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Surviving With Nothing v3.0
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Author |
File Description |
Lacur |
Posted on 04/06/08 @ 03:36 PM (updated 04/11/08)
File Details |
Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
Number of Players: |
8 |
Balance: |
Unbalanced |
Difficulty: |
Hard |
Minimap:
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Long long time ago, you were the great king over Jungle Island.
But the global warming worked here as well and your great Jungle Island became the Dusty Island.
Your loyal sovereigns, who managed your economy, allied themselves against you, because they thought it was your fault that the most oases got lost. And now the time has come - its time to show that usurpers whose the one and only king on Dusty Island!
Demonstrate them that a real king doesnt need anything to rul or to win!
Will you survive with nothing except your faith?
Suggestion:
Play it 7 vs 1 and play on the mountain or its boring.
There are hidden oases in the valley.
Thats the third and nearly final version!
Its very hard to play! Please post improvements!! |
Pages: « First « 1 [2] | Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Lacur
File Author |
Posted on 04/12/08 @ 05:57 PM
updated now!
"But the transition between the sea and the land could be better"
Better now? I really dont know but i hope xD |
Hypernova90 |
Posted on 04/18/08 @ 03:33 PM
Well yes, the transition is quite improved. But may I give you an important tip: You made a very unregular and not straight line around the island. This is usually always straight or equal if you know what I mean because waves that smash upon the beach are almost in a straight line. Beach is always in an equal/straight line around the island, and not with a lot of creecks. And places some more rocks to fill up the baltness. Also, the hidden oasis doesn't look as good as it does normal. It is a bit too balt I think. But if you think it is right, leave it be.
I know I sound a little vague about the beach thing but I can't explain really clear, because English isn't my first English.
Something I forgot to tell, nice work with all AI's working well. |
Lacur
File Author |
Posted on 04/21/08 @ 01:58 PM
i used hidden oases because i wanted to look the minimap not too easy because the titel is "surviving with nothing"
^^
But thank a lot for that constructice critizm you gave to me!! |
subindxsubin (id: SUBINDXSUBIN) |
Posted on 04/23/08 @ 09:52 AM
Playability - 4.5
This is a fun map to play with enemies on all sides. You are on a high plain but then again you are surrounded. That was what I liked. The terrain on the top was really too plain. It really doesnt feel nice to see plain areas. If it was not plain and rather detailed, it would have been a lot more fun. The struggle comes in the first part of the map only. Once you get a good enough grip, it starts to get really easy but the first part is the challenge and I had to play it quite a few times to get past the beginning.
I played against the wazir, marshal, lionheart, saladin, Emir, nizam and the wolf with a slight computer advantage. I was on top of the hill too. In the beginning it was very hard to survive. I was constantly being attacked. I had to play this map 4 times to win. So this was my strategy. I started off and got a steady enough economy running. Next I kept recruiting slaves and archers slowly. I also had a few churches which had to be destroyed a few times so that I could get more archers when I was under multiple attacks. Otherwise I would have been toast. The recruiting of the slaves was what that helped me survive the most. In the beginning I got an army of about 50 slaves up and torched the emir's castle. The fire lasted for a while but he recovered very quickly. I also managed to light the marhsal's castle. And wazir's castle caught fire from the marshal although it didnt last very long. Then I strengthened my fortifications and recruited spearmen and archers for defence. In these conditions I found spearmen to be of the right cost for helping with getting rid of catapults. Once I got a steady castle up and running things started to become a bit more smooth. I used slaves in between too. I would send in a batch of 10 or 20 frequently to light all the quarries which were right below me. It helped me to slow down the first wave of attacks too. Otherwise I wouldnt have gotten enough time to build up a well defended castle. After getting a steady economy up I decided to stop the slave recruiting and concentrate on building a good army. But by then saladin had completed his castle building. Saladin's castle is easy to light on fire. His buildings outside are an easy target and the fire spreads into the inner castle swiftly. So I couldnt resist burning his castle down.
Because of my constant use of slaves saladin and the emir had become really weak. I gathered a good enough army and wiped them both out easily. I had enough men left to siege the emir's castle too. So I decided to send them in. I almost killed him but I was unlucky. His lord survived by a small mark. So I came back to my economy and saw it totally demolished. My popularity was zero, there was no food left and the armoury was full and the production had halted and I had little money left after waging war. So I had to wait a bit before gathering another army. After a while I gathered a large army and wiped out the lionheart and with the few left men, emir.
