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Seljuk - Rise of an Empire
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| Author |
File Description |
Filthydelphia
(id: Al_Kharn the Great) |
Posted on 01/01/20 @ 01:42 PM
| File Details |
|---|
| Version: |
Age of Empires II: DE |
| Style: |
Build and Destroy |
Screenshot:
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Witness the birth of the Turkish Empire!
From humble nomadic beginnings, Seljuk and his descendants conquered Persia and brought the Roman Emperors to their knees! Play as the Turkish heroes Seljuk, Tughril, Alp Arslan, and Malik-Shah as you retrace their conquests and fulfill their grandest ambitions.
Features:
Lead the Turks from nomadic origins to ruling great cities and building Wonders
Unique nomadic gameplay: move and re-settle the tribes as you encroach on settled lands
Personal ambitions: fulfill the ambitions of the sultans or out-do their historical conquests
About the Author:
Filthydelphia (xbox: PhillySouljah) is the award-winning designer of historical custom campaigns and official content for the Age of Empires franchise. Part of the Forgotten Empires campaign team, his works include the Portuguese, Burmese, Bulgarian, Italian, and Indian campaigns featured in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition as well as several campaigns in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. |
| Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
|---|
| kud13 |
Posted on 02/03/21 @ 11:33 AM
Will submit a review once I finally beat it, :)
P.S.: Imams as trainable unit is just so OP. [Edited on 02/03/21 @ 11:34 AM]
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| kud13 |
Posted on 02/20/21 @ 01:07 PM
Playability: 4
To make things clear: the scenario is FUN. The player's faction goes through a number of historical rulers of the Seljuk dynasty, each with his own ambitions, constituting timed objectives that are tied directly to the hero's lifespan. In addition, the scenario incorporates both the Raiding and Nomad mechanics from works such as the authors' previous Viking cycle; as well as the ideas of nomad settlements more recently seen in “Vandals- Destroyers of Rome”. This “nomad” play-style is later replaced with traditional base-building, as the Seljuks settle Persia and Mesopotamia and adopt the trappings of civilization. Although there are a few bugs related to custom buildings, this did not affect my experience in any significant way; the scenario offers a lot of variety, as there are multiple unit compositions the player can create, and the addition of hero Imam (monk) units to the roster means the player can convert entire legions of unique units to his cause. The small population cap was probably the biggest hurdle to playability, since at the point when I finally found myself able to build towns and create a “traditional” economy, I had far too much military from the units I have converted previously. I would have liked for the population cap to increase gradually, as the Seljuks progressed further towards their status as an “empire”; as it was, the low pop cap made the transition from mid- to late game feel unduly tedious at points.
Balance: 4
The game has an inverse difficulty curve, since the player starts off with a small band of raiders and the objective to defeat the roving bands of Oghuz Turks, each of which outnumbers the player's fledgling force. The best way to offset this is to find the scattered Gaia imams (up to 4 in early game) and use them to convert most (if not all) of the enemy units; This strategy ends up being essential, since once the game shifts to the second playable hero, the player has to contend with a large horde of Pechenegs, who can't be countered effectively with the player's typical steppe roster of light cavalry, CavArchers and Steppe Lancers. Once the player deals with this threat, however, the game becomes a more “traditional” raiding scenario (albeit with time limits), where the AI defenders are fairly static and make no attempts to seek the player's armies and camp out on the steppe- except for occasionally spawning raider bands. Given the enemy's static nature and ample resources to be found across the map, completing further objectives becomes much easier. Eventually the player has an opportunity to seize the city of Baghdad, gaining access to steady supply of resources (including lumber, that is very rare out on the steppe), as well as a Market and the ability to obtain unit upgrades. Although the game does contain a few difficulty spikes (including the end), overall the scenario is balanced on the easy side. However, players should expect a few restarts, since several surprises early on can easily put the game into an unwinnable position, which is a change from most “raiding style” games.
Creativity: 5
The scenario takes a number of ideas seen in prior works, and manages to combine several styles of gameplay into an incredibly engaging “dynasty simulation”. Dynamic events, such as having the faction hero die early on, and thus needing to “raid until the heir comes of age” allows for the players to “go off script” and create their own stories in way that aren't really common in AoK scenarios
Map Design: 5
The map was incredibly varied and fun to explore, with each distinct region's design feeling appropriate. From the mountainous cities of Ghaznavid Persia to the Caucasus passes north of Manzikert, every tile of the map was a ton of fun to explore and it all offered something meaningful.
Story/Instructions: 5
The story is largely driven by the gameplay, and it unfolded at a steady pace. Instructions, Scouts and Hints were informative, and the numerous objectives did a great job informing me of the story, and providing ongoing historical context.
Additional Comments:
“Seljuk” is a very fun and ambitious scenario that successfully combines the ideas from the author's prior “raiding-focused” and “nomadic” works with the concept of a “dynastic story” to create an engrossing retelling of one of the Middle Ages's most impressive empire's story. Anyone who enjoyed the author's “Rise of the Khmer”, as well as his raiding works will find a lot to like in here. |
| phapngoc |
Posted on 03/20/21 @ 12:22 PM |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
|---|
| 4.6 | | Breakdown |
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| Playability | 4.0 | | Balance | 4.0 | | Creativity | 5.0 | | Map Design | 5.0 | | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 1,198 |
| Favorites: [] | 5 |
| Size: | 7.36 MB |
| Added: | 01/01/20 |
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