“Pippen gazed in growing wonder at the great stone city, vaster and more splendid than anything he had dreamed of; greater and stronger than Isengard, and far more beautiful.” (Lord of the Rings, part three, The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien)
Welcome to Minas Tirith! (Invasion)
***The Story***
The people of Gondor are making a last stand in their fortress city of Minas Tirith (tower of Guard). Denathor the Steward, beguiled by the wiles and lies of Sauron, is now an ineffective leader resigned to defeat and death. You, as Gandalf, must take over the defense of the city. Rally the troops! Prepare for battle! The evil forces of Mordor are almost at the gates!
Will the neighboring Kingdom of Rohan come to your assistance? And where are Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli? You cannot depend on these uncertainties – use your resources wisely and stand firm against the enemy.
***Design Notes (brief)***
While I worked on this map, I frequently referred to the third book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy for clues on how the city was constructed and how the battle might be fought in and around it. I also referred to the drawing of Minas Tirith by Tolkien (http://stonia.ttu.ee/gallery/tolk-tirdawn.jpg). However, due to the limitations of the Stronghold Map Editor I needed to make a few modifications including:
- Though Minas Tirith is described as having seven rings of walls, I have chosen to only represent five. Map size and terrain height limits made more than this unwieldy.
- Circular walls are also problematic in Stronghold. I chose an octagonal configuration.
Minas Tirith was well built and beautiful - possessing many gardens, monuments, homes and buildings. Some of the features I included are necessary for the game to function but many were added only to set the tone and please the eye. You will find the stables where Shadowfax waits (ring 4, North), the Houses of Healing (ring 3, South) and the Tombs of the Kings (in the valley West of ring 5).
From the beginning of the game you have one year to prepare yourself before the first wave of attacks. After this you progress to a lively and fast moving invasion which should leave you either Victorious or Defeated in no more than 10 game years. A difficulty setting of NORMAL should provide significant challenge to most players. Those who are more experienced, reckless or foolish may try a harder setting. (You know who you are!)
To win you must defeat the enemy and end the game with at least 50 citizens and 250 gold.
***Regarding the LOTR-Return of the King film***
I created this scenario before the film was released and without referring to any of the pre-release trailers or still photos. There are obviously many differences but still I believe you will find it a fair representation.
***Final Notes***
I strongly encourage you to read the full design notes included with the download. Included is advice on avoiding the “Curse” which could bring you to a swift and sure defeat. A series of hints are also provided if you need them.
This map was great fun to make but my wife says I spent too much time at the computer! Hope you enjoy it too! Your comments and suggestions would be most appreciated.
Next, I plan to produce this same map as an attacking siege.
This map was an extremely entertaining playable LOTR map. It was balanced perfectly and involved a great deal of tactics in the almost constant invasions spanning over several years. You are first given 1 year to build up your economy and then you are faced with the wrath of Mordor. The map design seemed to be accurate from pictures that I have seen. The cliffs and ruins were extremely well done and the castle and landscape quite good. Well done here. The story will filled with quotes from the book and the zip file contained many instructions about how you should approach the map. This was an extremely fun map to play. I look forward to playing and reviewing the attacking version when it is released. Let's just see if it lives up to the LOTR film coming out on the 17th (where I live in England)
zerotide
Posted on 01/16/04 @ 12:00 AM
Rating
4.4
Breakdown
Playability
4.0
Balance
4.0
Creativity
5.0
Map Design
5.0
Story/Instructions
4.0
A very good LotR map. I really enjoyed trying to hold of relentless sieges while trying to finish the objectives before the timer ran out. I was able to complete the Population Objective by disbanding all my troops even though my popularity meter had dwindled down into the low teens ;)