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Author |
File Description |
The_Grey_Angel |
Posted on 07/19/11 @ 08:16 PM
File Details |
Map Size: |
160x160 (Tiny) |
Difficulty: |
Normal |
Made with version: |
1.2 |
Minimap:
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River Island
Your Journal
October 1065:
While exploring the New World, my men and I came across a mountain pass with a hidden waterfall and the beginnings of a large, unexplored river. As we survey the river, we come across what appears to be a sandbar from the distance but, as we sail closer, I realize is is actually a large, fertile piece of land centered on the river. Inquisitive but unfriendly eyes peer toward us as we look upon the peasants already living there. Apparently we are not the first to discover the island; It turns out that theses settlers got here first and were hoping to remain independent from the king buy settling the island. As a loyal subject, I quickly claimed the island in the name of the king and reported back.
Your Journal
December 1065:
After reporting my findings to the king, he congratulated me and promoted me to governor of River Island, the name he bestowed upon this large piece of land in the middle of this huge waterway. The land itself has hills and valleys and is home to many packs of wolves. Because of its economic value, the king wants me to take charge and develop the community for trade and to be taxed as a colony. This could be a great chance for me to make a name for myself and move on to bigger and better places! I have until 1096 to complete the assignment. I think I can get this done long before then!
Your Journal
March 1066
My diplomatic charisma was effective in motivating the local peasants to construct your keep; but now, something tells me that they they really don't care for me at all. Perhaps it is the picketting outside with signs like "Go home tyrant" and "The people loathe you" that doesn't give me "a warm-and-fuzzy" feeling. In fact I don't think that I'm wanted here at all. But an assignment is an assignment, and several of my loyalists quickly place some gallows outside and indulge in a couple of good old-fashioned hangings. Suddenly the picketting ends and the people are back to work.
Your Journal
May 1066
I just learned that some of the people stole food from the granary! What insolence! The gallows will certainly be busy this week.
Your Journal
July 1066
Goodness gracious! The summer is blistering here! There has already been several fires and I can't get enough wells built before another happens!
Your Journal
October 1066
The Halloween festivities are a disaster! Someone vandalized the castle and stole more food from the granary! Time to test out those racks and stockades!
Your Journal
December 1066
The people are being less mischievous because a new common enemy is upon us! Large packs of wolves are emerging for underground passages. I had no idea of this! I need to make sure we are prepared or else they could spell disaster for us! Hmmm...please assign some of those picketters to wood cutting out in the forest...
Thanks for checking it out!
Angel The Grey
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Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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MedievalWarfare |
Posted on 07/21/11 @ 06:42 AM
Playability: 4
The constant fires had me down to only a few buildings most of the time. The wolves almost killed my lord at the beginning of the game.
Balance: 4
There was an unnecessary amount of requirements for victory, and wolves were a bit too common.
Creativity: 4.5
The story was creative and the map design was okay. Events were creatively put together, although the fire was a little ridiculous.
Map Design: 4
I could only find a few spots to place my keep due to the mountains, but the detail was great. The fountains/waterfalls looked out of place.
Story/Instructions: 3.5
The story was there, as well as background. There were way too many requirements however.
Additional Comments:
I played the map and finally beat it. There was a lot of strategy involved and I had to eradicate the lions quickly in order to not die.
[Edited on 06/10/12 @ 10:45 PM]
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Heroesflorian |
Posted on 07/21/11 @ 02:55 PM
Ehm... I think you submitted your map twice!
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Lord_of_Hell |
Posted on 07/21/11 @ 03:53 PM
Indeed.
The files people submit here must be checked by a moderator before they are allowed for download.
It might take a couple of days sometimes.
Just in case you didn't know :) |
peter2008 |
Posted on 07/27/11 @ 10:36 AM
Forced to be patient on "River Island".
Gameplay: 4.5
It's a Place-your-own-Keep beginning, and it already provides the experience of how the course of the mission will be: you need patience and prospective thinking about every step you want to make.
Space is narrow on the island. When placing the usual buildings, one ecounters the additional building limitations imposed by several signposts. Looking for wood, there are only some birch trees scattered across the land! Like the olive trees in Crusader, they give only little wood, so the player sees him-/herself immediately confronted with the painful task of finding a way between making enough wood for the wood-based wheat chain and caring to let the trees respawn for future exploit.
And then, early on, events strike upon the settlement. At first, fires. 1-2 buildings need a well to guard them. Apple farms, if set on fire, most times cannot be saved (they burn down the fastest or lose their trees), woodcutter's huts may be worth being placed for a short time. The fires also devastate some of the trees.
Another source of concerns are the wolves. There are some packs already on the map, individuals of them will sooner or later meet your people. So the Lord must lend his hand fighting the beasts until he gets deep red. With the land seemingly free for walks, the first wolf event takes place. Thus is becomes clear that placing a fletcher has to be among the first tasks.
Did I mention the plague? And in between, one wonders wether it might be able to complete with some buildings placed as they have been now.
