Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Feedback for the mainline campaign Heir to the Throne.

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Herode
Posts: 3
Joined: May 25th, 2014, 12:55 pm

Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Herode »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
Medium, v1.10.7

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10) [1]
5 Surviving 12 turns without losses, didn't even try to reach to orcish leader

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Allright

(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?
I tried to stop the orcs near the southern woods, avoiding losses amongst my experienced units.
The allied knights offered some help by distracting the orcs who had some fun slaughtering them during the long nights

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
8

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
-
kiss
Posts: 124
Joined: July 9th, 2014, 5:50 pm

Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by kiss »

I need some time to be accurate, I'll work on it. Sorry.

First play as Fighter (beginner) 1.10.7

According the map design, I'll say the first battle should be around 12,24 at night of course! Then toward the Orcish castle and later on around 19,24. (I was wrong).
I really need some xp and cut down Sir Kaylan income as much as I can. (I do it, at least I think).
Strategy: send Haldiel south and a scout north to take villages, send 1 squad with Konrad and an other one with Delfador against Moloko Qimur. (more or less right for that one)

Turn 1: no chance with this new shamann, I'm learning about traits!
Trun 2: too dangerous for Haldiel to go farther, I keep it for later and recruit one more horseman while I can. Damn, Delfador can't recruit! (undo save me). Pfuiii, my strategy fall down? Nevermind I keep it.
Turn 3: damn, ok a lvl2.
Turn 4: I set up a fight on ... ho my, I have a B Bomber pointing at 15,24 ... the fight is over? Ok, I start the fight after an error ... I want to wait! Let's go with that. Failure ... no, It's ok.
Turn 5, 6: despite the night I'll try to kill the 3 trolls, fine.
Turn 7: do I kill it right now? Let's try Konrad do it. Done.

Ok, not that much xp, but ... I've made an error, and stay with that.
No loss. None level up. 7 kills. It can seems poor, but I'm happy to start leveling.

And where are those Orcs following me?
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Ranger
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Ranger »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
1.12.1, Medium
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
[2] - Possibly the easiest in the entire campaign. But not sure.
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Perfectly clear.
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Great.
(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?
Getting most gold and gathering most experience without loosing any units.
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
[7]
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
After the arrival of the reenforcements the orc leader says they should retreat, but when Delfador says that "we should embark" the orcs are sill on the map, some standing between our forces and the port. Maybe they should disappear immediatly from the map after their leader's line?
Calling a spear a spoon and then saying "our spoons are different, WINR," is kind of unsatisfying, isn't it?
loopunrolling
Posts: 1
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by loopunrolling »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on? Hard version 1.12
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10) 4
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives? Clea enough
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario? Fine
(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario? Avoid to get surrounded and distracting enemies
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10) 6
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun? I'd make harder to get Syrim. I'm a noob and i managed to get the loyal night with only 2 attempts. Despite what i read in the walkthrough,getting Syrim has been too easy.
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by SigurdFireDragon »

Played on 1.12.5 Hero (Normal) 189 Gold
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Caladbolg
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Caladbolg »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
1.12.5, normal.

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
5. As far as I can tell, the usual tactic is to use the forests to provide coverage for the Elves, but with the number of units the enemy had, I was certain that even forest won't save my guys from dying and I didn't want that just yet. Therefore, I decided on a slightly different strategy: instead of going to the woods, I'd meet the enemy on the plains above, taking advantage of my ally's horsemen. They can soften up my enemies and they are a good shield considering that they're lvl 2 and have no ranged, so the orcish archers prefer them as targets. After I gather XP that way, I'd retreat to the east (using ally units to cover for me) and south (using forest). This way, the enemy would strech his ranks on both flanks and he wouldn't have enough units on either to kill any of my own units. Then I'd just wait for the turns to run out.

