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The last Templars (updated)
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| Author |
File Description |
| Jalis |
Posted on 04/21/03 @ 12:00 AM (updated 04/25/03)
| File Details |
|---|
| Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
| Difficulty: |
Normal |
Here an execissive and immoderate map. I strongly advice to play it only as attacker. Playing as defender would only be : launch the game go to sleep and come back to see your are victorious.
The castle you have to assault is a huge triple concentric shell walls fortress, and have a garrison of 350 soldiers. But, yourself start with one thousands soldiers. It's the kind of map I make to play for test but usually never upload. However I feel the contest could delay new maps to appear, so this one could perhaps be welcome.
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The story : In 1307 the King of France, Philippe IV le bel, is in need of money. Knighthood order of Templars is rich... King Philippe greed is high... In 1307 Philippe IV arrested the templars, and charge them, in a lucridious trial for apostasy, heresy, offend to the christ, ignominious ceremonies idolatry, ect... Despite Templars claimed to be innoncent they were condamned. In fact they were obviously innocent. In 1312 the pope, who was under "the strong french influence" disolved the order. In 1314, Jacques de Molay, Master of the order was burned. The legend said he cursed the king and the pope when I died on the stack. Philippe IV died the same year, his three sons, became king, one by one, and died whitout male heir. The dynasty extingishing, a bit later came the disastrous one hundred years war, as well as the great black death. The pope also promptly died...
We are in 1312, the crusader order of templars is no more and Philippe IV loot their riches, but the main commanderie of the templars revolt against this injustice, and refuse to accept the order collapse.
The king give you the dirty duty to slaughter the last templars.
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The castle is fictitious. The event of the revolt of the templars is even more fictitious, and not really credible, sic.
At easy setting you will lead at the battle : 95 archers, 151 spearmen, 272 macemen, 126 xbwmen, 195 pikemen, 186 swordmen, 20 knights, 20 laddermen, 4 shields, 2 rams, 2 siege towers, 2 catapults. It's enought imo, for you dont suffer a defeat, even you could need a little tactic. however loose could be high in this huge blood bath.
A bit huge and excessive siege map to play only as attacker :)
Info on the update:
I'm not found of update, but my fear to upload too hard map is greater.
Improvement :
Difficulty level now works. For those playing the original map, his difficulty at normal was a very few easiest than normal setting for the updated version.
Using advanced option is improved, you can now use it, if you feel you need. Point however you can use advanced option only on half of your army, and that it will not help you at easy setting to have more swordmen and pikemen. They already at max on easy setting. I'm not found of using advanced option, but I prefere players use it if needed and win, than dont use it and loose.
Passives ennemies macemen and knights are now aggressive.
Little improvement in landscape.
Playing as defender now work... however it's only a spectacle where you have nothing to do but watch the scene and wait your victory, even at very hard. Anyway this map is designed only for attacker.
Tips file added
Prefined troops for easy setting are more numerous than what you could have in the previous version.
I advise you to play this map at easy, perhaps normal if you have suffisant knowledge of the map. Hard and very setting for expert players, but more probably for masochist players :)
Playing this map at easy is not a shame, it perhaps the goal. It could allows you to play a siege map close to reach the maximum troops the game can manage : 1098 soldiers on your side assaulting 351 ennemies + some civilians in a giant forteress.
Edit : Oups, sorry, I missed to say : useless to hire engineers. You cant build any siege engins, but you have some on your disposal at start.
Non nobis domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam |
| Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
|---|
| Sulis |
Posted on 05/01/03 @ 12:00 AM
Well, what to say about this! Jalis has presented us with a truly enormous siege map, an incredible amount of fighting and a massive castle to storm. For fans of fighting, this is a bit of a dream scenario. Not only do you have the starting troops, but there are also a wealth of units on the map to start with. And you are going to need them, as The Last Templars is a very well defended castle. The scale of the siege is impressive and as a result it took me something in the region of 25 minutes to complete, fantastic for a siege map! This highly addictive scenario begs to be replayed over and over again, which I did, at least 9 times so far. It's great fun, VERY replayable and begs for testing of your tactics. Quality stuff, deserving of a 5 score.
Balance: 5/5
Jalis makes difficult maps that really push you to the limits. Yet with some careful thought and planning, they are beatable. After a couple of very near misses (swordsmen defeated just before approaching the enemy Lord) I managed to win. Learning from mistakes, I tried several times again to beat the map at different difficulty levels, and each time victory only just happened. The balance here is perfect. With a true 'army' at your disposal, against a very well defended castle, a degree of skill and patience is needed. The Last Templars treads that fine line between beatable and impossible, making for another 5 score IMO. There are so many ways that you can attempt to take the castle too, different methods suitable to different gaming styles. I'm normally reserved about large scale sieges as so often they just don't work. This does. Impressively so.
Creativity: 4/5
Aside from the large scale of this map, which warrants a mention and full credit, the creativity here lies in the pure fighting style of scenario that Jalis has presented here. To make something like this work so well is difficult, and having so many units involved in fighting in a saw that doesn't affect gameplay is truly inspiring.
Map Design: 4/5
A huge castle sits atop a ridge, with only one real way in! Multiple baileys, a well protected keep, a barbican, a concentric design... so many good features here for anyone who is a fan of castle design. No real eye candy to speak of, but I think in a scenario such as this it's not really required. Likewise with the terrain, which is modelled well but more functional and serves as a backdrop to the enormous siege at hand. Good stuff, as always.
Story/Instructions: 4/5
Taking elements of history and fiction, Jalis has combined the two together to present a genuinely interesting story to accompany this map. In addition, good, well written instructions (and tips, for those who need them) are offered within the download. I like the combination of fact and fiction here, as it allows a map maker to explore new ideas and themes. Plenty of content too.
IN SUMMARY: Impressive! The best word I think to sum up this map, and a must for anyone who relishes big battles. For what it is, it's hard to beat in terms of siege maps out there. An essential download, and a great lesson in good map-making (and i'm taking notes!)
Another fine map, Jalis :) |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
|---|
| 4.4 | | Breakdown |
|---|
| Playability | 5.0 | | Balance | 5.0 | | Creativity | 4.0 | | Map Design | 4.0 | | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 1,640 |
| Favorites: [] | 0 |
| Size: | 832.21 KB |
| Added: | 04/21/03 |
| Updated: | 04/25/03 |
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