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Author |
File Description |
Sir Hugh |
Posted on 09/12/07 @ 05:42 PM
File Details |
Map Size: |
300x300 (Medium) |
Difficulty: |
Hard |
Minimap:
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The Rebuilding of Apgwyn: A Prince’s Account.
The invaders came from beyond the Mountains in the West. We had always heard stories of their barbarism and unorthodox, yet effective, methods of waging war.
We were once a peaceful and prosperous kingdom; our trade flourished, our cities grew, our borders expanded into habitable areas of the desert to the west and south. My father’s kingdom was in a golden age, but an unwelcome guest had made its home; greed. Even though there was never so much abundance, the lords who swore fealty to my father started coveting the wealthier estates and even the thrown.
After the invasion, there were several defeats among the garrisons in the border castles and fortresses. Soon, garrisons began surrendering without a fight to the enemy. No longer do they, for word has reached us that no one is ever spared. Now many garrisons and townspeople flee to the inner cities as the enemy’s pincher movement advanced closer to the capitol.
The corrupt lords soon began withdrawing their troops from the King’s armies and started waging war against one another or hid in their own fortresses. Few stayed loyal to the king; he was no longer able to ensure and enforce peace nor able to defeat the marauding invaders. Soon, an evacuation was ordered of the capitol. My uncle decided to stay with his troops and defend the citadel to the last man to ensure a safe retreat. My father, his brother, decided to join him. He left us with the stock troops and took the remainder of his force to defend the citadel. A legend would be made of their valiant stand, but many would be disappointed at how they really met their ends.
My elder brother and I led the fleeing population as the enemy closed in on the city. We headed towards Baron Standford’s lands only to find that he had been murdered and much of his land confiscated by hostile neighboring lords. Some of our demoralized mass began to desert. We were alone and surrounded by enemies. Three lords were still loyal to us in the north, but we were far south with many enemies between us and them. We decided to flee into the canyons to an abandoned estate on the other side. Luckily, the invading barbarians seemed to slow down around the occupied capitol; no doubt they were enjoying the spoils. The canyons would strip them of some of their advantages and allow a more secure retreat.
Two days into our desperate endeavor, we were attacked by a scouting force of an enemy baron’s men. My brother led our body guards--a force of 100 stock troops—-to defend the ever shrinking amount of vassals. Though successful in our defense, it was the last deed he did. We held a quick funeral and kept moving. My father’s signet ring held loosely around my finger.
We soon made it to the canyons. This is where rich land ends and desert begins. Not many settlements were ever made in or beyond the canyons. They had never been profitable; outlaws and droughts had always harassed the settlers and ruined crops. We spent about a month navigating the maze of canyons and killing any enemy scouts we caught.
God willing, our enemies had lost our trail. We made it to the abandoned estate which I named Apgwyn. I surveyed the area: the small fortress was still intact, many of the buildings were in need of only small repairs before being made useful again, but unfortunately the aqueduct had suffered damage and there would be no running water or private baths. Scouts and sentries have reported locals. They could be hostile or friendly.
At last I could formulate a plan. There is no hope of me taking back the kingdom by myself. Since there are still three loyal lords in northern moutains holding out against everyone by working together, I will try to join them, but I will require a sizable armed escort as well as my own fall back position should we be defeated. I should establish a stable economy here, raise a dependable garrison, and collect enough supplies to raise an escorting force to deliver me to the Northern Lords.
After some time, here is my progress:
This map was originally made for the The Stronghold and Crusader Fantasy Scenario Competition here at Stronghold Heaven. It has been about a year since my last released map and I enjoyed making this one.
My past few maps have been mostly sieges. I felt that not only since the map competition required a full scenario, but that it was also time to try my hand at an eco-invasion map.
As always, constructive criticism is welcome.
Enjoy,
Sir Hugh |
Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Lord Boz |
Posted on 09/13/07 @ 04:55 AM
your image code should be [img]address [/img]
try that instead |
The Dragonheart |
Posted on 09/14/07 @ 02:27 AM
Wow, this looks impressive. The screenshots and the minimap look great. Good work Sir Hugh:) |
Lord Boz |
Posted on 09/14/07 @ 06:53 PM
Great looking map! I found it really hard and have not completed it yet :[ |
subindxsubin (id: SUBINDXSUBIN) |
Posted on 09/14/07 @ 09:41 PM
Nice looking map. I have downloaded it. I will review it in a while. I like small castles like this. Are those walls on both sides of the water flwoing to the castle made of wood? |
Sir Hugh
Staff
File Author |
Posted on 09/15/07 @ 09:35 AM
Thanks for the comments everyone. I promise it's winnable. |
subindxsubin (id: SUBINDXSUBIN) |
Posted on 09/16/07 @ 09:39 PM
Playability: 5
I had a lot of fun playing this map On the first try I go killed very fast The second try was boring but I lost On the third try I won I was able to enjoy this map a lot on the third try. In the beginning itself apple blight got me. I like smal castles like these. The aim was to gather a small amount of weapons and stuff but it was made tuff and I enjoyed this map because of that.
