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Arabian Retaliaton: Escape From The Crusaders Ep 2
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Author |
File Description |
DragonSpawn |
Posted on 02/10/08 @ 03:05 PM (updated 02/11/08)
File Details |
Map Size: |
200x200 (Small) |
Difficulty: |
Normal |
Minimap:
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After you destroy the pursuing crusader force, you recruit a small army of mercenaries and track the crusaders back to their main base.
You discover the main force is assaulting a nearby city, but one of the expedition leaders is still on site. You must kill this man.
Do it quickly or you will be caught by the returning crusaders, and quickly killed.
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You have 15 slingers, 7 horse archers, 10 arab bows, 17 arab swordsmen, 5 assassins, 3 Fire ballistae, 2 port. shields, and one ram.
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HINTS|
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*Use your archers and fire ballistae to clear the walls
*Use your ballistae to destroy the spearmen patrols
*Use your assassins to attack the archers and pikemen
*Ram + Gate (Swords + enemy Lord) = Win!
*Good luck!
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Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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AZ ViTrAzhAs |
Posted on 02/12/08 @ 01:28 PM
Arabian Retaliaton: Escape From The Crusaders Ep 2
Playability – 3.
It seemed as a very easy mission, and I tried to eliminate all enemy units just to make the challenge a bit harder, but a surprising fact happened – I’ve lost. I couldn’t actually believe my eyes that I didn’t pass the mission – You’ve hidden the lose condition timer, now that was tricky! In other missions, the player always sees the timer and knows how much time does he have, but here I was just shocked by the huge enemy invasion and my defeat. Next time I just broke the main castle defense and rushed in – with mere losses I’ve managed to kill the lord. Now the mission seemed as easy as it was from the first glance. Overall, there wasn’t much of a challenge here, after the second try You are almost certain to win, however it can be tricky from the first shot.
Balance – 2.5.
Well, You’ve tried to create a tricky siege; the secret lose time aspect was great, but as for the siege – it was too easy, mate. Don’t get offended by this, but you offered so many various troops, that there are dozens of strategies the players can use to achieve victory – the fire ballistae are the main killers here, without them the mission would become relatively harder. The castle defense was rather weak – You should have added more missile troops on the towers a few more ground patrolmen (like swordsmen), and more units near the lord.
Creativity – 3.
Despite that the mission looks quite plain, it had some interesting details – the map revealed your idea well. That’s important. If you lose some precious time, You might end up with the annoying defeat intro. The secret lose timer lets you to forget a bit about the restricted time, too. That was a clever touch; I must say it once more. I’ve also noticed small eyecandy feature – the apple orchards seem to be placed on pure sand. However, You need more work with this map to make it a real creative siege.
Map design – 2.
Not much to talk about here. The whole landscape was left aside, I think: You’ve worked only with the west part of the map, where you designed the castle. There were a few rocks, but it’s surely not enough fro even an average map design. The castle itself looked simple – a few towers, some walls, and two sections – one of them was the main one, the second was the gardens on sand. Overall, I’m sure You can do better with designing and creating landscapes.
Story – 2.5
Since the invasions require good stories, I must admit that your narration was obviously too short. You have a good idea, but you should really expand the story – I’m sure you can write good, long narrations. The good aspect was the hints You’ve offered: they might help the beginners, and it’s always nice to see that the author shows care about how his maps are played and how to help the players.
Suggestions:
I hope You won’t get disappointed due to this review – nobody’s perfect. If you spend more time and concentrate on the map and all of its aspects, you will surely achieve a far better result. Time and will are the most important things in mapmaking.
Try working on your landscape as much as possible – until you are sure, that You can’t do any better. Use various details, editor tools’ features, link more to realism. Start with basic details like rivers, oases, hills etc. Try to recreate them as they look in the real world.
When creating a castle work more on you walls and towers – search for a better layout, add some creative touches, use more buildings – make the castle look like a real medieval town or a strong fortress!
Always think about the balance – the numbers of troops, strategies the player can use, etc.
Don’t forget the story – it’s always nice to read an interesting, well-written narration.
Overall, I hope this review will be a bit helpful towards the author.
Sincerely,
ViTrAzhAs |
Hypernova90 |
Posted on 02/13/08 @ 05:42 AM
According to your minimap the map looks very undetailed. Only normal earth and no other ground. Try to make a more enviremental map with more details. This will attract more people to download your map. |
DragonSpawn
File Author |
Posted on 02/15/08 @ 02:43 PM
In responce to the review:
I didn't really mean to make the timer secret, I didn't even know you could make it visible, would you please tell me how?
(plus if you read the info at the top, it even says that the main force will be arriving soon)
I got the Farm on sand from some other map... I can't seem to find it as to give reference.
Most of the story is in the first Escape from the Crusaders Ep 1
The reason my maps are easy is because i am kind of a new-ish player, and i playtest all my maps, so I usually make maps to where i know i can beat them easily, but im sure that i can make them more difficult.
Thanks for the review.
In responce to the comments:
I really wasn't focusing on the landscape much, just the castle, and the forces.
Thanks for the advice though.[Edited on 02/15/08 @ 02:44 PM]
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subindxsubin (id: SUBINDXSUBIN) |
Posted on 02/16/08 @ 08:38 AM
Playability-3.5
I get a nice feeling when I play this map. I wanted to play this map again and again. I enjoyed seiging castle. Maybe it was because it was easy and smooth to play. The only problem was that there were only a few different strategies to use in sieging this castle.
Balance- 3.0
This map gave me a shock when I first played it. I never thought that I would lose if I didnt complete the siege fast. I never saw the bar while playing but the second time I played I looked for it in the briefing. I think that was a fault as well and a good aspect as it gives players a surprise. Just like Az said I was really surprised. Then I realised that it was in the briefing.
Creativity- 3.0
The castles defences were creative. Even if you kill all the gaurds at the front, you still have to kill the ones at the back because my men wouldnt make it with them there. When I tried it the second time because of this I had to use my fir ballistae a lot. Your idea of the farms was a nice one. It looked like a great eyecandy. I dont know why but I like to look at the farms. Nice work there
Map design 2.5
The castles design was the only design I saw in this map. The farm area could have been larger and the area outside was blank. There was on ly 5 rocks and a signpost outside the castle. You really need to spend more time on your maps.
Story-2.0
The story was small. It had no basis. All I understood was that some people are going to attack you and you have to win before that. I cant see a good basis for that story. Hope you understand.
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DragonSpawn
File Author |
Posted on 02/18/08 @ 07:25 PM
yeah, i still didnt mean to make the timer secret, but i've figured out how to do it now
the basis for the story is from the Escape from the crusaders episode 1[Edited on 03/08/08 @ 09:09 PM]
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Venomrider |
Posted on 03/02/08 @ 06:28 PM
little crusader seige maps like this are a fun diversion from the crusader trail or skirmish.I'll try it tomorrow. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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2.7 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 3.3 | Balance | 2.8 | Creativity | 3.0 | Map Design | 2.3 | Story/Instructions | 2.3 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 295 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 290.54 KB |
Added: | 02/10/08 |
Updated: | 02/11/08 |
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