|
|
Lord of the Rings-Pelennor Fields
|
Author |
File Description |
Lord_Raganar |
Posted on 03/07/05 @ 12:00 AM (updated 03/12/05)
File Details |
Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
Difficulty: |
Normal |
Minimap:
|
This is my Pelennor Fields map. If you haven't played my Minas Tirith map I suggest you go download that and play it. You'll find it in the Siege section as Lord of the Rings-Minas Tirith v1.4.
Anways, this map is a take on a style of gameplay that Stronghold is not usually suited for. There are no keeps or invasions just two opposing armies on a battlefield. You're goal is to eliminate the enemy army and make sure that you protect Aragorn (your lord) if he is killed then you will lose the game.
You'll be in control of two separate armies at once so I suggest you turn down the game speed and issue commands to your forces. Recommended playing levels are easy on the first try and then normal when you have beaten easy. Note that on normal you troop formations become messed up since it reduces the amount of men you have.
This map deviates from the book a little in terms of how the landscape looks. Anduin shouldn't really be where it is and the landscape shouldn't be rough and rocky, but just empty, rolling plains are kind of boring so I tried to make it more interesting. The portion of broken wall in the bottom left corner represents the Rammas Echor and the Southern Gate of Gondor where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli arrive in the commandeered ships of the Corsairs of Umbar (if you read the book you will see that the Army of the Dead was only used to destory the Southern Haradrim army and the Corsairs of Umbar. Aragorn then rallied men from the South, many were just oar slaves in the captured ships of the Corsairs, and sailed to the battle of Pelennor Fields).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ever since the middle of the night the great assault had continued. The drums rolled. To the north and to the south company upon company of the enemy pressed to the walls. There came great beasts, like moving houses in the red and fitful light, the mumakil of the Harad dragging through the lanes amid the fires of huge towers and war engines. Yet their Captain cared not greatly what they did or how many might be slain; their purpose was only to test the strength of the defence and to keep the men of Gondor busy in many places. It was against the gate that he would throw his heaviest weight. Very strong the gate was, wrought of steel and iron, guarded with towers and bastions of indomitable stone, yet it was the key, the weakest point in all that high and impenetrable wall.
The drums rolled louder. Fires leaped up. Great engines crawled across the field; and in the midst was a huge ram, great as a forest tree a hundred feet in length, swinging on mighty chains. Long had it been forging in the dark smithies of Mordor, and its hideous head, founded of black steel, was shaped in the likeness of a ravening wolf; on it spells of ruin lay. Grond they named it, in memory of the Hammer of the Underworld of old. The weapon of the first dark lord Morgoth. Great beasts drew it, Orcs surrounded it, and behind walked mountain-trolls to wield it.
But about the gate resistance was still stout, and there the knights of Dol Amroth and the hardiest of the garrison stood at bay. Shot and dart fell thick; siege-towers crashed or blazed suddenly like torches. All before the walls on either side of the gate the ground was choked with wreck and with bodies of the slain; yet still driven as by madness more and more came up.
Grond crawled on. The drums rolled wildly. Over the hills of slain a hideous shape appeared: a horseman, tall, hooded and cloaked in black. Slowly, trampling the fallen, he rode forth, heeding no longer any dart. He halted and held up a long pale sword. And as he did so a great fear fell on all, defender and foe alike; and the hands of men drooped to their sides, and no bow sang. For a moment all was still.
The drums rolled and rattled. With a vast rush Grond was hurled forward by huge hands it reached the gate. It swung and a deep boom rumbled through the city like thunder running in the clouds. But the doors of iron and posts of steel withstood the stroke.
Then the Black Captain rose in his stirrups and cried aloud in a dreadful voice, speaking in some forgotten tongue words of power and terror to rend both heart and stone.
Thrice he cried. Thrice the great ram boomed. And suddenly upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. As if some blasting spell it burst asunder: there was a flash of searing lightning, and the door tumbled in riven fragments to the ground.
In rode the Lord of the Nazgul. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In he rode, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.
All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dinen.
‘You cannot enter here,’ said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted.
‘Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!
The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! He had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.
‘Old fool!’ he said. “Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!’ And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.
Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing.
Rohan had come at last.
|
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
---|
X29 |
Posted on 03/12/05 @ 12:00 AM
Edited review for the changes Lord_Raganar made.
I have played and reviewed your Minas Tirith map and this is a logical follow up. This map has some very bright spots and then some that are't so bright.
Playability 5/5 Easily the greatest part of the map. This is definitely one of the best senarios that I have had the most fun playing. It is really a blast moving your troops around to get them in the right position to botttle neck the enemy and get the maximum effect of your archers and crossbowmen.
