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The Secrets of Sylvandell Ch 5
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Author |
File Description |
Sulis |
Posted on 01/12/04 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
Difficulty: |
Normal |
The Secrets of Sylvandell Chapter 5
The Final Battle for Sylvandell
And so the journey nears its end. The reluctant King arrives at the mighty city of Sylvandell, exhausted and weak, cold and hungry. He is met by a small party of knights and quickly taken to safety. But there is little time left, for the Darkness of Neroli are preparing their final assault. Evril is briefed of the plans to defend the city and unexpectedly learns another secret Sylvandell has been hiding all these years. For all the grandeur, pomposity and elegance she reflects on the outside, Sylvandell is weak; a failing defence system that would crumble... a fortified city rotten to the core.
Evril is guided to the most secure part of the city. He will play no part in the battle that will follow, for his presence has been too long awaited and the royal bloodline is too precious be broken. The armies of Sylvandell will take up the fight, every one of those men prepared to die for the cause.
Looking across the battlements, out over the marshes, the fringes of Wilder Wood can clearly be seen. And there, just in front of the ancient forest, in a line stretching as far as the eye can see, tens of thousands of Neroli barbarians are awaiting their final orders before the siege begins. They prepare for war by beating their chests rhythmically and baying for blood. This battlecry carries over the marsh to the city, to Evril, to every man who now stands ready to face the Final Battle for Sylvandell.
AUTHORS NOTES
This is the final chapter in the Sylvandell series of maps. The idea here is really quite a simple one... to survive. Whilst the closing chapter may be somewhat formulaic (final big battle, lots of fighting, winner takes all), the key to this map is the city itself. If you have read the story as it unfolded, you will hopefully have a picture of Sylvandell in your mind. It is the principal city, a city built as a beacon, a city hated by the Neroli for everything it stands for.
The map is dripping with eye candy, and tries to resurrect some of the great things about the editor. There includes my own versions of a throne room, a jousting arena, pleasure gardens, streets and an arena, to name but a few (keep an eye open for the pub garden!) and the map is, admittedly, an exercise in eye candy creation too.
In terms of the battle, you will face a multitude of units, hopefully all hell-bent on getting into the castle. Use your troops carefully. The armoury is full, the tresury has a healthy sum there and the marketplace will allow you to buy more weapons. You will need them.
DESIGNERS' POINTS
-Due to the design of the keep area, when you recruit a knight, you will have to manually select it from the campfire and move it to your chosen location. I suspect that with the design as it is, the knight unit is unable to move freely to the barracks. Please bear this in mind. Leaving the knight at the campfire wil slow the game down slightly until it is manually moved. -There are many, many buildings that the attacking AI will attempt to destroy. As a result, the full force of the invasion may not hit you until you are cowering on a corner deciding how to fight your way out of this. Whilst a map that doesn't have these distractions for the AI would leave a better battle, the map is purposely designed to be destroyed, and will be followed up in the epilogue to this story. -I have suggested that you play the map on normal difficulty. There will be a lot of units on the map, as well as a highly developed city. Users of lower spec computers may experience a little lag when playing the map. Please be aware. -The full story chapter is included in the zip file, and is also available to read in The Inn.
Final thoughts
As with any map I submit to Stronghold Heaven, I truly hope that you enjoy playing it. The campaign has taken months of hard work to finalise, hours and hours of playtesting and plenty of time back at the drawing board when things didn't go quite to plan! But therein lies the fun of designing for Stronghold.
And constructive reviews would be welcomed.
Finally, a special thank you goes to Jalis, for the map is built using his wonderful green player template. A wonderful creation that opens up new elements of map design.
Best wishes,
Sulis |
Pages: « First « 1 [2] 3 4 » Last » | Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Jax (id: Jax Omen) |
Posted on 11/22/04 @ 12:00 AM
I've been played the map enough, so I thought I would actually rate it.
However, upon rating, I couldn't thinl of what to put in the review.
The whole thing was so damn perfect...
It plays like a dream. Moving your men around, getting the best strategy, trying to finish it on very hard...
Admittedly, the first time you finish it, the harder difficulties become suddenly easier, but thats the joy of it.
Although it's little more than an invasion at heart, the city is massive, and contains just about every eye-candy under the sun, and a bunch of new ones. The design is brill too.
Download it. Download it now.
Nfp, though I disagree with your views, I silently applaud your honesty. |
Lord Maggot |
Posted on 04/06/05 @ 12:00 AM
As you may have read the other comments i shall keep this brief. 5,5,5,5,5 HOW IN THE NAME GOD CAN YOU POSSIBLY BUILD A MAP THIS PERFECT!!!!????!!! thankyou
[Lord Maggot, this is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:35 PM]
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Slubberdagollian |
Posted on 08/07/05 @ 08:50 PM
Incredible, very stunning and fun to play, in my opinion the best of the best. I want to play it over and over lol!
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:39 PM]
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Baron la Dawson |
Posted on 08/12/05 @ 11:48 AM
This map was one of my first invasions i downloaded. Play ability i give a 5/5, the give you a great amount of bows and archers in the begining to replace your loss of crossbow man. Balance 5/5, you see depending on the diffulcty you can win or lose, just like an actual Firefly created map. Creativity 5/5, you have to be pretty stupid not to give this a five, the castle is not just a normal guarded fort, it is a whole thriving community within the castle walls, with gardens, a jousting ring, a meeting hall, and so much more. Map design 5/5, same reason as creativity because those traits go hand in hand. Story/instructions 5/5, the story is great, especially if you read the whole campaign. It is a strong hold invation for God's sake you dont need instructions.
So read it, play it, and enjoy this masterpeice |
Lord Edy |
Posted on 11/10/05 @ 04:48 PM
We're not worthy!
We're not worthy!
We're not worthy!
...erm...er...how...How did you create this...this masterpeice???
How long did it take you ???
P.S. Maybe you sould re-issue this series, you might get even more down loads, just a thought. |
Jasper Tudor |
Posted on 11/12/05 @ 12:18 PM
I can do nothing but join the crowd and give this map a straight-through 5.
Playability: 5
Always very funny, keeps you on your toes in the harder levels.
Balance: 5
Not too hard, not too easy (I like easy fights :P).
Creativity: 5
A lot of new features...wow...everything has been said before by other reviewers.
Map Design: 5
Fantastic...what else is there to say?
Story/Instructions: 5
Great story, perhaps not a personal favourite, but indees well written.
Additional Comments:
Wow...
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Darkslave Master |
Posted on 12/30/05 @ 04:21 PM
Sulis say something to your fans, wich are...probably a lot.
This map doesn't needs more ratings, these 13(!) say enough so i'll keep it to this.
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black_sabat |
Posted on 02/05/06 @ 07:34 AM
best map i ever seen
i love this its verry good to play
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:40 PM]
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Lord Karpathea |
Posted on 02/05/06 @ 03:53 PM
I can't say anything. I'm still in shock. The only thing I can squeeze out of my mouth is HOLY GOD IN HEAVEN I'M UNWORTHY!!!!!
Additional Comments:
homina homina homina homina homina homina homina homina.................
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:41 PM]
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friend4all |
Posted on 02/27/06 @ 09:59 AM
my frind i have nothing to say anout this map.surely is the best map ever i've played
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:42 PM]
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Pages: « First « 1 [2] 3 4 » Last » |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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5.0 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 4.9 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 18,925 |
Favorites: [] | 2 |
Size: | 891.03 KB |
Added: | 01/12/04 |
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