As with all my older maps I wrote the story directly into the game, since I never thought I woukld upload my maps for others to play them. This will probably be the last of my old maps that I post, so from now on I will be able to add the story in the Downloads-section aswell.
14/11-05: Updated the map aswell as the minimap due to Lollards comments about the lack of iron and deer. Should be a little more playable now.
Playability: 4
Score
Playing Level: 0
136 Months Early: 13600
Troops Lost 27%: 7300
Score: 20900
Previous Best Score: 0
Several hours and many saves later, I achieved an early victory on this map! As stated, the key is to get your keep placed right. I wont give away the secret, I'll just say it is by no means easy. The score above is the result of many hours. I took off because the whole map is littered with small stones and single quarry stone. This makes it very frustrating and you spend alot of time looking around for a area that will let you build even the basic buildings you need. I know this was intended, and its part of the struggle to make it work, but it affects the playability. Otherwise this kept me playing, and deserves a solid 4.
Balance: 3
The map has three timed economic goals that each require substantial long term planning to reach. Using the starting 1000 gold wisely is critical. You need to keep a surplus of gold, I always needed it somewhere. The bad events seem to be a real killer, especially the rare fire events. The map has limited build area (see above), and that means long distance travel for the resource gatherers. You might want to invest in a marketplace right away, and be ready to use it alot! The places to build farms are very few indeed, and you need to think small and efficent. Because of the annoying build areas, I took off here. Also, resources seem out of balance (not enough deer, iron too far and limited are two examples).
Creativity: 5
Ecovasion with a tenacious economic component. I liked it. Plus the challenge of 'placing the keep' gets this a 5 creativity. Use the keep defensively, you will need it.
Map Design: 4
Large areas to search for build spots with natural detail. Wolves and bears are skillfully used make this seem like you are really out in the wilderness. Some of the iron mine ore is extremely detailed, and almost all of it is unavailable to build mines on, so trial and error is required.
Story/Instructions: 4
All the words were correctly spelled and everything looked gramatically sound. No glaring errors or incomplete sentences I noticed. Worthy of a 4 on write up. Get a histroy lesson when you read it, nice!
Additional Comments:
Offical Lollard "Thumbs Down" for this one. Strong economic challenge (where one mistake will ruin you) and lots of smaller invasions that constantly bug you with no end.