This variety of difficult circumstances altogether - along with the time limit bar runnung above - may have a depressing effect on the player. I was so puzzled that I abandoned the map and returned to it the next day. Hey, even Rome was not build in one day, so why should one make it through this eco map in a just a few tries. In fact, I still needed some starts to let the course tell me what would happen and in which order. Such a patient behaviour turned out to be the clue for gamplay itself. Very seldom I've played a mission where I deliberately w a i t e d so long and built up only turn by turn, namely from one fire event to the next.
In constant micro-management, popularity and taxes need to/ can still be watched and re-adjusted.
The reward of all that? A joy and experience deeper and more satisfying and than in playing an easy and straightforward mission. (It's actually ok to reach a certain level of development, save the map and continue later.)
There's lot of time to watch the workers and get familiar with them. You will survey their work and often check the storage quantities at the stockpile and in the granary. Stronghold eco will once again prove that it is strong enough to work sufficiently even under hardest circumstances.
A special aspect gets highlighted: serving additional food types creates a +1 each in popularity. These are small but helpful (and hopeful) bits. Certainly, the different food types support each other, so that the individual types are consumed less quickly. Deer hunting works way more effective in SH1 than in Crusader.
By the time, one has to expand and move towards the more wood-consuming buildings which require a certain forerun before they pay off. This phase includes that one has to decide to rearrange the food economy. One will notice that overall the circumstances become easier. With rapid strides, the town will grow and meeting the requests will come close.
Balance: 4.5
The first time quarter of the map offers a combination of circumstances and events which almost overwhelm the player. This is exciting. I fear though that some casual players may get frustrated and leave the map before they unfold its deepness by responding carefully to the challenges. Once these are accepted, the way through the obstacles and towards a town full of live becomes imaginable. Trained Strongholders will love the difficult job.
The many bad events get a bit relaxed by few good ones which fir and are welcome at that point.
The high tension of the first part is not kept up in the second one. The land becomes rather quiet apart from a late and tricky hops weevil.
No bandits needed (where would they come from on the small island?).
This mission requires patience (as said above) and knowledge of and trust in the course of Stronghold eco. "River Island" plays well on every level. More fear of the unknown on Normal level, higher requests and more space management on Very hard. Either way, the map can well be won within the generous time frame.
Creativity: 4
The concept reveals that The_Grey_Angel knows well about the game, and he used the levels and editor measures to create a comprehensive and epic eco mission which makes us focus on what we do while playing.
Yes, we can say, "River Island" brings that economy into very play.
The dense starting situation is original. The request "Castle enclosed" occurs seldom.
While "idea-based", landscaping is less strong (I know that from myself).
Design: 3.5
For my taste, the map does not look very invitating from the minimap. The outline appears shematic, the sketch of the plan looking through it. In detail, the landscape is rather varied on the one hand. On the other, the small map size provoked rough transtitions of heights. The sea looks monotone media blue.
Yet the land will become a familiar place with its pathways.
The script has been worked out quite well. There are many events, most of them meant to happen repeatedly, yet their occurences alternate and keep the player busy in a comprehensive way. Once, a wolves and fire event start at the same time - a special situation then.
All restrictions have been done coherently. Stress lies on goods non tradable at the market: only pitch and stone available.
Story: 3.5
Here I say the same as I will do for "Taming Rabbit Island".
Long enough to provide a history and a feeling of what this Lord experiences the situation he was placed in. The surprising events are hinted to.
The size of the text could be somewhat longer to make the reader "sink" in the fiction. Otherwise, the hidden hints constitute up to half of the text which makes the reading stay sober.
Request: In a text file, the author should make up ne lines before they get longer as the window usually is.
(The texts of Qtlilkeg may serve as example.) |
peter2008 |
Posted on 07/28/11 @ 03:22 PM
Found it remarkable that, unlike with a bunch of other maps, I did not reset game speed to either 10 or 90: "balanced" 40 stays appropriate through the periods. Either there is enough trouble which requires control or one has to wait for an income and needs time to think of what to build next.
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uttkarsh |
Posted on 08/04/13 @ 03:08 AM
Playability: 4.5
The constant fires had me down to only a few buildings most of the time. The wolves almost killed my lord at the beginning of the game.
Balance: 4.5
There was an unnecessary amount of requirements for victory, and wolves were a bit too common.
Creativity: 4.5
The story was creative and the map design was okay. Events were creatively put together, although the fire was a little ridiculous.
Map Design: 4.5
I could only find a few spots to place my keep due to the mountains, but the detail was great. The fountains/waterfalls looked out of place.
Story/Instructions: 3.5
The story was there, as well as background. There were way too many requirements however.
Additional Comments:
I played the map and finally beat it. There was a lot of strategy involved and I had to eradicate the lions quickly in order to not die.
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Jim Scott |
Posted on 09/18/18 @ 01:15 PM
Excellent work. Thank you for making this![Edited on 12/24/18 @ 04:26 AM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.1 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.3 | Balance | 4.3 | Creativity | 4.3 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 3.5 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 2,338 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 340.39 KB |
Added: | 07/19/11 |
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