Balance: 5
Just like I said this map was tuff. I lost instantly at my first try. At the seco9nd try I lasted for some time. On the third try I was able to win. Good use of scripting here as whenever i though I had a good economy up I would be struck by calamity. Good work.
Creativity: 5
Creativity was good. I liked the way you brought the map and story together with the resources and creative castle design and story. I dont think I have played a map with rebulding castle like this.
Map Design: 4.5
The map design was great. Really realitsic looking terraining. I liked those hyilly parts to the top. There slanding look realistic and the ruined walls near the castle also look good but a question. Did you place invisinle rocks on the water supply area?The castles shape was also good.
Story/Instructions: 5
The stiry was long interesting and descriprtive. It had everything needed. I did not see any grammer mistakes. The story belnds well with the map.
Additional Comments:
Nice map. :) |
Sir_Mik |
Posted on 10/31/07 @ 05:41 PM
Playability: 4.5
I enjoy it and I could consider play it more than once. That's enough to give it close to top grade. There are other games though that has excited me more than this one, so I can't give it top 5.
Balance: 4
Once you think out what is the best defences (no I wont spoil it and give it away here), the rest of the game is fairly straightforward. The lack of wood gives the player some concern at the start, but of course there should be a little challenge. I subtract 1 from top grade, because the initial obvious defence gives such a huge advantage compared to not having this defence. There's not really a choice in having this defence or not.
Creativity: 3
Not too much new here. It's the usual building up the defence and then the economy.
Map Design: 4.5
I think this is the first piece of 'eyecandy' (the aqueduct) I ever see that actually looks realistic and useful!
I like the irrigated area, but I would have liked it more, if you had added a few trails in this thick grass. Since there were farmers working here, I guess they usually stuck to the same paths, so there should have been some
trails.
In the hills, you have placed some plants on top of the hills. Usually, the top of the hill is the dryest area, so it is more common to see plants in the vally.
Story/Instructions: 4
Easy to read and no language troubles, much better than I can achieve myself. Maybe a few too many words about faraway areas that you visited long time ago and are not relevant to the gameplay.
Maybe you could explained where all the meat in the granary comes from? This is after all a fairly barren desert area and I see no animal life at all. Maybe it is the enemy scouts that you describe killing in the storyline? Or maybe there were a few animals near the leaking aqueduct when you arrived and you slaughtered those for your initial food supply?
Additional Comments:
Good work, I enjoyed it.
|
Sir Hugh
Staff
File Author |
Posted on 04/10/08 @ 12:24 PM
Thank you kindly for the reviews, Subin and Sir Mik. That was a funny suggestion of cannibalism, and I'll be a little more cautious when writing a story.
Glad you enjoyed it. :) |
Hypernova90 |
Posted on 04/15/08 @ 11:28 AM
I have been reviewing a lot of scenarios lately and most of them weren't really outstanding. So I went on a search for a map with a 4, or higher but not a 5 ( a map which has already a 5, and it deserves it doesn't have to be reviewed again in my opinion ).
Playability: 5
I totally loved the way you used the scripting. I was catched by suprise by all the little things you added, like fire and bandits. The rebuilding was hard, and that made it a lot off fun for me. The suprising element was the most fun for me. The economical aspect was also something that I really liked. One truly awesome thing was the fact that this scenario can be completed with several kind off strategies. Because the large scale off options you have it makes it replayable.
Balance: 4
The first try my economy was destroyed by the first invasion and it was way too much damaged to actually win. At my second try I was coming along pretty far, but the suprising elements brought down my economy. At my third try I managed to win. It was good but I think you could have made the last invasion a bit harder, because it was too easy. You could have added some swordsman, so that I was a bit more forced to train crossbowman.
Creativity: 4
Although the concept is quite standard ( build up and defend ) the suprising element increased the creativity. The aquaduct was also a very creative supplement.
Map Design: 4.5
The map breathes realism if you ask me. Everything was fine, the destroyed walls and aquaduct looked awesome, and the grassland was made professional. The hills and golfy landscape in the north also looked realistic and it was nice to see the amount of detail with all the little plants in this part off the map. Although there was one little thing I thought that could be a little better, and that would be the transition between the oasis and the normal land. It just didn't looked as realistic as it should. Well that's my opinion.
Story/Instructions: 5
A very lengthy story which was easy to read and it contained no grammar faults as far as I know. It also fitted in well with the map, so good job!
Additional Comments:
A very nice map to play and a lot of fun by the suprising elements. The large scale of options makes it surely replayable.
Only one question: When I flattened the map I saw that the aquaduct had some rocks beneath the water, what purpose does this actually have ?
Still a very nice map.
Regards, |
Sir Hugh
Staff
File Author |
Posted on 04/16/08 @ 08:08 PM
Thank you kindly for the review, Hypernova90.
I'm happy that most people think I did the scripting well. It is usually my weakest point. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.5 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.8 | Balance | 4.3 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 4.5 | Story/Instructions | 4.7 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 744 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 870.91 KB |
Added: | 09/12/07 |
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