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The Secrets of Sylvandell Ch 5
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| Author |
File Description |
| Sulis |
Posted on 01/12/04 @ 12:00 AM
| File Details |
|---|
| Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
| Difficulty: |
Normal |
The Secrets of Sylvandell Chapter 5
The Final Battle for Sylvandell
And so the journey nears its end. The reluctant King arrives at the mighty city of Sylvandell, exhausted and weak, cold and hungry. He is met by a small party of knights and quickly taken to safety. But there is little time left, for the Darkness of Neroli are preparing their final assault. Evril is briefed of the plans to defend the city and unexpectedly learns another secret Sylvandell has been hiding all these years. For all the grandeur, pomposity and elegance she reflects on the outside, Sylvandell is weak; a failing defence system that would crumble... a fortified city rotten to the core.
Evril is guided to the most secure part of the city. He will play no part in the battle that will follow, for his presence has been too long awaited and the royal bloodline is too precious be broken. The armies of Sylvandell will take up the fight, every one of those men prepared to die for the cause.
Looking across the battlements, out over the marshes, the fringes of Wilder Wood can clearly be seen. And there, just in front of the ancient forest, in a line stretching as far as the eye can see, tens of thousands of Neroli barbarians are awaiting their final orders before the siege begins. They prepare for war by beating their chests rhythmically and baying for blood. This battlecry carries over the marsh to the city, to Evril, to every man who now stands ready to face the Final Battle for Sylvandell.
AUTHORS NOTES
This is the final chapter in the Sylvandell series of maps. The idea here is really quite a simple one... to survive. Whilst the closing chapter may be somewhat formulaic (final big battle, lots of fighting, winner takes all), the key to this map is the city itself. If you have read the story as it unfolded, you will hopefully have a picture of Sylvandell in your mind. It is the principal city, a city built as a beacon, a city hated by the Neroli for everything it stands for.
The map is dripping with eye candy, and tries to resurrect some of the great things about the editor. There includes my own versions of a throne room, a jousting arena, pleasure gardens, streets and an arena, to name but a few (keep an eye open for the pub garden!) and the map is, admittedly, an exercise in eye candy creation too.
In terms of the battle, you will face a multitude of units, hopefully all hell-bent on getting into the castle. Use your troops carefully. The armoury is full, the tresury has a healthy sum there and the marketplace will allow you to buy more weapons. You will need them.
DESIGNERS' POINTS
-Due to the design of the keep area, when you recruit a knight, you will have to manually select it from the campfire and move it to your chosen location. I suspect that with the design as it is, the knight unit is unable to move freely to the barracks. Please bear this in mind. Leaving the knight at the campfire wil slow the game down slightly until it is manually moved.
-There are many, many buildings that the attacking AI will attempt to destroy. As a result, the full force of the invasion may not hit you until you are cowering on a corner deciding how to fight your way out of this. Whilst a map that doesn't have these distractions for the AI would leave a better battle, the map is purposely designed to be destroyed, and will be followed up in the epilogue to this story.
-I have suggested that you play the map on normal difficulty. There will be a lot of units on the map, as well as a highly developed city. Users of lower spec computers may experience a little lag when playing the map. Please be aware.
-The full story chapter is included in the zip file, and is also available to read in The Inn.
Final thoughts
As with any map I submit to Stronghold Heaven, I truly hope that you enjoy playing it. The campaign has taken months of hard work to finalise, hours and hours of playtesting and plenty of time back at the drawing board when things didn't go quite to plan! But therein lies the fun of designing for Stronghold.
And constructive reviews would be welcomed.
Finally, a special thank you goes to Jalis, for the map is built using his wonderful green player template. A wonderful creation that opens up new elements of map design.
Best wishes,
Sulis |
| Pages: [1] 2 3 4 » Last » | | Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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| NAT |
Posted on 01/14/04 @ 12:00 AM |
| talos_911 |
Posted on 01/15/04 @ 12:00 AM
Playability : 5
Playing this map was a blast ! The map constantly keeps one at their toes as you have to manage the defense on two main fronts of attack... wether by design, or chance... the black troops of the wolf barely show up in the minimap against the swampy land... as a result, you must physically shift your view between the two places and it increase the speed of the game to a frantic pace.
