Here is yet another Siege map with tons of AI. Like the map “Castle of the Damned” you are residing in a very well defensive castle. This castle is built at the tip of a seas peninsula, with the protection of a cliffs rocky shore. Again this map is best played at defending, even though attacking is also quite fun, at the speed of 90 and at the level of Very Hard, Defending allows for the viewing audience a 12 minute siege accounting for 93% troop loss with a win by the Lord killing the last Knight with only a few of your Bowmen left in adjacent towers. Other then in “Castle of the Damned”, I tried to concentrate more on the maps landscape. I would welcome anyone’s attempt for a Story line. I am kind of weak in that department. Remember to have fun… Good luck to all………….. Peace: VONNER
Playing this map after reading unik comments about castle of the damned, I though first I did a mistake about my download. Really Unik's feelback about the previous map is so close from my feeling about this map that I think it's not useful to add more.
UnikUnok
Posted on 07/31/03 @ 12:00 AM
Rating
4.0
Breakdown
Playability
4.0
Balance
4.0
Creativity
4.0
Map Design
4.0
Story/Instructions
4.0
After reading the comments posted by Jalis, I had to see for myself if Castle of the Damned and Victory at the Seas Edge were that similar. I must say, I whole-heartedly agree with Jalis. The two maps are strikingly similar. In reviewing the notes I took while playing this map I find that the points made in my review for Castle of the Damned apply to this download as well. There are a few notable differences however.
Playability 4/5 Victory at the Seas Edge has been designed as a defensive siege. The review by Victrix as noted by GillB. is erroneous and should be rewritten. That said, this map offers a modest challenge as a defensive game. I achieved victory on my first attempt playing on the recommended difficulty level of very hard. Losses were heavy at 67%. Vonner recommends that you play this siege at a game speed of 90. This is a good idea, as the large seas of pitch tend to slow down game play. The AI just seemed a little confused and suffered tremendous losses probing the defenses and performing redundant tasks such as filling in moats and knocking down walls after those defenses had already been breached. This reduced the challenge offered. The battle ended at the Keep but there was never a sense that I might be in real trouble. Experienced players will know what that observation means.
Balance 4/5 This map does possess some nice qualities. Notable is the fact that the AI uses both approaches to the castle. Staging a defense on two fronts is always quite engaging. Added to this is the fact that the attacking troops are very well balanced. The defending troops have very few ballistic units. This map will come down to your ability to use armored melee units effectively. Again just as in Castle of the Damned the volunteer wolves are back and are very effective against the AI’s attacking knights and macemen. Also like in Castle of the Damned, you can ride forth with your knights and destroy the attacking armies siege tents before the enemy is in range to stop you. The map has been made just a little to easy for you IMO.
Creativity 4/5 an interesting castle with towering walls and some original turret designs. Vonner is very creative and simply lacks the knowledge of how to use the game tricks i.e. Palistone walls, etc., (anything you might ever want to know is available in the forums). There is a bizarre looking large stone gatehouse that the author has somehow managed to double on itself. I am not going to say it is attractive but it is definitely something I have never seen before.
Map Design 4/5 above average effort with some nice terrain work. Some more attention to small detail such as rocks, dirt, bushes, etc. is needed IMO. I think the author could definitely have invested some more time and creativity into the surrounding terrain. Yes, I cut and pasted from my Castle of the Damned review in this category. My playing notes were identical.
Story/Instructions 4/5 the author provides some good and concise playing notes. It is quite apparent that this is primarily a defending siege. For shame Victrix my good fellow! The author also has asked for help in creating a story line. This has been addressed, (see The Fall of Holton, Invasion download) I do feel the author is selling himself short. He and his Wife have done a fine job at creating a storyline for his previous submits.
In Short-A commendable effort all around, the author simply needs some more practice. Once he has mastered the fundamentals, his creativity is going to provide us with some wonderful maps. I have given Victory at the Seas Edge a slightly higher score than it’s worth. This is to counter the low review posted by the previous critic. The purpose is to give the downloader a more accurate score and thus a better idea of what this map has to offer. IMHO this map is a 3.6-3.8.