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Lord of the Rings - The Siege of Minas Morgul by M1i2K3k4O
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Author |
File Description |
M1i2K3k4O |
Posted on 07/31/06 @ 09:44 PM
File Details |
Map Size: |
400x400 (Large) |
Difficulty: |
Impossible |
Minimap:
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Beginning Notes:After days and days of endless playtesting by me and other kind-hearted people, I believe it's about time for it's release. If you've been active in the forums lately, you may have heard of this project. I have spent all my spare time trying to perfect this one heck of a map to its finest. And frankly, if you don't like it, well then at least I tried to make it enjoyable.
The map is mostly based on the playability issue but maybe about 2/5 or so is looks-based. You judge. But I needed this map to also fulfill the fun factor that human beings always desire. Sure, you can take in a good eye-candy, but nothing's better than a good old nervous feeling of losing and a bit of sweat drops around your armpits.
And now, presenting, my most recent map to date...
Relive the days of war. Relive the days of the battle between Good and Evil, Light and Shadow, Harmony and Agony. Relive...
Author's Notes You will find a full story in the ZIP file including a History document. They are all in .pdf format. But first, to clear things up, you control the forces of the Orcs and the Nazgul, not the Men of the West. This map is definitely not a sit back battle where you just watch everything happen. You do that, you die. You must be quick and position all of your men to the walls at the beginning of the game. Slow down the game speed, if you have to. This is basically an evil imitation of Minas Tirith but with only one level to retreat to should you lose the outer level. Try to maintain it as long as you can. I designed this map to be a tough map with many people attacking you.
There are several groups of enemies aiming for you, three to be exact. They are The Forces of Gondor, The Rohirrim, and The Elves of Middle-Earth. I changed their color to the proper ones and changed yours to black. You must defeat all of them to stand triumphant.
Now, I move on to details about the map. I based Minas Morgul solely on the Minas Morgul you saw in "The Return of the King" when Frodo, Sam, and Gollum were overlooking it from the distance. Plus, I got some information on the inside of the castle from another game (BFME2). There are some slight changes I made to the castle, though. Take the outer walls, for example. They are very tall in the movie and the big "spikes" (or triangular towers) extending from the walls gradually rose up in height the more farther it went. In my map, they are flat because I needed to have some siege towers in the battle.
There are also some catapults on top of the upper spikes. But you will have to man them yourselves. I pre-placed some engineers for you right beside the siege engines. The reason for this is because there was a bug in which the catapults fired by themselves, wasting stone, and destroying the lower level. Make use of these vital keys to victory.
The other fictional part of Minas Morgul that I must point out is the keep. It was not in the movie but if I didn't put it, then of course the enemy won't attack.
Also, don't hesitate to make some more troops in the barracks. You have several weapons to make either macemen or archers but not enough gold to make all of them. Choose wisely: range or melee?
MUST READ Minas Morgul comes with special sound files that I installed. When you unzip the file, you must, I repeat you must view the Readme before installing the sounds, because otherwise... bye-bye Stronghold Sounds.
Suggestion: I suggest you try this on Easy, first. Unless, of course, you consider yourself brave, then by all means, go ahead and go for very hard. But I guarantee you won't win.
ZIP Contents: - Minas Morgul.map
- Minas Morgul Map View.jpg
- The Siege of Minas Morgul.pdf
- Dead City - The Real History.pdf
- Minas Morgul.png
- Minas Morgul Credits.txt
- Sound Files w/ Readme
By the way, I'm really sorry but the ZIP is 6 MB only because of the sound files. Do not download if you have a "cluttered" computer.
Screenshots: I will not post my usual screenshots, but instead, here's an aerial map (there's a bigger version in the ZIP). Take the screenies yourself:
Credited People: I would like to offer a special thanks to the following people for their endless support and tremendous amount of help:
(listed in alphabetical order)
- brandonlavoie
- crazygungan
- Darkslave Master
- Dougleass
- Duc de Noisiel
- Lord Ako
- Lord Gandor
- Warlord_Designs
- younghappy
Before you comment on anything or rate the map, please comment about the difficulty, first. I am not too sure, even with the playtesting, but I think this map may be a tad too hard. Even though I meant for this map to be difficult, it might've crossed the line an inch or two.
Good gaming!
M1i2K3k4Om1i2k3k4o_sh@hotmail.com
Check out my other maps: The Assault on Longleg's Fortress:
http://stronghold.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=3301
The Mines of Moria:
http://stronghold.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=3310
The Battle for the Dominion of Sauron:
http://stronghold.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=3319
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Pages: « First « 1 [2] 3 4 » Last » | Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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M1i2K3k4O
File Author |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 01:37 AM
Changed it, then. But I'm not taking the LOTR away.
