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A Horrible Price to Cheat
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Author |
File Description |
The Dragonheart |
Posted on 07/10/08 @ 04:44 AM
File Details |
Map Size: |
160x160 (Tiny) |
Difficulty: |
Hard |
Minimap:
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Silent mist flowed into the hovel as a supernatural feel brought anxiety. It had happened for the previous week… the first night: their daughter had disappeared, the second night: the eldest daughter, the third night: the second youngest son and so on…
It was deep into the night, quiet crickets buzzed in the distance, the light of the moon shone a miniscule streak of light through a crack in the roof and a mother clutched her baby tightly in a bundle, crying with anticipation as she gazed upon the white mist sweep slowly into the room across the floor. It was her last child, her only child left and she had not a clue what the meaning of it was.
Living with her eight children was an average life for a mother in this small castle, her husband deceased violently in battle under a year ago, leaving her to scrounge a living to keep her family alive. She loved her sons and daughters, every last one of them… and to witness them vanish in front of her was distressing.
But what did it mean? Every night, she sat in the dark corner huddled with her children, hoping the mist wouldn’t come. Each time as the mist crept into the room, she blacked out and only woke in the morning to find one child missing. This time, she didn’t fall unconscious. This time was different… it was the last child.
The white mist crawled up her ankles and then surrounded the bundle… the mother screamed and cried, gulping for air in fright. She couldn’t let it take her baby, she wouldn’t.
‘Why?!’ she shrieked. ‘Leave me!’
At that moment, she knew nothing. Her eyes languidly opened as she lay on her side… it was morning. The mother immediately realized she had fallen unconscious and didn’t move. She stared blankly at the wall, alone, mixed emotions made her feel defeated. It was horrible. After a few moments to gather her thoughts, she began to sob.
* * *
‘Sir, the lady up on the hill claims “the mist” has taken her last child,’ said a guard who had entered the deserted main hall. The lord sat a table, a candle rested in front of him as he read a large ancient book. The guard turned to leave. ‘She probably murdered them… I’ll throw her in a cell-’
‘Wait,’ the lord called, not taking his eyes off the book. At last, he looked up after a long silence, unsure fear filled his eyes. ‘I’ve found something, I’ve – I’ve been reading all night. As I searched through the library, I found this book… it tells of a warning. It’s a curse, but can save a city by notifying them before an attack.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘The only way the warning can be recognized is by a mysterious mist that creeps in and takes children. It chooses a family and then the children are never seen again. This book does not explain why it has to be a curse, but it has been around for over seven hundred years.’
‘You do not believe in curses, do you, sir? It is obviously a joke-’
‘No… I – I do not know what to believe. I’m bewildered at how the woman on the hill can say the exact things that are in this book.’
The guard stared down at the torn, brown ancient book, the words barely readable. His eyes seemed to be held by it, a power grew in him. Could a curse really be a warning to prepare a castle or city for war? No, it was farfetched… why would it snatch up children in the middle of the night?
‘I would not worry of it,’ the guard mumbled, breaking away from his deep mystic thoughts.
‘That is you, not me,’ the lord said. ‘Tell the men to be on high alert and send a messenger to find aid. I do not believe in magic or curses, but this book opens my mind.’
‘Er – yes, sir.’
As the guard left the main hall, the lord mused: ‘Why would anybody attack us?’
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Hello lords and ladies. I bring you only a small invasion. I have been perfecting the playability for a long while and if you play this map right, you can just win. You have a small castle to defend and only a small army. But don’t just rely on your muscle, mix around the options… you have caged war dogs, pitch, spike traps and more.
The map took one afternoon to create and the playability took nearly a week. The story (which I hoped you liked) took me half an hour, mostly improvised but a good overall idea, I believe.
Good luck. May you conquer this map with fun!
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Oh, and on another note, I am currently creating the most insane map I have thought of yet. It is an enormous city (one quarter made after two months) and every square is mostly filled with pathway. From a creative perspective, it gives a feeling of the lost city of Atlantis. And did I mention the city will fill 99% of the map when the map size 400 x 400? Well, this isn’t the place for me to gab about it. It won’t come out for another couple months.
Good luck with this map.
The Dragonheart |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Roshko |
Posted on 07/11/08 @ 10:02 AM
Wow mate I don't know where to start. My first impression was (OMG awesome) :D I just have to say that the playability was amazing mate *shakes hand* I don't know how long you worked on it but it was simply outstanding. The map is the perfect way to train your skills with a great replay vallue. I must have died like 10 times but it was still really entertaining (rocked) I'm not sure how you played it but I was forced to use some advanced tactics like slowing down time and destroying part of the castle, without oppening way to the enemy, for stone. I demolished some of the buildings for wood--->traps. I think it's clear for everyone that all the troops must be positioned infront of the castle none must wait for the enemy to come. In the start all the troops avalible plus the once yet to be produced where ordered near the signpost. It was a really good decision, because that way the attacking ranged units were killed quickly. After the enemy entered the map I started clicking on the enemy non stop so that my pikemen would ignore those attacking them and concentrate on the ranged units. After they were killed followed a small slaughter. While waiting I placed some pitch diches around the bridge and the ford and some rocks around the inner gate. Then I aimed at one soldier at a time (thus leaving the stationary units unharmed) all of the macemen and swordsmen infront of the gate got creamed. I played untill a messege warned me of incoming units. That was the que to move my army on the second level. They went unharmed and were positoned evenly on the center wall. Then came the bad guys. A clash between the archers started while the others were still destroying the walls. Then the first to go through were roasted including some swordsmen (pitch postitioning is vital). And after that it was kind of easy. The archers which arrived where really usefull. Because I couldn't get them on the walls I forced them to go into combat with some swordsmen, which almost had my wall destroyed. Continuosly clicking on their destination will insure that they don't get slaughtered on the way.And with that I completed the map. A perfectly balanced jewel which I enjoyed a lot. Infortunately this map is not something new. A lot of small invasion maps exsit in SHH thus making it not so original. But I simply adore those kind of castles. Small but really well fortified. They are amazing not to mention that the story was awesome earning a strong 5 and boasting the creativity score ;) As for the map design. It wasn't also something breathtaking nor was it badly managed, but the map is small and that loweres the score. Not so much effort went into making the landschaft and unfortunately the excisting terrain is not near a perfect five. I avoind making small maps mate, but if I make one I'll be sure to put a lot of work on the terrain and adding some new features (remains mabye the 1000 stone press hymalaya) oh thats right was the top peace of your map Hymalaya?
In conclusion I'd like to say that this was an awesome map that may have earned a 5 Im sure but as the designer said not so much time went into the other aspects as in the playability. But let me assure you DH the playability and balance were AWESOME. I loved playing it. So much that I even made the final screenshot ;)
http://media5.dropshots.com/photos/498070/20080711/065414.jpg
Keep up the good work
Roshko
P.S. Yeap I'm Morbid Angel. BMC permanently broke up. Now I have more kontrol >D |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.7 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 5.0 | Creativity | 4.5 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 766 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 326.97 KB |
Added: | 07/10/08 |
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