You find yourself prevailing in a very well Defended castle. A castle that once was ruled by the Wolf. A Castle he cherished and prized over in its defensive and deceitful design, as well as its sturdy construction. While he was scouting over his lands, you took the opportunity to seize and capture his beloved possession. In capturing this Castle you succeeded in your long awaited vengeance for the Murder of your Father. The Wolf knowing of the castles great defenses inspired him to gather an army that by strength has never been seen. Vengeance is his only stimulus to remove you from power and retake his trophy.
Veteran Engineers whose speed and accuracy is known thru out the lands. Pike and Macemen whose courage and strength are unmatched. Bow and Crossbowmen with such patience and aim, that tales had been written from their victories, and an army of Swordsmen who’s Loyalty and Honor is so grand to the Wolf that there only goal is to see you dead, is your challenge for an honorable Victory.
Take safeguard brave Lord. Gather your Courage and ignore your fear. Stand tall and do your best to survive…Muaahahaha…. This is by far my best thought out map, in design and balance. The Wolf’s large army in comparison to yours is very well balanced out in the castles design. I have a suggestion. Not only is it fun to watch all the carnage, but it will help in placing your troops for a win. Run the map without changing any troop’s positions, See the battle evolve and watch to see where a few changes can be made... Best ran at the speed of 90 and at level VERY HARD…. Good Luck to all and remember to have fun win or lose…… Peace VONNER
Castle of The Damned is a worthy attempt at an engaging attacking siege. Unfortunately some of the author’s choices seriously affect the challenge offered.
Playability 3/5 the AI does an Ok job of attacking. Towards the end of the siege even after the castle walls had been breached, the AI would perform redundant tasks such as filling in the moat, etc. This definitely lowered the intensity of the enemy attack. VONNER has programmed a lot of dialogue in this map. This seemed to seriously affect the game speed, as did the large seas of pitch in and around the castle when they were lit. This may be why the author recommended that the siege be played on a game speed of 90! Overall the defenses are just too much for the AI and I was never in any real danger of losing the castle. On my first attempt playing on a difficulty level of very hard as per the author’s instructions. I achieved victory with a loss of only 34% of my defending troops. The large map contributes to a long battle and this is a good aspect as the siege has a realistic element of taking some time to play out. Much like a real castle siege would.
Balance 3/5 Hmmmmmm…. Well for starters the attacking AI has so far to march that I had ample time to ride out of the castle with my knights and destroy all of the engineers siege tents before the enemy was even in ballista range! My knights then returned to the safety of my fortress without a single loss. The garrison consist of some heavy armor a few ballistic units and roughly 200 volunteer wolves that seem to have joined your cause. These wolves have been penned into booby-trapped gateways. Before the enemy was even in range I destroyed the wooden palisade holding them in, why wait for the enemy to unleash my dogs of war? I now had a massive force of some 200 wolves racing towards the enemy. This and the defending troop combination would have worked well had the author not included the massive seas of pitch and the numerous engineers with oil. The AI first attacked in a massive and powerful spearhead. Once I lit the pitch however the whole map seemed ablaze. When the smoke settled the AI had been neutralized as an effective fighting force. My knights again rode forth and dispatched any stragglers.
Creativity 4/5 now in this department there is some nice work. Picking up from where I left off in balance. At this point in the siege the AI sends in its swordsmen and curiously its crossbows. The crossbows would have been better utilized had they attacked in the earlier waves IMO. Your scribe announces that the Wolf’s swordsmen are approaching and that you are doomed. This is a nifty and well-timed bit of programming. Although this final force has no chance of reaching the Keep they do provide for a good battle inside the castle walls. The castle itself is truly bizarre in its appearance with towering walls and the elaborate wolf trap doorways. VONNER has created a fully functional and formidable looking fortress. There is a lot of creativity here.
Map Design 4/5 above average effort with some nice terrain work. I really liked the Damn/Bridge eye candy. Better yet is the fact that the attacking AI actually uses this feature when crossing the river meaning it is functional as well. Some more attention to small detail such as rocks, dirt, bushes, etc. is needed IMO. I think the author could definitely have invested some more time and creativity into the surrounding terrain. The castle on the other hand shows a lot of effort. The author should have applied the same amount into making the terrain more realistic and inevitably more fun to play in.
Story/Instructions 4/5 a really well done effort in this department. VONNER offers a long and engaging story that sets the tone for the siege. Compared to the usual fare offered in this category of the siege downloads, this is miles above.
In Short- a commendable effort, some real creativity but some bad choices keep Castle of the Damned from being truly great work. I guess the way to sum it up is that this map is full of great ideas and they all go together terribly.