and day 30. Past day 30 they are on their own.
v1.4 changes:
- adjusted AI spawned armies' AI settings as per tip from TalonThorn
- set behavior of sanctuary city garrisons to Guard as per Roger's tip
- added an additional army to each AI Wizard's starting city through a spawn event with the stack behavior set to garrison.
Note: Barring any input from others, this will hopefully be the last version.
v1.5 changes:
- one of the independent berserker armies was set to the Raid behavior accidentally.
v1.6 changes:
- minor terrain refinements and typo fixes.
v1.7 changes:
- fixed the behavior setting on a couple of armies
- fixed the spawn berserker army event for a city near Pardona's starting area and checked all the other spawning events to make sure they were correct (the event was triggering every turn, making it a lot harder to start off as Pardona)
v1.8 changes:
- Pardona now dislikes Undead. This ensures that undead heroes are more likely to go to Death's Avatar, and adds a bit of flavor to Pardona.
- periodically replenish the sea monsters in the larger bodies of water.
- other minor terrain tweaks.
- minor custom resource change to tweak a nomad priest hero.
v1.9 changes:
(final version for a while - busy with exams)
- refined race relations for Pardona, Tanny, Blazecat and Sissira.
- altered Pardona's magic spheres (-1 life, -1 death, +1 air, +1 fire)
Jan 29, 2007 change:
- the zip file now includes a more multiplayer friendly Lite version (Ancient Times Custom Lite) with the independent berserker armies tuned down to only a 1 percent chance to spawn each turn (down from 15%)
v2 changes:
- playability changes: Added several one-way teleporters to help out the AI, removed 2 fire nodes since casting Mastery with them on the map revealed something that was not supposed to be, and set one of the magic vaults in Pardona's area to a spell she might find useful if she seeks an alliance with Death's Avatar.
v2_1 changes:
- Added events to raze the one-way teleporters added if the nearby city is owned by the player (don't want to make it too easy for you)
v2_2 changes:
- Added Stormy Island near Julia's starting area
v2_3 changes:
- increased the storm chances around Stormy Island.
v2_4 changes:
- added entrance to underground connecting Lode's starting city with his sanctuary city (I must have deleted it by mistake during a past edit...sorry about that)
v2_5 changes (final version):
- tweaked Blazecat's starting area a bit
- added a special room to the underground that could be very useful to a master (hint hint).
- removed the berserker army spawns for the Lite (multiplayer friendly) version.
- final version barring feedback or bugs
v2_51 change (minor enhancement):
- added tiny underground pathway near Blazecat's starting area
- changed node type in new underground room from v2_5
note: This time, it really is the final version. Honest. Also, this change is very small so if you are playing a v2_5 map keep going. Just use this for new games.
v2_52 changes:
- changed a few hexes to water near Blazecat's area so the nearby cities could make shipyards
- tweaked the storms near stormy island (pestilence much less likely, fire a bit less likely)
- added random defender armies to 3 hidden cities in the underground
v2_53 changes:
- minor terrain changes (like moving an underground waterfall)
- added a few Magic Catalist sites near Lode's starting area
v2_6 changes:
- in retrospect the initial diplomatic settings were too strict. Therefore there are now only 3 active wars going on between obviously opposed wizards (Marcus and Death's Avatar, Julia and Pardona, Tanny and Blazecat). Lode and Sissira are neutral with all others , but of course will have to decide which side to fall in on in the 3 wars.
- other minor tweaks to terrain and army settings.
v2_61 changes:
- the new diplomatic settings changed the balance of power a bit, and so Lode and Pardona had their starting areas changed a bit to give them a hand.
v2_62 changes:
- Pardona needed even more aid for starting out, so she got a little more. This should do it.
v2_63 changes:
- minor tweaks: e.g. fixed a teleporter and moved a gateway.
v2_64 changes:
- added diplomatic events so that a wizard will declare war on you if you make peace or an alliance with his or her mortal enemy.
- other minor tweaks near Lode's starting area
v2_7 changes:
- altered diplomacy a great deal. Now each wizard starts out at war with one other (similar to before, but now Lode is at war with Sissira...fighting over a cave or something). Wizards no longer declare war on you if you make peace with their enemy. The Spirit of War now tells you what it is about at the start of the game, but here is a little of the details:
1. from turn 30 to 59 you get steadily more liked by wizards at peace with you
2. from turn 60 on you steadily lose favor with wizards you are at peace with.
3. once you ally with anyone, all others declare war on you.
- this change was made to keep the new diplomatic flexibility but reintroduce the difficulty of the initial version (too much peace gets a little boring)
- if this last diplomatic change works out to everyone's satisfaction, that will be it for this map and I will start a new one.
v2_71 changes:
- someone persuaded me that I did not allow enough time for diplomacy, so the increased peace phase in now from turn 50 to 99, and the decreased peace phase begins after turn 100.
v2_72 changes:
IMPORTANT BUG FIX: I appologize but I made a mistake with the event that gets the other wizards to declare war on other wizards who form an alliance. I thought I was a wiz with events by now and my hubris was my undoing. This version of those events has been tested.
Again - sorry about that.
v2_73 changes:
- the new events still aren't right. I am having trouble getting them to work so until I do, the new events have been removed. The next version will have them working.
- note that removing these events just returns the map to version 2_63 with a few tweaks added.
