It lies on the west bank of the River Conwy's estuary, on the North Wales coast and has done so to the present day.
Conwy was founded by the English king Edward 1 in 1283 as one of a chain of fortified towns in the then newly invaded North Wales. A Cistercian monastery already occupied this site; but Edward removed the monastery to make way for the castle that would cement his position in the newly conquered district.
The most formidable stronghold in Wales only to be challenged by Harleck was designed by Edward I's master castle builder James of St. George.
Construction of Conwy castle began in the year 1283. The castle was an important part of Edwards’s plan of surrounding Wales scare and rid the surrounds of the rebellious population. Thick, strong walls were constructed to protect the English colony placed at Conwy but problems arose when the rebel welsh apposed the invasion of their homeland.
It was during his second campaign in Wales that King Edward gained control of the Conwy valley in March 1283. He began work on the new stronghold almost immediately, with the natural advantages of the site being far superior to any other castles in the area he was able to capitalize on the terrain and hold his ground with ease against the welsh. Moreover, plans were laid for an accompanying garrison town, defended by a complete circuit of walls and towers.
This was our second entry in the competition, there are hints included in the zip along with the complete history.
Congratulations to Andy Baz for winning with his entry, cant wait to play it.
WarLord Designs’ Conwy castle is their second historical entry for the competition, and is by a long stretch a quality map that captures the imagination of the town and castle. I chose Conwy myself for the competition and I guess in a good position to comment on their interpretation which I regard as very good. After reading through the notes that accompanied the map there was 1 picture that caught my eye, which they took no doubt from a history book, but what’s interesting is the fact the terrain is decidedly different to present day. WarLord’s have taken what they believe is to be the correct landscape and modeled it beautifully. Whether they open a debate remains to be seen. :)
The castle itself is very well designed too, but in my opinion slightly smaller than it should be. Unlike me WarLord Designs chose to include historical information on Conwy and wanted to be as accurate as possible, this is reflected in both the additional documents and map design. For example the church in this map is accurately positioned in relation to the castle and although I’m not 100% convinced it was cathedral in its day it shows just a glimpse of the thought that was piled into this map :) Incidentally I really liked the town which is probably more historically correct than my own interpretation and shows good design skills and a passion for history. Good work.
If I had to be slightly negative it would be on game play, it never lived up to what I expected and was a little disappointed. The invasions were quiet and came at me in single packs. There never seemed to be any drama and once I’d repositioned my troops to the castle to see out all the invasions it turned into a straight forward 1v1. I truly think if it wasn’t for the fact they (invasions) targeted just one entrance game play would have been hugely improved. Attacking just the one entrance made it more predictable than maybe it should have been and limited my imagination when fighting. This said AI is a strange thing as we know and WarLord designs can’t be laid wholly to blame for this. In fact if wasn’t for poor AI game play would be significantly better and thus rated higher.
Overall, Conwy castle by WarLord Designs is an excellent historical castle which was made with a lot of passion and enthusiasm which was exactly what this competition was all about. Decent map and creativity flourished but ultimately let down by dodgy AI.
Nice 1. Andy
[Edited on 01/25/06 @ 08:07 AM]
Battle Mage corp
Posted on 08/12/07 @ 07:27 AM
Rating
4.8
Breakdown
Playability
5.0
Balance
4.0
Creativity
5.0
Map Design
5.0
Story/Instructions
5.0
Conwy castle by WarLord_Designs.As I mentioned this is my favourite map in the entire SHH and SCH and I couldn't resist the temptation on writing a review.This map is very special to me for two reasons.First although it was rushed for a competition and some details might have been overlooked the map is still a wonderful display of master-mapmaking and terrasin knowledge.And the second is that long ago relatives of mine went to Britain and had the chanse to see this magnificent castle.in reality the castle (inner) is really bigger but there have been some expansions troughout the ages but I don't think that this has to affect the score in any way.Im not a 100% sure of what the castle has looked but I do know that the terrain is really accurate and I want to congartualte Arthus for such a detailed recreation of the land.The cliffs were really steap and I admire that you covered that.And about the castle...I don't have any words to describe how much I loved the design and when I saw the floor plan trully amazing good job Alexus.BTW Im sorry if i have mistaken the names with the jobs.Ok now to the review I covered everything before even starting.
Playability: 5
There was a small problem with the playability.The enemy didn't seem to attack the outside walls I don't know why they were confused in the editor I demolished 3 or 4 titles and found that you can pass it.But the enemy only attacked the gate and that made the game a bit easier I put all the troops there.However it was an extremely fun and cool game and I don't think a problem such as this should reduce the score.
Balance: 4
Yes,the balance was the only problem.I tryed on normal har and very hard.There was of course the increased difficulty but I knew where the enemy would attack and that made the map a bit easier.
Creativity: 5
The creativity was outstanding it was as if I was back in time where the battle occured.Such a detailed and observative recreation of this great castle is something indescribable.
Map Design: 5
I don't know what else to say about the map design exept that this is a unique and very challanging terrain and it was handled with incredible precision.
Story/Instructions: 5
The story and instructions told me new facts that I didn't know about the castle and were very interesting to read.I used the hints document and it really helped me.
Additional Comments:
A job well done guys even if my review was a bit late :)