(Note: This is a slightly modified scenario from the original version to make the last few "years" a bit harder - should make the overall play more balenced. Also I made a few small changes to the terrain.)
I put quite a bit of work into the terrain to produce a detailed picture of a valley, eroded by time. The streams that flow through the lowlands are fed by multiple steaming hot springs. Passes in the surrounding cliffs are, unfortunately, entry points for your enemies. Ruins that appear here and there bear silent testimony to those who came before you - and failed. The hills and valleys offer abundant natural resources. But can you make use of them?
The challenge of this scenario is to administrate an economically prosperous settlement while, at the same time, remaining vigilant to defend the community against multiple and fairly frequent attacks from the Rat, Snake, Pig and Wolf.
At the beginning you are faced with a choice of locations for the placement of the keep. The obvious spot is not necessarily the best. There are at least three viable locations for the community with different advantages and disadvantages. I have played out this scenario on "Normal" from various starting locations and each offers some unique problems.
Winning requires that you survive until January 1091 and end with at least 5,000 gold (Normal Setting) in your treasury.
Tis is a pretty good scenario. A lot of time has been taken into the playability and map design. I was very impressed withthe natural look of the landscape. The rivers and crossings made for great challange, and nice look to the land.
The battles, while not overwhelming, are nearly constant. And I found that if you didn't enclose your keep immediately, you didn't have a chance. And this also made achieving the gold objecive vey difficult.
The story is pretty simple and to the point, and the events seemed scripted pretty strightly. But the nice balance and and genuine effort in the playability and map design made it a great play.
I recommend this scenario to everytype of player, especially those who like starting from scratch and taking on some nice challenges.
-Jitz
ericgolf Staff
Posted on 07/15/06 @ 04:13 PM
Rating
4.0
Breakdown
Playability
4.0
Balance
3.0
Creativity
4.0
Map Design
5.0
Story/Instructions
4.0
I had great fun playing this scenario :-)
Playability 4
I just love being able to place my own keep! I played on hard first time and very hard second time. I really enjoyed both games. It played well the second time. First time I experienced a strange glitch. I assume it is a rare one-time only bug – so I have not let this affect the rating. About 1/3rd way through the fair came to town and never left. This gave me +16 popularity for the rest of the game! There was no sign of this glitch second time around. (Ideally, I would give a bit more than 4 but this evens out – see Balance below.)
Balance 3
The start is well balanced and things got very precarious for a while. The invasions do keep coming. However, it did not take too many invasions before I was promptly eliminating them. On second playing (on very hard) I reached the target (10,000 gold) only half way through the game time. I amassed a huge fortune (40,000+ gold) by the end of the game. But then that was what the scenario instructions on the site told me to do :-) and I enjoyed doing it. Although it was fun it was a bit too easy after I got established. (Ideally, I would give slightly less than 3 but this evens out – see Playability above.) I did not try alternative locations for my keep. Maybe the other locations would have caused me more problems.
Creativity 4
The important elements in the scenario, resources and terrain were convincingly created.
Map Design 5
The reason I enjoyed this map was the land that the author created made for such interesting behaviour of the AI attacks and allowed me to solve fascinating defence problems. Choke points, river crossings and commanding heights were provided in just the right places. Superb!
Story/Instructions 4
Simple details in the map and nice hints and description with mini-map on the site.
Summary
If you enjoy starting from scratch and building a thriving settlement and impregnable fortress then this is for you. Thank you author for giving me hours of fun!
david(at)egss(dot)demon.co.uk
Posted on 09/21/03 @ 12:00 AM (updated 09/26/03)