Balance 4/5 I played this map on easy the first time and just watched the enemy move just to see what stratagies I might want to use. This first time I played, I didn't move any troops and quickly lost. The second time I played it on easy again and acctually tried. The Rohirrim horsemen swept right through the troops protecting the enemy lord with about 50% losses. Aragorns defenders had a harder time of it. I lost most of them, but they were able to hold off the enemy long enough for the horsemen to save the day. I won. On my third try I upped the difficulty and used better stratagy. I lost all of the horsemen without killing the enemy lord, and would have lost completely, but I found a little trick that might be considered cheating. By telling your lord (Arogorn) to attack an enemy you can get him to move in the direction you want him to go. This got him out of the conner where all the enemy was charging to and I was able to protect him much easier. All the pikemen and macemen that went after him just stood back in the corner where he use to be standing. In the end if you move your lord the level is a little easy, but that could be considered cheating.
Creativity 4/5 This is a very different map from most. To get a full 5 from me in this topic, you would need just a little something extra, like more terrain features that you could use to your advantage or something. All in all a very unique map.
Map Design 4/5 You are right, Stronghold wasn't designed for these kinds of battles, but you do a wonderful job of it. I know that the fields were pretty plain in the movie and not overly described in the book, but the majority of the left half of the map is quite borring. You make up for it with the rugged terrain along the river and the excellent ruins.
Story 5/5 Let me just say that the portion of the story you have posted in your description is absolutely my favorite part of all the Lord of the Rings books. Why oh why didn't they do it that way in the movie. :( |
Arn_de_Gothia |
Posted on 03/14/05 @ 12:00 AM
I have played through this one a lot of times and had a great time playing it.
Playability: 5/5
It never gets boring. Very fun to have to think out the best way to arange the troops and so.
Balance: 5/5
Timing is everything on this map. On first try on normal I was wiped away by the invasion, on second attempt I ordered all my range units and 20 macemen to the round tower and all other troops to guard the lord, then I took 100 knights out of the Rohirrim to defend the city, that was very succesfull and I killed the invasion with not to big casualties, then I just took all my knights and attacked the witch king and his orcs and I won with 53% casualties. On first
attempt on hard, the lord was killed because I wasn´t fast enough with the troops placement, on second attempt it was the same, on third attempt though I used the same tactics as I on normal and was succesful in defending, but on attacking I used the surviving bowmen the kill almost half of the enemy and I am pretty sure I could have
killed almost all of them if I had mowved the bowmen up the hill from where the rohirrim charge but I thought that would take too much time so instead I attacked with the remaining knights and won. On very hard I found it slightly impossible to win, I tried many times but I never was fast enough to survive the attack.
This might be a little to hard for the newer players ( as I see in X29´s review) but for me it was perfect.
Creativity: 5/5
As you say Stronghold isn´t made for this sort of gameplay (perhapse in SH2??) but I must say that you succed making it good in a very nice way.
No one has ever made pellenor fields (that I know) so thats an extra +
Map design: 4/5
The landscape looked good and natural and so did the city walls, but it doesn´t have that little extra, as we say in sweden,, grädden på moset,, . There isn´t very much to do here but I have some suggestions:
Add some eyecandy for example like this : Make a harbor and a ship or two. If that would effect the AI behavior in any way you can always make it in black colour.
Make a bridge and the ruined city of Osgiliath.
Then the map design would be worth a 5
Story: 5/5
Good and entertaining story of good lenght
In summary: 4.8 / 5
A very nice and entertaining map, so close a 5.0...
I say, add some spice to the map design and a will happily give this map a 5.0.
Very good job
/Ad |
double d |
Posted on 09/15/05 @ 02:09 PM
Playability: 5
What a strange map (in a good way) the way the 2 armys are split makes you realy think. the first time i played it (on easy) i stopped the 1st attack then when i went to attack the line of pikes and the ring of swordsmen (they would not attack me AI prob?} they just suronded me so on the second time i had the geniuous idea of attacking from the side and just working down the line :D
Balance: 4
well balenced easy to control no probs ther
Creativity: 3
Well its based on a book so cant get 2 high here, but about as good as it gets
Map Design: 4
very nice looking map especialy the river bank
Story/Instructions: 3
just quotes from the book but atleast u typed something
Additional Comments: the calculator is being very nasty about this i would give u a 4.2 :D
[Edited on 09/15/05 @ 02:11 PM]
|
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
---|
4.3 | Breakdown |
---|
Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 4.3 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.3 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,217 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 1.24 MB |
Added: | 03/07/05 |
Updated: | 03/12/05 |
|