That was the plan at least, but surprisingly enough, my ally was useful for once- he managed to push westward more than usually, creating a nice opportunity. So, I decided to ditch my plan and go for the kill. If I stuck with just survival, it'd probably be a 3, but considering that I hastily changed my plan without thinking too much about it, and considering that I made some rather stupid mistakes (fortunately, no one died :D ), I give it a 5.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
It was alright, but the explanation on using horsemen seemed out of place. If Delfador had been grooming Konrad for a leadership role in Wesnoth, surely he would have given him a Wesnoth army 101 course by then. If the idea is to introduce units and their usage, it should be done consistently: no info was given on how to use elvish units and IIRC this kind of exposition is given only to a few other units during the course of campaign. Furthermore, if you want to do it through dialogue, it should feel more natural- as is, it felt like Delfador was leaning against the fourth wall. Considering that HttT is (nominally at least) a novice level campaign, I think that some explanation on various aspects of gameplay is a good idea, but I think it would be better if it were handled like it is in the South Guard.

(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?
Considering how enemy AI would ineract with my ally and figuring out whether he'd go after ally horses or after the elves in the open.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
7. A nice little skirmirsh with an option to take it easy or to gather good XP.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
Aside from the points raised in (4), it's ok. I think it's one of the more enjoyable scenarios in the campaign.

Stats and whatnot:
-starting gold: 166
-recruits (1): 1x Shaman
-recalls (5): Archer, Fighter, Scout, Druid, Captain
-advancements (6): Konrad->lvl 2; Fighter->Hero; Archer->Ranger; Scout->Rider; Shaman->Sorceress, Horseman (Haldiel)->Knight
-no losses
-dmg dealt: +9%
-dmg received: -8%
-end: 116 gold, 10 villages
-on turn 4 allied Horseman and Knight manage to get all hits, removing 2 pesky orcs and providing a great opportunity for an offensive
-on turn 6 I make 2 major blunders due to feeling lucky: I attack a Grunt with my Fighter even though he can't handle two hits (which was a very bad move strategically). Fortunately, my figter survived. The 2nd mistake was using Delfador as a shield- to kill him, the enemy would have to be extremely lucky and I hoped he wouldn't. He survived, but gave me a few mini heart attacks... you can see from the replay how it played out :P . After turn 6, everything else was trivially easy.
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rmj
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by rmj »

1.13.4
Suggestion for easy level: the lancers are too effective. One must hurry to get xp before they kill everyone (a bit of an exageration). I think reducing the ally's gold or increasing the income of the orcs would be good.
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Flameslash
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Flameslash »

(1) Normal difficulty, Wesnoth 1.13.5
(2) 7; surviving was easy enough but I couldn't get the kill
(3) Crystal clear
(4) The dialogue was alright, but could be better
(5) The sheer volume of orcs was difficult to push through in time
(6) 6, enjoyable but the turn limit is quite low
(7) I'd add another 2-4 turns
MrA4
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port - Kill Enemy Leader

Post by MrA4 »

(1) Champion (Challenging) 1.12.6 - Going for the enemy Leader

(2) 4 I had some difficulty finding where to take my forces, then figured out that I just needed to lure as much of the enemy North and send an attacking force South.

(3) Clear Kill or survive

(4) The Dialog was good but there was a bit much at the beginning.

(5) Finding a good strategy to kill the enemy leader

(6) 5 my best strategy limited fighting

(7) No changes.
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MTaur
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by MTaur »

1. Difficulty setting - Challenging 1.14.2
2. Personal difficulty - 6 Easy and Normal are super easy, but Challenging takes a bit of patience and day/night cycle manipulation to survive. I might have done a better job holding on to valuable XP with better planning, and a longer turn limit could have been deadly.
3. Clarity - Clear.
4. Dialog/storyline - Adequate, nothing too interesting in the dialog/storyline
5. Challenges - Leroy Jenkins allied horseman AI. I'm trying to hold a pretty conservative defensive line and collapse at daylight, and the AI always suicides the first knight immediately, usually dying at First Watch.
6. Fun - 6 The ally AI is too frustrating to deal with. I simply won't follow up on that sort of shenanigans. On lower difficulties you can kill the orc leader, but I don't see that happening on Challenging at all.
7. Changes - Ally AI could learn a thing or two about day/night cycles at the very least. Turn limit is pretty short for optional victory condition, but it would get a lot harder to last any longer on defense on Challenging...
LordWolfDan
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by LordWolfDan »

(1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?