After that, the nizam and the wolf were the only once left. I managed to get rid of the nizam but the wolf was the biggest problem. He made a supersized well defended castle which took a lot of time to break through. After breaking through I decided to see some fireworks before finishing him off.
Overall it was a lot of fun to play except for the fact that the plainness wasnt very fun to watch. I really enjoyed this map and so a 4.5 is the score that this maps playability deserves.
Balance- 5.0
According to the review guidelines this section is supposed to be rated on the basis of distribution of resources and other things but I hate that. I like to review more based on how difficult it was to play. This is a very difficult map. I recommend playing it. Beginner players should play with normal settings and normal AI's and more experienced players should play this map with the strong AIs with a slight computer advantage. Kudos to you for bringing this wonderful map. One thing I would like to say is that you should move a bit of the stone backwards so that all of the quarries arent burned down by the player. Another thing is that you should specify the AIs that should be used and the type of advantage too. Otherwise the player will pllay the map on a random setting and say it was too easy or too hard. So specify something like the ones I have specified above.
Creativity- 3.0
Your idea is good and original as much as I know.There arent many maps in SHH with this idea. You rely completly on trade. You have to buy everything and every bit is important. The crusader section doesnt have many maps like this one. Another thing was the hidden oasis. If normal oasis was used on this map it would have looked really weird. You have used a creative trick creatively. All around you have shown good creativity. I am sure that you will do even better in the future. The story wasnt too creative. There are many maps and stories based on the theme of Global Warming.
map design- 2.5
This was the weakest part of the map. Most parts were plain and others were really unnatural.
Suggestions to improve Map design
At the top of the map, do some terraining. I mean it is really completely plain. You could add a could looking farm area which is unusable due to the presence of rocks. Then you could add boulders which could also be unusable due to the presence of stones. For an oasis always use the medium sized brush and create a pretty basic oasis with all three types layer after layer. Then use the second smallest brush size and blend all of the together. For a finishing touch, use the smallest brush too. And then a few oasis bushes and some rocks of different sizes and a few palm trees. Always remember to add a small lake if you are adding an oasis plain.
The boulders that were available for the AIs at the foot of the hill was just, it came out of nowhere. They occur below rocky mountains and such. So if a small very rocky area is added above, it would be better.
The slope could have been used very well. It looks plain. The good part is that the enemy could access it from all sides. What you can do is scatter rocks of different sizes making sure that you dont add too many. Then scatter boulder terrain in between. Then also add a bit of iron. Make sure that the area near the boulders for quarries is more rocky. Also add the flat rocky terrain in between it all. Then add a few small desert bushes in between. I dont mean the cactus' but the grassy desert bush. The you could make the boulder filled are for the quarries more natural by scattering some iron using the smallest brush.
At the bottom, if you had just made normal grass for the AIs it would have looked really boring. So I congratulate you for using the small trick for this. The only problem is that the map looks unnatural at the bottom too. You could add a few bushes and other stuff and make blending terrains too. Also the beach side could be a whole lot better. I cant give you much suggestion for the beach side because if you use any suggestions for that from me, you would probably end up with AI issues.
Story/ Instructions -- 2.5
A basic story with a few sentences was presented but the theme is used a lot and the story was really short. You could add something from the birth of the king or like this.
"To the left all that could be seen was the vast emptiness of the barren slopes and the blue waters. To my left the same. Trapped in between no my people revolt. Ahhhh why did they leave me? The blessings of nature have left me perhaps for me to meet my fate."
And so on or add more events taking place. It may take time but I am sure you can make one. Another thing was the instructions on how to play. There wasnt much except for the location and alligiance. The problem will be that people would play on a random type of advantage and then say it was too easy or it was too hard. For example for this map you could add "Beginner players should play with normal settings and normal AI's and more experienced players should play this map with the strong AIs with a slight computer advantage."
Additional comments
This is a hard and fun map to play. I recommend it to all.
Its a nice map. I am sure that you will improve and start making better maps.
Good luck! |
subindxsubin (id: SUBINDXSUBIN) |
Posted on 04/23/08 @ 09:53 AM
I have submitted a review.
Hope you dont mind reading long write ups. |
Lacur
File Author |
Posted on 04/24/08 @ 01:24 PM
[Edited by ericgolf - I removed your quote. While some may have considered it humorous, it did not work and was likely to cause offence.]
thats not me its just a quote.
first i want to thank you a lot for that justified and nice critique!
i will consider it very much!
but before that i must translate every single map design improvement to german because i'm not very good in English (i bet you all recognized that...).