BTW, how were the sound files?? |
lollard97367 |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 02:22 AM
Cant finish it. Will try again soon. Hopeless situation IMHO. |
M1i2K3k4O
File Author |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 02:32 AM
Oh. Well, just try on easy, then. I'll update and reduce the attackers.
And how were the sound files???[Edited on 08/04/06 @ 02:34 AM]
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lollard97367 |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 02:43 AM
the sound files were pretty cool |
M1i2K3k4O
File Author |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 02:48 AM
k, good. But just try the level on easy, see if you can beat it at that. Let me know as soon as your done. |
lollard97367 |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 03:05 AM
I'll send you my results by carrier pigeon |
Duc Timothy |
Posted on 08/04/06 @ 11:51 PM
I can't beat it yet, but I gotta say: What a wild ride! And I get chills when I hear those custom sounds. Simply awesome. |
M1i2K3k4O
File Author |
Posted on 08/05/06 @ 12:15 AM
Did you try on easy?? And did you use the catapults??[Edited on 08/05/06 @ 12:15 AM]
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Duc Timothy |
Posted on 08/05/06 @ 12:40 AM
That's better. I played on Easy with the Cats and I BARELY won with 76% troop losses.
Oh, but this was fun. I was breached rather quickly thanks to the siege towers. My crossbowmen dealt a fair number of casualties, but inevitably they broke the gatehouses.
Moving my Crosssbowmen to where they could reach the Keep, and my Archers and a few Macemen to the keep, I slaughtered a few dozen pikemen and swordsmen, but they got to the Keep no less than 3 times.
With that, all the troops who could kill the Lord were dead. Unfortuneately, this was based on a fault of the AI - as soon as a gatehouse was breached they all went crashing through into heavy crossbow fire. But then, it *is* easy (I lost on Normal, though it was close).
My Cats actually did more harm than good, destroying the wall (dang, those guys are wild!) points sticking out.
I added a few stairs (oh yeah, I already spent all my gold on 22 Macemen who stalled the enemy) so I could still get around what was left of the stronghold. I saw a weird thing: A knight next to my outer gatehouse, doing nothing!
So I found two unused Macemen and told them to mop up the knight. They died *instantly* and a total of a dozen and a half Knights arrived in formation! Luckily, they charged around the outer wall and my Crossbowmen now on the outer walls killed them off. I killed off Siege towers and enough laddermen to get them to flee.
This was Easy, but that only affects troop numbers, not tactics. I'm afraid the AI is shooting itself in the foot (or, in the case of the Knights, the groin). Still, this was an excellent map and a perfect way to practice defense. Review will follow. |
Duc Timothy |
Posted on 08/05/06 @ 12:51 AM
Playability: 4
This map is amazing, and superbly crafted. The only reason this is not a 5 is the glaring AI bugs I noticed, not once but twice! That really isn't your fault, but it did take just a little away from it.
Balance: 5
I know it can be beaten! I know it! I just can't do it above Easy level just yet. The fact that I have this feeling is more than enough reason to score a 5. It's that feeling that you lost, but if you had just tweaked your strategy here and there... if only... if only...!
Creativity: 5
I don't see too many Minas Morgul maps around here, do you? Pure originality.
Map Design: 5
Your exquisite attention to detail and "historical" (quoted since we ARE talking fiction ;) ) accuracy is compromised only by what is needed to make the game behave as needed. I salute you.
Story/Instructions: 5
The story is excellent, and obviously the much-needed instructions for the sound are clear, concise and... well, just what this scenario calls for, which says a lot.
Additional Comments: If you'll remember this line:
"A work is at it's greatest not when nothing can be added on, but rather, when nothing can be taken away."
This accurately describes your scenario. It is indeed a spectacular show, but I can't think of one thing that can be taken away without ruining the experience. And that shows that you didn't waste time with *unnecessary* flair, such as deliberate eye candy. (I'm probably insulting a few people saying that, but I would rather have eye-candy look natural than just "there") I truly appreciate that you made it look good without trying to "punch up" the area around it.
Of course, to say that you didn't take the time to lower the walls, raise them, or do other cool effects (like Cats on the walls) would be equally unfair. I know it's a real pain to do that just right.
In summary: I love this map. More maps like this on this site and I'll never need to go anywhere else. |
Pages: « First « 1 [2] 3 4 » Last » |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.4 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 3.7 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 4.7 | Story/Instructions | 4.7 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 3,084 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 6.41 MB |
Added: | 07/31/06 |
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