- 1.14.5, Beginner

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10) [1]

- 2

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

- Easy, either wait till turns run out or get rid of the orc

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

- Fair enough, yet the description of horsemen is a bit lengthy

(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?

- Trying to kill the enemies myself for free XP, but Sir Kaylan's knights did it better than me

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

- 6

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

- Maybe if orc had more income so there's more fight, I think
Konrad2
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Konrad2 »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

1.14.7, Champion (Challenging)
1.15.0, Champion (Challenging)

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

3 or 7

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

Clear.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

Achieving the alternate objective.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

7

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

Yes, I had to try a few times the usual strategy doesn't work fast enough.
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Poison
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Poison »

(1) What difficulty levels have you played the scenario on?

1.14.7, Champion (Challenging), 123 starting gold.

(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

Well, I don't know what happened with this one, The AI didn't follow me at all making this a 1 to kill leader, who happily left his keep to get my archer.

(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Clear.

(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

Clear.

(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

Surprisingly, none.

(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

8, getting those presents with such ease surely is satisfying.

(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

Can't think of anything.

(8) Was there any event that caused you to lose the game and forced you to reload or restart the scenario?

Also surprisingly, no.
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Zrevnur
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Zrevnur »

Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
1.14.9 Challenging (in Ironman mode), played many times, this is the only scenario in the campaign which I practiced for (to figure out a strategy to get the bonus)
Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10) [1]
2 for winning, 10 for (reliably) getting the bonus
Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
Clear.
Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
Clear. Part of it appears more like a tutorial though.
Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?
There are two related problems to get the bonus:
a) Get to the enemy leader in time with enough force.
b) Dont get killed doing a) or alternatively kill everything in the way.
I have not been able to find a 99% strategy. But the one I used here (see replay although I forgot to hire a Horse on first turn) is >50% at least.
If I would have better understanding of AI decision making it would probably be easier. Due to the low numbers (turns, gold, space) the usual approach to give the AI opportunity to make some stupid mistakes doesnt work here. I need to take decisive action on my own. Those 'low numbers' also make the whole thing more RNG prone than most scenarios.
Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
7. There is no 'chore' part in this scenario so its one of the more fun ones, the cost again is high level of RNG.
Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?
I dont like the randomness but dont have clear ideas as to how to improve it either. Maybe making it larger (to the south) would make it less random but would also make it easier.
In terms of 'fluff' however the terrain where the battle happens (orc side) doesnt properly fit with the horseman theme. Although horsemen may be the best units nonetheless here due to damage concentration.
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Lord-Knightmare
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Re: Scenario 2: Blackwater Port

Post by Lord-Knightmare »

Content Feedback wrote: September 2nd, 2004, 2:16 am (1) What difficulty level and version of Wesnoth have you played the scenario on?
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10) [1]
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
(5) What were your major challenges in completing the scenario?
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

[1] preferably, this should be rated relative to other scenarios in the campaign, such that the easiest scenario in the campaign is rated '1', and the most difficult '10'. i.e. even if you didn't think the campaign is very hard, you should still rate the hardest scenario '10'.
1. Normal/Wesnoth1.15.12+dev
2. 3/10
3. crystal clear
4. 7/10
5. Trying to keep my allies from hogging the XP.
6. 6/10
7. I wish I had that superb bonus when I defeated the enemy leader on Normal. Sadly, it's only available on HARD.
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