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Author |
File Description |
Duke of York |
Posted on 11/05/06 @ 11:30 PM
File Details |
Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
Difficulty: |
Normal |
Minimap:
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Catterick Castle
Built to defend the strategic ford crossing the River Swale, Catterick is a prized possession of Steven the Red (The Pig). Catterick is the gateway to the north and is abundant with game and natural resources. His Grace, the Duke of York has dispatched you, Sir Neville, Bishop of Durham to take the castle. His Majesty plans to use the castle as a staging point for supplies and troops to be used in the invasion of Spartanburg.
Your task is simple, capture the castle and upgrade the existing wooden structure into a fortified stone castle. As the Bishop of Durham, you must also convert the heathen of this county and show them the light of God’s truth. Be prepared for a fierce counter attack from Steven the Red. He will be highly upset by the loss of the lucrative tax revenue generated by the river crossing. He will stop at nothing to maintain his hold on the castle.
Victory Objectives:
Complete the castle IN STONE
75% Blessed
3000 Gold
30 games years to complete
***Player Notes***
This is a strait forward invasion scenario without a lot of extra eco goals. My aim when designing this scenario is for you to replace the wooden Motte & Bailey with a Stone Castle which is how most of the great castles of England were constructed. You have 30 game years to complet your task. I hope you have as much fun playing this scenario as I have had creating it.
Sincerely,
Duke of York |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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ericgolf
Staff |
Posted on 11/20/06 @ 05:13 PM
Review of Duke of York’s Catterick Castle
Summary
A great map! An outstanding map. I was given an outstanding castle AND I got to build one too :-) I felt I had come through an epic struggle of war, recovery and construction. Players, I recommend you download it. Author, I thank you for making it.
Playability 5
I played on Normal and had fun right up to the end of the game. I was never bored. I usually don’t go for big castle maps but the idea of rebuilding the wooden keep in stone appealed to me. It is the building part of Stronghold that I love and this map lets you do that. AND with it being a cede there is the added bonus of the battle for the keep at the start with it’s sizing up of the motte and bailey and it’s decision on the point of attack. There was so much to do. I played the whole thing on 10-20.
Balance 5
I played on Normal and won first time but I don’t consider that easy. (I usually try a scenario on Hard these days but this looked like a tough nut to crack.) I was toiling all the way. I was constantly worried about surviving the next invasion. I was constantly balancing the size of population I felt I could sustain taking into account the pressures on my food supply from the invasions and all the competing needs: stone gathering, weapons production, how were my priests going to get around all those far flung workers? And there is limited space inside that castle! I was on the edge of my seat at the end as the blessing recovered from a dip following an invasion. I won with 1 month remaining! Edge-of-your-seat stuff.
Creativity 5
The main aspects that showed outstanding creativity: 1) The mixture in the story of historical background and fictional setting. 2) The castle itself. The castle was very effective against attack and was beautifully constructed from wooden walkways. And the mounds on which it was built were so realistically formed. The tight community inside was, also, completely convincing. 3) I liked the use of apple trees too (I guess this was made in the unpatched Stronghold 1 – One downside of that is your men can get stranded on damaged wall. I had to save a couple of xbowmen by having a spearman chip away at their already damaged perches until the could step off. But I can live with that:) Finally, 4) The rebuilding the wooden castle in stone. That was such good fun. Although Stronghold cannot force you to do it, battle damage and the need to overcome the enemy made me get building.
Map Design 5
Stone placement was totally convincing. The moat, the ditches: totally convincing. It felt right. It felt real. The AI worked well – both harassing and attacking. Some things mentioned in Creativity also apply here.
Story/Instructions 5
As I mentioned this already in Creativity, the story is a mixture of historical background and fictional setting. It perfectly sets the scene. The instructions are clear and concise. This applies to both the download page and the in-map story. Personally, I would have liked to see those nice graphics that you included on your Map Room thread, here on the download description page in your story. But I guess you maybe take the view, less-is-more, let-the-player-play (There is a lot to be said for that and I am not going to let any minor quibbles here lower the score of what, for me, is an outstanding map).
[I include here a URL for the review guidelines for the use of anyone who might take issue with any of my reviews
http://stronghold.heavengames.com/dl/guide
]
[Edited on 11/20/06 @ 05:23 PM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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5.0 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 4,972 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 882.97 KB |
Added: | 11/05/06 |
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