- Sorry for all the trouble.
v2_74 changes:
- fixed and tested the events that cause wizards to declare on each wizard allied with another wizard.
v2_75 changes:
- okay, so one last little change. The diplomacy is working great now, but not enough peace was breaking out between AI wizards. Therefore, between turns 50 and 99, diplomatic relations now improve not only between wizards at peace, but also wizards with an Unknown relationship. This might make for some unusual pairings, but what the heck. :)
v2_76 changes:
- removed 2 magic nodes from the underground near a certain secret cave full of roaming independents. Why? Well, it was just getting too annoying watching them pace back and forth after casting a mastery spell.
v2_77 changes:
- I made the mistake of playing the map again, and so of course I had to tweak it a little more.
- front-loaded better wizard relations at the start of the game to generate more peace. Declaring war reverses this initial relationship boost.
- added 1 new hero, and revisitied the starting hero armies to make them a bit more interesting and/or themed (for example, Felin now has an all female army and Thufir has all reptiles).
- minor changes near Sissira's starting area (near the frostling city) including adding a recruitable good-aligned hero.
v2_78 changes:
- while playing I discovered that one of the new starting hero stacks had not moved since the game start. One of the new upatch 1.4 units had been added to the stack (the blue drake). Just in the slim case that this introduced some unexpected side-effect, the hero stack was altered to include only standard units.
- other minor tweaks.
v2_80 changes:
- simplified the diplomancy, pairing up wizards in alliances and setting them at war with everyone else. In retrospect I think the more complicated diplomacy was flawed as it made the game too easy.
- added a new Alternate custom map with Julia replaced with Symon (as a life wizard in change of halflings) and Marcus replaced with an alternate Marcus (an earth wizard in charge of nomads).
v2_81 changes:
- minor shuffle of magic spheres for a couple of wizards for the new Alternate custom map.
v2_82 changes:
- added a free-for-all (FFA) version of the map with a handfull of additional changes, but that is left as a surprise.
v2_83 changes:
- minor tweak to the FFA map: Enabled Sissira and Tanny an easier route to each other since they were cleaning up. This way they wittle each other down a little. |
| Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
|---|
| Elbereth |
Posted on 01/24/07 @ 05:51 AM |
Carbo
File Author |
Posted on 01/24/07 @ 11:27 AM
I can't take credit for the impressive landscape. That was mostly Ballemann's doing. I just added to it (tweaks like new islands, new sites, Lode's mountains, and the underground).
I am happy you enjoyed the map! |
Carbo
File Author |
Posted on 01/26/07 @ 09:57 PM
I realise that I've made a lot of changes to this map since I first uploaded it, but as I play it more I can't help tweaking it to make it better.
If anyone discovers something, no matter how small, please let me know and maybe it can make into the next version.
Thanks. |
| Hiisimiisi |
Posted on 01/29/07 @ 02:12 AM
We always use TC because QB keeps losing important troops (such as heroes) in simple battles. I was wondering if it's possible to tweak the amount of independents in this map? |
Carbo
File Author |
Posted on 01/29/07 @ 02:42 PM
You can easily tone down the independents using the editor. Just open the map and click on the Events tab on the right side. You will see a lot of events. What you are looking for are the ones that start with a number, and then a race, like "1234 Elf" or whatever. The number stands for the ID of the city that spawns the independents.
In the conditions for the event you will see one is called "15". That stands for the probability of spawning an army each turn. Click on the Conditions tab to see the conditions, click on the one called "15", and change the value you see at the bottom to something smaller.
There are a lot of events like this, but it actually doesn't take that long to change them all. I know because I changed them all a few times myself.
I wish there was a way to grab variable from a setup file for things like this, but I don't think there is a way to do that.
If you are not comfortable with the editor let me know and I'll upload a Lite version of the map with independents at a lower setting. |
Carbo
File Author |
Posted on 01/29/07 @ 03:46 PM
I thought a bit about it and realized that there might be others that want a more multiplayer friendly version of this map with the independents tuned down. I will upload such a version this evening when I get home.
If anyone reads this before I get to the map, please let me know if you have any thoughts about what to do about the independents. I was thinking:
- tune down the berserkers spawned to a random 1 percent chance per turn
- leave the raider armies present at the start alone (since they are a such an important menace early on)
Thanks
(as you can see the lite version is now included - thanks for the feedback)
[Edited on 01/29/07 @ 08:18 PM]
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| Hiisimiisi |
Posted on 01/30/07 @ 02:16 AM
Thanks for the quick respond and solution to my simple issue. We have to take another try and see how it works out this time. Might take a while to play the map but I'll post a review someday.
I would also like to thank you for your contribution to this scene, people like you keep this game still going. |
Carbo
File Author |
Posted on 03/23/07 @ 04:54 PM
I hope everyone has enjoyed this map. I had fun tweaking it over the last little while. I am now going to move on and start a new map from scratch. No eta as yet.
Before I put this one to bed though, let me add a few suggestions on how this map should be played for maximum enjoyment.
First of all, turn on Allied Victory for the map. As you can see when you start it, the map is designed for this.
Also, the map has random berserker armies and lots of randomness. This is for replayability, but also, it is set up to surprise you. Some of the times I played the map, a killer stack would appear out of nowhere at the start of the game and really mess me up. I suggest you do not reload a saved game when this happens, but instead continue on. I know this is always a philisophical question, but for this map such disasters were entirely intended, so if you don't play them out, you are missing some of the fun.
Thanks everyone![Edited on 03/23/07 @ 04:55 PM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 1,488 |
| Favorites: [] | 0 |
| Size: | 6.43 MB |
| Added: | 01/16/07 |
| Updated: | 07/05/07 |
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