You have just returned to your father's castle and have found it in disarray. A letter came to you and said that your father has died and you are the rightful heir of the castle. Having left the castle when you were young you did not have a clue of the state it was in. The once great moat around the castle is a smelly swamp. Out of the three stone bridges only one survived. The land outside the castle is barren and devoid of life. Once you enter the castle the castle steward welcomes you to your new home. He gives a long list of problems that need to be taken care of. After that he hurriedly leaves the castle. At the top of the list is Bandits. The bandits are lead by there cruel leader Pig. He pillages the land and spares no one. You send out your most expierenced men to find and capture Pig. A week later they return bringing the Pig with them. The castle dungeon now houses him. He is put deep in the tower and awaits his excution. Now news has reached your ears that the Pig's main army, a band of ruthless mercanaries, is coming toward the castle to kill you and rescue Pig. They intend to stop the hanging of their leader and take over the castle. Since there is nothing standing in their way they will be here this very day. You send workers to gather oil from the surrounding marsh.The amount of oil gathered is extremely low so you can only boil one vat of it. After asking the fellow citiziens of the castle you find out that your father has been stockpiling weapons and armor for some time. An old priest tells you the location is under the church. With this information you send a work team to dig up the weapons and equip the army. Right after this job is completed you see the Pig's men marching. You put on your helmet and shout "Here they come"!!!
Tips
-The castle is big so make sure you know were every troop is
-The enemy will attack the castle with many different techniques. Be ready for anything
-Boiling oil is limited
-Watch out for ladders/seige towers
-Reccomend difficulty is hard for a challenge
-The map is made as a defending seige
Update-made hills look more natural,and made attack force stronger for balance
If this map gets good reviews I might decide to make an invasion map out of it.
-Comments and constructive criticism is appreciated.
Minimap looks great. Downloaded and will play as soon as I get the chance.
Jasper Tudor
Posted on 12/08/05 @ 10:15 AM
Playability: 5
Very enjoying to play. The castle really only features one big bailey surrounded by walls, which forces you to use another strategy than usual (I mostly use the fighting-whitdrawal or to simply focus on keeping the enemy out of the inner bailey), and to keep the enemy out of such a big area is tough.
Balance: 4
I recommend Hard or even Very Hard settings for anyone above beginner-level. Completed the map at Hard my first attempt with 37% troop-losses (mainly because I underestimated the danger in the enemy's siegetower). Very good though. But to achieve the stats I mentioned I had to move my troops around A LOT, and I had very little time to decide where I'd place them, which made the map very hectic.
Creativity: 4
Nice with the marshy moat (although it has been done before). The castle features custom towers and high walls. Nice little wooden bridges aswell.
Map Design: 4
Really nice. The landscape is great, however parts of the castle look a little weird. Always be careful when you're using custom towers, it may cause the castle to look a bit odd.
Also, the hill to the north is a bit "straight", nature rarely features perfectly straight lines. A few curves and bends in the hill and it would look perfect.
Story/Instructions: 4
Nice. Well written, with a pretty good storyline. I like that the castle has more or less decayed since you last visited it.
Additional Comments:
A very nice siege map that I think would do even better as an invasion. A few improvements of the castle and the slope to the north and the map design will get a 5.
STreTcH23 File Author
Posted on 12/08/05 @ 10:56 AM
Thanks for the review I will fix the slopes and probaly make an invasion out of it
STreTcH23 File Author
Posted on 12/09/05 @ 07:57 AM
any more reviews?
STreTcH23 File Author
Posted on 12/09/05 @ 12:05 PM
Jasper would you liek to playtest the invasion version?
Jasper Tudor
Posted on 12/10/05 @ 10:39 AM
Yes, I'd be glad to do that. But maybe you'd like to start a thread in the Map Room in order to get more than one opinion about the map.
bagshatigatar90@hotmail.com is my e-mail if you'd like to send it.