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Author |
File Description |
Jasper Tudor |
Posted on 12/08/05 @ 10:57 AM
File Details |
Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
Difficulty: |
Normal |
Minimap:
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The year is 1294 AD. You, sir Adam Hotspur, have been assigned by king Edward to Aberystwyth Castle to prepare it, and its garrison, for the welsh rebellion that is sweeping all over Wales.
You father, Richard Hotspur, was killed in the welsh uprising of 1282 AD, leaving you fatherless. Since you were the oldest child to be born in your family, your mother, busy with taking care of you two younger sisters, sent you off to work as a page for the king himself. The king liked you, and you soon gained his favour, becoming one of his favourites.
And now, he has given you the honourable task of commanding one of Wales’, not to say Britain’s, greatest castles.
The castle itself is in good shape, but the garrison is too small to withstand a true siege, so it’s up to you to fortify it where needed and enlarge its garrison.. His majesty also requests that you send him some goods to pay for eventual costs in the coming war.
The leader of the rebellion, Madog ap Llywelyn (the Snake) is particularly interested in Aberystwyth castle, since it would give him the opportunity of commanding a well-fortified coastal castle, and will do anything he can to kick you off you feet.
Be ready, sir Adam. It’s time to prove that you’re really made of what the king thinks you are.
Aberystwyth Castle
The terrain around Aberystwyth has long been recognised for its defensive advantages, and already in the Iron Ages, a hillfort was built atop one of the hills at Aberystwyth.
Another wooden castle, a Norman ringwork castle, was built in the early 12th century. This castle was sited along River Ystwyth.
It was the welsh leader Llywelyn the Great who first built a castle at the current site of Aberystwyth castle. However, even this castle in time became useless against the advances in weapons technology.
The final castle built at Aberystwyth was the by far most impressing one, although nowadays, few know of it.
The final castle was constructed in the late 13th century by king Edward I and his master architect, Master James of St. George.
In 1277, king Edward ordered the construction of several imposing castles in order to maintain peace in Wales, among these, it was Rhuddlan Castle, and Aberystwyth Castle that lead into the future of castle-building. Both Rhuddlan and Aberystwyth Castle were concentric castles.
In 1282, the still incomplete castle at Aberystwyth was burned by the welsh, but the building was soon resumed under the surveillance of Master James of St. George and later his associate, Mater Giles of St. George. The castle was finished in 1289.
In 1294, the castle was again attacked by the welsh, but this time proved to be invulnerable.
In 1404, the castle was again besieged, and this time captured, by the welsh under the leadership of Owain Glyndwr, but was soon recaptured by the English. At this time however, the castle had already lost it’s importance.
Today very little of Aberystwyth Castle remains. Much of the decay was caused by the sea itself, and other by Oliver Cromwell’s slighting during the Civil War.
Since not much of the castle remains today, this once so imposing structure is often forgotten in favour of its better preserved sisters to the North, as Beaumaris or Harlech.
The Authors Notes
This map takes place during the siege of 1294, but is more of an eco-vasion, rather than a true siege.
When I reconstructed the castle I worked from three sources of information: aerial photographs of the ruins of the castle, and two reconstructive drawings found on the net. Too bad, these two pictures were actually a bit contradictory, so I mixed facts from all the sources, and added a little imagination. This is perhaps not 100% true to what Aberystwyth Castle would have looked like in 1294, but it should give you a close hint of what the castle really looked like.
As for the landscape, I (for once) worked from what the landscape really looks like at Aberystwyth. Note that landscape isn’t 100% accurate either, but it shows just about how it looks around Aberystwyth (for example, none of the two small streams exist), smooth-rolling hills, and a large area of level ground just outside the castle (were the town of Aberystwyth was, and is).
The map may be played at any difficulty, but Hard is advised for a real challenge.
Hope you enjoy it, Jasper Tudor
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Pages: [1] 2 » Last » | Author | Comments ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Jasper Tudor
File Author |
Posted on 12/08/05 @ 02:00 PM
Note: For increased playability, I actually suggest that you delete the bailey outside the main gate(s). Otherwise the invasions may become a bore. |
STreTcH23 |
Posted on 12/08/05 @ 05:25 PM
Ahh its finally here I will rate it soon[Edited on 12/08/05 @ 05:26 PM]
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Jasper Tudor
File Author |
Posted on 12/09/05 @ 09:54 AM
Thanks for both reviews. But I must admit that I'm actually dissapointed by the Map Design score...I worked from what the landscape really looks like, and added as much detail as I dared.
And as for the invasions: as mentioned in the write-up, tha castle was inpenetrable by 1294, so the invasions aren't really there to burn down the castle, more to prevent you from reaching the economic goals.
More reviews and comments welcome.[Edited on 12/09/05 @ 10:26 AM]
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Andy Baz |
Posted on 12/10/05 @ 10:14 AM
Jasper, did you actually change anything from the map you sent me via email?
I've checked twice now and i'm still looking for something different, am i missing something big here or have you just submited the same map but with a story...what's happened?
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Jasper Tudor
File Author |
Posted on 12/10/05 @ 10:36 AM
The story was there in the original file. I've made some minor updates, there is, for example less space to grow crops at (at least it should be if the map has been updated correctly), the invasions have been made a bit tougher and I updated the terrain a little bit. This isn't much, I know, but some things recommended by playtesters would actually force me to redo pretty much half the map. I know I had a lot of comments about the gates, and these were, as I've mentioned before, a big problem. When I created the map at first this was the best way I found to do them, and I couldn't really find a way to improve them later. I could, of course, make the gate towers hollow (meaning no compact mass of stone), but I really didn't see the use of it, and it would actually stray away from the castle's appearence.
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Andy Baz |
Posted on 12/10/05 @ 11:24 AM
Ok fair point, i'll play the map as it stands with the minor adjustments and see how it plays out. Andy |
Jasper Tudor
File Author |
Posted on 12/10/05 @ 11:33 AM
Thanks, hope to see your rating. In aftermath, I must actually admit that this was far from my most successful map...I don't think I'll be doing any more historic castles from now on (except from my map Kidwelly Castle (looking for playtesters), since there will always be someone out there that knows more than me...and actually, Aberystwyth may not have been the best choise of castle to reconstruct either...
Lollard: I know you've spent you time finding flaws to reduct the score of the map, but how did you manage to build new gates? I've only found one place where you actually might build a new gate (the hill to the NW of the castle), and that place has no need at all for a gate.[Edited on 12/10/05 @ 07:07 PM]
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STreTcH23 |
Posted on 12/10/05 @ 11:44 PM
So if you make a historical castle everything has to be accurate including the type of troops like if they did not use horses at the time or it would lower the rating?? |
Jasper Tudor
File Author |
Posted on 12/11/05 @ 06:09 AM
Yes, but obviously, that did not matter in other peoples maps...In Lord_Iluvatar's Caelund Castle for example, there are crossbowmen in western europe in the 7th century![Edited on 12/11/05 @ 05:33 PM]
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Jasper Tudor
File Author |
Posted on 12/12/05 @ 09:22 AM
Thanks for the review, Andy, sorry the map wasn't a complete success...
I don't think I'll be making any "bigger" maps, since it is obvious that I'm not very good at making huge castles. But if you're interested, I'd be glad if you playested my map, Kidwelly Castle (started a thread for it in the Map Room).
And I have a question, what part of the landscape looked unnatural?[Edited on 12/12/05 @ 09:24 AM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.0 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.3 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 3.5 | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 638 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 690.83 KB |
Added: | 12/08/05 |
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