The AI attacks beautifully, and quite realistically... Sulis has exploited the AI to its full potential, and the results have to be seen to be believed.
Balance : 5
Perfect. It took me a few tries to get a feel of how the AI works (also, the first few times I was just eyeballing the scenery and castle design :p).
Once you do get a hang of it, its still a memorable fight to the victory screen... a grand job done here... and considering the number of units that he was dealing with, it just shows the quality of his map making skills.
Creativity : 5
One of the most creative maps i've come across yet... To think up the entire castle and to execute it in such flair that it seems to be a real world location is a genius few, like UnikUnok, possess... and Sulis not only has it, but he's also mastered it.
The story is very creative, and is another testament to his quality... Sulis, I bow to you for your amazing creativity :D.
Map Design : 5
Phenomenal work here... the entire castle design is lovingly (and I can imagine, quite painstakingly) crafted and every little detail has been taken care of...
The map is just full of eyecandy, where ever you look. From the custom made wall-towers, to the fountains, to the jousting area and the main keep area... the entire castle looks beautiful, yet gives the feeling of a fortified castle, and overall, its fitting as chief city of the kingdom.
And to top it all off... AI does a great job at destroying it :P.
Story/Instructions : 5
A dramatic and well written storyline which really sets the tense mood for the map. The setting is well fleshed out in the story as has been consistently done in this awesome series. Great stuff.
After a few months of lying low, it seems Sulis decided to show everyone who's the boss, and why he's considered one the best designers for Stronghold...well, all I can say is, you can't miss the point he's made with this stunning map.
I'm sad that the Series has come to an end (and without a siege map too!)...but it is definetly a very satisfying end to one of the greatest series of Stronghold maps, made to date.
Keep up the breathtaking work Lord Sulis :).
-Talos_911 |
| Figster |
Posted on 01/16/04 @ 12:00 AM
Figster
-=TFI=- |
| Figster |
Posted on 01/18/04 @ 12:00 AM
-=TFI=- |
| Zebas |
Posted on 02/17/04 @ 12:00 AM
An epilogue would be welcomed! |
| theKman_01 |
Posted on 02/19/04 @ 12:00 AM
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:49 PM]
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| RKBauer |
Posted on 03/11/04 @ 12:00 AM
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:49 PM]
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| double d |
Posted on 04/28/04 @ 12:00 AM
thats it realy WOW! this thing is perfect in every way!
YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THIS!!! YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THIS!!!
[This is not up to review standards. I've retracted the score. Please reread the guidelines. Link is in the upper left. Please resubmit this review to have your score count.
-- Sparrow][Edited on 01/28/07 @ 09:50 PM]
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| Jones641 |
Posted on 08/27/04 @ 12:00 AM |
| nfp |
Posted on 08/30/04 @ 12:00 AM
so Im experienced player with love to strategy games, Im not satisfied with thism map.
I'v played the map once.
only by my mistake a disband about 60archers and some swordsmen. and when targetting single units I'v send 60 archers down the walls. they have been killed. so my mistake too. but overal I have 30% loss which is high, but only by this mistake, in real battle was killed about 5 swordmens and 20-30 archers.
Playability: 3
It was boring. siage weapons did the minor damage.
after the enemy breake walls i sent most units to the keep. after that was very boring too. anly 3 times was enough enemy units to get near my gate, but I had before gate 5 swordmens which done rest of work.
AI was going through the moat under the castle, and destroyed the small tower and did nothing, exept was killed by the archers.
Balance: 3
hmm.. many kinds of units, every units has difference in moving and fighting, so this lead to small groups which was killed by archers.
Creativity: 4
I must say that the map is perfectly done, very nice.
Story, is good, but something is missing.
Map Design: 5
one of the best map map I'v seen. but i thing that in real castle do not lead unsecured staircase to towers ;-)
Story Instructions:4
Story has short and long version. That is good.
I apologizes for that bad review but this is what i thing. |
| Pages: [1] 2 3 4 » Last » |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
|---|
| 5.0 | | Breakdown |
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| Playability | 5.0 | | Balance | 4.9 | | Creativity | 5.0 | | Map Design | 5.0 | | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 18,882 |
| Favorites: [] | 2 |
| Size: | 891.03 KB |
| Added: | 01/12/04 |
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