"I am sure that you will improve and start making better maps."
I am sure that I will try improve that map first before I will start with a new map!
Next time I will spend much more time for that story (i've an idea conecting a story with a suggestion now(like you submitted))
Later on I will improve the beaches, the plain places and the rest you mentioned!
I reckon the next challenge I try to manage is that I will improve this map because thats still my first map and it shouldn't be bad because the map design is grubby or the story rubbish...
Thank you again again for your review!
I will tell you when my next update is out so you may maybe write a better review =)
Take a pity on me!! I'm still very new!!
Many thanks![Edited on 04/25/08 @ 01:29 PM]
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subindxsubin (id: SUBINDXSUBIN) |
Posted on 04/25/08 @ 01:23 AM
Rather than criticizing too much I like to try more to appreciate.
I am not criticizing too much.
When I read the comment I was shocked. I wrote this review and I get called a bastard?
Who said that? |
Lacur
File Author |
Posted on 04/25/08 @ 09:27 AM
Nooo not you!
That was a quote!
I read that when I read a lot of reviews of not sooo good maps..
I posted that quote to show which critizm I dont like and which is very good and helpfull.
Your review was very detailed and good to understand |
wallywal |
Posted on 04/26/08 @ 06:51 AM
Global warming in the middle ages... LOL |
peter2008 |
Posted on 06/30/08 @ 12:40 PM
Hi Lacur,
(German translations follows)
I managed it! Played 7 AI vs me with 2 to 4 k which was a damned fault: had overlooked that hidden oases, so the enemies developed perfectly. Couldn't nest my economy upon the bottom of the hill but had to rely solely on processing wood: xbows for to buy no wood, bows mostly for archers. Besides a bit hop. And had to buy stone! Man, each single markman was so valuable. Built an engineers' post and trained one (!) engineer. Him I let construct a shield, bring it up the tower and leave it for to build the next one ...
By high advantage it was easy to silence the two AIs below me (Pig and Wazir, by chance) and when I was able to build two quarries exactly in front of their castles I knew that the day was won. Having wiped them out I got access to iron and those hidden oases. My castle flourished. - The rest was an easy raid.
Many thanks for this quite difficult task. If you're searching for a story, why not call it "SURVIVING HATTIN" (which conveyed a possible idea of how you could shape the flat plain.)
Ich hab's geschafft! Spielte gegen 7 AIs 2000 zu 4000 Gold, was ein krasser Fehler war: hatte die versteckten Oasen übersehen, wodurch sich die Feinde perfekt entwickelten. Konnte meine Ökonomie nicht einnisten am Fuß des Hügels, sondern war einzig auf Holzverarbeitung angewiesen: Armbrüste, um neues Holz zu kaufen, Bögen zumeist für Schützen. Daneben etwas Hopfen. Und musste Stein kaufen! Mann, jeder einzelne Schütze war so kostbar. Baute einen Ingenieursposten und bildete einen (!) Ingenieur aus. Den ließ ich einen Schild bauen, ihn auf einen Turm bringen und verlassen um dann unten den nächsten zu bauen ...
Durch den Höhenvorteil war es leicht, die zwei AIs unter mir zum Schweigen zu bringen (Schwein und Wazir, zufälligerweise). Als ich in der Lage war, zwei Steinbrüche genau vor ihren Burgen zu bauen, wusste ich, dass der Tag gerettet war. Als ich sie hinweggewischt hatte, erhielt ich Zugang zum Eisen und diesen versteckten Oasen. Meine Burg blühte auf. - Der Rest war ein leichter Raubzug.
Habe ein paar Screenshot gemacht, falls Dich meine Variante, Deine Karte zu bespielen, interessiert.
Vielen Dank für diese recht schwierige Aufgabe. Falls Du nach einer Geschichte suchst, warum sie nicht "HATTIN ÜBERLEBEN" nennen (was auch eine Idee dafür vermitteln würde, wie Du die flache Hochebene ausgestalten könntest.) [Edited on 06/30/08 @ 12:49 PM]
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Pages: « First « 1 [2] |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.5 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.5 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 3.0 | Map Design | 2.5 | Story/Instructions | 2.5 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,291 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 546.08 KB |
Added: | 04/06/08 |
Updated: | 04/11/08 |
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