I've also pondered whether it might be a good idea to initially have the higher difficulty "locked" (disabled), and to "unlock" it only after the player has completed the campaign on the easier difficulty. But I'm not sure that would work very well......I'd open a PR to add something along those lines. "The two difficulty levels of this campaign are vastly different, the easier one is playable with just the knowledge from Battle Training, while the harder one is intended for experienced players, and is comparable to the hardest levels of Liberty and Heir To The Throne."
Statistics: Posted by gnombat — December 13th, 2023, 10:08 pm
Statistics: Posted by JL42 — December 13th, 2023, 9:18 pm
Statistics: Posted by octalot — December 13th, 2023, 2:02 pm
Statistics: Posted by gnombat — December 12th, 2023, 5:15 pm
1 – Having to keep your ally alive would make it more like a 3 difficulty, but that is not required. If the player arrives without any level 2 units then it would be harder, but that seems unlikely.How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
Reasonably clear. I agree with some other comments that it would benefit from dialogue that better points to the ally's location ("We need to head to the north and find Reeve Hoban!")How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Meh. It provided a reasonable wrap-up for the story, and I was glad that Baran got to redeem himself. This one had the fewest dialogue problems of all of this campaign's scenarios, but it still could benefit from better prose. The main issue here is that the characters and setting throughout the campaign are so thin and under-developed that we don't really care about their drama.How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
None. The only thing that provided any risk at all here was Reeve Hoban charging out of his keep and getting himself killed; and it's not even actually necessary that he stays alive to win.What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
6 – This was the most enjoyable map in the campaign, mostly because the terrain was set up in an interesting fashion and the novelty of working with an allied faction. It's a small and simple map, but well-done overall. Provided good opportunities for my horsemen and Baran to work in the plains while swordsmen and outlaws held the flank along the mountains.How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
The overall terrain and layout here are solid. Perhaps just make it a bit more challenging by giving both the enemy and the ally more gold over time. I think if the ally were spamming a lot more lvl 1 or even lvl 0 units (Peasants), against a slightly stronger enemy, then it would make the field of battle seem fiercer and more involved.What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Statistics: Posted by JL42 — December 12th, 2023, 3:51 pm
The password checks are a cool dynamic. If you complete both of them then it's probably about a 2 difficulty. I intentionally failed the second password to get more XP, which bumped the difficulty up to around 3. Failing the first password would probably put it around 5–6. If the player is arriving without any level 2 units then it would be harder; but it seems doubtful that anyone could get through the previous scenario without obtaining such units.How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
Very clear.How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Like the previous scenario I'm running into a bit of storyline confusion here. The enemy leader seems to indicate the orcs are "coming for him" and are not on his side, and yet they just stand there at the gate and they don't attack his units as they walk right past? Instead the orcs only come after us when we get too close? If you read closely the enemy does briefly mention that he has guard orcs, but the ones on the map are not actually on his team and don't attack with his team; and why does he have guard orcs if the orcs are his enemy? Didn't really make much sense. The basic plot with the brothers is ... fine I guess ... but the campaign in general just really needs some work on the writing. And maybe replace the guard orcs with guard ogres or something for more coherence.How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
The biggest danger is getting too close to the gate early on and bringing all of the orcs down on you at an inopportune time. Once you understand their engagement dynamics that part becomes a breeze, which makes it actually feel a bit gimmicky. It's another one of those things where a bit of dialogue would help – "Men, those orcs won't attack as long as we stay out of range! [for whatever reason]." Currently you just have to grok onto the AI scripting or read the walkthrough to get that information, which feels distasteful to me. Once you do realize that they are stationary, you just hang back to defeat the undead troops, and then after that is done you move forward to deal with the orcs. Fighting through the castle could potentially be challenging, but by the time you get there all the enemies are already dead.What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
4 – This is better than the previous two maps. The castle is an interesting concept but could have been better implemented.How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
As mentioned above, better dialogue to clearly explain what is going on with the orcs and with the necromancers. The castle was a bit of letdown because it was so empty. Maybe the enemy leader should get some more gold to recruit once our units enter the castle proper, so that we would actually have something to fight in there (along with more villages just outside the castle and more time if needed to handle the challenge). It would also be more fun if there were additional "surprises" or points of interest in the castle – currently there's a bunch of decorations strewn all over, but most of them don't do anything. Maybe even just make the castle a bit larger. I found it frustrating that there is a locked area at the left (before you get to Baran) that seems impossible to enter, and has to be just left unexplored.What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Statistics: Posted by JL42 — December 12th, 2023, 2:55 pm
7 – This scenario was surprisingly hard for being in a beginner campaign, even though I already had a couple of leveled units to throw into the fight.How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
Very clear.How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
The dialogue here was kind of confusing. The elves said the necromancer was a prisoner, but it was actually the brother? I guess maybe it just means the elves didn't know what they were talking about, but it was never really clarified. Writing in general in this campaign needs a lot of work.How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Just surviving the insane onslaught of Scouts/Riders in the first few rounds. Beginners who didn't understand the enemy weaknesses and used the wrong units or moved into the forest would probably have an even harder time. After the first 3 or 4 rounds the map has no challenges at all.What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
1 – Kind of like the first map in this campaign I found it just awkward and annoying.How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
I think the main thing here would be to just replace most of the Scouts/Riders with Elvish Fighters. This scenario has a really dumb mechanic where you just get totally mobbed with numerous Riders, a Hero, and a Wose in the first couple of turns, before you can even get set up, and then after that you just walk through the rest of the map with basically zero resistance. It's supposed to be a "chase" but it's actually more like a siege. I would make it more like a conventional scenario where the elvish leader has some more gold and additional tiles to recruit into, rather than the enemy starting with a ton of existing Riders. Might need to add a few more turns of time and some additional villages if making that change. As with most of this campaign, better dialogue and some instructions about unit weaknesses for beginners would be very helpful.What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Statistics: Posted by JL42 — December 12th, 2023, 1:53 pm
4 – Most of the difficulty comes from the awkward, clunky terrain that makes it hard to set up good defensive lines, plus the enemy having flanking units. Beginners who don't know a lot about mechanics would probably struggle with all the different types of enemies that the scenario throws at you.How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
Very clear.How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear, but not really interesting. It could definitely benefit from a bit of rewriting to provide greater narrative depth, and (for beginners) to add dialogue discussing the units' strengths/weaknesses.How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Dealing with the awkward terrain and getting flanked by ghosts and bats.What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
2 – I didn't like this one very much; it just felt clunky and frustrating – not really any interesting challenges, just awkwardness and chaos.How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
First, I would revise the terrain to provide clearer defensive lines. This seems crucial especially in a campaign oriented toward beginners. I would also severely limit the enemy units, to skeletons and maybe some Walking Corpses and Dark Adepts (to give the horsemen something squishy to run down). The use of bats and ghosts is indefensible here. It's enough for beginners to have to learn about combat with skeletons, without also throwing in drains, poison, magical attacks, and flankers all on the very first map. I would also add some dialogue explaining the unit strengths and weaknesses, why we have turned to the local Footpads for help, etc.What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Statistics: Posted by JL42 — December 12th, 2023, 1:28 pm
Statistics: Posted by HenryY2020 — May 17th, 2023, 5:29 pm